Open Government Data Visualization System to Facilitate Evidence-Based Debate Using a Large-Scale Interactive Display

In this study, we develop an evidence-based debate system using visual information to represent Open Government Data, which allows governments and ministries to distribute public data. This system allows citizens to engage in debates using Open Government Data to enhance life and business. The debates must be directed toward evidence-based decision making because they have major effects on many citizens. These decisions require extensive debate, because the evidence will be different for each stakeholder. Therefore, we focus on the use of visual media because it provides a common language among stakeholders. To display the large volumes of visual media required by various stakeholders to facilitate debate using different forms of evidence, a large-scale display is required for presenting various types of content simultaneously. Thus, we develop an interactive display system with a touch screen interface and a smart phone controller to allow simultaneous operation by multiple users. The display presents visual information using a web rendering engine, which allows the presentation of various types of visual media such as graphs, text, and pictures. Furthermore, it is expandable so that users can develop specialized applications. The results of a user study confirm that the display of multiple visual media is useful for making comparisons, although intellectual layout suggestion function will be required in order to facilitate informal communication with visual media.