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The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships between design, learning, and translanguaging in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment for adolescent learners of Chinese and English. We designed an open-ended space congruent with ecological and dialogical perspectives on second language acquisition. In such a space, sense-making is contingent on the relational dynamics of place, activities, and artefacts. These spaces encourage meaning-making in situ, manipulation of virtual objects within places, and coordination among players. Our investigation looked at how learners of Chinese and English collaborated on a project in which they decorated a virtual living room. The findings suggest that socioculturally bounded places afford unique learning opportunities. Firstly, learning occurred through "referencing", which is the mutual clarification of a virtual object's meaning, position, and function, in relatively stabilised places, such as a museum, and secondly, learning occurred through coordination between verbal instruction and object manipulation in more adaptive places, which we call eco-dialogical learning. We also found a strong relationship between translanguaging and object manipulation. We conclude the paper from the perspective of how the eco-dialogical model resulted in designs that promoted cognition and interactivity.

This paper moves from the data collected during an ethnographic research conducted in Second Life, which focuses on the observation of different technological difficulties in educational experiences. The main research interests focused on the social dynamics of educational experiences in Second Life and the opportunity to develop a proper research methodology. The main goal is to evaluate the educational experience in such a particular context through the stories of participants; therefore, the most appropriate methodology for researching the subject has been considered to be ethnography. As result of the research, it is observed that an appropriate use of the available tools and the adoption of innovative teaching strategies can promote the improvement of the educational experience in online worlds. This paper suggests interesting elements from the analysis of the data collected, which may help to adopt an innovative point of view on ethnographic research in an online world in education.

Seven articles on the evaluation of high technology educational media are presented. Topics covered include hardware and software evaluation, acquired immune deficiency syndrome education, computer-based educational evaluation in the Netherlands, evaluation of educational television in Israel, broadcasting research, interactive video, and effects of camera perspectives on speaker perception. (TJH)

PowerPoint is widely used for a variety of purposes in today's university and public school classrooms. Many children in the elementary grades quickly learn to prepare PowerPoint presentations with ease. Sometimes, however, we believe that PowerPoint presentations are overused and ineffective, especially when one is subjected to viewing several of them in succession. We feel brain dead and bored. Yet, are we fully understanding PowerPoint's possibilities, or are we unjustly blaming the software? Are we sure about how software and educational technology impacts learning, or are we making unfounded conclusions? This article addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of PowerPoint.

In this article, we share our reflections on visualization literacy and how it might be better developed in early education. We base this on lessons we learned while studying how teachers instruct, and how students acquire basic visualization principles and skills in elementary school. We use these findings to propose directions for future research on visualization literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Name Profiler Toolkit is a visual analytics system designed to enable the interactive exploration and analysis of forename and surname geographical distributions across the United States. The toolkit utilizes 78 million records from US public telephone directories, links the location data to demographic data from the US Census Bureau and Zillow, and allows users to interactively compare distributions of names and name attributes. Using the forename and surname data as a case study, the authors developed a methodology for exploring joint probability distributions of categorical spatial data and demonstrate how such data can be linked to secondary sources of information (such as income and age) to derive further insights from the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research regarding the attitudes of young adults, college students, and university staff members in the U.S. about preferences for nutritional infographics, and it mentions three focus groups which decided the infographic design components that were the most memorable and compelling. The differences between active and passive viewing are addressed, along with action-oriented titles and designs involving cartoons and other illustrations.

Background The complexity of current injury-related health issues demands the usage of diverse and massive data sets for comprehensive analyses, and application of novel methods to communicate data effectively to the public health community, decision-makers and the public. Recent advances in information visualisation, availability of new visual analytic methods and tools, and progress on information technology provide an opportunity for shaping the next generation of injury surveillance. Objective To introduce data visualisation conceptual bases, and propose a visual analytic and visualisation platform in public health surveillance for injury prevention and control. Methods The paper introduces data visualisation conceptual bases, describes a visual analytic and visualisation platform, and presents two real-world case studies illustrating their application in public health surveillance for injury prevention and control. Results Application of visual analytic and visualisation platform is presented as solution for improved access to heterogeneous data sources, enhance data exploration and analysis, communicate data effectively, and support decision-making. Conclusions Applications of data visualisation concepts and visual analytic platform could play a key role to shape the next generation of injury surveillance. Visual analytic and visualisation platform could improve data use, the analytic capacity, and ability to effectively communicate findings and key messages. The public health surveillance community is encouraged to identify opportunities to develop and expand its use in injury prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value stream mapping (VSM) assists in identifying opportunities for improvement by revealing the inefficiencies in the current state. However, several difficulties appear while evaluating such 'as-is' state for leaner future state. Trial and error method is often employed for continuous improvement to accomplish the desired level of future state. This causes numerous iterations and improper usage of resources which makes lean application costly and inefficient. In order to tackle this, an immersive virtual reality (IVR) approach to visualize and interact with the image of real models in a computer graphics environment is presented in this article. This allows conducting a quick experimentation in a virtual world to reach optimal future state without exhausting resources or incurring additional cost. In order to reinforce applicability and usefulness of the proposed framework, a case study of an US-based SME is also discussed. This paper first illustrates the implementation procedure of VSM in the manufacturing processes to develop current and future states. Data is collected for a year to analyse the current state and then IVR is used to validate results for future state. A reduction of more than 40 % in lead-time, 41 % in floor space and 47 % in manpower is achieved after a period of 3 months of implementing the recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which discusses sphere eversion (a sphere inside out) in topology during the 1970s in the U.S., including the mathematicians Charles Pugh and Nelson Max's efforts to invert spheres as geometric and topological models. The use of computer graphics to created sphere eversion, including computer animation, is discussed.

Child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse images, is a growing problem. Clients who engage in viewing, possessing, or the pandering of child pornographic images may come to clinical attention through legal avenues, referrals by family members, or even self-referral. While it is important that anyone who encounters legal problems related to child pornography obtain experienced legal counsel, it is also important that clinicians working with these clients understand both legal statutes and case law so that they can provide supportive care and avoid offering information that could be contradictory or inaccurate. The following article reviews current child pornography statutes and case law that is relevant to clinicians who treat individual for sexual addiction, sexual compulsivity, and/or hypersexual disorder. Given that this is an evolving field, it is the duty of clinicians to remain up to date in this area so that they do not provide information that could harm their clients and to better understand the process and issues that their clients face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roe is an important product of the Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) industry. About 31% of the value for all pollock products comes from roe, yet roe is 5% of the weight of the fish. Currently, the size (weight), color, and maturity of the roe are subjectively evaluated. The objective of this study was to develop methods to predict the weight of Alaska pollock roe based on its view area from a camera and to differentiate between single and double roes. One hundred and forty-two pollock roes were picked from a processing line in a Kodiak, AK plant. Each roe was weighed, placed in a light box equipped with a digital video camera, images were taken at two different angles from one side, then turned over and presented at two different angles again (four images for each roe). A reference square of known surface area was placed by the roe. The following equations were used to fit the view area (X) versus weight (Y) data: linear, power, and second-order polynomial. Error rates for the classification of roes by weight decreased significantly when weight prediction equations for single and double roes were developed separately. A “turn angle” method, a “box” method, and a “modified box” method were tested to differentiate single and double roes by image analysis. Machine vision can accurately determine the weight of pollock roe. Practical Application Abstract: An image analysis method to accurately determine if pollock roe is a single or a double was developed. Then view area versus weight correlations were found for single and double roes that reduced incorrect weight classification rates to half that of human graders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine readability and related formatting characteristics of English language instructions accompanying home pregnancy tests (HPTs). Methods: We identified 16 HPTs; however, because of duplicate instructions, our final sample included 13 unique sets of HPT instructions (brand names, n = 9; store brand, n = 4). Reading grade level of How to Use and Interpret Results and General Information sections were calculated using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygoop readability formula. Total number of graphics was tallied. Foldout dimension, text point size, and graphic dimensions were measured to the nearest millimeter with a standard ruler. We also assessed layout features, graphic characteristics, presence of a clear message, and presentation of manageable information using the User-Friendliness Tool (UFT). Results: Reading level ranged from 7th to 10th grade (mean ± SD 8.5 ± 0.9) for the How to Use and Interpret Results sections, and the Question and Answer sections ranged from 11th to 14th grade (mean ± SD 12.1 ± 0.7). Mean page length was 29.7 ± 6.6 cm, and average page width was 23.3 ± 7.0 cm, similar in size to an 8.5 × 11 inch sheet of paper. Graphics were used throughout HPT instructions (range 2–9), and most were similar in size to a U.S. quarter. None of the instructions scored high in all criteria on the UFT. Conclusions: Readability and formatting characteristics of most HPT instructions do not meet recommended criteria for compliance with plain language guidelines. These findings underscore the need for improved instructions and ultimately improving patients' ability to use HPTs and interpret results with accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we use newly developed statistical methods to examine the generative processes that give rise to widespread patterns in friendship networks. The methods incorporate both traditional demographic measures on individuals (age, sex, and race) and network measures for structural processes operating on individual, dyadic, and triadic levels. We apply the methods to adolescent friendship networks in 59 U.S. schools from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We model friendship formation as a selection process constrained by individuals' sociality (propensity to make friends), selective mixing in dyads (friendships within race, grade, or sex categories are differentially likely relative to cross-category friendships), and closure in triads (a friend's friends are more likely to become friends), given local population composition. Blacks are generally the most cohesive racial category, although when whites are in the minority, they display stronger selective mixing than do blacks when blacks are in the minority. Hispanics exhibit disassortative selective mixing under certain circumstances; in other cases, they exhibit assortative mixing but lack the higher-order cohesion common in other groups. Grade levels are always highly cohesive, while females form triangles more than males. We conclude with a discussion of how network analysis may contribute to our understanding of sociodemographic structure and the processes that create it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data visualization is an important tool that epidemiologists use to communicate with others in the field. The American Journal of Epidemiology recently acknowledged the importance of data visualization by inaugurating an award for the "Figure of the Year." Yet, creating figures that adhere to the standards of the Journal is a challenge. The purpose of the present article was to provide helpful hints for creating figures in SAS/GRAPH that meet the requirements of the Journal. It stresses 3 techniques: properly sizing figures overall, sizing text within a figure, and creating acceptable file formats. This information will prove useful to authors who create data-driven figures intended to be published in the Journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While digital map has been applied to many advanced driver assistance system applications, one critical attribute - road/lane curvature—is not available in the existing digital maps. Curvature derivation using splines is a well-known method in the computer graphics modelling community; however, it was also found that the direct application of the spline method is often not appropriate for real-time safety applications due to the resultant discontinuities in the curvature estimates and the lack of robustness against map data errors [CAMP, Enhanced digital mapping project final report, United States Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, 2004]. This paper presents a method to reconstruct road curvature attributes in real time using digital map data based on the proposed circle centre search and circle selection algorithms. Simulation and experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method can deliver curvature estimates that meet the desired accuracy. The method was also applied to the curve over-speed warning system in an on-going research project: Vehicle Infrastructure Integration—California. Some preliminary experimental results are also presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the year 1999 the world population reached 6 billion, doubling the previous census estimate of 1960. Recently, the United States Census Bureau issued a revised forecast for world population showing a projected growth to 9.4 billion by 2050 (US Census Bureau, ). Different research disci- plines have studied the crowd phenomenon and its dynamics from a social, psychological and computational standpoint respectively. This paper presents a survey on crowd analysis methods employed in computer vision research and discusses perspectives from other research disciplines and how they can contribute to the computer vision approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the new media technologies, emerging church and alternative worship in the U.S. and Great Britain. It states that the incorporation of new media like computer graphics or animation into worship can introduce for some worshipers the "shock of the new." In reaction, leaders or other members of the community may subject the use of new media to high level of theological scrutiny.

NASA's vision for space exploration stresses the cultivation of human-robotic systems. Similar systems are also envisaged for a variety of hazardous earthbound applications such as urban search and rescue. Recent research has pointed out that to reduce human workload, costs, fatigue driven error and risk, intelligent robotic systems will need to be a significant part of mission design. However, little attention has been paid to joint human-robot teams. Making human-robot collaboration natural and efficient is crucial. In particular, grounding, situational awareness, a common frame of reference and spatial referencing are vital in effective communication and collaboration. Augmented Reality (AR), the overlaying of computer graphics onto the real worldview, can provide the necessary means for a human-robotic system to fulfill these requirements for effective collaboration. This article reviews the field of human-robot interaction and augmented reality, investigates the potential avenues for creating natural human-robot collaboration through spatial dialogue utilizing AR and proposes a holistic architectural design for human-robot collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphs have been used in attempts to show a relationship between the measles, mumps and rubella virus (MMR) vaccine and autism. We examine the topic of graphical representation of data in general, and one of these graphs in particular: the one that appeared in a 1999 letter to The Lancet. That graph combined data from England and from California, USA. The author alleged that this graph illustrated a rise in autism rates linked to the use of the MMR vaccine. By examining the presentation closely, we are able to show how this graph misrepresented the data used. We give advice for both authors and publishers in the use of such graphical treatments of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumer electronics industry has found its success is all about connections. One of the biggest challenges at the moment is the sheer quantity of data that the more realistic digital video and console games systems produce. A high-definition TV datastream compressed for broadcast takes 19Mbit/s, while the data rate off a Blu-ray disc is 48Mbit/s. Once uncompressed, the datarates balloon. Version 1.2 of the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) standard, which defines the cable that connects a high-definition source such as a Blu-ray player to a display, carries 4.9Gbit/s. The HDMI 1.3 specification, which has just launched, offers 10.2Gbit/s of bandwidth, to support a 48bit rather than 24bit colour gamut, better audio, and better synchronisation between audio and video. The HDMI connector highlights another issue for designers, and particularly for those involved in developing connection systems that may become part of a standard. HDMI includes the Intel-derived high-definition copy protection (HDCP) scheme, which ensures that high-quality content is protected from source to screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fingerprint friction ridge details are generally described in a hierarchical order at three different levels, namely, Level 1 (pattern), Level 2 (minutia points), and Level 3 (pores and ridge contours). Although latent print examiners frequently take advantage of Level 3 features to assist in identification, Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) currently rely only on Level 1 and Level 2 features. In fact, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) standard of fingerprint resolution for AFIS is 500 pixels per inch (ppi), which is inadequate for capturing Level 3 features, such as pores. With the advances in fingerprint sensing technology, many sensors are now equipped with dual resolution (500 ppi/1,000 ppi) scanning capability. However, increasing the scan resolution alone does not necessarily provide any performance improvement in fingerprint matching, unless an extended feature set is utilized. As a result, a systematic study to determine how much performance gain one can achieve by introducing Level 3 features in AFIS is highly desired. We propose a hierarchical matching system that utilizes features at all the three levels extracted from 1,000 ppi fingerprint scans. Level 3 features, including pores and ridge contours, are automatically extracted using Gabor filters and wavelet transform and are locally matched using the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. Our experiments show that Level 3 features carry significant discriminatory information. There is a relative reduction of 20 percent in the equal error rate (EER) of the matching system when Level 3 features are employed in combination with Level 1 and 2 features. This significant performance gain is consistently observed across various quality fingerprint images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the sketch-based creation of a three-dimensional shape object for industrial styling design in the U.S. A key commonality among the product types considered is that their aesthetic appeal is a central consideration. The article also introduces a pen-based modeling system for designing three-dimensional (3D) objects. The system lets the users create and edit 3D geometry through direct sketching on a pen-enabled tablet computer. Several diagrams showing the usage of the modelling system are also emphasized in the article.

The article discusses the reconstruction of two-dimensional (2D) drawing to three-dimensional (3D) object in the U.S. A silhouette-based sketching system was presented as well as a follow-up research focusing on the representation issue for the resulting 3D objects. The input data for 3D reconstruction are a set of hand-drawn strokes that represent the visible parts of the model's 2D silhouette. Several equations, computations, and diagrams showing the reconstruction of 2D drawing to 3D object are also emphasized in the article.

A small class of functions is described that easily lend themselves to two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualizations at the basic calculus level. The intended audience is those educators involved in the instruction of elementary calculus. This note is an educational piece that begins with the question: ‘What happens if a function defined on a short interval in the first quadrant is rotated about an axis? This question is answered visually using a graphical software package Mathematica®. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of the historical trajectory of digital visualization system between contemporary methods and models of spatial mapping manifested in the use of computers in the U.S. In 1950s and early 1960s computer graphics was developed to solve problems concerning the representation of certain complex phenomena particularly in dealing with dynamics. The article identifies modes of thinking and strategies for performance as a fluid set of conditions.

Two experiments, one with college students and one with older participants, examine how the addition of text and animated graphics influence the processing of television news stories. Recall data suggest graphics help younger and older viewers store and retrieve information presented in television news stories. Graphics also enhanced encoding of harder stories for younger viewers but not older viewers. The recognition and heart rate data indicate that older viewers engage in more controlled processing of television messages, whereas college students process television in a more automatic fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ghent PDF Workgroup has brought together talented professionals in the graphic arts industry in the U.S. to offer their expertise in creating specifications and standards for the printing industry through the transition from Postscript to computer file format. The group has dozens of member organizations and is run by an executive committee. Active subcommittees are responsible for the group's fundamental work. This article examines the progress the group is attaining and provides an update of each of the subcommittees' work.

This article presents highlights of a gathering of graphic arts industry professionals in the U.S. at the Seybold San Francisco conference on August 16, 2004. Mary Lee Schneider, president of the Trimedia Technologies Group at R. R. Donnelley, illustrated the challenges remaining in the pre-media business in her seminar-opening keynote address. Other keynote speakers were Frank Romano, who discussed information gathered by RIT researchers for a report titled "Printing in the Age of the Web and Beyond"; Kim Graven-Nielsen who talked about developments in the packaging industry; Greg Norman, who talked about digital photography; and Jim King, who outlined the rationale for workflows through embedded metadata. INSETS: Workflow Sessions Standing Room Only;Seybold San Francisco Hot Picks.

The article summarizes instructional media services IMS at Lehigh University. Over the years, many academic programs at Lehigh have come to emphasize student presentations and portfolios. IMS plays a large role in this, offering frequent training sessions in presentation skills, as well as in the use of presentation tools and software. With a professional staff of two and a large number of student workers, media production offers fullservice professional quality resources in computer graphics, scanning and printing, video shooting and editing, and photography in both studio and field. Other services include video and CD duplication, DVD recording, slide scanning and portrait photography.

Reports the advantage of the computer augmented-reality interface in the U.S. Improvement of the graphics images; Arrangement of digital objects in the physical objects; Development of special-purpose input devices. INSETS: Short History of Augmented Reality Interface Design.;Tracking and Registration in Tiles..

Discusses the application of spatially integrated data presentation for electronic flight displays in U.S. avionics. Brief history on the development of the synthetic vision system for aircraft flight guidance; Utilization of the first generation of electronic flight displays in the flight decks of several commercial aircrafts; Application of three-dimensional computer graphics in electronic flight displays of modern aircrafts; Design rationale behind the synthetic vision concept for flight displays in avionics.

Discusses how Sandia National Laboratories use personal computer clusters and commodity graphics cards to achieve higher rendering performance on extreme data sets. Visual interactive environment for weapons simulations program; Sort-last approach; Data decomposition; Image composition. INSET: Related Work (software implementations on parallel computers)..

Focuses on the visualization hardware and software being developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Library. Advances in scientific simulation that have led to the generation of multiterabyte-size data sets; Interactive visualization resources demanded by the data sets; System design; Multipipe display systems.