Unbounded: Rethinking Borders with New Visualization Technologies

Western state cartography has produced the common understanding of “the border” as the line between two sovereign areas, but this simplistic view is now being challenged by practices of critical cartography and geography. Academics, activists, artists, and government institutions are developing new understandings of the border as multifaceted phenomena of performance, experience, movement, and conflict. These modern understandings require more complex methods of representation. This thesis investigates how new cartographic and visualization technologies can contribute to a new, more complex understanding of “the border.”Bachelor of Art

Refined reverse correlation : a technique for investigating the power of faces

People effortlessly and rapidly form a first impression of an individual’s personality based on their facial appearance. Forming an impression based on facial cues can have real world implications, for example, for the outcome of elections, courtroom decisions or work-place interviews. Research using traditional methods has, however, failed to identify the facial features that are related to specific personality traits in a reliable and valid way. This challenge can be overcome using a reverse correlation method. Here I present a refinement of the traditional reverse correlation image classification technique. Over the course of four projects I highlight the different possibilities that the refined technique offers. In the first project I will present how the technique was used to extract the facial prototype of someone that is likely to be ostracized. In the second project, I show how we extracted prototypes that evoke different emotions, applied them to real facial photographs and set the different prototypes in relation with each other. The third project offers insights into how the technique was used to investigate self-perception without any external standard of comparison except the participants’ own face. Finally, I present a fourth project where the technique was used to investigate whether the belief about how two personality traits co-occur on a conceptual level is reflected in the facial characteristics that are used to form an impression from faces. The here presented refined technique adds to the traditional reverse correlation technique in that internal representations can be visualized without visible artifacts, that the extracted prototypes can be applied to real photographs, and set in relation with each other. The discussion focuses on the reliability and validity of the method and presents future research possibilities

Exploration space of human-data interaction

Data is everywhere. Starting with the invention of writing, representation artifacts brought the data to observable state which led to natural establishment of an interaction form between human and data. In the human-data interaction (HDI) environment, data representations and analytic systems act as an intermediary role. I suggest a new de nition for HDI in which this interaction is conceptualized as a communication model over a set of media. The interaction occurs with the exchange of messages originated from both human and data. Timing and content of the messages are employed to facilitate objective evaluation of properties of analytic system in question. To systematically investigate the complex nature of HDI, my methodology postulates the phenomenon as a high-dimensional space in which data analytic systems could be positioned based on their properties. Evaluation of the properties are performed based on solid de nitions of the dimensions. I de ne ve properties for data analytic systems, namely, responsiveness, communication media level, unit task diversity, closeness factor, and progressiveness level, and demonstrate how these properties could be objectively calculated. I visually explore the HDI space in which data analytic systems reported in my thesis are plotted on a two-dimensional Cartesian system whose axes are responsiveness and communication media level. Visually identi able patterns in this plot, which I call realms, are characterized by quantitative and qualitative analysis of objective, behavioral, and subjective data collected during the user interaction with the corresponding analytic system

A Comparison of Complex Thinking Required by the Elementary New Jersey Student Learning Standards and Past New Jersey Curriculum Standards

Academic learning standards define the necessary skills and knowledge that students need to master in order to become college and career ready. The best 21st century learning standards are those that provide the opportunity to develop complex thinking skills including creativity, strategic thinking, and critical thinking. The learning standards that provide an insight into complex thinking are identified as critical thinking, creativity in practice, and strategic thinking. This dissertation’s intent was to examine the language of complex thinking of the newly adopted New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) in Grades 4 & 5 Mathematics as compared to the language of complex thinking of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) in Grades 4-5 Mathematics using the Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Module. This study aimed to reveal the extent that complex thinking skills are incorporated throughout these two specific sets of learning standards. This study utilized a mixed methods, including qualitative content analysis using Webb’s depth-of-knowledge to code the learning standards in both the former New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and New Jersey Student Learning Standards and descriptive statistics. Deductive category application was used to connect Webb’s depth-of-knowledge framework to the existing NJSLS and NJCCCS. Each depth-of-knowledge level represents a specific level of cognitive complexity. The higher the DOK level of a standard, the higher level of cognitive complexity is contained within that specific standard. The higher the cognitive complexity of a standard, the more complex thinking is embedded into that standard. Each standard was rated on a 1–4 DOK level based on Webb’s depth-of-knowledge methodology. To assist with reliability in coding each set of learning standards, a “double-rater read behind consensus model” was implemented as in other similar studies. The major findings in regards to the Mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS and the Mathematics Grades 4–5 NJCCCS were compared using the DOK framework were: The mathematics Grades 4-5 NJCCCS were rated at an overall higher percentage of DOK Levels 3 and 4 than were the mathematics Grades 4-5 NJSLS. The mathematics Grades 4-5 NJSLS contained a higher percentage of lower rated standards, DOK Levels 1 and 2, as compared to the mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS. This study suggests that more opportunities for developing complex thinking, which is essential to 21st century learning, is contained within New Jersey’s older, replaced set of learning standards found in the Mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS when compared to the NJSLS adopted in 2017 Mathematics Grade 4 & 5

A Comparison of Complex Thinking Required by the Elementary New Jersey Student Learning Standards and Past New Jersey Curriculum Standards

Academic learning standards define the necessary skills and knowledge that students need to master in order to become college and career ready. The best 21st century learning standards are those that provide the opportunity to develop complex thinking skills including creativity, strategic thinking, and critical thinking. The learning standards that provide an insight into complex thinking are identified as critical thinking, creativity in practice, and strategic thinking. This dissertation’s intent was to examine the language of complex thinking of the newly adopted New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) in Grades 4 & 5 Mathematics as compared to the language of complex thinking of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) in Grades 4-5 Mathematics using the Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Module. This study aimed to reveal the extent that complex thinking skills are incorporated throughout these two specific sets of learning standards. This study utilized a mixed methods, including qualitative content analysis using Webb’s depth-of-knowledge to code the learning standards in both the former New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and New Jersey Student Learning Standards and descriptive statistics. Deductive category application was used to connect Webb’s depth-of-knowledge framework to the existing NJSLS and NJCCCS. Each depth-of-knowledge level represents a specific level of cognitive complexity. The higher the DOK level of a standard, the higher level of cognitive complexity is contained within that specific standard. The higher the cognitive complexity of a standard, the more complex thinking is embedded into that standard. Each standard was rated on a 1–4 DOK level based on Webb’s depth-of-knowledge methodology. To assist with reliability in coding each set of learning standards, a “double-rater read behind consensus model” was implemented as in other similar studies. The major findings in regards to the Mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS and the Mathematics Grades 4–5 NJCCCS were compared using the DOK framework were: The mathematics Grades 4-5 NJCCCS were rated at an overall higher percentage of DOK Levels 3 and 4 than were the mathematics Grades 4-5 NJSLS. The mathematics Grades 4-5 NJSLS contained a higher percentage of lower rated standards, DOK Levels 1 and 2, as compared to the mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS. This study suggests that more opportunities for developing complex thinking, which is essential to 21st century learning, is contained within New Jersey’s older, replaced set of learning standards found in the Mathematics Grades 4 & 5 NJCCCS when compared to the NJSLS adopted in 2017 Mathematics Grade 4 & 5

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

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Interactive visualization of event logs for cybersecurity

Hidden cyber threats revealed with new visualization software Eventpa

Empowering Citizens in the Digital Age : a systematic evaluation of voting advice : applications and best practices for their design

Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) are online tools that match voters and parties based on common positions on a series of issues. Starting as tools for political education, VAAs have nowadays become relevant political actors. Besides providing information, they also raise electoral turnout, improve political knowledge and influence party choice. The degree in which they do so depends on their design. In this thesis, I view the design of VAAs as a process and focus on two steps: the questionnaire and the visualizations. For the questionnaire I focus on two aspects: the scales used to position users on the political map and the formulation of the questions. I assess the scales using various data-reduction techniques and rank them on unidimensionality, quality and reliability. I find that most scales score insufficient, though the score depends on the construction method used for the scale. The cause of these problematic scales is that VAA users often apply simplification methods. This means they do not always understand the question or use the response categories as intended. This results in problematic scales, resulting in a political map that is difficult to interpret. Also, I find that altering the questions in the main questionnaire to have either a positive or negative formulation, not only influences the responses of the users but the match between the user and the party as well. For the visualization, I run an online experiment in which I ask users to answer questions related to various kinds of visualization. I find that not only do they have difficulty to finish some basic tasks, they also have diverging interpretations of popular VAA visualizations. My main conclusion is therefore that the design of VAAs cannot be neutral. Also, the underlying information used to calculate the match and visualize the political map are often troublesome. Yet, I also show designers can use simple methods to improve their VAAs. This is important as VAAs are likely to become even more popular than they are already at this moment