controversy and provocation

1
controversy and provocation

• Alan Dix
• alan_at_hcibook.comhttp//www.hcibook.com/alan/paper
  s/HCIE2004/

2
the invitation

• wondering if you would start off Friday
  morning's session by being controversial - as we
  know only you can -)
• Sure, but I'll not be deliberately provocative
  of course

3
.. so I wont mention

• student fees and the two tier HE system
• A level grades as social apartheid
• abolishing homework and extending the school day
• or even unlimited re-sits for UG and PG degrees

4
controversydebate between disciplines

• controversy disputation, (prolonged) debate,
  esp. conducted in writing L. controversus
  (CONTRA-, vertere, vers- turn)

5
changing expertise

• in the past psychologists computer
  scientists who do HCI etc.
• now psychology HCI people who
  use computing etc.

6
the danger

• loss of roots
• intellectual decoupage
• professional practice passed off as academic
• is the best HCI education no HCI education?

7
vocational academic

• tension is growth
• but stretched or natural

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joined up thinking?

• theory and practice together?
• but
• mature disciplines
• separate theory and professional practice

9
theory vs. practice

• opposed?
• theory is the language of generalisation
• guidelines and methods last a while
• but theory keeps you going longer

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theory is the viagra of professional life
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just-in-time theory
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mini-case studies

• wot I do during teaching
• when technology doesnt work
• analyse why
• use it as extended examples
• plus other real examples

13
Excel modes

• wouldnt closewhy?
• theory
• hidden mode
• closure
• www.hcibook.com/alan/casestudy/excel-mode/

14
does it work?

• weakness
• knowing it is teaching time
• strengths
• real example
• introduces theory when relevant

15
ecological validity

• examples
• one issue at a time
• a good solution
• from theory to practice

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ecological validity

• examples
• one issue at a time
• a good solution
• from theory to practice
• mini-case study
• lots of relevant issues
• no easy solution tradeoffs
• from practice to theory

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passing on knowledge

• case studies, examples, patterns
• good for use in practice
• but how to generalise
• textbooks full of theory!
• just-in-time theory
• appropriate theory when needed

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just-in-time theory

• appropriate theory
• given when needed
• contextualised theory
• apply theory in actual context
• including trade-offs
• situated theory
• make new theory if necessary e.g. toilet rolls
• example of T-model

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what we teach
breadth
depth
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what students learn?
breadth
depth
21
T model
breadth
depth
grounding
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why T ?

• texture
• more engaging!
• grounding
• more rigorous
• mastery
• more motivating

23
provoking theory in HCI

• provocative tending to cause provocation (of
  curiosity, anger, lust, etc.). L. PRO(vocare
  call)

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importance of HCI

• late 20th and 21st century ... technology meets
  people
• so where is our own theory and methods?
• some MHP, Norman, Inf. Foraging Theory but
  enough?
• do we need it anyway?

25
a little story

• BIG ACM sponsored conference
• good empirical paper
• looking at collaborative support for a task X
• three pieces of software
• A domain specific software, synchronous
• B generic software, synchronous
• C generic software, asynchronous

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experiment

• reasonable nos. subjects in each condition
• quality measures
• significant results plt0.05
• domain spec. gt generic
• asynchronous gt synchronous
• so really want asynchronous domain specific

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whats wrong with that?

• interaction effects
• gap is interesting to study
• not necessarily good to implement
• more important if you blinked at the wrong
  moment
• NOT independent variables
• three different pieces of software
• like experiment on 3 people!
• say system B was just bad

B lt A
B lt C
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can we fix it?

• borrowed psych method
• but method embodies assumptions
• single simple cause, controlled environment
• HCI needs ecologically valid exp.
• multiple causes, open situations
• what to do?
• understand assumptions and modify
• both and
• quantitative what is true end to end
  phenomena
• qualitative and anecdotal why mechanism

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a call (vocare)

• HCI a defining discipline of Century 21
• we must develop and teach knowledge that will last