The Cartographer's Conceptual Process and Thematic Symbolization

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Abstract
In the past, several studies have proposed different schema for the cartographic communication system showing the system's elements and their interrelationships. In a concise scheme, the cartographic system consists of four elements, in order: the real world, the cartographer's conception, the map, and the map reader's conception. This paper focuses on the conceptualization processes of the cartographer, which should include these operations: the identification of the purpose of communication; in accordance with this purpose, the selective observation and conceptualization of the real world; the identification of essential spatial attributes of this conceptualized world so that it becomes mappable; and the symbolic representation of this world on a map. Contemporary terminology regarding symbol selection is confusing, and methodology is prescriptive rather than explanatory. This methodology should be modified so that it becomes more explicit concerning the conceptual basis for symbol selection and more di...

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