Virtual Environments as Spaces of Symbolic Construction and Cultural Identity. Latin-American Virtual Communities

The aim of this work is to understand the sociopsychological\ud and cultural realities of virtual communities as live spaces of meeting and high interaction framed within the Latin American context. The study will consist of a comparative ethnographic study of several Latin communities, using the tools of participant observation and focused interviews

Comparing the cognitive profile of the HCI professional and the HCI educator

Previous research into Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) education has focussed mainly on the curriculum, pedagogy and the gap between education, and little is known about the cognitive profile of the HCI practitioner or educator, or how their individual differences impact upon practice in the field or the classroom. This research intends to address this gap by investigating the cognitive style of HCI practitioners, educators, and those with both roles. 315 professionals responded to a global online survey which captured their individual cognitive style using the Allinson and Hayes Cognitive Style Index (CSI) which tests whether the subject tends more towards an intuitivist or analyst, and the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ) which suggests a three dimensional model of cognitive style – object imagers who prefer to construct pictorial images, spatial imagers who prefer schematic representations and verbalizers who prefer to use verbal-analytical tools. Together, these two instruments provide a profile that matches the skills required to work within the field of HCI. The respondents included practitioners in the field (N=179), educators (N=61), and some who were both practitioner and educator (N=75). A one-way between-groups ANOVA and MANOVA was performed to investigate differences in the role of the professional, and the CSI and OSIVQ profiles respectively, followed by the Welch t-test to compare their OSIVQ scores with the published normative values. The ANOVA comparing the CSI scores for each of the groups revealed a statistically significant difference of F(2, 312) = 3.35, p= 0.38 and post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the educators was significantly different from that of the ‘both’ group. The practitioners did not differ significantly from either the educators or ‘both’. This may in some part be explained by the fact that very often HCI is taught by an academic with a computer science background rather than an HCI specialist, but further investigation is needed in this area. The MANOVA used the three constructs of the OSIVQ as dependent variables. No significant difference was found between the groups. However, the t-tests comparing the professional against the normative data revealed that whilst there was no significant difference between the object imager score of the HCI professional and the scientist, there was a difference between the spatial imager score of the HCI professional and the visual artist, perhaps again reflecting the computer science background of many professionals. 24 survey respondents have been interviewed and the resulting data will form the basis of a thematic analysis to extend the cognitive profile, and to identify the predominant technological frames of operation. Applying this concept of technological frames to the domain of HCI, will help to make sense of the adoption and application of knowledge, tools and techniques amongst this community. In order for the curriculum to meet the needs of the market, the educator needs to understand the practitioner in order to produce graduates equipped for the role. Finally, as HCI is delivered in a multidisciplinary environment, should it not also be taught by a multidisciplinary team

Validating cultural and contextual traits of a\ud collectivistic community

Sub-Saharan African communities are classified as collectivist\ud societies. But, what exactly is meant by collectivism and to what extent\ud individuals adhere to this given the differences in their socio-economic\ud conditions? This paper is an empirical exploration of the contextual and cultural\ud traits of a rural sub-Saharan African community in order to facilitate their\ud interpretation towards technology design and adoption. Card sorting is used to\ud validate and make explicit contextual and cultural traits previously identified\ud during interviews. It is a confirmation of the collectivist nature of these cultures\ud with more details such as eagerness to confirm personal views and requirements\ud with that of the group in order to save “face”, among other traits

Using Economics Experiments to Understand Patent Licensing Behavior

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Exploring sociotechnical gaps in an intercultural, multidisciplinary design project

This paper highlights the need for the creation of artefacts that make\ud visible the gap between social requirements and the technical affordances of\ud technology. Augmenting the visibility of this gap can lead to a better integration\ud of the process and product of interaction design in intercultural and\ud multidisciplinary projects. Sociotechnical matrices are presented as artefacts that\ud can help to explore this gap. This is illustrated with a case study of the design of\ud interactive systems for farmers in rural Kenya. We discuss experiences in the use\ud of these matrices and new challenges that have emerged in using them

Reflecting on the usability of research on culture in designing interaction

The concept of culture has been attractive to producers of interactive\ud systems who are willing to design useful and relevant solutions to users\ud increasingly located in culturally diverse contexts. Despite a substantial body of\ud research on culture and technology, interaction designers have not always been\ud able to apply these research outputs to effectively define requirements for\ud culturally diverse users. This paper frames this issue as one of understanding of\ud the different paradigms underpinning the cultural models being applied to\ud interface development and research. Drawing on different social science theories,\ud the authors discuss top-down and bottom-up perspectives in the study of users‟\ud cultural differences and discuss the extent to which each provides usable design\ud knowledge. The case is made for combining bottom-up and top-down perspectives\ud into a sociotechnical approach that can produce knowledge useful and usable by\ud interaction designers. This is illustrated with a case study about the design of\ud interactive systems for farmers in rural Kenya

Cookstove advocates must place gender and violence at the centre of research designs

LSE alumnus Samer Abdelnour examines the false causality in the gender-based violence and improved cook stoves agenda

Testing of the permanent magnet material Mn-Al-C for potential use in propulsion motors for electric vehicles

The development of Mn-Al-C permanent magnets is reviewed. The general properties of the material are discussed and put into perspective relative to alnicos and ferrites. The traction motor designer's demands of a permanent magnet for potential use in electric vehicle drives are reviewed. Tests determined magnetic design data and mechanical strength properties. Easy axis hysteresis and demagnetization curves, recoil loops and other minor loop fields were measured over a temperature range from -50 to 150 C. Hysteresis loops were also measured for three orthogonal directions (the one easy and two hard axes of magnetization). Extruded rods of three different diameters were tested. The nonuniformity of properties over the cross section of the 31 mm diameter rod was studied. Mechanical compressive and bending strength at room temperature was determined on individual samples from the 31 mm rod

United Methodist Children Center Drain Project

The United Methodist Children Center in San Luis Obispo is a preschool for young children in our community. Some of these students are the children of Cal Poly faculty and staff. The previous drain was not draining water properly and was uneven with bumps and dips that became a hazard for the children. Children would trip, fall, and hurt themselves on the drain. A team of two Cal Poly Construction Management students Ethan Lin and Andy Abdelnour worked together to estimate, design, coordinate, demolish, and construct a new section of the drain that would be safe for the students. The roles were divided on the project with both members working on aspects of the preconstruction and construction phases. Ethan did the estimate, owner communications, schedule, and safety plan. Andy drew the schematic sketch, organized material shipments, and coordinated with Cal Portland for the concrete truck. Both students contributed significantly to the completion of the construction aspect of the project. The construction included the demolition of the existing drain, formwork, rebar layout, dowel drilling, pouring concrete, and finishing the concrete. The project was successful in not only removing the tripping hazards but also improving the water flow of the drain. Now the space is safe for the children to walk on