Building Objects in Time - Spatio-temporal Approaches - page 1

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Building Objects in Time
The world is composed of “things” that we conceptualize as objects “with the
purpose of building knowledge from it” [DEB 04]. Information is increasingly more
abundant. It is also available at more diverse granularity levels due to technological
progress in the field of acquisition and storage. In such a context, the possibilities of
observation are multiplying for the researcher. From this multiplication of
possibilities arises the need to choose , and especially that of clarifying the choices
made: reflection first on the objects that we consider as relevant relative to the
problems posed (conceptual dimension); choice then of the observable entities that
will allow us to study these objects of interest (empirical dimension); choice finally
of what we will observe about the characteristics and behaviors of these objects
(heuristic dimension). Therefore, the purpose is to build objects from observable
“things” in the empirical world, and to give them a meaning relative to the
problematics at stake. This path is not always as immediate as we would like. Two
concrete examples can illustrate it effectively :
E XAMPLE 1.1.- Let us suppose that the decision to build a commercial establishment
X in a city A depends on the growth of the population in this city during the last
decade. The decision maker requests three consultancy firms to estimate the
evolution of the population of city A. The first concludes with a decline, the second
with a stagnation and the third with a growth. The decision maker is then perplexed,
wondering about the respective competencies of the three consultancies, and in total
uncertainty as his/her decision. A more thorough examination of the work carried
out showed that each of the three consultancies had adopted a different definition of
what a city is : - the first consultancy firm based its measure on a political-
administrative criterion and used the evolution of the population of municipality A;
- the second used population data corresponding to the urban unit A as the French
National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) defines it, that is an
entity made up of a central commune and neighboring communes, according to a