Map Use Education and Geovisualisation

International Journal of Geo-Information , 2021

In the face of strikingly intense technological development, there have been significant discrepancies in the understanding of the concept of the map; an understanding that is fundamental to cartography and, more broadly, GIScience. The development of electronic products based on geoinformation has caused a growing need for the systematization of basic concepts, including defining what a map is. In particular, the modification of the idea of the map may profoundly influence the future development of cartography. The comprehensive and innovative use of maps, for example , in location-based service (LBS) applications, may contribute to more in-depth analyses in this area. This article examines how the concept of how the map is used in technological or scientific literature about the latest geoinformation applications, as well as analyzing the survey results that confirm the change in social perception of the concept of the map in cartography. The article also refers to the role of the map in the process of indirect cognition and understanding of geographical space-cognition realized through maps. A social understanding of mapping concepts is evolving and covers the entire spectrum of geoinformation products. It seems that the latest geoinformation solutions, such as navigation applications and, in particular, applications supporting the movement of autonomous vehicles (e.g., self-driving cars), have had a particular impact on the concept of the map. This is confirmed by the results of a survey conducted by the authors on a group of nearly 900 respondents from a variety of countries. The vast majority of users are convinced that the contemporary understanding of the concept of the map is a long way from the classic definition of this concept. Therefore, in the opinion of the authors of this article, it is worth undertaking research that will become a starting point for a discussion about the broader definition of the map in GIScience.

2007

OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY P.O. BOX 1000, FI-02015 TKK http://www.tkk.fi Author Lic.Sc. (Tech.) Annu-Maaria Nivala Name of the dissertation Usability Perspectives for the Design of Interactive Maps Manuscript submitted 05.06.2007 Manuscript revised 22.10.2007 Date of the defence 30.11.2007 Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Department Department of Computer Science and Engineering Laboratory Software Business and Engineering Institute Field of research Usability Research Opponent(s) Professor Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila and Dr. Jason Dykes Supervisor Professor Marko Nieminen Instructor Docent, D.Sc. (Tech.) Tiina Sarjakoski Abstract Recent changes in information and communication technology have led to new methods for visualising geospatial data and to interactive map applications. Consequently, traditional map design and evaluation methods may no longer be suitable for the new range of users, use situations and devices. Th...

2011

Geographic visualizations always played an important role in human history, especially in the earth sciences, long before computer visualizations became popular. The earliest examples of geographic visualization even date back to the stone age with map-like wall paintings depicting the surroundings of our ancestors. Since then cartography, the art and science of map-making, has evolved continuously until today. This is why computer-based geographic visualization can build upon a large base of established cartographic knowledge. Well-known examples of static visualizations beyond geographic maps are thematic maps that display the spatial pattern of a theme such as climate characteristics or population density. Moreover, the use of modern visualization technology offers many new possibilities for geographical visualization tasks. These visualizations may help to explore, understand, and communicate spatial phenomena. Many readers will have a vague idea of what geographic visualization is about. Nonetheless, to avoid misconceptions, the most common definitions of the term geovisualization (short for geographic visualization) will be given. The following notion according to the 2001 research agenda of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission on Visualization and Virtual Environments is most widely accepted today: " Geovisualization integrates approaches from visu-alization in scientific computing (ViSC), cartography, image analysis, information visualization, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and geographic information systems (GISystems) to provide theory, methods and tools for visual exploration, analysis, synthesis, and presentation of geospatial data " [530]. Others take a more human-centered view and describe geovisualization as " the creation and use of visual representations to facilitate thinking, understanding, and knowledge construction about geospatial data " [515] or as " the use of visual geospatial displays to explore data and through that exploration to generate hypotheses, develop problem solutions and construct knowledge " [474]. There are a few immediate observations from these definitions. It is clear that geovisualization research is a multidisciplinary task. Since it is the human who uses visualizations to explore data and construct knowledge, effective geovisualization techniques must above all take the user needs into account. The chapter is structured as follows. First, the range of possible goals of geovisualization and its driving forces are described in Section 6.1 and 6.2, respectively. Then, Section 6.3 looks at some perceptual issues and theoretical results in geovisualization. The main part of the survey, Section 6.4, covers a va

Proceedings of the ICA, 2018

2013

Cartographers, geographers, and cultural historians acknowledge that existing frameworks for creating and understanding relationships through the map began to change in the mid-twentieth century. Terms like zoning, boundary condition, and master plan no longer adequately describe, catalog, or represent what are now understood as complex, culturally specific contexts and information networks. Additionally, new forms of mapping and new tools for representation allow faster and more data-intensive maps to be assembled. When used as an applied research method in design, mapping reveals a complex ofrelationships between representation and thinking, technology, culture, and aesthetic practices. With the aim of developing more effective ways to employ mapping, I offer a mapping course to students across disciplines that looks at maps in relation to the cartographic histories associated with different forms of themap and the relationship of these maps to an idea or place. This paper shares ...

The most important changes in cartography are associated with the development of computer technology (GIS), and regarding the function and usage of maps, the accent has been given to cartographic visualisation. The paper emphasises the need for closer collaboration of informatic experts, geodesists, geographers, spatial planners and others with cartographers. The future of cartography is associated with map production, GIS, visualisation of spatial databases, and the production of detailed three-dimensional landscape presentations.

20th International Cartographic …, 2001

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic change in map forms and map-based analysis. In the past, maps have been designed by cartographers to be studied and interpreted by users. Today there are widely available mapping environments that allow users to generate their own maps and dynamically manipulate parameters of those maps. Although research advances in dynamic mapping are being rapidly incorporated in commercial mapping and GIS products, little is understood about the use of interactive maps or how that use influences tasks such as knowledge construction or decision-making. One of the most serious impediments to developing this understanding is that we lack methods and tools to study dynamic map use. This paper presents a framework for the development of a software environment that will facilitate cognitive and usability studies directed to understanding use and improving usefulness of interactive geovisualization environments.

2012

Cartographic Perspectives 57: 12-20, (spring) 2007., 2007

Most of us encounter a map, or some sort of cartographic device, on nearly a daily basis. This is true whether or not we are conscious of the occurrence. We may be planning or imagining our travels, or conceptualizing a project, but we somehow interact with the map, whether written or visual. When we read an heroic novel, we track the journey. When we hear the news of wars or weather, the map functions as a communicator and guide. The purpose of this essay is to give an overview of map uses, but not strictly from the vantage of the individual use or user. The producer of the map -- whether an individual or group, whether a financier or artisan -- is at the center of this conversation. The producer will likely have planned uses for a map, and may themselves be a user, but without their construct the map does not exist.