Understanding cognitive differences in processing competing visualizations of complex systems

Node-link diagrams are used represent systems having different elements and relationships among the elements. Representing the systems using visualizations like node-link diagrams provides cognitive aid to individuals in understanding the system and effectively managing these systems. Using appropriate visual tools aids in task completion by reducing the cognitive load of individuals in understanding the problems and solving them. However, the visualizations that are currently developed lack any cognitive processing based evaluation. Most of the evaluations (if any) are based on the result of tasks performed using these visualizations. Therefore, the evaluations do not provide any perspective from the point of the cognitive processing required in working with the visualization. This research focuses on understanding the effect of different visualization types and complexities on problem understanding and performance using a visual problem solving task. Two informationally equivalent but visually different visualizations - geon diagrams based on structural object perception theory and UML diagrams based on object modeling - are investigated to understand the cognitive processes that underlie reasoning with different types of visualizations. Specifically, the two visualizations are used to represent interdependent critical infrastructures. Participants are asked to solve a problem using the different visualizations. The effectiveness of the task completion is measured in terms of the time taken to complete the task and the accuracy of the result of the task. The differences in the cognitive processing while using the different visualizations are measured in terms of the search path and the search-steps of the individual. The results from this research underscore the difference in the effectiveness of the different diagrams in solving the same problem. The time taken to complete the task is significantly lower in geon diagrams. The error rate is also significantly lower when using geon diagrams. The search path for UML diagrams is more node-dominant but for geon diagrams is a distribution of nodes, links and components (combinations of nodes and links). Evaluation dominates the search-steps in geon diagrams whereas locating steps dominate UML diagrams. The results also show that the differences in search path and search steps for different visualizations increase when the complexity of the diagrams increase. This study helps to establish the importance of cognitive level understanding of the use of diagrammatic representation of information for visual problem solving. The results also highlight that measures of effectiveness of any visualization should include measuring the cognitive process of individuals while they are doing the visual task apart from the measures of time and accuracy of the result of a visual task

Manufacturing “Hits”: A Data-Driven AI Approach to Releasing a Pop Song in 2022

Technology is radically transforming the music industry through the use of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. This paper presents a pilot study that examines the impact of data-driven approaches in creating, predicting, and marketing music. A machine learning algorithm is used to determine the optimal characteristics of the most popular songs and is used as the basis for creating the next song. Next, an AI technique was used to generate the inspiration of the instrumentation and lyrics of the song. Finally, a listener survey is used to determine the trend which included the mood, preference and context for the song. The song is then released on Spotify. The success of the song is determined by comparing the number of streams to two songs released the previous without the use of data. The results show that creating and marketing a song using AI models, Spotify listener data analysis, and listener questionnaires strongly positively impact a song’s streaming success. While this is a pilot study, the findings of this study can be used more extensively to determine success of music videos and releases and serve as a guidance to artists with more quantitative insight

Integrating Visual and Mathematical Models for the Management of Interdependent Critical Infrastructures *

Abstract – Critical infrastructures provide services essential to a nation’s economy and security. These systems are now viewed as interconnected and interdependent systems that must be managed over space and time. The central problem of the present line of research is how to develop computer-based tools to support the delivery of services provided by these infrastructures. This paper draws upon visualization and modeling sciences to develop a methodology for defining a set of visualization and visual tools for monitoring and managing interdependent critical infrastructure systems. An example is used to illustrate the steps in the methodology

Information Visualization in Computing and Related Sciences: Evidence from Top Journals

Information visualization provides a ready and potentially powerful mechanism for communicating research results. Understanding how visualizations are used in scientific discourse is one way to characterize this discourse, as well as to identify opportunities for expanding or refining it. This article proposes a systematic framework for classifying visualizations in published journal articles with respect to the data used to construct them, the processes they seek to explain, and the research goals they serve. The framework is applied to top journals in the computing and related sciences, revealing two main findings: while visualizations appear frequently in the surveyed articles, they serve a narrow band of uses relative to those encompassed by the framework. An implication of this finding is that discourse based on information visualization may be enriched by expanding the range of information visualizations found in this research, and by developing new classes of visualizations to illuminate a broader range of research results