Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Qualitative representation of change

  • Representation of Change
  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Spatial Information Theory A Theoretical Basis for GIS (COSIT 1997)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1329))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 301 Accesses

Abstract

Current geographic information systems (GISs) have been designed for querying and maintaining static databases representing static phenomena and give little support to those users who wish to represent dynamic information or incorporate temporality into their studies. In order to integrate phenomena that change over space and time in GISs, a better understanding of the underlying components of change and how people reason about change is needed. This paper focuses on a qualitative representation of change. It offers a classification of change based on object identity and the set of operations that either preserve or change identity. These operations can be applied to single or composite objects and combined to express the semantics of sequences of change. An iconic, visual language is developed to represent the various types of change and applied to examples to illustrate the application of this language. Such a formalization of the basic components of change lays the foundation for a new generation of formal models that captures the semantics of change and leads to improved interoperability between GISs and process models or simulation software.

This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation for the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis under NSF grant number SBR-8810917. Max Egenhofer's research is further supported through NSF grants SBR-8810917, IRI-9309230, IRI-9613646, SBR-9700465, and BDI-9723873; grants from Rome Laboratory under grant number F30602-95-1-0042 and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency under grant number NMA202-97-1-1023; and a Massive Digital Data Systems contract sponsored by the Advanced Research and Development Committee of the Community Management Staff.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackerman, E. (1994). Simulation of micropopulations in epidemiology: Tutorial 1. Simulation: an introduction, International Journal of Bio-Medical Computing 36: 229–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Taha, K. and R. Barrera (1994). Identities through time. In: M. Ehlers and D. Steiner (eds.), Proceedings of an International Workshop on Requirements for Integrated GIS, New Orleans, LA, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM), pp. 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Taha, K. and R. Barrera (1990). Temporal data and GIS: An overview. GIS/LIS '90, Anaheim, CA, pp. 244–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, M. (1988). Temporality in spatial databases. GISILIS '88, San Antonio, TX, pp. 880–889.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonfatti, F. and L. Pazzi (1995). Ontological foundations for state and identity within the object-oriented paradigm. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 43:891–906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catarci, T., G. Santucci, and M. Angelaccio (1993). Fundamental graphical primitives for visual query languages. Information Systems 18(2): 75–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, P. (1976). The Entity-Relationship Model-toward a unified view of data. ACM Transactions on Database Systems 1(1): 9–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chrisman, N. (1997). Beyond the snapshot: changing the approach to change, error, and process. In: M. Egenhofer and R. Golledge (eds.), Spatial and Temporal Reasoning in Geographic Information Systems. New York, NY, Oxford University Press, pp. 87–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claramunt, C. and M. Thèriault (1996). Toward semantics for modelling spatiotemporal processes within GIS. In: M. Kraak and M. Molenaar (eds.), 7th International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, Delft, The Netherlands, pp. 2.27–2.43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claramunt, C. and M. Thèriault (1995). Managing time in GIS: an event-oriented approach. In: J. Clifford and A. Tuzhilin (eds.), Recent Advances in Temporal Databases. Berlin, Springer-Verlag. pp. 23–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K., J. Brass, and P. Riggan (1994). A cellular automaton model of wildfire propagation and extinction. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 60(11): 1355–1367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cliff, A., P. Haggett, and D. Stroup (1992). The geographic structure of measles epidemics in the Northeastern United States. American Journal of Epidemiology 136(5): 592–602.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cliff, A., P. Haggett, J. Ord, and G. Versey (1981). Spatial Diffusion: An Historical Geography of Epidemics in an Island Community, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiBiase, D., A. MacEachren, J. Krygier, and C. Reeves (1992). Animation and the role of map design in scientific visualization. Cartography and Geographic Information Systems 19(4): 201–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egenhofer, M. and J. Herring (1990). A mathematical framework for the definition of topological relationships. In: K. Brassel and H. Kishimoto (eds), Fourth International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, Zurich, Switzerland, International Geographic Union, pp. 803–813.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egenhofer, M. and R. Golledge (1997). Spatial and Temporal Reasoning in Geographic Information Systems. New York, NY, Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, A. (1994). Qualitative temporal reasoning in GIS-ordered time scales. In: T. Waugh and R. Healey (eds.), Sixth International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp. 410–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, A. (1996). Qualitative spatial reasoning: cardinal directions as an example, International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 10(3): 269–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helm, R., K. Marriott, and M. Odersky (1991). Building visual language parsers. In: (eds.), CHI '91, pp. 105–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kainz, W., M. Egenhofer, and I. Greasley (1993). Modelling spatial relations and operations with partially ordered sets. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 7(3): 215–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khoshafian, S., and R. Abnous (1995). Object Orientation: Concepts, Analysis and Design, Languages, Databases, Graphical User Interfaces, Standards. New York, NY, John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khoshafian, S. and A. Baker (1996). Multimedia and Imaging Databases. San Francisco, CA, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khoshafian, S. and G. Copeland (1986). Object identity. SIGPLAN Notices 21: 406–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, W., Ed. (1995). Modern Database Systems: The Object Model, Interoperability, and Beyond. New York, NY, ACM Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, W., J. Banerjee, H-T. Chou, J. Garza, and D. Woelk (1987). Composite object support in an object-oriented database system, OOPSLA'87 Proceedings, Special Issue of SIGPLAN Notices 22(12): 118–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langran, G. (1992). Time in Geographic Information Systems. Bristol, PA, Taylor & Francis Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurini, R. and D. Thompson (1992). Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems. London, UK, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peuquet, D. (1994). It's about time: a conceptual framework for the representation of temporal dynamics in geographic information systems. Annals of the Association ofAmerican Geographers 84(3): 441–461.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raper, J. and D. Livingstone (1995). Development of a geomorphological spatial model using object-oriented design. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 9(4): 359–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiel, U. (1989). Abstractions in semantic networks: axiom schemata for generalization. SIGART Newsletter 107: 25–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoham, Y. (1988). Reasoning about Change. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sleezer, A. (1994). Direct Manipulation of Temporally Constrained Activities for Geographic Modelling. Master's Thesis, Department of Surveying Engineering. Orono, ME, University of Maine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. (1995). On drawing lines on a map. In: A. Frank and W. Kuhn (eds.), COSIT '95, Semmering, Austria, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 475–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. (1996). On the Origin of Objects. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. and D. Smith (1977). Database abstractions: aggregation. Communications of the ACM 20(6): 405–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worboys, M. (1994). Object-oriented approaches to geo-referenced information. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 8(4): 385–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J. and R. Lathrop (1995). Improving simulation accuracy of spread phenomenon in a raster-based geographic information system. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 9(2): 153–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, M. (1994). Wildfire conceptual modeling for building GIS space-time models. Proceedings of GISILIS '94 Phoenix, AZ, pp. 860–869.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, University of Maine, ME 04469-5711, Orono, USA

    Kathleen Homsby & Max J. Egenhofer

  2. Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering, University of Maine, ME 04469-5711, Orono, USA

    Kathleen Homsby & Max J. Egenhofer

Authors
  1. Kathleen Homsby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Max J. Egenhofer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Stephen C. Hirtle Andrew U. Frank

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Homsby, K., Egenhofer, M.J. (1997). Qualitative representation of change. In: Hirtle, S.C., Frank, A.U. (eds) Spatial Information Theory A Theoretical Basis for GIS. COSIT 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1329. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-63623-4_40

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-63623-4_40

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-63623-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69616-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics