Auditory Display Design : An Investigation of a Design Pattern Approach

PhDThis thesis investigates the design of audio for feedback in human-technology interaction— auditory displays. Despite promising progress in research and the potential benefits, we currently see little impact of audio in everyday interfaces. Changing interaction paradigms, new contexts of use and inclusive design principles, however, increase the need for an efficient, non-visual means of conveying information. Motivated by these needs, this work describes the development and evaluation of a methodological design framework, aiming to enhance knowledge and skill transfer in auditory display design and to enable designers to build more efficient and compelling auditory solutions. The work starts by investigating the current practice in designing audio in the user interface. A survey amongst practitioners and researchers in the field and a literature study of research papers highlighted the need for a structured design approach. Building on these results, paco – pattern design in the context space has been developed, a framework providing methods to capture, apply and refine design knowledge through design patterns. A key element of paco, the context space, serves as the organising principle for patterns, artefacts and design problems and supports designers in conceptualising the design space. The evaluation of paco is the first comparative study of a design methodology in this area. Experts in auditory display design and novice designers participated in a series of experiments to determine the usefulness of the framework. The evaluation demonstrated that paco facilitates the transfer of design knowledge and skill between experts and novices as well as promoting reflection and recording of design rationale. Alongside these principle achievements, important insights have been gained about the design process which lay the foundations for future research into this subject area. This work contributes to the field of auditory display as it reflects on the current practice and proposes a means of supporting designers to communicate, reason about and build on each other’s work more efficiently. The broader field of human-computer interaction may also benefit from the availability of design guidance for exploiting the auditory modality to answer the challenges of future interaction design. Finally, with paco a generic methodology in the field of design patterns was proposed, potentially similarly beneficial to other designing disciplines

In pursuit of rigour and accountability in participatory design

The field of Participatory Design (PD) has greatly diversified and we see a broad spectrum of approaches and methodologies emerging. However, to foster its role in designing future interactive technologies, a discussion about accountability and rigour across this spectrum is needed. Rejecting the traditional, positivistic framework, we take inspiration from related fields such as Design Research and Action Research to develop interpretations of these concepts that are rooted in PD׳s own belief system. We argue that unlike in other fields, accountability and rigour are nuanced concepts that are delivered through debate, critique and reflection. A key prerequisite for having such debates is the availability of a language that allows designers, researchers and practitioners to construct solid arguments about the appropriateness of their stances, choices and judgements. To this end, we propose a “tool-to-think-with” that provides such a language by guiding designers, researchers and practitioners through a process of systematic reflection and critical analysis. The tool proposes four lenses to critically reflect on the nature of a PD effort: epistemology, values, stakeholders and outcomes. In a subsequent step, the coherence between the revealed features is analysed and shows whether they pull the project in the same direction or work against each other. Regardless of the flavour of PD, we argue that this coherence of features indicates the level of internal rigour of PD work and that the process of reflection and analysis provides the language to argue for it. We envision our tool to be useful at all stages of PD work: in the planning phase, as part of a reflective practice during the work, and as a means to construct knowledge and advance the field after the fact. We ground our theoretical discussions in a specific PD experience, the ECHOES project, to motivate the tool and to illustrate its workings

Micro-ethics for participatory design with marginalised children

Marginalised children are uniquely vulnerable within western societies. Conducting participatory design research with them comes with particular ethical challenges, some of which we illustrate in this paper. Through several examples across two different participatory design projects (one with autistic children, another with visually impaired children), we reflect on the often overlooked tensions on the level of micro-ethics. We argue we are often required to rely on multiple moral frames of references. We discuss issues that the immediate interaction between researchers and marginalised children in participatory projects can bring and offer an understanding of how micro-ethics manifest in these collaborations. We contribute to a theoretical exploration of ethical encounters based on empirical grounds, which can guide other researchers in their participatory endeavours

Interactive sonification of spreadsheets

Presented at the 11th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2005

Vom künstlichen Leben zur Lebenskunst: Was die Ethik digitaler Bildung von ökologischer Verantwortung lernen kann

Während die Digitalisierung weithin für diverse Ersetzungsphänomene menschlicher Kompetenzen bis hin zur Schaffung von künstlichen Superintelligenzen steht, handelt es sich im Kern doch vor allem um eine neue Form von Umwelt, der wir in unserer Leiblichkeit gegenüberstehen und mit ihr verschmelzen. In diesem Sinne betrachten wir soziale Netze, Robotik und KI als Kulturtechniken des Menschen, die selbst zu kultürlichen Umweltfaktoren humanen Sozialverhaltens werden. Vor dem Hintergrund komplexer Wechselwirkungen zwischen Mensch, Technik und Gesellschaft diskutieren wir die Frage der Verantwortung als Bedingungserhaltung menschlichen Handelns, die sich auch als ein Gradmesser digitaler Infrastrukturen, Ökologie und Bildung zu erweisen hat. Auf dem Weg in eine gewollte Zukunft plädieren wir für eine Ethik der Lebenskunst und Klugheit im Umgang mit natürlichen wie kultürlichen Umwelten, um schlussendlich soziale Innovation in Zeiten umfassender Digitalisierungsprozesse zu leben.While the Digital Transformation is widely perceived as a paradigm for replacing various human competencies up to the creation of an artificial superintelligence, in fact it represents a new form of environment to be encountered through human embodiment. Hence, we consider social networks, robotics and AI as cultural techniques that evolve into environmental factors of human social behavior. In this context of complex interdependencies between human, technology and society, we discuss the issue of responsibility as a matter of preserving the essential conditions for human agency, which at the same time serves as key indicator for digital infrastructures, ecology and education. On our way into technological futures which are truly desired we opt for ethics as a way of prudent living with and within natural and cultural environments in order to enable social innovation in a time of comprehensive digitization processes

Das Netz als Basar?

Ein Basar hat viele Facetten: Er ist Ort der (Ver-)handlung und Ort der Suche, von Proust bis Indiana Jones, er bietet Raum für das Feilschen und Tauschen und erweist sich dabei allzu leicht als Netz eifriger Fischer*innen, in das wir gegangen sind. Gar manches landet hier in den Waagschalen, anderes fällt daneben, wenn orientalische Potentaten sich als platonische Philosophenkönige gerieren. Hinter jeder dieser Assoziationen verbirgt sich eine Facette kritischer Philosophie, wie wir mit besonderem Blick auf Anders und Arendt ergründen wollen. Das Netz als Basar wird so zum Topos des digitalen Humanismus, ein soziales Gewebe aus diversen Fasern, mal feiner und mal gröber versponnen. Können sie, so sie denn dicht genug greifen, als fliegender Teppich ins Bodenlose tragen? Und stell dir vor, es ist Teppich und keiner steht drauf..

Social communication between virtual characters and children with autism

Children with ASD have difficulty with social communication, particularly joint attention. Interaction in a virtual environment (VE) may be a means for both understanding these difficulties and addressing them. It is first necessary to discover how this population interacts with virtual characters, and whether they can follow joint attention cues in a VE. This paper describes a study in which 32 children with ASD used the ECHOES VE to assist a virtual character in selecting objects by following the character’s gaze and/or pointing. Both accuracy and reaction time data suggest that children were able to successfully complete the task, and qualitative data further suggests that most children perceived the character as an intentional being with relevant, mutually directed behaviour

Panel: Broadening the Discussion of Ethics in the Interaction Design and Children Community

Interaction Design and Children (IDC) as an academic field, and as a community, has a responsibility to engage with the many and diverse ethical challenges that arise from work that concerns the creation of digital technology for and with children – both in terms of research and industry contexts. This panel builds on a short history of similar events at previous conferences and aims to foster and strengthen the debate about ethical conduct and moral responsibilities in IDC. In this year’s panel, we seek to broaden the discussion by collecting ethical concerns, issues or dilemmas from within the community to be discussed at the conference. To this end, we will issue an open call for input that will be publicised via the usual channels. The organisers then will synthesise the responses and facilitate the discussion and debate at the panel

Uncovering placemaking needs with(in) a kindergarten community: a cross-disciplinary approach to participatory design

IntroductionThe design of early childhood education and care facilities faces the double challenge of creating a stimulating environment for young children and a supportive workplace for staff. The existing body of research suggests that placemaking strategies serve both requirements. A promising approach to meet placemaking needs is the participation of future occupants in the building design.MethodsWe pursued a participatory design study with the community of an Austrian kindergarten aiming to inform the future building renovation. We combined novel cultural fiction probes methods with conventional inquiry methods to gather information from children and teachers about their experience of the built environment. Using thematic and content analyzes we explored placemaking needs from different epistemic perspectives and converged findings through iterative exchange.ResultsReturns of children and teachers were interconnected and complementary. From a design-oriented perspective, children’s experience of place was relatable to spatial, temporo-spatial, and acoustic qualities as well as control needs. From a human-centered perspective, teachers’ experience of place was relatable to the needs of feeling embedded, protected, enacted, and socially connected. The converged findings revealed dynamic placemaking processes involving the elements of space, time, and control at different levels.DiscussionCross-disciplinary collaboration and research consolidation brought forth valuable insights on supportive structures for both children and teachers, facilitated timely knowledge transfer, and converted into design solutions that foster enacted placemaking. Albeit general transferability is limited, findings are interpretable within a solid framework of existing theories, concepts and evidence

The seven year glitch:Unpacking beauty and despair in malfunction

I(am)MEI: 013709002488246. I was born in many countries - my accelerometer came from Germany, my battery from China, the lithium in my battery was mined in Chile, my gyroscope from Switzerland, my camera... from Japan. I was assembled carefully from these component parts, and had two less than careful owners before R picked me up from a reseller, and brought me back to his house in London, UK. We had a good time together - at first: he revelled in my speed and ability to find things, we viewed the world via a lens with infinite options. But I was not built to last. This is my story