Spatio-Temporal-Network Visualization for Exploring Human Movements and Interactions in Physical and Virtual Spaces

In this research, we propose a conceptual framework for spatiotemporal and social network visualization in a three-dimensional context. Based on this framework, new spatio-temporal-network (STN) quantitative metrics (including STN-impact-extent, STN-impact-center, STN-distance, STN-efficiency, and STN-centrality) are introduced to measure the underlying dynamic interactions among entities. The proposed framework aims to help better understand spatiotemporal patterns of human dynamics and social interactions over both physical and virtual spaces simultaneously, as well as explore how emerging events trigger spatial-temporal-social interactions and information diffusion from a process perspective. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the proposed framework with a case study using geotagged tweets and associated visualization in the ArcScene software. We hope that this research can stimulate new insights on integrating multidisciplinary knowledge to explore human dynamics in a broader way.