November 8, 2021
David Ribes, HCDE associate professor; Will Sutherland, HCDE PhD student; Tom Wilson, HCDE PhD '20 graduate; Kate Starbird, HCDE associate professor; Emma J. McDonnell, HCDE PhD student; Steven Goodman, HCDE PhD student; Leah Findlater, HCDE associate professor; Andrew Berry, HCDE PhD '19 graduate; and Calvin Liang, HCDE PhD student, are recognized with awards for research contributions at the 2021 CSCW conference.
The ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW) is a premier venue for presenting research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, and communities. The annual conference brings together top researchers and practitioners from academia and industry who are interested in both the technical and social aspects of collaboration. Researchers from the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering regularly submit research papers, posters, and workshop proposals to the annual conference.
Best Paper Award
Represents the top 1% of papers submitted
Time for Historicism in CSCW: An Invitation
Robert Soden, University of Toronto; David Ribes University of Washington; Seyram Avle, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Will Sutherland, University of Washington
ABSTRACT
This paper contributes to the development of an under-utilized area of focus for CSCW research and design: history. The design and evaluation of technology, as practiced in the field, has positioned CSCW as a largely forward-looking community. The enduring ‘presentism’ and lack of historical view threatens to leave out a wealth of resources that can inspire design, support comparative analysis, and develop a deeper understanding of technology development and its social consequences. This paper argues that a historicist sensibility should inform the due diligence of all CSCW research, and we present connection points for the various ways in which historical research might more deeply inform CSCW, while offering a selection of historiographic challenges to sensitize CSCW scholars as we seek to better situate our collective work within both the present moment as well as ongoing temporal change.
Honorable Mention Award
Represents the top 4% of papers submitted
Cross-platform Information Operations: Mobilizing Narratives & Building Resilience through both ‘Big’ & ‘Alt’ Tech
Tom Wilson, University of Washington; Kate Starbird, University of Washington
ABSTRACT
Despite increasing awareness and research about online strategic information operations, there remain gaps in our understanding, including how information operations leverage the wider information ecosystem and take shape on and across multiple social media platforms. In this paper we use mixed methods, including digital trace ethnography, to look beyond a single social media platform to the broader information ecosystem. We aim to understand how multiple social media platforms are used, in parallel and complementary ways, to achieve the strategic goals of online information operations. We focus on a specific case study: the contested online conversation surrounding Syria Civil Defense (the White Helmets), a group of first responders that assists civilians affected by the civil war within the country. Our findings reveal a network of social media platforms from which content is produced, stored, and integrated into the Twitter conversation. We highlight specific activities that sustain the strategic narratives and attempt to influence the media agenda. And we note that underpinning these efforts is the work of resilience-building: the use of alternative (non-mainstream) platforms to counter perceived threats of ‘censorship’ by large, established social media platforms. We end by discussing the implications on social media platform policy.
Social, Environmental, and Technical: Factors at play in the current use and future design of small-group captioning
Emma J. McDonnell, University of Washington; Ping Liu, University of Washington; Steven M. Goodman, University of Washington; Raja Kushalnagar, Gallaudet University; Jon E. Froehlich, University of Washington; Leah Findlater, University of Washington
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion recognition
This paper is one of thirteen papers selected by the CSCW 2021 Equity and Accessibility Co-Chairs for being a strong example of work that focuses on or serves minorities, otherwise excluded individuals or populations, or intervenes in systemic structures of inequality.
ABSTRACT
Real-time captioning is a critical accessibility tool for many d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people. While the vast majority of captioning work has focused on formal settings and technical innovations, in contrast, we investigate captioning for informal, interactive small-group conversations, which have a high degree of spontaneity and foster dynamic social interactions. This paper reports on semi-structured interviews and design probe activities we conducted with 15 DHH participants to understand their use of existing real-time captioning services and future design preferences for both in-person and remote smallgroup communication. We found that our participants’ experiences of captioned small-group conversations are shaped by social, environmental, and technical considerations (e.g., interlocutors’ preestablished relationships, the type of captioning displays available, and how far captions lag behind speech). When considering future captioning tools, participants were interested in greater feedback on non-speech elements of conversation (e.g., speaker identity, speech rate, volume) both for their personal use and to guide hearing interlocutors toward more accessible communication. We contribute a qualitative account of DHH people’s real-time captioning experiences during small-group conversation and future design considerations to better support the groups being captioned, both in person and online.
Supporting collaborative reflection on personal values and health
Andrew B.L. Berry, University of Washington; Catherine Y. Lim, 98point6; Calvin A. Liang, University of Washington; Andrea L. Hartzler, University of Washington; Tad Hirsch, Northeastern University; Dawn M. Ferguson, Kaiser Permanente; Zoë A. Bermet, Kaiser Permanente; James D. Ralston, Kaiser Permanente
Impact Recognition
This paper is one of thirteen recognized as a strong example of work that demonstrates or has clear potential to demonstrate real-world or practical impact.
ABSTRACT
People with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) need support to understand and articulate how their personal values relate to their health and health care. We developed three prototypes for supporting reflection on values and health and tested them in a qualitative study involving 12 people with MCC. We identified benefits and limitations to building on how patients prepare for visits with clinicians; revealed varying levels of comfort with deep, exploratory reflection involving a facilitator; and found that reflection oriented toward the future could elicit hopeful attitudes and plans for change, while reflection on the past elicited strong resistance. We translated these findings into design guidelines for supporting collaborative reflection on values and health. We also discussed these findings in relation to previous literature on designing for reflection in three areas: shifting between self-guided and facilitator-guided reflection, balancing between outcome-oriented and exploratory reflection, and exploring temporality in reflection.
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The Mary B. Coney Endowed Fund, named in honor of Emeritus Professor Mary Coney, supports HCDE students by funding costs associated with travel to conferences and international workshops. Your support of this fund enriches the HCDE student experience and enhances HCDE's influence in the field.