2,174 research outputs found
Survey on geographic visual display techniques in epidemiology: Taxonomy and characterization
Many works have been done on the topic of Geographic Visual Display with different objectives and approaches. There are studies to compare the traditional cartography techniques (the traditional term of Geographic Visual Display (GVD) without Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)) to Modern GIS which are also known as Geo-visualization, some literature differentiates and highlight the commonalities of features and architectures of different Geographic Visual Display tools (from layers and clusters to dot and color and more). Furthermore, with the existence of more advanced tools which support data exploration, few tasks are done to evaluate how those tools are used to handle complex and multivariate spatial-temporal data. Several test on usability and interactivity of tools toward user's needs or preferences, some even develop frameworks that address user's concern in a wide array of tasks, and others prove how these tools are able to stimulate the visual thought process and help in decision making or event prediction amongst decision-makers. This paper surveyed and categorized these research articles into 2 categories: Traditional Cartography (TC) and Geo-visualization (G). This paper will classify each category by their techniques and tasks that contribute to the significance of data representation in Geographic Visual Display and develop perspectives of each area and evaluating trends of Geographic Visual Display Techniques. Suggestions and ideas on what mechanisms can be used to improve and diversify Geographic Visual Display Techniques are provided at the end of this survey
Advances in Methodology and Applications of Decision Support Systems
These Proceedings are composed of a selection of papers of the Workshop on Advances in Methodology and Applications of Decision Support Systems, organized by the System and Decision Sciences (SDS) Program of IIASA and the Japan Institute of Systems Research (JISR). The workshop was held at IIASA on August 20-22, 1990.
The Methodology of Decision Analysis (MDA) Project of the SDS Program focuses on a system-analytical approach to decision support and is devoted to developing methodology, software and applications of decision support systems concentrated primarily around interactive systems for data analysis, interpretation and multiobjective decisionmaking, including uncertainty analysis and group decision making situations in both their cooperative and noncooperative aspects.
The objectives of the research on decision support systems (DSS) performed in cooperation with the MDA Project are to: compare various approaches to decision support systems; advance theory and methodology of decision support; convert existing theories and methodologies into usable (simple to use, user-friendly and robust) tools that could easily be used in solving real-life problems.
A principal characteristic of decision support systems is that they must be tuned to specific decision situations, to complex real-life characteristics of every application. Even if the theory and methodology of decision support is quite advanced, every application might provide impulses for further theoretical and methodological advances. Therefore the principle underlying this project is that theoretical and methodological research should be strongly connected to the implementation and applications of its results to sufficiently complicated, real-life examples. This approach results in obtaining really applicable working tools for decision support.
The papers for this Proceedings have been selected according to the above summarized framework of the research activities. Therefore, the papers deal both with theoretical and methodological problems and with real-life applications
Recommended from our members
Navigational patterns in interactive multimedia
The central purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether users have distinct preferences for specific navigational patterns in multimedia: that is preferences for moving through multimedia. Subsidiary questions are whether users have preferences for working strategies, (the mental approach to investigating software) whether these preferences are similar for specific groups and whether these preferences are affected by the software's system and navigational design. Four groups were investigated within two ranges: children to adults, and novices to experts. The literature review revealed four different perspectives of investigating navigation: user, designer, pedagogy and human computer interaction and although this research concentrates on the first two perspectives the other two are integral and of equal importance.Two empirical studies elicited the navigational information. The first studied pairs of children undertaking set tasks in multimedia, and demonstrated that although each pair had definite preferences, each group did not utilise the full pattern range discerned from the observations, literature review and multimedia package analysis. The second study was redesigned using individual adults to ascertain the full range of preferred patterns in use. The essential element from the investigations was the wide range of variation between individuals and within groups. There was a gradual progression in their range and speed using these patterns, related to their skills, abilities and experience, and each individual could be placed along a continuum. Topologies of the multimedia packages and diagrams of the fit of the navigation patterns were included. Finally an expert panel was convened to verify the pattern range and their comments supported the new classification.The research outcomes included navigational patterns and working strategies classifications, future techniques for designers, and user methods. These will create more successful and informed multimedia, and forward developments and improvements in the design of high quality user preference software
How sketches work: a cognitive theory for improved system design
Evidence is presented that in the early stages of design or composition the
mental processes used by artists for visual invention require a different type of
support from those used for visualising a nearly complete object. Most research
into machine visualisation has as its goal the production of realistic images which
simulate the light pattern presented to the retina by real objects. In contrast sketch
attributes preserve the results of cognitive processing which can be used
interactively to amplify visual thought. The traditional attributes of sketches
include many types of indeterminacy which may reflect the artist's need to be
"vague".
Drawing on contemporary theories of visual cognition and neuroscience this
study discusses in detail the evidence for the following functions which are better
served by rough sketches than by the very realistic imagery favoured in machine
visualising systems.
1. Sketches are intermediate representational types which facilitate the
mental translation between descriptive and depictive modes of representing visual
thought.
2. Sketch attributes exploit automatic processes of perceptual retrieval and
object recognition to improve the availability of tacit knowledge for visual
invention.
3. Sketches are percept-image hybrids. The incomplete physical attributes
of sketches elicit and stabilise a stream of super-imposed mental images which
amplify inventive thought.
4. By segregating and isolating meaningful components of visual
experience, sketches may assist the user to attend selectively to a limited part of a
visual task, freeing otherwise over-loaded cognitive resources for visual thought.
5. Sequences of sketches and sketching acts support the short term episodic
memory for cognitive actions. This assists creativity, providing voluntary control
over highly practised mental processes which can otherwise become stereotyped.
An attempt is made to unite the five hypothetical functions. Drawing on the
Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory, it is speculated that the five
functions may be related to a limited capacity monitoring mechanism which makes
tacit visual knowledge explicitly available for conscious control and manipulation.
It is suggested that the resources available to the human brain for imagining nonexistent
objects are a cultural adaptation of visual mechanisms which evolved in
early hominids for responding to confusing or incomplete stimuli from immediately
present objects and events. Sketches are cultural inventions which artificially
mimic aspects of such stimuli in order to capture these shared resources for the
different purpose of imagining objects which do not yet exist.
Finally the implications of the theory for the design of improved machine
systems is discussed. The untidy attributes of traditional sketches are revealed to
include cultural inventions which serve subtle cognitive functions. However
traditional media have many short-comings which it should be possible to correct
with new technology. Existing machine systems for sketching tend to imitate nonselectively
the media bound properties of sketches without regard to the functions
they serve. This may prove to be a mistake. It is concluded that new system
designs are needed in which meaningfully structured data and specialised imagery
amplify without interference or replacement the impressive but limited creative
resources of the visual brain
Enhancing the campus experience: Helping international students to adapt to North American campus life
This thesis investigates how culture adaption topic can be applied to a design solution by enhancing international students experience on North American campus. Each year more than half a million international students enroll in American colleges and universities. Many will spend several years on a campus working toward their degree. Most of them arrive with clear academic goals, but they may have no clue what their social lives will be like. In that case, a common phenomenon that most of the international students need to get along with is called âCulture Shockâ, which involves culture and academic adapting difficulties, limited social contact with host nationals. While some educators and researchers have been studying on this issue and also considered the constructive suggestions, unfortunately, how to solve the culture shock on campus is rarely applied in interaction design area. To become a feasible design solution rather than just a suggestion, the approach to solve culture adjustments must be integrated into campus life.
In this thesis, I propose a vision mobile-based campus application to provide international students useful information on the campus from four dimensions of culture difference: cognition, psychology, behavior and phenomenon. It aims to help international students adapt North American campus life and build social network with host nationals. In addition, providing some basic campus living information to the first-time students. Both qualitative data and quantitative data were collected through online questionnaires, interviews, and existing frameworks. Also, I will address the approach of implementing business model design and distributed user needs into the design outcome. In the end, a heuristic evaluation and a usability testing will be addressed to discuss refining the design outcomes. As a result, I would like to see how effectively and widely that culture differences can be implemented into campus in the future. Ideally, it is able to help international students to diminish the âcultural gapâ between host nationals. It is my goal the design solution will help them adapt to culture differences, jump out of their comfort zoom, integrate with the diversity of campus life
Virtual Heritage: new technologies for edutainment
Cultural heritage represents an enormous amount of information and knowledge. Accessing this treasure chest allows not only to discover the legacy of physical and intangible attributes of the past but also to provide a better understanding of the present. Museums and cultural institutions have to face the problem of providing access to and communicating these cultural contents to a wide and assorted audience, meeting the expectations and interests of the reference end-users and relying on the most appropriate tools available.
Given the large amount of existing tangible and intangible heritage, artistic, historical and cultural contents, what can be done to preserve and properly disseminate their heritage significance? How can these items be disseminated in the proper way to the public, taking into account their enormous heterogeneity?
Answering this question requires to deal as well with another aspect of the problem: the evolution of culture, literacy and society during the last decades of 20th century. To reflect such transformations, this period witnessed a shift in the museumâs focus from the aesthetic value of museum artifacts to the historical and artistic information they encompass, and a change into the museumsâ role from a mere "container" of cultural objects to a "narrative space" able to explain, describe, and revive the historical material in order to attract and entertain visitors. These developments require creating novel exhibits, able to tell stories about the objects and enabling visitors to construct semantic meanings around them. The objective that museums presently pursue is reflected by the concept of Edutainment, Education + Entertainment. Nowadays, visitors are not satisfied with âlearning somethingâ, but would rather engage in an âexperience of learningâ, or âlearning for funâ, being active actors and players in their own cultural experience.
As a result, institutions are faced with several new problems, like the need to communicate with people from different age groups and different cultural backgrounds, the change in people attitude due to the massive and unexpected diffusion of technology into everyday life, the need to design the visit by a personal point of view, leading to a high level of customization that allows visitors to shape their path according to their characteristics and interests.
In order to cope with these issues, I investigated several approaches. In particular, I focused on Virtual Learning Environments (VLE): real-time interactive virtual environments where visitors can experience a journey through time and space, being immersed into the original historical, cultural and artistic context of the work of arts on display. VLE can strongly help archivists and exhibit designers, allowing to create new interesting and captivating ways to present cultural materials.
In this dissertation I will tackle many of the different dimensions related to the creation of a cultural virtual experience. During my research project, the entire pipeline involved into the development and deployment of VLE has been investigated. The approach followed was to analyze in details the main sub-problems to face, in order to better focus on specific issues.
Therefore, I first analyzed different approaches to an effective recreation of the historical and cultural context of heritage contents, which is ultimately aimed at an effective transfer of knowledge to the end-users. In particular, I identified the enhancement of the usersâ sense of presence in VLE as one of the main tools to reach this objective. Presence is generally expressed as the perception of 'being there', i.e. the subjective belief of users that they are in a certain place, even if they know that the experience is mediated by the computer. Presence is related to the number of senses involved by the VLE and to the quality of the sensorial stimuli. But in a cultural scenario, this is not sufficient as the cultural presence plays a relevant role. Cultural presence is not just a feeling of 'being there' but of being - not only physically, but also socially, culturally - 'there and then'. In other words, the VLE must be able to transfer not only the appearance, but also all the significance and characteristics of the context that makes it a place and both the environment and the context become tools capable of transferring the cultural significance of a historic place. The attention that users pay to the mediated environment is another aspect that contributes to presence. Attention is related to usersâ focalization and concentration and to their interests. Thus, in order to improve the involvement and capture the attention of users, I investigated in my work the adoption of narratives and storytelling experiences, which can help people making sense of history and culture, and of gamification approaches, which explore the use of game thinking and game mechanics in cultural contexts, thus engaging users while disseminating cultural contents and, why not?, letting them have fun during this process.
Another dimension related to the effectiveness of any VLE is also the quality of the user experience (UX). User interaction, with both the virtual environment and its digital contents, is one of the main elements affecting UX. With respect to this I focused on one of the most recent and promising approaches: the natural interaction, which is based on the idea that persons need to interact with technology in the same way they are used to interact with the real world in everyday life.
Then, I focused on the problem of presenting, displaying and communicating contents. VLE represent an ideal presentation layer, being multiplatform hypermedia applications where users are free to interact with the virtual reconstructions by choosing their own visiting path. Cultural items, embedded into the environment, can be accessed by users according to their own curiosity and interests, with the support of narrative structures, which can guide them through the exploration of the virtual spaces, and conceptual maps, which help building meaningful connections between cultural items. Thus, VLE environments can even be seen as visual interfaces to DBs of cultural contents. Users can navigate the VE as if they were browsing the DB contents, exploiting both text-based queries and visual-based queries, provided by the re-contextualization of the objects into their original spaces, whose virtual exploration can provide new insights on specific elements and improve the awareness of relationships between objects in the database.
Finally, I have explored the mobile dimension, which became absolutely relevant in the last period. Nowadays, off-the-shelf consumer devices as smartphones and tablets guarantees amazing computing capabilities, support for rich multimedia contents, geo-localization and high network bandwidth. Thus, mobile devices can support users in mobility and detect the user context, thus allowing to develop a plethora of location-based services, from way-finding to the contextualized communication of cultural contents, aimed at providing a meaningful exploration of exhibits and cultural or tourist sites according to visitorsâ personal interest and curiosity
Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century
Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission
Information fusion for automated question answering
Until recently, research efforts in automated Question Answering (QA) have mainly
focused on getting a good understanding of questions to retrieve correct answers. This
includes deep parsing, lookups in ontologies, question typing and machine learning
of answer patterns appropriate to question forms. In contrast, I have focused on the
analysis of the relationships between answer candidates as provided in open domain
QA on multiple documents. I argue that such candidates have intrinsic properties,
partly regardless of the question, and those properties can be exploited to provide better
quality and more user-oriented answers in QA.Information fusion refers to the technique of merging pieces of information from
different sources. In QA over free text, it is motivated by the frequency with which
different answer candidates are found in different locations, leading to a multiplicity
of answers. The reason for such multiplicity is, in part, the massive amount of data
used for answering, and also its unstructured and heterogeneous content: Besides amÂŹ
biguities in user questions leading to heterogeneity in extractions, systems have to deal
with redundancy, granularity and possible contradictory information. Hence the need
for answer candidate comparison. While frequency has proved to be a significant charÂŹ
acteristic of a correct answer, I evaluate the value of other relationships characterizing
answer variability and redundancy.Partially inspired by recent developments in multi-document summarization, I reÂŹ
define the concept of "answer" within an engineering approach to QA based on the
Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern of user interface design. An "answer model"
is a directed graph in which nodes correspond to entities projected from extractions
and edges convey relationships between such nodes. The graph represents the fusion
of information contained in the set of extractions. Different views of the answer model
can be produced, capturing the fact that the same answer can be expressed and preÂŹ
sented in various ways: picture, video, sound, written or spoken language, or a formal
data structure. Within this framework, an answer is a structured object contained in the
model and retrieved by a strategy to build a particular view depending on the end user
(or taskj's requirements.I describe shallow techniques to compare entities and enrich the model by discovering four broad categories of relationships between entities in the model: equivalence,
inclusion, aggregation and alternative. Quantitatively, answer candidate modeling imÂŹ
proves answer extraction accuracy. It also proves to be more robust to incorrect answer
candidates than traditional techniques. Qualitatively, models provide meta-information
encoded by relationships that allow shallow reasoning to help organize and generate
the final output
- âŠ