Institutional Opportunities and Constraints. Michael F. Goodchild

Transcription

1 Institutional Opportunities and Constraints Michael F. Goodchild

2 A conceptual framework Nomothetic science knowledge that is true everywhere in space and time Idiographic science the study of the unique new planets liquid lakes of Antarctica descriptive, anectodal can be pejorative

3 the natural, social world planning, decision making nomothetic science abstracted knowledge

4 A spatial turn in science Adding space to theory the New Economic Geography space impeding flows of information, operation of markets transport costs Spatial Ecology a heterogeneous resource base space impeding interactions, breeding metapopulations Reasoning from spatial data cross-sectional new tools to overcome methodological problems impacts in all social, environmental disciplines

5 A growing literature Spatially Integrated Social Science (Goodchild and Janelle, OUP, 2004)

6 The drivers New technologies, new data geographic information systems (GIS) remote sensing positioning (GPS) delivery mechanisms Place-based analysis Applications of science in policy, decision making

7 Table 1 Eight Foundation Concepts in Spatial Thinking for STEM Disciplines 1. Location Places abstracted as points, lines, and areas, and represented as points, polylines, and polygons. Rasters and grid cells. Mathematical approximations to the geoid, map projections, coordinate systems. Measurement and tracking of location: GPS. Location in human discourse: placenames, prepositions, and movement verbs. Positional accuracy. The characteristics or attributes of places: scales of measurement. Concepts of land ownership in different cultures, administrative hierarchies, postcodes, linear referencing. 2. Distance Metrics of distance on the plane and globe. Travel cost, travel time, and impacts on interaction and spatial behavior by humans and other organisms. Distance decay and spatial interaction models. Buffers. Weights matrices and their applications in spatial analysis and modeling. Geodesics, potential fields, and optimum paths. 3. Network Linear networks for transportation, communication, and social interaction. Network metrics. Models of network development and design. Small worlds and degrees of separation. Representation of networks in spatial databases. Models of network flow assignment. 4. Neighborhood and Region Definitions of neighborhood based on human spatial behavior. Formal and functional regions and concepts of territory. Models of region design and political districting. The modifiable areal unit problem and the ecological fallacy. Techniques of areal interpolation. Metrics of fragmentation and shape.

8 5. Scale Level of detail in spatial data sets. Definitions of scale: extent and resolution. Scale-related concepts: self-similarity (fractals), generalization and down-scaling, line and surface smoothing, recursive subdivision, variance decomposition, and multi-level analysis. The role of scale in process. 6. Spatial Heterogeneity Heterogeneity as a fundamental characteristic of spatial data. First-order effects, non-stationarity, and uncontrolled variance. Implications of spatial heterogeneity for sampling and statistical inference. Place-based analysis, local indicators of spatial association, and geographically weighted regression. 7. Spatial Dependence Metrics of spatial dependence: Moran and Geary indices. Geostatistics as a theoretical framework for spatial data. Spatial interpolation. Statistical inference in the presence of spatial dependence; explicit models of spatial dependence. Analysis of point patterns and cluster detection. The role of spatial dependence in uncertainty. 8. Objects and Fields Discrete objects and continuous fields as fundamental conceptualizations of space and as the basis for models of process. The dichotomy as an underpinning of methods of representation and analysis. Spatial correlation. Concepts of uncertainty in both conceptualizations.

9 By understanding how life unfolds through space in the design of cities, in the spread of disease, in the workings of the economy, in the movement of popular culture, in the location of businesses, in the use of the lands and forests we see how all of the parts come together to create the world we share. Returning to geography is part of Harvard s commitment to responding to the challenges humanity faces globally and locally.

10 The events and players: 1948 Neil Smith, Academic war over the field of geography: the elimination of geography at Harvard, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77(2): personalities Whittlesey, Ullman, Ackerman, Bowman general weakness in the discipline financial Gottmann, 1982: a terrible blow to American geography (from which) it has never completely recovered

11 Early GIS Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics Howard Fisher SYMAP, 1967

12

13 1968

14 William Warntz, Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis Harvard Papers in Theoretical Geography Bunge s Theoretical Geography (1962) Weak links to software development very little data available computing still rudimentary

15 Software development CALFORM, SYMVU (1970) ODYSSEY (1977) a full-featured GIS father of ARC/INFO Brian JL Berry director until 1981

16 1985 GIS well established a nascent software industry texts Burrough, Principles of GIS MacDougall, Computer Programming for Spatial Problems a scattering of courses UWO circa 1976 various things could be achieved by computer processing of spatial data measurement production and editing map-making

17 but some big questions What to teach? training in software? education in principles? what were those principles? What to research? algorithms and data structures to do it "faster, better, cheaper"

18 CAG 1985 Trois Rivieres Session on teaching GIS Poiker, Maher, Goodchild, "GIS in Undergraduate Geography: A Contemporary Dilemma" what are the foundations for an education in GIS? what are the basic principles? The Operational Geographer 8: 34-38

19 The analogy to statistics A branch of mathematics dating from well before the advent of computers or calculators theory, numerical analysis predated computation Where is the equivalent theoretical framework for GIS? computation predated the development of theory GIS is to x as the statistical packages are to statistics what is x? "A spatial analytic perspective on GIS", IJGIS 1: , 1988

20

21 Much progress Since Terry Jordan described GIS as easily justified but non-intellectual expertise (1988) and Ron Abler called it simultaneously the microscope, the telescope, and the Xerox machine of geographical analysis and synthesis (1987) But has Harvard got it right this time?

22 Essential requirements Technical services (CGA) Teaching more than training courses spatial thinking in core curriculum Intellectual core academic positions how to introduce a member of a new discipline into an existing organizational unit?

23 What is UCSB up to? the Alexandria Digital Library, developed between 1994 and 2004 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a mechanism for remote access to the university s outstanding map and imagery collection, and now an operational part of the Davidson Library; a focus in spatial cognition that links researchers in Psychology, Geography, Anthropology, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education; the extensive use of geographic information systems (GIS) software in projects that range from archaeology and religious studies to environmental restoration and the evolution of mountain belts, with strong links to ESRI, the world s leading vendor of GIS software; research on image processing and analysis in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, with applications ranging from satellite images of Earth to bioinformatics; the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, which uses and promotes spatial methods in ecology; the Allosphere, a large-scale fully immersive environment and instrument for research and visualization in science, engineering, and art; the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, with its interests in fmri; the Center for the Analysis of Sacred Space, which examines the role of space in religions; the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science, an NSF-funded project to develop research infrastructure in support of spatial methods across the social sciences; research on new numerical methods that simulate the complexity of both social and physical interactions in space and time; the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, in which spatial visualization plays a key role in tracking the globalization of nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization; the lead site of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, since 1988 a world leader in GIS research and outreach; the national center for academic distribution of imagery from the French SPOT satellite; and one of the nation s top departments of geography.

24 spatial.ucsb A new component of NCGIA/CSISS Major campus funding for 3 years from 7/07 Building campus infrastructure curriculum services Web site seminars Opening in December 2007

25 Pulling the spatial threads together Many complementary activities at UCSB with a spatial theme Alexandria Digital Library National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science spatial databases, image processing spatial cognition GIS courses in Bren, Geography Four Eyes Lab Digital Media fmri A focus could make the whole more than the sum of the parts

26 Institutional Opportunities and Constraints Michael F. Goodchild

27 A conceptual framework Nomothetic science knowledge that is true everywhere in space and time Idiographic science the study of the unique new planets liquid lakes of Antarctica descriptive, anectodal can be pejorative

28 the natural, social world planning, decision making nomothetic science abstracted knowledge

29 A spatial turn in science Adding space to theory the New Economic Geography space impeding flows of information, operation of markets transport costs Spatial Ecology a heterogeneous resource base space impeding interactions, breeding metapopulations Reasoning from spatial data cross-sectional new tools to overcome methodological problems impacts in all social, environmental disciplines

30 A growing literature Spatially Integrated Social Science (Goodchild and Janelle, OUP, 2004)

31 The drivers New technologies, new data geographic information systems (GIS) remote sensing positioning (GPS) delivery mechanisms Place-based analysis Applications of science in policy, decision making

32 Table 1 Eight Foundation Concepts in Spatial Thinking for STEM Disciplines 1. Location Places abstracted as points, lines, and areas, and represented as points, polylines, and polygons. Rasters and grid cells. Mathematical approximations to the geoid, map projections, coordinate systems. Measurement and tracking of location: GPS. Location in human discourse: placenames, prepositions, and movement verbs. Positional accuracy. The characteristics or attributes of places: scales of measurement. Concepts of land ownership in different cultures, administrative hierarchies, postcodes, linear referencing. 2. Distance Metrics of distance on the plane and globe. Travel cost, travel time, and impacts on interaction and spatial behavior by humans and other organisms. Distance decay and spatial interaction models. Buffers. Weights matrices and their applications in spatial analysis and modeling. Geodesics, potential fields, and optimum paths. 3. Network Linear networks for transportation, communication, and social interaction. Network metrics. Models of network development and design. Small worlds and degrees of separation. Representation of networks in spatial databases. Models of network flow assignment. 4. Neighborhood and Region Definitions of neighborhood based on human spatial behavior. Formal and functional regions and concepts of territory. Models of region design and political districting. The modifiable areal unit problem and the ecological fallacy. Techniques of areal interpolation. Metrics of fragmentation and shape.

33 5. Scale Level of detail in spatial data sets. Definitions of scale: extent and resolution. Scale-related concepts: self-similarity (fractals), generalization and down-scaling, line and surface smoothing, recursive subdivision, variance decomposition, and multi-level analysis. The role of scale in process. 6. Spatial Heterogeneity Heterogeneity as a fundamental characteristic of spatial data. First-order effects, non-stationarity, and uncontrolled variance. Implications of spatial heterogeneity for sampling and statistical inference. Place-based analysis, local indicators of spatial association, and geographically weighted regression. 7. Spatial Dependence Metrics of spatial dependence: Moran and Geary indices. Geostatistics as a theoretical framework for spatial data. Spatial interpolation. Statistical inference in the presence of spatial dependence; explicit models of spatial dependence. Analysis of point patterns and cluster detection. The role of spatial dependence in uncertainty. 8. Objects and Fields Discrete objects and continuous fields as fundamental conceptualizations of space and as the basis for models of process. The dichotomy as an underpinning of methods of representation and analysis. Spatial correlation. Concepts of uncertainty in both conceptualizations.

34 By understanding how life unfolds through space in the design of cities, in the spread of disease, in the workings of the economy, in the movement of popular culture, in the location of businesses, in the use of the lands and forests we see how all of the parts come together to create the world we share. Returning to geography is part of Harvard s commitment to responding to the challenges humanity faces globally and locally.

35 The events and players: 1948 Neil Smith, Academic war over the field of geography: the elimination of geography at Harvard, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77(2): personalities Whittlesey, Ullman, Ackerman, Bowman general weakness in the discipline financial Gottmann, 1982: a terrible blow to American geography (from which) it has never completely recovered

36 Early GIS Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics Howard Fisher SYMAP, 1967

37

38 1968

39 William Warntz, Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis Harvard Papers in Theoretical Geography Bunge s Theoretical Geography (1962) Weak links to software development very little data available computing still rudimentary

40 Software development CALFORM, SYMVU (1970) ODYSSEY (1977) a full-featured GIS father of ARC/INFO Brian JL Berry director until 1981

41 1985 GIS well established a nascent software industry texts Burrough, Principles of GIS MacDougall, Computer Programming for Spatial Problems a scattering of courses UWO circa 1976 various things could be achieved by computer processing of spatial data measurement production and editing map-making

42 but some big questions What to teach? training in software? education in principles? what were those principles? What to research? algorithms and data structures to do it "faster, better, cheaper"

43 CAG 1985 Trois Rivieres Session on teaching GIS Poiker, Maher, Goodchild, "GIS in Undergraduate Geography: A Contemporary Dilemma" what are the foundations for an education in GIS? what are the basic principles? The Operational Geographer 8: 34-38

44 The analogy to statistics A branch of mathematics dating from well before the advent of computers or calculators theory, numerical analysis predated computation Where is the equivalent theoretical framework for GIS? computation predated the development of theory GIS is to x as the statistical packages are to statistics what is x? "A spatial analytic perspective on GIS", IJGIS 1: , 1988

45

46 Much progress Since Terry Jordan described GIS as easily justified but non-intellectual expertise (1988) and Ron Abler called it simultaneously the microscope, the telescope, and the Xerox machine of geographical analysis and synthesis (1987) But has Harvard got it right this time?

47 Essential requirements Technical services (CGA) Teaching more than training courses spatial thinking in core curriculum Intellectual core academic positions how to introduce a member of a new discipline into an existing organizational unit?

48 What is UCSB up to? the Alexandria Digital Library, developed between 1994 and 2004 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a mechanism for remote access to the university s outstanding map and imagery collection, and now an operational part of the Davidson Library; a focus in spatial cognition that links researchers in Psychology, Geography, Anthropology, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education; the extensive use of geographic information systems (GIS) software in projects that range from archaeology and religious studies to environmental restoration and the evolution of mountain belts, with strong links to ESRI, the world s leading vendor of GIS software; research on image processing and analysis in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, with applications ranging from satellite images of Earth to bioinformatics; the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, which uses and promotes spatial methods in ecology; the Allosphere, a large-scale fully immersive environment and instrument for research and visualization in science, engineering, and art; the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, with its interests in fmri; the Center for the Analysis of Sacred Space, which examines the role of space in religions; the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science, an NSF-funded project to develop research infrastructure in support of spatial methods across the social sciences; research on new numerical methods that simulate the complexity of both social and physical interactions in space and time; the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, in which spatial visualization plays a key role in tracking the globalization of nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization; the lead site of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, since 1988 a world leader in GIS research and outreach; the national center for academic distribution of imagery from the French SPOT satellite; and one of the nation s top departments of geography.

49 spatial.ucsb A new component of NCGIA/CSISS Major campus funding for 3 years from 7/07 Building campus infrastructure curriculum services Web site seminars Opening in December 2007

50 Pulling the spatial threads together Many complementary activities at UCSB with a spatial theme Alexandria Digital Library National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science spatial databases, image processing spatial cognition GIS courses in Bren, Geography Four Eyes Lab Digital Media fmri A focus could make the whole more than the sum of the parts