The New York Times has highlighted the research of Kalev Leetaru, GSLIS PhD student, exploring Wikipedia as a historical resource. The article, "How Big Data Sees Wikipedia," shares his methodology for studying connections between cities around the globe over time and describes the result as "an interesting historical atlas of the rise of globalization and warfare."
According to the article:
Mr. Leetaru’s research is as interesting for what it says about Wikipedia as for what it says about the world. For one thing, the connections between places build slowly, tracing the course of immigration and empire, up to the present era, where globalization makes so many lines that the map is an unreadable solid green.
Leetaru's technical sponsor in data mining, Silicon Graphics International (SGI), provided high-speed computing resources for the research. For more information, read SGI's description of the project and press release, "View the World Through the Eyes of Wikipedia."