Papers by David Massey
Agent-based models (ABMs) (also referred to as multi-agent systems, or MAS, in literature) are wi... more Agent-based models (ABMs) (also referred to as multi-agent systems, or MAS, in literature) are widely used to model complex adaptive systems (CAS) through representing dynamic non-linear interactions amongst a large number of heterogeneous agents and their environments. However, these models often oversimplify real-life decisions and lack the cognitive authenticity present in real-world interactions. In this paper we argue that although role-playing games (RPGs) and massive multi-player online games were developed separately from ABMs, both exhibit high levels of spatially situated participation or collaboration, social interaction, and knowledge construction. We describe an online map-based gaming platform which simulates spatial scenarios as MAS using human participants as the decision agents. We use our prototype to demonstrate and discuss challenges that cyberGIS faces towards the facilitation of massively multi-user computational resources and methods along with the opportunities for a cyberGIS framework to provide improved understanding of complex systems.
Talks by David Massey
Urbanization is a complex and dynamic anthropogenic process of demographic, economic, and biophys... more Urbanization is a complex and dynamic anthropogenic process of demographic, economic, and biophysical change occurring on multiple spatial and temporal scales with profound consequences for global environmental change. However a research gap exists for these processes on the peri-urban scale. Peri-urbanization is the physical and social process that unevenly transforms forests, agricultural land, and pastures from rural areas into urban areas and integrates the cultures and lifestyles of rural populations into urban economies. Little is known about how specific spatial and temporal peri-urban dependencies and linkages can affect ecological outcomes, and there is growing recognition that existing policies which address urban and rural social organization, resource usage, and land use do not apply in these peri-urban zones. In South Florida hydrological issues play a critical role in understanding ecological systems and their feedbacks. In this poster we focus on a peri-urban landscape in the greater Miami Metropolitan area examining land change in conjunction with changing hydrology from 2001 to 2011. We develop an agent based model (ABM) calibrated with the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) and a Soil Water Analysis Tool (SWAT) model is utilized to model hydrological changes for the same time period and further calibrated. This coupled modelling approach provides an opportunity to verify our model at multiple stages and to contribute to the understanding of peri-urban processes which guide land change and hydrology within the larger Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project.
Augmented Reality (AR) refers to a range of technologies whose interface allows individuals to in... more Augmented Reality (AR) refers to a range of technologies whose interface allows individuals to interact with superimposed virtual 3D objects in the real world. Although the AR technology has existed for over thirty years, its application was primarily limited to movie and television production companies. However as technological advancements have improved, ARs have proliferated in the form of web applications (QR codes) and location based applications accessible through smartphones. The barriers for developing AR applications have decreased significantly and AR technologies have been increasingly been spreading into a wide variety of domains including archaeology, education, health, and geography. This poster will examine the use of AR applications in each of these domains and build AR applications using Unity 3D software with an Augmented Reality plugin. We propose to build an AR book application, a simple AR disease mapping visualization, and an AR animated geographic visualization which will replicate Hägerstrand's Space-Time Cube. These applications will be accessible through the poster and be interactive to the audience. The methods of developing these AR applications and the challenges we encountered will be discussed. Finally we layout plans for future research.
Aerial photography has long been used by archaeologists for the documentation, observation, and s... more Aerial photography has long been used by archaeologists for the documentation, observation, and surveying of archaeological sites. However often acquiring this imagery can be an expensive and time consuming process. Increasingly, archaeologists have turned to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to document archaeological sites not only because of their increased availability and affordability but also their speed and reliability. A UAV prototype with GPS triggered vertical photo shooting for orthorectification and GIS mosaic building is built and tested to examine the challenges and implementation issues for other archaeologists, and for a future archaeological survey.
Complexity research often uses agent-based models (ABM) or multi-agent systems (MAS) to model com... more Complexity research often uses agent-based models (ABM) or multi-agent systems (MAS) to model complex adaptive systems (CAS) because of their ability to represent dynamic non-linear interactions amongst a large number of heterogeneous agents. However, these models often oversimplify real-life decisions and lack the cognitive authenticity present in personal day-to-day interactions. In this paper we argue that although role-playing games (RPGs) and massive multi-player online games were developed separately from ABMs and MAS, both exhibit high levels of spatially situated collaboration/participation, social interaction, and knowledge construction. We present an online map-based gaming platform which simulates spatial scenarios as a MAS using human participants as the decision agents. We use our prototype to demonstrate and discuss challenges CyberGIS faces towards the facilitation of massively multi-user computational resources and methods along with the but also the opportunities a CyberGIS framework can provide towards the understanding of complex systems research.
The Greek-Cypriot village of Athienou, located in the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus, lies at the front... more The Greek-Cypriot village of Athienou, located in the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus, lies at the front lines of a political complex issue that continues to divide the island of Cyprus. Developing an understanding of how Greek-Cypriot farmers’ agricultural decisions affects land use/cover change allows researchers to formulate models and assessment plans for future scenarios. Drawing from the Companion Modeling approach, which emphasizes stakeholder participation, this case study establishes the rules about the Greek-Cypriot farming practices in Athienou through interviews from local farmers and develops this knowledge into a Role Playing Game (RPG). Two sets of participants, Greek-Cypriot farmers (“experts”) and undergraduate students (“non-experts”), then play the RPG which simulates a scenario where the Turkish-Occupied land to the north of Athienou becomes available for farming again. The results from the RPG then are used to develop a better model of Greek-Cypriot farming practices. In addition, the comparison of the “expert” and “non-expert” outcomes to the RPG suggest potential ways to crowd-source information.
Virtual worlds like those found in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) can be thought of a... more Virtual worlds like those found in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) can be thought of as an extension of reality because they exhibit high level of spatially situated collaboration/participation, social interaction, and knowledge construction. MMOGs such as World of Warcraft and Second Life thus represent an intriguing framework to examine and simulate human-environmental and social interactions. Recently, a prototype "GeoGame" that integrated GIS and a MMOG model was proposed (Ahlqvist, 2010; http://www.geogame.osu.edu/) that allowed users to game in an environment where resources and base maps corresponded to real world geocoded locations. Accordingly, these GeoGames have the potential to improve agent based models because they incorporate cognitive intelligence. Building upon this "GeoGame" framework, we incorporate the geoprocessing capabilities of GIS into a GeoGame framework where stakeholders engage, collaborate, and negotiate archaeological simulations to understand past human-environmental interactions and cultural exchange in Iran. The rules of the simulation will draw on World Systems Theory.
Archaeological evidence demonstrates that during the fourth millennium BCE the site of Tepe Hissa... more Archaeological evidence demonstrates that during the fourth millennium BCE the site of Tepe Hissar in northeastern Iran, located on the periphery of Proto-Elamite and Central Asian traditions, shifted its cultural orientation from the west to the northeastern Gorgan Valley. The reason for this change is debated in economic, social, and political changes . We generate a cost surface analysis of trade routes between Tepe Hissar and the Gorgan Valley and conduct visibility analyses to gain insight into individuals perception of their landscape.
Conference Presentations by David Massey
Over the past few decades, the field of archaeology has witnessed computational and technological... more Over the past few decades, the field of archaeology has witnessed computational and technological advances that have revolutionized methods of data collection. Today, tools such as GIS and digital databases are critical components for the documentation and interpretation of archaeological material. Well established
projects frequently face the challenge of integrating vast amounts of legacy data into digitally structured formats and of developing systems that are able to maintain and streamline the existing datacollection architecture. The American Excavations at Morgantina provide a useful case study by which to investigate archaeological data collection practices and improve existing digital curation processes. The excavation’s vast data archive extends from 1955 to the present and has a long tradition of using standard methods of recording field data: paper notebooks, sketched site and trench plans, measured drawings of features and architecture, and extensive photography. In 2012, we began to develop a digital system that would be able to accommodate both existing legacy data and current fieldwork at Morgantina.
In this poster, we present our methodological approach by highlighting a trench excavated in 1992 in the central shops of the agora at Morgantina. While we de scribe some of the difficulties that we have encountered when working with this legacy data set, we also outline how this case study has helped us refine and standardize our procedure for integrating CAD, GIS, and archival information into a comprehensive relational database. Finally, we briefly discuss the implications of this project on future research and the lessons that might be learned by applying our new approach to the rich archaeological tradition that the Morgantina archives have to offer.
Preliminary Reports by David Massey
G. Bruno (ed.), La geoarcheologia come chiave di lettura per uno sviluppo sostenibile del territorio. Atti del congresso nazionale di geoarcheologia: Aidone (EN), 04-05 luglio 2014. SIGEA 2/2015: 19-24., 2015
The Contrada Agnese Project (CAP) of the American Excavations at Morgantina (AEM) is a multi-year... more The Contrada Agnese Project (CAP) of the American Excavations at Morgantina (AEM) is a multi-year research and excavation project focused on an insula at the western end of the Classical and Hellenistic city. This article presents key findings from the project’s 2013 and 2014 seasons and offers preliminary interpretation of the excavation data. We end with a brief account of CAP’s advances in the fields of data management and geospatial recording.
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Papers by David Massey
Talks by David Massey
Conference Presentations by David Massey
projects frequently face the challenge of integrating vast amounts of legacy data into digitally structured formats and of developing systems that are able to maintain and streamline the existing datacollection architecture. The American Excavations at Morgantina provide a useful case study by which to investigate archaeological data collection practices and improve existing digital curation processes. The excavation’s vast data archive extends from 1955 to the present and has a long tradition of using standard methods of recording field data: paper notebooks, sketched site and trench plans, measured drawings of features and architecture, and extensive photography. In 2012, we began to develop a digital system that would be able to accommodate both existing legacy data and current fieldwork at Morgantina.
In this poster, we present our methodological approach by highlighting a trench excavated in 1992 in the central shops of the agora at Morgantina. While we de scribe some of the difficulties that we have encountered when working with this legacy data set, we also outline how this case study has helped us refine and standardize our procedure for integrating CAD, GIS, and archival information into a comprehensive relational database. Finally, we briefly discuss the implications of this project on future research and the lessons that might be learned by applying our new approach to the rich archaeological tradition that the Morgantina archives have to offer.
Preliminary Reports by David Massey
projects frequently face the challenge of integrating vast amounts of legacy data into digitally structured formats and of developing systems that are able to maintain and streamline the existing datacollection architecture. The American Excavations at Morgantina provide a useful case study by which to investigate archaeological data collection practices and improve existing digital curation processes. The excavation’s vast data archive extends from 1955 to the present and has a long tradition of using standard methods of recording field data: paper notebooks, sketched site and trench plans, measured drawings of features and architecture, and extensive photography. In 2012, we began to develop a digital system that would be able to accommodate both existing legacy data and current fieldwork at Morgantina.
In this poster, we present our methodological approach by highlighting a trench excavated in 1992 in the central shops of the agora at Morgantina. While we de scribe some of the difficulties that we have encountered when working with this legacy data set, we also outline how this case study has helped us refine and standardize our procedure for integrating CAD, GIS, and archival information into a comprehensive relational database. Finally, we briefly discuss the implications of this project on future research and the lessons that might be learned by applying our new approach to the rich archaeological tradition that the Morgantina archives have to offer.