Visual Representations and Interpretations

The value of multi-disciplinary research and the exchange of ideas and methods across traditional discipline boundaries are well recognised. Indeed, it could be justifiably argued that many of the advances in science and engineering take place because the ideas, methods and the tools of thought from one discipline become re applied in others. Sadly, it is also the case that many subject areas develop specialised vocabularies and concepts and can consequently approach more general problems in fairly narrow, subject-specific ways. Consequently barriers develop between disciplines that prevent the free flow of ideas and the collaborations that on Visual Representations could often bring success. VRI'98, a workshop focused & Interpretations, was intended to break down such barriers. The workshop was held in the Foresight Conference Centre, which occupies part of the former Liverpool Royal Infirmary, a Grade 2 listed building, which has been recently restored. The building combines a majestic architecture with the latest in new conference facilities and technologies and thus provided a very suitable setting for a workshop aimed at bringing the Arts and the Sciences together. of the workshop was to promote inter-disciplinary awareness across The main aim a range of disciplines where visual representations and interpretations are exploited. Contributions to the workshop were therefore invited from researchers who are actively investigating visual representations and interpretations: - artists, architects, biologists, chemists, clinicians, cognitive scientists, computer scientists, educationalists, engineers, graphic designers, linguists, mathematicians, philosophers, physicists, psychologists and social scientists.

A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Visual Representations and Interpretations.- Theme 1: Visualisation for Effective Communication.- Realism and Representation: Pictures, Models and Theories.- Words and Pictures - Goodman Revisited.- Mathematics and Knots.- A Visual, Computational Object Language for Mathematics.- A Visual Metaphor for Psychoanalytic Training and Supervision.- Geomentality: Reframing the Landscape.- Graphically Representing Causal Sequences in Accident Scenarios: Just Some of the Issues.- Automated Interpretation of Visual Representations: Extracting Textual Information from WWW Images.- Theme 2: The Visual Dimension of Science.- Models and Type-Hierarchies: Cognitive Foundations of Iconic Thinking.- Defining Visual Representation as a Creative and Interactive Modality.- Theories and Models: the Interactive View.- Visual Representations and Interpretations of Molecular Electronic Structure: The Survival and Re-Emergence of Valence Bond Theory.- The Language of Proteins.- Atomistic Vs. Continuous Representations in Molecular Biology.- NetWork: a Tool for Visualisation of Genetic Network Structure and Dynamics.- Theme 3: Articulating the Design Process.- Signs and Representations: Semiotics for User Interface Design.- Is the Trashcan Being Ironic? Analysing Direct Manipulation User Interfaces Using a Contemporary Theory of Metaphor.- Visualisation of Data Landscapes for Collaborative Virtual Environments.- Interpreting Computer-Based Fictional Characters, a Reader's Manifesto: Or Remarks in Favour of the Accommodating Text.- The Boundaries of a Shape and the Shape of Boundaries.- Breaking the Monotony: Using Randomisation Techniques in Computer-Aided Textile Design.- Virtual World Representation Issues for Supporting Assembly and MaintainabilityAssessment Tasks.- Toward Electronic Napkins and Beermats: Computer Support for Visual Ideation Skills.- Computational Support for Conceptual Sketching: Analysis and Interpretation of the Graphical Notation of Visual Representations.- Learning to See Architecturally.- Theme 4: Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives.- Studying 'Holes' to Understand Visual Representation.- Articulation of Spatial Information: 3D Shapes.- Mental Image Reinterpretation in the Intersection of Conceptual and Visual Constraints.- Embodied Presence in Virtual Environments.- A Taxonomy of Visual Metaphors.- Analysis of Representations in Model-Based Teaching and Learning in Science.- From Gutenberg to Gates: the Creation of the Photographic Negative, the Consequent Evolution of a Visual Language, and its Impact on the Way Societies Represent and Read Their World(s).- Theatricality and Levels of Believability in Graphical Virtual Environments.- Visual Representation and Taxonomy.- Interpreting Wittgenstein's Graphics.- Theme 5: Visual Representations and Computational Processes.- Visualising Complex Sequential and Parallel Programs.- 3D Software Visualisation.- Visualisation of the OBJ Term Re-Writing Process.- A Visual Representation of Mathematical Expressions.- Visualisation of an AI Solution.- A Model for Multimodal Representation and Inference.- Visualisation in Document Retrieval: An Example of the Integration of Software Ergonomics and an Aesthetic Quality in Design.- Visualising Dynamic Browsing Patterns via Navigation Agents.- Author Index.