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Transcript of ePart 2011 talk
Argument Visualization for eParticipation: Research Agenda and Prototype tool
Neil Benn, Ann Macintosh
Centre for Digital Citizenship, Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds,
The IMPACT Project: Overview
• Integrated Method for Policy-making using Argument modelling and Computer-assisted Text analysis
• http://www.policy-impact.eu
• EU FP7 Theme: ICT for Governance and Policy-modelling
• Six-member consortium
The IMPACT Project: Four tools
• Argument reconstruction
– Will aggregate and reconstruct arguments in information sources distributed on the Internet
• Policy modelling
– Will enable users to simulate the legal effects of alternative policies
• Structured consultation
– Will use argumentation schemes to generate focused surveys
• Argument analysis and visualisation
– Will enable users to navigate through arguments contained in relevant consultation and policy documents.
AVT Objectives
• Will be based on state-of-the-art Computer-Supported Argument Visualization (CSAV) research
• Will allow users to navigate through arguments and persistent linkages to relevant documents
• Will provide interactive argument maps, at different levels of abstraction and detail
• Will allow users to get overview of policy debate and to zoom in on issues which are of interest
CSAV State-of-the-Art
Araucaria with Ova & Arvina University of Dundee, UK
Argunet Germany
Cohere OU,UK
CoPe_it! University of Patras, Greece
Compendium OU,UK
Debategraph Debategraph, UK
Deliberatorium MIT, USA
LASAD Germany
Rationale & bCisive online Austhink consulting, Australia
CSAV State-of-the-art: Cohere
• Open Source
• Web 2.0
• Supports document-centric argument visualisation
• Already supports many features required by AVT
– Users can save and publish argument maps on the Web
– Users can tag nodes and links in an argument map
– Users can add their own node and link types
– Users can click hyperlinks embedded in nodes to access further information (e.g. original source text)
Walkthrough: A document-centric approach to mapping arguments about policies
Green Paper in Cohere (Document-centric view)
Responses to Green Paper (Aston University)
Visualising Aston response in Cohere (Document-centric view)
Visualising Aston LKIF in Cohere (Node-Connection view)
Linking Aston responses to Green Paper questions
Visualising Entire Debate (Argument Network view)
Extending Cohere for IMPACT
• Add mechanism for handling formal models of argument
• Improve layout of argument maps, using more sophisticated layout algorithms
• Improve the browsing of argument maps at different levels of granularity, particularly the overview level
• Improve the capability to move from nodes in argument map back to original source document
• “Forked” to a new tool: PolicyCommons
http://policycommons.leeds.ac.uk
PolicyCommons: New visualisations (sketches)
PolicyCommons: New visualisations (sketches)
Advancing CSAV
• Techniques for improving readability of large argument maps
• Techniques for using visual cues to support understanding argument maps
• Extending the design of current basic graphical elements used to express argument relations
Advancing eParticipation: the Public perspective
• The public will make more sense of the issues through being able to:
– see the arguments, both for and against different policies;
– navigate a consultation as a map of interconnected issues, ideas and arguments;
– find and link directly to relevant documents.
• Any failure to address open questions or provide supporting evidence will be more visible in a map than in a prose document, making issues more transparent to the public
Advancing eParticipation: Policy-analysts’ perspective
• Analysts will identify where more deliberation is required through being able to:
– see where specific issues are not being debated sufficiently;
– see how a given contribution influences the debate;
• Analysts will have a new kind of reporting tool for presenting a consultation debate on a policy-consultation document back to policy makers.
Advancing eParticipation: Policy-makers’ perspective
• Policy makers will have a new support tool to interrogate the policy consultation, aware that their decisions will be more evidence-based through being able to:
– see where the arguments are greatest for and against policies;
– find and link directly to arguments related to specific issues in the policy-consultation;
– find and link directly to original source documents.
Conclusion
• IMPACT Project: Tools for supporting policy-deliberation
• PolicyCommons: Tool for visualising the debate about policies
• Planned research outputs:
– Methodology for designing interactive web-based CSAV tools
– Method and associated application to interpret formal models of arguments so they are meaningful to ordinary users
– Evidence of the advantages of argument visualisation tools for representing the policy-deliberation process
– Set of visual principles for depicting argument to support sense-making
Questions?
Email: {N.J.L.Benn, A.Macintosh}@leeds.ac.uk