GIEDRĖ BECONYTĖ
CARTOGRAPHIC INFORMATION MODELING

Vilnius 2009

 




Textbook

Approved for publishing by the Faculty of Natural Sciences Council: May 21, 2009

Reviewers
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Habil. Eimuntas Paršeliūnas
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Birutė Ruzgienė

ISBN 978-9955-33-483-5


© Giedre Beconyte 2009
© Vilnius University 2009

 

The book analyses theoretical problems of cartography that become pressing in the modern cartographic production practice. Continuous increase of the need for cartographic information and up-to-date data, of diversity and complexity of modern cartographic products and growth of users requirements create inauspicious business environment because of which the quality of the products is often insufficient. For instance, thematic atlases are now published within months, whereas just a few decades ago such atlases had been designed by large teams for several years. The trend of low quality cartographic products is observed in Lithuania as well as worldwide. Therefore it is necessary to look for new methods that allow assuring high quality within a relatively short time span and without significant increase of costs, especially when cartographic communication quality (efficient and convenient transfer of information to the user) is concerned. Some such methods were developed and tested by the author during implementation of thematic maps and atlases’ projects. They are described within a consistent framework of cartographic information management and delivery. The presented approach differs from the classical cartographic design paradigm by treating cartography as an information science and a map as an informational model of a particular universe of discourse. Map design and implementation stages are separated. General system engineering methods and principles, such as requirement engineering, life cycle modeling, task breakdowns, that are briefly discussed in the book, can be successfully applied at the implementation stage. Design stage solutions have much bigger impact on cartographic quality. The book provides recommendations on application of semantic modeling for cartographic visualization and for objective evaluation of communicative quality. Proposed models can be also used for identification and evasion of possible design errors. Three different design paradigms are proposed for specific types of maps. Cartographic stylistics, extended concept of map language and multi-level cartographic communication model problems are introduced as a part of the single design framework. The book can be used by academics and postgraduate students as a supplementary training material.