Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
For the location A, first, the chart reconfirms that there is no stop-event on
Thursday or Friday during a 6 month period. In addition, the stop-events observed
in the location A are within a fixed time interval mostly between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
These two patterns, 5 days in a week and 8 h in a day, further reinforce our previous
indication to infer that the location A is likely to be his/her work place. On the other
hand, the stop-events in location B are found only on Wednesday and Thursday
between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The location B is a commercial area including several
shops and restaurants, and the individual's activity may be shopping or eating out
on Wednesday after work or on Thursday, which appears to be a day off work. In
addition to these daily and weekly patterns, we can identify a pattern shift over time.
Thursday's stop-events at the location B are only found in June, July, and August.
The individual activity has been shifted from Thursday to Wednesday in September
and October.
20.5.2
Track Analysis
A track consists of stops and moves. In the context of patterns of life, track analysis
aims to reveal one's routines or regularity in space and time. The consideration
includes regularity in time (e.g. leave home at 7 am for work), in space (e.g. take the
same route to work), and in activities (e.g. do grocery shopping on the way home
every Wednesday). Therefore, track analysis examines the degree to which points
of stops and moves from track to track vary in space and time. One extreme case
is a perfect match of stops and moves in space and time across all tracks for an
individual, who follows a rigid daily routine and hence exhibits an unambiguously
regular pattern of life. In such a unvarying daily routine, there is no deviance of
stops and moves between tracks, and the degree of space-time deviance should
be minimized or zero if all points of stops and moves across tracks are perfectly
matched.
The other extreme case is a total random walk, in which every location in space
and time enjoys the same probability being visited or passed by. The individual
would have no routine resulting in an accidental pattern of life. The degree of
space-time deviance would be maximized or approaching infinity depending on
the numbers of stops and moves on these tracks. Most of our patterns of life
fall in between the two extremes. Demographic characteristics (e.g. age, gender),
social-economic factors (e.g. kinds of employment, means of transportation),
local knowledge (e.g. new residents) and neighborhood effects (e.g. public safety,
restricted zones) all contribute to the development of one's pattern of life in space
and time. Nevertheless, space-time analytics of tracks to elicit patterns of life
assumes that everyone will develop regular spatial routines over time, and the
spatial routines may follow chronological cycles, e.g. hourly daily, weekly, monthly,
seasonally, or other longer cycles. Space-time deviance is then expected to fluctuate
according to these cycles.
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