Yang’s paper is an exhaustive review of the advancement of the Cyberinfrastructure that has grown since individuals desired to define such a term. Yang et al discuss both the utilized and untapped potential of the interconnectedness of the world in the 21st century, first from a general perspective, and then a Spatial/Geographic perspective.
As the authors discuss the existence of this network, I found that the desire to define the term came after the inception of the network and from the desire for connectivity among the vast amount of info available. It seems that the main theme of this paper is intelligent integration and cooperation between various computing platforms and scientific agencies, such as NASA, NEPTUNE, and ESRI.
I found Yang’s review of the GCI’s untapped Environmental and Geographic potential to be the most accessible and obvious component. Ideals such as heterogeneous integration between various institutions and data collectors multiply the analytical possibilities of scientific research. From a Geographic perspective, I believe a healthy GCI is the next logical step in the evolution of GIScience, following the inception of the Geographic Information System. With the introduction of big data and open source information, individual users and consumers can become more involved in a field that would be otherwise inaccessible if not for the existence of GCI’s to simplify data intensive endeavors, such as those discussed in section 5.9, Education.
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