Space, Time, and the Representation of Geographical Reality

Geoforum, 1992

Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, 2009

Almost thirty years after the beginning of geographic information science (GIScience) as an interdisciplinary but distinct scientific field, new and deeper research questions have arisen, questions which make us return back to the fundamental issues of geographic concepts, knowledge representation, and semantically-aware approaches. The questions are very difficult to answer, yet this should not prevent us from always pursuing the very nature of geographic meaning. It is evident that meanings and understandings in the geospatial domain (thereinafter called "geonoemata") pivot around the connection between the central representational notions of concepts and objects. The use and application of these notions can be accounted for most problems in interoperability, non-universality of approaches, misinterpretation, and semantic conflicts. In this section, an attempt is made to identify a number of open and promising research questions in great need for progress.

Around the globe, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are well established in the daily workflow of authorities, businesses and non-profit organisations. GIS can effectively handle spatial entities and offer sophisticated analysis and modelling functions to deal with space. Only a small fraction of the literature in Geographic Information Science—or GIScience in short—has advanced the development of place, addressing entities with an ambiguous boundary and relying more on the human or social attributes of a location rather than on crisp geographic boundaries. While the GIScience developments support the establishment of the digital humanities, GISs were never designed to handle subjective or vague data. We, an international group of authors, juxtapose place and space in English language and in several other languages and discuss potential consequences for Geoinformatics and GIScience. In particular, we address the question of whether linguistic and cultural settings play a role in the perception of place. We report on some facts revealed by this multi-language and multi-cultural dialogue, and what particular aspects of place we were able to discern regarding the few languages addressed.

2005

This paper was inspired by recent discussions of the possibility of a universal map language, a framework for cartographic visualization and a need for a theory of spatial (including cartographic) information in general (Moellering, 2003). In spite of a vast number of texts devoted to the semiological aspects of map language no system has been created that would describe and explain cartographic signs in all their complexity (Lyutyj, 2002). The decisions about signs in thematic cartography today, like twenty years ago, are mostly based on sets of heuristic recommendations which do not make up a strictly logical system. The more complex the system of signs, the more difficult it becomes to apply the rules. Other than in the simplest cases, it is impossible to limit cartographic design to a single set of rules at all, hence thematic mapping can hardly be subject to automated processing functions. Nor is there an algorithm that could be used to check the symbolization choice for correc...

Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2014

people to recognize, understand and simulate entire geo-environments. Therefore, exploration of the GIS language's functions in contemporary geographical developments is becoming increasingly important. Similarly, construction of the conceptual model and scientific systems of the GIS language will promote the development of the disciplines of geography and geographical information sciences. Therefore, this paper investigates the prospects of the GIS language from the perspectives of digital technology, geographical norms, geographical modeling and the disciplinary development of geography.

Transactions in GIS, 1997

The way people conceptualize space is an important consideration for the design of geographic information systems, because a better match with peopleÕs thinking is expected to lead to easier-touse information systems. Everyday space, the basis to geographic information systems (GISs), has been characterized in the literature as being either small-scale (from table-top to room-size spaces) or large-scale (inside-of-building spaces to city-size space). While this dichotomy of space is grounded in the view from psychology that peopleÕs perception of space, spatial cognition, and spatial behavior are experience-based, it is in contrast to current GISs, which enable us to interact with large-scale spaces as though they were small-scale or manipulable. We analyze different approaches to characterizing spaces and propose a unified view in which space is based on the physical properties of manipulability, locomotion, and size of space. Within the structure of our framework, we distinguish six types of spaces: manipulable object space (smaller than the human body), non-manipulable object space (greater than the human body, but less than the size of a building), environmental space (from inside building spaces to city-size spaces), geographic space (state, country, and continent-size spaces), panoramic space (spaces perceived via scanning the landscape), and map space. Such a categorization is an important part of Naive Geography, a set of theories of how people intuitively or spontaneously conceptualize geographic space and time, because it has implications for various theoretical and methodological questions concerning the design and use of spatial information tools. Of particular concern is the design of effective spatial information tools that lead to better communication.

Cartographic Perspectives, 1997

1996

This paper is concerned not with space and spatial relations as objective entities of the world, but rather with human experience and perception of phenomena and relations in space. The goal arising from this concern is to identify models of space that can be used both in cognitive science and in the design and implementation of geographic information systems (GISs). Experiential models of the world are based on sensorimotor and visual experiences with environments, and form in individual minds as the associated bodies and senses experience their worlds. Formal models consist of axioms expressed in a formal language, together with mathematical rules to infer conclusions from them. The paper reviews both kinds of models, viewing them each as abstractions of the same 'real world.' The review of experiential models is grounded in recent developments in cognitive science, expounded by Rosch, Johnson, Talmy, and especially Lakoff. Among other things, these models suggest that perception and cognition are driven by schemata and other mental models, often language-based. These models form a framework for a review of models of small-scale spaces filled with everyday objects. The ways in which people interact with such spaces is in sharp contrast to the bit-by-bit experience with geographic (large-scale) spaces during wayfinding and other spatial activities. The paper then addresses the issue of the 'objective' geometry of geographic space. If objectivity is defined by measurement, this leads to a surveyors' view, and a near-Euclidean geometry. The paper then relates these models to issues in the design of GISs. To be implemented on digital computers, geometric concepts and models must be formalized. The idea of a formal geometry of natural language is discussed, and some aspects of it are presented. Formalizing the link between cognitive categories and models on the one hand, and geometry and computer representations on the other is a key element in the research agenda.

International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 1999

Over the last ten years, a subfield of GIScience has been recognized that addresses the linkage between human thought regarding geographic space and the mechanisms of implementing these in computational models. This research area has developed an identity through a series of successful international conferences and the establishment of a journal. It has also been complemented through community activities such as international standardization efforts and GIS interoperability. Historically, much of the advancement in computational methods has occurred at-or close to-the implementation level, as exemplified by the attention on the development of spatial access methods. Significant progress has been made at the levels of spatial data models and spatial query languages, although we note the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework comparable to the relational data model in databases management systems. The difficult problems that need future research efforts are at the highly abstract level of capturing semantics of geographic information. A cognitive motivation is most promising as it shapes the focus on the users' needs and points of view, rather than on efficiency as in the case of a bottom-up system design. We also identify the need for new research in fields, models of qualitative spatial information, temporal aspects, knowledge discovery, and the integration of GIS with database management systems.

GIS and Theoretical Geography Cognitive Categories and Experiential Realism Categories Perception, Cognition, and Schemata Some Geographical Examples Models of Space Models of Geographic Space What is the 'Objective' Geometry of Geographic Space? Measurement Spatial Cognition and Geographic Information Systems Formalization of Conceptual Geometries Summary Acknowledgements References LANGUAGE ISSUES FOR GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS The two papers contained in this report summarize the major themes of Research Initiative #2 of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, entitled "Languages of Spatial Relations". They are being published as a technical report to make them accessible before they are published and printed in permanent outlets. The first paper, entitled "Experiential and Formal Models of Geographic Space", has been prepared for an audience primarily composed of geographers, and summarizes the main conceptual and cognitive issues that we believe will be of greatest interest to that community. It is hoped that it will be published in a refereed journal in geography. The second paper, "Language Issues for Geographical Information Systems", was written for the GIS community, and will appear as a chapter in "Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Applications", edited by David Maguire, David Rhind and Michael Goodchild, a reference volume that will be published by Longmans Publishing Co. Although there is some overlap in the topics covered in the two papers, we believe that the papers complement each other well, and together provide a good overview of Initiative #2 work toward the closing of that Initiative at the NCGIA. Clearly, there is still much work to be done on filling in the details of topics identified in these papers.

2005

Abstracts of the ICA

2000

Over the last ten years, a subfield of GIScience has been recognized that addresses the linkage between human thought regarding geographic space and the mechanisms of implementing these in computational models. This research area has developed an identity through a series of successful international conferences and the establishment of a journal. It has also been complemented through community activities such as international standardization efforts and GIS interoperability. Historically, much of the advancement in computational methods has occurred at-or close to-the implementation level, as exemplified by the attention on the development of spatial access methods. Significant progress has been made at the levels of spatial data models and spatial query languages, although we note the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework comparable to the relational data model in databases management systems. The difficult problems that need future research efforts are at the highly abstract level of capturing semantics of geographic information. A cognitive motivation is most promising as it shapes the focus on the users' needs and points of view, rather than on efficiency as in the case of a bottom-up system design. We also identify the need for new research in fields, models of qualitative spatial information, temporal aspects, knowledge discovery, and the integration of GIS with database management systems.

ACM SIGMOD Record, 1991

Annals of The Association of American Geographers, 2006