iSchool Capstone

2015

Project Logo

Love and the Laws of Ranganathan

For every book it’s reader, for every online dater their perfect match? More and more people are turning to dating sites and apps to find true love, but finding that match can be incredibly difficult. In 1931, Ranganathan, devised the Five Laws of Library Science, which connect books and readers. Using Ranganathan’s Laws as the theoretical framework, the team tackled these questions: How do people use online dating profiles? What attracts people to certain profiles? How can Ranganathan’s Laws of Library Science be adapted to online dating profiles to help users find each other? By conducting a literature review and interviews, the team delivers the “Five Laws of Online Dating Profiles” and recommendations on getting a profile noticed. This information can help researchers who are interested in studying online dating, developers of online dating apps and websites, and online daters looking to improve their profiles.
Project Logo

Making public art more public: digital curation of a collection

With over 400 permanently sited artworks in their collection, the Office of Arts & Culture has advanced Seattle’s reputation as a cultural center for innovation and creativity. Increasing accessibility to this unique cultural collection introduces a new audience to the collective history of the artworks and the history of Seattle. One of the ways this has been achieved is by showcasing artworks on the Public Art Archive, a national online database of public artworks. By designing a digital curation of content from the collection, the artworks can be used for educational purposes, research, and artistic inspiration. The curation of art objects included preparation and organization into an established dataset. Each object entry includes information about location, description, artist statements, and images. Digital curation of this collection demonstrates how to provide a framework for collection accessibility while highlighting how the Office of Arts & Culture has invested in public art.
Project Logo

Measuring Financial Health of Non-Profits: A Data Analysis Initiative with Corelytics

If non-profits were able to analyze their financial data and predict future trends, would they know whether they are on the road to fiscal health or financial failure? Using historical accounting data on non-profit organizations from the Corelytics financial dashboard, we undertook an observational study that identifies key indicators of financial health in non-profits. A novel ranking system was created through appraising each non-profit on key metrics identified and weighted through qualitative research conducted using interviews with industry experts. We provide recommendations to Corelytics on how they can improve their services to non-profit clients, and to non-profits on how to better use Corelytics to track key financial health metrics. The services provided by these non-profits to the communities they reach out to can ultimately be improved through this informed and scientific approach to tracking their fiscal health.
Project Logo

MediSync

MediSync: A Safer Way to Schedule Medicine Nina Dang (Informatics), David Gutierrez (Informatics), Troy Griffiths (Informatics), Brett Yamada (Informatics) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Among them, about 80% are unintentional. When drug overdose occurs, it is typically contributed to a medication regimen with conflicting side effects, insufficient spacing of time in-between consumption, or the addition of over-the-counter drugs. MediSync, a mobile application, helps prevent these situations with careful scheduling and monitoring. With the touch of a button, users are reminded to take their medication at the proper times. Additionally, when adding a new drug to their regimen, the user will be alerted if a harmful interaction is detected against their existing schedule. MediSync’s provided awareness of prescription drug intake is the next step towards healthier habits and saving lives.
Project Logo

MedPath

If you needed surgery today, do you know how much your insurance would cover and how much it would cost you? Chances are, it would take several phone calls, using a lot of confusing jargon, and up to three business days to get an answer. We want to change that. MedPath proposes to change that process by creating a mobile application that will allow for instant searching to verify insurance policy coverage. This project consists of two parts: a metadata framework, which is the foundation for designing a central database repository, and a wireframe design of the front end mobile application. It is a prototype of a fully functioning application that can change the way insurance coverage is currently understood and used in the US. It will allow consumers to verify their insurance policy coverage in real-time, therefore giving them the power to receive the quality care without paying unnecessary costs or wasting time.
Project Logo

Mobile Application for eSwing Golf Technologies

The eSwing Golf Android Application aims to revolutionize the way golfers practice their game. For an organization that currently supports only laptops for displaying and analyzing swing data, a mobile application will boost the usability of the Swing Analyzer device. The proposed mobile Android application that will connect to the hardware, a device using the patented “Opto-acoustic” technology which precisely measures club head position and movement at impact, in real-time via Bluetooth will increase the worth of the hardware by manifold. The player will be able to create his profile and then evaluate his performance during his training session(s) using interesting visualizations. In today’s age where everything is going mobile, our app will increase the worth of the hardware, manifold. Its ease of use, portability and instant analysis results will surely add to the business of the company and significantly improve sales.
Project Logo

MuSee

MuSee takes a unique approach to educational interactivity on mobile devices. MuSee uses augmented reality to create an immersive environment filled with multimedia content. This artifact scanner will connect users to new and interactive information about the artifacts at the museum. Augmented reality makes our product unique, easy to use, interactive and fun! MuSee also features custom content for the client museum including event information, exhibit details, accessibility information and a donation feature. MuSee is about telling a story, and the stories at museums are far too complex, colorful, and interesting to be confined solely to text. Most museums either lack mobile applications or have poor quality applications that fail to solve the issue of engaging visitors in an interactive manner. MuSee is revolutionizing the Burke Museum with an application that creates an augmented reality experience, allowing guests to engage and interact with history in ways they never believed were possible.
Project Logo

Never Forgotten

People with Alzheimer’s disease constantly struggle remembering daily tasks. Much of the current scheduling systems still remains paper‐based. In addition, communication between caregivers, family members, and the patient largely happen through phone calls and many events continue to overlooked due to miscommunication. To face these challenges, we proposed to build a kiosk application for the Alzheimer’s patient to use that will digitalize the paper‐based system in place and ease the process through automation. Additionally, the kiosk application will be paired with mobile application for the caregivers and family members to easily track and monitor daily events. Our features aims to make a difference by lessen the cognitive load of the user by creating a one‐place‐to go therefore, replacing the confusing paper‐based system. Respectively, this will help the patient be more independent thus, helping the caregivers through shared reminders and calendars to see all that is going on.
Project Logo

Observational Research Toolkit for Libraries

For-profit institutions have long tailored their space to best grab and retain people's attention. To address this need, some libraries hire firms to help them optimize their space based on unobtrusive observation. Our objective was to develop guidelines and protocols for libraries to conduct their own unobtrusive observational research in order to better understand patron behavior, and ultimately, to better serve their patrons. From these guidelines and protocols, we created a toolkit for community libraries. As an extension of a previous directed fieldwork at Sno-Isle Libraries, and in conjunction with Spokane County Library District, this toolkit includes video tutorials, observation instruments, and analysis tools. By putting these tools in the hands of librarians, any library will have the ability to collect and analyze more data at a lower cost, gaining valuable insight and feedback to help improve the patron experience.
Project Logo

OnTheFly

The popularity of internet-based social networking services such as Facebook has surged over the previous decade, with more people than ever using these tools to connect with their friends and family. These services are lacking, however, when it comes to helping users engage with others based on mutual interests for daily, location-based activities such as going to the gym, sharing a meal, or studying for an exam. OnTheFly is a multi-platform mobile application which leverages the user's existing Facebook connections to help facilitate this process, providing users with an easy, intuitive method for creating short-term events they want to share with others. OnTheFly is designed to both support existing friendships as well as encourage new ones; users can invite their existing Facebook friends to events, and privacy settings allow users to choose whether they share their event with existing friends only, or open it up to the entire OnTheFly community.