More about the session:

This session aims to bring together researchers to report on progress in diverse types of modelling that has direct impacts on a variety of policy domains.  We encourage the submission of papers that present novel use of new or established methodologies using GIS or bespoke models.  We are particularly interested in policy applications in the area of health, population dynamics, crime/security, urban planning and retail.  We intend to represent the interdisciplinary nature of policy research and analysis with a focus on geographic tools and methods.

Papers may include, but are not limited to: 

• Estimating and projecting populations and components of demographic change
• Understanding spatial patterns of crime and issues of security
• Models for decision support and urban sustainability
• Modelling different patterns of individual behaviour
• Spatial modelling/estimating disease prevalence in small areas
• Modelling the impact of policy change on retail networks 

The conveners are in discussion with the Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy journal to publish high quality submissions in a special edition. 

The GIScRG will provide one bursary for this session, sponsored by the GIScRG for a paper (co-)authored by a postgraduate student; priority will be given to postgraduate students also delivering the paper. The bursary will cover the reduced conference fee for the student for the duration of the conference. It is a requirement that the student is an RGS-IBG Postgraduate Fellow at the time the bursary is awarded [Annual membership costs from £27 (with no joining fee)].

Titles, abstracts (no longer than 250 words) and 5 key words, should be emailed to Dianna Smith (dianna.m.smith[AT]gmail.com), Adam Dennett (a.dennett[AT]ucl.ac.uk) and Alison Heppenstall (a.j.heppenstall[AT]leeds.ac.uk) by Friday 16th December 2011. Notification of acceptance will be given by mid-January 2012.

More about the session:

This session aims to bring together researchers to report on progress in diverse types of automata systems in social simulation. We encourage the submission of theoretical, experimental, methodological and application papers related to Cellular Automata (CA) and Agent‐Based Modelling (ABM). Papers may include, but are not limited to: 

• Artificial social systems.
• Agents and social networks.
• Modelling complexity in social simulations.
• Large scale social simulation.
• Social behaviour, social actions and interactions.
• Models of competition, cooperation and negotiation.
• Multi‐agent evolution: adaptation and learning.
• Hybrid automata models.
• Validation and verification of simulation results and simulation systems.
• Novel approaches to visualisation 

The GIScRG will provide one bursary for this session, sponsored by the GIScRG for a paper (co-)authored by a postgraduate student; priority will be given to postgraduate students also delivering the paper. The bursary will cover the reduced conference fee for the student for the duration of the conference. It is a requirement that the student is an RGS-IBG Postgraduate Fellow at the time the bursary is awarded [Annual membership costs from £27 (with no joining fee)].

Titles and abstracts (no longer than 250 words) should be emailed to Alison Heppenstall (a.j.heppenstall[AT]leeds.ac.uk), Mike Batty (m.batty[AT]ucl.ac.uk) and Mark Birkin (m.h.birkin[AT]leeds.ac.uk) by Friday 16th December 2011. Notification of acceptance will be given by mid-January 2012.

More about the session:

Geospatial technologies are an important component of transport geography and transport applications, and increasingly influence everyday mobilities through vehicle navigation systems as well as location-based services on personal mobile devices. In this session we seek contributions across the range of geographers interested in GIS and GPS uses in a transport context, whether conducting mobilities-related research, mainstream transport geography, qualitative uses of GIS, or creating innovations in integrated and Intelligent Transport Systems. We are interested in concepts that motivate this work as well as the particular methodological and substantive aspects of this field. Please note that this session is focusing on people’s mobilities and private/public transport rather than freight.

Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• state-of-the-art in space-time analysis and visualisation beyond GIS;
• ‘born-digital’ mobility data and the digital security of everyday mobility traces;
• difference and transport;
• documentary practices of everyday mobilities with qualitative GIS;
• development of location-based services and impacts on mobilities;
• inaccuracy issues and integrity of positioning information in integrated transport systems (including GIS/GPS/mapping/digitisation/cartographic errors).

The GIScRG will provide one bursary for this session, sponsored by the GIScRG for a paper (co-)authored by a postgraduate student; priority will be given to postgraduate students also delivering the paper. The bursary will cover the reduced conference fee for the student for the duration of the conference. It is a requirement that the student is an RGS-IBG Postgraduate Fellow at the time the bursary is awarded [Annual membership costs from £27 (with no joining fee)].

Titles and abstracts (no longer than 250 words) should be emailed to Seraphim Alvanides (s.alvanides[AT]gmail.com), Kate Pangbourne (k.pangbourne[AT]abdn.ac.uk) and Matthew W.Wilson (matthew.w.wilson[AT]uky.edu) by Friday 16th December 2011. Notification of acceptance will be given by mid-January 2012.

The “Open Government” workshop will bring together speakers from across industry, research and academia to contribute towards some of the fundamental theoretical and technical questions emerging in the Open Data space (i.e., how to mark up and release open data; licensing models for governments; conflicts between data protection and transparency and structuring access to data by different groups). The session will be a series of presented papers with a lively explorative session which will inform, provoke and encourage discussion.

Proceedings of the Seattle and Nottingham workshops and selected longer papers will be published in a special issue of the open-access International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructure Research published by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

Registration for the OSGIS and workshop will commence shortly.  If you require any further information regarding the workshop please contact either Dr. Hanif Rahemtulla, Horizon Digital Economy Research at the University of Nottingham (hanif.rahemtulla[AT]nottingham.ac.uk) or Puneet Kishor, Creative Commons (punkish[AT]creative commons.org].

More about the session:

“The term “Open Data” refers to the philosophical and methodological approach to the democratization of data enabling citizens to access and create value through the reuse of public sector information. Today, Open Data is gathering momentum and forms part of a global movement linked to Open Access and comparable to other Open movements such as Open Source. To date, this movement is being led by government institutions in the UK, USA and Australia through pioneering initiatives such as Data.Gov and the London DataStore. These initiatives, which are being replicated across cities, states and countries (i.e., Open Toronto and New Zealand Open Data Catalogue) provide access to “non-sensitive government datasets, at no cost, to citizens, citizen groups, non-governmental-organisations (NGOs) and businesses” (Lauriault, 2008).

The Open Data Initiative will, it is envisaged, support greater transparency and accountability within Government and create new economic and social value (see Oxera Study, 1999; Cambridge Study, 2008). Furthermore, as O’Reilly (2009) and others argue, the advent of Open Data will fundamentally change the nature by which citizens interact with government. Specifically, the release of public data online and public APIs (which is already underway in some places) will create a platform supporting the development of third-party communication applications outside of government (Headd, 2010). This it is expected will provide a vehicle for expanding public outreach and enhancing public engagement leading to “a more responsive and citizen-focused government” (Madera, 2009).

Today, the Open Data movement has created great excitement in the developer community with a seemingly endless stream of novel and innovative applications, tools and visualizations that repurposes and enriches public data – and has lead to some of the most exciting developments in mobile GIS, web-cartography and LBS in recent years.

However, while Open Data gives rise to a many new opportunities it also poses many challenges. As Boyd (2010) states, access to public information to promote transparency represents only the first step to a more informed citizenry. The success of Open Data will depend in part upon addressing existing barriers to access which encompasses issues such as digital inclusion and information literacy. As such, there is much work still to do to make this promised future happen.

This Special Session aims to bring together some of the key developers, academics and writers on Open Data to document its lineage, debate its philosophy and methods and to envision its future. Contributions are welcome from any source, and in any style appropriate to the arguments being made.”

The session will be a series of presented papers with a lively explorative session in which the four/five scholars will debate about alternative interpretations/methods/solutions within this emerging research area on Open Data.

For more information, please contact the session convenors, Hanif Rahemtulla (Hanif.Rahemtulla[AT]nottingham.ac.uk) and/or Paul Longley (plongley[AT]geog.ucl.ac.uk). Please send abstracts (350 words max.) and key words to Hanif Rahemtulla, by 20^th February 2011.

Further details about the conference can be found here.

More about the session:

“This session is concerned with the research agenda related to the role natural, social and physical environments have on health related behaviours. The connection between these spatial and the social elements plays a vital role in developing more liveable, sustainable and resilient communities. We would like to call for papers in line with the following topics:

* Exploring the implications of current environments on the health and well-being of different groups and communities
* New methods for measuring and visualizing environmental indicators, people’s behaviour and the relationships between them
* Innovative methods for promoting healthy and active lifestyles
* Evidence based policy recommendations in relation to healthy living environments and behaviour.”

The session will take the form of 5 presented papers. Each will be 20-25 minutes including time for questions.

For more information, please contact the session convenors, Yi Gong (GongY2[AT]cardiff.ac.uk) and/or Catherine (Kate) Jones (Kate.Jones[AT]port.ac.uk). Please send abstracts (350 words max.) to the session convenors, by 20^th February 2011.

Further details about the conference can be found here.

The organising committee for the European Colloquium of Quantitative and Theoretical Geography (ECQTG2011) would like to invite submissions of abstracts for their 17^th conference, to take place at the Harokopio University of Athens, Greece, from the 2^nd – 5^th September 2011. The conference is formally organised by the Greek Society for Demographic Studies.

The colloquium is principally concerned with recent advances in the areas of Quantitative and Theoretical Geography, and welcomes the contribution of high quality, original submissions. Presentations may describe work of methodological theoretical interest, either recently completed or in progress. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Applications of spatial data analysis and geostatistics
• Statistical inference
• Space-time processes in regional science
• Geographical flows and networks
• Population dynamics
• Urban dynamics and growth
• Economic geography and the spatial economy
• Natural resource management and risk analysis
• Spatial processes related to Renewable Energy and the Green Economy
• Climate change
• Health geography and epidemiology
• Cellular automata, multi-agent systems and cooperative phenomena
• Spatial data visualisation
• Innovative and inter-disciplinary methods for spatial data
• Epistemological issues in quantitative geography

Proposals for special sessions, including named proposals among participants, are welcome.

Please email your abstract (as an e-mail attachment, 1 page maximum) to ecqtg[AT]gisc.gr by 30^th March 2011. Abstracts for special sessions should also be submitted to the session organiser.

Further details about the conference can be found at http://gisc.gr/ecqtg11.

Sessions may take the form of presented papers, panels, practitioner forums, discussions or workshops. Innovative sessions and formats are encouraged. Sessions are 1 hour 40 minutes long. Most sessions will contain five 20-minute presentations, which includes time for questions, or four 20-minute presentations with discussion and questions at the end. Interactive short papers sessions (5 to 10 min presentations with plenary discussion at the end) usually accommodate up to 8 papers.

To apply for a GIScRG sponsored session, please send your session proposal (max 500 words), the name of the session convenor(s) and the session format (e.g. panel, paper session, discussion) to Yi Gong (Yi.gong[AT]manchester.ac.uk) by 24th November 2010.

More about the conference theme:

“Visualisation, mapping, environmental reconstruction, landscape symbolism, terrain modelling, place picturing, virtual worlds, visionary worlds, cultural ecologies,  climatic scenarios, patterned ground, sites of representation, image making, theory building, field observation…so many subjects and methods, topics and technologies, across the broad spectrum of geography, are powerfully shaped by a geographical imagination.�
The conference will explore many dimensions of the geographical imagination, including its histories and futures, meanings and materials, pleasures and politics, practices and effects.  We welcome sessions and papers on the place of the imagination in geography’s many fields of enquiry, including multi-disciplinary fields within and beyond geography, and those which engage with a wider public.�
Contributors are invited to address both traditional and experimental aspects of the geographical imagination, its down to earthness as well as its sense of adventure, its role in creating factual, measurable and practical knowledge as well as conjectural and speculative findings.  We also welcome contributions that explore the geographical imagination as a medium of communication and dissemination, crossing communities within and beyond geography, and its role in making an impact in a wider world.”

Further details about the conference can be found here.

emerging issues and possible futures

An international conference

Cardiff University, 2^nd – 4^th August 2010

Qualitative GIS is an emerging, mixed-method and interdisciplinary research approach that is attracting interest across a range of disciplines. The early literature has highlighted the innovative nature of the Qualitative GIS approach to combining ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ spatial data and encouraging multiple epistemological approaches to spatial research. The emerging body of Qualitative GIS research calls for further methodological, theoretical and empirical development of this research approach. In August 2010, WISERD will be holding an international conference to consider the emerging issues and possible futures of qualitative GIS.

WISERD (Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods) is a National Research Centre for interdisciplinary social science research. WISERD draws together and builds upon existing expertise and research across Wales in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, methodologies and analyses and has embarked upon a programme of data integration, primary research and capacity building.

This conference will bring together interested people from a wide variety of disciplines in order to:

• discuss some of the theoretical and methodological challenges in moving Qualitative GIS forward;
• consider the possibility of an international and collaborative research agenda and working group for Qualitative GIS;
• work towards new and shared outputs related to this research agenda.

The conference will take the form of a series of presentations; round-table discussions; break-out groups and networking sessions through which the group will consider the challenges to progressing qualitative GIS and identify how to move forward in collaboration with one other.

Keynote speakers

Mei-Po Kwan, Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences,

Department of Geography, The Ohio State University

Marianna Pavlovskaya, Associate Professor, Department of Geography,

Hunter College, CUNY

Registration details

Registration is opens now.  Places are limited to 60 people.

To register your interest, and receive further details, please contact us using the details below.

WISERD,

Cardiff University, 46 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3VB

Email: wiserd@cardiff.ac.uk (Tel: +44 (0) 2920 879338)    (Fax: +44 (0) 2920 874520)

http://www.wiserd.ac.uk/training-events-2/conferences/qualgisconference/

The Spatial Dimensions of Health

Session abstract

There is little doubt that geography and health are linked. Whether geography is considered in terms of the ‘geographies’ of individuals; communities and neighbourhoods; services and resources; or diseases- the linkage persists. In light of this, Gatrell and Elliot (2009) state ‘the subject of “health” is a rich source of material that bears study by the geographer’ (p.3). The importance of such study is highlighted by the steadfast presence of spatial disparities in health and healthcare nationally. The intention of this session is to bring together research on the spatial dimensions of health, for the purpose of highlighting ongoing and nascent challenges within the diverse spectrum of health and health geography. The session organisers invite proposals for papers that present empirical contributions within the spatial dimensions of health, ideally with focus on the UK. We welcome proposals that explore:

• The spatial dimensions of health inequalities and health behaviours

• Place, community and neighbourhood health and healthcare

• Spatial methods for developing health statistics

• Web 2.0 and health mapping

Reference

Gatrell, A. C. and Elliot, S. J. (2009) “Geographies of Health: An Introduction”, 2nd Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, Chicester

Keywords: Health, behaviour, inequality, quantitative, space.

Deadline for submitting abstracts is Monday 1st February 2010. Please send abstracts up to a maximum of 250 words and proposed titles (clearly stating name, institution, and contact details) to Daniel Lewis (d.lewis@ucl.ac.uk) and/or Catherine Jones (kate-emma.jones@ucl.ac.uk)

Details of other calls by the GHRG can be found here.