Towards Dialogic and On-Demand Metaphors for Interdisciplinary ReadingThe interdisciplinary field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) thrives on productive engagement with different domains, yet this engagement often breaks due to idiosyncratic writing styles and unfamiliar concepts. Inspired by the dialogic model of abstract metaphors, as well as the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) to produce on-demand support, we investigate the use of metaphors to facilitate engagement between Science and Technology Studies (STS) and System HCI. Our reflective-style survey with early-career HCI researchers (N=48) reported that limited prior exposure to STS research can hinder perceived openness of the work, and ultimately interest in reading. The survey also revealed that metaphors enhance likelihood to continue reading STS papers, and alternative perspectives can build critical thinking skills to mitigate potential risks of LLM-generated metaphors. We lastly offer a specified model of metaphor exchange (within this generative context) that incorporates alternative perspectives to construct shared understanding in interdisciplinary engagement.2025MYMatin Yarmand et al.University of California San Diego, Computer Science and Engineering; University of California San Diego, The Design LabHuman-LLM CollaborationPrivacy by Design & User ControlTechnology Ethics & Critical HCICHI
Sonic Entanglements with Electromyography: Between Bodies, Signals, and RepresentationsThis paper investigates sound and music interactions arising from the use of electromyography (EMG) to instrumentalise signals from muscle exertion of the human body. We situate EMG within a family of embodied interaction modalities, where it occupies a middle ground, considered as a "signal from the inside'' compared with external observations of the body (e.g., motion capture), but also seen as more volitional than neurological states recorded by brain electroencephalogram (EEG). To understand the messiness of gestural interaction afforded by EMG, we revisit the phenomenological turn in HCI, reading Paul Dourish's work on the transparency of "ready-to-hand'' technologies against the grain of recent posthumanist theories, which offer a performative interpretation of musical entanglements between bodies, signals, and representations. We take music performance as a use case, reporting on the opportunities and constraints posed by EMG in workshop-based studies of vocal, instrumental, and electronic practices. We observe that across our diverse range of musical subjects, they consistently challenged notions of EMG as a transparent tool that directly registered the state of the body, reporting instead that it took on "present-at-hand'' qualities, defamiliarising the performer's own sense of themselves and reconfiguring their embodied practice.2024CRCourtney N. Reed et al.Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)Conversational ChatbotsAgent Personality & AnthropomorphismDIS
Designing for Embodied Sense-making of Mathematics: Perspectives on Directed and Spontaneous Bodily ActionsWhile mathematics is conventionally viewed as an abstract discipline, contemporary perspectives on embodied cognition underscore the significance of integrating students' bodily experiences into the learning process. However, the efficacy of embodied learning activities, as compared to traditional methods, remains under scrutiny. We argue that both directed and spontaneous bodily actions should be considered when designing embodied learning activities, and explore such bodily actions through two studies. A quantitative user study involving directed bodily actions in Virtual Reality and on tablet reveals VR's support for math-anxious and body-aware learners, and distinct movement patterns related to varying mathematical abilities. A subsequent qualitative analysis identifies key characteristics of spontaneous bodily actions, namely coarseness, muscle tension, repetitions, anchors, perspective, and metaphors. Derived from both studies, we propose design recommendations, advocating for expanded embodied interaction design, consideration of embodied metaphors, coarse gesturing for deep features identification, supporting of sense-making anchors, and in-VR learning assessments.2024JCJulia Chatain et al.Full-Body Interaction & Embodied InputSTEM Education & Science CommunicationDIS
Involving British-Chinese Immigrants in Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learnt from the FieldBritish-Chinese communities in the United Kingdom have experienced an increase in discriminatory behaviour with other communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the stigmatisation it has brought about as a result of the speculated COVID-19 origins. Therefore, as a pilot study, this paper investigates how Participatory Action Research (PAR), principally the integration of interactive technology with co-design activities, can be applied to support the producing and sharing of community-based immigrant heritage for British-Chinese citizens. In addition, the reasoning behind why British-Chinese communities have faced cross-cultural barriers when sharing their values and significance of their heritage more widely within British society during the COVID-19 pandemic has also been explored. This study potentially makes a significant contribution to the literature because design-led inquiry was used to explore design strategies and considerations of interactive technology that improved the participation of British-Chinese immigrants in sharing the significance of their intangible heritage socially, equally, and coherently during the COVID-19 pandemic.2023SZShichao ZhaoParticipatory DesignDIS
The Invisible Work of Maintenance in Community Health: Challenges and Opportunities for Digital Health to Support Frontline Health Workers in Karnataka, South IndiaFrontline health workers are the first and often the only access point to basic health care services in low-and-middle income countries. However, the work and the issues frontline health workers face in community health are often invisible, with limited resources to assist them. This study explores the work practices, challenges and roles of frontline health workers in community health with particular focus on pregnancy care in South India. Drawing on the notion of maintenance and articulation work, we describe the maintenance work of frontline health workers maintaining, anticipating, navigating, reconciling, and supporting care infrastructures beyond data collection practices. Our findings also highlight how socio-cultural practices, perceptions, status, and existing systems influence maintenance work practices. Based on our findings, we suggest moving beyond the focus on training and performance to design CSCW tools to support the maintenance work that frontline health workers do to make healthcare infrastructures work in community health.2021NVNervo Verdezoto et al.Workplace Challenges and Digital WellbeingCSCW
Conveying Uncertainties Using Peripheral Awareness Displays in the Context of Automated DrivingAs a consequence of insufficient situation awareness and inappropriate trust, operators of highly automated driving systems may be unable to safely perform takeovers following system failures. The communication of system uncertainties has been shown to alleviate these issues by supporting trust calibration. However, the existing approaches rely on information presented in the instrument cluster and therefore require users to regularly shift their attention between road, uncertainty display, and non-driving related tasks. As a result, these displays have the potential to increase workload and the likelihood of missed signals. A driving simulator study was conducted to compare a digital uncertainty display located in the instrument cluster with a peripheral awareness display consisting of a light strip and vibro-tactile seat feedback. The results indicate that the latter display affords users flexibility to direct more attention towards the road prior to critical situations and leads to lower workload scores while improving takeover performance.2019AKAlexander Kunze et al.Automated Driving Interface & Takeover DesignIn-Vehicle Haptic, Audio & Multimodal FeedbackAutoUI
The Performative Mirror SpaceInteractive mirrors, typically combining semi-transparent mirrors, digital screens and interaction mechanisms have been developed for a variety of application areas. Drawing on existing techniques to create interactive mirror spaces, we investigated their performative qualities through artistic discovery and collaborative prototyping. We document a linked set of design explorations and two public, site-specific experiences that brought together artists, communities, and HCI researchers. We illustrate the abstracted interactive mirror space that practitioners in the performance art, theatre and museum sectors can work with. In turn, we also discuss six performative design strategies concerning the use of physical context, movement and narrative that HCI researchers who wish to deploy interactive mirrors in more mainstream settings need to consider.2019RJRachel Jacobs et al.University of NottinghamDigital Art Installations & Interactive PerformanceInteractive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingCHI
Everything We Do, Everything We Press: Data-Driven Remote Performance Management in a Mobile WorkplaceThis paper examines how data-driven performance monitoring technologies affect the work of telecommunications field engineers. As a mobile workforce, this occupational group rely on an array of smartphone applications to plan, manage and report on their jobs, and to liaise remotely with managers and colleagues. These technologies intend to help field engineers be more productive and have greater control over their work; however they also gather data related to the quantity and effectiveness of their labor. We conducted a qualitative study examining engineers’ experiences of these systems. Our findings suggest they simultaneously enhance worker autonomy, support co-ordination with and monitoring of colleagues, but promote anxieties around productivity and the interpretation of data by management. We discuss the implications of data-driven performance management technologies on worker agency, and examine the consequences of such systems in an era of quantified workplaces.2018LBLyndsey L Bakewell et al.Loughborough UniversityWorkplace Monitoring & Performance TrackingCHI
Voice-based Conversational UX Studies and DesignVoice User Interfaces are becoming ubiquitously available, providing unprecedented opportunities to advance our understanding of voice interaction in a burgeoning array of practices and settings. We invite participants to contribute work-in-progress in voice interaction, and to come together to reflect on related methodological matters, social uses, and design issues. This one-day workshop will be geared specifically to present and discuss methodologies for, and data emerging from, ongoing empirical studies of voice interfaces in use and connected emerging design insights. We seek to draw on participants’ (alongside organisers’) contributions to explore ways of operationalising findings from such studies for the purposes of design. As part of this, will try to identify what can be done to improve user experience and consider creative approaches to how we might ameliorate challenges that are faced in the design of voice UIs.2018SRStuart Reeves et al.Voice User Interface (VUI) DesignAgent Personality & AnthropomorphismCHI
Augmented Reality Displays for Communicating Uncertainty Information in Automated DrivingSafe manual driving performance following takeovers in conditionally automated driving systems is impeded by a lack in situation awareness, partly due to an inappropriate trust in the system's capabilities. Previous work has indicated that the communication of system uncertainties can aid the trust calibration process. However, it has yet to be investigated how the information is best conveyed to the human operator. The study outlined in this publication presents an interface layout to visualise function-specific uncertainty information in an augmented reality display and explores the suitability of 11 visual variables. 46 participants completed a sorting task and indicated their preference for each of these variables. The results demonstrate that particularly colour-based and animation-based variables, above all hue, convey a clear order in terms of urgency and are well-received by participants. The presented findings have implications for all augmented reality displays that are intended to show content varying in urgency.2018AKAlexander Kunze et al.Automated Driving Interface & Takeover DesignHead-Up Display (HUD) & Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)AutoUI