Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
understanding of the reasoning processes involved in spatio-temporal analy-
sis. As the framework keeps spatio-temporal properties and thematic proper-
ties as separate input, it is in line with the prevailing view that vision works by
two major cognitive systems, the
what
(thematic information) and
where
'
'
'
'
(spatio-temporal information) systems.
As this study built on introspection, the results are highly subjective, but,
being based on an extensive literature review, they have an objective basis.
The data used in this study were very simple, containing only points and one
thematic dimension. Furthermore, as this was an animated map, the temporal
relations were mapped as true temporal relations and not transformed into
some spatial form. Further research, including other types of data than points,
will probably complement the results of this study, but not change them
significantly. As such, the study should be seen as a proof-of-concept and a
first step towards more objectively verified results. It also contributes to
gaining a better understanding of the reasoning processes involved in
spatio-temporal analysis.
The basic relations have previously been studied in geography, AI, and
cognitive science. This study tried to combine findings from all three fields in
order to make new discoveries. The basic relations are understood by both
humans and computers and might, as such, be a key to better VA represen-
tations and tools. The different calculi of KR are a step in this direction as
they try to make computers reason more like humans, i.e. more qualitatively.
The findings of this study neither confirm nor contradict the claim that
topology is the cognitively most important spatial relation. Although distance
relations were a part of three out of the four insights, it is possible, that
cognitively these were processed through topological structures. Piaget
s
theory (Piaget and Inhelder
1956
), stating that children learn to understand
topological spatial properties first, would support this possibility. Further
research includes trying to find objective approaches to the research questions
in this study in order to verify its findings. A future goal is to develop a spatio-
temporal reasoning model based on the concepts of basic relations in space
and time.
'
References
Allen JF (1984) Towards a general theory of action and time. Artif Intell 23(2):123-154
Arias-Hernandez R, Kaastra LT, Green TM et al (2011) Pair analytics: capturing reasoning
processes in collaborative visual analytics. In: 44th Hawaii international conference on system
sciences (HICSS)
Arias-Hernandez R, Green TM, Fisher B (2012) From cognitive amplifiers to cognitive prostheses:
understandings of the material basis of cognition in visual analytics. Interdiscip Sci Rev 37
(1):4-18. doi:
10.1179/0308018812Z.0000000001
Arthur WB (1994) Inductive reasoning and bounded rationality. Am Econ Rev 84(2):406-411
