The arab spring was a group of closely related protests in the Middle East and North African countries. The protests originated in Tunisia when a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire as a response when officials harassed him and seized his wares. The self-immolation became the driving force for Tunisians that led to a successful overthrowing of an authoritarian government. The result of the protests in Tunisia inspired the people in neighboring countries to do the same but most of them failed to have the exact same results.
The map was from The Economist and was used as a visual aid for the article “The Arab spring, five years on”. The purpose of the map is to show the current political status of the arab countries that are a part of the arab spring after five years.
The map made use of colors to identify the status of each country and proportional symbols to show the population of each at the start of the arab spring. The purpose of the map was somehow achieved since at first glance, it was easy to identify the situation in each country. However, some other elements appear be distracting the reader from the real purpose of the map.
The map can be improved if there was less emphasis on the population to avoid confusion on what is being represented by the map, improving the labels as well as polishing of how small countries are represented in the map because the choice of colors and the positioning of the indicators are quite difficult to find.
The map was from The Economist and was used as a visual aid for the article “The Arab spring, five years on”. The purpose of the map is to show the current political status of the arab countries that are a part of the arab spring after five years.
The map made use of colors to identify the status of each country and proportional symbols to show the population of each at the start of the arab spring. The purpose of the map was somehow achieved since at first glance, it was easy to identify the situation in each country. However, some other elements appear be distracting the reader from the real purpose of the map.
The map can be improved if there was less emphasis on the population to avoid confusion on what is being represented by the map, improving the labels as well as polishing of how small countries are represented in the map because the choice of colors and the positioning of the indicators are quite difficult to find.
The Yemen civil war is an armed conflict in Yemen that involves the Yemeni government, Houthi rebel forces, and other terrorist groups. The conflict started after the arab spring which was thought to be the hope for the country as they tried to topple the long authoritarian regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh and was replaced by Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. However, the situation in the country got even worse when the Houthi militia and the loyalists of the former ruler opposed the incumbent government of Hadi; terrorists taking advantage of the situation did not make the circumstances any better.
The map was uploaded on edmaps.com, a website of open access cartographic resources that can be used by teachers, students, or those who are generally interested in the topic or cartography in general. The purpose of the map is to show the territorial control of each force in Yemen.
The map made use of colors to differentiate the areas controlled in the country. Personally, I think that the map was able to communicate its purpose, which is to show the current territorial situation of the conflict. However, the map can be further improved by focusing on the area of interest (Yemen) through the modification of labels and colors of the surrounding area because it can be distracting for the reader.
The map was uploaded on edmaps.com, a website of open access cartographic resources that can be used by teachers, students, or those who are generally interested in the topic or cartography in general. The purpose of the map is to show the territorial control of each force in Yemen.
The map made use of colors to differentiate the areas controlled in the country. Personally, I think that the map was able to communicate its purpose, which is to show the current territorial situation of the conflict. However, the map can be further improved by focusing on the area of interest (Yemen) through the modification of labels and colors of the surrounding area because it can be distracting for the reader.
The conflict in the East China Sea is a territorial dispute that involves the unoccupied Senkaku islands between Japan and China. The maritime dispute for the contested islands is important since it has a rich fishing zones, close proximity to important sea vessel routes, and close proximity to probable natural oil and gas reserves.
The map is from the official website of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a supplement for their article which is about the effect of the dispute in the relationship of the two countries that are mainly involved. The purpose of the map is to show the claims of each side in the area, their air defense zone (also involves South Korea) as well as the important features that are being contested.
The map used lines to display the claims of the countries involved as well as the use of other symbology to indicate other critical elements in the dispute and the legend was very helpful to understand it easily. The overall design and aesthetic of the map is commendable and I think that the main purpose of the map was easily understandable for anyone who will see it even if they have little knowledge about the conflict.
There are other map elements that are not included such as the title and north arrow but I think that it won’t have that much of an impact if it was included since the map was only a visual aid for an article.
The map is from the official website of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a supplement for their article which is about the effect of the dispute in the relationship of the two countries that are mainly involved. The purpose of the map is to show the claims of each side in the area, their air defense zone (also involves South Korea) as well as the important features that are being contested.
The map used lines to display the claims of the countries involved as well as the use of other symbology to indicate other critical elements in the dispute and the legend was very helpful to understand it easily. The overall design and aesthetic of the map is commendable and I think that the main purpose of the map was easily understandable for anyone who will see it even if they have little knowledge about the conflict.
There are other map elements that are not included such as the title and north arrow but I think that it won’t have that much of an impact if it was included since the map was only a visual aid for an article.
The Kashmir conflict is a dispute between Pakistan, India, and China over the region but the India and Pakistan are the only ones who are greatly involved in the conflict. The conflict started when India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain and wanted control over the region. Since then, the two countries went over multiple wars that have taken thousands of lives even after multiple attempts of peace talk.
The objective of the map is to show the areas that are under the control of each countries involved in the region or the overall situation of the conflict. The map used different colors for the labels to distinguish the controlled area of the countries involved in the conflict.
Personally, I think that the map was able to meet its objective to show the controlled areas in the region but it is very difficult to understand it in the first glance. The map can further be improved if the way of classifying the controlled areas is improved (highlighting the region instead of the label of controlled areas), use of different color combinations, and improving the overall legibility of the map by removing unnecessary labels and features as well as the emphasis on the important elements in the conflict.
The objective of the map is to show the areas that are under the control of each countries involved in the region or the overall situation of the conflict. The map used different colors for the labels to distinguish the controlled area of the countries involved in the conflict.
Personally, I think that the map was able to meet its objective to show the controlled areas in the region but it is very difficult to understand it in the first glance. The map can further be improved if the way of classifying the controlled areas is improved (highlighting the region instead of the label of controlled areas), use of different color combinations, and improving the overall legibility of the map by removing unnecessary labels and features as well as the emphasis on the important elements in the conflict.
The Western Sahara-Morocco conflict is an ongoing territorial dispute between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario front (an independence movement of the indigenous Sahrawi people). Morocco controls the region but the Polisario front argues that Western Sahara should be an independent state.
The objective of the map is to show the areas in Western Sahara that are controlled by Morocco and the Polisario front as well as the walls built by Morocco. The map used colors to shade and differentiate the controlled areas of both forces. The use of inset map was efficient to have an idea how scaled the current map is even though the scale of the inset map was just double from the primary map.
In my opinion, the map was able to fulfill its purpose because as a reader, I was able to understand it easily. However, I think that the map can still be improved by changing the overall choice of colors and not just using different shades to represent the information such as the controlled areas and the walls that are built because if a person does not have a prior knowledge about the conflict, it will be hard for him/her to understand what is going on.
The objective of the map is to show the areas in Western Sahara that are controlled by Morocco and the Polisario front as well as the walls built by Morocco. The map used colors to shade and differentiate the controlled areas of both forces. The use of inset map was efficient to have an idea how scaled the current map is even though the scale of the inset map was just double from the primary map.
In my opinion, the map was able to fulfill its purpose because as a reader, I was able to understand it easily. However, I think that the map can still be improved by changing the overall choice of colors and not just using different shades to represent the information such as the controlled areas and the walls that are built because if a person does not have a prior knowledge about the conflict, it will be hard for him/her to understand what is going on.