Towards memory supporting personal information management tools

In this article we discuss re-retrieving personal information objects and relate the task to recovering from lapse(s) in memory. We propose that fundamentally it is lapses in memory that impede users from successfully re-finding the information they need. Our hypothesis is that by learning more about memory lapses in non-computing contexts and how people cope and recover from these lapses, we can better inform the design of PIM tools and improve the user's ability to re-access and re-use objects. We describe a diary study that investigates the everyday memory problems of 25 people from a wide range of backgrounds. Based on the findings, we present a series of principles that we hypothesize will improve the design of personal information management tools. This hypothesis is validated by an evaluation of a tool for managing personal photographs, which was designed with respect to our findings. The evaluation suggests that users' performance when re-finding objects can be improved by building personal information management tools to support characteristics of human memory

Ambulatory assessment in neuropsychology : applications in multiple sclerosis research

Peer reviewedPostprin

Designing and evaluating a user interface for continous embedded lifelogging based on physical context

PhD ThesisAn increase in both personal information and storage capacity has encouraged people to store and archive their life experience in multimedia formats. The usefulness of such large amounts of data will remain inadequate without the development of both retrieval techniques and interfaces that help people access and navigate their personal collections. The research described in this thesis investigates lifelogging technology from the perspective of the psychology of memory and human-computer interaction. The research described seeks to increase my understanding of what data can trigger memories and how I might use this insight to retrieve past life experiences in interfaces to lifelogging technology. The review of memory and previous research on lifelogging technology allows and support me to establish a clear understanding of how memory works and design novel and effective memory cues; whilst at the same time I critiqued existing lifelogging systems and approaches to retrieving memories of past actions and activities. In the initial experiments I evaluated the design and implementation of a prototype which exposed numerous problems both in the visualisation of data and usability. These findings informed the design of novel lifelogging prototype to facilitate retrieval. I assessed the second prototype and determined how an improved system supported access and retrieval of users’ past life experiences, in particular, how users group their data into events, how they interact with their data, and the classes of memories that it supported. In this doctoral thesis I found that visualizing the movements of users’ hands and bodies facilitated grouping activities into events when combined with the photos and other data captured at the same time. In addition, the movements of the user's hand and body and the movements of some objects can promote an activity recognition or support user detection and grouping of them into events. Furthermore, the ability to search for specific movements significantly reduced the amount of time that it took to retrieve data related to specific events. I revealed three major strategies that users followed to understand the combined data: skimming sequences, cross sensor jumping and continued scanning

The Utility of Video Diaries for Organizational Research

This article assesses the utility of video diaries as a method for organization studies. While it is frequently suggested that video-based research methodologies have the capacity to capture new data about the minutiae of complex organizational affairs, as well as offering new forms of dissemination to both academic and professional audiences, little is known about the specific benefits and drawbacks of video diaries. We compare video diaries with two established and “adjacent” methods: traditional diary studies (written or audio) and other video methods. We evaluate each in relation to three key research areas: bodily expressions, identity, and practice studies. Our assessment of video diaries suggests that the approach is best used as a complement to other forms of research and is particularly suited to capturing plurivocal, asynchronous accounts of organizational phenomena. We use illustrations from an empirical research project to exemplify our claims before concluding with five points of advice for researchers wishing to employ this method

Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation

The experience of role balance among Australian working women with multigenerational caring responsibilities

Approximately 10% of women in developed countries are working sandwich generation women, who combine paid employment with ongoing multigenerational caring responsibilities for at least one child under 18 years and one parent or parent-in-law. This role combination is expected to become more common due to the increased workforce participation of women, childbirth at an older age, reduced fertility rates, an ageing population and a trend towards community based care. Although there are numerous benefits related to membership in the working sandwich generation, there are also a range of costs related to role participation and quality of life. In particular, these women face a complex array of challenges to achieving a satisfactory level of role balance. This thesis describes a two-staged research project, where multiple methods were utilised to explore role balance related experiences and strategies among Australian working sandwich generation women. The Model of Juggling Occupations was developed to provide a conceptual framework linking the six papers contained within this thesis. The first stage of this research project focused on exploring role balance experiences among 18 working sandwich generation women through a case study approach, where data were collected through a questionnaire, time diary and interview (Papers I – IV). The three methodological approaches were utilised to investigate the within-role factors of activity participation, values, interests, perceived competence and habits for the three defining roles of mother, parental carer and working, along with the enriching and conflicting between-role interactions. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were utilised to reveal that working sandwich generation women tended to experience a moderate level of role balance. Interests and habits were the two within-role factors most strongly associated with the experience of role balance. Although enriching interactions between roles facilitated role balance to some extent, between role conflict posed a greater barrier to role balance outcomes. The second stage of this research project focused on identifying the role balance strategies utilised by working sandwich generation women (Papers V – VI). This was achieved through interviews with the 18 women from the case study approach, along with a viewpoint study of 31 working sandwich generation women and 42 occupational therapists. Findings from the interviews revealed the women used six types of within-role balance strategies: living with integrity, being the best you can, doing what you love, loving what you do, remembering why, and searching for signs of success. The women also described six types of between-role balance strategies: maintaining health and wellbeing, repressing perfectionism, managing time and energy, releasing responsibility, nurturing social connection, and reciprocating. The viewpoint study revealed the most helpful specific role balance strategies were allowing enough time for rest, sleep and ‘me time’, along with relinquishing control, embracing realistic expectations and using time management techniques. Overall, this thesis provides evidence that role balance among Australian working sandwich generation women is a desirable and achievable state, despite numerous challenges and complexities. These women often achieved role balance at the level of “doing” activities associated with their multiple roles. However, they struggled at times with “being” in a single role in the moment due to conflicting demands on their attention. It is possible that achieving a higher level of role balance is reliant on the process of “becoming” a working sandwich generation woman, where they balance “doing” and “being” aspects within and between their multiple roles. These findings add substantial knowledge to this field and have the potential to guide the development of services to improve role balance among working women with multigenerational caring responsibilities, along with the introduction of policies to optimise their participation within their homes, workplaces and communities