Designing for Ambiguity in Visual Analytics: Lessons from Risk Assessment and Prediction.

Ambiguity is pervasive in the complex sensemaking domains of risk assessment and prediction but there remains little research on how to design visual analytics tools to accommodate it. We report on findings from a qualitative study based on a conceptual framework of sensemaking processes to investigate how both new visual analytics designs and existing tools, primarily data tables, support the cognitive work demanded in avalanche forecasting. While both systems yielded similar analytic outcomes we observed differences in ambiguous sensemaking and the analytic actions either afforded.

Identifying Visualization Opportunities to Help Architects Manage the Complexity of Building Codes.

We report a study investigating the viability of using interactive visualizations to aid architectural design with building codes. While visualizations have been used to support general architectural design exploration, existing computational solutions treat building codes as separate from, rather than part of, the design process, creating challenges for architects. Through a series of participatory design studies with professional architects, we found that interactive visualizations have promising potential to aid design exploration and sensemaking in early stages of architectural design by providing feedback about potential allowances and consequences of design decisions.

Visual Analytics: A Method to Explore Natural Histories of Oral Epithelial Dysplasia.

Risk assessment and follow-up of oral potentially malignant disorders in patients with mild or moderate oral epithelial dysplasia is an ongoing challenge for improved oral cancer prevention. Part of the challenge is a lack of understanding of how observable features of such dysplasia, gathered as data by clinicians during follow-up, relate to underlying biological processes driving progression. Current research is at an exploratory phase where the precise questions to ask are not known.

Effectiveness and safety of the tri-iodothyronine analogue Triac in children and adults with MCT8 deficiency: an international, single-arm, open-label, phase 2 trial.

Background: Deficiency of the thyroid hormone transporter monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) causes severe intellectual and motor disability and high serum tri-iodothyronine (T) concentrations (Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome). This chronic thyrotoxicosis leads to progressive deterioration in bodyweight, tachycardia, and muscle wasting, predisposing affected individuals to substantial morbidity and mortality. Treatment that safely alleviates peripheral thyrotoxicosis and reverses cerebral hypothyroidism is not yet available.

Part D implementation: how did health plans fare? A conversation with Stan Nowak, founder, president, and chief executive officer of Silverlink Communications. Interview by William Atkinson.

Medicare part D is a large-scale example of a true consumer-directed health insurance plan. With Part D, 42 million Americans can select from any one of dozens of Medicare Advantage or stand-alone prescription plans available to them. At the end of each year, beneficiaries will be able to evaluate their satisfaction with their chosen plan, assess other available options and determine whether to re-enroll or choose a new plan.