LECTURE 1

The Map as a
Communication System

Objective(s)
By the of this lecture students should be able
to:
Define cartography
Define a communication system
Explain the a cartographic communication
system and how a map plays that role

Introduction
Cartography:
is an important branch of graphics. By definition, it
deals with a number of distinct but related processes
and steps which include compiling, manipulating,
analysing, and displaying geographical data.
It is concerned with ways of accurately transferring
the features and attributes of the spherical earth on to
a flat medium (Digital or Analogue ). It is the basic
tool for representing and visualizing geographical
data, even though it is not limited to geography.

Introduction
Cartography:
Another way of trying to understand cartography is
to think of it as the art, science and technology of
making maps, together with their study as
scientific documents and works of art.
A product of cartography is a map

MAP: Definition
a representation, usually on a plane
surface, of all or part of the earth or
some other body showing a group of
features in terms of their relative size
and position (Thrower, 1996)
The earth is represented on a paper with
spatial and Non-spatial information.
Relationships can also be described

Spatial Location
Location is simply the position of an entity in two or three
dimensional space, as in coordinates which are known as
latitudes and longitudes.
Location may be defined as point, line, or area (Polygon) for
which the following examples are provided.

TYPE

EXAMPLE

Point

Settlement, Borehole, Health Centre, electric pole,

Television/telecom mast, tower, etc.

Line

Road, River, contour, boundary, etc.

Area

Farm, District Assembly Area, town/village, city,

country, lake, etc.

Non-Spatial
Non-spatial data are usually alphanumeric and provide
information about location such as colour, texture, quantity,
quality and value of features:
e.g. population size, culture/ethnicity, land cover,
classification of forest, grassland, type of roads, rainfall,
temperature, language, traffic, crime, disease, accidents,
natural disasters (tsunami/Katrina), wars, landform, and
drainage, water volume in the Akosombo dam,
vegetation, settlement pattern, roads and income.
Non-spatial data are often derived from documents such as
plans, reports, files and tables and interviews.

Spatial Relationships
Spatial data will have related non-spatial
attributes, and thus some form of linkage
must be established between these two
different types of information.
Accordingly, several types of locations,
attributes and topological (types) and metric
properties of relationships may be identified,
described, analysed and mapped e.g.
distances, direction (vectors), patterns or
associations, and connectivity or interactions.

TYPES OF SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships may be defined simply as linkages between or among
Locations (L) and, or Attributes (A) of location. They are logical elaboration
between spatial location and attribute data, e.g.
L1 --- L2 :
Relationship among locations e.g. bearing or
distance between locations without attributes
L1 (A1 A2 A3.An): Relationship among various attributes at one location
e.g. temperature, rainfall and soil type.

(L1) A1--(L2)A1 : Relationship among the locations of attributes of a

given distribution, such as the variation of
precipitation
amounts from place to place.

(L1). A1 A2 --(L2) A1 A2 : Relationship among the locations of derived or

combined attributes of given distribution, such as the
relationship of per capita income to educational
attainment as
they vary from place to place.

Map

Figure 1 Diagram of Basic Communication System

SOURCE

CHANNEL

Message

Medium
conveying
Message

RECIEVER

Receives
Message
(Recipient)

Source: Singh (1966) ; Robinson et al (1984)

How is this interpreted in cartography?

Fig. 2.3: The Cartographic Communication System.

The world represent the source

The map is the channel
The map user is the recipient

REAL
WORLD

CARTOGRAPHERS
CONCEPTION

MAP

RECIPIENT

Source: Robinson et al (1995)

Elements of the Cartographic Model

Signal
Source

Encoder

Channel

Decoder

Recipient

Source is the real world and the cartographic concept of it, for
example water, traffic congestion, population distribution and floods.
Encoder or encoding mechanism is the synthesis of graphics on the
map.
Signal is the 2-dimensional graphic pattern created by the symbols.
It consists of the light rays which makes the message visible. In
speech or language, it is the voice mechanism taking the thoughts
of the source and transforming them into sound waves
Channel is mapping or cartographic space
Map is the coded message from the source

Decoder is the eye or mind mechanism of the recipient. In

language it is the hearing mechanism of the listener transforming
the sound waves back into thoughts.
____________________________________________________
The receiver, decoder and destination are the eyes and mind of
the percipient.

Models of Cartographic Communication

U (REALITY)

U2

U1

Cartograp
hers
reality

CM

Map
users
Reality

MU

Figure 2.5 A simplified version of Kolacnys diagram

of cartographic communication. (After Kolacny 1968)

Box .2.1 Meta Language of Cartographic

Communication
U Total Reality of the Universe
U1 Reality/Universe represented as seen by the
(Cartographers Reality)
U2 Reality (the universe as seen by map user)
represented as
seen by the cartographer (Map Users Reality)
_____________________________________________________
CM The Cartographer
L

Cartographic language (symbols, rules, etc)

M Product of cartography that is the Map

MU Map user or Recipient
Source: Michael P. Peterson 1995

Feedback Mechanism in cartographic communication

STATIC MAP

REALITY
Cartograp
Map
her's
Users
Reality
Reality

Cartograp
hers Mind

Cartographic
Abstraction

Cartographer

Static
Map

Recogni
tion

Map
Users
Mind
Map User

Source: Michael P. Peterson (1995)

INTERACTIVE MAP - Feedback mechanism with feedback loop

REALITY
Cartograp
Map
her's
Users
Reality
Reality

FEEDBACK

Cartograp
hers Mind

Cartographic
Abstraction

Interact
ive Map

LOOP

Recogni
tion

Source: Michael P. Peterson (1995)

Map
Users
Mind

Noise in Cartographic Communication

The cartographic process is disturbed at
certain points in an unplanned way.
This unwanted disturbance is what is known
as Noise.
Noise is anything in the signal or channel
that disturbs or interferes with the
transmission, such as distracting graphic
patterns on the map or poor lighting, which
blurs map visibility.
Liken this to language as bad voice, static in radio or
distortions on the TV screen

CONCLUSION -1
The cartographic communication process can only be
successfully accomplished if the sender (cartographer)
produces a the map which is understood by the receiver
(the map user)
Successful cartographic communication is more than
deciphering and understanding individual symbols. It is also
the full understanding of
geographical or spatial concepts,
distributions and
relationships
Existing knowledge with the map user and the study of the
map, may lead to interpretations and to information often
beyond the content of the map.

CONCLUSION -2
One of the requirements for achieving such understanding
of relationships and spatial distributions is the proper
design of symbols or graphics by the cartographer to
portray information
Remember that symbol design is not just the ability to
design and assign different symbols for each subject or
object to appear in the map; it is more importantly, the
intellectual process of the design of an harmonious set of
symbols that properly portray the type, character and
location of the single or grouped elements in the map
At the same time, the map portrays the total subject matter
(grouped elements) of the map as a well as balanced
entity between the cartographer and the map user.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
Using illustrative diagrams comment on the definition of the
map as a communication system
What is NOISE in Cartographic Communication? Explain
briefly how it can arise or be minimized?
Using illustrative diagrams, distinguish between static and
interactive maps
Distinguish between the cartographer's reality and the map
users reality. What accounts for any such discrepancies?
.....unless a map is prepared so that it is comprehensible to
the person for whom it is intended, it will not perform its
function Discuss with reference to cartographic
communication,
In all cases, credit will be given for any illustrative diagrams

References
Robinson, A.H, and Petchenik, B.B. (1976) The Nature
of Maps: Essays toward understanding maps and
mapping. University of Chicago Press (Chapter 2;
The map as a Communication System).
Peterson M.P. 1995, Interactive and Animated
Cartography, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey.
Students should add Web Sources:

www........