How do texture and color communicate uncertainty in climate change map displays?

We report on an empirical study with over hundred online participants where we investigatedhow texture and color value, two popular visual variables used to convey uncertainty in maps,are understood by non-domain-experts. Participants intuit denser dot textures to mean greaterattribute certainty; irrespective of whether the dot pattern is labeled certain or uncertain. Withthis additional empirical evidence, we hope to further improve our understanding of how non-domain experts interpret uncertainty information depicted in map displays. This in turn willallow us to more clearly and legibly communicate uncertainty information in climate changemaps, so that these displays can be unmistakably understood by decision-makers and the generalpublic

Modèle de conception cartographique intégrant l'expérience utilisateur

International audienceThe use of geoportals facilitates access to reference topographic representations (IGN 1 , OSM 2 , etc.). In most cases, geoportals do not offer legend to users, thus impacting the interpretation and assimilation of visualised geographic information. Likewise, in some cases, particularly in border areas, geoportals provide heterogeneous representations of the territory that are difficult for users to interpret. In this context, the major challenge is to enrich the existing knowledge of cartographic design in order to produce easily interpretable cartographic representations that minimise the use of the legend. We propose a user-centred cartographic design model based on two key concepts: the visual signature and the cartographic family. These two concepts allow a map producer to design a map by taking into account the elements of legend learnt by users during their different cartographic experiences. In order to validate our model, we test it to design homogeneous cartographic representation at the Franco-Swiss border.L'usage des portails cartographiques facilite l'accès aux représentations topographiques de référence (IGN, OSM, etc.). Le plus souvent, les portails cartographiques ne proposent pas de légende aux utilisateurs, impactant ainsi l'interprétation et l'assimilation de l'information géographique visualisée. De même, dans certains cas, notamment sur les zones frontalières, les portails cartographiques proposent des représentations du territoire hétérogènes et difficilement interprétables pour les utilisateurs. Dans ce contexte, l'enjeu est d'enrichir les connaissances existantes sur la rédaction cartographique pour produire des représentations cartographiques facilement interprétables minimisant l'aide de la légende. Nous proposons un modèle de conception cart-graphique centrée sur l'utilisateur comprenant deux concepts clés : la signature visuelle et la famille cartographique. Ces deux concepts permettent à un concepteur de produire une carte en tenant compte des éléments de légende appris par les utilisateurs au cours de leurs différentes expériences cartographiques. Afin de valider notre proposition, nous testons notre modèle sur la conception d'une représentation cartographique homogène à la frontière franco-suisse

Empirical Evidence for Concepts of Spatial Information as Cognitive Means for interpreting and using Maps

Due to the increasing prevalence and relevance of geo-spatial data in the age of data science, Geographic Information Systems are enjoying wider interdisciplinary adoption by communities outside of GIScience. However, properly interpreting and analysing geo-spatial information is not a trivial task due to knowledge barriers. There is a need for a trans-disciplinary framework for sharing specialized geographical knowledge and expertise to overcome these barriers. The core concepts of spatial information were proposed as such a conceptual framework. These concepts, such as object and field, were proposed as cognitive lenses that can simplify understanding of and guide the processing of spatial information. However, there is a distinct lack of empirical evidence for the existence of such concepts in the human mind or whether such concepts can be indeed useful. In this study, we have explored for such empirical evidence using behavioral experiments with human participants. The experiment adopted a contrast model to investigate whether the participants can semantically distinguish between the object and field core concepts visualized as maps. The statistically significant positive results offer evidence supporting the existence of the two concepts or cognitive concepts closely resembling them. This gives credibility to the core concepts of spatial information as tools for sharing, teaching, or even automating the process of geographical information processing

LIPIcs, Volume 240, COSIT 2022, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 240, COSIT 2022, Complete Volum

Of maps, cartography and the geography of the International Cartographic Association

In this contribution, we first focus on maps as landmarks of cartographic innovation in the context of societal and technical developments in history. This historical analysis stimulated us to offer a new definition for the map that reflects our intention to provide a succinct and flexible, yet inclusive and sustainable definition of our discipline for years to come. We then turn to cartography itself, by analyzing the sustainability of past and current disciplinary definitions, as proposed by its leading professional body, the International Cartographic Association (ICA). In the fourth section, we then go on to analyze the structure and activities of the ICA over the recent past, with the aim to further understand the professional development of the cartographic discipline. Finally, we also consider how the geography of the ICA, that is, the geographic origins of the leading members of the organization, including the executive board members and the chairs of ICA Commissions and Working Groups, might have influenced the shaping of the cartographic discipline. Dans ce papier, nous prenons la carte comme point de repère des innovations cartographiques dans le contexte historique des développements sociétaux et technologiques. L’analyse historique nous stimule pour proposer une nouvelle définition de la carte qui reflète notre désir de proposer une définition succincte et flexible, inclusive et durable de notre discipline pour les années à venir. Puis nous nous intéressons à la cartographie en analysant la durabilité des définitions passées et actuelles de notre discipline, en se focalisant sur les définitions données par son organisme professionnel principal : l’Association Cartographique Internationale (l’ACI). Dans la quatrième section, nous analysons la structure et les activités de l’ACI ces dernières années avec l’objectif de mieux comprendre le développement professionnel de la discipline cartographique. Pour finir, nous analysons comment la géographie de l’ACI, vue au travers l’origine géographique des principaux membres de l’association, incluant le bureau exécutifs et les responsables des commissions et groupes de travail, aurait pu influencer les contours de la discipline cartographique

Spatialization methods: a cartographic research agenda for non-geographic information visualization

ABSTRACT: Information visualization is an interdisciplinary research area in which cartographic efforts have mostly addressed the handling of geographic information. Some cartographers have recently become involved in attempts to extend geographic principles and cartographic techniques to the visualization of non-geographic information. This paper reports on current progress and future opportunities in this emerging research field commonly known as spatialization. The discussion is mainly devoted to the computational techniques that turn high-dimensional data into visualizations via processes of projection and transformation. It is argued that cartographically informed engagement of computationally intensive techniques can help to provide richer and less opaque information visualizations. The discussion of spatialization methods is linked to another priority area of cartographic involvement, the development of theory and principles for cognitively plausible spatialization. The paper distinguishes two equally important sets of challenges for cartographic success in spatialization research. One is the recognition that there are distinct advantages to applying a cartographic perspective in information visualization. This requires our community to more thoroughly understand the essence of cartographic activity and to explore the implications of its metaphoric transfer to non-geographic domains. Another challenge lies in cartographers becoming a more integral part of the information visualization community and actively engaging its constituent research fields

The influence of landmark visualization style on expert wayfinders' visual attention during a real-world navigation task

Landmarks serve to structure the environment we experience, and therefore they are also critically important for our everyday movement through and knowledge acquisition about space. How to effectively visualize landmarks to support spatial learning during map-assisted pedestrian navigation is still an open question. We thus set out to assess how landmark visualization styles (i.e., abstract 2D vs. realistic 3D) influence map-assisted spatial learning of expert wayfinders in an outdoor navigation study. Below we report on how the visualization of landmarks on mobile maps might influence wayfinder’s gaze behavior while trying to find a set of landmarks along a given route in an unfamiliar environment. We find that navigators assisted with mobile maps showing realistic-looking 3D landmarks more equally share their visual attention on task-relevant information, while those assisted with maps containing abstract 2D landmarks frequently switch their visual attention between the visualized landmarks and the mobile map to complete the navigation task. The presented analysis approach for the assessment of wayfinder’s gaze patterns has the potential to contribute ecologically valid insights for the understanding of human visual attention allocation during outdoor navigation, and to further understand how landmark depiction styles on mobile maps might guide wayfinders’ visual attention back to the environment to support spatial learning during map-assisted navigation