From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0001.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0002.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0002.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0003.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0003.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0004.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0004.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0005.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0005.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0006.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0006.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0007.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0007.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0001.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0008.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0008.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0002.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0009.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0009.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0003.htm From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0010.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0010.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0004.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0011.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0011.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0006.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0012.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0012.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0007.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Tue Mar 17 15:10:08 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:10:08 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Message-ID: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Dear Jorge Frascara, Many thanks for your reply. I very much like the idea that the evaluation of an information graphic could be related to the task that it is to be used for. I've established quite a few different uses to which information graphics could be put in my research in health technology assessment: 1. For displaying complex data. (So, 2002) 2. For overview and comparison of multivariate data. (Spence, 2007) 3. Where more data must be displayed in a smaller space. (Tufte, 2001) 4. To enable faster data processing by using the high bandwidth of visual perception. (Resnikoff, 1989) 5. Where data must be simplified or organised through abstraction and selective omission. (Thomas, 2005) Different measurements might be appropriate for evaluating these different information graphic uses... For example, in use 1, the short and long term retention might be measured for different graphical and non-graphical presentations of the data. In use 4, however, response times might be the most important variable to consider (alongside accuracy, which should not be adversely affected in many situations). Food for thought... Will. Refs: S. So and M. Smith. Colour Graphics and Task Complexity in Multivariate Decision Making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4):565-593, 2002. Robert Spence. Information visualization: Design for interaction, Harlow:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Edward R. Tufte. The visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, Conn:Graphics Press, 2001. Howard L. Resnikoff. The illusion of reality, New York ; London : Springer, 1989. J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics, IEEE Computer Society. Available online at: http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm, 2005. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK On 15 Mar 2009, at 15:27, frascara at ualberta.ca wrote: > Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, > > Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and > could not keep up with the emails. > > I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate > performance in information design: memorization of content (which > depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or > both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to > establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare > two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it > might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative > performance of individual variables. > > I hope this is useful > > Good luck with your project. > > Jorge Frascara > > > Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > >> Dear All, >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design >> list the following question. I have mentioned the >> DD4D conference in Paris, and some other >> references. Can anyone help? >> >> Kind regards, >> Karel. >> waarde at glo.be >> >> >>>>> >> >> I am currently doing a doctorate research project >> which aims to show how information graphics can >> be used to support health technology assessment >> which is a key area of policy making in >> healthcare. >> >> In health technology assessment (HTA), the >> scientific research community provides evidence >> based syntheses to support high level decisions >> about priorities in health spending. In the UK, >> for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision >> making processes at the National Instititute of >> Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance >> is growing both in the UK and internationally. In >> this context, there is commonly a need to present >> complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers >> of differing professional backgrounds. The >> opportunities and role of the designer in >> producing information graphics to support the >> presentation of such information in HTA is only >> just beginning to be understood. >> >> One challenge in my research is to show an >> empirical effect in terms of understanding or >> information absorption between a purely numerical >> (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of >> research data. >> >> My first question is therefore: >> >> Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference >> source for empirical studies that >> demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information >> graphics in decision support? >> >> Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests >> that the more complex the information, the >> greater the advantage of using information >> graphics (given the fact that there is a learning >> curve for unfamiliar presentations of >> information). I can design an experiment that >> gradually increases the complexity of a decision, >> based on more and more information, but I need to >> know how to assess how well people are absorbing >> information, so that I can compare different >> presentation methods. >> >> I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring >> effectiveness, used in such comparative >> evaluative studies in management science: >> >> 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and >> ask a series of questions which require the >> participant to obtain information from the data, >> counting the number (and/or speed) of correct >> responses. >> >> 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in >> a (real) sequential data set, and measure their >> responses against the actual values. >> >> 3) Ask participants which presentation method >> they preferred using a qualitative technique, >> such as a questionnaire or interview delivered >> after the event. >> >> My second question is: >> >> Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less >> than obvious...) ways of measuring the >> effectiveness of information graphics that I may >> have missed? >> >> >> ............................................... >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. >> PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. >> >> T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 >> M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 >> E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk >> >> www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ >> www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ >> www.willstahl.com >> >> >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: >> infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: >> http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe >> >> For all Information Design matters: >> http://InformationDesign.org >> >> Problems? Write to: >> InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> > From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:44:45 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:44:45 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 1 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: <50912080-81BD-4095-AC30-0CD9D7D88BB1@earthlink.net> Hello Will, Karel, and Caf? Denizens, Will, I haven't done research in this area, but I think it is very important. I asked some of my friends about this question and they came up with a few examples that show significant effects of particular data displays on enabling decision making. A friend of mine works for Becton Dickinson in the area of making usable blood glucose meters. She asked some of the self proclaimed "data display geeks" about Will Stahl-Timmins' email. Yesterday I sent a response to the Caf? with a few references that might be of interest; however, my message bounced because it was too long. I will now resend it by cutting the message into two. Below find some refs and the next gives 4 references with attached abstracts. Perhaps they will be of some use. [Sorry for the length of this message folks.] Will, you might consider the work of Barbara Mirel. She has been studying how people make decisions by modeling their data visually. Most of her recent work has been in the medical domain so it may be of use. Here are some of her refs: Barbara Mirel, Leif Allmendinger Visualizing complexity:Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes 2004 IIID Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation (this later appeared in Mirel, Barbara and Leif Allmendinger 2004. ?Visualizing complexity: Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes?. Information Design Journal + Document Design 12:2, 141?151.) Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software (Interactive Technologies) by Barbara Mirel (Paperback - Sep 2003) Barbara Mirel, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Brath, Brian Cort: Visual analytics for model-based policy analysis: exploring rapid changes in commodities markets. DG.O 2007: 312-313 2003 Barbara Mirel: General hospital: modeling complex problem solving in complex work system. SIGDOC 2003: 60-67 Barbara Mirel: Complex queries in information visualizations: distributing instruction across documentation and interfaces. SIGDOC 1999: 1-8 Good luck Will from all of us in the information design community! We need more people to study these issues. kind regards, karen Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/c429103f/attachment.htm From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:47:48 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:48 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 2 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: Hi Will and Caf?, Here are 4 more references on information graphics for decision making. They are from a professional at Becton Dickinson who works in diabetes care. 1 BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008 Feb 25;8:8. [ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18298827 ] The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.Ogilvie D, Fayter D, Petticrew M, Sowden A, Thomas S, Whitehead M, Worthy G. Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK. dbo23 at medschl.cam.ac.uk BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers. PMID: 18298827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2270283 ------------------------- 2 Stat Med. 2002 Sep 30;21(18):2641-52 [ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/98516224/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ] A graphical method for exploring heterogeneity in meta-analyses: application to a meta-analysis of 65 trials.Baujat B, Mah? C, Pignon JP, Hill C. Institut Gustave Roussy, D?partement de Biostatistique et d'Epid?miologie, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif cedex, France. Heterogeneity can be a major component of meta-analyses and by virtue of that fact warrants investigation. Classic analysis methods, such as meta-regression, are used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. However, it may be difficult to apply such a method in complex cases or in the absence of an a priori hypothesis. This paper presents a graphical method to identify trials, groups of trials or groups of patients that are sources of heterogeneity. The contribution of these trials to the overall result can also be evaluated with this method. Each trial is represented by a dot on a 2D graph. The X-axis represents the contribution of the trial to the overall Cochran Q-test for heterogeneity. The Y-axis represents the influence of the trial, defined as the standardized squared difference between the treatment effects estimated with and without the trial. This approach has been applied to data from the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) comprising 10,850 patients in 65 randomized trials. The graphical method allowed us to identify trials that contributed considerably to the overall heterogeneity and had a strong influence on the overall result. It also provided useful information for the interpretation of heterogeneity in this meta-analysis. The proposed graphical method identifies trials that account for most of the heterogeneity without having to explore all possible sources of heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. This method can also be applied to identify types of patients that explain heterogeneity in the treatment effect. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 12228882 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 3 J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Oct;54(10):1046-55. [ http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(01)00377-8/abstract ] Funnel plots for detecting bias in meta-analysis: guidelines on choice of axis. Sterne JA, Egger M. MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PR, Bristol, UK. jonathan.sterne at bristol.ac. Asymmetry in funnel plots may indicate publication bias in meta- analysis, but the shape of the plot in the absence of bias depends on the choice of axes. We evaluated standard error, precision (inverse of standard error), variance, inverse of variance, sample size and log sample size (vertical axis) and log odds ratio, log risk ratio and risk difference (horizontal axis). Standard error is likely to be the best choice for the vertical axis: the expected shape in the absence of bias corresponds to a symmetrical funnel, straight lines to indicate 95% confidence intervals can be included and the plot emphasises smaller studies which are more prone to bias. Precision or inverse of variance is useful when comparing meta-analyses of small trials with subsequent large trials. The use of sample size or log sample size is problematic because the expected shape of the plot in the absence of bias is unpredictable. We found similar evidence for asymmetry and between trial variation in a sample of 78 published meta- analyses whether odds ratios or risk ratios were used on the horizontal axis. Different conclusions were reached for risk differences and this was related to increased between-trial variation. We conclude that funnel plots of meta-analyses should generally use standard error as the measure of study size and ratio measures of treatment effect. PMID: 11576817 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 4 The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(1):101-105; doi:10.1093/ eurpub/7.1.101 [ http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/101 ] A graphical display useful for meta-analysis F. JAVIER JIM?NEZ1,2, ELISEO GUALLAR1, and JOS? M. MART?N-MORENO1,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistks, National School of Public Health, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, ?San Carlos? University Hospital Madrid, Spain 3 National Centre for Epidemiology, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain Eliseo Guallar, MD, Dr PH, Departamento de Epidemiologla y Bioestadlstica, Escuela National de Sanidad, Sinesio Delgado 8, 28029 Madrid, Spain, tel 34 1 3877873, fax 34 1 3877872 Graphical methods are frequently used in meta-analysis to summarize their results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. In this paper, we illustrate a graphical method for meta- analysis of studies with dichotomous exposures and outcomes that complements other graphical and analytical approaches to meta- analysis. In prospective studies, the proportion of cases among the unexposed is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of cases among the exposed on the vertical axis. Contour lines for equal values of relative risk, odds ratio or risk difference and for the combined estimate of effect and its confidence interval are then superimposed on the graph. In case-control studies, the proportion of exposed controls is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of exposed cases on the vertical axis, although only the contour lines of equal odds ratios yield direct epidemiological interpretation. In these graphs, the distribution of the individual estimates of effect with respect to the contour lines offers a due as to the adequacy of the scale of measurement used (additive or multiplicative). This graphical method also permits direct inspection of the range of disease frequency in follow-up studies and of the range of exposure in case-control studies. Its use is illustrated with the aid of 3 examples derived from the literature. Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/bc831fd1/attachment-0001.htm From nico at danfoss.com Tue Mar 17 20:48:04 2009 From: nico at danfoss.com (Daams Nico) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:48:04 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? (Ken Thorlton) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D6CE8D7EF73A44ABC7644F858FEF17A2FBB78@DKDN01MX53.danfoss.net> Dear Ken Thorlton, (How do you know additional instruction for opening the booklet cover is necessary?) What about giving (a part of) the non-adhesive circle a distintive color? It can make the pull-area stand out from the rest, making a good clue for fingers. You could try and test different solutions with different users (within or outside the target group) to get confident which pull clue works best. I hope this can help you further. Best regards, Nico Daams nico at danfoss.com From markb at textmatters.com Wed Mar 18 02:13:25 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:13:25 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: ATypI conference 2009 Message-ID: <49C04AB5.9070500@textmatters.com> The Programme Committee of Typ09, ATypI?s 53th annual confer?ence, invites you to contribute your proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for inclusion in the programme of this year?s conference. We are confident that Typ09 will provide an excel?lent opportunity for typographic professionals, experts, and enthu?siasts to exchange ideas, establish collaborations, and present the results of their research and creative works. Locations Typ09 will take place from 26 to 30 October in Mexico City, Mexico. From Monday the 26th to Wednesday the 28th, the conference will be at the Museo Interactivo de Econom?a (MIDE), a modern high-tech museum in a fully-restored 18th-century monastery in the historic centre of the city. On Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th, the TypeTools and TypeTech forums, as well as various workshops, tutorials, and lec?tures, will be held on the campus of An?huac University, one of the foremost universities in M?xico. Theme The theme of Typ09, the first ATypI conference to be held in Latin America, is ?the heart of the letter?. We will examine letters to exhibit not only their peculiar anatomies but also their inner selves. We will share our latest findings and demonstrate typography?s technological progress. We will explore the visual richness of pre-Columbian America and its modern expressions, including modern typographic solutions for old vernacular languages. Audience Conference attendees will represent the craft, business, educational, and technological spheres of type and typography. They will include type designers, graphic designers, project managers & software engineers from leading software companies and font foundries, web-designers, information designers, researchers, educators, writers, lettering artists, and students, as well as typography enthusiasts from around the world. Sessions Unlike recent ATypI conferences, which have had multiple tracks of programming, the first three days of Typ09 will be a single-track event, with a mix of presentations and panels ranging in length from five minutes up to forty minutes. Each presentation should be concise, forceful, and to the point. Although we do not want presentations to be superficial or merely entertaining, we do want them to excite interest; they can be short and concentrated, with suggested resources for expanding and unpacking each subject and for delving into deeper detail later. The last two days of the conference will consist of workshops, tutorials, and lectures alongside the usual ATypI TypeTech and TypeTools full-day programmes of talks and demos. Workshop and lecture themes might include (but are not limited to) explorations of early New World printing, pre-Columbian writing, and the Mexican sign-painting tradition, as well as the impact of new reading technologies, and any aspect of type design and typography and their interaction with technology and culture. TypeTech draws a diverse audience of practicing type designers, engineers, and programmers, and the TypeTools sessions often draw type designers with varying levels of experience. Conference language The ATypI official language is International English. All submissions, papers and presentations should be provided in English (Spanish translations are optional) and may be published. Interpretation from/to English/Spanish will be provided during the Conference but not for workshops and TypeTools and TypeTech presentations. Proposals A submission must contain a title and an abstract of the proposed presentation (100 words maximum), and a speaker?s biography (100 words maximum). To submit a proposal, please download and fill out the form posted at http://www.atypi.org/04_Mexico/files/atypiCallForPapers.pdf Submissions should be sent by e-mail to Barbara Jarzyna, the Executive Secretary of ATypI (secretariat at atypi.org). E-mail messages should have the subject line: ?proposal for ATypI 2009?. Target dates Submissions due: 30 April 2009 Notification date: 1 June 2009 Presentations due: 28 August 2009 Publication If your participation is accepted, you will receive confirmation from ATypI, and we will include your proposal in the conference pro?gramme. We will publish your biography and presentation details on the Typ09 web site and include the same information in the printed programme that will be distributed to all attendees upon their check-in. We strongly encourage you to send us your slides or other visual material in advance so that we can also include them, with all required copyright notices, on the conference CD/memory stick, which will be given out to participants at the start of the event. -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0013.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0013.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0008.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Tue Mar 17 15:10:08 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:10:08 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Message-ID: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Dear Jorge Frascara, Many thanks for your reply. I very much like the idea that the evaluation of an information graphic could be related to the task that it is to be used for. I've established quite a few different uses to which information graphics could be put in my research in health technology assessment: 1. For displaying complex data. (So, 2002) 2. For overview and comparison of multivariate data. (Spence, 2007) 3. Where more data must be displayed in a smaller space. (Tufte, 2001) 4. To enable faster data processing by using the high bandwidth of visual perception. (Resnikoff, 1989) 5. Where data must be simplified or organised through abstraction and selective omission. (Thomas, 2005) Different measurements might be appropriate for evaluating these different information graphic uses... For example, in use 1, the short and long term retention might be measured for different graphical and non-graphical presentations of the data. In use 4, however, response times might be the most important variable to consider (alongside accuracy, which should not be adversely affected in many situations). Food for thought... Will. Refs: S. So and M. Smith. Colour Graphics and Task Complexity in Multivariate Decision Making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4):565-593, 2002. Robert Spence. Information visualization: Design for interaction, Harlow:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Edward R. Tufte. The visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, Conn:Graphics Press, 2001. Howard L. Resnikoff. The illusion of reality, New York ; London : Springer, 1989. J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics, IEEE Computer Society. Available online at: http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm, 2005. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK On 15 Mar 2009, at 15:27, frascara at ualberta.ca wrote: > Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, > > Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and > could not keep up with the emails. > > I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate > performance in information design: memorization of content (which > depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or > both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to > establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare > two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it > might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative > performance of individual variables. > > I hope this is useful > > Good luck with your project. > > Jorge Frascara > > > Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > >> Dear All, >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design >> list the following question. I have mentioned the >> DD4D conference in Paris, and some other >> references. Can anyone help? >> >> Kind regards, >> Karel. >> waarde at glo.be >> >> >>>>> >> >> I am currently doing a doctorate research project >> which aims to show how information graphics can >> be used to support health technology assessment >> which is a key area of policy making in >> healthcare. >> >> In health technology assessment (HTA), the >> scientific research community provides evidence >> based syntheses to support high level decisions >> about priorities in health spending. In the UK, >> for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision >> making processes at the National Instititute of >> Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance >> is growing both in the UK and internationally. In >> this context, there is commonly a need to present >> complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers >> of differing professional backgrounds. The >> opportunities and role of the designer in >> producing information graphics to support the >> presentation of such information in HTA is only >> just beginning to be understood. >> >> One challenge in my research is to show an >> empirical effect in terms of understanding or >> information absorption between a purely numerical >> (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of >> research data. >> >> My first question is therefore: >> >> Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference >> source for empirical studies that >> demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information >> graphics in decision support? >> >> Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests >> that the more complex the information, the >> greater the advantage of using information >> graphics (given the fact that there is a learning >> curve for unfamiliar presentations of >> information). I can design an experiment that >> gradually increases the complexity of a decision, >> based on more and more information, but I need to >> know how to assess how well people are absorbing >> information, so that I can compare different >> presentation methods. >> >> I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring >> effectiveness, used in such comparative >> evaluative studies in management science: >> >> 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and >> ask a series of questions which require the >> participant to obtain information from the data, >> counting the number (and/or speed) of correct >> responses. >> >> 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in >> a (real) sequential data set, and measure their >> responses against the actual values. >> >> 3) Ask participants which presentation method >> they preferred using a qualitative technique, >> such as a questionnaire or interview delivered >> after the event. >> >> My second question is: >> >> Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less >> than obvious...) ways of measuring the >> effectiveness of information graphics that I may >> have missed? >> >> >> ............................................... >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. >> PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. >> >> T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 >> M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 >> E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk >> >> www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ >> www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ >> www.willstahl.com >> >> >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: >> infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: >> http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe >> >> For all Information Design matters: >> http://InformationDesign.org >> >> Problems? Write to: >> InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> > From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:44:45 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:44:45 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 1 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: <50912080-81BD-4095-AC30-0CD9D7D88BB1@earthlink.net> Hello Will, Karel, and Caf? Denizens, Will, I haven't done research in this area, but I think it is very important. I asked some of my friends about this question and they came up with a few examples that show significant effects of particular data displays on enabling decision making. A friend of mine works for Becton Dickinson in the area of making usable blood glucose meters. She asked some of the self proclaimed "data display geeks" about Will Stahl-Timmins' email. Yesterday I sent a response to the Caf? with a few references that might be of interest; however, my message bounced because it was too long. I will now resend it by cutting the message into two. Below find some refs and the next gives 4 references with attached abstracts. Perhaps they will be of some use. [Sorry for the length of this message folks.] Will, you might consider the work of Barbara Mirel. She has been studying how people make decisions by modeling their data visually. Most of her recent work has been in the medical domain so it may be of use. Here are some of her refs: Barbara Mirel, Leif Allmendinger Visualizing complexity:Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes 2004 IIID Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation (this later appeared in Mirel, Barbara and Leif Allmendinger 2004. ?Visualizing complexity: Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes?. Information Design Journal + Document Design 12:2, 141?151.) Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software (Interactive Technologies) by Barbara Mirel (Paperback - Sep 2003) Barbara Mirel, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Brath, Brian Cort: Visual analytics for model-based policy analysis: exploring rapid changes in commodities markets. DG.O 2007: 312-313 2003 Barbara Mirel: General hospital: modeling complex problem solving in complex work system. SIGDOC 2003: 60-67 Barbara Mirel: Complex queries in information visualizations: distributing instruction across documentation and interfaces. SIGDOC 1999: 1-8 Good luck Will from all of us in the information design community! We need more people to study these issues. kind regards, karen Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/c429103f/attachment-0002.htm From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:47:48 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:48 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 2 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: Hi Will and Caf?, Here are 4 more references on information graphics for decision making. They are from a professional at Becton Dickinson who works in diabetes care. 1 BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008 Feb 25;8:8. [ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18298827 ] The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.Ogilvie D, Fayter D, Petticrew M, Sowden A, Thomas S, Whitehead M, Worthy G. Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK. dbo23 at medschl.cam.ac.uk BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers. PMID: 18298827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2270283 ------------------------- 2 Stat Med. 2002 Sep 30;21(18):2641-52 [ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/98516224/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ] A graphical method for exploring heterogeneity in meta-analyses: application to a meta-analysis of 65 trials.Baujat B, Mah? C, Pignon JP, Hill C. Institut Gustave Roussy, D?partement de Biostatistique et d'Epid?miologie, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif cedex, France. Heterogeneity can be a major component of meta-analyses and by virtue of that fact warrants investigation. Classic analysis methods, such as meta-regression, are used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. However, it may be difficult to apply such a method in complex cases or in the absence of an a priori hypothesis. This paper presents a graphical method to identify trials, groups of trials or groups of patients that are sources of heterogeneity. The contribution of these trials to the overall result can also be evaluated with this method. Each trial is represented by a dot on a 2D graph. The X-axis represents the contribution of the trial to the overall Cochran Q-test for heterogeneity. The Y-axis represents the influence of the trial, defined as the standardized squared difference between the treatment effects estimated with and without the trial. This approach has been applied to data from the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) comprising 10,850 patients in 65 randomized trials. The graphical method allowed us to identify trials that contributed considerably to the overall heterogeneity and had a strong influence on the overall result. It also provided useful information for the interpretation of heterogeneity in this meta-analysis. The proposed graphical method identifies trials that account for most of the heterogeneity without having to explore all possible sources of heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. This method can also be applied to identify types of patients that explain heterogeneity in the treatment effect. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 12228882 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 3 J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Oct;54(10):1046-55. [ http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(01)00377-8/abstract ] Funnel plots for detecting bias in meta-analysis: guidelines on choice of axis. Sterne JA, Egger M. MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PR, Bristol, UK. jonathan.sterne at bristol.ac. Asymmetry in funnel plots may indicate publication bias in meta- analysis, but the shape of the plot in the absence of bias depends on the choice of axes. We evaluated standard error, precision (inverse of standard error), variance, inverse of variance, sample size and log sample size (vertical axis) and log odds ratio, log risk ratio and risk difference (horizontal axis). Standard error is likely to be the best choice for the vertical axis: the expected shape in the absence of bias corresponds to a symmetrical funnel, straight lines to indicate 95% confidence intervals can be included and the plot emphasises smaller studies which are more prone to bias. Precision or inverse of variance is useful when comparing meta-analyses of small trials with subsequent large trials. The use of sample size or log sample size is problematic because the expected shape of the plot in the absence of bias is unpredictable. We found similar evidence for asymmetry and between trial variation in a sample of 78 published meta- analyses whether odds ratios or risk ratios were used on the horizontal axis. Different conclusions were reached for risk differences and this was related to increased between-trial variation. We conclude that funnel plots of meta-analyses should generally use standard error as the measure of study size and ratio measures of treatment effect. PMID: 11576817 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 4 The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(1):101-105; doi:10.1093/ eurpub/7.1.101 [ http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/101 ] A graphical display useful for meta-analysis F. JAVIER JIM?NEZ1,2, ELISEO GUALLAR1, and JOS? M. MART?N-MORENO1,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistks, National School of Public Health, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, ?San Carlos? University Hospital Madrid, Spain 3 National Centre for Epidemiology, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain Eliseo Guallar, MD, Dr PH, Departamento de Epidemiologla y Bioestadlstica, Escuela National de Sanidad, Sinesio Delgado 8, 28029 Madrid, Spain, tel 34 1 3877873, fax 34 1 3877872 Graphical methods are frequently used in meta-analysis to summarize their results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. In this paper, we illustrate a graphical method for meta- analysis of studies with dichotomous exposures and outcomes that complements other graphical and analytical approaches to meta- analysis. In prospective studies, the proportion of cases among the unexposed is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of cases among the exposed on the vertical axis. Contour lines for equal values of relative risk, odds ratio or risk difference and for the combined estimate of effect and its confidence interval are then superimposed on the graph. In case-control studies, the proportion of exposed controls is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of exposed cases on the vertical axis, although only the contour lines of equal odds ratios yield direct epidemiological interpretation. In these graphs, the distribution of the individual estimates of effect with respect to the contour lines offers a due as to the adequacy of the scale of measurement used (additive or multiplicative). This graphical method also permits direct inspection of the range of disease frequency in follow-up studies and of the range of exposure in case-control studies. Its use is illustrated with the aid of 3 examples derived from the literature. Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/bc831fd1/attachment-0002.htm From nico at danfoss.com Tue Mar 17 20:48:04 2009 From: nico at danfoss.com (Daams Nico) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:48:04 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? (Ken Thorlton) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D6CE8D7EF73A44ABC7644F858FEF17A2FBB78@DKDN01MX53.danfoss.net> Dear Ken Thorlton, (How do you know additional instruction for opening the booklet cover is necessary?) What about giving (a part of) the non-adhesive circle a distintive color? It can make the pull-area stand out from the rest, making a good clue for fingers. You could try and test different solutions with different users (within or outside the target group) to get confident which pull clue works best. I hope this can help you further. Best regards, Nico Daams nico at danfoss.com From markb at textmatters.com Wed Mar 18 02:13:25 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:13:25 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: ATypI conference 2009 Message-ID: <49C04AB5.9070500@textmatters.com> The Programme Committee of Typ09, ATypI?s 53th annual confer?ence, invites you to contribute your proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for inclusion in the programme of this year?s conference. We are confident that Typ09 will provide an excel?lent opportunity for typographic professionals, experts, and enthu?siasts to exchange ideas, establish collaborations, and present the results of their research and creative works. Locations Typ09 will take place from 26 to 30 October in Mexico City, Mexico. From Monday the 26th to Wednesday the 28th, the conference will be at the Museo Interactivo de Econom?a (MIDE), a modern high-tech museum in a fully-restored 18th-century monastery in the historic centre of the city. On Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th, the TypeTools and TypeTech forums, as well as various workshops, tutorials, and lec?tures, will be held on the campus of An?huac University, one of the foremost universities in M?xico. Theme The theme of Typ09, the first ATypI conference to be held in Latin America, is ?the heart of the letter?. We will examine letters to exhibit not only their peculiar anatomies but also their inner selves. We will share our latest findings and demonstrate typography?s technological progress. We will explore the visual richness of pre-Columbian America and its modern expressions, including modern typographic solutions for old vernacular languages. Audience Conference attendees will represent the craft, business, educational, and technological spheres of type and typography. They will include type designers, graphic designers, project managers & software engineers from leading software companies and font foundries, web-designers, information designers, researchers, educators, writers, lettering artists, and students, as well as typography enthusiasts from around the world. Sessions Unlike recent ATypI conferences, which have had multiple tracks of programming, the first three days of Typ09 will be a single-track event, with a mix of presentations and panels ranging in length from five minutes up to forty minutes. Each presentation should be concise, forceful, and to the point. Although we do not want presentations to be superficial or merely entertaining, we do want them to excite interest; they can be short and concentrated, with suggested resources for expanding and unpacking each subject and for delving into deeper detail later. The last two days of the conference will consist of workshops, tutorials, and lectures alongside the usual ATypI TypeTech and TypeTools full-day programmes of talks and demos. Workshop and lecture themes might include (but are not limited to) explorations of early New World printing, pre-Columbian writing, and the Mexican sign-painting tradition, as well as the impact of new reading technologies, and any aspect of type design and typography and their interaction with technology and culture. TypeTech draws a diverse audience of practicing type designers, engineers, and programmers, and the TypeTools sessions often draw type designers with varying levels of experience. Conference language The ATypI official language is International English. All submissions, papers and presentations should be provided in English (Spanish translations are optional) and may be published. Interpretation from/to English/Spanish will be provided during the Conference but not for workshops and TypeTools and TypeTech presentations. Proposals A submission must contain a title and an abstract of the proposed presentation (100 words maximum), and a speaker?s biography (100 words maximum). To submit a proposal, please download and fill out the form posted at http://www.atypi.org/04_Mexico/files/atypiCallForPapers.pdf Submissions should be sent by e-mail to Barbara Jarzyna, the Executive Secretary of ATypI (secretariat at atypi.org). E-mail messages should have the subject line: ?proposal for ATypI 2009?. Target dates Submissions due: 30 April 2009 Notification date: 1 June 2009 Presentations due: 28 August 2009 Publication If your participation is accepted, you will receive confirmation from ATypI, and we will include your proposal in the conference pro?gramme. We will publish your biography and presentation details on the Typ09 web site and include the same information in the printed programme that will be distributed to all attendees upon their check-in. We strongly encourage you to send us your slides or other visual material in advance so that we can also include them, with all required copyright notices, on the conference CD/memory stick, which will be given out to participants at the start of the event. -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0014.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0014.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0009.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Tue Mar 17 15:10:08 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:10:08 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Message-ID: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Dear Jorge Frascara, Many thanks for your reply. I very much like the idea that the evaluation of an information graphic could be related to the task that it is to be used for. I've established quite a few different uses to which information graphics could be put in my research in health technology assessment: 1. For displaying complex data. (So, 2002) 2. For overview and comparison of multivariate data. (Spence, 2007) 3. Where more data must be displayed in a smaller space. (Tufte, 2001) 4. To enable faster data processing by using the high bandwidth of visual perception. (Resnikoff, 1989) 5. Where data must be simplified or organised through abstraction and selective omission. (Thomas, 2005) Different measurements might be appropriate for evaluating these different information graphic uses... For example, in use 1, the short and long term retention might be measured for different graphical and non-graphical presentations of the data. In use 4, however, response times might be the most important variable to consider (alongside accuracy, which should not be adversely affected in many situations). Food for thought... Will. Refs: S. So and M. Smith. Colour Graphics and Task Complexity in Multivariate Decision Making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4):565-593, 2002. Robert Spence. Information visualization: Design for interaction, Harlow:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Edward R. Tufte. The visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, Conn:Graphics Press, 2001. Howard L. Resnikoff. The illusion of reality, New York ; London : Springer, 1989. J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics, IEEE Computer Society. Available online at: http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm, 2005. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK On 15 Mar 2009, at 15:27, frascara at ualberta.ca wrote: > Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, > > Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and > could not keep up with the emails. > > I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate > performance in information design: memorization of content (which > depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or > both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to > establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare > two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it > might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative > performance of individual variables. > > I hope this is useful > > Good luck with your project. > > Jorge Frascara > > > Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > >> Dear All, >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design >> list the following question. I have mentioned the >> DD4D conference in Paris, and some other >> references. Can anyone help? >> >> Kind regards, >> Karel. >> waarde at glo.be >> >> >>>>> >> >> I am currently doing a doctorate research project >> which aims to show how information graphics can >> be used to support health technology assessment >> which is a key area of policy making in >> healthcare. >> >> In health technology assessment (HTA), the >> scientific research community provides evidence >> based syntheses to support high level decisions >> about priorities in health spending. In the UK, >> for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision >> making processes at the National Instititute of >> Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance >> is growing both in the UK and internationally. In >> this context, there is commonly a need to present >> complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers >> of differing professional backgrounds. The >> opportunities and role of the designer in >> producing information graphics to support the >> presentation of such information in HTA is only >> just beginning to be understood. >> >> One challenge in my research is to show an >> empirical effect in terms of understanding or >> information absorption between a purely numerical >> (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of >> research data. >> >> My first question is therefore: >> >> Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference >> source for empirical studies that >> demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information >> graphics in decision support? >> >> Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests >> that the more complex the information, the >> greater the advantage of using information >> graphics (given the fact that there is a learning >> curve for unfamiliar presentations of >> information). I can design an experiment that >> gradually increases the complexity of a decision, >> based on more and more information, but I need to >> know how to assess how well people are absorbing >> information, so that I can compare different >> presentation methods. >> >> I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring >> effectiveness, used in such comparative >> evaluative studies in management science: >> >> 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and >> ask a series of questions which require the >> participant to obtain information from the data, >> counting the number (and/or speed) of correct >> responses. >> >> 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in >> a (real) sequential data set, and measure their >> responses against the actual values. >> >> 3) Ask participants which presentation method >> they preferred using a qualitative technique, >> such as a questionnaire or interview delivered >> after the event. >> >> My second question is: >> >> Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less >> than obvious...) ways of measuring the >> effectiveness of information graphics that I may >> have missed? >> >> >> ............................................... >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. >> PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. >> >> T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 >> M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 >> E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk >> >> www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ >> www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ >> www.willstahl.com >> >> >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: >> infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: >> http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe >> >> For all Information Design matters: >> http://InformationDesign.org >> >> Problems? Write to: >> InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> > From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:44:45 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:44:45 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 1 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: <50912080-81BD-4095-AC30-0CD9D7D88BB1@earthlink.net> Hello Will, Karel, and Caf? Denizens, Will, I haven't done research in this area, but I think it is very important. I asked some of my friends about this question and they came up with a few examples that show significant effects of particular data displays on enabling decision making. A friend of mine works for Becton Dickinson in the area of making usable blood glucose meters. She asked some of the self proclaimed "data display geeks" about Will Stahl-Timmins' email. Yesterday I sent a response to the Caf? with a few references that might be of interest; however, my message bounced because it was too long. I will now resend it by cutting the message into two. Below find some refs and the next gives 4 references with attached abstracts. Perhaps they will be of some use. [Sorry for the length of this message folks.] Will, you might consider the work of Barbara Mirel. She has been studying how people make decisions by modeling their data visually. Most of her recent work has been in the medical domain so it may be of use. Here are some of her refs: Barbara Mirel, Leif Allmendinger Visualizing complexity:Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes 2004 IIID Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation (this later appeared in Mirel, Barbara and Leif Allmendinger 2004. ?Visualizing complexity: Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes?. Information Design Journal + Document Design 12:2, 141?151.) Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software (Interactive Technologies) by Barbara Mirel (Paperback - Sep 2003) Barbara Mirel, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Brath, Brian Cort: Visual analytics for model-based policy analysis: exploring rapid changes in commodities markets. DG.O 2007: 312-313 2003 Barbara Mirel: General hospital: modeling complex problem solving in complex work system. SIGDOC 2003: 60-67 Barbara Mirel: Complex queries in information visualizations: distributing instruction across documentation and interfaces. SIGDOC 1999: 1-8 Good luck Will from all of us in the information design community! We need more people to study these issues. kind regards, karen Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/c429103f/attachment-0003.htm From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:47:48 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:48 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 2 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: Hi Will and Caf?, Here are 4 more references on information graphics for decision making. They are from a professional at Becton Dickinson who works in diabetes care. 1 BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008 Feb 25;8:8. [ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18298827 ] The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.Ogilvie D, Fayter D, Petticrew M, Sowden A, Thomas S, Whitehead M, Worthy G. Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK. dbo23 at medschl.cam.ac.uk BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers. PMID: 18298827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2270283 ------------------------- 2 Stat Med. 2002 Sep 30;21(18):2641-52 [ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/98516224/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ] A graphical method for exploring heterogeneity in meta-analyses: application to a meta-analysis of 65 trials.Baujat B, Mah? C, Pignon JP, Hill C. Institut Gustave Roussy, D?partement de Biostatistique et d'Epid?miologie, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif cedex, France. Heterogeneity can be a major component of meta-analyses and by virtue of that fact warrants investigation. Classic analysis methods, such as meta-regression, are used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. However, it may be difficult to apply such a method in complex cases or in the absence of an a priori hypothesis. This paper presents a graphical method to identify trials, groups of trials or groups of patients that are sources of heterogeneity. The contribution of these trials to the overall result can also be evaluated with this method. Each trial is represented by a dot on a 2D graph. The X-axis represents the contribution of the trial to the overall Cochran Q-test for heterogeneity. The Y-axis represents the influence of the trial, defined as the standardized squared difference between the treatment effects estimated with and without the trial. This approach has been applied to data from the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) comprising 10,850 patients in 65 randomized trials. The graphical method allowed us to identify trials that contributed considerably to the overall heterogeneity and had a strong influence on the overall result. It also provided useful information for the interpretation of heterogeneity in this meta-analysis. The proposed graphical method identifies trials that account for most of the heterogeneity without having to explore all possible sources of heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. This method can also be applied to identify types of patients that explain heterogeneity in the treatment effect. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 12228882 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 3 J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Oct;54(10):1046-55. [ http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(01)00377-8/abstract ] Funnel plots for detecting bias in meta-analysis: guidelines on choice of axis. Sterne JA, Egger M. MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PR, Bristol, UK. jonathan.sterne at bristol.ac. Asymmetry in funnel plots may indicate publication bias in meta- analysis, but the shape of the plot in the absence of bias depends on the choice of axes. We evaluated standard error, precision (inverse of standard error), variance, inverse of variance, sample size and log sample size (vertical axis) and log odds ratio, log risk ratio and risk difference (horizontal axis). Standard error is likely to be the best choice for the vertical axis: the expected shape in the absence of bias corresponds to a symmetrical funnel, straight lines to indicate 95% confidence intervals can be included and the plot emphasises smaller studies which are more prone to bias. Precision or inverse of variance is useful when comparing meta-analyses of small trials with subsequent large trials. The use of sample size or log sample size is problematic because the expected shape of the plot in the absence of bias is unpredictable. We found similar evidence for asymmetry and between trial variation in a sample of 78 published meta- analyses whether odds ratios or risk ratios were used on the horizontal axis. Different conclusions were reached for risk differences and this was related to increased between-trial variation. We conclude that funnel plots of meta-analyses should generally use standard error as the measure of study size and ratio measures of treatment effect. PMID: 11576817 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 4 The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(1):101-105; doi:10.1093/ eurpub/7.1.101 [ http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/101 ] A graphical display useful for meta-analysis F. JAVIER JIM?NEZ1,2, ELISEO GUALLAR1, and JOS? M. MART?N-MORENO1,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistks, National School of Public Health, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, ?San Carlos? University Hospital Madrid, Spain 3 National Centre for Epidemiology, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain Eliseo Guallar, MD, Dr PH, Departamento de Epidemiologla y Bioestadlstica, Escuela National de Sanidad, Sinesio Delgado 8, 28029 Madrid, Spain, tel 34 1 3877873, fax 34 1 3877872 Graphical methods are frequently used in meta-analysis to summarize their results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. In this paper, we illustrate a graphical method for meta- analysis of studies with dichotomous exposures and outcomes that complements other graphical and analytical approaches to meta- analysis. In prospective studies, the proportion of cases among the unexposed is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of cases among the exposed on the vertical axis. Contour lines for equal values of relative risk, odds ratio or risk difference and for the combined estimate of effect and its confidence interval are then superimposed on the graph. In case-control studies, the proportion of exposed controls is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of exposed cases on the vertical axis, although only the contour lines of equal odds ratios yield direct epidemiological interpretation. In these graphs, the distribution of the individual estimates of effect with respect to the contour lines offers a due as to the adequacy of the scale of measurement used (additive or multiplicative). This graphical method also permits direct inspection of the range of disease frequency in follow-up studies and of the range of exposure in case-control studies. Its use is illustrated with the aid of 3 examples derived from the literature. Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/bc831fd1/attachment-0003.htm From nico at danfoss.com Tue Mar 17 20:48:04 2009 From: nico at danfoss.com (Daams Nico) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:48:04 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? (Ken Thorlton) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D6CE8D7EF73A44ABC7644F858FEF17A2FBB78@DKDN01MX53.danfoss.net> Dear Ken Thorlton, (How do you know additional instruction for opening the booklet cover is necessary?) What about giving (a part of) the non-adhesive circle a distintive color? It can make the pull-area stand out from the rest, making a good clue for fingers. You could try and test different solutions with different users (within or outside the target group) to get confident which pull clue works best. I hope this can help you further. Best regards, Nico Daams nico at danfoss.com From markb at textmatters.com Wed Mar 18 02:13:25 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:13:25 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: ATypI conference 2009 Message-ID: <49C04AB5.9070500@textmatters.com> The Programme Committee of Typ09, ATypI?s 53th annual confer?ence, invites you to contribute your proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for inclusion in the programme of this year?s conference. We are confident that Typ09 will provide an excel?lent opportunity for typographic professionals, experts, and enthu?siasts to exchange ideas, establish collaborations, and present the results of their research and creative works. Locations Typ09 will take place from 26 to 30 October in Mexico City, Mexico. From Monday the 26th to Wednesday the 28th, the conference will be at the Museo Interactivo de Econom?a (MIDE), a modern high-tech museum in a fully-restored 18th-century monastery in the historic centre of the city. On Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th, the TypeTools and TypeTech forums, as well as various workshops, tutorials, and lec?tures, will be held on the campus of An?huac University, one of the foremost universities in M?xico. Theme The theme of Typ09, the first ATypI conference to be held in Latin America, is ?the heart of the letter?. We will examine letters to exhibit not only their peculiar anatomies but also their inner selves. We will share our latest findings and demonstrate typography?s technological progress. We will explore the visual richness of pre-Columbian America and its modern expressions, including modern typographic solutions for old vernacular languages. Audience Conference attendees will represent the craft, business, educational, and technological spheres of type and typography. They will include type designers, graphic designers, project managers & software engineers from leading software companies and font foundries, web-designers, information designers, researchers, educators, writers, lettering artists, and students, as well as typography enthusiasts from around the world. Sessions Unlike recent ATypI conferences, which have had multiple tracks of programming, the first three days of Typ09 will be a single-track event, with a mix of presentations and panels ranging in length from five minutes up to forty minutes. Each presentation should be concise, forceful, and to the point. Although we do not want presentations to be superficial or merely entertaining, we do want them to excite interest; they can be short and concentrated, with suggested resources for expanding and unpacking each subject and for delving into deeper detail later. The last two days of the conference will consist of workshops, tutorials, and lectures alongside the usual ATypI TypeTech and TypeTools full-day programmes of talks and demos. Workshop and lecture themes might include (but are not limited to) explorations of early New World printing, pre-Columbian writing, and the Mexican sign-painting tradition, as well as the impact of new reading technologies, and any aspect of type design and typography and their interaction with technology and culture. TypeTech draws a diverse audience of practicing type designers, engineers, and programmers, and the TypeTools sessions often draw type designers with varying levels of experience. Conference language The ATypI official language is International English. All submissions, papers and presentations should be provided in English (Spanish translations are optional) and may be published. Interpretation from/to English/Spanish will be provided during the Conference but not for workshops and TypeTools and TypeTech presentations. Proposals A submission must contain a title and an abstract of the proposed presentation (100 words maximum), and a speaker?s biography (100 words maximum). To submit a proposal, please download and fill out the form posted at http://www.atypi.org/04_Mexico/files/atypiCallForPapers.pdf Submissions should be sent by e-mail to Barbara Jarzyna, the Executive Secretary of ATypI (secretariat at atypi.org). E-mail messages should have the subject line: ?proposal for ATypI 2009?. Target dates Submissions due: 30 April 2009 Notification date: 1 June 2009 Presentations due: 28 August 2009 Publication If your participation is accepted, you will receive confirmation from ATypI, and we will include your proposal in the conference pro?gramme. We will publish your biography and presentation details on the Typ09 web site and include the same information in the printed programme that will be distributed to all attendees upon their check-in. We strongly encourage you to send us your slides or other visual material in advance so that we can also include them, with all required copyright notices, on the conference CD/memory stick, which will be given out to participants at the start of the event. -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0015.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0015.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0010.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Tue Mar 17 15:10:08 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:10:08 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Message-ID: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Dear Jorge Frascara, Many thanks for your reply. I very much like the idea that the evaluation of an information graphic could be related to the task that it is to be used for. I've established quite a few different uses to which information graphics could be put in my research in health technology assessment: 1. For displaying complex data. (So, 2002) 2. For overview and comparison of multivariate data. (Spence, 2007) 3. Where more data must be displayed in a smaller space. (Tufte, 2001) 4. To enable faster data processing by using the high bandwidth of visual perception. (Resnikoff, 1989) 5. Where data must be simplified or organised through abstraction and selective omission. (Thomas, 2005) Different measurements might be appropriate for evaluating these different information graphic uses... For example, in use 1, the short and long term retention might be measured for different graphical and non-graphical presentations of the data. In use 4, however, response times might be the most important variable to consider (alongside accuracy, which should not be adversely affected in many situations). Food for thought... Will. Refs: S. So and M. Smith. Colour Graphics and Task Complexity in Multivariate Decision Making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4):565-593, 2002. Robert Spence. Information visualization: Design for interaction, Harlow:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Edward R. Tufte. The visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, Conn:Graphics Press, 2001. Howard L. Resnikoff. The illusion of reality, New York ; London : Springer, 1989. J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics, IEEE Computer Society. Available online at: http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm, 2005. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK On 15 Mar 2009, at 15:27, frascara at ualberta.ca wrote: > Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, > > Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and > could not keep up with the emails. > > I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate > performance in information design: memorization of content (which > depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or > both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to > establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare > two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it > might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative > performance of individual variables. > > I hope this is useful > > Good luck with your project. > > Jorge Frascara > > > Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > >> Dear All, >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design >> list the following question. I have mentioned the >> DD4D conference in Paris, and some other >> references. Can anyone help? >> >> Kind regards, >> Karel. >> waarde at glo.be >> >> >>>>> >> >> I am currently doing a doctorate research project >> which aims to show how information graphics can >> be used to support health technology assessment >> which is a key area of policy making in >> healthcare. >> >> In health technology assessment (HTA), the >> scientific research community provides evidence >> based syntheses to support high level decisions >> about priorities in health spending. In the UK, >> for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision >> making processes at the National Instititute of >> Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance >> is growing both in the UK and internationally. In >> this context, there is commonly a need to present >> complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers >> of differing professional backgrounds. The >> opportunities and role of the designer in >> producing information graphics to support the >> presentation of such information in HTA is only >> just beginning to be understood. >> >> One challenge in my research is to show an >> empirical effect in terms of understanding or >> information absorption between a purely numerical >> (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of >> research data. >> >> My first question is therefore: >> >> Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference >> source for empirical studies that >> demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information >> graphics in decision support? >> >> Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests >> that the more complex the information, the >> greater the advantage of using information >> graphics (given the fact that there is a learning >> curve for unfamiliar presentations of >> information). I can design an experiment that >> gradually increases the complexity of a decision, >> based on more and more information, but I need to >> know how to assess how well people are absorbing >> information, so that I can compare different >> presentation methods. >> >> I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring >> effectiveness, used in such comparative >> evaluative studies in management science: >> >> 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and >> ask a series of questions which require the >> participant to obtain information from the data, >> counting the number (and/or speed) of correct >> responses. >> >> 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in >> a (real) sequential data set, and measure their >> responses against the actual values. >> >> 3) Ask participants which presentation method >> they preferred using a qualitative technique, >> such as a questionnaire or interview delivered >> after the event. >> >> My second question is: >> >> Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less >> than obvious...) ways of measuring the >> effectiveness of information graphics that I may >> have missed? >> >> >> ............................................... >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. >> PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. >> >> T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 >> M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 >> E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk >> >> www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ >> www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ >> www.willstahl.com >> >> >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: >> infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: >> http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe >> >> For all Information Design matters: >> http://InformationDesign.org >> >> Problems? Write to: >> InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> > From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:44:45 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:44:45 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 1 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: <50912080-81BD-4095-AC30-0CD9D7D88BB1@earthlink.net> Hello Will, Karel, and Caf? Denizens, Will, I haven't done research in this area, but I think it is very important. I asked some of my friends about this question and they came up with a few examples that show significant effects of particular data displays on enabling decision making. A friend of mine works for Becton Dickinson in the area of making usable blood glucose meters. She asked some of the self proclaimed "data display geeks" about Will Stahl-Timmins' email. Yesterday I sent a response to the Caf? with a few references that might be of interest; however, my message bounced because it was too long. I will now resend it by cutting the message into two. Below find some refs and the next gives 4 references with attached abstracts. Perhaps they will be of some use. [Sorry for the length of this message folks.] Will, you might consider the work of Barbara Mirel. She has been studying how people make decisions by modeling their data visually. Most of her recent work has been in the medical domain so it may be of use. Here are some of her refs: Barbara Mirel, Leif Allmendinger Visualizing complexity:Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes 2004 IIID Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation (this later appeared in Mirel, Barbara and Leif Allmendinger 2004. ?Visualizing complexity: Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes?. Information Design Journal + Document Design 12:2, 141?151.) Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software (Interactive Technologies) by Barbara Mirel (Paperback - Sep 2003) Barbara Mirel, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Brath, Brian Cort: Visual analytics for model-based policy analysis: exploring rapid changes in commodities markets. DG.O 2007: 312-313 2003 Barbara Mirel: General hospital: modeling complex problem solving in complex work system. SIGDOC 2003: 60-67 Barbara Mirel: Complex queries in information visualizations: distributing instruction across documentation and interfaces. SIGDOC 1999: 1-8 Good luck Will from all of us in the information design community! We need more people to study these issues. kind regards, karen Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/c429103f/attachment-0004.htm From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:47:48 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:48 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 2 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: Hi Will and Caf?, Here are 4 more references on information graphics for decision making. They are from a professional at Becton Dickinson who works in diabetes care. 1 BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008 Feb 25;8:8. [ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18298827 ] The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.Ogilvie D, Fayter D, Petticrew M, Sowden A, Thomas S, Whitehead M, Worthy G. Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK. dbo23 at medschl.cam.ac.uk BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers. PMID: 18298827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2270283 ------------------------- 2 Stat Med. 2002 Sep 30;21(18):2641-52 [ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/98516224/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ] A graphical method for exploring heterogeneity in meta-analyses: application to a meta-analysis of 65 trials.Baujat B, Mah? C, Pignon JP, Hill C. Institut Gustave Roussy, D?partement de Biostatistique et d'Epid?miologie, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif cedex, France. Heterogeneity can be a major component of meta-analyses and by virtue of that fact warrants investigation. Classic analysis methods, such as meta-regression, are used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. However, it may be difficult to apply such a method in complex cases or in the absence of an a priori hypothesis. This paper presents a graphical method to identify trials, groups of trials or groups of patients that are sources of heterogeneity. The contribution of these trials to the overall result can also be evaluated with this method. Each trial is represented by a dot on a 2D graph. The X-axis represents the contribution of the trial to the overall Cochran Q-test for heterogeneity. The Y-axis represents the influence of the trial, defined as the standardized squared difference between the treatment effects estimated with and without the trial. This approach has been applied to data from the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) comprising 10,850 patients in 65 randomized trials. The graphical method allowed us to identify trials that contributed considerably to the overall heterogeneity and had a strong influence on the overall result. It also provided useful information for the interpretation of heterogeneity in this meta-analysis. The proposed graphical method identifies trials that account for most of the heterogeneity without having to explore all possible sources of heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. This method can also be applied to identify types of patients that explain heterogeneity in the treatment effect. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 12228882 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 3 J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Oct;54(10):1046-55. [ http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(01)00377-8/abstract ] Funnel plots for detecting bias in meta-analysis: guidelines on choice of axis. Sterne JA, Egger M. MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PR, Bristol, UK. jonathan.sterne at bristol.ac. Asymmetry in funnel plots may indicate publication bias in meta- analysis, but the shape of the plot in the absence of bias depends on the choice of axes. We evaluated standard error, precision (inverse of standard error), variance, inverse of variance, sample size and log sample size (vertical axis) and log odds ratio, log risk ratio and risk difference (horizontal axis). Standard error is likely to be the best choice for the vertical axis: the expected shape in the absence of bias corresponds to a symmetrical funnel, straight lines to indicate 95% confidence intervals can be included and the plot emphasises smaller studies which are more prone to bias. Precision or inverse of variance is useful when comparing meta-analyses of small trials with subsequent large trials. The use of sample size or log sample size is problematic because the expected shape of the plot in the absence of bias is unpredictable. We found similar evidence for asymmetry and between trial variation in a sample of 78 published meta- analyses whether odds ratios or risk ratios were used on the horizontal axis. Different conclusions were reached for risk differences and this was related to increased between-trial variation. We conclude that funnel plots of meta-analyses should generally use standard error as the measure of study size and ratio measures of treatment effect. PMID: 11576817 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 4 The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(1):101-105; doi:10.1093/ eurpub/7.1.101 [ http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/101 ] A graphical display useful for meta-analysis F. JAVIER JIM?NEZ1,2, ELISEO GUALLAR1, and JOS? M. MART?N-MORENO1,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistks, National School of Public Health, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, ?San Carlos? University Hospital Madrid, Spain 3 National Centre for Epidemiology, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain Eliseo Guallar, MD, Dr PH, Departamento de Epidemiologla y Bioestadlstica, Escuela National de Sanidad, Sinesio Delgado 8, 28029 Madrid, Spain, tel 34 1 3877873, fax 34 1 3877872 Graphical methods are frequently used in meta-analysis to summarize their results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. In this paper, we illustrate a graphical method for meta- analysis of studies with dichotomous exposures and outcomes that complements other graphical and analytical approaches to meta- analysis. In prospective studies, the proportion of cases among the unexposed is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of cases among the exposed on the vertical axis. Contour lines for equal values of relative risk, odds ratio or risk difference and for the combined estimate of effect and its confidence interval are then superimposed on the graph. In case-control studies, the proportion of exposed controls is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of exposed cases on the vertical axis, although only the contour lines of equal odds ratios yield direct epidemiological interpretation. In these graphs, the distribution of the individual estimates of effect with respect to the contour lines offers a due as to the adequacy of the scale of measurement used (additive or multiplicative). This graphical method also permits direct inspection of the range of disease frequency in follow-up studies and of the range of exposure in case-control studies. Its use is illustrated with the aid of 3 examples derived from the literature. Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/bc831fd1/attachment-0004.htm From nico at danfoss.com Tue Mar 17 20:48:04 2009 From: nico at danfoss.com (Daams Nico) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:48:04 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? (Ken Thorlton) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D6CE8D7EF73A44ABC7644F858FEF17A2FBB78@DKDN01MX53.danfoss.net> Dear Ken Thorlton, (How do you know additional instruction for opening the booklet cover is necessary?) What about giving (a part of) the non-adhesive circle a distintive color? It can make the pull-area stand out from the rest, making a good clue for fingers. You could try and test different solutions with different users (within or outside the target group) to get confident which pull clue works best. I hope this can help you further. Best regards, Nico Daams nico at danfoss.com From markb at textmatters.com Wed Mar 18 02:13:25 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:13:25 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: ATypI conference 2009 Message-ID: <49C04AB5.9070500@textmatters.com> The Programme Committee of Typ09, ATypI?s 53th annual confer?ence, invites you to contribute your proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for inclusion in the programme of this year?s conference. We are confident that Typ09 will provide an excel?lent opportunity for typographic professionals, experts, and enthu?siasts to exchange ideas, establish collaborations, and present the results of their research and creative works. Locations Typ09 will take place from 26 to 30 October in Mexico City, Mexico. From Monday the 26th to Wednesday the 28th, the conference will be at the Museo Interactivo de Econom?a (MIDE), a modern high-tech museum in a fully-restored 18th-century monastery in the historic centre of the city. On Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th, the TypeTools and TypeTech forums, as well as various workshops, tutorials, and lec?tures, will be held on the campus of An?huac University, one of the foremost universities in M?xico. Theme The theme of Typ09, the first ATypI conference to be held in Latin America, is ?the heart of the letter?. We will examine letters to exhibit not only their peculiar anatomies but also their inner selves. We will share our latest findings and demonstrate typography?s technological progress. We will explore the visual richness of pre-Columbian America and its modern expressions, including modern typographic solutions for old vernacular languages. Audience Conference attendees will represent the craft, business, educational, and technological spheres of type and typography. They will include type designers, graphic designers, project managers & software engineers from leading software companies and font foundries, web-designers, information designers, researchers, educators, writers, lettering artists, and students, as well as typography enthusiasts from around the world. Sessions Unlike recent ATypI conferences, which have had multiple tracks of programming, the first three days of Typ09 will be a single-track event, with a mix of presentations and panels ranging in length from five minutes up to forty minutes. Each presentation should be concise, forceful, and to the point. Although we do not want presentations to be superficial or merely entertaining, we do want them to excite interest; they can be short and concentrated, with suggested resources for expanding and unpacking each subject and for delving into deeper detail later. The last two days of the conference will consist of workshops, tutorials, and lectures alongside the usual ATypI TypeTech and TypeTools full-day programmes of talks and demos. Workshop and lecture themes might include (but are not limited to) explorations of early New World printing, pre-Columbian writing, and the Mexican sign-painting tradition, as well as the impact of new reading technologies, and any aspect of type design and typography and their interaction with technology and culture. TypeTech draws a diverse audience of practicing type designers, engineers, and programmers, and the TypeTools sessions often draw type designers with varying levels of experience. Conference language The ATypI official language is International English. All submissions, papers and presentations should be provided in English (Spanish translations are optional) and may be published. Interpretation from/to English/Spanish will be provided during the Conference but not for workshops and TypeTools and TypeTech presentations. Proposals A submission must contain a title and an abstract of the proposed presentation (100 words maximum), and a speaker?s biography (100 words maximum). To submit a proposal, please download and fill out the form posted at http://www.atypi.org/04_Mexico/files/atypiCallForPapers.pdf Submissions should be sent by e-mail to Barbara Jarzyna, the Executive Secretary of ATypI (secretariat at atypi.org). E-mail messages should have the subject line: ?proposal for ATypI 2009?. Target dates Submissions due: 30 April 2009 Notification date: 1 June 2009 Presentations due: 28 August 2009 Publication If your participation is accepted, you will receive confirmation from ATypI, and we will include your proposal in the conference pro?gramme. We will publish your biography and presentation details on the Typ09 web site and include the same information in the printed programme that will be distributed to all attendees upon their check-in. We strongly encourage you to send us your slides or other visual material in advance so that we can also include them, with all required copyright notices, on the conference CD/memory stick, which will be given out to participants at the start of the event. -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 2 16:56:06 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 16:56:06 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? Message-ID: Dear All, Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design list the following question. I have mentioned the DD4D conference in Paris, and some other references. Can anyone help? Kind regards, Karel. waarde at glo.be >>> I am currently doing a doctorate research project which aims to show how information graphics can be used to support health technology assessment which is a key area of policy making in healthcare. In health technology assessment (HTA), the scientific research community provides evidence based syntheses to support high level decisions about priorities in health spending. In the UK, for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision making processes at the National Instititute of Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance is growing both in the UK and internationally. In this context, there is commonly a need to present complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers of differing professional backgrounds. The opportunities and role of the designer in producing information graphics to support the presentation of such information in HTA is only just beginning to be understood. One challenge in my research is to show an empirical effect in terms of understanding or information absorption between a purely numerical (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of research data. My first question is therefore: Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference source for empirical studies that demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information graphics in decision support? Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests that the more complex the information, the greater the advantage of using information graphics (given the fact that there is a learning curve for unfamiliar presentations of information). I can design an experiment that gradually increases the complexity of a decision, based on more and more information, but I need to know how to assess how well people are absorbing information, so that I can compare different presentation methods. I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring effectiveness, used in such comparative evaluative studies in management science: 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and ask a series of questions which require the participant to obtain information from the data, counting the number (and/or speed) of correct responses. 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in a (real) sequential data set, and measure their responses against the actual values. 3) Ask participants which presentation method they preferred using a qualitative technique, such as a questionnaire or interview delivered after the event. My second question is: Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less than obvious...) ways of measuring the effectiveness of information graphics that I may have missed? ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Tue Mar 3 06:50:18 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:50:18 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Dave, et al.: Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: http://www.parade.com/health/2009/03/solar-cooker-project.html This is not anywhere near as good a news story as Fred de Sam Lazaro's report on northern India's Barefoot College, but it did appear in a more popular forum (3/1/2009 issue of _Parade_ magazine, a weekly insert for many big-city Sunday newspapers in the U.S.), and the story has already generated online comments which raise some of the criticisms about the recent push for more solar ovens (NOT the panacea that some have envisioned). There is still a need for improved (more context-specific) oven design. In haste, Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From dave at lab6.com Tue Mar 3 14:05:47 2009 From: dave at lab6.com (Dave Crossland) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:05:47 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Self-reliant learning In-Reply-To: <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49ACC51A.4060407@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <2285a9d20903030505x1f5cb3bj9716432300a7ca2@mail.gmail.com> 2009/3/3 Deborah Taylor-Pearce : > Another story on low-tech solar solutions that improve women's lives: Interesting - wouldn'thave seen it - thanks! :-) From dtp at she-philosopher.com Fri Mar 6 01:15:50 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:15:50 -0800 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Cafe -- The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for lawsuits. The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are at the core of the legal challenge. A good summary of the court case is available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june09/drugmakers_03-04.html (another _NewsHour with Jim Lehrer_ segment, which originally aired 4 March 2009). Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:17:59 2009 From: andrrew_b at yahoo.co.uk (Andrew Barker) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:17:59 +0000 (GMT) Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Message-ID: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/324c1a30/attachment-0016.htm From brian at brianparkinson.co.uk Fri Mar 6 09:25:30 2009 From: brian at brianparkinson.co.uk (Brian Parkinson) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:25:30 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: U.S. Supreme Court case over pharmaceutical labeling In-Reply-To: <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> Message-ID: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> This reminds me of a similar case involving Wyeth a few years ago where poor patient information (side effects not being made clear) let to problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen-phen http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109597691121 http://tinyurl.com/af27fh Brian --------------------------------------------- Brian Parkinson Email: brian at makingsense.co.uk On 6 Mar 2009, at 12:15 am, Deborah Taylor-Pearce wrote: > The case was about whether or not an "inadequate" warning label for > the drug Phenergan -- even though OKed by the U.S. Federal Drug > Administration -- placed the drug company (Wyeth) at risk for > lawsuits. > > The issues involved have more to do with U.S. legal matters than with > medical information design, but still, I thought some of you on this > list would be interested, since pharmaceutical labeling standards are > at the core of the legal challenge. From 2waysit at verizon.net Fri Mar 6 14:55:25 2009 From: 2waysit at verizon.net (B. Faron) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:55:25 -0500 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows for suspended signs In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Mr. Barker, For a "western" country, whose alphabet is read left to right, a graphic of the sign with an arrow to its left pointing right and a stick figure of a person (walking left to right, facing right) below the sign might work. For countries where the alphabet reads right to left, the arrow would be to the right of the suspended sign pointing left. The stick figure of the person would remain below the sign, but walking from right to left, facing left. B. Faron _____ From: infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org [mailto:infodesign-cafe-bounces at list.informationdesign.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Barker Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 3:18 AM To: infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Do any of you have opinions on the subject, or can you point me to writers or research? Thanks / Andrew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090306/0bec062b/attachment-0016.htm From frank at limov.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:37 2009 From: frank at limov.com (Frank Wales) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:37 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the ceiling. Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be used; I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, because I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. -- Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Fri Mar 6 16:10:26 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:10:26 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> <49B13045.7000408@limov.com> Message-ID: <2DA359AE-B401-4A56-9703-6DDB574F055E@exeter.ac.uk> I've seen many different solutions to this... from signs painted onto on the floor or ceiling, to attempts to make a pseudo-3D arrow that points through the sign, with the bottom of the arrow expanded and the top compressed. It can be hard to recognise these quickly in poor conditions though. (bad weather, low light, stress, etc.). Construction of actual physical 3 dimensional arrows might be possible, if potentially expensive. But for a small number, it might be easy enough to hand-make them. (crazy talk, I know...) Will. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com On 6 Mar 2009, at 14:16, Frank Wales wrote: > Andrew Barker wrote: >> Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? >> The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point >> upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an >> upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being >> instructed to >> vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). > > Such signs are commonplace in the UK, and I don't see dents on the > ceiling. > > Ultimately, it's whatever is conventional where the signs will be > used; > I'm confident you won't find one universally-applicable answer, > because > I've seen contradictory conventions in different places. > > For example, UK overhead road signs have upward-pointing arrows for > direction, but downward-pointing ones for lane designations. In > France, I've seen arrows on either side of the road, one pointing > left, and one right, and you're meant to realize that they're to > be taken together as pointing to the horizonal (sic) dot between them. > -- > Frank Wales [frank at limov.com] > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ From markb at textmatters.com Fri Mar 6 16:19:32 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:32 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Directional arrows In-Reply-To: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <26247.20463.qm@web26008.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49B13F04.60109@textmatters.com> Andrew Barker wrote: > Can the massed knowledge here offer any comment on the subject of arrows > on directional signs. Which way should an arrow meaning 'ahead' point? > The intuitive answer seems to be that an 'ahead' arrow should point > upwards, but what about a suspended sign that one passes beneath - an > upwards pointing arrow seems wrong unless people are being instructed to > vault over the sign (unlikely and probably inadvisable). The standard > texts that I consult seem strangely reticent on the subject. Opinion only: ceiling-mounted signs should have downward-pointing arrows for 'straight ahead'. In a corridor or walkway (or on a gantry you pass beaneath) this is not ambiguous. In free-standing signs, or signs mounted on an object, the down arrow means 'here'. best -- Mark Barratt Text Matters Information design: we help explain things using language | design | systems | process improvement ____________________________________________ phone +44 (0)118 986 8313 email markb at textmatters.com web http://www.textmatters.com From dtp at she-philosopher.com Wed Mar 11 20:51:57 2009 From: dtp at she-philosopher.com (Deborah Taylor-Pearce) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:57 -0700 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: "Photography's Ghosts: The Image and Its Artifice" In-Reply-To: <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> References: <3CCF736C-7EB8-4622-86FB-D2431F5CCDA3@reading.ac.uk> <4959B87F.2020808@she-philosopher.com> <2285a9d20901151245x55a46482s2258ba13872dc825@mail.gmail.com> <49B06B36.2070806@she-philosopher.com> <29D83812-ACC5-4AF9-B393-1D1EA1F226D0@brianparkinson.co.uk> Message-ID: <49B8165D.4070206@she-philosopher.com> Cafe, I thought this book review by Frances Richard of Michael Fried's _Why Photography Matters as Art as Never Before_ and Fred Ritchin's _After Photography_ was really good. It was published in the 16 March 2009 issue of _The Nation_ (vol. 288, no. 10) and is available online at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/richard Among Ritchin's arguments about the new Photography 2.0 (aka "hyperphotography"): "Documentarians in the digital dispensation have a duty, he believes, to invite commentary, modification and defiance. Viewers have a duty to respond. 'Information,' Ritchin argues astutely, 'is not a consumer right but to be earned through the manner in which one seeks it, even in the virtual world.' Accordingly, he advocates web-based work that 'confounds an otherwise simplistic sense of interactivity in which there is a menu of choices but no resistance, coming out of a singularly direct, consumerist American culture.' Online editors might facilitate active viewing by developing a tool kit for digital forensics: "'A new photographic template for the digital environment could be devised in which information is hidden in all the four corners of the image so that those interested could make it visible by placing the cursor over each corner to create a roll-over. The bottom right corner might contain issues of authorship and copyright; the bottom left could contain the caption and amplifying comments by the photographer; the upper left could contain responses to the image by its subjects; and the upper right could give information as to how the reader can become involved, help, learn more, by providing Web addresses and other guidance.' "These are interesting proposals, and a few key early adopters might make them de rigueur. But while Fried insists on a hermetic seal between reality and image, Ritchin downplays the objection that new conventions breed new chicanery. Once institutionalized, would amplifying rollovers not be bastardized like any other guideline promulgating transparency and justice? Photographers, designers and editors obviously ought to be conscious about pandering to click-addicted passivity. Fundamentally, however, the essence/appearance conundrum cannot be solved by more or better data and interfaces. Images promise, and never quite deliver, reliable witness--because they can't. Complete, unadulterated transcription of the world did not exist in technologies known to Plato or Daguerre, and it doesn't exist in any we invent now." ... Ritchin's take on an updated "techno-ethical visual criticism" sounds interesting, although I, too, wonder about its effectiveness.... Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce dtp at she-philosopher.com From K.Thorlton at healthed.com Wed Mar 11 21:17:35 2009 From: K.Thorlton at healthed.com (Thorlton, Ken ) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:35 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? Message-ID: <8E3EF86D14195B4FB08C4F810315E537056B8ACC@hedmail01.healthed.local> I am working on a booklet that will be distributed throughout the US and Europe and wondered if there is a universal symbol that could be used to indicate open/lift. I have numerous examples in my design arsenal (arrows, etc.) but wanted to see if there are other options I may be overlooking. This booklet will be sealed with an adhesive device (sort of like a wafer seal) that will allow the user to pull up on an area of the seal that is not adhered (a circle) in order to then pull through the entire seal and open the booklet. It is on the circle that we would like to provide some instruction. We would like to use a graphic device instead of type so that translation does not become problematic. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Ken ____________________________________________ Ken Thorlton, VP, Creative Director HealthEd * The Patient Education Agency 100 Walnut Ave., Suite 407 * Clark, NJ, 07066 p: 908-389-2146 * f: 732-388-5204 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090311/fb273256/attachment-0011.htm From frascara at ualberta.ca Sun Mar 15 16:27:51 2009 From: frascara at ualberta.ca (frascara at ualberta.ca) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:27:51 -0600 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and could not keep up with the emails. I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate performance in information design: memorization of content (which depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative performance of individual variables. I hope this is useful Good luck with your project. Jorge Frascara Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > Dear All, > > Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design > list the following question. I have mentioned the > DD4D conference in Paris, and some other > references. Can anyone help? > > Kind regards, > Karel. > waarde at glo.be > > >>>> > > I am currently doing a doctorate research project > which aims to show how information graphics can > be used to support health technology assessment > which is a key area of policy making in > healthcare. > > In health technology assessment (HTA), the > scientific research community provides evidence > based syntheses to support high level decisions > about priorities in health spending. In the UK, > for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision > making processes at the National Instititute of > Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance > is growing both in the UK and internationally. In > this context, there is commonly a need to present > complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers > of differing professional backgrounds. The > opportunities and role of the designer in > producing information graphics to support the > presentation of such information in HTA is only > just beginning to be understood. > > One challenge in my research is to show an > empirical effect in terms of understanding or > information absorption between a purely numerical > (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of > research data. > > My first question is therefore: > > Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference > source for empirical studies that > demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information > graphics in decision support? > > Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests > that the more complex the information, the > greater the advantage of using information > graphics (given the fact that there is a learning > curve for unfamiliar presentations of > information). I can design an experiment that > gradually increases the complexity of a decision, > based on more and more information, but I need to > know how to assess how well people are absorbing > information, so that I can compare different > presentation methods. > > I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring > effectiveness, used in such comparative > evaluative studies in management science: > > 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and > ask a series of questions which require the > participant to obtain information from the data, > counting the number (and/or speed) of correct > responses. > > 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in > a (real) sequential data set, and measure their > responses against the actual values. > > 3) Ask participants which presentation method > they preferred using a qualitative technique, > such as a questionnaire or interview delivered > after the event. > > My second question is: > > Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less > than obvious...) ways of measuring the > effectiveness of information graphics that I may > have missed? > > > ............................................... > > Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. > PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. > > T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 > M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 > E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk > > www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ > www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ > www.willstahl.com > > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: > infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: > http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe > > For all Information Design matters: > http://InformationDesign.org > > Problems? Write to: > InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org > ___________________________________________________________________ > > From waarde at glo.be Mon Mar 16 17:13:37 2009 From: waarde at glo.be (Karel van der Waarde) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:13:37 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Programme Information Design Conference 2009, Greenwich, 2-3 April Message-ID: ** Conference Announcement ** (Programme) Information Design Conference 2009 DATE: April 2 - 3, 2009 Greenwich, London, UK. WEB: http://www.infodesign.org.uk/2009-conference/ ** REGISTRATION http://www.amiando.com/ida.html ** PROGRAMME Day One ? 2 April 2009 9.30 Paul Stiff: Information design before designers 10.05 Rob Waller: Pattern languages for information design 10.40 Robert Harland: The graphic design pendulum ? the swing between information and affectation THEME: WAYFINDING/WAYSHOWING 11.45 Jonathan Rez: From wayfinding to thingfinding 12.20 Colette Jeffrey: Inclusive design is clever design THEME: ISOTYPE 14.00 Eric Kindel: Isotype in Africa 14.20 Sue Walker: Let?s see inside ? the Isotype Institute?s approach to child-centred book design 14.20 Emma Minns: ?Catch up with and overtake? ? pictorial statistics and the representation of Soviet success 15.00 Panel Discussion (Andrew Boag in the chair) THEME: CASE STUDIES 16.00 Mark Barratt & Clive Holtham: Wayfinding in multiple dimensions: a web case study 16.30 Sunita Yeomans: From Chaos to Order: the redesign of the Argos catalogue 17.00 Reception and poster session - Carol Briam: An organisational framework that goes beyond words - David Farbey: Structured Authoring rides again ? what is DITA and why is it important? - Maria de Lourdes Fuentes & Maria Gonzalez de Cossio: Conventional flow charts are questioned ? a proposal to aid management success - Maria Olinda Lopes: Information design in medicine inserts in Braille ? a case study in Brazil - Yong Kwok & Jerry Reinstein: Applying general principles of a performance-based approach to nonprescription medicines labelling in Mexico 19.00 Conference dinner at The Trafalgar Tavern Day Two ? 3 April 2009 9.30 Conrad Taylor & Kemi Adeboye: Styles in text formatting software ? why don?t people make use of them? 10.05 David Farbey: Everybody?s (not) doing it ? is it really OK to keep ignoring document users? 10.40 Michele Wong Kung Fong: A shift in the delivery of online learning material, informed by learning theories 11.45 Yateendra Joshi: Tactics for effective explanatory prose 12.20 Max Gadney: Showing and Telling ? patterns in media information graphics 12.55 Borries Schwesinger: Between paper forms and e-government ? the interfaces of public services in Europe 14.15 Jane Teather & David Dickinson: Development of the Yellow Card information package 14.45 Carla Spinillo & Stephania Padovani: How to improve information communication in medicine inserts? Contributions from a user/patient-centred design approach to research in Brazil 16.15 Panel session Information Design, Interaction and interface design: separate traditions working on essentially the same problem? What can these communities learn from each other? 17.00 Close of conference ** More information: e-mail: conference at infodesign.org.uk From W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk Tue Mar 17 15:10:08 2009 From: W.Stahl-Timmins at exeter.ac.uk (Will Stahl-Timmins) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:10:08 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? In-Reply-To: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> Message-ID: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Dear Jorge Frascara, Many thanks for your reply. I very much like the idea that the evaluation of an information graphic could be related to the task that it is to be used for. I've established quite a few different uses to which information graphics could be put in my research in health technology assessment: 1. For displaying complex data. (So, 2002) 2. For overview and comparison of multivariate data. (Spence, 2007) 3. Where more data must be displayed in a smaller space. (Tufte, 2001) 4. To enable faster data processing by using the high bandwidth of visual perception. (Resnikoff, 1989) 5. Where data must be simplified or organised through abstraction and selective omission. (Thomas, 2005) Different measurements might be appropriate for evaluating these different information graphic uses... For example, in use 1, the short and long term retention might be measured for different graphical and non-graphical presentations of the data. In use 4, however, response times might be the most important variable to consider (alongside accuracy, which should not be adversely affected in many situations). Food for thought... Will. Refs: S. So and M. Smith. Colour Graphics and Task Complexity in Multivariate Decision Making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4):565-593, 2002. Robert Spence. Information visualization: Design for interaction, Harlow:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Edward R. Tufte. The visual display of quantitative information, Cheshire, Conn:Graphics Press, 2001. Howard L. Resnikoff. The illusion of reality, New York ; London : Springer, 1989. J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics, IEEE Computer Society. Available online at: http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm, 2005. ............................................... Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ www.willstahl.com PenTAG Noy Scott House Peninsula Medical School RD&E Hospital (Wonford) Heavitree Exeter EX2 5DW UK On 15 Mar 2009, at 15:27, frascara at ualberta.ca wrote: > Dear Will Stahl-Timmins, > > Sorry about my delay in responding, I was travelling and working and > could not keep up with the emails. > > I cannot suggest bibliographies, but I use two measures to evaluate > performance in information design: memorization of content (which > depending on the case can involve short or long term retention, or > both), and speed at search-and-find tasks. There is a need to > establish benchmarks of desired performance, or to be able to compare > two approaches to the solution of the same problem. In this case, it > might be useful some times to be able to measure the comparative > performance of individual variables. > > I hope this is useful > > Good luck with your project. > > Jorge Frascara > > > Quoting "Karel van der Waarde" : > >> Dear All, >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins asked on the PhD in Design >> list the following question. I have mentioned the >> DD4D conference in Paris, and some other >> references. Can anyone help? >> >> Kind regards, >> Karel. >> waarde at glo.be >> >> >>>>> >> >> I am currently doing a doctorate research project >> which aims to show how information graphics can >> be used to support health technology assessment >> which is a key area of policy making in >> healthcare. >> >> In health technology assessment (HTA), the >> scientific research community provides evidence >> based syntheses to support high level decisions >> about priorities in health spending. In the UK, >> for instance, HTA is fundamental to the decision >> making processes at the National Instititute of >> Health and Clinical Excellence and its importance >> is growing both in the UK and internationally. In >> this context, there is commonly a need to present >> complex multi-dimensional data to decision makers >> of differing professional backgrounds. The >> opportunities and role of the designer in >> producing information graphics to support the >> presentation of such information in HTA is only >> just beginning to be understood. >> >> One challenge in my research is to show an >> empirical effect in terms of understanding or >> information absorption between a purely numerical >> (tabulated) and a graphical presentation of >> research data. >> >> My first question is therefore: >> >> Is anyone aware of a bibliography or reference >> source for empirical studies that >> demonstrate/evaluate the benefits of information >> graphics in decision support? >> >> Some of the literature I?ve found so far suggests >> that the more complex the information, the >> greater the advantage of using information >> graphics (given the fact that there is a learning >> curve for unfamiliar presentations of >> information). I can design an experiment that >> gradually increases the complexity of a decision, >> based on more and more information, but I need to >> know how to assess how well people are absorbing >> information, so that I can compare different >> presentation methods. >> >> I?ve so far found three common ways of measuring >> effectiveness, used in such comparative >> evaluative studies in management science: >> >> 1) Present some data in two or more forms, and >> ask a series of questions which require the >> participant to obtain information from the data, >> counting the number (and/or speed) of correct >> responses. >> >> 2) Ask participants to predict the next value in >> a (real) sequential data set, and measure their >> responses against the actual values. >> >> 3) Ask participants which presentation method >> they preferred using a qualitative technique, >> such as a questionnaire or interview delivered >> after the event. >> >> My second question is: >> >> Does anyone know any other obvious (or even less >> than obvious...) ways of measuring the >> effectiveness of information graphics that I may >> have missed? >> >> >> ............................................... >> >> Will Stahl-Timmins B.A., M.A. >> PhD Researcher: Information Graphics in Health Technology Assessment. >> >> T: +44 (0) 1392 406 967 >> M: +44 (0) 7941 865 196 >> E: w.stahl-timmins at exeter.ac.uk >> >> www.pms.ac.uk/infographics/ >> www.pms.ac.uk/pentag/ >> www.willstahl.com >> >> >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: >> infodesign-cafe at list.informationdesign.org >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: >> http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe >> >> For all Information Design matters: >> http://InformationDesign.org >> >> Problems? Write to: >> InfoDesign-Cafe-Admin at list.InformationDesign.org >> ___________________________________________________________________ >> >> > From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:44:45 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:44:45 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 1 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: <50912080-81BD-4095-AC30-0CD9D7D88BB1@earthlink.net> Hello Will, Karel, and Caf? Denizens, Will, I haven't done research in this area, but I think it is very important. I asked some of my friends about this question and they came up with a few examples that show significant effects of particular data displays on enabling decision making. A friend of mine works for Becton Dickinson in the area of making usable blood glucose meters. She asked some of the self proclaimed "data display geeks" about Will Stahl-Timmins' email. Yesterday I sent a response to the Caf? with a few references that might be of interest; however, my message bounced because it was too long. I will now resend it by cutting the message into two. Below find some refs and the next gives 4 references with attached abstracts. Perhaps they will be of some use. [Sorry for the length of this message folks.] Will, you might consider the work of Barbara Mirel. She has been studying how people make decisions by modeling their data visually. Most of her recent work has been in the medical domain so it may be of use. Here are some of her refs: Barbara Mirel, Leif Allmendinger Visualizing complexity:Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes 2004 IIID Expert Forum for Knowledge Presentation (this later appeared in Mirel, Barbara and Leif Allmendinger 2004. ?Visualizing complexity: Getting from here to there in ill-defined problem landscapes?. Information Design Journal + Document Design 12:2, 141?151.) Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software (Interactive Technologies) by Barbara Mirel (Paperback - Sep 2003) Barbara Mirel, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Brath, Brian Cort: Visual analytics for model-based policy analysis: exploring rapid changes in commodities markets. DG.O 2007: 312-313 2003 Barbara Mirel: General hospital: modeling complex problem solving in complex work system. SIGDOC 2003: 60-67 Barbara Mirel: Complex queries in information visualizations: distributing instruction across documentation and interfaces. SIGDOC 1999: 1-8 Good luck Will from all of us in the information design community! We need more people to study these issues. kind regards, karen Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/c429103f/attachment-0005.htm From kschriver at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 17:47:48 2009 From: kschriver at earthlink.net (Karen Schriver) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:48 -0400 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Empirical evaluation of information graphics? pt 2 In-Reply-To: <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> References: <20090315092751.15002rhdr2tncnsw@webmail.ualberta.ca> <4F51A123-CC3D-4126-9216-E1AC101BCD81@exeter.ac.uk> Message-ID: Hi Will and Caf?, Here are 4 more references on information graphics for decision making. They are from a professional at Becton Dickinson who works in diabetes care. 1 BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008 Feb 25;8:8. [ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18298827 ] The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.Ogilvie D, Fayter D, Petticrew M, Sowden A, Thomas S, Whitehead M, Worthy G. Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK. dbo23 at medschl.cam.ac.uk BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers. PMID: 18298827 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2270283 ------------------------- 2 Stat Med. 2002 Sep 30;21(18):2641-52 [ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/98516224/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ] A graphical method for exploring heterogeneity in meta-analyses: application to a meta-analysis of 65 trials.Baujat B, Mah? C, Pignon JP, Hill C. Institut Gustave Roussy, D?partement de Biostatistique et d'Epid?miologie, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif cedex, France. Heterogeneity can be a major component of meta-analyses and by virtue of that fact warrants investigation. Classic analysis methods, such as meta-regression, are used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. However, it may be difficult to apply such a method in complex cases or in the absence of an a priori hypothesis. This paper presents a graphical method to identify trials, groups of trials or groups of patients that are sources of heterogeneity. The contribution of these trials to the overall result can also be evaluated with this method. Each trial is represented by a dot on a 2D graph. The X-axis represents the contribution of the trial to the overall Cochran Q-test for heterogeneity. The Y-axis represents the influence of the trial, defined as the standardized squared difference between the treatment effects estimated with and without the trial. This approach has been applied to data from the Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) comprising 10,850 patients in 65 randomized trials. The graphical method allowed us to identify trials that contributed considerably to the overall heterogeneity and had a strong influence on the overall result. It also provided useful information for the interpretation of heterogeneity in this meta-analysis. The proposed graphical method identifies trials that account for most of the heterogeneity without having to explore all possible sources of heterogeneity by subgroup analyses. This method can also be applied to identify types of patients that explain heterogeneity in the treatment effect. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 12228882 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 3 J Clin Epidemiol. 2001 Oct;54(10):1046-55. [ http://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(01)00377-8/abstract ] Funnel plots for detecting bias in meta-analysis: guidelines on choice of axis. Sterne JA, Egger M. MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PR, Bristol, UK. jonathan.sterne at bristol.ac. Asymmetry in funnel plots may indicate publication bias in meta- analysis, but the shape of the plot in the absence of bias depends on the choice of axes. We evaluated standard error, precision (inverse of standard error), variance, inverse of variance, sample size and log sample size (vertical axis) and log odds ratio, log risk ratio and risk difference (horizontal axis). Standard error is likely to be the best choice for the vertical axis: the expected shape in the absence of bias corresponds to a symmetrical funnel, straight lines to indicate 95% confidence intervals can be included and the plot emphasises smaller studies which are more prone to bias. Precision or inverse of variance is useful when comparing meta-analyses of small trials with subsequent large trials. The use of sample size or log sample size is problematic because the expected shape of the plot in the absence of bias is unpredictable. We found similar evidence for asymmetry and between trial variation in a sample of 78 published meta- analyses whether odds ratios or risk ratios were used on the horizontal axis. Different conclusions were reached for risk differences and this was related to increased between-trial variation. We conclude that funnel plots of meta-analyses should generally use standard error as the measure of study size and ratio measures of treatment effect. PMID: 11576817 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ------------------------- 4 The European Journal of Public Health 1997 7(1):101-105; doi:10.1093/ eurpub/7.1.101 [ http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/101 ] A graphical display useful for meta-analysis F. JAVIER JIM?NEZ1,2, ELISEO GUALLAR1, and JOS? M. MART?N-MORENO1,3 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistks, National School of Public Health, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, ?San Carlos? University Hospital Madrid, Spain 3 National Centre for Epidemiology, ?Carlos III? Institute of Health Madrid, Spain Eliseo Guallar, MD, Dr PH, Departamento de Epidemiologla y Bioestadlstica, Escuela National de Sanidad, Sinesio Delgado 8, 28029 Madrid, Spain, tel 34 1 3877873, fax 34 1 3877872 Graphical methods are frequently used in meta-analysis to summarize their results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. In this paper, we illustrate a graphical method for meta- analysis of studies with dichotomous exposures and outcomes that complements other graphical and analytical approaches to meta- analysis. In prospective studies, the proportion of cases among the unexposed is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of cases among the exposed on the vertical axis. Contour lines for equal values of relative risk, odds ratio or risk difference and for the combined estimate of effect and its confidence interval are then superimposed on the graph. In case-control studies, the proportion of exposed controls is plotted on the horizontal axis versus the proportion of exposed cases on the vertical axis, although only the contour lines of equal odds ratios yield direct epidemiological interpretation. In these graphs, the distribution of the individual estimates of effect with respect to the contour lines offers a due as to the adequacy of the scale of measurement used (additive or multiplicative). This graphical method also permits direct inspection of the range of disease frequency in follow-up studies and of the range of exposure in case-control studies. Its use is illustrated with the aid of 3 examples derived from the literature. Karen Schriver KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc. 33 Potomac Street Oakmont, PA 15139 412.828.8791 kschriver at earthlink.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.webtic.nl/pipermail/infodesign-cafe/attachments/20090317/bc831fd1/attachment-0005.htm From nico at danfoss.com Tue Mar 17 20:48:04 2009 From: nico at danfoss.com (Daams Nico) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:48:04 +0100 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: Universal Symbol for Open/Lift? (Ken Thorlton) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8D6CE8D7EF73A44ABC7644F858FEF17A2FBB78@DKDN01MX53.danfoss.net> Dear Ken Thorlton, (How do you know additional instruction for opening the booklet cover is necessary?) What about giving (a part of) the non-adhesive circle a distintive color? It can make the pull-area stand out from the rest, making a good clue for fingers. You could try and test different solutions with different users (within or outside the target group) to get confident which pull clue works best. I hope this can help you further. Best regards, Nico Daams nico at danfoss.com From markb at textmatters.com Wed Mar 18 02:13:25 2009 From: markb at textmatters.com (Mark Barratt) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:13:25 +0000 Subject: InfoD-Cafe: ATypI conference 2009 Message-ID: <49C04AB5.9070500@textmatters.com> The Programme Committee of Typ09, ATypI?s 53th annual confer?ence, invites you to contribute your proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for inclusion in the programme of this year?s conference. We are co