Modeling Types

1.  What is the difference between a model and reality?  Provide some concrete examples to support your hypotheses.

2.  Why do a geographers investigate, analyze, and model regions and places?  Illustrate your answer with some concrete examples.

3.  What is the difference between a descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive model?  Again provide some concrete examples.

4.  Planning and decision making is made up of mandates, values, goals, objectives, criteria, objective functions, decision criteria, constraints?  What are each of these?  Be able to explain and provide a unique example (i.e. something outside of the example given in class).

5.  How do we translate values into metrics for the purposes of building models?

Quality of Life Measures

1.  What is meant by Quality of Life and its measurement?

2.  What is the Physical Quality of Life index?  What is included in it and why?

3.  How might different geographic scales be included in QOL studies? 

4.  How can the environment be included in QOL studies?  Are QOL studies limited to humans? Explain.

5.  How can QOL be measured?  What information and knowledge is needed for this exercise?

6.  What is the Human Development Index?

7.  Why did Morris Morris think there needed to be a new indicator?  What was the old one?

8.  What components did Morris Morris use to develop his PQOL index?  Why these?  What criteria did he use?

Ordinal Ranking Method

1.  What is the purpose of the Ordinal Ranking Method?

2.  How does the Ordinal Ranking Method work?  What are the steps?

3.  What level or scale of data can be used in this technique?

4.  How do we manage to combine “apples and oranges” in this technique?

5.  What is the meant by utility measures in this methodology and why are they used?

6.  What is the difference between relative and absolute weights?  How are the related?

7.  Is ordinal ranking the only way of creating QOL measures?

8.  Why might we conclude that QOL measures might require geographic display in order to be fully understood?

Delphi (from readings and lectures)

Chapter 1: Introduction

Reading questions

• There is an increasing need for methods to measure qualitative aspects of life, why?
• What measuring tool is suggested here?
• What does uncertainty have to do with these issues?
• What is the advantage of Group Judgement?
• Can numerical judgements be applied to qualitative measures?
• What method is suggested for compacting multiple points of view into one or a few?
• How is quality of life defined?
• What two hypotheses are discussed concerning the quality of life?
• What is meant by the statement that…"many attitudes and beliefs which are labeled values are disguised rules for obtaining higher levels of quality of life".

Chapter 2: The Delphi Method: An Experimental Study of Group Opinion (pg. 13-21)

• What might a researcher do when there is unsatisfactory information? What are deferred considerations?
• How do knowledge, speculation, and opinion differ?
• How does "two heads are better than one" relate to opinion?

Precision (Accuracy) - Getting close to "true" answer, limiting error

• Why is an average answer (median or mean) a better guess at a true result then the answer provided by a randomly selected expert from a panel?
• If the correct answer is included among all answers, how does this further justify the use of an average?
• As group size increases, does error increase or decrease? Why do you think this occurs? (Is your answer knowledge, opinion, or speculation?)

Reliability (Reproducibility) - different groups come to the same conclusions

• How does size effect reliability? Again, why do you think this occurs?

Delphi

• What kind of areas has this been applied to?
• What are the three features of Delphi method?
• What properties besides efficiency are pointed out?

 Delphi More Questions from Class

• What are the levels of understanding? Explain and give examples.
• Why arguments enable Dalkey to conclude that 2 heads are better then one?
• What are the advantages of the Delphi technique?
• How is a Delphi study performed?  What steps need to be followed?

• What are the criticisms that have been leveled against the Delphi technique by Sackman?  Discuss how valid you consider these.

Linear Programming

What is Linear Programming?

What is meant by linear functions?

What is meant by Pareto Optimal?  How does this relate to Linear Programming?

Are Pareto Optimal solutions always Globally Optimal? Explain.