André Mendonça

User studies in cartography : opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations

ABSTRACT The possibility of digital interactivity requires us to reenvision the map reader as the map user, and to address the perceptual, cognitive, cultural, and practical considerations that influence the user’s experience with interactive maps and visualizations. In this article, we present an agenda for empirical research on this user and the interactive designs he or she employs. The research agenda is a result of a multi-stage discussion among international scholars facilitated by the International Cartographic Association that included an early round of position papers and two subsequent workshops to narrow into pressing themes and important research opportunities. The focus of our discussion is epistemological and reflects the wide interdisciplinary influences on user studies in cartography. The opportunities are presented as imperatives that cross basic research and user-centered design studies, and identify practical impediments to empirical research, emerging interdisciplinary recommendations to improve user studies, and key research needs specific to the study of interactive maps and visualizations.

What do People prefer and What is more effective for Maps: a Decision making Test

Since the roles of intuition and affection in map use and the relationship between these processes and the effectiveness in activities supported by maps have not been completely measured, this paper intends to bring a contribution to the discussion about the relationship between subjective preference and objective performance. A series of experiments with graduation students was carried out, asking students what they would prefer as a desirable type of map to use for an analytical decision-making process and then their performance of this process was measured. To ensure the validity of the experiment, maps used for this study were designed using a social background as their theme, with analysts being asked to decide where to invest public funds. The same experiment was conducted first using a subset of paper maps (1st stage) and then using interactive web maps (2nd stage). Three types of subsets of thematic maps were assigned randomly among the respondents. Statistical tests were applied and the correlation between preference and performance in this experiment was measured. Results for the 1st step show that there is no significant variation due to the technique used in the performance tests, and for this specific subject, there is insufficient evidence to guarantee that users preference among map techniques can lead or is related to better performance. Also it was noted that performance decreases for a reasoning related task, and maybe this could be related to the need for a deeper analysis of data evolution through time.

Testing Subjective Preference and Map Use Performance: Use of Web Maps for Decision Making in the Public Health Sector

Maps support many planning activities, from general purpose tasks to in-depth spatial analyses. However, preferences and intuitions, which occur in all human interactions, are often disregarded in use and user research in cartography, and there is evidences that analysis of these factors is desirable. It is commonly believed that there is a positive correlation between subjective preference and objective performance, and there is agreement about the main role of media in map comprehension. To investigate this topic, quantitative experiments were performed, based on a real situation in which students need to make decisions about public health care management in a city. Users were asked about their preferences with respect to map type, and performances in carrying out tasks were measured. The results indicate that for simple visual comparison tasks, the proposed Web map framework was adequate. However, this was not the case for reasoning tasks, where weak performances were registered. Also, user preference among visual variables seemed to be unrelated to better performance, and since performances were poor, the important role played by interface usability and attractiveness in map use is verified. Les cartes appuient de nombreuses activités de planification, depuis les tâches générales jusqu’aux analyses spatiales approfondies. Souvent, la recherche sur l’utilisation et les utilisateurs menée en cartographie ne tient toutefois pas compte des préférences et des intuitions qui existent dans tous les échanges humains et des éléments de preuve indiquent qu’il est souhaitable d’analyser ces facteurs. On croit couramment qu’il y a un lien positif entre la préférence subjective et le rendement objectif et l’on s’entend sur le rôle de premier plan que jouent les médias dans la compréhension des cartes. Pour analyser ce sujet, on a procédé à des expériences quantitatives basées sur des situations de la vie réelle au cours desquelles des étudiants doivent prendre des décisions sur la gestion des soins de santé publics dans une ville. On a demandé aux utilisateurs d’indiquer leurs préférences quant au type de carte et l’on a mesuré leur rendement dans l’exécution de tâches. Les résultats indiquent que le cadre cartographique Web proposé suffit pour des comparaisons visuelles simples, mais non pour des tâches de raisonnement à l’égard desquelles les utilisateurs ont produit un rendement médiocre. Il a aussi semblé n’y avoir aucun lien entre la préférence des utilisateurs à l’égard des variables visuelles et un meilleur rendement. Comme le rendement était médiocre, les résultats vérifient le rôle important que joue le caractère utilisable et attrayant de l’interface dans l’utilisation des cartes.

A COMPATIBILIDADE DOS METADADOS DISPONÍVEIS EM SISTEMAS VGI COM O PERFIL DE METADADOS EMPREGADO NA INFRAESTRUTURA NACIONAL DE DADOS ESPACIAIS DO BRASIL (INDE-BR)

As informacoes geograficas voluntarias tem sido investigadas por pesquisadores e agencias oficiais de mapeamento, os quais tentam compreender como individuos sem conhecimento formalizado em cartografia podem contribuir para a construcao das bases cartograficas oficiais. Em paises como o Brasil, onde o investimento nos servicos relativos a informacao espacial e escasso, as informacoes geograficas voluntarias tambem sao interessantes alternativas para incrementar a velocidade de atualizacao cartografica, pois sao de livre acesso e constantemente revisadas. Neste contexto, a Infraestrutura Nacional de Dados Espaciais do Brasil (INDE-BR), no seu papel de facilitar e ordenar o acesso as bases de dados espaciais oficias, tambem pode se beneficiar do uso de informacoes prestadas por usuarios voluntarios na tarefa de enriquecer o conjunto de dados disponivel em seu banco. Dessa maneira, elaborou-se o presente artigo, no qual investiga-se a compatibilidade das informacoes geograficas voluntarias com o perfil de metadados oficial do Brasil, adotado na estruturacao da INDE-BR. Para tanto, foram selecionados sistemas de informacoes geograficas voluntarias os quais tiveram seus metadados analisados e comparados aos padroes adotados no documento Perfil de Metadados Geoespaciais do Brasil. Dos resultados, pode-se dizer que os padroes adotados pelo sistema OpenStreetMap sao compativeis com o padrao adotado pelo Perfil MGB. Esse resultado aponta para a necessidade de se investigar as informacoes geograficas voluntarias para que se tenha mais uma potencial ferramenta a favorecer o crescimento social, economico e politico de uma nacao, assim como o Brasil.

Visual perception of deaf children to inform interaction of tools for literacy

The Deaf community has its own culture, a term applied to the social movement that holds Deafness to be a difference in human experience, rather than a disability. The disability view of Deafness has deprived the Deaf of natural language acquisition, which is crucial for intellectual development. Human-Computer Interaction should be held accountable to better understand the needs of the Deaf community to inform design. There is a lack of tools for visual literacy of the Deaf (i.e. a learning process for teaching to read based on image interpretations). This research proposes an online environment that educators and designers could use to evaluate visual characteristics of the Deaf. The environment contains four tests designed to assess visual perception and subjective preference. The case study within a classroom context validated the environment. Designers could use the results of their testing to inform design.