Adaptive User Interfaces for Intelligent E-Learning: Issues and Trends

Adaptive User Interfaces have a long history rooted in the emergence of such eminent technologies as Artificial Intelligence, Soft Computing, Graphical User Interface, JAVA, Internet, and Mobile Services. More specifically, the advent and advancement of the Web and Mobile Learning Services has brought forward adaptivity as an immensely important issue for both efficacy and acceptability of such services. The success of such a learning process depends on the intelligent context-oriented presentation of the domain knowledge and its adaptivity in terms of complexity and granularity consistent to the learner’s cognitive level/progress. Researchers have always deemed adaptive user interfaces as a promising solution in this regard. However, the richness in the human behavior, technological opportunities, and contextual nature of information offers daunting challenges. These require creativity, cross-domain synergy, cross-cultural and cross-demographic understanding, and an adequate representation of mission and conception of the task. This paper provides a review of state-of-the-art in adaptive user interface research in Intelligent Multimedia Educational Systems and related areas with an emphasis on core issues and future directions

The Geometric Division of Space. Frameworks for Design Analysts

This research aims to explore the persistence of geometric constructions and focuses on related issues such as proportions in the visual arts, design and architecture in both historical and modern contexts. Based on literature review, a comprehensive understanding on how geometric constructions function as (hidden) guidelines in design practice is developed. This research adopts a qualitative research approach underpinned by the analysis of case study material. Five case study groups are selected and studied. They are: terracotta warriors, Xi'an (China); cathedral floor plans; Scottish clan tartans; posters; web-pages. Novel analytical methods are developed based on certain geometric structures and related proportions and their use in the areas of human body proportion, architecture, textiles, graphic design and interface design. From the research, it is found that certain space division methods and proportions are found to be used frequently in more than one design discipline. There is an indication that certain proportions are more preferred by human eyes than others. After analysis and summaries of the space division methods associated with each case study group, a range of frameworks of value to design analysts is proposed. Each case study can be considered to yield a unique framework of value to analysts considering similar case study material. Thus the contributions of this study include: an explanation of why geometry structures are powerful compositional aids; a contribution to the scholarly debate; further knowledge which may be of value to analysts across the full spectrum of visual art and design

The Geometric Division of Space. Frameworks for Design Analysts

This research aims to explore the persistence of geometric constructions and focuses on related issues such as proportions in the visual arts, design and architecture in both historical and modern contexts. Based on literature review, a comprehensive understanding on how geometric constructions function as (hidden) guidelines in design practice is developed. This research adopts a qualitative research approach underpinned by the analysis of case study material. Five case study groups are selected and studied. They are: terracotta warriors, Xi'an (China); cathedral floor plans; Scottish clan tartans; posters; web-pages. Novel analytical methods are developed based on certain geometric structures and related proportions and their use in the areas of human body proportion, architecture, textiles, graphic design and interface design. From the research, it is found that certain space division methods and proportions are found to be used frequently in more than one design discipline. There is an indication that certain proportions are more preferred by human eyes than others. After analysis and summaries of the space division methods associated with each case study group, a range of frameworks of value to design analysts is proposed. Each case study can be considered to yield a unique framework of value to analysts considering similar case study material. Thus the contributions of this study include: an explanation of why geometry structures are powerful compositional aids; a contribution to the scholarly debate; further knowledge which may be of value to analysts across the full spectrum of visual art and design

An Intelligent Expert System for Decision Analysis and Support in Multi-Attribute Layout Optimization

Layout Decision Analysis and Design is a ubiquitous problem in a variety of work domains that is important from both strategic and operational perspectives. It is largely a complex, vague, difficult, and ill-structured problem that requires intelligent and sophisticated decision analysis and design support. Inadequate information availability, combinatorial complexity, subjective and uncertain preferences, and cognitive biases of decision makers often hamper the procurement of a superior layout configuration. Consequently, it is desirable to develop an intelligent decision support system for layout design that could deal with such challenging issues by providing efficient and effective means of generating, analyzing, enumerating, ranking, and manipulating superior alternative layouts. We present a research framework and a functional prototype for an interactive Intelligent System for Decision Support and Expert Analysis in Multi-Attribute Layout Optimization (IDEAL) based on soft computing tools. A fundamental issue in layout design is efficient production of superior alternatives through the incorporation of subjective and uncertain design preferences. Consequently, we have developed an efficient and Intelligent Layout Design Generator (ILG) using a generic two-dimensional bin-packing formulation that utilizes multiple preference weights furnished by a fuzzy Preference Inferencing Agent (PIA). The sub-cognitive, intuitive, multi-facet, and dynamic nature of design preferences indicates that an automated Preference Discovery Agent (PDA) could be an important component of such a system. A user-friendly, interactive, and effective User Interface is deemed critical for the success of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed solution paradigm and the implemented prototype is demonstrated through examples and cases. This research framework and prototype contribute to the field of layout decision analysis and design by enabling explicit representation of experts? knowledge, formal modeling of fuzzy user preferences, and swift generation and manipulation of superior layout alternatives. Such efforts are expected to afford efficient procurement of superior outcomes and to facilitate cognitive, ergonomic, and economic efficiency of layout designers as well as future research in related areas. Applications of this research are broad ranging including facilities layout design, VLSI circuit layout design, newspaper layout design, cutting and packing, adaptive user interfaces, dynamic memory allocation, multi-processor scheduling, metacomputing, etc

Fuzzy Inferencing in the Web Page Layout Design

Abstract. The Web page layout design is a complex and ill-structured problem where the evolving tasks, inadequate information processing capabilities, cognitive biases and socio-emotional facets frequently hamper the procurement of a superior alternative. An important aspect in selection of a superior Web page layout design is the evaluation of its fitness value. Automating the fitness evaluation of layouts seems to be a significant step forward. Such efforts require quantification of highly subjective Web page design guidelines in the form of some fitness measure. These Web usability and design guidelines come from experts who provide vague and conflicting opinions. This paper proposes the utilization of fuzzy technology in modeling such subjective, vague, and uncertain Web usability and design guidelines.