Evolving SPIDe Towards the Integration of Requirements Elicitation in Interaction Design

Among the various interaction (re)design processes and approaches, SPIDe is a semio-participatory methodological process inspired by communication-centered design. However, the development of computational solutions is not limited to interaction design. Requirements elicitation is also an integral part of this process. Some SPIDe studies indicated that it is also possible to raise requirements through its application due to its participatory characteristics. This article presents an investigation on the feasibility of SPIDe when applied to requirements elic itation integrated with interaction design, presenting an exploratory case study. From the perspective of different experts, we explain the strengths and needs of SPIDe in supporting requirements elicitation integrated into inter action design. Data were collected through logbooks, semi-structured interviews, and the TAM questionnaire and then analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that the SPIDe use for requirements elicitation integrated into the interaction design is feasible. Furthermore, they indicated that possible improvements in SPIDe could ben efit the development of the computational solutions considering a single application of SPIDe to obtain data for interaction design and requirements elicitation integrated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Co-designing a mobile app for bystander privacy protection in Jordanian smart homes: a step towards addressing a complex privacy landscape

The proliferation of smart devices fuels privacy concerns, particularly for bystanders—individuals impacted by smart devices beyond their control. Existing research primarily addresses these concerns in Western contexts, with limited focus on Muslim Arab Middle-Eastern (MAME) regions like Jordan. Additionally, there is a scarcity of proposed interventions or assessments for effectively addressing, communicating, negotiating, and remediating privacy issues in these contexts. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating how a technology probe in the form of a privacy-focused mobile application can serve as an auxiliary tool to support the privacy protection of smart home bystanders in Jordan. We initiated our research by collaboratively designing the app through four focus groups involving 24 stakeholders. Subsequently, we present and qualitatively evaluate the app’s potential for privacy protection with a diverse group of 26 representative stakeholders. While the app is generally well-received, it encounters challenges rooted in broader contextual norms and practices. Our discussion delves into these challenges, offering recommendations to enhance bystander privacy protection in Jordanian smart homes

Exploring bystanders’ privacy concerns with smart homes in Jordan

The proliferation of smart home devices has raised many privacy concerns among smart home inhabitants. Previous research has mostly focused on family members and device owners in Western contexts (i.e., Europe and North America). In contrast, this research study examines the Muslim Arab Middle Eastern (MAME) context of Jordan to investigate how different cultural, social, and religious norms affect privacy concerns and practices in smart homes in Jordan. Our research starts with a literature review of the privacy concerns of bystanders in smart homes -- individuals who are subjected to the smart device use of others -- identifying several gaps in this area. Our studies seek to understand the privacy concerns and expectations of smart home bystanders and households in Jordan, with a particular focus on domestic workers. We explore legal and regulatory perspectives on privacy protection and how these relate to the tensions that may arise between households and their domestic workers. We also examine the complex power dynamics between domestic workers and households, particularly in spaces that function as both a residence and a workplace. This dual-use of smart homes has created gaps in workplace protections that favor households. Finally, we explore smart device design challenges for privacy protection, and we assess how a co-designed mobile application can be used as an auxiliary tool to support privacy protection of bystanders in Jordanian smart homes. Ultimately, the outcomes of this thesis contribute to addressing the complex and intricate issues that arise from the use of smart technology in households that employ domestic workers. We anticipate that our findings will not only inform future research and offer recommendations for social interventions but also facilitate the improvement of privacy protection measures by informing smart device design and influencing the development of policies and regulations that offer better support for the privacy protection in smart homes. It is crucial to stress that collaborative interventions are essential from all stakeholders

Science in the Forest, Science in the Past

This collection brings together leading anthropologists, historians, philosophers, and artificial-intelligence researchers to discuss the sciences and mathematics used in various Eastern, Western, and Indigenous societies, both ancient and contemporary. The authors analyze prevailing assumptions about these societies and propose more faithful, sensitive analyses of their ontological views about reality—a step toward mutual understanding and translatability across cultures and research fields. Science in the Forest, Science in the Past is a pioneering interdisciplinary exploration that will challenge the way readers interested in sciences, mathematics, humanities, social research, computer sciences, and education think about deeply held notions of what constitutes reality, how it is apprehended, and how to investigate it

Citizens in Camouflage: the Production of the Means of Violence in the Everyday

This thesis is motivated by ordinary objects that are produced for violence, and the extra-ordinary story of a farmer turned gallows-exporter, and asks in what ways do civilians participate and contribute to the production of the means of violence? This question is embedded in a broader social context in which state-sanctioned violence and its production typically is attributed to distinct militarised agents, whereas civilians are seen to not take part in any of these dynamics and thus hold no agency in the production of it. Recent scholarship on militarisation has called into question the assumption of a peaceful and non-violent civilian sphere that is encroached upon by military agents and raised the question of how to transcend the civil/military dichotomy. In building on these, I argue that we need to take agency seriously and scrutinise how different spheres are established. I draw on Marxist and Feminist thought that takes the agency of the civil seriously, and empirically explore what work the civil is doing, through a multi-sited ethnographic approach. Taking the objects produced for collective violence and their design as a starting point, I follow them to the people who promote, design, produce, and contest their existence. I argue that the production of the means of violence takes place beyond a narrow security and defence sphere and set out to empirically explore this sphere. In so doing I trace what work the civil is doing in a literal sense, as well as how this work is rendered invisible. I am highlighting the civil as a force in the production of the means of violence and trace how it depoliticises its own contribution. The civil is thus integral to the integration of violence into broader logics of capitalism

Understanding informal caregivers' use of assistive technologies in Mexico during their dementia caregiver experience

Dementia is a long-term progressive condition with no cure that is considered to be a major public health priority worldwide. Currently, 60% of people with dementia (PwD) reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and by 2040 the number will increase to 71%. Families from these countries are being overwhelmed by the increased numbers of cases as the depleted health infrastructures and lack of governmental support mean that families have to rely on informal caregivers (ICs) to provide essential support and care. By 2050, Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, will experience an increase of >400% in the number of dementia cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in 2017 as part of their “Global action plan on public health response to dementia” that culture- and community-specific approaches need to be developed and implemented in LMICs. They argued that this need emerged from the results of various studies on LMICs that showed how each country interpreted dementia differently. Cultural interpretations have been shown to influence the dementia caregiving experience directly. However, only few studies have been conducted about ICs of PWDs from LMICs. Hence, the need to understand the complexities of the dementia caregiver’s experiences within LMICs. In-home technologies, such as Assistive Technologies (ATs), have been shown to be effective in dementia care to improve the quality of life of the PwD and alleviate the IC’s caregiver burden. However, only a few studies have evaluated the usefulness of ATs in LMICs and no research has been conducted on the experiences of ICs with ATs in LMICs. This thesis explores the lived experiences of ICs of PwD in Mexico, a country in which ATs are used as part of their caregiving role. The study adopted a phenomenological approach, the aim of which was to understand the role and impact of ATs in the caregiving role and caregiving experience. Nine ICs of PwD in Mexico participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in two parts: an idiographic analysis of the first-person accounts of each participant and a cross-case analysis that examined the convergences and divergences of their experiences across the group. The findings from the study revealed that, to a certain extent, all of the participants went through five stages during their lived experiences as caregivers. The ICs subconsciously divided the lengthy path of their caregiving experiences into two phases: pre-AT usage and AT usage. The stages were established as: 1) emotional triggers; 2) avoidance; 3) personal values assessment; 4) self-forgiveness; and 5) acceptance (i.e., of the disease). During the pre-AT usage phase (stages 1-4), participants attributed a combination of different negative feelings and double caring responsibilities as the factors that motivated them to acquire an AT and care for their own well-being, as well as that of the PwD. It was revealed during the second stage, the AT usage phase (stages 4-5), that the ICs’ interactions with ATs were complex. On the one hand, the participants concentrated on testing, accepting and appropriating the AT to fit their own needs. On the other hand, it was revealed that ATs mediated the experience and, as a consequence, influenced the ICs’ roles and caregiver experiences. This thesis provides a new, and in-depth, understanding of some of the complexities that derive from the dementia caregiver’s experience in Mexico, an LMIC. It also provides an insight into the human-technology relationship that develops from daily interactions with the AT and how it influences the essence of the caregiver experience. Recommendations are made for designers and developers of ATs for use in the care of PwD based on the findings from this study