Kyong Eun Oh

Which Properties in 3D Visualizations Cause Comprehension Difficulties

This paper presents preliminary results from a research project, which investigates how people comprehend the internal structure of 3D visualizations and what specific properties of such visualizations make it more difficult for users to understand the information being presented. Participants were asked to draw the face of the cut plane of various 3D visualizations while verbalizing their thoughts. Data was collected by videotaping participants’ problem solving process. The verbal protocols and participants’ gestures and drawings were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to generate hypotheses related to comprehension difficulties. Our initial analysis of the results found three properties that made problem solving more difficult for participants. These were, cutting planes at oblique angles to the planes of presentation, non-planar properties of the features contained in the 3D figures including curved layers and mixed combination of curved and flat layers. This research has direct implications in Information Science in that it suggests design features to avoid, if possible, in 3D information visualizations.

Impatient opportunists: a study of technology use in a higher education classroom

Purpose – This study seeks to explore technology use in a higher education classroom with the focus on tablet computers.Design/methodology/approach – Study participants consisted of 36 undergraduate students from Rutgers Universitys Information Technology and Informatics major. Data were collected using an online survey, a classroom observation, and a group interview.Findings – The study findings demonstrate unexpected technology uses that can be explained by the characteristics of the student group, the Net generation, namely, their impatient multi‐tasking and opportunistic behaviour. Students used tablet computers to take notes, conduct group activities and interact with the instructor. Students’ preference for typing was found to be a barrier in their adoption of tablet computers.Research limitations/implications – The findings can help technology developers and educators better understand and optimize their use of computing technology in higher education. Limitations of this study include only one cl...

Uncovering visualization properties that confuse

Three dimensional visualizations are becoming one of the popular web visualization techniques; however, studies show that for some users, comprehending 3D visualizations is not easy. This research investigated what makes 3D visualizations difficult to understand with the purpose of using this knowledge to develop training to improve visualization literacy. In particular, we focused on the difficulties that individuals have with orientation problems in which they are asked to re-orient themselves to a visual scene from a different viewpoint, something that happens quite often in 3D information visualizations. For our research, we used complex 3D cubes as our experiment problems and sliced the cubes in different ways such that the slices matched the visual orientation a person would naturally take when viewing the slice or required the person to take a different orientation to best determine the features of the slice being made. We then compared performance on recognizing slices that matched a viewers orientation to that of slices that required a re-orientation. Our results indicated that the problems requiring a reorientation were significantly less accurate.

Exploring the process of organizing personal information

This paper presents preliminary results from a pilot study for a larger research which explores the process of organizing personal information in digital form from a cognitive sociological perspective. To collect data, a diary study and two post diary semi-structured interviews were conducted. In analyzing data, content analysis of the diary and the interviews were conducted. The initial analysis of the results showed that the process of organizing personal information in digital form consists of five stages which involve different actions, thoughts, decisions and a variety of factors that influence the decisions in each stage. In addition, individuality as well as social foundation impacted on the whole process of organizing personal information. This study deepens our understanding of information organizing behavior by providing an integrated view of the process. In addition, this study lays an empirical foundation for further study of any organizing behavior. It also has a direct contribution to the development and design of various personal information management devices, interfaces and applications that support an individuals organizing information.