PhD CONCEPT Exploring Digital Maps as Communication Tools for eParticipation - On an example of Urban Planning PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 1

2 Structure of the presentation  Introduction  The research problem  Goals of the work  Research Questions  Hypothesis  Methods

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 3 Introduction  the integration of people into planning is very important  the internet is one option that can be used as a communication tool -> eParticipation  maps are used for planning to communicate planning processes internally and externally  for eParticipation maps have to be adopted!!!!!

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 4 The research Problem  Do people understand a map’s message?  Peterson (1999) states that the half of the population has minimal knowledge about maps  Nevertheless the map is used a lot in the Western world  Multimedia or 3D as a solution? -> different problems

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 5 Goals of the work  elaborate on the usability of the map for online communication in urban planning.  Discuss options to use maps as an intelligent user interfaces; a user interface that adapts to the needs of the user and is able to facilitate a two-way communication.  Therefore I will consider alternative options to the “classical” map  a special challenge is that a map for eParticipation has no specific user group but is supposed to address all citizens.

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 6 Research Hypothesis  Maps used as intelligent user interfaces and as communication tools for eParticipation motivate more people to participate.

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 7 Research Questions  Is the map an appropriate tool for communication in the context of eParticipation for urban planning – What are the problems related to that tool?  What alternatives do we have to convey geo- information while entertaining the users / What adjustments to a map are needed to make it an intelligent user interface?

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 8 Methodology  Phase 1: Identifying problems users have with classical maps used for eParticipation - Literature research - Human-computer interaction, cognitive science - media theory: uses and gratifiction theory  Phase 2: Designing maps: based on research results, approaches from intelligent user interfaces  Phase 3: Testing: e.g. A/B test

PhD concept, Beate Weninger, 05/08/09 9 Thank you for listening!