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In our everyday lives, many decisions are made based on different maps and under different time pressure situations. Some map-based decisions under time pressure can even decide over life and death. Hence, it is important to understand how different time constraints and map types influence the quality of map-based decisions, and which role the characteristics of the decision-makers play in this context. While several empirical map use studies have investigated the efficiency and effectiveness of decisions with different maps, very little is known about the relevance of time pressure in this regard. This thesis bridges this research gap with four controlled user experiments on map-based decision making under time pressure with laymen. These experiments are complemented by several expert interviews with people who make map-based decisions under time pressure in their daily lives. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of how humans use maps in time-critical situations, and thereby provides first insights on how maps should be designed for effective and efficient spatio-temporal inference and decision making in such situations.

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Jan Wilkening works for the Education team of Esri Deutschland GmbH. He studied Geography (minors in Geology and Economics) and foreign languages in Freiburg i.Br., Bonn and Southampton. He holds a Diploma in Geography from the University of Bonn (2007) and a PhD in Geography from the University of Zurich (2012).

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