Mapping Society and Social Mapping

The theoretical basis of cartography is of fundamental importance. There are many conceptual issues involved in representing space, many of which are of interest to the ICA Commission on Theoretical Cartography. In particular, it is important to understand how cartographers represent their model of the world and how users interpret what maps mean. These issues reflect the social nature of the study and practice of cartography, showing that people are as important as technology in the mapping process. A further commission of the ICA, the Commission on Gender and Cartography, also has a bias towards these societal issues. Census Maps... (read more)

2006-01-10 12:00:00

Southern Mapping Micro Mapping Technology

Southern Mapping Company (SMC) has purchased Optech Incorporated\'s new ALTM (Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper) Orion sensor. This purchase makes Southern Mapping Company the first commercial owners of the world\'s smallest, full-system lidar sensor. With the same high-performance features typically found in much larger sensors, Orion enables highly accurate and dense topographic data acquisition in the most efficient means possible. Orion offers higher accuracy and precision, regardless of the laser pulse rate, up to a maximum of 600,000 surface measurements per second (i.e. first, second, third and last returns per output pulse at 150kHz), all fully enabled by Optech's innovative iFLEXTM... (read more)

2008-10-27 10:47:08

Medical Mapping

Importance of Coordinates and Geo-referencing

The great strength of geomatics is that it enables us to place earth-related object data, geodata, within a spatial context. Maps and GIS are becoming increasingly important in properly planning, managing and monitoring public health programmes. Starting with John Snow's famous cholera map, we discuss the importance of coordinates and geo-referencing in medical mapping. Suppose the government of some country wants to register data on all the buildings erected in its territory. Registration is aimed not only at property-tax collection but also at granting building permits, distributing petrol-station licences and many more tasks of good governance. A government officer with... (read more)

2007-08-11 12:00:00

Participatory Mapping

Why Maps and GIS Matter

Capturing and managing local knowledge and stimulating public participation are essential for post-damage infrastructure management and relief. Government agencies often lack effective means of accessing knowledge held by residents. The author carried out a case-study in Indonesia showing that maps, GIS and web mapping could provide such means.<P> Frequent rainfall inundation causes serious damage to urban areas in Indonesia and impacts many small and medium-scale sectors of the economy. Such inundation also hampers development and decreases quality of life within a neighbourhood. In addressing these problems community participation during infrastructure planning and relief is considered a ‘must’ and has thus... (read more)

2008-08-27 12:00:00

Mapping Software

This is the second Product Survey on Mapping Software, the first having been published in February 2004. Support for web-based services is becoming increasingly relevant, including within an interactive environment, for example with links to GPS. However, paper-based visualisation with support in the printing process is still of considerable significance. Visualisation and presentation is the final stage of any activity and process involving geo-data and geo-information. As a result, designers and developers of mapping software have to address an abundance of issues stemming from previous stages in the geo-information processing cycle. These include interoperability, the wealth of geo-reference systems, de... (read more)

2006-11-20 12:00:00

Mobile Mapping

Accurate Enough for Urban Areas

Mobile mapping systems can quickly and accurately acquire geo-data at a high level of detail. Features especially beneficial in urban areas where construction and layout rapidly change and traditional surveying is rendered virtually impossible, and not only during rush hours. A mobile mapping system consists basically of a vehicle equipped with positioning sensors and laser scanners. It may also have mounted digital cameras, as with the Topcon IP-S2 described in this article, or other sensors such as thermal sensors and ground-penetrating radar. The very core of a Mobile Mapping System (MMS) consists of a positioning system comprising a GNSS receiver... (read more)

2010-06-07 02:22:18

Mapping Indonesia

The Indonesian national cartographic report prepared by the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (Bakosurtanal) and covering the period 2003 to 2005 was tabled at the ICA special General Assembly in A Coruña in July. This typical report represented notable effort given the strain on that nation’s cartographic resources after the 2004 tsunami. The interim report is divided into a number of sections covering among other topics mapping activities (including topographic, marine, thematic, boundary and national atlas mapping) and the development of the Indonesian Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). An outline is given of educational and training facilities; there is... (read more)

2006-01-10 12:00:00

Tactile Mapping

In the August 2005 ICA contribution to these pages we reported on the increased interest in tactile mapping evident at the International Cartographic Conference (ICC) in A Coruna that month. This was demonstrated once more at the August 2007 ICC in Moscow in August, where a total of fourteen papers on this subject were given under the large (530+ oral presentations) conference umbrella. With emphasis on using innovative devices that make spatial information more widely available to larger numbers of visually impaired people, the conference perhaps marks a turning point in tactile cartography research. Themed Sessions Three themed sessions... (read more)

2007-09-19 12:00:00

Crime Mapping

ICA promotes and supports research work across every field of cartography, primarily through the work of its Commissions and Working Groups (listed in the column here left). ICA Commissions are approved and monitored by the General Assembly of member nations, whilst the ICA Executive Committee is empowered to set up shorter-term Working Groups addressing specific issues of cartographic interest not covered by Commissions. In 2009 the EC approved establishment of a Working Group on Crime Mapping, with special consideration for the role of cartography in recording and combating crime, and for forensic purposes to ensure successful prosecution of perpetrators.High StandardCrime... (read more)

2010-10-05 02:15:11

Belize Biodiversity Mapping Service

Public Access to Biodiversity Information via the Web

The newly established Belize Biodiversity Mapping Service makes spatially-enabled biodiversity information available via a public website. Students, NGOs and government agencies are the primary users. For financial sustainability, the BBMS was developed using open-source map-server, database and web-scripting technologies. Whilst scientific investigation strives to improve the extant knowledge base, traditionally the results have been accessible only to an elite group of scientists. The Age of Technology is, however, rapidly democratising information of all types and opening up the world of science to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. But old habits die hard, and there is a lot... (read more)

2005-03-18 12:00:00