A framework of interaction costs in information visualization

Interaction cost is an important but poorly understood factor in visualization design. We propose a framework of interaction costs inspired by Norman’s Seven Stages of Action to facilitate study. From 484 papers, we collected 61 interaction-related usability problems reported in 32 user studies and placed them into our framework of seven costs: (1) Decision costs to form goals; (2) System-power costs to form system operations; (3) Multiple input mode costs to form physical sequences; (4) Physical-motion costs to execute sequences; (5) Visual-cluttering costs to perceive state; (6) View-change costs to interpret perception; (7) State-change costs to evaluate interpretation. We also suggested ways to narrow the gulfs of execution (2–4) and evaluation (5–7) based on collected reports. Our framework suggests a need to consider decision costs (1) as the gulf of goal formation.     

Fifteen principles of software engineering

Because the product of software engineering is not physical, physical laws do not form a suitable foundation. Instead, software engineering has had to evolve its principles based solely on observations of thousands of projects. The following are probably the 15 most important principles: (1) make quality number one priority; (2) high-quality software is possible; (3) give products to customers early; (4) determine the problem before writing requirements; (5) evaluate design alternatives; (6) use an appropriate process model; (7) use different languages for different phases; (8) minimize intellectual distance; (9) put technique before tools; (10) get it right before you make it faster; (11) inspect code; (12) good management is more important than good technology; (13) people are the key to success; (14) follow hype with care; and (15) take responsibility. An additional 15 software engineering principles are also listed     

Efficient bluish-green phosphorescent iridium complex for both solution-processed and vacuum-deposited organic light-emitting diodes

Iridium(III)bis(4,6-(difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^2′)picolinate (Firpic) is one typical bluish-green phosphor widely used in phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs). In order to optimize its electroluminescent performance, 3,6-(di-tert-butyl)carbazolyl was introduced into the pyridine ring of the 2,4-difluorophenyl-pyridine ligand via a non-conjugated CH₂ linkage. The generated 3,6-di-tert-butyl-9-((6-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pridine-3-yl)methyl)-9H-carbazole (Cz-CH₂-dfppy) was used as cyclometalating ligand to prepare iridium complex 1, (Cz-CH₂-dfppy)₂Ir(pic). In comparison with the case to attach carbazole directly on pyridine, this non-conjugated CH₂ linking strategy avoids the unwanted bathochromic shift of the phosphorescence and improves the solubility of the iridium complex. (Cz-CH₂-dfppy)₂Ir(pic) (1) was used as doped emitter to fabricate OLEDs by both spin-coating and vacuum evaporation methods. Efficient bluish-green electrophosphorescence was obtained with maximum luminance efficiency of 22 cd/A (14 lm/W, 8.7%) and 26 cd/A (12 lm/W, 9.5%) for the solution-processed and vacuum-deposited devices, respectively, which far exceed those of the parent Firpic based device. The improved performance for (Cz-CH₂-dfppy)₂Ir(pic) was interpreted in terms of improved charge balance brought by the presence of the carbazole groups in the ligands.     

Luminescent Eu(III) hybrid sensors for in situ copper detection

In this work we used the sol-gel technique to develop luminescent Eu(III) transparent films deposited on glass slides to build for sensor devices capable of monitoring transition metal ions in aqueous solutions. The films were obtained from a bis(trialkoxysilyl) organic precursor synthesized from the amide of the 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA) with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in the presence or absence of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant as templating agent and triethylethoxysilane (TEOS) as crosslinker. These sensor devices were used to perform in situ quenching experiments by Cu(II), Fe(III), Co(II) and Ni(II) ions. The results indicate that the templated films allow the detection and quantification of these metals down to ppb levels by means of the values of the Stern-Volmer constants. In particular, it was shown that Cu(II) acts as an extremely efficient quencher (K_SV = 3.5 × 10⁵ M⁻¹) when compared with the results obtained for the other metals, opening the possibility to use these devices as potential Cu(II) sensors for actual applications in aqueous media.     

Ontology‐based model‐driven development of a destination management portal: Experience and lessons learned

We present a case study in model‐driven development of an e‐tourism portal that we chose to develop through generation from a domain model encoded as an ontology. We present (1) the requirements of e‐tourism portal, which dictated its high‐level design; (2) the principles behind our implementation strategy, including the use of a domain ontology as a starting model within the context of a model‐driven transformational approach; (3) the ontology development process and the code generation strategy used; and (4) the lessons learned. In particular, we compare our experiences to those reported in the model‐driven engineering (MDE) literature along 3 dimensions, ie, (1) the impact of MDE on the development process, (2) the choice of the modeling approach, and (3) the impact of code generation on design and code quality and testing. Overall, our experiences corroborated some of the theoretical claims and many of the practical experiences with MDE. Key findings include (1) model‐driven development makes maintenance, not development, more efficient; (2) it does require a higher skill level than traditional development; (3) clients and managers need to be educated into what incrementality means in a generative approach; (4) UML is neither necessary nor sufficient to handle the required representational flexibility; (5) it is difficult to build models that are good for both human consumption and code generation; and (6) it is difficult to generate code that is, simultaneously, efficient, pretty, and easy to maintain. We conclude by summarizing the findings of the paper.     

Non-interactive multisignatures in the plain public-key model with efficient verification

Multisignatures extend standard digital signatures to allow an ad hoc set of users to jointly sign a message. Multisignature schemes are often evaluated from the following perspectives: (1) the cryptographic assumptions underlying the schemes; (2) the operational assumptions about the bootstrapping of the schemes in practice; (3) the number of communication rounds for signing a message; (4) the time complexity for signing a message; (5) the amount of communication for signing a message; (6) the time complexity for verifying a multisignature; (7) the length of the resulting multisignatures. Existing multisignature schemes achieve various trade-offs among these measures, but none of them can achieve simultaneously the desired properties with respect to all (or even most) of these measures. In this paper, we present a novel multisignature scheme that offers desired properties with respect to the above (1)–(7) simultaneously, except that it uses random oracles (which however are often required in order to design practical schemes). In particular, our scheme is featured by its weak operational (i.e., plain public-key) model, non-interactive signing, and efficient verification.     

A comparison of the multistep consecutive reduction mode with the multicomponent system reduction mode in cyclic voltammetry

The multistep consecutive ECE-ECE reduction process A(e)-->B(k(f2))-->C(e)-->D(e)-->E(k(f2))-->F(e)-->G has been compared with reduction in multicomponent system A(e)-->B, C(e)-->D, D(e)-->E, F(e)-->G. A simple method of transformation has been devised to disclose the subtle structure of the complex cyclic voltammetry (CV) responses and illustrated by the ECE-ECE process modeled earlier. The method can be applied to any multi-electron CV experimental curve for which a numerical modeling has been done. Electroreduction processes similar to those considered here are often met in practice. An attempt of unification of consecutive electroreduction and electroreduction of multicomponent system has been made. Interrelation between research and analytical voltammetry aspects of the problem is also discussed.     

Testing LiDAR models of fractional cover across multiple forest ecozones

Four LiDAR-based models of canopy fractional cover (FC_LiDAR) have been tested against hemispherical photography fractional cover measurements (FC_HP) and compared across five ecozones, eight forest species and multiple LiDAR survey configurations. The four models compared are based on: i) a canopy-to-total first returns ratio (FC_LiDAR(FR)) method; ii) a canopy-to-total returns ratio (FC_LiDAR(RR)); iii) an intensity return ratio (FC_LiDAR(IR)); and iv) a Beer's Law modified (two-way transmission loss) intensity return ratio (FC_LiDAR(BL)). It is found that for the entire dataset, the FC_LiDAR(RR) model demonstrates the lowest overall predictive capability of overhead FC (annulus rings 1-4) (r² = 0.70), with a slight improvement for the FC_LiDAR(FR) model (r² = 0.74). The intensity-based FC_LiDAR(IR) model displays the best results (r² = 0.78). However, the FC_LiDAR(BL) model is considered generally more useful (r² = 0.75) because the associated line of best fit passes through the origin, has a slope near unity and produces a mean estimate of FC_HP within 5%. Therefore, FC_LiDAR(BL) requires the least calibration across a broad range of forest cover types. The FC_LiDAR(FR) and FC_LiDAR(RR) models, on the other hand, were found to be sensitive to variations in both canopy height and sensor pulse repetition frequency (or pulse power); i.e. changing the repetition frequency led to a systematic shift of up to 11% in the mean FC_LiDAR(RR) estimates while it had no effect on the intensity-based FC_LiDAR(IR) or FC_LiDAR(BL) models. While the intensity-based models were generally more robust, all four models displayed at least some sensitivity to variations in canopy structural class, suggesting that some calibration of FC_LiDAR might be necessary regardless of the model used. Short (< 2 m tall) or open canopy forest plots posed the greatest challenge to accurate FC estimation regardless of the model used.     

Preface

This volume contains the papers selected for presentation at the Rough Sets in Knowledge Discovery and Soft Computing Workshop (RSKD'2003), held in Warsaw, Poland, April 12-13, 2003. The workshop was organized as one of the satellite events of the European Conference on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS'2003). We would like to express our thanks to Professor Damian Niwinski, ETAPS'2003 Workshop Chair, for his invitation to organize the workshop.It is our great pleasure to dedicate this proceedings to Professor Zdzisaw Pawlak, the honorary chair of the RSKD'2003 workshop, who created rough set theory over twenty years ago. We would like also to thank him for enriching our event with his invited talk.In recent years, there have been a number of advances in rough set theory and its applications. Hence, we have witnessed a growing number of international workshops and conferences on rough sets and their applications. Many international conferences are now including rough sets into the list of topics. The RSKD'2003 workshop was intended as a forum for exchanging ideas among experts in rough set theory and its applications, especially in rapidly growing areas like Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining as well as in Soft Computing.The papers, submitted from Canada, China, Great Britain, France, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden, United States, and Poland, were selected by Program Committee.We would like to express our appreciation to all who submitted papers for presentation and publication in proceedings. Many thanks to the Program Committee Members for reviewing the submitted papers. Special thanks are due to Michael Mislove and Elsevier Publishers for making it possible to include our proceedings in Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science and to Warsaw University for printing the hard copy of our proceedings.April, 2003 Andrzej Skowron  and  Marcin Szczuka

RSKD 2003 Workshop Committee

Honorary Chair:	Zdzislaw Pawlak
Program Chair:	Andrzej Skowron
Workshop Chair:	Marcin Szczuka

Full-size table

Program Committee

James Alpigini (USA)Malcolm Beynon (UK)Hans Dieter Burkhard (Germany)Andrzej Czyzewski(Poland)Patrick Doherty (Sweden)Ivo Dïntsch (Canada)Maria C. Fernandez (Spain)Jerzy Grzymaa-Busse (USA)Masahiro Inuiguchi (Japan)Jouni Järvinen (Finland)Jan Komorowski (Sweden)Jacek Koronacki (Poland)Bozena Kostek (Poland)Tsau Young Lin (USA)Ernestina Menasalvas-Ruiz (Spain)Mikhail Moshkov (Russia)Tetsuya Murai (Japan)Hung Son Nguyen (Poland)Sinh Hoa Nguyen (Poland)Ewa Orowska (Poland)Sankar K. Pal (India)Witold Pedrycz (Canada)James F. Peters (Canada)Lech Polkowski (Poland)Sheela Ramanna (Canada)Zbigniew E. Ras (USA)Roman Slowinski (Poland)Jerzy Stefanowski (Poland)Jaroslaw Stepaniuk (Poland)Zbigniew Suraj (Poland)Andrzej Szaas (Poland)Marcin Szczuka (Poland)Domik Szlezak (Poland)Roman Swiniarski (USA)Shusaku Tsumoto (Japan)Guoyin Wang (China)Jakub Wróblewski (Poland)Yiyu Yao (Canada)Ning Zhong (Japan)Wojciech Ziarko (Canada).     

Ergonomics diary

Physiological, perceptual and physical responses to a typical circuit weight-training (CWT) regimen were recorded in two studies. The aims were to assess the intensity of exercise during CWT; and to determine whether physical responses as evaluated by spinal shrinkage were related to physiological and perceptual responses to CWT. In the first study (n = 10) heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO), ventilation (VE), blood lactate (La) and perceived exertion (RPE) were measured in response to CWT. Mean ( ± SD) time to complete three circuits of CWT was 17.8 (± 1-4) min. The HR max, VO₂max and peak La, measured first during an incremental treadmill test, were 195 (±13) beats.min ^?159-7 (±4-8) ml.kg^?1.min^?1 and 14-3 (±3-5) mM respectively. Mean HR and vO₂ during CWT were 69% and 50% of the respective maximal values. The HR-VO₂ ratio observed on the treadmill was elevated during CWT, with VO₂ being lowered relative to HR. Mean VE and La values were 52-7 (± 14-5) l.min^?1 and 6-9 ( ± 3-6) mM. The effect of the same CWT regimen on spinal loading as indicated by change in stature (shrinkage) was investigated in a second study (n = 8). The mean ( ± SD) time taken to complete the circuit was 17-4 ( ± 1-3) min. Mean shrinkage due to CWT (2-5 ± 1 -5?mm) was unrelated to the time taken to complete the circuits, to HR, RPE or to low back pain ratings (p > 0-05). Observations suggest that CWT as represented in these studies engages anaerobic as well as aerobic mechanisms but the exercise intensity may not provide sufficient stimulation for aerobic training. The physical load on the spine indicated by spinal shrinkage was not related to the physiological or perceptual strain.     

Genetic algorithm hybridized with multilayer perceptron to have an economical slope stability design

The present work aimed to evaluate and optimize the design of an artificial neural network (ANN) combined with an optimization algorithm of genetic algorithm (GA) for the calculation of slope stability safety factors (SF) in a pure cohesive slope. To make datasets of training and testing for the developed predictive models, 630 finite element limit equilibrium (FELE) analyses were performed. Similar to many artificial intelligence-based solutions, the database was involved in 189 testing datasets (e.g., 30% of the entire database) and 441 training datasets; for example, a range of 70% of the total database. Moreover, variables of multilayer perceptron (MLP) algorithm (for example, number of nodes in any hidden layer) and the algorithm of GA like population size was optimized by utilizing a series of trial and error process. The parameters in input, which were used in the analysis, consist of slope angle (β), setback distance ratio (b/B), applied stresses on the slope (F_y) and undrained shear strength of the cohesive soil (C_u) where the output was taken SF. The obtained network outputs for both datasets from MLP and GA-MLP models are evaluated according to many statistical indices. A total of 72 MLP trial and error (e.g., parameter study) the optimal architecture of 4 × 8 × 1 were determined for the MLP structure. Both proposed techniques result in a proper performance; however, according to the statistical indices, the GA–MLP model can somewhat accomplish the least mean square error (MSE) when compared to MLP. In an optimized GA–MLP network, coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error (RMSE) values of (0.975, and 0.097) and (0.969, and 0.107) were found, respectively, to both of the normalized training and testing datasets.

     

Supernovae and gamma-ray bursts in the induced gravitational collapse paradigm

I review recent progress in the understanding of long, energetic (10⁵²–10⁵⁴ erg) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) associated to supernovae (SN) Ib/c. This occurrence is explained within the Induced Gravitational Collapse (IGC) paradigm, following the sequence: 1) an initial binary system consists in a compact Iron-Carbon-Oxygen (FeCO) core and a neutron star (NS); 2) the FeCO core explodes, giving origin to a SN, and part of the SN ejecta accretes onto the NS which reaches its criticalmass and collapses to a black hole (BH) giving rise to a long GRB; 3) a new NS (ν-NS) is generated by the SN as a remnant. Observational consequences of this scenario are outlined.     

Development of the wedding planner— Extension's way to reach a young audience

To reach engaged couples with Extension information, an interactive computer wedding planner was created and is now being marketed to Extension in other states. The completed program prints out a personalized task time table for both the bride and groom, makes a guest and gift record keeping database, and gives important information about weddings. The project consisted of these steps: (1) searching to see if a similar wedding project was available elsewhere; (2) gathering information; (3) critiquing spread sheets and database systems; (4) choosing one or the other; (5) explaining the project to a programmer; (6) editing; (7) packaging; (8) printing; (9) testing with brides and their mothers, and (10) marketing the package to Extension clientele both in and out of state.The wedding planner has been successful in reaching young people who had not previously known about the Extension Service.     

Efficient Parallel Graph Algorithms for Coarse-Grained Multicomputers and BSP

In this paper we present deterministic parallel algorithms for the coarse-grained multicomputer (CGM) and bulk synchronous parallel (BSP) models for solving the following well-known graph problems: (1) list ranking, (2) Euler tour construction in a tree, (3) computing the connected components and spanning forest, (4) lowest common ancestor preprocessing, (5) tree contraction and expression tree evaluation, (6) computing an ear decomposition or open ear decomposition, and (7) 2-edge connectivity and biconnectivity (testing and component computation). The algorithms require O(log p) communication rounds with linear sequential work per round (p = no. processors, N = total input size). Each processor creates, during the entire algorithm, messages of total size O(log (p) (N/p)) . The algorithms assume that the local memory per processor (i.e., N/p ) is larger than p ^ε , for some fixed ε > 0 . Our results imply BSP algorithms with O(log p) supersteps, O(g log (p) (N/p)) communication time, and O(log (p) (N/p)) local computation time. It is important to observe that the number of communication rounds/ supersteps obtained in this paper is independent of the problem size, and grows only logarithmically with respect to p . With growing problem size, only the sizes of the messages grow but the total number of messages remains unchanged. Due to the considerable protocol overhead associated with each message transmission, this is an important property. The result for Problem (1) is a considerable improvement over those previously reported. The algorithms for Problems (2)—(7) are the first practically relevant parallel algorithms for these standard graph problems. Received July 5, 2000; revised April 16, 2001.     

On the stability of the troposphere/lower stratosphere and its relationships with cirrus clouds and three mandatory levels over Buenos Aires

An unrotated principal components analysis was carried out to establish the most representative modes for the joint variability between the heights of the upper and lower boundaries of cirrus clouds and three different mandatory levels (850, 500, and 100 hPa), and the associated stability of the troposphere over Buenos Aires. Discussion is limited to the first three most representative structures found, which consists of spatial patterns (or empirical orthogonal functions, EOFs) and their time-evolving coefficients (or principal components, PCs). EOF₁ shows a direct (indirect) mode that encompasses the cirrus slightly below (above) its mean position, with 500 and 100 hPa exhibiting a similar behaviour and 850 hPa acting the opposite way. EOF₁ is associated with above-normal stability (instability) for direct (indirect) modes (i.e. positive (negative) values of PC₁). On a monthly average, this occurs in the austral winter (summer) months. Regarding EOF₂, all three mandatory levels experience positive (negative) height anomalies in direct (indirect) modes and cirrus goes up (down) under mild stability (instability). Monthly averages show that PC₂ is approximately positive in summer and in early fall and negative the rest of the year. As to EOF₃, it is characterized by a stability similar to that of EOF₂, with direct (indirect) modes showing lowered (raised) cirrus and all three mandatory levels above (below) normal conditions; on a monthly basis, PC₃ is best described as having a semi-annual evolution, with maxima (minima) in March and October (January and August). Overall, EOF₁ has the highest stability or instability, depending upon the sign of PC₁. These results are the first of their kind worldwide.     

A state-of the-art survey of TOPSIS applications

Multi-Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) or Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods have received much attention from researchers and practitioners in evaluating, assessing and ranking alternatives across diverse industries. Among numerous MCDA/MCDM methods developed to solve real-world decision problems, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) continues to work satisfactorily across different application areas. In this paper, we conduct a state-of-the-art literature survey to taxonomize the research on TOPSIS applications and methodologies. The classification scheme for this review contains 266 scholarly papers from 103 journals since the year 2000, separated into nine application areas: (1) Supply Chain Management and Logistics, (2) Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, (3) Business and Marketing Management, (4) Health, Safety and Environment Management, (5) Human Resources Management, (6) Energy Management, (7) Chemical Engineering, (8) Water Resources Management and (9) Other topics. Scholarly papers in the TOPSIS discipline are further interpreted based on (1) publication year, (2) publication journal, (3) authors’ nationality and (4) other methods combined or compared with TOPSIS. We end our review paper with recommendations for future research in TOPSIS decision-making that is both forward-looking and practically oriented. This paper provides useful insights into the TOPSIS method and suggests a framework for future attempts in this area for academic researchers and practitioners.     

Development of real-time reference evapotranspiration at the regional scale using satellite-based observations

Real-time data of reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) at different space-time scales are essential to regional agricultural drought assessment, water accounting at the watershed to basin scale, and provide irrigation advisory to farmers. Here, we present a data-fusion approach that integrates satellite-based insolation product (8 km) from an Indian geostationary satellite (Kalpana-1) sensor (VHRR; Very High Resolution Radiometer) and high-resolution (~ 5 km) short-range weather forecast into an FAO56 model based on the classical Penman–Monteith (P-M) formulation. Five year (2009–2013) mean monthly estimates from the daily ET₀ product over the Indian landmass were found to vary between 10 and 350 mm. It increased from January to May (70–350 mm), followed by a decrease to reach the lowest in November (10–140 mm), thus typically showing unimodal distribution. The comparison of daily space-based and station-based estimates (at six ground stations) produced a root mean square deviation (RMSD) ranging from 21% to 38% for 977 paired data sets with the correlation coefficient (r) varying from 0.32 to 0.82. The error was reduced from 25% to 10% with an increase in ‘r’ from 0.43 to 0.98 for daily to 10 day summation period. Spatial grid-to-grid comparison of monthly ET₀ estimates with Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) potential evapotranspiration (PET) showed RMSD within a range of 1.4–18.4% for most of the months, except for two. Further ET₀ analysis over normal and drought years showed that it could be used for comprehensive drought assessment with other existing indicators.     

Software quality's eight greatest myths

The software quality community has become too satisfied with the “state of the practice”. We face the same problems today that we did a decade ago, but now the urgency for solutions is greater. Our present dilemma can be best explained by walking through the past decade's major software quality trends and their associated myths. By myths, I refer to the claims used to support the numerous software quality “silver bullets” that flourished and faded in the past decade. Although I could add lesser items to my list, I consider the following eight as the main culprits (because these fads are hard to compare fairly and quantitatively, they appear in no particular order): (1) software process improvement and maturity; (2) formal methods; (3) programming languages and object-oriented design; (4) software metrics and measurement; (5) software standards; (6) software testing; (7) computer-aided software engineering; and (8) total quality management     

A thermodynamic modeling of the Cu–Pd system

The phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of the Cu–Pd system are optimized using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) technique. In the present work, the liquid and face-centered cubic (fcc) solution phases are modeled with the substitutional solution model. A two-sublattice model (Cu,Pd)_0.75(Cu,Pd)_0.25 is applied to describe the ordered Cu₃Pd phase, the one-dimensional long-period superlattice (1D-LPS) and two-dimensional long-period superlattice (2D-LPS) structures, in order to cope with the order–disorder transition between three intermetallic compounds (Cu₃Pd, 1D-LPS and 2D-LPS) and fcc solution (A1) in the Cu–Pd system. A two-sublattice model (Cu, Pd)(Cu, Pd) is used to describe the homogeneity range of CuPd phase. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters is obtained and the calculated phase diagram and thermodynamic properties are presented and compared with the experimental data.