| Popis: |
The South African electrical utility, Eskom, is faced with the problem of communicating information about the times and locations for rotational load-shedding. This paper challenges whether the current presentation format is an optimal communication medium. An alternative communication medium is proposed in the form of a map-based schedule. The value of maps as communication devices is determined by means of a qualitative study into the areas affecting the comprehension and construction of maps. Following from this a prototype map-based schedule is developed as a proof of concept in order to determine its feasibility as a communication medium and case studies are employed to qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of maps as a technique for visualizing load-shedding schedules. It was found that maps present advantages over the current table-based schedule provided by Eskom. However it is also clear that the proposed solution is not a panacea for all potential tasks. While new spatial information is made available, a map-based approach results in the loss of significant temporal information. Maps and tables were found to fulfill complementary roles, leading to the recommendation that they be employed simultaneously as load-shedding schedule communication devices. |
