Tag Archives: information visualisation

Perspective and Contrast, Design Principles for Supporting Self-directed and Incidental Learning

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This paper reports on a meta-analysis of two qualitative studies that use visualisations of user interactions in Web2.0 systems in order to support self-directed and incidental learning. This analysis focuses on the identification of design principles for supporting learning beyond the well structured conditions of educational institutions. The studies applied a reference architecture for context-aware systems together with a contextual framework that is based on the theory of situated learning. Although combining these concepts lead to satisfactory results, it appeared that the design of visualisations for supporting selfdirected learning requires further constraints. The given meta analysis identified the two design principles “perspective” and “contrast”. This paper discusses how these principles were present in both prior studies.

Visualisation Tools for Supporting Self-Regulated Learning through Exploiting Competence Structures

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In this paper an approach is presented how self-regulated learning can be supported and stimulated by visualising knowledge and competence structures in order to provide visual guidance in the learning process. In the field of adaptive systems and related research techniques of intelligent guidance have been developed, which, however, may have the disadvantage of limiting the learner. On the other hand, self-regulated learning gives greater control and responsibility to the learner, however, especially weak learner may have difficulties without provision of guidance. The presented approach combines both offering guidance and granting control over the own learning process. A set of learning tools have been developed which implement and demonstrate the proposed approach. Since knowledge structuring and knowledge visualisation are well established in the field of knowledge management, this approach can be exploited to bridge the research fields of e-learning and knowledge
management.

Visual Tools Decipher Historic Artefacts Documentation

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Analysing and understanding the evolution of historic artefacts requires the crossexamination of indications ranging from specific pieces of data (remains of the edifice, archival materials, etc.), to generic pieces of knowledge (historical context, comparable cases, theory of architecture, etc.). This research is based on the premise that the artefact’s acts as a media allowing the integration of the above-mentioned heterogeneous indications. Consequently, they may enable information visualisation and retrieval through 2D/3D dynamic graphics. In this contribution, we discuss four SVG-based graphic tools aiming at exploiting visually the relations between an artefact and the above-mentioned indications, i.e. its documentation.

Spatial Distribution and Visual Analysis of Architectural Semantic Features

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When facing partial evidence on how architectural objects evolved through time (often due to uncompleted information), it is important to provide the researcher with tools for a cross-examination of cases that may help him better delineate possible values for lacking information. In the case of architecture, we deal with data that can be attached to a given location (distribution in time and space) and to a given generic typology. This opens an opportunity to use pseudo cartographic representations in order to visually distribute objects that share a common typology. Unlike with geographical maps, we should however include visual signs that tell the user about the architectural composition of each object in the data set, as well as about its level of documentation. In this paper we try to demonstrate, using a data set concerning antique theatres, that visual comparative evaluations of the data can provide a major
methodological breakthrough for cross-examination of information on architectural objects.

Using Abstraction Levels in the Visual Exploitation of a Knowledge Acquisition Process

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Investigating the evolution of patrimonial architecture requires gathering and analysing a mass of documentary sources, the interpretation of which may authorise researchers to produce graphical simulations of the morphological evolutions of edifices. We have demonstrated that such representations can be used as graphic interfaces in which architectural objects are located in time and space. However in the field of the architectural heritage, due to the lack or incompleteness of the documentation, at the beginning of an investigation objects are often known to researchers only by their toponimical reference: their contextual names. In the early phases of an investigation process, it is most often impossible to state with any reasonable accuracy what morphology an object had. Moreover, other clues to the understanding of the edifice and its evolution, such as terminology/ontology or analogies, can be gathered by the researchers before someone actually states what morphology the object could have. Aiming at improving the comprehension of the complex and discontinuous process of knowledge acquisition we introduce a generic formalism of information integration that lets the researchers to gather indications little by little, and allows them to follow up visually the knowledge acquisition process. This paper introduces the use of toponymy as a start point for the analysis of the edifice, and
describes the formalism we have developed in order to generalise this approach.

Challenges in Knowledge Discovery: Structured Repositories and Multimedia Content

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Recent trends in structure and content of global knowledge spaces present new challenges to the field of Knowledge Discovery. Very large, highly structured repositories are increasingly replacing smaller, flat information spaces. Such repositories are often filled with multimedia documents, including image, audio and video data. This publication briefly outlines the underlying trends and discusses implications on approaches to Knowledge Discovery. Some examples for applications accomodating these implications are presented and analysed for lessons learned which can be incorporated in designing future Knowledge Discovery systems. Emphasis is given to the visualisation of hierarchical structures and to cross-media knowledge mining, two fields crucial for adressing future challenges to Knowledge Discovery.

Exploiting the Architectural Heritage’s Documentation: A Case Study on Data Analysis And Visualisation

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Documentation analysis and organisation are vital to the researcher when trying to understand the evolution of patrimonial edifices and sites. Documentary sources provide partial evidences from which the researcher will infer possible scenarios on how an edifice may have changed throughout the centuries. Still, in the field of the architectural heritage, there is a gap to fill between proven data management technologies that provide solutions for documentation handling, and geometric modelling techniques that underlie reconstruction efforts. Documentation is organised with regards to what the documents are, books, illustrations, etc… Virtual renderings feature a geometry that bears no link to the documentation’s analysis. Our contribution introduces a solution for attaching the documentation to architectural concepts that represent physical beings used in the edifice’s structure, and this without modifications on existing documentation descriptions. 3D scenes can then be used as one of the means to access or visualise the information we hold on the edifice’s or site’s evolution.