CALLS
FOR PAPERS
The papers listed include both published and unpublished works
in order to encourage the exchange of ideas about user needs in
Smart Internet. To view unpublished papers, you need to be a member
of this website.
2004
Beekhuyzen, J., Siedle, M., von Hellens, L., Stevens, S., Topor,
R. Health Biometrics - Ready to be a Smart Internet
Technology? Malyasian Journal of Computer Science
Volume 17, No. 2, December 2004.
Health informatics is increasingly of interest due to its potential
in
making our health care systems safer. The term ‘health or
medical
informatics’ refers to the “application of information
technologies to
optimise information management within all aspects of health care
delivery" [1] A research project has been initiated to explore
the
effectiveness of hospital clinicians and their professional group
by
developing tools to support electronic wireless access to medical
literature, patient records and hospital databases. PDAs and other
portable devices are considered as technologies that enable such
access,
but their suitability for clinicians depends on a range of organisational
and technical issues including privacy and security of the systems.
This
paper introduces a selection of different technologies including
signature
recognition and a range of fingerprint scanning technologies designed
for authentication and authorisation and critically evaluates their
merits
in accessing the health care systems.
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paper (pdf) Members
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Castro, M., Singh, S. Rigour at a trotting pace: A
story from the user-centred design of smart Internet technologies
QualIT2004, November 24-26, 2004, Brisbane Australia.
We detail the tussle between the rigour and effectiveness of user
studies for the user-centred design of technologies, drawing on
the authors’ experience within a UCD team. This discussion
is as much a challenge between UCD researchers coming from different
disciplines as it is between the UCD team and the technologists.
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Chatfield, C., Hexel, R. Privacy and Security within
Intelligent Environments, OZCHI 2004, November 22-24,
2004, Wollongong Australia.
This paper discusses the current research in maintenance of user’s
privacy within an intelligent environment. The need to ensure user
privacy within an intelligent environment means the development
is as much a sociotechnical challenge as a technical one. Users
must have complete confidence in the ability and willingness of
an intelligent environment to keep their information private before
the system will be used. The consideration of user privacy at the
design stage is therefore essential to an intelligent environments
success. The paper presents a privacy aware intelligent environment
architecture that seeks to incorporate the user privacy and security
design requirements for an intelligent environment.
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Chatfield, C., & Häkkilä, J. Designing
Intelligent Environments - User Perceptions on Information Sharing,
Asia-Pacific Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, June 29-July,
Rotorua New Zealand.
This study examines user’s opinions on personal information
exchange
with an Intelligent Environment providing information for HCI design
for acceptable and usable application development. It found that
users are more comfortable with their information being exchanged
if it is clear what the information is being used for, and who will
have access to it. 83% of all subjects wanted control over the exchange
of their information, and a third would be more likely to share
information with a service provider if they had a good global reputation
and if the user could request that their information could be deleted.
The biggest influence on a user’s information sharing preferences
was found to be the existence of a prior relationship with the information
recipient.
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paper (pdf)
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Chatfield, C., Carmichael, D. J., Hexel, R., Kay, J. & Kummerfeld,
B. Privacy-Aware Information Management in Intelligent
Environment, UbiComp 2004, September 7-10, 2004, Nottingham
England.
This paper describes an interaction method that allows the user
to control
what information is received from an intelligent environment. This
system also allows users to control what information the intelligent
environment and other users have access to. This control over the
flow of information is essential to maintaining user privacy and
the security of the intelligent environment.
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paper (pdf)
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Chau, S. and Turner, P. Examining the Utilisation of
Mobile Handheld Devices at an Australian Aged Care Facility,
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, July 8-11, 2004,
Shanghai China.
This paper reports on the implementation and evaluation of a wireless
hand-held clinical care management system at an Aged Care Facility
in Launceston Tasmania. This socio-technical trial involved collaboration
between researchers from the Smart Internet CRC, Telstra Broadband
Laboratories, Cpact Pty ltd (a care management software provider)
and Carer staff at an Aged Care facility in Launceston. This trial
involved the use handheld computers connected to an 802.11 wireless
network itself linked to an ADSL broadband connection and Oracle
server. This paper reports on the implementation and evaluates the
usefulness of this wireless system in the aged care sector. The
evaluation was conducted through the use of qualitative techniques
and analyses the impact of this wireless system at a technical level,
an organisational level and end user level. Preliminary findings
indicate at a technical level handheld devices are robust and can
be used clinically within a health care environment, at an organisational
level handhelds can assist health professionals to conduct their
professional services. At an end-user level the ability to improve
the accuracy, quality and quantity of documentation is a significant
factor, which potentially leads to more time spent with patients.
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paper (pdf)
Chau, S., Turner, P. and Thurley, J. Computing Architecture
Innovation in Healthcare A Case Study on the Role for Thin Client
Computing at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania.
Health Informatics Conference (HIC), July 25-27, 2004, Brisbane
Australia.
This paper examines the role for thin client computing at the Royal
Hobart Hospital (RHH). The insights presented arise from research
conducted with individuals implementing a thin client trial in a
number of departments of the RHH. More specifically, this research
explores the rationale, drivers, potential benefits and barriers
to this architecture from three perspectives: management, technical
and end-user.
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paper (pdf)
Chau, S. and Turner, P. Implementing and Evaluating
a Wireless Hand held Clinical Care Management System at an Australian
Aged Care Facility. Health Informatics Conference
(HIC) 2004, July 25-27, 2004, Brisbane Australia.
The socio-technical trial discussed in this paper involved collaboration
between researchers from the Smart Internet CRC, Telstra Broadband
Laboratories, Cpact Pty Ltd (a care management software provider)
and Carer staff at an Aged Care facility in Launceston. The paper
reports on the implementation and evaluates the usefulness of this
hand-held wireless system in this aged care setting. Following the
technical system implementation, the trial involved the conduct
of system evaluation at three levels: technical, organisational
and end user. The evaluation deployed a range of techniques including
the use of qualitative interviewing techniques with carer staff.
Initial results reveal that at a technical level the hand-held devices
are robust and fit well into a clinical health-care environment,
while at a organisational level PDAs can assist health professionals
to enhance the quality of recording of services delivered. From
an end-user perspective the capability for improving the accuracy,
quality and quantity of documentation emerged as a significant factor.
There were also training benefits revealed for carers who utilised
the system.
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paper (pdf)
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Cox, R., Newell, C. and Turner, P. You, Me and the
Otherness: Social Considerations in Technology Mediated Interactions.
International Association for the Development of the Information
Society (IADIS) 2004, 16-19 July, 2004, Avila Spain.
Communication is a social act that has functions and purposes beyond
the exchange of any content. Technologically mediated communications
(TMC’s) restrict elements of the communication act that contribute
to the ‘social dimension’ of human-to-human communication.
In the context of an increasing reliance on TMC’s, we have
seen the emergence of a particular set of social structures and
beliefs which impact on human-to-human communication. Therefore,
if we examine these influences, we are in a position to make judgments
about the ways in which technology parameters constrain ‘social
communication’, both within the ‘ways’ of the
device and beyond in society, through the creation of communication
‘norms’. This would, subsequently, require the need
for alternative designs to be found for the development of TMC’s.
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(pdf)
Cox, R., and Turner, P. Technologically Mediated Communication:
Exploring how on-line communicative practices are configured by
the tools used. QualIT2004, November 24-26, 2004,
Brisbane Australia.
This paper outlines research-in-progress that is exploring how technologically
mediated communication (TMC) tools configure on-line communicative
practices. While it is evident that different mediums of communication
have differing influences and impacts on the manner and effectiveness
with which we communicate, there remains a lack of detailed research
providing quantitative or qualitative analysis of these effects.
TMCs have become popularly pervasive because they provide the ability
for communicative connectivity between individuals separated by
time and space, however they provide this at the expense of context.
This research paper presents some initial steps into exploring these
issues in on-line communication. It is anticipated that by exploring
these issues in detail, it may be possible through an interactive
process of User Centred Design (UCD) to inform the design of future
TMCs that are better able to enhance communication by delivering
both content and context.
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Greenhill, A., Esteves, J., Beekhuyzen, J. An Analysis
of Research Methods and Diversity in IS Research in Australia: A
Gender Perspective QualIT2004, November 24-26, 2004,
Brisbane Australia.
In this paper, we provide insight into the methodological approaches
and research activities that have been carried out in the IS field
by researchers in Australia. To achieve this we have analysed the
papers accepted to the predominant IS conferences held in Australia
over the past three years. In this study we also undertake a gender
analysis of Australian IS researchers submitting to the primary
Australasian IS conference – ACIS (Australasian Conference
on Information Systems).
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paper (pdf) Members Only
Kelder J., Turner, P. Capturing User Experience: Using
Distributed Cognition Theory to Inform the Sustainable Design of
Meteorological Information Systems in Australia OZCHI
2004, November 22-24, 2004, Wollongong Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), faced with the challenge
of meeting rising end-user expectations and managing associated
increases in the workload of its forecasters, has initiated the
Forecast Streamlining and Enhancement Project (FSEP) to re-design
its meteorological information systems (MetIS). The challenge for
FSEP and for the research is to acquire the information requirements
of forecasters without interrupting the continuous work of forecasting.
This research challenge is compounded by the fact that many of the
most critical information requirements arise in the cognitive interactions
between forecasters and because a ‘key bottleneck’ for
weather products remains the situated, embodied and distributed
nature of the interactions used to generate the forecast. This paper
presents a case study exploring the utility of distributed cognition
(DCog) theory as one approach to address these research challenges
and to produce insights that capture forecasters’ experiences
as a context for the design of the BoM’s next generation of
MetIS.
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(pdf) Members Only
Satchell, C., Singh, S., Zic, J. 3G Multimedia Content
Production as Social Communication, OZCHI 2004, November
22-24, 2004, Wollongong Australia.
Young people are taking advantage of the ever-increasing accessibility
and technical capabilities of 3G phones and the Internet to represent
their experiences through multimedia content. However, this practice
is inhibited by design shortcomings which don’t adequately
protect the privacy of content, problemitise content management
and which limit distribution. This paper explores how possible design
solutions were envisioned thorough the use of a scenario, called
the Trophy Room.
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(pdf) Members Only
Satchell C. & Singh, S. User Problems - Design
Solutions Swarms for Nomads, International Conference
on Ubiquitous Computing, UbiComp 2004, September 7-10, 2004, Nottingham
England.
This paper draws on the findings from a qualitative study into the
impact of mobile phones on youth culture. It outlines the user problems
that emerged and the design solutions that were implicated. It then
looks at how the ‘scenario prototype’ for the Swarm
phone was developed in response to these emerging user needs. The
Swarm phone is currently being developed by the technologists for
the Smart Internet Technology CRC and the final section of the paper
looks at how continued
interaction with users has contributed to the design process.
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paper (pdf)
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Satchell C. & Singh, S. Translating the Needs of
Young Nomadic Users into the Early Phases of Design,
Working Paper, 2004.
This paper makes transparent the process of translating user studies
into an initial design concept. An important part of the process
is the construc-tion of a ‘scenario prototype’ - a hybrid
of a scenario and a prototype. The user study is about young peoples’
use of mobile phones. It is influenced by two distinct areas. Firstly,
cultural theory provides a lens through which to con-duct the open-ended
interviews, analyze data and inform design. Secondly, the design
of the study is influenced by being part of the User-Centered Design
team of a collaborative research center. The study looks for emerging
theories and also for specific user problems to find a design solution.
The paper contrib-utes to HCI literature by focusing on the translation
process. The Young People study does not have an organisational
focus and thus presents a challenge for traditional HCI. It also
introduces cultural theory concepts into HCI.
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paper (pdf)
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Singh, S., Cassar Bartolo, K. Grounded Theory and User
Requirements: A Challenge for Qualitative Research
QualIT2004, November 24-26, 2004, Brisbane Australia.
We discuss the methodological implications of moving from grounded
theory to user requirements for the design of information and communication
technologies. This is a problem that is particularly acute for sociology,
where theory is seen as a sufficient contribution to knowledge.
Cultural theorists have potentially less of a problem moving from
the
cultural meaning of artefacts to design. The epistemological and
methodological shifts are also narrower for the applied sciences.
We submit the frameworks and sequencing of the open-ended interview
need to be re-structured to ground both theory and user requirements.
This is a sounder basis for detailing current and future user requirements
from a social perspective.
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paper (pdf)
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Singh, S., Cassar Bartolo, K. The Privacy of Money
and Health: A User Study OZCHI 2004, November 22-24,
2004, Wollongong Australia.
In this paper we report on a qualitative and quantitative study
of people’s control of personal information in Australia.
User control is the central requirement for privacy and identity.
Control of personal information
varies according to activity and social context. Boundaries of privacy
differ for money and health. The challenge for design is to digitally
replicate these multifarious interpretations of privacy and identity
while ensuring ease of use.
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paper (pdf)
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Singh, S., Zic, J., Satchell, C., Cassar Bartolo, K., Snare, J.
and Fabre, J. A Reflection on Translation Issues in
User-Centred Design, International Conference on Work
With Computing Systems conference, WWCS 2004, June 29-July 2, 2004,
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
We reflect on our experience in the first six months of a project,
of moving from a user study to design and business implications.
Our experience has been shaped by the realization we are at the
‘discovery’ phase of designing a mobile device that
allows people to control and manage their personal digital information
and identities in a variety of day-to-day activities and contexts.
Scenario prototypes, a combination of a scenario and a prototype
have been useful communication tools in the development and presentation
of viable design solutions. They have helped move us from social
science findings to user problems, design and business implications.
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(pdf)
2003
Astbrink, G. and Beekhuyzen J. The Synergies Between
Universal Design and User Centred Design, HCI International
Conference, June 25-27, 2003, Crete Greece.
This paper discusses the synergies between the well-known and accepted
processes of Universal Design (also called inclusive design and
Design for All) and User-Centred Design (UCD). It explores these
synergies, both from a theoretical basis in the literature and also
through the authors' experiences as part of the User-Centred Design
project team.
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Astbrink, G. and Kadous, W. Using Disability Scenarios
for User-Centred Product Design, AAATE 03, Aug 31
- Sept 3, 2003, Dublin Ireland.
This paper discusses how the building of a disability persona and
scenario helped to clarify functional user needs in a wireless communication
and information device both for people with disabilities and for
the wider population. The iterative scenario development process
included meetings and workshops with user and technology researchers
and with technologists and members of an Expert Panel on Disability
to further expand specific requirements.
View paper (pdf)
Beekhuyzen, J., von Hellens, L., Morley, M. and Nielsen, S. (2003)
Searching for a Methodology for Smart Internet Technology
Development Paper to be presented to ISD 03, Melbourne
25-27 August, 2003.
Participatory Design is an approach to the design of computer-based
systems and software that involves the users to a much greater extent
than traditional design approaches and draws on diverse fields such
as “user-centred design, graphic design, software engineering,
architecture, public policy, psychology, anthropology, sociology,
labor studies, communication studies, and political science”
(Kuhn & Muller 1993). This paper examines various approaches
to Participatory Design (PD) from a theoretical basis. Through the
authors' experiences, it explores the use of a particular PD approach,
User-Centred Design (UCD), which has been adopted by the Smart Internet
Technology Cooperative Research Centre (SITCRC) in Australia. Early
experiences of applying this methodology to a multidisciplinary
project team developing Smart Internet Technologies (SIT) are discussed.
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Choi, Y. (2003) Understanding UCD Adoption from teh
SME User-Centred Perspective: Views from the bourtique fashion SMEs
and the Australian Government Paper presented at the
Annual Conference of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia
and New Zealand (SEAANZ), Ballarat , Victoria, Australia, September
30 - October 1 2003.
This paper looks into the Government’s policy documents for
the further adoption of ICTs by the Clothing Industry, and compares
them with the ICT use by the SMEs. With a particular focus on the
Boutique Fashion Designer-Owned SMEs in Melbourne, this paper compares
the views on ICT adoption displayed in Government documents with
the actual use by the Boutique Fashion SMEs.
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(pdf)
Choi, Y. (2003) Clashes of ICT Implementation and Owners’
Business Philosophy: Stories from the Designer-Owned SMES in the
Australian Clothing Industry Paper presented at the
Annual International Conference of the Multinational Alliance for
the Advancement of Organisational Excellence (MAAOE), Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia, 20-22 October.
This paper examines the implications of business philosophies of
the Clothing Industry SME users on their adoption and use of information
and communication technologies.
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(pdf)
Cox, R. (2003). What is the Value of Emotion in Communication?
ICEIS, Angers, France, 23 -25 April, 2003.
What is the value of emotion in communication? We evaluate this
question by considering the issues of value, emotion and communication
in isolation. These issues are then synthesised in the context of
technological communication methods (e-mail, chat lines mobile and
fixed line telephony) to examine the impact of technology on the
transfer of emotional content and to identify the effect on the
quality of communication.
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Scarf, C. and Hutchinson, K. (2003) Knowledge Networks
for Development: A Participatory Design Approach Paper
presented at Convergences 03, International Conference on the Convergence
of Knowledge, Culture, Language and Information Technologies, Alexandria
Egypt, December 2-6 2003.
International development organisations such as the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank are actively promoting
the development of knowledge networks as a cornerstone of their
approach to knowledge sharing for development. At the same time
critics are concerned that the approach excludes the majority of
people in developing countries and adversely affects the diversity
of knowledge needed for sustainable development. This paper provides
a reflective analysis of the current framework and examines the
potential for qualitatively superior strategies to emerge through
the use of participatory design. It provides a conceptual framework
for the participatory design of knowledge networks that place a
premium on accessible information and communications systems and
local knowledge to facilitate knowledge sharing between organisations
from developed and developing countries.
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(pdf)
Singh, S., Burke, J., Turner P. and Castro, M. (2003). The
Discovery Phase of User-Centred Design: Putting users first in the
design of smart internet technologies. 14th Austrlasian
Conference on Information Systems (ACIS), Perth, Australia, 26-28
November 2003.
The Smart Internet Cooperative Research Centre aims to produce Internet
technologies that are scaleable, intelligent and user friendly.
Alongside four technology programs, a key research innovation of
the SITCRC is the User Environment program aimed at ensuring technology
outputs are user-centred and market focused. A challenge for researchers
in this program is to ensure a user focus in the discovery phase
of technical research where technologies and their functionalities
are as yet poorly defined. This paper reports on the development
of a methodological approach called Discovery UCD that is useful
for researchers attempting UCD outside purely product focused corporate
environments.
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(pdf)
Singh, S. and Satchell C. (2003). Trust, Control and
Design: A Study of Computer Scientists. Paper to be
presented to ISD 03, Melbourne, 25-27 August, 2003.
A qualitative study of computer scientists’ use of e-mail
in Australian universities shows that computer scientists equate
trust with control. For “ordinary users,” “comfort”
and “caring” – are important dimensions of trust.
This difference in the interpretation of trust means that when computer
scientists design new information and communication technologies,
they prioritise information that gives them the control they want,
rather than simplicity and ease of use, usefulness, comfort and
caring. Computer scientists’ preference for this single dimension
of trust needs to be consciously recognized and supplemented by
more general users’ perspectives, if they are to design technologies
that feel comfortable and caring for the average user. This paper
draws on three separate qualitative studies. The first and central
study is of computer scientists and their use of technologies with
a focus on e-mail. The second and third studies – with which
the first is compared – are of middle-income residential consumers’
use of money and a continuing study of young people’s use
of technologies.
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2002
Astbrink, G. and Morley, M. (2002), Intelligent Home
Environments: A User Perspective, User Needs Project,
User Environment Program, SITCRC
Intelligent home environments are of relevance to the SITCRC and
in particular to the research activities of the Intelligent Environments
Program and the User Needs Project. This research report based largely
on a literature review, discusses the target market for intelligent
home environments and how these environments should be developed
to meet the needs of the identified target market. As the majority
of the literature referred to the term "smart housing",
this term will be used in the literature review. Smart housing,
most simply meaning housing with automated functions, has the potential
to provide significant social and economic benefits to society.
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paper (pdf) Members only
Burke, J., Castro, M., Singh, S., and Turner P., (2002), SITCRC
User Needs Project – Phase 1 Overview, User
Needs Project, User Environment Program, SITCRC
As a component of the User Environment program, the User Needs Project
contributed to the user focus of the SITCRC, seeking to answer the
question: How can the intended outcomes of the technology programs
best meet user needs? This Research Report provides an overview
of the first phase of the project, which established a methodology
aligned with the philosophy and principles of user-centred design
(UCD). A core element of the methodology was the establishment of
a “meeting place” where user researchers, technology
researchers and industry partners can engage about the design and
directions of CRC projects. The meeting place is supported by research
and interaction with the technology programs and user groups (in
the first instance, small and medium sized enterprises, young people,
and people with disabilities).
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(pdf)
Researchers in the Smart Internet and User Needs Project of the
SITCRC, (2002), "Scenarios of Possible Use of Smart Internet
Technologies", Working Paper No. 4,
User Needs Project, User Environment Program, SITCRC
This document provides a pack of user scenario summaries. The full
scenarios from which these scenario summaries were developed are
available as part of the documentation submitted by the User Needs
Project to the SITCRC.
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(pdf)
Singh, S. (2002). User-Centred Design of Smart Internet
Technologies: A Best Practice Guide for the Discovery Phase of the
Design Process, UCD Project, User Environment Program,
SITCRC
This best practice guide presents a user-centred approach to the
discovery phase of the design of Smart Internet Technologies (SITs).
It is distinctive in that it focuses on the discovery of new technologies
within universities working with corporations, prior to the development
and commercialisation stages of design. The guide does three things.
First, it details the costs and benefits of user-centred design
in software development and commercialisation. Second, it examines
the value of user studies, personas, scenarios and visioneering
as ways of focusing the development of software on users’
needs in the present and the future. Third, it discusses the interaction
of the UCD and other project teams.
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(pdf)
Singh, S. (2002), A Good Practice Guide for Government
Electronic Service Delivery. Communications Research
Forum, Canberra, 2-3 October 2002.
This paper presents a good practice guide that draws insights from
user studies to implement and evaluate user-centred design (UCD)
in Government electronic service delivery (ESD).
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paper (pdf)
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