Vienna 2003 | Schedule

ECAI Session 3 - Where, when and why:
Time and Space in ResearchTime and Space in Research

Ian N. Gregory Chair

Karen Kemp, "Classifying time and space with GIS"

This paper outlines various approaches using geographical information system technology to handle space and time. Specific methodologies are determined by resources in terms of staff, time and core materials and the research aims of a project.

Ruth Mostern and Michael Buckland, "Toward a Gazetteer Clearinghouse for Distributed Historical and Cultural Content"

Specialized gazetteers are being developed on a wide range of historical and cultural subject areas: from Chinese Buddhism, to classical Mediterranean settlements, to Central Asian mountain passes, to administrative units in Iran during the Sasanian empire. Gazetteers are an essential part of an information architecture for time and place based research on culture, offering the only way to link toponym-rich resources with map displays. However, it is inconceivable that any single gazetteer will be able to meet the needs of scholars working on diverse and sometimes (to outsiders) abstruse research areas. For this reason, ECAI is developing a clearinghouse of gazetteers that can be searched and used together. This paper introduces some of the solutions and challenges raised by that project. It will touch on the following areas: the need for generic thesauri to map between feature types and named time periods in specialist gazetteers, the development of both “best” and “minimally acceptable” standards, management of multilingual content, and requirements for IT architecture.

Merrick Lex Berman, "Integration of Multilingual Gazetteer Data"

Using several different historical map sources and datasets, the CHGIS project has begun to integrate extracted features from these sources into a single digital gazetteer. Practical observations on spatial and temporal uncertainty, feature type scheme integration, romanization and alternate names will be offered for the discussion.

David Bodenhamer, "Moving through Time"

Geographic information systems is well suited to handling movement in space but not movement through time. This problem inhibits the use of GIS by many scholars in the humanities and social sciences. What are the fundamental problems that must be addressed for GIS to be a preferred technology for these scholars and what are some potential strategies for solving them? This paper also will suggest the epistemological and methodological implications of these solutions for the humanities and social sciences.

Ian Gregory, "Analysis in Space and Time"

One frequently stated advantage of GIS is its ability to analyse data. In reality, GIS software has only very limited analytical capabilities so users must devise their own means of analysing spatial and temporal data within a GIS environment. This can be regarded as an opportunity as, rather than relying on “off-the-shelf” solutions offered by software vendors, researchers have to develop their own analytic procedures. This is particularly true in the arts and humanities where techniques devised in the earth and social sciences are unlikely to be appropriate. Indeed, even the word “analysis” has different connotations when crossing this divide. This paper presents a brief overview of some of the principles that a researcher should bear in mind when devising analytic methodologies in the arts and humanities.