Distribution of the alpine newt Ichthyosaura alpestris in Great Britain updated using social media

The alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is an alien species in Great Britain. Using location information derived from photographs posted on social media we have updated its known distribution, validated previously unconfirmed populations, and present an updated distribution map. Comparison of the records collected from social media with those in the National Biodiversity Network Atlas indicates eleven new confirmed populations, although three of these had previously been shown as unconfirmed records in the NBN Atlas. The new records have been deposited with NBN.

ASSESSING THE SIMILARITIES OF 3D SIMULATION MODEL OUTCOMES

The recent advancement of simulation modeling to represent phenomena in three spatial dimensions (3D) requires the development of techniques that will allow comparison of the modeling outputs in multiple dimensions. However, many existing techniques for map comparison in two spatial dimensions (2D) have been developed from non-spatial method such Cohen’s Kappa. These techniques are not yet fully extended to deal with 3D map data or simulation outcomes. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the use of the 3D Accuracy and 3D Cohen’s Kappa coefficients to compare simulation model outputs in 3D. An existing agent-based model (ABM) of forest-fire smoke propagation was used to generate multiple scenarios for the purpose of comparing 3D simulation outputs. The results for 3D Accuracy and 3D Cohen’s Kappa produces meaningful values when comparing several scenarios with different 3D ABM outputs. This study emphasizes the need for the development of more advanced simulation output comparison techniques that operate in 3D and potentially over time (4D).

High-Density Genetic Map Construction and Identification of QTLs Controlling Leaf Abscission Trait in Poncirus trifoliata

A high-density genetic linkage map is essential for genetic and genomic studies including QTL mapping, genome assembly, and comparative genomic analysis. Here, we constructed a citrus high-density linkage map using SSR and SNP markers, which are evenly distributed across the citrus genome. The integrated linkage map contains 4163 markers with an average distance of 1.12 cM. The female and male linkage maps contain 1478 and 2976 markers with genetic lengths of 1093.90 cM and 1227.03 cM, respectively. Meanwhile, a genetic map comparison demonstrates that the linear order of common markers is highly conserved between the clementine mandarin and Poncirus trifoliata. Based on this high-density integrated citrus genetic map and two years of deciduous phenotypic data, two loci conferring leaf abscission phenotypic variation were detected on scaffold 1 (including 36 genes) and scaffold 8 (including 107 genes) using association analysis. Moreover, the expression patterns of 30 candidate genes were investigated under cold stress conditions because cold temperature is closely linked with the deciduous trait. The developed high-density genetic map will facilitate QTL mapping and genomic studies, and the localization of the leaf abscission deciduous trait will be valuable for understanding the mechanism of this deciduous trait and citrus breeding.

Modernising Physician Resource Planning: A National Interactive Web Platform for Canadian Medical Trainees

Background: Healthcare systems rely heavily upon human resources to ensure high-quality access to care for the general population. With significant health worker shortages predicted worldwide in the coming decades, maximizing the current workforce by means of a physician resource planning (PRP) strategy that ensures the right number, mix, and distribution of physicians to meet population needs is warranted. In Canada, there is an insufficient number of primary care providers, and disproportionately low numbers of specialist physicians in rural compared to urban regions. Currently, Canadian medical students are not effectively included in PRP strategy and lack the required information for career orientation to help rebalance the population’s workforce needs. This paper aims to present the Health Human Resource (HHR) Platform, a comprehensive web tool that includes relevant workforce data to empower medical students in choosing a discipline based on both personal interests and social accountability.Results: Physician workforce data, comments from Canadian residency program directors, and career planning resources were collected by the Canadian Federation of Medical Student’s (CFMS) HHR Task Force. This information was consolidated to create a national interactive platform that uses a map, comparison table, and trends graph to illustrate over 500,000 unique data points from 37 datasets, including specific information and resources spanning 62 medical specialties from 2015 onwards. There was a 24.6% response rate for program director comments. During the first four months of the HHR Platform launch, there were 2463 different users, of which 998 were returning, with an average of 20.2 users per day spending on average 3 minutes and 4 seconds on the platform.Conclusions: The HHR Platform constitutes a bottom-up national approach to PRP informing medical students on the mix and distribution of physicians needed for a better alignment with residency positions, and ultimately meet the future healthcare demands of the Canadian population.

Evaluating Web-based Static, Animated, and Interactive Maps for Injury Prevention

Public health planning can benefit from visual exploration and analysis of geospatial data. Maps and geo-visualization tools must be developed with the user-group in mind. User-needs assessment and usability testing are crucial elements in the iterative process of map design and implementation. This study presents the results of a usability test of static, animated and interactive maps of injury rates and socio-demographic determinants of injury by a sample of potential end-users in Toronto, Canada. The results of the user-testing suggest that different map types are useful for different purposes and for satisfying the varying skill level of the individual user. The static maps were deemed to be easy to use and versatile, while the animated maps could be made more useful if animation controls were provided. The split-screen concepts of the interactive maps was highlighted as particularly effective for map comparison. Overall, interactive maps were identified as the preferred map type for comparing patterns of injury and related socio-demographic risk factors. Information collected from the user-tests is being used to expand and refind the injury webmaps for Toronto, and could inform other public health-related geo-visualization projects.

Eye Movements in Map Comparison - Preliminary Results and Lessons Learned

Comparing maps of different geographic phenomena, or maps of the same phenomenon at different points in time, is an important task in spatial data analysis and decision-making. The process of map comparison has been studied occasionally by cartographers since the 1970s, but recent improvements in neuropsychological testing equipment and GIS technology had us review this topic in a new light. In a pilot experiment, we presented pairs of maps to volunteer participants and recorded their eye movements while judging the maps’ similarity. We analysed average values of eye movement parameters such as fixation duration and proportions of saccades between the two maps in relation to three factors: the participant’s experience in reading maps; the type of map presented; and the actual similarity between the two maps. We found, for example, that different map types engaged viewers in different comparison strategies while we did not find behavioural differences between expert and novice map readers. We will speculate about implications of experimental cartography for GIS design and report on challenges encountered with this approach.

The Effects of Map Reading Expertise and Map Type on Eye Movements in Map Comparison Tasks

Comparing maps of different geographical phenomena, or maps of the same geographical phenomenon at different points in time, is a frequent task in many disciplines. The process of map comparison has been studied occasionally by cartographers since the 1970s, but recent improvements in neuropsychological testing equipment and in geographical information system (GIS) technology had us review this topic in a new light. We propose a cognitive approach using eye movement recording to understand the process of comparing two static maps displayed simultaneously on a screen. Two groups of subjects with different levels of expertise with map reading were shown pairs of maps and asked to judge their similarity or difference. We used three types of maps that differed in their spatial granularity: (A) randomly generated, 64-by-64 pixel, black-and-white images, (B) grayscale choropleth maps representing socio-economic variables for counties in lower Michigan, and (C) land-use maps of the surroundings of selected Canadian cities in different years resulting from classified satellite imagery. Subjects were asked whether two maps presented on the screen were similar (tests A and B) or different (test C). Response times, fixation durations and fixation counts differed significantly for the three map types. Land-use maps required the longest response times indicating that they were most difficult to compare. At the same time, land-use maps required more fixations than the other two types of maps, while the duration of these fixations was not different from the other map types. When comparing two maps of the same type, saccades between the two maps provide information on the subject’s decision-making process. We found that for the land-use maps, the number of these cross-saccades was significantly smaller than for the two other map types. Pairs of land-use maps were characterized by a fine raster grid and fewer pixel-by-pixel differences between the two maps, while both, random grids in test A and county maps in test B consist of clear-cut spatial units. We conclude that whenever spatial units can be distinguished on a map and corresponding units on a second map can be found easily, subjects will tend to compare the two maps in a unit-by-unit approach. In contrast, if maps consist of smoother spatial patterns, subjects will try to memorize patterns on one map (usually the one on the right-hand side), and make fewer saccades to compare these patterns with those on the other map. The results from this experiment could be used to provide context-adaptive tools for map comparison in GIS. The behavioral differences between groups (experts vs. novices) in this experiment were mostly not significant. This supports the notion of developing standard GIS tools that are offered to users with a wide range of expertise.

Evaluating Web-based Static, Animated, and Interactive Maps for Injury Prevention

Public health planning can benefit from visual exploration and analysis of geospatial data. Maps and geo-visualization tools must be developed with the user-group in mind. User-needs assessment and usability testing are crucial elements in the iterative process of map design and implementation. This study presents the results of a usability test of static, animated and interactive maps of injury rates and socio-demographic determinants of injury by a sample of potential end-users in Toronto, Canada. The results of the user-testing suggest that different map types are useful for different purposes and for satisfying the varying skill level of the individual user. The static maps were deemed to be easy to use and versatile, while the animated maps could be made more useful if animation controls were provided. The split-screen concepts of the interactive maps was highlighted as particularly effective for map comparison. Overall, interactive maps were identified as the preferred map type for comparing patterns of injury and related socio-demographic risk factors. Information collected from the user-tests is being used to expand and refind the injury webmaps for Toronto, and could inform other public health-related geo-visualization projects.

The Effects of Map Reading Expertise and Map Type on Eye Movements in Map Comparison Tasks

Comparing maps of different geographical phenomena, or maps of the same geographical phenomenon at different points in time, is a frequent task in many disciplines. The process of map comparison has been studied occasionally by cartographers since the 1970s, but recent improvements in neuropsychological testing equipment and in geographical information system (GIS) technology had us review this topic in a new light. We propose a cognitive approach using eye movement recording to understand the process of comparing two static maps displayed simultaneously on a screen. Two groups of subjects with different levels of expertise with map reading were shown pairs of maps and asked to judge their similarity or difference. We used three types of maps that differed in their spatial granularity: (A) randomly generated, 64-by-64 pixel, black-and-white images, (B) grayscale choropleth maps representing socio-economic variables for counties in lower Michigan, and (C) land-use maps of the surroundings of selected Canadian cities in different years resulting from classified satellite imagery. Subjects were asked whether two maps presented on the screen were similar (tests A and B) or different (test C). Response times, fixation durations and fixation counts differed significantly for the three map types. Land-use maps required the longest response times indicating that they were most difficult to compare. At the same time, land-use maps required more fixations than the other two types of maps, while the duration of these fixations was not different from the other map types. When comparing two maps of the same type, saccades between the two maps provide information on the subject’s decision-making process. We found that for the land-use maps, the number of these cross-saccades was significantly smaller than for the two other map types. Pairs of land-use maps were characterized by a fine raster grid and fewer pixel-by-pixel differences between the two maps, while both, random grids in test A and county maps in test B consist of clear-cut spatial units. We conclude that whenever spatial units can be distinguished on a map and corresponding units on a second map can be found easily, subjects will tend to compare the two maps in a unit-by-unit approach. In contrast, if maps consist of smoother spatial patterns, subjects will try to memorize patterns on one map (usually the one on the right-hand side), and make fewer saccades to compare these patterns with those on the other map. The results from this experiment could be used to provide context-adaptive tools for map comparison in GIS. The behavioral differences between groups (experts vs. novices) in this experiment were mostly not significant. This supports the notion of developing standard GIS tools that are offered to users with a wide range of expertise.