An interactive approach to learning economics: The WinEcon package

Under the TLTP initiative, the Economics Consortium is developing an interactive computer‐based learning package called WinEcon. The package is directed at first‐year economics undergraduates, particularly those taking economics as a supplementary course. Using recent technological developments, the aim is both to facilitate a further increase in student numbers without a proportionate increase in teaching staff, and to provide a better method of student learning. Some key elements of WinEcon are set out in this paper and demonstrated by screens produced at Leicester University. Methods of presenting textual information that give the user control over accessing it are described. For learning difficult concepts, a visual active learning approach is discussed. It involves user interaction and step‐by‐step analysis. The importance of flexibility and choice is emphasized, and the capacity of the computer to assist in deepening and consolidating learning is shown

Spin/3 Magazine: Action Time Vision

Collaboration with London design group Spin, with contributing essays by Russ Bestley and Malcolm Garrett, on the subject of punk graphic design. Published as large format newspaper in plastic slipcase

ASV3 dial-in interface recommendation for the Repository Based Software Engineering (RBSE) program

The purpose of this report is to provide insight into the approach and design of the Cooperative User Interface (CUI). The CUI is being developed based on Hypercard technology and will provide the same look and feel as is provided by the NASA Electronic Library System (NELS) X-Window interface. The interaction between the user and ASCII-LIB is presented as well as the set of Hypercard Cards with which the user will work

Semantics-Space-Time Cube. A Conceptual Framework for Systematic Analysis of Texts in Space and Time

We propose an approach to analyzing data in which texts are associated with spatial and temporal references with the aim to understand how the text semantics vary over space and time. To represent the semantics, we apply probabilistic topic modeling. After extracting a set of topics and representing the texts by vectors of topic weights, we aggregate the data into a data cube with the dimensions corresponding to the set of topics, the set of spatial locations (e.g., regions), and the time divided into suitable intervals according to the scale of the planned analysis. Each cube cell corresponds to a combination (topic, location, time interval) and contains aggregate measures characterizing the subset of the texts concerning this topic and having the spatial and temporal references within these location and interval. Based on this structure, we systematically describe the space of analysis tasks on exploring the interrelationships among the three heterogeneous information facets, semantics, space, and time. We introduce the operations of projecting and slicing the cube, which are used to decompose complex tasks into simpler subtasks. We then present a design of a visual analytics system intended to support these subtasks. To reduce the complexity of the user interface, we apply the principles of structural, visual, and operational uniformity while respecting the specific properties of each facet. The aggregated data are represented in three parallel views corresponding to the three facets and providing different complementary perspectives on the data. The views have similar look-and-feel to the extent allowed by the facet specifics. Uniform interactive operations applicable to any view support establishing links between the facets. The uniformity principle is also applied in supporting the projecting and slicing operations on the data cube. We evaluate the feasibility and utility of the approach by applying it in two analysis scenarios using geolocated social media data for studying people's reactions to social and natural events of different spatial and temporal scales

GlobalFestival: Evaluating Real World Interaction on a Spherical Display

Spherical displays present compelling opportunities for interaction in public spaces. However, there is little research into how touch interaction should control a spherical surface or how these displays are used in real world settings. This paper presents an in the wild deployment of an application for a spherical display called GlobalFestival that utilises two different touch interaction techniques. The first version of the application allows users to spin and tilt content on the display, while the second version only allows spinning the content. During the 4-day deployment, we collected overhead video data and on-display interaction logs. The analysis brings together quantitative and qualitative methods to understand how users approach and move around the display, how on screen interaction compares in the two versions of the application, and how the display supports social interaction given its novel form factor

Rating the Suitability of Responsible Gambling Features for Specific Game Types: A Resource for Optimizing Responsible Gambling Strategy

A Delphi based study, rated the perceived effectiveness of 45 responsible gambling (RG) features in relation to 20 distinct gambling type games. Participants were 61 raters from seven countries,including responsible gambling experts (n = 22), treatment providers (n = 19) and recovered problem gamblers (n = 20). The most highly recommended RG features could be divided into three groups 1) Player initiated tools focused on aiding player’s behaviour 2) RG features related to informed-player-choice 3) RG features focused on gaming company actions. Overall, player control over personal limits were favoured more than gaming company controlled limits, although mandatory use of such features was often recommended. The study found that recommended RG features varied considerably between game types, according to their structural characteristics. Also,online games had the possibility to provide many more RG features than traditional (offline games). The findings draw together knowledge about the effectiveness of RG features for specific game types. This should aid objective, cost-effective, evidence based decisions on which RG features toi nclude in an RG strategy, according to a specific portfolio of games. The findings of this study will be available via a web-based tool, known as the Responsible Gambling Knowledge Centre (RGKC)

The internet milieu: individualization within a globalised community

Communication technologies have become deeply embedded in our lives, mediating the ways in which information is presented. Due to the global nature of this channel of communication, the world has shrunk and members of the internet may share similar cultural norms of thinking and behaving. Yet, paradoxically, the Internet is personal in that each individual has an interactive opportunity in choosing the options that can expand the breadth and depth of the information they are reading, who they interact with, and the means to achieve that interaction. These options can be expressed through a variety of media techniques. This paper is based on a study of selected websites hosted in English. It looks at language use in the Internet and illustrates the paradoxes between global and individual mediations of meanin

Interactive Video: One Monitor or Two?

Interactive video is a rapidly growing technologywhich holds great promise for teachingforeign language and culture. Multimediacontextualization of the language and simulationsof typical cultural situations are powerfultools for language teachers and learners. Interactivevideo is often delivered with alternateworkstation designs: one with a single monitorto present simultaneous video and text, and onewith different monitors for video and computertext and graphics. This study investigates thepossibility that the workstation configurationsmight have a differential impact on studentperformance on a test of Spanish culture. Studentsin second semester college Spanish classesstudied five interactive video Spanish culturesimulations during the semester. Some studentsused a single monitor workstation and others adual monitor design. They were given pre- andpost-tests on Spanish culture and the resultswere analyzed for significant differences. Additionalfactors influencing workstation design(e.g., hardware and software costs, user friendliness)are also discussed