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Marc M. Sebrechts

Other affiliations: Wesleyan University, Yale University
Bio: Marc M. Sebrechts is an academic researcher from The Catholic University of America. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information visualization & Visualization. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 66 publications receiving 1576 citations. Previous affiliations of Marc M. Sebrechts include Wesleyan University & Yale University.


Papers
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Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Aug 1999
TL;DR: Performance was best when the tool’s properties matched task demands; only under the right combination of task, user, and interface did 3D visualization result in performance comparable to functionally matched 2D and textual tools.
Abstract: Although there have been many prototypes of visualization in support of information retrieval, there has been little systematic evaluation that distinguishes the benefits of the visualization per se from that of various accompanying features. The current study focuses on such an evaluation of NIRVE, a tool that supports visualization of search results. Insofar as possible, functionally equivalent 3D, 2D, and text versions of NIRVE were implemented. Nine novices and six professional users completed a series of information-seeking tasks on a set of retrieved documents. There were high interface costs for the 3D visualization, although those costs decreased substantially with experience. Performance was best when the tool’s properties matched task demands; only under the right combination of task, user, and interface did 3D visualization result in performance comparable to functionally matched 2D and textual tools.

259 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results suggest an impairment in face processing on the part of the individuals in the experimental group, consistent with the hypothesis of disruption in the first months of life, a period that may be critical to typical social and cognitive development, and has important implications for selection of appropriate targets of intervention.
Abstract: An eye-tracking study of face and object recognition was conducted to clarify the character of face gaze in autistic spectrum disorders. Experimental participants were a group of individuals diagnosed with Asperger's disorder or high-functioning autistic disorder according to their medical records and confirmed by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Controls were selected on the basis of age, gender, and educational level to be comparable to the experimental group. In order to maintain attentional focus, stereoscopic images were presented in a virtual reality (VR) headset in which the eye-tracking system was installed. Preliminary analyses show impairment in face recognition, in contrast with equivalent and even superior performance in object recognition among participants with autism-related diagnoses, relative to controls. Experimental participants displayed less fixation on the central face than did control-group participants. The findings, within the limitations of the small number of subjects and technical difficulties encountered in utilizing the helmet-mounted display, suggest an impairment in face processing on the part of the individuals in the experimental group. This is consistent with the hypothesis of disruption in the first months of life, a period that may be critical to typical social and cognitive development, and has important implications for selection of appropriate targets of intervention.

102 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The result of an extensive usability experiment show how visualization may lead to either increased or decreased cognitive load in the NIST Information Retrieval Visualization Engine.
Abstract: We discuss the evolution of the NIST Information Retrieval Visualization Engine. This prototype employs modern interactive visualization techniques to provide easier access to a set of documents resulting from a query to a search engine. The motivation and evaluation of several design features, such as keywork to concept mapping, explicit clustering, the use of 3D vs. 2D, and the relationship of visualization to logical structure are described. In particular, the result of an extensive usability experiment show how visualization may lead to either increased or decreased cognitive load.

59 citations

DOI
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a method for learning a set of facts about a task and developing appropriate procedures for a flight procedure using a simulator that mimics the target task.
Abstract: Skills are generally acquired by learning a set of facts about a task and developing appropriate procedures. For example, to learn to fly a plane, you first might learn the function of the flight controls and their locations and then practice manipulating the controls in appropriate sequences for a flight procedure. The practice part of training often cannot be done in the actual situation; a plane may not be available or the cost of the plane and an instructor on a regular basis may be prohibitive. In these situations, training is provided in alternative environments, or simulators, that mimic the target task. Designing simulators that will produce effective training has been a long-standing goal for those involved in skill acquisition, and the success of such simulations is generally measured by the effectiveness of subsequent performance on the actual task-the degree of “transfer” from the simulated to the real environment.

50 citations


Cited by
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01 Jan 1964
TL;DR: In this paper, the notion of a collective unconscious was introduced as a theory of remembering in social psychology, and a study of remembering as a study in Social Psychology was carried out.
Abstract: Part I. Experimental Studies: 2. Experiment in psychology 3. Experiments on perceiving III Experiments on imaging 4-8. Experiments on remembering: (a) The method of description (b) The method of repeated reproduction (c) The method of picture writing (d) The method of serial reproduction (e) The method of serial reproduction picture material 9. Perceiving, recognizing, remembering 10. A theory of remembering 11. Images and their functions 12. Meaning Part II. Remembering as a Study in Social Psychology: 13. Social psychology 14. Social psychology and the matter of recall 15. Social psychology and the manner of recall 16. Conventionalism 17. The notion of a collective unconscious 18. The basis of social recall 19. A summary and some conclusions.

5,690 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A wide variety of data on capacity limits suggesting that the smaller capacity limit in short-term memory tasks is real is brought together and a capacity limit for the focus of attention is proposed.
Abstract: Miller (1956) summarized evidence that people can remember about seven chunks in short-term memory (STM) tasks. How- ever, that number was meant more as a rough estimate and a rhetorical device than as a real capacity limit. Others have since suggested that there is a more precise capacity limit, but that it is only three to five chunks. The present target article brings together a wide vari- ety of data on capacity limits suggesting that the smaller capacity limit is real. Capacity limits will be useful in analyses of information processing only if the boundary conditions for observing them can be carefully described. Four basic conditions in which chunks can be identified and capacity limits can accordingly be observed are: (1) when information overload limits chunks to individual stimulus items, (2) when other steps are taken specifically to block the recoding of stimulus items into larger chunks, (3) in performance discontinuities caused by the capacity limit, and (4) in various indirect effects of the capacity limit. Under these conditions, rehearsal and long-term memory cannot be used to combine stimulus items into chunks of an unknown size; nor can storage mechanisms that are not capacity- limited, such as sensory memory, allow the capacity-limited storage mechanism to be refilled during recall. A single, central capacity limit averaging about four chunks is implicated along with other, noncapacity-limited sources. The pure STM capacity limit expressed in chunks is distinguished from compound STM limits obtained when the number of separately held chunks is unclear. Reasons why pure capacity estimates fall within a narrow range are discussed and a capacity limit for the focus of attention is proposed.

5,677 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

3,152 citations

01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: This ebook is the first authorized digital version of Kernighan and Ritchie's 1988 classic, The C Programming Language (2nd Ed.), and is a "must-have" reference for every serious programmer's digital library.
Abstract: This ebook is the first authorized digital version of Kernighan and Ritchie's 1988 classic, The C Programming Language (2nd Ed.). One of the best-selling programming books published in the last fifty years, "K&R" has been called everything from the "bible" to "a landmark in computer science" and it has influenced generations of programmers. Available now for all leading ebook platforms, this concise and beautifully written text is a "must-have" reference for every serious programmers digital library. As modestly described by the authors in the Preface to the First Edition, this "is not an introductory programming manual; it assumes some familiarity with basic programming concepts like variables, assignment statements, loops, and functions. Nonetheless, a novice programmer should be able to read along and pick up the language, although access to a more knowledgeable colleague will help."

2,120 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This display is used to evaluate the influence of focus cues on perceptual distortions, fusion failures, and fatigue and shows that when focus cues are correct or nearly correct, the time required to identify a stereoscopic stimulus is reduced, stereoacuity in a time-limited task is increased, and distortions in perceived depth are reduced.
Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) displays have become important for many applications including vision research, operation of remote devices, medical imaging, surgical training, scientific visualization, virtual prototyping, and more. In many of these applications, it is important for the graphic image to create a faithful impression of the 3D structure of the portrayed object or scene. Unfortunately, 3D displays often yield distortions in perceived 3D structure compared with the percepts of the real scenes the displays depict. A likely cause of such distortions is the fact that computer displays present images on one surface. Thus, focus cues-accommodation and blur in the retinal image-specify the depth of the display rather than the depths in the depicted scene. Additionally, the uncoupling of vergence and accommodation required by 3D displays frequently reduces one's ability to fuse the binocular stimulus and causes discomfort and fatigue for the viewer. We have developed a novel 3D display that presents focus cues that are correct or nearly correct for the depicted scene. We used this display to evaluate the influence of focus cues on perceptual distortions, fusion failures, and fatigue. We show that when focus cues are correct or nearly correct, (1) the time required to identify a stereoscopic stimulus is reduced, (2) stereoacuity in a time-limited task is increased, (3) distortions in perceived depth are reduced, and (4) viewer fatigue and discomfort are reduced. We discuss the implications of this work for vision research and the design and use of displays.

1,459 citations