Geography 360 : Principles of Cartography
Flow Maps as Geographic Information Representations
Worth 10 Points and a wealth of insight for the lab assignment
Today you will participate in a small group discussion with one or two other classmates about "Flow Maps". We want you to use the lecture material (notes, hand-outs, readings) and the lab assignment from this week as appropriate in your discussion. If you so choose, the five-minute essay you write as part of this activity can be used to help you prepare for the lab assignment. To help with the discussion, we would like you to use the following steps as a guideline.
1. Clarify with each
other the following three questions.
a. Discuss how you would map nominal data as airline routes between cities, or ordinal data as routes with more or less comfort based on passenger satisfaction, or interval data as the number on airline passengers flying between cities. What type of flow map as discussed in lecture would you use to do this?
b. Three types of flow maps are: network, radial, and distributive. How might you use each of three types to map transportation-related data such as traffic data in the Central Puget Sound Region? You might have to consider more types of phenomena than treated in the lab assignment.
c. Map legends are suggested to be the
"key" to the information on the map. Suggest three alternative
legend designs that could be used on your traffic flow map of
2. Write your name on a clean sheet of paper. Writing on that paper, take five minutes to respond to one of the questions. You can agree with the others in your group for all of you to answer the same question; or, each can do a different one as a group choice. Don’t spend too much time deciding. Think of the advantages and disadvantages of each option – and maybe decide after you have read all of the instructions.
3. Trade papers so that no one has their own essay.
4. Write your name below the original author’s name and write "written comment" next to your name. Make sure you understand which question your classmate answered. Comment in written form on the essay answer your classmate provided. Write directly on their paper. Remember to be cordial and constructive.
5. Exchange papers again so that you have an opportunity to read your classmate’s essay as well as your other classmate’s comments to that essay. Write your name on the paper and write "verbal comments" next to your name. Each student taking a turn (if no one volunteers then start in alphabetical order by last name), comment verbally on the original essay as well as the written comment(s) on the essay. Do you agree or not with the interpretation? You can ask for clarification. How might you see the topic in the same or different way than your classmates?
6. Return the essay to the original author. You may edit your essay to improve your answer before you turn it in. If you use a second sheet of paper, make sure your name is on both.
7. Turn in your essay. As mentioned above, this essay, and now the comments, should help you think through and respond to the questions in the Lab Assignment. Essays will be returned as soon as possible.
Find below the rubric that
your instructors will use to evaluate your essays (10 points).
0 : unacceptable – no paper and no medical
excuse or other form of absence not approved in advance.
2 : low acceptability – turn in a paper with one
or two sentences demonstrating low interest.
4: low-medium acceptability – provide a
few sentences, but a lot more could have been provided, keep trying.
6: medium acceptability – answer addresses question, but more could be
said based on lecture or lab experience.
8: medium-high acceptability – question answered thoroughly, but answer
incorporates only lecture or lab material.
10: high acceptability – question answered thoroughly incorporating
material from both lecture and lab.