The Words We Use: Examining the Terminology of Modern CartographyMichael P. Peterson, University of Nebraska at Omaha Rex G. Cammack, University of Nebraska at OmahaAny new technology is inevitably accompanied by new jargon. The new terms are important to describe new concepts but are also a way to differentiate the groups of people who use them. The creation and acceptance of new terms is often a struggle of competing interests. The term “slippy,” for example, to describe multi-scale pannable (MSP) maps has gained some acceptance. Although memorable, the term seems to trivialize what is perhaps the most important development in online mapping. The wide variety of terms related to online maps are examined that have become part of our language, including terms like “online maps” to more clearly define the new developments related to maps.
Geographic Analysis in Context: A Visual Search Task Comparing Zooming MetaphorsRyan S Mullins, Aptima, Inc.Krista Ehinger, Visual Attention Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Avigael Moed Aizenman, Visual Attention Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Chad A Weiss, Aptima Inc. Jeremy Wolfe, Visual Attention Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Adam Fouse, Aptima Inc. Stacy Pfautz, Aptima Inc.Geospatial analysts are seeking more immersive, context-aware interactions with data that emulate the experience of past analytic processes (e.g. light table and magnifier). We present the results from a pilot study, assessing the usability and utility of interactive zoom windows that were designed to emulate and extend the functionality of a tradition Loupe magnification lens in the digital environment. Twelve participants used two styles of zoom windows and a traditional slippy-map interface to identify, classify, and mark the location of buildings that were either damaged or destroyed during the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Results show that zoom window interfaces perform at the same level as slippy-map interfaces in this simple task, with a single user on a small touch-enabled screen. Future work with these interfaces will evaluate their performance in complex and team tasks.
A New Atlas of American HistoryAlan McConchie, Stamen DesignSeth Fitzsimmons, Stamen DesignFor the past year, Stamen Design has been working with the University of Richmond's Digital Scholarship Lab to build _The American Atlas_, a series of interactive maps of American history.
In this presentation, we showcase the first four maps of the Atlas, which cover the forced migration of enslaved people before the Civil War, migration across the Overland Trails to the West, the movement of people and goods through canals, and the immigration of people to the U.S. from 1850 to today.
We are focused on the richly dynamic capabilities of modern web maps to enable deep digital scholarship of this important historical dataset. The project uses D3 visualizations with cartography based on a combination of Leaflet and CartoCSS. We built all these components on the foundation of CartoDB, creating an extensible, public, open source framework that will support the continued development of future maps in the Atlas.
http://sta.mn/6gkBeyond Paper: Ideas for Interactive Maps (15 minute talk)
Peter Liu, MapBoxWhen printed on paper, maps have been severely limited by their medium: two dimensions, frozen in content, space, and time. But even after a decade of digital maps online and in applications, we still use them in much the same way as centuries before: squinting closer or stepping back, looking left or right.
Instead, let's harness the full potential of our new medium. By adding layers of motion and interactivity, we can turn maps into a starting point for exploration of vastly richer forms of information, and better anticipate needs of the user.
http://allthebuses.com/
