Map communication model
Encyclopedia
Map Communication Model is a theory in cartography
that characterizes mapping as a process of transmitting geographic information via the map from the cartographer to the end-user.
and others had begun to see the map as primarily a communication tool, and so developed a specific model for map communication, the map communication model (MCM)". . This model, according to Andrews (1988) "can be grouped with the other major communication model
s of the time, such as the Shannon-Weaver and Lasswell models of communication. The map communication model led to a whole new body of research, methodologies and map design paradigms"
One of the implications of this communication model according to Donohue (2008) "endorsed an “epistemic break” that shifted our understandings of maps as communication systems to investigating them in terms of fields of power relations and exploring the “mapping environments in which knowledge is constructed”... This involved examining the social contexts in which maps were both produced and used, a departure from simply seeing maps as artifacts to be understood apart from this context". is a clear separation between cartographer and user, whereby the map was seen simply as an “intermediary between the cartographer and the user”.
A second implication of this model is the presumption inherited from positivism
that it is possible to separate facts from values. As Harley stated: Maps are never value-free images; except in the narrowest Euclidean sense they are not in themselves either true or false. Both in the selectivity of their content and in their signs and styles of representation maps are a way of conceiving, articulating, and structuring the human world which is biased towards, promoted by, and exerts influence upon particular sets of social relations. By accepting such premises it becomes easier to see how appropriate they are to manipulation by the powerful in society.
developed in the telephone
industry before the war began. Mathematician, inventor, and teacher Claude Shannon worked at Bell Labs
after completing his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1940. Shannon applied mathematical theory to information and demonstrated that communication could be reduced to binary digits (bit
s) of positive and negative circuits. This information could be coded and transmitted across a noisy
interface
without losing any meaning. Once the information was received it was then decoded by the listener; the integrity of the information remained intact. In producing meaningful sounds that could be measured for quality, Shannon produced the beginning of information theory and digital communication through circuits of on and off switches.
Shannon developed his ideas more thoroughly in the 1940s at the same time that geographer
and cartographer Arthur H. Robinson
returned from the Second World War during which he had served as cartographer for the military. Robinson found that cartographers were significantly limited because artists could make more effective maps than geographers. Upon returning from the war, Robinson worked to remedy this problem at Ohio State University
where he was a graduate student. His The Look of Maps emphasizes the importance of lettering, map design, map structure, color, and technique.
Information theory helped turn the map into a medium of communicating information. Although Robinson never articulated a map model that could govern the new scientific pursuit of maps, his role in the war led to an understanding of the practical need for maps based on science not art. Robinson opened the door for others to apply Shannon’s Mathematical Theory of Communication to the design of maps. British geographer Christopher Board developed the first MCM in 1967 but it was cumbersome and poorly measured a map’s information quality. The Czech Geographer Kolácný’s 1969 version made several key improvements to Board’s model. These versions of the MCM helped cartographers realize the problems that Robinson noted as a war cartographer and helped articulate the discipline in terms of science.
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
that characterizes mapping as a process of transmitting geographic information via the map from the cartographer to the end-user.
Overview
By the mid-20th century, according to Crampton (2001) "cartographers as Arthur H. RobinsonArthur H. Robinson
Arthur H. Robinson was an American geographer and cartographer, who was professor in the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1947 until he retired in 1980...
and others had begun to see the map as primarily a communication tool, and so developed a specific model for map communication, the map communication model (MCM)". . This model, according to Andrews (1988) "can be grouped with the other major communication model
Communication theory
Communication theory is a field of information and mathematics that studies the technical process of information and the human process of human communication.- History :- Origins :...
s of the time, such as the Shannon-Weaver and Lasswell models of communication. The map communication model led to a whole new body of research, methodologies and map design paradigms"
One of the implications of this communication model according to Donohue (2008) "endorsed an “epistemic break” that shifted our understandings of maps as communication systems to investigating them in terms of fields of power relations and exploring the “mapping environments in which knowledge is constructed”... This involved examining the social contexts in which maps were both produced and used, a departure from simply seeing maps as artifacts to be understood apart from this context". is a clear separation between cartographer and user, whereby the map was seen simply as an “intermediary between the cartographer and the user”.
A second implication of this model is the presumption inherited from positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
that it is possible to separate facts from values. As Harley stated: Maps are never value-free images; except in the narrowest Euclidean sense they are not in themselves either true or false. Both in the selectivity of their content and in their signs and styles of representation maps are a way of conceiving, articulating, and structuring the human world which is biased towards, promoted by, and exerts influence upon particular sets of social relations. By accepting such premises it becomes easier to see how appropriate they are to manipulation by the powerful in society.
History
Although this was a postwar discovery, the Map Communication Model (MCM) has its roots in information theoryInformation theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
developed in the telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
industry before the war began. Mathematician, inventor, and teacher Claude Shannon worked at Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
after completing his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1940. Shannon applied mathematical theory to information and demonstrated that communication could be reduced to binary digits (bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
s) of positive and negative circuits. This information could be coded and transmitted across a noisy
Electronic noise
Electronic noise is a random fluctuation in an electrical signal, a characteristic of all electronic circuits. Noise generated by electronic devices varies greatly, as it can be produced by several different effects...
interface
Interface (computer science)
In the field of computer science, an interface is a tool and concept that refers to a point of interaction between components, and is applicable at the level of both hardware and software...
without losing any meaning. Once the information was received it was then decoded by the listener; the integrity of the information remained intact. In producing meaningful sounds that could be measured for quality, Shannon produced the beginning of information theory and digital communication through circuits of on and off switches.
Shannon developed his ideas more thoroughly in the 1940s at the same time that geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
and cartographer Arthur H. Robinson
Arthur H. Robinson
Arthur H. Robinson was an American geographer and cartographer, who was professor in the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1947 until he retired in 1980...
returned from the Second World War during which he had served as cartographer for the military. Robinson found that cartographers were significantly limited because artists could make more effective maps than geographers. Upon returning from the war, Robinson worked to remedy this problem at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
where he was a graduate student. His The Look of Maps emphasizes the importance of lettering, map design, map structure, color, and technique.
Information theory helped turn the map into a medium of communicating information. Although Robinson never articulated a map model that could govern the new scientific pursuit of maps, his role in the war led to an understanding of the practical need for maps based on science not art. Robinson opened the door for others to apply Shannon’s Mathematical Theory of Communication to the design of maps. British geographer Christopher Board developed the first MCM in 1967 but it was cumbersome and poorly measured a map’s information quality. The Czech Geographer Kolácný’s 1969 version made several key improvements to Board’s model. These versions of the MCM helped cartographers realize the problems that Robinson noted as a war cartographer and helped articulate the discipline in terms of science.
External links
- "The map communication model and critical cartography", Ubikcan blogspot 8.13.2006.