Andrew Hudson-Smith

Mapping for the Masses

The authors describe how we are harnessing the power of web 2.0 technologies to create new approaches to collecting, mapping, and sharing geocoded data. The authors begin with GMapCreator that lets users fashion new maps using Google Maps as a base. The authors then describe MapTube that enables users to archive maps and demonstrate how it can be used in a variety of contexts to share map information, to put existing maps into a form that can be shared, and to create new maps from the bottom-up using a combination of crowdcasting, crowdsourcing, and traditional broadcasting. The authors conclude by arguing that such tools are helping to define a neogeography that is essentially ‘‘mapping for the masses,’’ while noting that there are many issues of quality, accuracy, copyright, and trust that will influence the impact of these tools on map-based communication.

Map mashups, Web 2.0 and the GIS revolution

Mashups, composed of mixing different types of software and data, first appeared in 2004 and ‘map mashups’ quickly became the most popular forms of this software blending. This heralded a new kind of geography called ‘Neogeography’ in which non-expert users were able to exploit the power of maps without requiring the expertise traditionally associated, in the geographic world, with cartography and geographic information science, and, in computer science, with data structures and graphics programming. First we suggest the need for a typology of map mashups while arguing that such a typology is premature. We then discuss the need for standards and formats, moving on to questions of security, privacy and confidentiality. We follow this by introducing the key issues of creating spatial data for mashups through crowd-sourcing. To ground this presentation in applications, we explore some classic exemplars from our own and related work with map mashups and portals such as MapTube (http://www.maptube.org/). We then point to extensions to other graphical media, to 3D, to virtual worlds and beyond. In conclusion, we speculate on what all this might mean for GIS software and geographic information science.

NeoGeography and Web 2.0: concepts, tools and applications

In this article, we explore the concepts and applications of Web 2.0 through the new media of NeoGeography and its impact on how we collect, interact and search for spatial information. We argue that location and space are becoming increasingly important in the information technology revolution. To this end, we present a series of software tools which we have designed to facilitate the non-expert user to develop online visualisations which are essentially map-based. These are based on Google Map Creator, which can produce any number of thematic maps which can be overlaid on Google Maps. We then introduce MapTube, a technology to generate an archive of shared maps, before introducing Google Earth Creator, Image Cutter and PhotoOverlay Creator. All these tools allow users to display and share information over the web. Finally, we present how Second Life has the potential to combine all aspects of Web 2.0, visualisation and NeoGeography in a single multi-user three-dimensional collaborative environment.

An internet of old things as an augmented memory system

The interdisciplinary Tales of Things and electronic Memory (TOTeM) project investigates new contexts for augmenting things with stories in the emerging culture of the Internet of Things (IoT). Tales of Things is a tagging system which, based on two-dimensional barcodes (also called Quick Response or QR codes) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, enables the capturing and sharing of object stories and the physical linking to objects via read and writable tags. Within the context of our study, it has functioned as a technology probe which we employed with the aim to stimulate discussion and identify desire lines that point to novel design opportunities for the engagement with personal and social memories linked to everyday objects. In this paper, we discuss results from fieldwork with different community groups in the course of which seemingly any object could form the basis of a meaningful story and act as entry point into rich inherent ‘networks of meaning’. Such networks of meaning are often solely accessible for the owner of an object and are at risk of getting lost as time goes by. We discuss the different discourses that are inherent in these object stories and provide avenues for making these memories and meaning networks accessible and shareable. This paper critically reflects on Tales of Things as an example of an augmented memory system and discusses possible wider implications for the design of related systems.

Enhancing the 'second-hand' retail experience with digital object memories

For a long time, the second-hand retail market was the preserve of the charity shop. However, the advent of services like eBay has massively increased its prominence. In this paper we describe a novel Internet of Things-based approach to enhancing the second-hand retail experience by augmenting items with their provenance. After a discussion of the underlying technology, we shall describe its deployment in two related case studies conducted in collaboration with Oxfam charity retail outlets in which we tagged donated items with RFID and QR codes, allowing shoppers to hear the story behind the donated items. Finally, we discuss the impact of the deployments and their implications for the second-hand retail sector.

Design Fiction: How to Build a Voight-Kampff Machine

Tyrell: Is this to be an empathy test? Capillary dilation of the so-called blush response? Fluctuation of the pupil. Involuntary dilation of the iris... Deckard: We call it Voight-Kampff for short. Design fiction is a broad term that occupies a space within the wider miscellany of speculative design approaches and is appearing as a nascent method for HCI research. The factor that differentiates and distinguishes design fiction from other approaches is its novel use of world building and in this paper we consider whether there is value in creating fictional research worlds through which we might consider future interactions. As an example we build a world in which algorithms for detecting empathy will become a major compnent of future communications. We take inspiration from the sci-fi film Blade Runner in order to consider what a plausible world, in which it is useful to build a Voight-Kampff machine, might be like.

Designing interactive systems to encourage empathy between users

An oft-cited criticism of our increasingly online world is that text based communications still dominate, offering limited opportunity for the development of empathy between users and possibly encouraging more critical and confrontational interactions. Whilst there are a wide range of design methods that enable designers to develop empathy for the potential users of their products or services, there are none aimed at helping designers to create systems that actively encourage the development of empathy between those users. In this research we discuss why we believe there is a need to design systems that facilitate empathy and how designers may approach such a challenge, using the example of a digital prayer candle system developed with a church community.

Calibration of a spatial simulation model with volunteered geographical information

For many scientific disciplines, the continued progression of information technology has increased the availability of data, computation and analytical methodologies including simulation and visualisation. Geographical information science is no exception. In this article, we investigate the possibilities for deployment of e-infrastructures to inform spatial planning, analysis and policy-making. We describe an existing architecture that feeds both static and dynamic simulation models from a variety of sources, including not only administrative datasets but also attitudes and behaviours which are harvested online from crowds. This infrastructure also supports visualisation and computationally intensive processing. The main aim of this article is to illustrate how spatial simulation models can be calibrated with crowd-sourced data. We introduce an example in which popular attitudes to congestion charging in a major UK city (Manchester) were collected, with promotional support from a high-profile media organisation (the BBC). These data are used to estimate the parameters of a transport simulation model, using a hungry estimation procedure which is deployed within a high-performance computational grid. We indicate how the resulting model might be used to evaluate the impact of alternative policy options for regulating the traffic in Manchester. Whilst the procedure is novel in itself, we argue that greater credibility could be added by the incorporation of open-source simulation models and by the use of social networking mechanisms to share policy evaluations much more widely.

Engaging the museum space : mobilizing visitor engagement with digital content creation.

In recent years, public engagement is increasingly viewed as more than an ‘additional extra’ in academia. In the UK, it is becoming more common for research projects to embrace public engagement with the belief that it informs research, enhances teaching and learning, and increases research impact on society. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to consider ways of incorporating public engagement activities into digital humanities research. This article discusses public engagement and digital humanities in practice, highlighting how museums are utilizing digital technology to engage the public. This article describes the development and presents the results of a case study: The QRator project, an application for digital interpretation in the museum and cultural heritage sector. The QRator project took an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to creating new ways for museum visitors to engage with museum objects and discussions. The objective was to understand how digital technologies, such as interactive labels and smartphones, create new ways for users to engage with museum objects; investigate the value and constraints of digital sources and methods involving cultural content; and demonstrate how crowdsourced digital interpretation may be utilized as a research source. This article will use the QRator project as a case study to explore how mobile devices and interactive digital labels can create new models for public engagement, visitor meaning-making (Silverman, L. H. Visitor meaning-making in museums for a new age. Curator, 1995;38(3):161–70), and the construction of multiple interpretations inside museum spaces. This article will also put emphasis on how public engagement can and should be a core consideration of digital humanities projects.

Supporting Empathy Through Embodiment in the Design of Interactive Systems

Whilst empathy is considered an essential component of what it means to be human, it is frequently absent as a design objective when creating modern communication systems. This paper presents an approach to designing for, as opposed to with, empathy using the example of two design interventions to create embodied rituals reflecting prayers and worries of individuals within a church community. The aim of these interventions is to facilitate conversation and support within the community, thus generating empathy between community members, and inciting prosocial behaviour through embodied cognition.