Interactive cartographic route descriptions

Providing an adequate route description requires in-depth spatial knowledge of the route in question. In this article we demonstrate that despite having travelled a route recently and having much experience of the area in question, an individual may lack such a degree of knowledge. Previous research and experience informs us that a map is an effective tool for bridging gaps in one’s spatial knowledge. In this article we propose an approach, known as an Interactive Route Description, for defining and interpreting route descriptions interactively with a map. This approach is based on the concept of annotating the map in question and allows the aforementioned gap in one’s spatial knowledge to be bridged. An additional benefit of defining route descriptions in this way is that it facilitates automatic parsing and in turn offers many potential applications. One such application, illustrated in this paper, is the automatic transformation to other representations of the description such as turn-by-turn instructions

Trends and concerns in digital cartography

CISRG discussion paper ;

The architectural topographic grain of contingent events: An exploratory 'toponemic' analysis of an interactive narrative

The philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin referred to the prevailing imaginaries of fictional time-space associated with distinctive phases in the development of the novel as their ‘chronotope’. In this paper I argue that the form of the chronotope can be regarded in relational terms as the arrangement of architectural topographic descriptions that prefigure the time-space of narrative possibility. These denotative descriptions are intrinsic to the temporalizing quality of contingency that distinguish particular sequences of action and occurrence as signifying events. An exploratory analysis of the dungeon-cave complex described in the Fantasy Fighting Gamebook (FFG) The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, published in 1982, offers an example of a ludic chronotope in which the player’s navigation of the text defines the gamespace. The interactive format of FFGs facilitates the quantitative examination of the relationship between architectural topographic descriptions and narrative possibilities that are non-linear because what happens in the game depends on players’ route choices. Space syntax methods are applied to show how the ‘mapping’ of literary time-space has less to do with establishing degrees of real-world correspondence so much as with recognizing the architectural topographic form of the chronotope as expressing the integrity of the fictional world’s own system of reality. Firetop Mountain is then examined using ‘toponemic analysis’ to identify how the characteristic figures of actual narrative events are contingently generated through gameplay, rather than pre-determined by the global properties of its chronotopical form. Yet such contingency is not complete randomness. If it were the gaming world would be unplayable

Rethinking Map Legends with Visualization

This design paper presents new guidance for creating map legends in a dynamic environment. Our contribution is a set of guidelines for legend design in a visualization context and a series of illustrative themes through which they may be expressed. These are demonstrated in an applications context through interactive software prototypes. The guidelines are derived from cartographic literature and in liaison with EDINA who provide digital mapping services for UK tertiary education. They enhance approaches to legend design that have evolved for static media with visualization by considering: selection, layout, symbols, position, dynamism and design and process. Broad visualization legend themes include: The Ground Truth Legend, The Legend as Statistical Graphic and The Map is the Legend. Together, these concepts enable us to augment legends with dynamic properties that address specific needs, rethink their nature and role and contribute to a wider re-evaluation of maps as artifacts of usage rather than statements of fact. EDINA has acquired funding to enhance their clients with visualization legends that use these concepts as a consequence of this work. The guidance applies to the design of a wide range of legends and keys used in cartography and information visualization

Introduction: Creating new worlds out of old texts

Despite initial expectations that globalization would eradicate the need for geographical space and distance, "maps matter" today in ways that were unimaginable a mere two decades ago. Technological advances have brought to the fore an entirely new set of methods for representing and interacting with spatial formations, while the ever-increasing mobility of ideas, capital, and people has created a world in which urban and regional inequalities are being heightened at an accelerating pace. As a result, the ability of any given place to reap the benefits of global socio-technical flows mainly hinges on the forging of connections that can transcend the limits of its material location. In contrast to the traditional "topographic" perspective, the territorial extent of economic and political realms is being increasingly conceived through a "topological" lens: as a set of overlapping reticulations in which the nature and frequency of links among different sites matter more than the physical distances between them. At the same time, a parallel stream of innovation has revolutionized the understanding of space in disciplines such as history, archaeology, classics, and linguistics. Much of this work has been concentrated in the burgeoning field of the "digital humanities", which has been persistently breaking new ground in the conceptualization of past and present places. When seen in the context of globalization-induced dynamics, such developments emphasize the need for developing cartographic approaches that can bring out the inherently networked structure of social space via a lens that is both theoretically integrative and heuristically sharp. We have decided to respond to these analytical and methodological challenges by focusing on ancient Greek literature: a corpus of work that has often been characterized as being free of the constraints imposed by post-Enlightenment cartography, despite setting the foundations of many contemporary map-making methods. In the 12 chapters that follow, we highlight the rich array of representational devices employed by authors from this era, whose narrative depictions of spatial relations defy the logic of images and surfaces that dominates contemporary cartographic thought. There is a particular focus on Herodotus' Histories - a text that is increasingly taken up by classicists as the example of how ancient perceptions of space may have been rather different to the cartographic view that we tend to assume. But this volume also considers the spatial imaginary through the lens of other authors (e.g. Aristotle), genres (e.g. hymns), cultural contexts (e.g. Babylon), and disciplines (e.g. archaeology), with a view to stimulating a broad-based discussion among readers and critics of Herodotus and ancient Greek literature and culture more generally. In fact, many of the disciplinary and conceptual perspectives explored here are at their inception, and have a more general relevance for the wider community of humanities and social science researchers interested in novel mapping techniques. The resulting juxtaposition of more "traditional", philological discussions of space with chapters dedicated to the exploration of new technologies may jar or appear uneven, especially since we have not set out to privilege one method over another. But it is through viewing these different approaches in the round and reading them alongside each other that, we maintain, we can best disrupt customary ways of thinking (and writing) about space and catch a glimpse of new possibilities

Digital storytelling approaches in virtual museums: umbrella review of systematic reviews

Museums have the mission of promoting and safeguarding objects of historical value and have undergone several modifications over time to take the focus off the object and give more importance to information and the visitor. Currently they encompass different types of experiences, either through digital and interactive elements, or through new approaches, such as storytelling, which has acted as a protagonist of these transformations. In this sense, the museum in the digital mode, known as virtual museum, plays an important role in this sharing of information and experiences. However, by having different modalities for navigation and interaction, especially in formats that simulate the physical visit, like virtual tours, they present some problems that have been identified in the literature, such as, solitary visit, lack of script to follow and little interaction with the exhibited objects. This literature review was conducted between 2013-2021 and 14 papers were selected for analysis. The results support the understanding of the role of narratives and the way museums use them in the virtual space and highlights the gaps of knowledge on the use of storytelling in this context.This work is financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within project PTDC/HAR-HIS/3024/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Map functions to facilitate situational awareness during emergency events

Emergency events such as floods and wildfires are handled by various responders and at various levels: strategic, tactical, and operational. To facilitate situational awareness, emergency responders require customized map-based decision support systems that are tailored to specific needs depending on the responders’ organizational affiliation, role, objectives, and occupationally specific knowledge. As a result, the systems are equipped with manifold map functions. However, the diversity of map-based emergency tools in use impedes gaining common user skills among their target audiences and thus, requires a systematic overview. Through a multistep research process, this study was to: investigate the requirements for support from map-based tools expressed by various emergency responders in Norway, identify desired map functions, and categorize those functions to facilitate an overview. Six stages constituted our workflow: meetings with Norwegian emergency responders, survey on selected map-based tools, interviews with designers and users of tools, a table-top exercise, theoretical considerations, and validation with stakeholders. This study contributes to the state of the art by systematizing and structuring knowledge about map functions that facilitate situational awareness. In turn, it helps developing and optimizing functionality of map-based tools depending on needs of specific emergency responders.publishedVersionPaid open acces

The Glacier Complexes of the Mountain Massifs of the North-West of Inner Asia and their Dynamics

The subject of this paper is the glaciation of the mountain massifs Mongun-Taiga, Tavan-Boghd-Ola, Turgeni- Nuru, and Harhira-Nuru. The glaciation is represented mostly by small forms that sometimes form a single complex of domeshaped peaks. According to the authors, the modern glaciated area of the mountain massifs is 21.2 km2 (Tavan-Boghd-Ola), 20.3 km2 (Mongun-Taiga), 42 km2 (Turgeni- Nuru), and 33.1 km2 (Harhira-Nuru). The area of the glaciers has been shrinking since the mid 1960’s. In 1995–2008, the rate of reduction of the glaciers’ area has grown considerably: valley glaciers were rapidly degrading and splitting; accumulation of morainic material in the lower parts of the glaciers accelerated. Small glaciers transformed into snowfields and rock glaciers. There has been also a degradation of the highest parts of the glaciers and the collapse of the glacial complexes with a single zone of accumulation into isolated from each other glaciers. Reduced snow cover area has led to a rise in the firn line and the disintegration of a common accumulation area of the glacial complex. In the of the Mongun-Taiga massif, in 1995– 2008, the firn line rose by 200–300 m. The reduction of the glaciers significantly lagged behind the change in the position of the accumulation area boundary. In the past two years, there has been a significant recovery of the glaciers that could eventually lead to their slower degradation or stabilization of the glaciers in the study area