Kate Herd

The application of mHealth to mental health: opportunities and challenges

Advances in smartphones and wearable biosensors enable real-time psychological, behavioural, and physiological data to be gathered in increasingly precise and unobtrusive ways. Thus, moment-to-moment information about an individuals moods, cognitions, and activities can be collected, in addition to automated data about their whereabouts, behaviour, and physiological states. In this report, we discuss the potential of these new mobile digital technologies to transform mental health research and clinical practice. By drawing on results from the INSIGHT research project, we show how traditional boundaries between research and clinical practice are becoming increasingly blurred and how, in turn, this is leading to exciting new developments in the assessment and management of common mental disorders. Furthermore, we discuss the potential risks and key challenges associated with applying mobile technology to mental health.

Product envelopes: designing positive interplay between brand DNA and customer co-designers

This paper introduces the product envelope; a new concept which develops the notion and practice of the solution space into a more complete model to support the design of MC product solutions. The product envelope is presented as a model that encompasses the solution space at the core, where the givens and variables of a mass customisable product are described. However, the product envelope also encompasses the less tangible service, interaction and experience touch-points that surround, and provide access to, the tangible MC product that is at the core of the product envelope. A four pleasures analysis is used to reveal the complete model for the product envelope. This product envelope model provides a method whereby designers can take a systematic approach to enabling positive interplay between brand DNA and customer co-designers.

SenseMap: Supporting browser-based online sensemaking through analytic provenance

Sensemaking is described as the process in which people collect, organize and create representations of information, all centered around some problem they need to understand. People often get lost when solving complicated tasks using big datasets over long periods of exploration and analysis. They may forget what they have done, are unaware of where they are in the context of the overall task, and are unsure where to continue. In this paper, we introduce a tool, SenseMap, to address these issues in the context of browser-based online sensemaking. We conducted a semi-structured interview with nine participants to explore their behaviors in online sensemaking with existing browser functionality. A simplified sensemaking model based on Pirolli and Cards model is derived to better represent the behaviors we found: users iteratively collect information sources relevant to the task, curate them in a way that makes sense, and finally communicate their findings to others. SenseMap automatically captures provenance of user sensemaking actions and provides multi-linked views to visualize the collected information and enable users to curate and communicate their findings. To explore how SenseMap is used, we conducted a user study in a naturalistic work setting with five participants completing the same sensemaking task related to their daily work activities. All participants found the visual representation and interaction of the tool intuitive to use. Three of them engaged with the tool and produced successful outcomes. It helped them to organize information sources, to quickly find and navigate to the sources they wanted, and to effectively communicate their findings.

Hard-to-Get-at Data from Difficult-to-Access Users

This paper reports on the development of a suite of tools to collect, analyze and visualize a diverse range of data from sufferers of mental ill health. The aim is to allow researchers and ultimately sufferers and clinicians to better understand ‘individual signatures’ of factors that indicate or identify episodes of ill health. The tools have been applied in a study working with clients of a mental health service that demonstrates their applicability and acceptability in developing a better understanding of the factors surrounding self-harm behavior.

Design for Subjective Wellbeing: Towards a Design Framework for Constructing Narrative

Abstract We explore the role that interaction with products and services can play in the narratives that we develop about ourselves. We propose a four-level model, which seeks to explain this and use it as the basis for analyzing eight immersion studies. In each, we investigate the role that products and services play in shaping narratives, which in turn reflect our self-identity. We also look at archetypes – the various ideals that we can have about ourselves – and at how the alignment of narratives with these enhances our wellbeing. The model offers the potential to link narrative to design features and to identify new market opportunities. However, we recognize there may be challenges in enabling people to articulate narrative and identify their ideal archetype.