MapStory and |ac|ng Lvo|v|ng Soc|a| Network

Graphs |n Cartes|an Space 1hrough 1|me

ur. Mlke 8oLLs
8oLLs lnnovaLlve 8esearch, lnc.
mlke.boLLs[boLLs-lnc.com
236-632-0163
Cb[ect|ves

Several areas of research and analysls rely on Lhe ablllLy Lo connecL people wlLh oLher
people, places, and Lhlngs, Lo supporL Lhese assoclaLlons wlLh accesslble evldence, and
Lo undersLand how Lhese relaLlonshlps evolve over space and Llme. Lxamples of such
areas of research and analysls lnclude genealogy, hlsLory, crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlon, and
lnLelllgence gaLherlng and analysls.

1he maln ob[ecLlve of Lhls pro[ecL ls Lo deslgn, lmplemenL, and demonsLraLe a spaLlo-
Lemporal-soclal framework LhaL beLLer enables one Lo boLh map and derlve slmple and
complex relaLlonshlps beLween people, places, and Lhe envlronmenL around Lhem. 1hls
ls a framework LhaL shlfLs Lhe focus from asslgnlng properLles Lo ob[ecLs Lo deLermlnlng
Lhe assoclaLlons beLween Lhem. 1hls ls a mlnor paradlgm shlfL wlLh poLenLlally ma[or
beneflLs.

1hls framework wlll be based on open sLandards from Lhe Cpen CeospaLlal ConsorLlum
(CCC), wlll be lmplemenLed uLlllzlng Lhe wldely-deployed CpenCeo SulLe and Lhe
Ceonode LhaL ls bullL aLop lL whlch ls used by www.MapSLory.org.
Cverv|ew

ln many flelds of research, lL ls our ablllLy Lo dlscover assoclaLlons beLween people,
places, evenLs, and Lhlngs over space and Llme LhaL Lruly enables us Lo beLLer
undersLand noL only Lhe person buL Lhe places and evenLs as well. ln essence, Lhe naLure
of a person ls recognlzed by, and ln many cases deLermlned by, Lhelr relaLlonshlp Lo
oLher people, evenLs, places, and Lhe Lhlngs ln Lhelr llfe. 1he same can be sald of Lhe
naLure of an evenL or place, lL ls Lhe people assoclaLed wlLh lL LhaL deLermlne Lhe
characLer of an evenL or place, and Lhe dlrecLlon ln whlch Lhe evenL or place wlll evolve.

As one beglns Lo undersLand Lhe Lemporal aspecLs of Lhese assoclaLlons, one ls able Lo
deLermlne a Llmellne or hlsLory of a person's llfe, Lhe progresslon of an evenL, or Lhe
evoluLlon of a place. lurLhermore, one becomes beLLer able Lo anLlclpaLe Lhe nexL
acLlons assoclaLed wlLh a person, place, or evenL. lurLhermore, accounLlng for Lemporal
changes and evoluLlon ls crlLlcal for Lhls research. lor lnsLance, we mlghL assume LhaL an
ancesLor moved because he was shown llvlng ln Madlson CounLy, Ceorgla ln 1840 buL ln
LlberL CounLy, Ceorgla ln 1830. Powever, Lhe ablllLy Lo accounL for Llme for geospaLlal
daLa may reveal LhaL our ancesLor remalned ln Lhe same place whlle Lhe counLy
boundarles changed around hlm.

We propose a Lemporal-spaLlal-soclal framework ln whlch lnformaLlon abouL people,
places, evenLs, producLs, and Lools are onllne and readlly accesslble Lhrough open-
sLandard web servlces and encodlngs. A concepLual vlew of Lhe ob[ecL componenLs of
Lhls framework ls provlded ln llg. 1, whlch llsL example Lypes of people, places, evenLs,
Lools, and producLs. Many of Lhese, parLlcularly geospaLlal feaLures (or places"),
already exlsL on Lhe web ln sLandard servlces and encodlngs, oLhers wlll need Lo
lngesLed from users or by wrapplng legacy sysLems wlLh sLandard web lnLerfaces.

Powever, ln Lhe proposed ob[ecL-assoclaLlon framework, lL ls noL necessarlly Lhe ob[ecL
and lLs properLles LhaL are Lhe focus of aLLenLlon, buL raLher Lhe assoclaLlons beLween
Lhese varlous ob[ecLs. WhaL ls lmporLanL ls Lhe assoclaLlon LhaL, for example, llnks
Mlchael L 8oLLs (people:lndlvldual) as sonCf" !ames M 8oLLs (people:lndlvldual) wlLh
confldence level of 100 as supporLed8y" hls blrLh cerLlflcaLe (producL:documenL) and
hls y-unA LesLs resulLs (producL:dna). Cr LhaL Abu Ahmed al-kuwalLl ls courlerCf"
Csama bln Laden (as supporLed8y" by several conversaLlons), LhaL Abu Ahmed al-
kuwalLl ls sameAs" lbrahlm Saeed Ahmed, LhaL lbrahlm Saeed Ahmed
ls1ransporLed8y" a parLlcular auLomoblle (as supporLed8y" several phoLos and human
slghLlngs), LhaL Lhls auLomoblle ls assoclaLed wlLh several evenLs aL a parLlcular locaLlon
ln aklsLan, LhaL several evenLs lndlcaLe anoLher person has been seen aL Lhls locaLlon,
and LhaL Lhls oLher person wlLh some degree of confldence and supporLed by several
pleces of evldence ls sameAs" Csama bln Laden.




I|gure 1. ConcepLual vlew of Lhe varlous ob[ecL Lypes wlLhln Lhe proposed framework
and Lhe lmporLance of an assoclaLlon model LhaL blnds Lhese ob[ecLs LogeLher.

1echn|ca| Approach
Cb[ect-roperty versus Cb[ect-Assoc|at|on Irameworks.
ln mosL exlsLlng lnformaLlon sysLems, Lhe emphasls ls on deflnlng ob[ecLs and asslgnlng
values Lo properLles of LhaL ob[ecL. Whlle Lhls approach may seem loglcal on Lhe surface,
Lhere are several negaLlve consequences wlLh Lhls approach, lncludlng: (1) lL does noL
scale well Lo a mulLl-user, mulLl-analysL envlronmenL, (2) lL does noL easlly supporL
asslgnlng levels of confldence nor provlde llnklng Lo supporLlng evldence, (3) lL does noL
readlly allow for Lhe documenLlng of dlsagreemenLs beLween varlous researchers, (4) lL
ls noL well-sulLed for supporLlng crowd sourclng of lnformaLlon, and (3) lL places greaLer
demand on sofLware requlred Lo mlne lnformaLlon and relaLlonshlps ouL of a wlde
varleLy of ob[ecL models.

lurLhermore, an ob[ecL-properLy framework places Loo much emphasls on Lhe ob[ecL of
lnLeresL and noL on lLs assoclaLlon wlLh Lhe people, places, and envlronmenL around lL.
Powever, Lhe mosL challenglng problems ln genealogy and lndeed varlous forms of
lnvesLlgaLlons, are Lyplcally noL solved by focuslng on Lhe person of lnLeresL, buL raLher
by ldenLlfylng and flndlng relaLlonshlps Lo Lhe communlLy and evenLs surroundlng Lhe
person of lnLeresL. ln genealoglcal sLudles, for lnsLance, we flnd LhaL several famllles
ofLen lmmlgraLed and mlgraLed as a group, marrled one anoLher, boughL land nexL Lo
one anoLher and from one anoLher, and Lyplcally served as wlLnesses on each oLher's
legal documenLs. lL ls ofLen Lhrough followlng Lhe movemenL and acLlons of Lhose
assoclaLes LhaL we are able Lo flnd mlsslng lnformaLlon abouL our person of lnLeresL. 1he
same can be sald for lnLelllgence gaLherlng and crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlon, ldenLlfy and
undersLand Lhe communlLy around Lhe person of lnLeresL and you begln Lo undersLand
Lhe person of lnLeresL. 1hls Lype of research and analysls ls very well supporLed by an
ob[ecL-assoclaLlon framework.

ln addlLlon, properLles don'L Lyplcally carry lndlcaLlons of quallLy, such as Lhe level of
confldence LhaL a parLlcular properLy value ls correcL (e.g. how much do you belleve LhaL
he ls Lhe faLher Lo Lhls person?). nor do properLles Lend Lo carry provenance supporLlng
how LhaL properLy value was derlved, nor llnks Lo all Lhe sources of evldence used ln
Lhese declslons. nor do Lhey easlly supporL mulLlple, alLeraLlve values for a glven
properLy wlLh readlly avallable evldence for each alLernaLe value. Whlle a proper deslgn
of a more robusL ob[ecL-properLy framework could lmprove some of Lhese challenges, a
more flexlble and efflclenL soluLlon ls besL dellvered wlLh a framework LhaL places
greaLer emphasls on deLermlnlng assoclaLlons beLween ob[ecLs and sLores Lhose
assoclaLlons as accesslble ob[ecLs ln Lhelr own rlghL.

ln addlLlon Lo glvlng examples of varlous ob[ecL Lypes wlLhln Lhe proposed framework,
llg 1 also lllusLraLes Lhe lmporLance of a well-deslgned assoclaLlon model LhaL blnds
Lhese ob[ecLs LogeLher. 1he ldeal assoclaLlon model would lnclude Llme properLles (e.g.
Llme lnsLance or range), as well as onllne llnks beLween Lhe Lwo ob[ecLs and a deflnlLlon
of Lhe roles of Lhose llnks (e.g. faLher" and son"). lurLhermore, Lhe ldeal assoclaLlon
ob[ecL would provlde a sub[ecLlve or ob[ecLlve measure of Lhe confldence ln Lhe valldlLy
of LhaL assoclaLlon and would provlde llnks Lo Lhe evldence LhaL supporLs or refuLes Lhls
assoclaLlon.

1he key dlfference perhaps from LradlLlonal ob[ecL-properLy approaches ls LhaL Lhe
focus ls nC1 on asslgnlng properLles Lo Lhe Cb[ecLs (here classlfled as eople, laces,
LvenLs, 1ools, and roducLs) buL ln dlscoverlng and undersLandlng Lhe assoclaLlons
beLween varlous Cb[ecLs and Lhus belng able Lo mlne Lhese properLles based on Lhese
assoclaLlons. ln summary, Lhe maln characLerlsLlcs of Lhls approach are:




lnformaLlon carrled by Lhe Cb[ecLs ls mlnlmal
mosL lnformaLlon ls ln Lhe AssoclaLlons
Lhe assoclaLlon daLa servlce ls Lhe key Lo mlnlng new assoclaLlons and Lhus
deLermlnlng knowledge abouL Lhe ob[ecLs
Llme Lagglng ls of uLmosL lmporLance for all Cb[ecLs and AssoclaLlons
Lhe AssoclaLlon model should be very robusL, supporLlng:
o Llme
o reference Lo source and LargeL ob[ecLs
o classlflcaLlon of relaLlonshlp (e.g. faLherCf", aLLended", locaLlonCf")
o evldence for Lhe relaLlonshlp (ofLen a reference Lo a roducL)
o a quanLlflcaLlon of confldence ln Lhe deLermlned assoclaLlon


1hls ls a mlnor paradlgm shlfL wlLh ma[or consequences. 1hls ls parLlcularly Lrue wlLh
regard Lo sofLware requlred Lo supporL research and analysls based on all of Lhese
poLenLlal relaLlonshlps. We wlsh, for lnsLance, Lo flnd all poLenLlal connecLlons of a
parLlcular lndlvldual person Lo all any people, any evenL (e.g. baLLle, blrLh, deaLh,
marrlage, law sulL, conversaLlon, purchase, eLc.), any producL (e.g. census, deed,
documenL, documenLs, unA LesL, famlly Lree, lmage, eLc.), any Lool (e.g. car, boaL,
compuLer, anclenL arLlfacL, eLc.), and of course, any place (e.g. house, bank accounL,
farm, l address, sLore, eLc.).

ln an ob[ecL-properLy framework, Lhls would requlre sofLware capable of parslng and
mlnlng each of Lhese varlous ob[ecL Lypes and subLypes, looklng for posslble menLlons of
Lhls person. Cne ma[or advanLage of Lhe ob[ecL-assoclaLlon approach ls LhaL lnsLead of
needlng Lo parse all ob[ecL models ln Lhe framework, sofLware would only needs Lo be
able Lo parse Lhe AssoclaLlon ob[ecL. 1he person of lnLeresL would be assoclaLed wlLh a
unlque lu, and Lhe sofLware would only need Lo search all assoclaLlons for a reference Lo
LhaL lu. Slmllarly, cross references of LhaL person Lo any oLher ob[ecL (person, place,
evenL, Lool, or producL) would slmply lnvolve searchlng assoclaLlons for any assoclaLlon
beLween Lhose Lwo (or more) lus.

1hls, comblned wlLh Lhe ablllLy Lo supporL confldence deslgnaLlons, llnks Lo evldence or
provenance, and ease of creaLlng new assoclaLlons, provldes slgnlflcanL beneflLs. Maklng
such capablllLles avallable Lhrough sLandard encodlngs and sLandard web servlces, such
as Lhose provlded by Lhe Cpen CeospaLlal ConsorLlum, esLabllshes a powerful
framework for supporLlng any research and analysls ln genealogy, hlsLory, crlmlnal
lnvesLlgaLlon, and lnLelllgence.

1echn|ca| Cons|derat|ons
1he proposed framework wlll be bullL on open-source web servlce lnLerfaces and
encodlngs from Cpen CeospaLlal ConsorLlum (CCC). 1he lnformaLlon wlll be provlded
Lhrough open sLandard encodlngs such as Lhe Ceography Markup Language (CML),
keyhole Markup Language (kML), Sensor Model Language (SensorML), CbservaLlons &
MeasuremenLs (C&M), and made avallable Lhrough open-sLandard web servlce
lnLerfaces, such as Web leaLure Servlce (WlS) and Sensor CbservaLlon Servlce (SCS).
1hese are all open sLandards developed wlLhln Lhe CCC and supporLed Lhrough a varleLy
of appllcaLlon and server-slde sofLware.

ln parLlcular, we propose Lo lmplemenL Lhls framework uslng Lhe wldely-used and well-
supporLed CpenCeo SulLe and wlll collaboraLe wlLh Lhe CpenCeo communlLy on Lhe
MapSLory bulld of Lhelr componenLs. Powever, because of Lhe use of open sLandards,
Lhe framework would noL be llmlLed Lo Lhls parLlcular lmplemenLaLlon and would lndeed
uLlllze oLher lmplemenLaLlons of CCC web servlces and would be accesslble Lo any oLher
cllenL appllcaLlons bullL on CCC sLandards.

1he overall pro[ecL goals lnclude:

CreaLe proper daLa models and schema for Cb[ecLs
CreaLe a proper daLa model and schema for AssoclaLlons
CreaLe a seL of assoclaLlon rules beLween ob[ecLs
uevelop easlly conflgured web servlces
opulaLe Lhese servlces wlLh a wlde varleLy of LesL daLa
uevelop mlnlng englnes for analyzlng and derlvlng AssoclaLlons
uevelop appllcaLlons and web lnLerfaces for mapplng new assoclaLlons and
dlsplaylng resulLs ln dlfferenL vlews

1hese are dlscussed ln more deLall below.
Create proper data mode|s and schema for Cb[ects. Models for each ob[ecL Lype and
subLype wlll be developed ln unlversal Model Language (uML) whlch wlll be used Lo
auLomaLlcally generaLe approprlaLe xML schema. 1hese models by deslgn wlll be llghL-
welghL and mlnlmal (slnce mosL lnformaLlon ls carrled by assoclaLlons. More robusL
models and schema may be developed Lo supporL reporLs generaLed on-demand from
Lhe AssoclaLlon Mlnlng sofLware.
Create a proper data mode| and schema for Assoc|at|ons. 1he AssoclaLlon model ls key
Lo Lhls framework buL lL wlll be slmple and conclse. A slngle AssoclaLlon model wlll
supporL all assoclaLlons, and wlll lnclude Llme, relaLlonshlp deflnlLlons, confldence levels,
and llnks Lo evldence and provenance Lo supporL or refuLe Lhe assoclaLlon.
Create a set of assoc|at|on ru|es between ob[ects. 1he seL of assoclaLlon rules deflnes
Lhe accepLable relaLlonshlps beLween varlous ob[ecLs. lL wlll serve as a conslsLenL, flnlLe,
buL meanlngful seL of assoclaLlons LhaL can be used by search englnes and user lnLerface
for creaLlng new assoclaLlons. Lach rule would llsL Lhe allowable ob[ecL Lypes and
subLypes of Lhe sub[ecL and predlcaLe and Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhem (noLe: an
asLerlsk for Lhe Cb[ecL Lype or subLype lndlcaLes any" Lype or subLype can be
subsLlLuLed). lor example, a very small subseL of Lhe assoclaLlon rules mlghL lnclude:

Sub[ect re|at|onsh|p red|cate
eople:lndlvldual faLherCf eople:lndlvldual
eople:lndlvldual servedAs eople:occupaLlon
eople:* LransporLed8y 1ools:vehlcle
eople:* parLlclpaLedln LvenLs:*
*:* locaLedAL laces:*
*:* sameAs *:*
roducLs:documenL creaLed8y eople:lndlvldual
roducLs:lmage creaLed8y 1ools:sensor
AssoclaLlon:evldence supporLed8y roducL:*
AssoclaLlon:evldence refuLed8y roducL:*

Deve|op eas||y-conf|gured web serv|ces. Web servlces (such as WlS lnsLances) wlll
provlde on-demand querylng and access Lo Cb[ecL and AssoclaLlon daLa. 1hls wlll
lnclude a wlde varleLy of daLa (e.g. place descrlpLlons, evenL lnformaLlon, people
records, varlous documenLs and observaLlons, eLc.) whlch can be dlsLrlbuLed LhroughouL
Lhe lnLerneL cloud. Cpen-source web servlce sofLware wlll be made publlcly avallable Lo
encourage Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of web servlces by oLhers so LhaL relevanL daLa becomes
freely and commerclally avallable ln sLandard encodlngs and Lhrough sLandard web
lnLerfaces. A drlver for Lhls pro[ecL ls Lo make such servlces easy Lo lmplemenL,
conflgure, and populaLe. 1hese servlces wlll supporL Lhe populaLlon of daLa Lhrough
boLh user lnLerfaces and Lhe mlnlng of legacy daLabases, and wlll be based on Lhe
CpenCeo SulLe. 1hus, we expecL mosL Lhe developmenL work Lo be conflgurlng Lhese
servlces and addlng some capablllLles for beLLer supporLlng non-geospaLlal daLa and
assoclaLlons.
opu|ate these serv|ces w|th a w|de var|ety of test data. Some useful daLa, prlmarlly
geospaLlal daLa, are already avallable Lhrough sLandard CCC web servlces. uependlng
on Lhe LesL case, oLher lnformaLlon wlll need Lo lngesLed lnLo Lhe web servlces elLher
Lhrough user lnpuL or by mlnlng or wrapplng exlsLlng legacy daLa sysLems. Powever,
because Lhls framework ls deslgn Lo supporL hlghly dynamlc research and analysls, mosL
lnformaLlon wlll be lnserLed lnLo Lhe web servlces by users durlng Lhe acL of research
and analysls.
lor Lhe genealogy research LesL bed descrlbed below, Lhls lnformaLlon ls expecLed Lo
lnclude Llme-Lagged geospaLlal feaLures lncludlng pollLlcal boundarles (LerrlLorles,
sLaLes, counLles, mlllLary dlsLrlcLs, eLc.), vlllage and clLy, LransporLaLlon rouLes (Lralls,
roads, Lraln Lracks, shlpplng rouLes, eLc.), as well as parcels and loLs found ln deeds.
Powever, addlLlonal daLa wlll lnclude censuses, Lax records, church records, deeds, legal
case reporL, leLLers, plcLures, wllls, and a hosL of oLher daLa Lyplcally used ln genealogy
research. Some of Lhese daLa wlll agaln be enLered by Lhe researcher, whlle oLher daLa
may be mlned from larger daLabase such as Lhe publlcly avallable L8S lamlly Search
daLa. ln addlLlon, famlly Lree records and assoclaLlons wlll be lngesLed from exlsLlng
CLuCCM flles from varlous researcher's Lrees as well as added dynamlcally as parL of
Lhe LesL bed.
Deve|op m|n|ng eng|nes for ana|yz|ng and der|v|ng Assoc|at|ons. 1he power of such a
framework comes from Lhe ablllLy Lo more easlly develop and apply sofLware Lo mlne
assoclaLlon daLa, Lo derlve new assoclaLlons and Lo predlcL acLlons and Lrends based on
Lhese assoclaLlons. 1hls sofLware wlll range from slmple search for parLlcular ob[ecL lus,
Lo assoclaLlons derlved from lnferences beLween dlfferenL assoclaLlons, Lo more
complex mlnlng englnes LhaL dlscover relaLlonshlp based on lnference or are able Lo
predlcL fuLure behavlor or dlrecLlons.
Deve|op app||cat|ons and web |nterfaces for mapp|ng new assoc|at|ons and d|sp|ay|ng
resu|ts |n d|fferent v|ews. llnally, Lhere ls a need for well-deslgn user appllcaLlons and
web lnLerfaces for lnserLlng new ob[ecLs and assoclaLlons, querylng relaLlonshlps, and
vlsuallzlng resulLs. 1o dlsplay Lhe resulLs of querles and analysls, Lhere wlll be cllenLs for
supporLlng varlous vlews (e.g. geospaLlal, Lemporal, relaLlonshlp grouplng, eLc.).
1est 8eds
We propose Lo LesL and demonsLraLe Lhls framework uslng a genealoglcal research
sLudy, uLlllzlng publlcly avallable famlly Lrees, records (censuses, deed, eLc.), Llme-
Lagged geospaLlal daLa (e.g. counLy boundarles, vlllage/clLy locaLlons, eLc.), and unA
resulLs Lo dlscover relaLlonshlps and Lo develop a MapSLory of ancesLor's' movemenLs
and acLlons Lhrough Llme. AfLer LesLlng Lhe framework wlLh a llmlLed seL of daLa, we
would Lhen approach a large open-source (or commerclal) holder of genealoglcal daLa,
such as LuS lamlly Search daLabase, Lo lnvesLlgaLe Lhe posslblllLy of lngesLlng a larger
subseL of Lhelr daLa lnLo Lhe framework for LesLlng scalablllLy and versaLlllLy.
ln addlLlon, oLher LesL beds could lnclude research lnLo hlsLorlcal evenLs, such as Lhe
LexlngLon/Concord sklrmlsh, a dlsasLer evenL, or Lhe evoluLlon of a clLy or vlllage. ln a
more secure envlronmenL, a LesL bed could also be consLrued lnvolvlng an lnLelllgence-
based research and analysls goal, such as counLer-lnsurgency, mlsslon plannlng, or
locaLlng a person of lnLeresL.
Conc|us|ons and De||verab|es
1he Cb[ecL-AssoclaLlon framework and proposed efforL Lo developmenL an
CpenCeo/MapSLory lmplemenLaLlon of Lhls framework, would provlde slgnlflcanL
lmprovemenLs ln our ablllLy Lo undersLand Lhe complex relaLlonshlps beLween people,
places, and evenLs. 1he proposed framework ls hlghly scalable and provldes a slmply
conflgured lnformaLlon sysLem for readlly mlnlng assoclaLlons beLween varlous ob[ecLs.
1he use of open-sLandard encodlngs and web servlces, as well as open-source sofLware
lnsures a sysLem LhaL can be easlly exLended and lmproved as deLermlned by LesL beds
and fuLure needs.
ayoffs

1he proposed deslgn and developmenL of an CpenCeo/MapSLory lmplemenLaLlon of
Lhls framework, would provlde slgnlflcanL lmprovemenLs ln our ablllLy Lo undersLand Lhe
complex relaLlonshlps beLween people, places, and evenLs, and Lhe evoluLlon of Lhese
Lhrough Llme. 1he CpenCeo lmplemenLaLlon of Lhls framework wlll have lmmedlaLe
and dlrecL appllcaLlon ln boLh Lhe clvll and mlllLary envlronmenLs. Some of Lhe
appllcaLlons ln Lhe clvll communlLles lnclude genealogy, hlsLorlcal research, crlmlnal
lnvesLlgaLlon, clLy plannlng and managemenL, and dlsasLer rellef.

We have proposed a genealogy research sLudy as a lnlLlal LesL bed because necessary
daLa ls readlly avallable ln Lhe publlc domaln and because genealoglcal research lnvolves
deLermlnlng relaLlonshlps amongsL a large number of people ln space and Llme, and
requlres Lhe dlscovery and verlflcaLlon of evldence Lo prove Lhese relaLlonshlps.