Erin A. Carroll

Creativity factor evaluation: towards a standardized survey metric for creativity support

We present a new survey metric, the Creativity Support Index (CSI) that is designed to help researchers and designers evaluate the level of creativity support provided by various systems or interfaces. We initially employed a top-down literature-based approach to develop a beta version of the Creativity Support Index (Beta CSI). We discuss our usage of the Beta CSI in three different studies and what we learned from those deployments. We also present the results from an extensive creativity vocabulary study (n=300), which revealed a set of orthogonal creativity factors. This led to the current version of the CSI presented in this paper. Initial results from these formative evaluations suggest the value of this tool in assessing and comparing creativity support tools at points in time and longitudinally.

Love, hate, arousal and engagement: exploring audience responses to performing arts

Understanding audience responses to art and performance is a challenge. New sensors are promising for measurement of implicit and explicit audience engagement. However, the meaning of biometric data, and its relationship to engagement, is unclear. We conceptually explore the audience engagement domain to uncover opportunities and challenges in the assessment and interpretation of audience engagement data. We developed a display that linked performance videos with audience biometric data and presented it to 7 performing arts experts, to explore the measurement, interpretation and application of biometric data. Experts were intrigued by the response data and reflective in interpreting it. We deepened our inquiry with an empirical study with 49 participants who watched a video of a dance performance. We related temporal galvanic skin response (GSR) data to two self-report scales, which provided insights on interpreting this measure. Our findings, which include strong correlations, support the interpretation of GSR as a valid representation of audience engagement.

Food and Mood: Just-in-Time Support for Emotional Eating

Behavior modification in health is difficult, as habitual behaviors are extremely well-learned, by definition. This research is focused on building a persuasive system for behavior modification around emotional eating. In this paper, we make strides towards building a just-in-time support system for emotional eating in three user studies. The first two studies involved participants using a custom mobile phone application for tracking emotions, food, and receiving interventions. We found lots of individual differences in emotional eating behaviors and that most participants wanted personalized interventions, rather than a pre-determined intervention. Finally, we also designed a novel, wearable sensor system for detecting emotions using a machine learning approach. This system consisted of physiological sensors which were placed into womens brassieres. We tested the sensing system and found positive results for emotion detection in this mobile, wearable system.

The choreographer's notebook: a video annotation system for dancers and choreographers

We present a collaborative tool for choreographers and dancers, the Choreographers Notebook, which allows multimodal annotation of rehearsal videos during the dance production process. The dance production process is a creative process in which exploration and expression are paramount and we describe issues we have observed over four different dance production cycles. The Choreographers Notebook addresses the recurring problem of scarcity of rehearsal time and space, which is a limiting factor for exploration and expression. The tool is a web-based video application that enables choreographers to provide multimodal, context-sensitive instructions and feedback to the dancers outside of formal rehearsal time. The novelty of this tool is its ability to provide a multimodal collaborative video-based workflow. This article also presents a thorough ethnographic investigation of the dance production process and results from the use of the Choreographers Notebook as an artifact within that process.

Dance-inspired technology, technology-inspired dance

The design of interactive dance is a challenging endeavor because both dance and computing are in themselves full of complexity, thus to create a cohesive union of the two involves much trial and error and a mutual disciplinary understanding. Since interactive dance is a performing art, technologists working as designers must consider how all of the parts -- choreography, media, interactivity -- are integrated to inform the overall gestalt and intent of the piece. To this end, we offer five design principles for making interactive dance: Connected Kinetics, Augmented Expression, Aesthetic Harmony, Interactive Build, and Integrated Process. These design principles have emerged from our practice-based research in collaboratively producing six different interactive dance pieces over the past four years.

Evaluating longitudinal projects combining technology with temporal arts

The integration of interactive technology with temporal art such as dance is an exciting, emerging area. The design space for such collaborations is immense, with variations in sensors, visualizations, and how these interact with dancers and choreography. This paper presents the evaluation methodology and results of Dance.Draw, a longitudinal project spanning two years and three productions, which aimed to develop a deep, interdisciplinary understanding of this space. Given that this is pioneering work, there is little guidance on how to evaluate such collaborations. We describe the significant confounds in doing evaluation in this area, and we present our evolving mixed-methods approach, which includes two unique methods to address the multiple stakeholders in a holistic manner: dancer focus groups and repeated presentations. Our approach has generated insights, such as differing perspectives of audience members and the responses of dancers to technological variables. We conclude by discussing the challenges and successes of our evaluation approach.

Charting new ground: modeling user behavior in interactive geovisualization

Geovisualization has traditionally played a critical role in analysis and decision-making, but recent developments have also brought a revolution in widespread online access to geographic data and integration tools, particularly for map-based interfaces. This next generation of geovisualization applications is often characterized by high interactivity and strong end-user participation in both development and use. Building the most effective tools to support user-centered geographic visualization faces a significant challenge, though: very little is known about how people interact with maps. To date, map use research has typically focused on higher order use goals or cognitive interpretations of static map representations. Our research employs Human-Computer Interaction approaches in order to investigate user behaviors that contribute to interactive map use and understanding. This paper describes our approach to studying geovisualization interaction and presents our pilot user studies and initial interaction model. By building a better understanding of how people interact with map interfaces, we will be able to design better user-centered geographic visualizations and learn how to best customize these applications to specific user groups.

The creativity support index

We present a draft survey tool called the Creativity Support Index (CSI). The CSI is similar to the NASA Task Load Index Survey but is designed specifically for evaluating creativity support tools, based on concepts and theories from creativity research.

Bodies in critique: a technological intervention in the dance production process

The dance production process is strongly influenced within the physical rehearsal space by social context factors and dynamics, such as intimacy of bodies, gender distribution, and the hierarchy of choreographers and dancers. Introducing online tools for asynchronous collaboration can change the traditional dance production process and impact the social dynamics of the group. We developed and deployed the Choreographers Notebook, a web-based, collaborative, multi-modal annotation tool used in the creative process of making dance. We collected usage logs and choreographer reflections on the use of this tool, along with conducting interviews and focus groups, from the interdisciplinary perspectives of both technologists and choreographers involved in the project. We describe the socio-technical impacts of the Choreographers Notebook based on the results of its usage in three dance productions. We analyze these case studies through various contextual lenses and provide a visualization of how the choreographic correction process evolved.

Convergence of self-report and physiological responses for evaluating creativity support tools

Creativity is a fuzzy, complex concept with a wide range of definitions and theories. Since there is no single agreed upon methodology for recognizing and evaluating creativity, this makes it particularly difficult to evaluate how well a creativity support tool (CST) supports the creativity of a user. My dissertation will be concerned with evaluating CSTs through the development of new quantitative metrics and methodologies. In this paper, I discuss research plans for my dissertation, which includes both existing work and new directions for my research.