Spatial Concept Perspectives

We have gathered ~300 excerpts from published works about fundamental spatial concept terms. These have been cross-referenced with the concept lexicon appearing on the left. Those terms were drawn from the U.S.National Science Education Standards (NSES 1996) for topic areas B - Physical Science, C - Life Science, D - Earth and Space Science, as well as from the 1994 U.S. Geography Teaching Standards for grades 9-12. Those standards can be browsed here.

spatial concept terms

disciplinary perspectives on "boundary"

boundary

Two questions arise in boundary considerations. First, how may the boundaries be defined, and second, what influence do the boundaries have on other activities and phenomena? (p. 41)

Geography

Nystuen (1963)

Identification of some fundamental spatial concepts

boundary

Given that location has been selected as the critical differentiating characteristic of inclusion or non-inclusion in a spatial distribution, it must be evident that the first concept that can be derived is that of a boundary. A boundary identifies that segment of the global environment that contains a particular spatial distribution. It is obvious that boundaries can be defined with varying levels of precision and can be more or less real or artificial. For example, once the member set of a spatial distribution is identified, it can be represented by a closed boundary or polygon (p. 37)

Geography

Golledge (1995)

Primitives of Spatial Knowledge

boundary

Determine spatial limits in natural and built environments (p. 698)

Geography

Marsh, et al. (2008)

Geospatial Concept Understanding and Recognition in G6-College Students: A Preliminary Argument for Minimal GIS

boundary

...living centers are often--nearly always--formed and strengthened by boundaries...The purpose of a boundary which surrounds a center is two-fold. First, it focuses attention on the center and thus helps to produce the center. It does this by forming the field of force which creates and intensifies the center which is bounded. Second, it unites the center which is being bounded with the world beyond the boundary (p 158-9).

Alexander (2004)

The Nature of Order, Book 1: The Phenomenon of Life

boundary

A discontinuity, surface (q.v.) or partition (more or less abrupt) that separates portions of organisms, structures, systems, or the environment, and where properties differ significantly across the interface; e.g. the surface of the ocean or the mitochondrial membrane. Transport of materials and energy across boundaries are crucial processes in nature and technology.

Science Education

Mathewson, J. H. (2005)

The visual core of science: definition and applications to education

boundary

[OED]: 1. a. That which serves to indicate the bounds or limits of anything whether material or immaterial; also the limit itself.

Linguistics

OED Online (2nd Ed.)

Oxford English Dictionary, Online Edition

buffer

Topic AM4-1. Compare and contrast raster and vector definitions of buffers; Explain why a buffer is a contour on a distance surface; Outline circumstances in which buffering around an object is useful in analysis.

Geography
Education

DiBiase, et al. (2006)

Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge

buffer

Develop a static or dynamic area around a node ( b 698)

Geography

Marsh, et al. (2008)

Geospatial Concept Understanding and Recognition in G6-College Students: A Preliminary Argument for Minimal GIS