Categorizing Queer Identities: An Analysis of Archival Practices Using the Concept of Boundary Objects

In this paper, we present a field study that examines the development, application and maintenance of classification systems and controlled vocabularies in three archives documenting lesbian, trans* and queer-feminist histories. Queer archives face the challenge of documenting identities that are inherently characterized by embracing fluidity and ambiguity. Thus, queer identities are diametrically opposed to archival procedures of unambiguous classification. At the same time, queer activism relies partly on coherent identity categories in order to be able to act politically. We examine the pragmatic solutions that queer archives establish when dealing with tensions between those requirements. Our goal is to contribute to the ongoing discussions about the ethical dimensions of classification practices. Following the work of Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star (1999) we use the concept of boundary objects as a central theoretical foundation of our research. This concept allows for tracing the negotiations and decision-making processes that influenced the creation of a specific classification system. Through conducting semi-structured interviews with staff members of queer archives in Germany we collected data about their efforts to archive the history of queer communities. Although there are initiatives developing metadata standards for queer identities, these standards are only used to a limited extent by the queer archives we examined. Rather, those archives established individual strategies for categorizing objects that are rooted in their specific history. We argue that classification systems and controlled vocabularies themselves can be understood as artifacts documenting the history of queer movements

The Public Life of Data: Investigating Reactions to Visualizations on Reddit

This research investigates how people engage with data visualizations when commenting on the social platform Reddit. There has been considerable research on collaborative sensemaking with visualizations and the personal relation of people with data. Yet, little is known about how public audiences without specific expertise and shared incentives openly express their thoughts, feelings, and insights in response to data visualizations. Motivated by the extensive social exchange around visualizations in online communities, this research examines characteristics and motivations of people's reactions to posts featuring visualizations. Following a Grounded Theory approach, we study 475 reactions from the /r/dataisbeautiful community, identify ten distinguishable reaction types, and consider their contribution to the discourse. A follow-up survey with 168 Reddit users clarified their intentions to react. Our results help understand the role of personal perspectives on data and inform future interfaces that integrate audience reactions into visualizations to foster a public discourse about data

WordWanderer: A navigational approach to text visualisation

Text visualisations provide visual representations of documents or small corpora with the primary aim of supporting language analysis. We are interested in developing a more playful approach to language that can be characterised by the notion of wandering as an open-ended movement. To support such a casual form of engagement with text, we designed the WordWanderer system: a visualisation technique that extends tag clouds into a navigational interface for text. The tool supports the gradual movement between word ‘context views’, which represent the words that co-occur in the vicinity of the selected word, and word-‘comparison views’, which arrange words based on their association strengths between two selected words. We report on the encouraging feedback from a ten-day deployment of the interface and present promising directions for future design and research

A case-only study to identify genetic modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers

Abstract: Breast cancer (BC) risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers varies by genetic and familial factors. About 50 common variants have been shown to modify BC risk for mutation carriers. All but three, were identified in general population studies. Other mutation carrier-specific susceptibility variants may exist but studies of mutation carriers have so far been underpowered. We conduct a novel case-only genome-wide association study comparing genotype frequencies between 60,212 general population BC cases and 13,007 cases with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. We identify robust novel associations for 2 variants with BC for BRCA1 and 3 for BRCA2 mutation carriers, P < 10−8, at 5 loci, which are not associated with risk in the general population. They include rs60882887 at 11p11.2 where MADD, SP11 and EIF1, genes previously implicated in BC biology, are predicted as potential targets. These findings will contribute towards customising BC polygenic risk scores for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Visualization for Search: Strolling through Information Landscapes

Regardless whether during work or leisure, growing information spaces accompany more and more of our everyday activities. As we go through lists of search results, news items, and status updates, we encounter digital information for a wide range of purposes. While the dominant models of information seeking emphasize information needs and gaps, the model of the information flaneur advocates a shift away from deficiencies towards more positive tendencies such as curiosity and creativity. Using the exploratory mindset of an urban flaneur as a lens, one can envision new ways of making information collections more explorable using interactive visualizations. In this talk, I will present the information flaneur and several visualization projects that are inspired by this positive model for information seeking.Ye