HR: 0800h
AN: ED51A-0014    [Abstracts]
TI: The Synoptic View as a Model for Poster Presentations
AU: * Rhodes, D D
EM: DRhodes@GeorgiaSouthern.edu
AF: Georgia Southern University, Department of Geology and Geography, Statesboro, GA 30460 United States
AU: Arrowsmith, J R
EM: Ramon.Arrowsmith@ASU.edu
AF: Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287 United States
AB: Originally referencing the first three chapters of the New Testament, the term "synoptic" has come to mean "a general view of the whole, or of the principal parts of a thing." Large format posters provide an opportunity to present research in synoptic form, rather than as an arrangement of PowerPoint slides and text. In synoptic views, data, analyses, and linkages are presented en masse with the graphical design used as a guide to the linkages. Conclusions about the meanings of the information are largely left to the viewers as they study the information and seek relationships-a natural activity for scientists. Numerous formats produce synoptic views of geoscientific information. Each imposes order on the information through spatial, temporal, or causal connections and provide context for multiple variables. Maps are the most common synoptic presentations. Additional map-sheet information, such as stratigraphic columns and cross sections, gain meaning from and contribute meaning to the areal view. Two and three-dimensional models, including flow charts and organizational diagrams offer a means of portraying complex interactions. Time lines and spatial line (e.g., latitude, depth, distance) diagrams, especially those with additional axes to plot related variables, show temporal or spatial trends, progress, or fluctuation. Some organizational schemes are specific to the sciences. The periodic table is a synoptic portrayal of the elements that designates their chemical behavior by their positions. As an illustration of phenomena, the well designed synoptic poster provides a multi-scale perspective that slices across time, space, or other parameters to expose the significant behaviors of the given system. Bruce Railsback's (2003) reorganization of the periodic table to emphasize the charged species most common in geologic processes is an outstanding example of synoptic design. Edward Tufte's works on graphical style and visual explanations are also excellent guides to good design and reproduce historic and contemporary examples of synoptic views.
DE: 6605 Education
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting