Abstract: Computer technologies are gaining ground in cartography. But support and implementation of the wide range of cartographic interpretation methods ranks among the weak points of most computer systems focused on geospatial data visualisation. This paper tries to fill this gap. It presents XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) templates and their control file designed for generating some types of thematic maps (e.g. different types of choropleth maps or diagram maps).

Abstract: Different from traditional researches which focus on statistics accuracy and representation effects of choropleth map,a new automatic method of determining class intervals in representing knowledge of population distribution is proposed in this paper.Based on population distribution Lorenz curve,the method can determine the number of classes by requirement of knowledge transfer as well as determine the class interval via the Douglas-Peucker simplification method.Experiments of the method demonstrate the potential of representing population distribution patterns and the improvement of map information transfer.During simplification,the two class interval map shows the approximate outline of "Hu line".The population distribution patterns and knowledge of particular cases are easily understood from maps of three or more class intervals.

Abstract: Background: Disparities in health outcomes across communities are a central concern in public health and epidemiology. Health disparities research often links differences in health outcomes to other social factors like income. Choropleth maps of health outcome rates show the geographical distribution of health outcomes. This paper illustrates the use of cumulative frequency map legends for visualizing how the health events are distributed in relation to social characteristics of community populations. The approach uses two graphs in the cumulative frequency legend to highlight the difference between the raw count of the health events and the raw count of the social characteristic like low income in the geographical areas of the map. The approach is applied to mapping publicly available data on low birth weight by town in Connecticut and Lyme disease incidence by town in Connecticut in relation to income. The steps involved in creating these legends are described in detail so that health analysts can adopt this approach. Results: The different health problems, low birth weight and Lyme disease, have different cumulative frequency signatures. Graphing poverty population on the cumulative frequency legends revealed that the poverty population is distributed differently with respect to the two different health problems mapped here. Conclusion: Cumulative frequency legends can be useful supplements for choropleth maps. These legends can be constructed using readily available software. They contain all of the information found in standard choropleth map legends, and they can be used with any choropleth map classification scheme. Cumulative frequency legends effectively communicate the proportion of areas, the proportion of health events, and/or the proportion of the denominator population in which the health events occurred that falls within each class interval. They illuminate the context of disease through graphing associations with other variables.

Abstract: The population density in choropleth maps is the average density calculated based on the polygon statistical units. It does not show the difference inside the polygon area and cannot reflect the actual population distribution. In order to obtain a real population distribution, it is necessary to spatially refine the statistical areal population data. Using population distribution model or surface interpolation can realize the spatialization of urban population. But these two methods are isolated in research, not closely related to each other. This paper studied the dasymetric mapping of urban population based on geostatistics with the combined use of these two methods. First, the variation function of geostatistics was introduced into the analysis of population spatial distribution model. The population distribution in a space presented a definite structure feature. The variation function curves were fitted through the population density at the sampling points with different intervals h in space, so as to quantitatively describe the change of the population spatial distribution. With some cases, the paper showed how the parameters of variation function could be utilized to analyze the spatial mode of population distribution. Then, a method for dasymetric mapping of urban population was put forward based on Indicator Kriging's interpolation. The theoretical model of the variation function could reflect the degree of spatial relativity of urban population distribution, and the Indicator Kriging can be used to carry out interpolation with sample weight coefficients derived by the theoretical model of the variation function. This was an overall modeling with partial interpolation approach, which could effectively control the influence of particular values, so as to improve the accuracy of urban population estimation. Population statistic data used in the case was acquired from the fifth Census in Zhengzhou, China. Considering the large volume of the data, Statistic unit in the study is confined to the street office level. The Study area is the metropolitan area in City of Zhengzhou. Spatial database was built using ArcGIS.The case studied here indicated that the Indicator Kriging performs well in the interpolation of population data.

Abstract: One primary utility of animated maps is their ability to depict change over time and space; unfortunately, recent research suggests that humans frequently fail to perceive changes within dynamic graphics. However, different types of dynamic graphics include different manifestations of change. For example, an animated proportional-symbol map possesses different change properties than an animated choropleth map. This article examines issues of change on animated choropleth maps. We identify relevant limitations of the human visual system that pertain to animated map reading, including change blindness and foveal versus peripheral attention, and introduce methods to quantify the magnitude of change that separates individual scenes within choropleth animations. These methods are useful for measuring and describing changes that confront users of animated choropleth maps. We also characterize the transitional behaviours of enumeration units and discuss the influences of data classification and other cartographic controls on change within animated choropleth maps.

Abstract: A dasymetric map depicts a statistical surface, most commonly population density, as a set of simply connected regions, such that variation within each region is minimized and the region boundaries approximate the steepest escarpments of the surface Dasymetric mapping has its roots in early thematic mapping of population, but has recently been taken up by researchers focusing on areal interpolation and population estimation using remote sensing The process of dasymetric mapping typically involves the disaggregation of population data encoded in choropleth map form using an ancillary spatial data set, most commonly either an area-class map or satellite image The functional relationship between the ancillary data and the statistical surface being mapped may be specified a priori by the researcher or estimated using a variety of statistical techniques Challenges facing dasymetric mapping research include handling spatio-temporal data and the development of standardized and accessible methods

Abstract: An emerging and challenging Geovisual Analytics application domain is visualization of hierarchical regional (sub-national) statistics. The OECD regional database is a potential treasure chest for policy-makers, researchers and citizens to gain a better understanding of a region’s structure and performance and to carry out analysis of territorial trends and disparities based on sound information comparable across countries. New methods are needed to visually make comparisons between groups on different hierarchical levels, such as cities with countries or parts of countries. In this context, we demonstrate and reflect upon the potential synergy between information and geovisualization through the use of a squarified treemap dynamically linked to a choropleth map to facilitate visualization of complex hierarchical social science data. We exemplify and evaluate our approach with three usage scenarios that explore population change in the OECD countries using 1) squarified treemap, 2) regional choropleth map and 3) combined treemap and choropleth map.