Visualizações de grafos para comunicação aparecem numa variedade de contextos que vão do acadêmico-científico até o jornalístico e até mesmo artístico. Diferente de visualizações de grafos para exploração e análise de dados, essas imagens são usadas para “contar uma história” que já se conhece ao invés da “procura de uma nova história” nos dados. Apesar de ser possível usar software para desenho de grafos e edição de diagramas para produzí-las, visualizações feitas dessa forma nem sempre preenchem os requisitos visuais impostos pelos seus contextos de uso. Programas de edição de imagens podem ser usados para fazer as melhorias necessárias, mas nem todas as modificações são possíveis e o processo de editar essas imagens pode exigir muito tempo e esforço. Neste trabalho, apresentamos uma investigação de visualizações nodo-aresta estáticas para comunicação e de como facilitar sua criação. A partir de uma desconstrução dessas imagens, identificando seus elementos essenciais, e analisando como são criadas, derivamos um conjunto de requisitos que ferramentas para a criação dessas visualizações devem preencher. Para verificar o efeito da metodologia na melhora do fluxo de trabalho de designers, com mais poder e flexibilidade, foi concebido e implementado um protótipo chamado GraphCoiffure. Com um foco especial em auxiliar usuários na criação de visualizações para publicação, Graph- Coiffure foi projetado como uma aplicação standalone que seria usada como um passo intermediário entre programas de desenho e edição de grafos e editores gráficos. Ele combina ferramentas para manipulação interativa de layouts com estilização similar a CSS para permitir que usuários criem e editem visualizações nodo-aresta estáticas. Ilustramos o funcionamento de GraphCoiffure com quatro casos de uso: a adaptação do layout de uma visualização para fazê-la funcionar em uma dada página, a reprodução do estilo de uma visualização e sua aplicação em outro grafo, e a criação integral de duas novas visualizações. Para obter feedback sobre GraphCoiffure, conduzimos uma avaliação informal através de entrevistas com três potenciais usuários, que disseram achar que GraphCoiffure beneficiaria seu trabalho. / Graph visualizations for communication appear in a variety of contexts that range from scientific/ academic to journalistic and even artistic. Unlike graph visualizations for exploration and analysis, these images are used to tell a story that is already known rather than to look for a story within the data. Although graph drawing and diagram editing software can be used to produce them, visualizations made this way do not always meet the visual requirements imposed by their context of use. Graphics authoring software can be used to make the necessary improvements, but not all modifications are possible and the process of editing these images may be very time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this work, we present an investigation of static node-link visualizations for communication and how to better support their creation. We began with a deconstruction of these images, breaking them down into their basic elements and analyzing how they are created. From this, we derived a set of requirements that tools aimed at supporting their creation should meet. To verify if taking all of this into account would improve the workflow and bring more flexibility and power to the users, we created our own prototype, which we named GraphCoiffure. With a special emphasis on helping users on creating visualizations for publication, GraphCoiffure was designed as a standalone application that would serve as an intermediary step between graph drawing and editing software and graphics editors. It combines interactive graph layout manipulation tools with CSS-like styling possibilities to let users create and edit static node-link visualizations for communication. We illustrate the use of GraphCoiffure with four use-case scenarios: the adaptation of a visualization’s layout to make it work on a given page, the reproduction of a visualization’s style and its application on another graph, and the creation of two visualizations from scratch. To obtain feedback on GraphCoiffure, we conducted an informal evaluation by interviewing three potential expert users, who found that it could be useful for their work.

Visualizations, web technologies and mobile devices are subjects which are trending nowadays in the world of technology and many research projects are tackling different issues. The originality of the thesis is in the aspect of bringing all these mentioned subjects together and providing findings that will help web designers when implementing visualizations for mobile phones. The thesis explores the use of web technologies for the visualization of complex data for mobile devices, both looking at the technical state of the art and capabilities, and at the difference in information needs for users in a mobile usage context. The first part deals with an in-depth research of the existing projects that deal with similar issues, analyzing the official documentation of the technologies and the community of developers. The other part of the research is focused on providing insights on the required changes for adapting to the needs of mobile device users by doing a usability testing on a specific visualization. The results provide information valuable for adapting visualizations, such as font sizes, color combinations, animation complexity and data simplicity. The use case that is used for feeding the visualizations with data belongs to the domain of eco visualizations, in particular dealing with sustainable food consumption.

In Sweden there are around 400 service dogs and dog handlers within the police (Polisen,2016). The service dogs are used in 25 000 to 30 000 interventions every year. According to the Swedish Police Service (2016), the most common breed within the police in Sweden is German shepherds and Malinois. The service dogs are used to track down people, substances and objects. They can also be used for surveillance and defense (Polisen, 2016). According to Eneström (2015-06-18), the transportation cages for service dogs used within the Swedish police today are designed with smaller measurements than the ones required by the Swedish Board of Agriculture (2015). The reason why the smaller cages are used is that with the measurements stated in the regulations from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, two cages cannot fit into the luggage compartment of the currently used police patrol vehicles (Eneström,2015-06-18). Fortunately, the vehicle Volvo XC70, which is the most commonly used police patrol vehicle, will not be manufactured anymore. This means that a new vehicle have to be chosen touse both for regular patrol vehicles and for dog transportation patrol vehicles. The need of a new solution for transporting service dogs initiated this master thesis, which was initiated by the design company Dacat AB. The aim was to develop a solution for the cages and storage of equipment integrated in a new vehicle of suggestion for the police. The objective was that this new solution should be developed with the user in center, meet the regulations and legislations from stakeholders, obtain high usability, enhance the user experience and provide a healthy, comfortable working environment for both police dogs and the police officers. The outcome of the thesis is visualizations and animations made from 3D models describing the conceptual solution. A user centered design approach was used in this thesis since the target group is narrow and itwas important to understand the context and the target group well. The user centered approach was adapted to fit the design challenge of this thesis, especially to make it work with the fact that the target group consists of both a human and a dog. This lead to an approach and a process, in this thesis called Design for multi-species partnerships. The result consists of a vehicle recommendation with a technical solution for the interior design. It is constructed to fit the recommended vehicle, but also to be adapted to other vehicles, depending on which vehicle the police decide to choose. The interior design is beneficial for both the dogs and the dog handlers as well as for the complete police operations, since it creates a more viable and versatile vehicle for the police. It was important to fulfill the needs and desires of both parts of the target group as well as creating a well functioning solution that works efficiently. The police patrol vehicle is in fact a working place for the target group, which means that aspects not that important to other vehicle users, was shown to be important in this thesis. This because the working place environment is directly connected to health and the ability to perform well. The profession of the target group is important for the society and is filled with a lot of expectations and demands, therefore it is important that the working place environment offer them the possibility to perform well without interference. The master thesis is carried out during the last semester of the Industrial Design Engineerprogram at Luleå University of Technology. The course D7014A is 30 university credits which equals 20 weeks of fulltime work. The thesis was conducted in Gothenburg in the spring of 2017.

Au cours des dernières décennies, la présence des auralisations dans l’acoustique architecturale et la réalité virtuelle est devenue de plus en plus importante. De nombreuses applications en découlent, telles que les explorations de la réalité virtuelle multimodale ou les études de l’influence acoustique des rénovations et la recherche historique. Malgré ces nombreux cas d’utilisation, peu d’études scientifiques ont été réalisées sur le sujet. L’objectif de cette thèse était donc d’examiner l’utilisation d’auralisations acoustiques de salles, basées sur l’acoustique géométrique (GA) comme outil scientifique et visant à aider à la création d’auralisations historiquement exactes plus écologiquement valables. Déjà dans les années 1930 les premières tentatives ont été entreprises pour rendre audible (de manière imaginaire) les champs sonores. Les développements au cours des 80 dernières années ont conduit à des améliorations significatives des auralisations. Aujourd’hui, si l’on veut créer des auralisations, l’enregistrement anéchoïque réalisé préalablement doit être convolué avec une réponse impulsionnelle ambiante, mesurée ou simulée (RIR). Les logiciels GA sont souvent utilisés pour calculer numériquement la RIR de géométries compliquées. Les méthodes basées sur les ondes sont gourmandes en calcul, nécessitant des modèles géométriques complexes et des données d’entrée complexes. Cette thèse vise à améliorer la qualité des auralisations entièrement calculées. À cette fin, on a étudié l’étalonnage des modèles acoustiques des salles et l’inclusion de la directivité vocale dynamique. Des mesures acoustiques de la pièce ont été réalisées dans quatre salles et des modèles d’acoustique géométrique ont été créés des mêmes espaces. Une procédure méthodique de calibration du modèle a été proposée, réalisée dans les quatre salles, et validée au préalable par comparaison d’estimation de paramètres. Des tests d’écoute subjectifs comparant des auralisations mesurée set simulées pour trois espaces différents ont révélé que les auralisations étaient également perçues pour huit attributs acoustiques évalués. Par la suite, un cadre permettant d’inclure la directivité vocale dynamique a été présenté. Les résultats des tests d’écoute ont montré des différences perceptuelles entre la directivité vocale dynamique et la directivité de source statique pour la plausibilité, l’enveloppement de l’auralisation ainsi que la largeur perçue de la source. L’amélioration de la validité écologique des auralisations a permis d’étudier l’influence des visualisations sur l’expérience acoustique, avec un degré de confiance raisonnable que les effets perçus sont également applicables dans des situations réelles. À cet effet, un cadre a été établi qui a permis des évaluations multimodales de pièces de théâtre et de concerts. Les résultats d’un test d’écoute multi-modal présentant une scène cohérente visuelle-sonore ont confirmé les différences perceptuelles entre les auralisations de directivité vocale dynamique et statique. Dans ce même cadre, un second test d’écoute comparant des scènes visuelles/sonores incohérentes è cohérentes, indiquait qu’avec une distance source-récepteur accrue, les auralisations sont perçues acoustiquement plus éloignées et plus élevée. / Over recent decades, auralizations have become more prevalent in architectural acoustics and virtual reality. Auralizations have numerous use-cases such as multi-modal virtual reality explorations, studies of the acoustical influence of renovations, and historic research. Despite their numerous use-cases, they rarely have been part of scientific studies. Therefore, the goal of this thesis was to examine the use of room acoustical auralizations based on geometrical acoustics (GA) as a scientific tool and aimed to aid in the creation of more ecologically valid historically accurate auralizations. Already in the 1930s first attempts were undertaken to render audible (imaginary) sound fields. Developments over the last 80 years have led to significant improvements of auralizations. Today, if one wishes to create auralizations, generally anechoic recording need to be convolved with either a measured or simulated room impulse response (RIR). GA software are often employed to numerically compute the RIR of complicated geometries. Wave-based methods are computationally intensive, requiring complex geometrical models and complex input data. This thesis aims to enhance the quality of fully computed auralizations. For this purpose the calibration of room acoustical models and the inclusion of dynamic voice directivity were studied. Room acoustical measurements were carried out in four rooms and geometrical acoustics models were created of the same spaces. A methodical calibration procedure was proposed, carried out in the four rooms, and first validated by means of parameter estimation comparison. Subjective listening tests which compared measured and simulated auralizations for three spaces found that the auralizations were equally perceived for 8 tested acoustical attributes. Subsequently, a framework was presented which enabled the inclusion of dynamic voice directivity. The results of listening tests indicated that perceptual differences between dynamic voice directivity and regular static source ordinations in plausibility and envelopment of the auralization as well as perceived width of the source. With the improved ecological validity of the auralizations it was possible to study the influence of visualizations on the acoustical experience, with a reasonable degree of confidence that perceived effects are also applicable in real-life situations. For this purpose, a framework was established which enabled multi-model assessments of theater plays and concerts. Results of a visual-aural coherent multi-modal listening test confirmed the perceptual differences between dynamic and static voice directivity auralizations. A second listening test employing this framework which compared incoherent to coherent aural-visual cues indicated that with increased visual source-receiver distance auralizations are perceived acoustically more distant and louder.

This study uses a combination of user testing and analysis to evaluate the impact of brush and tooltip on the comprehension of time series visualizations. Employing a sequential mixed-methods approach, with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews used to inform the design of a visualization tool, followed by a quantitative user study to validate it. Sixteen (16) participants from various fields of study, predominantly computer science, participated in the study. A MANOVA test was conducted with results indicating a significant statistical difference between the groups. Results deriving from the study show that the use of brush and tooltip increases user accuracy on detecting outliers, as for perception of trends and patterns. The study’s context was limited to desktop usage, and all participants were treated as a homogenous group, presenting potential limitations in applying these findings to other devices or more diverse user groups. The results provide information about improving time series data visualizations for facilitating more efficient and effective understanding, which can be relevant specifically to data analysts and academic researchers.

No description available.

[pt] Devido ao crescimento da produção e disponibilidade de dados, houve uma consequente necessidade de explorá-los em busca de entendê-los, comunicar as informações obtidas a partir deles e gerar novos conhecimentos. Diante deste cenário de produção de informação a partir do grande volume de dados surgiu o Jornalismo de Dados, campo que busca não apenas construir visualizações claras e eficientes, mas principalmente contar histórias baseadas em dados e fatos, de forma a facilitar a compreensão do público. Entretanto, há uma necessidade de desenvolver e melhorar as ferramentas de análise visual com suporte a narrativas. Neste documento, descrevemos a nossa proposta de pesquisa, que consiste na expansão da ferramenta de visualização de dados VisMaker, integrando a possibilidade de criação de data stories para as visualizações, em um novo módulo denominado StoryMaker. / [en] Due to the growth of data production and availability, there was a consequent need to explore them to understand them, communicate the information obtained from them, and generate novel knowledge. Faced with this scenario of production of information from the large volume of data, Data Journalism emerged as a field that seeks not only to include clear and efficient visualizations, but mainly to tell stories based on data and facts to facilitate the public’s understanding. However, there is a need to develop and improve visual analysis tools that support narratives. In this document, we describe our research proposal, which consists of expanding the data visualization tool VisMaker, integrating the possibility of creating data stories for visualizations, in a new module named StoryMaker.

No description available.

Visualizations in the most general sense of external, physical representations of information are older than the invention of writing. Generally, external representations promote external cognition and visual thinking, and humans developed a rich set of skills for crafting and exploring them. Computers immensely increased the amount of data we can collect and process as well as diversified the ways we can represent it visually. Computer-supported visualization systems, studied in the field of information visualization (infovis), have become powerful and complex, and sophisticated interaction techniques are now necessary to control them. With the widening of technological possibilities beyond classic desktop settings, new opportunities have emerged. Not only display surfaces of arbitrary shapes and sizes can be used to show richer visualizations, but also new input technologies can be used to manipulate them. For example, tangible user interfaces are an emerging input technology that capitalizes on humans' abilities to manipulate physical objects. However, these technologies have been barely studied in the field of information visualization. A first problem is a poorly defined terminology. In this dissertation, I define and explore the conceptual space of embodiment for information visualization. For visualizations, embodiment refers to the level of congruence between the visual elements of the visualization and their physical shape. This concept subsumes previously introduced concepts such as tangibility and physicality. For example, tangible computing aims to represent virtual objects through a physical form but the form is not necessarily congruent with the virtual object. A second problem is the scarcity of convincing applications of tangible user interfaces for infovis purposes. In information visualization, standard computer displays and input devices are still widespread and considered as most effective. Both of these provide however opportunities for embodiment: input devices can be specialized and adapted so that their physical shape reflects their functionality within the system; computer displays can be substituted by transformable shape changing displays or, eventually, by programmable matter which can take any physical shape imaginable. Research on such shape-changing interfaces has so far been technology-driven while the utility of such interfaces for information visualization remained unexploited. In this thesis, I suggest embodiment as a design principle for infovis purposes, I demonstrate and validate the efficiency and usability of both embodied visualization controls and embodied visualization displays through three controlled user experiments. I then present a conceptual interaction model and visual notation system that facilitates the description, comparison and criticism of various types of visualization systems and illustrate it through case studies of currently existing point solutions. Finally, to aid the creation of physical visualizations, I present a software tool that supports users in building their own visualizations. The tool is suitable for users new to both visualization and digital fabrication, and can help to increase users' awareness of and interest in data in their everyday live. In summary, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the value of emerging physical representations for information visualization.

Cette thèse porte sur l’étude des écoulements de Taylor (ou poche/bouchon) gazliquide en microcanal. Ces écoulements où les effets de tension de surface sont prépondérants ont été étudiées expérimentalement et numériquement pour des géométries rectangulaires avec divers rapports d’aspects. Une première partie expérimentale a consisté à caractériser la formation de bulles (taille, fréquence) en fonction des conditions opératoires, des propriétés des fluides (notamment à travers le nombre capillaire) et du mode de mise en contact des fluides. La dynamique de l’écoulement établi a par la suite été étudiée à l’aide du code JADIM. La simulation de ces écoulements dominés par la tension de surface a nécessité de lever les limitations liées à la prise en compte de la force capillaire. En effet des courants parasites numériques sont créés à proximité de l’interface lors de la simulation d’écoulements capillaires. Une méthode Level Set a été implémentée et comparée à la méthode Volume of Fluid d’origine en termes de courants parasites. Des simulations numériques 3D ont permis l’étude des effets du nombre capillaire et de la géométrie sur la dynamique des bulles de Taylor (vitesse, pression et formes de bulles). Les effets inertiels souvent négligés ont été considérés et leur influence, notamment sur les sauts de pression à l’interface, a été mise en évidence. Le mélange dans le bouchon liquide a également été étudié. / This thesis focuses on the hydrodynamics of gas-liquid Taylor flow (or slug flow) in microchannels. These flows, which are generally dominated by surface tension forces, have been investigated in rectangular channels of various cross-sectional aspect ratios by means of both experimental visualizations and numerical simulations. The first experimental part aims at characterizing the bubble generation process (bubble length and frequency of break-up) depending on the operating conditions, the fluid properties, as well as the junction where both fluids merge. Numerical simulations of fully developed Taylor flow have been carried out with the JADIM code. The computation of such surface tension dominated flows requires an accurate calculation of the surface tension force. Some limitations of the Volume of Fluid method have been highlighted and a Level Set method has been developed in order to improve the calculation of capillary effects. Both methods have been compared in detail in terms of spurious currents. 3D numerical simulations have been performed and the influence of the capillary number, as well as the effects of geometry have been highlighted. Inertial effects have been taken into account and their influence on the pressure drop has been shown to be non-negligible. Mixing in the liquid slug has also been studied.