Alfredo Covaleda,
Bogota, Colombia
Stephen Guerin,
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
James A. Trostle,
Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Once again, O'Reilly's Radar tips us to an interesting application of cell phone GPS data, this time to illustrate daily traffic activity in Rome.
Real Time Rome: Using Cellphones To Model a City's Movements
Posted: 02 Jul 2007 01:14 PM CDT
By Brady Forrest
MIT's Senseable City Lab is using cellphone data to model Rome's populations. The project is called Real Time Rome. It is an exhibit at architecture conference La Biennale di Venezia's show Global Cities (shown Sept 10 – Nov 19 2006).
There are descriptions about the exhibit from an MIT article about the exhibit:
Real Time Rome features seven large animations, projected on transparent plexiglass screens. One screen shows traffic congestion around the city, while another screen shows the exact movements of all the city's buses and taxis. Another screen is able to track Romans celebrating major events like the World Cup or the city's annual White Nights festival (Notte Bianca, which will happen on Sept. 9, the evening before the Biennale's architecture exhibition opening). Additional screens show how tourists use urban spaces and how cars and pedestrians move about the city.
and how the data was collected:
Ratti's team obtains its data anonymously from cell phones, GPS devices on buses and taxis, and other wireless mobile devices, using advanced algorithms developed by Telecom Italia, the principal sponsor of the project. These algorithms are able to discern the difference between, say, a mobile phone signal from a user who is stuck in traffic and one that is sitting in the pocket of a pedestrian wandering down the street. Data are made anonymous and aggregated from the beginning, so there are no implications for individual privacy.
This certainly would be a more cost-effective method of gathering traffic data for determining commute times. Imagine if predictive systems could prepare us for the onslaught of traffic from a baseball game just letting out by watching the fans head towards there care. Or let us know that a highway is about to be flooded by traffic from a side road. Would you put up with your location being (formally) tracked in exchange for this service?
[BBC via Data Mining]
A recent article worth a look over by the journalism community. What we do DOES have impact.
Juan Carlos González-Avella, Mario G. Cosenza, Konstantin Klemm, Víctor M. Eguíluz and Maxi San Miguel (2007) “Information Feedback and Mass Media Effects in Cultural Dynamics” Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation vol. 10, no. 3 9 PDF at http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/10/3/9.html Received: 11-Jan-2007 Accepted: 18-May-2007 Published: 30-Jun-2007 ________________________________ Abstract We study the effects of different forms of information feedback associated with mass media on an agent-agent based model of the dynamics of cultural dissemination. In addition to some processes previously considered, we also examine a model of local mass media influence in cultural dynamics. Two mechanisms of information feedback are investigated: (i) direct mass media influence, where local or global mass media act as an additional element in the network of interactions of each agent, and (ii) indirect mass media influence, where global media acts as a filter of the influence of the existing network of interactions of each agent. Our results generalize previous findings showing that cultural diversity builds up by increasing the strength of the mass media influence. We find that this occurs independently of the mechanisms of action (direct or indirect) of the mass media message. However, through an analysis of the full range of parameters measuring cultural diversity, we establish that the enhancement of cultural diversity produced by interaction with mass media only occurs for strong enough mass media messages. In comparison with previous studies a main different result is that weak mass media messages, in combination with agent-agent interaction, are efficient in producing cultural homogeneity. Moreover, the homogenizing effect of weak mass media messages is more efficient for direct local mass media messages than for global mass media messages or indirect global mass media influences. Keywords: Agent Based Model, Culture, Dissemination, Mass Media
Steve Bass, a columnist at PC World, points us to this fascinating exhibit of the work of “statistical artist” (Is that a term of art?) Chris Jordan.
“Running the Numbers An American Self-Portrait This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. My only caveat about this series is that the prints must be seen in person to be experienced the way they are intended. As with any large artwork, their scale carries a vital part of their substance which is lost in these little web images. Hopefully the JPEGs displayed here might be enough to arouse your curiosity to attend an exhibition, or to arrange one if you are in a position to do so. The series is a work in progress, and new images will be posted as they are completed, so please stay tuned. ~chris jordan, Seattle, 2007 This series will be exhibited at the Von Lintel Gallery in New York from June 14th to the end of July. Opening reception on June 14th. More info at www.vonlintel.com.”
From Ian Bogost's site, Watercooler Games: http://www.watercoolergames.org/archives/000794.shtml
The New York Times Publishes Our Newsgames May 24, 2007 – by Ian Bogost
Today, one of my videogames is on the front page of the Gray Lady.
Almost four years ago, Gonzalo suggested “newsgames” as a genre that intersects videogames and political cartoons. Last year, my studio Persuasive Games took our own take on this genre with The Arcade Wire series (Airport Security, Oil God, Bacteria Salad, Xtreme Xmas Shopping), published by AddictingGames.com/Shockwave.com. Those games enjoyed considerable success, tallying at least 10 million plays or so. But Shockwave is still a gaming site, reaching gamers, not necessarily reaching ordinary citizens more broadly. And that's what news and editorial should do.
Today, I'm excited to announce that Persuasive Games has a new publishing relationship with The New York Times, in which they will be publishing newsgames we create on their op-ed page, as editorial content, not just as games. This is unprecedented, and at the risk of tooting my own horn, I think it represents another important shift in videogames as a medium. This is news/editorial in videogame form, rather than videogames trying to make news fun. The fact that the Times is often considered the national newspaper of record makes this moment even more notable, and gratifying.
The first game is Food Import Folly. The game is about the experience of extremely limited FDA inspection on food imports, and just what that scarcity of resources actually feels like. To play, you have to be a paid TimesSelect subscriber (NY Times puts all their editorial content behind the TimesSelect subscription wall). There's more info and screenshots on the Persuasive Games website.
Like most of our newsgames, timeliness was an important consideration. Food Import Folly was created in a week's time. Congrats to my team at Persuasive Games for their hard work. And look for more of our newsgames in the newspaper, in the near future.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/pittsburgh2007/index.html
The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis techniques have become prominent tools for analyzing criminal behavior and the impacts of the criminal justice system on society. Classical and spatial statistics have been merged to form more comprehensive approaches in understanding social problems from research and practical standpoints. These methods allow for the measurement of proximity effects on places by neighboring areas that lead to a multi-dimensional and less static understanding of factors that contribute to or repel crime across space.
The Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference will focus on the use and development of methodologies for practitioners and researchers. The MAPS Program is anticipating the selection of key accepted presentations for further development of an electronic monograph on GIS, Spatial Data Analysis and the Study of Crime in the following year. Its purpose will be to demonstrate the fusing of classical and spatial analysis techniques to enhance policy decisions. Methods should not be limited to the use of classical and spatial statistics but also demonstrate the unique capabilities of GIS in preparing, categorizing and visualization of data for analysis.
The Crime Mapping Research Conference is about more than mapping crime locations. Participants will discuss a range of issues including policy decisions, research methods to identify and dispel hot spots, and other applied practice solutions. The conference is about the study of society and elements of mapping technology that contribute to both crime and justice.
Conference presentations and proceedings now available.
The conference will include workshop and panel sessions, as well as some plenary sessions. One plenary session will be about the “Coming Wave of GPS”. The conference also includes a Map competition, Pre-conference workshops, and provides an excellent opportunity for researchers and practitioners to network with each other.
From All Points Blog
University of Southern California students developed the online game for the Annenburg Center for Communications to teach about the challenges (and partisanness) of redistricting. Along the way players learn that to keep their candidates elected they may need to examine ethical issues. The game is Flash-based.
From the [original News 10] site: The Redistricting Game is designed to educate, engage, and empower citizens around the issue of political redistricting. Currently, the political system in most states allows the state legislators themselves to draw the lines. This system is subject to a wide range of abuses and manipulations that encourage incumbents to draw districts which protect their seats rather than risk an open contest.
From O'Reilly Radar:
ACM GIS 2007 CFP Extended
Posted: 12 Jun 2007 11:46 AM CDT
The 2007 ACM International Symposium on Advances in GIS will be in Seattle from November 7th to the 9th. As they describe themselves:
The ACM International Symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems in 2007 (ACM GIS 2007) is the fifteenth event of a series of symposia and workshops that began in 1993 with the aim of bringing together researchers, developers, users, and practitioners carrying out research and development in novel systems based on geo-spatial data and knowledge, and fostering interdisciplinary discussions and research in all aspects of geographic information systems. The symposium provides a forum for original research contributions covering all conceptual, design, and implementation aspects of GIS and ranging from applications, user interface considerations, and visualization down to storage management and indexing issues. This year, a novelty is that ACM GIS has separated from its long-time host conference in order to become independent and more visible to the GIS community, further expand the spectrum of research topics covered by the symposium, and grow over the next years.
If this looks like something you would like to be a part of the deadline for submitting papers has been extended. The program from last year looks very academic. I wonder if reaching out through blogs (like this one) if they'll get some more real world talks. The topics (after the jump) are wide-ranging and quite fascinating (no wonder both Microsoft and Google are sponsoring). I'll be looking at the proceedings to get ideas and speakers for Where 2.0 2008.
Once again, O'Reilly's Radar tips us to a fine posting related to JAGIS (Journalism and GIS), this one regarding the challenge of generating change-over-time in urban areas.
Stamen's Map for Trulia
Posted: 12 Jun 2007 12:22 AM CDT
Trulia's new Hindsight Map is a beautiful, animated visualization of the development history of US cities and towns. With it, you can watch entire towns and cities grow. In Seattle, you can watch the city grow starting in year 1900. Trulia is a real estate search engine (much like Zillow). Stamen Design, known for their work on CabSpotting and in Digg Labs, built the map for Trulia using their new Flash mapping library, Modest Maps. Tom Carden and Shawn Allen of Stamen released and demoed Hindsight at Where 2.0.
Tom sent me the following notes on Hindsight and Modest Maps:
Time has been one of the missing dimensions in online maps, but recently it has become a common thing to add. Outside.in (Radar post) recently added the fourth dimension with their ability to track geographic stories over time. Google Earth (info) added the ability to “play” GPS traces. Hindsight really has me wondering about the applications of time-phased maps beyond analysis. In situations like Katrina (See Mikel Maron's post on the maps of Katrina) and the Maze Meltdown (See SF Chronicle article on the Maze) where there are rapid changes to roads this would especially helpful. To get your mind around changes, you need to be able to compare. I wonder if we can expect this to come from the major portals.
A recent post from the FreeGis group at Google. Looks to be a fine solution to a decade-old challenge. ————— Free Toolbar available from the TerraGo download link. MAP2PDF provides an easy to use and affordable solution for distributing GIS data to non-GIS users. By leveraging Adobe Acrobat, GeoPDF as portable mapping format, allows for the creation and publishing of layered Georegistered maps that can be accessed at no cost by non-GIS users. – Sat 9 Jun 2007 15:21 1 message, 1 author http://groups.google.com/group/freeGIS/t/9672fdc5d31e958b
