VISUALIZATION(S)
There is a very rich diversity of trajectories and willing under the “visualization” applies to socio-political processes.
Of course, there is a powerful use also from the Imperio side. Could be this one of the reasons to explain the resistance to use the visualization at social movements?. Because, there are, there are also resistances inside the movements to use it. But I’m not going to extent on this now, but I would say not to obit them and consider them when developing visualization.
On this richness of diversity and potentialities, I would say that it is easier to extract the common aspect of the different visualization experiences by starting from what it is not. Visualization it is most of the things that go beyond a text, beyond one word after an other. At Wikipedia, (graphic) visualization is defined as “any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate any message”.
The visualization is a quid new field and it could be done many possible classifications of the rich diversity of experiences that involve. In my opinion some differentiation useful are between the experiences that:
> strain the point of the aesthetic aspect, looking to make more attractive the content by giving a nice, and frequently impacting, image >>> pro-aesthetic visualization
> strain the point of doing reticular analysis. It doesn’t take as variables the characteristics of the elements (Ex: Age, sex, etc) but to the relation between the elements >>> it referees to the field of (usually qualitative) network analysis
> strain the point of use of computer-supported tools to give orientation references and a synthetic understanding when managing huge amount of data >>> information visualization
> strain the point of the transferring and explaining contents/ideas not just with words but also by the scale and “order” it is (re)presented. So, with the distribution of the different elements you transmit graphically some of its characteristics or processes >>> knowledge visualization
> strain the point of understanding a new field, a new world that we don’t know how work and neither we know the dimensions of its territory. The visualization is a way of “map” it extension, its composition and to give orientation references of it >>> orientation visualization/mapping
They could be obviously complementary aspects.
On the format, some work with paper and the “corporeal” world (example: Maps of the Forum of the cultures) and others, more frequent, on the online words, that married a lot with interactive mechanisms. Or the conjugation of both, paper and online.
VISUALIZATIONS versus MAPS
In my opinion it would be useful to differentiate visualizations that referee to all this richness of possibilities, from maps or cartography.
Maps or cartography referees to a more specific area the visualization with a willing to get some orientation of the composition of a field, throw looking for different relevant axes. Must time the axes is the geographical distribution, so it is based on a geographical map, but it is not the only option. There are also “conceptual maps” of reflections fields.
To finish, I would say a combination of those different strains plus adding others are the most cases of the visualization experiences. Sometimes, in an technician “bacanal”, what I really miss is the question: What do we want to do by doing a visualization? What do we want to visualize?
I would like to highlight one approach to visualization not to approach the visualization just as a characteristic of the “outcome”, not to think on a foto-point, but to approach the visualization as a process. A research methodology, a game for developing knowledge on a field, to be explored, discovered and transformed.
Are you beginning on the cartographic world?
EXAMPLE OF STAGES WHEN DOING A CARTOGRAPHY FROM A DATABASE
For beginners from a beginner! Mayo Fuster i Morell
Previous introduction: This document contains a very simple and basic presentation on the different stages of doing cartography from a database. A parts of cartographies from a concrete database, there are visualization tools autonomous, that could be inserted in any database.
Previous clarification: There are two dimensions of information “management” when doing this type of cartography. One dimension, it is a tool to systematize the information and knowledge we are going to “pick up/build”, that it is frequently a data base. To have a data base helps to category the entries (groups) on different axis and allows fast searching of the information. The second dimension, it is the visualization of the information. It could sound obvious for you, but it is needed to difference these two dimensions when doing cartography.
IDEATION
■ Create a common understanding of the space that want to be cartography (and clarify why for we want to do a cartography)
It is needed to start from a kind of a pre-definition of the space it wants to be mapped, so define a bit its limits It is important to have a synthetic definition (via a debate or a questionee) that orientate when selection the information to be consider for the maps and to identify the borders/diverse understanding points.
■ Create a common understanding on what want to be visualized
Ex: Do you want to visualize the geographical distribution?? Do we want to visualize conceptual/semantical links? Etc.
EJECUTATION: Plan and calendar on the next steps:
SYSTEMATIZE THE INFORMATION:
■ Design a box of the information that want to be consider for each node (See example below of a box).
■ Build a database where to incorporate the box for each node. Depending on the visualization programme we would like to use, it is better one kind or data base or an other. I think that in any case, the Open office SVC is a good point from where to start to systematize the information. Because it is quid compatible and accessible, so afterworld we could “export” the data to different visualization programs.
■ Define a procedural to full fill the database. (Example: doing web-search, each person incorporates the information that has, consulting specific people, etc.)
■ Design a search engine for fast search on the database
■ Bring the database online. It could be design an online system to incorporate new nodes directly (or not) to the database.
VISUALIZATION
(Here it is explained the online visualization, a part could be consider a printed/physical map)
■ Choose the technical open source software to be used.
Elements to consider:
- Political implications on the user’s management (level of openness for the
users)
- Information size (Meaning: the number of data determined the solfware more convenient (Example: it is not the same 50 groups than 200 hundred))
- Dynamical functionalities and potentialities of the map (how the user can play with the map and participate to its construction and the possibilities of enlargement in the future)
- Choice the number of visual interfaces coming from the database (Ex: geographical bases, conceptual etc.)
■ Design aesthetically an interface/visual presentation (one or multiple) for the database
■ Spread it!!!!!!!!
ANNEX: Example of a box to full fill for each entry:
KNOT CARD
Group name (In original language):
Group name in English:
Short description (250 words)
Key words: this is very useful for the search system
Type of group (Example: Collective, magazines, networks, etc.)
Date group birth:
Place based:
Language (s):
Network (i.e. links with other groups):
Contact e-mails:
Website:
