Evaluating an animated and static time series map of District Six: A visual and cognitive approach (original) (raw)

Human interaction with animated maps: The portrayal of the passage of time

2007

Methods for interactive map animations are still in an early stage compared to more traditional cartography, and the potentials for improvements are significant. This paper focuses on better design for map animations, particularly for the portrayal of the information regarding the temporal dimension. A series of animations are presented and discussed and subsequently introduced to a wider group of people. In the responses from this group it was not possible to show any significant difference in how well people respond to the different animations, nevertheless people do have preferences for certain animation types depending on which time-scale they represent.

Applications of a cognitively informed framework for the design of interactive spatio-temporal representations

Exploring geovisualization, 2005

In dynamic geographic information and visualization systems, the ways in which a user is allowed to manipulate the map and the data represented (through various interaction capabilities) are just as important as the ways the data are presented (as marks on the screen). This chapter describes strategies that will help cartographers design geovisualization interfaces and environments. We present a framework, informed by cognitive science, for designing and developing modes of interaction for use in geovisualization environments. We also review some applications of that framework in the context of representing the temporal component of geographic data. Consideration of some of the same factors that guided us in these applications may assist not only other geovisualization developers in the creation of tools but also geovisualization users in understanding the limitations and opportunities presented by the tools they are using.

Towards an Understanding of Geovisualization with Dynamic Displays: Issues and Prospects

2000

This paper explores research issues and methods for experimentally assessing the effectiveness of interactive and dynamic geographic visualization displays for knowledge discovery and knowledge construction. Based on a research framework from cognitive science, and utilizing the eye- movement data collection approach, a series of controlled animation experiments are proposed. These empirical studies adhere to experimental design standards in cognitive psychology,

Cognitive and Usability Issues in Geovisualization

Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 2001

We provide a research agenda for the International Cartographic Association's Commission on Visualization and Virtual Environment working group on Cognitive and Usability Issues in Geovisualization. Developments in hardware and software have led to (and will continue to stimulate) novel methods for visualizing geospatial data. It is our belief that these novel methods will be of little use if they are not developed within a theoretical cognitive framework and iteratively tested using usability engineering principles. We argue that cognitive and usability issues should be considered in the context of six major research themes: 1) geospatial virtual environments (GeoVEs), 2) dynamic representations (including animated and interactive maps), 3) metaphors and schemata in user interface design, 4) individual and group differences, 5) collaborative geovisualization, and 6) evaluating the effectiveness of geovisualization methods. A key point underlying our use of theoretical cognitive principles is that traditional cognitive theory for static 2D maps may not be applicable to interactive 3D immersive GeoVEs and dynamic representations -thus new cognitive theory may need to be developed. Usability engineering extends beyond the traditional cartographic practice of "user testing" by evaluating software effectiveness throughout a lifecycle (including design, development, and deployment). Applying usability engineering to geovisualization, however, may be problematic because of the novelty of geovisualization and the associated difficulty of defining the nature of users and their tasks. Tackling the research themes is likely to require an interdisciplinary effort involving geographic information scientists, cognitive scientists, usability engineers, computer scientists, and others.

Visualization of the temporal dimension in multimedia presentations of spatial phenomena

2001

Technological evolution has paved the way for a variety of small dynamic maps. The increasing use of the Internet and WWW has played a major role in the dissemination of map applications. Interactive map animations open a new way of thinking when visualizing spatial data. This paper focuses on the presenta-tion of the temporal dimension of spatial phenomena on dynamic maps. The proposed methods are discussed in the light of how people perceive time, and are modelled on the basis of theory for common visual variables in cartography. Multimedia presentations are not limited to graphic visualization. The audio-channels on a modern computer can impart useful information by sounds in interaction with the graphic display .

Presentation of spatio-temporal data in the context of information capacity and visual suggestiveness

Geodesy and Cartography, 2014

The aim of this article is to present the concept of information capacity and visual suggestiveness as a map characteristic on the example of two maps of human migration. From this viewpoint the literature study has been performed. Proposed by the author the features of cartographic visualization are an attempt to establish cartographic pragmatics and find the way to increase effectiveness of dynamic maps with large information capacity. Among the works on cartographic pragmatics, muliaspectuality of spatio-temporal data the proposed solution has not been taken so far, and refers to the map design problematic.

Maps versus its users in the digital era: interpretation, cognition, and memory

Recently, a rising need to understand (novice) users of digital cartographic products has surfaced: how do they interpret and process the visual information, and how is this retrieved and used later on? A user study was conducted that combined several techniques to investigate these cognitive processes: eye tracking, thinking aloud and sketch maps. In total, 24 participants took part in the study, from which 12 were experts in the cartography. All participants had to study (learn) the content of four different topographic maps depicted on a screen. After studying each map, the participants were instructed to draw this map from memory (retrieve information), using paper and pencils. The results indicate that both user groups address the same cognitive processes, but these are positively influence by the expertise and background knowledge of the experts.

Thematic relevance and perceptual salience of dynamic geovisualization displays

2005

We propose a research agenda for empirically assessing the effectiveness of dynamic displays with the eye-movement data collection method. The proposed framework is based on the relationship between perceptual salience and thematic relevance in static (e.g., visual variables: color hue, color value and orientation) and animated displays (e.g., dynamic variables including transitions). The proposed empirical studies adhere to experimental design standards in cognitive psychology, but are additionally grounded on a solid dynamic design framework borrowed from cartography, computer graphics and cinematography, to investigate how different dynamic and visual variables, and various levels of interactivity affect people's knowledge construction processes from dynamic displays as compared to static displays.