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Background: Graphs are often used in medical communication, both in clinical practice and health management. They can help the processing of quantitative information but may also contribute to drawing wrong conclusions. The aim of the survey is to study the graphical perception of the data at the management level and its possible effects, showing how some criteria of appraisal of a phenomenon are influenced by the graphical format. Methods: One hundred and five medical doctors and health direction professionals of hospitals in Naples, Rome, Siena and Turin were interviewed. Four different graphs or table related to the same hypothetical data on average hospital stay in the period January 2000 to September 2003 were shown to participants, and their impressions were recorded. Results: Less than one-fourth of the participants understood that the data set was the same for the different diagrams. The process of understanding is mostly correlated with being a director, having a degree in medicine and working in central–northern cities. The table seems easier for interpretation (98.1%), more suitable (84.8%), more used (92.4%) and more pleasant than other data presentation. On the other hand radar format had worse results in all questions. Conclusions: The choice of a graphical format may influence the understanding of data. Further research is needed in order to sustain the improvement of medical and health professionals’ knowledge in the display data format. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we introduce a novel type of persuasive system aimed at orienting a group conversation in a casual setting. The system is based on a tabletop display complemented by a limited speech recognition system (a word spotter). It affects group behavior indirectly by presenting on the shared interface contextually appropriate visual material in a way reminiscent of the tradition of advertising: attention-catching, evocative, and cognitively stimulating. The system is meant to be used in the context of a museum visit. The purpose is to influence a group of friends so that they discuss their museum experience, while sitting at the museum café after the visit. Results show the system in the current version has a moderate effect on group behavior and provide indications for promising improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A ground magnetic study of Ustica Island was performed to provide new insights into subsurface tectonic and volcanic structures. The total-intensity anomaly field, obtained after a data-reduction procedure, shows the presence of a W–E-striking magnetic anomaly in the middle of the island and another two intense anomalies, which seem to continue offshore, in the southwestern and the northeastern sides, respectively. The detected anomalies were analyzed by a quadratic programming (QP) algorithm to obtain a 3D subsurface magnetization distribution. The volcano magnetization model reveals the presence of intensely magnetized volumes, interpreted as the feeding systems of the main eruptive centers of the island, which roughly follow the trend of the main regional structural lineaments. These findings highlight how regional tectonics has strongly affected the structural and magmatic evolution of the Ustica volcanic complex producing preferential ways for magma ascent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about developments made in the display systems. The display systems, that allows users to interact directly with one another, can be of small display type like PDAs and iPhones or large interactive surfaces like the Diamondtouch and Microsoft Surface. Information about the public displays and multi-device interaction, discussed at AVI 2008, the International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces held in May 2008 in Napoli, Italy is also presented.

The article discusses display technology developed by the Dutch company Polymer Vision. The company developed what is believed to be the first hand-held device with a large, flexible, roll-out display, which could be used like a PDA or an electronic book. The black-and-white display consumes less energy than standard hand-held device screens. Polymer Vision is working on future versions that could show color and video. By the end of 2007 Telecom Italia Mobile plans to sell the device under the name Readius, and Librofonino in Italy.