scholarly journals Interpretation at the Controller’s Edge: Designing Graphical User Interfaces for the Digital Publication of the Excavations at Gabii (Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel S. Opitz ◽  
Tyler D. Johnson

AbstractThis paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Opitz ◽  
Tyler Johnson

This paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel S. Opitz ◽  
Tyler D. Johnson

AbstractThis paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (EICS) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Arthur Sluÿters ◽  
Jean Vanderdonckt ◽  
Radu-Daniel Vatavu

Intra-platform plasticity regularly assumes that the display of a computing platform remains fixed and rigid during interactions with the platform in contrast to reconfigurable displays, which can change form depending on the context of use. In this paper, we present a model-based approach for designing and deploying graphical user interfaces that support intra-platform plasticity for reconfigurable displays. We instantiate the model for E3Screen, a new device that expands a conventional laptop with two slidable, rotatable, and foldable lateral displays, enabling slidable user interfaces. Based on a UML class diagram as a domain model and a SCRUD list as a task model, we define an abstract user interface as interaction units with a corresponding master-detail design pattern. We then map the abstract user interface to a concrete user interface by applying rules for the reconfiguration, concrete interaction, unit allocation, and widget selection and implement it in JavaScript. In a first experiment, we determine display configurations most preferred by users, which we organize in the form of a state-transition diagram. In a second experiment, we address reconfiguration rules and widget selection rules. A third experiment provides insights into the impact of the lateral displays on a visual search task.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-147
Author(s):  
Pavel Koukal

In this paper the author addresses the issue of collective administration of graphical user interfaces according to the impact of the CJEU decision in BSA v. Ministry of Culture on the case-law in one of EU Member states (Czech Republic). The author analyses the decision of the Czech Supreme Court where this Court concluded that visitors of Internet cafés use graphical user interface actively, which represents relevant usage of a copyrighted works within the meaning of Art. 18 the Czech Copyright Act. In this paper, attention is first paid to the definition of graphical user interface, its brief history and possible regimes of intellectual property protection. Subsequently, the author focuses on copyright protection of graphical user interfaces in the Czech law and interprets the BSA decision from the perspective of collective administration of copyright. Although the graphical user interfaces are independent objects of the copyright protection, if they are used while running the computer program the legal regulation of computer programs has priority. Based on conclusions reached by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic in the BSA case, the author claims that collective administration of graphical user interfaces is neither reasonable nor effective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Pietro Murano

Purpose This paper aims to present a new user interface design for text proofreading portals in a digitization and crowdsourcing context. Several of the current proofreading portals lack usability in their user interfaces. The aim of the new design is to increase user performance and satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach An empirical experiment has been conducted to evaluate the new user interface as a comparison with 18thConnect – TypeWright proofreading portal. Two of the main measures involved times and errors and this approach is considered to be good for these kinds of measures allowing a good degree of control. Nevertheless, personal opinions are also very important and these are elicited by means of a post-experiment questionnaire. Findings The data were statistically analysed and overall the new user interface helped users to perform better in terms of task time. Errors were also better with the new user interface, but the differences were not statistically significant. Furthermore, users were more satisfied with the new user interface. User satisfaction measures were mostly statistically significant. Originality/value As far as has been ascertained, there have been no systematic studies evaluating a new design with an existing design of a proofreading portal. Therefore, this research is considered to be original, and if implemented widely, it would be very valuable to the mass digitization aims.


Author(s):  
Sybille Caffiau ◽  
Patrick Girard

In user interface design, model-driven approaches usually involve generative solutions, producing interface by successive transformations of a set of initial models. These approaches have obvious limitations, especially for advanced user interfaces. Moreover, top-down design approaches (as generative approaches are) are not appropriate for interactive application development in which users need to be included in the whole design process. Based on strong associations between task models and dialogue models, the authors propose a global process, which facilitates the design of interactive applications conforming to their models, including a rule-checking step. This process permits either to start from a task model or a user-defined prototype. In any case, it allows an iterative development, including iterative user modifications, in line with user-centered design standards.


2018 ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Alan Radley

A new philosophy of user interface design is described. Named the “Lookable User Interface,” or LUI, the approach is based on the concept of a Personal Reality (PR) system. Here the computer adapts to the user's worldview in a personalized way, and according to the specific requirements, behaviors, and perceptive skills of the individual. Typically, a PR system creates and adjusts (in real-time) 3D perspective view(s) of a data-set, including (potentially) the field of view of a scene and the apparent distance and scale of objects, whilst also creating an aesthetic “eye-friendly” context for computing operations. A Lookable User Interface (LUI) affords the maximum degree of visual accessibility to digital content. The authors examine the results of testing a Lookable User Interface. Spectasia is one example of a Personal Virtual Reality (PVR) that can be used to visualize links between universals and particulars within digital worlds.


Author(s):  
Alan Radley

A new philosophy of user interface design is described. Named the “Lookable User Interface,” or LUI, the approach is based on the concept of a Personal Reality (PR) system. Here the computer adapts to the user's worldview in a personalized way, and according to the specific requirements, behaviors, and perceptive skills of the individual. Typically, a PR system creates and adjusts (in real-time) 3D perspective view(s) of a data-set, including (potentially) the field of view of a scene and the apparent distance and scale of objects, whilst also creating an aesthetic “eye-friendly” context for computing operations. A Lookable User Interface (LUI) affords the maximum degree of visual accessibility to digital content. The authors examine the results of testing a Lookable User Interface. Spectasia is one example of a Personal Virtual Reality (PVR) that can be used to visualize links between universals and particulars within digital worlds.


1988 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 259-263
Author(s):  
Michael Good

A major goal of the DECwindows program is to provide a consistent, state-of-the-art user interface for workstation software.1 This interface extends across operating systems and many different types of application programs. Within the DECwindows program we have addressed both the technical and organizational aspects of developing consistent user interfaces across applications. Traditional methods for developing user interface consistency, such as the use of an interface style guide and toolkit, were supplemented with more innovative techniques. An exhibition and catalog of DECwindows application designs helped to develop a DECwindows school of interface design. Electronic conferencing software played an important role in facilitating communication among DECwindows contributors throughout the company. Preliminary user interviews suggest that the DECwindows interface style gives a consistent, usable feel to Digital's workstation applications.


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