Luke Church

Privacy suites: shared privacy for social networks

Creating privacy controls for social networks that are both expressive and usable is a major challenge. Lack of user understanding of privacy settings can lead to unwanted disclosure of private information and, in some cases, to material harm. We propose a new paradigm which allows users to easily choose “suites” of privacy settings which have been specified by friends or trusted experts, only modifying them if they wish. Given that most users currently stick with their default, operator-chosen settings, such a system could dramatically increase the privacy protection that most users experience with minimal time investment.

Cognitive dimensions: Achievements, new directions, and open questions

The cognitive dimensions framework has inspired research both more and less varied than expected. In this paper, we revisit the original aims and briefly describe some subsequent research, to consider whether the original aims were too austere in rejecting knowledge-based dimensions; whether the dimensions can be shown to have real-world relevance; and whether their definitions can be improved, either piecemeal or by refactoring the entire set. We mention some issues that remain unexplored, and conclude by describing two different ventures into defining clear procedures for real-life application, operating in very different milieux but both accepting that the framework should be developed from its original formulation.

Privacy stories: confidence in privacy behaviors through end user programming

We describe a work in progress to study the viability of this approach for improving the usability of social network privacy configuration. As suggested in [2] we make use of analytical usability techniques to discuss the usability challenges of the current Facebook interface and to inform the design of our proposed alternative. We then report on a very small (two-user) pilot study and look at challenges that we will address in future design iterations.

Sketching across design domains: Roles and formalities

Abstract To complement studies on design sketching within particular phases of design processes in specific design domains, this paper analyzes descriptions of design processes given by designers from a wide variety of fields. This research forms part of a wider project on comparisons across design domains and draws attention to the many types and properties of sketches in different contexts. Further, it focuses on the multiple roles that sketching can take in idea generation, as well as in reasoning and communicating design ideas. In particular this paper examines how the different types and roles of sketches can be more or less formal and how this can lead to misunderstandings.