Rules of Engagement: design attributes for social interactions

We present a taxonomy for the design of workplace “break” spaces. The taxonomy can be used to identify aspects of current spaces that are either successful or problematic. From this analysis, we demonstrate how the taxonomy can be used to identify opportunities for computer mediated augmentation of spaces, and how such designs can be validated against this taxonomy

Motor expressions as creativity support: Exploring the potential for physical interaction

This research explores the effects of physical interactions designed on the basis of motor expressions to support creative ideation in creativity support technologies. The presented research looks into the effects on creative ideation of incompatibility between motor expressions and problem situations, and appraisals of (un)pleasantness. We report the results of a preliminary study which suggests that affective incompatibility between a problem situation and a motor expression benefits creative ideation, and that pleasantness motor expressions enhance task enjoyment, which in turn leads to a beneficial effect on the originality of ideas generated. Based on these results, we conclude with two new directions for the design of physical interactions with novel creativity support technologies

A frame signature matrix for analysing and comparing interaction design behaviour

Protocol studies are an established method to investigate design behaviour. In the context of a project to investigate novice interaction design (ID) behaviour across protocols and cultures, we found that existing design behaviour analysis frameworks did not provide reliable results. This paper describes the development of a new approach to analyse and compare ID behaviour using verbal protocols. We augment Schön’s basic design and reflection cycle with construction of a frame signature matrix and analogical categorisation coding. We demonstrate this approach by comparing two protocols of novice interaction designers in Botswana. The initial findings indicate that this approach increases consistency and accuracy of coding, and that there are different degrees of reframing for the design problem and solutions

Generalized Ginzburg-Landau models for non-conventional superconductors

We review some recent extensions of the Ginzburg-Landau model able to describe several properties of non-conventional superconductors. In the first extension, s-wave superconductors endowed with two different critical temperatures are considered, their main thermodynamical and magnetic properties being calculated and discussed. Instead in the second extension we describe spin-triplet superconductivity (with a single critical temperature), studying in detail the main predicted physical properties. A thorough discussion of the peculiar predictions of our models and their physical consequences is as well performed.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Sonically-enhanced widgets: comments on Brewster and Clarke, ICAD 1997

This paper presents a review of the research surrounding the paper “The Design and Evaluation of a Sonically Enhanced Tool Palette” by Brewster and Clarke from ICAD 1997. A historical perspective is given followed by a discussion of how this work has fed into current developments in the area

A protocol study of novice interaction design behaviour in Botswana: solution-driven interaction design

Think aloud studies and protocol analysis are well-known in the field of HCI, but most often these studies focus on usability evaluations, or on the use of technology. Rarely are they used to investigate the behaviour of interaction designers. In this paper, we report on a protocol study with novice interaction designers in Botswana. Participants had just completed the design section of an undergraduate module on Interaction Design that actively promotes a problem-driven approach to the design of interactive products, yet the participants behaved in a way that is closer to a solution-driven approach. The module emphasizes user-centred design, prototyping methods to support design development, and evaluating design detail. Yet participants suggest solutions before exploring the context of use, use prototyping methods to capture, rather than to develop, designs, and do not produce detailed designs. In a problem-solving context, some of these behaviours are typical of novices, but in a design context they are also seen in experienced designers. The results presented here reveal the detail of the approach adopted by these students, and contribute to the wider debate concerning the internationalization of HCI education

Tools for second language support

The second language problem is the context in which non-native English speakers are required to interact with English-based computer systems. In other papers, we have characterized this setting and proposed methods of supporting such users. The present paper details several tools that we have developed to assist in our work with second language support. A prime consideration in such tool development is to facilitate easy management of alternative language resources. The need for criteria to direct second language support and the role of such tools in helping to evaluate such criteria is detailed here

The design of sonically-enhanced widgets

This paper describes the design of user-interface widgets that include non-speech sound. Previous research has shown that the addition of sound can improve the usability of human–computer interfaces. However, there is little research to show where the best places are to add sound to improve usability. The approach described here is to integrate sound into widgets, the basic components of the human–computer interface. An overall structure for the integration of sound is presented. There are many problems with current graphical widgets and many of these are difficult to correct by using more graphics. This paper presents many of the standard graphical widgets and describes how sound can be added. It describes in detail usability problems with the widgets and then the non-speech sounds to overcome them. The non-speech sounds used are earcons. These sonically-enhanced widgets allow designers who are not sound experts to create interfaces that effectively improve usability and have coherent and consistent sounds

Correcting menu usability problems with sound

Future human-computer interfaces will use more than just graphical output to display information. In this paper we suggest that sound and graphics together can be used to improve interaction. We describe an experiment to improve the usability of standard graphical menus by the addition of sound. One common difficulty is slipping off a menu item by mistake when trying to select it. One of the causes of this is insufficient feedback. We designed and experimentally evaluated a new set of menus with much more salient audio feedback to solve this problem. The results from the experiment showed a significant reduction in the subjective effort required to use the new sonically-enhanced menus along with significantly reduced error recovery times. A significantly larger number of errors were also corrected with sound