ABSTRACT: Information visualization is an interdisciplinary research area in which cartographic efforts have mostly addressed the handling of geographic information. Some cartographers have recently become involved in attempts to extend geographic principles and cartographic techniques to the visualization of non-geographic information. This paper reports on current progress and future opportunities in this emerging research field commonly known as spatialization. The discussion is mainly devoted to the computational techniques that turn high-dimensional data into visualizations via processes of projection and transformation. It is argued that cartographically informed engagement of computationally intensive techniques can help to provide richer and less opaque information visualizations. The discussion of spatialization methods is linked to another priority area of cartographic involvement, the development of theory and principles for cognitively plausible spatialization. The paper distinguishes two equally important sets of challenges for cartographic success in spatialization research. One is the recognition that there are distinct advantages to applying a cartographic perspective in information visualization. This requires our community to more thoroughly understand the essence of cartographic activity and to explore the implications of its metaphoric transfer to non-geographic domains. Another challenge lies in cartographers becoming a more integral part of the information visualization community and actively engaging its constituent research fields.

A number of visualization techniques have been put forward that implement a map metaphor to display abstract, non-georeferenced information. This paper refers to these as map-like information visualizations that are distinguished from other information visualization approaches in a number of ways. It interprets some of the principles underlying these techniques within a framework informed by geographic information science (GIScience). Recent geographic efforts in this research area have linked ideas about the nature of geographic information to cognitive schemata proposed by cognitive linguists. This paper draws on the arguments that have emerged from those efforts regarding the nature and usefulness of geographic metaphors. It proposes to discuss particular projection techniques, like multidimensional scaling or self-organizing maps, with reference to the geometric primitives they employ. These primitives will drive the choice of geometric and symbolic transformations that are necessary to achieve a particular visualization. Designers of map-like visualizations are thus challenged to seriously consider the implications of particular computational techniques and the consequences of symbolization choices.

Abstract. This paper describes categories for landscape elements in the language of the Yindjibarndi people, a community of Indigenous Australians. Yindjibarndi terms for topographic features were obtained from dictionaries, and augmented and refined through discussions with local language experts in the Yindjibarndi community. In this paper, the Yindjibarndi terms for convex landforms and for water bodies are compared to English-language terms used to describe the Australian landscape, both in general terms and in the AUSLIG Gazetteer. The investigation found fundamental differences between the two conceptual systems at the basic level, supporting the notion that people from different places and cultures may use different categories for geographic features.

Abstract. This paper develops a representation-theoretic notion of spatial context for cognitive agents that interact with spatial environments. We discuss the state of the art in defining context as used in context-aware and / or location-aware systems. In contrast to existing approaches, we define context through cognitive processes. Placing cognitive processes in the focus of our context definition allows for a truly user-centered perspective: conceptualizations imbue spatial structures with meaning. This allows for fixing terminological problems and relating context definitions to work in spatial information theory and cognitive science. Although we focus on spatial context, the approach is generic and can be adapted to other domains in which cognitive aspects concerning users of information systems are central. 1

INTRODUCTION Ontology has gained increased attention among researchers in geographic information science in recent years, and in the present paper we argue that ontology can play an important role in establishing robust theoretical foundations for geographic information science in the future. The growth of interest in the topic of geospatial ontology is documented by such activities as: a well-attended session on ontology at the 2000 AAG meeting in Pittsburgh, organized by Nadine Schuurman and David Mark, chaired by Max Egenhofer, and featuring presentations by Michael Curry, Greg Elmes and Harvey Miller, as well as by Schuurman and Mark. EuroConference on Ontology and Epistemology for Spatial Data Standards in LaLonde-sur-Mer, France, organized by Stephan Winter in September 2000 (http://www.geoinfo.tuwien.ac.at/events/Euresco2000/gdgis.htm); a special issue of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science appeared, containing papers from the EuroConference by Frank,

Geographic place names are semantically often highly ambiguous. For example, there are 491 places in Finland sharing the same name ”Isosaari ” (great island) that are instances of several geographical classes, such as Island, Forest, Peninsula, Inhabited area, etc. Referencing unambiguously to a particular ”Isosaari”, either when annotating content or during information retrieval, can be quite problematic and requires usage of advanced search methods and maps for semantic disambiguation. Historical places introduce even more challenges, since historical metadata commonly make spatiotemporal references to historical regions and places using names whose meanings are non-existing or different in different times. This paper presents how these problems have been addressed in a large Finnish place ontology SUO and a historical geo-ontology SAPO. A location ontology server ONKI-Geo has been created for publishing the ontologies and utilizing them as mashup services. To demonstrate the usability of our ontologies, two case applications in the cultural heritage domain are presented.