Research seminars on HCI, IXD and accessibility

Seminar speakers Gavin Doherty, Dag Svanaes, Charlotte Wiberg, Sarah Lewthwaite

For abstracts and bio, see below.

Title: AI and Machine Learning in Digital Mental Health

Gavin Doherty, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Abstract: TBC Bio: Gavin Doherty is a professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics, at Trinity College, Dublin, and a Fellow of the College. He has led a number of research projects in the area of Human Computer Interaction, with a focus in recent years on the design of healthcare technologies. This work has involved collaboration with researchers in Intel, Microsoft Research, IBM Research, University of Newcastle, University of Cambridge, Cornell University, University of Minho (Portugal), Lancaster, KTH University College London, University of California Irvine, University of California Berkeley, and Imperial College London, among others. The work has been funded by the European Union, the European Agency, Intel, Microsoft Research, Science Foundation Ireland (through Lero and CNGL/Adapt), the HEA, Enterprise Ireland, and the Irish Research Council. A major focus of his work over the last decade has been on the design of technologies for mental health. The aim has been to develop systems which can increase access to, increase engagement with, and assist in improving the outcomes of mental health interventions. As P.I. of the Technology Enhanced Therapy project Gavin led the creation of the SilverCloud platform for e-health interventions, and he is the co-founder of SilverCloud Health, established in 2012 and now a leading worldwide provider of online mental and behavioural health interventions. Title: From HCI Researcher to Activist and Back Again: Lessons Learned from a Personal Journey Dag Svanaes, NTNU, Norway Abstract: Most publications in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) emphasize their relevance to real-world issues, reflecting a genuine desire among researchers to have a positive impact. In some cases, HCI researchers predict negative real-world consequences of technology. While some decision-makers heed these warnings and adjust their plans, others disregard them, posing a dilemma for researchers: Should they remain silent, content with their scholarly contributions, or become whistleblowers and activists? This essay documents the author's journey from leading a research project on the implementation of a large-scale electronic health record (EHR) system to becoming an activist, publicly arguing against the system's premature deployment. The essay also reflects on the benefits and challenges of moving beyond academic discourse to engage with the real-world complexities of business, media, and politics. Given that many HCI researchers will likely face similar ethical dilemmas, it is important to prioritize these issues within the field of HCI. Bio: Svanæs received his Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) from NTNU. His research over the last 15 years has been in the fields of HCI and Interaction Design. His main focus has been on user-centered design methods and basic theory of interaction. A common theme is the importance of non-cognitive aspects of human-computer interaction – often called embodied interaction. At a practical level this involves a focus on the physical, bodily and social aspects of interaction. In his research he makes use of role play and low-fidelity prototyping in realistic settings to involve end-users in the design process. He has built up a full-scale usability laboratory that allows for simulation of use scenarios with multiple users and multiple devices in realistic settings – primarily for the medical domain. This allows for evaluations and empirical studies of embodied interaction. The basic theory that most inspires his work is the phenomenology of the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. This was also the topic of his 2000 PhD. By starting out with the simple fact that we are in the world through our living bodies, and that perception requires action, Merleau-Ponty gets an epistemology that he find well suited for understanding embodied interaction. Enhancing Cyber Security through User Experience (UX) Design: Bridging Usability and Protection Charlotte Wiberg, Umeå universitet Abstract: A fundamental challenge in cybersecurity design is balancing effectiveness with usability. Even though earlier research studies investigate issues, including, for instance, the applicability of passwords and the susceptibility to phishing, they often fail to present a more holistic design perspective. When it comes to cybersecurity models, rational decision-making is typically assumed, while cognitive restrictions, time pressures, and competing goals that influence behavior are frequently ignored. It is possible for employees to reject security prompts when they are under tight deadlines. This is not because they are negligent but rather because security disrupts the workflow efficiency. The evaluation of user experience-driven security measures is another area of weakness. Some user experience (UX) enhancements have been proposed, but very few of them have been evaluated in a systematic manner in real-world settings. It is still rather unknown which user experience design principles are the most effective in enhancing compliance while simultaneously lowering cognitive burden in relation to cybersecurity features interfering with the user interaction. This talk elaborates upon this topic and present some ways to move forward. Bio: Charlotte has over 25 years of experience in academia and industry, and in recent years she has worked mainly in strategic management. Her mission is to foster a culture of excellence, creativity, and impact among the faculty, staff, and students, and to strengthen the ties between the university and the society at large. Her previous positions as academic leader include Head of department and vice president (prorektor) at Chalmers Technical University (also Acting president Chalmers for a couple of months) and Deputy Vice-chancellor at Luleå Technical University. She has held three professor positions in interaction design, information systems and informatics, at Chalmers, Luleå Technical University and Umeå University. She has a strong background and expertise in digital strategy, usability engineering, and research design. She has contributed to multiple publications, startups, and projects that address the challenges and opportunities of human-computer interaction, user experience, and service design. She has also served as a board member, chairman, and advisor for several organizations and companies that focus on education, innovation, and development. Teaching accessibility: centring disability in computer sciences  Sarah Lewthwaite, University of Southhampton, U.K. Abstract: Technology increasingly mediates every aspect of daily life. As a result, digital accessibility is essential to social inclusion, and there is a pressing need to educate designers, developers, engineers and product managers in the creation of tools, platforms and services that are accessible to all, inclusive of disabled and older people. However, digital accessibility is challenging to teach. It requires conceptual understanding, procedural knowledge and technical skill; content ranges across technological, socio-cultural and legal dimensions. Drawing on a 5-year international study with experienced teachers and trainers, learners and professionals, this research seeks to establish the pedagogic content knowledge that is unique to digital accessibility. Methods included expert panels interviews, online panel forums, focus groups and ethnographic case studies in leading sites of learning. Findings show digital accessibility to be an inherently interdisciplinary, complex pedagogic space, requiring hybrid pedagogies in the even the smallest teaching acts. This ‘productive messiness’ is in tension with the high-certainty terrain of standards-based discourse, and compliance culture that defines accessibility for much of the tech sector. Further, within computing, the politics of disability contrast starkly with computer sciences’ logics of abstraction. In these challenging conditions, accessibility is often precarious. In this presentation, I report how teachers creatively respond to both the pedagogic and socio-cultural challenges of sustaining digital accessibility in academy; how teachers pursue pedagogical approaches and methods that cohere around nuanced approaches to disability, practical applications and solutions, and engagement with, and representation of, lived experience and embodied knowledge. These signature pedagogies of accessibility teach with, through and about disability. I argue that in these terms, digital accessibility represents a unique field with an emergent and distinct pedagogical culture that must be supported. Bio: Dr Sarah Lewthwaite is a Senior Research Fellow, and Co-Director of the University of Southampton’s Centre for Research in Inclusion, where she leads the study ‘Teaching Accessibility’ (2019-2028) as Principal Investigator and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. Sarah and her team are researching the teaching and learning of digital accessibility internationally in universities and the workplace, to build evidence-based understanding of how accessibility can be more effectively taught. Sarah’s research interests span digital accessibility, STS, inclusive methodologies and critical disability studies in education. She has served on the W3C Web Accessibility Education and Outreach Working Group, and Curricular Taskforce, and works to develop pedagogical culture and dialogue across professional and academic communities.