The VIXI Lab has several papers accepted in CHI’24 this year! Our research covers a variety of themes, including accessibility and inclusion, personal expression and customization, critical analysis of technology, and the social and emotional aspects of gaming.
This blog post showcases the diligent work of our PhD students, Yichun Zhao and Sabrina Lakhdhir, along with the collective efforts of all VIXI faculty members. The main authors have co-written this piece, with Yichun Zhao providing the final edits.
Table of Contents
- TADA: Making Node-Link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People (Honourable Mention)
- GlucoMaker: Enabling Collaborative Customization of Glucose Monitors
- Expressive Clothing: Understanding Hobbyist-Sewers Visions for Self-Expression Through Clothing
- Unpacking Norms, Narratives, and Nourishment: A Feminist HCI Critique on Food Tracking Technologies
- Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies (Honourable Mention)
- Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games
- Tools and Tasks in Sensemaking: A Visual Accessibility Perspective (Workshop Paper)
- Other Involvements
TADA: Making Node-Link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People
Authors: Yichun Zhao, Miguel A. Nacenta, Mahadeo A. Sukhai, and Sowmya Somanath. Honourable Mention Paper Award. To be presented on Wed, 15 May | 09:15 AM — 09:30 AM | Room 311: Assistive Interactions: Navigation and Visualisation for Users Who are Blind or Low Vision.
Node-link diagrams are a common visualization technique to illustrate relationships among entities such as taxonomies, mind maps and networks, but they are not effectively accessible to blind and low-vision (BLV) people. The formative study shows that there is a need for diagram access, and the current practices often result in unequal access, unfair cognitive burdens and social costs.
Formative Study: Ladder of Diagram Access
Zhao et al. first conducted interview study with 15 BLV participants using open coding and thematic analysis to learn about the experiences and challenges accessing diagrams. The main finding is a Ladder of Diagram Access:
Level 5. Effective and Comprehensive Access to Diagrams: ideal scenario with efficiency and effectiveness.
Level 4. Multiple Perspectives of a Diagram: queryable, interactive, but can be costly in efforts and social capital.
Level 3. Single Static Perspective of a Diagram: linear, lack of control, no sufficient information, e.g., alt-text.
Level 2. Only Knowing the Existence of a Diagram: i.e., screen reader just says “Graphic.”
Level 1. Not Knowing the Existence of a Diagram.
TADA: Interaction Techniques
Based on findings from the formative study, Zhao et al. designed TADA (Touch-and-Audio-based Diagram Access) with four design principles: 1) spatiality, 2) distinguishable components, 3) multiple levels of access and 4) complimentary interactions. It is based on tablet devices. Its input consists of touch (locations of fingers on the tablet’s surface) and audio (speech commands), and its main output is provided through musical tones and speech. The key interaction techniques are:
You can view the video figure here to learn about TADA in more details: https://youtu.be/cuc15ZQVRZU
Evaluative Study
The authors also conducted evaluative study with 25 BLV participants using thematic analysis on the qualitative feedback and quantitative analysis on the number of correct and incorrect responses for specific tasks. We also measured workload using NASA-TLX. Results show that most participants answered correctly, with some needing assistance. Workload ratings were generally low, with mental and physical demand being higher. TADA was well-received with its audio design and interaction techniques found to be effective.
Links
- DOI / Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.364222 or https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.04502
- Video preview: https://youtu.be/ukPLDN8CiWI
- Video presentation: https://youtu.be/QMWT2QLd_wY
GlucoMaker: Enabling Collaborative Customization of Glucose Monitors
Authors: Sabrina Lakhdhir, Chehak Nayar, Fraser Anderson, Hélène Fournier, Liisa Holsti, Irina Kondratova, Charles Perin, and Sowmya Somanath. To be presented on Wed, 15 May | 05:00 PM — 05:15 PM | Room 317: Chronic Conditions A.
Lakhdhir et al. explored how individuals with type 1 diabetes can engage in collaboratively customizing their glucose monitors (which typically offer limited personalization avenues) to design more personally relevant and desirable healthcare technologies for everyday use.
Three-phase User Study
The authors conducted three phases with different stakeholders:
- Prototyping Phase: Individuals with type 1 diabetes defined their personal preferences, prototyped a monitor using craft materials, evaluated the usability of their designs, and reflected on its ability to meet their needs.
- Design Briefing: Product designers and healthcare professionals reviewed the designs from the prototyping phase and provided their thoughts and concerns.
- Focus Group: All participants discussed the designs and explored the potential for collaboration.
The authors collected a set of participant-proposed glucose monitors (e.g., examples from image above), gained insights towards a collaborative design process that could guide our customization workflow and derived a set of five design goals to inform our next steps.
GlucoMaker
Lakhdhir et al. designed GlucoMaker, a web application with five main components that address our five design goals: 1) the customization guidance interface, 2) the device designer, 3) the collaborative discussion interface, 4) the learning portal, and 5) the project overview.
Users initially select their preferences and create a first-iteration of their custom monitor. This initial design is then shared with stakeholders for asynchronous collaboration using digital sticky notes within the interface. The process concludes when all collaborators are satisfied with the design, which is then exported and constructed for testing and use.
Evaluation
The authors constructed three physical custom glucose monitors (shown in image below). Each monitor utilized a different designer workflow within GlucoMaker and aimed to highlight a different set of monitor characteristics (such as whether abstract or exact data is shown).
Links
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642435
- Video preview: https://youtu.be/zHlGLDW-za0
- Video presentation: https://youtu.be/T8fy4hQSaPY
Expressive Clothing: Understanding Hobbyist-Sewers Visions for Self-Expression Through Clothing
Authors: Sabrina Lakhdhir, Charles Perin, and Sowmya Somanath. To be presented on Mon, 13 May | 02:30 PM — 02:45 PM | Room 315: Smart Textiles.
Lakhdhir et al. studied how hobbyist-sewers use clothing for communication as a case study to understand how to support individuals in expressing their creative ideas. Clothes have been used historically to convey messages through embedded encodings such as colours, icons and patterns. Dynamic encoding options like microcontrollers, interactive embroidery, and shape-changing fabrics are now available. However, it remains unclear what or why people want to communicate through their clothing, when, to whom, and how.
A three-phase remote study was conducted involving a pre-interview about participants’ experiences as hobbyist-sewers, a design workbook activity on clothing communication and a post-interview reflection. The study yielded 24 clothing sketches, with half containing personal stories and the other half social stories (shown below).
These 24 sketches were categorized into five communication approaches: evolutionary, minimalistic, conversation-starters, allusive, and understanding, highlighting different relationships between the who, what, why, and how of clothing communication.
The authors identified four design challenges: 1) mapping ideas to encodings, 2) visualizing designs, 3) combining ideas into cohesive designs and 4) creating personalized encodings. They also discussed further about technology design implications, including gathering inspiration, selecting encoding mechanisms, designing for wearability and social acceptability, and creating custom encodings.
Links
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642338
- Video preview: https://youtu.be/6j73d_QnmsU
- Video presentation: https://youtu.be/DVjauTUpojY
Unpacking Norms, Narratives, and Nourishment: A Feminist HCI Critique on Food Tracking Technologies
Authors: D. O’Neill, M.V. Birk, & R.L. Mandryk. To be presented on Wed, 15 May: 09:00am — 5:20pm in Remote Sessions Highlights.
Daisy O’Neill, a Ph.D. student at Technical University Eindhoven and a visiting researcher at the VIXI lab (2023), worked with Regan Mandryk to critically analyze three commercial food tracking apps. They applied a reflexive feminist lens grounded in fat liberation during their walkthrough. Their research aimed to engage more critically and reflectively with women’s health research. They examined how beliefs and technology use are embedded in the production and management of gender in daily life.
Their findings were presented in two categories: 1) “Surfacing Normativities” highlighted how the apps perpetuate norms of nutrition, health, and bodies, and 2) “Surfacing Narratives” discussed how the apps embed narratives of embodiment, health simplification and quantification, and neoliberalism. Their work exposed the normativities propagated by food tracking apps, spotlighting their designs’ alignment with prevalent anti-fat narratives. They argued that food is a feminist issue and future HCI analyses and designs of food tracking apps should consider this perspective.
They also discussed the conflicting narratives presented by food tracking apps, such as the tension between body positivity language and the use of anti-fat bias as a motivational strategy. They highlighted the dissonance between embodied and cognitive decision making. Lastly, they proposed alternative narratives for future food tracking app designs. These narratives would break from harmful anti-fat narratives and promote healthier relationships with food and bodies.
Toxicity in Online Games: The Prevalence and Efficacy of Coping Strategies
Authors: J. Frommel & R.L. Mandryk. Honourable Mention Paper Award. To be presented on Thu, 16 May: 11:00am — 12:20pm in Understanding Player Experiences (Room 316C).
Regan Mandryk, along with her former postdoctoral fellow Julian Frommel, developed a framework for coping strategies to deal with game-based toxicity. They conducted a formative study to collect a comprehensive list of coping approaches from toxicity literature and used affinity mapping to identify overarching game-based coping strategies. They surveyed 85 players about their experiences with toxicity, their use of the identified coping strategies, how games support coping, and their general coping styles. The survey results showed that players use a variety of coping approaches to deal with toxicity in games, with 19 out of 20 identified approaches being frequently employed.
The study identified five main in-game coping strategies: 1) Block Source, 2) Accept Problem, 3) Confront Perpetrator, 4) Switch Context, and 5) Seek Support. These strategies are used differently by players based on their general coping styles. The effectiveness of these strategies is influenced by the frequency of toxicity and the support provided by in-game tools. The effectiveness of coping approaches is negatively associated with the frequency of being targeted by toxicity, but positively associated with the degree of in-game tool support.
Toxicity is pervasive in online multiplayer games, exposing players to disruptive and harmful behaviours. While players employ various approaches to cope with toxicity, game designers and researchers lack guidance on implementing coping support within games. Julian and Regan’s work provides guidance for better in-game tools to help players mitigate the harm caused by toxicity.
Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games
Authors: K. Waldenmeier, S. Poeller, M.J. Dechant, N. Baumann, & R.L. Mandryk. To be presented on Tue, 14 May: 04:00pm — 05:20pm in Game Design A (Room 316B).
Regan Mandryk’s third CHI paper is based on work she conducted with research intern Karla Waldenmeier, former postdoctoral fellow (and current Assistant Professor in Utrecht) Susanne Poeller, with support from former PhD student (and current Lecturer at UCL) Martin Dechant and Professor Nicola Baumann (University of Trier). They focus on players’ responses to failure in complex games and the role of in-game cheats as a “micro-intervention” to improve play experiences.
The study is based on the self-regulation theory, which differentiates between action-oriented and state-oriented individuals. Action-oriented individuals tend to have stronger self-regulatory abilities under stress. They conducted the study with 88 participants playing Anno 1404 in single-player mode. A money-generating cheat code was presented in a challenging situation, and they measured action-state orientation.
Their findings showed that state-oriented individuals were more likely to use the cheat code, which acted as an external support. The use of the cheat code eliminated differences in experienced pressure between action- and state-oriented participants. They also found no negative consequences of using the cheat code on intrinsic motivation, needs satisfaction, flow, or performance. The work suggests that external support mechanisms can help state-oriented players self-regulate when faced with failure.
Tools and Tasks in Sensemaking: A Visual Accessibility Perspective
Authors: Yichun Zhao and Miguel A. Nacenta. To be presented on Sun, 12 May: Workshop on Sensemaking: What is it today? (Room 306A).
This workshop paper extends from the qualitative findings of the paper TADA: Making Node-Link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People, connects them to the global activity of information sensemaking and discusses its (in)accessibility to the blind and low-vision (BLV) demographic. Zhao et al. highlighted additional insights into the practices, challenges and strategies related to how BLV people make sense of information.
Sensemaking with the Ladder of Diagram Access
The Ladder of Diagram Access can help us understand how the sensemaking loop and the data frame model can be used more effectively to transform data into knowledge and insights. The sensemaking process is limited at the lower levels of the ladder, where BLV individuals may struggle to understand the existence, purpose and relevance of a diagram. Moving up the ladder, they can leverage multiple perspectives to support sensemaking where people develop and refine their mental models through activities like foraging and synthesis. However, multiple perspectives can also lead to confusion and inconsistencies which often results in people spending more time synthesizing information from various sources, a cost that is significantly higher for BLV individuals. Overall, the Ladder of Diagram Access can be integrated into the sensemaking process. The higher the level of access, the more likely BLV individuals can perform sensemaking tasks like finding patterns, generating insights and problem-solving.
Towards an Inclusive Data-driven Workforce
Zhao et al.’s study confirms that BLV individuals are eager and capable to participate in the data-driven workforce and have developed strategies to overcome accessibility barriers. Three proposed solutions to enhance access are 1) Universal Design, which offers diverse interaction methods with diagrams; 2) Translation Tools, which allow BLV individuals to manipulate diagrammatic information; and 3) Sensemaking Tools, which support the sensemaking process and help reduce the cognitive and social costs of accessing diagrams.
More details: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.00192
Other Involvements
Sabrina Lakhdhir will be involved in the Doctoral Consortium to share and discuss her work on custom-designed wearable technology, focusing on individuals’ needs, identities and contexts.
Yichun Zhao will also provide an interactivity demo of TADA on Tuesday (15:30–16:15) in the Kamehameha Exhibit Hall. He is also a Student Volunteer this year.
Miguel Nacenta also has a workshop contribution to the Cognitive Personal Informatics workshop where the authors discuss the three main discourses on cognitive augmentation: Techno-Optimist, Embodied Mind and Disability Theory, analyzed using Schwartz’s theory.
Sowmya Somanath and Regan Mandryk will be discussing their work on happiness-oriented work technologies at the Cognitive Personal Informatics workshop.
Regan Mandryk is running a SIG called “Games and Play SIG: Connecting Games Research to the Broader HCI Context”, which runs Mon, 13 May at 11:00 AM — 12:20 PM in Room 318A. She is also co-organizing a workshop on “Novel Approaches for Understanding and Mitigating Emerging New Harms in Immersive and Embodied Virtual Spaces” on the Saturday preceding the conference. Finally, in her role as Chair Emeritus of the CHI Steering Committee, Regan will be running a panel on the future format of the CHI conference (Wed, 15 May from 11:00am — 12:20pm in 310 Lili’u Theater), and is part of the joint EC/SC CHI Townhall on Wednesday at lunch time, also in the Lili’u Theater.
