Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systemsand Analysis: Theory and Application
United Nations University (UNU-IAS)
Spring 2024
Location: UNU-IAS, Tokyo
Time: 09:30 – 13:00
Lecturer: Dr. Eng Martiwi Diah Setiawati
Contact Information: martiwi.setiawati@unu.edu
Office Hours: 09.30-17.30(time, or by appointment)

Course Description
This course introduces the ideas and practices of remote sensing (RS) and geographic
information systems (GIS) and how they apply to social-ecological research, management
planning, and decision-making. There are two sections to this course. The first section will coverbasic GIS principles and some significant and often used geoprocessing and spatial analysis tools
and techniques, including vector-raster conversion, proximity, surface interpolation,
reclassification, map algebra, and zonal analysis. The second section will primarily focus onprocessing RS satellite data, including developing many spectral indices and particularapplications of satellite image classification methods. A sequence of talks and supervised
practical training sessions will accomplish these goals. QGIS software will be used in training.

Course Objectives and Learning Goals
This course's main objective is to give students a basic understanding of the ideas and concepts
behind GIS and RS and how to apply them to decision-making, management planning, andsocial-ecological research. Students will be able to process RS data and use many essential GIS
tools and techniques at the end of the course. They will be able to utilize GIS and RS to conduct
at least a fundamental spatial analysis and recognize a few vital social-ecological issues thatcan be supported by spatial analysis. Ultimately, they will be able to relate their study findings
to management planning, decision-making, and current knowledge through GIS/RS-basedanalysis.

Requirements and Grading Policy
The course requirements include active class participation, exercise and assignment, final report,and oral presentation.
Attendance and class participation
Exercises and assignments: 20 %: 20 %
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Final Report
Oral presentation: 35%: 25 %Class Participation
The course requires students to attend all classes, arrive on time, complete the readings, andparticipate actively in class discussions. At the discretion of the instructor, frequent late arrivals
or absences may result in a lower grade. Please note that the first session is particularly
important and cannot be missed.
Exercises and assignment
In order to develop a thorough understanding of the basic concepts of GIS and RS, the students
need to do exercises on how to conduct spatial analysis by using the open-source software QGIS.
Therefore, there will be two assignments: 1) processing the vector data set and 2) processing theraster (RS) dataset with some case studies. Assignments should be no more than five written
pages, not including a works cited page. Quality visualizations of mapping are stronglyencouraged.
Final Report :The final report should be a case study on applying GIS and RS to respond to societal andenvironmental issues/problems. The report could be their own analysis of the RS/GIS data set or
through a literature review. Moreover, it should consist of a set of recommendations on how toovercome particular societal and environmental issues/problems. Each student is expected towrite a final chapter of 5-6 pages in length. The document must be in MS format and singlespaced, 12-point Times New Roman font. The papers must have a title, a proper introduction, anda conclusion section, and all material that is used to support the student’s argument must beclearly cited. For the in-text citations and the bibliography, we suggest that students use APAstylecitations.
Fora
referenceforAPA
stylecitations,see
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide/
Final Presentation:
This presentation will be formal. Students will have 10 minutes to present a case study on
applying GIS and RS to respond to societal and environmental issues/problems using aPowerPoint or similar presentation platform style. Style and speaking tips will be shared with thestudents during the course of the class.

Course Outline
LectureNo.
1

Basic GIS

2

FrameworkTitle

DateIntroduction to GIS and Applicationsof GIS

Tuesday, April 9th,2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Instructors/Invited
Speakers if any
Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Hands-on-training:
installing QGIS and Overview of QGISinterface

Tuesday, April 9th,2024~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

2

Tuesday , April 16th,
2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

4

Hands-on-training:
Vector data handling: Georeferencing, digitizing, and editing

Tuesday, April 16th,
2024 ~ 11: 20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

5

Hands-on-training:
Database handling: Create tabular
data, convert data from other sources

Tuesday, April 23 th,2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

6

Hands-on-training:
Data Representation and Layout

Tuesday, April 23th,
2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

7

Lecture: Introduction to RS andapplications of RS

Tuesday, April 30 th,2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

8

Hands-on-training:
Satellite image downloading, Satellite
image acquisition
Hands-on-training:
RS data processing: Image
classification and calculates theaccuracy
Hands-on-training: Spatial analysis (1)Vector-raster conversion, proximity,
surface interpolation
Hands-on-training: Spatial analysis (2)Reclassification, map algebra, zonal
analysis
Hands-on-training:
Study case: Advanced spatial analysis
and modeling with GIS and RS

Tuesday, April 30th,
2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

91011121415

GIS and RS Application

13

Tuesday, May 7th,
2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Tuesday, May 7th,
2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Climate Change and Society

Lecture: Data sources and software
packages

Basic Remote Sensing

3

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Tuesday, June 4th,2024 ~ 09:30-11:10

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Tuesday, June 4th,2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

GIS science and RS for the society

Tuesday, June 11th,
2024 ~ 09.30-11:10

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Consultation for the final report andoral presentation

Tuesday, June 11 th,
2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Oral presentation

Tuesday, June 18th,
2024 ~ 11:20-13:00

Dr. Eng Martiwi
Diah Setiawati

Course Readings
Essential Reading• https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/papers_2009/general/principlesgis.pdf•https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/papers_2009/general/PrinciplesRemoteSensing.
pdf
Useful Links3• https://docs.qgis.org/3.28/en/docs/training_manual/vector_classification/index.html• https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/remote-sensing
Scientific Journals• Annals of GIS, International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Transactions in GIS,
Applied Geography, GIScience & Remote Sensing, Remote Sensing of Environment, ISPRS Journalof Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, etc.
Important Information
Class Conduct & Etiquette
Students are expected to arrive on time and not to engage in disruptive behavior during class.
This includes, among other things, private side conversations, the use of cell phones and otherelectronic devices, or the reading of newspapers. Cell phones should be switched off and stored inthe bag. We wish to create an atmosphere of open and tolerant discussion in the classroom andrequest students to recognize every individual’s right to have an opinion. The lecturer and otherstudents should be treated with dignity and respect, particularly in discussions on contentious
political issues where a diversity of opinion is likely to arise. However, we also recognize that
there are limits to tolerance, and the lecturer reserves the right to request disciplinary action
against any student who violates this policy or repeatedly shows disruptive behavior in class.
Computer Use in Class
The use of computers (including tablets) in the classroom is restricted to taking notes, reading
the course material, doing exercises on GIS and RS, or searching for course-related informationon the Internet. Any disruption of the class by cell phones, instant messaging programs, or othercommunication devices will not be tolerated. The lecturer reserves the right to revoke thispermission if a student is found using a computer for any non-course-related activities.
Plagiarism & Academic Misconduct
Please be aware that the consequences of plagiarism are severe, and students found guilty ofacademic misconduct will be punished in accordance with UNU’s academic honesty policies. The
lecturer reserves the right to run all assignments through anti-plagiarism software provided by
the UNU. If evidence of academic misconduct on the assigned presentations, the mid-term examor the final essay should be found, the assignment will receive a failing grade. In case of repeatedviolations of academic conduct, the student may receive a failing grade for the entire course andwill be reported to the appropriate authorities for disciplinary action.

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