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IN T E R A C T I O N S

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16 V O L U M E X X I I I .1

Designing for
the Future
But Which One?
Ive Got IT Under My Skin
Zen and the Art of
Website Maintenance
Biosignals in HCI
SPECIAL TOPIC:
Communities and Technologies

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CONTENTS

JA N UA RY F E B R UA RY 2 016
INTER ACTIONS
V O L U M E X X I I I .1

ENTER
8

COLUMNS

DEMO HOUR
I-Eng: A Toy for SecondLanguage Learning
Hayeon Jeong, Daniel Saakes,
Uichin Lee
Orbits: Gaze Interaction for
Smart Watches
Augusto Esteves, Eduardo Velloso,
Andreas Bulling, Hans Gellersen
AffectiveWear
Katsutoshi Masai, Yuta Sugiura,
Masa Ogata, Kai Kunze,
Masahiko Inami, Maki Sugimoto
Yarns with Embedded
Electronics
Anura Rathnayake, Tilak Dias

12 WHAT ARE YOU READING?


Lauren Chapman Ruiz

26

24

20 CONFESSIONS
Zen and the Art
of Website Maintenance
Paul Haimes
22 PS AND QS
Trying to See the World
with New Eyes
Elizabeth F. Churchill
24 MAKE IT WORK
Its Not That Hard
Jonathan Bean

F E AT U R E S
26 COVER STORY
Designing for the Future
But Which One?
Just as important as
"which future" is how
we go about exploring
possible futures.
Bonnie Nardi
52 Insertables:
Ive Got IT Under My Skin
Kayla J. Heffernan, Frank Vetere,
Shanton Chang
58 LESSONS LEARNED
Future Designers:
A Rollercoaster for the Mind
Dimitris Grammenos

14 HOW WAS IT MADE?


Lichtsuchende
16 DAY IN THE LAB
Imagine Lab,
Hanyang University

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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M I D D L E I M A G E B A S F / W E C R E AT E C H E M I S T R Y; R I G H T I M A G E B Y C A R L O S J R I V E R A M

Some feel that


insertables may be
the first step in the
next stage of human
evolution.
P. 52

46

SPECIAL TOPIC
COMMUNITIES AND TECHNOLOGIES
34 Introduction
Volkmar Pipek, Gabriela Avram,
Fiorella De Cindio
36 Six Factors for Success
in Community
Broadband Initiatives
Claire Wallace, Kathryn Vincent

M I D D L E I M A G E B Y A L I C I A K U B I S TA ; R I G H T I M A G E B Y E L I B L E V I S

40 Situated Interfaces for Engaging


Citizens on the Go
Luke Hespanhol, Martin Tomitsch,
Ian McArthur, Joel Fredericks,
Ronald Schroeter, Marcus Foth
46 Walking and Designing with
Cultural Heritage Volunteers
Luigina Ciolfi, Daniela Petrelli

80

FORUMS
64 SUSTAINABILITY
IN (INTER)ACTION
Bridging Communities:
ICT4Sustainability
@iConference 2015
Birgit Penzenstadler, Ankita Raturi,
Christoph Becker, Juliet Norton,
Bill Tomlinson, Six Silberman,
Debra Richardson
68 CONNECTED EVERYDAY
Taking the Code for a Walk
Delfina Fantini van Ditmar,
Dan Lockton
72 HEALTH MATTERS
From Tracking to
Personal Health
Susanne Boll, Wilko Heuten,
Jochen Meyer

88

D E PA R T M E N T S
5 WELCOME
HCI and the Future
Ron Wakkary, Erik Stolterman
6 BLOG@IX
The Rise of Incompetence
Jonathan Grudin
86 COMMUNITY SQUARE
HCI Without Borders?
Loren Terveen
87 COMMUNITY CALENDAR
88 VISUAL THINKING GALLERY
Future Robot
Eli Blevis

76 INTERACTION TECHNOLOGIES
Biosignals in
Human-Computer Interaction
Albrecht Schmidt
80 THE BUSINESS OF UX
Accessibility for Business
and Pleasure
Sarah Horton, David Sloan

INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

On the cover: Photograph by Paolo Bona /


Shutterstock.com

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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INTER ACTIONS

A B I M O N T H LY P U B L I C AT I O N O F A C M

Editors-in-Chief
Ron Wakkary
Erik Stolterman
Director of Group Publishing
Scott Delman
Executive Editor Diane Crawford
Managing Editor John Stanik
Art Director Andrij Borys,
Andrij Borys Associates
Production Manager Lynn DAddesio Kraus
Copy Editor Kate Crane
Assistant to the Editors-in-Chief Audrey
Desjardins
Forum Editors

Christopher Le Dantec
Elisa Giaccardi
DEMO HOUR: Audrey Desjardins
DESIGN A S INQUIRY: Daniela K. Rosner
E VALUATION AND USABILIT Y: David Siegel and
Susan Dray
HCI EDUCATION: Sukeshini Grandhi
HE ALTH MAT TERS: Gillian R. Hayes
INTER ACTION AND ARCHITECTURE: Mikael Wiberg
INTER ACTION TECHNOLOGIES: Albrecht Schmidt
SUSTAINABILIT Y IN (INTER)ACTION: Lisa Nathan
and Samuel Mann
THE BUSINESS OF UX: Daniel Rosenberg
UNIVERSAL INTER ACTIONS: Juan Pablo Hourcade
VISUAL THINKING GALLERY: Eli Blevis (Curator)
COMMUNIT Y + CULTURE:

CONNECTED E VERYDAY:

Columnists

MAKE IT WORK: Jonathan Bean


Ps AND Qs:

Elizabeth F. Churchill
Uday Gajendar

THE DESIGNERS SPE AKE A SY:

Interactions Advisory Board


Jonathan Arnowitz, Michelle Berryman,
Apala Lahiri Chavan, Shelley Evenson,
Richard Gref
Founding Editors
John Rheinfrank and Bill Hefley

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

Interactions (ISSN 1072-5520) is published


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WELCOME
Ron Wakkary

Erik Stolterman

HCI and the Future

CI is an area that is to
some extent obsessed with
the future. We research
and design technological
solutions that do not yet
exist. And the field is always looking
for what is new and novel. Even our
research conferences have sessions
where the focus is on what is newon
new designs, on the next step in the
evolution of interactivity, and so on. In
the cover story, Bonnie Nardi explores
a question related to this fixation on
the future. She asks, Which future?
Will the future be the one we want
or the one that is inevitable and not
necessarily desired?
It is not only a question of which
future; it is maybe even more a
question of how to explore the future.
Should we try to predict, should we
speculate, and in what way should

we engage in the construction of


the future? Nardi examines these
questions in several ways and
concludes with some advice: There
is something important to be taken
from varied, concrete engagements
with the future, whether the most
delicately designed technocentric
experiments of material speculation,
or broadly informed analyses of the
vast complexities of history and
political economy. The more deeply we
investigate all of the possibilities, the
more prepared we will be to design for
whichever futures come along.
In this issue we also present a
Special Topic with articles from
the Communities and Technologies
conference. The section contains
three articles that the conference
audience chose based on the authors
presentations. Together these articles

give an overview of some of the core


themes in this research community.
We thank Volkmar Pipek, Gabriela
Avram, and Fiorella De Cindo for
the work they have done to make this
Special Topic possible and for writing
the introduction.
We also continue a new section that
debuted last issue. In each issue we will
publish a post by one of our bloggers
that has attracted a lot of readers.
We see this as a way of rewarding
our bloggers but also of showing the
readers of our print magazine that
there are more stories on our website
(http://interactions.acm.org/).
Remember, we are always looking for
new and exciting pieces. We know you
have ideas and opinions that should be
shared, so just get in touch with us!
Ron Wakkary and Erik Stolterman
eic@interactions.acm.org

It is not only a question


of which future; it is maybe
even more a question
of how to explore the future.

DOI: 10.1145/2856110 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS


INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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BLOG@IX
Jonathan Grudin,
Microsoft Research

The Interactions website (interactions.acm.org) hosts a stable of bloggers who


share insights and observations on HCI, often challenging current practices. Each
issue well publish selected posts from some of the leading voices in the field.

The Rise of Incompetence


All public employees should be demoted
to their immediately lower level, as
they have been promoted until turning
incompetent.
Jos Ortega y Gasset (18831955)
In a hierarchy, individuals tend to rise
to their levels of incompetence.
Laurence Peter (19191990)

e should be enjoying
a golden age of
competence. We have
access to so much
information. YouTube
videos show us how to do almost
anything. And there are impressive
achievements: Automobiles run more
efficiently and last longer; products
are rapidly distributed worldwide.
Nevertheless, there is a sense that
the world isnt running that smoothly.
Inept governments and poor service
are common. Financiers whose
ruinous actions led to worldwide
recession didnt lose their jobs.
In HCI, many nod when Don
Norman says, UI is getting worse
all over. How could incompetence
be on the rise when knowledge and
tools proliferate?
The opening quotations offer an
explanation: the Peter Principle.
In his 1969 bestselling book, Laurence
Peter described why organizations
keep incompetent managers and
how they avoid serious harm.
Could managerial incompetence
be escalating, despite the greater
capability of those who are
competentwho, in Peters words,
have not yet reached their levels
of incompetence? Consider this
thought exercise:
Assume the Peter Principle was true
in 1969. How are technology and societal
changes affecting it?

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

INCREASING INCOMPETENCE

1. Today technology enables


competent employees to find higherlevel jobs more easily. Competent
people are promoted more rapidly and
reach their levels of incompetence more
quickly. In the past, few employees had
to wait the 62 years and counting that
Prince Charles has for his promotion,
but wait they did. Now software
developers, university professors,
and athletes jump to better positions.
The quickest way to advance in an
organization can be to take a higher
position elsewhere and return later at
the higher level. LinkedIn reduces the
friction in upward trajectories.
2. Successful organizations grow
more rapidly, creating managerial
vacuums that suck people upward.
Enterprises once started locally and
grew slowly. Mass media and the
Internet enable explosive growth.
As projects ramp up and add team
members, experienced workers move up
a management ladder that quickly adds
rungs. People can plateau at their levels
of incompetence while young.
3. The end of mandatory retirement
ages extended the time that employees
can work at their levels of incompetence.
4. The decline of class systems and
other discrimination is terrific, but
egalitarian systems are less efficient:
More people reach their level of
incompetence. Competent employees
trapped by a class boundary or a glass
ceiling fail to achieve incompetence. For
example, women with few employment
alternatives could be extraordinarily
capable teachers, nurses, and secretaries.
I benefited from this indefensible
discrimination in school, as did my
father in his job. (If this argument is
alarming, read to the end!)
5. Greater job complexity is a barrier
to competence. As the tools, information,

and communication skills required for a


job increase, someone promoted into that
position is less likely to handle it well. In
addition, competent workers could once
count on remaining competent, but skills
can now become obsolete. Lifelong
learning isnt a cheerful concept to
someone who was happy to be finished
with school 30 years ago.
You may be thinking, The Peter
Principle is oversimplified, competence
isnt binary, lots of us, including
me, havent reached our levels of
incompetence and dont plan to. Peter
would disagree and insist that you are
on a path to your level of incompetence,
if you havent reached that destination
already. However, we should also
ask: Could other changes wrought by
technology and society undermine the
Peter Principle? The answer is yes.

WEAKENING THE
PETER PRINCIPLE

1. The Peter Principle addresses


promotion in hierarchies. Hierarchy
is not gone, but it is weakening.
Children address adults by first
names, executives respond directly
to employee email, dress codes
disappear, and everyone tweets. In rigid
hierarchical organizations of the 1960s,
communication moved up and down the
chain of management. The efficiency
and ambiguous formality of email
disrupted this. Subordinates are more
uncomfortable circumventing hierarchy
with a telephone call or a knock on the
door that requires a response than with
email that recipients can ignore.
2. Hierarchy benefits from an
aura of mystery around managers and
leaders. Rulers tied themselves to gods;
celebrities and politicians were quasiroyalty. Not so much anymore. All
is visible. Leaders are under a media
microscope, their flaws and foibles
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

exposed. To ignore obvious managerial


incompetence is more difficult.
3. When organizations are rapidly
acquired, merged, broken up, or shut
down, as happens often these days,
employees have less time to reach their
levels of incompetence.

AND THE WINNER?

We lack competence metrics. Perhaps


only perceived incompetence is on the
rise, with greater visibility and scrutiny
piercing a chimera of excellence that
we colluded in maintaining because we
wanted to believe that capable hands
were at the helm.
Nevertheless, managerial
incompetence appears to be
accelerating, aided by technology and
benign social changes that strive to level
the playing field. The counterforces rely
on weakened hierarchy, but hierarchy
remains strong enough to trigger selfpreservation maneuvers at the expense
of competence, as summarized below.

IMAGE BY DMITRY NAUMOV

HIERARCHY AND
THE PETER PRINCIPLE

Our genes were selected for smallgroup interactions in hunter-gatherer


societies. When agriculture and food
sufficiency supported concentrated
populations, extraordinarily
hierarchical societies evolved with
remarkable speed, producing the social
control and communication needed by
armies, religions, and governments. Our
innate disposition to jockey for status
in a small group leads to unpredictable
patterns in large hierarchical
organizations.
Members interested in stability and
future promotions work to preserve a
hierarchy. Removing employees who
were promoted but proved inadequate
has drawbacks. It calls into question the
judgment of higher management who
made the promotions. Why not leave
them in place and hope they grow into
their jobs?
Other strategies are applied when
high-level incompetence could threaten
an organization. Provide an inept
executive with subordinates who
have not yet risen above their levels of
competence to do the actual work.
Kick an incompetent manager upstairs
to a position with an impressive
title and few duties. Peter labels this
percussive sublimation and describes
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

organizations that pile up vice


presidents on special assignments.
In a lateral arabesque, a manager is
moved sideways to a role in which
little damage can be done. Another
maneuver is to transfer everyone out
from under a high-level non-performer,
yielding a free-floating apex.
Peter described capable followers
who were promoted to be incompetent
leaders, excellent teachers who made
poor administrators, shop-floor experts
who became bad supervisors, and
great fundraisers who proved to be
poor legislators. Sources of eventual
incompetence are intellectual,
constitutional, social, and other
mismatches of skill set to position
requirements.
The phenomenon can be seen
in more subtle hierarchies. A good
paper presenter is promoted to panel
invitee, and if successful there, invited
to give keynotes. A young researcher
is invited to review papers, then
promoted to associate editor, then
editorships in ever more prestigious
venues, until incompetence is
achieved. Percussive sublimation and
lateral arabesques are also found in
professional service. The visibility of
competence can, ironically, undermine
it: A strong, proactive conference
committee member may deliver weak,
reactive service when invited to serve
on four committees simultaneously.
Although at times Peter claims
that there are no exceptions to his
principle, elsewhere he acknowledges
that people work ably prior to their
final promotion and suggests ways
to avoid promotion to your level of
incompetence. But it isnt easy. Once it
was common to spend a career with a
single employeractors in the studio
system, athletes and coaches with one
team, faculty staying at one university.
Years of competent performance while
awaiting an internal promotion were
common, abetted by glass ceilings and
early retirements. Those days are gone.
The versatility of programming
made it a nomadic profession from
the outset. When I left my first
programming jobwhich I lovedto
travel, my manager tried to retain me
by offering to promote me to my level
of incompetencethat is, he offered to

hire someone for me to manage. Today,


with job opportunities visible online,
a capable worker aspiring to a higher
position can likely find an employer
looking to fill such a position: One need
not wait as long as I did for such an offer.

CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS

Rapidly accessed online information


is a powerful tool for skill-building,
and it is logical to promote someone
who does something well to manage
others doing it. This undermines
managerial competence: Managing is
a complex social skill that is learned
less when studying online than through
apprenticeship.
Class barriers and glass ceilings
may be under attack, but subtle biases
remain and can impede promotions. By
the logic of the Peter Principle, underrepresented groups are especially likely to
be capable as they more slowly approach
their final promotion.
What should we do? Think
frequently about what we really
want in life, and keep an eye on those
hierarchies in which we spend our days,
never forgetting that they are modern
creations of human beings who grew up
on savannahs and in the forests.
Jonathan Grudin is a principal researcher
in the Natural Interaction Group at Microsoft
Research. http://interactions.acm.org/blog/
author/7175/Jonathan%20Grudin
jgrudin@microsoft.com

DOI: 10.1145/2854002 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR


J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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I-Eng consists of a talking plush doll that interacts with


tangible object toys.

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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8 D E M O H O U R
12 W H AT A R E Y O U R E A D I N G ?
14 H O W WA S I T M A D E ?
16 D AY I N T H E L A B

ENTER
Demos at UBICOMP 2015 provided researchers with an
opportunity to present their latest cutting-edge research,
but also early implementations, prototypes, work-inprogress systems, and commercial products. At UBICOMP,
demos offer a chance for authors to engage the attendees
and media representatives at a personal level and let them
see, touch, and experience the future of ubicomp.
Itiro Siio and Sidhant Gupta,
UBICOMP 2015 Demo Chairs

DEMO
HOUR

A boy plays with I-Eng. When he presents a


tagged object to the talking doll, it reacts by
speaking an appropriate sentence.

1. I-Eng:
A Toy for SecondLanguage Learning

I-Eng is an interactive toy set that aims to teach new languages to young children
between the ages of three and five. The toy consists of a talking plush doll that
interacts with tagged objects. The doll speaks sentences related to nearby objects
and, depending on the context, can ask the child for other related objects. This
allows children to practice both active and passive vocabulary. Through interaction
with these tangible objects, an unscripted narrative unfolds. Children are thus
naturally exposed to the foreign language and can have a playful learning by
doing experience.

http://mid.kaist.ac.kr/projects/i_eng/
https://vimeo.com/138178841
Jeong, H., Saakes, D.P., Lee, U. I-Eng: An interactive toy for second
language learning. Adjunct Proc. of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference
on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing. ACM, New York, 2015.
Hayeon Jeong, KAIST,
hayeon412@kaist.ac.kr
Daniel Saakes, KAIST
Uichin Lee, KAIST

INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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DEMO
HOUR

AffectiveWear glasses can detect a users facial expressions.

A user interacting with a missed call menu on a smart watch using gaze
input. The UI shows four Orbits controls that allow the user to call or text
back to store the number or to clear the missed call notification. Gaze
input is captured though a head-mounted eye-tracker.

AffectiveWear glasses.

2. Orbits:
Gaze
Interaction
for Smart
Watches

Orbits is a gaze interaction


technique that enables handsfree input on smart watches,
accounting for the limited
display space of these devices.
The technique uses moving
controls to leverage smooth
pursuit eye movements, thus
detecting which control the
user is looking at. Each target
performs a distinct function and
can be activated by following it
with the eyes, allowing for both

10

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discrete and continuous control.


Because our approach relies on
the relative movement of the
eyes, no calibration between the
eye tracker and the display is
necessary.
http://www.mysecondplace.
org/orbits/
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=x6hbicxEFbg
Esteves, A., Velloso, E., Bulling,
A., and Gellersen, H.
Orbits: Gaze interaction for smart
watches using smooth pursuit eye
movements.
Proc. of the 28th Annual ACM
Symposium on User Interface
Software and Technology. ACM,
New York, 2015.

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

Augusto Esteves, Lancaster


University,
augustoeae@gmail.com
Eduardo Velloso, Lancaster
University
Andreas Bulling, Max Planck
Institute for Informatics
Hans Gellersen, Lancaster
University

3.
AffectiveWear

This eyewear system detects facial


expressions. Using proximity
sensing, photo-reflective sensors
measure the distance between
the eyewear frame and the
surface of the users face. This
distance changes as the facial
muscles move to create different
expressions. Detecting and

recording these changes helps


users understand more about their
unintentional non-verbal clues.
For example, users suffering
from depression or other mental
disorders can measure whether
their state is improving based on
changes in their facial expressions.
In addition, AffectiveWear
allows users to use facial
expressions to change
typography in text messages, or
to add emoticons. The system
can also display users facial
expressions on avatars to
achieve more natural, subtle
communication in virtual worlds.
http://im-lab.net/affectivewear/
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=9PMzpsDg518
Masai, K., Sugiura, Y., Ogata,
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

LED yarns with applied voltage.

RFID yarn alone and integrated into garments.

M., Kunze, K., Inami, M., and


Sugimoto, M. AffectiveWear: Smart
eye glasses to recognize facial
expressions. Ubicomp 2015 Demo.
Masai, K., Sugiura, Y., Ogata,
M., Suzuki, K., Nakamura,
F., Shimamura, S., Kunze, K.,
Inami, M., and Sugimoto, M.
AffectiveWear: Toward recognizing
facial expression. ACM SIGGRAPH
2015 Posters. ACM, New York, 2015.
Katsutoshi Masai, Keio University
masai@kmd.keio.ac.jp
Yuta Sugiura, National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST)
Masa Ogata, National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST)

Kai Kunze, Keio University


Masahiko Inami, Keio Media Design
Maki Sugimoto, Keio University

4. Yarns with
Embedded
Electronics

The goal of this research was


to develop the core technology
for embedding semiconductor
micro devices within the fibers
of yarns in order to craft novel
electronically active yarn
(EAY). Such smart yarns will
be the building blocks of the
next generation of wearable
electronics. They will help

solve the current problems that


manufacturers of wearable
textiles are experiencing and
open the door for designers to
develop the next generation of
truly wearable computers that
are more comfortable, flexible,
and washable. Applications
include medicine, sports science,
automobiles, the military,
fashion design, retail, and
manufacturing.
www.facebook.com/
NTUAdvancedTextiles
https://ntuadvancedtextiles.
wordpress.com/
@advancedtextile
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PbLcpge7Hyk

Rathnayake, A. and Dias,


T. Electronically active smart
textiles. Research and the
Researcher, Research Practice
Course Fifth Annual Conference,
Nottingham Trent University, 2013.
Dias, T. and Rathnayake, A.
Integration of micro-electronics
with yarns for smart textiles
(Chapter 5). In T. Dias., Electronic
Textiles Smart Fabrics and
Wearable Technology. Woodhead,
Nottingham, 2015.
Anura Rathnayake, Nottingham
Trent University,
anura.rathnayake@ntu.ac.uk
Tilak Dias, Nottingham Trent
University

DOI: 10.1145/2854149 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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11

WHAT
ARE YOU
READING?

Specs
Focus: Challenges within crosschannel services, connected
devices, new research methods,
making sense of complex data
related to health and wellness
Base:
San Francisco, CA

Lauren Chapman Ruiz


When I first joined Cooper
and heard about its Cook
Blub, I was a little confused
as to what that actually
was. I quickly learned it
was a unique name for their
book cluba place where
employees could nominate
a book to read and discuss
over lunch. Here Ill share
whats been on our reading
list this past year and why,
along with a book Ive been
reading outside the office.
Thinking, Fast and Slow By
Daniel Kahneman (2011) As
human-centered designers,

were constantly trying


to understand people and
their behaviors as we create
products and services that
attempt to change behavior
and engage people in an
increasingly informationabundant world. In
Kahnemans book, you are
taken on an exploration of
the mind, where he explains
the two systems that drive
the way we think: System 1 is
fast, intuitive, and emotional;
System 2 is slower, more
deliberative, and more
logical. People will use lazy
fast thinking to provide
solutionseven if they are

wrong in all but the most


extreme casesbut there are
advantages to using our slow
thinking more frequently.

Kahneman reveals where


we can and cannot trust our
intuitions, and how we can
tap into slow thinking, giving
us a better understanding of
ourselves and others.
Service Design: From Insight
to Implementation By Andy
Polaine, Lavrans Lvlie, and
Ben Reason (2013)
Increasingly, design

thinking is being applied


to the creation of services,
regardless of whether
they involve a digital
touchpoint.
12

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

Service Design is a practical


guide for how to design
services that are humancentered. The book offers
lessons learned from real
case studies, including
methods and insights
to help you design,
implement, and measure
multichannel service
experiences. We found
this to be one of the most
comprehensive, clear, and
useful books for anyone
looking to learn and
experience service design.

The Best Interface


Is No Interface
By Golden Krishna (2015)
The creation of this book was
sparked by a blog post on the
Cooper Journal by former
Cooperista Golden Krishna.
It also sparked internal
and external debate about
whether the best interface
really is no interface.
Claiming that our love affair
with screens has gotten
out of control, Krishna
challenges our world of
nagging screen-based
bondage and uses three
principles to show how we
can still build a technologyINTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

Assistant/Associate Professor, Design


or Human-Computer Interaction
The UC San Diego Cognitive Science department invites applications
for a faculty position in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or related
fields. We interpret these areas broadly.

advanced world without


digital interfaces. Many of
his principles overlap with
service design, making it an
interesting companion to
Polaine et al.s book.

Lauren Chapman Ruiz is a


senior interaction designer at
Cooper, where she solves complex
design challenges for a range of
clients from agile start-ups to
Fortune 500 companies. She also
teaches undergrads and graduate
students in the interaction design
program at California College of
the Arts in San Francisco.
lchapmandesigns@gmail.com
http://www.cooper.com/
people/lauren_ruiz
@lchapmanruiz

The UCSD Department of Cognitive Science was the first of its kind in
the world. Its faculty expertise spans anthropology, cognitive science,
computer science, design, human development, human-computer
interaction, information science, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy,
psychology, sociology, and vision. We especially seek candidates whose
doctorate degree is in these disciplines, will flourish in a Cognitive
Science Department, and who will contribute to diversity, inclusion,
and equity. The successful candidate will teach and supervise
undergraduate and graduate students, and conduct funded research.
Applicants for the tenure-track Assistant Professor must have a
doctorate by the start date. Apply online at https://apol-recruit.ucsd.
edu/apply/JPF00983.
Applicants for the Associate Professor (with tenure) must have a
doctorate and at least 4 years academic teaching experience; have
obtained grants; and have demonstrated contributions to Design. Apply
online at https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/apply/JPF00984.
Appointments will begin July 1, 2016; salary is commensurate with
experience. Applications received by December 30, 2015 will be given
full consideration. Positions will remain open until filled. UCSD is an
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Convivial Toolbox:
Generative Research for
the Front End of Design
By Liz Sanders and Pieter
Jan Stappers (2013)
This book has been a
personal read for me, as
Ive found a rising need
to conduct generative
design research to more
deeply understand peoples
needs and desires. Sanders
and Stappers provide a
comprehensive guide to
what generative research is,
how to conduct and
analyze it, and how to
move forward from there.
Littered with case studies,
beautiful models, and
clear articulations on
what to do, it gives you
the confidence to go out
and experiment in your
own work. It has been
a cornerstone in
curriculum development
for me.

Krishna
challenges
our world
of nagging
screen-based
bondage and
uses three
principles to
show how we
can still build
a technologyadvanced world
without digital
interfaces.

Have a question
about advertising
opportunities?
CONTACT US
212 626 0686
acmmediasales@acm.org

DOI: 10.1145/2853812 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR


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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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13

HOW
WAS IT
MADE?

Specs
Materials: Custom
PCBs, Atmel ATMega
microprocessors, LEDs,
light sensors, acrylic,
servos, flashlights
Tools: soldering iron,
laser cutter, Arduino
toolchain, Eagle PCB
layout, hard work and
dedication

Lichtsuchende
Describe what you made.
We made a photo-kinetic
installation composed
of a variable number
Lichtsuchende with
which people can interact
using flashlights. The
Lichtsuchende are small
robotic creatures that form
a cybernetic society of lightseeking flowers. They are
designed to track light and
move and shine in response,
communicating with people
and other robot flowers.
Similar to a sunflower, a
Lichtsuchende will face
and follow a light source.
The robot flowers are
programmed to drink and
shine light, producing a fluid
improvised choreography
of light and communication
between cybernetic and
human creatures. When a
Lichtsuchende has drunk
enough light, from either
a flashlight or the light of
their fellow robots, the
flowers become excited,
stretching upright and
shining their light in
patterns. Then, exhausted
from all these activities,
they go to sleep. This
cycle of seeking, f inding,
drinking, celebrating
photonic encounters,
and recovering from
exhaustion is the sociality
of the robot f lowers.
Briefly describe the
process of making them.
The process of making the
Lichtsuchende was iterative
and explorative. We started
by experimenting with
simple setups of Arduinos
14

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First prototype using


stripboard, LEDs, light
sensors, servos, sticks, and
Arduino board.

Some robot flowers from the


first batch mounted and ready
to be tested.

Building a new batch of robot


flowers with improved PCBs
and petals.

Three robot flowers


mounted and ready to be
tested.

W
 ork in progress, soldering the
new petals to the PCBs.

Close-up of the heads of the


first batch of robot flowers
mounted.

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

and stripboard, LEDs,


light sensors, and servos to
get a feeling for how they
would become animated.
Then we conceptualized an
installation, prototyping
a couple of light-seeking
robots and exploring how
they interacted, and began
to think about how people
might experience and
engage with them. Next, we
prototyped the industrial
design, creating PCBs with
integrated microprocessors
and sensors to streamline
construction and develop
an aesthetic approach.
Simultaneously we designed
and cut some acrylic mounts
for the servos and PCBs.
As we were putting the
parts together we identified
design flaws, which led to
the redesign of the second
batch of robot flowers with
improved capabilities
simpler and more robust.
The key for us was to
allow the head of the robot
flower to do the computation,
to be autonomous. Thus, we
opted for a custom-made
board that incorporated its
own microprocessor and all
the electronic components
needed to give each robot
flower the ability to perform
as an individual creature.
Keeping the robotic parts
and electronics in sight was
a choice we made at the
beginning, because we did
not want to hide these things
from people.
Did anything go wrong?
Of course, things did not
always go according to
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

image by chris scot t @chrisdonia

P
 erson interacting with various robot flowers.

plan, and after having


prototyped, designed, and
redesigned the boards and
acrylic pieces we found
some elements that could be
improved or were done the
wrong way. We found a big
difference between making
one-off pieces, where hacks,
workarounds, and rewiring
were okay, and making
multiple pieces, where
everything needs to just
work because changing the
design means changing it on
30 robots.
One of the main
problems we had during the
development process was the

fragility of the robot heads,


especially the thin petals with
the light sensors on them,
and the unreliability of some
of the components. The first
servo motors we used tended
to burn out rather fast.
One of the ways in which
we were able to distinguish
robot flowers from each other
was through their faults: the
jerkiness of their movements
(faulty servos), their inability
to turn on one axis (broken
petal or light sensor), the
lack of power feeding into
the main board (broken
connection between power
and main board).

What was the biggest


surprise in making them?
When we started, we had
not envisioned how timeconsuming it would be to
build one single robot flower.
Even worse was adjusting to
dealing with multiple robots,
where tweaking the code
suddenly meant spending
two hours reprogramming
40 separate units.
How would you improve on
them if you were to make
them again? As the process
went on, we learned more
about industrial design and
prototyping. If we were to

start again, we could get


more of the work done by
our fabrication house, which
would make life much easier.
We would definitely start
another project thinking about
which bits could be outsourced
to professional fabricators.
Dave Murray-Rust, University
of Edinburgh
d.murray-rust@ed.ac.uk
Rocio von Jungenfeld,
University of Edinburgh
rocio.von-jungenfeld@ed.ac.uk
http://www.mo-seph.com/
projects/lichtsuchende

DOI: 10.1145/2853201 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS


INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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15

DAY IN
THE LAB

16

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INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

Imagine Lab,
Hanyang University
As told by Ahreum Lee, Kyoungwon Seo, Jieun Kim,
Gyu Hyun Kwon, and Hokyoung Ryu

L ab-based idea-generating
session for smart homes.

INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

ow do you describe
your lab to visitors?
Inspired by the George
Bernard Shaw quote,
Imagination is the
beginning of creation,
Imagine Lab is a research
institute that strives to explore every
imagined possibility.
It was established in 2012 at
Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea,
initially created by two departments,
the Department of Industrial
Engineering and the Graduate School of
Technology & Innovation Management.
In 2015 it expanded to include the
Department of Arts & Technology. The
lab space itself is currently distributed
among these three locations.
Our major research interests
are arts and technology, cognitive
informatics, design-driven innovation,
and medical HCI.
What is a unique feature of your lab?
Imagine Lab is equipped with several
research platforms, including a foursided 3D Cave Automatic Virtual
Environment (CAVE) system, highend 3D printers, physiological and
behavioral measuring instruments, and
a usability room to investigate research
questions in HCI.
Imagine Lab conducts several
transdisciplinary research projects.
For instance, with the 3D CAVE and
a tracking camera system, we built an
immersive virtual reality platform.
Using this platform, we assessed an
individuals behavioral data to detect
mild cognitive impairment, autism
spectrum disorder, and so on. For this
work we partnered with two other
groups, the Department of Dance
and the Department of Psychiatry.
This interdisciplinary research,
particularly with medical staff, has
been possible due to the proximity
of our lab and Hanyang University
Medical Schoola 10-minute walk.
This benefit makes it easy for us to meet
with various clinicians and patients. We
currently work with the Departments
of Gastrointestinal Internal Medicine,
Rehabilitation Medicine, Neurology,
Pediatrics, and Rheumatology. From
this collaboration we developed
RehabMaster, a virtual reality
rehabilitation system for post-stroke
patients, now commercialized and being
used by family doctors in Korea.
Our partnership with the
J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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17

DAY IN
THE LAB

Don Quixote: A serious game for evaluating the cognitive biases.

Interactive surgical
manager for hospitals.

Department of Dance might sound


odd, but it makes sense for us. Hanyang
University is one of Koreas top private
universities, home to 120 departments
under 25 colleges, and hosting about
36,000 students. This diversity
helps Imagine Lab lead innovative,
imaginative design processes with
artists, scientists, and engineers. A
newly established department called
the Department of Arts & Technology
(which includes many academic staff
from music, dance, fashion, mechanics,
and informatics) was the biggest
addition to Imagine Lab in 2015.
How many people are in the lab, and
what is the mix of backgrounds and
roles? Our lab is supervised by three
full-time professors (Jieun Kim, Gyu
Hyun Kwon, and Hokyoung Ryu) and

two full-time research professors (Eunju


Jeong and Jaekwan Kim). Everyone has
widely different backgrounds: cognitive
psychology, industrial engineering,
design, music, and bio-informatics.
Currently, two Ph.D. students,
eight masters students, and three
undergraduate students are working
together. There are also 17 part-time
graduate students who work in diverse
fields (electronics, automobiles, and
finance, to name a few). More recently,
newcomers from various fields such as
music therapy, statistics, accounting,
and business management have joined
our lab. These unexpected arrivals have
inspired us to expand our imagination
to incorporate wider and more varied
viewpoints.
What is one feature of your lab you

want and do not have? Green space!


Seoul is the most densely populated
city in Korea. Most of the campuses in
Seoul do not have enough green spaces
for students to relax, and neither does
Hanyang University. Luckily, however,
we are a 10-minute drive from the Han
River and a five-minute walk from Seoul
Forest, which both provide some relief
from the gray buildings in our daily lives.
How would you describe how people
interact in your lab? The lab culture
in Korea is quite strict and maledominant. However, the atmosphere
in Imagine Lab provides flexibility
and openness. Whats more, we
have an equal number of male and
female students. To share feedback on
individual research projects in a relaxed
atmosphere, at least once a week we

DOI: 10.1145/2855182 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS

18

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Designing a tactile picture for the visually impaired.

(a)

At Imagine Lab we do
not limit the scope of
our research interests.

(b)

C o-care design for a comprehensive


nursing system in Korea.
(a) IoT-based patient room.
(b) Power-assistive robot.

drink coffee and eat together. We also


take walks to the Han River, which is a
great way to relax and strengthen the
bonds between us.
What is the one thing you see as most
important about the work you do there?
At Imagine Lab we do not limit the
scope of our research interests. We
can work on medical projects, or with
dancers, or even with athletes. This
extraordinary opportunity allows us to
incorporate innovative and practicable
viewpoints into our theoretical
research that traditional HCI may have
overlooked. Therefore, having an open
mind as well as a sense of humor and
good conversation skills are essential to
working in our lab.
http://imagine.hanyang.ac.kr
http://artech.hanyang.ac.kr
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

Creative 3D drawing with artists in an immersive virtual reality environment.


J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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19

COLUMN CONFESSIONS
Paul Haimes,
Tokyo Metropolitan
University

icture a Zen garden.


Peaceful, serene, and
meticulously maintained
by monks with the kind
of patience that can only
be gained through the
pursuit of enlightenment.
A visit to a temple in the ancient town of
Kamakura a few years ago left me with a
tiny glimpse into the world of Zen and a
taste of what is required to achieve such
simple beauty. This aesthetic sense is
summed up by the Japanese term wabisabi, which refers to the application of
mindfulness to everyday life. Leonard
Koren, who wrote one of the definitive
Western guides to wabi-sabi [1], defined
its essential characteristics as a beauty
that is imperfect and impermanent but
also humble and modest. It requires a
rejection of the ostentatious in favor
of function. To experience wabi-sabi
takes patience and attention to detail.
In his BBC documentary In Search
of Wabi-Sabi, Marcel Thereoux [2]
surmised that wabi-sabi was more than

an intellectual pursuit of aesthetic


ideals; it was something closer to a
spirituality ingrained in the Japanese
psyche. Since 16th-century Japan, the
wabi-sabi aesthetic has revealed itself
in several physical forms: from the
elegant ritual of tea ceremonies and
the minimalist floristry of ikebana to
traditional musical instruments such
as the shamisen. In the post-war period
of the second half of the 20th century,
this aesthetic has continued through
the modern and post-modern eras.
Architects such as Tadao Ando and
Toyo Ito (Figure 1) have created elegant
structures that manage to be as simple
and functional as they are beautiful.
This sublime sense of simplicity
has manifested itself across various
media. On film, Yasujiro Ozu captured
an elegant beauty that inspired
generations of directors. Similarly,
graphic designers in Japan such as
Shigeo Fukuda and Yoshiro Yamashita
also reflected this aesthetic. Despite
their disparate origins, modernist style

Figure 2. The homepage of Ito Yokado, a chain of shopping centers in Japan.

20

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

and wabi-sabi share traits of modest


forms and an emphasis on form over
function. Today many of the signs you
see in Japan give a modernist impression
with an emphasis primarily on function
and readability (Figure 2). Helvetica
is as pervasive in Tokyo as it is in the
International Typographic Style of
1960s Switzerland. This seemingly
intuitive Japanese sense of functional
simplicity is even apparent in Hondas
famous Asimo robot, which has a sleek
and smooth exterior worthy of the next
Apple product.
So why is it then that a country
steeped in beautiful, functional
simplicity has websites that are
crowded and often almost impossible to
read, that seem to ignore modern design
conventions, much less incorporate
even a trace of wabi-sabi? Since Web
2.0 in the mid-2000s, interface design
globally has moved toward a more
simple but functional approach,
resulting in the recent preference for
flat design over ornamentation (e.g.,
consider how buttons have gone from
a 3D beveled appearance to a more
2D style). Yet despite its long-term
love of laptops and smartphones and
some of the best Internet speeds in the
world, somehow the sparse simplicity
of wabi-sabi does not seem to have
translated to the Web. Somehow the
realities of 21st-century interface
design have not caught on. (Japan is,
incidentallymuch to the surprise of
many immigrantsa country where
fax machines remain common.)
As a design researcher living in
Tokyo, I am trying to understand why
this is the case. How can an innovative
and creative culturewhere timehonored wabi-sabi aesthetics seem to
have permeated even robot design
have so many websites that look like
they have not been updated in more
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

F I G U R E B Y PA U L H A I M E S

Zen and the Art


of Website Maintenance

IMAGE BY WIIII / WIKI MEDIA COMMONS

Figure 1. The
library of Tama Art
Universitys campus
in Hachioji, Tokyo,
was designed by
renowned Japanese
architect Toyo Ito.

than a decade? According to some


design academics and practitioners in
Japan with whom I have spoken, it may
be because in Japan, if something looks
cheap and cluttered, it is more likely to
be popular with consumers. Or it could
be that Japanese software developers
have never been good at making
interfaces.
Although I have yet to find
research that confirms either of these
perspectives, some research suggests
the bombardment of information
that users receive from Japanese
websites may be due to the implicit and
ambiguous nature of communication
in Japanese society [3]. Nevertheless,
this does not explain why practically
every other design discipline in Japan
has abundant examples of some of
the worlds most elegant work. Nor
does it explain why so many Japanese
websites ignore a lot of design theory
and do not appear to have been updated
this century. Figure 2 shows a typical
website. Some of the text is so small
that I cannot understand how Japans
aging citizens (more than one-fifth of
the population is over 65) could possibly
read it. Much of the text is delivered
via images, so a screen-reading device
might not help much either.
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

Despite its facade of high-tech


culture and bullet trains, Japan is
often resistant to change (see my
previous note about fax machines).
This could be one explanation for the
current state of Web design in Japan.
Nevertheless, I am heartened by the
Web presence of some companies such
as Muji and Uniqlo. These companies
are internationally known for their
functional simplicity, and I breathed
a sigh of relief when I discovered that
their sense of aesthetics extended
to their online presence. I can see
a glimpse of wabi-sabi in the way
in which both companies approach
their products, and thankfully, in
their websites. Perhaps they realize
that success in overseas markets
means providing more intuitive and
accessible designs. But, curiously,
these companies also have local
websites in Japan with more simple and
functional designs.
Personally, I am looking to create
examples that reflect both Japans
Zen-inspired design traditions and
the realities of the modern Internet. I
am pleased that most of the Japanese
people I have spoken to who have seen

the website for my newest research


project have commented favorably on
the design. I must admit I was hesitant
to show these colleagues designs for
a website intended for a Japanese
audience. In the meantime, while I
wait for wabi-sabiand the realities of
modern interface designto catch on in
Japanese cyberspace, it might be time to
head back to the temple.
Endnotes
1. Koren, L. Wabi-sabi for Artists, Designers,
Poets & Philosophers. Imperfect Pub, 2008.
2. Theroux, M. In Search of Wabi-Sabi. British
Broadcasting Corporation, London, 2009.
3. Cyr, D. and Trevor-Smith, H. Localization
of Web design: An empirical comparison
of German, Japanese, and United States
Web site characteristics. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science
and Technology 55, 13 (2004), 11991208.
DOI: 10.1002/asi.20075
Paul Haimes is a postdoctoral researcher
from Tokyo Metropolitan University with a
Ph.D. in interaction design from Edith Cowan
University in Australia. His current work is
funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion
of Science. His research interests include
making disaster information more accessible,
music software, and interactive art.
haimes@tmu.ac.jp

DOI: 10.1145/2847596 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR


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21

COLUMN Ps AND Qs
Elizabeth F. Churchill,
Google

Trying to See the World


with New Eyes

The evening
unfolds with
speeches, a band,
dancing
all in complete
darkness.
22

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Patrons of the Blind Cafe experience a live musical performance in total darkness
(www.theblindcafe.com).

to see ones food. Was that a chestnut?


Sweet potato? Salad, yes, and a simple
vinaigrette . . . Meatloaf? But I thought
this was a vegetarian meal. Finding the
silverware and my wine and water
glasses was easier than anticipated;
they were in their usual positions.
Items with less conventional spatial
homes were ably located for me by the
staff using the guide of a clock face: an
optional sauce at 10 oclock, pepper at 2
oclock, additional salad in front of me
at 12. This was helpful. That said, more
than once I put my hand in my food
when reaching for my fork. The evening
went well, with much conversation
and, happily, not all of it focused on
meta discussions of the experience itself.

The biggest surprise, though, was


when the lights came on. After two
hours of eating, drinking, listening
to music, and dancing, I had formed a
strong impression of where I wasa
spatial mental model. An erroneous
mental model, as it turns out. Where
I had imagined round tables, there
were oblongs; where I had imagined
a fairly substantial dance f loor, there
was a small square; where I had
imagined doors, there were solid
walls; the woman I had been talking
to all evening looked nothing as I had
imagined. I had not even realized
how strong my mental model was
until that moment, so certain had I
been. How delightful to be so completely
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE BLIND CAFE

ave you ever had that


conversation where you
discuss which sense
youd miss the most?
Sight? Hearing? Smell?
Taste? Touch?
A recent design
discussion brought this to mind. An
array of personas generated from
discussion had proven to be oddly
homogeneous when it came to sensorial
capacity: None were hard of hearing and
none had tinnitus; none were anosmic;
none had visual impairments. We didnt
discuss taste, but I bet they all would
have been within a normal range had
we been discussing a food product. None
were supertasters nor ageusic, and none
had decreased sensation with touch.
I shared this concern with a friend,
and he pointed me to the Blind
Cafe. Part of a movement for raising
awareness of the experience of living
with visual impairment, the Blind
Cafe offers a three-course dinner
where diners are waited on by visually
impaired staff. The evening unfolds
with speeches, a band, dancingall in
complete darkness [1].
I have always found that slight
nervousnesspushing oneself to the
edge of ones comfort zonecreates
a fertile ground for learning. On the
evening I attended the Blind Cafe,
I was nervous. Many aha! moments
ensued. First, it is jarring to not be able

wrong, to realize that certainty does not


guarantee veracity.
There is extensive work in social
psychology suggesting that reducing
psychological distance (which, crudely
stated, manifests as I am not one of them)
leads people to unpack stereotypes
of the other [2]. Further, social
psychological research suggests that
power can lead to a diminished capacity
to take the perspective(s) of others. Thus,
two powerful tools in the sensitization
and empathy-development process
are the reduction of psychological
distance and the rebalancing of power
differentials. The Blind Cafe does both
of these things very effectively.
As the evening folded, I entered
into a conversation with Brandi, while
she was waiting for her ride home to
arrive. She showed me how she used
her smartphone to call the cab, how she
tries to find a place that is visible to the
driver without being able to see what the
driver sees, how her perspective-sharing
with the sighted can be a challenge. I
had a newly sensitized empathy and
was listening differently. Now I try to
ask myself at least once a day: What
questionable certainties am I operating
on today? Where am I operating from
a position of power and psychological
distance that should be challenged? I am
trying to see the world with new eyes.
Endnotes
1. There are other such dining-in-the-dark
experiences, some of which are staffed by
sighted staff wearing night-vision goggles,
but the Blind Cafe and its inspiration the
blindekuh (Blind Mans Bluff, which was
launched in 1999 in Zurich, Switzerland)
are staffed by visually impaired people
almost exclusively. Founded in 2010, the
Blind Cafe moves from city to city and so
far has served over 11,000 diners.
2. Psychological distance refers to how
subjectively (psychologically) close or
remote from an event a person is across a
range of measures of distance, including
time, space, and personal identity.

ACM LEARNING CENTER


RESOURCES
FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

learning.acm.org

Online Courses from Skillsoft


Online Books from Safari, Books24x7,
Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress
Webinars on todays hottest topics
in computing

Originally from the U.K., Elizabeth


Churchill has been leading corporate
research at top U.S. companies for the past 18
years. Her research interests include social
media, distributed collaboration, mediated
communication, and ubiquitous and embedded
computing applications.
churchill@acm.org
DOI: 10.1145/2855155
COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR
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COLUMN MAKE IT WORK


Jonathan Bean,
Bucknell University

Its Not That Hard

he myth of technological
progress lies at the center
of human-computer
interaction. We are all
invested in the idea that
big problems can be
solved with big solutions,
big data, more algorithms, and Moores
Law. For the past two years, Ive been
studying the green building industry in
the U.S. And Ive noticed that a similar
myth of technological innovation is at
play, with real consequences for our
sense of what is possible today [1].
The myth of technological progress
often revolves around a utopian vision of
the future, where innovation has solved
our most pressing and complicated
problems, including poverty, hunger,
and climate change. Upon reflection,
these are simple problems made
complex by us pesky humans. In
the case of poverty and hunger, the
problem is not that we do not have
enough resources, but rather that they
are so unequally distributed. In the
case of climate change, the problem
is that our activities are spewing out
too much carbon dioxide. So, while
redistributing resources is a complex
sociopolitical process, it should not take
a global accord or a major technological
breakthrough to reduce the rate at
which fossil fuels are turned into carbon
dioxide. In the building industry,
we already know how to do this, yet
this sector is responsible for about 40
percent of carbon emissions. Economic
growth in places such as Brazil and
China, combined with the adoption
of Western-style climate-controlled
buildings, represents both a tremendous
threat to the climate and an opportunity
for transformation.
Within the field of architecture,
HCIs focus has been on enabling
architects to create ever more expressive

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and avant-garde designs. Architecture


schools, in particular, are hotbeds of
innovation in parametric design, which,
when wedded with CNC fabrication,
holds the promise of delivering
Frank Gehry levels of complexity on
constrained budgets. Some architects
have connected parametric design
tools with an ecological sensibility,
designing elaborate sunshades, while
others have put processors into building
control systems. Back in the 1980s, the
French architect Jean Nouvel designed
an award-winning building clad with
motor-controlled shutters that evoked
Islamic art. Researchers in HCI have
made a push into the relationship
between energy use and building
systems, first focusing on changing
occupant behavior through energy
dashboards. The consensus, however,
seems to be that making people aware of
their energy use effects only short-term
reductions. More encouraging is the
commercialization of this technology
through products such as the Nest
thermostat, which are setting
the stage for large-scale demandreduction management.
Yet the widespread assumption is
the building industry is still waiting for
technological progress to arrivethat
we dont have the building materials,
the technology, or the design tools
needed to effectively address climate
change. A parallel assumption is that
radical change will be needed in the
building industry: Architects need to
be computer programmers! Builders
must be roboticists!
Thankfully, its not that hard. The
answer has been around, depending
on who you ask, since about the 1970s,
well before parametric design ruled the
day, and well before personal computers
could run spreadsheets. Known by
several different names, including super

insulation and passive house, the idea


is quite simple: Use physics to make
a building work like a really, really
good Thermos. Provide lots and lots of
insulation, so that heat and cold stay
where they belong. Use good windows,
and dont put too many of them in
places on a building where they will
contribute to too much heat gain or too
much heat loss. Build it to be airtight,
with materials that are readily available
on the market. Use a simple mechanical
device to provide plentiful fresh air
without losing a lot of energy. And use
a computer program or spreadsheet to
make some calculations and predict
whether the building will perform as
intended. Do it right and its easy to
hit net-zero energy by putting just a
few solar panels on top, while ensuring
the buildings design allows it to coast
through power outages without freezing
or broiling the occupants. This is called
passive survivability, and its a way the
passive building concept differs from
the net-zero energy buzzword.
Well, its not that harduntil you
fire up the computer program or open
the spreadsheet. The two big players in
the space are called the Passive House
Planning Package, or PHPP, which
is simply a heavily customized Excel
spreadsheet, and WUFI Passive, which
is a modification of a program developed
by German building scientists to model
moisture and thermal flows in buildings.
While a SketchUp plugin for PHPP
has reduced the amount of data entry
requiredpreviously a user would
have to tally the surface area of every
exterior wall, window, and even window
frameboth approaches make the user
do some deep digging for data that, as
it turns out, doesnt readily exist. Ever
tried to find out exactly how efficient a
heat pump is at the average temperature
in the place where it will actually be
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I M A G E B Y B A S F / W E C R E AT E C H E M I S T R Y

used? Testing standards exist, but


manufacturers often report data at only
one or two temperatures.
Another task that is important but
complicated is calculating the extra
heat flow where window glass meets
the frame; the spacer that holds the
glass panes in place often transmits
more heat than the glass or the
frame. Accounting for this thermal
bridge is important in guaranteeing
a building will be as efficient as
planned. Calculating this value
requires the use of another software
tool, called THERM, and learning
its idiosyncrasies. For programmers
who write code and building scientists
accustomed to reading measurements
from sensors and probes, these
programs may seem easy to use, but for
designers and builders accustomed to
SketchUp, the interface is daunting.
Complexity, of course, is useful.
Mastering WUFI means a designer
can not only check for compliance
with energy targets but also confirm
that a design will be comfortable for its
occupants and less prone to moisture
damage. But the maxim of garbage
in, garbage out still applies; for
example, a WUFI user must be careful
to specify the U.S. version of drywall
and not its German equivalent. Some
organizations, such as the Passive House
Institute U.S. (PHIUS), have started to
ease this process by certifying building
assemblies such as windows, therefore
reducing the need to use THERM and
other tools. But even still, a user must
perform some translation; for example,
the value PHIUS lists as psi-spacer
is described in WUFI as the glazing
to frame value. When these values
differ on each side of a window due to
differences in the frame design, even
the order is different; PHIUS lists them
as head-sill-left-right and WUFI as
left-right-top-bottom. Its no wonder,
as these programs have strong ties to
the macho world of building science,
which, like many engineering cultures,
sometimes values hard data over
soft social factors. But this cuts out a
broad base of potential users. Designers
are wonderfully creative people, but
in my experience they tend to have
little patience with clunky tools. Were
talking about a tribe of people known
for an affinity for designer clothes,
Moleskine notebooks, and extra-fineINTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

The Hudson Passive Project is a prototype home-of-tomorrow demonstrating residential


energy-saving options.

tipped pens. Their software tools should


be as elegant.
Its easy to imagine a building
industry that could be much more
proactive in solving the issue of climate
change if we could just shift one core
assumption. Rather than banking
on a complex technological solution,
architects, builders, and developers
can use a solution that we already have
by applying tools that are, even in their
current form, not all that hard to use.
As the Volkswagen diesel-emissions
scandal has made clear, HCI has an
important role to play, too, by looking
more critically at the computational
interfaces that are quite literally creating
(or destroying) our shared environment.
One possible contribution would be
to move programs such as WUFI and
PHPP to an open source model. This
might drive innovation and ease of use.
Another approach would be to simply
barge in on the conversation and apply
what HCI already knows about user
interface design to make programs
like WUFI more user-friendly. We
could also establish open data format
standards so that organizations such
as PHIUS, the German Passive House
Institute, and companies that make
products such as heat pumps and

windows can provide designers robust


data on product performance, which
makes it easy and quick to create an
energy model.
Recognizing these opportunities to
make small adjustments to clunky but
useful software could yield big results.
Shifting even a tiny fraction of the time
and talent spent on the development
of smartphone apps or driverless cars
could yield a significant reduction in
carbon emissions in the near future.
Creating more users of software
packages such as WUFI or PHPP by
lowering the barriers to entry would
likely result in the construction of more
low-, zero-, and positive-net energy
buildings. This is one solution to climate
change, and its one that can be done
now. Lets get to work.
Endnote
1. I am not the only one to have noticed
this; for more, see: Moe, K. Compelling
yet unreliable theories of sustainability.
Journal of Architectural Education 60, 4
(2007), 2430.
Jonathan Bean is an assistant professor
of markets, innovation, and design at Bucknell
University. His research deals with domestic
consumption, technology, and taste.
j.bean@bucknell.edu

DOI: 10.1145/2852227 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR


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C O V E R S T O RY

Designing for
the Future
But Which One?

image by germano poli

Bonnie Nardi, University of California, Irvine

Insights
Futures studies
consider HCI along three
dimensions: time, reality,
and complexity.
Real-world examples
from which we might
learn about possible
futures include the
Steampunk community,
preppers, and citizens of
less prosperous nations.

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The future seems more important than


ever. Rapidly accumulating changes to
our environment and culture demand
that we look ahead. Technology drives
change, and we in human-computer
interaction should attend to the future.
But which future? The one we want?
The one we think is coming? Here, I
examine HCI research that asks these
questions. I consider work ranging over
diverse perspectives in an emerging
literature within the discipline. HCI
often focuses on short-term results [1],
but it maintains a generative fringe
that permits transformative work to
continually operate on the margins,
injecting new ideas into normative

terrain that is itself essential for rigor


and a disciplinary commons.
Harold Nelson and Erik Stolterman
observe that design requires finding
particular representations or aspects
of ideal things out of a cloud of
possibilities [2]. It is just this cloud
that is especially tricky to apprehend
when looking forward. In my analysis
of the literature, three attributes of
particular representations of the
future emerged: time, reality, and
complexity. They suggest several
questions: Do the representations of
the future look backward or forward,
and how far backward or forward? Are
representations shamelessly unreal
J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

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cover story
or are they grounded in reality-based
retrospective or projective analysis?
Is the individual a meaningful
unit of analysis or is systems-level
interpretation undertaken? I examine
each of the attributes in turn.

BACK TO THE FUTURE OR


FORWARD TO THE FUTURE?

In principle, the imaginary of the


future is an anything-goes space of
invention and experiment where
strange, untried possibilities are given
scope to flourish. In practice, the future
may be populated by the past, which
is mined for a deep vein of inspiration
and ideas. For example, Tanenbaum
et al. describe how Steampunk design
practices feed off a fascination with
19th-century craftsmanship and the
20th centurys passion for science [3].
As a colorful movement of resistance,
Steampunk might seem a curiosity. But
the authors show how it is strikingly
relevant to HCI, which can learn from
Steampunks concrete practices of reuse
and recycling, community building,
and critical reflection on the role of
technologies in society [3]. These
concerns resonate with those of work
in sustainable HCI [4,5,6,7], providing
actualized design techniques and
methods that realize the technological
values of a community.
The Steampunk future is derived
from a past in which people exerted
personal control over material culture.
Tanenbaum et al. report the words of
a Steampunk maker: [Our] values
are: recycling materials, finding other
functions to objects, enlarging your
horizons, and regaining control over
the fabrication of our everyday objects.
However extravagant we might find
the Victorian surfaces of Steampunk
artifacts, as a philosophy, Steampunk
makes a sharp critique of contemporary
culture, looking to the past for appraisal
of the current political economy of
mass production, industrialization, and
the uniformity of modernist design.

Hamid Ekbia and I [8] argue that HCI


should pay special attention to political
economy, and Steampunk accomplishes
this, producing a novel aesthetic future
informed by a broad grasp of the past.
A different temporality shapes
Batya Friedman and Lisa Nathans
work on multi-lifespan design. They
begin their 2010 CHI paper with the
gripping words: Genocide. HIV/
AIDS. Famine. Deforestation. Habitat
destruction. Species extinction. Forced
exodus [9]. What could HCI have
to say about the future of genocide,
species extinction, and the other
alarming problems currently without
solutions? Friedman and Nathan argue
that information infrastructures must
underlie future approaches to these
multifaceted predicaments. We are not
going to solve massive displacements
within a single human lifespan, they
advise, so we should prepare flexible
infrastructures capable of responding
to changing conditions. Friedman and
Nathan suggest we might begin with a
100-year time framelong enough to
move beyond a single human lifespan
but somewhat within the human ability
to imagine. Rather than situating
ideas in past practice, the problems
Friedman and Nathan grapple with are
of necessity future-facing because they
are different in scale from anything
humanity has ever known. While
Steampunk addresses the design of
everyday objectswith which humans
have a history going back millions of
yearsthe recent past has given rise
to unprecedented global difficulties
that we must attempt to manage. The
problems demand adaptive rather
than prescriptive methodologies;
complexities of shifting global dynamics
guarantee that the problems will resist
rigid, prescriptive technofixes [9].
Just as Steampunk arises from a
critique of industrial society, Friedman
and Nathan establish a critical agenda
urging the research community toward
projects made necessary by the adverse

The Steampunk future is derived


from a past in which people exerted
personal control over material culture.
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effects of human activity. They argue


that our approach to the future should
be to buckle down and address realworld problems, setting ourselves the
task, daunting though it is, of generating
knowledge about the design of multilifespan information systemsbecause
we are going to need them [9].
Another critical approach looking
radically forward is that of speculative
design. Here we encounter a whole
different imaginative spaceof
whimsy, play, surreality, even the
freakish. The favored instrument of
Anthony Dunne and Fiona Rabys
practice of speculative design is not
the counterfactual, which casts its
gaze backward to the past to ask how
things might have been different, but
the forward-facing what-if scenario
[10]. Dunne and Raby explain that
what-if scenarios grew out of the texts of
science fiction, film, and television, and
can play a role in the design of physical
objects. Speculative design takes whatif scenarios beyond the empirically
based scenarios of conventional HCI
design [11], allowing more latitude for
designers creativity.
The objects of speculative design
are neither practical nor usable. They
are discursive objectscrafted
interventions to create discussions
[12]. Such objects are dreamed
up to be shown in museums and
exhibitions, furnishing these special
set-apart spaces of reflection and
conversation. Wakkary et al. designed
a different kind of speculative
object that functions through real
usage in a deliberative practice of
material speculation [12]. For
example, they created a camera that
must be destroyed to obtain the
photos inside, explaining, In our
contemporary world of constant
availability and connectedness, these
. . . cameras project a critical stance
on functionalityone based on
inhibiting, restricting, or removing
common or expected features
of a technology [12]. Material
speculation tends to look back,
favoring contemplation through
counterfactuals that rouse us to reflect
on past experiences and assumptions
as we use objects designed to run
counter to our expectations.
Yet another approach to the future
lies in collapse informaticsa new
subdiscipline, and one with the
broadest temporal sweep of futures
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

image by carlos j river a m

work in HCI. Collapse informatics


looks both backward and forward
[13,14]. Scoped over thousands of years
of human history, a recent collapse
informatics paper begins, History
documents the rise and fall of many
complex societies. Large human
civilizations form over long periods
of expansion, sometimes lasting
centuries; however, most civilizations
that have ever existed have collapsed
(Tainter 1990; Diamond 2004) [14].
Indeed the patron saint of collapse
informatics might be archaeologist
Joseph Tainter, whose work
meticulously documents the processes
by which a whole raft of ancient
civilizations eventually collapsed.
Where Steampunk journeys to the
Victorian era, collapse informatics is
set, conceptually at least, in an expanse
of history all the way back to such
cultures as those of Mesopotamia, the
Minoans, and the ancient Maya.
Tomlinson et al. argue that the
dynamic of collapse inherent in our
own civilization is the non-negotiable
demand for economic growth
an unsustainable trajectory in a
finite world. However, the authors
also suggest that looking forward,
and possessed of superior science,
technology, and history, we are not
the Maya or the Romanswe have
the opportunity to intervene in our
dynamic. Tomlinson et al. contend
that it is time to consider how the
CHI community can help civilization
react to and plan for this possibility
[of collapse]. Although our current
growth-based system is unsustainable,
and the future will be less abundant, we
can prepare for such a future [14].
Collapse informatics proposes that
we build a bridge to the future in three
ways. The first is to expand the time
horizon of our studies, strategically
opening up the temporal scope of
research. Practical efforts do not
always have to go as far into the future
as Freidman and Nathan propose, but
we should be thinking in decades. If
we extrapolate from the very recent
past instead of considering the longer
pathways of current trends, we will
miss the mark [6]. The second bridge
to the future is comparative work that
can produce an array of possibilities,
avoiding the tunnel vision of singular
case studies, consistent with Friedman
and Nathans notion of flexible, adaptive
infrastructures [14]. A third bridge is to
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cover story
checkpoint changes and adjust designs
to account for emerging conditions. This
approach takes a cue from longitudinal
study but is constantly in touch with the
future and not just the present [14].
Steampunk and material speculation
look backward. Multi-lifespan design
and speculative design look forward.
Collapse informatics looks backward
and forward. All share a common
impulse to envision better futures,
to offer vital, hands-on programs of
thought and action. These approaches
inspire us in their very nervinesslets
solve HIV/AIDS, lets develop a way
forward toward beauty and durability!
One thing we can say in favor of the
future is that is it capable of motivating
some world-class thinking.

REAL OR UNREAL?

before that happens we will likely


see the development and widespread
implementation of autonomous vehicles
[18]. Blyth et al. therefore suggest an
orientation to the future that requires
a profound shift in design practice:
Instead of focusing on SDVs [selfdriving vehicles] as primarily technical
objects . . . an improved approach would
require engineers and others to look into
the future they are creating through the
object of their design . . . imagining a
range of possible and desired futures
while considering a range of values
[16, emphasis added]. A challenge is to
adjust design practice so that it more
expansively encounters the future,
lifting its gaze from the designed object
to the complex realities of the world in
which the object will be used.
Sociotechnical analysis of the
future suggests how questions
initially centered on technology can
rapidly advance to broader concerns
of political economy, sometimes
accompanied by a cold slap of reality
[8,16]. Blyth et al. note, for example,
that, Safety technology choices are
often determined by financial flows and
lobbying practices . . . [A]n example [is]
the early airbags on U.S. cars being used
despite scientific evidence that their
design increased deaths in accidents
[16]. The authors suggest we develop
ethics to intervene in such decisionmaking processes and not repeat

image from shut terstock.com

Friedman and Nathan ground their


research program in real-world
problems. Speculative design,
on the other hand, finds reality a
bit tedious, and seeks to untether
design from realitys constraints.
Dunne and Raby offer a map of
unreality in which capitalist market
pressures are abandoned in favor of
emancipatory design practices with
scope to consider matters such as
alternatives to capitalism [10]. We are
more interested in designing for how
things could be, the authors declare.
The products of speculative design

are found in museums, installations,


and eventsnot stores. Dunne and
Raby tartly remark that the idea
that something is not real when real
means available in shops, is not good.
They believe we are so immersed in
the representations that markets want
us to see, that we do not dream our
own bigger dreams. Design needs to
decouple itself from industry in order
to create better futures [10].
Other research programs attempt to
make peace with reality, accepting that
markets are not going away anytime
soon. These efforts propose that marketbased activity be infused with values
beyond profitability, utilizing realitybased principles of sociotechnical
design. Value-sensitive design has
long promoted this approach [15]. In
recent work that incorporates concerns
of political economy and extends
traditional issues of value-sensitive
design, Blyth et al. suggest an ethical
framework that seeks to interpose a
wider set of values into the design of
autonomous passenger cars and trucks,
including, for example, their potential
impacts on different social classes [16].
The authors of this paper observe
that there are over a billion vehicles
in the world, and transportation
systems will not suddenly cease to be
based on them. While at some point
todays intensive use of vehicles will
decrease as we approach peak oil [17],

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tragedies of the past as we move forward


into the future.
Futures perspectives such
as speculative design celebrate
unreality [10], championing
freedom for unfettered exercises in
imaginative design. Sociotechnical
perspectives deal with sober realities
through analysis of observable
trends. Reality-based approaches are
predictive in assessing current trends
and considering interventions in the
futures the trends portend. But these
are conservative predictionscan
anyone doubt that autonomous vehicles
are coming? We know they arewhat
we dont know is exactly what form
they will take, or the infrastructures
that will support them, or their
impacts on society. It is in such future
spaces that certain practical design
interventions are possible. Speculative
design serves a different purpose,
liberating us to imagine ideal forms,
however unreal they might be.

SIMPLE OR NOT SIMPLE?

Some futures work centers on the


individual as an agent of change,
working within boundaries where
a single person can be the unit of
analysis. Other approaches assume
a pre-analytic vision grounded in
the complexity of larger systems of
collective activity. The global world
system has even snuck into HCI in
streams of research such as ICTD
and sustainable HCI. Complex
global problems like poverty,
inequality, resource depletion, and
pollution ground these efforts. Jay
Chen, for example, explained that
ICTD attempts to confront some
of the socio-economic inequities
in developing regions through
the design and deployment of
information and communication
technologies. ICTD . . . is defined
by the socio-economic condition of
poverty, which generally corresponds
to some combination of low
infrastructure, meager education,
deficient healthcare, unreliable food
supply, weak or corrupt government
. . . [T]he socio-economic, geopolitical, and physical environment
[are at stake] [19].
Chen discussed these matters at a
recent workshop, Computing within
LIMITS [20], whose objective was to
consider the complexities of designing
for the future of limits predicted
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by current, measurable trends in


degradation of the environment,
social inequality, and other global
disruptions. Kentaro Toyama
commented on the recursive nature
of the problems of computing within
limits: [S]ome inclinations of the
technology industryits faddishness,
consumption orientation, hunger
for electrical power and rare natural
resources, and rapid innovationobsolescence cyclemight not
only fail to lead to sustainability,
but accelerate collapse [21]. Even
as computing attempts to deal with
difficult futures, its own behaviors
are highly consequential in the world
system. Christian Remy and Elaine
Huang spoke of how HCI research
on the environmental outcomes of
planned obsolescence run counter to
the goals of industry and marketing:
The . . . goal in any attempt to address
obsolescence is to get consumers to
keep and use their devices longer,
which results in a decrease in sales
[22]. Such contradictions are thorny
problems indeed, requiring action at
multiple scales, including the world
system.
In a NordiCHI paper, Daniel
Pargman and Barath Raghavan
discussed the future of sustainability
research, commenting that the
frameworks and definitions we
have presented are grounded in [the
complexities of ] ecological reality,
which we believe must be the starting
point of any real effort in sustainability
research [6]. These frameworks require
complex analyses such as taking into
account a global ecological footprint,
that is, an average productive capacity
(bioproductivity) of land and sea areas
on Earth in a given year [6]. We must
remind ourselves that this text comes
from an HCI paper, not an article in
an ecology journal! Such research
demonstrates that futures work may
follow a path of considerably more
complexity, as well as unfamiliar

intellectual turf, than we might have


expected or feel prepared for.
Some researchers argue that
choosing this path is necessary. Blyth
et al. say: [T]he first step in dealing
with . . . complexity in technology
design [is] accepting that complexity
exists. By looking away or shrugging
at this complexity, engineers and
designers avoid the responsibility for the
distribution of benefits and burdens that
. . . technology will have on current and
future generations [16]. Choosing not
to look away may feel like more than one
bargained for. Bran Knowles and Elina
Ericksson observe that the enormity
of the predicaments we are facing
provokes considerable anxiety. They
point out that if we ignore complexity,
or design around it, it is difficult to
imagine how we are going to make a
meaningful contribution [23].
Simpler paths to the future include
approaches such as Dunne and Rabys
version of speculative design, which
professes that change starts with
the individual. As free agents, we
can make up our own minds [10].
However, Dunne and Raby also state,
somewhat contradictorily, that if the
individual is to count, we must move to
speculative everythinggenerating a
multitude of worldviews, ideologies, and
possibilities. This stance is beginning
to sound more like the complexity
limits researchers struggle with,
and it implies a social process in which
we would come together to sort out
all those worldviews and possibilities.
Mostly, though, Dunne and Raby find
inspiration in the elegant simplicity
of the heroic individual, the free agent
making up his or her own mind. They
propose, for example, the notion of
individual utopiaspossibly seven
billion of them! [10]. In these microutopias, individuals tinker with their
own desires, creating, for example,
one-off environments . . . to aid sexual
fantasies or to engage with unusual
political views (though its not clear how

Dunne and Raby offer a map of unreality


in which capitalist market pressures
are abandoned in favor of emancipatory
design practices.
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to engage politically by oneself ). Dunne


and Raby take a strong stand against
the market, but their micro-utopias
recollect the neoliberal fantasy of each
individual possessing the capacity to be
responsible for his or her well-being. The
authors are aware of the contradictions
of postulating this type of ideal self and
comment that poor education and
other factors may preclude free agents
from acting freely.
The material speculation approach
encourages individuals to experience
interactive moments that perturb
and alter their views of reality.
Deployment of the designs, however,
often occurs in more complex social
units such as families, avoiding the
strong program of individual free
agency and personal utopias put
forward in speculative design.

CONCLUSION

A big problem with designing for


the future is that its hard! All
the approaches I have discussed
acknowledge this. Dunne and Raby
observe how easily speculative design
devolves to parody, pastiche, and

clich [10]. Those who take on the


complexities of phenomena such
as autonomous vehicles or global
poverty accept problems of unsettling
magnitude. One answer to the
difficulty of futures design lies in the
practice of what activity theory calls
ascending to the concretea move by
which we slice into the opaqueness
of abstraction by grounding analysis
in the study of concrete activity,
while at the same time not forgetting
about the abstraction to which the
analysis answers [24]. Pastiche and
such troubles occur when there is no
ascension from the foundation of a
clear abstraction.
To ascend to the concrete in
a study of collapse informatics,
Donald Patterson traveled to Haiti,
a country whose present might bear
some resemblance to futures that
lie ahead as we come to grips with
declining energy reserves and the
intensifying effects of climate change.
These phenomena already affect
Haiti, offering a concrete instance
of conditions likely to affect wider
areas. Patterson observed that

One answer to the difficulty of


futures design lies in the practice
of what activity theory calls
ascending to the concrete.
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from [Haitis] existing position of


collapse, we can extrapolate to what
kind of infrastructure changes we
can expect to see in other parts of
the world [25]. He reported the
intermittency of energy availability
led end users to take more control of
infrastructure than we are accustomed
to, requiring new inputs of time and
labor [25]. Rhythms of daily life were
interrupted by breakdowns in the
grid, and families and friends gathered
in their homes to socialize when the
electricity was off, although outside
commitments were disrupted.
Xinning Gui and I similarly
visited the future in a study of the
social movement Transition Town,
a global network of towns with
residents who believe that peak oil
and climate change pose dangers for
which we must prepare now [26]. In
the U.K. Transition Town we studied,
residents banded together to learn
about gardening, food preservation,
beekeeping, collecting food such as rose
hips, techniques of catching water, and
ways to work with local government
[26]. To our surprise, rather than
facing a future of economic descent as
a depressing project of grim necessity,
Transition Town residents were
joyfully animated by the development
of neighborliness, mutual aid, and the
fun of learning old-fashioned skills
such as raising chickens and repairing
bicycles. They even shared skills such
as laughing for no reasona tongue
in cheek means of fostering collective
well-being [26].
These excursions to the future
do not predict a particular future
in any detail, but they foreground
patterns of activity, such as end
users interpolating themselves in
energy management and neighbors
organizing to help one another, that
provide food for design thought.
Future circumstances will not
be exactly like those in Haiti or
Transition Towns, or any concrete
instance we might investigate, but the
broad responses observed are useful
for reasoning about the future for
purposes of design.
Through careful production of
concrete texts and objects, speculative
design, design fiction, and material
speculation constitute textbook
cases of ascending to the concrete,
generating what philosopher Marx
Wartofsky called possible-worlds
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image from shut terstock.com

cover story

artifacts. Wartofsky discussed the


importance of objects positioned
somewhat outside ordinary life that
we use to transcend the more
immediate necessities of productive
praxis to imagine possible worlds
in order to continually develop culture
[27,28]. We find bold exemplars of
projects transcending immediate
necessities of productive praxis in
the speculative approaches.
Of course, even in ascending to the
concrete, there is still no one answer
to the question of which future
we should orient to in our research.
We may be able to invent our way
into the future as the autonomous
vehicle researchers are attempting, or
creatively address potential collapse
as some sustainability researchers
hope, or perhaps we must simply
look forward to the consolations of
micro-utopias, given the difficulties
of systems-level change. As a possible
anchor for design practice, I return to
the Steampunk devotees, who, while
superficially marginal, are not really
so kooky after allthey have pointed
the way to at least one future in their
concrete success at building a strong
community and designing an aesthetic
that learns from the past but pushes to
the future. Their program articulates
representations drawn from values
of creativity, artistry, thrift, and
rejection of the harms of industrial
society. Other communities that might
teach us about aspects of the future
include preppers, whose extreme
self-reliance is turned toward honing
practical skills in preparation for the
day when they believe they will make
their own way as society descends into
disorder; countries such as Greece
that are near economic collapse;
and impoverished nations like the
Democratic Republic of the Congo at
the very bottom of the socioeconomic
barrel. DRC scores dead last in most of
the U.N.s indices of well-being, yet its
citizenry continues to develop vibrant
traditions of music and art.
There is something important
to be taken from varied, concrete
engagements with the future,
whether the most delicately designed
technocentric experiments of material
speculation, or broadly informed
analyses of the vast complexities of
history and political economy. The

more deeply we investigate all of the


possibilities, the more prepared we
will be to design for whichever futures
come along.
Endnotes
1. Kirman, B., Lawson, S., Linehan, J.,
and OHara, D. CHI and the future
robot enslavement of humankind: A
retrospective. Proc. of CHI13.
2. Nelson, H. and Stolterman, E. The
Design Way: Intentional Change in an
Unpredictable World. MIT Press, 2012.
3. Tanenbaum, J., Desjardins, A., and
Tanenbaum, K. Steampunking interaction
design. Interactions (MayJune 2013).
4. Blevis, E. Sustainable interaction design:
Invention & disposal, renewal & reuse.
Proc. of CHI07. 503512.
5. Mankoff, J., Blevis, E., Borning, A.,
Friedman, B., Fussell, S., Hasbrouck, J.,
Woodruff, A., Sengers, P. Environmental
sustainability and interaction.
Proc. of CHI EA 07: Extended Abstracts on
Human Factors in Computing Systems.
2011, 121124.
6. Pargman, D. and Raghavan, B.
Rethinking sustainability in computing:
From buzzword to non-negotiable limits.
Proc. of NordiCHI 2014. 638647.
7. Tomlinson, B., Patterson, D., Pan,
Y. Blevis, B., Nardi, B., Silberman,
S., Norton, J., and LaViola, J. What
if sustainability doesnt work out?
Interactions (Nov.Dec. 2012).
8. Ekbia, H. and Nardi, B. The political
economy of computing: The elephant in
the HCI room. Interactions. (Nov.Dec.
2015).
9. Friedman, B. and Nathan, L. Multilifespan information system design:
A research initiative for the HCI
community. Proc. of CHI 10. 22432246.
10. Dunne, A. and Raby, F. Speculative
Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social
Dreaming. MIT Press, 2013.
11. Carroll, J.M. Theorizing the
unprecedented. In Theory Development in
the Information Sciences. D. Sonnenwald,
ed. University of Texas Press, 2015.
12. Wakkary, R., Odom, W., Hauser,
S., Hertz, G., and Lin, H. Material
speculation: Actual artifacts for critical
inquiry. Proc. of Critical Alternatives 2015.
13. Tomlinson, B., Silberman, M.S.,
Patterson, D., Pan, Y., and Blevis, E.
Collapse informatics: Augmenting the
sustainability and ICT4D discourse in
HCI. Proc. of CHI12. 655664.
14. Tomlinson, B., Blevis, E., Nardi, B.,
Patterson, D., Silberman, M.S., and Pan,
Y. Collapse informatics and practice:
Theory, method, and design. ACM Trans.
on Computer-Human Interaction 20, 4
(2013), article 24.
15. Friedman, B. and Freier, N. Value
sensitive design. In Theories of Information
Behavior. K. Fisher, S. Erdelez , and L.

McKechnie, eds. Information Today,


2005, 368372.
16. Blyth, P., Mladenovi, M., Nardi,
B., Su, N., and Ekbia, H. Driving the
self-driving vehicle: Expanding the
technological design horizon. Proc. of the
International Symposium on Technolog y
and Society Technical Expertise and Public
Decisions. 2015.
17. Zehner, O. Green Illusions: The Dirty
Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of
Environmentalism. Univ. of Nebraska
Press, 2012.
18. No magic bullet energy solutions can
power cars, trucks, and airplanes with
green energy [17]. Transportation will
have to be radically redesigned at some
point, including moving people and things
less often at less distance.
19. Chen, J. Computing within limits and
ICTD. First Monday. (Aug. 2015).
20. Pargman, D. and Raghavan, B.
Introduction to LIMITS 15: First
workshop on computing within limits.
First Monday. (Aug. 2015).
21. Toyama, K. Preliminary thoughts on
a taxonomy of value for sustainable
computing. First Monday. (Aug. 2015).
22. Remy, C. and Huang, E. Limits and sustainable interaction design: Obsolescence
in a future of collapse and resource scarcity.
First Monday. (Aug. 2015).
23. Knowles, B. and Ericksson, E. Deviant
and guilt-ridden: Computing within
psychological limits. First Monday.
(Aug. 2015).
24. Davydov, V.V. Types of Generalization
in instruction: Logical and psychological
problems in the structuring of school
curricula. Soviet Studies in Mathematics
Education 2. National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, Reston, Virginia, 1990.
25. Patterson, D. Haitian resiliency: A case
study in intermittent infrastructure. First
Monday. (Aug. 2015).
26. Gui, X. and Nardi, B. Sustainability
begins in the street: A story of Transition
Town Totnes. Proc. of ICT4S 2015.
27. Wartofsky, M. Models: Representation
and the Scientific Understanding. Springer,
1979. Wartofsky actually spoke of
tertiary artifacts as part a larger
classificatory scheme of artifacts, but I
have taken the liberty of making his work
(hopefully) more accessible by choosing a
different label based on his own words.
28. Miettinen, R. The riddle of things:
Activity theory and actor-network theory
as approaches to studying innovations.
Mind, Culture, and Activity 6, 3 (1999),
170195.
Bonnie Nardi is a professor in the
Department of Informatics at the University of
California, Irvine. She is interested in social
theory, political economy, collapse informatics,
and a few fun things like video games.
nardi@uci.edu

DOI: 10.1145/2843592 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00
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 olkmar Pipek, University of Siegen


V
Gabriela Avram, University of Limerick
Fiorella De Cindio, University of Milan

COMMUNITIES AND
TECHNOLOGIES
When the first Communities and Technologies (C&T) conference took place in 2003
in Amsterdam (and then biannually), the international research interest in online
communities had risen to a new peak. While the roots of the discourse of that
time can be traced back to various disciplines like human-computer interaction,
information systems, social psychology, and sociology (and other subdisciplines
like computer-mediated communication, computer-supported cooperative work,
participatory design, etc.), a significant group of researchers saw the need to
establish a stronger forum that would unite these existing discourses. This forum
would concentrate on the fit between improved technological opportunities and the
emerging practices of using Internet tools in communities.
The research community behind the conference focuses on the notion of communities
as social entities comprising people who share something; the common element may
be geography, needs, interests, practices, organizations, or other bases for social
connection. Communities are considered a basic unit of social experience. Information
and communication technologies (ICTs) can support community formation and
development by facilitating communication and coordination among members; they can
also enable and empower communities to deal with challenges and threats.
Dealing with the tensions, as well as the creativity, that emerge from combining
a practice-oriented view with an academic tradition of organizing discourses
and describing scientific progress, is a continuing effort in the community. Its
interdisciplinary approach welcomes both analytical accounts of the communitytechnology fit, as well as design-oriented work on improving community capacities
using technologies.
In parallel with the communitys development since 2003, one can see the
maturation of the Internet, along with the emergence of ubiquitous >>>>
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36 S
 IX FACTORS FOR SUCCESS IN COMMUNITY
BROADBAND INITIATIVES
40 S
 ITUATED INTERFACES FOR
ENGAGING CITIZENS ON THE GO
46 W
 ALKING AND DESIGNING WITH
CULTURAL HERITAGE VOLUNTEERS

SPECIAL
TOPIC
>>>> computing and its
proliferation into non-work
contexts. The focus has shifted away
from managed or technologyinitiated communities (online
communities); now discussions
of technological support for
naturally emerging community
work dominate the conferences
table of contents, together with
accounts of use cases from areas in
the world that require additional
infrastructuring efforts to keep up
with technological developments.
This Special Topic illustrates the
C&T communitys commitment
to embrace a wide range of issues.
The three articles were selected
by the participants of the last
Communities and Technologies
conference held in June 2015 in
Limerick, Ireland, based on the
presentations given there. The
articles provide an overview of what
currently attracts the interest of
the community: Luigina Ciolfi and
Daniela Petrelli give an account
of how cultural heritage work
should be recognized in HCI design
not only as a community service,
but also as a constituent factor
defining cultural heritage. Claire
Wallace and Kathryn Vincent
present examples of establishing
broadband Internet as a community

infrastructure in rural areas in the


U.K., and the strategic issues to
consider. Hespanol et al. discuss
ways to blend interfaces for voting
into our city spaces. As in many C&T
papers, the authors manage to strike
a fine balance between abstract
academic discussion and concrete
information that helps practitioners
implement similar approaches
in their communities. Although
in any individual case one aspect
may prevail, C&T participants
appear to favor papers that appeal
to both academic and practitioner
audiences.
Connecting practitioners with
each other as well as with the
academic discourse is an ambition
that was further strengthened
with a special issue of Community
Informatics (http://ci-journal.net/,
Vol. 11, No. 2, 2015), which provides
various accounts of the tensions
and overlaps between practitioners
interests and research-oriented
perspectives. The proceedings of
the Communities and Technologies
conferences from 2003 to 2013 are
available at http://www.iisi.de/
en/international-conferences-oncommunities-and-technologies/. The
conference proceedings from 2009
onward can also be found in the ACM
Digital Library: http://dl.acm.org/

event.cfm?id=RE104.
C&T 2017 will be held in Troyes,
France, and will again welcome
participation from researchers,
designers, educators, industry, and
students from the many disciplines
and perspectives focusing on the
interaction between community
and technology.
Volkmar Pipek is a professor of
computer-supported cooperative work and
social media at the Institute for Information
Systems of the University of Siegen,
Germany. His research interests include
community informatics, participatory
IS design and development, and the
phenomenom of infrastructuring.
volkmar.pipek@uni-siegen.de
Gabriela Avram is lecturer in digital
media and interaction design and senior
researcher at the Interaction Design Centre
of the University of Limerick, Ireland. Building
on a CSCW and knowledge management
background, her research currently
focuses on mobile and local uses of social
media, urban communities, and facilitating
technology adoption.
gabriela.avram@ul.ie
Fiorella De Cindio is an associate
professor in the Department of Computer
Science at the University of Milan. Over
several decades, her research has focused
on e-participation, e-democracy, and
community informatics, with special attention
to the urban setting.
fiorella.decindio@unimi.it

DOI: 10.1145/2856112 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00

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S P EC I A L T O P I C

SIX FACTORS
FOR SUCCESS
IN COMMUNITY
BROADBAND
INITIATIVES

Claire Wallace and Kathryn Vincent, University of Aberdeen

IMAGE BY RICHARD SEMIK

The U.K. government aims to extend


superfast broadband connections
of at least 24 mbps to 95 percent
of premises by 2017 as part of its
Broadband Delivery U.K. strategy
(https://www.gov.uk/broadbanddelivery-uk). However, this still leaves
many communities with inadequate
or no broadband connectivity until
then, and the problem of providing for
the remaining 5 percent in the future
is unresolved. This is especially the
case in rural communities and sparsely
populated areas, such as those found
in many parts of Scotland. The lack of
technological infrastructure can inhibit
the economic and social sustainability

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of those places as they get left further


behind in the information economy.
Some communities have taken matters
into their own hands by setting up their
own broadband infrastructure. Here we
look at four case studies over the past
decade in which communities in the
U.K. have set up broadband. We then
identify six factors for success.
Peninsula Village: From private
company to co-operative. In Peninsula
Village, a local woman who worked for
the regional council as a technology
information expert set up an Internet
company in the early 1990s. She
realized the upcoming technology
would be crucial for redeveloping rural
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special topic
areas but was frustrated by the failure
of the local authorities to provide
these services. She and her husband
mortgaged their home in order to
start a company, becoming one of the
first Internet service providers, first
nationally and later internationally,
which also facilitated her consultancy
activities. Although Peninsula Village
is remote, it was conveniently situated
near telephone exchanges that enabled
these services to be provided cheaply
and efficiently. Later, as technology
improved, they replaced this
infrastructure with a fiber-optic line,
which they financed and had laid to
their business premises. The company
was later sold and the couple moved
away, but the business continues to be
successful, enabling a second business of
hosting websites.
As a result of these pioneering
activities, the village became a wired
community with a project for supplying
experimental Wi-Fi transmitted from
the roofs of houses. While the original
aim was a for-profit venture, there was
substantial spillover into local social and
community activities, creating one of
the most active community information
websites in the region and helping to
further develop non-profit services. The
business was enmeshed in community
relationships, with a mission to provide
services where government had failed.
Uplands Village: From co-operative
to private company. The Uplands
Village community broadband
initiative started in 2001 as part of
the U.K. governments Wired-up
Communities project to help people
get online and access public services.
It ran an Internet drop-in center,
providing training and support, and
set people up with computers in their
homes. The project was administered
by the Rural Community Council and
led by a local man who had formerly
been the E.U. LEADER (Liaison
Entre Actions de Dveloppement de
lconomie Rurale) officer for that
area. In 2003 the venture was set up

as a not-for-profit organization. Then,


in 2009, the community broadband
organization decided that fiber would
be key to providing high-quality
broadband service in the future and
began laying a fiber backbone around
the town, with outlying villages using
local farmers and volunteer labor
to dig trenches and lay the cable. In
2012 they began facia-mounting fiber
around the center of Uplands Village,
which involved negotiating wayleaves
over more than 300 properties. All
except two granted permission to do
this free of charge. The community
broadband organization also has a pool
of other regular, mainly local, workers
employed on more of an ad hoc basis,
but when these workers were unable
to cope with the demand in 2014, the
organization contracted a commercial
company to provide the broadband
services. However, the community
enterprise still owns the cable itself.
It is funded through a patchwork of
resources, predominantly from public
bodies, but also through earned income
and a community share offer. The
public funding has come from many
sources: E.U., U.K. government, local
government, National Health Service,
and universities. The organization in
charge of the project works closely with
the local government, including sharing
offices with them, but they remain
an independent organization. They
are able to recuperate their running
costs through a relatively low-cost
subscription model, which even those on
welfare can afford, since many living in
Uplands are on low incomes or welfare.
Island Village: Part of a regional
social enterprise. Another example
of a co-operative is Island Village,
where leadership was provided by the
Community Development Officer, who
is part of the Island Trust, and funding
came from the regional development
authority and E.U. LEADER funds.
Originally dissatisfied with the quality
of satellite broadband, the community
leaders joined up with other small

Incomers were often unhappy with


the local technology infrastructure
or were keen to work from home
as part of their professional careers.
38

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islands and regional remote populations


to develop a broadband network based
upon backhaul to the local university.
The development officer, together with
some helpers, set up a radio mast on a
headland to receive the radio signals
and then connected these to the village
through a buried cable. The signal was
then relayed around the village through
transmitters on peoples homes.
Funding for the project came from the
E.U.-financed LEADER project, the
funds of the Island Trust, and a local
charity. Subscription prices are kept
low, reflecting the generally very low
incomes of people in the region. This
has enabled local businesses to advertise
their services and attract customers as
well as bookings. The Island Trust owns
rental properties and a deer-stalking
operation, so they have also benefited
from this facility. However, it did not
result in a community information
network, as in Peninsula Village; offline
communications were provided by
the pub, post office, caf, and paper
newsletter. Most of the work was done
by islanders erecting their own masts
and climbing up on buildings to affix
transmitters.
Commuter Village: A social
enterprise but for how long? Another
not-for-profit legal entity that enables
raising resources through subscriptions
and the channeling of external funding
is the social enterprise. Until recently,
the villagers only option for broadband
was through BT, at very slow rates.
A new resident felt it was difficult to
live without high-quality broadband,
specifically due to his need to work from
home. When speaking to neighbors he
realized he was not alonea number
of other locals needed broadband
for the same reason and also for
communicating with family abroad,
and children needed it for homework (at
the time, they had to go into a nearby
town to complete their work). He
organized a series of meetings in the
nearby pub to see if there was enough
interest to put in an application for
funding. Once there were enough people
willing to subscribe to the service, the
community entrepreneur applied for
and won a number of government grants
that he used to construct the initial
infrastructure. In the nearby city, he
paid to have a cable laid from a main
juncture to a disused radio antenna,
using a professional contractor to lay
the cables and set up the Ethernet. The
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signal is beamed from this antenna


to a receiver on the outside of the
village, then re-beamed to a number of
repeaters around the village. Customers
had to pay to have microwave receivers
installed on their houses, and then pay a
monthly fee to receive one of two levels
of broadband. There were three bands
of subscription, and although services
operated at up to 100 mbps, allowing
streaming of audiovisual material and
Internet TV, the subscriptions were
fairly costly for the highest band; lower
bands provided lesser services. This
reflected the fact that this was generally
an affluent community. The service
has been slowly moving out from the
initial receivers as more members of
the network come online and bounce
the signal on to neighbors. Recently,
the project has taken on a full-time staff
member, but a majority of the work was
previously done either by the original
entrepreneur, a few volunteers, or paid
contractors.

FACTORS FOR SUCCESS

Although very different initiatives in


very different communities ranging
between high, middle, and low income,
these successful broadband initiatives
did have certain things in common.
First, each depended upon leadership
in the form of one or more community
entrepreneurs. In the case of Peninsula
Village, it took the form of a private
company. In Commuter Village a
private individual set up the social
enterprise; in Uplands Village it was a
social entrepreneur who lived locally
and had worked on Uplands Villages
LEADER program. In Island Village the
local development officer was active in
working with neighboring communities
to set up the digital connections.
However, a single entrepreneur is not
sufficient for successful community
mobilization. All the community
entrepreneurs were able to mobilize
local networks and were respected
members of their communities with
strong human and social capital. They
represented an ideal of community
leadership.
Successful projects depend upon
human capital. All these areas had
substantial populations of welleducated people, partly reflecting the
gentrification of rural neighborhoods
over a period of decades. These

incomers were often unhappy with the


local technology infrastructure or were
keen to work from home as part of their
professional careers. They brought with
them external social capital as well as
new skills and expectations.
A third factor was that of
technological capital, because someone
must know how to set up these networks
and link them to other media. In the
case of Uplands Village, the initiator
had previously worked as a telecom
engineer. In other cases it was the
proximity or link to people from local
universities who provided the expertise
or the funding or both for these local
broadband initiatives. In the case of
Peninsula Village it was the expertise of
an IT advisor; in Island Village a retired
professor of computer science initiated
a university project that helped set up
the network, and the initial broadband
was provided through a link to the
university network.
The fourth factor was social
capital for the mobilization of local
resources, as the community broadband
initiatives needed to link into different
constituencies within the community.
Bridging social capital to outside
agencies, such as local authorities and
funding agencies, was an important
part of the expertise contributed by
local community leaders. In several case
studies, the publicity generated painted
the communities as glowing examples of
local innovation, to the level of national
renownwith mentions in government
reports and documents, and profiles by
newspaper and TV outlets.
A fifth factor is the commitment of
the community. In Peninsular Village,
Uplands Village, and Island Village,
long-term residents were committed
to building their community and had a
strong sense of loyalty to it. Although
not generally high-profit enterprises,
small creative industries have a need
for high-bandwidth communications
to transmit their work to the wider
world, so the presence of certain kinds
of local business can be a contributing
factor. Similarly, the presence of people
wanting to run technology companies
or work from home can be important.
In the case of Island Community, the
Community Trust had bought the land
for the community, something possible
under Scottish legislation.
Much of the literature is concerned

with how public policy can help create


smart communities. However, in the
case of these communities we can
observe more the deployment of a variety
of resources (grants from the E.U., grants
from local authorities and agencies,
use of charitable income, personal
investments) as a sixth factor, with
public policy playing only an enabling
role. In the U.K., the variety of different
funds available at local, national, and
E.U. levels means that community
leaders are those able to tap into this
patchwork of resources successfully.
Municipalities played an important
facilitating role rather than an initiating
role. However, state funding from the
Scottish regional government and
the E.U. through various schemes
(especially the LEADER funding) were
significant in enabling these initiatives
to get off the ground. The fact that
this funding is generally short term,
however, jeopardizes the sustainability
of at least some of these projects.
We can see there is no one model
of how these communities develop.
Rather, there is a mixture of private and
social enterprise, with organizations
shifting from one to another over
time and as technology and other
opportunities change. The fact that
they depend upon particular local
actors able to mobilize various kinds of
capital means they are not a universal
model for ICT development for the
final 5 percent throughout the U.K.
They are the exceptions rather than
the rule. They are further rather fragile
in the sense that if the key actors leave
or resign, or if funding dries up, their
long-term sustainability is at risk. On
the other hand, if the business model
is successful, they may get supplanted
by the big telecom companies, which is
what is likely to happen in Commuter
Village. Perhaps one important legacy of
community broadband initiatives is the
mobilization of the community itself to
access this resource.
Claire Wallace is professor of sociology
and principal investigator in the EPSRC-funded
project Communities and Culture Network+
EP/K003585/1. She works in the dot.rural
Research Council Digital Economy Hub at the
University of Aberdeen.
claire.wallace@abdn.ac.uk
Kathryn Vincent is research fellow in
sociology and employed on this same grant.
k.i.vincent@abdn.ac.uk

DOI: 10.1145/2847208 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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credit tk

iPad interface running the survey,


with the urban screen displaying visualized votes.

S P EC I A L T O P I C

SITUATED INTERFACES
FOR ENGAGING
CITIZENS ON THE GO
Luke Hespanhol, The University of Sydney
Martin Tomitsch, The University of Sydney
Ian McArthur, UNSW Australia
Joel Fredericks, The University of Sydney
Ronald Schroeter, Queensland University of Technology
Marcus Foth, Queensland University of Technology

Governments around the world


engage with communities to find
ways to better support the interests
and concerns of communities and
stakeholders, aiming to provide
opportunities for more citizens to be
involved in decisions that affect them.
However, traditional methods of
community consultation such as faceto-face meetings and online surveys
often fail to reach a representative
proportion of the public, as they are
not easily accessible, require people to
dedicate time and effort, and risk being
disconnected from the sociocultural
context [1,2].
A number of applications have

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thus been proposed that allow


peopleas they are passing through
public spaceto participate and
be more engaged in the discussion
of civic topics and city-making.
Mobile devices in particular have
become a popular choice of platform:
They are reasonably ubiquitous in
modern urban society, can be used on
demand, and allow for more concise
expression of opinions compared with
conventional written submissions,
particularly when leveraging texting
and social media [1]. However, those
solutions run the risk of excluding
whole sections of the community
that for various reasons may not own
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special topic

The urban precinct for the studies, with the large screen at the back on the left hand side.

a mobile phone or may not engage


with social media on a regular basis.
Although mobile solutions are more
situated than online forums, they
have a number of drawbacks that pose
obstacles to community engagement
compared with interfaces blended into
the urban environment (such as digital
kiosks or urban screens). Just like
online forums, mobile solutions move
the discussion of local community
issues to a digital space, which
requires community members to first
know about the associated mobile
channel and second to explicitly access
it. This represents a hurdle, and a
missed opportunity to make these
discussions about shared urban spaces
more visible. Overall, these limitations
support an argument in favor of
platforms that explore opportunistic
interactions with members of a local
community by physically situating
input and feedback mechanisms in or
around the public space to which the
discussion topic relates.

COMMON CHALLENGES
AND STRATEGIES

A range of interfaces has been studied


in the past few years, including lowcost interactive posters [3], gesturebased large projection displays [2],
urban screens [1], and media facades
[4]. A common issue observed in field
trials of situated public displays for
community engagement is the lack
of participation from the public [2].
People usually do not expect public
displays to be interactive [5] and either
do not notice the interfaces or feel selfconscious [4]. These effects present
barriers to situated community
engagement via interactive
technologies. Yet previous field trials
show that once people overcome these
barriers and submit responses, they
express feelings of empowerment
and connectedness with the local
government and broader community.
Based on the analysis of relevant
works in the fieldsuch as PosterVote
[3], SCSD [4], and MyPosition [2]we

The connection between votes observed


on the large screen and the iPad stand as
their corresponding input interface was not
perceived as obvious.
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postulate that to successfully deploy


situated polling interfaces, it is crucial
to address the following challenges:
how to increase accessibility to
community engagement interfaces, so
that a larger section of the community
can engage in civic participation
how to raise awareness about
the opportunity to participate in
community engagement among
passers-by
how to motivate people to
participate
how to balance visibility of
the interface and privacy in the
engagement process
how to provide effective feedback
on the interaction with situated
interfaces to participants.
In addition to identifying common
challenges, our analysis pointed
toward some commonly employed
strategies when addressing them:
blending interfaces into the
urban built environment for more
democratic access
using public urban screens for
real-time feedback on the engagement
process
using tangible user interfaces or
full-body interaction as interactive
mechanisms and to raise awareness
about the interface itself
ensuring just the right level of
playfulness so that an experience is
enjoyable yet trustworthy.
The situated character of
those interfaces makes them
highly dependent on contextual
constraints. Nonetheless, there is a
lack of comparative studies testing
the different strategies within the
constraints of the same location
and community.

VOTE AS YOU GO

We developed Vote as You Go [6] to


investigate the effectiveness of the
strategies listed above. We built two
interfaces to deploy in areas of high
pedestrian flow in a public space
equipped with a large urban screen.
We used the screen to create different
scenarios that allowed us to study the
visibility of the interfaces, the privacy
of the voting process, and mechanisms
of feedback to participants.
The first interface consisted of a
Web-based survey running on an iPad
Air 9.7 inch, installed on a custom
stand. This setup provided a tangible
point of interaction within the public
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(Left) iPad interface running the survey, with urban screen displaying unrelated content. (Right) Full-body interaction.

space, through a physical standalone


device with a haptic input mechanism
(in this case, a touchscreen). The
second interface was a full-body
voting application running solely on
the large urban screen and using the
live footage from a CCTV camera as
input. Making use of computer vision
techniques, the application then
tracked the presence and movements
of people in that particular area:
Depending on where people stood, the
application translated their positions
into yes or no votes. If they stood
on either area for long enough, the
system would compute their votes and
restart the process. Therefore, the two
interfaces enabled different voting
dynamics: While the iPad interface
offered a certain level of voter-privacy
protection akin to that of other public
interfaces such as ATMs, the fullbody interface inevitably amplified
the participants opinion to the
surrounding public.
Context and goals. Vote as You
Go was deployed at the Concourse,
a public space in Sydney, Australia,
equipped with a large LED screen
overlooking a central plaza surrounded
by restaurants, a library, and a concert
hall. The screen normally features
a variety of entertainment content,
including cartoons, movies, and
documentaries. Our interest was in
observing how the different social
dynamics prompted by each Vote
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as You Go interface could affect the


levels of participation within that
urban context. For that purpose, we
structured a series of in the wild
field studies so we could run the two
interfaces with different parameters.
We then used those deployments to
derive insights about their impact on
participation. Common to all scenarios
was the location of the interaction
zone: a corner in the public space
diametrically opposed to the urban
screen and continually exposed to
pedestrians.
We ran a total of four different
scenarios: (1) iPad interface with
unrelated content on the urban screen
(cartoons, music videos, etc.part
of the regular screen program); (2)
iPad interface with the poll results
visualization on the urban screen; (3)
same as (2) plus the live video camera
feed from the interaction zone, each
on a section of the screen; and (4)
full-body interaction directly with
the urban screen (via the live feed
captured from its own embedded
camera), with no iPad deployed to the
public space.
Effectiveness of media visibility
strategies on self-initiated
participation. In all our scenarios,
the great majority of passers-by did
not approach the interfaces. That
was expected given the casual nature
of the voting: We strove to not
disrupt the regular crowd dynamics,

blending the interfaces into the urban


environment. We hoped in this way to
prompt citizens with the possibility of
expressing opinions quickly, on the go,
and, most important, through selfinitiated participation. That said, our
observational data clearly shows that
some scenarios were more successful
than others in attracting potential
participants and, eventually, leading
some of them toward interaction. The
version producing the greatest level
of participation was the one where
the urban screen was partitioned to
display both the visualization of the
poll results and the live camera feed of
the interaction zone. Interestingly, the
similar scenario in which the urban
screen displayed the poll results but
not the live feed produced the smallest
awareness levels, even less than
providing no feedback whatsoever
about the poll on the large screen (i.e.,
by showing unrelated content).
As we observed, the iPad stand in
itself seemed to attract attention by
sparking curiosity among passersby, given its unfamiliarity to the
urban space where the study was
run. Results displayed on the screen,
however, tended to be perceived as a
large billboard, and were consequently
subject to display blindness: In
general, the connection between votes
observed on the large screen and the
iPad stand as their corresponding
input interface was not perceived as
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obvious. That connection, however,


became more apparent when the live
footage of the interaction zone
and, consequently, the iPad stand
itselfwas simultaneously displayed
on the large screen, revealing a clear
visual connection between what
is seen on the large screen and a
physical element in the surrounding
urban environment. Such a visual
connection therefore increased the
level of discoverability of the polling
interface, leading to a greater level of
participation.
The full-body interface produced
similar results, although participation
itself was more immediate: People
needed only to notice the interface
while in the footage to prompt it to
respond. However, that does not
necessarily mean participation was
effective or meaningful. Interviews
revealed that people were initially
attracted by their own reflections on
the urban screen. As a participating
couple declared, We were walking
along the space when we noticed we
were on the screen, so we came back
to check it further. We immediately
understood how to interact; it was
very straightforward. This confirms
similar findings in the literature
for general public displays [5], but
here the effect was likely amplified
by the large scale and highly public
nature of the screen, creating for the
participants a short moment of fame.
Social interaction and reception by
the community. The public screening
of the interactive space in the fullbody interface also gave rise to
collective interaction, thus increasing
the number of participants. The fullbody interface allowed for groups to
dwell in the space for a few moments
(while collectively watching the urban
screen) and vote simultaneously, a
seemingly important requirement for
community-engagement interfaces.
Collaboration during the voting
process itself was also much less

common with the iPad: The few


occurrences we observed were
restricted to social nudging [2], a
voter being told by an acquaintance
watching the process what their
response should be.
Of course, with both interfaces,
it is difficult to tell solely from
observations whether participants
were expressing their opinion
seriously or merely exploring the
interface through play. Yet the
vast majority of participants we
interviewed expressed that their
opinions were sincere. Likewise,
they revealed concerns about the
authorship of the survey and about
whether and how the answers they
gave would be used. Time to properly
reflect upon answers was also seen
as a potential issue with the urban
screen interface. According to one
participant, I took the questions
very seriously, but since I was asked
impromptu, I may not have reflected
upon my answer as much as I would if I
was filling in a written survey. In that
regard, the iPad interface seemed to
encourage more confident responses.
The power of amplified mirror
images. The integration of urban
screens as part of tangible and
full-body interfaces (strategies 2
and 3 above) had a great impact
on awareness (challenge 2) and
participation (challenge 3). Previous
works have made use of public screens
for two main forms of real-time
feedback: displaying visualization of
interaction results, and displaying
mirror images to reflect the identity of
participants and increase their sense of
agency [2,5]. For the iPad interface, we
tested the former in isolation as well
as combined with the latter. While
the former type of feedback produced
the smallest levels of participation
observed, the latter produced the
highest. That suggests that combining
the display of the poll results with
a live display of participants on the

Despite the somewhat playful aspects of


the interfaces, participants seem to have
taken them seriously as instruments for
community engagement.
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large urban screen (as in our third iPad


scenario and the full-body interface)
is a particularly effective strategy for
promoting participation. Although
that echoes findings from the
literature regarding general full-body
interaction with public displays [2,5],
we observed that its effectiveness
is also verifiable in conjunction
with a tangible user interface, here
represented by the iPad stand. The
iPad stand by itself was not very
noticeable. However, when displayed
in the large screen alongside the poll
results, an obvious visual connection
was established between the civic
polling and a physical element in the
surrounding urban precinct. Such a
connection helped communicate to
passers-by where to go should they
wish to take part in the survey.
The live display of participants
on the large screen may have
also contributed an element of
playfulness and public performance
to the otherwise conventional iPad
interface (strategy 4 above). Although
playfulness did not appear to be a
decisive feature in itself (the iPad
still attracted some people even
when unrelated content was shown
on the screen), it was certainly
appreciated: The admittedly more
playful full-body interface not only
yielded the highest participation
rates but the interviewed participants
also perceived it as highly engaging
(challenge 3). At the same time, all
interviewed participants said that
they quickly learned how to interact
with the interfaces, leveraging
tacit rules for social interaction:
higher degree of collaboration
around the full-body interaction;
individual voting or social nudging
around the iPad stand. Participants
also affirmed that they meant the
opinions they expressed. In other
words, despite the somewhat playful
aspects of the interfaces, participants
seem to have taken them seriously
as instruments for community
engagement. The combination of
urban screen with either tangible or
full-body interaction (strategies 2 and
3) can therefore be seen as reasonably
effective when balancing the
visibility of the interfaces with the
privacy of the engagement process
(challenge 4), while providing a good

level of feedback to participants


(challenge 5).
Design considerations for
balancing visibility, privacy, and
time for reflection. Our observations
point toward a number of aspects
that can inform the design of on the
go polling interfaces for community
engagement, notably:
Blending community engagement
interfaces into the built environment
(therefore promoting opportunistic
interaction) makes them more
accessible to the general public, but
in itself is not sufficient to grab the
attention of passers-by and encourage
them to interact.
Live screening of the interactive
space and its resulting playfulness can
be an effective strategy for attracting
the attention of passers-by and turning
them into active participants.
Public urban screen interfaces
increase participation by encouraging
group interaction.
Privately oriented tangible user
interfaces (such as the iPad) give
people a longer time to reflect upon
their answers.
These considerations point toward
a need for a hybrid model balanced
between private and public aspects
of civic participation. As our study
suggests, we achieved a possible
implementation of this model through
the use of the private tangible
interface for data entry in combination
with the awareness raised by the
public urban screen and live screening
of the interactive space.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research presented in this paper


was supported by the Willoughby
City Council and Urban Screen
Productions, and funded through the
Henry Halloran Trust.
Endnotes
1. Schroeter, R., Foth, M. and Satchell, C.
People, content, location: Sweet spotting
urban screens for situated engagement.
Proc. DIS12. ACM, New York, 2012.
2. Valkanova, N., Walter, R., Vande Moere,
A., and Mller, J. MyPosition: Sparking
civic discourse by a public interactive poll
visualization. Proc. CSCW14. ACM, New
York, 2014.
3. Vlachokyriakos, V., Comber, R., Ladha, K.,
Taylor, N., Dunphy, P., McCorry, P., and
Olivier, P. PosterVote: Expanding the action

repertoire for local political activism. Proc.


DIS14. ACM, New York, 2014.
4. Behrens, M., Valkanova, N., gen. Schieck,
A.F., and Brumby, D.P. Smart Citizen
Sentiment Dashboard: A case study into
media architectural interfaces. Proc.
PerDis14. ACM, New York, 2014.
5. Mueller, J., Walter, R., Bailly, G., Nischt,
M., and Alt, F. Looking glass: A field study
on noticing interactivity of a shop window.
Proc. CHI12. ACM, New York, 2012.
6. Hespanhol, L., Tomitsch, M., McArthur,
I., Fredericks, J., Schroeter, R., and Foth,
M. Vote As You Go: Blending interfaces
for community engagement into the urban
space. Proc. C&T'15. ACM, New York, 2015.
Luke Hespanhol is a Ph.D. candidate at
the Design Lab at the University of Sydney,
researching the potential and applications
of interactive urban media architecture.
He is also a media artist and lecturer
in computational design at UNSW Built
Environment, UNSW, Australia.
luke.hespanhol@sydney.edu.au
Martin Tomitsch is an associate professor
and head of the Design Lab at the University
of Sydney, founding member of the Media
Architecture Institute, and state co-chair of
the Australian Computer-Human Interaction
Special Interest Group. His research focuses
on interaction design principles for integrating
digital technologies into urban space.
martin.tomitsch@sydney.edu.au
Ian McArthur is a senior lecturer at UNSW
Art & Design. He is a hybrid practitioner working
in the domains of speculative multidisciplinary
practice, transcultural collaboration, and
education change. His research explores
urban space via experimental sonifications for
responsive media environments.
ian.mcarthur@unsw.edu.au
Joel Fredericks is a Ph.D. candidate in
the Design Lab at the University of Sydney.
His Ph.D. research investigates how urban
interaction design and digitally augmented
pop-up interventions can enhance community
engagement within the built environment.
jfre8867@uni.sydney.edu.au
Ronald Schroeter is a postdoctoral
research fellow at CARRS-Q, Queensland
University of Technology. He developed
Discussions in Space, a fast-paced, short-text
platform for public discourse using urban
screens and mobile phones.
r.schroeter@qut.edu.au
Marcus Foth is founder and director of the
Urban Informatics Research Lab, research
leader of the School of Design, and professor
in interactive & visual design at Queensland
University of Technology. His research focuses
on adopting HCI and design methodologies to
build engagement around emerging issues
facing our cities.
m.foth@qut.edu.au

DOI: 10.1145/2851200 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00
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A view of Sheffield General


Cemetery in winter.

46

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S P EC I A L T O P I C

WALKING AND
DESIGNING WITH
CULTURAL HERITAGE
VOLUNTEERS
Luigina Ciolfi, Sheffield Hallam University
Daniela Petrelli, Sheffield Hallam University

Insights
Heritage communities
are crucial in shaping
the visitor experience
and are increasingly
involved in the ideation
of interactive tools for
interpretation, education,
and access.
HCI researchers must
develop new and deep
understandings of how
heritage communities
can become active
players in the technology
design process.
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Cultural heritage is a variegated


field of inquiry for human-computer
interaction (HCI), including both
efforts to understand how digital
technologies mediate human
activities in heritage settings and the
development of interactives to support
the interpretation of heritage. Cultural
heritage takes many forms and heritage
settings vary greatly, from museums
exhibiting traditional glass case
displays to historic buildings, urban
areas, and open-air sites. Heritage is also
accessed, presented, and often managed
by various local, professional, and/
or community groups for the benefit
of a larger local community, including

different types of visitors, trained staff


working in museums, and volunteers
and enthusiast groups. Heritage is not
only preserved but also lived, discussed,
and reproduced by the work and
dedication of those who experience,
cherish, and communicate it. These
communities are thus crucial in shaping
the visitor experience of heritage sites,
increasingly becoming involved in
the ideation of interactive tools for
interpretation, education, and access
[1]. It is important for HCI researchers
to develop new, deep understandings
of the practices of the communities
involved in cultural heritage, and of how
they can become active players in the
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special topic
technology design process. Given the
complexity of heritage sites, it is also
important to identify study techniques
that capture the relationship between
heritage settings and their stakeholders.
In the meSch project, we are
designing tools that enable cultural
heritage workers to create DIY
technological installations that
integrate digital content with tangible
media [2]. One of our goals is to
understand the strategies of heritage
staff in devising tours, exhibitions,
and other interpretation activities,
and to enable them to integrate these
with ad-hoc installations that they can
design and customize. A setting we have
investigated in depth is the historic
Sheffield General Cemetery, a rich and
complex mix of tangible heritage and
community effort.
A parkland cemetery that opened
in 1836 and closed for burials in 1978,
it is now a 14-acre free and openaccess historical, architectural, and
natural conservation area managed
by a community group, the Sheffield
General Cemetery Trust, which
engages in conservation and outreach
activities and maintains the grounds
accessibility and safety. The cemetery
features a large number of funerary
monuments, as well as two chapels and
a row of semi-interred catacombs. It was
landscaped to include symbolic trees
and plants, such as weeping trees and
shrubs associated with mourning. The
cemeterys gatehouse was built over
the River Porter to represent the idea
of crossing the river into the afterlife.
As the cemetery was purpose-built
via public subscription initiated by a
group of wealthy open-minded citizens,
it is not consecrated to a particular
church. Thus, it is the final resting
place for a variety of people of different
backgrounds and of various political and
religious beliefs, including many wellknown citizens in Sheffields history.
The cemetery has also gained the status
of area of natural history interest and

local nature reserve due to its variety


of plants, trees, and fungi, as well as a
rare city-based colony of tawny owls,
other birds, and insects. The cemetery
is open-access and free of charge around
the clock; it has no artificial lighting, so
some of the less-frequented paths can
be treacherous, particularly in the dark.
The cemetery is also a popular with the
community; many nearby residents and
workers use it for dog walking, jogging,
and as a general-purpose green space.

A
WALKING WITH
THE VOLUNTEERS

After conducting observations of


visitors exploring the site both on
their own and as part of guided tours,
we focused our attention on the
cemetery volunteers, their practices
and strategies, and how these are
inextricably linked to the place itself.
We adopted an approach to
conducting fieldwork on foot [3].
Walking as a way to gather insights on
the situated and embodied experience
of people derives from theoretical
work from geography and philosophy
examining paths, their making, and
the movement along them. Used
within HCI for investigating very
diverse domains, field walks consist
of conversations while moving along
a path, documented as connected
instances of conduct. The researcher
documents practices as they occur
in-situ, thus noting the relationship
between certain themes of the
conversation and elements of the space
and of the walk itself. There are various
strategies for devising a field walk
study, differentiated, for example, by
whether the participants are moving
through an environment they know
or an unfamiliar one, or by whether
the researcher or the participant
determines the path to be walked. In
our study, we left it to the participants
to choose the path. During the walk,
the conversation (prompted by the
researcher and following a conversation

The volunteers recognize


that different personal interests
will engage different visitors,
in the same way as they themselves
have different motivations.
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guide) highlights each participants


connection and perception of the space.
It is key to document the walks visually in
order to link the record of the conversation
to the location where it emerged.
Eight volunteers were recruited
to participate in field walks. Each
was met by the researcher at the
main gatehouse and asked to lead a
walk around the cemetery following
whatever path they preferred. The
participants have different degrees
of experience volunteering at the
cemetery, ranging from six months
to 15 years. Jenny (names have been
changed) is a historical tour guide; Paul
is a bird enthusiast, also guiding birdwatching tours; Andrew and Morris
are managers/administrators for the
Trust; Nelly is an amateur historical
researcher; and Matthew, Eddy, and
Marvin work in the environmental
conservation team in charge of site
maintenance. Their concerted efforts,
and those of the rest of the volunteers,
make it possible for visitors to explore
the cemetery safely, obtain available
information on it, and request
additional research on the Trust
archives and bespoke guided tours.
The conversation with volunteers
during the walk was semi-structured
around themes such as the volunteers
own relationships to the site and to
their colleagues, the type of work
they do there, their favorite places in
the cemetery, their views on visitor
experiences at the site, and on the
potential to engage and attract visitors
further. The analysis of the walks data
highlighted four main themes emerging
from the conversations: the multiple
aspects of the site and its landmarks
that hold heritage value; the importance
of establishing personal connections
with the site and of caring about a
beautiful and treasured place; the
constant surprises offered by the site;
and its enveloping atmosphere of peace,
reflection, and relaxation.

MULTIPLE LAYERS
OF HERITAGE

The cemetery can be read and


interpreted in many ways, both by
the volunteers taking care of it (each
of them concentrating on a particular
aspect, and often learning from each
other) and by the visitors. Encountering
various landmarks during the walk,
the participants emphasized the
historical importance of the site and
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the presence of significant examples of


architecture and sculpture, such as the
grand Victorian funerary monuments.
However, the historical value of the
cemetery is also personal, as it is a
treasure trove of family history for those
who have a relative or an ancestor buried
there. Furthermore, the appreciation
of the cemetery is something not
necessarily linked to an appreciation of
art and architecture, but more generally
to its charm and uniqueness.
The volunteers recognize that
different personal interests will engage
different visitors, in the same way as they
themselves have different motivations
for their own involvement in the
cemetery. Spending time at the cemetery
made them appreciate other aspects of
the site that might not have been their
focus originally, but that they have come
to know through their work and through
their colleagues. When discussing
their favorite places, some participants
chose landmarks such the chapels, or
gravestones that struck them with their
sculptural details, inscriptions, or person
they commemorated. However, other
favorite places included paths, trees,
and locations providing a particular
atmosphere or the opportunity for other
activities, such as glimpsing a seldomseen bird, taking nice photographs, or
enjoying a pleasant stroll.
The cemetery is a complex and
multi-layered place of heritage where a
broad range of values and content can
be experienced: from the history, to
the nature and wildlife, to the simple
pleasantness of wandering around. We
noticed this clearly during the walks,
whereby, as participants came close to
or noticed something they knew, their
commentary switched to cover different
themes of interest. For example, Morris
pointed out a particular pair of ancient
weeping ash trees planted to frame
the view of the graves and went on to
discuss the variety of plants on site; or,
while discussing the personal history of
one of the people buried under a certain
headstone, Jenny went on to highlight
its sculptural elements.
Indeed, making the cemetery
attractive for more than one reason was
the intention of the original planners,
and naturally, through time and history,
it has gained even more interesting
elements. Take, for example, the history
of the long-gone people buried there and
of the world they lived in, the reasons
they died and their legacy.
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A path often explored during field walks.

One of the cemetery volunteers guiding visitors on a tour.

Describing a favorite place during a field walk.


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special topic
surprises, even to those who know
it well. Seeing something new and
unexpected occurred several times
during the field walks. The participants
discussed this at length as a positive
aspect of their involvement with the
cemetery, as well as something that can
encourage visitors to come to the site
repeatedly and make their experiences
ever interesting and surprising.
The cemetery is also rich in things
that less experienced visitors are likely
never to see, being either hidden or hard
to find. The volunteers, spending a large
amount of time at the site and knowing
about such richness, wish that there
were ways, beside the traditional tours,
for the public to be aware of them:

The Companion Novel prototype.

TO CARE IS TO CONNECT

The volunteers are very attached


to the cemetery, and they care for it
deeply. They wish to instill the care and
connection they feel for the place into
the visitors, and this goal motivates
many of the activities they offer to the
public. Many of the places they included
in their walks were in fact chosen
because of such personal connections.
In certain cases, particular spots have
become important for a volunteer by
virtue of personal involvement, even
though they might not be that relevant
to the persons intellectual interests:
Ive become somewhat emotionally
attached to [the Chapel] in a sense because
Im involved in trying to restore it. So
Ive got an interest in seeing it come to life
. . . Now I dont know if its . . . one of my
favorite places, but I think it just
stands out because Im working on it.
Andrew, management
Andrew is devoted to the landscape
and trees. However, his personal
involvement in the restoration

project has turned the chapel into


something that he cares for and that
he has come to hold in high regard.
Similarly, Paul chose to show us the
memorial of a young soldier who died
in World War I because every year Paul
takes part in the Remembrance Day
commemorations.
The volunteers hope that with
their work they will encourage more
people to care for the cemetery and
to become regular visitors. They
also see their work and commitment
as being part of the heritage itself.
They believe that making personal
connections is possible even on a first
visit, for example by being moved or
simply bemused by particular epitaphs
included in the guided tours.

SEEING NEW THINGS


AND BEING SURPRISED

The many layers of heritage value


and the physical appearance of the
cemeterywith striking seasonal
changes, lush vegetation, winding
paths, and secluded cornersalso
mean that the site offers constant

The walks revealed that the involvement


of the community of volunteers with the
site has become part of what heritage
visitors can experience at the cemetery.
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Theres details as well, you see, theres


details in the walls and archways . . .
A lot of people walk past and not realize
theres anything there to see . . . See,
everywhere you look theres gravestones . . .
hidden away . . . may never be seen again.
Matthew, conservation

PEACEFULNESS
AND REFLECTION

For all its historical, social, and natural


importance, one of the cemeterys most
striking qualities is peacefulness, and,
with it, an atmosphere of quiet reflection
and relaxation. Its peacefulness and
almost therapeutic atmosphere were
the very reason why some of the
participants decided to volunteer
theresome, like Andrew, even for the
purpose of regaining mental health. The
volunteers also observe many regular
local visitors taking walks for relaxation
and de-stressing, for example, through
exercising and reading. The cemetery
also encourages quiet reflection on life,
death, and remembrance, as walking by
the gravestones makes one think about
the people who chose to be buried here:
I quite like . . . the way that all the
tombstones have been softened by the
vegetation, and I thinkyou look the
things that give you a little bit of perspective
when you think these people are all dead
and . . . well, you know, its what sort of
happens to everybody isnit?
Marvin, conservation
The volunteers are aware that it is a
challenge to increase the number and
frequency of visitors while maintaining
the atmosphere of the cemetery.
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DEVELOPING INTERACTION
THEMES AND CONCEPTS

Walking with the volunteers revealed


narrative paths, interpretation
themes, and engagement strategies
that relate not only to the physical
trails and the structures that
populate them but also to the work
and dedication of the volunteers
themselves. As a site overall, the
cemetery conveys a peaceful and
ref lective mood in addition to
presenting important heritage
holdings. The many layers of its
heritage value are interconnected
and interrelated: For example, the
ancient weeping trees planted when
the cemetery was designed were
meant to be seen from a distance
and to grow beside the memorials
and gravestones. They are closely
connected, although they fall under
different conservation headings.
Each walk embodied a different
personal narrative, representing many
themes, personal reflections, and
interests. What the participants chose
to show to us, and the path, sequence,
and timing they chose to take us
there represented their habits, their
focus as heritage workers, and their
personal relationship to the cemetery.
Interestingly, the walks revealed that
the involvement of the community of
volunteers with the site has become part
of what heritage visitors can experience
at the cemetery.
The themes that emerged from
the field walks together with insights
gathered through other studies of the
cemetery (such as visitor observations)
were used to feed a co-design
brainstorming workshop with the
volunteers, from which three broad and
open design themes emerged:
Interpretation and access:
Technology can make visitors aware
of the many aspects of heritage that
characterize the cemetery, also
surprising visitors with details or
themes they might not have been
aware of.
Knowing the invisible: Technology
can enable visitors to see and
know things that are hidden, and
communicate the fact that more
and more of the cemetery reveals
itself through repeated visits and in
different seasons, and through the
volunteers knowledge.

Peacefulness and reflection:


Technology can subtly encourage
visitors to dwell in the stillness
of the site and to reflect more deeply
on what they see, mediating and
augmenting the restorative ability
of heritage environments.
An initial set of interaction
concepts inspired by these themes
was developed through further
co-design workshops. One concept
addressing the interpretation and
access theme is the Companion
Novel, a portable book that visitors
can use to select a theme for their
visit (nature, history, interesting
anecdotes, etc.). When approaching
points of interest, speakers placed
in the environment play appropriate
snippets of content for the visitors
to hear. This concept has since been
built into a working prototype. A
second concept, relevant to the
peacefulness and ref lection theme,
is Memento Mori, inspired by the
Victorian tradition of fashioning
pieces of mourning jewelry to
remember someone who had passed
away: A visitor would be given a
piece of augmented jewelry, such
as a ring, a brooch, or a bracelet,
connected to one particular person
buried in the cemetery. The item
would provide tangible feedback to
the wearer when getting close to the
grave of that person (e.g., by getting
warmer, vibrating gently, or emitting
an increasingly stronger light) and
would go quiet again when that site
had been found, giving the visitor
an opportunity to ref lect on the
life of this person from the past. A
third interaction concept related to
the knowing the invisible theme:
Augmented Binoculars encouraged
visitors to stop in places that might
look unremarkable, peer through
binoculars, and at that point learn
something hard to notice, long gone,
invisible, or little known. During
the later workshop we discussed how
these concepts could be integrated
into the tours led by volunteers.

CONCLUSION

With the field walks we had the goals


of developing our understanding of
community heritage sites as settings
for technological interventions and
detailing part of the process of co-

designing technologies with heritage


volunteers for a site such as this. The
most important finding was that the
work, knowledge, and insights of
the volunteers in taking care of the
cemetery emerged as an important
and ever-growing part of its heritage
value, and as something that the
volunteers want to showcase for
visitors to appreciate. In this respect,
the contribution of the community
goes beyond that of supporting a
heritage site, becoming one of its
constituents. Any technology design
in this context should sensitively
consider this: HCI researchers and
practitioners must broaden their
approach to designing technologies
for heritage settings by also focusing
on community involvement and by
adopting ways to ensure community
involvement in the design and
deployment of novel installations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is supported by the EU FP7


project meSch Material Encounters
with Digital Cultural Heritage (http://
mesch-project.eu), under Grant
Agreement 600851.
Endnotes
1. Ridge, M., ed. Crowdsourcing Our Cultural
Heritage. Ashgate, London, 2014.
2. Petrelli, D., Ciolfi L., van Dijk, D.,
Hornecker, E., Not, E., and Schmidt, A.
Integrating material and digital: A new
way for cultural heritage. Interactions
(Jul.Aug. 2013), 5863.
3. Ingold, T. and Vergunst, J., eds. Ways of
Walking: Ethnography and Practice on Foot.
Ashgate, Aldershot, U.K., 2008.
Luigina Ciolfi is a reader in communication
at Sheffield Hallam University. Her research
focuses on the experience of technology in the
physical world for both individuals and groups,
and on notions of place, embodiment, and
participation. She has studied and designed
technology for heritage sites, urban spaces,
and work settings.
l.ciolfi@shu.ac.uk
Daniela Petrelli is a professor of
interaction design at Sheffield Hallam
University. Her current research connects
material and digital in the context of personal
and cultural heritage. Her other interests
include personalization and data visualization,
and intelligent user interfaces. Her background
is in fine art, computing, and social research.
d.petrelli@shu.ac.uk

DOI: 10.1145/2848979 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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credit tk

Insertable RFID and NFC chips are


very small and made of bio-inert materials.

Kayla J. Heffernan, Frank Vetere, Shanton Chang,


University of Melbourne

Insertables:
Ive Got
IT Under
My Skin
Insights
Insertables are a new class
of devices that are no
longer confined to the
pages of science fiction
or to the silver screen
they are here now.
Many are using insertables
for everyday convenience.
Some insertables are
being used to extend
human capabilities.

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Imagine Dylan, a bureaucrat working


in a foreign embassy. Dylan approaches
a security door, arms overflowing
with confidential reports. Dylan leans
toward the doors access sensor and
is authenticated. The door is now
unlocked and can be easily pushed
open with one shoulder, without the
need to put down the documents
and fumble for his keys or an access
pass. Dylan has an insertable device
implanted subcutaneously in his hand
that interacts with the transponder at
the office door.
This may read as science fiction,
but it has been possible since 1998,
when Kevin Warwick first inserted

an RFID chip into his arm [1].


Warwick used this chip during his
weeklong experiment to access his
office, turn on office lights, and
have his computer greet him.
Hobbyists, bio-hackers, grinders,
and other early adopters have been
experimenting with these insertables
since 2005 [2,3,4,5]. In 2005, Amal
Graafstra inserted an RFID chip into
his hand with the aid of a cosmetic
surgeon friend [2]. He decided to
get chipped because he had an
automatic locking door and was often
going in and out carrying computer
equipment, much like Dylan,
our fictitious bureaucrat.
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Needless to say, digital devices have


become smaller and more powerful.
So much so that computer components
are now small enough to be inserted
into a human body. Mobile devices
have progressed from luggables,
digital devices that can be carried
with some effort, to wearables, devices
that can readily be worn on a person,
to insertables, digital devices that
go through the skin, under the skin,
or inside a person. We use the term
insertables to refer to devices contained
within the boundaries of the human
body. This includes devices that can
be inserted into, and removed from,
cavities of the body. Insertables can
be self-fitted or inserted by medical
professionals or qualified bodymodification artists.
The use of insertables is already seen
in pets. Microchipping is common,
a legal requirement in many states
and countries that assists in the
identification and management of stray
animals. This practice has been widely
adopted with no sound evidence of
harm [3]. Microchips are now being
repurposed in pets to allow them to
open cat flaps on doors and to provide
access to feeding bowls (https://www.
sureflap.com) without adding bulky
RFID tags to the collar. If insertables
are good enough for Fluffy and Fido,
perhaps the idea of human insertables
is not so far-fetched.
People too have already adopted
insertables in certain areas of human
activity. In optometry, for example,
people of antiquity would carry gems
or glass vessels of water (i.e., luggable
object) to magnify objects. These
devices transitioned to wearables, in
the form of spectacles or monocles,
around the 13th century [4]. We have
now progressed to contact lenses
placed on the surface of the eye.
In another example, contraceptives
exist in the form of insertable devices
such as diaphragms, intrauterine

devices (IUDs), and sub-dermal


contraceptive implants. More
recently, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation has sponsored a project by
MicroCHIPS to design digital subdermal contraceptive implants that
will remain implanted for 16 years
(http://microchipsbiotech.com). These
contraceptive implants can be switched
on and off. Should a woman wish to
become pregnant, she could switch
off her contraceptive insertable rather
than have it removed. Afterward,
the insertable can be switched back
on. In addition to avoiding invasive
medical procedures, this would
provide extraordinary control over
reproductive behaviors. It also
introduces extraordinary challenges
for interaction designers. How do we
best interact with technology inside
our bodies?

U O
GETTING UNDER THE SKIN

Unsurprisingly, many people


experience the ick factor when first
introduced to the notion of insertables.
However, humans have long been
using items within the body for
improvements to their life. In addition
to contact lenses, examples include
sanitary items, body jewelry, capsule
pills, and assistive internal medical
devices such as prostheses, pacemakers,
cochlear implants, and dental implants.
Digital objects now made of bio-inert
materials can be safely inserted into
the body (passive RFID chips and NFC
chips). While some implantable medical
devices (IMDs) are essential for health,
other items used within the body are
purely for convenience. Convenience
insertables include contact lenses,
sanitary items, and insertable
contraceptives, where individuals
may choose to use devices based on
personal preference, not on medical
recommendation.
We are particularity interested in
voluntarily inserted devices. We are

If insertables are good enough


for Fluffy and Fido, perhaps
the idea of human insertables
is not so far-fetched.
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looking at individuals who have opted


to insert a gadget in, under, or through
their skin, for reasons that are not
medical or otherwise essential.
Insertable devices are fitted with
one of two methods: the scalpel or
the syringe. The scalpel method
involves making an incision in the
skin, creating a pocket with the blunt
end of the tool, and placing the device
into this newly created pocket. The
syringe method uses a large-gauge
plunger needle, similar to those used
in pet microchipping. The needle
is inserted in to the skin and, once
in place, the plunger depressed to
insert the microchip into the newly
created pocket. Our research has
found that both methods are used by
professionals or by people who are
self-inserting or getting friends or
family to insert. Professionals who
can do the inserting include medical
professionals, tattooists, piercers, and
body-modification artists.

COMMON INSERTABLES

Our research explores the current


use of insertables for non-medical
purposes. The research aims to
understand the current use of
insertables and peoples motivations for
doing so. Our research has discovered
three different types of commonly used
insertables: passive RFID chips, NFC
chips, and neodymium magnets.
Passive RFID. The passive RFID
(radio frequency identification)
chip is activated when it comes
into range of a corresponding
transponder, ranging from a few
centimeters distance up to a few
meters, depending on the frequency,
and communicates information over
radio waves to the transponder. The
passive RFID chips that are inserted
into individuals hands and forearms
have a much shorter read range of
a few centimeters. Wider uses of
passive RFID include warehousing
and supply-chain tracking of goods,
in store anti-theft mechanisms,
toll-collection passes on roads, pet
microchips, contactless payment
credit cards, and modern passports.
NFC. Near field communication
(NFC) chips use a technology based
on RFID that also communicates via
radio waves. These types of chips are
often found in smartphones and can
be used to share contact information
between phones, use phone payment
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RFID and NFC chips can be inserted with large-gauge plunger syringes.

systems like Apple Pay and Google


Wallet, and can also be found in
cards in your wallet, such as many
transportation and access card
systems. NFC chips inserted into
the hand are being used for sharing
contact details, launching apps, and
unlocking phones, doors, and cars.
Magnets. Neodymium magnets are
magnets made from rare earth metals.
This type of magnet is generally
inserted due to its strengththey are
the strongest magnet commercially
availableand durability. Magnets
vibrate when they come in contact
with electromagnetic fields, and the
insertion of them under the skin allows
the implantee to sense these fields.
Individuals with magnets inserted
near nerve endings (typically on finger
tips) can feel electromagnetic fields.
The magnets can also be used to pick
up small metallic objects and identify
whether wires are live or not.

MOTIVATION FOR USING


INSERTABLES

The reason for inserting a device under


the skin is unlikely to be cosmetic.
Insertables are typically not visible to
the naked eye, keeping their existence
hidden from an unaware observer.
Insertables also allow individuals to
entirely eliminate a visible interface
or tangible device. People, through
devices in their body, in effect become
the interface. Insertables used in this
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Insertables are not visible to the naked eye.

way allow digital interactions with the


physical world in the way they were
before convoluted security measures
changed the way we use doors. Our
findings suggest that the reasons
for using insertables fall into two
categories: convenience and extending
human senses.
Convenience. Insertables for
convenience are used to control and
gain access to devices or areas without
the need for wearables, luggables, or
the burden of remembering passwords.
They are used to simplify this hectic
modern world, creating one less thing
to concern yourself with. Users feel
as if they are beyond wearables.
Wearables are just another item to
manage in your life, to remember to
turn on and charge, and an annoyance,
pain, or discomfort to the skin. For
many, insertables are a permanent
solution that becomes part of their
body and enables them to interact in
their daily life without the interruption
of other modalities. One will not forget
or misplace their keys when they are in
the form of an insertable.
Extending human senses. The other
motivation for getting an insertable
device is to extend human capabilities.
These individuals are not satisfied
with a normal human body. They want
to experiment with extending their
senses, such as feeling electromagnetic
fields. One of our participants
explained: Im not satisfied with

the purely biological body. I want to


basically have more functional stuff.
Having implants is just the very first
step I suppose. Its whats currently
available today, rather than just science
fiction, which is maybe one day but is
not available right now. Some feel that
insertables may be the first step in the
next stage of human evolution, stating
that we should be able to enhance the
senses that we have naturally instead of
just improving senses when theyre not
working as well as wed like.

RISKS AND CONCERNS

The risks of insertables are not what


you might think. For example, privacy
is not seen as a concern because
passive RFID and NFC chips cannot
be location-tracked. Rather, the three
main areas of concern are health, social
stigma, and ethical issues.
Health risks. The health risks are
similar to those of body piercings:
infection and rejection. However, none
of our participants experienced health
issues. While a microchip may break
inside the body, causing bodily harm,
this will occur only if the area of the
body suffers a severe impact. In such
circumstances, it is likely that the event
that caused the chip to break would
have caused greater harm to the body
than the broken microchip.
Social stigma. It is common to
experience stigma for being weird.
Others have been the targets of abuse

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from religious groups believing that they


are carrying the so-called mark of the
beast based on an interpretation of Bible
passages [6]. Some participants report
receiving hate mail and death threats,
videos posted online containing hate
speech about them and other online
abuse, and friction or dissolution of
personal friendships and relationships.
Ethical concerns. The use of
insertables raises many ethical issues.
It is easy to conjure Orwellian scenarios
of government tracking. However, this
concern is unjustified. As anyone who
has ever lost a beloved microchipped pet
will know, passive microchips cannot be
used for location tracking and are able
to provide data only when interrogated
with the correct proprietary
transponder at a very close distance.
The popular press often argues for
the tracking of prisoners (especially
sex offenders) and patients confined
to hospitals, but without tracking
capabilities this seems futile. This
could be technically feasible, but only if
individuals pass through receiver scan
points in their daily routines. However,
is it ethical to insert these devices
without consent, or when a patient
cannot provide consent?
The ethics of access to insertables is
also significant. Currently, it is difficult
to reprogram an insertable. While
NFC chips can easily be programmed
to share contact details and to open
specific Web pages or apps by using a
free app on most Android devices, this
is not possible with current iOS devices.
Apple has not made its NFC chip
available for use other than with Apple
Pay. RFID chips generally require more
sophisticated technical skills to program
the chips and face interoperability
issues, with certain transponders able to
read only certain chips. Standards must
be adopted to allow easier programming
of chips and the ubiquity to use one chip
for multiple purposes.

HCI CHALLENGES

Insertables create fascinating


challenges for HCI researchers and
UX designers alike.
How do you configure the insertable?
The programming issues could possibly
be addressed with an easy-to-use
platform or standard programming
environment. Programming could
take two approaches: adding the ID of

the chip to existing systems or cloning


the information and access tokens to
the chip. Each chip has its own unique
identifier, which could be added to
systems; this same identifier would be
added to every system the individual
is using. The second approach would
add a unique identifier for each system
to the chip, allowing the number to
be matched to a record in individual
databases behind systems. The latter
approach avoids the issue of branding
people with numbers.
Where do you insert the insertable?
The placement of the insertable on the
body is an issue. We need to consider
sensor placements that cater for a
variety of insertion locations and
individuals of different heights and
with different body types. For example,
current door-access systems are usually
located to the side of the door, but
if insertables are placed within the
webbing of the hand, these could be
placed within the door handle itself,
allowing for a more natural interaction.
How do you upgrade/update the
insertable? Cycles of innovation may
not translate to insertables, as it may
not be reasonable to expect individuals
to upgrade their chips every two years.
Just as veterinarians must still be able
to identify lost elderly pets, access
systems will need to authenticate
individuals with older insertables. If
insertables are predominantly used as a
switch to trigger other devices, then the
age doesnt necessarily matter. In our
study, we have spoken to participants
with 10-year-old insertables that are
still functional. As RFID and NFC
chips have no moving parts and no
battery, they can in principle last a
lifetime. The only reason to upgrade
would be technological advancements
of the chip itself. Our participants have
experienced the replacement of older
generation chips with new ones that
have greater read frequencies. Removal
is quite simple, as the magnets and
chips do not bind to the body. A small
incision is made and the insertables
are squeezed out by hand or pulled
out with tweezers. This is reportedly
less painful than insertion, and a new
device may be inserted in the same
session, similar to the process of
replacing sub-dermal contraceptives.
As these issues of standardization,
programmability, and configuration

and usability concerns are addressed


by HCI professionals (and others) it is
likely that insertables for non-medical
purposes may soon come out from
the basements of hobbyists and into a
tattoo parlor near you.
This research is ongoing; if you
have an insertable device and wish to
be interviewed, please contact Kayla
Heffernan. For interested researchers,
a workshop on insertable and implanted
technologies is to be held at the
CHI 2016 conference in San Jose.
For more information about the
workshop, and to submit to attend, see
https://insertables.wordpress.com
Endnotes
1. Warwick, K. Cyborg 1.0. Wired 8, 2
(Feb. 2000).
2. Graafstra, A. HANDS ON-With a chip
implanted in each of his hands, one
hobbyist made RFID a way of life.
IEEE Spectrum 44, 3 (2007), 14.
3. Cheer, L. Australian man whos had a
microchip inserted into his hand so that
he can do more with the iPhone 6...maybe.
Daily Mail. Sept. 7, 2014; http://www.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746648/
Australian-man-microchip-inserted-handuse-iPhone-6.html
4. Kriss, T.C. and Kriss, V.M. History of the
operating microscope: From magnifying
glass to microneurosurgery. Neurosurgery
42, 4 (1998), 899907.
5. Monks, K. Forget wearable technology,
embeddable implants are already here.
CNN. Apr. 9, 2014; http://edition.cnn.
com/2014/04/08/tech/forget-wearabletech-embeddable-implants/
6. Revelation 13:1617 and 14:9,10.

Kayla Heffernan is a Ph.D. candidate in


the Department of Computing and Information
Systems at the University of Melbourne, and a
full-time UX Designer at SEEK.
kaylah@student.unimelb.edu.au
Frank Vetere is an associate professor in
the Department of Computing and Information
Systems at the University of Melbourne. He is
director of the Microsoft Research Centre for
Social Natural User Interfaces and leader of
the Interaction Design Laboratory, both at the
University of Melbourne.
f.vetere@unimelb.edu.au
Shanton Chang is an associate professor in
the Department of Computing and Information
Systems at the University of Melbourne. He is
also assistant dean (international exchange) at
the Melbourne School of Information.
shanton.chang@unimelb.edu.au

DOI: 10.1145/2843588 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00

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Inviting Young
Scientists
Meet Great Minds in Computer
Science and Mathematics
As one of the founding organizations of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum
http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/, ACM invites young computer
science and mathematics researchers to meet some of the preeminent scientists
in their field. These may be the very pioneering researchers who sparked your
passion for research in computer science and/or mathematics.
These laureates include recipients of the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the Abel Prize,
the Fields Medal, and the Nevanlinna Prize.
The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is September 1823, 2016 in Heidelberg, Germany.
This week-long event features presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and
social events focusing on scientific inspiration and exchange among laureates
and young scientists.

Who can participate?

New and recent Ph.Ds, doctoral candidates, other graduate students


pursuing research, and undergraduate students with solid research
experience and a commitment to computing research

How to apply:

Online: https://application.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/
Materials to complete applications are listed on the site.

What is the schedule?

Application deadlineFebruary 3, 2016.


We reserve the right to close the application website
early depending on the volume
Successful applicants will be notified by end of March/early April 2016.
More information available on Heidelberg social media

PHOTOS: HLFF / B. Kreutzer (top);


HLFF / C. Flemming (bottom)

L E S S O N S
L E A R N E D

FUTURE
DESIGNERS:
A ROLLERCOASTER
FOR THE MIND
A crash course on creativity, design thinking,
and design for young children.

P21 is an education advocacy group


that focuses on developing appropriate
skills in children for 21st-century life.
The organizations Framework for
21st Century Learning states that a
focus on creativity, critical thinking,
communication, and collaboration is
essential to prepare students for the
future [1]. Additionally, the outcomes
of several research efforts worldwide
provide evidence that teaching design
(thinking) to children has several
benefits. Among them: It can leverage
their creativity and help them to think
in new ways and take risks; it has a
positive impact on the ways in which
they engage in the learning process; and
it boosts their self-confidence.
The Future Designers concept
was conceived a year ago, amid the
Greek debt crisis, as an antidote to
its detrimental effects on the minds
and souls of young children. The key
motivation was to introduce them to
an alternative way of thinking, as well
as to skills that may enhance their
everyday lives and potentially increase
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their future employment prospects, and


consequently their ability to produce
economic value. The underlying
ambition was to help children discover
and acknowledge their capacity to
imagine, to create, and to have valuable
ideas of their ownnot just those
taught to them by their teachers
through a memorable, fun intellectual
and emotional experience. The title is
purposefully ambiguous, as it can be
interpreted as both those who will
become designers in the future and
those who will design the future. To
further reinforce the key concepts and
messages, a theatrical play called The
Thieves of Dreams was created for the
course participants to act out.
Future Designers is a four-hour
interactive crash course that aims to
introduce primary school children
to the concepts and practice of
creativity, design, and design thinking.
Most existing related efforts follow
a project-based approach, where
participants are asked to design and
prototype a solution to a given problem

description. Future Designers takes


a more holistic approach, where
children are introduced to the broader
context of design and its impact on our
everyday lives, as well as to the notion
and practices of design thinking. The
course mixes multiple learning styles
and intelligences through diverse
teaching and learning approaches and
multimodal digital material.
During the past year, the course has
been tested and validated in Greece
through four pilots: (i) at the facilities of
ICS-FORTH, with eight primary school
teachers, four post-graduate students
and two children; (ii) in a real classroom
with 22 children 10 to 12 years old;
(iii) in a classroom environment with
25 primary school teachers assuming
the role of children; (iv) in a classroom
with 17 children (10 years old) and their
parents (15 people). Observation and
questionnaire evaluation data converge
on the fact that the course achieves
its original goals and constitutes an
engaging and enjoyable experience,
as well as a successful means of
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Dimitris Grammenos, Institute of Computer Science FORTH

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lessons learned
Introductions

Overview

Team Quiz Game

Travel to the Future (past and present)


Design and Designers
Activity 1 (individual):
Designer for a while (The spoon)
Imagination and Creativity
Activity 2 (individual):
What makes me dream?

FUTURE DESIGNERS,
STEP BY STEP:
APPROACH AND RATIONALE

The course is structured as follows (see


Figure 1):
Introductions
Goal: Create a warm and informal
atmosphere.
Approach: Everyone stands in a
circle. A ball is tossed around. Receivers
have to state their name and favorite
fooda piece of information that
requires no thinking, is personal but
not intimidating, often produces
laughter, and can instantly create group
connections. Subsequently, children are
split into two groups.

Design Errors and Assessment


Imagination and Fun
Prototyping
Activity 3 (team):
The marshmallow challenge
Two Magical Phrases
The Fives Uses of a Designers Pillow
Activity 4 (team):
Inventing for my school

Future Designer Diplomas


Award Ceremony

Figure 1. Course outline.

introducing and provoking creativity


and (design) thinking. Despite its length
and high mental and physical demands,
when it ends, participants report feeling
happy, motivated, and full of positive
energy. The participating childrens
average evaluation score for the course
was 9.7/10, while their parents was
8.8/10, and both groups unanimously
agree that Future Designers works as
an effective communication tool and a
compelling topic of discussion among
children and their parents and friends.
Due to the high success rate and
appeal of the course, we are currently
planning to introduce it to a much
broader audience (also beyond Greece)
while add-on creative activities
are being devised to aid teachers and
parents build upon and extend the
Future Designers experience.
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Overview
Goal: Introduce the activity and set
some ground rules.
Approach: Children are informed
that their active participation, opinions,
and ideas are important for successfully
running the course. An outline is
presented: We will play, travel to the
future, dream and imagine, design and
create, andmost of allhave fun.
Team quiz game
Goal: Engage children through game
competitiveness.
Approach: Each team receives a
bucket. During the session, questions
are asked that do not require prior
knowledgejust creative and critical
thinking. The reward for correct
answers is a rubber ball. Its an effective
game for getting the undivided
attention of large groups. If its handled
correctly, during the first 20 to 30
minutes, children are very interested
in it, closely following the score, but as
they get involved in other activities,
they gradually pay less attention, until
they totally forget about it.
Travel to the future (past and present)
Goal: Introduce the notion of the
future and the act of envisioning it, but
also the fact that anyone is able to do it
and that most predictions are far off.
Approach: A discussion starts
around the question: What is the future?
Subsequently, it is noted that what we
now consider to be the present at some
point in time was considered the distant
future. Images and videos depict how
people in the early 1900s envisioned
life in 2000. Children are prompted to

guess what is shown and express their


opinions. After that, they imagine
what the year 2050 will be like. When
there are no more predictions, images
and videos of various state-of-the-art,
emerging, and futuristic technologies
are presented. This part concludes with
the question: Who shapes the future?
Design and designers
Goal: Introduce the notions of design
and designer (as an umbrella term
encompassing all creative, innovative
persons).
Approach: An agreement is reached
through discussion to use the term
designers for all people who have the
ability to imagine new things and turn
them into reality. Everything that exists
around usthat was not created by
naturehas been designed by someone.
Examples of designed items (e.g., chairs,
tables, homes) are presented. We emphasize that beyond physical objects, digital
applications and services also come from
design. Examples of designers from
various domains throughout history
are introduced, including Daedalus,
Archimedes, Gutenberg, da Vinci,
Scappi, Shakespeare, Bach, Levi Strauss,
Gaudi, Tesla, the Wright brothers, Coco
Chanel, the Beatles, and Steve Jobs. The
section concludes with the question:
Who can become a designer? (The answer
is, obviously, everyone!)
Activity 1 (individual):
Designer for a while (The spoon)
Goal: Perform a conscious act of
(iterative) design through an easy first
step, which is close to the childrens
zone of proximal development;
introduce the concepts of design
requirements and design decisions;
prove to the children they all have the
ability to innovate.
Approach: Children are invited
to design a very simple objecta
spoonusing colored pens or plasticine
(Figure 2). No explicit time limit is
set; the facilitator emphasizes that
there will be no judgment. When
everyone has finished, the facilitator
(using his absentmindedness as a
playful excuse) introduces, step by
step, a number of design requirements
(e.g., it was meant to be a teaspoon,
cheap but environmentally friendly,
for Tinker Bell the tiny fairy). At each
step, children are asked to change
their design or make a new one. In the
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Figure 2. Crafting the spoon.

end, the facilitator notes the pieces


of information used (who, what, why,
where, preferences, cost), each yielding
a different design decision. He also
points out that each child has designed
a unique objectalthough millions of
spoons already existthus rightfully
meriting the title of designer.
Imagination and creativity
Goal: Explain different creativity
skills and make children aware of their
potential as designers.
Approach: Children discover through
question and answer the secret powers
of a designer (ability to dream, imagine,
create, solve problems, etc.). The
concept of creativity is presented and
explained, highlighting that creativity
is at its peak level at their age and then
starts to decline. This is confirmed
through imagination experiments,
For example, strange and funny things
are described that children must
visualize in their heads.

reflect about what may trigger this


process and discover additional triggers
from peers.
Approach: Children use colored pens
and Post-it notes to write and/or paint
what makes them dream and imagine.
Then, one by one, they stick their note
on a cardboard cloud while also reading
(or describing) its content (Figure 3).
Design errors and assessment
Goal: Stress the fact that designs
often have faults; introduce the act
and mentality of positive critique and
constructive assessment.
Approach: Children reform into two
groups and are asked to comment on the
design flaws of (mainly funny) projected
images, also suggesting potential
improvements.

Activity 2 (individual):
What makes me dream?
Goal: Reinforce the fact that children
have the power to dream/imagine;

Imagination and fun


Goal: Exercise childrens imagination
through stimulating images; provoke
creative and humorous ideas; have fun.
Approach: Children are asked to use
their imagination to discover the use of
strange inventions from the early 1900s
through photos and sketches of weird
but real patents.

Figure 3. What makes me dream?

Figure 4. The marshmallow challenge.

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Prototyping
Goal: Explain that design is an
iterative process; introduce the
philosophy, approach, and tools for
learning through experimentation and
(early) failure.
Approach: The concept and process
of (rapid) prototyping are introduced,
focusing on the importance and gains
of taking ideas out of the head and
bringing them into the real world and
showing how this can be achieved with
very simple everyday materials. The
positive contribution of mistakes in the
design process is co-discovered through
question and answer.
Activity 3 (team):
The marshmallow challenge
Goal: Collaborate, communicate,
and employ creative thinking to solve a
predefined problem; practice learning
through experimentation, failure, and
iterative design.
Approach: The Marshmallow
Challenge [2] is used. Children are
assigned to teams of three. In 18
minutes, each team must build the
tallest freestanding structure out of
20 sticks of spaghetti, two meters of

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61

lessons learned
paper tape, 10 pieces of string, and
one marshmallow (Figure 4). At the
end of the challenge, the facilitator
communicates that winning is not as
important as thinking creatively and
having fun. Each time a teams structure
is measured, everyone applaudseven
in the case of failure, as failures should
also be celebrated in design.

1. Head

2. Back

3. Chair

4. Hug

5. Floor
Figure 5. The five different uses of a
designers pillow.

Two magical phrases


Goal: Reinforce key values of design
thinking.
Approach: Two magical phrases
that can greatly help a designer get
through any difficulty are presented:
I dont know! (acknowledging ones
limited knowledge) and I may be
wrong! (being open-minded and
valuing the opinion of others). Children
are encouraged to get up and repeatedly
shout them in a choir.
The five uses of a designers pillow
Goal: Introduce the iterative design
process and provide a related mnemonic
aid.
Approach: The facilitator reveals the
secret weapon of every designerhis/
her pillowand depicts its five different
uses (Figure 5), while children play
along with their own pillows:

1. The designer puts the pillow


behind his/her head so that s/he feels
comfortable while dreaming and
imagining what s/he will create.
2. When s/he has come up with an
idea, s/he puts the pillow behind his/
her back and starts looking for related
insights and information. This also
helps him/her make sure that his/her
idea has not already been realized by
someone else.
3. Once enough information is
available, the designer puts the pillow
on his/her chair and starts specifying
how the idea could be transferred from
his/her head to the real world.
4. If s/he manages to come up with
one or more designs, s/he strongly
hugs the pillow, for: (a) protection,
as prototypes sometimes blow up in
their creators face, (b) comfort, as one
may easily become despaired by early
failures, and (c) remembering to never
giving up on his/her dream. Then s/he
creates prototypes and starts testing
them. After this phase, usually the
designer goes back to phase 2 or 3 to
retrieve more information and revisit
his/her designs (maybe his/her idea
too). Better results are achieved if more
than one designer collaborates.
5. Typically a designer goes through

Figure 6. Inventing for my school.

Figure 7. Some of the childrens inventions.

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phases 2 to 4 several times, until (if s/he


ever) succeeds. Quite often, s/he might
let his/her idea go, or put it on hold. But
if s/he succeeds, then s/he drops the
pillow on the floor, so that it becomes a
step that will help him/her reach and
realize his/her next dream.
Activity 4 (team):
Inventing for my school
Goal: Collaborate, communicate,
and employ creative thinking to select
a problem to be solved; devise an
innovative solution; present it to peers;
constructively assess the work of others.
Approach: This activity is based on
the Ready, Set, Design activity [3] of
the Smithsonian Design Museum, with
two key additions: children are asked to
define the problem they want to solve;
and the evaluation of the inventions
is done by the childrennot the
facilitatorto allow them reflect on the
outcomes of design.
New teams of three or four members
are formed (Figure 6). Their first task
is to ideate a new invention for their
school, according to the following
requirements: (i) the invention can
be used for any purpose; (ii) it has to
be used in their school (it can also be
portable); (iii) it may use any kind
of existing, future, or imaginative
technology; (iv) nothing similar should
already exist.
In the first 15 minutes, teams have
to fill in an Invention Declaration
Form comprising five fields: (i)
invention name, (ii) role/target use,
(iii) users, (iv) place of use, and (v)
team members. Then each team
receives various simple materials, such
as paper plates and cups, balloons,
aluminum foil, and rubber bands, but
not glue, tape, or scissors. Teams have
25 minutes to build an experimental
prototype of their invention (Figure
7). When time is up, each team briefly
presents its invention. All other teams
evaluate it according to five criteria:
name, originality, usefulness, ease
of use, and desirability. Evaluation
is rated using cardboard sheets
depicting one to three light bulbs to
stress that even if an idea scores low,
it still remains an idea. Evaluators are
challenged to justify their score and
provide constructive feedback, while
the team being evaluated can rebut.

Figure 8. Future Designer Diploma


(translated into English). The background illustration,
entitled Childhood Dream, was created by Siddhartha Saravia and
is used with his permission (http://thesong.deviantart.com).

Future Designer Diplomas


award ceremony
Goal: Provide a conclusion to
the experience and offer children a
tangible reward: (a) empowering their
self-confidence, (b) reminding them
of the experience and philosophy, and
(c) acting as a common reference for
forming supporting communities.
Approach: A personal Future
Designer Diploma (Figure 8) is awarded
to every participant while music plays
and children applaud, cheer, and dance.
At the end, children toss their pillows in
the air.

the next best thing that you can do is to try


to change those who one day may change
itthe Future Designers.

CONCLUSION

Acknowledgments

Future Designers aims to be an experience that broadens ones thinkingnot


a lesson. The presented material is not
meant to be learned or remembered.
Like the fifth use of the designers pillow,
it is intended as a step to move further
ahead. Probably the best short description of the course comes from one of the
participating teachers, who exclaimed
that it feels like a rollercoaster for the
mind! The underlying philosophy behind Future Designers can be summed
up this way: If at some point in your life you
realize that you cannot change the world,

Endnotes
1. Partnership for 21st Century Learning
(P21). Framework for 21st Century
Learning; http://www.p21.org/our-work/
p21-framework
2. The Marshmallow Challenge as originally
introduced by Tom Wujec; http://
marshmallowchallenge.com
3. Ready, Set, Design activity of the
Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, Design
Museum; http://www.cooperhewitt.org/
education/school-programs

I would like to thank Constantine Stephanidis,


director of ICS-FORTH and head of the HCI
Lab; my colleagues Vanessa, Margherita,
Eirini, Eleni, Maria, and Asterios from the HCI
Lab for their invaluable help in running the
pilots; the participating children, teachers, and
parents; and Siddhartha Saravia for giving me
permission to use his wonderful illustration.
Dimitris Grammenos is a principal
researcher at the Institute of Computer
Science of the Foundation for Research and
TechnologyHellas (FORTH). He is the lead
interaction designer of the Human-Computer
Interaction Laboratory.
gramenos@ics.forth.gr

DOI: 10.1145/2846695 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00

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F O R U M S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I N (I N T E R ) A C T I O N
In this forum we highlight innovative thought, design, and research in the area of interaction design and sustainability,
illustrating the diversity of approaches across HCI communities. Lisa Nathan and Samuel Mann, Editors

Bridging Communities:
ICT4Sustainability @iConference 2015

Birgit Penzenstadler, California State University, Long Beach, Ankita Rauturi, University of California, Irvine
Christoph Becker, University of Toronto, Juliet Norton, University of California, Irvine,
Bill Tomlinson, University of California, Irvine, Six Silberman, IG Metall, Debra Richardson, University of California, Irvine
arch 2015,
California. In the
room: psychologists,
information scholars,
HCI researchers,
software engineering
academics,
information systems students, and
others from the diverse communities
of iSchools and sustainability
research, coming together to establish
a community and potential research
collaborations within the iSchools
network to link efforts around ICT for
sustainability.
Recent years have seen a spate
of first-time sustainability-focused
workshops at computing-related
conferences, including Sustainable
CHI (at the CHI conference), Green
and Sustainable Software (GREENS, at
ICSE), and Requirements Engineering
for Sustainable Systems (RE4SuSy, at
RE). Can we still learn something new?
This question triggered considerable
discussion at the workshop: How can
we collaborate toward something
with meaningful impact on our future
research and its outcomes? What is
the point of having a sustainability
workshop at every conference? What
are the roles of technology in the myriad
potential futures?
Here we offer a report on the
ICT4Sustainability, weaving insights
from the presentations (available at
http://iconf2015ict4s.120cell.org/)
into our discussion of the workshops
afternoon breakout sessions (in italics).
Emphasizing the need for
sustainability research to Transfer
into Practice and Integrate the Public,
in this breakout session Laura Sheble
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described how research systems


are on the precipice of large-scale
cultural reorientation. She proposed
community-informed research
systems that would help to establish
policy-enabled, socially supported
socio-environmental health equity
and sustainability research. Through
community-based participatory
research, we can develop multiple
perspectives of the problem space and
research intended to 1) address urgent
societal issues, 2) understand the impact
of research on communities, and 3)
develop research partners to frame,
contribute to, and implement outcomes
of research.
The breakout discussion evolved
around the idea that if research
identifies a solutionary intervention
we hope to evaluate, we ask how to
integrate the public in that process.
Methods and modes that came up are
participatory problem development
and design and community-based
participatory research. Partnering up
with local communities in research
areas will help us to integrate the
research into practice and ensure
transfer and early adoption, which in
Insights
We need mechanisms to
ensure common ground
through common readings.
A sustainable rebellion is hard
when there is a culture of
indebtedness (grant economy).
Sustainability workshops
are about critically analyzing
a conferences congruence
with sustainability issues.

turn helps scientific evaluation. Such


research-development integration can
again help for further education. This
led to a discussion around expanding
the mandate for publics, for example
by integrating libraries, archives, and
museums. We identified challenges
for public acceptance including
privacy, transparency, socioeconomic
stratification, digital divide, and
disconnects in social structure.
The session on Information Systems
for Sustainability focused on user
experience and behavior. Although
there is a push to think more broadly,
in the first round the breakout group
narrowed in on resource consumption
behavior change via mobile apps.
Two presentations focused on the use
of mobile technology. In the paper
Smartphone User in Informational
Cities, Agnes Mainka and Sarah
Hartman are motivated by the wide
variety and abundance of data in
cities and seek to make such data
public via their citizens. Their goal is
to utilize governmental, nonprofit,
business, and citizen data for ecological,
social, and economic value added
initiatives like Urban Forest Map in San
Francisco. They intend to utilize mobile
applications to gather citizen data
because mobile devices are ubiquitous
in urban areas, and also because the
workshop and hackathon culture in
such cities focuses on the collective
development of mobile applications.
In Designing Mobile Technology
for Motivating Sustainable Behavior
Change, Xiying Wang and Susan
Fussell explain their ongoing research
of designing energy-monitoring
mobile applications for hotel and home
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environments. The design decisions


for their applications are based on
a formative study that identifies
motivations for using energy.
Most of the conversation within
the breakout group focused on the
added benefit of a users changed
consumption behavior, acknowledging
that in order for that benefit to
be considered worthwhile, the
technological platform it is built
upon must also be sustainable. The
groups primary takeaway is that
cultural, societal, and generational
differences should determine how a
consumption-behavior-change app
is designed. Instead of a single app
created to work for everyone, designers
must identify, acknowledge, and
address local social and environmental
contexts. Participants envisioned
an ideal situation would be when
members of a community worked
together to understand what is needed
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to encourage community-wide
consumption-behavior change.
Future Research Directions and
the Role of iSchools explored how the
many research areas and disciplines
found at information schools can
collaborate effectively to combine
their methods and approaches in
exploring the challenges around
sustainability. For example, drawing
on notions of collapse informatics
and critical making, Gabby Reschs
morning presentation introduced his
proposal of materializing collapse,
asking: "What can we learn about the
present when we imagine, design, and
work to construct solutions for radical
future transformations? Through
this proposal, Resch suggests we
can better understand our present
conditions through envisioning how
sociotechnical systems fail, decay, and
collapse. To facilitate this, he employs
reflective practices that bring together

physical prototyping and the creative


exploration of sensory interfaces
in learning environments with the
construction and deconstruction of
hardware and software.
The presentation The Karlskrona
Manifesto for Sustainability Design
highlighted a number of perceptions
that dominate the mindset of
software systems engineering and
how these perceptions contribute to
unsustainability. The authors suggest
these are largely misperceptions and
propose a set of broadly applicable
sustainability design principles founded
in systems thinking. Sustainability is
framed as the capacity to endure and
is understood in the five dimensions
of environmental, social, individual,
technical, and economic sustainability.
The manifesto strives to provide
a common ground for the diverse
scholars, including those brought
together within iSchools, engaged in
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F O R U M S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I N (I N T E R ) A C T I O N
systems design and sustainability (www.
sustainabilitydesign.org).
Throughout the breakout session
we discussed how iSchools are home
to a uniquely diverse set of disciplines,
domains, constituents, and methods.
Yet the connections among various
disciplines vary greatly across each
iSchool. Despite the interdisciplinary
rhetoric found in iSchool marketing,
there is still considerable siloing, as well
as institutional and cultural barriers
that make it hard to collaborate across
these silos. Although we discussed
examples of these silos breaking up
and connecting in different schools,
there remain substantial challenges of
collaboration across disciplines, and the
potential is rarely leveraged effectively.
There are also tensions between
obligations of the field (information
schools have had a long-standing
commitment to the public good) and
responsibilities of the field. What
can individual researchers do within
their organizational context and its
infrastructure of professional networks,
institutional arrangements, tenure
procedures, student bodies, and funding
sources? Despite these tensions, we
recognize the enormous potential for
fruitful cross-disciplinary connections
(see examples in [1]). We are convinced
that the scholarship related to the issue
of sustainability has strong potential
as a cross-disciplinary catalyst because
of its systemic and transdisciplinary
nature, its long-term orientation
that aligns with the perspectives of
memory institutions, and the increasing
attention paid to it as a priority item on
the agenda of funding agencies.
Common Understanding of Toolkits
and Their Evaluation explored items
of such a research agenda. Two
presentations revolved around the

Many newcomers
werent tuned into
existent literature, and
technology was often
considered speculatively
without an effort to
understand the problem
in its larger context.
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topic of modeling environmental


issues to help people transition to
more sustainable lifestyles. The
authors goals included finding
ways to improve our capacity to
both model and communicate the
human-environment interactions. In
Modeling the Environmental Impact
of Agricultural Systems, Raturi et al.
describe difficulties faced in creating
and comparing life cycle assessment
models of agricultural systems, as they
are complex, highly interconnected, and
constantly changing over time. They
present opportunities for design in the
intersection of software engineering,
environmental assessment, and
agriculture. Their next steps involve the
development of a modeling language
and software tools to build maintainable
and connectible environmental models.
In FloodRISE: An Interdisciplinary
Approach to Leverage Technology
for Resilience, Beth Karlin describes
the last four years of the FloodRise
project, which involves the development
and testing of hydrodynamic models
for flood prediction and behavior.
While the engineering team looks at
developing better parcel-level flood
models, Karlins social ecology team
looks at how to leverage social science
theories to improve the communication
of potential flooding information.
This breakout sessions discussion
initially focused on specific toolkits in
the context of ICT for sustainability
but quickly acknowledged an urgent
need for a variety of technological
interventions to support sustainable
practices and systems. These range
in specificity from domain-specific
(energy-monitoring systems,
permaculture design tools) to generic
tools (GIS tools, statistical packages).
Should we be designing more domainagnostic technologies used to answer
sustainability-related questions
or building more domain-specific
collections of tools? Understanding
the values of the different stakeholders
also influences the types of toolkits to
construct. From scientists to regulators,
vendors to consumers, each group has
a variety of goals requiring different
tools that would demand varying
levels of evaluation. Regardless of
these considerations, the discussants
agreed that essential attributes of
good toolkits include: modularity,

reusability, and usability, in addition to


being constructed in open, accessible,
and transparent ways. This requires an
analysis of stakeholders and a weighing
of design options, and sheds light on
alternatives for evaluation.

REFLECTIONS ON
THE WORKSHOP

Reading through the discussion of


breakout sessions and related papers
above, we reflected on the question
of whether this workshop developed
something new. The well-recognized
tensions of building a community from
a free-standing workshop were apparent
throughout the day. For example,
many newcomers werent tuned into
existent literature, and technology was
often considered speculatively without
an effort to understand the problem
in its larger context. These points in
the conversation disheartened more
experienced attendees. For some, the
wheels of community building seemed
to be spinning in an effort to reach a
foundation commonly agreed upon by a
fluctuating participant base. Seasoned
participants come from different
subfields with varying perspectives,
and mentoring newcomers is perhaps
the most difficult task the greater
community faces. We need mechanisms
to ensure common ground through
common readings. The Sustainable CHI
workshop in 2014 tried to address this
in several ways [2]. At our workshop, it
was apparent that those participants
who had a strong understanding of the
emerging field were able to frame and
discuss the relevance of their research
projects effectively.
The sustainability-specific challenge
for the workshop is that the (quality)
expectations for research results are
different from I improved x by 1.3
percent. The mindset of solutionism
[3] leads to a tempting cycle of find
a gapdo somethingtest your
solutionif it works, publish and
move on. Sustainability brings out the
fact that this is just not good enough:
More of the same or small efficiency
improvements are not the contribution
we need for sustainability. For example,
some app designers seemed unaware
of criticism of the kind expressed in
Yolande Strengers "Resource Man"
[4] or the notion of wicked problems
[5]. This is a learning process for new
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2.

3.

4.

5.

DOI:10.1145/2212877.2212891; http://
doi.acm.org/10.1145/2212877.2212891
Silberman, M.S., Nathan, L., Knowles,
B., Bendor, R., Clear, A., Hakansson, M.,
Dillahunt, T., and Mankoff, J. Next steps
for sustainable HCI. Interactions 21, 5
(2014), 6669. DOI:10.1145/2651820;
http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2651820
Morozov, E. To Save Everything, Click
Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism.
PublicAffairs, 2014.
Strengers, Y. Smart energy in everyday
life: Are you designing for resource
man? Interactions 21, 4 (2014), 2431.
DOI:10.1145/2621931; http://doi.acm.
org/10.1145/2621931
Buchanan, R. Wicked problems in design
thinking. Design Issues 8, 2 (Spring,
1992) 521; http://www.jstor.org/
stable/1511637

Birgit Penzenstadler (www.csulb.


edu/~bpenzens) is an assistant professor at
the California State University, Long Beach.
Her research focuses on software engineering
for sustainability.
birgit@penzenstadler.de

IMAGES BY iCONFERENCE PHOTO

Ankita Raturi is a Ph.D. student in software


engineering at UC Irvine. Her research focuses
on involving sustainability considerations in
software development, software standards,
and metrics.
araturi@uci.edu.

(CS) students in particular. They


need to unlearn small-increment
research to contribute meaningfully
to this dialogue.
Back in our day-to-day schedules of
short-term deadlines and project-based
grant funding, how much of that is
really going to happen, and how will we
make a difference? As pointed out by
Elizabeth Popp Berman in her article
The Grant Economy as Tragedy of the
Commons, the current way of research
financingvia grants that propose
ideas that must already be halfway
implemented to prove feasibilityis
neither sustainable nor conducive to
good research. The grant economy
reinforces solutionism. It's hard to
foment sustainable rebellion when
theres a culture of indebtedness to keep
one in check.
A general sustainability conference
ends up including many different
application domains and helps
sustainability researchers get better
connected, but to educate the domainspecific disciplines about sustainability
concerns we recognize the need

for workshops at different domaingrounded events. Connecting these


two might mean that an ambassador
from the general conference comes
and keynotes each workshop to bring
community members who didn't attend
the general conference up to speed with
the broader movement.
The main message of our article
is that, in sustainability workshops,
we need move from This is what
sustainability is about, we should
all be aware of it to We agree on
what sustainability is about, lets get
an overview of what the state of the
art in this community is that relates
to sustainability. Sustainability
workshops should not be about figuring
out what sustainability means. Instead,
they are, or should be, about critically
analyzing the conferences congruence
with sustainability issues.
Endnotes
1. Erickson, I., Nathan, L., Jafarinaimi, N.,
Knobel, C., and Ratto, M. Meta-making:
Crafting the conversation of values and
design. Interactions 19, 4 (2012), 5459.

Christoph Becker is an assistant professor


at the University of Toronto and a senior
scientist at the Vienna University of Technology.
christoph.becker@utoronto.ca.
Juliet Norton is a Ph.D. student in
informatics at UC Irvine. She researches
sustainability social movements and the
presence of and implications for information
technology.
jnnorton@uci.edu
Bill Tomlinson is a professor of informatics
at UC Irvine. His research interests include
environmental informatics, human-computer
interaction, multi-agent systems, and
computer-supported learning. He received a
Ph.D. in media arts and sciences from MIT.
wmt@uci.edu.
M. Six Silberman works with IG Metall in
Germany. He received a Ph.D. in informatics
from UC Irvine.
silberman.six@gmail.com
Debra Richardson is a professor of
informatics at UC Irvine. Her research
interests include exploring how software
engineering can be made to address socially
relevant problems such as sustainability.
She received a Ph.D. in computer and
information science from the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst.
djr@uci.edu

DOI: 10.1145/2843584 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00
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F O R U M C O N N EC T E D E V E RY D AY
We live in a world where everyday objects, digital services, and human beings are increasingly interconnected.
This forum aims to offer and promote a rich discussion on the challenges of designing for a broader ecology of materials,
artifacts, and practices. Elisa Giaccardi, Editor

Taking the Code


for a Walk
Delfina Fantini van Ditmar, Royal College of Art, Dan Lockton, Royal College of Art

Everything said is said by an observer.


Humberto Maturana (1972)
ur lives are increasingly
informed by an
algorithmic paradigm.
We are profiled and
analyzed, our behavior
translated into data
and connected to
larger bodies of data. But as technology
begins to make autonomous decisions,
it is important to question the place of
humans in algorithmic logic.
The logic reflected in the current
technological landscape has
implications for the interactions we have
with our environment and our ways
of living. In the dominant paradigm,
however, human subjectivity is largely
missing, or founded in simplistic
assumptions without consideration of
users perspectives on data, contextual
significance, and situated values.
How can interacting with these
systems be more commensurate [1]?
Acknowledging and accounting for the
role of users in actively making sense of
their own data is key. As discussed in
second-order cybernetics, all knowledge
is dependent on the observers
involvement [2]. Defined by Heinz von
Foerster as the study of observing
systems, second-order cybernetics
focuses on the observer as subject, aware
of his or her own observing. As Ranulph
Glanville put it, When what is observed
is observed by an observer, that observer
is responsible for the observation, the
sense he makes of it, and the actions he
takes based on that sense [3].
Second-order cybernetics, in
highlighting how meaning is constructed,
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encourages us to acknowledge the


importance of humans in making sense
of data, not just as producers of data. A
concept such as smartness then becomes
relational, a property subjectively
assessed by users through a particular
interaction rather than something that
can be specified in itself.
To explore an alternative to a purely
algorithmic logic, we developed three
practice-based experimental projects
around the idea of the smart home.
By taking a second-order cybernetic
approach, the projects explore a
different perspective on the human
experience of the Internet of Things
(IoT) in practice, in relation to its
background operation.

PROJECT 1:
WHAT THE KITCHEN THINKS
IT KNOWS ABOUT YOU

As part of Universities Week 2014a


series of events about public engagement
with academic researchwe produced
an interactive exhibition at the
Natural History Museum, London,
in conjunction with RCA doctoral
Insights
Becoming the algorithm offers
new ways for IoT designers to
research interaction experiences
with algorithmic logic.
Considering users as subjectivemeaning constructors challenges
algorithmic assumptions and makes
evident designers responsibilities.
Highlighting meaning construction
encourages designers to acknowledge
humans importance in making sense
of, not just producing, data.

candidate Mike Kann. Our aim was


to explore public conceptions of
domestic IoT, introducing the notion of
a smart home and discussing peoples
ideas around it. After introducing
IoT hardware such as sensors and
microcontrollers (presented in an
old museum cabinet), we provided
visitors with a tangible IoT experience
in which we asked them to make a hot
drink, choosing from a range of options
(e.g., decaffeinated coffee, black tea, soy
milk, brown sugar, sweetener). After
preparing their drinks, participants
received a receipt with their choices,
printed alongside suggestions for related
products. These suggestions were taken
from Amazons recommendations. Many
made sense (if you used soy milk, you
probably like rice crackers) but others
were less obviously connected (brown
sugar was linked to tomato sauce).
Now that participants had
experienced one way in which IoT
technology could work in a smart
homehaving their behavior sensed
in real time, perceiving their data being
associated with a larger body of data,
and experiencing assumptions made
about themwe discussed peoples
sentiments toward this kind of datasharing and recommendation. Through
a questionnaire based on scenarios
of IoT applications in the kitchen,
bathroom, and bedroom (Figure 1),
we found that peoples concerns, the
benefits that people can see, and their
willingness to share information change
in different domestic spaces. This
investigation provided a qualitative
dataset of respondents sentiments
toward the implications of domestic
IoT. One finding was that kitchens were
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where people felt most comfortable


sharing their data. It was thus the
kitchen on which the next project
focusedspecifically the fridge, as the
archetypal IoT-connected device.

PROJECT 2:
WHOS BEHIND THE FRIDGE?

I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y Y O O N B A H K

The aim of this project was to question


algorithmic logic in the context of the
smart kitchen. By personally simulating
an Internet-connected fridge, Delfina
explored the process of being an
algorithm through interaction with
three participants who were already
quantifying themselves with fitnesstracker wristbands. Because wearables
can be seen as one of the most visible
faces of IoT technology, we considered
these participants to be early adopters.
To gather background data,
Delfina visited participants at home
for a combination dinner/interview,
recording discussion about their
eating habits and fitness and taking
photographs of the contents of their
fridges (representing potentially sensed
data). Placing herself in the role of the
smart algorithm, she then mined the
data collected to create a fridge-report
email, which she sent to each participant
(without notifying them beforehand)
curated around his or her personal data
as well as retail trends (Figure 2). Each
email incorporated possible commercial
marketing strategies and employed
typical user-friendly language, drawing
on phrasing and style from Google and

Apples Siri. The content simulated


possible outcomes of a connected fridge
(e.g., suggested recipes, facts about the
fridges capabilities, advertisements,
comments related to the wristband, and
an Amazon shopping list). It was a mix of
big data assumptions, real data from
each participants fridge (from photos),
and qualitative data from the interviews.
While creating the emails, taking
on the role of the algorithm allowed
us to see the complexities of the
process. What was the best way to
articulate the report: which style of
language to use and what to choose
in the series of decisions taken? We
were forced to consider that whoever
is behind usin the sense of the
algorithms creatorshas implications
for the algorithmic outcome, and
unavoidably it will reflect the
incentives of commercial interests.
Since the algorithms are not neutral,
there are many implications for the
design process. What are the social
objectives of the technology? Do we
care about your health and budget?
How much of that do we know? Do we
want to do business with you? Delfina
experimented by pushing products and
ordering elements in the Amazon list,
for example, putting recipe ingredients
automatically into the shopping list or
choosing product prices (olive oil can be
very expensive or very cheap).
By using participants fridge data
and by playing with what she knew
from the qualitative interviews,

Delfina was able to make the emails


make sense: She was accurately
matching the fridge elements with
the interview data. But she also
created deliberate mistakes, as a way
to explore how autobiographical and
contextual information is otherwise
missing. For example, in one email,
Delfina suggested chorizo to the
participant because she had sausages
in her fridge, even though she knew
from the context that a German
friend had left those sausages, and
that the participant herself very much
disliked them.
If we relate this to second-order
cybernetics, Delfinas experience is
an example of how, in the process of
attempting to personify ourselves as
an algorithmic entity, as observers
(in this case designers) we can never
actually stand outside the situation.
Delfina could not detach herself from
the system that she was observing;
the ideas that occurred to her as
worth pursuing, with her degree of
understanding, are different from
those someone else might suggest.
Through this experiment, instead of
working out the "smart" in smart home
or smart fridge as a property stored
in a device, we experienced a secondorder cybernetics description of
intelligence being a property that the
observer attributes to a relationship
between the system and the
environment, rather than something
that exists in itself.

Figure 1. Two smart home scenarios presented to members of the public.


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F O R U M C O N N EC T E D E V E RY D AY
PROJECT 3:
SPECULATING ON
THE I oT BACKSTAGE

Since the IoT is characterized by being


an active network of objects, humans,
and the Internet, relationships are very
important. Building on the Whos
behind the fridge? experiment and
its insights, we decided to explore how
people imagine what we might call the
IoTs backstage, in contrast to the front
stage exhibited through user-friendly
emails and interfaces.
Through a workshop with eight
participants, representing a spectrum of
technological literacy from smartphone
users to those with programming
experience, participants manifested
the data journeys they imagined
for an Internet-connected fridge. In a
gallery space, participants were asked
to imagine they had a connected fridge
in their home that collects data about
its contents, and to trace where they
expected this data would go (or be
received from). Each user started with
an empty fridge and differently colored
thread, which they used to connect the
fridge to various entities they came
across (from other participants) or to new
entities they imagined (Figures 3 and 4).
The outcome comprised a diversity
of possible data paths and interactions,
including other users, random recipes,
repair services, a home hub, appliance
group service, farmers, local stores,
the cloud, big data, weather reports,
advertising agencies, emergency services,
and the doctor. The National Security
Agency and Google were created as
entities by different participantsand
then linked together. One user even
wrote at the end of a journey, And from
here who knows? Maybe up for grabs.
Following the mapping, participants
explained their data journeys.
Interestingly, in the discussion of
possible backstage scenarios they
explained how their thinking had
shifted as they saw and considered the
journeys and entities created by others.
Here again we saw the second-order
principle at work: Each participant
(observer) could not be detached from
his or her understanding of the systems.

Figure 2. An example of one of the


emails sent by Your Smart Fridge
(yoursmartfridge@gmail.com).

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FROM DATA CONSUMERS


TO DATA OBSERVERS

As Paul Dourish discusses,


technological practice is often regarded

as a problem to be solved through


searching for universal principles and
decontextualized generalizations [4].
By taking second-order cybernetics as
a framework and developing a series
of experimental projects, we have
explored a range of challenges to be
considered in the design of the next
generation of IoT devices and services. It
became clear, particularly in the second
experiment, that it was important to
acknowledge relationality and context
(you, the environment, and the device),
subjectivity and individuality (you and
your lifestyle in a non-algorithmic logic),
and the importance of the situated meaning
of our sensed data (even if habits can
reveal quite a lot about your behavior,
designers must consider the space and
indeterminacy of the observer and his or
her context).
The methods used, particularly
becoming the algorithm, offer a
new way for designers working in IoT
contexts to explore and challenge the
assumptions behind algorithmic logic
in a more experiential way, considering
users as subjective constructors of
meaning, and in this sense making
evident the responsibility of the
designers to leave the observer space for
interpretation in the IoT design process.
The idea of becoming the algorithm
could be taken as an example to a range
of contexts to research the experience of
interacting with algorithmic logic from
the other direction.
There are further questions raised
by the projects. How can the design of
future technology embrace the idea of
the subject as part of the algorithmic
paradigm and provide a space to give
interpretive agency to the user? How
can it treat the construction of the self
as an ongoing process (rather than an
accumulation of previous data, machine
learning, and big data inferences)?
How can the data journeys be made
transparent? If we define smart as a
relational property, with intelligence
being a property of the system rather
than in the device itself, this requires a
different logic from that of conventional
machine learning.
How can the designer provide space
to give interpretive agency to the user?
What would change if we were no
longer seen as consumers, but rather
as active and reflective observers of
our data? At present, IoT applications
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Figure 3. Data journeys imagined by participants, using colored threads to represent where data from the smart fridge goes.

devices and services.


There is a certain uncertainty
that characterizes human beings that
will never be able to be covered by
technology. In an IoT environment,
our machines should also acknowledge
their ignorance.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Figure 4. One participants origins for his


imagined data journeys, from his fridge to
other destinations. The participant also
connected to himself.

standardize the models of users


employed: Everything said is not said
by an observer. In contrast, applying
second-order cybernetics would
move us from a model of detached,
objective users toward seeing users as
responsible participants in both data
production and interpretation.
Designers have the power to frame
the problems: By considering human
subjectivity (therefore differences
between us) and by acknowledging
that we are situated, experiential,
and relational subjects, there are
both challenges and opportunities for
designers of new generations of IoT

Delfina: Special thanks to my Ph.D.


tutor Ranulph Glanville (19462014)
for his invaluable guidance during my
Ph.D. journey. The title of this article is
inspired by Ranulphs contribution to
take into account the observer in design
research and his fascination with Paul
Klees work Taking a Line for a Walk,
which inspired him in his long-term
interest in lines and boundaries. Also,
I would like to thank Paul Pangaro
for agreeing to become my external
supervisor once Ranulph passed away.
Endnotes
1. In a world of increasing complexity,
designing digital technologies that
facilitate meaningful interactions ...
requires an understanding of how to
design for commensurabilitythat is,
making our ability to connect across
networks commensurate with our current
practices in the physical world. Giaccardi,
E. Designing the connected everyday.
Interactions 22, 1 (2015), 2631.
2. Dubberly, H., Haque, U., Pangaro, P.
What is interaction? Are there different
types? Interactions 16, 1 (2009), 6975;

Dubberly, H., Pangaro, P. Cybernetics


and service-craft: Language for behaviorfocused design. Kybernetes 36, 9/10 (2007),
13011317.
3. Glanville, R. Second order cybernetics.
Encyclopaedia of Life Support
Systems. EoLSS Publishers, Oxford,
2002; http://www.facstaff.bucknell.
edu/jvt002/brainmind/Readings/
SecondOrderCybernetics.pdf; Glanville,
R. Try again. Fail again. Fail better: The
cybernetics in design and the design in
cybernetics. Kybernetes 36, 9/10 (2007),
11731206; http://www.asc-cybernetics.
org/systems_papers/C%20and%20D%20
paper%200670360902.pdf
4. Dourish, P. and Mainwaring, S.D.
Ubicomps colonial impulse. Proc. of
Ubicomp 2012. 133142; http://www.
dourish.com/publications/2012/
ubicomp2012-colonial.pdf
Delfina Fantini van Ditmar is a Ph.D.
candidate in Innovation Design Engineering
at the Royal College of Art, London. Her work
has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert
Museum and the Natural History Museum. In
2011 she was awarded the Heinz von Foerster
Award by the American Society for Cybernetics.
delfina.fantini@network.rca.ac.uk
Dan Lockton is the author of Design with
Intent (OReilly, 2016) and Visiting Research
Tutor in Innovation Design Engineering at
the Royal College of Art. He is interested in
relationships between design and peoples
behavior, understanding of systems, and
consequences for society and sustainability.
dan@danlockton.co.uk

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F O R U M H E A LT H M AT T E R S
This forum is dedicated to personal health in all its many facets: decision-making, goal setting, celebration, discovery,
reflection, and coordination, among others. We look at innovations in interactive technologies and how they help address
current critical healthcare challenges. Gillian R. Hayes, Editor

From Tracking to Personal Health

Susanne Boll, University of Oldenburg, Wilko Heuten, OFFIS Institute for Information Technology,
Jochen Meyer, OFFIS Institute for Information Technology
ersonal health has been
gaining more and more
attention lately, for good
reasons. Two figures
in particular provide
strong motivation for
this shift: In 2020, 73
percent of the worlds deaths will stem
from noncommunicable diseases [1].
These are largely preventable [2],
particularly by reducing risk factors
such as smoking, poor nutrition, and
inadequate physical inactivity. Hence
the research field of personal health has
become very important. Its defining
characteristic is that the individual
plays an important role in transitioning
to and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The miniaturization of sensors
and actuators as well as new battery
technology have enabled the
development of mobile apps and
wearable devices that can detect a
plethora of health-related data, such as
steps taken, miles cycled or run, heart
rate, sleep quality, and muscular effort.
The hidden marketing promise is that
merely tracking your health will make
you healthier. However, tracking is
only the beginning of a long pathway
toward a healthier lifestyle, from
monitoring health to taking action.
The first barrier is the actual device
itself and its use in daily life. Today,
many devices are bought as a kind of
toy, and to this extent, they are ends
in themselves. For tracking to become
successful, however, the device must
be seamlessly integrated into daily life.
But many people do not like technical
devicesthey forget to wear them and
to charge the batteries; they find they
do not match their personal taste; or,

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J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

in certain situations, they are not even


allowed to wear them.
Another barrier is understanding
and interpreting the collected
data. Step counting seems to have
become the silver bullet of activity
tracking, andthough not an official
recommendationwalking at least
10,000 steps a day has become a
primary fitness goal. But what does this
mean? Do these 10,000 steps imply
that I am healthy? If I miss out on
this goal, am I unhealthy? Are 10,000
steps good for everyone? How are
non-stepping activities such as cycling
accounted for? Tracking devices keep
us focused on low-level data rather
than on higher-level personal health
goals. Simple counting fails to answer
questions such as: Do I live in a healthy
way? What can I do to achieve a better
lifestyle? Many people have health
goals, either explicit or implicit, as part
of their daily routine. And these health
goals, rather than steps, counts, and
scores, must become the benchmark for
personal health.
Experiences from our own [3]
and related recent work [4] show the
many obstacles that individuals face
Insights
Tracking ones health has become
highly popular, but is not sufficient to
make oneself healthier.
There are numerous obstacles to
personal health, from usability to
interpreting and understanding data to
designing meaningful interventions.
Solving these issues could help us in
designing life-long support systems
for personal health.

when seeking support for a healthier


lifestyle. Perception and appearance,
wearability, intensity of interaction,
and activity measures and validity
of data together play an important
role. For tracking to be successful in
promoting personal health, we will
need designs, concepts, and data
models that match the users personal
preferences and intentions.

PLURALITY OF DEVICES
AND DATA OWNERSHIP

Another key obstacle is the siloing


of data between devices and
manufacturers. If we could easily
switch from one device to another,
individuals could choose when and
how to useor not to useany given
device at any point in time. This would
address the demand for multiple
devices to work for the same health
feature, and for observing multiple
parameters using different devices
the small and simple activity tracker
that is acceptable during work hours,
but the cool-looking one with lots of
features worn for leisure time; the
wristband worn for activity tracking,
the ambient bed sensor for sleep
monitoring. Consequently, mobile
phones or smart watches will surely be
important building blocks of personal
health-monitoring systems. They may
become the information terminal, the
universal journaling system, or the
fallback device for general behavior
sensing. But we do not believe that
either will ever be the one and only
device. Individuals are selecting and
swapping different devices for different
reasons, and these devices change over
time as new products enter the market.
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With this in mind, the integration


of health-related data from multiple
sources and providers is a key
requirement for future health systems.
While many manufacturers and
portal providers integrate third-party
sources into their services, they often
are quite restrictive in granting others
access to their own data. APIs may
not exist at all, and if they do there
may be restrictions regarding which
and how much data can be accessed.
A simple export as a .csv or an Excel
file for the users own records is often
impossible. Fitbit even recently
introduced an artificial 30-day limit
for manually exporting data, foiling
its claim of your data belongs to
you. Still, we remain optimistic
that market developments, user
demands, or regulatory interventions
will ensure truly free access to ones
own data, enabling exciting new
opportunities for user-oriented
health applications. Systems such
as TicTrac (Figure 1; https://www.
tictrac.com/) or Zenobase (https://
zenobase.com/) already do a nice job
in integrating multiple sources. They
access portals such as Fitbit, Garmin
Connect, or MyFitnessPal to gather
a users activity, nutrition, and other
data, and evaluate the data against
given goals. But these systems tend
to be difficult to use and focus on the
analytical presentation of data with bar
and pie charts rather than on intuitive
visualizations. The systems today
address the data-enthusiast quantifiedselfer much more than the moderately
engaged Jane and John Doe who do not
want to become data scientists of their
own health data.

FROM SCATTERED DATA TO


A PERSONAL HEALTH VIEW

The use of different tracking devices


leaves the individual with a patchwork
of health-related data. However,
looking at individual and unrelated
health features is not sufficient. It is
well understood that nutrition, sleep,
physical exercise, mental state, and
numerous other non-clinical factors
all contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
While single tracking devices exist
for individual health-related features,
we lack methods and tools that help
individuals observe and understand
their personal health in its entirety. In
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Figure 1. TicTrac. Lots of great features, but maybe challenging to understand.

our Lotus system, we fuse and analyze


a users data from different activity
trackers, fitness portals, networked
scales, and sleep monitors into one data
portal. The portal not only collects
the different data sources under one
roof but also aims at the aggregation,
fusion, and interpretation of the data
(Figure 2). With an architecture that
aggregates low-level health features
such as steps or calories burned into
higher-level personal health values
and scores, we aim to provide a
holistic view of an individuals heartfriendliness behavior. In a long-term

study, we are trying to understand


whether personal reflection on this
holistic view of the users health
changes the users attitude toward
health.

FINDING OPPORTUNE
MOMENTS FOR HEALTH

Mobile phones and smart watches


have great potential for digital
interventions, helping the individual
to make changes or to stay on track for
a personal health goal. However, when
to offer such digital interventions still
needs to be understood. With their
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73

COMMUNICATIONSAPPS

F O R U M H E A LT H M AT T E R S
FROM DEVICES AND
HEALTH FEATURES

Pedometer
Cardio-Cals
per Day

sum()

Cardio-Cals
per Week

Workout
Monitor

5
f()

Body Scale

BMI

avg()

Last weeks
average BMI

3
2

Blood Pressure
Monitor

Blood
Pressure

avg()

Last weeks
average BP

latest issue,

Figure 2. Aggregation to turn data into meaningful information.

past issues,

comprehensive sensor technology,


wearable devices offer the opportunity
to detect individual behavior and
context and, from this, to anticipate
opportune moments for delivering
health-related messages to the
individual. Recent research looks at the
rationales for when individuals would
be receptive to messages during the day
on their mobile devices. To understand
these opportune moments for health
interventions, we investigated the
contexts in which users typically
perceive and react to (or ignore) mobile
notifications [5]. We analyzed the
usage of several mobile phone sensors
to see whether they could help us
understand when people respond to
notifications. Based on observations
of when individuals respond, we can
now issue notifications at times and
in contexts when the notification has
a higher chance of being attended to.
This creates the opportunity to remind

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TO AGGREGATION
AND INTERPRETATION

J A N U A R Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 16

Many systems today take


a perspective of days,
weeks, and months. But
to support individuals on
their lifelong journey to
personal health, we also
must take a lifetime or
life span perspective.

individuals about their health goals in


moments when they might be available
for the message and potentially for the
health-related action.

TIME FOR DIGITAL


INTERVENTIONSFROM
MOMENTS TO LIFE SPANS

The temporal perspective of when


can range from an actual moment
to longer time spans. The shorter
perspective is about moments on
this very day or this recent week, and
involves encouragement to achieve
goals, and often to induce behavior
changes. For different reasons,
many technical systems today take a
perspective of days, weeks, and maybe
months. But to support individuals
on their lifelong journey to personal
health, we also must take a lifetime
or life span perspective. This is about
times when ones life changes, about
self-understanding, and ideally
about making informed decisions
about health behavior. Long-term
monitoring is feasible with todays
technology (provided we take into
account the user requirements on
sensor use, as described earlier). Our
vision is of the personal health system
as a lifelong navigation system for
health [6,7]. Such a system would
remain in the background over years
of relative stability but become active
when ones life changes and some
adjustment is required. Examples
might be life events that require
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behavior changes to sustain a healthy


state, such as having children,
changing jobs, or moving to another
city. The system might also detect
slow changes that can be hard to
notice personally, such as the gradual
increase in weight by one pound each
year until someone moves out of their
target weight range. We need to move
from thinking about astronomical
(day, month, year), cultural (week),
and mathematical (decade) time spans
to considering personally significant
time spans and events when designing
health-support systems.

designed and evaluated a custommade smart bracelet for supporting


regular water intake, WaterJewel
[9]. The peripheral display was more
effective than a comparable app on
a smartphone and the aesthetics
and form factorimportant user
requirements for wearable health
devices [10]were also appealing.
While these prototypes and studies
are only examples, they show the
importance of understanding how to
deliver appealing health interventions
to individuals.

THE LAST MILEDELIVERING


WEARABLE HEALTH
INTERVENTIONS

There are many barriers and


obstacles to personal health, from
an individuals actions to the actual
devices used to monitor those actions.
Only by addressing all these different
research challenges, from measuring
and understanding the individuals
personal health needs to tailoring
digital interventions to the individuals
personal context in daily life, will we be
on the right path to technology support
for personal health.

The last step of delivering digital


interventions on mobile phones, smart
watches, or other wearable devices is
the actual message and presentation
design. For a digital intervention to
be successful, the interface design is
crucial. What we call the last mile
is the question of how to deliver an
intervention such as a reminder to
be physically active or a warning to
avoid a situation related to smoking.
While text messages and notifications
are the classic means for this, it is
not yet understood what message on
which device in which presentation
format works best. Recent work has
described this as a theoretical gap
that must be bridged between the
behavioral sciences and humancomputer interaction research [8].
A message needs to trigger the right
action; therefore, we need to carefully
design messages that motivate us,
cheer us up, or warn us in the right
way. The device and the modality
of the message are also highly
important. Messages that beep at the
wrong time may be annoying; quiet
notifications may not be perceived.
Adaptation to the individuals
context and personal preferences
are crucial. We will also need to
better explore what role aesthetics
and fashion will play in delivering
mobile health interventions.
Smartphones and smart watches will
be two out of many devices in the
future. Will fashion accessories be
more successful? In recent work, we

CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The discussion of the potentials


and challenges of personal health
technologies has been inspired by many
wonderful researchers, not all of whom
we can cite here. This includes, but
is not restricted to, the magnificent
participants of a recent Dagstuhl
workshop on Life-long health
behavior-change technologies (http://
www.dagstuhl.de/de/programm/
kalender/semhp/?semnr=15262),
as well as recent workshops at CHI,
CSCW, and PervasiveHealth. We look
forward to the developments to come
in this exciting field of work.
Endnotes
1. 20082013 Action Plan for the Global
Strategy for the Prevention and Control of
Noncommunicable Diseases; http://www.
who.int/nmh/Actionplan-PC-NCD-2008.pdf
2. Global Action Plan for the Prevention and
Control of NCDs 20132020; http://apps.
who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/94384/1/
9789241506236_eng.pdf
3. Meyer, J., Fortmann, J., Wasmann, M.,
and Heuten, W. Making lifelogging usable:
Design guidelines for activity trackers.
Multimedia Modeling. Springer, 2015.
4. Epstein, D.A., Ping, A., Fogarty, J., and

Munson, S.A. A lived informatics model


of personal informatics. Proc. of the 2015
ACM International Joint Conference on
Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing. ACM,
New York, 2015, 731742.
5. Poppinga, B., Heuten, W., and Boll, S.
Sensor-based identification of opportune
moments to trigger unobtrusive
notifications. IEEE Pervasive Computing
13, 1 (2014), 2229.
6. Meyer, J., Lee, Y.S., Siek, K., Boll, S.,
Mayora, O., and Rcker, C. Wellness
interventions and HCI: Theory,
practice, and technology. ACM
SIGHIT Record 2, 2 (2012), 5153.
DOI:10.1145/2384556.2384564
7. Meyer, J., Simske, S., Siek, K.A., Gurrin,
C.G., and Hermens, H. Beyond quantified
self: Data for wellbeing. CHI Extended
Abstracts. ACM, New York, 2014, 9598.
DOI:10.1145/2559206.2560469
8. Hekler, E.B., Klasnja, P., Froehlich, J.E.,
and Buman, M.P. Mind the theoretical
gap: Interpreting, using, and developing
behavioral theory in HCI research. Proc. of
the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors
in Computing Systems. ACM, New York,
2013, 33073316.
9. Fortmann, F., Cobus, V., Heuten, W., and
Boll, S. Waterjewel: Design and evaluation
of a bracelet to promote a better drinking
behaviour. Proc. of the 13th International
Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous
Multimedia. 2014, 5867.
10. Fortmann, F., Heuten, W., and Boll, S.
User requirements for digital jewellery.
Proc. of the 2015 British HCI Conference.
ACM, New York, 2015, 119125.
Susanne Boll is professor of media
informatics and multimedia systems in
the Department of Computer Science at
the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Her
research interests lie in the fields of semantic
retrieval of digital media, mobile and pervasive
systems, and intelligent user interfaces. Her
recent focus is on pervasive interaction for
personal health systems.
susanne.boll@informatik.uni-oldenburg.de
Wilko Heuten is senior principle scientist
and manager of the Interactive Systems group
at OFFIS Institute for Information Technology
in Oldenburg, Germany. His research interest
is the design and development of pervasive and
multimodal interactive technologies to support
everyday life activities.
wilko.heuten@offis.de
Jochen Meyer is the director of the
R&D division Health in the OFFIS Institute
for Information Technology in Oldenburg,
Germany. His research interests lie in
technologies for prevention and well-being,
ambient assisted living, and personal use of
multimedia data.
meyer@offis.de

DOI: 10.1145/2843586 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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F O R U M I N T E R A C T I O N T EC H N O L O G I E S
Envisioning, designing, and implementing the user interface require a comprehensive understanding
of interaction technologies. In this forum we scout trends and discuss new technologies with the potential
to influence interaction design. Albrecht Schmidt, Editor

Biosignals in
Human-Computer
Interaction

Albrecht Schmidt, University of Stuttgart

n this article I talk about how to


interfaceliterallywith the
human body. Of particular focus
here is electrical interfaces that
have gained popularity in the HCI
community over the past several
years. Neural and muscular
activities in the human body generate
measurable, discriminable electrical
signals. In medical diagnostics,
measuring and analyzing these signals
is common practice, as is inducing
muscular activity through electrical
signals. With improved signalacquisition technologies and advances
in signal processing, the electrical
interface for HCI is getting more
attention.
In 1786, Luigi Galvani stumbled
across the link between muscle activity
and electricity in his experiments on
dead frogs (Figure 1). He investigated
the phenomenon further in an article
published in 1791 about electricity
as a vital force of life. These results
were sensational at the time but have
continued to excite people ever since.
Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and movies
based on the book hark back to this idea.
Science has moved on since then.
Electrical signals measured from the
body are important for diagnoses,
and electro stimulation is used in
various ways for rehabilitation and
pain management. In the past 50
years, medicine, sports science, and
psychology have made impressive
advancements in these areas. When
researchers from these fields glance at
publications in HCI, they might feel our
experiments are closer to Galvanis frog
than to the state of the art, and that our
visions are more fiction than reality.

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Nonetheless, research in HCI that


seeks to interface with the human
body has its unique place and is vital to
the relevance of electrophysiological
research in turn. Understanding
how to use electrical connections
as new interaction modalities,
creating interaction techniques and
devices based on biosignals, and
using physiological information as
a means of evaluation is all clearly
within our discipline. However, it is
essential we understand the broader
interdisciplinary state of the art;
much of the prior work has been
published outside the CHI community.
The contributions we publish in our
community should have a clear, novel
contribution to HCI and should go
beyond replicating experiments well
known in the other disciplines.

MEASURING BIOSIGNALS

Biosignals are signals from living


organisms that provide information
about the biological and physiological
structures and their dynamics (see [1]
for a more detailed explanation). Here
are some examples that are useful in the
context of HCI:
Insights
The electrical interface to
the human body offers new
opportunities for HCI.
HCI researchers should
become familiar with work
in other disciplines that have
been exploring biosignals.
Sensing surface EMG is a good
starting point for exploring this
area of research.

Bioelectrical signals: signals that


originate in nerves and muscles.
Electrical conductance:
Electrodermal activity refers to the
variation of the electrical conductivity
of the skin, in particular electrodermal
resistance and electrodermal potential.
Galvanic skin response (GSR) measures
their combined values by measuring the
resistance on the skin.
Bioimpedance signals: the resistance
measured when applying a small
alternating current to tissue (typically
A and frequencies above 50kHz).
Bioacoustic signals: Sounds created
by changes in the body, such as blood
flow, heart function, ventilation in the
lungs, digestion, and movement, can be
detected with microphones.
Bio-optical signals: signals that
capture the change in optical properties
(even if not visible to the human eye)
of an organism or a body part, for
example, blood-oxygen saturation
based on reflection or pulse rate by
change in skin color.
There has been significant research
in the medical field on each of these
and many more signal types. The
acquisition of such signals, their
processing, and their interpretation
are widely taught in undergraduate
and graduate lectures in medicine,
medical device technology programs,
and sports science. There are also
many textbooks on the general subject
as well as on individual signals. The
signals listed here have in common
that they are captured as or converted
into a time series of electrical signals
that can be further analyzed for their
known relationship with physical or
psychological states, such as fatigue or
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

Figure 1. Historical image depicting Galvani's experiments with inducing muscle movement through electricity more than 200 years ago.

anxiety. Here I will focus on passively


measured electrical biosignals from
muscular and neural activity, as
they are a good starting point for
experiments in this area.

ELECTRICAL BIOSIGNALS

Electrical signals measured from the


human body typically originate from
neural or muscular activity. Signals
differ in their amplitude (microvolt to
millivolt) and in their frequency (for
details see [1]). Here are some examples
of signals that can be captured using
just surface electrodes:
EMG (electromyogram): electrical
signals generated by muscles. The
amplitude is about 50 V to 5 mV and
the frequency ranges from 2 Hz to 500
Hz.
ECG (electrocardiogram): the
electrical signals that originate from
the activity of the human heart. The
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

amplitude is about 1 mV to 10 mV and


the frequency ranges from 0.05 Hz to
100 Hz. Based on these signals, further
measures such as pulse or pulse-rate
variability can be calculated.
EOG (electrooculogram): the
electrical signals from the change of
the corneo-retinal potential due to eye
movement (see [2]). The amplitude is
about 0.5 V to 5 mV and the frequency
ranges from dc up to 100 Hz.
EEG (electroencephalogram):
electrical signals from the brain
measured on the scalp with a
multichannel data-acquisition device.
The amplitude is about 2 V to 100 V
and the frequency ranges from 0.5 Hz
up to 100 Hz. Specific frequency ranges
are associated with different stages
(e.g., the Theta range is 4 Hz to 8 Hz
and changes are observed according
to metal alertness; sleep spindles and
k-complexes are bursts that occur

during sleep phases).


EP/ RP (evoked-potential/eventrelated potential): electrical signals as
responses of the brain to external (e.g.,
visual, auditory) stimuli. The range in
frequency is from 1 Hz to 3 kHz and
signals have an amplitude from 0.1 V
to 20 V.
In medical applications, needle
electrodes or implanted electrodes are
used. However, for applications in HCI,
typically only surface electrodes are
appropriate. With surface electrodes
the measured signal is always a
combination (superposition) of many
individual signals (e.g., from many
neurons or motor units); hence, further
signal processing is required for most
use cases [3].
The precise position where the
electrodes are placed (for EEG on the
head, for EOG in the facial area, and
for EMG on skeletal muscles) defines
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F O R U M I N T E R A C T I O N T EC H N O L O G I E S
Amplifier and Filter
AD-converter

Signal Processing

Radio

Analog-In
GND

Digital-In
GND

Digital-In
GND

Figure 2. The major components in acquiring signals: electrodes, amplifiers and analog
signal conditioning (e.g., filtering), analog-digital conversion, digital signal processing, and
wireless connection.

Figure 3. A simple circuit to record EMG using the sound card of a personal computer
(reproduced from [5]). ELECTRODE_1 and ELECTRODE_2 are attached to the surface on
the human body above a muscle about an inch apart. ELECTRODE_GND is also attached to
the human body in a non-active area (e.g., the elbow). The output (X1) is connected to the
microphone-in of a computer. For more detailed information, please visit http://albrechtschmidt.blogspot.de/2015/12/experimenting-with-emg.html

which signal or superimposition of


signals is acquired. The EMG and EOG
signals measured are directly related
to the local activity of the muscle or
eye. The underlying assumption in
EEG is that different brain regions
are recruited for performing different
tasks or actions (e.g., motor functions,
sensory functions, emotional
engagement, visual processing, etc.).
Hence, the measured activity on the
skull reflects to some extent these
spatially distributed activities of the
brain but is always a combined signal.

A good starting point


is EMG or EOG, as it
is easy to see if the
measured data relates
well to the actions
performed.
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The number of electrodes (e.g., 32,


64, or 128) is related to the ability
to do source separation of cortical
activity in the brain. More obvious are
the implications of the locations for
electrodes on muscles; typically the
measured signal relates to the muscle in
the area below.

TECHNOLOGICAL DRIVERS

Acquiring information with sensors and


interfacing electrically with the human
body has become much easier. Fifty
years ago, biosignal-acquisition devices
were costly and bulky. The operation
of these devices was complicated,
and their use was targeted at medical
diagnostics and research in sports
science.
Moving from large analog
technologies to digital technologies led
to a first wave of consumer devices in
the 1980s, mainly with applications
in biofeedback. One example of an
envisioned commercial input device
that was never released was the Atari
Mindlink in 1984 (http://www.
atarimuseum.com/videogames/
consoles/2600/mindlink.html). This
headband aimed at acquiring a simple
electrical signal from the users head.
It was apparently not a breakthrough,
though, sensing mainly muscle activity
(EMG) in the forehead (e.g., frowning),
and it did not really link to the mind
because it did not read EEG signals.
Over the past 20 years, signal
acquisitionin particular, analogdigital converters and operation
amplifiershas improved massively
and become cheap. Signal-processing
algorithms can be efficiently
implemented on FPGAs and on cheap
processors. Additionally, wireless
transmission technologies (e.g.,
Bluetooth low energy) are widely
available and can be easily integrated
with the acquisition hardware. Figure
2 depicts the basic architecture of a
physiological signal-acquisition system.
Creating such a system has become
much easier and is even feasible for
hobbyists. Many DIY tutorials for
biosignal acquisition are available;
several open source projects are
thriving in this domain (see below for
some links).
The lower cost of hardware for
acquiring biosignals has led to more
people exploring these signals for
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projects. A good starting point for


initial experiments and exploring
the possibilities of this technology
is a simple and inexpensive Arduino
shield (https://backyardbrains.
com/products/muscleSpikerShield).
Accessible technologies like this have
enabled many exciting (and also many
boring) projects, ranging from emotion
recognition to controllers for impaired
users and biosignal-responsive artistic
installations.
EMG, ECG, and EOG commonly
use stick-on electrodes, basically an
adhesive plaster with conductive
material in the center. For EEG
there are special caps with built-in
electrodes. In general these electrodes
require a gel (wet electrodes) to make
a good electrical connection to the
skin. In the past few years, a number
of dry electrodes have become
available, and there is active research
and new products centered around
incorporating dry electrodes into tightfitting garments (e.g., sports bras).

REVERSING DIRECTION
EXCITING THE USER

As Galvanis frog experiment showed,


applying electrical signals to a muscle
will lead to contractions and movement.
With advanced control electronics and
well-placed electrodes, fine-grained
control of muscle movement can be
realized. The exciting fact here is that
the applied electrical signal acts only
as a control signal for the muscle; the
signal does not need to provide the
energy for the actual movement. Large
movements can be initiated by the user
with a small battery-driven device.
Sports medicine researches and
uses electrostimulation [4]. There are
two main applications: a low-frequency
modality (<15 Hz, < 10 percent
voluntary muscle contraction force, to
improve recovery in endurance sports)
and the high-frequency modality (>
40 Hz, > 50 percent voluntary muscle
contraction force, to improve strength
and power). Electrical stimulation
is also used in pain management;
transcutaneous electrical nerve
stimulation (TENS) devices are widely
available for therapeutic use. These
devices are connected via electrodes to
the human body and apply a low-voltage

electrical current.
There are also communities that
explore the application of signals to the
brain. Various DIY tutorials are out
there for brain stimulation (electrical
and magnetic) as well as for biohacking.
This is extremely risky without
advanced medical training. Although
these technologies have become
accessible, there are ethical questions
that must be answered before such
technologies are applied in HCI.

STARTING POINTS
FOR EXPLORATION

To start exploring the electrical


interface to the human body, it is
useful to get started with passively
measuring one of the signals. A good
starting point is EMG or EOG, as it
is easy to see if the measured data
relates well to the actions performed.
Before experimenting, it is essential
to get ethics approval and read up
on the physiological concepts, the
signal-acquisition principles, and most
important the safety precautions.
Without appropriate training,
experimenting can be dangerous!
Depending on budget, one can
acquire a medical-grade 128-channel
data-acquisition unit, which offers a lot
of possibilities, even for EEG. But to
start, an Arduino shield (e.g., Muscle
SpikerShield, https://backyardbrains.
com/products/muscleSpikerShield;
Muscle Sensor v3, https://www.
sparkfun.com/products/13027) and
simple stand-alone data-acquisition
hardware (e.g., https://backyardbrains.
com/products/) are providing great
opportunities for building functional
prototypes and experimenting with
EMG control. Bhaskar et al. [5] present
a very simple schematic (Figure 3) that
implements an EMG recording circuit
that can be connected to the sound
card of a personal computer. OpenBCI
(http://docs.openbci.com/tutorials/01GettingStarted) and OpenEEG (http://
openeeg.sourceforge.net/doc/index.
html) allow exploring EEG and EP
using open and well-documented
platforms.
The term physiological computing
(http://www.physiologicalcomputing.
net/) and affective computing (http://
affect.media.mit.edu/) are strongly

related to using biosignals for humancomputer interaction. A recent


issue of the ACM ToCHI journal on
physiological computing [6] provides
an extensive overview of the state of the
art in this field.
In upcoming issues we will look at
some of these physiological signals, in
particular EEG and electro stimulation,
in more detail.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the


projects SimpleSkin (European
Commission, FP7 FET Open, #323849)
and Quantitative Methods for Visual
Computing (DFG, SFB-TRR161).
Endnotes
1. Cohen, A. Biomedical signals: Origin
and dynamic characteristics; frequencydomain analysis. The Biomedical
Engineering Handbook (Second Edition).
CRC Press, 2000.
2. Malmivuo, J. Chapter 28: The Electric
Signals Originating in the Eye. In
Bioelectromagnetism: Principles
and Applications of Bioelectric and
Biomagnetic Fields. Oxford University
Press, 1995. DOI: 10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780195058239.003.0028
3. Konrad, P. The ABC of EMG: A
practical introduction to kinesiological
electromyography. Version 1.0. Noraxon
Inc., 2005; http://www.noraxon.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/12/ABC-EMGISBN.pdf
4. Maffiuletti, N.A. The use of electro
stimulation exercise in competitive sport.
International Journal of Sports Physiology
and Performance 1, 4 (2006), 406.
5. Bhaskar, A, Tharion, E., and Devasahayam,
S.R. Computer-based inexpensive
surface electromyography recording for a
student laboratory. Advances in Physiology
Education 31, 2 (2007), 242243.
6. Da Silva, H.P., Fairclough, S. Holzinger,
A., Jacob, R., and Tan, D. Introduction
to the special issue on physiological
computing for human-computer
interaction. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum.
Interact. 21, 6 (Jan. 2015), Article 29. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2688203
Albrecht Schmidt is a professor of
human-computer interaction and cognitive
systems at the University of Stuttgart. His
research interests are at the intersection of
ubiquitous computing and human-computer
interaction, including large-display systems,
mobile and embedded interaction, and tools to
augment the human mind. He has a Ph.D. from
Lancaster University.
albrecht.schmidt@vis.uni-stuttgart.de

DOI: 10.1145/2851072 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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This forum is dedicated to maximizing the success of HCI practitioners within the frenetic world of product and service design.
It focuses on UX strategy approaches, leadership, management techniques, and above all the challenge of bringing HCI
to peer-level status with longstanding business disciplines such as marketing and engineering. Daniel Rosenberg, Editor

Accessibility for
Business and Pleasure

Sarah Horton and David Sloan, The Paciello Group

ith digital
accessibility,
standards
compliance is a
fleeting illusion,
like a rainbow.
We are
accessibility consultants who engage
with clients from all sectors, many of
whom are focused on compliance audits
and remediation of accessibility issues.
We recognize the value of evaluation
and repair of digital resources. We also
know that an accessibility strategy
defined by chasing compliance with
technical standards is shortsighted and
will likely end in failure.
Standards compliance is rare,
whether with Section 508, the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines, or
with any other standard. Thorough
evaluation of a website containing
hundreds or thousands of pages is
practically impossible. Many standards
require subjective evaluationare
a thousand words really needed to
describe a picture?
Even when there is some semblance
of compliance, its at a fixed moment
in time. What happens when a visitor
uploads an image and does not provide a
text alternative? With one unconsidered
action, the theoretical accessibility
Insights
Accessibility ROI comes from
smart resource allocation.
A mature strategy is essential
to achieving accessibility ROI.
Accessibility as UX yields
pleasurable experiences
for everyone.
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toggle can switch from on to off in an


instant.
Can we rethink accessibility
in more effective and sustainable
termsones that generate a positive
return on investment for providers
and a pleasurable user experience for
everyone?

THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT


FOR ACCESSIBILITY

In the Wu-Tang Clan song


C.R.E.A.M., Method Man reminds us
how money defines success: Cash rules
everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. /
Get the money; dollar, dollar bill, yall.
Theres no denying that organizations
must make resource commitments
largely based on money. Sometimes
these resource decisions are about
becoming more profitable, but often
the driver is less about profit and more
about delivering on promisespaying
employees, providing good health
coverage, covering overhead.
The practice of making resource
decisions based on potential return on
investment (ROI) applies particularly
to activities with an uncertain outcome.
At minimum, a business case for a
new activity will show how financial
gains will at least cover the costs of
engagement. A strong business case will
show an ROI that both covers costs and
brings in profit.
Making a case for accessibility can
take many forms that are not focused on
the bottom line: protecting human and
civil rights, meeting legal obligations,
or creating better designs for everyone.
However, these discussions usually
come around to the same question: How
many people are affected and how much

revenue can be gained? No matter how


the numbers line up, a business case for
accessibility based on how many and
how much cannot add up to something
that offsets the perceived costsnot
enough people are affected and the
costs of accessibility are not readily
quantifiable. Lainey Feingold, a lawyer
specializing in the field of disability
rights law applied to technology,
explains how in the mid-1990s a Bank
of America executive stood up at a
national convention and shifted the
conversation, saying, We have to stop
countingthis is a civil rights issue.
How do we reconcile the need to stay
solvent and make a profit with the costs
of accessibility?
One method is to focus instead
on delivering quality experiences.
Forbes Steve Denning quotes Apples
Tim Cook, saying, When we work
on making our devices accessible by
the blind, I dont consider the bloody
ROI. Apple is profitable and can
afford to ignore ROI in some areas. The
article goes on to explain that Apple
has many activities that make little
or no money but are part of a larger
business strategy of building a base of
happy customers. Apple makes a lot
of money not only because it has a very
efficient supply chain but also because
it has created a customer ecosystem
that, as a whole, delights customers and
makes them want to stay as an Apple
customer [1]. While we all may aspire
to be customer-focused, with delight
as a success indicator, most of us cant
afford to invest resources without
considering ROI.
There is a return on investment for
accessibility, but its not in the profits
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I M A G E B Y A L I C I A K U B I S TA

its in the margins. Its in the money not


spent, or spent more wisely.
Organizations that treat accessibility
as a compliance activity wind up
throwing resources at it ad hoc, for
example:
monitoring software to flag
technology issues rather than developer
training for how to write accessible code
add-on overlays that purport to
resolve issues rather than user research
to learn how to design accessible
interfaces
one-off express turnaround
captioning services rather than program
development to establish processes and
negotiate favorable terms with a vendor
time and effort recruiting a
specialist who has responsibility for
accessibility rather than a coordinated
effort to up-skill staff and share
responsibility across teams.
Redirecting accessibility resources
toward smart and lasting investments
saves money, and for the long term.
Accessibility can also generate
returns that come from designing in the
margins of use cases. Focusing design
research on the needs and preferences
of people with disabilities can drive
discovery and innovation.
In Change by Design, Tim Brown
cautions against too narrow a view:
By concentrating solely on the bulge
at the center of the bell curve we are
more likely to confirm what we already
know than learn something new and
surprising. With accessibility, insights
gained by addressing the exaggerated
concerns of people at the margins
can result in products that are more
delightful for everyone [2]. Apples
VoiceOver and Siri are examples
screen reader and speech recognition
software that make mobile devices easy
to use for people who cant see, and help
people get from here to there, listen to
and send emails and text messages, or
switch songs while driving.
Accessibility is something we must
address in order to meet obligations.
Accessibility done right is a way to cut
costs, build capacity, and establish
partnerships. Accessibility as a driver
for innovation is an opportunity to learn
whats needed to design delightful
products.
Accessibility strategy and activity fit
neatly on a maturity continuum (Figure
1). Progress along the continuum means
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THE ACCESSIBILITY MATURITY CONTINUUM


IDENTIFY

PRIORITIZE

INJECT

INTEGRATE

Figure 1. An accessibility maturity continuum.


(http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/2014/06/accessibility-maturity-continuum/)

moving away from accessibility as a


retroactive, responsive activity of doing
just enough to comply toward one
where accessibility is part of culture and
practice. The continuum begins with
identifying and endeavoring to address
existing barriers. The second phase
prioritizes the repair of issues based on
real-world impact on target user groups
ability to complete tasks, rather than
technical conformance levels.
However, both these phases focus
on retrofitting existing products.
Moving along the continuum we
inject accessibility activities into the
development process, addressing
issues before they are embedded
into design and code. Accessibility
activities are still responsive, looking
at designs and course-correcting to
avoid creating barriers.

In its most mature form, accessibility


is integrated into all aspects of
organizational planning and thinking,
where it helps to frame a problem space,
identify opportunities, and influence the
design of solutions. A mature approach
to accessibility has broad benefits.
As Feingold notes, commitment to
accessibility helps anticipate and deal
with the unknown future: Companies
have to bake accessibility in because
who knows what theyre going to be
developing tomorrow?
Moving accessibility from a
peripheral activity to one as central
to practice as safety, ethics, and
good grammar requires shared
responsibility and a commitment to
accommodating user diversity across
all areas of organizational activity. User
experience must be valued as a critical

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business strategy, and accessibility
prioritized as a quality attribute. With
a mature accessibility program in place,
organizations can reap the benefits of
improved business processes and better
products, and enjoy the resulting return
on investment.

PROGRESS TOWARD
ACCESSIBILITY MATURITY

Many organizations embark on


strategic accessibility activities in
response to some form of complaint.
Its not that organizations have
expressly ignored the concerns of
people with disabilities. In most cases,
the complaint comes because they
have not paid enough attention, or
because other issues took priority.
But complaints can galvanize
organizations to make fundamental
changes in how they provide digital
resources, beyond addressing the
specific product at issue and then
closing the accessibility project.
Feingold describes how Bank of
America first engaged in addressing
accessibility and technology issues in
the mid-1990s, when they received
complaints about the inaccessibility of
their ATMs to blind customers. Bank
of America worked to address issues
specifically related to ATM accessibility,
but their focus soon had to extend
beyond ATMs, as banking activities
moved to the Web:
What makes it work? When companies
get to know the user at the start. Thats
really the key. What makes it work less
well? When the process is in the hands of
the lawyers only. Theres good agreement,
we get improved accessibility, but it doesnt
always stick in the same way.
An accessibility program fueled
by addressing a complaint can only
be sustained a limited time before it
runs out of steam. A mature program
grounded on a commitment to ensure
people with disabilities can participate

Focusing design
research on the needs
and preferences of
people with disabilities
can drive discovery
and innovation.
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helps embed accessibility as a core value


and lasting concern.
In our work, we help organizations
move from a reactive, compliancedriven approach of audit-and-repair
to one that positions accessibility as
a strategic long-term activity. Here
we share case studies from three
organizations, each diverse in its
business activity and distinct in its
position and progress in the journey.
These stories illustrate approaches
that can lead to success, and where
organizational challenges can lead to a
need to a change in approach.
Healthwise: Sharing responsibility
for accessibility in product
development. For Healthwise, a
nonprofit provider of health information
and products, the push to take a
strategic approach to accessibility
came from clients. Healthwise had
been considering accessibility but did
not have a formal program in place.
Organizations that use their products,
such as health systems and other
healthcare providers, have obligations
in meeting the needs of all patients, and
those customers taking active interest in
the technical accessibility of Healthwise
products to their patients provided the
push Healthwise needed to prioritize a
more structured approach.
Healthwises mission is to help
people make better health decisions.
To be successful they must design
products that speak to a diverse
audience. Healthwises vice president of
user experience, Becky Reed, observes
that within healthcare in general,
accessibility is tied to a broader health
compliance sphere that cares about
usability and engagement and a whole
myriad of other things.
Even with lots of commitment
to meeting user needs, accessibility
was seen primarily as an engineering
concernsomething addressed
under the hood, in code. The UX team
knew accessibility was important but
wasnt well versed in how to integrate
it into visual and interaction design.
The content team was expert at
creating health resources using plain
language but didnt have insights into
how content affected the experience
of people with disabilities. The
engineering team felt on the hook,
implementing designs that were
sometimes difficult to make accessible,

and viewed coding for accessibility as


somewhat mysterious.
In the end, Healthwise found
success in getting people in every
team passionate about accessibility,
supporting interested staff in what they
needed to build their expertise and
their organizational advocacy. This
was a shift from having a single strong
voice, which might have been more of
a blocker than a benefit, as Reed notes:
We needed to move away from the
mindset of, We need to talk about this
with Becky. Within six months of this
new approach, team-level accountability
and responsibility emerged, alongside
a sense of pride and ownership among
team members in work that was
important to them.
As it increased focus on accessibility,
Healthwise found success in dealing
with accessibility problems as technical
debt: We can either continue to create
technical debt, or we can just tackle this
now. One developer analyzed audits
that were done on the software and
found that 98 percent of all the changes
made to repair accessibility issues
were about implementing semantic
coding practices that are not unique
to accessibility. The ROI found in this
technical analysis got the attention of
the chief technology officer, who saw the
data and laid out a more efficient path.
The result was a partnership
between UX and engineering teams to
share energy and budget dollars. All
team leadership set expectations with
staff and supported their teams in the
training, time, and priority they needed.
Team leadership also talked about
the strategic approach to accessibility
with passion because they were just
as invested in it as the historical
champions were. It also resulted in an
organizational mandate that UX wont
hand anything to engineering that
could not be made accessible, and that
accessibility is a much larger part of the
product release process.
With engineering, QA, UX, and
content teams engaging meaningfully
with accessibility, product management
created a new product manager position
focused on accessibility. Reed recalls
how it came about:
It wasnt Becky wants another
resource. It was, Seventeen people
are talking about this. This is an
organizational commitment. Once we
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I M A G E B Y A L I C I A K U B I S TA / A N D R I J B O R Y S A S S O C I AT E S / S H U T T E R S T O C K .C O M

had enough folks in the organization


seeing accessibility as an imperative in
healthcare, that was where the switch
really flipped for product management.
They said, Whoa, were going to take
one of our FTEs and make it more about
accessibility.
Pearson: Building accessibility
knowledge and skills across the board.
Pearson PLC is a large multinational
company with many products and
services, from brick-and-mortar schools
to standardized tests to digital books
to learning management systems. With
such a diverse and global portfolio,
Pearson is accustomed to receiving
and responding to complaints of many
different flavors. The one that kicked
off their strategic accessibility program
was when they were called out by
the National Federation of the Blind
(NFB), who in their 2012 Resolutions
condemned and deplored Pearson
for their inattention to the needs of
people who are blind [3]. Pearson
understandably felt it needed to
respond positively.
The company recognized that the
solution was not to quickly apply BandAids to staunch the bleeding until the
negative attention has passed. For me
there was a realization that its going to
be impossible for people to function in
life without being able to manage digital
resources, says Rick Ferrie, Pearsons
director of global policy.
Pearson initially made good progress
addressing the concerns raised by
the NFB, but when the heat eased up,
attention to accessibility began to wane.
When it came time to define the work
order for the next release of one product,
the product team asked whether they
needed to include accessibility in the
new release. As long as someone still
thinks its something they have to do as
opposed to something they want to do,
then we havent moved the needle where
it needs to go, says Ferrie.
Ferries greatest challenge has been
engaging the design and development
teams. When your chief engineer
making a product says, We dont want
to do this, thats a hard thing to get
past. We have to somehow convince
the development community that this
isnt going to make bad products, that it
isnt hard, and that it isnt some kludge
add-on thing.
So far Pearsons efforts have been
INTER ACTIONS. ACM.ORG

focused on developing individual


accessibility specialists at a junior
level, but there is ambition to ensure
accountability for accessibility moves
up the organization chart. Ferrie knows
that long term, responsibility must
be owned by managers and shared by
everyone on the team: Having lots
of accessibility worker bees is not the
same as having the lead architect on
a product owning accessibility and
manifesting it in designs.
Knowledge building at Pearson
has been a combination of building
awareness among leaders and
developing skills on the ground.
These efforts have been successful at
building accessibility specialists, but
the company knows a strong infusion of
high-level expertise is needed:
We want to find big-time developers,
designers, academic technologists, that
get it and embed them into core platform
teams, as peers of the mainstream
architects and engineers. We cant train
10,000 developers in enough time to get
where we need to be.
University of Colorado at Boulder:
Establishing an accessibility program.
For the University of Colorado at
Boulder, the trigger for rethinking
accessibility was a formal investigation
by the Department of Justice,
representing several students with
vision impairments who submitted
a complaint that their rights under
the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) had been violated by the
university. CU-Boulder has a strong
program supporting students with
disabilities, but the relationship
between accommodating students with
disabilities and providing an accessible
digital environmentone composed
mainly of third-party toolshad not
been solidified [4]. Accessibility barriers
were present in a range of tools that
students were expected to use.
CU-Boulders response has been
grounded in a commitment to address
the issues at the foundational layer.
The way we are building our digital
accessibility program is definitely for
the long haul as opposed to a short
sprint, says Marin Stanek, director
of academic and campus technology
communications and support.
Historically, CU-Boulder has
followed the model of accommodating
students, staff, and visitors with

disabilities through the Student


Disability Services (SDS) and Human
Resources Office of Equal Opportunity
(OEO), with the Office of Information
Technology (OIT) playing a supporting
role, helping SDS or OEO where needed
with assistance with accommodations.
With the digital accessibility
program, OIT made accessibility among
its chief concerns by establishing
a new role: chief digital accessibility
officer. Like security and privacy, CUBoulder recognizes that everyone at the
university has a role to play in ensuring
an accessible IT environment. Including
accessibility in the larger context
provides the opportunity to layer
accessibility on top of prior experience
and existing frameworks.
For CU-Boulder, a public university
with a large and complex digital
estate, the challenge is one of scope
and control. We have hundreds of IT
services; we have over 1,000 different
websites, says chief security officer/
chief digital accessibility officer Dan
Jones. For success, many individuals
and organizations must see the value
of accessibility and engage with it in
their work. Faculty must understand
whats needed to produce accessible
course materials, and make the effort
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to follow best practices. I think at the
end of the day the concerns that people
will have will be, what are you requiring
for websites, or why are you telling me
to have language in the syllabus? says
Jones. To reduce the learning curve,
training is focused on giving people
the skills to apply relevant accessibility
knowledge in the context of doing their
job. Rather than saying, you must have
accessibility training, we talk about
role-based training. You are a faculty
member; here are the things you need to
know as part of being a faculty member.
In the course of writing this article,
the Department of Justice closed their
inquiry with CU-Boulder. And while
they are relieved, Jones relates, The
best part is that it really reflects on all
of the hard work the project team has
been doing and reinforces the direction
we are taking. In particular, it solidifies
the connections and partnerships
established in the course of responding
to the inquiry. The CU-Boulder team
is on a journey, and they know their
work isnt done. But theyre building an
accessibility program that allows them
to strategically deal with
legacy accessibility issues while
minimizing the chances of barriers
emerging as they grow and develop their
digital estate.

PLEASURE IN THE MARGINS

Anyone involved with book design


understands that margins are where the
magic happens. In his Medium article
Lets Talk About the Margins, Craig
Mod walks us through a love story, with
protagonists from a dictionary publisher
who unite around close attention to
details that normally go unnoticed
the quality of paper that makes it adhere
to fingers at just the right amount to
make turning pages effortless, even
sensual [5]. Examining this and other
subtle pleasures, he says, Thoughtful
decisions concerned with details
marginal or marginalized conspire to
affect greatness.
Accessibility provides us with an
opportunity to affect greatness in
design. By approaching accessibility as
a creative challenge, we can see clearly
the nuances that make or break user
experienceand avoid the issues that
over time make interaction so difficult,

so inefficient, and so physically tiring as


to be practically impossible for someone
with a disability.
Usability studies and user research
with people with disabilities can bring
into sharp focus issues that everyone
faces. In a recent usability study, we
evaluated a Web application with
people with a range of disabilities,
including no vision, low vision, and
limited dexterity. The uncertainty
when activating a button that does
not provide visual or audible feedback
is felt keenly by users with limited
dexterity, who have difficulty clicking
or tapping a button. The difficulty and
strain of tracking along the row of a bus
timetable to find the right departure
time are magnified when using zoom.
Inconsistency in design patterns is even
more disorienting when navigating
a site by earis this supplementary
information a tooltip, a dialog, or a new
page, and how do I resume where I left
off? Difficulty interpreting interaction
feedback, data tables, and inconsistent
design are familiar issues for all of us.
The recently published Manifesto
for Accessible User Experience [6]
includes a statement from our colleague
Lonie Watson. She powerfully
described accessibility as a creative
challenge, not a challenge to creativity.
We have no doubt there is a business
case for accessibility that involves both
cost savings that arise from smart
resource allocation as well as newfound
general innovations for the broader
market. Better to invest in making
desirable products than cleaning up
a mess. What really gets our juices
flowing is the business case for designing
pleasure that can be experienced by
everyone. With accessibility as an
attribute, user experience moves from
nice to have to blocker due to the
imperatives of legal obligations and
the clarity that comes from focusing on
the margins. Accessibility spotlights
essential attributes of quality and
focuses attention on what matters:
whether or not people can participate.
Ferrie says, If I could call it
something other than accessibility I
would. I would call it design that works
for everyone, or good design.
We are sympathetic to the desire
to move away from talking about

accessibility, with its attendant


misperceptions of limited return on
investment and crushing influence on
innovative and appealing design. But
were also mindful of our responsibility
to people with disabilities, to the human
rights issue that underpins our work,
and our creative powers to reduce or
remove barriers to social interaction,
not construct new ones. When we talk
about the benefits of accessibility, we
must make sure we dont inadvertently
downplay the focus on people with
disabilities.At the same time, we cant
help but spill over with enthusiasm
for exploring the opportunities we
collectively stand to gain by careful
attention to people who are not in the
mainstream. While we acknowledge the
pragmatism of Method Man, we join
our voices with Craig Mods Paper Man
in saying, WE WILL TRY HARDER.
Creativity and innovation arise from
understanding the nuances that are
experienced keenly in the margins.
There lie the insights that will lead us to
discover more pleasurable experiences
for everyone.
Endnotes
1. Denning, S. Why Tim Cook doesn't care
about 'the bloody ROI.' Forbes. Mar. 7,
2014; http://www.forbes.com/sites/
stevedenning/2014/03/07/why-tim-cookdoesnt-care-about-the-bloody-roi/
2. Brown, T. Change By Design.
HarperBusiness, New York, 2009.
3. National Federation for the Blind. 2012
Resolutions; https://nfb.org/images/
nfb/publications/bm/bm12/bm1208/
bm120814.htm
4. University of Colorado Boulder
Accessibility Initiative; http://www.
colorado.edu/accessibility/accessibilityinitiative
5. Mod, C. Lets talk about the margins;
https://medium.com/message/lets-talkabout-margins-14646574c385
6. AccessibleUX.org. Manifesto for
Accessible User Experience; http://
accessibleux.org/manifesto-for-accessibleuser-experience/
Sarah Horton and David Sloan lead
the user experience strategy and research
activities at The Paciello Group. Horton is
co-author of Web Style Guide and A Web for
Everyone. Sloans Ph.D. focused on innovative
ways to enhance user experience for older
and disabled people.
shorton@paciellogroup.com
dsloan@paciellogroup.com

DOI: 10.1145/2843590 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHORS. PUBLICATION RIGHTS LICENSED TO ACM. $15.00

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C O M M U N I T Y S Q UA R E
Loren Terveen,
ACM SIGCHI

HCI Without Borders?

he Association of
Computing Machinery
was founded in the
U.S. in 1947; its Special
Interest Group on
Computer-Human
Interaction was formed
in 1982, also in the U.S. However, for
the past generation, the professional
field of computing and our discipline
of human-computer interaction have
become increasingly international, as
reflected in our membership and where
we do our business.
A large part of our business is
organizing conferences, and after a
decade of American locations, the
CHI conference went to Europe.
The theme of INTERCHI 1993 was
Bridges Between Worlds, and
bridges were indeed built: The CHI
conference has returned to Europe
about once every four years; many
other SIGCHI conferences have
been located in Europe; and many
Europeans have become involved
throughout SIGCHI and across its
portfolio of conferences.
But North America and Europe
are not the whole world. The previous
SIGCHI Executive Committee, led
by Gerrit van der Veer and Elizabeth
Churchill, worked hard to develop
HCI throughout the world, with a
special concentration on Eastern

Asia, culminating in the 2015 CHI


Conference in Seoul, Korea. CHI 2015
drew more than 2,900 participants,
including more than 1,300 from Asia.
SIGCHI and the CHI 2015 leadership
made significant investments of time
and resources both prior to and at
the conference to achieve this result,
including a number of preparatory
workshops, Asian symposia at CHI
2015, and the simultaneous translation
of a number of sessions into Korean,
Chinese, and Japanese.
The current Executive Committee
recognizes the job isnt done:
We are committed to building on
the foundation laid so far.
We realize there are many different
HCI communities across Asia,
at differing levels of maturity
and with varying needs. We will
support the development of HCI
research and practice in the region
as needed, but our particular focus
is integrating Asian HCI research and
practice communities into the broad
international HCI community, where
North Americans and Europeans
still dominate.
We are organizing our efforts
through the formation of an Asian
Development Committee, which
consists of representatives from
China, India, Japan, South Korea, and
Southeast Asia (see http://www.sigchi.

org/people/officers/index_html#ADC
for details). The members of this
committee are developing proposals
to deepen relationships between their
communities and the international
HCI community, and to enable fuller
participation by Asians in all aspects
of the international HCI community.
They are also advising the Executive
Committee on topics such as locating
future SIGCHI-sponsored conferences
in Asia, including returning the
CHI conference to the region. The
Executive Committee is committed to
bringing CHI back to Asia, likely in the
early 2020s, although no specific plans
are yet in place.
Finally, we should note that North
America, Europe, and Asia still are
not the whole world. SIGCHI has
also worked with HCI communities
in Latin America and Africa, and
remains committed to helping develop
HCI throughout these regions and
integrating these communities into
the international HCI fold.
We encourage everyone who
shares the goal of a true HCI without
borders to provide their input and
ideas to me and to the members of the
SIGCHI Executive Committee and
Asian Development Committee.
Loren Terveen, President, ACM SIGCHI
sigchi-president@acm.org

Our particular focus is integrating


Asian HCI research and practice
communities into the broad
international HCI community.
DOI: 10.1145/2856515 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR
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86

CALENDAR

February April 2016


February
TEI 2016 ACM International
Conference on Tangible, Embedded
and Embodied Interaction
(Eindhoven, The Netherlands)
Conference Dates: February 1417, 2016
http://www.tei-conf.org/16/
CBP 2016 5th Annual International
Conference on Cognitive and
Behavioral Psychology
(Singapore)
Conference Dates: February 2223, 2016
http://cognitive-behavior.org/
index.html
ICAART 2016 8th International
Conference on Agents and Artificial
Intelligence (Rome, Italy)
Conference Dates: February 2426, 2016
http://www.icaart.org/

VISIGRAPP 2016 11th International


Joint Conference on Computer Vision,
Imaging, and Computer Graphics
Theory and Applications (Rome, Italy)
Conference Dates: February 2729, 2016
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ETRA 2016 2016 ACM


Symposium on Eye Tracking
Research & Applications
(Charleston, SC, USA)
Conference Dates: March 1417, 2016
http://etra.fxpal.com/2016/

CSCW 2016 19th ACM Conference


on Computer-Supported Cooperative
Work and Social Computing (San
Francisco, USA)
Conference Dates: February 27March
2, 2016
http://cscw.acm.org/2016/index.php

IEEE VR 2016
IEEE Virtual Reality 2016 Conference
(Greenville, SC, USA)
Conference Dates: March 1923, 2016
http://ieeevr.org/2016/

March
Interaction 16 Conference
(Helsinki, Finland)
Conference Dates: March 24, 2016
http://interaction16.ixda.org/
IUI 2016 ACM International
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Interfaces (Sonoma, CA, USA)
Conference Dates: March 710, 2016
http://iui.acm.org/2016/

April
Interaction 16 Conference
(Helsinki, Finland)
Conference Dates: March 24, 2016
http://interaction16.ixda.org/
IUI 2016 ACM International
Conference on Intelligent
User Interfaces
(Sonoma, CA, USA)
Conference Dates: March 710, 2016
http://iui.acm.org/2016/

HRI 2016 11th ACM/IEEE


International Conference on
Human-Robot Interaction
(Christchurch, New Zealand)
Conference Dates: March 710, 2016
http://humanrobotinteraction.
org/2016/

DOI: 10.1145/2856422 2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01 $15.00


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87

VISUAL
THINKING
GALLERY

Future
Robot

Contributor: Eli Blevis


Curator/Editor: Eli Blevis
Genre: Human-robot
interaction (HRI)

DOI: 10.1145/2856122
2016 ACM 1072-5520/16/01
$15.00

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