GIS, the first steps Dr. Henk van Dijk Foundation for the large-scale standardmap for the province of North-Holland Maps around us The use of maps becomes a part of everyday live. In newspapers and television more and more maps are used. The modern car has a route map displayed and in our mobile telephones or palms we use WAP technology to find our way. Also in government the use of maps increases because it is an efficient way to present information. To illustrate this, examples will be used both from the use of maps in mass media as well as in government. Maps and Mass media In newspapers and on television maps are often used as an illustration of what is written or said. Sometimes the use of maps in mass media is quite surprising. During the Gulf war there was an everyday news program in the Netherlands about what happened in the Middle East. As background in the studio there was a large map of the region (Fig. 1). On this map there was drawn a strange borderline between Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. It is obvious that the first map is not correct; the borderline between Syria and Israel would not exist. Maybe this is an example of “wishful mapping” because the problem of the Golan Heights would be solved. Unfortunately reality tells us another story (Fig. 2). Maps and Government In the town of Zwolle, capital of the province of Overijssel (the Netherlands, appr. 100.000 inhabitants) there is a neighbourhood build in the late 1960’s. Twenty years later it developed an image of a “problem area” and the local government decided that a program should be carried out to improve the situation. As part of this program an atlas was made where all the available data were shown in maps. While making the atlas questions arose like: “Can the image of the neighbourhood be improved by making maps that show that, compared with some other areas, the situation is not so bad.” Of course questions like these show that making maps in a context in which decisions are made has ethical aspects. More in general questions can be raised about the relation between the quality of democracy and the way government produces information that is presented to their citizens. Maps and people When we agree that the use of maps increases, a good development, it raises the question if the people where these maps are made for can use them. An almost already classical example to illustrate the problem people have in using maps, was a program on Dutch television where people having their holiday in Torremolinos on the Spanish cost were asked to show their location on the map of western Europe showing borderlines and altitude. A lot of them had no idea and pointed to a place somewhere in the Austrian Alps. It showed that not only did they have no idea of the topography of Europe but also that they could not interpret the colours on the map showing the highest mountains in the darkest colours and lowland in greenish colours. It also can mean that they have no idea of the scale of the map. Maybe they thought that the distance between the mountains and the sea on the map was in reality only a few kilometres. Maps and education I used these examples to show that the making of maps is a tricky business but also that the use of maps assumes skills to use this kind of information. This raises the question how people acquire these skills. When we look at education on a very general level we see that three systems of symbols are used to communicate, interpret and even to create our world. The first and most important is still of course language. In education we teach children the letters of the alphabet, then to combine these to words, sentences etc. We not only learn the elements of words but also rules as to how we should combine the elements. With this language-system we can talk, read, write and listen. So it is logical that a lot of time is spend in learning this, also in other languages, so we can communicate with and understand more people. The second and also very important system is arithmetic. Again we start by learning children the basic elements of numbers and the manipulations we can perform between these numbers like the proposition of Pythagoras. When I look at my own children they started counting at school when they were four and when the oldest finished secondary school she was still having arithmetic as one of her exam subjects. So again a lot of time is spend in learning this system we can use to communicate and to describe our world. Now what about graphacy? About what?, most people would say. Which illustrates my point. More and more we communicate with al kinds of graphic information like pie diagrams, histograms and, indeed, maps. If we examine where children learn to use these forms of information in the Dutch educational system in primary and secondary education, only very limited attention is paid to this. If we focus on the use of maps, only in geography and mathematics some attention is paid to this subject. In mathematics children learn about scales, distances and direction and make excursuses about the surface area. Recent developments in geography education pay more attention to the development of map skills. The next part of this paper will focus on this issue. Map skills in geography education In 1996 a new set of objectives was formulated for Dutch geography education. In relation to map skills the following objectives were formulated: “Children are able, partly by using computers, to use atlases, archives, maps and remote sensing images (in particular aerial photographs) by their orientation in areas as well as creation of images about areas, geographical phenomena and processes. Related to this they can: Use the register in atlases, Name and use different kind of maps Apply the following map skills: Map reading Map analysis Map interpretation Compare aerial photographs and maps Localise important places, areas and phenomena on a map Although these objectives may not seem a very systematic description, progress is made in the sense that acquiring map skills now is part of the curriculum. One of the questions raised by these objectives is how these skills can be acquired. A research project at the Free University in Amsterdam was designed to answer this question. The first step was the development of a scheme that classifies the kind of assignments children should perform in order to develop their map skills. Two criteria defined these assignments: The geographical content of the map The intellectual activity that was required. Combinations of the following aspects defined the geographical content of a map: Points (spatial distribution) Areas (areal differentiation) Lines (showing spatial interaction) The intellectual activity applied to maps: Map reading (the ability to identify and name phenomena shown on a map) Map analysis 1 (the ability to classify phenomena on a map according to common traits) Map analysis 2 (the ability to formulate generalisations that refer to spatial relationships of phenomena shown on the map) Map interpretation (the ability to give explanations and make predictions, while using both map information and knowledge acquired earlier) These two components can be put together in a matrix, which made it possible to define the complexity of an assignment. (Fig. 3) Complexity of geographical content Points Areas Complexity Map reading of Map analysis 1 Map skills Map analysis 2 Map interpretation Fig. 3: Classifications of assignments Lines Research was carried out in which children in the age 12-13 were given assignments that covered the first three steps of complexity of map skills and the more complex geographical content in which combinations of points areas and lines were presented. After training in map skills, new assignments were given with the same kind of content (Fig. 4). One of the findings was that children in the age group of 12-13 years find it difficult to answer questions about maps on which line patterns occur. A lot of children tend to think in what is some times called “vertical relationships”. In describing the traits some areas could have in common, they hardly formulated the fact that, e.g. two new towns both are a short distance from a major city. Children tend more to describe aspects such as: Both new towns are in areas with sandy soils or have a large commuting population. As fig. 4 shows, assignments that involve these line patterns always have lower scores than assignments of the same complexity of map skills with only points and areas. A second interesting conclusion is that children find it difficult to formulate generalisations in particular using maps with more complex geographical content. After a training program the results were substantial improved. Type of assignment Map reading Percentage correct % correct answers postanswers on pretest; most successful tests training program Points and Areas 61 99 Points, Areas and Lines 10 46 Mapanalysis 1 Points and Areas 76 95 (Classification) Points, Areas and Lines 13 40 Map analysis 2 Points and Areas 34 72 (Making generalisations) Points, Areas and Lines 11 34 Fig. 4 Pre- and Post Test Scores Combining the results of this research project and the objectives about map skills as defined for geography education it was possible to develop a training program for the second phase in secondary education (15-18 year old children). A publisher developed a new series of geography textbooks called “Atlantis”. It consists of a number of thematic modules like “Man and environment”, ”Migration and mobility”, “Transport and physical planning”. One of the modules is called “geographic research”. A part of this module is dedicated to the use of a computer-mapping program. There are two elements in this program one is called; Mapwiser the other one is called Mapmaker. Mapwiser is a program with an existing database and maps of the Netherlands. Mapmaker offers the user the possibility to use or make their own databases and make their own maps. One of the essential elements of this module is a problem-based approach. So children start with a question that they should try to answer. In the remaining part of this paper a description of how children work with this simple “GIS” is presented. Working with GIS-Atlantis. Mapwiser consists of two parts: A dataset and standard maps of the Netherlands. These maps are defined at three spatial levels (fig. 5): The Netherlands divided in 12 provinces The Netherlands divided in 40 regions The Netherlands divided in 633 municipalities The database of course has the same structure. Data are used from the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics. (CBS). About 250 variables are in the database covering issues such as: Size and population Demography Work and economy Voting behaviour Building Leisure and recreation Holidays Traffic, transport and communication Safety Landuse As mentioned before, the module is based on a problem solving approach. Working with this module children have to take subsequent steps. 1. Define the question; 2. Choose the map with the relevant spatial level (local, regional, provincial); 3. Choose the relevant kind of map (choropleth etc.); 4. Choose the relevant data (e.g. population-density); 5. Choose a number of classes to subdivide the data; 6. Choose the correct kind of colours/shadings to make the map; 7. Answer the question by analysing the map. In the next paragraph an example is chosen to illustrate the way secondary schoolchildren work with this approach. Phosphate, farms and cattle Step : Define the question. A question raised in the volume “Man and environment” is where high concentrations of phosphate in the soil are found and how this can be explained. Step 2: Choose the map with the relevant spatial level (local, regional, provincial). In choosing the relevant spatial level often a a-priory theory is used. Sometimes a spatial scale is already defined in the question. If no level is indicated it can be of interest to compare the distribution of a phenomenon at different spatial levels. Step 3: Choose the relevant kind of map (choropleth etc.). The program gives the opportunity to make choropleth maps, histograms, pie diagrams and population diagrams. In this case we choose the choropleth. Step 4: Choose the relevant data In this case we look in the list of data available and find that FPrtotK means: quantity of phosphate in animal manure in kilograms per hectare produced in cattle breeding in 1995 Step 5: Choose a number of classes to subdivide the data. The program offers the opportunity to choose the number of classes as well as the possibility to divide the data based on: The same number of scores in every class Equal distances between the classes Own classification by the mapmaker Step 6: Choose the correct kind of colours/shadings to make the map. A few relevant aspects should be taken into account. If there is a phenomenon on the map that can be defined as qualitative or nominal, colours or shading should be discrete. A map for instance with shows the largest political party per area should use all different colours per party. When a map is made of the percentage of voters on a specific political party then we should use colours where higher percentages are reflected by more intensive shading or a difference in value or lightness. Step 7: Answer the question by analysing the map Looking at the map it is quite clear that in particular the south and east of the Netherlands suffer from an “overdoses” of phosphates (Fig 6.) Looking for explanations One of the next questions is of course why these areas do have such a large production of phosphate. To answer such a question children should formulate an a-priori theory that explains this. One of them could be that in these areas we find a lot of intensive farming because of the small size of the farms. Small farms require a more intensive use of land. Intensive farming is an important way of making high productivity on a small farm. So from this “theory” the hypothesis can be derived: High phosphate production is related to areas with small farms. Again the seven steps are taken to make the map. Analysis can be made by comparing the maps. When we take a look at the map with the distribution of farms < 5 hectares (Fig. 7) we can see that indeed the south and east have a lot of small farms. However it is obvious that also in the west we will find a lot of the smallest farms. Fig. 8: Correlation between farm size and phosphor production If we want to make some statistical analysis to found our image produced by comparing the maps the program offers the possibility to make a scattergram, a correlation coefficient as well as a regression line (Fig 8). The correlation between farm size and phosphor production is only .24, which is a very weak correlation. This is also shown in the rather flat regression line. A next part of the a-priori theory could be that in some areas of the Netherlands intensive farming is not related to cattle but to other forms of intensive agriculture. So now the focus is on making a map of the occurrence of cattle. Because we want the different kind of cattle in one map we use histograms. Fig. 9 shows that intensive cattle farming is concentrated in the South and East of the country. Looking at the different kind of cattle, fig. 9 shows that cows only occur in small numbers compared with pigs and poultry. Comparing the maps of fig. 6 and 9 shows that intensive farming for both poultry and pigs is spatially related to the occurrence of phosphor. Again this visual comparison can be completed with the same kind of statistical evidence by making a scattergram, the correlation coefficient and drawing the regression line. Correlation coefficient between poultry and phosphor occurrence is + 0.88 (fig.10) Correlation coefficient between pigs and phosphor occurrence is +.90. (Fig. 11). By comparing maps 7 and 9it is obvious that a lot of the small farms in the west of the Netherlands are not having much cattle. This brings a next question. What is the kind of agriculture in the small farms in the western parts of the Netherlands? If we look in the list of available data we find two categories of horticulture. Again maps can be made to analyse this. Fig. 10 and 11: Correlation Coefficients between poultry and phosphor, and pigs and phosphor Going into detail Another possibility of the program is to zoom in to a specific region. Suppose we would like to analyse the situation in the area with the highest concentration of phosphor in the Netherlands e.g. the southeastern part of the province of North-Brabant, the region around Eindhoven. Mentioning the name of this city brings associations with the Philips factory instead of intensive agriculture. This already indicates that it makes more sense to compare at the local level of municipalities. To zoom in we take the following steps. Select the province of North-Brabant, choose Zoom Everything and choose the municipality as the relevant spatial level. If we make the same maps and analysis, the results show that poultry and pigs produce very high levels of phosphor in a few municipalities around the city of Eindhoven. Health statistics show that in these municipalities there also are more people with headache and other complaints that can be related to the occurrence of phosphor. Another problem occurred a few years ago in the area. A serious outbreak of pig plague threatened the local economy. So both from an economic as well as a health perspective it could be wise to diminish the number of pigs and poultry in the area. One strategy of the government could be to stimulate farmers to change to another way of production. So recently, there is a growing number of farmers that are working in the other form of intensive farming; horticulture. Finally there is another solution. Fig. 16 shows how pig stables are demolished to make room for exclusive villas. Fig 16: Demolishing pig stables for building purposes By selling their land to a real estate developer some of the older farmers can make enough money to retire. So far we have seen that children on geography education are stimulated to use a GIS to work in a problem-based approach. They are also stimulated to think in different spatial levels when looking at a problem. A part of the program that is not shown in this paper is called “Mapmaker”. It offers the user the opportunity to create basic maps as well as databases for themselves using very simple techniques. So children are stimulated to draw their own maps and collect data form local fieldwork etc. This paper shows that the approach described makes education an ongoing research project. Every answer raises new questions. Children are stimulated to develop their skills in finding answers as well as raising new questions. The example also shows that using a simple GIS is a powerful resource in this kind of educational approach. References Boardman, D, Graphacy and Geography Teaching, London, Croom Helm, 1983. Dijk, H. van, et. al. “Map skills and geographical knowledge”, International research in Geographical and Environmental Education 3. 3, PP. 68-80, 1994. Dijk, H. van. & J.A. van der Schee, “The Effect of Student Freedom of Choice in Learning Map Skills, International research in Geographical and Environmental Education 8. 3, PP. 256-267, 1999. Kraak, M.J. & F.J. Ormeling, Cartography, Visualisation of spatial data, Harlow, Essex, England Addison Wesley Longman Limited,1996. Nijnatten, H. van, Atlantis, Zutphen, Netherlands, Thieme, 1998. Schee, J.A. van der, “Geographical procedural knowledge and map skills”, In: H. Schrettenbrunner and J. van Westrhenen (eds.) Empirical research and Geography Teaching NGS. 142. Amsterdam Free University, PP. 91-112, 1992.