Varenius: NCGIA's Project to Advance Geographic Information Science
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VARENIUS: NCGIA’S PROJECT TO ADVANCE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT AND INCREMENT REQUEST, DECEMBER 1997 Summary The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis is funded through its University of California, Santa Barbara, site to carry out a new program of research and agenda-setting in the area of geographic information science. Funding is provided by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement SBR 96-00465. This report summarizes progress from the inception of the project, February 15, 1997, through the end of November 1997, a period of just over nine months, and is submitted in accordance with the requirements of the cooperative agreement. It requests the second increment of funding for the project, for the period 2/1/98 through 1/31/99. The first section summarizes the progress made in setting up the project, recruiting members for the Strategic Area Panels, setting topics and dates for the Specialist Meetings, and initiating the Advisory Board. The second section reports on activities of the National Center for the period 1/1/97 through 11/30/97, a period of transition between activities under the cooperative agreement which had funded NCGIA since its inception in 1988 (SBR 88-10917) and the Varenius project. The appendices to this section include reports of publications, visitors, courses taught, and degrees granted. 1 2 ANNUAL REPORT AND INCREMENT REQUEST, DECEMBER 1997...............................................1 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................1 ANNUAL REPORT FOR VARENIUS: NCGIA’S PROJECT TO ADVANCE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE..........................................................................................................................7 INTRODUCTION: THE VARENIUS PROJECT....................................................................................................7 Cognitive Models of Geographic Space.................................................................................................7 Computational Implementations of Geographic Concepts....................................................................8 Geographies of the Information Society.................................................................................................8 ESTABLISHING THE PROJECT STRUCTURE.....................................................................................................9 Executive Committee..............................................................................................................................9 Advisory Board.......................................................................................................................................9 Strategic Area Panels...........................................................................................................................10 Seed Grants..........................................................................................................................................10 Specialist Meetings...............................................................................................................................10 Visiting Scholars...................................................................................................................................10 PANEL REPORT: COGNITIVE MODELS OF GEOGRAPHIC SPACE.............................................11 PANEL CHAIR AND MEMBERS..............................................................................................................11 1. SUMMARY OF THE GOALS OF VARENIUS IN THIS AREA AS ABSTRACTED FROM THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL (OCTOBER 1995):......................................................................................................................11 2. NON-VARENIUS EVENTS RELATED TO COGNITIVE MODELS OF GEOGRAPHIC SPACE, SINCE OCTOBER 1995...........................................................................................................................................................11 Specialist meeting of NCGIA Initiative 21, October 1996 (www.geog.buffalo.edu/ncgia/i21/)...........11 Other important events:........................................................................................................................11 3. PROGRESS WITHIN VARENIUS................................................................................................................12 Panel meeting, May 1997.....................................................................................................................12 Formulation of proposed initiatives, and presentation to Advisory Board, August 1997....................12 Progress since August:.........................................................................................................................16 4. ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH PROGRESS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE VARENIUS PERTINENT TO COGNITIVE MODELS OF GEOGRAPHIC SPACE, RELATIVE TO THE RESEARCH AGENDA AS SET OUT IN THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL OF OCTOBER 1995....................................................................................................................16 PANEL REPORT: COMPUTATIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS. 18 1. SUMMARY OF THE GOALS OF VARENIUS IN THIS AREA AS ABSTRACTED FROM THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL (OCTOBER 1995):......................................................................................................................18 2. NON-VARENIUS EVENTS RELATED TO COMPUTATIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS, SINCE OCTOBER 1995..............................................................................................................18 3. PROGRESS WITHIN VARENIUS................................................................................................................19 4. ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH PROGRESS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE VARENIUS PERTINENT TO COMPUTATIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS, RELATIVE TO THE RESEARCH AGENDAS AS SET OUT IN THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL OF OCTOBER 1995:...............................................................22 PANEL REPORT: GEOGRAPHIES OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY........................................24 PANEL CHAIR AND MEMBERS.....................................................................................................................24 1. SUMMARY OF THE GOALS OF VARENIUS IN THIS AREA AS ABSTRACTED FROM THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL (OCTOBER 1995):......................................................................................................................24 2. NON-VARENIUS EVENTS RELATED TO GEOGRAPHIES OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY, SINCE OCTOBER 1995...........................................................................................................................................................25 Specialist meeting of NCGIA Initiative 19, March 1996 (http:www.geo.wvu.edu/i19/).......................25 Spatial technologies, geographic information and the city..................................................................26 Law, Information Policy and Spatial Databases..................................................................................26 Socio-economic research within the European Science Foundation’s GISDATA program..................26 3 Public participation GIS.......................................................................................................................27 URISA 1997..........................................................................................................................................27 CAGIS special issue.............................................................................................................................27 Planned meetings 1998:.......................................................................................................................27 On-line working group:........................................................................................................................28 3. PROGRESS WITHIN VARENIUS................................................................................................................28 Meeting of experts, March 1997...........................................................................................................28 Selection of panel members..................................................................................................................28 Panel meeting, May 1997.....................................................................................................................28 Formulation of proposed initiatives, and presentation to Advisory Board (8/97)................................29 Progress since August: ‘Place’ and ‘Access’ initiatives......................................................................31 Progress since August: PPGIS.............................................................................................................32 GISOC ‘99............................................................................................................................................32 4. ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH PROGRESS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE VARENIUS PERTINENT TO GEOGRAPHIES OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY, RELATIVE TO THE RESEARCH AGENDA AS SET OUT IN THE NCGIA NSF PROPOSAL OF OCTOBER 1995....................................................................................................................32 REPORT ON OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................33