Graphical Perception of Continuous Quantitative Maps: the Effects of Spatial Frequency and Colormap Design

Continuous 'pseudocolor' maps visualize how a quantitative attribute varies smoothly over space. These maps are widely used by experts and lay citizens alike for communicating scientific and geographical data. A critical challenge for designers of these maps is selecting a color scheme that is both effective and aesthetically pleasing. Although there exist empirically grounded guidelines for color choice in segmented maps (e.g., choropleths), continuous maps are significantly understudied, and their color-coding guidelines are largely based on expert opinion and design heuristics--many of these guidelines have yet to be verified experimentally. We conducted a series of crowdsourced experiments to investigate how the perception of continuous maps is affected by colormap characteristics and spatial frequency (a measure of data complexity). We find that spatial frequency significantly impacts the effectiveness of color encodes, but the precise effect is task-dependent. While rainbow schemes afforded the highest accuracy in quantity estimation irrespective of spatial complexity, divergent colormaps significantly outperformed other schemes in tasks requiring the perception of high-frequency patterns. We interpret these results in relation to current practices and devise new and more granular guidelines for color mapping in continuous maps

Assessing the relationship between bpm maturity and the success of organizations

Pinto, J., & dos Santos, V. D. (2020). Assessing the relationship between bpm maturity and the success of organizations. In R. Silhavy (Ed.), Applied Informatics and Cybernetics in Intelligent Systems: Proceedings of the 9th Computer Science On-line Conference, CSOC 2020 (pp. 108-126). (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing; Vol. 1226 AISC). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51974-2_10For the past decades, organizations have been investing heavily in BPM projects in the hope of improving their competitive advantage in an increasingly complex environment. However, although it is believed that the higher the level of BPM maturity the greater the success of the organization, experience shows that this relationship is not always possible to prove. The purpose of this study is to help clarify the relationship between the level of BPM maturity and the success of an organization. This was done through the implementation of a case study-based research within a global company, focusing on the shared services organization. An analysis of the existing BPM maturity models and its level of coverage of BPM core areas was conducted to select the most suitable BPM maturity model to conduct the assessment of the current BPM maturity level. It was also established a framework to characterize the success of an organization. These two inputs, along with information gathered to understand implemented process improvements, were the basis for conducting the research. Results show a successful organization, with a high maturity level according to the BPM OMG maturity model, that has been investing in continually improving its processes with a strong focus on digital transformation. The identified benefits from a high level of BPM maturity, namely improved productivity, cost reduction, error & risk prevention, higher agility, employee upskilling and knowledge retention, were shown to have a positive influence in the majority of the dimensions used to characterize the success of the organization.authorsversionpublishe

Spatio-temporal trends of mortality in small areas of Southern Spain

Background: Most mortality atlases show static maps from count data aggregated over time. This procedure has several methodological problems and serious limitations for decision making in Public Health. The evaluation of health outcomes, including mortality, should be approached from a dynamic time perspective that is specific for each gender and age group. At the moment, researches in Spain do not provide a dynamic image of the population’s mortality status from a spatio-temporal point of view. The aim of this paper is to describe the spatial distribution of mortality from all causes in small areas of Andalusia (Southern Spain) and evolution over time from 1981 to 2006. Methods: A small-area ecological study was devised using the municipality as the unit for analysis. Two spatiotemporal hierarchical Bayesian models were estimated for each age group and gender. One of these was used to estimate the specific mortality rate, together with its time trends, and the other to estimate the specific rate ratio for each municipality compared with Spain as a whole. Results: More than 97% of the municipalities showed a diminishing or flat mortality trend in all gender and age groups. In 2006, over 95% of municipalities showed male and female mortality specific rates similar or significantly lower than Spanish rates for all age groups below 65. Systematically, municipalities in Western Andalusia showed significant male and female mortality excess from 1981 to 2006 only in age groups over 65. Conclusions: The study shows a dynamic geographical distribution of mortality, with a different pattern for each year, gender and age group. This information will contribute towards a reflection on the past, present and future of mortality in Andalusia.Ye

The perceived impact of location privacy: A web-based survey of public health perspectives and requirements in the UK and Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The "place-consciousness" of public health professionals is on the rise as spatial analyses and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are rapidly becoming key components of their toolbox. However, "place" is most useful at its most precise, granular scale – which increases identification risks, thereby clashing with privacy issues. This paper describes the views and requirements of public health professionals in Canada and the UK on privacy issues and spatial data, as collected through a web-based survey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Perceptions on the impact of privacy were collected through a web-based survey administered between November 2006 and January 2007. The survey targeted government, non-government and academic GIS labs and research groups involved in public health, as well as public health units (Canada), ministries, and observatories (UK). Potential participants were invited to participate through personally addressed, standardised emails.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 112 invitees in Canada and 75 in the UK, 66 and 28 participated in the survey, respectively. The completion proportion for Canada was 91%, and 86% for the UK. No response differences were observed between the two countries. Ninety three percent of participants indicated a requirement for personally identifiable data (PID) in their public health activities, including geographic information. Privacy was identified as an obstacle to public health practice by 71% of respondents. The overall self-rated median score for knowledge of privacy legislation and policies was 7 out of 10. Those who rated their knowledge of privacy as high (at the median or above) also rated it significantly more severe as an obstacle to research (<it>P </it>< 0.001). The most critical cause cited by participants in both countries was bureaucracy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The clash between PID requirements – including granular geography – and limitations imposed by privacy and its associated bureaucracy require immediate attention and solutions, particularly given the increasing utilisation of GIS in public health. Solutions include harmonization of privacy legislation with public health requirements, bureaucratic simplification, increased multidisciplinary discourse, education, and development of toolsets, algorithms and guidelines for using and reporting on disaggregate data.</p

Geographical disparities in core population coverage indicators for roll back malaria in Malawi

BACKGROUND: Implementation of known effective interventions would necessitate the reduction of malaria burden by half by the year 2010. Identifying geographical disparities of coverage of these interventions at small area level is useful to inform where greatest scaling-up efforts should be concentrated. They also provide baseline data against which future scaling-up of interventions can be compared. However, population data are not always available at local level. This study applied spatial smoothing methods to generate maps at subdistrict level in Malawi to serve such purposes. METHODS: Data for the following responses from the 2000 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were aggregated at subdistrict level: (1) households possessing at least one bednet; (2) children under 5 years who slept under a bednet the night before the survey; (3) bednets retreated with insecticide within past 6-12 months preceding the survey; (4) children under 5 who had fever two weeks before the survey and received treatment within 24 hours from the onset of fever; and (5) women who received intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during their last pregnancy. Each response was geographically smoothed at subdistrict level by applying conditional autoregressive models using Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation techniques. RESULTS: The underlying geographical patterns of coverage of indicators were more clear in the smoothed maps than in the original unsmoothed maps, with relatively high coverage in urban areas than in rural areas for all indicators. The percentage of households possessing at least one bednet was 19% (95% credible interval (CI): 16-21%), with 9% (95% CI: 7-11%) of children sleeping under a net, while 18% (95% CI: 16-19%) of households had retreated their nets within past 12 months prior to the survey. The northern region and lakeshore areas had high bednet coverage, but low usage and re-treatment rates. Coverage rate of children who received antimalarial treatment within 24 hours after onset of fever was consistently low for most parts of the country, with mean coverage of 4.8% (95% CI: 4.5-5.0%). About 48% (95% CI: 47-50%) of women received antimalarial prophylaxis during their pregnancy, with highest rates in the southern and northern areas. CONCLUSION: The striking geographical patterns, for example between predominantly urban and rural areas, may reflect spatial differences in provider compliance or coverage, and can partly be explained by socio-economic and cultural differences. The wide gap between high bed net coverage and low retreatment rates may reflect variation in perceptions about malaria, which may be addressed by implementing information, education and communication campaigns or introducing long lasting insecticide nets. Our results demonstrate that DHS data, with appropriate methodology, can provide acceptable estimates at sub-national level for monitoring and evaluation of malaria control goals