GIS & Emergency Health Care

 

'Working together for faster responses'

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Information at our Fingertips:

Considerations to keep in mind during development

 

A Geographical Information System is an extremely influential tool. The process in which map developers and users visualize the information depicted from a map often sways, in one direction or another, where resources are to be allocated. The following contains a brief discussion on the strengths of a GIS.

Considerations were implemented during the course of this assignment in which the cartographer subjected himself to numerous questions pertaining to the validity of this project to disclose accurate information. During the course of which, it was observed how various maps could be created from a single data source, yet provide information that could be construed one way or another to sway the observer into seeing similar information in an opposing light.

The basis for this study was undertaken during the creation of the map atlas skeleton. In this instance, population clusters were calculated to compare levels of the population with citizens age 60 and over at various distances from public transportation facilities. In the first map group, the population was categorized by the percentage of individuals within the Dissemination Area (DA) that were over 60 years of age. In the second map group, age groups over 60 were depicted on the map according to their density in relation to the total population of the DA.

The final map products uncovered various strategies that might be implemented by various map makers while creating a map atlas for public health use/planners. The process should help researchers understand that even though a particular district may show a high concentration of seniors (large symbol representation) it does not necessarily constitute that this area consists of a high density of residents. As well, maps depicting smaller symbol representations of population clusters does not necessarily represent the percentage of seniors in relation to the remainder of the population. These techniques, as well as proper choropleth shading approaches can help cartographers ensure that their maps represent the population in a logical and intuitive manner. Below are a view sample images used during the development process of this project.

Maps depicting the number of seniors

 

Maps depicting the percentage of seniors

Copyright 2003 Nathaniel Bell, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University