More Like this

1. Affective Learning Objectives for Communicative Visualizations

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2022.3209500  

   Lee-Robbins, Elsie; Adar, Eytan (January 2023, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics)

   When designing communicative visualizations, we often focus on goals that seek to convey patterns, relations, or comparisons (cognitive learning objectives). We pay less attention to affective intents–those that seek to influence or leverage the audience's opinions, attitudes, or values in some way. Affective objectives may range in outcomes from making the viewer care about the subject, strengthening a stance on an opinion, or leading them to take further action. Because such goals are often considered a violation of perceived ‘neutrality’ or are ‘political,’ designers may resist or be unable to describe these intents, let alone formalize them as learning objectives. While there are notable exceptions–such as advocacy visualizations or persuasive cartography–we find that visualization designers rarely acknowledge or formalize affective objectives. Through interviews with visualization designers, we expand on prior work on using learning objectives as a framework for describing and assessing communicative intent. Specifically, we extend and revise the framework to include a set of affective learning objectives. This structured taxonomy can help designers identify and declare their goals and compare and assess designs in a more principled way. Additionally, the taxonomy can enable external critique and analysis of visualizations. We illustrate the use of the taxonomy with a critical analysis of an affective visualization. 

   more » « less
2. Typing on Midair Virtual Keyboards: Exploring Visual Designs and Interaction Styles

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_9  

   Adhikary, Jiban.; Vertanen, Keith (August 2021, IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction INTERACT 2021)

   null (Ed.)

   We investigate typing on a QWERTY keyboard rendered in virtual reality. Our system tracks users’ hands in the virtual environment via a Leap Motion mounted on the front of a head mounted display. This allows typing on an auto-correcting midair keyboard without the need for auxiliary input devices such as gloves or handheld controllers. It supports input via the index fingers of one or both hands. We compare two keyboard designs: a normal QWERTY layout and a split layout. We found users typed at around 16 words-per-minute using one or both index fingers on the normal layout, and about 15 words-per-minute using both index fingers on the split layout. Users had a corrected error rate below 2% in all cases. To explore midair typing with limited or no visual feedback, we had users type on an invisible keyboard. Users typed on this keyboard at 11 words-per-minute at an error rate of 3.3% despite the keyboard providing almost no visual feedback. 

   more » « less
3. A Zero‐Power Optical, ppt‐ to ppm‐Level Toxic Gas and Vapor Sensor with Image, Text, and Analytical Capabilities

   https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202000058  

   Prévôt, Marianne_Estelle; Nemati, Ahlam; Cull, Tobias_Richard; Hegmann, Elda; Hegmann, Torsten (April 2020, Advanced Materials Technologies)

   Abstract Exposure to hazardous chemicals in the air humans breathe voluntarily or during dangerous situations such as fires or military conflicts (i.e., accidental or intentional) is a terrifying certainty. Technical challenges such as low cost, operational simplicity, response time, sensitivity, specificity, and environmental robustness often create barriers to the development of real‐time chemical sensor systems that will be broadly useful to both the private sector and the government. A multi‐mode liquid crystal sensor platform is presented that requires zero power to operate and can, based simply on the device design, be used as acute ppt‐level and analytical ppm‐level (dose × time) sensors. Inkjet printing of nanoparticles with a reactive ligand shell that affects the anchoring of nematic liquid crystal molecules facilitates the creation of sensors devices that produces an unmistakable warning or image solely based on the transmission or reflection of light. Based on the printing resolution and device architecture, these sensor devices can detect multiple gases or vapors on the same device and be used for remote sensing. 

   more » « less
4. Search for heavy diboson resonances in semileptonic final states in pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-08554-y  

   Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abbott, D. C.; Abud, A. Abed; Abeling, K.; Abhayasinghe, D. K.; Abidi, S. H.; AbouZeid, O. S.; Abraham, N. L.; Abramowicz, H.; et al (December 2020, The European Physical Journal C)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract This paper reports on a search for heavy resonances decaying into WW , ZZ or WZ using proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ s = 13  TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  $$\mathrm{fb}^{1}$$ fb 1 , were recorded with the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018 at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is performed for final states in which one W or Z boson decays leptonically, and the other W boson or Z boson decays hadronically. The data are found to be described well by expected backgrounds. Upper bounds on the production cross sections of heavy scalar, vector or tensor resonances are derived in the mass range 300–5000 GeV within the context of Standard Model extensions with warped extra dimensions or including a heavy vector triplet. Production through gluon–gluon fusion, Drell–Yan or vector-boson fusion are considered, depending on the assumed model. 

   more » « less
5. The Search for Species Flocks in Marine Benthic Homoeocladia spp. (Diatomeae: Bacillariales). I. Variations on Three Themes, Seventeen New Species

   https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12234073  

   Lobban, Christopher S.; Sison, Britney; Ashworth, Matt P. (December 2023, Plants)

   Exploration of the diversity in the diatom genus Homoeocladia across Micronesia revealed several clusters of undescribed species based on variations around several characters. Using ultrastructural data from scanning electron microscopy, we describe seventeen new species in three of these morphological groups. (1) A group with external thickenings includes eight new species with costae and/or bordered areolae on valve face and/or conopea and/or peri-raphe zone, and one with similar areolae but no ornamentation; this group includes the previously described H. jordanii. (2) Large, linear species, resembling H. asteropeae and H. tarangensis; we describe three new species close to the latter. (3) A sinuous-areolae group includes five new species with areola openings shaped like “~”, “s”, or “z” on the valve and/or girdle bands, or both, and leads to reconsideration of the diagnosis of Homoeocladia schefterae and the recognition that the globally widespread species in this complex is H. coacervata sp. nov. The three groups are based solely on morphology and no genetic relationships are implied within or between the groups, other than having the characteristics of the recently redefined genus Homoeocladia. However, the high diversity of species in Homoeocladia suggests the genus is a good candidate to test for species flocks in this region and in at least one other comparable location, incorporating DNA sampling through either culturing or metabarcoding. 

   more » « less