Representations of Space and Time

Representations of Space and Time by Donna J. Peuquet, The Guilford Press, New York, 2002, xii+ 380 pp. cloth US$45.00 (ISBN 1-57230-773-0) One legacy of the burgeoning role of geographical information science (GISc) is that the spatial and temporal database representations currently in use have been developed mainly in response to practical needs. As such, their development has emphasised issues relating to implementation, with scant reference paid to any underlying theoretical framework. Furthermore, many representations are derivatives of data models borrowed from other fields such as geometry and cartography. In geographical information systems (GIS), the dominant representation is based on the cartographic model in which geographic space is modelled indirectly through the medium of the map. There is an increasing recognition that such representations shape both our questions and analyses. For example, the static nature of the cartographic model is partly responsible for the avoidance of space-time dynamics in GIS. These limitations become increasingly important as we struggle to make sense of the increasing volume of heterogeneous environmental information accumulating in computer networks worldwide. Clearly, new representations need to be developed. It is a major premise of Peuquet's book that computer-based, spatial-temporal representations should be informed by human cognition. Both internal and external computer forms should correspond to each other and to cognitive representations, thus facilitating the translation between the two, as well as human-computer interaction (H-C). Only when the speed, accuracy and recall of the computer are combined with the pattern recognition, information filtration, generalisation capabilities, insight and imagination of humans will the true potential of GIS be realised. In pursuit of her goal, Peuquet divides her book into two (unequal) parts, possibly reflecting her belief that the balance in H-C interaction, which was tipped heavily in the computer's direction, be reversed. Part I examines fundamental philosophical issues concerning the nature of both space and time and the nature of spatial knowledge before discussing theoretical approaches to the cognitive representation of geographic space. Part II considers computer-based geographic representations. After a brief historical overview of computer-based geographic data processing, the current state of the art and a consideration of the potential for a different, cognitively informed approach to computer modelling in Chapter 1, the remaining chapters (2-7) of Part I explore material relating to how humans acquire, store and use spatial knowledge. Chapter 2 outlines the development of concepts concerning the basic nature of space and time that are revealed to be markedly consistent over culture and history, in particular, the complementary and interdependent categories of continuous/discrete and absolute/relative space and time. In a parallel fashion, an examination of the process of acquiring knowledge of the external world and constructing of a 'world view' in Chapter 3 identifies the universality, subject to environmental and cultural influences, of this process and the resulting cumulative types of knowledge stored cognitively. The basic elements of our world view are examined in Chapter 4. Geographic space is highly dynamic and multirepresentational with knowledge acquired both directly through interacting with our environment (primary knowledge) and indirectly through communication media such as maps, language and photographs (secondary knowledge). The on-going organisation of this knowledge is achieved by acquiring an understanding of specific elements, groups of elements and generalised patterns and rules for relating them, in short, an ontology. Chapter 5 focuses on world knowledge acquired directly through a combination of sensory modes, vision, touching, and hearing, activities that are yet to be adequately duplicated by computers. …