LBS as Vectors of Influence

Due to their technical capabilities and use-cases, LBS can impose autonomy constraints on individuals, both through direct interaction and via indirect means. This essay outlines four main interaction characteristics that constitute LBS as a vector of influence and contextualizes them by mapping them onto a pragmatic framework of autonomy

Kontext für den (mobilen) Journalismus der Zukunft

In einer Gesellschaft, in der sich Individuen gleichermaßen mobil und online bewegen, erwartet man von der Medienkommunikation, dass sie sich genau darauf einstellt. Das heißt: Angebote von Zeitungen, Hörfunk oder Fernsehsendern müssten nach dieser Auffassung den gesellschaftlichen Anspruch spiegeln, indem sie Nachrichten auch online, mobil und mit konkretem Ortsbezug zur Verfügung stellen. Studien zeigten in der Vergangenheit, dass dies keineswegs der Fall ist. Der Beitrag zeigt, dass dies auch heute gilt: So genannte LBS, also lokalbasierte Dienste (Location-based Services) sind in der informationsorientierten Medienkommunikation in Deutschland weitestgehend ausgeblendet. Dies wird anhand einer Inhaltsanalyse mobiler Nachrichten-Anwendung sowie der Auswertung einer durchgeführten Online-Nutzerbefragung gezeigt.In a society in which individuals act mobile and online, media communication is expected to adapt. That means, one can expect content offers from newspapers, radio or television broadcasters will reflect these social demands by making news available online, on the go and making use of geobased data, the user of mobile devices regularly provides. Studies in the past were able to show that this is not the case. The current contribution proofs: This, still is valid for today's media communication concerning content. So-called LBS, location-based services, are to be searched in information-oriented media communication in Germany. The contribution will make use of a content analysis of a mobile news applications, and it additionally evaluates the outcome of an user survey conducted online

Articulated Trajectory Mapping for Reviewing Walking Tours

This paper addresses how to enrich a map-based representation for reviewing walking tours with the features of trajectory mapping and tracing animation. Generally, a trajectory generated by raw GPS data can often be difficult to browse through on a map. To resolve this issue, we first illustrated tangled trajectory lines, inaccurate indoor positioning, and unstable trajectory lines as problems encountered when mapping raw trajectory data. Then, we proposed a new framework that focuses on GPS horizontal accuracy to locate indoor location points and find stopping points on an accelerometer. We also applied a conventional line simplification algorithm to make the trajectory cleaner and then integrated the extracted points with the clean trajectory line. Furthermore, our experiments with some actual logs of walking tours demonstrated that articulated trajectory mapping, which comprises simplification and characterization methods, sufficiently reliable and effective for better reviewing experiences. The paper contributes to the research on cleaning up map-based displays and tracing animations of raw trajectory GPS data by using not only location data but also sensor data that smartphones can collect

Abstraction and cartographic generalization of geographic user-generated content: use-case motivated investigations for mobile users

On a daily basis, a conventional internet user queries different internet services (available on different platforms) to gather information and make decisions. In most cases, knowingly or not, this user consumes data that has been generated by other internet users about his/her topic of interest (e.g. an ideal holiday destination with a family traveling by a van for 10 days). Commercial service providers, such as search engines, travel booking websites, video-on-demand providers, food takeaway mobile apps and the like, have found it useful to rely on the data provided by other users who have commonalities with the querying user. Examples of commonalities are demography, location, interests, internet address, etc. This process has been in practice for more than a decade and helps the service providers to tailor their results based on the collective experience of the contributors. There has been also interest in the different research communities (including GIScience) to analyze and understand the data generated by internet users. The research focus of this thesis is on finding answers for real-world problems in which a user interacts with geographic information. The interactions can be in the form of exploration, querying, zooming and panning, to name but a few. We have aimed our research at investigating the potential of using geographic user-generated content to provide new ways of preparing and visualizing these data. Based on different scenarios that fulfill user needs, we have investigated the potential of finding new visual methods relevant to each scenario. The methods proposed are mainly based on pre-processing and analyzing data that has been offered by data providers (both commercial and non-profit organizations). But in all cases, the contribution of the data was done by ordinary internet users in an active way (compared to passive data collections done by sensors). The main contributions of this thesis are the proposals for new ways of abstracting geographic information based on user-generated content contributions. Addressing different use-case scenarios and based on different input parameters, data granularities and evidently geographic scales, we have provided proposals for contemporary users (with a focus on the users of location-based services, or LBS). The findings are based on different methods such as semantic analysis, density analysis and data enrichment. In the case of realization of the findings of this dissertation, LBS users will benefit from the findings by being able to explore large amounts of geographic information in more abstract and aggregated ways and get their results based on the contributions of other users. The research outcomes can be classified in the intersection between cartography, LBS and GIScience. Based on our first use case we have proposed the inclusion of an extended semantic measure directly in the classic map generalization process. In our second use case we have focused on simplifying geographic data depiction by reducing the amount of information using a density-triggered method. And finally, the third use case was focused on summarizing and visually representing relatively large amounts of information by depicting geographic objects matched to the salient topics emerged from the data

Influencable autonomy and predictable freedom in the IoE

This thesis investigates how individuals can develop, exercise, and maintain autonomy and freedom in the presence of information technology. It is particularly interested in how information technology can impose autonomy constraints. The first part identifies a problem with current autonomy discourse: There is no agreed upon object of reference when bemoaning loss of or risk to an individual’s autonomy. Here, thesis introduces a pragmatic conceptual framework to classify autonomy constraints. In essence, the proposed framework divides autonomy in three categories: intrinsic autonomy, relational autonomy and informational autonomy. The second part of the thesis investigates the role of information technology in enabling and facilitating autonomy constraints. The analysis identifies eleven characteristics of information technology, as it is embedded in society, so-called vectors of influence, that constitute risk to an individual’s autonomy in a substantial way. These vectors are assigned to three sets that correspond to the general sphere of the information transfer process to which they can be attributed to, namely domain-specific vectors, agent-specific vectors and information recipient-specific vectors. The third part of the thesis investigates selected ethical and legal implications of autonomy constraints imposed by information technology. It shows the utility of the theoretical frameworks introduced earlier in the thesis when conducting an ethical analysis of autonomy-constraining technology. It also traces the concept of autonomy in the European Data Lawsand investigates the impact of cultural embeddings of individuals on efforts to safeguard autonomy, showing intercultural flashpoints of autonomy differences. In view of this, the thesis approaches the exercise and constraint of autonomy in presence of information technology systems holistically. It contributes to establish a common understanding of (intuitive) terminology and concepts, connects this to current phenomena arising out of ever-increasing interconnectivity and computational power and helps operationalize the protection of autonomy through application of the proposed frameworks