Geographic Information Systems for the Social Sciences: Investigating Space and Place
Dr.Steven J. Steinbergis an Associate Professor of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. He received his bachelor's degree from Kent State University, Ohio; his master's from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and his doctorate from The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has been involved extensively in the development and teaching of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing courses in both the university and professional development arenas. Since coming to Humboldt State University, Dr. Steinberg has taught and developed a variety of courses in the area of GIS, remote sensing, and spatial data analysis, with an emphasis on human interactions with social and environmental surroundings. His recent research interests include the development of simple, Web-based spatial analysis tools. He also has interests in the interactions between people and their surroundings through the use of spatial analysis techniques. As cofounder and director of Humboldt State University's Advanced Spatial Analysis Facility, Dr. Steinberg has overseen a variety of GIS and spatial analysis projects and research with organizations and government agencies in northern California and elsewhere. He was selected as a Fulbright Scholar for 2004-2005, serving as distinguished chair in airborne remote sensing with the Centre for Scientific Computing at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. During 2005-2007, he is participating as part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists at Humboldt State University on a National Science Foundation project extending research experience to undergraduate students in a cross-disciplinary computing modeling and applications environment. Dr.Sheila L. Steinbergis Associate Director of the California Center for Rural Policy and is an Associate Professor of sociology at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. She completed her bachelor’s at the University of California, Santa Barbara; her master’s at the University of California, Berkeley; and her doctorate at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include sociospatial research, rural poverty, rural health, applied sociology, community development, and environmental sociology. She has conducted field research in Nepal, Guatemala, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and northern California. The theme throughout this research has been the examination of people and their relationship to space and place. Her current research examines how to integrate GIS into rural health research. In 2000, she joined Humboldt State University, where she now teaches courses on human interactions with the physical environment at the local, national, and global levels.