aIRPLane: An information retrieval pattern language

Interaction patterns and pattern languages have been discussed for years in HCI literature yet there have been few empirical studies conducted. We describe aIRPLane: An Information Retrieval Pattern Language, its discovery, and the experimental design we use to examine its impact on the design of information retrieval interfaces. The results of a pattern sorting exercise are the focus of this poster

Design rationale: the rationale and the barriers

ABSTRACT One goal of design rationale systems is to support designers by providing a means to record and communicate the argumentation and reasoning behind the design process. However, there are several inherent limitations to developing systems that effectively capture and utilize design rationale. The dynamic and contextual nature of design and our inability to exhaustively analyze all possible design issues results in cognitive, capture, retrieval, and usage limitations. In addition, there are the organizational limitations that ensue when systems are deployed. In this paper we analyze these issues in terms of current perspectives in design theory and describe the implications to design research. We discuss the barriers to effective design rationale in terms of three major goals: reflection, communication, and analysis of design processes. We then suggest alternate means to achieve these goals that can be used with or instead of design rationale systems. Author Keywords Design rationale, theories of design, interactive systems design. ACM Classification Keywords H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous

Eye-candy or practical: Designing with user-interaction (UI) patterns

Usability and functionality, communicated through a software product interface, share a synergistic relationship. Both contribute substantially to Quality-in-Use of the product. While it’s important to ensure the User-Interface delivers necessary functionality, it’s crucial that the interface is also usable. Software- Requirements engineering and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) each offer their expertise in addressing such demands. But, lack of design language or vocabulary impedes communication between the two synergistic communities. In order to share interaction design knowledge, HCI design community has proposed User-interaction (UI) Patterns as a suitable boundary object or language, which could be understood both by HCI and SE communities. It has been argued that UI patterns are sufficiently richer than User-Interface guidelines conveying—what, how and when a particular UI-Pattern is used. In spite of a growing interest in UI-Patterns, questions about the usability and usefulness of UI-Patterns are still unanswered. Our study empirically evaluates the suitability of UIPatterns as a boundary object between HCI and SE by comparing: - how UI Patterns are interpreted and applied by the two communities; - what is the role played by UI-Patterns in communication; - if UI-patterns help rationalize and resolve design decisions. In doing so, we evaluate the usability—do other communities understand UI-patterns well enough to use them, and usefulness—what are the benefits of using UI-Patterns in design

How do design and evaluation interrelate in HCI research?

Presented at DIS 2006, the Symposium on Designing Interactive Systems, the 6th ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems, University Park, PA, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1142405.1142421Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is defined by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) as “a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of the major phenomenon surrounding them” [18]. In HCI there are authors that focus more on designing for usability and there are authors that focus more on evaluating usability. The relationship between these communities is not really clear. We use author cocitation analysis, multivariate techniques, and visualization tools to explore the relationships between these communities. The results of the analysis revealed seven clusters that could be identified as Design Theory and Complexity, Design Rationale, Cognitive Theories and Models, Cognitive Engineering, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Participatory Design, and User-Centered Design

Measuring the Photon Helicity in Radiative B Decays

We propose a way of measuring the photon polarization in radiative B decays into K resonance states decaying to K\pi\pi, which can test the Standard Model and probe new physics. The photon polarization is shown to be measured by the up-down asymmetry of the photon direction relative to the K\pi\pi decay plane in the K resonance rest frame. The integrated asymmetry in K_1(1400)\to K\pi\pi, calculated to be 0.34\pm 0.05 in the Standard Model, is measurable at currently operating B factories.Comment: 4 pages, final version to appear in Physical Review Letter

Designing a knowledge management approach for the CAMRA Community of Science

Practical Aspects of Knowledge Management, pp. 315-325.CAMRA (Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment) gathers a community of scientists that investigate several stages in the life cycle of biological agents of concern. This paper describes the knowledge management (KM) approach adopted for CAMRA’s community of scientists. The approach includes knowledge facilitators, a web- and repository-based KM system, and use-centered design. The approach relies on a KM methodology that addresses the most common causes of failures in KM approaches that was complemented with a use-centered design methodology. The resulting combined methodology represents a unique way of implementing KM to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration. We describe the principles in our design and the initial steps undertaken to implement it for CAMRA. We conclude by laying out our future steps

Spectroscopy of Broad Line Blazars from 1LAC

We report on optical spectroscopy of 165 Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs) in the Fermi 1LAC sample, which have helped allow a nearly complete study of this population. Fermi FSRQ show significant evidence for non-thermal emission even in the optical; the degree depends on the gamma-ray hardness. They also have smaller virial estimates of hole mass than the optical quasar sample. This appears to be largely due to a preferred (axial) view of the gamma-ray FSRQ and non-isotropic (H/R ~ 0.4) distribution of broad-line velocities. Even after correction for this bias, the Fermi FSRQ show higher mean Eddington ratios than the optical population. A comparison of optical spectral properties with Owens Valley Radio Observatory radio flare activity shows no strong correlation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Blazars in the Fermi Era: The OVRO 40-m Telescope Monitoring Program

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provides an unprecedented opportunity to study gamma-ray blazars. To capitalize on this opportunity, beginning in late 2007, about a year before the start of LAT science operations, we began a large-scale, fast-cadence 15 GHz radio monitoring program with the 40-m telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). This program began with the 1158 northern (declination>-20 deg) sources from the Candidate Gamma-ray Blazar Survey (CGRaBS) and now encompasses over 1500 sources, each observed twice per week with a ~4 mJy (minimum) and 3% (typical) uncertainty. Here, we describe this monitoring program and our methods, and present radio light curves from the first two years (2008 and 2009). As a first application, we combine these data with a novel measure of light curve variability amplitude, the intrinsic modulation index, through a likelihood analysis to examine the variability properties of subpopulations of our sample. We demonstrate that, with high significance (7-sigma), gamma-ray-loud blazars detected by the LAT during its first 11 months of operation vary with about a factor of two greater amplitude than do the gamma-ray-quiet blazars in our sample. We also find a significant (3-sigma) difference between variability amplitude in BL Lacertae objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), with the former exhibiting larger variability amplitudes. Finally, low-redshift (z<1) FSRQs are found to vary more strongly than high-redshift FSRQs, with 3-sigma significance. These findings represent an important step toward understanding why some blazars emit gamma-rays while others, with apparently similar properties, remain silent.Comment: 23 pages, 24 figures. Submitted to ApJ

Remote sensing for cost-effective blue carbon accounting

Blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) include mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, all of which are currently under threat, putting their contribution to mitigating climate change at risk. Although certain challenges and trade-offs exist, remote sensing offers a promising avenue for transparent, replicable, and cost-effective accounting of many BCE at unprecedented temporal and spatial scales. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has issued guidelines for developing blue carbon inventories to incorporate into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Yet, there is little guidance on remote sensing techniques for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets. This review constructs a unified roadmap for applying remote sensing technologies to develop cost-effective carbon inventories for BCE – from local to global scales. We summarise and discuss (1) current standard guidelines for blue carbon inventories; (2) traditional and cutting-edge remote sensing technologies for mapping blue carbon habitats; (3) methods for translating habitat maps into carbon estimates; and (4) a decision tree to assist users in determining the most suitable approach depending on their areas of interest, budget, and required accuracy of blue carbon assessment. We designed this work to support UNFCCC-approved IPCC guidelines with specific recommendations on remote sensing techniques for GHG inventories. Overall, remote sensing technologies are robust and cost-effective tools for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets and projects. Increased appreciation of these techniques can promote a technological shift towards greater policy and industry uptake, enhancing the scalability of blue carbon as a Natural Climate Solution worldwide

Charmless B→PPB \to PP decays using flavor SU(3) symmetry

The decays of $B$ mesons to a pair of charmless pseudoscalar ($P$) mesons are analyzed within a framework of flavor SU(3). Symmetry breaking is taken into account in tree ($T$) amplitudes through ratios of decay constants; exact SU(3) is assumed elsewhere. Acceptable fits to $B \to \pi \pi$ and $B \to K \pi$ branching ratios and CP asymmetries are obtained with tree, color-suppressed ($C$), penguin ($P$), and electroweak penguin ($P_{EW}$) amplitudes. Crucial additional terms for describing processes involving $\eta$ and $\eta'$ include a large flavor-singlet penguin amplitude ($S$) as proposed earlier and a penguin amplitude $P_{tu}$ associated with intermediate $t$ and $u$ quarks. For the $B^+ \to \pi^+ \eta'$ mode a term $S_{tu}$ associated with intermediate $t$ and $u$ quarks also may be needed. Values of the weak phase $\gamma$ are obtained consistent with an earlier analysis of $B \to VP$ decays, where $V$ denotes a vector meson, and with other analyses of CKM parameters.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure. To be submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Reference update