Sharon Oviatt – ‘The Impact of Communication Interfaces on Human Ideation, Problem-solving and Reasoning’
ABSTRACT
Current graphical keyboard and mouse interfaces are better suited for handling mechanical tasks, like email and text editing, than they are at supporting focused problem solving or complex learning tasks. One reason is that graphical interfaces limit users’ ability to fluidly express content involving different representational systems (e.g., symbols, diagrams) as they think through steps during complex problem solutions. We asked: Can interfaces be designed that actively stimulate people’s ability to generate ideas and solve problems? In this presentation I will summarize new research on the affordances of different types of interface (e.g., pen-based, keyboard-based), and how these basic computer input capabilities function to substantially facilitate or impede people’s ideational fluency and problem solving. I will illustrate data on the predictive relation between interface support for communicative fluency (i.e., both linguistic and non-linguistic) and ideational fluency (e.g., biology hypothesis generation). In addition, I’ll describe the relation between interface support for active marking (i.e., both formal structures like diagrams, and informal ones such as “thinking marks”) and successful problem solving. Finally, I’ll discuss why rich communications interfaces are so effective as digital tools for stimulating ideation and conceptual change, which makes them invaluable for supporting education, design, and similar activities.
Student research discussion questions:
1. What are the implications of these findings for the future of keyboard-based interfaces?
2. How is a rich communications interface able to facilitate human ideation and problem solving?
3. Given these findings, what follow-up research directions would be most important to pursue?
4. What could their societal impact be? How would you organize your idea for a follow-up study?
Suggested reading:
Oviatt, S., Cohen, A. & Mann, A. Designing interfaces that stimulate ideational super-fluency in science, Communications of the ACM, in press (forthcoming, spring 2010).
BIO
Sharon Oviatt is well known for her extensive work in human-centered interface design, multimodal and mobile interfaces, and educational interfaces. She has been recipient of a National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award for pioneering work on mobile multimodal interfaces, and recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Award (first place). She has published over 130 scientific articles in a wide range of venues, including work featured in recent special issues of Communications of the ACM, Human Computer Interaction, Transactions on Human Computer Interaction, IEEE Multimedia, Proceedings of IEEE, and IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. She is an Associate Editor of the main journals and edited book collections in the field of human interfaces, including the journal of Human Computer Interaction, the newly announced ACM Transactions on Intelligent Interactive Systems, and The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook. She was Founding Chair of the Advisory Board for the International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces (ICMI), which became an annual ACM-sponsored international conference series under her guidance.
Joseph T. Tennis – ‘Modeling Ranganathan’s Classification Theory Using the IDEF0 Formalism’
BIO
Joseph T. Tennis is an Assistant Professor at the Information School of the University of Washington, Associate Member of the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Study at The University of British Columbia, and Reviews Editor for Knowledge Organization. He is also a member of the Dublin Core Usage Board. He received his M.L.S. from Indiana University and the Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Washington. He works in classification theory, the versioning of classification schemes and thesauri (subject ontogeny), and the comparative discursive analysis of metadata creation and evaluation.
ABSTRACT
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan, often hailed as a unique intellect in classification theory and the “father of library science” in India, was a prolific writer. He authored close to 100 books, and many articles on all aspects of librarianship. Classification was a special interest to him, and he devoted most of his career to creating a coherent set of design requirements for classification schemes. However, due to the nature of his work this classification theory is spread across multiple volumes. Not only that, but his ideas evolved over the course his life, so that his theory changes over time, growing more robust to answer challenges to implementing his design requirements.
In an effort to first understand all the components of his theory, and second to communicate these design requirements to a wider audience, I have begun to model Ranganathan’s work using an IDEF0 formalism. IDEF0 is a modeling formalism developed to completely and consistently model functions of systems.
This talk will introduce Ranganathan’s classification theory using the IDEF0 formalism. I am hoping that the audience can help provide feedback on the effectiveness of this approach (whether it is or isn’t, and why), and point to some refinements that can be made to the presentation of his theory in this particular medium.
Dr. Karina Walters – Historical Trauma: Preliminary Research Findings and Methodological Challenges from the Honor Project study
An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Dr. Walters founded and directs the university-wide, interdisciplinary Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the University of Washington. A recent recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Award, her research focuses on historical, social, and cultural determinants of physical and mental health among American Indians and Alaska Natives. She serves as principal investigator on several groundbreaking studies associated with health-risk outcomes among American Indian individuals, families, and communities funded by the National Institutes of Health.
This presentation will provide a brief theoretical and empirical overview of historical trauma research to date. Following the brief overview, Karina will present preliminary findings from a 7-site national study of Two Spirit (LGBT) American Indians with a particular focus on examining the direct and indirect effects of historical trauma experiences on two spirit mental and physical health. Methodological research challenges related to measurement and sampling will be highlighted with a particular emphasis on measuring intergenerational trauma and its effect on the present generation’s mental and physical health.
Methodological Challenges and Questions:
(1). How else can we measure historical trauma?
(2). How can we refine the current measures to adequately capture the theoretical construct?
(2). How can we analyze historical trauma when using cross-sectional data?
Shaun Pather – Evaluating outcomes and impacts of public access ICTs
Shaun Pather is an Associate Professor of Informatics in the Faculty of Informatics & Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa and a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Information School, University of Washington (2009-2010).
Shaun has over twenty years of experience in the public and private education and training environment and joined academe as a Lecturer of Information Systems in 1996. His post graduate qualifications include a Doctoral degree in Information Technology, and a Masters degree in Public Administration. His research has focused on the evaluation of Information Systems (IS) effectiveness, particularly within e-Commerce, e-Government and other web enabled contexts. He has developed models for evaluating e-Commerce success, and also has an interest in the application of e-Service Quality evaluation. Shaun has also extended his interest in IS evaluation into practical community engagement and Information Society issues, centered around societal upliftment facilitated by ICT’s. He has published several articles, conference papers, book chapters and technical reports on both the former and latter. In pursuance of his research goals, Shaun has led several projects with partners in both the private and public sector.
Shaun also serves on several conference committees, and the editorial boards of the Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation (as editor), Journal of Community Informatics and the International Journal of ICT Research and Development in Africa. Shaun has a rich history of association with civic, NGOs and the public sector in South Africa and is a board member of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA).
ABSTRACT:
Over the years business researchers have been challenged in their quest to develop evaluation models and instruments to evaluate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) effectiveness. In the current era in which ICT4D (ICT for Development) has been firmly entrenched in the social and development agenda, researchers have been confronted with the same challenge.
In this presentation Shaun will reflect on the Information Systems evaluation literature; discuss an investigation, in which we designed a study to evaluate socio economic outcomes of a national programme of community based telecentres in South Africa; and lastly examine some of the challenges faced in the ICT4D evaluation arena with a view to frame critical areas for this research agenda.
QUESTIONS
1. Which extant theories and models are adaptable to the ICT4D evaluation context?
2. Are causal paradigms for evaluation useful in this context?
3. What are the most suitable approaches and methods, including those developed within programme-evaluation research paradigms, to evaluate outcomes and impacts facilitated through ICTs in a developmental context?
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this presentation is to :
- provide an overview of the context and environment of ICT4D in a (semi) developing country, using South Africa as an example;
- further the discourse on ICT4D evaluation, and seek directions for the refinement and progress of my research agenda.
- harness the wealth of experience of i-Schoolers in this area, drawing especially on work being done in similar projects (e.g. global impact study, landscape study, us impact study) and thus entrench the basis for future North-South research collaboration.
Daniel Wigdor – Building the Natural User Interface
Daniel Wigdor is a User Experience Architect at Microsoft. His interests focus on interaction with novel hardware devices, gestural interfaces, and multi-touch and freehand input. He received his PhD in computer science at the DGP Lab of the University of Toronto in 2007. While completing his PhD, Daniel worked at Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs in Cambridge, MA. Before joining Microsoft, Daniel was a fellow at the Initiative in Innovative Computing at Harvard University. Web page w/ most publications is www.wigdor.com/daniel
Abstract:
Emerging computer hardware enables new input and display modalities, and suggests new paradigms. Despite the many innovations in hardware, user interfaces have failed to keep pace. Interfaces built for new hardware invariably mimic those designed for old input and output modalities. In this talk, Daniel will discuss technology trends, show examples of failures to develop new software experiences, and demonstrate solutions that he has helped to develop while at the University of Toronto, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, Harvard University, and as a User Experience Architect at Microsoft. Daniel will also outline my research agenda for the next 5 years.
This is the first time Daniel will be giving this talk. He looks forward to generating discussion about his agenda, and discussing any opportunities for collaboration.
Araba Sey: What difference does public access to information and communication technologies (ICT) make in the lives of poor or marginalized people?
ABSTRACT
What difference does public access to information and communication technologies (ICT) make in the lives of poor or marginalized people? Despite numerous efforts in the past years, concrete evidence of social and economic "impact" - as found in public access venues such as libraries, telecentres, and cybercafés - remain elusive. The Global Impact Study of Public Access to ICT aims to investigate the downstream impact of public access to ICT in a number of developing countries. The project recently completed a review of the literature in this area and the result highlighted the pressing need for systematic and comprehensive research to identify and provide empirical evidence about the precise link (if any) between public access ICT use and impacts in areas such as health, education, and governance. This conversation presents findings of the literature review and discusses how the Global Impact Study is designing its research activities to address some of the gaps identified in the literature.
DISCUSSION-QUESTIONS
1. Distinguishing the impacts of public access ICTs
2. The role of theory in research on ICTs and development
BIO
Araba is a researcher with the Technology and Social Change Group at UW's iSchool. She primarily examines the relationship between ICTs and development, <http://cis.washington.edu/about/researchers-staff/araba-sey/>
Joyojeet Pal: Technology and Disability in the Developing World
ABSTRACT
In the past decades, advances in technology and the growth of a rights based movement around disability has led to an increasing interest in issues of accessibility from scholars and practitioners, technologists and social scientists alike. However, much research and practice in this space is located in the industrialized world. This talk discusses the need for developing an agenda on issues of accessibility in the developing world in view of the importance of technology tools for social and economic inclusion. This talk discusses the need for broadening work in this space, especially in information schools.
DISCUSSION-QUESTIONS
1. Around technological/medical issues in disability: issues in the development of low-cost tools and interfaces for access technologies
2. Around social issues in disability: issues in participatory research on the impacts of the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities
BIO
Joyojeet Pal is an NSF Computing Innovation fellow at the ATLAS institute at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His work primarily looks at issues around technology and development. He is also a research affiliate with the TASCHA group at UW's iSchool.
His webpage is available at: http://faculty.washington.edu/joyojeet/
Maria Garrido: Getting ahead in the knowledge society: The role of digital competencies in advancing employability outcomes for immigrant women in the European Union
ABSTRACT
This study looks at how digital competencies advance the employability of immigrant women in five European Union countries: Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Hungary, and Romania (as a source country). Emergent findings suggest that promoting digital competencies not only helps to advance human capital, but also leads to improved employability through three interrelated paths: 1) Social inclusion; 2) Training and Lifelong Learning; and 3) Cultural inclusion. In addition, the research highlights the role of social organizations in promoting social, economic, and cultural integration of immigrant women and in advancing many of the ‘key competencies’ identified by the European Union as critical to succeed in today’s labor market.
The analysis is still at a very preliminary stage. Feedback on how to use some of the variables for ICT skills and types of ICT use to describe the relationship with each one of the four employability paths, would be very helpful.
BIO
Maria Garrido is a Research Associate with the Technology & Social Change group. Her research explores the role of information technology in fostering economic development in low‐income and underserved communities in Latin America,the United States, and Europe
Joe Sullivan: Quasi-experiments, attribution theory and the genre of success stories: A framework for evidence in Community Technology Research and examples from Bogota, Colombia
ABSTRACT
Producing community technology research which meets acceptable standards of validity is challenging due to inevitable methodological shortcomings and the apparent incommensurability of different contexts. Our approach is to embrace this “messiness,” developing a systematic strategy that acknowledges and even harnesses the relative strengths and weaknesses of various methods, applying the logic of quasi-experiments and attribution theory within and across individual sites. In this way hypotheses, sampling strategies, data collection and analyses are assembled and refined to maximize the relative contributions of the deployed methods. The evidentiary value of each data point -- from massive quantitative surveys to systematic case studies to publicity reports to donors -- can thus be interpreted in light of the pitfalls of each and the value that emerges from strategically assembling the varieties of data and perspectives.
Joe and fellow researchers are advocating inclusion of the genre of "success stories" as data worth interrogating. In the very difficult terrain of donor/grantee relations, where everyone has incentive to emphasize stories of success, how can evidence be drawn from the seemingly endless pool of success stories?
The connversation will lay out our theoretical approach, drawing on examples from recent fieldwork in Bogota, Colombia
DISCUSSION-QUESTIONS
1. Can any evidentiary value be drawn from PR stories?
2. Are their ethical dangers in research activities like unannounced site visits?
3. How can "failure" in Community Technology interventions be contextualized and understood?
4. How can we tell the stories which cannot be told?
BIO
Joe Sullivan is a researcher with the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) and a PhD student in Human Centered Design and Engineering. He's working on the material for this presentation with Andrew Gordon from the Evans School of Public Affairs and Claudia Hernandez, Maria Garrido and also TASCHA researchers.
Fred Johnson: Network Places
ABSTRACT
What do local media cultural institutions need to be adapted or evolved in order to create a democratic network society? In the context of the emergence of a networked society and media culture, local public, community and alternative media institutions are often portrayed in binary oppositional ways: either as early forerunners of the participatory, social network media -- resting on a continuum with the social web -- or as the moribund remnant of broadcasting, receding into the past along with the “old media” system. Like all media institutions, local public and community media are struggling to find their path into the networked future. But they are also vital institutions in our communities now, supporting democratic development through community collaboration, adopting and leveraging new media technologies to engage underserved populations, and undertaking community and economic development. Despite inconsistent government policies and regulations these media continue to grow and develop. Where? -- The question, “where are public and community media?”, is often answered in two ways: one, as a geographic “place”, a neighborhood, town, city, county, or, region, and the second, as a “virtual” community, a social network or community of common interest that is not particularly associated with a geographic place.
OBJECTIVES
I would like in my presentation at the iSchool to present a set of core concerns that are currently animating much of my writing, researching and media making, and engage in a critical discussion with attendees that will allow me to receive critical feedback, advice, and opinion. iSchool students and faculty are uniquely positioned for my concerns which involve the intersection of network, media and information cultures, and the impact of the notion of disembodied information on media culture.
DISCUSSION-QUESTIONS
1. How do we build a democratic media culture that takes advantage of the democratic and emancipatory potential of a network society; what new regulatory frameworks and media cultural institutions are needed in a networked world?
2. Do we need geographically sited, physical media organizations in communities to create a democratic media culture, or are virtual/cloud style communities of users sufficient?
3. What are the critical distinctions between media created in the context of individualized, non-proprietary, on-line social media making, and media made in public and community media settings?
BIO
Fred Johnson is a communication policy activist and researcher, documentary maker, and teacher. He is a former Director of the Community Media program at UMass Boston. Much of his work has been focused on social issues, media politics and relationships of geography, constructed social space, communications and culture. Johnson's documentary work has been broadcast on the Learning and Discovery Channels, WNET- New York, Kentucky Educational Television, BBC 2 and BBC's World Service. He has been a practitioner of citizen engaged media and community media for over 30 years in numerous settings. As a recipient of a Television Arts Fellowship from the Fulbright Commission he produced and directed documentaries for the BBC in London in the 90s that were cutting-edge experiments in participatory media. As a researcher and writer Johnson has frequently explored the convergence of citizen media and networked communications. Notably with the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture’s Digital Directions project, a national planning process funded by the Ford Foundation exploring the impact of digital media on the world of non-commercial media arts; and with the Benton Foundation in a 2006 survey of US community media practices in the digital era, “What’s Going on in Community Media.” He is a co-founder of Media Working Group Inc.
Link to CV, http://mwg.org/docstore/FJOHNSONP2CV09.pdf