0000000001061551
AUTHOR
Antti Pirhonen
Reading, Writing, Technology, and Embodiment
The insights emerging from embodied (or 4E) cognition (Newen, et al., 2018) hold considerable promise for education, but thus far have had little impact. The widespread implementation of digital technologies in classrooms presents a timely occasion to remedy this situation. The increasing abstraction entailed in the transition from pen and paper to keyboards, and from reading in print books to reading on screens, warrants supplementing extant perspectives on learning and technologies as they are currently represented in curricula and educational policy documents. This chapter helps educators to rethink and redefine the role and meaning of technology in education broadly speaking, and descri…
Designing patient education and counseling practices
Patient education and counselling are essential constituents of interaction between a patient and a healthcare organisation. This study explores patient education and counselling practices, focusing on the opportunities of modern technology in the development of interaction with patients. With the help of a qualitative study we illustrate nurses' conceptions about the topic and discuss future opportunities. Our approach is distinctively patient centred; all discussion about the use of technology is from the point-of-view of patient's well-being and empowerment.
Calm Down – Exploiting Sensorimotor Entrainment in Breathing Regulation Application
Various phenomena in human life are related to different kinds of rhythms. Not only are our bodily functions based on rhythms, but also much of the interaction with our environment is related to them. In this study, we explore breathing regulation and how it could be supported with an interactive application. The application is based on the concept of entrainment, in which two interacting entities adjust to a common rhythm. The focus is in the design of interaction elements which support entrainment process. A user study of a prototype application is also reported in the paper. The results indicate that the approach is promising and has potential in opening new perspectives to humancomputer…
Human-technology choreographies
Bodily movements have traditionally had mostly instrumental value in interaction design. However, movements can also be given a central role in understanding behaviour and in designing technology for humans. This workshop is aiming at taking a fresh, movement-oriented look at the design and evaluation of technology in a wide variety of contexts.
Less, slower, better. Do information society visions have healthy alternatives?
Metaphor as a Focal Concept in Sound Design
A central challenge in the design of non-speech sounds is to understand the relating conceptualisation process. In the current paper, we propose the use of metaphor theories as a framework to understand what sound design is fundamentally all about. In the proposed framework, we handle metaphors as conceptual entities, which are the basic constituents of meaning making.
Finding Usability Problems in ERP Application Help and End-user Training Material
Over the last decade, many organisations have implemented the standardised information system called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP systems offer great promise for business process improvement, system integration, cost reduction and logistics efficiencies. While millions of dollars have been spent on the implementation of ERP systems, the potential users are still not able to use it. Usability problems are the big barrier preventing end-users from achieving required productivity. This research, based on 80 respondents, tried to find out the usability problems in ERP application Help and end-user training material. The results indicate that 56% of end-users did not consider the ERP …
Human conceptualisation processes as a perspective on the design and evaluation of user-interfaces
Promoting Technological Thinking: The Objective and the Means
Technological thinking is not a discrete form of thinking. Whether we talk about the use or the development of technology, technological thinking intersects with logic, creativity and many other human qualities. The bare definition of technological thinking is an ambiguous task, not to speak of the wide variety of attempts to promote it in education. In this paper, we do not aim at saying the final word about the appropriate means of promoting technological thinking. In the contrary, our aim is to analyse some ideas which are commonly proposed as such means but which can be argued to conflict with contemporary understanding of human thought. Our approach draws on the phenomenology of the bo…
Gestures in Human-Computer Interaction – Just Another Modality?
The traditional framework in human-computer studies is based on a simple input-output model of interaction. In many cases, however, splitting interaction into input and output is not necessarily appropriate. Gestures work as a good example of a modality which is difficult or inappropriate to be conceptualised within the traditional input-output paradigm. In the search for a more appropriate interaction paradigm, gestures, as modality, have potential in working as a meta-modality, in terms of which all other modalities could be analysed. This paper proposes the use of gestures and gestural metaphors in a central role in interaction design, and presents a case study as an illustration of the …
Patient Education as an Information System, Healthcare Tool and Interaction
Patient education (PE) has a crucial role in the function of a healthcare organisation. For the care process of a patient, it is essential to get the right information at the right moment and in the right form. This paper analyses PE as the primary mode of interaction between a patient and a healthcare organisation. The approach is illustrated with a study among nurses based on their conceptions about PE. Practical implications and the potential of ICT in PE in particular are discussed. peerReviewed
Accessibility of Public Web Services: A Distant Dream?
Part 1: Long and Short Papers; International audience; Today, many public services are available online through Web sites. The accessibility of the sites, also to people with disabilities, is important because the accessibility concerns equality of citizens, a cornerstone of democracy. In the current study we carried out a meta-analysis of 17 studies concerning the accessibility of the Web sites of public administration. Furthermore, we assessed the accessibility of Web pages of 12 ministries of the Finnish government. The assessments were based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The results showed that in terms of the WCAG guidelines, the average accessibility of public We…
Leaping across Modalities: Speed Regulation Messages in Audio and Tactile Domains
This study examines three design bases for speed regulation messages by testing their ability to function across modalities. Two of the design bases utilise a method originally intended for sound design and the third uses a method meant for tactile feedback. According to the experimental results, all designs communicate the intended meanings similarly in audio and tactile domains. It was also found that melodic (frequency changes) and rhythmic (segmentation) features of stimuli function differently for each type of message.
Usability of ERP Error Messages
Usability of complex information system like enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is still a challenging area. This is why many usability problems have been found in the ERP system. In this article, we tried to highlight the 21 usability problems in ERP error messages by using Nielsen’s heuristics and inquiry questionnaire methods. Nielsen’s heuristics is a better for finding a large number of unique usability problems in different areas. The inquiry questionnaire method has some constraints, but it is useful for comprehending how the actual end-users perceive an application. peerReviewed
Drifting Down the Technologization of Life: Could Choreography-Based Interaction Design Support us in Engaging with the World and our Embodied Living?
The development of interactive technology is often based on the assumption of need to reduce the physical action and cognitive load of the user. However, recent conceptualizations, supported by research in various fields of science, emphasize human physical action in cognitive processes and knowledge formation. In fact, physical and closely related imaginary movement can be seen as the quintessence of humanity. Acknowledging this should imply a new approach to the design of interactive technology. In the current study, we propose a choreographic approach for shifting the focal point of interaction design to the aspects of human activity and movement within a technologized context. Hence, th…
Educational Application Design Process Experiences : Case Perioperative Nursing
From an educational point of view, the only relevant basis for the design of an educational application is the learning objectives of the content area. In the development process of an educational application, there are also other people involved besides educational experts. This paper describes a project which primarily aims at developing an application for the needs of enhancing perioperative nursing skills’. Besides application development, the project included research about the process. The research task was to discover how the real – not only the formal – objectives could work as the starting point for the construction of an educational game-like application. This paper presents the s…
In Search for an Integrated Design Basis for Audio and Haptics
Audio and haptics as interaction modalities share properties, which make them highly appropriate to be handled within a single conceptual framework. This paper outlines such framework, gaining ingredients from the literature concerning cross-modal integration and embodied cognition. The resulting framework is bound up with a concept of physical embodiment, which has been introduced within several scientific disciplines to reveal the role of bodily experience and the corresponding mental imagery as the core of meaning-creation. In addition to theoretical discussion, the contribution of the proposed approach in design is outlined.
Human-Technology Choreographies : Body, Movement, and Space
Beyond Clicks and Beeps: In Pursuit of an Effective Sound Design Methodology
Designing effective non-speech audio elements for a user-interface is a challenging task due to the complex nature of sounds and the changing contexts of non-visual interfaces. In this paper we present a design method, which is intended to take into account the complexity of audio design as well as the existing audio environment and the functional context of use. Central to this method is a rich use scenario, presented in the form of a radio play, which is used as a basis for the work of design panels. A previous version of the design method is analysed and specific practical issues are identified. Solutions to these issues are presented in the form of a modified version of the method. In t…
Bodily Engagement in Multimodal Interaction
The creative processes of interaction design operate in terms we generally use for conceptualising human-computer interaction (HCI). Therefore the prevailing design paradigm provides a framework that essentially affects and guides the design process. We argue that the current mainstream design paradigm for multimodal user-interfaces takes human sensory-motor modalities and the related userinterface technologies as separate channels of communication between user and an application. Within such a conceptualisation, multimodality implies the use of different technical devices in interaction design. This chapter outlines an alternative design paradigm, which is based on an action-oriented persp…
Toisteiset viestit multimodaalien käyttöliittymien suunnitteluperiaatteena
Gestural and audio metaphors as a means of control for mobile devices
This paper discusses the use of gesture and non-speech audio as ways to improve the user interface of a mobile music player. Their key advantages mean that users could use a player without having to look at its controls when on the move. Two very different evaluations of the player took place: one based on a standard usability experiment (comparing the new player to a standard design) and the other a video analysis of the player in use. Both of these showed significant usability improvements for the gesture/audio-based interface over a standard visual/pen-based display. The similarities and differences in the results produced by the two studies are discussed
Educational Technology Goes Mobile
Recent decades have revealed that the digital educational technology that is expected to revolutionise schooling for generations to come, is fraught with challenges. One major challenge is that educational systems vastly vary between cultures and countries. The differences start from the conceptualisation of education and school. It is, therefore, quite inaccurate to handle education as a universal concept. In this article the authors evade generalisation by discussing the use of mobile technology in the schools of one single, relatively homogenous nation: Finland. The backbone of their analysis is the core national curriculum of basic education. The appropriateness of mobile technology in …
Usability in ERP (Single and Multiple Document Interface) Application Environments
The usability of complex information systems, like enterprise resource planning (ERP), is the next frontier, as the trend becomes more and more adopted in the industrial working environment. In complex information systems, the traditional usability criteria of learnability, effectiveness and efficiency have never lost their importance, even though the focus of research appears to have shifted for the consumer product. This study based on 110 responses attempt to highlight the usability issues in ERP single document interface (SDI) and multiple document interface (MDI) application environments. It also investigates the effect of negative user experience, such as ‘confusion’, on learnability,…
Gestures within Human-Technology Choreographies for Interaction Design
In the traditional use-oriented approach, only a fraction of gestures are taken as relevant to interaction. In this paper we argue that gestures should not be handled only as isolated objects of application use, but they should rather be understood as dynamic moments of embodied presence belonging to an experiential chain of different movements which has its own significance as a whole. In the current study, we call the embodied, experiential continuum of human action choreography. We assume that choreography is a fruitful theoretical concept in understanding interaction design because by choreography we can understand gestures as building up a chain of a bigger whole. The dynamic formulati…
Getting Connected
The large scale deployment of mobile applications inevitably impacts upon our culture as a whole and affects more intimately our daily lives. Not all of these effects are desirable. In a market economy, ethical issues are not the most important drivers in the development of technology. In this article, we ask whether the mobile human-computer interaction community could take an active role in discussing ethical issues. In so doing we could focus our attention on developing technology for ‘human beings’ rather than fine tuning our emerging gadgets.
Design time, run time, and artificial intelligence techniques for mobility of user interface
Abstract Advancement in technology provides opportunities to user as well as challenges for application development organization. User interfaces which were design for specific device tend to be developed for various devices. Users are busy people, when they move among different context would like to move application with them. The current trend of users demanding mobile graphic user interface to support their daily life and work has led to a new generation of techniques. Design time technique provides better usability as compare to run time technique. On the other hand artificial intelligence technique like agent provides better flexibility and usability as compare to others. In this paper…
Design and evaluation of prosody-based non-speech audio feedback for physical training application
Abstract Methodological support for the design of non-speech user interface sounds for human–computer interaction is still fairly scarce. To meet this challenge, this paper presents a sound design case which, as a practical design solution for a wrist-computer physical training application, outlines a prosody-based method for designing non-speech user interface sounds. The principles used in the design are based on nonverbal communicative functions of prosody in speech acts, exemplifying an interpersonal approach to sonic interaction design. The stages of the design process are justified with a theoretical analysis and three empirical sub-studies, which comprise production and recognition t…
Reconciliation of Pedagogical Objectives, Technical Opportunities and Stereotypes of Educational Application : Case Perioperative Nursing
In the design of educational applications, expertise in several fields is needed: pedagogy, technology and interaction design, among others. Since the aim of an educational application is to promote learning, there should be a clear hierarchy in the perspectives: pedagogical objectives should be the primary perspective, while others play merely an instrumental role. However, it appears that pedagogy is rarely seen as a separate area of expertise. Learning is considered a mundane concept that most people understand. This setting may cause conflicts within a design group. In this paper we present a typical case study, in which pedagogical expertise was overlooked. The resulting application wa…
ICT for Consumers or Human Beings
The large scale deployment of mobile applications inevitably impacts upon our culture as a whole and affects more intimately our daily lives. Not all of these effects are desirable. In a market economy, ethical issues are not the most important drivers in the development of technology. In this chapter, the authors ask whether the mobile human-computer interaction community could take an active role in discussing ethical issues. In so doing as a community we could focus our attention on developing technology for ‘human beings’ rather than fine tuning our emerging gadgets.
Human-Technology Choreographies : Body, Movement, and Space in Expressive Interactions
Aims vs. technology: Pedagogical view to the use of educational applications in safety critical contexts
Interactive technology for education has formed into a relatively independent domain of research and development. Interactive technology is often seen as a context independent tool. However, we argue that education in different contexts may have so different and incommensurable aims that no single technology can be announced as good or bad per se in terms of learning. The development of educational application should not be based on the technology to be applied, but by careful analysis of learning aims. When formulated in an appropriate way, learning aims work as a relevant basis in all stages of the design process of an educational application. The formulation of aims is therefore critical…
In the spirit of Uno Cygnaeus : pedagogical questions of today and tomorrow
Designing alarm sounds for the control of a hydraulic platform
The design of alarm sounds is a subtle yet important challenge. Our conceptions and stereotypes of what alarm sounds sound like are usually quite entrenched, which may be limiting the acceptance of new alarm sounds into the domain of traditional ones. This paper presents the design approaches undertaken for the case of redesigning a set of alarm and notification sounds. An analysis of the approaches' effectiveness, some design decisions, and other challenges faced are presented herein, while preliminary feedback on their effectiveness is discussed.
From Metaphors to Simulations to Idioms: Supporting the Conceptualisation Process
The concept of metaphor has been used in UI design in a loose manner. There is a need to conceptually separate it from related concepts to restore the power it used to have in rhetoric. It is also important to understand the life cycle of metaphor, how it changes over time in the conceptualisation process. This is especially topical in ubiquitous computing, in which entirely new concepts and interaction styles are introduced. In this paper, we describe the use of metaphors and related concepts in theory and apply the approach in a mobile application.
A Semiotic Approach to the Design of Non-speech Sounds
In the field of auditory display there is currently a lack of theoretical support for the design of non-speech sounds as elements of a user interface. Sound design methods are often based on ad hoc choices or the personal preferences of the designer. A method is proposed in this paper based on a semiotic approach to the design of non-speech sounds. In this approach, the design process is conceptualised by referring to structural semiotics, acknowledging the unique qualities of non-speech sounds, as a mode of conveying information. This method is based on a rich use scenario presented to a design panel. A case study where the design method has been applied is presented and evaluated. Finally…
Videowikis for improved problem-based collaborative learning: Engaging information systems science students
The contemporary era of social media and web 2.0 has enabled a bottom-up on-line collaborative approach with easy content creation and subsequent knowledge sharing. The technically literate students of today and the changes in pedagogy towards a user-centred approach, where learners engage in the learning process by constructing new ideas and concepts based on their current or past knowledge facilitate the use of social media in learning environments. This paper describes the combination of a wiki and screen capture videos as a complementary addition to conventional lectures in an information management and information systems development course. The basis for our approach was collaborative…
Gestural expressions in use for unveiling dynamic experience attributed to verbs
The focus of this paper is on justifying the presented experimental design that aims at examining the enactive linkages between a verb’s content and a sensorimotor experience of movement. The experiment utilised spontaneous production of hand and vocal gestures for expressing the energetic feel attributed to a word. Preliminary qualitative analysis of the expressions shows degrees of similarity in terms of experiential movement qualities. These results imply that conceiving a verb’s meaning is not necessarily far removed from bodily action. peerReviewed
Who Controls Who? Embodied Control Within Human–Technology Choreographies
In this article we explore issues of embodied control that relate to current and future technologies in which body movements function as an instrument of control. Instead of just seeing ourselves in control, it is time to consider how these technologies actually control our moving bodies and transform our lived spaces. By shifting the focus from devices to choreographies among devices, we perform a theoretical analysis of the multidimensional aspects that reside within embodied interaction with technology. We suggest that it is beneficial to acknowledge and reformulate the phenomena of embodied control that go beyond the instrumental user-to-device control scheme. Drawing upon the phenomeno…