Book Reading #14: Design of Everyday Things

Reference Information

Title: Design of Everyday Things

Author: Donald Norman

Editor: Basic Books, 2002

Chapter 5: To Err is Human
Summary
This chapter discussed the types of errors, including slips (when subconscious actions are interrupted) and mistakes (from conscious thought interruptions).  The author then discusses models of human thought, including mathematical logic and connectionism (mapping neurons). The structure of tasks was then discussed, along with how to deal with errors, and forcing functions (interlocks, lockins, and lockouts).


Discussion
I found the in-depth analysis of different kinds of errors to be interesting, and liked how the author provided examples of each type. The examples helped to understand what the author was describing, since some of the definitions seemed to be fairly vague.

Paper Reading #7: Experience in Social Affective Applications: Methodologies and Case Study

Comments
Zack Henkel
Stuart Jones 


Reference Information
Title: Experience in Social Affective Applications: Methodologies and Case Study
Authors: Paul Andre, m.c. schraefel, Alan Dix, Ryen White
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia

Summary
This article discussed Healthii, a social-networking tool for conveying well-being, and used it to show the need for methodologies to examine experience and affect in social situations. For this application, two things were tested: the concept and design of a tool for sharing personal information and evaluating the experience of how that information is interpreted and used.

Healthii uses four discrete dimensions and three finite values for reflecting personal well-being. This well-being status can be represented using a numeric code or avatar. Users can update their state and view past states, along with seeing the states of a friend group. These updates can occur through Facebook, Twitter, or a desktop application.

An example of Healthii. Source: users.ecs.soton.ac.uk

For evaluation of this tool, ten people were selected that were already friends of the authors and users of social networking tools in order to ensure new friend groups were not being created. The users were asked to use Healthii over a course of five weeks, creating a longitudinal test. Once a week, the group met to discuss the tool. From these discussions, the designers of the tool considered changing aspects of the design/interactions. These two aspects, longevity and refinements combine to create a hybrid evaluation approach. At the end of the test, the participants were given individual surveys to analyze results that users were unwilling to share in a group context.

Discussion
I liked how this tool was designed specifically for testing and evaluating the current networking tools, but with specified, default values for personal well-being in order to easier evaluate the results. I thought the authors had a valid point about needing to start discussions about how to evaluate the use of social networking tools. The idea of evaluating for a long period of time is good, but changing the tool throughout the process seems like it could affect the results despite the fact that the authors argue against any affect.

Book Reading #13: Opening Skinner's Box

Reference Information

Title: Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century

Author: Lauren Slater

Editor: W.W Norton & Company, 2008

Chapter 3: On Being Sane in Insane Places
Summary
This chapter discussed the experiments of David Rosenhan, which consisted of faking his way into a mental institution, then acting normally and seeing if the psychiatrists would detect his sanity. Eventually, they released the experimenters due to "remission", but before that happened, they got to experience inhumane treatment and being treated as insane. The author discussed the ramifications of this experiment, and the refinements psychiatric codes experiences afterwards. The author then conducted her own experiment of the same nature, with some notable results.

Discussion
I find it amusing that the author conducted her own experiment in the same fashion, with differing results. She wasn't admitted, and was treated much nicer; however, she was still diagnosed and given prescriptions for unnecessary drugs. Also, I find it interesting that in Rosenhan's experiment, the psychiatrists seemed to be unaware of his sanity, but the actual patients in the institution had figured out what was going on.

Book Reading #12: Coming of Age in Samoa

Reference Information
Title: Coming of Age in Samoa

Author: Margaret Mead

Editor: Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)

Chapter 4: The Samoan Household
Summary
This chapter discussed the structure and problems of the Samoan household. Households are presided over by headmen, and are given various titles and ranks. However, for the most part, age gives more authority than such factors like marital status. Households consist of many different people, some that may only be distantly related.


Discussion
I find it interesting that children were allowed to switch households, often trying out different ones. This leads to immediate families being split among different households, but gives children more freedom than many cultures offer. I found it particularly amusing that the discipline of children was always given with consideration that the child could always move to a different household if they became unhappy.

Book Reading #11: Design of Everyday Things

Reference Information

Title: Design of Everyday Things

Author: Donald Norman

Editor: Basic Books, 2002

Chapter 4: Knowing What to Do
Summary
This chapter discussed design clues that let people know what to do, including signals, visuals, and sounds. Signals include physical, semantic, cultural, and logical constraints, as well as affordances that convey messages about possible uses, actions, and functions. The author included examples such as a lego motorcycle, doors, and light switches to describe his point.


Discussion
The discussion about light switches and needing a new method seemed rather odd to me. Sure, light switches tend to get confusing, but generally a person just goes around the room and tries them all out at first to determine which switch works which light. The author's argument of creating an entirely new kind of light switch seemed too absurd. Simply moving the positions of the current light switches to places that make more sense would help to fix this problem in an easier fashion.

Paper Reading #6: Tangible Interfaces for Download: Initial Observations from Users' Everyday Environments

Comments
Steven Hennessy
Miguel Cardenas


Reference Information
Title: Tangible Interfaces for Download: Initial Observations from Users' Everyday Environments
Authors: Enrico Costanza, Matteo Giaccone, Olivier Kung, Simon Shelley, Jeffrey Huang
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia

Summary
This article introduced a tangible user interface (TUI) system called Audio d-touch, a collection of tangible user interfaces for musical composition and performance, including a drum machine and a sequencer. The system was developed to be downloadable from their website, and low-cost with an easy setup. The system works on a sheet of paper, with folded paper with visual markers pasted on top acting as physical sliders on top of the paper board. A web-camera hangs above the paper board and tracks the position of the paper markers.

An example of the low-cost setup of Audio d-touch.

Most TUIs are expensive and only available in labs. The idea of Audio d-touch is to present an easily-available TUI for use by the general public, downloadable online, so that research can be done regarding large scale user tests of musical TUIs outside of the laboratory. This allowed a test of a large group of people, including musicians and non-musicians in various situations. Users were required to register on the website in order to log various information about them and keep track of repeated usage. Because of the logging of video and data, privacy was an issue with this study.

 After studying the usage and evaluation of the system, the results concluded that many people were enthusiastic and intrigued by the system. The low-cost nature of the system made it widely available and appreciated. Instructions and cutouts for setting up the interface were provided, and generally users had no problem with it, even expanding on it in some cases. Most users only created basic rythyms with the tool, and issues with recognizing the markers occurred, but the authors considered the study to be a success.

Discussion
I like that this system was designed with creating a large-scale, cheap user study in mind. Since this TUI was easily available, and could be constructed from common household items, many people were able to participate, allowing a wider range of results from the study. In addition, I think this system would be fun to play with. Like most people in the study, I don't have prior experience with TUIs, so the idea of a low-cost, downloadable TUI sounds like something I would use myself. However, I don't think I would have participated in the study, since the amount of information necessary and the logging of video from your personal work station or bedroom doesn't sound too appealing. The authors even mentioned in the article that some people commented on the privacy issue; however, it was explained in the download agreement, and was necessary for the research to occur.

Overall, I think it would be interesting to expand on the idea of a low-cost, easily-available TUI. I'm sure there are many other applications that something like this could be created for, and it could really help to expand the field of tangible user interfaces.

Ethnography Results, Week 1

My original idea was to observe two different programming lab sections, each with a different TA, to determine if there are noticeable quantitative or qualitative differences between them. As a peer teacher, I was able to easily observe each of these sections without affecting the already-established environment. In order to keep each section as similar as possible, I perform my work in the same manner for each section, answering questions when asked directly or going to students with their hands raised. I focused on two specific days, one for each lab, each where no homework is due that day.

The first lab occurs in the late morning and is taught by a TA with previous teaching experience with other classes. Out of the 11 students in the class, only 5 showed up, resulting in a 45% attendance rate. The TA didn't spend time lecturing or discussing the homework. Instead, she ran the lab by walking around and looking at the students' work, correcting as she saw problems or responding to specific questions. Out of the 5 students that showed up, one came in only for the last ten minutes of class, and two others asked questions. At the end of the lab, the TA left immediately, followed by most of the students.

The second lab occurs in the late afternoon. Out of the 20 students in the class, 15 showed up, resulting in a 75% attendance rate. The TA started the lab by discussing the current homework with the class, and giving hints that she felt would be helpful to figuring out the problems. As for answering questions, she remained at the front of the room, going to students with their hands raised. When there were no hands raised, she encouraged the class to ask more questions. About half of the students that showed up asked questions throughout the lab section. At the end of the lab, the TA remained longer to answer more questions, and none of the students left right away.

The differences between the labs could be attributed to many different factors, and further studies would be necessary to determine whether the attendance rate was due to the different TAs' teaching styles, the time of the labs, or the specific homework that had been assigned. However, I am abandoning this topic, as it does not fit the definition of an ethnography. While the results from this study could be important in improving learning environments, I am already part of this environment on a daily basis, and therefore will be finding a new topic that is not currently part of my own culture.