Geography

Abstract: Multiple representation of geographic information occurs when a real-world entity is represented more than once in the same or different databases. This occurs frequently in practice, and it invariably results in the occurrence of inconsistencies among the different representations of the same entity. In this paper, we propose an approach to the modeling of multiple represented entities, which is based on the relationships among the entities and their representations. Central to our approach is the Multiple Representation Schema Language that, by intuitive and declarative means, is used to specify rules that match objects representing the same entity, maintain consistency among these representations, and restore consistency if necessary. The rules configure a Multiple Representation Management System, the aim of which is to manage multiple representations over a number of autonomous federated databases. We present a graphical and a lexical binding to the schema language. The graphical binding is built on an extension to the Unified Modeling Language and the Object Constraint Language. We demonstrate that it is possible to implement the constructs of the schema language in the object-relational model of a commercial RDBMS.

 Geography;  spatial representation;  time representation;  events;  multirepresentation;  

Abstract: Information systems that support scientific collaboration often facilitate the sharing of tangible resources, such as data files, as a proxy for sharing the knowledge embedded in or emerging from those resources. Current computational aids to science work thus do little to support knowledge-based inquiry; the human knowledge that creates meaning out of analyses is often only recorded when work reaches publication--or worse, left unrecorded altogether--for lack of an abstract model for scientific concepts that can capture knowledge as it is created and used. In this research, concepts rather than datasets are treated as the primitive elements of scientific inquiry. A model for scientific concepts is developed that incorporates representation of (1) the situated processes of science work, (2) the social construction of knowledge, and (3) the emergence and evolution of understanding over time. In this model, knowledge is the result of collaboration, negotiation, and manipulation by teams of researchers. Capturing the situations in which knowledge is created and used helps these collaborators discover areas of agreement and discord, while allowing individual inquirers to maintain different perspectives on the same information. The capture of provenance information allows historical trails of reasoning to be reconstructed, revealing the process by which knowledge is adopted, revised, and reused in a community. This work leverages advancement in the areas of cyberinfrastructure and the Semantic Web to produce a proof-of-concept system, called Codex, based on this situated knowledge model. Codex supports visualization of knowledge structures and inference across those structures. The proof-of-concept is deployed in two collaborative application contexts, human-environment interaction and geoscience. These use cases demonstrate the viability of Codex to support distributed teams of learners and researchers by encouraging greater appreciation for shared understanding.

 Geography;  situated knowledge;  Computer science;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: Sorry no abstract available for this article

 Geography;  Visualization;  

Abstract: How will the Internet and related digital technology affect the tendency for innovation activity to cluster geographically? This article argues that innovation has characteristics that make it unique from other types of economic activities. At a fundamental level, innovation is a non-routine social process that involves the creative deployment of knowledge. By examining the individual, the social and the geographic dimensions of innovation, the article concludes that while the Internet, while offering advantages in access to information, will not disrupt the geographic advantages associated with concentrations of resources, face-to-face interactions and serendipity or chance occurrences.

 Geography;   Digital revolution;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: The Internet is a hospitable medium for distance learning. Some geography educators fear that distance education confronts the discipline with a moral dilemma, however. One, in particular, acknowledges some of the advantages of distance learning, but contends that it cannot convey the sense of place that is 'the essence of what it means to be a geographer'. This paper is concerned with the morality of distance learning. In particular, it considers educators' obligations to deliver quality education, and to make it as widely accessible as possible. The paper stresses that the key distinction between distance learning and traditional resident instruction is not the mode of delivery, nor is it the distances in time and space that separate students and teachers. Rather, it is that distance learners are a qualitatively different, older population, with different educational needs from traditional on-campus undergraduates and graduate students. The paper argues that geography educators have a moral obligation to serve lifelong learners, an obligation that should take precedence over our allegiance to conventional notions about what constitutes the essence of our field

 Geography;   eLearning;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: Despite the plethora of teaching materials that are available on the Internet to enhance geography higher education, few assessments of the effectiveness of these materials exist. This symposium collects papers that provide guidelines for using the Internet effectively for teaching geography. Students must learn how to use the Internet effectively to promote learning; instructors need to learn how to use the Internet effectively to promote good practice in higher education; instructors need to learn how to use the Internet effectively to enhance learning; and higher educators need to learn how to use the Internet effectively not only in traditional classroom settings, but in new, non-traditional settings such as those used for distance learning. These papers provide some assessment of these various aspects of using the Internet for teaching geography in higher education.

 Geography;  eLearning;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: When McLuhan and Fiore (1967) boldly declared that “the medium is the message,” they were calling our attention to the subtle and complex roles of the medium in shaping our thoughts and behaviors. Today, people seem to be unable to discuss anything without mentioning the Internet-the latest electronic medium for communication. The Internet’s explosive growth during the past five years has raised numerous issues regarding fundamental geographic concepts such as space, place, and time (Adams and Warf 1997, Brunn 1998). As more geography departments offer virtual field trips, on-line courses, and even on-line degree programs, the Internet is also changing the way we teach geography (0 Tuathail and McCormack 1998). Similar to previous technical advances, the current episode has generated both enormous enthusiasm and serious concerns (Hiltz 1994, Talbott 1995, Rochlin 1996, Tapscott 1998). This special issue addresses conceptual, cognitive, and pedagogic issues in the age of the Internet, and this introduction situates the current transformation and its implications for geography and geographic education in a broader historical and conceptual context. We hope to provoke geographers to think beyond technical issues and stimulate further discussion about how the Internet will transform traditional geographic concepts and how cognitive and pedagogical theories can be incorporated into the e-merging virtual geography department.

 Geography;  eLearning;  education;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: This article critically explores how the relations between information technologies and space and place are being conceptualized in a broad swathe of recent writings and discourses on the geographies of cyberspace' and information technologies. After analysing the powerful role of spatial and territorial metaphors in anchoring current discourses about information technologies and society, the article goes on to identify three broad, dominating perspectives. These I label the perspective of substitution and transcendence' (dominated by technological Utopianists), the co-evolution' perspective (drawing from political economy and cultural studies) and the recombination' perspective (derived from recent work in actor-network theory). The discussion turns to each in turn, extracting the geographical dimensions and implications of each. The article concludes by considering the implications of the discussion for spatial treatments of societytechnology relations and for broader debates about the nature of space and place.

 Geography;  Digital Revolution;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: The potential of geographical information science (GIScience)1 to attract new students to geography has not been fully realized. Faculty attitudes about the role of GIScience in the geography curriculum, along with logistic constraints imposed by the conventional model of laboratory instruction, conspire to limit enrolment. Attitudes are changing, however, and alternative instructional models exist. This essay presents the rationale for an instructional delivery model designed to accommodate large enrolments in both resident and distance versions of an introductory GIScience course. The course-a social-science general education introduction to geographic information-emphasizes students' understanding of, and ability to articulate, the unique properties of geographic information and the social contexts in which it is produced and used. The alternative model divides laboratories into two components: discussion sessions that foster collaborative learning in small groups of students, and computer-based activities developed specifically for independent student use on personal computers ('homeware'). It is argued that the alternative model not only overcomes logistic constraints on enrolment, but is desirable on pedagogical grounds as well.

 Geography;   eLearning;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: Sorry no abstract available for this article

 Geography;  Hartshorne;   Tradition;  

Abstract: As practitioners of an integrative discipline, geographers may experience difficulty keeping abreast of current literature in several interest areas simultaneously. The problem is exacerbated by a high level of error in many citation lists, much of which may be attributable to manual transcription of references. Sophisticated bibliographic software packages available for microcomputers can help researchers maintain up-to-date, relatively error-free bibliographies. These tools are also effective for teaching the basics of on-line searching. The utility of such software is illustrated in a discussion of an inexpensive personal bibliographic package with capabilities in three broad areas: information management, data acquisition, and printing formatted reference lists.

 Geography;  bibliography manager;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: We describe a major effort by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) to develop teaching materials in support of courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The project is motivated by the current high level of demand for GIS professionals and by the need to distinguish between software training on the one hand, and education in the intellectual and conceptual basis of GIS on the other. The teaching materials were assembled from contributions by many GIS educators and tested in a number of institutions worldwide. The activities described in this article were followed by an evaluation programme during 1989-90 and culminated in the release of a revised version in the summer of 1990.

 Geography;  education;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online

Abstract: Sorry no abstract available for this article

 Geography;  education;  

Checkout More Details | Available Online