Collectivistic health promotion tools: Accounting for the relationship between culture,food and nutrition

Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers are increasingly examining how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can help people eat more healthfully. However, within HCI, there has been little examination of the way that cultural values influence how people think about food and wellness, and how sociocultural context supports or impedes attempts to eat healthfully. Our work focuses on the diet-related health challenges of African Americans within low-income neighborhoods. This population disproportionately experiences diet-related disease, and as such, researchers have consistently advocated research that examines the way in which food practices are culturally situated.Through formative focus groups with 46 participants we identified several design implications for tools that promote healthy eating while accounting for collectivism, a cultural value often ascribed to the African American population. Based on our design implications we developed, deployed and evaluated two systems that supported the sharing of community-held knowledge about making healthy eating decisions. In our discussion, we present implications for the design of collectivistic systems that address food practices. We conclude with recommendations for HCI research that investigates the relationship between culture and food more broadly.     

Correlation modelling of reaction time for two- and three-dimensional stimulus–response arrangements

Research on the effects of the spatial correlation between signal and response key has shown a clear relationship between signal/response spatial correlation and reaction time (RT) for signals and response keys that are in a linear relationship (Morin and Grant 1955; Hoffmann 2010). By means of a reanalysis of previous data of Chan and Chan (2009a, 2009b, 2011a, 2011b, 2010), the equivalent relationships for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) display/control relationships are established. In a 2D array of signals with a corresponding 2D array of response keys, RT is dependent on spatial correlation, with arrangements having transverse compatibility reacting faster than those with longitudinal compatibility. 3D arrangements show a similar effect, with up/down compatibility being a major factor in determination of RT and with similar effects of transverse compatibility. The results indicate the best arrangements of signal/key arrangements where complex designs are necessary.

Practitioner Summary: Design of complex display/control arrangements requires high compatibility in order to minimise reaction times. This work extends previous research to cases where displays and controls are in two-dimensional and three-dimensional arrangements, and indicates how reaction time is affected by these more complex arrangements.     

Social positioning matters: A socialized affordance perspective of mHealth in India

Existing research on technology affordance rarely considers the role of social structures in shaping the interaction between human actors and technology. In this paper, we draw upon the concept of social positioning to explore how socialized affordances of technology adoption, as well as their impact in work and social life, are shaped by the social positions that human actors occupy within multiple social structures. We do so by examining the adoption of mHealth devices by community health workers in India. The study generates theoretical implications for research on affordances of technology and social structures by integrating social positioning of actors in the analysis of a digital practice, and enriching IS research by incorporating the broader social arrangements and power relations.     

Constructing minimum deflection fixture arrangements using frame invariant norms

This paper describes a fixture planning method that minimizes object deflection under external loads. The method takes into account the natural compliance of the contacting bodies and applies to two-dimensional and three-dimensional quasirigid bodies. The fixturing method is based on a quality measure that characterizes the deflection of a fixtured object in response to unit magnitude wrenches. The object deflection measure is defined in terms of frame-invariant rigid body velocity and wrench norms and is therefore frame invariant. The object deflection measure is applied to the planning of optimal fixture arrangements of polygonal objects. We describe minimum-deflection fixturing algorithms for these objects, and make qualitative observations on the optimal arrangements generated by the algorithms. Concrete examples illustrate the minimum deflection fixturing method. Note to Practitioners-During fixturing, a workpiece needs to not only be stable against external perturbations, but must also stay within a specified tolerance in response to machining or assembly forces. This paper describes a fixture planning approach that minimizes object deflection under applied work loads. The paper describes how to take local material deformation effects into account, using a generic quasirigid contact model. Practical algorithms that compute the optimal fixturing arrangements of polygonal workpieces are described and examples are then presented.     

Social robots: Things or agents?

This paper tackles our ordinary engagements with social robots to focus on their materiality. In considering how an educational robot is encountered as a part of everyday practices in social robotics, the focus is on the robot’s materiality that is interactionally achieved. The attention to tactile exploration, spatial arrangements, and multimodal interactional aspects that characterize the encounter indicates how the robot is simultaneously enacted as a thing and as a social agent. The paper proposes that social agency of the robot is mutually constituted with its materiality and that to conceive of the robot’s social character its thing-like aspects need to be taken into account.     

Trans-situated use of integrated information systems

Practice-based perspectives have established the situated nature of how technology is appropriated, enacted, and improvised in organisations. Empirical studies demonstrate how the same technology produces different results in different contexts of use. However, practice-based research has, to date, less to offer in terms of accounting for the relationship between instances of situated use (i.e., work practices) that are separated in space and/or time. The term trans-situated use is intended to highlight this blind spot. We focus on one type of relationship, viz., significant degrees of similarities between technologically mediated, geographically dispersed work practices. This degree of similarity is achieved through a process of commensurability consisting of (i) standardisation (addressing interdependencies between multiple instances of the ‘same’ work practice at geographically dispersed sites); and (ii) heterogeneity (addressing the entanglement of one work practice with apparently unrelated work practices and modules). Empirically, we report on a longitudinal, interpretative case study (1998–2004) of a company strategically targeting an integrated information system as a principal vehicle to establish similar services globally.     

Beyond Expertise Seeking: A Field Study of the Informal Knowledge Practices of Healthcare IT Teams

CSCW has long been concerned with formal and informal knowledge practices in organizations, examining both the social and technical aspects of how knowledge is sought, shared, and used. In this study, we are interested in examining the set of activities that occur when co-located knowledge workers manage and resolve issues by seeking, sharing, and applying their informal knowledge. Informal knowledge seeking involves more than identifying the expert who has the knowledge or accessing the knowledge through physical artifacts. It also involves working with that expert to identify and apply the appropriate knowledge to the particular situation. However, our understandings of how people collaboratively work together to find, share and apply this knowledge are less well understood. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a field study of how professionals in three IT teams of a regional hospital managed and resolved IT issues. These knowledge workers used various collaborative practices such as creation of ad-hoc teams and the use of email to identify, share, and use informal knowledge to resolve IT issues. In addition, particular team practices such as how issues are assigned affected these knowledge activities. Our findings highlight how informal knowledge activities are affected by a variety of implicit and sometimes subtle features of the organization and that organizational knowledge management systems should support informal knowledge seeking activities and collaboration amongst the knowledge sharers.     

Re-Infrastructuring for eHealth: Dealing with Turns in Infrastructure Development

In this paper, we examine infrastructuring in the context of developing national, public eHealth services in Norway. Specifically, we analyze the work of a project team engaged in the design and development of new web-based capabilities for communication between citizens and primary healthcare practitioners. We frame the case as a study of re-infrastructuring to signify a particular occasion of infrastructuring that entails facilitating a new logic within established social and technological networks. To make sense of the particularities of re-infrastructuring, we draw from research in infrastructure studies which considers embeddedness as a resource in infrastructure evolution. We analyze how actors worked to re-infrastructure through adapting primary care information systems, information flows and representations of patient data. Our findings show how the work of re-infrastructuring revolves around addressing two key design concerns: a) bringing novelty without being trapped in the existing arrangements or harming what is in place, b) bringing changes that are within a specific direction although they happen through distributed decision taking.     

Role Clarity,Swift Trust and Multi‐Agency Coordination

The purpose of this paper was to further the understanding of swift trust in temporary organizations by examining the role swift trust plays in emergency management coordination and how role clarity acts as an enabler within temporary organizational configurations. A qualitative interview study was conducted with 32 liaison officers working in three strategic‐level emergency operations centres in Australia. Role clarity was identified as an important factor in the successful formation of emergency management temporary organizations by emergency services and critical infrastructure liaison officers working in multi‐agency arrangements. By providing role clarity, liaison officers may enable collaborative working practices among organizations involved in emergency management and thus facilitate multi‐agency coordination. The function of role clarity in the context of swift trust is largely overlooked in emergency management. Therefore, this study has contributed to the knowledge of swift trust by empirically verifying the impact of role clarity by liaison officers working in the research setting.     

The moderating role of just‐in‐time on sociotechnical practices' effect over quality and workers' health

Sociotechnical (ST) theory emphasizes the notion that the design and performance of new systems can be improved, and can only work satisfactorily within an organization if the social and the technical aspects are brought together and treated as interdependent aspects of a work system. The implementation of lean manufacturing (LM) principles and practices has become popular, despite increasing demand on the current and emerging workforce to achieve higher levels of quality and flexibility with lower costs. Exploratory studies that investigate how LM practices influence the effect of ST practices on performance are still scarce, and a holistic view of such a relationship is needed. In this context, this study aims at verifying the moderating effect of just‐in‐time (JIT) practices on the relationship between ST practices and the performance of quality and workers' health. We carried out a survey with 144 different companies from Southern Brazil that are undergoing a lean implementation. Results indicate that ST practices have a positive significant relationship with such performance, and the concurrent adoption of JIT does not undermine quality and workers' health.     

Understanding agile software development practices using shared mental models theory

ContextAgile software development is an alternative software development methodology that originated from practice to encourage collaboration between developers and users, to leverage rapid development cycles, and to respond to changes in a dynamic environment. Although agile practices are widely used in organizations, academics call for more theoretical research to understand the value of agile software development methodologies.ObjectiveThis study uses shared mental models theory as a lens to examine practices from agile software methodologies to understand how agile practices enable software development teams to work together to complete tasks and work together effectively as a team.MethodA conceptual analysis of specific agile practices was conducted using the lens of shared mental models theory. Three agile practices from Xtreme Programming and Scrum are examined in detail, system metaphor, stand-up meeting, and on-site customer, using shared mental models theory.ResultsExamining agile practices using shared mental models theory elucidates how agile practices improve collaboration during the software development process. The results explain how agile practices contribute toward a shared understanding and enhanced collaboration within the software development team.ConclusionsThis conceptual analysis demonstrates the value of agile practices in developing shared mental models (i.e. shared understanding) among developers and customers in software development teams. Some agile practices are useful in developing a shared understanding about the tasks to be completed, while other agile practices create shared mental models about team processes and team interactions. To elicit the desired outcomes of agile software development methods, software development teams should consider whether or not agile practices are used in a manner that enhances the team’s shared understanding. Using three specific agile practices as examples, this research demonstrates how theory, such as shared mental models theory, can enhance our understanding regarding how agile practices are useful in enhancing collaboration in the workplace.     

Effects of gender differences and spatial abilities within a digital pentominoes game

Spatial ability is a critical skill in geometric learning. Several studies investigate how to use digital games to improve spatial abilities. However, not every learner favors this kind of support. To this end, there is a need to examine how human factors affect learners’ reactions to the use of a digital game to support geometric learning. In this vein, this paper addresses this issue by developing a digital pentominoes game and examining the effects of two essential human factors, especially gender differences and spatial abilities, on students’ performance. The results demonstrate that students’ spatial abilities were significantly improved after they took the digital pentominoes game. The results also demonstrate that the digital game can reasonably reduce the differences between boys and girls. Moreover, the major gender differences lie within mental rotation among the three types of spatial ability and also mainly exist in the low spatial ability group. Finally, the findings are applied to develop a framework that can be used to enhance the understanding of gender differences and spatial abilities within the digital pentominoes game.     

How can cross-cultural virtual learning teams collaborate effectively: A longitudinal study

Considering the crucial role of cross-cultural virtual learning teams (VLTs) in industries and academics, this study adopts a longitudinal approach and investigates in-depth how cross-cultural VLTs collaborate effectively by examining relationships among three concepts, namely swift trust, team trust, and shared mental model (SMM). Categorizing team stages as structuring, work, and termination, our study indicates that swift trust enhances team trust at the structuring stage. At all three stages, team trust strengthens SMM, which then improves team performance. At the work stage, the impact of SMM on team performance reaches its peak. Our findings contribute to the online learning literature and practices.     

When workarounds aggravate misfits in the use of electronic health record systems

This paper contributes to the IS misfits and workarounds literature by demonstrating how “work system–technology” misfits and workarounds can be mutually related. In the context of electronic health record (EHR) systems, this study examines when misfits experienced between an EHR system and health professionals' work practices lead to workarounds with negative consequences in terms of aggravating misfits. Our qualitative study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals in The Netherlands that had implemented an off-the-shelf EHR system. We analysed the “misfit experience → response → consequence” sequences that emerged from interviews complemented with observations and documents. Experienced misfits between the EHR and other work system components induced highly varied responses, among which workarounds. While workarounds can be beneficial, we found occasions where workarounds resulted in aggravated misfits. We conceptualise three underlying misfit-aggravating EHR-use patterns emerging from (1) a non-routine practice's perceived exceptionality, (2) collective separatism in incompatible routine practices, and (3) individual deviancy in routine work practices. These patterns differ in terms of the work practices' routineness, professionals' misfit experiences, and in how this combination provokes an individual or collective workaround that is non-compliant with both the designed technology use and the organisational intent. To understand how these patterns emerge, we discuss the interplay among work practice routineness, misfit characteristics, and non-compliant workaround behaviours.     

Implications of space and time for distributed work: an interpretive study of US–Norwegian systems development teams

In this paper, utilizing the often taken-for-granted notions of space and time, we develop an understanding of how collaboration is possible among virtual team-members spread across the globe. We do so by interpretively examining the actual experiences and work practices of virtual team-members located in the US & Norway, engaged in information systems development (ISD) projects. We identify a number of collaboration inhibitors, along with strategies used by team-members to address the challenges posed by the mismatch in time zones and the lack of physical proximity.     

Finding a Clear Path: Structuring Strategies for Visualization Sequences

Little is known about how people structure sets of visualizations to support sequential viewing. We contribute findings from several studies examining visualization sequencing and reception. In our first study, people made decisions between various possible structures as they ordered a set of related visualizations (consisting of either bar charts or thematic maps) into what they considered the clearest sequence for showing the data. We find that most people structure visualization sequences hierarchically: they create high level groupings based on shared data properties like time period, measure, level of aggregation, and spatial region, then order the views within these groupings. We also observe a tendency for certain types of similarities between views, like a common spatial region or aggregation level, to be seen as more appropriate categories for organizing views in a sequence than others, like a common time period or measure. In a second study, we find that viewers’ perceptions of the quality and intention of different sequences are largely consistent with the perceptions of the users who created them. The understanding of sequence preferences and perceptions that emerges from our studies has implications for the development of visualization authoring tools and sequence recommendations for guided analysis.     

Gamut Mapping Spatially Varying Reflectance with an Improved BRDF Similarity Metric

Recent spatially varying reflectance (svBRDF) printing systems can reproduce an input document as a combination of matte, glossy and metallic inks. Due to the limited number of inks, this reproduction process incurs some distortion. In this work, we present an svBRDF gamut mapping algorithm that minimizes distortions in the angular and spatial domains. To preserve a material's perceived variation with lighting and view, we introduce an improved BRDF similarity metric that builds on both experimental results on reflectance perception and on the statistics of natural lighting environments. Our experiments show better preservation of object color and highlights, as validated quantitatively as well as through a perceptual study. As for the spatial domain, we show how to adapt traditional color gamut mapping methods to svBRDFs. Our solution takes into account the contrast between regions, achieving better preservation of textures and edges.