Map is one of the communication means created by human being.Cartographers have been making efforts on the comparison of maps to natural languages so as to establish a"cartographic language"or"map langu...Map is one of the communication means created by human being.Cartographers have been making efforts on the comparison of maps to natural languages so as to establish a"cartographic language"or"map language".One of such efforts is to adopt the Shannon’s Information Theory originated in digital communication into cartography so as to establish an entropy-based cartographic communication theory.However,success has been very limited although research work had started as early as the mid-1960 s.It is then found that the bottleneck problem was the lack of appropriate measures for the spatial(configurational)information of(graphic and image)maps,as the classic Shannon entropy is only capable of characterizing statistical information but fails to capture the configurational information of(graphic and image)maps.Fortunately,after over 40-year development,some bottleneck problems have been solved.More precisely,generalized Shannon entropies for metric and thematic information of(graphic)maps have been developed and the first feasible solution for computing the Boltzmann entropy of image maps has been invented,which is capable of measuring the spatial information of not only numerical images but also categorical maps.With such progress,it is now feasible to build the"Information Theory of Cartography".In this paper,a framework for such a theory is proposed and some key issues are identified.For these issues,some have already been tackled while others still need efforts.As a result,a research agenda is set for future action.After all these issues are tackled,the theory will become matured so as to become a theoretic basis of cartography.It is expected that the Information Theory of Cartography will play an increasingly important role in the discipline of cartography because more and more researchers have advocated that information is more fundamental than matter and energy.展开更多
Risk communication is a significant challenge in risk management.It serves different purposes;an important one is to improve the public risk awareness and mitigation.Because of the strong spatio-temporal component of ...Risk communication is a significant challenge in risk management.It serves different purposes;an important one is to improve the public risk awareness and mitigation.Because of the strong spatio-temporal component of natural hazards,maps can play a decisive role in communicating risk information.The application and design of maps for risk communication especially to the public has not been investigated comprehensively.Specific constraints and challenges of risk communication have not been considered systematically in the map design process so far.This study aims at developing a frame for the application and design of interactive risk and hazard maps for the public which is based on the specific constraints and challenges of risk communication.In a literature review it introduces concepts and methods from social sciences and psychology,which have been assessed as important for communicating risk information.The concepts and methods are adapted to map-mediated risk communication according to the approaches of Activity Theory.Communication objectives and tasks which are essential to improve risk mitigation are identified and geovisualization methods for information presentation are related according to the degree which they are able to serve them.Based on this,some principles for map-based risk communication are established.展开更多
In 2017,it was estimated that the number of persons of all ages visually affected would be two hundred and eighty-five million,of which thirty-nine million are blind.There are several innovative technical solutions av...In 2017,it was estimated that the number of persons of all ages visually affected would be two hundred and eighty-five million,of which thirty-nine million are blind.There are several innovative technical solutions available to facilitate the movement of these people.The next big challenge for technical people is to give cost-effective solutions.One of the challenges for people with visual impairments is navigating safely,recognizing obstacles,and moving freely between locations in unfamiliar environments.A new mobile application solution is developed,and the application can be installed in android mobile.The application will visualize the environment with portable cameras and persons with visual impairment directly to the environment.The designed system mainly uses the YOLO3 program to identify and locate the distance between the objects and the camera.Furthermore,it determines the direction of the object.Finally,the system will give the voice command to teach/inform the visually impaired people to navigate the environment.It is a novel work at the global level.The proposed approach is cost-effective and affordable to all strata of society.展开更多
Cartographic communication and support within emergency management(EM)are complicated issues with changing demands according to the incident extent and phase of the EM cycle.Keeping in mind the specifics of each purpo...Cartographic communication and support within emergency management(EM)are complicated issues with changing demands according to the incident extent and phase of the EM cycle.Keeping in mind the specifics of each purpose,it is obvious that spatial data used for maps preparation and production must be differently visualized even for the same type of emergency incident(traffic accident,fire,and natural disaster).Context-based cartography is a promising methodology to deal with the changing demands of an operational EM center.An overview of cartographic communication is presented within the context of an operational EM center,activities of particular actors,and map use supporting the incident elimination.The authors of the paper respond to a series of questions,for example:what is the current cartographic support of operational EM in the Czech Republic in Digital Earth conditions?What possibilities are there to improve the cartographic communication?How can contextual cartographic services be implemented in a Web environment and how can the usability of results be tested?The paper gives several examples of the usage of cartographic technologies in map creation for various emergency situations.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41930104,41971330)Hong Kong Research Grants Council General Research Fund(No.152219/18E)。
文摘Map is one of the communication means created by human being.Cartographers have been making efforts on the comparison of maps to natural languages so as to establish a"cartographic language"or"map language".One of such efforts is to adopt the Shannon’s Information Theory originated in digital communication into cartography so as to establish an entropy-based cartographic communication theory.However,success has been very limited although research work had started as early as the mid-1960 s.It is then found that the bottleneck problem was the lack of appropriate measures for the spatial(configurational)information of(graphic and image)maps,as the classic Shannon entropy is only capable of characterizing statistical information but fails to capture the configurational information of(graphic and image)maps.Fortunately,after over 40-year development,some bottleneck problems have been solved.More precisely,generalized Shannon entropies for metric and thematic information of(graphic)maps have been developed and the first feasible solution for computing the Boltzmann entropy of image maps has been invented,which is capable of measuring the spatial information of not only numerical images but also categorical maps.With such progress,it is now feasible to build the"Information Theory of Cartography".In this paper,a framework for such a theory is proposed and some key issues are identified.For these issues,some have already been tackled while others still need efforts.As a result,a research agenda is set for future action.After all these issues are tackled,the theory will become matured so as to become a theoretic basis of cartography.It is expected that the Information Theory of Cartography will play an increasingly important role in the discipline of cartography because more and more researchers have advocated that information is more fundamental than matter and energy.
文摘Risk communication is a significant challenge in risk management.It serves different purposes;an important one is to improve the public risk awareness and mitigation.Because of the strong spatio-temporal component of natural hazards,maps can play a decisive role in communicating risk information.The application and design of maps for risk communication especially to the public has not been investigated comprehensively.Specific constraints and challenges of risk communication have not been considered systematically in the map design process so far.This study aims at developing a frame for the application and design of interactive risk and hazard maps for the public which is based on the specific constraints and challenges of risk communication.In a literature review it introduces concepts and methods from social sciences and psychology,which have been assessed as important for communicating risk information.The concepts and methods are adapted to map-mediated risk communication according to the approaches of Activity Theory.Communication objectives and tasks which are essential to improve risk mitigation are identified and geovisualization methods for information presentation are related according to the degree which they are able to serve them.Based on this,some principles for map-based risk communication are established.
基金This research is funded by Taif University,TURSP-2020/313.
文摘In 2017,it was estimated that the number of persons of all ages visually affected would be two hundred and eighty-five million,of which thirty-nine million are blind.There are several innovative technical solutions available to facilitate the movement of these people.The next big challenge for technical people is to give cost-effective solutions.One of the challenges for people with visual impairments is navigating safely,recognizing obstacles,and moving freely between locations in unfamiliar environments.A new mobile application solution is developed,and the application can be installed in android mobile.The application will visualize the environment with portable cameras and persons with visual impairment directly to the environment.The designed system mainly uses the YOLO3 program to identify and locate the distance between the objects and the camera.Furthermore,it determines the direction of the object.Finally,the system will give the voice command to teach/inform the visually impaired people to navigate the environment.It is a novel work at the global level.The proposed approach is cost-effective and affordable to all strata of society.
基金The project(No.MSM0021622418)is supported by the Ministry of Education,Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.Notes on contributors Karel Staněk has worked as an assistant。
文摘Cartographic communication and support within emergency management(EM)are complicated issues with changing demands according to the incident extent and phase of the EM cycle.Keeping in mind the specifics of each purpose,it is obvious that spatial data used for maps preparation and production must be differently visualized even for the same type of emergency incident(traffic accident,fire,and natural disaster).Context-based cartography is a promising methodology to deal with the changing demands of an operational EM center.An overview of cartographic communication is presented within the context of an operational EM center,activities of particular actors,and map use supporting the incident elimination.The authors of the paper respond to a series of questions,for example:what is the current cartographic support of operational EM in the Czech Republic in Digital Earth conditions?What possibilities are there to improve the cartographic communication?How can contextual cartographic services be implemented in a Web environment and how can the usability of results be tested?The paper gives several examples of the usage of cartographic technologies in map creation for various emergency situations.
