一种模型驱动的交互式信息可视化开发方法

设计与实现面向领域应用的交互式信息可视化软件十分困难．缺乏统一的开发方法与支撑工具箱，为非专家用户提供对层次、网络、多维等数据类型的统一支持，对各种可视化技术与交互技术的统一支持，以及对信息可视化任务的统一支持．针对此问题，提出了一种模型驱动的交互式信息可视化开发方法Daisy．首先，提出了交互式信息可视化界面模型IIVM（interactive information visualization interface model）；然后，提出了基于IIVM的交互式信息可视化开发方法Daisy,讨论了该方法的两个核心技术：IIVM建模与描述文件生成方法、系统自动生成方法．同时，给出了Daisy工具箱，包括Daisy建模工具、Daisy系统自动生成工具以及运行时框架与组件库．最后，给出了该开发方法与工具箱的应用实例．实例表明，该方法能够为交互式信息可视化开发的统一支撑方法问题提供一种有效的解决方案．

信息可视化中的交互技术研究

随着计算技术的发展，使海量信息得以存在并迅猛增长。近年来商务智能、生物信息学、社会网络分析等新兴应用领域的迅速发展，对海量信息的有效利用提出了迫切的要求。我们正处于信息爆炸的时代，纷繁复杂的信息给人们理解、查询和获取知识带来沉重的负担。信息可视化通过对抽象信息提供计算机支持的、交互式的、可视化的表示形式，不断增强人们对于复杂信息的认知能力，成为人们解释现象、发现规律、辅助决策的强有力工具。 人机交互是信息可视化的重要研究领域。然而，对于信息可视化中的人机交互的研究仍存在以下挑战：一是传统的信息可视化研究主要关注数据转换过程并以可视编码为核心，缺乏从人的角度出发对任务进行全面分析，对于新出现的交互任务提供的理论支持不足，需要对传统信息可视化模型予以扩展。二是针对海量信息在小界面中的可视化与交互问题，如何为用户提供真正符合认知规律的新的交互式可视化技术，使用户能够高效地进行交互探索以洞悉知识。三是针对领域应用中的非专家用户需要构建具有个性化用户界面的交互式信息可视化系统的问题，如何提供一套统一的开发方法。本文正是从上述问题出发，围绕着信息可视化中的交互技术，从理论、方法与应用等方面展开研究。 本文首先论述了信息爆炸带来的挑战以及信息可视化的发展趋势，继而对信息可视化、人机交互、模型驱动架构等相关研究进行了综述。在此基础上构建了交互式信息可视化框架，建立了交互式信息可视化的用户界面模型IIVM。然后，针对海量信息在小界面中的可视化与交互问题，提出了嵌套圆鱼眼视图技术、基于嵌套圆鱼眼视图的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术、基于网络关注度模型的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术。针对非专家用户构建具有个性化用户界面的交互式信息可视化应用的问题，提出了基于模型IIVM的交互式信息可视化系统开发方法Daisy。最后，将上述研究成果应用于制造企业交互式信息可视化系统与计算机文件系统的开发，给出了两个应用实例。 本文的创新点主要包括： 1. 构建了一个交互式信息可视化框架。 本文在信息可视化的经典模型基础上对其进行扩展，构建了一个交互式信息可视化框架。该框架从用户、任务、信息三个方面对信息可视化进行描述，深入分析了信息的转换过程、任务的层次树模型、用户的认知规律，并讨论了三者之间相互影响的关系。该框架提炼了信息可视化中人的特征、计算机表示的信息的特征以及相互之间的关系，能够为信息可视化中的人机交互理论提供支撑。 2. 建立了交互式信息可视化的用户界面模型IIVM。 本文围绕着交互式信息可视化框架中的用户的特征、任务的特征、信息的特征及其相互之间的关系，基于Puerta提出的基于模型的界面开发通用框架中的界面模型，建立了交互式信息可视化的用户界面模型IIVM。讨论了IIVM的抽象组成元素即用户模型、任务模型、领域信息模型，以及具体组成元素即可视化表征模型与对话模型，建立了各个模型间的映射关系，并给出了IIVM的形式化定义。IIVM能够有效地描述具有个性化用户界面的交互式信息可视化系统。 3. 提出了两种新的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术。 针对海量信息在小界面中的可视化与交互问题，在认知心理学规律基础上，提出了嵌套圆鱼眼视图技术；提出了一种基于嵌套圆鱼眼视图的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术；提出了一种基于网络关注度模型的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术。实验结果表明：上述方法能够有效解决在小界面内对海量信息的交互式可视化的问题，具有较高任务完成效率和用户满意度。 4. 提出了一种基于模型的交互式信息可视化系统开发方法Daisy。 提出了一种基于模型IIVM的交互式信息可视化系统开发方法Daisy。描述了该方法的软件生命周期，论述了其中两项关键技术：IIVM建模与描述文件生成方法、系统自动生成方法。讨论了支撑该方法的Daisy平台的体系结构，给出了Daisy工具箱。实验表明，该方法可以为非专家用户构建交互式信息可视化的特定领域应用提供一种有效的解决方案。 5. 基于上述研究成果完成了制造业交互式信息可视化系统和计算机文件可视化系统等两个实际系统的开发。 将研究成果应用于两个系统。一方面，将Daisy方法及Focus+Context交互可视化技术应用于制造业领域，构建了制造业企业交互式信息可视化系统。实例表明，Daisy能够面向非专家用户、为交互式信息可视化系统的开发提供一种统一的解决方案。另一方面，将基于嵌套圆鱼眼视图的Focus+Context交互式可视化技术应用于计算机文件系统，开发了基于嵌套圆的计算机文件可视化系统。应用实例表明，本文研究成果既具有理论价值又具有应用价值。

人口统计信息空间可视化系统研究

Population research is a front area concerned by domestic and overseas, especially its researches on its spatial visualization and its geo-visualization system design, which provides a sound base for understanding and analysis of the regional difference in population distribution and its spatial rules. With the development of GIS, the theory of geo-visualization more and more plays an important role in many research fields, especially in population information visualization, and has been made the big achievements recently. Nevertheless, the current research is less attention paid to the system design for statistical-geo visualization for population information. This paper tries to explore the design theories and methodologies for statistical-geo-visualization system for population information. The researches are mainly focused on the framework, the methodologies and techniques for the system design and construction. The purpose of the research is developed a platform for population atlas by the integration of the former owned copy software of the research group in statistical mapping system. As a modern tool, the system will provide a spatial visual environment for user to analyze the characteristics of population distribution and differentiate the interrelations of the population components. Firstly, the paper discusses the essentiality of geo-visualization for population information and brings forward the key issue in statistical-geo visualization system design based on the analysis of inland and international trends. Secondly, the geo-visualization system for population design, including its structure, functionality, module, user interface design, is studied based on the concepts of theory and technology of geo-visualization. The system design is proposed and further divided into three parts: support layer, technical layer, user layer. The support layer is a basic operation module and main part of the system. The technical layer is a core part of the system, supported by database and function modules. The database module mainly include the integrated population database (comprises spatial data, attribute data and geographical features information), the cartographic symbol library, the color library, the statistical analysis model. The function module of the system consists of thematic map maker component, statistical graph maker component, database management component and statistical analysis component. The user layer is an integrated platform, which provides the functions to design and implement a visual interface for user to query, analysis and management the statistic data and the electronic map. Based on the above, China's E-atlas for population was designed and developed by the integration of the national fifth census data with 1:400 million scaled spatial data. The atlas illustrates the actual development level of the population nowadays in China by about 200 thematic maps relating with 10 map categories(environment, population distribution, sex and age, immigration, nation, family and marriage, birth, education, employment, house). As a scientific reference tool, China's E-atlas for population has already received the high evaluation after published in early 2005. Finally, the paper makes the deep analysis of the sex ratio in China, to show how to use the functions of the system to analyze the specific population problem and how to make the data mining. The analysis results showed that: 1. The sex ratio has been increased in many regions after fourth census in 1990 except the cities in the east region, and the high sex ratio is highly located in hilly and low mountain areas where with the high illiteracy rate and the high poor rate; 2. The statistical-geo visualization system is a powerful tool to handle population information, which can be used to reflect the regional differences and the regional variations of population in China and indicate the interrelations of the population with other environment factors. Although the author tries to bring up a integrate design frame of the statistical-geo visualization system, there are still many problems needed to be resolved with the development of geo-visualization studies.

A UK perspective on e-learning: an overview of the "workflow" and "reusable learning object" approach in the UK eUniversities project

The UK government started the UK eUniversities project in order to create a virtual campus for online education provisions, competing in a global market. The UKeU (WWW.ukeu.com) claims to "have created a new approach to e-learning" which "opens up a range of exciting opportunities for students, business and industry worldwide" to obtain both postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications. Although there has been many promises about the e-learning revolution using state-of-the-art multimedia technology, closer scrutiny of what is being delivered reveals that many of the e-learning models currently being used are little more than the old text based computer aided learning running on a global network. As part of the UKeU project a consortium of universities have been involved in developing a two year foundation degree from 2004. We look at the approach taken by the consortium in developing global e-learning provisions and the problems and the pitfalls that lay ahead.

Extraction automatique et visualisation des thèmes abordés dans des résumés de mémoires et de thèses en anthropologie au Québec, de 1985 à 2009

S’insérant dans les domaines de la Lecture et de l’Analyse de Textes Assistées par Ordinateur (LATAO), de la Gestion Électronique des Documents (GÉD), de la visualisation de l’information et, en partie, de l’anthropologie, cette recherche exploratoire propose l’expérimentation d’une méthodologie descriptive en fouille de textes afin de cartographier thématiquement un corpus de textes anthropologiques. Plus précisément, nous souhaitons éprouver la méthode de classification hiérarchique ascendante (CHA) pour extraire et analyser les thèmes issus de résumés de mémoires et de thèses octroyés de 1985 à 2009 (1240 résumés), par les départements d’anthropologie de l’Université de Montréal et de l’Université Laval, ainsi que le département d’histoire de l’Université Laval (pour les résumés archéologiques et ethnologiques). En première partie de mémoire, nous présentons notre cadre théorique, c'est-à-dire que nous expliquons ce qu’est la fouille de textes, ses origines, ses applications, les étapes méthodologiques puis, nous complétons avec une revue des principales publications. La deuxième partie est consacrée au cadre méthodologique et ainsi, nous abordons les différentes étapes par lesquelles ce projet fut conduit; la collecte des données, le filtrage linguistique, la classification automatique, pour en nommer que quelques-unes. Finalement, en dernière partie, nous présentons les résultats de notre recherche, en nous attardant plus particulièrement sur deux expérimentations. Nous abordons également la navigation thématique et les approches conceptuelles en thématisation, par exemple, en anthropologie, la dichotomie culture ̸ biologie. Nous terminons avec les limites de ce projet et les pistes d’intérêts pour de futures recherches.

Présentation personnalisée des informations environnementales

Nous présentons dans cette thèse notre travail dans le domaine de la visualisation. Nous nous sommes intéressés au problème de la génération des bulletins météorologiques. Étant donné une masse énorme d’information générée par Environnement Canada et un utilisateur, il faut lui générer une visualisation personnalisée qui répond à ses besoins et à ses préférences. Nous avons développé MeteoVis, un générateur de bulletin météorologique. Comme nous avons peu d’information sur le profil de l’utilisateur, nous nous sommes basés sur les utilisateurs similaires pour lui calculer ses besoins et ses préférences. Nous utilisons l'apprentissage non supervisé pour regrouper les utilisateurs similaires. Nous calculons le taux de similarité des profils utilisateurs dans le même cluster pour pondérer les besoins et les préférences. Nous avons mené, avec l’aide d'utilisateurs n’ayant aucun rapport avec le projet, des expériences d'évaluation et de comparaison de notre outil par rapport à celui utilisé actuellement par Environnement Canada. Les résultats de cette évaluation montrent que les visualisation générées par MeteoVis sont de loin meilleures que les bulletins actuels préparés par EC.

La construcción de sentido del inicio de un cambio estratégico en las organizaciones: el caso de la Universidad del Rosario

A través de un caso de estudio se explora cómo la construcción de sentido de un grupo de directivos, bajo una misma inspiración, generó el inicio de un cambio estratégico en una prestigiosa y reconocida universidad colombiana, la Universidad del Rosario. Una institución que en un momento determinado notó que estaba siendo percibida dentro del sector de la educación superior como pequeña, estática en el avance de algunas disciplinas del conocimiento y conservadora; en otras palabras, que estaba perdiendo el reconocimiento que usualmente la había acompañado. A través del estudio de este caso se utilizó la técnica de análisis de discurso para comprender la construcción de sentido del inicio de un cambio estratégico en las organizaciones. Esta técnica permitió analizar la información cualitativa derivada de las entrevistas que se realizaron en profundidad a la cúpula de directivos de la institución y a algunos destacados representantes del sector de la Educación Superior en Colombia. Los resultados sugieren que se hicieron presentes, efectivamente, algunas condiciones específicas que marcaron el inicio de un cambio estratégico en la institución y un viraje en su identidad e imagen. Hechos que se sustentaron en los miembros de un equipo que procuró interpretar y comprender los cambios existentes en el entorno global y local, y asimilar, igualmente, algunos destacados retos que se planteaban por aquella época, al interior de la propia Universidad

Viewpoint-Based Ambient Occlusion

We've developed a new ambient occlusion technique based on an information-theoretic framework. Essentially, our method computes a weighted visibility from each object polygon to all viewpoints; we then use these visibility values to obtain the information associated with each polygon. So, just as a viewpoint has information about the model's polygons, the polygons gather information on the viewpoints. We therefore have two measures associated with an information channel defined by the set of viewpoints as input and the object's polygons as output, or vice versa. From this polygonal information, we obtain an occlusion map that serves as a classic ambient occlusion technique. Our approach also offers additional applications, including an importance-based viewpoint-selection guide, and a means of enhancing object features and producing nonphotorealistic object visualizations

An overview of interactive visual data mining techniques for knowledge discovery

n the past decade, the analysis of data has faced the challenge of dealing with very large and complex datasets and the real-time generation of data. Technologies to store and access these complex and large datasets are in place. However, robust and scalable analysis technologies are needed to extract meaningful information from these datasets. The research field of Information Visualization and Visual Data Analytics addresses this need. Information visualization and data mining are often used complementary to each other. Their common goal is the extraction of meaningful information from complex and possibly large data. However, though data mining focuses on the usage of silicon hardware, visualization techniques also aim to access the powerful image-processing capabilities of the human brain. This article highlights the research on data visualization and visual analytics techniques. Furthermore, we highlight existing visual analytics techniques, systems, and applications including a perspective on the field from the chemical process industry.

An incremental space to visualize dynamic data sets

In Information Visualization, adding and removing data elements can strongly impact the underlying visual space. We have developed an inherently incremental technique (incBoard) that maintains a coherent disposition of elements from a dynamic multidimensional data set on a 2D grid as the set changes. Here, we introduce a novel layout that uses pairwise similarity from grid neighbors, as defined in incBoard, to reposition elements on the visual space, free from constraints imposed by the grid. The board continues to be updated and can be displayed alongside the new space. As similar items are placed together, while dissimilar neighbors are moved apart, it supports users in the identification of clusters and subsets of related elements. Densely populated areas identified in the incSpace can be efficiently explored with the corresponding incBoard visualization, which is not susceptible to occlusion. The solution remains inherently incremental and maintains a coherent disposition of elements, even for fully renewed sets. The algorithm considers relative positions for the initial placement of elements, and raw dissimilarity to fine tune the visualization. It has low computational cost, with complexity depending only on the size of the currently viewed subset, V. Thus, a data set of size N can be sequentially displayed in O(N) time, reaching O(N (2)) only if the complete set is simultaneously displayed.

Least square projection: A fast high-precision multidimensional projection technique and its application to document mapping

The problem of projecting multidimensional data into lower dimensions has been pursued by many researchers due to its potential application to data analyses of various kinds. This paper presents a novel multidimensional projection technique based on least square approximations. The approximations compute the coordinates of a set of projected points based on the coordinates of a reduced number of control points with defined geometry. We name the technique Least Square Projections ( LSP). From an initial projection of the control points, LSP defines the positioning of their neighboring points through a numerical solution that aims at preserving a similarity relationship between the points given by a metric in mD. In order to perform the projection, a small number of distance calculations are necessary, and no repositioning of the points is required to obtain a final solution with satisfactory precision. The results show the capability of the technique to form groups of points by degree of similarity in 2D. We illustrate that capability through its application to mapping collections of textual documents from varied sources, a strategic yet difficult application. LSP is faster and more accurate than other existing high-quality methods, particularly where it was mostly tested, that is, for mapping text sets.

Visualização de informação em sistemas científicos

Este trabalho é um estudo sobre a aplicação de técnicas de visualização de informação em sistemas de software científico, i.e., sistemas de software voltados para matemática, ciências e engenharias. Enquanto sistemas dessa natureza normalmente fazem uso da visualização científica e figuram como caso de sucesso nessa área, nem sempre são projetados considerando os princípios de visualização de informação. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a aplicação desse conceitos em alguns sistemas reais, desenvolvidos com diferentes níveis de entendimento nessa área de conhecimento e com base nessas experiências propor o desenvolvimento de componentes de software capazes de facilitar a criação de sistemas semelhantes e ao mesmo tempo promover a aplicação destes conceitos.

Infografia interativa na redação: o processo de produção no Diário do Nordeste à luz da teoria do jornalismo

The infographics historically experience the process of evolution of journalism, from the incipient models handmade in the eighteenth century to the inclusion of computers and sophisticated software today. In order to face the advent of TV against of the partiality readers of the printed newspaper, or to represent the Gulf War, where not allowed photography, infographics reaches modern levels of production and publication. The technical devices which enabled the infographics to evolve the environment of the internet, with conditions for the manipulation of the reader, incorporating video, audio and animations, so styling of interactive infographics. These digital models of information visualization recently arrived daily in the northeast and on their respective web sites with features regionalized. This paper therefore proposes to explore and describe the processes of producing the interactive infographics, taking the example of the Diário do Nordeste, Fortaleza, Ceará, whose department was created one year ago. Therefore, based on aspects that guide the theory of journalism, as newsmaking, filters that focus on productive routine (gatekeeping) and the construction stages of the news. This research also draws on the theoretical framework on the subject, in concepts essential characteristics of computer graphics, as well as the methodological procedures and systematic empirical observations in production routines of the newsroom who can testify limitations and / or advances