Talking about interaction*

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Recent research has exposed disagreements over the nature and usefulness of what may (or may not) be Human–Computer Interaction's fundamental phenomenon: ‘interaction’. For some, HCI's theorising about interaction has been deficient, impacting its capacity to inform decisions in design, suggesting the need either to perform first-principles definition work or broader administrative clarification and formalisation of the multitude of formulations of the concepts of interaction and their particular uses. For others, there remain open questions over the continued relevance of certain ‘versions’ of interaction as a useful concept in HCI at all. We pursue a different perspective in this paper, reviewing how HCI treats interaction through examining its ‘conceptual pragmatics’ within HCI's discourse. We argue that articulations of the concepts of interaction can be a site of productive conflict for HCI that for many reasons may resist attempts of formalisation as well as attempts to dispense with them. The main contribution of this paper is in specifying how we might go about talking of interaction and the value of interaction language as promiscuous concepts

Literature Reviews in HCI: A Review of Reviews

This paper analyses Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) literature reviews to provide a clear conceptual basis for authors, reviewers, and readers. HCI is multidisciplinary and various types of literature reviews exist, from systematic to critical reviews in the style of essays. Yet, there is insufficient consensus of what to expect of literature reviews in HCI. Thus, a shared understanding of literature reviews and clear terminology is needed to plan, evaluate, and use literature reviews, and to further improve review methodology. We analysed 189 literature reviews published at all SIGCHI conferences and ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) up until August 2022. We report on the main dimensions of variation: (i) contribution types and topics; and (ii) structure and methodologies applied. We identify gaps and trends to inform future meta work in HCI and provide a starting point on how to move towards a more comprehensive terminology system of literature reviews in HCI

Literature Reviews in HCI: A Review of Reviews

This paper analyses Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) literature reviews to provide a clear conceptual basis for authors, reviewers, and readers. HCI is multidisciplinary and various types of literature reviews exist, from systematic to critical reviews in the style of essays. Yet, there is insufficient consensus of what to expect of literature reviews in HCI. Thus, a shared understanding of literature reviews and clear terminology is needed to plan, evaluate, and use literature reviews, and to further improve review methodology. We analysed 189 literature reviews published at all SIGCHI conferences and ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) up until August 2022. We report on the main dimensions of variation: (i) contribution types and topics; and (ii) structure and methodologies applied. We identify gaps and trends to inform future meta work in HCI and provide a starting point on how to move towards a more comprehensive terminology system of literature reviews in HCI

No More ‘Solutionism’ or ‘Saviourism’ in Futuring African HCI:A Manyfesto

Research in HCI4D has continuously advanced a narrative of ‘lacks’ and ‘gaps’ of the African perspective in technoscience. In response to such misguided assumptions, this paper attempts to reformulate the common and perhaps unfortunate thinking about African practices of design in HCI4D – i.e., largely as a function of African societal predicaments and Western technocratic resolutions. Through critical reflection on a range of issues associated with post-colonialism and post-development, I examine the possibilities that various historical tropes might offer to the reinvention of the African perspective on innovation. This leads to the consideration of how engaging in critical discussions about the future dimensions of African HCI can allow for grappling with the effect of the coloniality of being, power and knowledge. Developing on the ideas of futuring as a way of dealing with the complexities of the present – in this case the coloniality of the imagination - the paper ends by discussing three tactical propositions for ‘remembering’ future identities of African innovation where the values of autonomy are known and acted upon