USER INTERACTION, 3D TERRAIN AND ROTATION IN A

 DYNAMIC CARTOGRAPHIC VIEWING ENVIRONMENT

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

 

MASTER OF ARTS

 IN

GEOGRAPHY

 

MAY 2001

 

  

By

Jeffrey Paul Esmond

 

Thesis Committee:

 

Matthew McGranaghan, Chairperson

Everett A. Wingert

Ross Sutherland

 

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 

            My greatest appreciation goes to my advisor and chair, Matt McGranaghan for taking a chance, giving me the opportunity to do this thesis, asking me the tough questions that needed to be asked, and pushing me to think critically throughout the development of this research.  I also thank Everett Wingert and Ross Sutherland, my other two committee members, for their strong support.

I also appreciate the following people, listed in alphabetical order, for their support, either technical or moral, during my years working on creating a thesis:  Barbara Esmond, Neil Niino, Dave Olsen, Danni Redding, Bill Remus, Ceil Roberts, Kara Traver, and Jolie Wanger.

I am also in gratitude to all thirty participants of my study.  Mahalo for having the patience to take the time to undergo my experiment.

 

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ABSTRACT

  

            This study considers visual variables and cartographic convention, updating and applying them to a three-dimensional interactive environment as available with the Virtual Reality Modeling Language on the World Wide Web.  In particular, this study focuses on the dynamic and interactive aspects of the environment.  A research experiment asks 30 participants to use a series of flat and three-dimensional base maps in three different levels of user interaction, while estimating the heights of cylinders placed throughout the maps.  This research concludes that a flat map placed in a three-dimensional environment with a level of interaction, which includes pre-programmed settings along with the given navigation tools, assists in the comprehension of the map and its data by the map user.

 

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS