Organizers: International Cartographic Association Commission on Cognition, Amy Griffin (University of New South Wales), Kirk Goldsberry (Harvard University), Sarah Battersby (University of South Carolina), Sara Irina Fabrikant (University of Zurich), and Scott Bell (University of Saskatchewan). Specialty Group Sponsors: Cartography, GIS, and Environmental Perception and Behavioral Geography Content We invite papers on cognitive aspects of geographic research to be included in a series of sessions at the 2012 Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting in New York City. Specifically of interest are theoretical and empirical contributions exploring computation, geovisualization, navigation and wayfinding, cartography, education, and methods specific to cognitive research. Cognitive topics related to mobile computing and geography are also welcome; this includes mobile mapping, navigation, positioning technology, and data collection with mobile devices. Topics for these sessions include (but are not limited to):

• geovisualization design, implementation, and use (technical and/or cognitive issues)
• application of geovisualization displays & tools to understanding spatial cognition
• methods for and application of cognitive theories and methods to understanding issues in geographic research (including fMRI)
• human-geovisualization interaction research
• cognition of space-time representations
• wayfinding and navigation
• cognitive map design research
• usability of digital geographic displays

This year, in addition to standard paper sessions, we will hold an interactive short paper session directed to identifying and discussing the most important research challenges for cognitive aspects of GIScience research. We specifically encourage faculty to contribute to this session, but also welcome contributions from students.

An interactive short paper session is comprised of 10 presentations of five minutes each, with the remainder of the session directed to discussion. We will ask all presenters to bring not more than one slide changing computers within a short time frame. We encourage you to identify and focus on only ONE challenge that you think is critical to advancing our understanding in this field.

Participants

In addition to geographers, GIScientists, cartographers, and cognitive or behavioral geographers we are also looking for speakers from a broad range of disciplines, including but not limited to psychology, cognitive science, education, HCI, etc.

To be included in this session, please:

1. Register and submit your abstract online following the AAG Guidelines (http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/

<http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/> )

2. Email your presenter identification number (PIN), paper title, and abstract to Amy Griffin (a.griffin@adfa.edu.au) by September 21, 2011. Please indicate to me if your presentation is intended for the interactive short paper session OR the standard paper session.