Information Visualization: Highlights, Histories and Futures
Howard Griesdorf
School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas, P.O. Box
311068, Denton, TX, 76203-1068, USA. Email: hfg0001@aol.com
Corinne Jörgensen
School of Information Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-2100,
USA. Email: cjorgensen@lis.fsu.edu
Peter Jörgensen
School of Information Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-2100,
USA. Email: pjorgensen@lis.fsu.edu
Diane Neal [Moderator]
School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas, P.O. Box
311068, Denton, TX, 76203-1068, USA. Email: diane_neal@sbcglobal.net
Brian O’Connor
School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas, P.O. Box
311068, Denton, TX, 76203-1068, USA. Email: boconnor@lis.admin.unt.edu
Ray Uzwyshyn
University of Miami Libraries, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248214, Coral Gables, FL,
33124-0320, USA. Email: ruzwyshyn@miami.edu
Information visualization is a rapidly
evolving field of study involving many
disciplines, such as computer science,
cognitive psychology, and of course
information science. Historically, its
research has synthesized, traversed, and
recombined
innovations
from
traditionally compartmentalized research
areas. This panel will focus on future
directions and historical trends of
information visualization.
Information
visualization
combines
traditional academic disciplines and
commercial applications that exist
outside of academe (such as video
games).
It attempts to create new
paradigms for information or data
visualization with the goal of improved
understanding. Using such examples as
large
visually-oriented
information
systems and new mental models of
visually organizing information, this
panel will explore the future of
information visualization.
Information visualization techniques,
combined with back-end databases, will
expand the boundaries of human
intelligence by coupling human creativity
with computer power.
Panelists will explore where we have
been, what we have learned, and where
we could go, providing specific examples
with the aim of initiating a dialogue with
the audience.
Corinne
Jörgensen
&
Peter
Jörgensen: An Exploration of Visual
Indexing: Problems and Prospects
This presentation will revisit the largely ignored
concept of providing a non-text tool to facilitate
the indexing of images. We suggest that rather
than assigning keyword descriptors to images,
indexers could assign archetype images chosen
from a hierarchical display of icons. This
approach
could
increase
inter-indexer
consistency and make the training of indexers
easier. It could be extended to facilitate accurate
indexing by image producers regardless of their
language. We will present examples of projects
using this approach and explore its application in
several specific domains.
Diane
Neal:
Visualization
Envisioning
The speaker will provide an unconventional
overview of the past, present, and future of
information visualization as a discipline and as a
form of communication. She will demonstrate
infrequently visited visualization paradigms,
models, and prototypes in order to explicate the
vast array of existing applications and theories,
and to invigorate the audience to explore
applications and theories yet to be developed.
Brian O’Connor & Howard Griesdorf:
Hey, Look at This!
Illocutionary
Discourse and Snapshots
We might speak of the snapshot and its use as
naive production of illocutionary events, though
not implying by the term naive any particular
lack of sophistication.
Sit on a tour bus for almost any site or set of sites
and watch the picture making activities of the
folks on the bus. Then, skip ahead to the time,
some weeks later, when the pictures are being
shown around to friends – whether as prints or as
files attached to e-mails. You have likely
experienced several times the pattern of general
introduction to the circumstances, the excuses for
the poor quality, the explanation of the details
that are not in the picture (because the flash from
behind the glass blew out the details; or because
the bus turned "Just as I hit this button!"; or...),
and the excited explanation of how cool it was to
"actually be at the xxxx!"
When I was a commercial photographer, friends
would often ask what camera and film and lenses
to bring "on my trip to xxxx." This was always a
bit awkward because in most circumstances I
knew that the best way to get high quality
images was to have the friend purchase post
cards or slide sets (now one might simply
suggest checking web sites, even before the trip,
to see what images are already available.) After
all, the purchased image would have been made
by a professional; there would be no need to
worry about proper exposure, being able to get
close enough, having access to "NO PHOTOS"
zones, indeed, restrictions of most sorts.
However, most friends were not satisfied with
that advice – with good reason. The snapshot, no
matter how poorly made (so long as there is
some portion of a recognizable image – the
definition of which is a point of interesting
contemplation) is the center piece or touchstone
of a visualization activity rather than a means
unto itself. The snapshot is seldom simply
presented to a viewer and is very seldom
presented to a stranger with no explanation. The
snapshot is a representation of the act of having
been present at a time and place.
This means that the snapshot is a form of
visualization (or form of element within a
visualization event) – visualization of the event
of being present - not simply a representation of
a thing (White House, Grand Canyon,
graduation, birthday party.) Elaboration of the
elements of the event and the role of the snapshot
within the event broaden our understanding of
the general representation events within which
photographs of most sorts participate. Such an
elaboration also begins to explain the failure of
verbal description of objects recorded in
photographs as searching devices.
Ray Uzwyshyn:
Experiments in
Tropic Information Visualization
In 2003, the University of Miami library system
took a calculated risk with the implementation of
a site-wide interactive interface for its online
website. As a large academic library system, it
implemented the first multimedia Flash front end
and navigation interface in an ARL academic
research library. The site was constructed
attempting to use principles of visual semiotics
in synthesis with new possibilities of online time
based media. Innovations from this resulted both
in visualization and multimedia information
applications including a streaming MP3
international archive of double bass for the music
library, multimedia-front-to-database-back-end
musical theatre archive and infrastructure for the
open
source
scholarly
communication
collaborations (i.e. Anthurium). Framing these
endeavors the library began to set foundations
for a university wide interdisciplinary Visual
Thinking Strategies Institute. This part of the
panel documents observations, admonitions,
successes and results of this application of
principles of visualization to large information
systems outlining background purposes, details
of methodology, software and usability issues
and making conclusions while historically
framing this paradigm shift in information
science/information visualization parameters. It
concludes by glancing at the next level of
experimental
implementation
needed
in
academic libraries to further expand boundaries
for the visualization of information in large
academic information systems.