Effectiveness of dynamic label transitions

Today, dynamic and interactive maps are found everywhere on the Internet. Efficient map labelling algorithms have been a subject of research for many years now. The investigation of the userside of the problem is often neglected. A user study is planned to get an insight in the cognitive processes of users while handling these interactive maps. In this user study two hypotheses are evaluated, using the eye link. With this method the movements of the users’ eyes are monitored, which is closely linked with his moment-to-moment cognitive processes

Analyzing eye movement patterns to improve map design

Recently, the use of eye tracking systems has been introduced in the field of cartography and GIS to support the evaluation of the quality of maps towards the user. The quantitative eye movement metrics are related to for example the duration or the number of the fixations which are subsequently (statistically) compared to detect significant differences in map designs or between different user groups. Hence, besides these standard eye movement metrics, other - more spatial - measurements and visual interpretations of the data are more suitable to investigate how users process, store and retrieve information from a (dynamic and/or) interactive map. This information is crucial to get insights in how users construct their cognitive map: e.g. is there a general search pattern on a map and which elements influence this search pattern, how do users orient a map, what is the influence of for example a pan operation. These insights are in turn crucial to be able to construct more effective maps towards the user, since the visualisation of the information on the map can be keyed to the user his cognitive processes. The study focuses on a qualitative and visual approach of the eye movement data resulting from a user study in which 14 participants were tested while working on 20 different dynamic and interactive demo-maps. Since maps are essentially spatial objects, the analysis of these eye movement data is directed towards the locations of the fixations, the visual representation of the scanpaths, clustering and aggregation of the scanpaths. The results from this study show interesting patterns in the search strategies of users on dynamic and interactive maps

Label size design : aesthetics and effeciency

Considering label as one of the important map component, this paper is an attempt to provide empirical evidence of label size design rules and frames which is based on the design aesthetics and efficiency. Determining the ‘best’ legible label size is critical concern involves testing design aspect and needs. Both aesthetics and efficiency can set the design frames for better perception and legibility. Aesthetics was calculated by determining users´ preference of different use of label sizes, whereas efficiency was calculated by measuring time to locate targets of different. Both areal and point data were involved in the study to determine the combination of the two measurements of label size design. Digital maps were designed and presented to users as they were firstly asked about their preference of different use of label size, and secondly they were asked to locate different label size. The intersection between the first test and the second one attributes the frames for label size design. The correlation between the preferable sizes and the efficient sizes is being traced and the relation between label size aesthetics and efficiency is being identified. This study indicates the need to test other visual variable in order to serve many labelling functions

Can experts interpret a map's content more efficiently?

This paper describes the statistical comparison of the results from an experiment with a ‘between user’-design. The first group of participants consists out of novices whereas the second group consists out of experts which have experience in map use and have had training in cartography. The same stimuli (twenty screen maps) are presented in a random order to the participants who have to locate a number of labels on the map image. The participants are asked to indicate when they located a name by a button action, resulting in a time measurement. Furthermore, the participant’s eye movements are registered during the whole test. The combined information reveals a same trend in the time intervals needed to locate the subsequent labels in both user groups. However, the experts are significantly faster in locating the names on the map (P<0.010). The recorded eye movements further confirm and explain this finding: the expert’s fixations are significantly shorter (P<0.001) and can consequently have more fixations per second (P<0.001). This means that an expert can interpret the map content more efficiently and can thus search a larger part of the map in the same amount of time

Possibilities of eye tracking and EEG integration for visual search on 2D maps

This on-going research paper explores (the possibilities to integrate eye tracking (ET) and electroencephalogram (EEG) for cartographic usability research. While ET, on one hand, provides observations and measurements related to gaze movements, EEG, on the other hand, helps to monitor and measure electrical activity occurring at different locations in the brain with a high temporal resolution. Therefore, combining ET and EEG introduces a holistic approach enabling to measure both overt and covert attention, and additionally, may reveal insights on individual’s different strategies of spatial cognition, if there is any. In this context, we introduce the experimental design settings for visual search task on simplified 2D static maps considering expert and novice participants, outlining methodological proposal and possible analyses. The paper mainly discusses the technical and theoretical issues of ET-EEG integration and mentions potential benefits of implementing EEG in cartographic usability research to indicate its value for future studies

Patterns of US air transport across the economic unevenness of 2003-2013

This map summarizes the relative change in activity at 379 airports during the tumultuous economic period that lasted from 2003 to 2013 in the conterminous USA. Rather than treating airports only as individual nodes, the work identifies relative regional spatial change in airport activity based upon the combination of the percentage changes in three factors: departures, passenger levels, and available seats. The geographic results, calculated by kriging, show that the outcome over the period is not spatially uniform. In particular, the map shows that parts of the Rust Belt, Appalachia, and the Intermountain West fared relatively worse while the plains and coasts did somewhat better. The analysis expresses the fact that while footloose in the short-run, long-term adjustments in the airline industry, like those experienced across 2003-2013, did so in a spatially coherent way

Visual analytics on eye movement data reveal search patterns on dynamic and interactive maps

In this paper the results of a visual analytics approach on eye movement data are described which allows detecting underlying patterns in the scanpaths of the user’s during a visual search on a map. These patterns give insights in the user his cognitive processes or his mental map while working with interactive maps

Listen to the map user : cognition, memory, and expertise

This paper aims to extend current research regarding map users' cognitive processes while working with screen maps. The described experiment investigates how (expert and novice) map users retrieve information from memory that was previously gathered from screen maps. A user study was conducted in which participants had to draw a map from memory. During this task, they were instructed to say out loud every thought that came into mind. Both user groups addressed the same general cognitive structures and processes to solve the task at hand. However, the experts' background knowledge facilitated the retrieval process and allowed them to derive extra information through deductive reasoning. The novices used more descriptive terms instead of naming the objects and could remember less, and less detailed map elements