Improved Navigation Performance Through Memory Triggering Maps: A Approach.

When using navigation devices the "cognitive map" created in the user's mind is much more fragmented, incomplete and inaccurate, compared to the mental model of space created when reading a conventional printed map. As users become more dependent on digital devices that reduce orientation skills, there is an urgent need to develop more efficient navigation systems that promote orientation skills. This paper proposes to consider brain processes for creating more efficient maps that use a network of optimally located cardinal lines and landmarks organized to support and stabilize the neurocognitive structures in the brain that promote spatial orientation.

Effects of visual map complexity on the attentional processing of landmarks.

In the era of smartphones, route-planning and navigation is supported by freely and globally available web mapping services, such as OpenStreetMap or Google Maps. These services provide digital maps, as well as route planning functions that visually highlight the suggested route in the map. Additionally, such digital maps contain landmark pictograms, i.

Meaningfulness of landmark pictograms reduces visual salience and recognition performance.

Landmarks, objects in the environment used for orientation, navigation and the formation of cognitive maps are often represented in maps as pictograms. In order to support these tasks effectively and efficiently, landmark pictograms also need to be salient, as the map user needs to identify and process them quickly and easily. Two additional relevant characteristics for the usability of landmark pictograms are their meaningfulness and recognition performance.

Audiovisual communication of object-names improves the spatial accuracy of recalled object-locations in topographic maps.

Knowing the correct location of a specific object learned from a (topographic) map is fundamental for orientation and navigation tasks. Spatial reference systems, such as coordinates or cardinal directions, are helpful tools for any geometric localization of positions that aims to be as exact as possible. Considering modern visualization techniques of multimedia cartography, map elements transferred through the auditory channel can be added easily.

True-3D accentuating of grids and streets in urban topographic maps enhances human object location memory.

Cognitive representations of learned map information are subject to systematic distortion errors. Map elements that divide a map surface into regions, such as content-related linear symbols (e.g.

Grids in topographic maps reduce distortions in the recall of learned object locations.

To date, it has been shown that cognitive map representations based on cartographic visualisations are systematically distorted. The grid is a traditional element of map graphics that has rarely been considered in research on perception-based spatial distortions. Grids do not only support the map reader in finding coordinates or locations of objects, they also provide a systematic structure for clustering visual map information ("spatial chunks").

Concept for preservation and reuse of genome and biomedical imaging research data.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) recommends preserving research data for at least ten years. The DFG funded project LABIMI/F establishes an infrastructure for preservation, retrieval and reuse of biomedical research data based on grid/cloud computing technology for two applications a) genome and b) imaging data. The requirements for this infrastructure were determined during workshops with relevant stakeholders.

Functional requirements for a central research imaging data repository.

The current situation at many university medical centers regarding the management of biomedical research imaging data leaves much to be desired. In contrast to the recommendations of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Council of Sciences and Humanities regarding the professional management of research data, there are commonly many individual data pools for research data in each institute and the management remains the responsibility of the researcher. A possible solution for this situation would be to install local central repositories for biomedical research imaging data.

A "meta"-perspective on "bit rot" of biomedical research data.

Research data management (RDM) is an important topic for biomedical research due to the issue of "bit rot". RDM aims to implement access to reliable digital data for local and distributed research groups. A key aspect for the understanding of data is the use of metadata.

Reaching for the cloud: on the lessons learned from grid computing technology transfer process to the biomedical community.

Natural scientists such as physicists pioneered the sharing of computing resources, which led to the creation of the Grid. The inter domain transfer process of this technology has hitherto been an intuitive process without in depth analysis. Some difficulties facing the life science community in this transfer can be understood using the Bozeman's "Effectiveness Model of Technology Transfer".

Development of an information platform for new grid users in the biomedical field.

Bringing new users into grids is a top priority for all grid initiatives and one of the most challenging tasks. Especially in life sciences it is essential to have a certain amount of users to establish a critical mass for a sustainable grid and give feedback back to the technological middleware layer. Based on the presumable lack of grid IT knowledge it is notably more arduous to satisfy user demands although here the requirements are especially demanding.

Parallel high-performance grid computing: capabilities and opportunities of a novel demanding service and business class allowing highest resource efficiency.

Especially in the life-science and the health-care sectors the huge IT requirements are imminent due to the large and complex systems to be analysed and simulated. Grid infrastructures play here a rapidly increasing role for research, diagnostics, and treatment, since they provide the necessary large-scale resources efficiently. Whereas grids were first used for huge number crunching of trivially parallelizable problems, increasingly parallel high-performance computing is required.

On transferring the grid technology to the biomedical community.

Natural scientists such as physicists pioneered the sharing of computing resources, which resulted in the Grid. The inter domain transfer process of this technology has been an intuitive process. Some difficulties facing the life science community can be understood using the Bozeman's "Effectiveness Model of Technology Transfer".

Perspectives of MediGRID.

Sustainability is a top priority for nearly all grid communities. The German grid communities in the area of life sciences are continuing their dissemination efforts in order to bring the grid to scientists. With cloud computing another concept for distributed IT infrastructures is on the rise.