Cartographic Community Research Articles

A review on eye movement analysis in map reading process: the status of the last decade

Eye tracking constitutes a valuable tool for the examination of human visual behavior since it provides objective measurements related to the performed visual strategies during the observation of any type of visual stimuli. Over the last decade, eye movement analysis contributed substantially to the better understanding of how visual attention processes work in different types of maps. Considering the clear need for the examination of map user reaction during the observation of realistic cartographic products (i.e. static maps, animated maps, interactive and multimedia maps), a critical amount of experimental studies were performed in order to study different aspects related to map reading process by the cartographic community. The foundation of these studies is based on theories and models that have been developed in similar research domains (i.e. psychology, neuroscience etc.), while the research outcomes that produced over these years can be used directly for the design of more effective and efficient maps. The aim of the present article is to summarize and present the current panorama of the existing eye tracking studies in cartographic research appeared over the last decade. Additionally, methodological contributions (including analysis tools) of cartographic society in the field of eye movement analysis are reported, while existing challenges and future perspectives are also discussed.

Leveraging map use context for advancing cartography in the 21st century

Abstract. Mobile maps are an integral part of our daily routines, serving a variety of purposes in different environments. Designing maps for different use situations is essential for a user-centered and context-aware approach. Previous research has explored map use context and context-aware mobile maps from interdisciplinary perspectives. This paper aims to consolidate and unify existing research on context in cartography and related fields, identify current challenges, and propose ways to advance context-awareness for designing mobile maps. We present a map use context taxonomy that provides an overview of context elements, possible context-sensing methods, and corresponding application fields. We invite the cartographic community to expand on our proposed context taxonomy and explore the extensive field of context acquisition methods, applications, and related literature for advancing research on map use context.

A Constraint-Based Generalization Model Incorporating a Quality Control Mechanism

Automation in map production has created the need for modeling the map composition process. Generalization is the most critical process in map composition, with considerable impact on the quality of features portrayed on the maps. Modeling of the generalization process has been an area of research for several years in the international cartographic community. Constraint-based generalization modeling prevailed, and it is evolving to an agent model or to other optimization models. The generalization model presented in this paper is based on constraint-based modeling. It introduces the standardization of the semantic and cartographic generalization process together with an evaluation mechanism for the assessment of the quality of the resulting cartographic data considering simultaneously the preservation of the shape of the portrayed linear and area features. For cartographers, quality management is a key factor in creating an evidence-based, reliable product. To achieve this objective, cartographers, drawing on international experience, should implement a quality policy and adopt a quality management system (QMS) as an integral part of the map production process, starting with the quality assessment of the input data and finishing with the evaluation of the final product.

Обзор поступлений картографических изданий в Российскую государственную библиотеку в 2021 году

The traditional annual meeting of the Russian cartographic community representatives, on reviewing the receipts to the fund of the Russian State Library (RSL), was held in the cartographic publications department of the RSL. The best samples of domestic and foreign cartographic products issued in 2020–2021 were demonstrated. They undoubtedly include the miniature “Historical Geographical Atlas” published for the 75th anniversary of the Victory in 2020, the new edition of JSC Red Star “Atlas of the Officer of Russia” 2021, “Map of Tobolsk Cultural Heritage Sites, Sights and Tourist Infrastructure”, “Atlas of World War II

Combining multiple shaded reliefs with hypsometric colouring and digital orthophotos using free and open-source software

Abstract. In this paper we combined layers created from several terrain rendering techniques, namely a shaded relief rendered in the free and open-source 3D computer graphics software Blender, a hillshade created in the free and opensource Geographic Information System (GIS) software QGIS, a hypsometric coloured Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and a draped digital orthophoto. Following a recent trend in the cartographic community towards using Blender, we tried to improve the standard relief visualization in common GIS software by blending it with a shaded relief rendered in Blender. Using different QGIS blending modes and opacity values we achieved different graphic visualizations. To compare and evaluate the suitability of different rendering techniques we chose national park Risnjak located in Croatia because of its specific and diverse terrain landforms. After comparing different input layers and parameter sets, we selected the blending combination which is best suited for visualizing terrain characteristics of all Croatian national parks. The result is a shaded relief created for every national park which is combined from a shaded relief rendered in Blender, a hillshade created in QGIS, a hypsometric coloured DEM and a draped digital orthophoto.

50 Years of Sensor-Based Planetary Cartography: Review and Perspectives

Abstract. This contribution provides a concise review of the current developments and challenges in the domain of planetary cartography. Considered to be one of the more exotic branches of cartography, it currently re-positions itself due to (1) an increasing community-centric research interest, but also due to (2) the current development in the field of space exploration led by industry as well as ambitious international countries. Imaging, mapping and cartographic compilation have always been the primary tools for exploring terrain, and while the terrestrial planets have been mapped in some relative detail, planetary cartography is still largely stuck at medium map scales. While planetary cartography shares some similarities with developments in the field of terrestrial cartography, it developed largely differently and thus requires in-depth discussion about how these new challenges can be addressed and eventually solved. Advice and support from the terrestrial cartographic community is highly needed in order to develop sustainable long-term strategies.

Presence of school cartography in Erwin Raisz’s lifework

ABSTRACT During the twentieth century, Erwin Raisz researched and worked on diverse cartographic areas: he developed the physiographic method for the representation of landforms, cartograms for data representation, a new map projection, etc. The cartographic community does not usually relate his name to school cartography, however, he made numerous works that were used in schools because of its high intrinsic educational value. The current paper gives a general and brief background on those works developed by Raisz and used by the teachers not only in schools of the United States, but of other countries too. His innumerable maps were and are examples of how cartography can be the main source of didactic tools in schools and how these tools can stimulate the pupils’ interest towards maps.

The World at a Crossroads – The Need for Cartography and Cartographers: How cartographers can contribute as data integrators in finding solutions to global problems

Abstract. The world is at a crossroads. The current global pandemic has had an impact on every person, their national and global economies, and their ability to preserve a sustainable environment. To understand the health impacts of such an intrusive consequence requires understanding of the pandemic’s cause, its spread among populations, preventive measures to contain its spread and plans for protecting people from future outbreaks. Each one of these factors requires specific types of data and each data point requires location to make it meaningful. This is complicated because of the extent of the challenges. It is further complicated by the lack of timely data, the required location precision, and concerns over policy issues like privacy. Maps, mapping, and cartographers are needed as part of the formula for finding solutions on each of these factors.The International Cartographic Association (ICA) is positioned to help in providing solutions. The structure of the ICA, through its various programs, is sufficiently flexible to respond to these critical issues in practical ways that yield useful results. As an example, new ICA Working Groups were recently established to focus on sustainability and bolstering national mapping and national geospatial organizations while a longer-term commitment centers on a revised research agenda to meet current and future cartographic and GIScience needs. These examples are in addition to other components of the ICA program including the ICA Commissions, conferences, and publications.As the pandemic is global, local to global solutions are needed. The ICA has been actively engaged with the United Nations through the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management. Three UN initiatives, two of which are geospatial frameworks, call out to the cartographic community for their help. The first is the Sustainable Development Goals that began in 2015 with a 2030 target to focus on a better understanding of national populations, their economies and their environments. Measuring and monitoring progress requires data, processes, systems, leadership, and commitment to be effective. The second effort is the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework, the next rendition of National Spatial Data Infrastructures (NSDI), that focuses on nine Strategic Pathways that are needed to create and maintain a sustainable geospatial program. The third initiative responds to the statistical and geospatial communities working together to create the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework which focuses on the integration of these two linked data types.Cartographers can contribute in two areas. The first calls on their knowledge and expertise in working with different data types. For example, geospatially referenced statistical data oftentimes benefits from basic generalization principles such as combination, simplification, exaggeration and displacement. The absence of a small-area global geography sometimes inhibits the usefulness of statistical information which has become painfully evident during this pandemic. The second area that calls out to cartographers is to use their skills in making as many useful maps as possible. These maps need to show current local conditions, illuminate deficiencies, tell a story, and/or inform strategies and plans for addressing the many challenges we face between the pandemic and the underlying conditions of people, their communities, and circumstances oftentimes outside of their control.The presentation shows examples of some of these points and the ICA’s participation thus far. Opportunities for involvement are left to the imaginations of each of us. What is needed now is for cartographers and the cartographic community to act in ways that help in solving current challenges, informing some of the root causes and systemic problems that need attention while outlining approaches for a path forward in our ever increasingly complex world.

Cartography. A book and a MOOC

Abstract. Cartographic education is seemingly in limbo. Courses are closing, professionally trained cartographers are dwindling in numbers and mapping is often not much more than a self-service activity. And all this against a backdrop of the massive increase in map use, the democratization of mapping and a plethora of online materials to aid the novice map-maker. We see many more maps and there’s no doubt that amongst the few gems we see many more very poorly designed maps. But what of the expertise? And what of core competencies in cartography? In a world that now uses Google and Wikipedia as the go-to sage, what of the cartographic textbook? And what of core training? In this presentation I assert that the death of cartographic expertise needs to be staunched. I’ll discuss two new mechanisms to approach the problem. First, a new book designed to re-imagine the dissemination of cartographic knowledge; a cartographic text book with a difference. Secondly, a Massive Open Online Course that, to date, has been taught to over 80,000 registrants worldwide. In planning the book, over a number of years, it became obvious that there was a massive unmet need for a new book about thinking about cartography. A book that veers markedly from a traditional textbook yet delivers core concepts and cartographic principles in a new and engaging way. A book whose content is not tied to chapters but is immediately accessible through a unique structure and which keeps the often mystical cartographic vocabulary to a minimum. A book that supports new map-makers in a visually compelling way yet is mature enough to support practiced cartographers as a go-to companion. “Cartography.” is that book. Published in July 2018, this major new publication is designed to engage with a modern audience keen to learn how to make better maps (Figure 1). In this presentation I will explore the need for a new book and demonstrate the void that it fills in cartographic education. I’ll explain its structure as one that mirrors the map-making process - which is never one that linearly considers projections, colour, typography and so on - but one which supports the interplay of the many simultaneous decisions made in the map-making process. I’ll go into detail about the book’s design, format and content and link it clearly to modern praxis and learning environments. Running at 550 pages with contributions from over 20 acknowledged cartographic experts and over 300 maps and illustrations, it is bold in scope and the intent is to make this a one-stop-shop for cartography, delivering the essentials in a way that makes sense to those who have never studied cartography but which will enable them to take advantage of the many ideas and approaches that define the discipline of cartography; and for those experienced cartographers that seek a companion in their everyday work. I will explain how the book differs from what has gone before and how it supports cartographic education and practice going forward. Turning attention to other learning realms, I will also discuss the book’s companion, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). To date the course has run three times to over 80,000 people. It’s free and spans a 6 week period during which time students get access to videos, software, data and exercises, quizzes and access to cartographic experts via a discussion forum. Each week requires around 3–4 hrs of work per week. The idea is simply to expose people to some fundamental cartographic ideas as an antidote to the simple notion that ‘anyone can make a map’. While that is true, the ability to think about the map and better understand how to make decisions to make the map better are crucial. While not the first MOOC or online course in cartography, this was developed to be a bit larger in scope than those that have gone before. Figure 2 also demonstrates the international reach of the global classroom and how it has captured the imagination. It’s important to note that this is not a talk designed to sell anything other than the idea that we need to rethink cartographic education going forward and for cartographers to reassert their relevance as key players. The two initiatives I present her are one attempt at contributing to repositioning cartographic expertise. Going beyond the cartographic field into data visualisation, visual journalism and democratised mapping is crucial to ensure that people make maps of worth. To do that, we, as a cartographic community must find new and engaging ways, beyond our traditional approaches, to help them see that our ideas resonate and we can add value to their work.

Contemporary challenges in cartographic education

Contemporary challenges in cartographic education

Form Follows Feedback: Rethinking Cartographic Communication

Communication was the first paradigm to gain widespread acceptance amongst the international cartographic community. Drawing on aspects of information theory to rationalise the process of transferring knowledge from the map-maker to the map-user, its aim was to optimise ‘map effectiveness’ by treating the map as a vehicle for communication. From the emergence of the first map communication models of the late 1960s until their demise by the early 1980s, arguably no paradigm has since unified the goals of cartographic theory and practice as successfully. This paper offers a fresh critical appraisal of the cartographic communication paradigm and re-examines its relevance at a time when social media are widely used for disseminating maps and generating feedback – a crucial element of any communication system that received limited attention in earlier map communication models. By proposing a new map communication model, the paper calls for greater convergence between cartographic theory and practice, together with new insights for educating future map-makers.

Ann Sutherland: An Unforgettable Map Curator

9th November 1934 to 25th June 2018Ann Sutherland, who died on 25th June 2018, was best known in the cartographic community for her long-term leadership of the Map Curators’ Group (MCG). Her influe...

ICA contribution to the development of international standards of competence for nautical cartographers

Abstract. All professions face challenges as how best to ensure the achievement and continuance of the highest standards as they seek to determine and promulgate best practices. In the essentially linked professions of hydrographic surveying and nautical cartography these challenges become immediately international in their impacts and require close cooperation between the professional bodies representing surveyors, hydrographers and cartographers. The Standards of Competence for Nautical Cartographers are known in short form as S-8 and they describe the minimum required competencies for nautical cartographers. They indicate the minimum degree of knowledge and experience considered necessary for nautical cartographers and provide a set of programme outlines against which the FIG/IHO/ICA International Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers may evaluate programmes submitted for recognition. The Standards recognize two levels of competence: Cate- gory A and Category B. In nautical charting communities, Category A programmes offer levels of comprehensive and broad-based knowledge in all aspects of the theory and practice of nautical cartography. Category B programmes provide a level of practical comprehension, along with the essential theoretical background, necessary for individuals to carry out the various nautical cartography tasks. The Standards have recently undergone complete review and should be ratified during 2017/18. This paper aims to bring the existence and aims of the Standards to the wider notice of ICA members and to describe the philosophy and aims of the review in meeting the professional competency needs of the nautical cartographic community.

Audiovisual communication of object-names improves the spatial accuracy of recalled object-locations in topographic maps.

Knowing the correct location of a specific object learned from a (topographic) map is fundamental for orientation and navigation tasks. Spatial reference systems, such as coordinates or cardinal directions, are helpful tools for any geometric localization of positions that aims to be as exact as possible. Considering modern visualization techniques of multimedia cartography, map elements transferred through the auditory channel can be added easily. Audiovisual approaches have been discussed in the cartographic community for many years. However, the effectiveness of audiovisual map elements for map use has hardly been explored so far. Within an interdisciplinary (cartography-cognitive psychology) research project, it is examined whether map users remember object-locations better if they do not just read the corresponding place names, but also listen to them as voice recordings. This approach is based on the idea that learning object-identities influences learning object-locations, which is crucial for map-reading tasks. The results of an empirical study show that the additional auditory communication of object names not only improves memory for the names (object-identities), but also for the spatial accuracy of their corresponding object-locations. The audiovisual communication of semantic attribute information of a spatial object seems to improve the binding of object-identity and object-location, which enhances the spatial accuracy of object-location memory.

Rethinking the definition of the word ‘map’: an evaluation of Beck's representation of the London Underground through a qualitative expert survey

This paper reports on the results from a qualitative expert survey of members of the international geospatial community to elicit their view of Henry (Harry) Beck's iconic 1931 representation of the London Underground. It begins by providing a background to the publishing era when Beck's representation was developed under the ‘umbrella’ of the design style adopted by the London Passenger Transport Board to promote the image of ‘the new’ and contemporary Britain. It then outlines Beck's representation and his quest to develop a clearer and more understandable graphic information resource. This is followed by an overview of representative views from the design community about Beck's representation. Finally, it provides the results of research undertaken with an informed international cartographic community to determine whether they viewed the product as a map or a diagram. It is important to understand how Beck's representation is viewed from the perspective of the geospatial community. If it works as a map, albeit one where geography is generally abandoned, relative positions are favoured over the absolute and azimuth is distorted, then the view that successful (geo)communication artefacts must be linked to map designs that focus on precise and true representations of geographic information can be questioned.

The Role of Education in the International Map Year 2015/16

Abstract. This paper considers the nature of the ICA-organised International Map Year (IMY), an initiative supported through United Nations structures, including the United Nations initiative on Global Geographic Information Management (UN-GGIM). Preparatory work for this project has been undertaken by a Working Group of the International Cartographic Association, and details are presented of the way in which IMY will be organised and promoted. Particular activities mentioned in depth include "national map days", children’s activities, and a new book. The educational aspects of IMY are addressed, and the roles of the events and resources Are considered. It is concluded that IMY gives a significant opportunity to the world-wide cartographic community to promote its discipline through the medium of a series of activities which can be co-ordinated by ICA, but delivered at a national level.

Reflections on Cartography as the British Cartographic Society Celebrates its Golden Jubilee

When John Keates sent out an invitation to as many as he could identify as working in cartography in early 1963, I was in the throes of moving from Cambridge to LSE where there were prospects of a relatively permanent academic post in geography. I had previously given my name to Brigadier Gardiner who had from 1961 been scoping the extent of the cartographic community in the UK. This was initially to establish a basis for the UK’s membership of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) which was being established. I could not spare time to attend the founding meeting of the British Cartographic Society (BCS) in Leicester, but joined as soon as there was a society to join. By then I was certain that I would, if possible, follow an academic career in geography. At that juncture, cartography for me embraced map making and map use, the study of maps over time and their curation. I saw maps as central to the discipline of cartography, as I still do today. The definition of cartography produced by the BCS was essentially accepted by the ICA’s working group on Technical Terms. I was a member of the working group on that subject which was chaired by W. D. C. Wiggins for the Royal Society. Although in 1964 I was unable to participate in the ICA meetings in Edinburgh, I was in contact with several of the founding members of BCS, notably Maling and Willatts. The latter had been a mentor since I was at school. We were related and lived in the same parish, Horton, Buckinghamshire. Thus, I was well aware of the importance of the Land Utilisation Survey (LUS) directed by L. Dudley Stamp. Willatts was the organizing secretary of that survey and its influence on the Geography departments of both LSE and King’s College London, where I spent 3 years as an undergraduate, was immense. Joint teaching arrangements between the two colleges in geography in the interwar period, renewed post-war, offered a huge choice of special courses by experts. Cartography was foremost a practical discipline covering topographic map interpretation, thematic map design often from statistics, but concepts of map design were assumed to exist in the minds of the map makers. Geographers versed in systematic and regional analysis illustrated their research in map form. Their approach to understanding the locality, the region, the country was regarded by Willatts as part and parcel of cartographic training – the aim being to train individuals to produce meaningful maps. Not only had Willatts, as a student, focused his thoughts through sketch maps, but his grasp of how best to portray a phenomenon across geographical space had been tested in the 1930s. This proved sufficiently effective to support his claim to head the maps office set up under Lord Reith in 1941. The Ten Miles to One Inch maps (actually 1 : 625 000) of the Ordnance Survey (OS) published National Atlas were only the first of a series of maps for government, initially for England and Wales, then for its regions. The government Maps Office employed many of those who had been recruited to work on the LUS project at LSE a decade earlier. Several who had joined university geography departments and newer recruits were the core members of the new cartographic organisations of 1963. Thematic maps drawn competently by cartographic illustrators according to the drafts provided by academic map authors became the norm. Their use was limited only by the funds available for block making in journals and books. Black and white hand-drawn linework, later aided by printed patterns on waxed transparent sheets, achieved a very high state of competence in depicting the patterns required by the authors. At times by further exploration of the data, usually manually, cartographers would present authors with patterns which they could make sense of. But sometimes it was thought best to produce the neutral or most objective pattern. In the government Maps Office, ministers or officials raised questions, statistics were plotted by small areas, maps were drafted and discussed. Handling the data manually meant that the cartographers had to manipulate them transparently in the full knowledge of the effect of classification and symbolisation. University geography courses in the 1950s were supported by texts by Debenham, then by Monkhouse and Wilkinson in Britain. The USA had seen the first edition of Elements of Cartography in 1953 supplementing Raisz’s General Cartography updated from a 1938 original edition in 1947. During a 3-year spell in South Africa as a geographer employed to conduct a land use and regional survey of an area the size of Kent (UK), I soon discovered the practicalities of mapping. Working in an inter-disciplinary The Cartographic Journal Vol. 50 No. 2 pp. 105–108 50th Anniversary Special Issue, May 2013 # The British Cartographic Society 2013

Detection and Visualisations of Ecotones–Important Landscape Pattern under Uncertainty

Ecotones are significant part of almost every landscape structures and have a significant effect on the distribution of species. Spatial variability of ecotones has resulted in problematic modelling, analysis and visualization of these landscape forms. Their spatial variability and fuzzy character are causing uncertain and problematic handling in GIScience. Uncertainty of ecotones in the landscape arises from many sources, including complexities inherent in ecosystems and their disturbance processes. However, gaining knowledge about ecosystems at the landscape level is often impeded by limitations in collecting comprehensive, representative, as well as accurate data sets. The investigation into ecotones enables a better understanding of the causal relationships between certain landscape elements and landscape utilization categories. Visualization of spatial uncertainty is still challenging topic for cartographic community with many unsolved research questions. The presentation explores the possible visualization methods for portrayal ecotones based on detection, description and analysis of geographic boundaries of Trkmanka river catchment with respect to cartographical rules and cognitive aspects. Ecotones plays

Cognitively Inspired and Perceptually Salient Graphic Displays for Efficient Spatial Inference Making

Developing a visual hierarchy in map displays that is congruent with thematic levels of relevance is a fundamental cartographic design task. Cartographers employ a set of visual variables (e.g., size, color hue, color value, orientation, etc.) for 2-D, static maps to systematically match levels of thematically relevant information to a perceptual hierarchy based on figure–ground relationships. In this article, we empirically investigate the relationship of thematic relevance and perceptual salience in static weather map displays. We are particularly interested in how novices' viewing patterns are modified when thematically relevant items are made perceptually more salient through design. In essence, we are asking whether perceptually salient elements draw novice viewers' attention to thematically relevant information, whether or not users have domain knowledge. In a factorial experiment, we ask novice participants to evaluate the wind direction in weather maps before and after training all participants on meteorological principles. Our empirical results suggest that display design (i.e., saliency) does not influence the accuracy of response, whether participants have prior knowledge or not (i.e., training). Analysis of the eye-movement patterns, however, suggests that display design does affect viewing behavior and response time. These findings provide rare empirical evidence for generally accepted design practices within the cartographic community (e.g., the effects of visual variables). We chose weather map displays as one typical example of commonly used maps for our study, but the methods employed are generic enough to be applicable to any spatial display (static or interactive) that might be produced by GIScientists, cartographers, geographic information system (GIS) practitioners, and others.

Visualization viewpoints: beyond geovisualization

The cartographic community realizes that the problems presented by the need to understand complex data can't be solved with maps alone, although they are convinced of their visual strength in complex circumstances. The community, and especially the commission on visualization and virtual environments of the International Cartographic Association, has taken a different approach to mapping. In practice, we should view geovisualization activities in the context of the geoprofessional's working approach. Geodata and software from all types of sources are now linked in geodata infrastructures established on local, national, and international levels. Users solve their problems with services and data available via the infrastructure and no longer need to have all data and software locally available. We should keep reaching to other technology-oriented disciplines, but we need to strive to make geovisualization knowledge common in application fields