Readability of a background map layer under a semi-transparent foreground layer

This study investigates the readability (interpretability) of information presented on a geographical map onto which a semi-transparent multivariate selection layer has been overlaid. The investigation is based on an information visualization prototype developed for a mobile platform (tablet devices) which aimed at supporting epidemiologists and medical staff in field data collection and epidemiological interpretation tasks. Different factors are analysed under varying transparency (alpha blending) levels, including: map interpretation task (covering "seeing map" and "reading map" tasks), legend symbol and map area type. Our results complement other studies that focused on the readability characteristics of items displayed on semi-transparent foreground layers developed in the context of "toolglass" interfaces. The implications of these results to the usability of transparency variable selection layers in geographical map applications are also discussed

Exploring Environmental and Geographical Factors Influencing the Spread of Infectious Diseases with Interactive Maps

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.Environmental problems due to human activities such as deforestation, urbanisation, and large scale intensive farming are some of the major factors behind the rapid spread of many infectious diseases. This in turn poses significant challenges not only in as regards providing adequate healthcare, but also in supporting healthcare workers, medical researchers, policy makers, and others involved in managing infectious diseases. These challenges include surveillance, tracking of infections, communication of public health knowledge and promotion of behavioural change. Behind these challenges lies a complex set of factors which include not only biomedical and population health determinants but also environmental, climatic, geographic, and socioeconomic variables. While there is broad agreement that these factors are best understood when considered in conjunction, aggregating and presenting diverse information sources requires effective information systems, software tools, and data visualisation. In this article, weargue that interactive maps, which couple geographical information systems and advanced information visualisation techniques, provide a suitable unifying framework for coordinating these tasks. Therefore, we examine how interactive maps can support spatial epidemiological visualisation and modelling involving distributed and dynamic data sources and incorporating temporal aspects of disease spread. Combining spatial and temporal aspects can be crucial in such applications. We discuss these issues in the context of support for disease surveillance in remote regions, utilising tools that facilitate distributed data collection and enable multidisciplinary collaboration, while also providing support for simulation and data analysis. We show that interactive maps deployed on a combination of mobile devices and large screens can provide effective means for collection, sharing, and analysis of health data.Peer reviewe

Social software for music

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

都市地域におけるソーシャルネットワーク利用者の活動性に関する研究--インドネシアマカッサル市を対象として--

This study aims to investigate the possibilities of using Twitter social media data as a source of knowledge for urban planning application. The author analyses 211,922 check-ins on Twitter. The dataset was utilized to analyses people\u27s movement by comparing the population on Twitter with the real urban population. Three data sources used: check-ins, population census, and questionnaire data. Secondly, with a mapping approach was used to study the dynamic urban land-use pattern by combining check-in features and individual text-posting activities. Thirdly, using a grid based on an aggregation method to analyze the city center\u27s location. Fourth, quantified the mobility of urban inhabitants by examining individuals\u27 movement patterns and calculated how far people travel in the city. Lastly, analyzed the social media users in the public spaces and public facilities. The thesis concludes that location based social media has great potential for helping understand the shape and structure of a city.北九州市立大

Social Studies Grade 7 Curriculum Guide 2004

Social Studies Grade 7 Curriculum Guide 200

Player Behavior Modeling In Video Games

Player Behavior Modeling in Video Games In this research, we study players’ interactions in video games to understand player behavior. The first part of the research concerns predicting the winner of a game, which we apply to StarCraft and Destiny. We manage to build models for these games which have reasonable to high accuracy. We also investigate which features of a game comprise strong predictors, which are economic features and micro commands for StarCraft, and key shooter performance metrics for Destiny, though features differ between different match types. The second part of the research concerns distinguishing playing styles of players of StarCraft and Destiny. We find that we can indeed recognize different styles of playing in these games, related to different match types. We relate these different playing styles to chance of winning, but find that there are no significant differences between the effects of different playing styles on winning. However, they do have an effect on the length of matches. In Destiny, we also investigate what player types are distinguished when we use Archetype Analysis on playing style features related to change in performance, and find that the archetypes correspond to different ways of learning. In the final part of the research, we investigate to what extent playing styles are related to different demographics, in particular to national cultures. We investigate this for four popular Massively multiplayer online games, namely Battlefield 4, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and Destiny. We found that playing styles have relationship with nationality and cultural dimensions, and that there are clear similarities between the playing styles of similar cultures. In particular, the Hofstede dimension Individualism explained most of the variance in playing styles between national cultures for the games that we examined

Developing the scales on evaluation beliefs of student teachers

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the validity and the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire named ‘Teacher Evaluation Beliefs’ (TEB). The framework for developing items was provided by the two models. The first model focuses on Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered beliefs about evaluation while the other centers on five dimensions (what/ who/ when/ why/ how). The validity and reliability of the new instrument was investigated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study (n=446). Overall results indicate that the two-factor structure is more reasonable than the five-factor one. Further research needs additional items about the latent dimensions “what” ”who” ”when” ”why” “how” for each existing factor based on Student-centered and Teacher-centered approaches

An assessment of the companion modelling approach in a context of negotiating water allocation strategies : the case of the Kat River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This Masters research took place in the Kat River Valley in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The Kat River Valley is a semi-rural catchment that covers an area of approximately 1700km² and is characterized by a complicated history of dispossession and resettlement. Farming is the main activity that is practiced in the area. This includes the farming of citrus at a commercial scale, rangeland stock farming and small-scale vegetable farming. The economy of the catchment is enhanced mostly by commercial citrus farming, which consumes by far the largest amount of water in the river through irrigation. Water allocation is a burning issue among water users in the catchment and needs to be negotiated taking into consideration social, economic and environment impacts. The aim of this study is to describe, discuss and evaluate the Companion Modelling (ComMod) approach, which used a simulation model and a role-playing game related to the model in order to facilitate and develop negotiating skills as well as build capacity in decision-making amongst local stakeholders for water resource management in the Kat River Valley. The ComMod approach, developed by a group of Companion Modellers, is a community-based science approach that emerged in the 1990s. The ComMod approach is used in order to facilitate collective learning, negotiation and institutional innovation in dealing with resource management complexities faced by rural communities. Through ComMod, the model (KatAWARE) and its related role-playing game was developed by having the contact with local stakeholders. The information to feed the model and the role-playing game came from informal interviews, surveys, geographic information systems (GIS), workshops and focus groups. The use of workshops in the implementation of ComMod was a success. Results show that (1) new knowledge was acquired, which allowed stakeholders to have a broad understanding of a catchment system. (2) Awareness was created about complex systems and enabled stakeholders to see an individual action into to the broader system. (3) Strong interrelationships were fostered amongst different water users, which allowed stakeholders to share their view points. The ComMod process was however associated with a number of limitations, many of which resulted from the constraints that were imposed by the socio-economic background of the study area. Nevertheless, the outcome of the study shows that the ComMod process was useful in helping the Kat River Water Users Association (KRWUA) stakeholders develop negotiating skills regarding water allocation strategies for the development of the Catchment Management Plan