The primary objective of this research is to use the benefits offered by computerized three dimensional graphics and apply those to the field of human computer interaction. Focussing primarily on the interactive content of the 3D world, this research describes a range of innovative new interface elements demonstrating specific new 3Dinterfaces/components designed to provide a new interactive 3D method for handling a range of particular common real-world tasks (ranging from simple value setting tasks up to larger scale systems for browsing structured sets of hierarchical data). These systems incorporate new design concepts such as active 3D interfaces that present their data to the user rather than statically waiting for the user to interact with them (these systems prove particularly useful in the presentation of large sets of data). Overall this set of components introduces a range of new interface styles that prove very effective in many mainstream real world tasks.In addition to the development of these systems, this project demonstrates a new high level 3D interface development tool designed to simplify the challenge of constructing interactive 3D user interfaces and in doing so make 3D interface development available to a wider developer base. By constructing the components mentioned above in a structured generic form, this combination of a new development tool and a range of re-usable components provide a strong development platform, from which more complex interactive 3D interfaces can be constructed.In essence the core idea that underlies this research is making the construction of interactive and functional 3D interfaces simpler to undertake (by developing effective re-usable components to handle mainstream tasks) while at the same time generating resulting 3D interfaces that are more effective and more capable of providing users with an enjoyable and functional 3D working environment.

The major challenge for multimedia designers is to create user experiences that enrich the reception of content, designer�s traditional reliance on intuition not ensuring audience�s interest or understanding. The developing philosophy of user-centred design argues that designers should begin from an appreciation of their audience. In design there are various positions on how to achieve this, ranging from traditional market research through psychological, ethnographic, anthropological and sociological research to the direct involvement of users in the design process. This study draws on established knowledge about the cognitive processes, psychological motivations and preferences of user groups to advance a model for better-targeted and more effective design. In particular, it uses Howard Gardener�s multiple intelligences theory to extend design thinking. Where a specific audience is apparent multiple intelligences theory implies that (1) the interface should match user�s perceptual tools, cognitive styles and responses and (2) there is far greater scope than presently recognized to vary the design of the graphical user interface. The research explores how interactive multimedia can harness the �language of vision� (Johannes Itten) for certain audiences, in this case Taiwanese drawing students aiming to enter tertiary art and design programs where high academic drawing skills are an important selection criterion. The high �visual intelligence� of the target audience indicates their heightened capacity to process visual concepts and elements. The application of Gardner�s ideas is a speculative one, based on hypothesis and the formulation of an experimental graphical user interface environment built around predominantly visual cues. The designed outcome incorporates knowledge and understanding that is widely applicable to GUI design, challenging designers to develop multimedia products with innovative, imaginative design approaches that cater for the different needs and interests of users where the audience is a specific and identifiable one.

<p>This thesis makes contributions to the statistical research field of causal inference in observational studies. The results obtained are directly applicable in many scientific fields where effects of treatments are investigated and yet controlled experiments are difficult or impossible to implement.</p><p>In the first paper we define a partially specified directed acyclic graph (DAG) describing the independence structure of the variables under study. Using the DAG we show that given that unconfoundedness holds we can use the observed data to select minimal sets of covariates to control for. General covariate selection algorithms are proposed to target the defined minimal subsets.</p><p>The results of the first paper are generalized in Paper II to include the presence of unobserved covariates. Morevoer, the identification assumptions from the first paper are relaxed.</p><p>To implement the covariate selection without parametric assumptions we propose in the third paper the use of a model-free variable selection method from the framework of sufficient dimension reduction. By simulation the performance of the proposed selection methods are investigated. Additionally, we study finite sample properties of treatment effect estimators based on the selected covariate sets.</p><p>In paper IV we investigate misspecifications of parametric models of a scalar summary of the covariates, the propensity score. Motivated by common model specification strategies we describe misspecifications of parametric models for which unbiased estimators of the treatment effect are available. Consequences of the misspecification for the efficiency of treatment effect estimators are also studied.</p>

<p>Version control is an important tool for safekeeping of data and collaboration between colleagues. These days, new distributed version control systems are growing increasingly popular as successors to centralized systems like CVS and Subversion. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make it easier to interact with version control systems, but GUIs for distributed systems are still few and less mature than those available for centralized systems. The purpose of this thesis was to propose specific GUI ideas to make distributed systems more accessible. To accomplish this, existing version control systems and GUIs were examined. A usage survey was conducted with 20 participants consisting of software engineers. Participants were asked to score various aspects of version control systems according to usage frequency and usage difficulty. These scores were combined into an index of each aspect's "unusability" and thus its need of improvement. The primary problems identified were committing, inspecting the working set, inspecting history and synchronizing. In response, a commit helper, a repository visualizer and a favorite repositories list were proposed, along with several smaller suggestions. These proposals should constitute a good starting point for developing GUIs for distributed version control systems.</p>

<p>This thesis describes and evaluates a number of approaches and algorithms for nonuniform correction (NUC) and suppression of fixed pattern noise in a image sequence. The main task for this thesis work was to create a general NUC for infrared focal plane arrays. To create a radiometrically correct NUC, reference based methods using polynomial approximation are used instead of the more common scene based methods which creates a cosmetic NUC.</p><p>The pixels that can not be adjusted to give a correct value for the incomming radiation are defined as dead. Four separate methods of identifying dead pixels are used to find these pixels. Both the scene sequence and calibration data are used in these identifying methods.</p><p>The algorithms and methods have all been tested by using real image sequences. A graphical user interface using the presented algorithms has been created in Matlab to simplify the correction of image sequences. An implementation to convert the corrected values from the images to radiance and temperature is also performed.</p>

<p>As the internet has become an increasingly growing market for companies, it has also subsequently revolutionized shopping. There are countless different options on the internet for individuals. If a website does not live up to the expectations, there is always another one just a few clicks away. This raises the demands on the retailers, in terms of development and maintenance of their e-commerce websites. In order to succeed, there are many things that have to be considered and addressed. This thesis research discusses some of the most essential questions that may arise during the development of an e-commerce website. The process has been divided into four different sections; graphical design, information design, interaction design, and online trust. Each one of these sectors is important and every website developer should be familiar with them.</p>

<p>The image analysis company Izolde was in need of a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) to use as a modifiable template to be able to meet a variety of requests and demands from their clientele.</p><p>This paper describes the process of designing such a GUI with respect to theories within human computer interaction and available usability principles and theories.To familiarise and learn about other software on the market a background research was conducted. Wireframes as well as prototypes were created. With the help of recognised usability inspection tools tests were conducted on users with varied degree of computer experience. Test results were the basis for what would be altered and improved in terms of usability on the prototypes.</p><p>The final result is a flexible user friendly GUI in regards to the criteria outlined by Izolde.</p> / <p>Detta examensarbete beskriver tillvägagångssättet i skapandet av en mall till ett användargränssnitt. Ett användargränssnitt är utseendet på ett program som användaren ser och interagerar med på en datorskärm, skärmen på en telefon eller annan typ av skärm. Användargränssnittet är utseendet av en programvara och det användaren visuellt kan tolka. I klartext tillåter ett användargränssnitt en användare att interagera med hårdvara genom inmatning (användarens påverkan på systemet) och utdata (resultat av användarens påverkan).</p><p>Grafiska användargränssnitt skiljer sig från de textbaserade avändargränssnitten som tidigare var dominerande. Textbaserade lösningar känns ofta igen i äldre DOS-program och typiskt hos dessa är textinmatning av diverse kommandon och parametrar som leder till påverkan av systemet. Numer är det de grafiska användargränssnitten som dominerar. Fördelen med dessa är att de bygger på igenkänningsmekanismen hos människans tänkande och att de därför tillåter ett mer intuitivt användande av systemet i och med att de är just grafiska.</p><p>Målet med examensarbetet var att designa en gränssnittsmall åt bildanalysföretaget Izolde. Gränssnittsmallen ska kunna modifieras för att kunna möta Izoldes kunders efterfrågan utifrån den typ av analys de vill kunna genomföra. För att kunna genomföra designprocessen krävdes djupare kunskap i vad användarvänlighet innebär och hur denna skall tillämpas i skapandet av ett grafiskt användargränssnitt. Med hjälp av vedertagna principer och teorier inom användarvänlighet var det möjligt att anta rollen som interaktionsdesigner. Interaktiondesign är en disciplin som definieras som beteendet och interaktionen mellan ett föremål, i detta fall ett grafiskt användargränssnitt, och dess användare.</p><p>För att säkerställa att designprocessen skulle resultera i ett attraktivt och användarvänligt grafiskt användargränssnitt krävdes även att tester utfördes på användare med olika grad av datorkunskap på de wireframes och prototyper som skapades. En wireframe är en tidig skiss av designen på det slutgiltiga grafiska gränssnittet och kan beskrivas som en enkel ritning på ett papper eller en grov skiss skapat med lämplig programvara av vad designers vision av det slutgiltiga resultatet är. Genom att rita skisser skapar designern sig en god uppfattning om hur det grafiska gränssnittet kommer att presenteras i dess slutgiltiga skick. Dessutom är det mycket enklare och snabbare att göra ändringar på en skiss än i ett avancerat program som kräver mer exakt precision. Prototyper är mer sofistikerade versioner av wireframes och skapas i ett senare skede av designprocessen. Prototyper bär också större likheter med den slutliga produkten än wireframes.</p><p>Designprocessen resulterade i ett flexibelt användarvänligt grafiskt användargränssnitt vars karaktär är anpassat i avseende på de kriterier som angetts av Izolde. Förhoppningen är att det skapade gränssnittet kommer kunna användas som en förändringsbar mall till ett gränssnitt som kan anpassas efter de kriterier och önskemål som ges av Izoldes kunder.</p>

Graduation date: 2004

Biologists need tools to see the structural relationships encoded in biological sequences (strings). The Walking Tree heuristics calculate some of these relationships. I have designed and implemented graphic presentations which allow the biologist (user) to see these relations. This thesis contains background information on the biological sequences and some background on the Walking Tree heuristics. I demonstrate my methods by showing a visual matching of mitochondrial genomes. I also show matchings based on amino acids and on hydrophobicity. I also show how the parameters of the visualization can be varied to produce more useful pictures. I implemented a parallel version of the Walking Tree heuristic and used it to produce a phylogenetic tree for picornaviruses. I also implemented several user interfaces. These programs are available on my WWW page which allows a user to produce a picture of a matching by giving the sequences in Gen Bank format and by making a few mouse clicks. / Graduation date: 1998

The Graphical User Interface (GUI), as the most prevailing type of User Interface (UI) in today’s interactive applications, restricts the interaction with a computer to the visual modality and is therefore not suited for some users (e.g., with limited literacy or typing skills), in some circumstances (e.g., while moving around, with their hands or eyes busy) or when the environment is constrained (e.g., the keyboard and the mouse are not available). In order to go beyond the GUI constraints, the Multimodal (MM) UIs apear as paradigm that provide users with great expressive power, naturalness and flexibility. In this thesis we argue that developing MM UIs combining graphical and vocal modalities is an activity that could benefit from the application of a methodology which is composed of: a set of models, a method manipulating these models and the tools implementing the method. Therefore, we define a design space-based method that is supported by model-to-model colored transformations in order to obtain MM UIs of information systems. The design space is composed of explicitly defined design options that clarify the development process in a structured way in order to require less design effort. The feasability of the methodology is demonstrated through three case studies with different levels of complexity and coverage. In addition, an empirical study is conducted with end-users in order to measure the relative usability level provided by different design decisions.