Castelló d'Empúries a través de mapes i plànols [Ressenya del llibre Atles de Castelló d' Empúríes : segles XVII al XIX, de Pascual Ribas i Torres]

Ressenya del llibre de Pascual Ribas i Torres, 'Atles de Castelló d' Empúríes : segles XVII al XIX', publicat per l' Ajuntament de Castellò d' Empúries l'any 2001. Recull la toponímia històrica del municipi de Castelló a partir de cartografía inèdita anterior al segle XX i dels capbreus i llevadors de comptes que comencen en el segle XV

Recuperant la història d'un estany recuperat [Ressenya del llibre Notes històriques i geogràfiques de l’antic estany de Sils: límits,termes i hidrònims, de Gabriel Mercadal i Corominas]

Ressenya del llibre del botànic Gabriel Mercadal i Corominas, 'Notes històriques i geogràfiques de l’antic estany de Sils: límits,termes i hidrònims', publicat per l' Ajuntament de Sils, l'any 2006. La primera gran aportació del llibre és la delimitació cartogràfica dels límits de l’estany a partir de diversa documentació cartogràfica antiga i el recull d’hidrònims originals dels cursos fluvials de l’estany

Una eina innovadora per a la informació i la divulgació geogràfica: l’Atles comarcal de Catalunya en format digital

Due to the edition of the new Atles comarcal de Catalunya by the Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya in digital format, we look at the structure of their contents and the dynamics of its use. Likewise, it is detailed which methodology was utilized to perform it. Finally, some reflections on the innovations that this new product entails in textual and cartographic areas are proposed, especially related to the current socioeconomic context and new employed technologies

Els Atles comarcals de Catalunya: un producte innovador per a uns continguts tradicionals

La present comunicació pretén ressenyar l’aportació dels Atles comarcals de Catalunya al coneixement del nostre territori com una obra no només de caire acadèmic sinó també divulgatiu i aplicat. En primer lloc, es constata la filiació de l’obra al llegat de la geografia clàssica catalana i a les aportacions tradicionals —monografies i les obres generals― que han disseccionat el país des de l’òptica comarcal. En segon lloc, es detalla el seu procés de concepció i elaboració. Finalment, es destaquen les innovacions que el nou format CD-Rom i les possibilitats d’interacció cartogràfica amb servidors externs suposen en el sentit d’innovació respecte de les aportacions anteriors

Disposable maps : ad hoc location sharing

The gathering of people in everyday life is intertwined with travelling to negotiated locations. As a result, mobile phones are often used to rearrange meetings when one or more participants are late or cannot make it on time. Our research is based on the hypothesis that the provision of location data can enhance the experience of people who are meeting each other in different locations. This paper presents work-in-progress on a novel approach to share one’s location data in real-time which is visualised on a web-based map in a privacy conscious way. Disposable Maps allows users to select contacts from their phone’s address book who then receive up-to-date location data. The utilisation of peer-to-peer notifications and the application of unique URLs for location storage and presentation enable location sharing whilst ensuring users’ location privacy. In contrast to other location sharing services like Google Latitude, Disposable Maps enables ad hoc location sharing to actively selected location receivers for a fixed period of time in a specific given situation. We present first insights from an initial application user test and show future work on the approach of disposable information allocation.

Which way up? Reading and drawing maps of the blogosphere

Mapping the physical world, the arrangement of continents and oceans, cities and villages, mountains and deserts, while not without its own contentious aspects, can at least draw upon centuries of previous work in cartography and discovery. To map virtual spaces is another challenge altogether. Are cartographic conventions applicable to depictions of the blogosphere, or the internet in general? Is a more mathematical approach required to even start to make sense of the shape of the blogosphere, to understand the network created by and between blogs? With my research comparing information flows in the Australian and French political blogs, visualising the data obtained is important as it can demonstrate the spread of ideas and topics across blogs. However, how best to depict the flows, links, and the spaces between is still unclear. Is network theory and systems of hubs and nodes more relevant than mass communication theories to the research at hand, influencing the nature of any map produced? Is it even a good idea to try and apply boundaries like ‘Australian’ and ‘French’ to parts of a map that does not reflect international borders or the Mercator projection? While drawing upon some of my work-in-progress, this paper will also evaluate previous maps of the blogosphere and approaches to depicting networks of blogs. As such, the paper will provide a greater awareness of the tools available and the strengths and limitations of mapping methodologies, helping to shape the direction of my research in a field still very much under development.

The statistics of refractive error maps : managing wavefront aberration analysis without Zernike polynomials

The refractive error of a human eye varies across the pupil and therefore may be treated as a random variable. The probability distribution of this random variable provides a means for assessing the main refractive properties of the eye without the necessity of traditional functional representation of wavefront aberrations. To demonstrate this approach, the statistical properties of refractive error maps are investigated. Closed-form expressions are derived for the probability density function (PDF) and its statistical moments for the general case of rotationally-symmetric aberrations. A closed-form expression for a PDF for a general non-rotationally symmetric wavefront aberration is difficult to derive. However, for specific cases, such as astigmatism, a closed-form expression of the PDF can be obtained. Further, interpretation of the distribution of the refractive error map as well as its moments is provided for a range of wavefront aberrations measured in real eyes. These are evaluated using a kernel density and sample moments estimators. It is concluded that the refractive error domain allows non-functional analysis of wavefront aberrations based on simple statistics in the form of its sample moments. Clinicians may find this approach to wavefront analysis easier to interpret due to the clinical familiarity and intuitive appeal of refractive error maps.