M. M. Sebrechts, J. Vasilakis, M. Miller, J. V. Cugini, and S. J. Laskowski. Visualization of search results: A comparative evaluation of text, 2d, and 3d interfaces. In Proceedings of SIGIR’99, pages 3–10, Berkeley, CA, USA, 1999. [pdf]

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This paper present an experimental evaluation of a visual information retrieval interface called NIRVE. The authors confronted a group of users with a three dimensional, two dimensional and text based engine. The results showed a weak effect in favor of the performance of the visualization over the text-based system.

Although there have been many prototypes of visualization in support of information retrieval, there has been little systematic evaluation that distinguishes the benefits of the visualization per se from that of various accompanying features. The current study focuses on such an evaluation of NIRVE, a tool that supports visualization of search results. Insofar as possible, functionally equivalent 3D, 2D, and text versions of NIRVE were implemented. Nine novices and six professional users completed a series of information-seeking tasks on a set of retrieved documents. There were high interface costs for the 3D visualization, although those costs decreased substantially with experience. Performance was best when the tool’s properties matched task demands; only under the right combination of task, user, and interface did 3D visualization result in performance comparable to functionally matched 2D and textual tools.

Tags: information retrieval, information visualization

P. Au, M. Carey, S. Sewraz, Y. Guo, and S. M. Rüger. New paradigms in information visualization. In Proceeding of SIGIR’2000, pages 307–309, Athens, Greece, 2000. ACM Press. [pdf]

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The starting assumption of the paper is that of information overload the users have to fight when dealing with results from a search engine. In the authors’ opinion the strategy should be to shift the user’s mental load  from these slower thought-intensive processes such as reading to faster perceptual processes such as pattern recognition in a visual display.

Instead of the classical ranking, the author suggest clustering the hit documents and make use of the obtained groups with interactive displays. The propose three new paradigms for information visualization: (1) the Sammon Cluster View; (2) the Tree-map focus + context approach; (3) the Radviz interactive visualization.

The first (1) method is a conversion of the high-dimensional cluster centroid vector to two dimensions which preserves the distance among the clusters. This is then mapped on the interface, providing a landscape for navigation. The distance between the circles in the interface is then the metaphor of the similarity of their respective clusters.

The Tree-map (2) clustering is a 2-d space filling approach that was borrowed from D. Shneidermann. It consist in a technique that devide the space of a quares in nested sub-squares which have dimensions and position which reflect the original clustering and similarity among the documents.

In the Radviz visualization, related words are initially arranged on a circle and connected with an invisible spring to each document the appear to be in. The documents are thus placed in a equilibium of positions between their related words and the center of the circle.

Using the first viz, the author showed a setting with an holistic view giving primarily information about a first-order cluster structure and inter-cluster relations. Using the second visualization, it was possible to show the second-order cluster structure. With the third approach they showed a solution where the user could participate in the clustering process, setting the priorities of the relevant words upon the visualization.

Tags: clustering, information retrieval, information visualization, pattern recognition

As I am approaching the finalization of the first prototype of STAMPS, I had a look on which phones it could eventually run. So far I managed to try the 6680, my personal phone, the 6600, and the Panasonic X700 of the lab. I also tried on the 3560 of the lab but i have got a Memory Error. So, I have the suspicion that it wont work on the S60 1st Edition (Symbian OS v6.1). I am sorry Fab.

# S60 3rd Edition (Symbian OS v9.1)

Nokia E60, E61, E70

Nokia 3250

Nokia N71, N80, N91, N92

# S60 2nd Edition FP3 (Symbian OS v8.1)

Nokia N70, N90

# S60 2nd Edition FP2 (Symbian OS v8.0a)

Nokia 6630, 6680, 6681, 6682

Lenovo P930

# S60 2nd Edition FP1 (Symbian OS v7.0s enhanced)

Nokia 3230, 6260, 6620, 6670, 7610

Panasonic X700, X800

Samsung SDH-D720

# S60 2nd Edition (Symbian OS v7.0s)

Nokia 6600

Thanks to Jamie, who pointed me to this nice project. The Mini Walker is a prototype that allows the user to browse C# classes visually. It uses the Mini Diagram, a convention designed specifically for the visual representation of C# types and their relations. The Mini Diagram convention goes in opposite direction than UML, adding descriptive graphic details wherever possible.

Specifically here we need to see all the fields, methods, properties and events, not just the public members of the type. And most importantly, we need to map the dependencies in these members so that we can literally see the level and intensity of the dependency. Why? Because it lets us see how the types are working without reading every single line of the source. It also gives us a helicopter-view of type quality – types with many references are either extremely high-level or perhaps just in need of a refactor. And finally, Minis give us an at-a-glance feel of type purpose.

Tags: information visualization, modeling tool, reverse engineering, software visualization

S. Ducasse and M. Lanza. The class blueprint: Visually supporting the understanding of classes. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 31(1):75–90, January 2005. [pdf]

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This article explains the Class Blueprint approach to software visualization. The authors built a platform, Code Crawler, that allows the user to visualize the code in a graphical form. Particularly the authors state that understanding the code structure in case of re-engeneering is one of the thasks that produce an overhead in software maintenance.

Particularly, in object-oriented programming, two main factors are responsible for the cognitive difficulty in understanding the code: the presence of late binding and inheritance. In OOP there is nosimple and top-down call decomposition. Classes are organized in inheritance hierarchies in which at every level behavior can be added, overridden, or extended.

The class blueprint approach separate the code into 5 layers that group methods and attributes. The nodes represent a class’ methods and attributes are colored according to semantic information, e.g., whether a method is abstract, overriding, etc. The nodes vary in size depending on the source code metrics information. A class blueprint contains the following layers: inizialization layer, external interface layer, internal implementation layer, accessor layer and attribute layer. In the Class Blueprint, the position of a node maps the functional role of tha node in the structure of the code.

Starting from this artefact, the authors developed a visual vocabulary of recurrent situations in the code that produce similar visual patterns in terms of node colors and flow structure. They grouped these patterns into four categories: layer-distribution based, semantics-based, call-flow-based and state-visual based.

Although the paper details extensively the method and the visual vocabulary, the experimental verification of how such system can impact on the user’s understanding is completely absent.

Tags: information visualization, reverse engineering, software visualization

Finally I found some time to skim through my blogroll. One of the blog I like to stop by is, of course, infoaesthetics which pointed me on two great project that should be highlighted on the list of those simple ideas that costs nothing and that can change the world.

Given the fact that our society is so used to well being and our quality of life, maybe is the case to make it a bit more visible how much we consume and how much we influence other’s lives. However these two projects I am talking about here fall into this view.

The first one is called power point and is a simple led consumption indicator that is visible right on the domestic plug where we branch our appliers:

Power Point is designed to make visible the amount of power being consumed

by each mains socket in a direct and immediate way. Furthermore, by utilising a technology called X10 to send information through existing power cables, Power Point can pass information about patterns of power consumption to a central database or turn off sockets per-defined as nonessential in the event of power failure. Allowing the property to continue running on back up power until mains power returns.

The second project is called Power Aware strips:

Power strips are used on a daily basis in most homes as a means of ‘transporting’ energy to the products we use every day. The ‘Power-Aware Cord’ is a re-designed electrical power strip in which the cord is designed to visualize the energy rather than hiding it. The current use of electricity is represented through glowing pulses, flow, and intensity of light. Expressing the presence of energy through light can inspire people to explore and reflect upon the energy consumption of electrical

devices in their home.

Tags: ecology, education, environment, information visualization, interaction design

Mobile GMaps is a FREE application that displays Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps and MSN Virtual Earth (Windows Live Local) maps and satellite imagery on Java J2ME-enabled mobile phones, PDAs and other devices.

Tags: google, maps

Bio Mapping is a research project which explores new ways that we as individuals can make use of the information we can gather about our own bodies. Instead of security technologies that are designed to control our behaviour, this project envisages new tools that allows people to selectively share and interpret their own bio data.

The Bio Mapping tool allows the wearer to record their Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), which is a simple indicator of emotional arousal in conjunction with their geographical location. This can be used to plot a map that highlights point of high and low arousal. By sharing this data we can construct maps that visualise where we as a community feel stressed and excited.

The picture below shows 6 months artist commission hosted by Independent Photography as part of ‘Peninsula’, a series of artist commissions on the Greenwich Peninsula, an emotion map of the area that explores people’s relationship with their local environment.

The project is set up as a series of participatory workshops that invite people to borrow a Bio Mapping device and go for a walk. The device measures the wearer’s Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), which is an indicator of emotional arousal in conjunction with their geographical location. The resulting maps encourage personal reflection on the complex relationship between us, our environment and our fellow citizens. By sharing this information we can construct maps that visualise where we as a community feel stressed and excited.

Copyright notice: the present content was taken from the following URL, the copyrights are reserved by the respective author/s.

Tags: collaboration tools, ecology, environment, Exploratory Data Analysis, field tools, information visualization, location awareness, Location Based Services, map algorithms, maps, psychogeography

Lately I have been seeing a growing number of projects around this idea of multi-touch sensing interaction. Starting with Apple new touch pad that detects an threat differently two fingers, and now this patent fill that shows a possible touch interface. This is a very cool demo that rang my bell on how close these interfaces are from mass market.

Watch the video here.

Tags: interaction design, new technology

I first heard of OMNI at LIFT. Then I stumbled across the web site and I started reading some news. I have to say that this is the model I had in mind when posting and thinking about citizen journalism.

Going through the site it is clear the model of pushing the shift of the citizen’s involvement into news production and consumption. One passage in one of the articles of “about us” makes it crystal clear:

The traditional news model works something like this: An event happens; for example, a politician announces a new policy. The news media report it. The citizen reads, listens to, or watches what the news media have to say. And as far as the citizen goes, that is the extent of their involvement. If the medium concerned is a newspaper, then the citizen may have some very limited right of reply by, for example, writing a letter to the newspaper that has an extremely small chance of getting published. But in the traditional news model, the citizen is mostly a passive receptacle of somebody else’s ideas.

These kinds of services transform news from a passive experience into an active one. Instead of merely reading the news, the citizen reporter writes the news, too. This reflects on the level of implication of the citizen concerning the particular issue. It also compels questions that should be asked and answered.

Back at the beginning of my thesis I wrote something similar on the engagement of citizens on city life. There I was, with Nicolas Nova, suggesting a possible shift of engagement with technological solutions like the one of OMNI. Important questions arise from these shifts of controls that needs to be answered, like how to define trusts in such context and whether professional ‘etiquettes’ might apply.

Tags: citizen journalism, collaboration tools, collaborative writing, lift06, pedagogy, politics