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tutorials : COSIT'03

Tutorials at COSIT feature 3-hour workshops by leading scholars on topics of interest to the field of spatial information theory. The workshops are pedagogical, designed to train as well as inform. As traditionally occurs at COSIT, the tutorials this year take place on the day before the first paper sessions. There are two simultaneous afternoon tutorials. Attendance at tutorials is kept to a small group. An additional fee for attending the tutorials is charged over and above the regular conference registration fee, as described on the registration form.

Four tutorials are on offer at COSIT'03. Tutorial 1, given by Reg Golledge, is entitled Cognitive Behavioral Geography. Tutorial 2, given by John Stell, is entitled Formalization of Geographic Space. Tutorial 4, given by Gary Allen, is entitled Research methods in spatial cognition.

Tutorial 1: Cognitive Behavioral Geography, Reg Golledge, Geography Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A.

Session A (1 1/2 hrs)
1. Rationale behind the development of behavioral geography and brief elaboration of the three themes that typified early research efforts.
2. Emergence of spatial cognition as the dominant theme: cognitive maps, cognitive mapping, and spatial products as internal and external processes and activities that revealed spatial knowledge.
3. Spatial knowledge acquisition: theories and empirical evidences.
Session B (1 1/2 hrs)
1. Spatial Thinking and Reasoning - what do they involve and how can we examine and evaluate them?
2. General findings from cognitive behavioral research: naive vs. expert understanding, errors and biases we all have to live with.
3. A spatial concept-based frame for learning about human-environment relations.

Tutorial 2: Formalization of Geographic Space, John Stell, School of Computing, University of Leeds, U.K.

The contemporary researcher in spatial information theory is faced with many apparently competing possibilities for the formalization of geographic space. These possibilities range from the well-established systems of coordinate geometry, through mereotopologies and qualitative systems which have been studied for several years, to structures, such as oriented matroids, where the application to specifically geographic space is only begining to be investigated. The aim of this tutorial is to provide an overview of the various formalisms which are available and to explore their advantages, disadvantages, and inter-relationships in the context of the description of geographic space . The tutorial will be addressed to those working in the general area of spatial information theory and will not assume specialized mathematical knowledge.

The tutorial will include a discussion of systems which address particular challenges in the representation of geographic space, such as granularity and level of detail, and also vagueness, uncertainty, and fuzziness. The specific formalisms used will include the more well-known approaches to geometry and topology, as well as less common approaches such as oriented matroids and Poston's work on fuzzy geometry.

Tutorial 4: Research Methods in Spatial Cognition: Building a Scientific Tool Kit, Gary Allen, Psychology Department, University of South Carolina, U.S.A. This tutorial will provide an overview of research methods used in the study of spatial cognition and behavior, illustrate these methods with applications from the literature, and discuss strengths and limitations associated with them. The goal is to assist investigators in gaining familiarity with methodological tools and to promote appreciation for converging lines of scientific evidence in theory-based research.

Session A (1.5 hours)

The first session is dedicated to the three dominant empirical traditions in cognitive and behavioral research plus an emergent enterprise from cognitive neuroscience.
• Behavioral Experimentation: Controlled studies in the lab and in the field.
• Psychometric Testing: Assessment of spatial abilities.
• Behavioral Observation: Spatial behavior in controlled and naturalistic settings.
• Psychophysiological Measurement: Neuroimaging during spatial cognition.

Session B (1.5 hours)

The second session is dedicated to the statistical treatment of data obtained by means of the various research methods:
• Unidimensional and multidimensional scaling.
• Main effects and simple interactions.
• Process modeling.
• Structural modeling.
• Mapping differential brain activity.