The visual and beyond : characterizing experiences with auditory, haptic and visual data representations

Research in sonification and physicalization have expanded data representation techniques to include senses beyond the visual. Yet, little is known of how people interpret and make sense of haptic and sonic compared to visual representations. We have conducted two phenomenologically oriented comparative studies (applying the Repertory Grid and the Microphenomenological interview technique) to gather in-depth accounts of people's interpretation and experience of different representational modalities that included auditory, haptic and visual variations . Our findings show a rich characterization of these different representational modalities: our visually oriented representations engage through their familiarity, accuracy and easy interpretation, while our representations that stimulated auditory and haptic interpretation were experienced as more ambiguous, yet stimulated an engaging interpretation of data that involved the whole body. We describe and discuss in detail participants' processes of making sense and generating meaning using the modalities' unique characteristics, individually and as a group. Our research informs future research in the area of multimodal data representations from both a design and methodological perspective.Postprin

Data and Dasein - A Phenomenology of Human-Data Relations

In contemporary society, data representation is an important and essential part of many aspects of our daily lives. This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding on how people experience data and what role representational modality plays in the process of perception and interpretation. This research is grounded in phenomenology - I align my theoretical exploration to ideas and concepts from philosophical phenomenology, while also respecting the essence of a phenomenological approach in the choice and application of methods. Alongside offering a rich description of people’s experience of data representation, the key contributions I claim transcend four areas: theory, methods, design, and empirical findings. From a theoretical perspective, besides describing a phenomenology of human-data relations, I define, for the first time, multisensory data representation and establish a design space for the study of this class of representation. In relation to methodologies, I describe and deploy two methods to investigate different aspects of data experience. I blend the Repertory Grid technique with a focus group session and show how this adaption can be used to elicit rich design relevant insight. I also introduce the Elicitation Interview technique as a method for gathering detailed and precise accounts of human experience. Furthermore, I describe for the first time, how this technique can be used to elicit accounts of experience with data. My contribution to design relates to the creation of a series of bespoke data-driven artefacts, as well as describing an approach to design that I call Design Probes, which allows researchers to focus their enquiry on specific design features. To answer the research questions I set out in this thesis, I report on a series of empirical studies that used the aforementioned methods. The findings of these studies show, for instance, how certain representational modalities cause us to have heightened awareness of our body, some are more difficult to interpret than others, some rely heavily on instinct and each of them solicit us to reference external events during the process of interpretation. I conclude that a phenomenology of human-data relations show how representational modality affects the way we experience data, it also shows how this experience unfolds and it offers insight into particular moments such as the formation of meaning

The vocabulary of Learner-Space Interactions - Understanding learning spaces experience through the repertory grid method

Higher education institutions are facing new educational challenges and are striving for an evolution in pedagogical practices. This evolution is accompanied by the need for innovative learning spaces to support students in the development of “21st century skills”. Designing these spaces requires a deep understanding of learners’ needs and experiences. User-centered design therefore appears as an adequate process to understand learning experiences in relation to spatial design. In this paper, we describe how the repertory grid method has been used to explore students’ perceptions of learning environments (N = 26). We identified 381 personal constructs (contrasted word pairs) associated with learning spaces and grouped them into seven categories (22 subcategories), ranked by number of occurrences. This study provides a basis for the development of a vocabulary of learners-spaces interactions, in support of the design and assessment of learning space experiences

Towards an understanding of human behaviour for design action

It can be shown that exceeding both utilitarian and hedonic needs of consumers leads towards greater satisfaction, delight and enduring consumer loyalty. If designers are to meet the progressively diverse needs of consumers, then access to consumer values, aspirations and the underlying logic of their social practice become increasingly important. If we accept that what people say, do and think are often different things, gaining access to these requirements is clearly a challenge. The challenge is not only concerned with how these requirements are accessed at source, through widely adopted ethnographically inspired techniques, but more towards how these requirements are communicated to the designer. There is a clear disconnect between the collection of consumer requirements and how these requirements are arranged and communicated as implications for design. This thesis details a governance framework for the output of ethnographically inspired research methods to provide an understanding of the arrangement and attributes a communication tool for ethnographic work should possess, particularly towards the more technical area of new product development. The framework bridges a gap between consumer research and design action, which may be used as an approach to facilitate innovation, targeted problem solving and offer creative direction for new product development. Following an exploratory review of the literature and a series of way-finding interviews with domestic appliance and consumer goods manufacturers, a pilot study was conducted to identify the philosophical and practical barriers faced by designers, when designing for consumer requirements beyond the functional. A detailed second level literature review explored the emergent themes and led towards a desktop review of over 30 different creative thinking design tools from the design & emotion movement, 24 different communication approaches for ethnographic work in design and a two year case study on communication within the design process

What drives men who commit stalking offences and how practitioners can best respond to their needs

Stalking causes immeasurable psychological damage to victims, in some cases leading to physical violence. It is a prevalent behaviour with growing public awareness. Practitioners experience those who commit stalking offences as interpersonally complex, and there is a dearth of empirical literature reporting conclusively on their psychopathology, effective treatment and management, and on the idiosyncratic experiences of those who stalk. The systematic review of international literature on psychopathology features of adult males who stalk defines the scope and quality of available publications. The review highlights the relative scarcity of robust comparator research studies, and tentatively concludes on the commonality of Personality Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, and insecure attachment styles, amongst this population. The thesis research study attended to the knowledge-practice gaps regarding what drives stalking behaviours, utilising mixed methods, including a responsive methodological approach. This novel Visually Adapted Repertory Grid Technique (VARGT), married with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), satisfied the researcher's epistemological position of constructive alternativism and related research aims. This methodology captured the relational experiences of seven adult male participants convicted of stalking offences. It did so through a robust collaborative and double hermeneutics process, supported by statistical analysis of data derived from the VARGT. Three superordinate themes were identified with associated subordinate themes, primarily highlighting the presence of narcissistic vulnerability. Positive engagement using the VARGT was a pronounced and unintended outcome. Transcript extracts and researcher-practitioner reflections are presented, detailing its therapeutic value and potential application in research and clinical practice. This thesis evolved from existing and developing practitioner-researcher knowledge and experience. It provides valuable, and advancing, contributions back to the field of forensic psychology practice and research. Overall, this thesis offers practitioners and policymakers new insights for application to the assessment, treatment and management of those who commit stalking offences

Learning systemic management practice

Systems thinking has been proposed as an answer to the question of how management practitioners can best equip themselves to tackle the complexity of management practice. As a body of work intended to transcend disciplinary silos, systems thinking pursues the ideal of generating comprehensive descriptions of real situations. It seeks to do this by embracing a variety of systems approaches and ideas to explain patterns and hypothesise causes of observable empirical events. As systems thinking is a diverse field, there are many knowledge areas and perspectives available to programme designers to facilitate teaching and the learning of systems thinking for management practice. The purpose of this study is to examine students' experience of learning events in the context of an interdisciplinary course designed for the development of management practice through systems thinking. Data was collected from three cohorts of students by observing lectures and class-based group work; and conducting interviews using conversational repertory grid techniques. The interview responses were analysed using grounded theory principles. Based on the findings derived from this qualitative analysis, the process of learning of systems thinking is outlined as a practice involving the selection and interpretation of events which evolve from the starting out phase, where students become interested in learning, and then outlines progress through the phases of assimilation and, changes in knowledge, culminating in more complex learning phases described as integration and adaptation. The synthesis of these phenomena as a theory provided an answer to the primary research objective of investigating how students experience learning events designed to develop systemic management practice. Critical realism, following Bhaskar's philosophy, is used to frame explanations to extend the grounded theory analysis, seeking to account for generative mechanisms that enable and constrain student experience with respect to systems thinking development. As a secondary contribution, this informed the identification of possible mechanisms and emergent properties at the level of the course through an analytical separation of the academic and work environments. These included the discourse of the context of application, academic discourse and professional identity. In combination, these findings make a contribution to understanding the learning of systemic management practice. In addition, applications for this research are suggested for educators, managers and organisations. These applications include: 1) a framework to help educators design meaningful experiences for learners; 2) a basis for understanding what constitutes systemic management practice and explaining differential development; 3) establishment of a basis for understanding what is needed for organisations to support the development of systemic management practice

What Do We See in Them? Identifying Dimensions of Partner Models for Speech Interfaces Using a Psycholexical Approach

Perceptions of system competence and communicative ability, termed partner models, play a significant role in speech interface interaction. Yet we do not know what the core dimensions of this concept are. Taking a psycholexical approach, our paper is the first to identify the key dimensions that define partner models in speech agent interaction. Through a repertory grid study (N=21), a review of key subjective questionnaires, an expert review of resulting word pairs and an online study of 356 users of speech interfaces, we identify three key dimensions that make up a users’ partner model: 1) perceptions towards partner competence and dependability; 2) assessment of human-likeness; and 3) a system’s perceived cognitive flexibility. We discuss the implications for partner modelling as a concept, emphasising the importance of salience and the dynamic nature of these perceptions

Implementation of operational environmental practices in the Ontario (Canada) wine industry : perceptions, constructs, intent.

Environmental sustainability is a topic of great interest in the Ontario (Canada) wine industry. Following the lead of several wine industries around the world, the Wine Council of Ontario launched a proactive plan for environmental sustainability that culminated with the release of the Environmental Charter for Winemaking Industry in 2007. The Charter outlines environmental best practices and establishes benchmarks for the grape and wine producers in Ontario. With some wineries pioneering the implementation of the recommended environmental practices and others taking a backseat and delaying it, this study’s purpose is to understand the intent to implement environmental practices as part of operational processes within the Ontario (Canada) wine industry by using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the framework of analysis. A constructivist approach using multiple case study design is used to explore the determinants of intention. Twenty wineries are interviewed and repertory grid employed as the chosen technique of data collection. Cluster, content and principal component analysis are conducted with the results indicating that TPB is an appropriate frame of analysis for implementation intent. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this study proposes an updated model for intention applicable to environmental practices. As a practical contribution, recommendations and a list of motivators of implementation intent is developed. Further research to test the proposed model is suggested to alleviate case studies limitations

Mapping Perceptions of Humanness in Intelligent Personal Assistant Interaction

Humanness is core to speech interface design. Yet little is known about how users conceptualise perceptions of humanness and how people define their interaction with speech interfaces through this. To map these perceptions n=21 participants held dialogues with a human and two speech interface based intelligent personal assistants, and then reflected and compared their experiences using the repertory grid technique. Analysis of the constructs show that perceptions of humanness are multidimensional, focusing on eight key themes: partner knowledge set, interpersonal connection, linguistic content, partner performance and capabilities, conversational interaction, partner identity and role, vocal qualities and behavioral affordances. Through these themes, it is clear that users define the capabilities of speech interfaces differently to humans, seeing them as more formal, fact based, impersonal and less authentic. Based on the findings, we discuss how the themes help to scaffold, categorise and target research and design efforts, considering the appropriateness of emulating humanness