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Showing papers in "Cartographic Journal in 2013"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, two eye-tracking experiments and online questionnaire were used for investigating the difference between user cognition of classical two-dimensional (2D) visualisation with contour lines and perspective 3D view.
Abstract: The use of computer-generated perspective views, often named as three-dimensional (3D) maps, is growing. These terrain visualisations should be more understandable for users without cartographic education, which are not familiar with contour lines. Within the study, two eye-tracking experiments and online questionnaire were used for investigating the difference between user cognition of classical two-dimensional (2D) visualisation with contour lines and perspective 3D view. Questionnaire was focused on maps understandability, suitability and aesthetics. Results of the questionnaire shows, that the majority of participants prefer 3D visualisation. First eye-tracking experiment was designed as a pair of maps in one stimulus. One shows 2D visualisation, the other 3D visualisation. No significant differences between user preferences of 2D and 3D visualisation were found, but the results were influenced with the order of the maps in the stimuli. Because of that another experiment was designed. In this case sti...

67 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A conceptual framework that is proposed in this paper offers an approach to the evaluation of the Space-Time Cube content with special attention for design aspects and the environment in which the STC has to function.
Abstract: In recent years, an increased interest in the use of the Space-Time Cube (STC) to visualize movement data can be witnessed. However, little is known about whether the cube is truly efficient and effective to satisfactorily display complex movement datasets. The limited usability research that has been done did not lead to details on how the STC content should be designed and whether the cartographic design influences the exploration process. The conceptual framework that is proposed in this paper offers an approach to the evaluation of the STC content with special attention for design aspects and the environment in which the STC has to function. Systematic usability studies have to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the STC under different conditions. Therefore, the framework contains phased studies in which real-world data of four use cases of different complexity are used.

31 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of some new techniques, and related considerations, in web cartography, which reflect the expansion of computerassisted cartography over the last several decades.
Abstract: It is now common practice to distribute maps not as static images, but as source code that renders in a web browser (Figure 1). This trend reflects the expansion of computer-assisted cartography ov...

27 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study is the first to apply Gestalt theory and cartographic pragmatics with relation to sixteenth and seventeenth century maps to the practical utilisation of graphical means of expression available in copperplate technology.
Abstract: This paper analyses the use of the black line, dash and dot techniques in maps in commercial Dutch atlases from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570) to Atlas Maior (1662). It is argued that the distinction between these three graphical means of expression became the basis for considering the nature of design rules for the next 400 years. In a departure from previous studies, this paper applies a combination of cartographic pragmatics and Gestalt theory with relation to the practical utilisation of graphical means of expression available in copperplate technology. While the importance of Gestalt theory and cartographic pragmatics has previously been highlighted in research papers and in textbooks, this study is the first to apply these two perspectives with relation to sixteenth and seventeenth century maps.

23 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Several basic research questions for the area of 4D cartography are formulated, which range from methods for representing time in 4D visualisations and understanding the temporal context to finding generic methods to achieve optimized temporal generalisation and a consistent definition of graphical variables for 3D and 4D.
Abstract: While graphic variables in 2D maps have been extensively investigated, 4D cartography is still a widely unexplored field. In this paper, we investigate the usefulness of 4D maps (three spatial dimensions plus time) for cartographically illustrating spatio-temporal environmental phenomena. The presented approach focuses mostly on explorative research rather than on enhancement and extension of existing methods and principles. The user study described in the paper shows that 4D cartography is not a well-explored research area and that many experienced map users try to apply their knowledge from 2D maps to 4D dynamic visualisations. Thus, in order to foster the discussion within the community, we formulated several basic research questions for the area of 4D cartography, which range from methods for representing time in 4D visualisations and understanding the temporal context to finding generic methods to achieve optimized temporal generalisation and a consistent definition of graphical variables for...

23 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A synthesis of cartographic generalisation operators for point data and clutter reduction methods used in information visualisation is presented and a set of clutter reduction criteria for evaluating methods to reduce clutter in map mashups is introduced.
Abstract: Map mashups are often visually chaotic and methods for solving this chaos are required. We introduce a set of clutter reduction criteria for evaluating methods to reduce clutter in map mashups. We present a synthesis of cartographic generalisation operators for point data and clutter reduction methods used in information visualisation and evaluate the methods against the criteria. The resulting evaluation table can be used in finding suitable clutter reduction methods for cases of map mashups with different primary criteria, and more specifically in finding methods that cover each others’ limitations.

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An orders of magnitude bigger opportunity exists for academic and professional cartographers to be creators of dynamic and flexible map-based analytical tools that leverage the increasingly massive and heterogeneous sources of geographic information being generated today.
Abstract: Cartography, as an academic field (and as a profession) should be at the centre of the dramatic increase of place in every facet of our lives – but it is not. What happened? One answer is that the ...

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A generic framework for topology-preserving curved schematisation that allows a choice of quality measures and curve types and uses Voronoi diagrams to ensure that curves fitted to disjoint parts do not intersect.
Abstract: Traditionally schematised maps make extensive use of curves. However, automated methods for schematisation are mostly restricted to straight lines. We present a generic framework for topology-preserving curved schematisation that allows a choice of quality measures and curve types. The framework fits a curve to every part of the input. It uses Voronoi diagrams to ensure that curves fitted to disjoint parts do not intersect. The framework then employs a dynamic program to find an optimal schematisation using the fitted curves. Our fully-automated approach does not need critical points or salient features. We illustrate our framework with Bezier curves and circular arcs.

18 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, Cartographic guidelines and user characteristics are incorporated into the optimisation model as constraints which guide the selection of colours, and a significant improvement is achieved by selecting clearly distinguishable colours which are determined by solving an optimisation problem.
Abstract: Maps which are created on demand by combining geospatial data from different Web Map Services integrate conflicting portrayals and do not satisfy the requirements of effective cartographic communication. A significant improvement is achieved by selecting clearly distinguishable colours which are determined by solving an optimisation problem. Cartographic guidelines and user characteristics (e.g. colour vision impairment) can be incorporated into the optimisation model as constraints which guide the selection of colours.

18 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work uses data from publicly available sources and shows how it can iteratively generate aesthetic renditions of 2D maps that do not have the goal to allow for navigation tasks, but instead show the map data in a distorted manner.
Abstract: We explore visual map abstraction for the generation of stylized renderings of 2D map data. We employ techniques that are centred around the concept of shape simplification and graph layout and that allow iterative abstraction of 2D maps. We use data from publicly available sources and show how we can iteratively generate aesthetic renditions of these maps. These renditions do not have the goal to allow for navigation tasks, but instead show the map data in a distorted manner. The techniques used to create these images apply simplification, abstraction/generalisation, and displacement operations to the map elements in varying orders and add stylistic shading to produce aesthetic renditions for print or electronic displays. The degree of abstraction/generalisation can be individually chosen and determines the characteristics of the distorted map: whether components retain their shape, degenerate, or are processed in a manner that the abstraction becomes the focus of the image rather than the underlying map data. The renditions can be further personalized by choosing shading and colours for this shading. Together, the presented techniques allow for playful and creative exploration of aesthetic renditions of 2D map data.

18 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of visual expressions is introduced and their applications at the organisational level of map design are discussed, including background, boundary, spatial order, zoom and overview maps.
Abstract: Information transformation on television weather maps (TVWMs) is influenced by visual elements for a broad range of viewers. This research emphasizes the cartographic aspects of TVWMs through evaluating their visual variables. Currently defined visual variables including basic, dynamic and motion variables are investigated and some suggestions are made to improve their application on TVWMs. The rates of the represented visual information within different frames and the related standard deviation are proposed as measures to improve the performance of the ‘duration’ dynamic variable. The concept of ‘visual expressions’ is introduced, and their applications at the organisational level of map design are discussed. Such expressions (including background, boundary, spatial order, zoom and overview maps) are examined as tools for ‘user orientation’ in particular, and their role as dominant parameters in TVWMs’ cartographic communication is considered. Their incorporation in TVWMs of a number of global ne...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article presents and discusses several map types for indoor spaces found in the literature and commercial products and develops and presents a framework for indoor maps.
Abstract: Traditionally, research on cartography has primarily been focused on visualisation of outdoor environments. Recently, however, indoor cartography has increasingly attracted attention both from the academic world and from commercial enterprises. Indoor cartography calls for markedly different visualisation strategies. Frameworks for describing map communication and use exist for general maps. But so far, no such framework exists for indoor maps. This article presents and discusses several map types for indoor spaces found in the literature and commercial products. The different characteristics of each one are identified and described. On this basis, a framework for indoor maps is developed and presented. Arbitrary indoor maps can be described by their properties using the framework. This allows indoor maps to be compared and described using a common platform.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The work of the ICA Commission on Geovisualisation (ICA) is presented in this paper, where the authors discuss the challenges of visual exploration, analysis, synthesis, and presentation of geospatial data by integrating approaches from cartography with those from other information representation and analysis disciplines.
Abstract: In this special issue, the ongoing work of the ICA Commission on Geovisualisation (formerly on Visualisation and Virtual Environments) is presented. The Commission has always been convinced that looking outside the cartographic discipline to learn from others will progress our own cartographic work and, in the process, other disciplines will realise the usefulness of cartographic viewpoints. Figure 1 illustrates this process. Cartography has and is being influenced by trends in art, design and the geographic disciplines. It has also expanded with the advancement of computer mapping and has been influenced by new trends like Geographical Information Systems. In this context, exploratory data analysis and scientific visualisation offered interesting approaches to the geo-community. It was also the start of an era where developments in cartography began to be much more technology driven. This has stimulated the Commission in its activities, but in our research agenda it was realised that only having a look at new opportunities, at new gadgets, to present and explore geospatial data is not enough. It should go hand in hand with answering questions such as ‘Does it make sense?’ and ‘Does it work?’ Results should be grounded in and expand the existing cartographic theory. This resulted in what could be called the geovisualisation discipline. The book Exploring Geovisualisation (Dykes et al. 2005) provides an overview. It defines geovisualisation as a loosely bounded domain that addresses the visual exploration, analysis, synthesis, and presentation of geospatial data by integrating approaches from cartography with those from other information representation and analysis disciplines, including scientific visualisation, image analysis, information visualisation, exploratory data analysis, and GIScience. Information visualisation has always been the sub discipline to which the Commission has felt most attracted. At the ICA’s general assembly in Moscow in 2007, the Commission adopted a new name to reflect its activities better: the Commission on Geovisualisation (http://geoanalytics.net/ica/). However, especially in the GIscience literature, inflation can be witnessed, such that the word geovisualisation is not used in the context as described above but slowly starts to become a synonym for mapping.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The class is currently entitled Maps and Spatial Re... as mentioned in this paper, and it is a basic class in cartography, one that I have now taught for about a quarter century.
Abstract: My academic activity has recently focused on a freshman level basic class in cartography, one that I have now taught for about a quarter century. The class is currently entitled Maps and Spatial Re...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper describes the two worlds and their fundamental differences and presents the theoretical framework in which these worlds could be united and describes how an Atlas Map Viewer component is created, using the Open Web Platform.
Abstract: This paper is about different worlds, and how we try to unite them. One of these worlds is the world of National Atlases: collections of complex, high-quality maps presenting a nation to the geographically interested. The second is the world of National Spatial Infrastructures: highly organized, standardized and institutionalized large collections of spatial data and services. In the paper, we describe the two worlds and their fundamental differences and we present the theoretical framework in which these worlds could be united. We introduce a test bed we are using to try out the theoretical framework in a real-life use case. In the architecture of that test bed, we introduce a National Atlas Services layer and describe how we have created an Atlas Map Viewer component, using the Open Web Platform. We conclude by commenting on the results thus far and taking a look into future developments.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comparative study of stereoscopic techniques in virtual globes supported by a test carried out among 51 participants to determine which one of the three devices causes a deeper feeling of immersion and which one can be more efficient in a virtual globe.
Abstract: For years, stereoscopy has been related to photogrammetry in topography. However, these methods are not efficient for virtual globes because the effect is only visible from one view point and this restricts interactivity. By using synthetic image techniques in order to generate stereo-paired images, we can produce visible effects from any view point. In this paper, we present a comparative study of stereoscopic techniques in virtual globes supported by a test carried out among 51 participants. Three devices were used: anaglyphs, an autostereoscopic screen and a quadbuffer system. The aim was to determine which one of the three devices causes a deeper feeling of immersion and which one can be more efficient in a virtual globe. Results show considerable differences between the quadbuffer system and the other devices. The mentioned system causes in the user a stronger feeling of depth and immersion in the virtual globe.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the use of lenticular foil technology for map design using multi-image models and find that it is necessary to position layers adequately along the z-axis of a 3D depiction to compensate the shortcomings in 2D maps.
Abstract: The current advent of autostereoscopic monitors and TV screens using lenticular foil technology proves the increasing desire to visualize movies, pictures, graphics or even maps in true-3D. These techniques could expand the cartographic ‘tool box’ drastically, implying that 3D is no longer limited to the well-known representation of landform characteristics. Major map design aspects of multi-image models have been analyzed and evaluated regarding their use in thematic cartography. For map design using lenticular foil technology empirical findings are necessary to position layers adequately along the z-axis of a 3D depiction. Hovering layers may generate additional information values, which seem to be able to compensate the shortcomings in 2D maps. Several parameters or dimensions of cartographic contents can be displayed simultaneously. True-3D display techniques must be implemented in a differentiated manner to achieve positive impacts on cartographic communication. However, lenticular foil technique ope...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a geovisual analytic approach based on self-organizing maps (SOMs) is proposed to analyze spatio-temporal weather patterns and how this is affected by different temporal resolutions and temporal heterogeneity.
Abstract: Analysing spatio-temporal weather patterns is fundamental to better understand the system Earth. Such patterns depend on the spatial and temporal resolution of the available data. Here, we study a particular spatio-temporal pattern, namely, synchronisation, and how this is affected by different temporal resolutions and temporal heterogeneity. Twenty years of daily temperature data collected in 28 Dutch meteorological stations are used as case study. Given the complexity of the analysis, we propose a geovisual analytic approach based on self-organizing maps (SOMs). This approach allows exploring the data from two perspectives: (1) station-based, in which spatially synchronous weather stations are grouped into clusters; and (2) year-based, in which temporal synchronisation is analysed using a calendar year as basic unit and similar years are clustered. Clusters are identified using the SOM U-matrices and maps. Next, the spatial distribution of synchronous stations is displayed in the geographic spac...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The central goal of this contribution is the development of a systematic and comprehensive framework that considers the particular properties of sound phenomena, structured according to the acoustic quantities that shall be represented and consists of recommendations for their cartographical encoding.
Abstract: Along with an increasing importance and awareness of sonic phenomena related to the human environment, there is a growing need for a comprehensive communication of sound information. The central goal of this contribution is the development of a systematic and comprehensive framework that considers the particular properties of sound phenomena. This framework is structured according to the acoustic quantities that shall be represented and consists of recommendations for their cartographical encoding. A proof of concept is given through the application to official strategic noise maps in the course of the Environmental Noise Directive. Those maps suffer from several weaknesses from a cartographical point of view (e.g. concerning colour schemes or band-like illustrations) which can be eliminated by applying some of the mentioned recommendations. Finally, it will be possible to derive valuable knowledge from our results for multimodal encoding and value transformation between senses.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a feasible and appropriate approach is explored to guide the transforming process from historical books to historical maps, and the hope is that providing the scenarios of historical events will benefit related historical and social research.
Abstract: Spatio-temporal information (e.g. time, location, person and event) recorded in detail in vast Chinese historical books can provide evidence about the movement of entities (e.g. people, family, army and weapons) and their underlying spatial behaviours. Furthermore, this information largely reflects the process of social development, which makes it valuable to both professional research and public awareness. However, this information cannot be easily expressed and visually utilized because it is often hidden in the text of historical books. Aiming to better realize the potential value of such abundant information derived from historical books and bridging the gap between historical research and geographic space, a feasible and appropriate approach is explored in this article, to guide the transforming process from historical books to historical maps. The hope is that providing the scenarios of historical events will benefit related historical and social research. First, the integral framework of th...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An attempt to design and to write a general purpose computer program which can be used to produce quality maps of discrete data by the person who has had no training in computer programming is described.
Abstract: This paper describes some results of an attempt to design and to write a general purpose computer program which can be used to produce quality maps of discrete data by the person who has had no training in computer programming. In the first section, the variety of the maps this program can produce is illustrated; in the second section, some of the principles involved in such map production are discussed; in the third section, the input arrangements for using the program are described and, finally, the role of such programs in teaching and research in the years ahead is discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
Gary Gale1
TL;DR: The first wave of digital maps was the combination of a variety of factors slowly coming together as discussed by the authors, but each wave has distinct characteristics, each wave overlaps, there is no clear border or delineation between them.
Abstract: This is not the article that I set out to write. The working title for that article was going to be something along the lines of cartography is subjective; my favourite map probably isn’t your favourite map. But every blog post, article or conference talk I write has to start somewhere and armed with this working title I set about trying to find my favourite map. I was spoilt for choice as I had a vast array of sources to choose from. On Flickr there’s the photostream of the Norman B Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library with over 3000 maps to choose from Figure 1. Also on Flickr are all the maps I’ve come across and have favourited. Then there are my tagged social bookmarks on Delicious plus a plethora of mapping and cartography related articles that sit within my browser’s bookmarks. That’s a lot of maps and that’s not even counting those that are offline in my reasonably large collection of map books. I soon found out that reviewing all of these maps was by no means as simple a task as I’d first thought. I’d expected a favourite to leap out of the browser’s window or book’s page at me. Maps were certainly getting my attention but for the wrong reasons. I was able to discount maps I didn’t like or maps I was ambivalent about, but even getting the beginnings of a short list of favourites was proving a thankless task. There were just too many good maps. Time was passing and I wasn’t anywhere near finding a favourite map, let alone writing an article about it. But as I continued browsing maps, I noticed there was something else on my laptop’s screen that was vying for my attention. Actually there were two other things. One was a terminal window that was open and logged into a remote server somewhere on the Internet where I keep a large stash of geographic and mapping data. The other was the icon for the TextMate text editor, sitting in the dock of my Mac, which I use for coding things, usually maps related code. Realisation slowly dawned on me that my favourite map was yet to come into being; it was the next one that I would make, and the one after that and so on. What I would use to make my next map is what this article should be about. Despite working with geographical data for almost 30 years, it was not until 2007 that I made the first map for myself. Now I’m not a cartographer or a professional map-maker; if I had to describe myself as anything I’d term myself as a hybrid of a geotechnologist, in the literal sense of someone who works with geography and technology, and a neogeographer. The combination of geotechnology, of neogeography and more traditional cartographical disciplines has given us repeated phases of acceleration and disruption. In my opinion, today’s uses of digital maps are in the tail end of the second wave of innovation and we’re starting to see the beginnings of a third wave. Each wave overlaps, there’s no clear border or delineation between them, but each wave has distinct characteristics. When talking about making and using digital maps, my focus is on the way in which consumers, developers and the web use resources to create map based experiences, rather than the process of gathering the spatial data that underpins a digital map. The first wave of digital maps was the combination of a variety of factors slowly coming together.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: One of the earliest maps of a city, Catalhoyuk, depicts houses built check by jowl, with no streets or even alleyways between them and with a threatening Volcano looming over this earliest of human concentrations.
Abstract: To me cartography is the means by which we make sense of our worlds. Almost all of the earliest cartographic images are not simply way-finding maps, but contain messages of how human society is ordered and what the threats and opportunities to that society might be, as well as providing messages for how much better things could be. One the of the earliest maps of a city, Catalhoyuk, depicts houses built check by jowl, with no streets or even alleyways between them and with a threatening Volcano looming over this earliest of human concentrations (Figure 1). Recently, archaeologists have suggested that what we see today as a volcano may, in fact, have been a rather lurid leopard skin dress, drawn above the city for some other reason. We may never know if that dot-filled-form is dress or volcano, but we know that this map - revealed on a 9000-year-old plaster wall - served a purpose greater than simply being a remarkably accurate depiction of the buildings around it, for many thousands of years having been buried and ruined. The original image is augmented by two modern-day plans drawn directly below it. These show how the city without streets might have looked had anyone then been able to fly and how it was laid out in plan form. We presume that people got to their homes by walking over the roofs of others' property. Also almost certainly property will have had a different meaning then. There were no countries, as we know them now, and the idea of given generic names to masses of water, the entire lengths of river networks, and maybe of towns and cities will have all been inventions of thought that have come long since Catalhoyuk was first built, along with both the idea of streets and, in some cases, a very long time later: sewers. The modern-day map that privileges coastlines as being so important, which puts north uppermost and that leaves so much of its space blank, is useful for seeing how the bottleneck between three great continental land masses could have been the place where human innovation

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The author’s view on cartography is much influenced by his past and the how and where he is active in the cartographic realm, which narrows down the meaning of cartography quite a bit.
Abstract: Cartography comes in many flavours. This becomes clear when one looks at the community of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). Debates on what is the core of cartography always lead to...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used aerial photogrammetry to document the ongoing glacier retreat in the eastern part of the Granatspitz Mountains (Hohe Tauern Range, Austrian Alps) for the time period 2003-2009.
Abstract: This paper documents ongoing glacier retreat in the eastern part of the Granatspitz Mountains (Hohe Tauern Range, Austrian Alps) for the time period 2003–2009 using aerial photogrammetry. Aerial photographs of 2003, 2006, and 2009 were made available by the Hydrological Service of the Regional Government of Salzburg, the Federal Office of Metrology, Surveying and Mapping, Vienna, and the Regional Government of the Tyrol, respectively. High resolution multi-temporal digital elevation models and digital orthophotos of the area of interest were derived using digital photogrammetric methods to provide a sound basis for glaciological research. Glacier outlines of the three glacial stages were mapped interactively. Temporal change in area and surface height of the glaciers mapped clearly document glacier retreat. Glacier mass balance based on the geodetic method was calculated for Stubacher Sonnblickkees (Glacier). Mean annual specific net balance amounts to −656 mm w.e. for the time period 2003–2009, w...

Journal ArticleDOI
Ed Parsons1
TL;DR: The emerging trend I would like to examine in this paper is the use of this geospatial data in different information systems, producing a range of tools and services which while at their core using mapping concepts are not themselves maps.
Abstract: The second decade of the twenty-first century represents a high water mark in the use and importance of maps, although the mass media are keen on the narrative that maps are no longer relevant, and...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a sozological map of Poland, which contained comprehensive cartographic information on the forms of environmental protection and degradation, made to a scale of 1∶50 000.
Abstract: This paper is an elaboration of the theses proposed in ‘Cartographic presentation of forms and degradation of the natural environment: sozological map on a scale of 1∶50 000’ (), where a sozological map of Poland was presented. The said map contained comprehensive cartographic information on the forms of environmental protection and degradation, made to a scale of 1∶50 000. The thematic scope of the map has already been modified twice: in 1997 and in 2005, with the ensuing changes presented in corresponding manuals: Sozological Map on a Scale of 1∶50 000, in an Analogue and Digital Form (Chief National Geodesist, 1997) and Technical Guidelines GIS-4. Sozological Map of Poland, Scale of 1∶50 000, in an Analogue and Digital Form (2005). Many years’ worth of experience gained since the launch of this cartographic system points out to the need for broadening the presented content and improving the map’s scale. Thus, attempts have been made at rescaling the map to 1∶10 000. Increasing the degree of det...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The research aimed at providing a methodology for creating effective cartographic representations and design solutions for SDI relevant user types that facilitate gaining useful Geographic Information at the interface between SDI and their users as a result of the map viewing and interpretation process.
Abstract: The low awareness of the communication function of maps within the Geospatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) community has prompted PhD research (Hopfstock, 2010) to explore how the concept of user-oriented map design can be utilized to improve the SDI usability for end users. In particular, the research aimed at providing a methodology for creating effective cartographic representations and design solutions for SDI relevant user types that facilitate gaining useful Geographic Information (GI) at the interface between SDI and their users as a result of the map viewing and interpretation process. This paper outlines the empirical research and highlights the main findings.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the origins of the characteristic appearance of the first multi-colour editions, other than that the Ordnance Survey used a military edition that was already in production.
Abstract: Considerable attention has been paid in the literature to the changing style of Ordnance Survey mapping in the twentieth century. However, little has been written about the origins of the characteristic appearance of the first multi-colour editions, other that the Ordnance Survey used a military edition that was already in production. The distinctive style grew out of the work of a committee established in 1892 by the War Office to consider future army requirements for a map of the UK. This paper explores the work of the committee and its long-term implications for the look of mapping in the twentieth century.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors aim to answer three main questions: What is an orienteering map (o-map)? How should we categorize o-maps? What are its essential components?
Abstract: Orienteering is both a mental and physical activity. A compass and maps are the basic tools of orienteering, and orienteering requires specialized maps that have been adapted and standardized to guarantee fair competition. Map-making for orienteering has become a highly specialized cartographic task. This paper aims to answer three main questions: What is an orienteering map (o-map)? How should we categorize o-maps? What are its essential components? The answers to these questions provide insight into the concept and nature of o-maps. By analysing the functions of this type of maps and by searching for similarities and differences between o-maps, topographic maps, and nautical charts, we attempt to comprehensively characterize and conceptualize o-maps to contribute to their improvement.