2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The actual space (place) and its representation by perception and cognitive map of Eastern African pastoral peoples
| Project/Area Number |
15520513
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Cultural anthropology/Folklore
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| Research Institution | Tokyo University of Foreign Studies |
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Principal Investigator |
KAWAI Kaori Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Associate Professor, アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所, 助教授 (50293585)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | GIS / Geographic Information System (or Science) / Pastoral peoples in East Africa / The Dodoth / Cognitive (0r Mental) Map / perspective / spatial cognition / Representation / Global Positioning System |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to analyze the Dodoth's cognition mechanism about their "Place" and "Space" with geographic information science. Kawai investigated the Dodoth, a pastoral people in northeastern Uganda, discussed that subject from the viewpoint of ecological and cultural anthropology, and pointed out the very principal law on the correlations between "the place names" and their nomadic life style as a pastoralist, but that approach was descriptive. Some "their and her cognitive maps" was brought back to study the spatio-temporal cognitions, then we selected two maps from them, for these were drawn by same informant and have same context about inputting process of landscape information of the Dodoth. If some gaps were discovered in the view of geo-spatial analytics on these two maps, we will be able to assume that it must have suggested that there were some differences in technique of representation. To approach this problem practically, GIS (Geographic Information System) was applied and these two maps were digitized for import into. the system.
As a result, it was made clear that their "Place" knowledge converts to the non-geometrical "Space" cognition through the mapping, unusual for them, as a process of output. For example, their cognition of space was based in their" settlement or animal-camp" position, "road or main path" connected this kinds cognition, and this trend is in common with two maps. The most important issue is that our new approach to the cognitive map with GIS yielded some epochal results that some old style approach never arrived. Because most previous approaches were descriptive or local about the targets, although our metrical or total analytics were very simple in method, we may be able to insist that this approach will give the other new humanistic perspectives in human and social science.
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