Ann Light

Critical incident technique and explicitation interviewing in studies of information behavior

Abstract This article discusses two related techniques, critical incident technique (CIT) and explicitation, which are used in a variety of social science research settings, and critically reviews their application to studies of information behavior. The current application of both techniques is compared with Flanagans early guidelines on the CIT and is discussed in relation to recent experience in the use of (1) the CIT in the JUSTEIS and VIVOS projects and (2) explicitation in projects concerned with text entering on interactive Web sites. The JUSTEIS project identifies trends, and reasons for those trends, in the uptake and use of electronic information services in higher education in the United Kingdom; this article examines experience gained over the first two cycles—1999 to 2000 and 2000 to 2001. The VIVOS project evaluated virtual health library services. Comparison of the experiences gained on the various projects suggests that critical incident methods could usefully be extended and enriched by some explicitation methods, to elicit the degree of evocation required for current and future studies of Internet use.

HCI as heterodoxy: Technologies of identity and the queering of interaction with computers

As digital technologies are woven more closely into identity formation, society needs ways to keep tools flexible to many versions of self-presentation and avoid perpetuating the political status quo through conservative and apolitical designing. This paper explores one route, drawing on Queer Theory to look at resistance to computer formalisation of identity through queering. Several case studies explore how we might apply the oblique route to design of a range of technologies that help users define themselves. In particular, forgetting, obscuring, cheating and eluding are activities held up to counter computer strengths and offer a more flexible vision of interaction design for the future.

Adding method to meaning : a technique for exploring peoples' experience with technology

This paper suggests a method for gathering and interpreting peoples accounts of experiences with technology to inform design. The method combines an interviewing technique that seeks to collect detailed retrospective accounts with discourse analysis as a way of making sense of them. After a description of what each part might contribute, a study looking at what happens when people enter text into websites demonstrates some possibilities of the method. Finally the applicability of the method is discussed.

Towards a design methodology for adaptive applications

We describe an abstract architecture of adaptive applications, and indicate where we believe crucial design decisions must be made. We illustrate the use of the abstract model in the design and implementation ofan image proxy, and describe the studies required in determining the appropriate design points. In particular, even though adaptation to resource constraints is generally considered a systems probleu the adaptation is visible to the user in changes in utility, and so the user must be involved in designing the application. Finally, we discuss the politics that creep in when dwigners change the semantics of applications.

Communication Spaces

Concepts of space are fundamental to our understanding of human action and interaction. The common sense concept of uniform, metric, physical space is inadequate for design. It fails to capture features of social norms and practices that can be critical to the success of a technology. The concept of ‘place’ addresses these limitations by taking account of the different ways a space may be understood and used. This paper argues for the importance of a third concept: communication space. Motivated by Heidegger’s discussion of ‘being-with’ this concept addresses differences in interpersonal ‘closeness’ or mutual-involvement that are a constitutive feature of human interaction. We apply the concepts of space, place and communication space to the analysis of a corpus of interactions from an online community, ‘Walford’, which has a rich communicative ecology. A novel measure of sequential integration of conversational turns is proposed as an index of mutal-involvement. We demonstrate systematic differences in mutual-involvement that cannot be accounted for in terms of space or place and conclude that a concept of communication space is needed to address the organisation of human encounters in this community.

Conversation as Publishing: the Role of News Forums on the Web

The development of the World Wide Web (Web) has allowed publishers to move away from traditional newspaper models of news presentation to introduce more flexible products that offer both an information source and more scope for interaction with and between users. The opportunity to involve users more in the creation of news content has been exploited in various ways: for instance as discussion forums or as visitor responses to particular questions. This paper reports on an experiment investigating one form of this new kind of interaction, drawing on data from an e-mail questionnaire sent to visitors to The Guardian newspapers Election 97 website who observed or participated in a series of themed discussion forums in the run up to the 1997 British general election. We present an evaluation of the visitors’ behavior in the forums, their motivation and their perceptions of the discussion space. We discuss the findings in relation to the underlying model of the website, pointing out how, despite the flexbility offered by this new mode of interaction, the traditional publisher-contributor relationship remains preferable to both users and developers.

Geezers, turbines, fantasy personas: making the everyday into the future

This paper describes how a project to challenge digital exclusion resulted in GeezerPower: an artwork that is both a statement about reusable technologies and about older peoples continuing interest in the world of the future. We use the story of its production to illustrate and reflect on new methods for engaging people in decisions about the design of technology. And we explore how creative practice informed the design of an intervention workshop inspired by performance art and an exhibition of artists collaborating with older people. We conclude with some comments on marginalization, engagement and envisioning futures.

New Patterns of Power and Participation? Designing ICT for Informal and Community Learning

The United Kingdom and other governments have demonstrated faith in information and communications technology (ICT) as a means of achieving a participative and inclusive society through various high-profile initiatives. It is also claimed that ICT or e-learning can bring about new patterns of power and participation for excluded learners. In this context, this article examines the following questions: What new patterns of power and participation are ICTs enabling through e-learning? And what else is needed for a participative and inclusive society? The article addresses the questions from two different perspectives. First, the authors look at the small but growing empirical base in the area of informal and community learning, including the description of a previously unreported study in this area. Second, they discuss what is required to design digital media that plug into the motivations of ‘real people’ in a way that empowers them. It is argued that we need a merging of interdisciplinary perspectives if we are to enable true power and participation for e-learners. Specifically, the authors illustrate how the careful design of ICTs can contribute to empowerment.

User centered design and international development

This workshop explores User Centered Design (UCD) challenges and contributions to International economic and community Development. We are addressing interaction design for parts of the world that are often marginalized by the Global North as well as people in the Global North who are themselves similarly marginalized by poverty or other barriers. We hope to extend the boundaries of the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) by spurring a discussion on how existing UCD practices can be adapted and modified, and how new practices be developed, to deal with the unique challenges posed by this context.

Research Project as Boundary Object: negotiating the conceptual design of a tool for International Development

This paper reflects on the relationship between whoone designs for and whatone designs in the unstructured space of designing for political change; in particular, for supporting “International Development” with ICT. We look at an interdisciplinary research project with goals and funding, but no clearly defined beneficiary group at start, and how amorphousness contributed to impact. The reported project researched a bridging tool to connect producers with consumers across global contexts and show players in the supply chain and their circumstances. We explore how both the nature of the research and the tools function became contested as work progressed. To tell this tale, we invoke the idea of boundary objects and the value of tacking back and forth between elastic meanings of the projects artefacts and processes. We examine the projects role in India, Chile and other arenas to draw out ways that it functioned as a catalyst and how absence of committed design choices acted as an unexpected strength in reaching its goals.