Samuel Wan : News, Information and Resources

Stories about Mapping

http://thisamericanlife.org/pages/archive98.html

"This American Life" is a weekly radio show on National Public Radio. Look for September 4, 1998, Episode 110, entitled "Mapping". This episode's theme focuses on maps. The first act of the show is a story about a guy who makes maps of his own neighborhood, but in terms of visualization, he's actually using information visualization to discover relationships between otherwise entirely unrelated features of his local geography. For example, pumpkins on porches vs. neighborhood newsletter participation.

Check out URL links to some of his maps at the bottom of the episode description. WOW!

-Sam

P.S. Have you donated to public radio or pbs this year?

Fisheye Usability

Thanks for all the feedback about the fisheye menu. I've received a few comments about the usability of fisheye menus, and wanted to respond by pointing out the research article cited in my previous post. A lot of research has gone into evaluating the advantages/disadvantages of fisheye menus vs. scrolling menus, including the original paper by Ben Bederson. Basically, fisheye views have a strong advantage in browsing scenarios, but scrollers have a slight advantage during goal-directed tasks (when user knows exactly what he/she's looking for). The focus length parameter is supposed to help the designer calibrate the trade-offs between focus and context, depending on the task.

Also, please note the fisheye menu component's "Focus Length" parameter, which allows you to specify how many full-sized menu items should appear near the mouse cursor. If you increase the focus length to 7 or higher, you'll be able to visually scan a large span of menu items without having to move the mouse.

To quote Ben Bederson, "The focus length parameter is important because it controls the trade-off between the number of menu items at full size versus the size that is used to render the smallest items. The fisheye menu dynamically computes the distortion function based on the available space and these input parameters. So, if the focus length is set to a large number (i.e., 20), then this will push the peripheral items to be very small, and as the user moves the cursor, there will be a lot of distortion. If, however, the focus length is set to a small number (i.e., 5), then there will be more room for peripheral items and they will all be a bit larger. Figure 2 shows this trade-off."

Many researchers have conducted comparative evaluations of fisheye menus and scrolling menus. The paper by Hollands et. al, cited in the previous post, is one such example. You can find related research either on the web, or at your nearest university library under the categories of "Human Computer Interaction", "computer science", "psychology", "human factors", and "cognitive science". Use the keywords "fisheye views", "fisheye menu", and "evaluation".

-Sam

SI688 Psychology and Information Systems, Final Paper

Download Paper Here

My final paper in SI688 focused on tools for non-programmers to design interfaces. Much of this research seemed academic at the time of writing, but in these past few years, we've seen a surge of designers who have incorporated Flash technology into their skillset. As a result, what used to be a theoretical problem has now become an industry-level market: how to build a UI design environment which accomodates a wide range of programming skill levels. The final assignment required the interpretation of HCI research to a real-world technology, and I chose Flash MX as the most promising UI design tool in our industry.

Note: We had a 2000 word limit for the final paper, otherwise I would have written much, much more. Since graduation, I've continued reading and researching along the same lines of thought. One day, I hope to contribute to Flash, or some kind of UI design technology, so that the general populace, rather than a small niche of specialists, will have the ability to design powerful interfaces within their own abilities.

HCI book from my professors

Today's slashdot.org features a book review on "Human-Computer Interaction in the New Millenium". I was very surprised to see my professors' names listed in the book review, and realized that it provides a summary of all the interesting research going on at the School of Information. Some of the chapter headings sound like descriptions of the graduate courses I've taken :)

Putting my course work online

I'm thinking of putting some of my graduate course work online. The material would include projects, papers and assignments from the School of Information Master's degree program in human computer interaction (HCI) and information science. If I do put my work online, my goal would be to promote appreciation for HCI-related topics, including but not limited to usability engineering. For professionals in other disciplines, posting my course work online might also provide some insights into the skills, knowledge, and formal training that HCI graduates receive, both in the class / lab and in real-world environments.

Some of my courses include:
Evaluation of Systems and Services (including usability engineering)
Information Visualization
Search and Retrieval
Choice and Learning (cognitive science and economics)
Cognitive / Behavioral Psychology and Information Systems
Programming I & II in Java
Design of Database Applications
Design of Complex Websites
User Interface Design
Digital Music Production
Information Architecture
Use of Information
Social Systems and Organizations

What do you think? Would this be a good idea?