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  • From the Editor
  • David J. Robinson

When I asked my colleague Jane Read if she would be interested in collecting together a series of studies on Latin American themes in which GIS played a prominent role, I emphasized that I thought readers of this journal would be more interested in the results of such investigation than the complexity of methods that lie behind much of the GIS and remote sensing literature. Indeed, I would argue that it is unfortunate for the discipline as a whole that so much of GIS analysis is being, and has been, published in specialized and usually highly technical journals, the majority of which non-GIS geographers do not consult. I am thus delighted to have read (often several times) the ten studies gathered here in this special issue of JLAG. With regard to Latin American studies using GIS, as the first essay demonstrates it is again a separate world that is in contact with almost no other geographers nor, surprisingly, with GIS specialists from outside the region. Equally few non-Latin American GIS specialists publish in Latin American journals, and when they occasionally do so, usually not in Spanish or Portuguese. While new technologies very effectively break down barriers that of language remains resistant.

One should note, of course, that in the printed edition of this issue the grey-tone images used in the remote sensing articles do not reveal the intricacies of patterns that can be seen in the colored versions, available via the online service offered at Johns Hopkins' Project MUSE (http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lag) and readers are encouraged to use that service and download the colored maps and images. I would also mention that readers should note the use in several of the articles (WinklerPrins; Wernke; Frank; Sletto) of video clips and simulations accessible via a simple link to the online servers. While photos and maps are very relevant, there is nothing quite like seeing things, people and landscapes in action and as I have mentioned in earlier editions of JLAG, it is something that we welcome and encourage.

It only remains for me to thank Jane for her work on this issue, as well as the several dozen external reviewers who kindly shared their time and expertise in answer to my requests.

To the many authors my sincere appreciation for all their hard work and positive responses to my many questions, suggestions, and occasional criticisms. Their excellent articles reflect the wide-ranging and beneficial impact of GIS in so many distinctive sub-fields of geographical analysis. They are to be congratulated.

Del Editor

Cuando pregunté a mi colega, Jane Read, si estaba interesada en compilar una serie de estudios sobre asuntos latinoamericanos en los cuales el SIG jugara un rol protagónico, enfaticé que pensaba que los lectores de esta revista estarían mucho más interesado en los resultados de tales investigaciones que en la complejidad de los métodos involucrados en las técnicas del SIG y de sensores remotos. En efecto, uno puede argumentar que es lamentable para nuestra disciplina que mucho de los análisis de SIG esté publicado en revistas especializadas y muy técnicas, la mayoría de la cuales no son consultadas por geógrafos no-especialistas en SIG. Por eso, me siento muy contento después de haber leído (en muchos casos múltiples veces) los diez estudios recogidos en esta edición especial del JLAG. En relación a los estudios hechos por latinoamericanos que utilizan el SIG, como demuestra el primer artículo, son parte de un mundo separado casi sin contacto con algún otro grupo de geógrafos y, sorprendentemente, ni con especialistas fuera de la región. Igualmente, pocos son los especialistas no-latinoamericanos del SIG que publican en revistas de la región y, cuando lo hacen, normalmente no están [End Page 4] publicados en español o portugués. Mientras que las nuevas tecnologías efectivamente rompen barreras, aquella del idioma continúa persistiendo.

Los lectores deben notar, por supuesto, que en esta edición impresa, las imágenes en blanco y negro utilizadas en los artículos sobre sensores remotos no...

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