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IT 299
Information Architecture Exam 2
Page 1
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
Name _____________________________
This exam by popular request again is open notes, books and Internet, but not open person. You may not
communicate with another entity during this exam in any way, shape or form.
[15 pts]
1. My class notes for my courses are organized as a single web page per lecture hour. The reason I chose this
approach over PowerPoint is that you can print the whole lecture in one operation, but it suffers from
scrolling up and down devoid of context to the rest of the page (not that PowerPoint is any better). When you
or I click on the “Screen Mode” there is a left hand frame to provide an index to quickly jump to various
points in the page. Discuss how you would provide better overview+detail characteristics to the presentation
of these class notes. Here’s the page you probably want to look at as an example and clues to what I’m talk
about: http://faculty.juniata.edu/rhodes/InfoArch/presentation.html. What are the advantages and
disadvantages to your design?
2. In a GIS application such as Google maps, there are different feature labels (country, state, city, street, etc) at
each zoom level. Google provides context only with panning in both dimensions. Describe how you might
use distortion and suppression to provide better context. Describe it in terms of varying levels and distance
from center of display. What advantages and disadvantages are there to your proposal? How might the idea
of degree of interest play into the labeling toward the outer edges? [continue on the back of the page as
necessary]
[10 pts]
IT 299
Information Architecture Exam 2
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3. Map the ideas of zoom and pan to the Internet Movie Database starting at this URL:
http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Years/. How are they similar? How are they different?
[10 pts]
4. The following URL is an interactive census change map. Comment on the how well it adheres to the
principles of graphical excellence: merlot.caliper.com/maptitude/census2000maps/map.asp
[10 pts]
IT 299
Information Architecture Exam 2
Page 3
5. The following graphic was used by a NASA contractor explaining O-ring damage in booster rockets for the
space shuttle in relation to temperature. This data are of all the rockets used in the 24 launches before the
Challenger disaster on a very cold morning. Critique this graphic from basic design and integrity principles
standpoint as well as knowing that the cause and effect relationship of temperature and o-ring failure is now
well known.
[15 pts]
IT 299
Information Architecture Exam 2
Page 4
6. Draw a graphic from the data found in question #5 relating temperature and type of O-ring damage with a
high data-ink ratio. (A sparkline is not appropriate as it’s not a timeseries.)
[10 pts]
7. Here is a one US Dollar to Euro exchange rate over the past 12 months: €.69, .68, .682, .675, .657, .636, .646,
.642, .634, .641, .684, .700, .742. Make a simple sparkline reflecting this time series.
[10 pts]
8. True/false.
[20 pts]
_____ The data-ink ratio can indicate how much of a graphic that can be erased without information loss.
_____ Graphics in landscape orientation is preferred.
_____ Graphics cause-effect relationships should have the effects along the horizontal axis.
_____ San serif is the preferred type font for labeling.
_____ Do not clutter the graph with short explanations; footnote them instead.
_____ Multiple circles on a graph convey quantities fairly if the values represented are mapped to the radius.
_____ Green shades are good to use for those with color blindness.
_____ Higher density graphics may result in smaller presentations.
_____ A moiré vibration is a good technique to draw attention to a graphic.
_____ A series of pie charts are good if they are arranged in a matrix.
_____ Data mining is typically applied to the current operational data of a database.
_____ Data preparation for mining purposes require merger of data from many sources.
_____ Unnormalization of database tables into a data cube should not be performed as a preparation step.
_____ Data mining is appropriate for uncovering hidden knowledge.
_____ A decision tree often consists of constants that may be determined by data mining training data.
_____ A decision tree is created through unsupervised learning.
_____ Unsupervised clustering results in data groupings that are mutually exclusive.
_____ An examplar view of a data mining concept must be drawn from training data.
_____ Expert systems and data mining systems are the same concept.
_____ Image analysis is a form of data mining.