Four Principles for Selecting HCI Research Questions

In this position paper, I present and explain the position that what we should study in HCI depends on the objective of the research and its political, social, cultural, technological, and historical context. I outline four principles for selecting research questions and give a personal account of how I have selected research questions using these four principles. The aim with the paper is to generate discussion and advance the understanding of what to study in HCI

Conceptualising personal and mobile learning environments in higher education : focus on students' perspective

Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena oli tutkia yliopisto-opiskelijoiden näkökulmasta, miten henkilökohtaisen ja mobiilin oppimisympäristön käsite voidaan määritellä. Väitöskirja koostuu kuudesta osatutkimuksesta, jotka toteutettiin Lapin yliopistossa, missä vuosien 2004 ja 2009 välisenä aikana kaikille opintonsa aloittaville opiskelijoille tarjottiin mahdollisuus hankkia käyttöönsä kannettava tietokone yliopiston osaksi kustantamana. Tutkimuksen keskiössä ovat yliopisto-opiskelijat, heidän kokemuksensa ja näkemyksensä sekä kehitysideansa. Ensimmäisessä osatutkimuksessa kartoitettiin opiskelijoiden tietoturvaan, opiskelun mobiiliuteen sekä tietokoneilla tuettuun yhteisölliseen opiskeluun liittyviä odotuksia. Toisessa osatutkimuksessa selvitettiin, millaisen kotouttamisprosessin opiskelijat käyvät läpi ottaessaan kannettavaa tietokonetta käyttöönsä. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin myös sitä, miten opiskelijat integroivat kannettavan tietokoneen oppimisprosessiinsa, millaisten kokemusten kautta kannettavasta tuli merkityksellinen sekä sitä, miten sukupuoli tai tietotekniset taidot vaikuttivat tähän prosessiin. Kolmas osatutkimus rakentui design-perustaisen tutkimuksen periaatteille ja sen aikana suunniteltiin ja toteutettiin langattomien kampusten tietoturvaa käsittelevä opintojakso. Neljännessä osatutkimuksessa selvitettiin, mitä pedagogista lisäarvoa kannettavat tietokoneet opiskelijoiden mielestä tuovat tietokoneella tuettuihin yhteisöllisen oppimisen prosesseihin. Viidennessä ja kuudennessa osatutkimuksessa keskityttiin erityisesti lapsiperheellisten ja lukukausien aikana työskentelevien opiskelijoiden kokemuksiin. Tulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että erityisesti lapsiperheelliset opiskelijat hyötyivät kannettavien tietokoneiden ja langattomien tietoverkkojen mahdollistamasta mobiiliudesta ja joustavuudesta. Osatutkimusten tutkimustehtäviä ja -kysymyksiä lähestyttiin useista metodologisista lähtökohdista käsin. Tutkimuksissa hyödynnettiin tilastollista lähestymistapaa, grounded-teoriaa, design-tutkimusta sekä erilaisten tutkimusmenetelmien yhdistelmiä (mixed methods). Tutkimuksissa kerättiin sekä laadullista että määrällistä aineistoa. Osatutkimuksissa saatuja tuloksia tarkastellaan toiminnan teorian (activity theory) kautta. Toiminnan teoria on sosio-kulttuurisesti orientoitunut viitekehys, joka käsittelee ihmisen toimintaa eri muodoissaan kehitysprosesseina. Tutkimus vahvistaa käsitystä oppimisympäristöistä käsitteellisinä, ei niinkään laitteisto- tai järjestelmävetoisina työvälineinä. Tässä tutkimuksessa esiteltävä käsitteellinen tarkastelu tarjoaa yliopistoille strategisen työvälineen, jota voidaan hyödyntää mobiilin tieto- ja viestintätekniikan (TVT) pedagogisen hyödyntämisen sekä tulevien TVT-hankkeiden suunnittelussa. Opettajille tutkimus valottaa opiskelijoiden näkemyksiä mobiilin TVT:n hyödyntämisestä opiskeluprosesseissa sekä lähtökohdan omien pedagogisten ja ammatillisten tietojen ja taitojen kehittämiseen. Tutkimusten valossa opiskelijat voivat pohtia, miten he voivat parhaalla tavalla hyödyntää mobiilia TVT:aa osana omaa arkeaan, johon yliopisto-opinnot kuuluvat. Tutkijoille tämä väitöskirja tarjoaa useita jatkotutkimustehtäviä, joiden kautta tässä kehitettyä käsitettä voidaan edelleen kehittää ja tarkentaa.This study investigated how the concept of personal and mobile learning environments (PMLEs) can be conceptualised, and how their creation could best be supported in higher education, according to university students. The six empirical studies comprising this thesis were conducted at the University of Lapland, where a large-scale mobile technology initiative was carried out between 2004 and 2009. The particular focus was on university students, their experiences, perceptions and development ideas. The first study sought to discern students’ expectations concerning data security, mobility and collaborative learning processes on a wireless campus, while the second aimed to reveal the domestication process that students go through when putting their laptops to use at the beginning of their studies. In addition, the means by which students integrated the laptop into their personal learning processes, the kinds of procedures that rendered the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced these processes, were also examined. The third study was a design-based research (DBR) process, in which a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) course on the data security of wireless learning environments was designed and implemented. The fourth study deliberated on the students’ perceptions of the added pedagogical value that laptops and wireless networks bring to CSCL processes. The fifth and sixth studies concentrated particularly on the views of non-traditional students who have extra life commitments along with their studies, such as taking care of children or term-time employment. The results of these two studies revealed that students with children especially benefited from the support the laptops and networks provided, and the mobility and flexibility that they afforded. Multiple methodologies were employed in order to answer varying and multidimensional research questions within the six empirical studies. The studies used approaches including statistical methodologies, grounded theory (GT), DBR, and mixed methods. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The results of the individual empirical studies are considered through activity theory, which is a socio-culturally driven, general framework for describing human activity as development processes in different forms. This study strengthens the view of PMLEs as conceptual tools, moving away from a device- or system-oriented understanding of learning environments. For universities as administrative organisations, the concept of a PMLE can serve as a strategic tool that can be used when developing strategies for ICTs’ pedagogical use and when designing possible future ICT initiatives. For university instructors, this research offers insights into students’ perceptions of using mobile ICTs in learning, and a starting point when developing their own professional skills and knowledge. It encourages students to consider the best ways to use mobile ICTs in their personal lives, of which higher education studies form a part. For researchers, the conceptual understanding of a PMLE offers a multitude of research tasks for future completion

Understanding and improving cross-application interaction in desktop computing

Cross-application interaction on modern computer operating systems is becoming more prevalent as users begin to work more dynamically and utilise more applications simultaneously to complete a task. Such tasks could consist of writing a research paper, developing software or preparing a presentation. These tasks all require the use of multiple applications to complete. However, the interaction between these applications is still poorly understood. At present the research community does not have an extensive overview of the ways in which users work with multiple applications to complete tasks. Previous research mainly focusses on interaction within windows which lacks the cross-application element. Data flow between applications is also not fully understood. Research into a more conceptual, higher level approach to working, with a view to understanding how interaction and communication between these applications aids users when completing tasks, is required. This work has two main aims: 1) To understand how users utilise the open application set to complete tasks and 2) To improve cross-application interaction for users. Within (1) MultiLog (an extensive logging framework) is presented. The MultiLog system is used to gather data during a 90 day study logging users’ interactions with their PCs. This data is then analysed and presented. Within (2) this thesis uses these results to inform the design of QuickFileAccess which aids users when locating folders by dynamically managing the Windows Quick Access list. The results of the log study enabled previously published results to be updated. New results in the area of data transfer, covered a deep understanding of not only how users employed the Windows clipboard to transfer data between applications, but also how participants utilised the “drag-and-drop” facility for data transfer. Results informed the design and development of the QuickFileAccess tool

Uncertainty analysis in competitive bidding for service contracts

Sustainable production and consumption have become more important internationally, which has led to the transformation of market structures and competitive situations into the direction of servitisation. This means that manufacturing companies are forced to compete through the supply of services as opposed to products. Particularly the suppliers of long-life products such as submarines and airplanes no longer simply sell these products but provide their capability or availability. Companies such as Rolls-Royce Engines achieve 60% of their revenue through selling a service rather than the engine itself. For a manufacturing company, the shift towards being a service provider means that they usually have to bid for service contracts, sometimes competitively. In the context of competitive bidding, the decision makers face various uncertainties that influence their decision. Ignoring these uncertainties or their influences can result in problems such as the generation of too little profit or even a loss or the exposure to financial risks. Raising the decision maker’s awareness of the uncertainties in the form of e.g. a decision matrix, expressing the trade-off between the probability of winning the contract and the probability of making a profit, aims at integrating these factors in the decision process. The outcome is to enable the bidding company to make a more informed decision. This was the focus of the research presented in this thesis. The aim of this research was to support the pricing decision by defining a process for modelling the influencing uncertainties and including them in a decision matrix depicting the trade-off between the probability of winning the contract and the probability of making a profit. Three empirical studies are described and the associated decision process and influencing uncertainties are discussed. Based on these studies, a conceptual framework was defined which depicts the influencing factors on a pricing decision at the bidding stage and the uncertainties within these. The framework was validated with a case study in contract bidding where the uncertainties were modelled and included in a decision matrix depicting the probability of winning the contract and the probability of making a profit. The main contributions of this research are the identification of the uncertainties influencing a pricing decision, the depiction of these in a conceptual framework, a method for ascertaining how to model these uncertainties and assessing the use of such an approach via an industrial case study.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Análisis de la investigación cualitativa en el área de biblioteconomía y documentación, 1981-2010

El propósito principal del trabajo que se presenta es determinar cuáles son las técnicas cualitativas de recogida de datos utilizadas en investigaciones del área de Biblioteconomía y Documentación recogidas en contribuciones analizadas en las bases de datos Lisa y Lista. De acuerdo con ello, los objetivos específicos que pretendemos alcanzar con este trabajo son, fundamentalmente tres. En primer lugar, conocer distintos aspectos de la producción en investigación cualitativa en el área de Biblioteconomía y Documentación, como la evolución temporal de los trabajos existentes, la productividad de los autores y sus características y la detección del núcleo de las revistas más productivas en el tema objeto de estudio. En segundo lugar, encontrar posibles áreas temáticas de confluencia entre la aplicación prácticas de técnicas de recogida de datos cualitativos en contextos concretos. Y en tercer lugar, proponer una clasificación de técnicas cualitativas más utilizadas derivada del análisis de contenido de las contribuciones de inclusión de la muestra. Para realizarlo, hemos llevado a cabo un estudio bibliométrico de producción de las publicaciones sobre aplicación de técnicas de investigación cualitativa aplicadas en el diseño y desarrollo de contribuciones del área de Biblioteconomía y Documentación recogidas en bases de datos internacionales especializadas en la materia, así como un análisis de contenido descriptivo retrospectivo de las contribuciones publicadas entre los años 2006 y 2010, ambos inclusive, prestando especial atención al caso español. En relación con el alcance y el enfoque de esta tesis doctoral, hemos de resaltar que en el año 2010, el Consejo de Administración de la IFLA (Federación Internacional de las Asociaciones e Instituciones Bibliotecarias) ratificó el Manifiesto por las Estadísticas de Biblioteca, poniendo en relieve la importancia de las estadísticas bibliotecarias para una gestión eficaz y una planificación estratégica de los centros para la divulgación y defensa de la función de las bibliotecas dentro de la sociedad del conocimiento

Improving usability outcomes in IS projects: the views of usability practitioners

What are the key aspects to achieving acceptable usability outcomes for information systems being developed? The changing technologies and increased usage across the general population, the impacts of this in our everyday lives, at work and at leisure are exponentially increasing. The interfaces and interaction styles presented as part of these technologies have been challenged to be more intuitive, contextually sensitive, location aware, human centred and aimed at a larger community of stakeholders. Performing usability activities is an increasingly important part of the development of new technologies, applications and websites. This study examined, for Information System projects, what were the key aspects that impacted on the usability outcome of developing Information Systems. This study presents a theory that describes how projects can improve their usability outcomes. This has emerged from interviews with experienced usability practitioners currently working in the usability industry. The transcripts from the qualitative interviews were analysed using a grounded theory methodology, which was an inductive and interpretive process in nature. The result of this analysis produced twenty-seven key concepts. These concepts were compared and contrasted against the literature. The theory that emerged consists of four major themes that included: usability mindset, collaborative approach, project constraints and usability practice. The key contribution to knowledge is the relationship concept between these themes. This is the nurturing of the usability mindset for the project stakeholders through involvement in usability activities throughout the project lifecycle. This engagement provides opportunities to elicit, understand and concord the usability goals, project constraints and the technological limitations with project stakeholders. The involvement of all project stakeholders promotes usability value and acceptance, which ideally progresses to a shared usability vision for the project and ultimately a usability mindset that can be utilised beyond a specific project and across an organisation

La projection d'usage des TICs : la composition de fictions axiomatiques au service de la recherche technologique

Innovation is today a major and strategic asset for organisations that compete in a hypercompetitive world (D'Avenir & Gunther, 1994). They are trying to face these new challenges, by using a diversity of “expert systems” typical of our « advanced modernity » (Giddens, 1990). Amongst those, boosting R&D activities is major inputs that demand the use of different expertises. Speculative researches for innovation are one of them. They take place in the “Fuzzy Front End” of innovation, a place where the construction of the social reality of invention is made : its usage, or to be more precise, its projection. Our thesis examines these knowledge-producing technologies and tries to make understable the policies at work, the performance of embedded collectives on the innovation itself, and on themselves, and the arrangements made during this process. Our work in the Grenoble industrial area and collaboration with the CEA-LETI helped us to propose an understanding of these projections as compositions of axiomatic fictions for technological research. Analysing the concept of usage, we highlight its careers and the mutation of associated practices. Interrogating one form of projection, the scenario, we show the links that lie between fiction and perfomativity. By leaning on the project mutating components, we demonstrate the axiomatic character of the projection, understood as a form of answer made to a social demand that comes from different places, and whose necessity of actionnable knowledge is solved by composing with moving data.L'« hypercompétitivité » (D'Avenir & Gunther, 1994) qui caractérise notre environnement économique contemporain fait de l'innovation une préoccupation stratégique pour les organisations. Celles-ci tentent de répondre à cette injonction par le recours à une multitude de « systèmes experts », caractéristique de la « modernité avancée » (Giddens, 1990). Parmi ceux-ci, la stimulation des activités de R&D est reconnue comme une contribution majeure qui nécessite l'utilisation croissante de champs d'expertises variés. C'est dans ce contexte que les sciences sociales sont mobilisées comme forme d'expertise contributives des « recherches spéculatives pour l'innovation » (Stewart & Claeys, 2009). Ces recherches interviennent en amont de processus d'innovation, en un lieu nommé « Fuzzy Front End » (Smith & Reinertsen, 1995), lieu dans lequel se forge la construction de la réalité sociale de l'invention : son usage ou plutôt sa projection. Notre thèse s'interroge sur ces technologies de production de connaissances que sont les projections d'usage et ambitionne de rendre intelligibles les politiques qu'elles mettent en oeuvre, la performance des collectifs mobilisés sur les recherches et sur eux-mêmes ainsi que les arrangements déployés par les acteurs durant ces processus. Notre immersion dans le tissu industriel grenoblois, et en particulier dans l'environnement du CEA-LETI, nous a permis de proposer une lecture des projections d'usage comme des compositions de fictions axiomatiques au service de la recherche technologique. En scrutant le concept d'usage, nous mettons en lumière les carrières empruntées par celui-ci et les mutations des pratiques associées. En interrogeant l'une des formes de la projection d'usage, le scénario, nous mettons en évidence les liens entre performativité et recours à la fiction. En interrogeant les mutations des composantes du projet, nous démontrons le caractère axiomatique des projections, en tant que forme de réponse à une demande sociale qui émane de plusieurs endroits et dont l'exigence de production de savoirs actionnables nécessite de composer avec des données en mouvement