Shared Visualizations In Support of Distributed Creative Communities

The paper is concerned with support for distributed groups of creative knowledge workers: in this case designers. We consider requirements that designers have regarding internalisation and externalisation of ideas and concepts as well as requirements relating to collaboration. We review an online system whose facilities for the graphical representation of data were found to be popular. The evaluation was in the context of a group task and the results, including instances of tacit knowledge sharing, have led us to formulate a number of recommendations as to how such systems might be made still more effective for collaborative working

What the eye does not see: visualizations strategies for the data collection of personal networks

The graphic representation of relational data is one of the central elements of social network analysis. In this paper, the author describe the use of visualization in interview-based data collection procedures designed to obtain personal networks information, exploring four main contributions. First, the author shows a procedure by which the visualization is integrated with traditional name generators to facilitate obtaining information and reducing the burden of the interview process. Second, the author describes the reactions and qualitative interpretation of the interviewees when they are presented with an analytical visualization of their personal network. The most frequent strategies consist in identifying the key individuals, dividing the personal network in groups and classifying alters in concentric circles of relative importance. Next, the author explores how the visualization of groups in personal networks facilitates the enumeration of the communities in which individuals participate. This allows the author to reflect on the role of social circles in determining the structure of personal networks. Finally, the author compares the graphic representation obtained through spontaneous, hand-drawn sociograms with the analytical visualizations elicited through software tools. This allows the author to demonstrate that analytical procedures reveal aspects of the structure of personal networks that respondents are not aware of, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using both modes of data collection. For this, the author presents findings from a study of highly skilled migrants living in Spain (n = 95) through which the author illustrates the challenges, in terms of data reliability, validity and burden on both the researcher and the participants

Visualizing Perspectives for Creative Collaboration

Every day, more and more data is collected, and we are increasingly being provided with open access to it. The hope is that this will be the driving force behind a wave of innovative new businesses that are able to lead us out of our current financial problems and give rise to a generation of better informed, active consumers who will engage with the kind of changes necessary to reduce global warming and prevent a pensions crisis. However it is not enough to simply release this data, people must also be given the tools to understand and engage with it creatively. The research presented here draws together current approaches from data visualization, creativity research and human-computer interaction to provide a framework in which personal data stories can be used to present a range of perspectives and support collaboration between people with different experiences and varying levels of domain expertise

Social Justice Documentary: Designing for Impact

Explores current methodologies for assessing social issue documentary films by combining strategic design and evaluation of multiplatform outreach and impact, including documentaries' role in network- and field-building. Includes six case studies

How art works. The national endowment for the arts’ five-year research agenda, with a system map and measurement model

This document sets forth the National Endowment for the Arts’ five-year agenda for research, but it does more than that. It provides a conceptual frame for planning and assessing research priorities so that the NEA can improve its ability to meet a core goal: To Promote Knowledge and Understanding about the Contributions of the Arts. This goal appears in the NEA’s Strategic Plan for FY 2012–2016. The plan charges the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis (ORA) with drafting a five-year research agenda with annual milestones for reporting to the White House Office of Management & Budget, Congress, and the American public. Thus, in 2011 ORA developed operating principles for the research agenda and presented them for feedback from a variety of stakeholders. (To view the presentation, visit arts.gov/research/Service-orgs-meeting.html.

Designing multiplayer games to facilitate emergent social behaviours online

This paper discusses an exploratory case study of the design of games that facilitate spontaneous social interaction and group behaviours among distributed individuals, based largely on symbolic presence 'state' changes. We present the principles guiding the design of our game environment: presence as a symbolic phenomenon, the importance of good visualization and the potential for spontaneous self-organization among groups of people. Our game environment, comprising a family of multiplayer 'bumper-car' style games, is described, followed by a discussion of lessons learned from observing users of the environment. Finally, we reconsider and extend our design principles in light of our observations

ranacapa: An R package and Shiny web app to explore environmental DNA data with exploratory statistics and interactive visualizations.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is becoming a core tool in ecology and conservation biology, and is being used in a growing number of education, biodiversity monitoring, and public outreach programs in which professional research scientists engage community partners in primary research. Results from eDNA analyses can engage and educate natural resource managers, students, community scientists, and naturalists, but without significant training in bioinformatics, it can be difficult for this diverse audience to interact with eDNA results. Here we present the R package ranacapa, at the core of which is a Shiny web app that helps perform exploratory biodiversity analyses and visualizations of eDNA results. The app requires a taxonomy-by-sample matrix and a simple metadata file with descriptive information about each sample. The app enables users to explore the data with interactive figures and presents results from simple community ecology analyses. We demonstrate the value of ranacapa to two groups of community partners engaging with eDNA metabarcoding results

Linking students' timing of engagement to learning design and academic performance

In recent years, the connection between Learning Design (LD) and Learning Analytics (LA) has been emphasized by many scholars as it could enhance our interpretation of LA findings and translate them to meaningful interventions. Together with numerous conceptual studies, a gradual accumulation of empirical evidence has indicated a strong connection between how instructors design for learning and student behaviour. Nonetheless, students' timing of engagement and its relation to LD and academic performance have received limited attention. Therefore, this study investigates to what extent students' timing of engagement aligned with instructor learning design, and how engagement varied across different levels of performance. The analysis was conducted over 28 weeks using trace data, on 387 students, and replicated over two semesters in 2015 and 2016. Our findings revealed a mismatch between how instructors designed for learning and how students studied in reality. In most weeks, students spent less time studying the assigned materials on the VLE compared to the number of hours recommended by instructors. The timing of engagement also varied, from in advance to catching up patterns. High-performing students spent more time studying in advance, while low-performing students spent a higher proportion of their time on catching-up activities. This study reinforced the importance of pedagogical context to transform analytics into actionable insights