Exploring cartographic storytelling. Reflections on …...The story of one soldier John Henry...

ICC2015

RiodeJaneiro,Brazil

Exploringcartographicstorytelling.

Reflectionsonmappingreal‐lifeandfictionalstories.

WilliamCartwrightSchoolofMathematicalandGeospatialSciencesatRMITUniversity,Australia

KennethFieldEsri,USA

Abstract:

Conventionally,themapprovidesagraphicdescriptionofaselectionofrealitythatshowsan‘excerpt’(usuallymadebythecartographer)ofreality.Towork,itneedstobeclassified,generalisedandscaledtoshowtherelativepositionsofobjectstoone‐another,andplacedinanabsolutepictorial‘world’definedbylatitudesandlongitudesthatrelatetoamapprojection(basedonacertainmathematicaldescriptionoftheEarth).Theresultingdepictionisacompromisedviewofreality,butonethatisacceptedandusedtodefineamentalimageofageography.But,whilstshowingthecorrectpositionofgeographicalelements,theydonotillustratethetruenatureofpersonalexperiences‘in’ageography–‘personalgeographies’.Mapscanshow‘whatiswhere’,or‘whereIam’,buttheydonotnecessarilybestrepresentpersonalgeographies.Other‘map‐like’or‘map‐connectedartefacts(connectingtoartefactsthatarethatarenotmaps)mightbemoreusefultoolstocommunicateaspectsofapersonalgeography.Ourresearchisfocussedonseekingalternativeapproachesto‘mapping’.Fromacartographicperspective,thisresearchanddevelopmentofprototypesresultedintheassemblyofgeo‐placedinformationfromarchives,publicon‐lineresources,officialdocumentsandliteraturetogeneratecartographicrepresentationsofapersonalnarrative–atruestoryofapersonalgeography‐andafictionalstoryfromliterature.As,inmanyinstances,thesparseavailabilityofrecordsforsupportingthedevelopmentofprototypestotell:(i)atruestory(thepersonalgeography);and(ii)thegeo‐placedelementsofabookprovidedinterestingchallenges.Therecordsfromwhichthepersonalgeographywasbuiltandthebookusedasamapping/narrativeexamplesometimeslackedprecisegeographicalinformationorevenignoredcompletelycertainaspectsofgeography.Lookingatthegeographyinliterature,fromtheauthor’sperspective,someareasofgeographydonotexistwhatsoeverinthestoryline,ortheymaybeinferredimplicitly.Fromthecartographer’sperspectivethisdemandsamappingwhichmustwork‐aroundhowsometimesthegeographydescribedindocumentationorinthepassagesinabookmaybevague,sparse,oreveneliminatedcompletely.

Forcartography,thisresearchprovidesamostinterestingchallenge–todevelopadesignprocesswherebythenodesofinformationcanbemergedintoonecompositegeographicnarrative(three‐space+time)–resultinginarepresentationofageographythatistruetotheexperienceofanindividual’sstoryorthatofafictionalgeographytheauthorofapieceoffictionenvisaged.Theknowledgegainedfromdevelopingandevaluatingtechniquesforrepresentationwillprovideavaluableinsightabouthowtofacilitatethemappingof‘different’geographies–thosenotdefinedbytraditionalgeographicalconcepts,andthusdemandinginnovativemappingsolutions.

Inthispaperwereportonthedevelopmentofprojectsthatuseaccessible,Web‐deliveredmappingapplicationstobuildcartographicstorytellingapplications,builtaroundplaces,orgeographicalnodesaroundwhichthestorymaybetold.Ittells,fromacartographicperspective,hownarrativesofothergeographiescanbeconstructedthroughmaps.

Introduction

Weinhabitspacesandbyinhabitingthesespacesweleavemarksthatcanbetracedbyothers.Thesemarkscanbepermanent‐likeworntrailsthroughgrasslandswherepeoplehavetramped,temporary‐likeourimprintsinthesandwherewewalkonabeach,orvirtual–wherepermanentmarkshavebeenbuilt‐overorremovedorwhereimpermanentmarkshavedisappearedaltogether,ortheir‘life’wasshort.

So,howcanweunderstand–properlyunderstand–whereimportanteventsthathaveeffectedourancestors,willeffectusnow,ormighteffectusinthefuturehaveoccurredorwilloccur?

Weusuallydothisusingmapsandthesenarrativesofthree‐space+timeprovidesuswithinsightintohowpeoplehavemovedthroughalandscapeorhowone’splaceinalandscapehaswedeterminedcertainoutcomes,or‘fate’.

Mapstellstories.Theyprovideanarrativethatislinkedtoordeterminedbythree‐timespace+time.Theyshowthereal,thenotreal,thepastandprojectionsofafuture.Theyarepowerfultoolsforrepresentingeventsthathavechallengednationsandpeoplesandstoriesofpersonalhumanendeavour,overcomingobstaclesandtragedies.

However,‘just’mapsisnotnearlyenoughtoproviderealinsightintothesestories.Tobebestexploitedtheyneedtobeenhancedwithrichmediaartefactsthatillustratewhatitwasliketobethere,theimpactonindividuals,humanimpactonaplaceitselfand,inthecaseofconflicts,thewidereffectonthoseathome.

Thispaperdescribesworkundertakenthathasexploredtheconceptof‘geographicalstorytelling’bydesigningandproducingmedia‐richinteractivecartographicproductstotellthestoryofapersonaljourneyofanAustraliansoldierwhofoughtanddiedduringWorldWarI.

GeographicalStorytelling

Forgeography,storiescanjustprovidestatementsoffacts,wherenoembellishmentisrequiredandtheuseronlywantstoknow'thefacts'.Thesefactscanbestand‐alone,orsupportedby'on‐line'expertswhoareabletogiveexpertopinionsonthegeographicalspacebeingexplored.Itmaybeanarrative,whereadocumentary‐typevideo,supportedbyacomprehensive,andinteractive,narrativecan'walk'auserthrough'unknownterritory'.Usersmayconstructtheirownstory,orbe'talked'throughanarea,wheretheyconstructastoryusingprogrammesupportmaterialsandauralnavigationaids.Finallytheymaydecidethattheywishtoexperiencealandscapebyinvestigatinga'literatelandscape'bybeingtoldastory(Cartwright,1990)

Examplesofdocumentary‐typevideos,whereusers/viewershavebeen‘walked’throughageographyaretheAspenMoviemap,theDomesdayproject’s‘surrogatewalks’(Rhindetal.,1988),theQueenscliffVideoAtlas(Cartwright1988).MichaelNaimark’s‘moviemaps’(Weber,ND)(NaimarkalsowasinvolvedintheproductionoftheAspenMoviemap).

Morerecently,Google’sStreetViewcanbeusedtogeneratesurrogatewalksandEsriInc’sStoryMaps(http://storymaps.arcgis.com)allowstheintegrationofinteractivemapswithrichmedia.EsriInc’sapplicationswereusedtodevelopthegeographicalnarrativethatisthefocusofthispaper.

Exploringstorytellingasameanstotell‘personalgeographiesofwarfare’

Theresearchanddevelopmentreportedhereexploredtheuseofgeographically‐referencedinteractiveintegratedmediaartefactstoastoryrelatedtothepersonalgeographyofanAustraliansoldierwhofoughtanddiedintheWW1GallipolicampaigninTurkeyin1915.Itsoughttodeterminethemethodsneededtointertwinerealgeographieswithpersonalgeographies.Also,itbuilta‘proof‐of–concept’productthatlinkedgeo‐referencedlandscapes,placesandartifactsthatcanbeusedto‘groundtruth’thispersonalgeography–buildinganarrativethatislinkedtospaceandplace.BydevelopingaWeb‐deliveredcontemporaryintegratedmedia‘montage’itcouldsubsequentlybeemployedtonavigatethroughthenarrative‘place’andtoprovidelinksbetweenthepersonalandphysicalgeographicalspaces,providinginsightintoanindividual’spartinacampaign,wherethewholesaleweightofwarfareandthewar‘machine’canhideindividualstoriesofcommitment,endeavourandsacrifice.

Thestoryofonesoldier

JohnHenryCartwrightwaskilledinthe‘Gallipoli’campaignofWorldWarI.LikemanyAustraliansofhisgeneration,JohnHenryenlistedintheAustralianImperialForces(AIF)toserve‘KingandCountry’.HejoinedtheAustralianImperialForces(AIF)at31yearsofageandhetradedhisjobasafarmhandinKorumburra,ruralVictoria,Australia,foronewherehistoolsofagriculturewereexchangedfortoolsofwarfare.Heisthegreatuncleofoneoftheco‐authorsofthispaper,WilliamCartwright.

Figure1.JohnHenryCartwrightSource:KorumburraReturnedServicemen’sLeague(RSL)memorial.

Heenlistedtofightawayfromhisnativelandandfamily.HisjourneytowartookhimfromKorumburra,totheBroadmeadowstrainingcampoutsideMelbourne,thenbyshiptoEgypt,GreeceandthentotheDardanelles.HearrivedinTurkey,ontheGallipoliPeninsulawiththe14thBattalionoftheAIFanditwasherethathemethisfate–missinginaction18August1915,laterreportedkilledinaction.

ThisgenerationofAustralianslaiddowntheirlivesinforeignlands.Theytravelledtoplacesthattheywouldnotdreamofvisitingduringtheirnormallives.WarpickedthemupfromtheremoteAntipodes,tookthemonajourneytotheothersideoftheworldandmadethemmaketheultimatesacrifice.

Tellingthestoryofa‘personalgeographyofwarfare’

JohnHenry’spersonalstoryofwarfarelinkstogetherandillustrateshisjourneyfromthesmallAustralianfarmingandtimbertownofKorumburratohisfinalrestingplacenearSuvlaBay,ontheGallipoliPeninsulainTurkey.

Figure2a.Korumburra,Victoria,Australia1914.

Source:StateLibraryofVictoria.http://www.slv.vic.gov.ay/pic‐aab19526/1/mp0062.

Figure2b.GallipoliPeninsula,Turkey.1915.

AviewofMalone'sGullylookingnorthwithSuvlaBayandtheSaltLakebeyond,seenfromRussell'sTopneartheNek.Source:

AustralianWarMemorial.http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cas_disp_pkg.pr_detailed_scr?surl=1382918600ZZPVFQTUMYNJ&acid=2000&pi_query_id=23043125&pi_umo_id=402492&ps_selected_coll=ALL&ps_view_type=BRIEF&current_

page_number=1&ps_access_level=Public

Buildingthenarrativerequiredaccesstomediathatwouldprovidebothlocationalinformation(rangingfromaplacename,astreetaddressorapreciselocationonatopographicmap.TherichestresourcewastheAustralianWarMemorial,inCanberra.ItprovidesaccesstodigitizedtherecordsofallAustralianswhoservedinWorldWarI.HerewereoriginalAIFrecords(figure3),reportsfromtheRedCrossthatformallyestablishedhisdemise,totherecordsoftheposthumousawardingofmilitarymedalstohisfamily.

Figure3.CasualtyForm–ActiveService.Source:MappingOurAnzacs.

RecordNAA:B2455,CARTWRIGHTJH.Page12.mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au

OtherresourcesweretheMelbourneofficeoftheReturnedServicemen’sLeague(RSL),wherethediaryofanothersoldier,PrivateP.M.Fyfe,wasarchived.ItcontainedanaccountofthedaywhenJohnHenryCartwrightwaskilled.HeisthesamesoldierwhogaveareporttotheRedCross.

Thevariouslibrariesandarchivesprovidedmapsandphotographs.

OtherWeb‐basedsourcesprovidedimagesoftransportships(hereHMATUlysses),generalviewsofportswherethe14thBattalionstoppedontheirwaytotheDardanelles,imagesofmilitarycampsandhospitalsandphotographstakeninthefield(Figure4)andraremovies,likethatofEnglishwarcorrespondentEllisAshmead‐Bartlett(theonlyknownmovingimagesofthe1915campaignatGallipoli),sourcedfromtheAustralianWarmemorialArchivethatshowedthemenatGallipoli.

Figure4.The14thBattalioninReserveGully,Gallipoli,August6th,1915.Source:http://www.hardjacka.com/images/gallipoli2.gif

Aswellasthesedigitalrepositories,onephotographwassourcedfromaphysicalphotomontagememorial(Figure5).ThisisthephotographofJohnHenryCartwright(Figure5andalsoontheopeningscreenoftheapplication–Figure6).ThememorialconsistsofphotographstakenbyKorumburraphotographer,A.Pam,whopresentedittoKorumburraonArmisticeDay,August11th1920.Pamwasalocalphotographerwho

hadphotographedthe262soldiersand1sailorfromthetownandsurroundingregionwhohadfoughtinWorldWar1(Neil,2013).

Figure5.MemorialPhotomontagebyA.Pam.PresentedtotheKorumburraPrimarySchoolandtheKorumburraRSL,1920.

Source:https://open.abc.net.au/explore/62033

InbuildingthepersonalgeographyofwarfareforJohnHenryCartwright,theserecordsprovidelocationalinformationlikeplacenames–Dardanelles,Heliopolis,Boort,Elliminyt;places–aboardtheHMATUlysses;addressesandgeneralfieldsofcombat–Hill60,Dardanelles.Contemporarymappingtoolsthatallowedtheproductionofrichmedia‐enhancedinteractiveapplicationswereusedtomapthisthepersonalgeographyandshowhowtheseglobally‐dispersedplacesandeventsimpactedononesoldier’slife.

BuildingtheStoryMap

TheapplicationwasbuiltusingtheusingtheEsriStoryMapJournal℠App(http://storymaps.arcgis.com/en/app‐list/map‐journal/).Thisallowsanarrativetobebuilt,wherebythemapcomponentoftheapplicationcanbeenhancedwithappropriaterichmedia–photographs,videos,sketches,historicalartifacts,etc.Usersareabletonavigatethenarrativeviathetimeline(atleftofthescreengrabinFigure6)orthemap.

Figure6.ForKingandCountry.JohnHenryCartwright’sGallipolicampaign1914‐1915.Source:

http://carto.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=d36f6f26b831456d9401e33875d6def2&webmap=d4972ca401df462fa666f04771efb061

Ratherthanusethedefaultbasemap,abespokebasemapwasconstructedtoshowpoliticalboundaries,placenames,etc.forthatperiod.AnextractofthebasemapisshowninFigure7.

Figure7.Basemapshowinginternationalborders1915.

Includedinthebasemapareplacenamesandotherlocationsreferred‐tointhenarrative.ThemapextractshowninFigure8showstheplacesthatPrivateCartwrightwastransferredtoafterhewaswoundedatGallipoli.

Figure8.Mappingnarrative‘nodes’.

Whenthenarrative‘zoomed’intoparticularplaces,andthebasemapwasdeemedtonotofferenoughdetailtosupportthenarrative,themapisreplacedbysatelliteimagery(Figure9).

Figure9.Imageryusedformoredetailedinformationvisualization.

Furtherwork

Therearethreeplannedfollow‐upstagesstagedintheproject:

• Anevaluation• Extendingtheapplication• Developingaframeworkforpotentialautomationofthenarrativegeneration

Evaluation

Anevaluationofthenarrativewillbeundertakentoascertaintheusefulnessofthenarrative.ItisworthnotingthatapostingaboutthemapwasmadebyKeirClarke(2014)atMapsMania:“ThemapisafittingmemorialtothesacrificemadebyJohnHenryCartwrightandsomehowevenbringsmoreclearlyintofocusthelivesofthemillionsofotherservicemenandwomenwhodiedfightinginWorldWarI.”

Aswell,themethodologyusedtogeneratetheapplicationwillbereviewed.

Extendingtheapplication

Another23soldiersfromKorumburrafoughtatGallipoli.Plansaretoextendtheapplicationtoincludeall24soldiers,whoareincludedwiththeotherontheCenotaphinthetownofKorumburra.

Developingaframeworkforpotentialautomationofthenarrativegeneration

Whenproducingconventionalmappingproductsthetermsofscale,symbolisation,classificationandgeneralisationareusedtodefinetheamountofinformationprovidedandthedetailillustrated.ItisarguedthatthesametermscanbeappliedtoGeographicalStorytelling,wherebythestoriesaregeographicallyreferencedand‘scaled’andtheircontentsclassifiedandgeneralised(i.e.moregeneralisedstoriesdeveloped).Methodologiesneedtobedevelopedandtrialledsoastoprovide‘bestpractice’guidelinesforbuildingsuchproducts.Forexample,whenusingscalethescalechosenwoulddeterminetheamountofdetailthatastoryprovides.Averysmallscalewillcoveralargearea,butonlyprovidegeneraldetails.Atalargescaleamuchsmallergeographical‘footprint’ismade,andthestoryprovidedwillcontainmuchmoredetailedtext.Accordingly,scaledetermineshowmuchareadercan‘zoom’intoastory.Similarly,how

informationissymboliseddictatesthegenreofthestory.Classificationallowsforsimilarstoriestobeclusteredandassembledinahierarchy.Generalisationisdirectlyrelatedtoscale–thesmallerthescalethegreaterthegeneralisationofthestorytelling.

Conclusion

Thispaperhasprovidedabackgroundtothegeneralideasbehindtheproject.Wewereinterestedinexploringthenarrativeforbetterdescribinggeographyandthewayinwhichthenarrativemightbegeneratedusingcontemporarytools.Anarrativewasconstructedtotellthestoryofonesoldier’sjourneyfromasmallcountrytowninAustraliatofightintheGreatWar.Thisstorywasconstructedarounddigitalresourcesandsomeanalogueitemslikediariesandaphotomontagememorial.

Thenarrative“ForKingandCountry.JohnHenryCartwright’sGallipolicampaign1914‐1915”wasbuiltusingtheEsriStoryMapJournal℠App.

Furtherworkwillextendtheapplicationtoincludeanother23soldierswhofoughtintheGallipolicampaign.

References

Byrnes,P.,“GallipolionFilm”,AustralianScreen.http://aso.gov.au/titles/collections/gallipoli‐on‐film/WebpageaccessedApril9,2015.

Cartwright,W.E.,1988,"VideoAtlasesasaToolfortheDecision‐MakingProcess",proceedingsofthe7thAustralianCartographicConference,AustralianInstituteofCartographers,Sydney,vol.1,pp.197–219.

Cartwright,W.E.,1990,"MappingandVideodiscs:SomeObservationsontheDesign,ProductionandProgramAssemblyofAtlasesonVideodiscBasedonResearchResultsfromPilotVideoAtlasofQueenscliff,Victoria,Australia",paperpresentedatthe1990BritishCartographicSocietyAnnualSymposium,Newcastle,UnitedKingdom.

Clarke,K.,2014,“OneMan'sWarRemembered”.Blog:MapsMania(Thursday,July31,2014).http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/one‐mans‐war‐remembered.html

Neil,P.,2013,“HonorBoardofWWIdiggerportraits”,ABCOpen.https://open.abc.net.au/explore/62033WebpageaccessedApril9,2015.

Rhind,D.,Armstrong,P.andOpenshaw,S,1988,TheDomesdayMachine:ANationwideGeographicalInformationSystem,TheGeographicalJournal,Vol.154,No.1(Mar.,1988),pp.56‐68.http://www.jstor.org/stable/633476.

Weber,M.,ND,“GoingPlaces:AHistoryofGoogleMapswithStreetView”,http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/going‐places‐a‐history‐of‐google‐maps‐with‐street‐view/.Webpageaccessed9April2015.

Biographyofauthors

ProfessorWilliamCartwrightAMisProfessorofCartographyintheSchoolofMathematicalandGeospatialSciencesatRMITUniversity,Australia.HeisChairoftheJointBoardofGeospatialInformationSocietiesandImmediatePast‐PresidentoftheInternationalCartographicAssociation.HejoinedtheUniversityafterspendinganumberofyearsinboththegovernmentandprivatesectorsofthemappingindustry.Hismajorresearchinterestistheapplicationofintegratedmediatocartographyandtheexplorationofdifferentmetaphoricalapproachestothedepictionofgeographicalinformation.In2013wasmadeaMemberoftheOrderofAustraliafor“significantservicetocartographyandgeospatialscienceasanacademic,researcherandeducator”.DrKennethFieldisaself‐confessedcartonerd.After20yearsinUKacademiahenowworksatEsriincartographicresearchanddevelopmentfortheMappingSystemsteam.Heresearches,writes,teachesandblogsaboutmapdesign,isImmediatePast‐EditorofTheCartographicJournal(andcurrentAssistantEditor),co‐founderoftheJournalofMapsandisontheadvisoryboardoftheInternationalJournalofCartography.HeisChairoftheICAMapDesignCommission,aFellowofboththeBritishCartographicSocietyandRoyalGeographicSocietyandaCharteredGeographer(GIS).Hehaswonnumerousawardsforhismappingandalsoforpedagogyincartographiceducation.Youcanfollowhimontwitter@kennethfieldandheblogsatcartonerd.com.