Emily Sun

Sifteo cubes

In this paper we describe Sifteo cubes™, a tangible and graphical user interface platform. We note several patterns of use observed in homes and schools and identify design recommendations for display utilization on distributed interfaces like Sifteo cubes. Additionally we discuss the process of commercializing the research prototype to create a marketable game system.

MoodLight: Exploring Personal and Social Implications of Ambient Display of Biosensor Data

MoodLight is an interactive ambient lighting system that responds to biosensor input related to an individuals current level of arousal. Changes in levels of arousal correspond to fluctuations in the color of light provided by the system, altering the immediate environment in ways intimately related to the users private internal state. We use this intervention to explore personal and social implications of the ambient display of biosensor data. A design probe study conducted with university students provided the opportunity to observe MoodLight being used by individuals and dyads. Discussion of findings highlights key tensions associated with the dialectics of technology-mediated self-awareness and automated disclosure of personal information, addressing issues of agency, skepticism and uncertainty. This study provides greater understanding of the ways in which the representations of personal informatics, with a focus on ambient feedback, influence our perceptions of ourselves and those around us.

TAMIES: A Study and Model of Adoption in P2P Resource Sharing and Indirect Exchange Systems

Peer-to-peer indirect exchange services, such as sharing sites that facilitate the lending and borrowing of physical goods among neighbors (such as NeighborGoods and Peerby), have not been as widely adopted as direct exchange systems, such as peer-to-peer platforms that facilitate the exchange goods and services for money (such as Uber and Airbnb). In order to understand contributing factors to this lack of adoption, we examined attitudes towards and usage of peer-to-peer resource-sharing sites among 37 residents of New York City, 9 of whom had previously used a peer-to-peer sharing site. In addition, to more deeply understand the role of trust on willingness to lend, we also conducted a survey with 195 respondents. Our findings show that people expressed concerns about violating norms of the kinds of objects suitable for sharing, about potential risks involved with entrusting a possession to somebody else, and about a dearth of available items that would be useful. Building upon previous technology acceptance models, critical mass theory, and prior research on peer economies, we propose a technology acceptance model for indirect exchange systems that includes generalized trust and ease of coordination.

MoveMeant: Anonymously Building Community Through Shared Location Histories

Awareness of and connections to a local community are important for building social capital, sharing resources, and providing physical support, but have been elusive to create in dense urban environments. We describe the design and implementation of MoveMeant, a system aimed to increase local community awareness through shared location traces. MoveMeant securely uses anonymized location data generated automatically by mobile devices to display aggregate, community-level location data. We report findings from interviews with residents in the Bronx, New York City who participated in a deployment of MoveMeant over a 6-week period. Our findings show that people use the anonymous information to make judgments about the people and places in their community, while opting to reveal their identity for third places where there is an opportunity to connect socially.

What Happens in Happn: The Warranting Powers of Location History in Online Dating

Many location-based dating applications allow users to search for potential matches who are physically proximate. A recent mobile dating application, happn, adds a temporal dimension to location-based dating, showing users the number of times that they crossed path with each other, as well as the location of the most recent overlap. We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 happn users to understand how people make sense of crossed paths, and assess the meanings they assign to these location overlaps. Building on Uncertainty Reduction Theory, we show the various outcomes of the crossed paths and how they play a role in uncertainty reduction. In particular, the warranting power of the device-driven location data was accepted as valuable, and generated little concern about misrepresentation. Moreover, people assigned significant meaning to the minimal cues available from the overlap data. In addition, the location overlap data was useful in allowing users to estimate convenience in meeting and establish common ground. On the other hand, concerns of security and recognition by known others persisted in the happn app. Our findings suggest the potential for utilizing location data outside of the domain of online dating.

You Can't Always Get What You Want: Challenges in P2P Resource Sharing

Peer to peer sharing of physical goods in local communities seems like a promising concept, but platforms that offer these services have not yet reached critical mass. Based on a preliminary analysis of 15 interviews with residents of NYC about sharing in the local community, our results suggest that there is a disconnect between the kind of items that people would like to borrow and those that people would be willing to share. While people are most interested in expensive, infrequently used items, they indicated concern over liability for damages and trust of strangers. We discuss the trade-offs of introducing insurance through the platforms themselves and suggest potential alternate ways of facilitating exchanges of these items.

Fun with bananas: novel inputs on enjoyment and task performance

Educators are often finding ways to increase intrinsic motivation for students, one of which is making a task more enjoyable. We hypothesized that using a novel input device would increase enjoyment and performance for a task. In order to test our hypothesis, participants played a game with a keyboard, large pads (created from aluminum foil and cardboard), and bananas as input devices by using a Makey Makey. Our results indicate that enjoyment, interest, excitement, and enthusiasm with bananas was higher than with a standard keyboard input despite a worse performance and lower preference ranking. We discuss potential implications and future work around the implementation of novel input devices.

Challenges on the Journey to Co-Watching YouTube

In order to better understand social aspects of the short-form video watching experience, we investigated the journey to co-watching, from searching and discovering content, to choosing and experiencing videos with others. After identifying, through a large-scale survey, some of the most typical situations that bring people to YouTube, we deployed a one week-long diary study with 12 participants in which they performed a set of frequent video tasks at their leisure, half by themselves, and half with someone else. Following the diary study, we had participants reenact the diary study tasks remotely with the experimenter. We observed that users face multiple challenges on the journey to co-watching a video. They must share a device designed for an individual, use different methods for selecting videos than when by themselves, negotiate or turn-take in order to make a decision, and potentially watch a video that they do not enjoy. Along this journey, users must engage in impression management to consider how their choices might make them appear to others. We present design recommendations for remote and collocated co-watching to improve the social video watching experience.

A Multi-site Investigation of Community Awareness Through Passive Location Sharing

Local community ties are an important social resource, but research shows that these ties have been declining. The social significance of location information offers an opportunity address this decline and support local community building. Through this research, we aim to understand if and how passive location sharing might be socially beneficial for communities. We conducted a deployment of MoveMeant, a location awareness app, across three different communities. Following a research through design approach, we conducted 45 interviews with users of the system and community leaders. The findings suggest that communities face issues related to lack of awareness, cohesion, and identity. We show that the app can help increase awareness of important community resources. At the same time, the findings also show a negative effect of surfacing divisions in a community, which we discuss as a intermediate, perceptual step that may contribute to the amplification effect of technology.

Leveraging Location Sharing to Increase Social Capital in Local Communities

Through my doctoral research, I aim to gain a deeper understanding of how LBPHDs, location-based, post-hoc data applications, can be used to build social capital in urban communities. From a case study of a dating app that utilizes shared location history, happn, we explored how LBPHD information has been used to build interpersonal relationships. Based on these findings, we designed MoveMeant, an application that extends LBPHD from interpersonal to community-level information sharing. Preliminary qualitative field results suggest the potential of MoveMeant to increase local community awareness through dissemination of local knowledge and discovery of third places. Future work in this area include a larger qualitative study and quantitative study of MoveMeant, and further understanding its application to other situations.