Evaluating Map Projections for Globe Production

Cartographic globes have been in production since for more than 2100 years, though the oldest surviving example is from 1490’s. Though no longer used as a navigational aid, globes remain in high demand as scientific and artistic artefacts. However, the cartographic quality of most modern globes is poor, in part due to a lack of detailed evaluation of the mathematical approach to their creation. This work provides the first detailed evaluation of map projection for manuscript globe production, (those in which paper maps are attached to a sphere) and quantitatively demonstrates the most suitable projection

25 Years of GISRUK

Special Feature Editoria

After the Twitter X-pocalypse: Approaches to Characterising Human Behaviour in Agent-based Models and Beyond

Characterising human behaviour is challenging, and datasets about people often suffer from issues of misrepresentation. To account for misrepresentation, researchers have turned to data synthesis. Here, we implement a straightforward data synthesis approach that does not rely upon knowledge of dataset uncertainty and use it to parametrise predictors used in an agent-based model (ABM) to estimate visits by people to greenspaces in Glasgow. The predicted visits follow expected patterns, with more visits on weekends, during daylight, and to popular tourist destinations. The approach is easy to implement and allows researchers to combine datasets of varying veracity to predict human behaviour

Designing for the dichotomy of immersion in location based games

The interaction design of mixed reality location based games typically focuses upon the digital content of the mobile screen, as this is characteristically the primary navigational tool players use to traverse the game space. This emphasis on the digital over the physical means the opportunity for player immersion in mixed reality games is often limited to the single (digital) dimension. This research seeks to redress this imbalance, which is caused, in part, by the requirement for the player?s attention to be systematically switched between the two worlds, defined in this research as the ?Dichotomy of Immersion?. Using different design strategies we propose minimising the reliance of the player upon the mobile screen by encouraging greater observation of their physical surroundings. Using a ?research through design? approach for the mixed reality game PAC-LAN: Zombie Apocalypse, we illustrate design strategies for increasing immersion in location based games, which we believe will aid designers in enabling players to more readily engage with the physical context of the game and thus facilitate richer game experiences

Centaur VGI: Evaluating a human-machine workflow for increased productivity during humanitarian mapping campaigns

The spatial and temporal distribution of global map data is highly unequal, with large areas of the world suffering from a paucity of data. Volunteered geographic information (VGI) has been vaunted as a potential solution, but is also criticised for reinforcing rather than alleviating inequalities. Human- machine workflows have been suggested to improve the speed and quality of VGI production for poorly mapped regions, but this ability is yet to be fully evaluated. This paper provides the first detailed evaluation of a human-machine workflow, testing its ability to produce high quality, timely data in remote regions often neglected by humanitarian mapping campaigns

Landscape Perceptions in the Lake District: Distant and Close Reading in Participatory GIS

As the use of Participatory Mapping becomes increasingly prevalent in decision making, it is vital to consider how analysis is conducted as well as data collection, in order to maximise the utility of the data that we collect from participants. This research explores the value in the free-text data that is commonly collected alongside participatory spatial data, but often overlooked or under-utilised. Here we use a case study in the Lake District National Park, UK to demonstrate how computational methods from literary research can provide a deeper understanding of participant’sspatial thoughts and feelings

"The Great Blackbury Pie" ~ or ~ Focal Area Bias in Geographically Weighted Analysis

Focal and geographically weighted analyses are commonplace in GIS applications across many fields and disciplines. However, where such analyses are based on ‘dense’ datasets (e.g., a raster surface), they can suffer from an unintended bias towards the periphery of the focal zone (neighbourhood), which (counterintuitively) is exacerbated by the use of distance weighting functions. This paper serves to characterise this problem, which we call focal area bias (FAB), present a proposed correction, and point to extensive simulation-based analysis, which demonstrates both the impact that this effect can have on analyses and the efficacy of our proposed solution

Spatial Patterns of Tank Decline and Rejuvenation in the Kaveri River Catchment, South India

Irrigation tanks are an ancient method of water management in South India that rely on the capture and storage of monsoon rain. The use of tanks has declined dramatically in modern times, though recent pressures of water scarcity have resulted in a resurgence of tank irrigation. This paper uses GIS and remote sensing techniques to investigate the spatial patterns of tank decline and rejuvenation in the Kaveri River Catchment, building a greater understanding of the lasting effect of historic irrigation policies on the contemporary geographies of tank irrigation in South India