Julie A. Jacko

Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Role of Interaction in Information Visualization

Even though interaction is an important part of information visualization (Infovis), it has garnered a relatively low level of attention from the Infovis community. A few frameworks and taxonomies of Infovis interaction techniques exist, but they typically focus on low-level operations and do not address the variety of benefits interaction provides. After conducting an extensive review of Infovis systems and their interactive capabilities, we propose seven general categories of interaction techniques widely used in Infovis: 1) Select, 2) Explore, 3) Reconfigure, 4) Encode, 5) Abstract/Elaborate, 6) Filter, and 7) Connect. These categories are organized around a users intent while interacting with a system rather than the low-level interaction techniques provided by a system. The categories can act as a framework to help discuss and evaluate interaction techniques and hopefully lay an initial foundation toward a deeper understanding and a science of interaction.

Modelling of menu design in computerized work

Abstract The objective of the research was to propose and validate a theoretically meaningful link between three constructs of hierarchical menu design: menu dimension, task complexity, and user knowledge structure. Twenty-four subjects participated in a nested factorial experiment. The subjects performed a menu retrieval task using a hierarchical menu system constructed for use in the domain of utility boiler control. The dependent variables were time to respond and accuracy. The independent variables were menu dimension, task complexity and user knowledge structure. Four hypotheses were tested. The foundation of the hypotheses was based upon the premise that when task complexity is low, the short-term memory requirements of the menu retrieval task are low. Thus, the users knowledge structure will not affect performance because it is not required for the chunking of visual information. The objectives of this research were met and are presented in the context of an information processing model for psychomotor tasks.

Menu Design for Computers and Cell Phones: Review and Reappraisal

Menu systems have been key components in modern graphical user interfaces, and there has been a lot of research about menu design. Menu design features play a significant role from the perspective of customer satisfaction. Therefore, researchers have investigated various features in menu design. 3D menus have been investigated because these can display more items and provide a natural and intuitive interface. Small screens of the type used on mobile phones are limited in the amount of available space, and thus it might be more beneficial to use 3D menus in cell phones. A review of previous menu design studies for human–computer interaction suggests that menu design guidelines for computers and mobile phones need to be reappraised, especially toward the use of 3D interfaces in cell phones. The main objective of this article is to propose an overall framework for 3D menu interfaces in cell phones. The second objective is to propose guidelines for 2D and 3D menu design in computers and cell phones based on a literature review. Three main factors that might influence the performance of menu retrieval task in cell phones are included in the proposed model: the presentation type, the number of items, and menu type.

Toward establishing a link between psychomotor task complexity and human information processing

The objective of this research is to propose and validate a link between an existing information processing model for psychomotor tasks and a comprehensive characterization of task complexity. This was achieved by incorporating four constructs of task complexity either alone or in combination into a hierarchical computer-based menu system. The results showed that as the number of constructs present in the interface increased, subjects experienced an increased challenge to short-term memory which impaired performance. A modified information processing model is provided that reflects a short-term memory link between psychomotor information processing and the complexity of a psychomotor task.

Designing an Educational Website to Improve Quality of Supportive Oncology Care for Women with Ovarian Cancer: An Expert Usability Review and Analysis.

A broad-based research team developed a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant educational website for women with ovarian cancer to improve the quality of supportive oncology care. Prior to a randomized clinical trial of the website, initial usability testing was implemented to evaluate the website. The initial review found that 165/247 checklist items had sufficient information to allow for evaluation with the website achieving an overall score of 63%. By category, the lowest scores were for the Home Page, Task Orientation, Page Layout & Visual Design, and Help, Feedback & Error Tolerance. Major issues thought to potentially impede actual usage were prioritized in redevelopment and the second usability review, conducted by the same expert, saw an improvement in scores. Incorporating usability concepts from the start of development, fulfilling the positive expectations of end-users, and identifying the technical and personal factors that optimize use may greatly enhance the usage of health websites.

Deidentification of Facial Images Using Composites

PURPOSE Maxillofacial surgeons rely on photography for education and documentation. Photographs of the face, unlike those of other body regions, are readily identifiable. Traditional methods of facial image deidentification decrease educational quality or fail to adequately conceal identity. In the present study, a method that uses blended facial composites to deidentify original facial images was developed. This method allows significant components of the original face to be visualized while concealing its identity. MATERIALS AND METHODS The method was used to develop 20 different composite facial images that were viewed by student subjects. Ten of these images contained at least one third of a face that was familiar to the subjects. Subjects viewed the composite faces twice--first unaware that the faces were composites, and then primed to the presence of composites. Subjects later rated the efficacy of this method for image deidentification. RESULTS When unaware that they were viewing composite images, no subjects recognized the familiar faces within the composites or rated them as familiar (0/120 total views, 0%). When later primed to the potential presence of familiar faces within composites, the identification rate increased significantly (74/120, 62%; P < .001). Results were similar no matter which portion of the familiar face (upper, 67%; mid, 54%; lower, 67%) was present. Subjects rated all composites as clinically realistic patient images. They also rated composites as more effective at deidentification than traditional methods. CONCLUSION The use of composites appears to be a promising concept for facial image deidentification. Further larger-scale studies are needed to validate these findings.

Launching: university partnership for health informatics

The University Partnership for Health Informatics (UP-HI) is a private-public partnership between the University of Minnesota and the College of St. Scholastica that builds on 11 existing health information technology (HIT) certificates and degrees. It is a newly funded University-Based Training Program enabled by the ARRA HITECH Act. The overall goals and objectives of this partnership are to: 1) rapidly train students to serve in all six HIT professional roles identified by the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT requiring university-level training, including: a) Clinical/Public Health Leaders; b) Health Information Management/Exchange Specialists; c) Health Information Privacy/Security Specialists; d) Research and Development Specialists; e) Programmers/Software Engineers; and f) Health Information Technology Sub-Specialists; and 2) enhance existing HIT certificates and degrees with unique features, including: program access, communication, and asset management through a shared web portal; improved alignment of course content and assignments with role-specific competencies; enhanced online delivery of courses, and enhanced training/mentoring through work context immersion and a journal club. This paper reports on the innovative features of this newly-launched program.

The impact of auditory and haptic feedback on computer task performance in patients with age-related macular degeneration and control subjects with no known ocular disease.

Purpose: To determine the impact of auditory and haptic (tactile) feedback on computer task performance of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared to controls. Methods: Thirty patients with AMD and 29 similarly aged controls with no known ocular disease completed timed computer icon “drag and drop” tasks under all four possible conditions of presence or absence of auditory and haptic feedback in a two-factor repeated measures design. Patient recruitment was stratified by best eye acuity: 20/20-20/50; 20/60-20/100; <20/100. Controls had best eye acuity≥20/30. Task completion time was quantified using final target highlight time (FTHT) and total trial time, measured in milliseconds. Results: Mean ± standard deviation (SD) FTHT with neither feedback type in the three patient and control groups was, respectively: 1,110 ± 356, 1,682 ± 1,069, 1,763 ± 831, 924 ± 533. Auditory feedback improved performance [%FTHT decrease, p-value] in all groups, respectively: 18%, P = 0.018; 38%, P = 0.054; 57%, P = 0.001; 19%, P = 0.001. Haptic feedback improved performance in the worst acuity AMD group and controls: 46%, P = 0.009; 17%, P = 0.038. In the worst acuity AMD group, auditory and/or haptic feedback was associated with a 4-6 second mean (for each task) reduction in total trial time. Conclusion: Auditory and haptic feedback can substantially increase performance speed of computer “drag and drop” tasks for patients with AMD, particularly in those patients with the most compromised vision.

Pilot Procedure-Following Behavior During Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches

A flight simulator experiment was run to examine pilot procedure-following behavior during closely spaced parallel approaches. Such approaches are being considered under the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to increase the capacity of runway systems, possibly without the need to increase the footprint of airports. Pilots flying these approaches utilized a simple heuristic to fly the procedure consistently, despite the heuristic being suboptimal for any of the three conditions. Moreover, procedure compliance was relatively low, but noncompliance itself was not unsafe unless accompanied by situation awareness problems. In some cases, noncompliance could be shown to be a better choice than compliance. These results have implications for assumptions regarding procedure-following by pilots utilizing novel procedures in NextGen.

Community engagement and outreach as curricular and pedagogical tools for consortial delivery of health informatics curricula

The objective of this paper is to identify and characterise two grand challenges in the consortial delivery of health informatics curricula: (a) challenges of curriculum and pedagogy and (b) challenges of community engagement. We discovered that we could broadly depict the first challenge along four dimensions and the second challenge along six dimensions. Solutions to these challenges are provided along with a depiction of how the solutions have been successfully implemented in the University Partnership for Health Informatics, a university-based training programme funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.