The roles of time, place, value and relationships in collocated photo sharing with camera phones

Photo sharing on camera phones is becoming a common way to maintain closeness and relationships with friends and family. How people share their photos in collocated settings using camera phones, with whom they share, and what factors influence their sharing experience were the themes explored in this study. Results showed that people exhibit different photo sharing behaviour depending on who they share photos with, where the sharing takes place and what value a picture represents to its owner. In this paper, we will explain what triggers the photo sharing activity and how the sharing takes place depending on who photos are shared with and where they are shared (e.g. restaurant, pub, home). The sharing experience is hindered by the difficulty of controlling which photographs are made available to particular people; sharing with a group of people at once; and ensuring appropriate privacy measures. These findings highlight requirements for novel mechanisms for organising, sharing, and displaying photos as well as provide a better understanding of photo sharing behaviour using camera phones in collocated settings

Privacy Issues for Online Personal Photograph collections

Technological developments now allow community groups, clubs, and even ordinary individuals to create their own, publicly accessible online digital multi-media collections. However, it is unclear as to whether the users of such collection are fully aware of the potential privacy implications of submitting their personal contents (e.g. photographs, video, etc.) to these digital collections. They may even hold misconceptions of the technological support for preserving their privacy. In this paper we present results from 18 auto-ethnographic investigations and 19 ethnographic observations and interviews into privacy issues that arise when people make their personal photo collections available online. The Adams´ privacy model is used to discuss the findings according to information sensitivity, information receiver, and information usage. Further issues of trust and ad hoc poorly supported protection strategies are also presented. Ultimately while photographic data is potentially highly sensitive, the privacy risks are often hidden and the protection mechanisms are limited

Ageing Technologically: Exploring the Motivating Operations of Technology Use by Older Adults

Statistics from the 2011 UK Census revealed that one sixth of the population were over the age of 65, which is the highest recorded ratio in any census history. Although there are discrepancies in the physical, mental and social wellbeing of the older adult population, huge strains have been placed upon the National Health Service, care system and subject population. Previous scholarship has revealed that technology use in various formats can reduce these pressures, however, published work on older adults and technology often focusses on attitudes and intentions rather than motivations of actual use. This thesis addresses this gap in the literature by examining the Motivating Operations (MOs) on post-purchase technology use of older adults. By adopting a radical behaviourist perspective, the present research attempts to introduce the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) term, Motivating Operation, to consumer behaviour by incorporating the proposed MOs into the already established Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM). This approach encourages the measurement of actual technology use as an operant behaviour alongside the MOs, as independent variables, impacting upon the rate-of-response. Consequently, a longitudinal quantitative and qualitative empirical strategy has been devised to produce a rich and complex set of data to explain older adult technology use. Overall, by using principles of behaviourism to interpret the technology use of older adults within a post-purchase environment, this thesis intends to break the dominant trend within technology acceptance and adoption literature of relying on either the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) or Diffusion of Innovation (DIT) to explain behaviours related to technology use. Alternatively, it produces an imaginative but logical analysis of the subject behaviour, which is not in contention with previous models but intends to enhance and expand the consumer behaviour, technology acceptance and adoption literature

A user centred approach to the modelling of contextualised experience adaptation in relation to video consumption

This research focused on the development of a user centric framework for the interpretation of contextualised TV and video viewing experiences (UX). Methods to address content overload and provide better contextualisation when consuming video have been an area of academic discussion for almost 20 years (Burke, Felfernig, & Goker, 2011). However over the same period technical system design for video has actually moved away from attempts to model the nature of real viewing contexts. With now near ubiquitous access to video from a range of disparate devices the addition of contextualisation within video applications and devices represents an opportunity in terms of improving viewer UX. Three user studies were carried out to inform development of the framework and employed mixed method approaches. The first focused on understanding where video is watched and the contextual factors that defined those places as viewing situations. This study derived eight Archetype viewing situations and associated contextual cues. The second study measured viewing UX in context. Significant differences in subjective ratings for measured UX were found when viewing was compared within subjects across Viewing Archetype situations. A third study characterised viewing UX, identifying behavioural, environmental and technological factors which through observed frequency and duration were identified as indicative enablers and detractors in the creation of viewing UX. Concepts generated within the studies that related to viewing context identification and viewing UX classification through experiential factors were integrated into the framework. The framework provides a way through which to identify, describe and improve viewing UX across contexts. Additionally the framework was referenced to develop an exemplar system model for contextual adaptation in order to show its relevance to the generation of technical system design. Finally information for designers was created in the form of scenarios and suggestions for use in order to bring the framework to life as a resource for development teams

Going mobile: the domestication of the cell phone by teens in a rural east Texas town

This thesis explores the use of the cell phone among US teens. The research was conducted in a rural east Texas town, with two student groups, 13-14 year-olds (middle school) and 18-20 year-olds (university), between 2007 and 2008, at a time when 2G cell phones were the norm. The analysis adopts and applies the domestication framework developed by Silverstone and Hirsch (1992) within work on the social shaping of technology (Haddon, 2004; Berker, 2006; Selwyn, 2012), and points to some limitations and areas for further development within this approach. The thesis explores the extent to which teens use of the cell phone serves as a vehicle for self-expression and collective identity. It considers their emotional investment and connection with the cell phone as an extension of the self ; as well as its role as a focus for, and a means of, regulation of young people both by adults and by peers. The analysis suggests that, far from being a matter of free choice and autonomy, teens use of cell phones may be restricted by cost (of texting, calling plan), features (of particular phones), and by parental or institutional rules about how, where and when cell phones may be used. Use may also be regulated by peers in terms of when and with whom to talk or text, enabling peer groups to exclude others. Through the lens of the domestication framework this thesis concludes that teens in this context are not an homogenous group: the ways they incorporate the cell phone into their everyday lives may differ to a degree, not least as a result of parental and institutional regulation. The research does, however, identify broad areas of consensus among teens, partly linked to the geographical and socio-economic context of the participants, which provides a useful comparison with research undertaken on teens elsewhere in the world

Blended memory: distributed remembering and forgetting through digital photography

This thesis explores practices and experiences of using photography to support remembering. While the increasing use of photography is well documented, we have limited theoretical understanding of how we approach the taking, organising, and sharing of personal images in relation to memory, and of the opportunities and risks that are created through technological change. Two studies were conducted in which a total of 21 participants were interviewed in front of a sample of their photographs. Study 1 explored photography and remembering around a single, specific event: a wedding. Study 2 explored longer-term patterns of photographic and remembering activity across a range of contexts and events. The analysis showed that the ways that participants engaged with other people and technologies were significant in determining the kinds of photographs that were produced, and the engagement with those photos. Photographic practices were also heavily influenced by the situations in which they were performed and the beliefs and preferences of individuals. The existence of photographs could lead to thinking about particular aspects of the past, but the taking of photographs also altered the experience of what was being photographed. This could be seen as disruptive, depending on the participant’s beliefs about whether photography was a legitimate part of experience. When taking photos, participants pursued a mix of aesthetics, objectivity, and personal meaning, and perceptions of these qualities could influence the way that photographs were used in cueing recall. However, while most participants had produced large collections of photographs, there had been limited engagement with these and taking or having photographs could be more important than looking at them. The thesis concludes that there is value in redefining memory as a kind of activity that emerges through the performance of remembering and that is dependent on the tools used to support it and the situations in which it is performed. From this perspective, photography and autobiographical remembering are parts of the same wider activity, an inseparable blend of internal and external processes. As such, attempts to support our memories should consider both the features of technology and the experience of using it, as well as the ways that we work with tools and people when remembering