Exploring the Referral and Usage of Science Fiction in HCI Literature

Research on science fiction (sci-fi) in scientific publications has indicated the usage of sci-fi stories, movies or shows to inspire novel Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research. Yet no studies have analysed sci-fi in a top-ranked computer science conference at present. For that reason, we examine the CHI main track for the presence and nature of sci-fi referrals in relationship to HCI research. We search for six sci-fi terms in a dataset of 5812 CHI main proceedings and code the context of 175 sci-fi referrals in 83 papers indexed in the CHI main track. In our results, we categorize these papers into five contemporary HCI research themes wherein sci-fi and HCI interconnect: 1) Theoretical Design Research; 2) New Interactions; 3) Human-Body Modification or Extension; 4) Human-Robot Interaction and Artificial Intelligence; and 5) Visions of Computing and HCI. In conclusion, we discuss results and implications located in the promising arena of sci-fi and HCI research.Comment: v1: 20 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, HCI International 2018 accepted submission v2: 20 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, added link/doi for Springer proceedin

Building an Argument for the Use of Science Fiction in HCI Education

Science fiction literature, comics, cartoons and, in particular, audio-visual materials, such as science fiction movies and shows, can be a valuable addition in Human-computer interaction (HCI) Education. In this paper, we present an overview of research relative to future directions in HCI Education, distinct crossings of science fiction in HCI and Computer Science teaching and the Framework for 21st Century Learning. Next, we provide examples where science fiction can add to the future of HCI Education. In particular, we argue herein first that science fiction, as tangible and intangible cultural artifact, can serve as a trigger for creativity and innovation and thus, support us in exploring the design space. Second, science fiction, as a means to analyze yet-to-come HCI technologies, can assist us in developing an open-minded and reflective dialogue about technological futures, thus creating a singular base for critical thinking and problem solving. Provided that one is cognizant of its potential and limitations, we reason that science fiction can be a meaningful extension of selected aspects of HCI curricula and research.Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, IHSI 2019 accepted submissio

A Meta-Study and Content Analysis of Science Fiction in Computer Science Research

Ph.D

Human Computer Interaction and Emerging Technologies

The INTERACT Conferences are an important platform for researchers and practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) to showcase their work. They are organised biennially by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committee on Human–Computer Interaction (IFIP TC13), an international committee of 30 member national societies and nine Working Groups. INTERACT is truly international in its spirit and has attracted researchers from several countries and cultures. With an emphasis on inclusiveness, it works to lower the barriers that prevent people in developing countries from participating in conferences. As a multidisciplinary field, HCI requires interaction and discussion among diverse people with different interests and backgrounds. The 17th IFIP TC13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT 2019) took place during 2-6 September 2019 in Paphos, Cyprus. The conference was held at the Coral Beach Hotel Resort, and was co-sponsored by the Cyprus University of Technology and Tallinn University, in cooperation with ACM and ACM SIGCHI. This volume contains the Adjunct Proceedings to the 17th INTERACT Conference, comprising a series of selected papers from workshops, the Student Design Consortium and the Doctoral Consortium. The volume follows the INTERACT conference tradition of submitting adjunct papers after the main publication deadline, to be published by a University Press with a connection to the conference itself. In this case, both the Adjunct Proceedings Chair of the conference, Dr Usashi Chatterjee, and the lead Editor of this volume, Dr Fernando Loizides, work at Cardiff University which is the home of Cardiff University Press

"Moments to Talk About": Designing for the Eudaimonic Gameplay Experience

This thesis investigates the mixed-affect emotional experience of playing videogames. Its contribution is by way of a set of grounded theories that help us understand the game players' mixed-affect emotional experience, and that support analysts and designers in seeking to broaden and deepen emotional engagement in videogames. This was the product of three studies: First — An analysis of magazine reviews for a selection of videogames suggested there were two kinds of challenge being presented. Functional challenge — the commonly accepted notion of challenge, where dexterity and skill with the controls or strategy is used to overcome challenges, and emotional challenge — where resolution of tension within the narrative, emotional exploration of ambiguities within the diegesis, or identification with characters is overcome with cognitive and affective effort. Second — further investigation into the notion of emotional challenge become a reflection on the nature and definition of agency. A new theory of agency was constructed — comprising of Interpretive, Actual, Mechanical, and Fictional Agency. Interpretive Fictional Agency was highlighted as particularly important in facilitating a mixed-affect gameplay experience. Third — further interviews led to a core concept of `emotional exploration' — an analogy that is useful in helping explain how to design for emotional challenge, why players would be interested in seeking it out, and how the mixed-affect emotional experience is constituted during gameplay. These three theories are integrated and the mixed-affect emotional experience of interest resulting from gameplay is defined as the ‘Eudaimonic Gameplay Experience’. It is hoped that this will help developers and researchers better understand how to analyse and design single-player videogames that increase the chances for a deep, reflective and more varied emotional experience to take place, and take advantage of the latent expressive and artistic potential that still remains under-explored in videogames

Designing technologies for intimate care in women

PhD ThesisDesigning for intimate care remains an underexplored area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI): while technologies for health and wellbeing might be plentiful, technologies for intimate care are limited. Intimate care is associated with personal hygiene, bodily functions and bodily products, and is a lifetime practice that requires well-defined interventions – by the self, or supported by others. With a move to experience, HCI has explored and responded to some of the concepts of intimate care in recent research, by addressing taboo and life disruptions. However, a wider understanding and conceptualization of intimate care work is missing from the broader HCI discourse on health and wellbeing, as well as a distinct framework for negotiating the design of technologies of intimate care. Addressing this space is noteworthy, within a field that designs technologies to support, enhance, and improve human life (Kannabiran et al. 2011). It is possible that this is related to uncertainty regarding the challenges that technology might bring to intimate interactions, particularly the challenges faced in practices that encompass bodywork and proximity to hidden parts of the body, and the impact of troublesome topics upon wellbeing education. The aim of this research is to enquire into the integration of digital technologies and intimate care towards the development of technologies for engagement with intimate care practices in women. I seek to investigate a methodological approach with a focus on the woman to understand the challenges of designing for and with intimate care; explore the qualities of such woman-centered approach in practice. In this thesis I present three case studies that incorporate empirical methods and new designs that I developed throughout this programme of research. These include 1) ethnographic observations of women’s health physiotherapy within a clinic to understand the components of intimate care within a professional setting; 2) a design toolkit that explores e-textiles for teaching female pelvic fitness, delivered through a series of workshops in which discussions that blended humour and laughter made it entertaining and less embarrassing to ask questions and to express curiosity about intimate bodies; 3) Labella, a probe/intimate wearable for self-learning about hidden parts of the female body and a technology which encompasses embodied interaction, that aims to contribute to breaking down the taboo of looking at oneself to help reduce the barrier of selfcare. Furthermore, Labella aims to support knowledge of the other, while exploring perceptions of esteem and reliance towards practices of care within the body. These three case studies begin to explore and offer insights on how designing for intimate care is entwined in woman-centered approaches to design. ! iv! This thesis contributes to interaction design research and outlines a framework for designing technologies for and with intimate care in women. The research highlights how intimate care pervades personal and professional settings, and its significance throughout the lifecourse. Specifically, I contribute to an underexplored area of HCI, women’s health (outside maternal health) by focusing on a woman-centered methodological approach. In doing this, I explore this approach in practice through challenging existing practices of care within women’s health and by offering novel design concepts and devices, in which I explore humour in design as a method to support learning of sensitive topics and as a tool to diminish the taboo nature of the interactions. Lastly, I propose woman-centered design as a novel form of inquiry in design practice research

Exploring Techno-Spirituality: Design strategies for transcendent user experiences

This thesis presents a study of transcendent experiences (TXs) — experiences of connection with something greater than oneself — focusing on what they are, how artefacts support them, and how design can contribute to that support. People often find such experiences transformative, and artefacts do support them — but the literature rarely addresses designing artefact support for TXs. This thesis provides a step toward filling that gap. The first phase of research involved the conduct and analysis of 24 interviews with adults of diverse spiritual perspectives, using constructivist Grounded Theory methods informed by relevant literature and by studies performed earlier in the PhD programme. Analysis found that TXs proceed in three phases — creating the context, living the experience, integrating the experience — and that artefacts support two phases and people desire enhancements to all three. This TX framework supports and extends experience structures from the literature: it recognises the top-level categories as phases in a cycle where integration may alter future contexts, and it extends the structure of TX by incorporating the relationships of artefacts and of enhancement desires to the phases of these experiences. This extended structure constitutes a grounded theory of transcendent user experience (TUX). The second phase involved the design and conduct of three “Transcendhance” game workshops for enhancing transcendence, which incorporated themes from the grounded theory and aimed to elicit design ideas in an atmosphere of imagination, fun, and play. Participants sketched 69 speculative ideas for techno-spiritual artefacts, and analysis mapped them to TX phases and identified possible extensions inspired by relevant research. The great majority of ideas mapped to the phase Creating the Context, with very few mapping to Living the Experience, which suggests that context may be easier than lived experience to understand and address directly. This point is especially important for experiences such as TX that are tricky to define, impossible to arrange or anticipate, and thus unsuitable for straight-forward “classic” user experience methods. The final phase involved the elaboration of workshop ideas to explore the extension of design fiction for TUX. Analysis related design fiction to the TX phases and suggested features that affect design ideas’ potential for TUX design fiction. This phase ended with the proposal and analysis of three new forms of design fiction — extended imaginary abstracts, comparative imaginary abstracts, and design poetry — using workshop ideas to illustrate the forms, their construction and use, and their benefits to TUX design. Transcendhance workshops and TUX design fictions approach techno-spiritual design peripherally, “sneaking up” on lived experience by addressing context and enabling the consideration of ineffable experience through storytelling, metaphors, and oblique imagery. This thesis combines the grounded theory of transcendent user experience with the Transcendhance workshop process and new forms of design fiction, presenting peripheral design as a promising strategy for facilitating design to enhance transcendent experience