Maps, agents and dialogue for exploring a virtual world

In previous years we have been involved in several projects in which users (or visitors) had to find their way in information-rich virtual environments. 'Information-rich' means that the users do not know beforehand what is available in the environment, where to go in the environment to find the information and, moreover, users or visitors do not necessarily know exactly what they are looking for. Information-rich means also that the information may change during time. A second visit to the same environment will require different behavior of the visitor in order for him or her to obtain similar information than was available during a previous visit. In this paper we report about two projects and discuss our attempts to generalize from the different approaches and application domains to obtain a library of methods and tools to design and implement intelligent agents that inhabit virtual environments and where the agents support the navigation of the user/visitor

Atlas of Ocean Wealth

The Atlas of Ocean Wealth is the largest collection to date of information about the economic, social and cultural values of coastal and marine habitats from all over the world. It is a synthesis of innovative science, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with many partners around the world. Through these efforts, they've gathered vast new datasets from both traditional and less likely sources.The work includes more than 35 novel and critically important maps that show how nature's value to people varies widely from place to place. They also illustrate nature's potential. These maps show that one can accurately quantify the value of marine resources. Further, by enumerating such values, one can encourage their protection or enhancement for the benefit of people all around the world. In summary, it clearly articulates not just that we need nature, but how much we need it, and where

Data Users Note: Lunar maps available from NSSDC

The types of maps available from the National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites for the support of lunar and comparative planetology scientific investigations are identified and described. Information on other sources of maps useful to planetologists is included. The maps are listed according to increased map scale. Parameters given include the name, scale, date of edition, the four corner coordinates of each maps, and the NSSDC ID

The power of GIS language

I have been working now for 50 years – since the foundation of Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), in 1969 – on building software tools that help different kinds of users do their work better. Some of this is daily management, some of it is work flows but the power of GIS is the central power, the heart of GIS is really remarkable. It’s almost magical to me. So, I’m sort of rediscovering myself and emphasising to all of GIS users all over the world to make better maps. Maps are about telling a story. Many of the maps that users make are maps that don’t tell a story. There are lines and dots and a text and graphic display but they are not leveraging the power of this communication language. So I think of maps as a kind of language and we have photographs and paintings – these are graphic expressions of reality but a map is much more powerful and we need to treat it as the power that it has

Knowledge Mapping for Open Sensemaking Communities

By analogy to cartographic representations of spatial worlds, Knowledge Maps provide an ‘aerial view’ of a topic by highlighting key elements and connections. Moreover, just as spatial maps simplify the world and can fuel controversy, maps of conceptual worlds provide vehicles for summarising and negotiating meaning. In conjunction with the UK Open University’s Open Educational Resources OpenLearn project, we are investigating the role of such maps for both learners and educators to share – and debate – interpretations of OERs. In this brief update, we describe how a mapping tool (Compendium) has been integrated with OpenLearn’s elearning platform (Moodle) in order to support tasks such as concept analysis, problem-solving, literature review, learning path planning, argument analysis and OER design

The early cartography of Renfrewshire to 1864

With their detail of past geographical distributions, early maps can be valuable documents in assisting many fields of local study. Much of Scotland's distinctive cartography was channelled into the brief period between the publication of the Blaeu atlas in 1654 and the Ordnance Survey six- and twenty-five inch sheets which first appeared in the 1840s and 1850s. Despite a scarcity of maps, particularly prior to the mid-eighteenth century, Scotland has a uniquely rich cartographic history and the work of early map-makers has contributed to placing "Scotland among the best mapped countries in the world". Unfortunately, this archive of Scotland's past remains largely untapped and study of the maps themselves has been noticeably limited, particularly in the field of cartobibliography (or listing what exists), where few areas have been investigated in detail. This work attempts to fill the gap for Renfrewshire and its burghs of Paisley, Greenock and Port Glasgow. The selected maps are mostly topographical, illustrating the county either as a separate unit or as a major part of a larger area. Maps which cover the whole of Scotland are not discussed, thereby excluding the one-inch Ordnance Survey sheets. Also omitted are large scale plans of estates or significant portions of the county. As the intention is to be as comprehensive as possible, both printed and manuscript maps are listed. Relatively few thematic maps were published before the middle of the nineteenth century but those relating solely to the county are again discussed

Ortelius Map of Africa

The “Presbiteri Iohannis Sive, Abissinorvm Imperii Descriptio,” or “Map of the Kingdom of Prester John,” is a work by Abraham Ortelius, a cartographer, cosmographer, and publisher who was born and died in Antwerp, Belgium. This map was published in the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or Theater of the World, “the first uniformly sized and systematically collected set of maps by different mapmakers which is acknowledged as the first atlas,” published c. 1570 and edited into a number of languages posthumously through 1612. The atlas contained 70 maps engraved by Frans Hogenberg on 53 folio sheets. [excerpt