The axes concept

(Note: At the time of this post, and the previous two as well, it has already been decided that for the final project, this "Axes Concept" will not be incorporated. Such an undertaking, unfortunately, would not be feasible in this research course... However, I would still like to take the time in this post to explain my original ideas.)

As in my previous post, I ended by saying we could "visualize a multidimensional process in multiple dimensions." This statement lies at the core of the AXES CONCEPT.

In order for the Axes Concept to work, the scientific or biological process must be able to be broken down into various components. A string of select components must be able to form a continuum, a progression of one state to another. These strings of components may then be identified as part of one of three progression categories.

EXAMPLE, our biological process is bone cancer. The components are singular events such as: RANK binding to RANK-L, osteoclastogenesis, bone dissolution and resorption, decreased pH. A string ties these singular events together as in these two cases: a) RANK binding to RANK-L, osteoclastogenesis, bone dissolution and resorption, decreased pH; b) bone dissolution and resorption, thinned trabeculae, micro/macro fractures, femur deformation. These two strings can then be understood as being part of two progressions of events: first, as a) a temporal progression, from normal to pathological; and as b) a scalar progression, from a microscopic/cellular level to a gross anatomical level.

Figure 1 visualizes this concept. Each sphere  represents one singular event of component. A string of components would then be a series of spheres along an axis. An axis would represent a progression. Different hues/colours represent different anatomy parts; its axis represents locational change. The brightness of the colour (as seen in the vertical axis) would represent temporal change (light being norma, dark being pathological). Finally, the change in sizes (as shown along the axis with the small to large blue spheres) would represent scalar states. (Note that naturally each axis would be finite.)

FIGURE 1

By organizing and molding the topic of bone cancer pain onto an three-dimensional graph, it was my intention to give students a degree of interactivity, to allow them to choose which components or progressions of events that they wanted to study. As I have mentioned previously, animations are more adept at transferring knowledge that was simple and linear in format (Moreno & Mayer 2002; Tversky & Morrison 2002). As a response, the Axes Concept was a solution that allowed the process to be learnt in customizable stages.

On the functionality of the product... I imagine that viewers could opt to view singular components. They could metaphorically choose to view a particular sphere which would be a short clip. Or, they could view a string of events (a series of spheres).

To choose a string, the viewer would select an intersection of two axes. The remaining axis would dictate the type of progression that they would actually see. For example, in the first string shown in Figure 2, the two constant axes are temporal (the slightly darkened colour may mean later during the tumour's life) and locational (let's say green represents the marrow cavity). The variable axis is the scalar one. The string or series could theoretically include the following video clips: ongoing bone dissolution and resorption, thinned trabeculae, bone marrow replaced with tumour mass, damage to mechanonociceptors from mass, micro/macro fractures, femur deformation.

FIGURE 2

Similarly, the second series of clips in Figure 2 could be of temporal change located at yellow, at a tissue level. The third series could be of extracellular events occurring at various locations in the later stages of the cancer.