Moving Geovisualization Toward Support for Group Work

This chapter provides a conceptual framework for research and practice in geovisualization and for visualization as a facilitator for group work with geospatial information. This framework identifies three primary functions for visual representations as a vehicle to support groupwork. First, visual representations can act as the object of collaboration, thus as an entity to discuss, create, or manipulate. Second, visualization can provide support for dialogue (about information, plans, methods, strategies, or decisions). Third, visual representation can provide support for coordinated activity (thus for compiling information, carrying out plans, or executing decisions). This chapter addresses each function in a section that sketches the state of the art and identifies some of the key research questions that need attention. Examples from recent and ongoing research in the GeoVISTA Center at Penn State University are used to illustrate the issues discussed. This chapter concludes with a call for multi-disciplinary collaboration to address issues raised so that we can take full advantage of advances in technology that promise to enable distributed and collaborative work.