Geospatial images in the acquisition of spatial knowledge for wayfinding

Geospatial images such as maps and aerial photographs are important sources of spatial knowledge that people use for wayfinding. The rapid development of geodata acquisition and digital graphics has recently led to rather complete geographic coverage of both traditional and novel types of geospatial images. Divergent types of geospatial images vary in their support of human acquisition of spatial knowledge. However evaluative studies about the acquisition of spatial knowledge from the diversity of geospatial images have been rare. In this article we review a variety of literature about the acquisition of spatial knowledge while paying particular attention to the role of geospatial images. Based on the literature we present a framework of image parameters that characterize the acquisition of spatial knowledge from geospatial images: vantage point number of visible vertical features and visual realism. With the help of the framework we evaluate commonly used geospatial images. In concordance with the previous experiments our evaluation shows that the different types of geospatial images have large differences in the types of spatial knowledge they support and to what extent. However further experimentation is needed in order to better understand the human cognitive needs for geospatial images and to develop more useful geospatial images for wayfinding

Evaluating the effectiveness of spatial information in EIA reports from a public participation perspective : case study of selected projects in South Africa

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of spatial information used and presented during EIA processes, public participation process (PPP) and inside Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIARs) from a public participation perspective. To achieve this aim, the spatial information in 25 EIARs was evaluated on how it was utilised and presented for proposed renewable energy projects in the Northern Cape province. Such spatial representations help stakeholders to understand the geographical location of the proposed projects, their environmental feasibility, spatial extent, anticipated environmental and socio-economic impacts and how such information catered to the needs of stakeholders. Thus, the research identified the different uses of spatial representations and their varying degrees of visual realisms. The results revealed different types of spatial illustrations along with their degrees of visual realism. Furthermore, this study indicated different dimensions of PP and how the issues and concerns that were documented related to the use and depiction of spatial information. These dimensions (notification methods, participation method, venue, language used and type of participants) were evaluated alongside the issues and concerns that were raised by the EIA stakeholders. Lastly, a number of recommendations have been suggested for improved quality of spatial information provided during EIA processes. Keywords: Environmental impact assessment, public participation process, spatial information, categories of spatial information, visual realism and dimensions of public participation.M.Sc. (Environmental Management

Analysing landmarks in nature and elements of geospatial images to support wayfinding

Osajulkaisut: Publication 1: Kettunen P., Putto K., Gyselinck V., Krause C. M. and L. T. Sarjakoski, 2014. Perception and recall of landmarks by day and night along a route in nature. In: Vondrakova A., Brus J., Voženilek V. (eds.) CARTOCON 2014. Modern trends in Cartography. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. Publication 2: Kettunen P., Irvankoski K., Krause C. M. and L. T. Sarjakoski, 2013. Landmarks in nature to support wayfinding: effects of seasons and experimental methods. Cognitive Processing 14(3): 245–253. DOI:10.1007/s10339-013-0538-4 Publication 3: Sarjakoski L. T., Kettunen P., Flink H.-M., Laakso M., Ronneberg M. and T. Sarjakoski, 2012. Analysis of Verbal Route Descriptions and Landmarks for Hiking. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 16(8): 1001–1011. DOI:10.1007/s00779-011-0460-7 Publication 4: Sarjakoski L. T., Kettunen P., Flink H.-M., Laakso M., Ronneberg M., Stigmar H. and T. Sarjakoski, 2013. Landmarks and a hiking ontology to support wayfinding in a national park during different seasons. In: Raubal M., Frank A. U. and D. M. Mark (eds.) Cognitive and Linguistic Aspects of Geographic Space. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp. 99–119. DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-34359-9_6 Publication 5: Kettunen P., Irvankoski K., Krause C. M., Sarjakoski T. and L. T. Sarjakoski, 2012. Geospatial images in the acquisition of spatial knowledge for wayfinding. Journal of Spatial Information Science 5: 75–106. DOI:10.5311/JOSIS.2012.5.85 Publication 6: Kettunen P., Sarjakoski T., Sarjakoski L. T. and J. Oksanen, 2009. Cartographic Portrayal of Terrain in Oblique Parallel Projection. In: Proc. of the 24th International Cartographic Conference. Nov 15–21, Santiago, Chile. Publication 7: Putto K., Kettunen P., Torniainen J., Krause C. M. and L. T. Sarjakoski, 2014. Effects of cartographic elevation visualizations and mapreading tasks on eye movements. The Cartographic Journal 51(3): 225–236. DOI:10.1179/1743277414Y.0000000087This dissertation applies the research and methods of spatial cognition in order to contribute to the development of wayfinding support in geospatial applications. The design and development of geospatial applications, such as interactive maps and mobile navigation applications, has been typically founded on the expertise of surveying, cartography and geoinformatics. This has often led to relatively complex expert tools that many users find difficult to use. The research of spatial cognition can provide elementary understanding about human thinking in the use situations of these applications and supplement the knowledge gained using the usability research. Perception of landmarks along routes in nature was studied in season and time-of-day studies with participants who walked nature trails in summer, winter, day and night while thinking aloud about the surroundings. The recall of the route was measured afterwards using sketch-map drawing and photo recognition tasks. The think-aloud protocols were analysed using classification of propositions and natural language processing. The importance of landmarks for the human route perception in nature was confirmed. "Structures", "Passages" and "Waters" were the most perceived landmark groups. Season and time-of-day significantly affected landmark perception and, based on the results, the adaptivity of geospatial applications in the studied conditions can be improved. The transfer of the empirically acquired knowledge of the landmark perception to geoinformatics was illustrated with a formal landmark ontology for hiking in nature. The measures of landmark recall were found unexpectedly similar in all the studied conditions. The similarity was explained by the salience of landmarks in nature and the structure of route-like sketch maps but also by the participants' conceptions on what should be drawn on maps. "Passages" and "Structures" were the most-often drawn landmark groups on the sketch maps. Support of geospatial images for wayfinding was evaluated using a literature-based evaluation framework. Visualisation of elevation was experimented with by rendering a 3D map, a derivative of which was compared to 2D elevation visualisations in an eye-tracking study. Vertical elements and elevation were found to be central wayfinding elements in geo-images and the aerial oblique vantage point the most effective image parameter for transferring spatial knowledge. The rendered 3D map was evaluated as cognitively demanding to look at but, however, showed potential in representing the terrain relief. The dissertation also considers challenges in the application of the methods of spatial cognition research and identifies directions for future studies.Tämä väitöskirja hyödyntää spatiaalisen kognition tutkimusta ja menetelmiä tavoitteena vaikuttaa geospatiaalisten sovellusten kehittämiseen reitinkulun tukemisen osalta. Geospatiaalisten sovellusten, kuten vuorovaikutteisten karttojen ja mobiilien navigointisovellusten, suunnittelu ja kehittäminen on tyypillisesti pohjautunut syvälliseen maanmittauksen, kartografian ja geoinformatiikan asiantuntijuuteen. Tämä on usein johtanut monimutkaisiin sovelluksiin, jotka monet kokevat vaikeiksi käyttää. Spatiaalisen kognition tutkimus voi tarjota tietoa ihmisen spatiaalisesta ajattelusta sovellusten käyttötilanteissa ja täydentää käytettävyystutkimuksilla saavutettua tietämystä. Maamerkkien havaitsemista luonnossa tutkittiin eri vuoden- ja vuorokaudenaikoina. Koehenkilöt kävelivät luontoreitit kesällä, talvella, päivällä ja yöllä ajatellen ääneen ympäristön maamerkeistä. Maamerkkien muistamista tutkittiin karttaluonnoksin ja valokuvantunnistuksella. Ääneenajattelu analysoitiin ilmaisujen luokittelulla ja luonnollisen kielen käsittelyllä. Maamerkit todettiin tärkeiksi reitin hahmottamiselle luonnossa. "Rakennukset", "kulkuväylät" ja "opasteet" olivat eniten havaitut maamerkkiryhmät. Vuodenajan ja vuorokaudenajan todettiin vaikuttavan maamerkkien hahmottamiseen. Tulosten perusteella voidaan parantaa geospatiaalisten sovellusten mukautuvuutta tutkituissa olosuhteissa. Saavutettua kokeellista tutkimustietoa voidaan hyödyntää geoinformatiikan sovelluksissa käyttäen luotua formaalia maamerkkiontologiaa. Maamerkkien muistaminen oli vastoin odotuksia hyvin samankaltaista tutkittujen olosuhteiden kesken. Samankaltaisuus selittyi maamerkkien havaittavuudella luonnossa ja karttaluonnosten reittikeskeisyydellä, mutta myös koehenkilöiden käsityksellä kohteista, jotka on tarpeen piirtää kartalle. "Kulkuväylät" ja "rakennukset" olivat karttaluonnosten piirretyimmät maamerkkiryhmät. Geospatiaalisten kuvien tukea reitinkululle tutkittiin käyttäen kirjallisuuteen perustuvaa arviointikehystä. Korkeuden esittämistä tutkittiin koostamalla kokeellinen 3D-kartta, josta johdettua karttaa verrattiin silmänliiketutkimuksessa kaksiulotteisiin korkeudenesitystapoihin. Tutkimukset vahvistivat geokuvien korkeusesityksen ja pystysuorien kohteiden tärkeyden reitinkulun tukemisessa. Yläviisto katselukulma havaittiin yhdeksi tehokkaimmista kuvaparametreista spatiaalisen tiedon välittämisessä. Koostettu 3D-kartta osoittautui kognitiivisesti kuormittavaksi lukea, mutta ilmensi kehitysmahdollisuuksia maaston korkeuserojen esittämisessä. Väitöskirja käsittelee myös haasteita spatiaalisen kognition tutkimusmenetelmien soveltamisessa ja esittää tulevaisuuden tutkimusaiheita