Knowledge Cartography: Software tools and mapping techniques

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of mapping intellectual landscapes.The focus of this book is on the process by which manually crafting interactive, hypertextual maps clarifies one’s own understanding, as well as communicating it.The authors see mapping software as a set of visual tools for reading and writing in a networked age. In an information ocean, the primary challenge is to find meaningful patterns around which we can weave plausible narratives. Maps of concepts, discussions and arguments make the connections between ideas tangible and disputable. With 17 chapters from the leading researchers and practitioners, the reader will find the current state–of-the-art in the field. Part 1 focuses on educational applications in schools and universities, before Part 2 turns to applications in professional communitie

Identifying Entity Types for E-R Diagramming in Developing Data- Intensive Web Applications

Although the Web has become a major enabler for data-intensive business applications such as e-tailing, customer relationship management, and supply chain management, we find that most Web applications are built up in ad hoc fashion, raising the data-related issues of data definition and data integration. This paper proposes a new approach for identifying entity types for E-R diagramming in developing data-rich Web applications. The methodology is founded on elements of Web applications including pages, links, Web application architecture, and business logic modules

Phrasing Bimanual Interaction for Visual Design

Architects and other visual thinkers create external representations of their ideas to support early-stage design. They compose visual imagery with sketching to form abstract diagrams as representations. When working with digital media, they apply various visual operations to transform representations, often engaging in complex sequences. This research investigates how to build interactive capabilities to support designers in putting together, that is phrasing, sequences of operations using both hands. In particular, we examine how phrasing interactions with pen and multi-touch input can support modal switching among different visual operations that in many commercial design tools require using menus and tool palettes—techniques originally designed for the mouse, not pen and touch. We develop an interactive bimanual pen+touch diagramming environment and study its use in landscape architecture design studio education. We observe interesting forms of interaction that emerge, and how our bimanual interaction techniques support visual design processes. Based on the needs of architects, we develop LayerFish, a new bimanual technique for layering overlapping content. We conduct a controlled experiment to evaluate its efficacy. We explore the use of wearables to identify which user, and distinguish what hand, is touching to support phrasing together direct-touch interactions on large displays. From design and development of the environment and both field and controlled studies, we derive a set methods, based upon human bimanual specialization theory, for phrasing modal operations through bimanual interactions without menus or tool palettes

Managing Large Scale Project Analysis Teams through a Web Accessible Database

Large scale space programs analyze thousands of requirements while mitigating safety, performance, schedule, and cost risks. These efforts involve a variety of roles with interdependent use cases and goals. For example, study managers and facilitators identify ground-rules and assumptions for a collection of studies required for a program or project milestone. Task leaders derive product requirements from the ground rules and assumptions and describe activities to produce needed analytical products. Disciplined specialists produce the specified products and load results into a file management system. Organizational and project managers provide the personnel and funds to conduct the tasks. Each role has responsibilities to establish information linkages and provide status reports to management. Projects conduct design and analysis cycles to refine designs to meet the requirements and implement risk mitigation plans. At the program level, integrated design and analysis cycles studies are conducted to eliminate every 'to-be-determined' and develop plans to mitigate every risk. At the agency level, strategic studies analyze different approaches to exploration architectures and campaigns. This paper describes a web-accessible database developed by NASA to coordinate and manage tasks at three organizational levels. Other topics in this paper cover integration technologies and techniques for process modeling and enterprise architectures

Métodos de ingeniería web dirigidos por modelos: una revisión de literatura

RESUMEN: Este artículo presenta algunos de los métodos de ingeniería Web dirigida por modelos que se han propuesto. En él se discuten y analizan las ventajas y desventajas de dichos métodos con relación a las tendencias actuales y las mejores prácticas en la ingeniería dirigida por modelos. La idea es presentar cada método y analizar los modelos que propone para representar aplicaciones Web, los aspectos arquitectónicos en las transformaciones y el uso de tecnologías actuales de interfaz de usuario Web en el código generado. Esto se hace con el fin de vislumbrar posibles líneas de investigación para trabajos futuros en el área de la ingeniería Web dirigida por modelos.ABSTRACT: This paper presents some of the model-driven Web engineering methods that have been proposed, and discusses and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of such methods regarding current tendencies and best practices on model-driven engineering. The idea is to present each approach and analyze the models they propose to represent Web applications, the architectural aspects in the transformations, and the use of current Web user interface technologies in the generated code. This is done in order to depict possible research lines for future works on the model-driven Web engineering area

Modeling Constellation Virtual Missions Using the Vdot(Trademark) Process Management Tool

The authors have identified a software tool suite that will support NASA's Virtual Mission (VM) effort. This is accomplished by transforming a spreadsheet database of mission events, task inputs and outputs, timelines, and organizations into process visualization tools and a Vdot process management model that includes embedded analysis software as well as requirements and information related to data manipulation and transfer. This paper describes the progress to date, and the application of the Virtual Mission to not only Constellation but to other architectures, and the pertinence to other aerospace applications. Vdot s intuitive visual interface brings VMs to life by turning static, paper-based processes into active, electronic processes that can be deployed, executed, managed, verified, and continuously improved. A VM can be executed using a computer-based, human-in-the-loop, real-time format, under the direction and control of the NASA VM Manager. Engineers in the various disciplines will not have to be Vdot-proficient but rather can fill out on-line, Excel-type databases with the mission information discussed above. The author s tool suite converts this database into several process visualization tools for review and into Microsoft Project, which can be imported directly into Vdot. Many tools can be embedded directly into Vdot, and when the necessary data/information is received from a preceding task, the analysis can be initiated automatically. Other NASA analysis tools are too complex for this process but Vdot automatically notifies the tool user that the data has been received and analysis can begin. The VM can be simulated from end-to-end using the author s tool suite. The planned approach for the Vdot-based process simulation is to generate the process model from a database; other advantages of this semi-automated approach are the participants can be geographically remote and after refining the process models via the human-in-the-loop simulation, the system can evolve into a process management server for the actual process

Sensecape: Enabling Multilevel Exploration and Sensemaking with Large Language Models

People are increasingly turning to large language models (LLMs) for complex information tasks like academic research or planning a move to another city. However, while they often require working in a nonlinear manner - e.g., to arrange information spatially to organize and make sense of it, current interfaces for interacting with LLMs are generally linear to support conversational interaction. To address this limitation and explore how we can support LLM-powered exploration and sensemaking, we developed Sensecape, an interactive system designed to support complex information tasks with an LLM by enabling users to (1) manage the complexity of information through multilevel abstraction and (2) seamlessly switch between foraging and sensemaking. Our within-subject user study reveals that Sensecape empowers users to explore more topics and structure their knowledge hierarchically. We contribute implications for LLM-based workflows and interfaces for information tasks