Leigh Ellen Potter

The Leap Motion controller: a view on sign language

This paper presents an early exploration of the suitability of the Leap Motion controller for Australian Sign Language (Auslan) recognition. Testing showed that the controller is able to provide accurate tracking of hands and fingers, and to track movement. This detection loses accuracy when the hand moves into a position that obstructs the controllers ability to view, such as when the hand rotates and is perpendicular to the controller. The detection also fails when individual elements of the hands are brought together, such as finger to finger. In both of these circumstances, the controller is unable to read or track the hand. There is potential for the use of this technology for recognising Auslan, however further development of the Leap Motion API is required.

Design with the deaf: do deaf children need their own approach when designing technology?

In this paper, we focus on the question of design of technology for Deaf children, and whether the needs of these children are different from their hearing counterparts in a technology design setting. We present findings from literature together with our own observations to determine if there are distinguishing characteristics for Deaf children that may influence design sessions with them. We found that Deaf children generally have reduced literacy and slower academic progress, reduced social and emotional development, reduced empathy and a level of nervousness in novel situations, delayed language development, and limited or delayed spoken language. We also found that Deaf children are active and innovative in approaching communication, have sensitive visual attention in their peripheral vision, enhanced attention to small visual changes, and a capacity for visual learning. Finally, cultural issues within the Deaf community mean that Deaf children should be free to interact on their own terms in a design situation. We suggest that these differences merit the development of a design approach specific to the needs of Deaf children.

Seek and Sign: an early experience of the joys and challenges of software design with young deaf children

This paper describes the initial stages of a research project aimed at teaching preliterate Deaf children Australian sign language (Auslan) using a software application deployed on a mobile technology device. We discuss the user centred design techniques to be used in this project, specifically Gestural Think Aloud Protocol and the Problem Identification Picture Cards method. An initial design session exploring the feasibility of the design approach suggests that the approach is suitable and desirable. Our design questions for future development are listed.

Experiences using emerging technology

Emerging technologies are being developed at a rapid pace, driven by strong innovation in the hardware sector, resulting in an increase in the range of input devices that people can use to interact with computers and applications. Unfortunately, there are no established interaction standards or best practices when developing software for emerging technologies, and user experience suffers as a result. This paper presents the findings from an early case study exploring the experiences of a group of individuals when playing games using emerging technology: namely the Oculus Rift and the Leap Motion controller. This case study provides insight into the usability of the interaction between game and device.

Information Systems and Intra-Organisational Power: Exploring power & political aspects associated with the adoption of a knowledge sharing system in an IT services department

It is widely accepted that the successful adoption of information systems in organisations is dependent on the contextual factors relating to organisational culture, power, structure, and strategy. Of these, organisational power has been least investigated, especially in relation to information systems of a knowledge sharing context. Moreover, IS and power theories belonging to the emergent perspective of power have not been explored in detail in recent times. In this paper, an attempt is made to illustrate the intra-organisational power and political aspects associated with designing, implementing, using, and maintaining an information system used for sharing knowledge. This was achieved by investigating a case study focused on a knowledge sharing system of an IT services department in an Australian university. The findings were derived based on the analysis conducted using the elements of Political Variant of the Interaction Theory (PVIT), which we argue is a theoretical framework belonging to the emergent perspective of power. The analysis provided insights into how the investigated information system shaped, and was shaped by, the power relations of the organisational context. Moreover, the investigation confirmed the analytical strength and the applicability of the PVIT to modern case studies despite its age and lack of use. Based on the findings implications for future use of the PVIT are also drawn in this paper.

Childhood interest in IT and the choice of IT as a career: the experiences of a group of IT professionals

In this paper, we discuss the motivating factors behind Information Technology (IT) professionals and what drives their choice of IT as a career. In order to explore this a series of interviews with thirteen IT professionals have been undertaken including a set of preliminary interviews, interviews with IT professionals from a consultancy organisation and a tertiary institution working on a common project, interviews with IT professionals in a large government organisation, and questionnaires distributed to an online community. The individuals participating in this study generally described exposure to technology at an early age and a subsequent interest in technology. These participants went on in later years to show an intrinsic motivation for pursuing technology. For this group of people the opportunity to interact with technology while young assisted them in developing an interest in working with technology and in retaining that interest.

Virtual reality and nature based tourism: an opportunity for operators and visitors

Nature based tourism is a growing segment of the tourism industry, and tourism operators are facing growing challenges to the quality of their visitor experiences. We explored the application of virtual reality (VR) in this sector, and asked whether it can be successfully used in a natural setting. We found that there is great potential for the use of VR in nature based tourism for the provision of both information and education, with many application opportunities identified.

Great expectations: what do children expect from their technology?

Children of the digital generation have expectations of technology that may or may not reflect the expectations of the adults around them. This paper explores the expectations of and attitudes towards technology of a group of young Deaf children while interacting with a computer game application. We found that the children expect seamless, intuitive behaviour from technology in part based on their existing experience with game platforms, mobile technology, and other computer games. In addition to high expectations of the technology, the children were highly adaptive to unfamiliar interfaces, tolerant of prototype deficiencies once they were familiar with the prototyping approach and could readily interact with new game elements. The challenge for developers is to create applications that harness the creativity of the digital generation and meet their high expectations. We suggest that involvement of children within the development approach will assist in meeting these goals.

Sign my world: lessons learned from prototyping sessions with young deaf children

Sign My World is an application that aims to help pre-literate deaf and hearing-impaired children to learn Australian Sign Language (Auslan). Development is in its early stages and faces challenges in terms of interaction with the children that the application aims to help. This paper presents a set of experiences from early prototyping sessions conducted with a small group of deaf and hearing-impaired children. These experiences indicate the ability and emerging desire of the children to act as active participants within the development process, the visual nature of these children, and the existence of issues in relation to communication between the application developer and the children.

How design involvement impacts Deaf children

This paper presents an examination of the impacts involvement in design activities has on Deaf children. Existing research has identified several potential positive impacts of childrens involvement in design activities, but such observations have been incidental. In the studies presented here, deliberate observations were made of childrens reactions to design sessions. Two design projects have been undertaken in which Deaf children acted as informants and design partners. Early research reporting on the impacts of involvement in design activities on children focused on positive impacts, observed later in design projects. A key finding of this research, which has not been identified in earlier research, was that early phases of the research could negatively impact children by causing nervousness or anxiety.