Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
complementary maps, images, cartograms or other relevant information at
appropriate scale. Experience has shown that it is reasonably simple to technically
modify these tools, e.g., changing total number of rings and sectors, for use on
movement data of possums. However, it may not be simple to determine the
optimization of the tools. A proper insight-based evaluation will be conducted to
address this aspect. In line with our emphasis on activity and geography, a major
challenge is identifying the key factors that drive or influence the movements of
study subjects, whether the location of gum trees for possums or malls for shop-
ping. With this perspective, customised strategies for adaptation of the tools can be
developed, typically involving domain experts who are familiar with the data and
have the twin abilities to identify key movement influences in the landscape and to
interpret and recognise patterns and to discover any significant insights. Using this
form of team work the application of ringmaps to the movement trajectories of
possums, derived through multiple visualisations of individual trajectories over
different temporal scales, has produced a range of new insights into patterns of
possum chronobehaviour.
Overall, the extent of new understanding gained from the application of the
ringmap toolset has been encouraging, and the application with the possum data
set has provided insights into the need to customize specific representations to
work effectively in different environments. Further research is scheduled to focus
on a third data set and expert user, this time exploring tourist movement in
New Zealand. Hopefully the power of the ringmap toolset can be further aug-
mented in this context, and more will be learned of the generality of the effective
performance of specific tools and coordinated toolsets across human and animal
movement fields. A domain expert evaluation framework (using an insight based
approach) has been developed and applied to the Halifax dataset, and has gained
positive feedback. Two more evaluations will be performed on the possum and
tourist datasets soon and will be addressed in a future publication.
Acknowledgments Professor Andy Harvey of Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
provided access to the 1971 Halifax data set for testing and ongoing advice and encouragement in
the further development and exploration of Ringmap. We would like to thank the families of
Frank and Robert Calis, Simon Webb, and Steve Nobilo for use of their lovely farms during
collection of the possum movement data. We would also like to acknowledge Jean Claude Stahl
and Paul Hughes for providing access to the Albatross data.
References
Abler R, Adams JS, Gould PR (1971) Spatial organization; the geographer's view of the world.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Andrienko N, Andrienko G (2007) Designing visual analytics methods for massive collections of
movement data. Cartographica 42:117-138
Andrienko G, Andrienko N, Wrobel S (2007) Visual analytics tools for analysis of movement
data. ACM SIGKDD Explor 9:38-46
