Peter Pulsifer
Dr. Pulsifer’s research focuses on linking data, information, and knowledge from different communities. He is a geographer who examines how to more effectively share geographic information using the Internet and computerbased
mapping and visualization techniques.
Peter’s recent work has focus been on the polar regions with a longtime focus on working with small communities, NGOs, and academic institutions. Since 2002 he has been an active member of the polar data management community. His work in this area began with the Standing Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) where he has contributed to the conceptualization and development of the Antarctic Spatial Data Infrastructure.
In 2003, he became the Canadian representative to the Joint Committee on Antarctica Data Management (JCADM) and in 2004 was elected to the position of deputy chief officer of JCADM. This role included contributions to the development of the data policy adopted by the International Polar Year ICSU-WMO Joint Committee and the recently completed SCAR Data and Information Strategy.
More recently, Dr. Pulsifer completed a postdoctoral fellowship where he led the data and knowledge management aspects of the International Polar Year Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project
(http://gcrc.carleton.ca/isiuop/http://gcrc.carleton.ca/isiuop/). In this project,
Dr. Pulsifer focused on establishing innovative methods for computer-based management and representation of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic. The priority in this work is to establish methods that are useful and meaningful to Arctic peoples. He has a particular interest in how the understanding of local terminology and the visualization of the association
between terms can facilitate the sharing of geographic information. Dr. Pulsifer is now a research associate with the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (http://eloka-arctic.org). The Exchange for Local
Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA) works toward a mandate of facilitating the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic in keeping with the interests and priorities of community members.
Peter lives with his family in Ottawa, Canada where he works closely with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
(http://www.itk.ca), and other organizations.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
PhD, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Specialties
Establishment of data management and sharing protocols ; `
understanding terminology related to traditional and community-based knowledge ; and the
development of web-based mapping and visualization applications
Current Projects
Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA)
Inuit Knowledge, Data Management, Stewardship and Representation
Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP)
Semantic Sea Ice Interoperability Initiative
Activities
Canadian Representative, Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management
Participant and Canadian Representative, Standing Committee on Antarctic Geographic Information,
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Participation in conceptualizing the IPY Data and Information Service
Publications
2011
Pulsifer, P. L., G. L. Laidler, D. R. Fraser Taylor, and A. Hayes. 2011. Towards an Indigenist data management program : reflections on experiences developing an atlas of sea ice knowledge and use. The Canadian Geographer 55(1) : 108-124, doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00348.x.
2010
Pulsifer, P. L., D. R. F. Taylor, and G. Laidler. 2010. Creating an online cybercartography atlas of Indigenous sea ice knowledge and use. In SIKU : Arctic Residents Document Sea Ice and Climate Change : Assessing Arctic Environmental and Social Change, ed. Igor Krupnik, Claudio Aporta, Shari Gearheard, Lene Kielsen Holm, and Gita Laidler. Berlin : Springer.
2009
Pulsifer, P. L. 2009. Sensor webs : A tool for using and archiving observations of polar environments. Newsletter of the Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management.
2008
Pulsifer, P. L., A. Hayes, J. P. Fiset, and D. R. F. Taylor. 2008. An education and outreach atlas based on geographic infrastructure : Lessons learned from the development of an on-line polar atlas. Geomatica 62(2) : 169-188.
Pulsifer, P. L., A. Hayes, J.-P. Fiset, and D. R. F. Taylor. 2008. An open source development framework in support of cartographic integration. In International Perspectives on Maps and the Internet, ed. M. Peterson, 165-185. Berlin : Springer.
Lauriault, T. P., D. R. F. Taylor, and P. L. Pulsifer. 2008. Will today’s internet maps be available tomorrow ? The preservation and archiving of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica through participatory action research. In International Perspectives on Maps and the Internet, ed. M. Peterson, 417-436. Berlin : Springer.
2007
Lauriault, T., B. L. Craig, D. R. F. Taylor, and P. L. Pulsifer. 2007. Today’s data are part of tomorrow’s research : Archival issues in the sciences. Archivaria 64 : 123-179.
Pulsifer, P., and D. R. F. Taylor. 2007. Spatial data infrastructures : Implications for sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic. Meridian (Newsletter of the Canadian Polar Commission) Spring/Summer : 1-5.
2006
Parush, A., P. L. Pulsifer, K. Philip, and G. Dunn. 2006. Understanding through structure : The challenges of information and navigation architecture in cybercartography. Cartographica 41(1) : 21-34.
Pulsifer, P. L., S. Caquard, and D. R. F. Taylor. 2006. Toward a new generation of community atlases—The Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica. In Multimedia Cartography, Second Edition, ed. W. Cartwright, M. Peterson, and G. Gartner, 195-216. Springer-Verlag.
2005
Pulsifer, P. L., A. Parush, G. Lindgaard, and D. R. F. Taylor. 2005. The development of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica. In Cybercartography : Theory and Practice, ed. D. R. F. Taylor, 461-490. Amsterdam : Elsevier.
Pulsifer, P. L., and D. R. F. Taylor. 2005. The cartographer as mediator : Cartographic representation from shared geographic information. In Cybercartography : Theory and Practice, ed. D. R. F. Taylor, 149-179. Amsterdam : Elsevier.
Baulch, S., R. MacDonald, P. L. Pulsifer, and D. R. F. Taylor. 2005. Cybercartography for education : The case of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica. In Cybercartography : Theory and Practice, ed. D. R. F. Taylor, 491-515. Amsterdam : Elsevier.
Pulsifer, P. L. 2005. Antarctic data management and geographic information. In Newsletter for the Canadian Antarctic Research Network, May 2005, 19 : 12.