Author Description

Cartography, until recently considered to be a discipline founded upon convention, is now enjoying a remarkably rapid rate of development. Techniques and points of view that were taken for granted two decades ago are being questioned or have been superseded by new methods and ideas. Today the discipline is in the middle of a revolution and little of its complex field remains unaffected by change. Man's general preoccupation during the last 20 years with "communications" and "information" has greatly influenced cartography: a well researched, designed and produced map certainly being one of the best methods for the graphic communication of information. It is now recognised that the cartographic process is concerned with data collection and manipulation, information display and image processing, rather than just drawing maps! In line with the professional broadening of cartography it became evident that an effort was required to establish an international education and training scheme aimed at the technician, undergraduate and postgraduate. Until comparatively recently both teachers and students were forced to rely on specialist manuals and articles appearing in learned journals. What textbooks were produced tended to relate to specific aspects of the discipline and were, in the main, too specialist for use by students and technicians. In order to produce the training literature required, the ICA assembled a team of internationally known academic and professional cartographers to produce a work suitable for use in education and training and which, with appropriate teacher input, could be used by those with varying intended levels of knowledge and ability. A highly graphic approach has been deliberately adopted in order to enhance understanding of technical detail incorporated in the text, and to illustrate the graphic potential of the theory described. This updated second edition takes into account the recent developments relating to the subject and the practices empl