Geographers see the world as spatial patterns, interactions and outcomes. This ‘spatial frame’ ingests information in any format and spanning time from the past to a projected or modelled future. In terms of “Where’s the data?” the assumption is that all data, at some point, is spatially referenced and about us, our needs and our impact on the world. The geography of data could be akin to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – “water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” But the geography of data is much more than the ‘where.’  As Charles Gritzner (2002) suggested, geography is “about where, and why there, and why care.”  This presentation travels from the past to a possible future regarding the whereabouts data, why it is where it is, and why we should care. The answer may well be that it is everywhere, about everything, linked in ways we do not know and may not understand, and we may no longer have any control over it.  And we should care very much, now more than ever.

About your presenter:

• James Boxall (james.boxall@dal.ca @jamesGIS) has been the Dalhousie Libraries for over 30 years. He has taught geography, GIS, and information management across a number of Faculties. He holds appointments in the School of Planning and the Marine Affairs Program. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) and received the RCGS Education Medal in 2012. He was previously on the Board of Governors for the Nova Scotia Museum, and the Board of Governors of the RCGS. Currently he co-chairs the International Network for Learning and Teaching Geography in Higher Education (INLT). He co-chaired the Canadian Round Table on Geomatics (NRCan) and co-edited the book “GIScience Teaching and Learning Perspectives.”  He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Medal for services to geography and education, and the Atlantic Division of the Canadian Assocation of Geographers "Stuart Semple Award for contributions to geography regionally, nationally, and internationally." 

About Love Data week: Check out the Love Data Week research guide (https://dal.ca.libguides.com/lovedata) for additional online events hosted by Dalhousie or by other institutions in Atlantic Canada and beyond! Check back often for new additions!

And don't miss Method Madness: Dig into dataset analysis with Sage Research Methods Datasets available exclusively to the Dalhousie community.

This session will be held online in Teams - link provided in the email you will receive after you register.