Gernes

Tool for editing Gernes inspired datavisualisations 

Traditionally data visualisations has be programmed by software developers. The Gernes tool version 0.1 is orientated towards endusers with artistic and a minor technical skills.
The current version of the tool is a car without hood. Be carefull!

1. How to use it
   To get access to the tool you simply double click on the datavisualisation. An Gernes data visualisation can be found at
   .
   Edit an gernes visualisation.
   
   When double clicking the tool shows up.
   When you are done editing, you either press "Save" or "Close".
   
   The menu tool gives the designer control over a) which data are visualised, b) artistic properties of the datavisualisation and 3) technical settings of the datavisualisation.
   
   The showbackground, Showline, showdots, showblocks controls whether element are shown or not. Acceptable values are true and false.
   
   If you want to control the size or color of elements, e.g. the circles you can set circle_fill, circle_stroke, elementwidth_top(size).
   
   
   If you want to control the line between circles  you can setline_style, line_color or line_width.
   
   And so worth.
2. Limitations
   The current version works without any control of userinput and any users can destroy the visualisation. Luckily the example can be recreated.
   
   More properties can indeed be considered. And  interaction of the tool may not be a one long menu.
3. Considerations
   The usage of Gernes ideas and work is definetly not fullfilled in version 0.1. But elaborated further the tool can rise to a fullfunctional artistic tool rooted in the ideas of Poul Gernes.

Gernes Gallery

This gallery is a very first attempt. The link to the gallery is in the bottom of the article. 

Gallery
Each artwork is accompagnied with a description. Please feel free to neglect the explanation

Gernes Gallery - PowerPoint(best)
Gernes Gallery Acrobat

(In case of technical problems mail: morten@hum.aau.dk)


Some notes on Gernes data visualisations

The gallery contains data visualisations that balance functionality and aesthetical qualities. The balance here is the final word but a first attempt to dive into a new creative field that is huge in potential solutions.

If the only requirement to the data visualisations is rooted in the data visualisation traditions the expressivity of the data visualisation tools would be ascetic and poor.

If the only requirements was an artistic experiments the datavisualisations would be  odd.

Here you see the first attempt to create an Poul Gernes inspired data visualisations. You have to experience the artwork with an open mind.

The data visualisations have been created in the first limited version of a Gernes inspired data visualisation tool. The tool consist of approx.. 4-5000 lines of code.

The data visualisations are flat, non interactive phenomenas. When reading (Heer & Shneidermann, 2012) and (Yi et al, 2012) you may say that data visualisations has a potential to be a modern diary including all kinds of data including personal qualitative emotions and experiences. The expressivity of data visualisations increase and here are only 2 dimensional visualisations shown. Modern data visualisations can be easily comprehendible with 5-6 dimensions.

Last thing to mention is: The targetgroup of these data visualisations are patients who read data visualisations with hope in mind. Poul Gernes “Colours of Medicine" can give patients that hope.

Error page

Unfortunately has the Gernes Gallary and Workshop been moved

Gernes Gallery - here
Gernes Workshop - here



We do apolise for your inconvinience.

gernes_gallery

Data visualisation - Gernes Gallery - Work in Progress

Visualisation of an evaluation of a datavisualisation course

During the last 3 weeks I have been giving a class in datavisualisation for 8. semester human science students. As a part of the final lecture I asked to type as many terms from the field datavisualisation in 5 minutes. I asked them to note the row number at which they had been placed at during the course. In a google form. Afterwards they where asked to create an visualisation of the data.
Below is a screenshot of the interactive visualisation of the evaluation.

You may access the interactive version from this link. Do so - you will appreciate the possibility to interact with the data!

The visualisation gives me as a teacher a new tool to measure the progress of the student in a field with many terms. It gives me a fast insight in the class and the single student.
And it gives me insight in where(physically) in the classroom  the students can learn the most.

Big Data presentation at Folkeuniversitet/Aalborg

I gave a presentation on Big Data - consequences and perspectives wednesday(March 12th) in which I argued
1) that the new empirical sources- digital footprints, ecological momentary assessment and sensor data combined with datavisualisation is a new "Wealth of the Nations".

2) Human science will benefit from the individualised and  timestamped data that documents changes over time.

3) The new data will change the structure of human science and enable practitioners to do individualised research.

The slides are available here(in danish).

Big Data is Big Business - twitter data worth 200 mill dollars

We have in Humansensing argued that the new empirical source: sensor data, ecological momentary assessment and log data should be paid far higher interest in research.
Regarding the last empirical data source, log data they document ecological digital behaviour, you can analyse on a segment level and move back to individual level. The researcher can have the choice.

The other argument for the usage of log data is the fact that they are cheap. The disturbance of the user is minimal and in some cases the resources spent on preparing equipment for is small.

All these argument seems to be suitable for Apple excerpt for the last.

"Apple buys startup Topsy; gets rich Twitter data" says the news from Reuter(Dec 2, 201).

Apple buys a compagny, Topsy, solely says the story, to get their hands on all twitter data from the start of Twitter till now. Few compagnies have that access and it is valuable for Apple because they cannot track(that is news for me) their own users usage of their mobile Apps.

The point is the prize of the access to the twitter data:
200 mill dollars.

Wiki article for Ecological Momentary Assessment submitted - wish me luck!

After 9 month on/off work on an article for wikipedia have I finally submitted the 9 pages for review.

The article gives an overview of the work on EMA. I believe there are quite a number of interesting points and considerations for most people working with EMA. 

It has not been accepted yet - it takes 3 weeks(mid october) before I get the judgement.

But I have printed the wiki-article out in case you are interested in a "sneak preview". Here it is: my Wikipedia article about "Ecological Momentary Assessment"

Half of the articles for wikipedia gets rejected. 

But in case it gets accepted the next task is to make it get integrated in the rest of wikipedia with links in relevant articles. 

And see how the article develops!

:-)
Morten

News from the gadgets frontier: Brainband, sensor armband and more - not really mature yet

The sensor market blooms. Every month new devices are being delivered to market. 
Here I present 3 that my network has found relevant for me to know about. '
I have not had the gadgets in my hand, but have read about the products on their webpages. I belive for our purpose it it relevant to evaluate the products with respect to 4 properties

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
2. Export facility
3. Connection to mobile
4. 'Research aimed?

 Melon, a stylish EEG headband  that Measures Your Mental Focus

Melon is a EEG sensor that aims to quantify your concentration. Melon collects a minimal number og EEG waves and predicts where your attention are at and how concentrated you are.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672577/kickstarting-a-headband-for-measuring-your-mental-focus#6

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   The Sampling rates of the EEG is ....low. The commercial/webpage do not describe how low but a headband cannot collect much EEG waves with only one sensor spot in the band. 
2. Export facility
   Usually manufactors have a business model that includes differentiating between consumers and professionals of one kind or another. No such differentiation is at hand at the webpage and there are no export facility. But the connection to the mobile phoneu is an integral part of the product and the visualisation of the probabilty based analysis and credible.
3. Connection to mobile
   Yes, integral part of the product. 
4. 'Research aimed?
   No not a all.

Scanadu Scout - A scanner packed with sensors that enables anyone to conduct sophisticated physical exams — in a snap.

 Scanadu Scout is device that collects a number of sensordata about the individual and give insight to patients themselves.

http://www.scanadu.com/scout/

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   The webpage does not include features yet, and which sensors that are being built into the "Scout" is unknown.
2. Export facility
   Is not possible to say yet - due to the inmaturity of the webpage. But it is likely that it will be able to export data due to the promoted product quality "....enables anyone to conduct sophisticated physical exams". 
3. Connection to mobile
   Unknown.
4. 'Research aimed?
   Not at all - aimed at consumers. 
5. 
   

BASIC - GET ACTIVE,BOOST ENERGY

Basic is a wristband filled with sensors, heart rate patterns, motion, perspiration and skin temperature are being captured. 

https://app.mybasis.com/

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   Again, something is missling in the webpage of the BASIC. tracks heart rate, motion, persiration and can calculate sleep patterns, kalories used and so on. But a more accurate description of the data collected is missing. 
2. Export facility
   The users request it - even a simple version but it seems as if the compagny dont even reply the users request. 
3. Connection to mobile
   The Basic Dashboard is larger and needs to be studied/used at a PC screen. It is probably an HTML5 thing and therefore possible to view on a mobile but not recommendable.  The mobile device to be used is the BASIC watch itself. 
4. 'Research aimed?
   No.

The conclusions must be 

- that the none of the products are attractive for research purposes. 

- these devices do not seeem attractive yet. But when/if they reach a sufficient large market it is most likely that they will extend the product with export facilities and better sensors that enables the devices to be used for research purposes. The devices can be cheap. 

It can be low fidelity but high volume tests.

Humansensing seminar - sensored!

The humansensing seminar exposed the variaty of activities at the humanistic faculty within humansensing. It spans from clinical like experiments to real world diaries. The hot discussion topic was how the large amount of quantitative data can be integrated in human science. A good day.

As the tradition prescribes a number of the active participants at the Humansensing seminar were wearing sensors. Four individuals: Anders Bonde(MÆRKK, Britta Frederiksen(Musictherapy), Niels Hannibal(Musik therapy) and Morten Aagaard(IndiMedia).

The data is collected in almost the time time interval. Britta data include context data too.

But the figures - the numbers differs remarkable.

Happy analysis!

Invitation to Humansensing seminar 2013, May 3rd 815-14, Nyhavnsgade 14(Friis building), room 2.39

Program for the Humansensing seminar 2013
When: May 3rd, 815-14
Where: Nyhavnsgade 14(Friis building), room 2.39
Enrollment - please click here

815	Coffee & registration
830	Research field:   Humansensing
	Morten Aagaard,phd
	This years Humansensing seminar documents a growing interest in challenges within an umbrallo entitled “Humansensing” across a number of research fields. What constitutes the field in terms of fundamental theoretical questions, experiences with tools and methods and finally which challenges are investigated.
845	Ecological Momentary Storytelling – bringing down organizational stress through qualifying work-life stories
	Katja Lund,phd
	We have in this user-test examined ways in which a combination of ecological momentary assessments and reflective dialogues can provide a methodological framework for qualifying work-life stories in the process of reducing organizational stress. Focusing on hearing impaired people in the Danish work force as well as primary school teachers, we have used a stress tracking method based on HRV-measurements coupled with mobile questionnaires and reflective dialogues. Findings in the user-test indicated that the method is a tool that creates a story-based foundation on which it is possible to start a process of talking about own experiences, stress and stressors, strategies, contexts etc. when dealing with organizational stress.
930	Measuring Emotion and Gameplay Experience in Real-time with Electroencephalography
	Tom Garner, ass.professor
	This presentation outlines and discusses the data obtained from a recent study into the impact of fear-eliciting sound stimuli upon human EEG within a computer video game context. Participants were required to play a bespoke game level whilst EEG data was collected from an Emotiv EPOC, a commercial-grade EEG headset. Biometric data was synchronised to and assessed alongside: video of player’s facial expression, event-log data and retrospective qualitative data, for affective contextualisation. Results revealed a repeating pattern of EEG response data, suggesting that the Emotiv EPOC may have the potential to automatically recognise player emotion in real-time.
1015	Break
1030	Measuring Emotional Experience Elicited by Sound Installations
	Anders Bonde, ass.professor
	In my presentation I will discuss some preliminary results of a joint study on audiences’ emotional experiences with interactive features of media art. The study, which took place at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientchnologie (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany, centred on 12 sound art installations (compiled under the title ‘The Unheard Avant-gardes in Scandinavia’), and the object of the study was to find out whether the possibility of user interaction influences affective response and makes a difference for the experience. In the study, we used a mixed-method approach combining psycho-physiological measures, observed behaviour and self-reporting. 59 people agreed to wear a BodyMedia sensor (measuring galvanic skin response) while engaging with the art installations. They were told to move around in their own pace while we stayed in the background observing at what time they entered each installation, and at what time they left to enter into a new one. When finished they were asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning their emotional experience. We have not yet analyzed the results systematically, though it appears that there is a connection between level of user interaction and time spent. As for the sensor data, being a measure of the electrical conductance of the skin varying in moisture level, which may indicate shifting states of affect, mood or emotion, it was our hypothesis that the interactive devices made a significant difference in that regard. At the present moment, this issue remains to be investigated.
1115	Test experimences evaluating musictherapy sessions with GSR sensor
	Britta Frederiksen, phd
	In this presentation I will present the results of GSR measurements from a pilot study in my phd study. The phd study is a mixed method case study with the title: “The development of the therapeutic relationship in music therapy with forensic psychiatric inpatients with schizophrenia”. I am in the process of evaluating the GSR measurements and if they can be used in a triangulation of qualitative data in my phd study.
1200	Lunch
1245	Can media experience be measured with GSR sensors?
	Morten Aagaard, phd
	At 4.semester humanistic information science at the Department of Communication & Psychology  a larger empirical experiment has taken place. 160 students have been exposed to a stimuli material while having measured their  GSR value. Futhermore the students were psychographically segmentised. The results of the analysis  will be presented and challenges when working with large amounts of data will be presented.
1330	General experiences in empirical work in Humansensing - final discussion
	Discussion, Niels Hannibal, ass.professor

For more info - contact Morten Aagaard.

Enrollment - please click here

Ecological Momentary Assessments - an initial explanation

For some reason  the term Ecological Momentary Assessments(EMA)  has not been explained in wiki yet. 
This post is an attempt to compensate on that. 


Since 1990 there has been a growing research interest in the oppurtunity to do assessments - most cases introsubjective, but also as a professional inspection of a situation or state of a person. And the invention of smartphones has made the interest grow more. 


Formally speaking a Ecological Momentary Assesment is a micro assessment of the current state(mood, wellbeing, physical state(sleeping quality) a more. It is captured in an context that can be time, place,physical properties of the situation(sounds  or visual properties)  or social situations properties. An finally e-behavior, And all 5 combined. 


The assessment is most often done in quantative data but with the invent of smartphones qualitative data can easily be captured to: videorecording or audiorecordings. 

2-dimensionel visual assessment of mood.
Context is unknown

The EMA can be textual, visual audial or all combined. 




EMA is attractive for a number of reasons. 

1. First of all because cognition and behaviour is context bound and therefore difficult reestablish in a post festum interview.
2. Second because the observational bias can be designed either as weak or strong. Weak by minimising or eliminating the surveillance factor. Strong by maximaxing the surveillance factor. 
3. Third the EMAs can function as initial radar for interesting cases to be studies in qualitative manners. 
4. Fourth the EMA do have strong persuasive properties that clients, children an more and benefit from. 
5. Fifth - they are cheap and are getting cheaper to develop. 

The drawback of EMAs is that they are Micro assessment without an  humans empatical ability to retrieve more substantial explanations. 


Psychologist Jonathan Led Larsen from Region Nord and I are writting an Review article on EMAs. 


See his posting "Can Ecological Momentary Assessments also deliver therapeutic interventions?" on the topic.




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Morten 

Guestlecture at Institute of Communication & Psychology/AAU - May 10, 10 am: Rob Kranenburg

"The Internet Of Things, body area networks and Natural Born Cyborgs – treats and opportunities" 

Rob Kranenburg, visionary, author and founder of the think tank "The Internet of Things" is comming to Institute of Communication and Psychology/AAU 10 of May and will be giving a lecture

Articles of Rob can be found at the bottom of this post.

Targetgroups:

Researchers within social medias, humansensing, psychology, INDIMEDIA, MAERKK and researchers working with ethical issues.

Students interested in working with contemporary and future challenges.

Rob has as educated in litteraturestudies and are having "helicopter view" on technology trends and are very much aware of the significant potentials and pittfals of the current development within IOT.

The internet of things, body area networks and Natural Born Cyborgs – treats and opportunities

Rob Kranenburg, director of IOT  - the Internet of Things

Time: May 10^th, 10-12 am, Nyhavnsgade 14, room 1.09

A new technological wave is rolling – IOT. The fact that more and more things or devices are connected to the internet and are interactive. One of these things are jewelries, exercise gadgets or preventive ICT health equipment or technically speaking our body area network(ban) that gives rise to new opportunities for persuasive cognitive support systems that will give ease development of competence and ease handling difficult challenges. On one hand. On the other hand the potential is that the devices will eliminate vital cognitive competences. Private logdata will be the new source of wealth for the individual and for the big corporation.
Being a natural born cyborg is not 5 years away rather 5 month.

Rob Kranenburg will present IOT, ban and discuss the new techno-political agenda. 

Articles

Reading facial expressions?

Hi everybody,
The for humansensing/affective computing market is really rolling.

Try this out:

Press - "Try demo Now".

If have tried it myselv:
Morten tries facial expression reader from Affectiva when seeing a SuperBowl commercial

(It gives the same results as the human sensing seminar did:
I am quite lively!)


Please notice the very informative descriptive statistics. I find such very valuable.

Obviously is there no export facility of the data in the demo.

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Morten

The dreams of the Musictherapist (might) come true

Dear everybody!
A wealth of new mobile sensors are announced and presented at various conferences.
A good place to start is
Wired or http://mobihealthnews.com/

A Sensor Patch from BodyMedia








With an page title Saying "Your Body Is an API: 9 Gadgets for Tracking Health and Fitness" Wired announces a wealth of mobile sensors including the plaster above.

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Morten

Quantified Self at Psykology?

I had "15 minutes of fame" for the psychology student at 3 semester at Aalborg University in which at promoted the idea og creating a Quantified Self Group in Aalborg. A group that should "wise" or heterogeneous composed but the main fragment should be psychology students.

Johan Trettvik had been kind and gave me the time. Thanks Johan. I have a talk which motivated the students. The Ppt is here.

Johan had a very nice argument for supporting the initiative: when he recalls his own studies one activity that have had the largest impact was his involvement in external studygroups studying the german philosopher Luhmann. And I agree. My studies consisted of studies in Computer Science but indeed also in visions and opportunities for new technology. A QS group can easily be a splendid part of a very exciting study mileu.

The feedback from the students was dominantly positive. At the meeting and visitors at humansensing.blogspot.com was 13 that day. A couple have already mailed me.  I am looking forward to start the group with them.

At the meeting I was wearing 2 sensors. I promised to upload the data from the meeting. I will.

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Morten

Humansensing - Tour de France

Hi Humansensing!
Greetings from the summer-tour-de-france-couch!
IDA, the  union for engineers in DK recommended a site on statistics in Tour de France.


Trainingpeaks is a very interesting site and a very modern and professional too.
Trainingpeaks is a metatool that collect that from a number of different devices and present them for analysis.

And it can as our Polar watch be used together with a real instructor/coach but the user can also make use of a virtual coach!
The real coachs needs for marketing is considered in the tool too!

From the Tour de France to riders have uploaded data from their equipment, Chris Anker and Flecha

Most interesting stages are


2. stage: Chris Anker takes his part of the work at the teamtrial(tip: look for watt performance)
Description and partly analysis
Graphical presentation



14. stage: Chris Anker støtter Contrador
Description and partly analysis

Graphical presentation
By the way you may find current speed some where, Chris Anker is quite impressive!



Have a nice summer

Morten

Humansensing seminar - a good proof of concept

Anders Bonde and Niels Hannibal from the HS group

The seminar was for the Humansensing group a first public and very positive experience.
Lots of people(28) had enrolled, we had made our first experiments with our sensors, good discussions and feedback. And furthermore - a number of people asked to be enrolled in our activities!

The only thing more we could wish was well prepared tests with good results. We gained a large number of lesson learned regarding the use of sensors in single subject studies but we did not get scientific proof of the value of use of sensors.

The seminars conclusions - that is the minutes from the final discussion is available here.

The powerpoint presentation are accesible via the table below.

Title	Presenter
Prehistory of Humansensing PPT	Morten Aagaard, Persuasive Design, AAU
An example of use of sensors in clinical research -  ten years ago PPT	Hanne Mette Ridder, Associate Professor Music therapy AAU
Potentials, pittfalls and tradeoffs in the use of sensors in human science and related praxis fields PPT	Johan Trettvik, Psychology, Assistant Professor, AAU
Experiment I: Measuring Meditation PPT	Morten Aagaard, Persuasive Design, AAU
Experiment II: Measuring the Relation between Music and Moving Images Combining Physiological and Self-Raporting Data PPT	Anders Bonde, Music, Associate Professor, AAU
Experiment III: Quantified Self - 24/7 sensor diary PPT	Jonathan Led Larsen, psychologist, Region Nord
Sensors - state of the art	Neeli Prasad, Associate Professor  at Center for Tele Infra Structure, AAU
Perspectives and announcement Summary of discussion Announcements	The Humansensing group

Finally we would like to thanks all  that has helped us. Financially or otherwise.
Professor Ramjee Prasad, CTIF, sponsoring the sensors
Christian Jantzen, head of Institute for communication and psychology, sponsoring equipments
Tove Arendt Rasmussen, head of  Human Centered Communication and Informatics,  sponsoring the lunch

Sensor talk on June 14th

Dear everybody,
As a part of the preparation of the humansensing seminar we agreed that Niels Hannibal and Morten Aagaard should wear the BodyMedia and the Polar pulsesensor. And we did.

The results have been elaborated in our spreadsheets and the numbers do we believe can be interpretated by you, the blogreader withour further comments.

Low Galvanic Sensor Response indicates either physical or mental relaxness. High value opposite. 
The figures are

 SDNN is the standard deviation in a given(NN) period. Low SDNN values indicates low HRV which indicates concentration, physical activity, stress or excitement. Low numbers are caused by concentration, physical activity, stress or excitement. High values are caused by the opposite. pnn50 is a the coefficient of heartbeats that varies more than 50 milliseconds to the previous heartbeat. Another indication of relaxedness. Low numbers are caused by concentration, physical activity, stress or excitement. High values are caused by the opposite.

 Please feel free to interpretate!

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Morten

Invitation to participation in the Humansensing seminar June 14th 9-15

Dear everybody,
We are very pleased to invited researchers, practitioners within human science fields to a Proof of Concept Seminar.
The humansensing group started its work in January, held a number of interesting meeting, being funded to buy sensors and how we make an first attempt to experiments with sensors.

Feel free to enroll if you consider using sensors in research, education or praxis.


Program as pdf flyer is available here.

When: June 14^th, 9-15
Where: Kroghstræde 3, room 4.110
Registration: Here
More info: Katja Lund, kl@cbg.dk