The book serves as a collection of multi-disciplinary contributions related to Geographic Hypermedia and highlights the technological aspects of GIS. Specifically, it focuses on its database and database management system. The methodologies for modeling and handling geographic data are described.

It presents the novel models, methods and tools applied in Spatial Decision Support paradigm.

Zusammenfassung
This book introduces a new paradigm, Geographic Hypermedia, which emerges from the convergence of Geographic Information Science and - permedia technology. Both GI Science and hypermedia have been rapidly evolving fields. The initial idea of Geographic Hypermedia was born in 2004 when the editors had been invited to organize a workshop in conju- tion with the 'Hypertext' conference organized annually by the Special - terest Group of the Association for Computing Machinery. The purpose of the workshop was to examine how hypermedia concepts and tools may be applied in geographical domains. The workshop was eventually held in conjunction with the Maps and the Internet Commission of the International Cartographic Association at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Denver, Colorado, in April 2005. The Denver workshop was a successful event, bringing together mul- disciplinary researchers and professionals in the area of Geographic - permedia. Researchers from four continents and well recognized insti- tions presented their work and exchanged opinions about the new pa- digm, its content and distinct characteristics from other paradigms. Extended versions of the papers presented at the workshop along with some invited chapters from experts in the field led to the compendium of the twenty-five chapters in this book volume. Geographic Hypermedia is not yet a mature paradigm but we aspire to provide the scientific community with a contemporary view of Geographic Hypermedia, present an overview of its progress and current status, while also promoting further discussion and research.

Inhalt
Foundations of Geographic Hypermedia.- Geographic Hypermedia.- New Media: From Discrete, to Distributed, to Mobile, to Ubiquitous.- Design Issues Associated with Discrete and Distributed Hypermedia GIS.- Data Resources and Accessibility Issues.- Using Data from Earth Orbiting Satellites in Geo-Hypermedia Applications: A Survey of Data Resources.- Exploring the Use of a Virtual Map Shop as an Interface for Accessing Geographical Information.- Atlases from Paper to Digital Medium.- Hypermedia Maps and the Internet.- In Pursuit of Usefulness: Resetting the Design Focus for Mobile Geographic Hypermedia Systems.- Cruiser: A Web in Space.- Technologies for Content Integration.- Merging Hypermedia GIS with Spatial On-Line Analytical Processing: Towards Hypermedia SOLAP.- A Hypermedia Afghan Sites and Monuments Database.- Towards the Development of Open Cartographic Hypermedia Systems.- Standards for Geographic Hypermedia: MPEG, OGC and co..- Semantically-Aware Systems: Extraction of Geosemantics, Ontology Engineering, and Ontology Integration.- Analytical Functionality and Geovisualizations.- Towards a Typology of Interactivity Functions for Visual Map Exploration.- A Framework for Using Coordinated Displays for the Analysis of Multidimensional, Spatial, and Temporal Data.- Visualization and Hypermedia for Decision Making.- Geovisualization of Vegetation Patterns in National Parks of the Southeastern United States.- Visualization of Spatial Change.- Scalable Vector Graphics Interfaces for Geographic Applications.- Geographic Hypermedia: Applications and Services.- About the Role of Cartographic Presentation for Wayfinding.- Wireless Campus LBS: Building Campus-Wide Location Based Services Based on WiFi Technology.- Developing Web-GIS Applications According to HCI Guidelines: The Viti-Vaud Project.- High Definition Geovisualization: Earth and Biodiversity Sciences for Informal Audiences.- Mobile Geographic Education: The MoGeo System.