DEFINITIONS

Use phrases to give a good, overall definition of each; you don’t need complete sentences, formulas, or elaborate statements about possible shortcomings of an approach.

Analog modeling

Consumerist fallacy

Ecological fallacy

Geodemographic data

Geo-lifestyle data

Huff model

"Loosely-coupled" analysis

Modifiable areal unit problem
 
 

SHORT (BUT COMPLETE) ANSWERS

Don’t be concerned about complete sentences; you can use lists, bullets, diagrams — whatever is helpful.

B.1.  Describe the four distinct retail location problems we reviewed in class.
 

B.2.  What does the analog technique of retail site selection assume? What does it ignore? What information is required? How would GIS help? Explain how we made use of this technique in one of the lab cases.
 

B.3.   What is Reilly's "law of retail gravitation"? What are the key relationships involved? How could we measure "distance"? How could this "law" be used to estimate the primary market areas of a set of competing shopping centers? How would a GIS help in doing this?
 

B.4.   What are "residuals" in spatial analysis? How are residuals useful? It will probably help to refer to the analysis of female-to-male (human) population ratios in Keith Clarke's Chapter 6.
 

B.5.   In Professor Thrall's presentation, what decisions was he trying to help Red Lobster make? What two criteria did he combine in a matrix of assessing Red Lobster's site locations?
 

B.6.  What were the two criteria that were considered in the case presented by Falit-Baimonte? How do these criteria relate to criteria that might be used in a public-service provision analysis? A retail site analysis?
 
 

ESSAY [15 points]

Write an essay on one of the following sets of questions. (While one set of questions seems shorter than the other two, I’m expecting similar levels of detail and insight in each of these topics).

C.1. How have we defined strategy? What simple assumptions are implied by this definition? What are the three levels of strategy in a business setting? How might geography (the facts that places are different and that overcoming distance takes resources) affect strategy at each level? How has Mennecke suggested that GIS could be useful in strategic planning and decision making? How does Goss (in Packet 2) critique the notion of "strategy"?

C.2. Describe, and then critique, the process you're using in the final lab case (also see the relevant lecture notes). Make reference to the various methods and approaches we’ve used in class.

C.3. How can you reduce your susceptibility to the ecological fallacy, when engaging in geodemographic target marketing? How might you reduce your susceptibility to the "consumerist fallacy," when engaging in geodemographic target marketing? Under what technical circumstances would you be concerned about making location or marketing decisions based on geodemographic analysis (in other words, when is this probably not the best approach, from a marketing standpoint)? How would you characterize the ethical issues involved in geodemographic marketing and database marketing? Does what is being marketed (e.g., targeting AIDS prevention information to"at-risk" populations) make any difference? How would you attempt to resolve those issues, in your own use of GDIS?