Numbers on Thematic Maps: Helpful Simplicity or Too Raw to Be Useful for Map Reading?

Developing High-Resolution Population and Settlement Data for Impactful Malaria Interventions in Zambia

Foundational high-resolution geospatial data products for population, settlements, infrastructure, and boundaries may greatly enhance the efficient planning of resource allocation during health sector interventions. To ensure the relevance and sustainability of such products, government partners must be involved from the beginning in their creation, improvement, and/or management, so they can be successfully applied to public health campaigns, such as malaria control and prevention. As an example, Zambia had an ambitious strategy of reaching the entire population with malaria vector control campaigns by late 2020 or early 2021, but they lacked the requisite accurate and up-to-date data on infrastructure and population distribution. To address this gap, the Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) program, Akros, and other partners developed maps and planning templates to aid Zambia's National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) in operationalizing its strategy.

The Ratio of the Land Consumption Rate to the Population Growth Rate: A Framework for the Achievement of the Spatiotemporal Pattern in Poland and Lithuania

Indicator 11.3. 1 of the 2030 sustainable development goals (SDG) 11, i.e., the ratio of the land use to the population growth rate, is currently classified by the United Nations as a Tier II indicator, as there is a globally-accepted methodology for its calculation, but the data are not available, nor are not regularly updated. Recently, the increased availability of remotely sensed data and products allows not only for the calculation of the SDG 11.3. 1, but also for its monitoring at different levels of detail. That is why this study aims to address the interrelationships between population development and land use changes in Poland and Lithuania, two neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Europe, using the publicly available remotely sensed products, CORINE land cover and GHS-POP. The paper introduces a map modelling process that starts with data transformation through GIS analyses and results in the geovisualisation of the LCRPGR (land use efficiency), the PGR (population growth rate), and the LCR (land use rate). We investigated the spatial patterns of the index values by utilizing hotspot analyses, autocorrelations, and outlier analyses. The results show how the indicators’ values were concentrated in both countries; the average value of SDG 11.3. 1, from 2000 to 2018 in Poland amounted to 0.115 and, in Lithuania, to −0.054. The average population growth ratio (PGR) in Poland equaled 0.0132, and in Lithuania, it was −0.0067, while the average land consumption ratios (LCRs) were 0.0462 and 0.0067, respectively. Areas with an increase in built-up areas were concentrated mainly on the outskirts of large cities, whereas outliers of the LCRPGR index were mainly caused by the uncertainty of the source data and the way the indicator is interpreted.

Heat Maps: Perfect Maps for Quick Reading? Comparing Usability of Heat Maps with Different Levels of Generalization

Recently, due to Web 2.0 and neocartography, heat maps have become a popular map type for quick reading. Heat maps are graphical representations of geographic data density in the form of raster maps, elaborated by applying kernel density estimation with a given radius on point- or linear-input data. The aim of this study was to compare the usability of heat maps with different levels of generalization (defined by radii of 10, 20, 30, and 40 pixels) for basic map user tasks. A user study with 412 participants (16–20 years old, high school students) was carried out in order to compare heat maps that showed the same input data. The study was conducted in schools during geography or IT lessons. Objective (the correctness of the answer, response times) and subjective (response time self-assessment, task difficulty, preferences) metrics were measured. The results show that the smaller radius resulted in the higher correctness of the answers. A larger radius did not result in faster response times. The participants perceived the more generalized maps as easier to use, although this result did not match the performance metrics. Overall, we believe that heat maps, in given circumstances and appropriate design settings, can be considered an efficient method for spatial data presentation.

Effectiveness of Memorizing an Animated Route—Comparing Satellite and Road Map Differences in the Eye-Tracking Study

There is no consensus on the importance of satellite images in the process of memorizing a route from a map image, especially if the route is displayed on the Internet using dynamic (animated) cartographic visualization. In modern dynamic maps built with JavaScript APIs, background layers can be easily altered by map users. The animation attracts people’s attention better than static images, but it causes some perceptual problems. This study examined the influence of the number of turns on the effectiveness (correctness) and efficiency of memorizing the animated route on different cartographic backgrounds. The routes of three difficulty levels, based on satellite and road background, were compared. The results show that the satellite background was not a significant factor influencing the efficiency and effectiveness of route memorizing. Recordings of the eye movement confirmed this. The study reveals that there were intergroup differences in participants’ visual behavior. Participants who described their spatial abilities as “very good” performed better (in terms of effectiveness and efficiency) in route memorizing tasks. For future research, there is a need to study route variability and its impact on participants’ performance. Moreover, future studies should involve differences in route visualization (e.g., without and with ephemeral or permanent trail).

Do Different Map Types Support Map Reading Equally? Comparing Choropleth, Graduated Symbols, and Isoline Maps for Map Use Tasks

It is acknowledged that various types of thematic maps emphasize different aspects of mapped phenomena and thus support different map users’ tasks. To provide empirical evidence, a user study with 366 participants was carried out comparing three map types showing the same input data. The aim of the study is to compare the effect of using choropleth, graduated symbols, and isoline maps to solve basic map user tasks. Three metrics were examined: two performance metrics (answer accuracy and time) and one subjective metric (difficulty). The results showed that the performance metrics differed between the analyzed map types, and better performances were recorded using the choropleth map. It was also proven that map users find the most commonly applied type of the map, choropleth map, as the easiest. In addition, the subjective metric matched the performance metrics. We conclude with the statement that the choropleth map can be a sufficient solution for solving various tasks. However, it should be remembered that making this type of map correctly may seem easy, but it is not. Moreover, we believe that the richness of thematic cartography should not be abandoned, and work should not be limited to one favorable map type only.