Using treemaps for variable selection in spatio-temporal visualisation

We demonstrate and reflect upon the use of enhanced treemaps that incorporate spatial and temporal ordering for exploring a large multivariate spatio-temporal data set. The resulting data-dense views summarise and simultaneously present hundreds of space-, time-, and variable-constrained subsets of a large multivariate data set in a structure that facilitates their meaningful comparison and supports visual analysis. Interactive techniques allow localised patterns to be explored and subsets of interest selected and compared with the spatial aggregate. Spatial variation is considered through interactive raster maps and high-resolution local road maps. The techniques are developed in the context of 42.2 million records of vehicular activity in a 98 km(2) area of central London and informally evaluated through a design used in the exploratory visualisation of this data set. The main advantages of our technique are the means to simultaneously display hundreds of summaries of the data and to interactively browse hundreds of variable combinations with ordering and symbolism that are consistent and appropriate for space- and time- based variables. These capabilities are difficult to achieve in the case of spatio-temporal data with categorical attributes using existing geovisualisation methods. We acknowledge limitations in the treemap representation but enhance the cognitive plausibility of this popular layout through our two-dimensional ordering algorithm and interactions. Patterns that are expected (e.g. more traffic in central London), interesting (e.g. the spatial and temporal distribution of particular vehicle types) and anomalous (e.g. low speeds on particular road sections) are detected at various scales and locations using the approach. In many cases, anomalies identify biases that may have implications for future use of the data set for analyses and applications. Ordered treemaps appear to have potential as interactive interfaces for variable selection in spatio-temporal visualisation. Information Visualization (2008) 7, 210-224. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.ivs.950018

Beyond Detection: Investing in Practical and Theoretical Applications of Emotion + Visualization

Emotion is a dynamic variable that modulates how we perceive, reason about, and interact with our environment. Recent studies have established that emotion’s influence carries to data analysis and visualization, impacting performance in ways both positive and negative. While we are still in the infancy of understanding the role emotion plays in analytical contexts, advances in physiological sensing and emotion research have raised the possibility of creating emotion-aware systems. In this position paper, we argue that it is critical to consider the potential advances that can be made even in the face of imperfect sensing, while we continue to address the practical challenges of monitoring emotion in the wild. To underscore the importance of this line of inquiry, we highlight several key challenges related to detection, adaptation, and impact of emotional states for users of data visualization systems, and motivate promising avenues for future research in these areas

Rethinking Map Legends with Visualization

This design paper presents new guidance for creating map legends in a dynamic environment. Our contribution is a set of guidelines for legend design in a visualization context and a series of illustrative themes through which they may be expressed. These are demonstrated in an applications context through interactive software prototypes. The guidelines are derived from cartographic literature and in liaison with EDINA who provide digital mapping services for UK tertiary education. They enhance approaches to legend design that have evolved for static media with visualization by considering: selection, layout, symbols, position, dynamism and design and process. Broad visualization legend themes include: The Ground Truth Legend, The Legend as Statistical Graphic and The Map is the Legend. Together, these concepts enable us to augment legends with dynamic properties that address specific needs, rethink their nature and role and contribute to a wider re-evaluation of maps as artifacts of usage rather than statements of fact. EDINA has acquired funding to enhance their clients with visualization legends that use these concepts as a consequence of this work. The guidance applies to the design of a wide range of legends and keys used in cartography and information visualization

On Using Tree Visualisation Techniques to Support Source Code Comprehension

This paper presents a design study that investigates the use of compact tree visualisations to provide software de-velopers with an overview of the static structure of a sourcecode document within a code editor in order to facilitate source code understanding and navigation. A prototype is presented which utilises an icicle tree visualisation to encode the control structure hierarchy of a source code document, as well as a circular treemap visualisation to encode the scope hierarchy of a source code document. An overview of the prototype and its functionality is given as well as a detailed discussion on the design rationale behind the tool. Possible applications and future work plans are also discussed

The comparation of cultural dimention between Sulawesi, Indonesia and Philippine: a measurement of five Indonesian islands

The Indonesian archipelago is bordered by many countries, such as Sulawesi island bordered by the Philippines. The culture of Sulawesi allegedly had the same style with the culture of the Filipinos. Several studies have examined the details of Indonesian culture, especially the culture of Sulawesi and the Philippines, but has not studied the details of the cultural dimension measurement of both countries. This study aims to measure the dimensions of Hofstede cultural communities in the Indonesian archipelago and do a comparative study of cultural dimensions of Hofstede to Sulawesi and the Philippines. The data (631 respondents) was analysed using calculations score of Hofstede cultural dimensions consists of the Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), Long-term orientation (LTO) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI). The measurement results of Hofstede cultural dimensions Indonesia is slightly different from the predecessor research. There are several dimensions of Hofstede Indonesian culture which decreased compared to the results of research on the IBM Company, which consists of PDI, UAI, and LTO as well as an increase at IDV and MAS. The geographical position of the region of Sulawesi and the Philippines affect both cultural interactions. Several cultural dimension scores of Sulawesi and the Philippines were relatively close. It shows that Sulawesi and the Philippines have similar cultural dimensions PDI, IDV and MAS. This cultural dimension measurement results expected to contribute to the fields of science related to the cultural mapping of Indonesia and the Philippines

MACE: Deliverable D7.6 - Report on user interface design and community experiments

This deliverable presents the progress of the user interface design and community building experiments within the MACE project. In Chapter 2 we generally present the interface of the MACE portal, which is a platform to discover and enrich architectural resources and, at the same time, to support the community formed around architectural topics. Besides the advanced search, the portal provides various visual tools for metadata based search and browsing, tailored to architectural needs (see Chapter 3). Different metadata widgets are used to visualize and access multiple dimensions of each resource, as presented in Chapter 4. These widgets not only establish meaningful cross–connections between resources, but also invite to add and edit metadata effortlessly. In order to generate a critical mass of metadata and ensure sustainability of projects’ outcomes, supporting community and fostering end user contributions are critical. In Chapter 5, we present the components deploied in this direction as well as an analytical framework for incentive mechanisms. Within the dissemination strategy, the MACE project has got a unique chance to raise its public awareness at La Biennale of architecture in Venice, 2008. In this context we designed an interactive installation, demonstrating, in an exhibition setting, the benefits of resource interconnection via metadata (see Chapter 6). Chapter 7 presents our preliminary conclusions and an overview of planned future activities