Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography & Environmental Studies

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Barry Boots

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

To describe the spatial pattern of objects or events, and to explain that pattern by way of the causal mechanisms which have generated it, has been one of the traditional aims of geographical research (Harvey, 1967). One method that can be employed for such descriptions and explanations is network analysis.

A network is a meshed fabric of intersecting lines (Kansky, 1963). A more appropriate definition for geographers would be, a set of geographic elements interconnected into a system by a number of relationships (Kansky, 1963). Network analysis is an examination of a complete network, its elements and their relationships. Networks can be represented in two major ways. The first is graphically, as a map. However, although such a representation can summarize many network characteristics, it often proves too inflexible to permit further analysis. For this reason the second form of network representation is often resorted to. This involves representing the network as a matrix in which the rows and columns represent individual elements, and the entries in the body of teh matrix represent the relationships between the elements.

Convocation Year

1977

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