Chapter 8: Lost in the Mall
Summary
Discussion
Monday, February 28, 2011
Book Reading #28 - Coming of Age in Samoa
Chapter 9: The Attitude of the Personality
Summary
Margaret Mead talks about Samoan's perception of people's attitude. Samoans do not really question other's personality and are more accepting towards unwillingness and intractability. They seem not to be judgmental; and even when judgments are made, they are made in terms of the age group to which they belong. That is, kids are quiet and obedient, young people work skillfully, and adults are wise. There are few distinctions in terms of intelligence and similar traits.
Discussion
It is interesting that Samoans are so respectful towards other people's unwillingness. Also, negative traits among Samoans are more likely to be qualified than positive ones.
Summary
Margaret Mead talks about Samoan's perception of people's attitude. Samoans do not really question other's personality and are more accepting towards unwillingness and intractability. They seem not to be judgmental; and even when judgments are made, they are made in terms of the age group to which they belong. That is, kids are quiet and obedient, young people work skillfully, and adults are wise. There are few distinctions in terms of intelligence and similar traits.
Discussion
It is interesting that Samoans are so respectful towards other people's unwillingness. Also, negative traits among Samoans are more likely to be qualified than positive ones.
Book Reading #27 - Emotional Design
Chapter 2: The Multiple Faces of Emotion and Design
Summary
Discussion
Summary
Discussion
Paper Reading #12: Madgets: Actuating Widgets on Interactive Tabletops
Comments
Reference
Madgets: Actuating Widgets on Interactive Tabletops
Malte Weiss, Florian Schwarz, Simon Jakubowski, Jan Borchers
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Weiss et al. discuss the use of magnets to fabricate actuating widgets that operate on tabletops. Their approach is innovative and it allows manufacturers to easily prototype their widgets at a relatively low price. Current technologies fall short of allowing physical interaction with the widgets; often times treating them as atomic units that are limited to the use of convex prototypes. Madgests, however, not only allow broader types of widgets but they also add a third dimension into the use of tabletops. This advantage is produced by the attraction and repulsion properties of magnets. Another interesting feature of madgets is their ability to use induction in order to receive power from the table top. By implementing this power conduction system, madgets eliminate the need of batteries or cable that clutter the tabletop space. One important aspect/limitation of madgets is that the interface uses an IR camera in order to capture object position. That being said, the positional system is helped by the use of white paper dots on the madgets; which is not very aesthetically pleasing. Future work will attempt to correct the issue by introducing clear or polarized dots.
Discussion
I thought this paper was very innovative and promising since it incorporates the use of physical gadgets into the user experience. The most important aspect of this research is the use of the third dimension that can communicate with the user. I think this technology opens several HCI design paradigms.
Reference
Madgets: Actuating Widgets on Interactive Tabletops
Malte Weiss, Florian Schwarz, Simon Jakubowski, Jan Borchers
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Discussion
I thought this paper was very innovative and promising since it incorporates the use of physical gadgets into the user experience. The most important aspect of this research is the use of the third dimension that can communicate with the user. I think this technology opens several HCI design paradigms.
Week 4: Ethnography Results
There were about 30 people on the bus. At first, the bus route was pretty empty, but once we got to the sorority houses, there were a lot more people. It seems that the buses catch most passangers at the cambridge and the sorority houses. These two girls seemed particularly chatty, but even though they seemed to be together, they were both on their phones. A funny observation is: they both had the same phone covers on. These two other guys were standing even though there was still room to sit. After a while, it seemed like everyone was quiet.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Book Reading #26 - Opening Skinner's Box
Chapter 7: Rat Park
Summary
This chapter talks about substance abuse and the points of view of Brice Alexander and Herb Kleber. Alexander attempts to prove that substances do not in themselves produce dependencies, whereas Kleber does. In order to prove his point, Alexander constructs a park where rats lived happily; having all their needs met. These rats substantially reduced their substance use. In conclusion, the issue is unsettled as there are people exposed to drugs who are not addicts, and people who developed addictions by using medicinal drugs.
This chapter talks about substance abuse and the points of view of Brice Alexander and Herb Kleber. Alexander attempts to prove that substances do not in themselves produce dependencies, whereas Kleber does. In order to prove his point, Alexander constructs a park where rats lived happily; having all their needs met. These rats substantially reduced their substance use. In conclusion, the issue is unsettled as there are people exposed to drugs who are not addicts, and people who developed addictions by using medicinal drugs.
Discussion
This was a very interesting chapter, but as in the case of quieting the mind, it concluded nothing. I particularly found astonishing that Slater inhaled drugs in order to get some conclusions.
This was a very interesting chapter, but as in the case of quieting the mind, it concluded nothing. I particularly found astonishing that Slater inhaled drugs in order to get some conclusions.
Paper Reading #11: Eddi: Interactive Topic-based Browsing of Social Status Streams
Comments
Reference
Eddi: Interactive Topic-based Browsing of Social Status Streams
Michael S. Bernstein, Bongwon Suh, Lichan Hong, Jilin Chen, Sanjay Kairam, Ed H. Chi
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Discussion
Reference
Eddi: Interactive Topic-based Browsing of Social Status Streams
Michael S. Bernstein, Bongwon Suh, Lichan Hong, Jilin Chen, Sanjay Kairam, Ed H. Chi
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Discussion
Monday, February 21, 2011
Book Reading #23 - Opening Skinner's Box
Chapter 6: Monkey Love
Summary
In chapter 6, Slater talks about the experiments conducted by Harry Harlow. These experiments were conducted in order to discover the nature of love and attachment in human beings (by observing primate interactions. However, some of them were morally wrong, produced failed results, and in some instances did not posses a clear objective.
Discussion
Slater presented her point of view regarding animal use for research purposes. I believe that there are limits to the kind of research that can be conducted on animals. Regarding Harlow, I thought it was sad that he conducted pointless experiments and used disturbing terms throughout his research
Summary
In chapter 6, Slater talks about the experiments conducted by Harry Harlow. These experiments were conducted in order to discover the nature of love and attachment in human beings (by observing primate interactions. However, some of them were morally wrong, produced failed results, and in some instances did not posses a clear objective.
Discussion
Slater presented her point of view regarding animal use for research purposes. I believe that there are limits to the kind of research that can be conducted on animals. Regarding Harlow, I thought it was sad that he conducted pointless experiments and used disturbing terms throughout his research
Book Reading #21 - Design of Everyday Things
Chapter 7: User-Centered Design
Summary
Dan Norman discusses seven principles that aid in the conversion from complex tasks to more simple ones:
Dan Norman discusses seven principles that aid in the conversion from complex tasks to more simple ones:
- Use knowledge in the world and the head
- Simplify structure
- Make things visible
- Get the mappings right
- Exploit constraints
- Design for error
- Standardize
Discussion
I thought this chapter was a little redundant as some of the design principles have been discussed before
I thought this chapter was a little redundant as some of the design principles have been discussed before
Paper Reading #10: Soylent: A Word Processor with a Crowd Inside
Comments
Stephen Morrow
Alyssa Nabors
Reference
Soylent: A Word Processor with a Crowd Inside
Michael S. Bernstein, Greg Little, Robert C. Miller, Björn Hartmann, Mark S. Ackerman, David R. Karger, David Crowell, and Katrina Panovich
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Bernstein et al. talk about the Soylent add-on to Microsoft Word, which adds features to the program by means of crowdsourcing tasks. This add-on was implemented using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Windows Presentation Foundation, and TurKit Mechanical Turk toolkit. While Microsoft's spell checker has eliminated numerous errors when composing a document, it still generates a lot of false positives in spelling and misses a lot of grammatic errors. Thus Soylent adds the human component to the revising part of a document due to the fact that people often seek help from other people in complex cognition tasks. Soylent uses mechanical turks (people willing to perform tasks for money) to accomplish those tasks that AI is yet not able to perform.
The work of Bernstein et al. describes three features of Soylent: Text shortening, crowdproof, and a human macro interface where users can submit arbitrary word processing tasks. Their technique differs from traditional crowdsourcing in that they introduce a three step model into their implementations as opposed to the typical find and fix. The problem with the typical find and fix is that it increases the outliers in the type of Turks that perform work. The lazy Turk is the one that performs the minimum amount of work in order to get credit, whereas the eager beaver Turk is the one that generates too much feedback so it produces more work to the user. The authors were able to generate a more uniform type of worker by implementing the find-fix-verify approach.
In the find part of the request processing the users identify the problems with the provided section of the document. Then, a different group of mechanical Turks generate the possible solutions to the problem; and a third group verifies the solution and submits it back to the user. Typical response times ranged from a few minutes to hours, however the authors clearly specified that this timing would be reduced with the increased popularity of the system.
As a result of implementing this system, text shortening was able to reduce the text to 85% in one iteration without losing the meaning of the content. Crowdproof was able to catch 33 of the 49 errors introduced in the testing; successfully fixing 29 of the 33. The human macro part of the interface was equally successful in transmitting the intention from the user to the mechanical Turks.
Discussion
This was a somewhat interesting paper since it enables users to have their work peer reviewed. The authors touched on the implications of ownership and confidentiality, which I thought were very important subjects to be evaluated in the paper. Also, it would be interesting to see how much response times increase as Soylent becomes more popular
Stephen Morrow
Alyssa Nabors
Reference
Soylent: A Word Processor with a Crowd Inside
Michael S. Bernstein, Greg Little, Robert C. Miller, Björn Hartmann, Mark S. Ackerman, David R. Karger, David Crowell, and Katrina Panovich
User Interface Software and Technology
Summary
Bernstein et al. talk about the Soylent add-on to Microsoft Word, which adds features to the program by means of crowdsourcing tasks. This add-on was implemented using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Windows Presentation Foundation, and TurKit Mechanical Turk toolkit. While Microsoft's spell checker has eliminated numerous errors when composing a document, it still generates a lot of false positives in spelling and misses a lot of grammatic errors. Thus Soylent adds the human component to the revising part of a document due to the fact that people often seek help from other people in complex cognition tasks. Soylent uses mechanical turks (people willing to perform tasks for money) to accomplish those tasks that AI is yet not able to perform.
The work of Bernstein et al. describes three features of Soylent: Text shortening, crowdproof, and a human macro interface where users can submit arbitrary word processing tasks. Their technique differs from traditional crowdsourcing in that they introduce a three step model into their implementations as opposed to the typical find and fix. The problem with the typical find and fix is that it increases the outliers in the type of Turks that perform work. The lazy Turk is the one that performs the minimum amount of work in order to get credit, whereas the eager beaver Turk is the one that generates too much feedback so it produces more work to the user. The authors were able to generate a more uniform type of worker by implementing the find-fix-verify approach.
In the find part of the request processing the users identify the problems with the provided section of the document. Then, a different group of mechanical Turks generate the possible solutions to the problem; and a third group verifies the solution and submits it back to the user. Typical response times ranged from a few minutes to hours, however the authors clearly specified that this timing would be reduced with the increased popularity of the system.
As a result of implementing this system, text shortening was able to reduce the text to 85% in one iteration without losing the meaning of the content. Crowdproof was able to catch 33 of the 49 errors introduced in the testing; successfully fixing 29 of the 33. The human macro part of the interface was equally successful in transmitting the intention from the user to the mechanical Turks.
Discussion
This was a somewhat interesting paper since it enables users to have their work peer reviewed. The authors touched on the implications of ownership and confidentiality, which I thought were very important subjects to be evaluated in the paper. Also, it would be interesting to see how much response times increase as Soylent becomes more popular
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Book Reading #20: Opening Skinner's Box
Chapter 5: Quieting the Mind
Summary
Lauren Slater explores Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. The experiment by Festinger involving a group of people who thought the world was coming to an end on December 21, 1954. When midnight arrived on that day, nothing happened. Festinger observed that followers (people who believed they would be saved) responded to the disappointment by rationalizing what had happened and creating a new theory explaining the events. Slater then tries to investigate cognitive dissonance by talking to Linda Santo who is the mother of Audrey Santo; a miraculous child who is able to cure diseases. However, the author finds that Linda does not fit Festinger's theory and instead experiences dissonance herself by witnessing unexplainable events at Linda's house.
Discussion
For some reason, I fell the chapter was incomplete. From what I read, it was hard to tell if Slater changed her beliefs or if she rationalized what happened towards the end. When I finished reading the story I realized that I had researched a little about Audrey to see if in fact she was as the book described her. I think this happened because I was in disbelief (just like the author was).
Summary
Lauren Slater explores Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. The experiment by Festinger involving a group of people who thought the world was coming to an end on December 21, 1954. When midnight arrived on that day, nothing happened. Festinger observed that followers (people who believed they would be saved) responded to the disappointment by rationalizing what had happened and creating a new theory explaining the events. Slater then tries to investigate cognitive dissonance by talking to Linda Santo who is the mother of Audrey Santo; a miraculous child who is able to cure diseases. However, the author finds that Linda does not fit Festinger's theory and instead experiences dissonance herself by witnessing unexplainable events at Linda's house.
Discussion
For some reason, I fell the chapter was incomplete. From what I read, it was hard to tell if Slater changed her beliefs or if she rationalized what happened towards the end. When I finished reading the story I realized that I had researched a little about Audrey to see if in fact she was as the book described her. I think this happened because I was in disbelief (just like the author was).
Book Reading #19: Coming of Age in Samoa
Chapter 6: The Girl in the Community
Summary
In this chapter Margret Mead describes the life of girls in the Samoan culture. Small girls and boys (usually the ones who haven't reached puberty) are not really part of group activities.
Once they reached a certain age, one or two years after puberty, they join they respective organizations. Aumaga is for young men and Aualuma is for young women, the wives of untitled men, and widows.
Discussion
Not a very interesting chapter per se since this is kind of a continuation of the previous chapter. However, I find it interesting that Aumaga performs more village duties. But, adultery is not as heavily penalized on women as it is on men.
Summary
In this chapter Margret Mead describes the life of girls in the Samoan culture. Small girls and boys (usually the ones who haven't reached puberty) are not really part of group activities.
Once they reached a certain age, one or two years after puberty, they join they respective organizations. Aumaga is for young men and Aualuma is for young women, the wives of untitled men, and widows.
Discussion
Not a very interesting chapter per se since this is kind of a continuation of the previous chapter. However, I find it interesting that Aumaga performs more village duties. But, adultery is not as heavily penalized on women as it is on men.
Paper Reading #9: Tag Expression: Tagging with Feeling
Comments
Reference
Tag Expression: Tagging with Feeling
Jesse Vig, Matthew Soukup, Shilad Sen, John Riedl
User interface software and technology
Summary
Tagging systems have become very popular in community sites as of late. In this paper Vig et al. explore the novel idea of using affect or feelings in a tagging system that helps users define how they feel about a particular tag or how a it applies to a particular item. In order to conduct their research, the authors utilized the website movieLens where users can rate movies and get movie recommendation as a reward. While deciding on a wide variety of factors that would affect the user experience, the authors explore several ideas for each part of the interface that is available to the users. For instance, the authors constantly evaluate the reasons for using a 3 term affect (like, dislike, neutral) as opposed to the star rating system that is widely popular on other movie rating sites. They also prove their reasons for using a collective measurement that shows the community's preference about a particular tag. Other options included totalitarian ratings in which only the majority of votes would be represented on a tag and a histogram interface where all votes would be represented on a tag. However, due to the limited space available the authors settled for using the collective measurement (collective measurement also shows some features present in totalitarian and histogram-based ratings). Data collection was performed over a period of three months in which the authors collected information from logs and online interviews. After all the user activity was collected, it was compared to user activity from the previous system. This allowed the authors to make conclusions about their choice of components for their tagging system. By using affect on an individual tag basis (although the overall tag rating is collective), Vig et al. created a popular tagging system that has a community-oriented behavior in which users were able to share their feelings.
Discussion
This was a very long, yet interesting article. It was very well thought out and the authors seemed to accomplish what they set out to do. I would like to see work that implements recommendation algorithms using the information provided by the users.
Reference
Tag Expression: Tagging with Feeling
Jesse Vig, Matthew Soukup, Shilad Sen, John Riedl
User interface software and technology
Summary
Discussion
This was a very long, yet interesting article. It was very well thought out and the authors seemed to accomplish what they set out to do. I would like to see work that implements recommendation algorithms using the information provided by the users.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Book Reading #17: HCI Remixed
Chapter 6: A Creative Programming Environment
Summary
Henry Lieberman talks about his experience with Pygmalion and its effect on computer science. Developed by D.C. Smith, Pygmalion is a programming tool that introduced the notion of programming visually with icons and examples. However the program is more valuable because it taught the author several lessons involving the encouragement of conducting research in the HCI field.
Chapter 10: It Really Is All About Location!
Summary
Henry Lieberman talks about his experience with Pygmalion and its effect on computer science. Developed by D.C. Smith, Pygmalion is a programming tool that introduced the notion of programming visually with icons and examples. However the program is more valuable because it taught the author several lessons involving the encouragement of conducting research in the HCI field.
Discussion
The reading was somewhat interesting. I wished I had seen more demonstrations on the type of things PBE can achieve. However, I thought it was cool that D.C Smith worked on the Xerox Star project which was one of the first graphical operating systems of the time.
The reading was somewhat interesting. I wished I had seen more demonstrations on the type of things PBE can achieve. However, I thought it was cool that D.C Smith worked on the Xerox Star project which was one of the first graphical operating systems of the time.
Chapter 7: Fundamentals in HCI: Learning the Value of Consistency and User Model
Summary
Sara Bly discusses the impact of the Xerox Red Book in the HCI community. This book was the functional specification that described the user interface for the Xerox Star Workstation. Originally (more formally rather) called the Star Functional Specification, the book had three fundamental aspects that were very important to the author: User interface specification, consistency, and the desktop metaphor. These aspects were fundamental to the HCI basis of the author.
Summary
Sara Bly discusses the impact of the Xerox Red Book in the HCI community. This book was the functional specification that described the user interface for the Xerox Star Workstation. Originally (more formally rather) called the Star Functional Specification, the book had three fundamental aspects that were very important to the author: User interface specification, consistency, and the desktop metaphor. These aspects were fundamental to the HCI basis of the author.
Discussion
I didn't find this chapter particularly interesting since it wasn't very specific. I appreciate the author's opinion about the Xerox Red Book, however, I don't think it had much of a message. That may be because in today's HCI most people take user interfaces for granted.
Chapter 9: The Disappearing Computer
Summary
In the "disappearing computer" Streitz discusses the work of M. Weiser. The author analyzes different paradigms that allow computers to become invisible to the user. The computer disappearance can be physical (involving miniaturization of devices), or mental (where users see computers as a mean instead of a device). Streitz also discusses smart environments and their meaning to the users.
I didn't find this chapter particularly interesting since it wasn't very specific. I appreciate the author's opinion about the Xerox Red Book, however, I don't think it had much of a message. That may be because in today's HCI most people take user interfaces for granted.
Chapter 9: The Disappearing Computer
Summary
In the "disappearing computer" Streitz discusses the work of M. Weiser. The author analyzes different paradigms that allow computers to become invisible to the user. The computer disappearance can be physical (involving miniaturization of devices), or mental (where users see computers as a mean instead of a device). Streitz also discusses smart environments and their meaning to the users.
Discussion
Very interesting chapter. It provided an interesting point of view about ubiquitous computing and smart environments.Chapter 10: It Really Is All About Location!
Summary
This chapter is a continuation of the disappearing computer concept. While the idea of ubiquitous computing was explored in chapter 9, Anind Dey discusses an implementation and technological implications ubiquitous computing. Dey talks about a paper written by Want (et. al) where the concept of indoor tracking was implemented using location badges worn by employees. Not only did Dey discussed some implementation issues about the system, but he also talked about other aspects involving employee's willingness to embrace the system.Discussion
I was really concerned about privacy issues concerning an indoor tracking system. However, from what I read in this paper, employees liked the system and the benefits it provided. Chapter 46: The Essential Role of Mental Models in HCI: Card, Moran, and Newell
Summary
Kate Ehrlich discusses the impact of mental models on the development of HCI. Not only do mental models provide an abstract representation of how the mind works, but in HCI it takes the form of several concepts such as the model of the system, the engineer's model of the system that drives design decisions, the UI model of the system, and the user's model of the system. The author quotes the work of Card et al. where they design the GOMS model to explain and predict the interaction between humans and computer. This model was not only theoretical by it was also testable.
Summary
Kate Ehrlich discusses the impact of mental models on the development of HCI. Not only do mental models provide an abstract representation of how the mind works, but in HCI it takes the form of several concepts such as the model of the system, the engineer's model of the system that drives design decisions, the UI model of the system, and the user's model of the system. The author quotes the work of Card et al. where they design the GOMS model to explain and predict the interaction between humans and computer. This model was not only theoretical by it was also testable.
Discussion
I didn't find this chapter particularly interesting, except for the fact that it provides a historical perspective on the HCI field and the disagreement in the forces that drive it.
Chapter 47: A Most Fitting Law
I didn't find this chapter particularly interesting, except for the fact that it provides a historical perspective on the HCI field and the disagreement in the forces that drive it.
Chapter 47: A Most Fitting Law
Summary
This chapter is about the law devised by P. M. Fitts while he was in the military. This law takes the form of a formula that calculates movement time taking while taking into account the distance and size of the target. The author, Gary Olson, gives a few examples where the law has been used to design interface paradigms and also discusses some of the limitations of the law.
This chapter is about the law devised by P. M. Fitts while he was in the military. This law takes the form of a formula that calculates movement time taking while taking into account the distance and size of the target. The author, Gary Olson, gives a few examples where the law has been used to design interface paradigms and also discusses some of the limitations of the law.
Discussion
Very interesting chapter about HCI that shows how this field is not only composed of qualitative data. HCI, as the author expresses, is a combination of several fields and different types of analysis.
Very interesting chapter about HCI that shows how this field is not only composed of qualitative data. HCI, as the author expresses, is a combination of several fields and different types of analysis.
Paper Reading #8: Thanatosensitively Designed Technologies for Bereavement Support
Comments
Alyssa Nabors
Stephen Morrow
Reference
Thanatosensitively Designed Technologies for Bereavement Support
Michael Massimi
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
Summary
While computing devices provide a wide range of services to individuals, they do little when it comes to provide support to the people mourning their loved ones. It seems that technology currently does not take part in this stage of a persons life. This being said, this paper aims to create and propagate the concept of thanatosensitive design or TSD. TSD aims to provide a framework for the design of ubiquitous systems that will assist people through the process of bereavement. Once such framework is in place, developers can design interactive systems that will have a positive psychological impact on family members while enhancing social interactions in close and long distance contexts. Michael Massimi's work of developing the concept of TSD will be conducted in three parts: Survey and interview, elaborating the TSD methodology, and system deployment.
The first part of the research is essential to the creation of TSD since the author aims to incorporate ubiquitous devices that are not detrimental to the family. It is also important that participants' dignity is not affected negatively at any time and this can be accomplished by making sure that the TSD adheres to the information obtained while surveying. The TSD design will therefore answer a number of research questions such as: What does the TSD process entail? What are the stages of this process? What kind of activities are involved in each stage? etc.
Because TSD is an unstable paradigm, that is, its principles are not yet well defined; it becomes very difficult to develop actual prototypes using TSD. However, Massimi managed to provide his vision of a system that connects the material aspects of mourning with the social interactions among family members. He also provides insight on the way in which the impact of TSD could be measured on the field.
Discussion
This was one of the most interesting articles I have read. I liked the innovation it provided in recognizing that computers are present in ever aspect of our lives except when it comes to death. I have (to some degree) experienced the effect of technology on people who has passed away. More importantly, I knew somebody who passed away a couple of years ago, yet, his Facebook profile is still running (inactively and unresponsively) and people still write on this persons wall; posting messages on birthdays and such. It seems that it help the person be remembered. On the other hand, is this really a good thing to do? Shouldn't the mourning process encompass a part of social de-attachment?
Alyssa Nabors
Stephen Morrow
Reference
Thanatosensitively Designed Technologies for Bereavement Support
Michael Massimi
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
 |
| Example of TSD device: http://www.richardbanks.com/?cat=24 |
While computing devices provide a wide range of services to individuals, they do little when it comes to provide support to the people mourning their loved ones. It seems that technology currently does not take part in this stage of a persons life. This being said, this paper aims to create and propagate the concept of thanatosensitive design or TSD. TSD aims to provide a framework for the design of ubiquitous systems that will assist people through the process of bereavement. Once such framework is in place, developers can design interactive systems that will have a positive psychological impact on family members while enhancing social interactions in close and long distance contexts. Michael Massimi's work of developing the concept of TSD will be conducted in three parts: Survey and interview, elaborating the TSD methodology, and system deployment.
The first part of the research is essential to the creation of TSD since the author aims to incorporate ubiquitous devices that are not detrimental to the family. It is also important that participants' dignity is not affected negatively at any time and this can be accomplished by making sure that the TSD adheres to the information obtained while surveying. The TSD design will therefore answer a number of research questions such as: What does the TSD process entail? What are the stages of this process? What kind of activities are involved in each stage? etc.
Because TSD is an unstable paradigm, that is, its principles are not yet well defined; it becomes very difficult to develop actual prototypes using TSD. However, Massimi managed to provide his vision of a system that connects the material aspects of mourning with the social interactions among family members. He also provides insight on the way in which the impact of TSD could be measured on the field.
Discussion
This was one of the most interesting articles I have read. I liked the innovation it provided in recognizing that computers are present in ever aspect of our lives except when it comes to death. I have (to some degree) experienced the effect of technology on people who has passed away. More importantly, I knew somebody who passed away a couple of years ago, yet, his Facebook profile is still running (inactively and unresponsively) and people still write on this persons wall; posting messages on birthdays and such. It seems that it help the person be remembered. On the other hand, is this really a good thing to do? Shouldn't the mourning process encompass a part of social de-attachment?
Week 2: Ethnography Results
This week was the first actual week where we started making observation on the A&M transportation environment.
Worthy Observations
Ethnic Background
I rode bus route #22, called Excel, which passes through several apartment complexes such as the Gables, Campus View, the Cambridge, and more importantly the sorority and fraternity houses. One of the most important things to notice is that people are pretty much segregated according to the complex in which they live. For example, people who live at the sorority and fraternity houses are mostly white Americans. In contrast, people who live at Plantation Oaks are mostly Asian. This was concluded from seeing where people got on and off the bus.
Eating Habits
I started the morning route at about 8:30 AM. Most people ate during the morning (in fact I don't think I saw anybody eating at any other time). Some of them drank coffee; others had cereal; and a few people had granola bars and fruit. I noticed that it was mostly female White Americans who ate during the morning; particularly girls from sorority houses and surrounding apartments.
Communication Environment
Most people engaged in conversations with other people. However, I noticed that most people only engaged in conversations with people they knew. From time to time, strangers would strike into conversations. This was particularly true in the afternoons.
 |
| Excel (router #22) |
- People who enter the bus by themselves are not very chatty in the mornings.
- I found out that girls at the sorority houses are a very interesting subgroup. They are very chatty (in a good sense) and always talk in high pitched voices when greeting each other.
- Gentleman do not always (almost never) get up to offer their seat to the ladies. There is in fact a Facebook group about this gesture. I did not have the chance to observe this reaction of both genders on people with disabilities.
Ethnic Background
I rode bus route #22, called Excel, which passes through several apartment complexes such as the Gables, Campus View, the Cambridge, and more importantly the sorority and fraternity houses. One of the most important things to notice is that people are pretty much segregated according to the complex in which they live. For example, people who live at the sorority and fraternity houses are mostly white Americans. In contrast, people who live at Plantation Oaks are mostly Asian. This was concluded from seeing where people got on and off the bus.
Eating Habits
I started the morning route at about 8:30 AM. Most people ate during the morning (in fact I don't think I saw anybody eating at any other time). Some of them drank coffee; others had cereal; and a few people had granola bars and fruit. I noticed that it was mostly female White Americans who ate during the morning; particularly girls from sorority houses and surrounding apartments.
Communication Environment
Most people engaged in conversations with other people. However, I noticed that most people only engaged in conversations with people they knew. From time to time, strangers would strike into conversations. This was particularly true in the afternoons.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Book Reading #16 - Opening Skinner's Box
Chapter 4: In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing
Summary
Lauren Slater discusses the sad story where a woman gets murdered at night. Even though there were bystanders present who could have done something to help while not getting directly involved, nobody did anything to help the victim. After this event, several psychologists offered their explanation; however, the one theory that made the most sense involved social cues. The author then describes the experiment by Darley and Latane.
Discussion
I though this experience was very interesting for many reasons. First, I found it unbelievable that nobody helped the lady who was clearly in trouble. From a psychological perspective, this chapter helps us understand humanity better; and like the author described, reading this chapter makes us already better prepared to confront these situations.
I though this experience was very interesting for many reasons. First, I found it unbelievable that nobody helped the lady who was clearly in trouble. From a psychological perspective, this chapter helps us understand humanity better; and like the author described, reading this chapter makes us already better prepared to confront these situations.
Book Reading #15 - Coming of Age in Samoa
Chapter 5: The Girl and Her Age Group
Summary
This chapter talks about the social characteristics of the Samoan life. The author compares and contrasts the differences between the social lives of girls and boys. When boys and girls are of small age (usually before puberty), their social relations are based on the relationship among their chaperons. However, once puberty is reached, girls enter a restrictive social life while boys continue almost the same social pattern. In this case, boys have more opportunities to form life-long friendships while the girls are bound to form friendships that are family oriented.
Discussion
I found this chapter interesting since it talks about a different culture and their ability to form relationships. I always find it interesting to learn about other cultures. However, I think the reading could have been a little more engaging. For example, make the reading about a specific member of the village (as the author did for part of the story).
I found this chapter interesting since it talks about a different culture and their ability to form relationships. I always find it interesting to learn about other cultures. However, I think the reading could have been a little more engaging. For example, make the reading about a specific member of the village (as the author did for part of the story).
Book Reading #14 - Design of Everyday Things
Chapter 5: To Err is Human
Summary
Donald Norman starts this chapter by stating the differences between human errors and machine errors; stating that human errors are easy to recover from whereas machine errors are not. There are basically two types of errors: mistakes and slips. Slip errors can be placed in six categories: capture, description, data-driven, associative activation, loss-of-activation, and mode.
While describing the process used by humans in terms of thought (or at least theories of it), Norman describes everyday structures in two categories. Shallow structures come from many choices, but each one of them is simple, whereas narrow structures arise from a small number of possibilities. At the end, the author opts for adopting a philosophy that takes errors into account when designing everyday things
Donald Norman starts this chapter by stating the differences between human errors and machine errors; stating that human errors are easy to recover from whereas machine errors are not. There are basically two types of errors: mistakes and slips. Slip errors can be placed in six categories: capture, description, data-driven, associative activation, loss-of-activation, and mode.
While describing the process used by humans in terms of thought (or at least theories of it), Norman describes everyday structures in two categories. Shallow structures come from many choices, but each one of them is simple, whereas narrow structures arise from a small number of possibilities. At the end, the author opts for adopting a philosophy that takes errors into account when designing everyday things
Discussion
I thought the chapter was interesting since it discusses how errors need to be taken into account when designing everyday things. As I am reading the book, I realized that there lots of things that need to be considered in order to design objects that are safe and easy to use.
I thought the chapter was interesting since it discusses how errors need to be taken into account when designing everyday things. As I am reading the book, I realized that there lots of things that need to be considered in order to design objects that are safe and easy to use.
Paper Reading #7: Real-time Interaction with Supervised Learning
Comments
Derek Landini
Jacob Lillard
References
Real-time Interaction with Supervised Learning
Rebecca Fiebrink
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
http://wiki.cs.princeton.edu/index.php/ChucK/Wekinator/Instructions
Summary
In this paper, Rebecca Fiebrink discusses the possibility of creating interfaces for machine-learning interactions while focusing on the music composition and performance domain. In this research paper, Fiebrink sets to design a user interface that can guide musicians in the creation of datasets and building, evaluating, and refining trained models. Her work is inspired by the Weka interface that users to apply machine learning techniques to their own dataset. This being said, the author designed the Wekinator in order to achieve her goals of creating a general purpose user interface for handling real-time data.
Fiebrink recognizes that one of the easiest ways to improve a model's performance is to modify or add more training data as opposed to modify the learning algorithms or its parameters. However, the author recognizes that there are no user interfaces that facilitate such capability. Also, musicians may be concerned with timing issues which further complicates the design of such interactive interfaces.
Discussion
This paper was somewhat interesting since it attempts to bridge the gap between very specialized computer fields and other non-computer areas. If this paper successfully makes this gap smaller, then humanity may see computer science as a more concrete field.
Derek Landini
Jacob Lillard
References
Real-time Interaction with Supervised Learning
Rebecca Fiebrink
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
http://wiki.cs.princeton.edu/index.php/ChucK/Wekinator/Instructions
 |
| http://wiki.cs.princeton.edu/index.php/ChucK/Wekinator/Instructions |
Summary
In this paper, Rebecca Fiebrink discusses the possibility of creating interfaces for machine-learning interactions while focusing on the music composition and performance domain. In this research paper, Fiebrink sets to design a user interface that can guide musicians in the creation of datasets and building, evaluating, and refining trained models. Her work is inspired by the Weka interface that users to apply machine learning techniques to their own dataset. This being said, the author designed the Wekinator in order to achieve her goals of creating a general purpose user interface for handling real-time data.
Fiebrink recognizes that one of the easiest ways to improve a model's performance is to modify or add more training data as opposed to modify the learning algorithms or its parameters. However, the author recognizes that there are no user interfaces that facilitate such capability. Also, musicians may be concerned with timing issues which further complicates the design of such interactive interfaces.
Discussion
This paper was somewhat interesting since it attempts to bridge the gap between very specialized computer fields and other non-computer areas. If this paper successfully makes this gap smaller, then humanity may see computer science as a more concrete field.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Week #1: Ethnography results
We just formed a group dedicated to study the A&M transportation system environment. Our group realized that people use the transportation system for things other than going to class.
Team Members:
Kevin Casey
Angel Narvaez
Team Members:
Kevin Casey
Angel Narvaez
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Book Reading #13 - Opening Skinner's Box
Chapter 3
Summary
The author talks about the experiment conducted by David Rosenhan in which he tries to discredit psychiatry as a certain science. In Rosenhan's experiment, he fakes hearing voices in order to get himself (and other participants) admitted into a psychiatric hospital. Upon being admitted, he states that the voices are gone and notes the reactions from the doctors. The experiment, while flawed to some people, provided a lot of discussion about the certainty of psychiatric diagnoses and its accuracy.
Discussion
I thought this chapter was very interesting the first and second time around (when the author goes through Rosenhan's experiment). In fact, it was more interesting the second time around as there was already literature on the experiment. Even if the author did not successfully (by experiment standards) get admitted, she was still prescribed with illnesses that were only existent as a way to justify the prescribed medication.
Summary
The author talks about the experiment conducted by David Rosenhan in which he tries to discredit psychiatry as a certain science. In Rosenhan's experiment, he fakes hearing voices in order to get himself (and other participants) admitted into a psychiatric hospital. Upon being admitted, he states that the voices are gone and notes the reactions from the doctors. The experiment, while flawed to some people, provided a lot of discussion about the certainty of psychiatric diagnoses and its accuracy.
Discussion
I thought this chapter was very interesting the first and second time around (when the author goes through Rosenhan's experiment). In fact, it was more interesting the second time around as there was already literature on the experiment. Even if the author did not successfully (by experiment standards) get admitted, she was still prescribed with illnesses that were only existent as a way to justify the prescribed medication.
Book Reading #12 - Coming of Age in Samoa
Chapter 4
Summary
This chapter describes the ranking system of the samoan families. This ranking is based primarily on age as opposed to sex as it is the case in several cultures. The author describes the interconnection that exists between family members and the household. She also describes the role of the matai, who is the head of the household.
Discussion
I found this chapter to be interesting since it describes the ranking of the samoan families. The most interesting aspect of this ranking system is that it is based on age instead of sex; but also there is little distinction between uncles, aunts, and so on. From what I understand they all play a similar role and share the same descriptive name.
Summary
This chapter describes the ranking system of the samoan families. This ranking is based primarily on age as opposed to sex as it is the case in several cultures. The author describes the interconnection that exists between family members and the household. She also describes the role of the matai, who is the head of the household.
Discussion
I found this chapter to be interesting since it describes the ranking of the samoan families. The most interesting aspect of this ranking system is that it is based on age instead of sex; but also there is little distinction between uncles, aunts, and so on. From what I understand they all play a similar role and share the same descriptive name.
Book Reading #11 - Design of Everyday Things
Chapter 4
Summary
In this chapter the author talks about constraints and affordances that should be taken into consideration when designing objects. Among the constraints, the author talks about physical, semantic, cultural, and logical constraints. After discussing these concepts, the author describes current problems with door and switches as well as feedback and visibility principles that can improve the design of everyday things.
Discussion
I really enjoy the discussion about switches as it represents a problem I never thought about. However, while I appreciated the concern about doors and the things that they communicate to the users, I often find that his criticisms are exaggerated. This might be a product of the fact that more often than not I can manager to operate a door.
Summary
In this chapter the author talks about constraints and affordances that should be taken into consideration when designing objects. Among the constraints, the author talks about physical, semantic, cultural, and logical constraints. After discussing these concepts, the author describes current problems with door and switches as well as feedback and visibility principles that can improve the design of everyday things.
Discussion
I really enjoy the discussion about switches as it represents a problem I never thought about. However, while I appreciated the concern about doors and the things that they communicate to the users, I often find that his criticisms are exaggerated. This might be a product of the fact that more often than not I can manager to operate a door.
Paper Reading #6: Studying and Tackling Temporal Challenges in Mobile HCI
Comments
Derek Landini
Jacob Lillard
Reference
Studying and Tackling Temporal Challenges in Mobile HCI
Joel E. Fischer
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
Summary
This paper discusses techniques on measuring the receptivity of mobile technology users. The idea is that users are more receptive to mobile technology interruptions at certain times. This pertains to HCI in the sense that applications are becoming more engaging and operate in real-time. Therefore it becomes important to study how the content and timing of interruptions affect the level of receptivity in users. In studies about timing, it has been determined that receptivity has a strong correlation to the position of users relative to cognitive tasks; that is, opportune moments lie at the breakpoint of cognitive tasks (processes). However, predicting these breakpoints becomes very difficult to do in uncontrolled environments.
In order to conduct the study, the author employs a technique called ESM (Experience-Sampling Method) which consists of users answering sets of questions at random times. Using this technique, Fischer (the author) was able to gather data relevant to the content, the time of delivery, the channel of communication (e-mail, sms, phone call, etc), the receiver, and the impact of the interrupting service. The author describes it quoting Harold D. Lasswell's formula: Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?
By conducting this research, the author hopes to approximate the cognitive break points where user receptivity is greater so as to adapt current mobile applications to make better use of interruptions.
Discussion
This was a very nice article, however I believe that this technology is still very immature. I also am very concerned with the implications of having a mobile device deciding what messages from who are important to whom. Not that this is really bad, but I sure hope that this does not interfere with the privacy of individuals
Derek Landini
Jacob Lillard
Reference
Studying and Tackling Temporal Challenges in Mobile HCI
Joel E. Fischer
CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium
Summary
This paper discusses techniques on measuring the receptivity of mobile technology users. The idea is that users are more receptive to mobile technology interruptions at certain times. This pertains to HCI in the sense that applications are becoming more engaging and operate in real-time. Therefore it becomes important to study how the content and timing of interruptions affect the level of receptivity in users. In studies about timing, it has been determined that receptivity has a strong correlation to the position of users relative to cognitive tasks; that is, opportune moments lie at the breakpoint of cognitive tasks (processes). However, predicting these breakpoints becomes very difficult to do in uncontrolled environments.
By conducting this research, the author hopes to approximate the cognitive break points where user receptivity is greater so as to adapt current mobile applications to make better use of interruptions.
Discussion
This was a very nice article, however I believe that this technology is still very immature. I also am very concerned with the implications of having a mobile device deciding what messages from who are important to whom. Not that this is really bad, but I sure hope that this does not interfere with the privacy of individuals
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Book Reading #5 - Design of Everyday Things
Chapter 2
Summary
This chapter talks about the psychology of everyday actions while trying to provide explanations for the reason people think the way they do when it comes to making mistakes with everyday things or not knowing how to use them. The author discusses the fact that we as humans seem to have a tendency to place the cause of events wrongly, thus creating misconceptions about everyday life. Humans also tend to blame the wrong cause.
Discussion
I really enjoyed the chapter, however, as I keep reading the book I get the feeling that the author is exaggerating a little in order to prove his point about everyday things. Sure there are things that can be designed better; but it seems like the author is describing very challenged people. If people can't use doors or staplers, then maybe they should give up as life is a lot harder. Then again, I guess the point of the book is to teach us how to design better objects.
Summary
This chapter talks about the psychology of everyday actions while trying to provide explanations for the reason people think the way they do when it comes to making mistakes with everyday things or not knowing how to use them. The author discusses the fact that we as humans seem to have a tendency to place the cause of events wrongly, thus creating misconceptions about everyday life. Humans also tend to blame the wrong cause.
Discussion
I really enjoyed the chapter, however, as I keep reading the book I get the feeling that the author is exaggerating a little in order to prove his point about everyday things. Sure there are things that can be designed better; but it seems like the author is describing very challenged people. If people can't use doors or staplers, then maybe they should give up as life is a lot harder. Then again, I guess the point of the book is to teach us how to design better objects.
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