Proceedings of the ECCS 2005 satellite workshop: embracing complexity in design - Paris 17 November 2005

Embracing complexity in design is one of the critical issues and challenges of the 21st century. As the realization grows that design activities and artefacts display properties associated with complex adaptive systems, so grows the need to use complexity concepts and methods to understand these properties and inform the design of better artifacts. It is a great challenge because complexity science represents an epistemological and methodological swift that promises a holistic approach in the understanding and operational support of design. But design is also a major contributor in complexity research. Design science is concerned with problems that are fundamental in the sciences in general and complexity sciences in particular. For instance, design has been perceived and studied as a ubiquitous activity inherent in every human activity, as the art of generating hypotheses, as a type of experiment, or as a creative co-evolutionary process. Design science and its established approaches and practices can be a great source for advancement and innovation in complexity science. These proceedings are the result of a workshop organized as part of the activities of a UK government AHRB/EPSRC funded research cluster called Embracing Complexity in Design (www.complexityanddesign.net) and the European Conference in Complex Systems (complexsystems.lri.fr). Embracing complexity in design is one of the critical issues and challenges of the 21st century. As the realization grows that design activities and artefacts display properties associated with complex adaptive systems, so grows the need to use complexity concepts and methods to understand these properties and inform the design of better artifacts. It is a great challenge because complexity science represents an epistemological and methodological swift that promises a holistic approach in the understanding and operational support of design. But design is also a major contributor in complexity research. Design science is concerned with problems that are fundamental in the sciences in general and complexity sciences in particular. For instance, design has been perceived and studied as a ubiquitous activity inherent in every human activity, as the art of generating hypotheses, as a type of experiment, or as a creative co-evolutionary process. Design science and its established approaches and practices can be a great source for advancement and innovation in complexity science. These proceedings are the result of a workshop organized as part of the activities of a UK government AHRB/EPSRC funded research cluster called Embracing Complexity in Design (www.complexityanddesign.net) and the European Conference in Complex Systems (complexsystems.lri.fr)

Geospatial big data and cartography : research challenges and opportunities for making maps that matter

Geospatial big data present a new set of challenges and opportunities for cartographic researchers in technical, methodological, and artistic realms. New computational and technical paradigms for cartography are accompanying the rise of geospatial big data. Additionally, the art and science of cartography needs to focus its contemporary efforts on work that connects to outside disciplines and is grounded in problems that are important to humankind and its sustainability. Following the development of position papers and a collaborative workshop to craft consensus around key topics, this article presents a new cartographic research agenda focused on making maps that matter using geospatial big data. This agenda provides both long-term challenges that require significant attention as well as short-term opportunities that we believe could be addressed in more concentrated studies.PostprintPeer reviewe

Virtual Reality in Mathematics Education (VRiME):An exploration of the integration and design of virtual reality for mathematics education

This thesis explores the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in mathematics education. Four VR prototypes were designed and developed during the PhD project to teach equations, geometry, and vectors and facilitate collaboration.Paper A investigates asymmetric VR for classroom integration and collaborative learning and presents a new taxonomy of asymmetric interfaces. Paper B proposes how VR could assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in learning daily living skills involving basic mathematical concepts. Paper C investigates how VR could enhance social inclusion and mathematics learning for neurodiverse students. Paper D presents a VR prototype for teaching algebra and equation-solving strategies, noting positive student responses and the potential for knowledge transfer. Paper E investigates gesture-based interaction with dynamic geometry in VR for geometry education and presents a new taxonomy of learning environments. Finally, paper F explores the use of VR to visualise and contextualise mathematical concepts to teach software engineering students.The thesis concludes that VR offers promising avenues for transforming mathematics education. It aims to broaden our understanding of VR's educational potential, paving the way for more immersive learning experiences in mathematics education

Perceived value of faculty-developed course websites: A student-faculty comparison

This study is a case-study examination of faculty-developed course websites and their usage within a single mid-western community college environment. Its purpose is to develop an understanding of the perceived value of selected course websites from both student and faculty perspectives based on website design and use. The study analyzes course websites from instructional and technological theoretical perspectives, drawing from literature in the fields of education and technology studies. To understand course websites within the context of their usage, three selected course websites were paired with the instructor and a subset of students to form a case study unit. The case study methodology offered an opportunity for in-depth qualitative data collection through theory-driven examination of website features, observation of website use, and in-depth interviews with students and faculty. Study findings indicate that perceived value is strengthened by the amount and quality of course-specific content while lessened by irrelevant content and/or lack of significant content. Because constructivist strategies embody interactive learning styles, web-enabling interactive content on course websites has the potential to create constructivist learning opportunities. Several factors influence course websites design and perceived value perspectives. Included among these are student involvement in the design process, professional development opportunities that support faculty development of course websites, faculty members technical abilities, and institutional support

Spatial and Temporal Sentiment Analysis of Twitter data

The public have used Twitter world wide for expressing opinions. This study focuses on spatio-temporal variation of georeferenced Tweets’ sentiment polarity, with a view to understanding how opinions evolve on Twitter over space and time and across communities of users. More specifically, the question this study tested is whether sentiment polarity on Twitter exhibits specific time-location patterns. The aim of the study is to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of georeferenced Twitter sentiment polarity within the area of 1 km buffer around the Curtin Bentley campus boundary in Perth, Western Australia. Tweets posted in campus were assigned into six spatial zones and four time zones. A sentiment analysis was then conducted for each zone using the sentiment analyser tool in the Starlight Visual Information System software. The Feature Manipulation Engine was employed to convert non-spatial files into spatial and temporal feature class. The spatial and temporal distribution of Twitter sentiment polarity patterns over space and time was mapped using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Some interesting results were identified. For example, the highest percentage of positive Tweets occurred in the social science area, while science and engineering and dormitory areas had the highest percentage of negative postings. The number of negative Tweets increases in the library and science and engineering areas as the end of the semester approaches, reaching a peak around an exam period, while the percentage of negative Tweets drops at the end of the semester in the entertainment and sport and dormitory area. This study will provide some insights into understanding students and staff ’s sentiment variation on Twitter, which could be useful for university teaching and learning management

NEUVis: Comparing Affective and Effective Visualisation

Data visualisations are useful for providing insight from complex scientific data. However, even with visualisation, scientific research is difficult for non-scientists to comprehend. When developed by designers in collaboration with scientists, data visualisation can be used to articulate scientific data in a way that non-experts can understand. Creating human-centred visualisations is a unique challenge, and there are no frameworks to support their design. In response, this thesis presents a practice-led study investigating design methods that can be used to develop Non-Expert User Visualisations (NEUVis), data visualisations for a general public, and the response that people have to different kinds of NEUVis. For this research, two groups of ten users participated in quantitative studies, informed by Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba’s method of Naturalistic Inquiry, which asked non-scientists to express their cognitive and emotional response to NEUVis using different media. The three different types of visualisations were infographics, 3D animations and an interactive installation. The installation used in the study, entitled 18S rDNA, was developed and evaluated as part of this research using John Zimmerman’s Research Through Design methodology. 18S rDNA embodies the knowledge and design methods that were developed for this research, and provided an opportunity for explication of the entire NEUVis design process. The research findings indicate that developing visualisations for the non-expert audience requires a new process, different to the way scientists visualise data. The result of this research describes how creative practitioners collaborate with primary researchers and presents a new human-centred design thinking model for NEUVis. This model includes two design tools. The first tool helps designers merge user needs with data they wish to visualise. The second tool helps designers take that merged information and begin an iterative, user-centred design process