ModifiedCritical Incident (mCIT): AMeans to Uncover Experience of Mobile Social Messaging System Using Informant-SpecificCues

Part of Human-computer interaction (HCI)researchevolves around understanding of the experiential aspects of users -their what, why and how of technology use in the domestic setting which is always privy to the users. The process of understanding is often not straightforward and a reliable means to develop thisHCI knowledge is deemed necessary. This article describes a study whereCritical Incident Technique (CIT) was adapted to HCI research and applied in the context of social messaging system use in understanding technology-mediated familial bonding enactment.CIT often involves the recalled critical incidents – or significant instances of a specific activity as experienced by research participants to recognize similarities, differences, and patterns, and to seek insights into how and why people engage in the activity of interest.However, such approach may contaminate the reliability and trustworthiness of the findings. Thus, our adapted version of CIT utilizes the procedures and logic of CIT, but differs in two ways: 1) Relying on situated and informants’ genuine critical incidents to elicit experience of interaction and 2) ‘uncritical’ incidents were also included as complementary to critical incidents to cueing informants on the phenomenon of interest. This uncritical incident represents negative evidence to counter the drawback of existing technique.Considering both critical and uncritical incidents in the studyhas provided a bigger picture and rich descriptions of the technology-mediated familialbonding enactment from both lens ofgenuine incidents and informants.

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Individuation and Diversity

Information and Communication Technologies, Society and Human Beings ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-057-0.ch014 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 160-171

Author(s):

Sebastiano Bagnara ◽

Simone Pozzi

Keyword(s):

Human Computer Interaction ◽

Technology Use ◽

Normal Variety ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Research And Design ◽

Average User ◽

Computer Interaction

Nowadays, our life is characterized by an increasing complexity and variety in the use of technology: highly idiosyncratic experiences in technology use have become rule rather than exceptions. Such “normal” variety has an impact on the field of Human-Computer Interaction by posing a new challenge, that of ‘individuation’, i.e. passing from research and design for the ‘average user’, to research and design for ‘individuals’. We maintain that HCI is in the middle of such a transition and that it should actively develop proper means to address the complexity of idiosyncratic uses of technology. Such a transition will mark a shift from ‘nomothetic’ to ‘idiographic’ approaches.

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Designing for Learning in Use of Everyday Artefacts

DAIMI Report Series ◽

10.7146/dpb.v32i568.7125 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (568) ◽

Author(s):

Marianne Graves Petersen

Keyword(s):

Human Computer Interaction ◽

Interaction Design ◽

Technology Use ◽

Living Room ◽

Design Practice ◽

Term Study ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Design For Learning ◽

Computer Interaction

A new Bang & Olufsen system is installed in the living room of Paul and Sarah. The B&O sales people do the technical set-up, demonstrate the functionality of the new system for Paul and Sarah, and leave them to explore their new wonder. Not an unusual situation, but nevertheless a situation which fosters a set of concerns at B&O and indeed also for the field of Human Computer Interaction. B&O is concerned with making sure that their customers find B&O systems intuitive to use and over time learn to use the facilities offered by the system. Looking to the field of Human-Computer Interaction, this situation raises more questions than can be answered. These questions drive the work reported in this thesis. <br /> The thesis deals with three general challenges for the area of Human-Computer Interaction. First, it investigates the consequences of the proliferation of computers from the workplace into our everyday lives. Secondly it examines the theoretical and practical implications of considering learning-in-use, as opposed to more static views on technology use. Finally, it examines how we can come to design for learning in use of everyday artefacts, i.e. it aims at approaching the first challenges from a design perspective. <br /> The work presented in the following comes out of a tradition of action-oriented research. Thus the above problems emerged through collaboration with the interaction design group at Bang & Olufsen. The empirical part of the thesis consists of a long-term study of Bang & Olufsen television use in the home of two families. Furthermore, design workshops have been held with families in their homes, and experiments with design practice have been organised together with Bang & Olufsen. Theoretically, activity theory is explored as a basis for understanding learning-in-use. On this basis, a framework of learning artefacts is developed, and this framework is used to analyse the long-term study of B&O use. <br /> The main contributions of this thesis is the framework of learning artefacts and a set of design principles for everyday artefacts, developed on the basis of this framework. In addition, it presents a further development of the perspective of design and use as strongly related and provides an example of how the framework of learning artefacts allow us to evaluate design, not only against use but also against the design practice, which produced it. Finally, the thesis offers a methodological cycle for designing for learning in use and the methods and techniques developed as part of this thesis are framed herein.

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Interdisciplinary systematic review: does alignment between system and design shape adoption and use of barcode medication administration technology?

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044419 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e044419

Author(s):

Rachel Williams ◽

Reham Aldakhil ◽

Ann Blandford ◽

Yogini Jani

Keyword(s):

Human Computer Interaction ◽

Human Factors ◽

Technology Use ◽

Medication Administration ◽

Appropriate Technology ◽

Synthesis Methods ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Research Perspectives ◽

Mediating Factors ◽

Computer Interaction

BackgroundIn order to reduce safety risks associated with medication administrations, technologies such as barcode medication administration (BCMA) are increasingly used. Examining how human factors influence adoption and usability of this technology can potentially highlight areas for improvement in design and implementation.ObjectiveTo describe how human factors related determinants for BCMA have been researched and reported by healthcare and human–computer interaction disciplines.Data sourcesThe Cumulative Index of Nursing, and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, OVID MEDLINE and Google Scholar.Study eligibility criteriaPrimary research published from April 2000 to April 2020, search terms developed to identity different disciplinary research perspectives that examined BCMA use, used a human factors lens and were published in English.Synthesis methodsComputerised systematic searches were conducted in four databases. Eligible papers were systematically analysed for themes. Themes were discussed with a second reviewer and supervisors to ensure they were representative of content.ResultsOf 3707 papers screened, 11 were included. Studies did not fit neatly into a clinical or human-computer interaction perspective but instead uncovered a range of overlapping narratives, demonstrating consensus on the key themes despite differing research approaches. Prevalent themes were misaligned design and workflow, adaptation and workarounds, mediating factors, safety, users’ perceptions and design and usability. Inadequate design frequently led to workarounds, which jeopardised safety. Reported mediating factors included clarity of user needs, pre/post implementation evaluations, analysis of existing workarounds and appropriate technology, infrastructure and staffing.LimitationsMost studies were relatively small and qualitative, making it difficult to generalise findings.ConclusionEvaluating interdisciplinary perspectives including human factors approaches identified similar and complementary enablers and barriers to successful technology use. Often, mediating factors were developed to compensate for unsuitable design; a collaborative approach between system designer and end users is necessary for BCMA to achieve its true safety potential.

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The user as network

First Monday ◽

10.5210/fm.v20i11.6281 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karen E.C. Levy

Keyword(s):

Human Computer Interaction ◽

Technology Use ◽

Power Relations ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Multiple Modes ◽

Complex Relation ◽

Institutional Relationships ◽

Computer Interaction ◽

The Way

The user has become central to the way technology is conceptualized, designed, and studied in sociotechnical research and human-computer interaction; recently, non-users have also become productive foci of scholarly analysis. This paper argues that a focus on individualized users and non-users is incomplete, and conflates multiple modes of complex relation among people, institutions, and technologies. Rather than the use/non-use conception, I argue for conceptualizing users as networks: as constellations of power relations and institutional entanglements, mediated through technologies. To illustrate, I offer a case study of Nexafed, a tamperproof formulation of pseudoephedrine. The market for Nexafed seems nonexistent in traditional use/non-use terms, but when we construe the user more broadly — as a network of interpersonal, legal, and institutional relationships, consisting of multiple modes of relation between people and technology — not only does the drug’s market make sense, but we also understand how new motivations (social shame, mistrust, robbery, gossip) can act as salient drivers of technology use. The Nexafed case illustrates the utility of a networked perspective to develop more nuanced theoretical understandings of use and non-use in sociotechnical relations, beyond the direct human-technology interface.

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