Everyday encounters with data: Exploring engaging and collaborative interactive technologies

Licentiatavhandling, 2013

This thesis addresses a variety of problems in human-computer interaction (HCI) centred around how users perceive, use and benefit from data. The work spans a number of application areas such as: medical work, shipping, emergency management, campus work conditions and practising amateur sports. The first part of the thesis is devoted to a thorough investigation of data usage patterns and cooperation workflows in a Polish hospital. The author conducted extensive user studies to understand the rules and motivations governing how and why users interact with digital environments in this complex environment. The study enabled the authors to propose two models for modelling the hospital environment using fuzzy logic. These models may be used for facilitating surgery scheduling and optimising hospital operations. The thesis also includes a thorough account of the user studies conducted an an analysis of their results, which may be reused when designing future systems for similar environments. Next, the thesis introduces and suggests how tabletop interfaces can be used in a variety of environments. The author investigates the implications of using a tabletop system on a ship's bridge and participated in studies of a tangible tabletop system for emergency management. Both applications showed added value of exploring data sets through tabletop systems in professional settings. The author also conducted work in the field of persuasive systems. This work coffers system design targeted at limiting noise in quiet study spaces within campus environments. The author investigates how immediate feedback for dynamic user groups can be effective in changing behaviour through ambient displays. This thesis concludes with a report on the author's most recent work on augmenting the experiences both for runners and their supporters during organised races. The author successfully developed a prototype of a computer-mediated communication system for providing feedback during races.