Hwajung Hong

Design requirements for ambient display that supports sustainable lifestyle

People are ready to change themselves to adopt more eco-friendly habits such as conserving electricity when they are aware of the possible problems of their lifestyle. In this sense, ambient display, which users experience occasionally without its interfering with their primary tasks, is well suited to provide the feedback of their personal activities in a more subtle manner than direct information presentation. We present the results of user studies with two ambient displays in different visualization styles. Participants showed diverse usage behaviors of ambient displays according to their motivational level of sustainable lifestyle. In addition, iconic metaphor of eco-visualization can trigger more emotional attachment while indexical representation helps retrospective functions. Finally, we suggest design requirements for ambient displays that support different stages of persuasion from raising awareness to motivating to change behaviors and to maintaining desired habits.

Designing a social network to support the independence of young adults with autism

Independence is key to a successful transition to adulthood for individuals with autism. Social support is a crucial factor for achieving adaptive self-help life skills. In this paper we describe the results of a formative design exercise with young adults with autism and their caregivers to uncover opportunities for social networks to promote independence and facilitate coordination. We propose the concept of SocialMirror, a device connected to an online social network that allows the young adult to seek advice from a trusted and responsive network of family, friends and professionals. Focus group discussions reveal the potential for SocialMirror to increase motivation to learn everyday life skills among young adults with autism and to foster collaboration among a distributed care network. We present design considerations to leverage a small trusted network that balances quick response with safeguards for privacy and security of young adults with autism.

Designing for persuasion: toward ambient eco-visualization for awareness

When people are aware of their lifestyle’s ecological consequences, they are more likely to adjust their behavior to reduce their impact. Persuasive design that provides feedback to users without interfering with their primary tasks can increases the awareness of neighboring problems. As a case study of design for persuasion, we designed two ambient displays as desktop widgets. Both represent a users’ computer usage time, but in different visual styles. In this paper, we present the results of a comparative study of two ambient displays. We discuss the gradual progress of persuasion supported by the ambient displays and the differences in users’ perception affected by the different visualization styles. Finally, Our empirical findings lead to a series of design implications for persuasive media.

Coralog: use-aware visualization connecting human micro-activities to environmental change

This paper describes the goal, design approach and specification, and preliminary use test of a use-aware ambient media called Coralog. Coralog is a widget that detects the duration of a users computer idle time (i.e. leaving the computer on without active usage) and communicates the energy consumption behavior through the visualization of the health of coral reefs. By occasionally consulting the non-intrusive widget, users can immediately acknowledge the impact of their computing behavior on ecosystems. Therefore, the goal of this application is to make the public become aware of the connection between their everyday activities and global climate change, which will educate them about the formerly unseen effects that their actions may have and potentially lead to a sustainable living.

Investigating the use of circles in social networks to support independence of individuals with autism

Building social support networks is crucial both for less-independent individuals with autism and for their primary caregivers. In this paper, we describe a four-week exploratory study of a social network service (SNS) that allows young adults with autism to garner support from their family and friends. We explore the unique benefits and challenges of using SNSs to mediate requests for help or advice. In particular, we examine the extent to which specialized features of an SNS can engage users in communicating with their network members to get advice in varied situations. Our findings indicate that technology-supported communication particularly strengthened the relationship between the individual and extended network members, mitigating concerns about over-reliance on primary caregivers. Our work identifies implications for the design of social networking services tailored to meet the needs of this special needs population.

In-group Questions and Out-group Answers: Crowdsourcing Daily Living Advice for Individuals with Autism

Difficulty in navigating daily life can lead to frustration and decrease independence for people with autism. While they turn to online autism communities for information and advice for coping with everyday challenges, these communities may present only a limited perspective because of their in-group nature. Obtaining support from out-group sources beyond the in-group community may prove valuable in dealing with challenging situations such as public anxiety and workplace conflicts. In this paper, we explore the value of supplementary out-group support from crowdsourced responders added to in-group support from a community of members. We find that out-group sources provide relatively rapid, concise responses with direct and structured information, socially appropriate coping strategies without compromising emotional value. Using an autism community as a motivating example, we conclude by providing design implications for combining in-group and out-group resources that may enhance the question-and-answer experience.

TriggerHunter: designing an educational game for families with asthmatic children

In this paper, we propose a collaborative and educational game for families with asthmatic children to improve their health. This paper describes design approaches and specifications of a game called TriggerHunter that enables asthmatic children to see asthma triggers in their home environment through an augmented reality technology. The goal of designing a game for tracking asthma triggers in the real world is to educate asthmatic children and their parents about triggers that may cause asthma attacks or worsen symptoms. By providing tailored learning experience that is enjoyable, this interactive game aims to increase awareness of asthma triggers and changes behaviors as to improve pediatric asthma management.

Towards a framework to situate assistive technology design in the context of culture

We present the findings from a cross-cultural study of the expectations and perceptions of individuals with autism and other intellectual disabilities (AOID) in Kuwait, Pakistan, South Korea, and the United States. Our findings exposed cultural nuances that have implications for the design of assistive technologies. We develop a framework, based on three themes; 1) lifestyle; 2) socio-technical infrastructure; and 3) monetary and informational resources within which the cultural implications and opportunities for assistive technology were explored. The three key contributions of this work are: 1) the development of a framework that outlines how culture impacts perceptions and expectations of individuals with social and intellectual disabilities; 2) a mapping of how this framework leads to implications and opportunities for assistive technology design; 3) the presentation of concrete examples of how these implications impact the design of three emerging assistive technologies.

Training social problem solving skills in adolescents with high-functioning autism

Adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) have very different needs and abilities. Deficits in social skills and executive function, however, are generally considered defining characteristics of HFASD. Deficits in socialization often interfere with these individuals educational experience and quality of life, and explicit instruction is required to help them acquire age-appropriate social skills. We describe an approach to social skills training for adolescents and young adults with HFASD. Our design allows the user to role-play through social scenarios - such as going to the movie theatre - in a way that we believe may lead toward generalization. We also present the findings of an exploratory study in which 8 young adults with HFASD interacted with a prototype system. These findings showed that participants with HFASD respond favorably to the software, and that, in the future it will be important to integrate all aspects of a complete interventions into the software.

SocialMirror: motivating young adults with autism to practice life skills in a social world

In this video, we present SocialMirror [1], an interactive mirror connected to an online social network that allows young adults with autism to seek advice from a trusted and responsive network of family, friends and professionals. We depict three social scenarios that show the feasibility and applicability of SocialMirror.