Modeling In Space And Time A Framework For Visualization And Collaboration

This chapter describes the Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM), now being developed as an open source computer software system for defining and visualizing simulations of the spread of infectious disease in space and time. Part of the Eclipse Technology Project, http://www.eclipse.org/stem, STEM is designed to offer the research community the power and extensibility to develop, validate, and share models on a common collaborative platform. Its innovations include a common representational framework that supports users in creating and configuring the components that constitute a model. This chapter defines modeling terms (canonical graph, decorators, etc.) and discusses key concepts (e.g., labels, disease model computations). Figures illustrate the types of visualizations STEM provides, including geographical views via GIS and Google Earth (TM) and report generated graphics.