Geoscience after IT: Part J. Human requirements that shape the evolving geoscience information system

The geoscience record is constrained by the limitations of human thought and of the technology for handling information. IT can lead us away from the tyranny of older technology, but to find the right path, we need to understand our own limitations. Language, images, data and mathematical models, are tools for expressing and recording our ideas. Backed by intuition, they enable us to think in various modes, to build knowledge from information and create models as artificial views of a real world. Markup languages may accommodate more flexible and better connected records, and the object-oriented approach may help to match IT more closely to our thought processes

Audio Cartography: Visual Encoding of Acoustic Parameters

Our sonic environment is the matter of subject in multiple domains which developed individual means of its description. As a result, it lacks an established visual language through which knowledge can be connected and insights shared. We provide a visual communication framework for the systematic and coherent documentation of sound in large-scale environments. This consists of visual encodings and mappings of acoustic parameters into distinct graphic variables that present plausible solutions for the visualization of sound. These candidate encodings are assembled into an application-independent, multifunctional, and extensible design guide. We apply the guidelines and show example maps that acts as a basis for the exploration of audio cartography

A Geovisual Analytic Approach to Understanding Geo-Social Relationships in the International Trade Network

The world has become a complex set of geo-social systems interconnected by networks, including transportation networks, telecommunications, and the internet. Understanding the interactions between spatial and social relationships within such geo-social systems is a challenge. This research aims to address this challenge through the framework of geovisual analytics. We present the GeoSocialApp which implements traditional network analysis methods in the context of explicitly spatial and social representations. We then apply it to an exploration of international trade networks in terms of the complex interactions between spatial and social relationships. This exploration using the GeoSocialApp helps us develop a two-part hypothesis: international trade network clusters with structural equivalence are strongly ‘balkanized’ (fragmented) according to the geography of trading partners, and the geographical distance weighted by population within each network cluster has a positive relationship with the development level of countries. In addition to demonstrating the potential of visual analytics to provide insight concerning complex geo-social relationships at a global scale, the research also addresses the challenge of validating insights derived through interactive geovisual analytics. We develop two indicators to quantify the observed patterns, and then use a Monte-Carlo approach to support the hypothesis developed above

Developing a quick guide on presenting data and uncertainty

This paper describes the rationale, development and testing of a quick guide leaflet on the presentation of data and uncertainty. While tools for capturing, analysing and presenting data become more advanced, the fundamentals of presenting data with adequate context and clarity remain unchanged. The leaflet, aimed at scientists generating and presenting data, was created as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration (meteorologists, information designers, psychologists) working within the PURE Network project RACER, funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council. A copy of the leaflet is included in this article

Crossing Boundaries with Instinct

The mythtellers understood that the natural world is full of discrete beings, each entity differentiated from the rest of the world. They knew, probably better than we do, that a living thing acquires its energy by means of exchanges across a boundary, so that the living thing remains distinct from its environment, yet interacts continuously with it. [...

Digital representation of park use and visual analysis of visitor activities

Urban public parks can serve an important function by contributing to urban citizens' quality of life. At the same time, they can be the location of processes of displacement and exclusion. Despite this ambiguous role, little is known about actual park use patterns. To learn more about park use in three parks in Zurich, Switzerland, extensive data on visitor activities was collected using a new method based on direct recording via a portable GIS solution. Then, the data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. This paper examines whether geographic visualization of these data can help domain experts like landscape designers and park managers to assess park use. To maximize accessibility, the visualizations are made available through a web-interface of a common, off-the-shelf GIS. The technical limitations imposed by this choice are critically assessed, before the available visualization techniques are evaluated in respect to the needs and tasks of practitioners with limited knowledge on spatial analysis and GIS. Key criteria are each technique's level of abstraction and graphical complexity. The utility and suitability of the visualization techniques is characterized for the distinct phases of exploration, analysis and synthesis. The findings suggest that for a target user group of practitioners, a combination of dot maps showing the raw data and surface maps showing derived density values for several attributes serves the purpose of knowledge generation best

Applying a User-centred Approach to Interactive Visualization Design

Analysing users in their context of work and finding out how and why they use different information resources is essential to provide interactive visualisation systems that match their goals and needs. Designers should actively involve the intended users throughout the whole process. This chapter presents a user-centered approach for the design of interactive visualisation systems. We describe three phases of the iterative visualisation design process: the early envisioning phase, the global specification hase, and the detailed specification phase. The whole design cycle is repeated until some criterion of success is reached. We discuss different techniques for the analysis of users, their tasks and domain. Subsequently, the design of prototypes and evaluation methods in visualisation practice are presented. Finally, we discuss the practical challenges in design and evaluation of collaborative visualisation environments. Our own case studies and those of others are used throughout the whole chapter to illustrate various approaches

Designing an Exploratory Visual Interface to the Results of Citizen Surveys

Surveys are used by public authorities to monitor the quality and reach of public services and provide information needed to help improve them. The results of such surveys tend to be used in internal reports, with highly-aggregated summaries being released to the public. Even where data are released, many citizens do not have the capability to explore and interpret them. This o ffers limited scope for citizens to explore the results and use them to help hold service providers to account - objectives that are increasingly important in public service provision. We work closely with an English local authority to develop an innovative interactive interface to a citizen survey to demonstrate what can be achieved by applying a visual approach to the exploration of such data. In so doing we (a) make a case for web-based interactive visualisation to make this kind of information accessible both internally to those working in local government and externally to citizens in a way that is not achieved through a regular Open Data release or existing applications; (b) use techniques from both cartography and information visualization to inform the design of fluid visual interactions that enable diverse users - from the casual citizen browser to those interested in more in-depth analysis - to view, compare and interpret the survey outputs from a wide variety of perspectives; and (c) document experiences and reactions to the provision of information in this form, with log analysis playing a role in this exercise. Our reflections on our successes and otherwise will inform future exploratory interface design to help citizens access information and hold public service providers to account

The State of the Art in Cartograms

Cartograms combine statistical and geographical information in thematic maps, where areas of geographical regions (e.g., countries, states) are scaled in proportion to some statistic (e.g., population, income). Cartograms make it possible to gain insight into patterns and trends in the world around us and have been very popular visualizations for geo-referenced data for over a century. This work surveys cartogram research in visualization, cartography and geometry, covering a broad spectrum of different cartogram types: from the traditional rectangular and table cartograms, to Dorling and diffusion cartograms. A particular focus is the study of the major cartogram dimensions: statistical accuracy, geographical accuracy, and topological accuracy. We review the history of cartograms, describe the algorithms for generating them, and consider task taxonomies. We also review quantitative and qualitative evaluations, and we use these to arrive at design guidelines and research challenges

Translating the complexities of flood risk science using KEEPER - a knowledge exchange exploratory tool for professionals in emergency response

Within flood risk management (FRM) decision making, there is a growing interest in participatory approaches to engage and integrate stakeholder expertise. Decision support tools are becoming common features in the FRM ‘toolkit’, yet there is a limited application of participatory methodologies in the construction of such tools. This paper reports on completed FRMRC research (Flood Risk Management Research Consortium, UK http://www.floodrisk.org.uk/) and the construction of a geographic information system-based flood risk assessment tool, KEEPER – a Knowledge Exchange Exploratory tool for Professionals in Emergency Response. An iterative methodology was used to engage emergency professionals throughout the research process, allowing a mixing of scientific and professional expertise in the co-production of KEEPER. KEEPER was both instrumental in facilitating participation and knowledge exchange, and informing recommendations for future tools in practice. This paper argues that participation is both essential for supporting pragmatic flood research and as a means of enhancing communication across traditionally divided communities