Research Projects
- Logica Service Design Lab (2011-2014). Funding source: Logica & Regional Government of Madeira. Role: Co-PI, PI: Monchu Chen
- DELUX – Delightful Long-Term User Experience: Creating Customer Loyalty (2011-2013). Funding source: TEKES – Finish funding agency for Technology and Innovation. Role: International Partner. PI: Sari Kujala.
- Sustainable Interaction with social Networks, context Awareness and Innovative Services (2009-2012). Funding source: CMU Portugal. Role: Co-PI. PI: Nuno Nunes
- Web Security and Privacy – Weaving together technology innovation with human and policy considerations (2009-2012). Funding source: CMU Portugal. Role: Co-PI with Norman Sadeh (CMU).
- EU Cost Action TwinTide – towards the evaluation of transectorial IT design and evaluation.
Research lines
Supporting Diary Studies with Lifelogging
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Diaries are a great methodological tool for understanding users' behaviors and experiences as they unfold in real life. Yet, they entail two important drawbacks: a) they are disruptive to participants’ daily activities as participants have to stop their ongoing activities to log a diary entry, and b) they suffer from a lack of realism as the remote researcher does not have rich data about the situations on which participants report. In this line of research, together with Ruben Gouveia, we explore how lifelogging can address these two challenges in diary studies. Ruben developed Footprint Tracker, a tool that supports reviewing four kinds of lifelogs: a) visual (i.e., Sensecam photos), b) location, c) temporal, and d) social context (i.e. SMSes and calls made and received through one's mobile device). Throughout the day, users only need to wear a Sensecam and carry an Android device. At the end of the day, they use Footprint Tracker to review the captured material, break-down their day in terms of activities they performed, and self-report on associated emotions and experiences for each activity. Our work tries to understand how the different types of lifelogs mediate memory, and explore the viability of lifelogging as an alternative paradigm in the context of diary studies.
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How important is location to location-aware narratives?
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Location aware narratives are a particular kind of locative media that aim at “telling stories that unfold in real space”. They are a promising medium with a wide range of applications and have had a strong uptake over the last decade. Yet, much of the work so far has focused on a number of assumptions that yet remain untested. One of these is the assumption that the coupling between the physical space and the narrative will result in increased levels of immersion in the narrative. We attempted to approach this question through a quasi-experimental study, where 45 individuals experienced a location-aware video narrative in three locations: a) the original location that contains physical cues from the narrative world, b) a different location that yet portrays a similar atmosphere, and c) a location that contains neither physical cues nor a similar atmosphere. We indeed found significant differences in users’ experiences with the narrative in terms of immersion in the story and mental imagery, but not with regard to feelings of presence, emotional involvement or the memorability of story elements.
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Social Translucence as a theoretical framework for sustainable HCI
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Much of the work on sustainability within HCI has treated eco-feedback interfaces as a single-user interaction problem. Together with Mary Barreto we are trying to explore how eco-feedback interfaces leverage communication within families. We use the framework of Social Translucence as a theoretical lens and we are trying to address two particular questions, i.e. how eco-feedback interfaces: a) raise mutual awareness of family members’ consumption behaviors, and b) induce feelings of accountability on individuals regarding their consumption behaviors.
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Retrospective elicitation techniques as an alternative to longitudinal methods
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Longitudinal methods are considered as the gold standard in understanding the use and acceptance of interactive products beyond initial interactions. Nevertheless, such studies are scarce in HCI literature, mostly due to their laborious nature. In this line of research, we are trying to examine the viability of retrospective techniques for eliciting longitudinal user experience data. See also iScale.
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User Experience Over Time
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The way we experience and evaluate interactive products develops over time.In this line of research we are trying to understand the patterns of such changes, their antecedents (e.g. dynamics of the importance of qualities) and the implications for design.
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Quantifying Diversity in User Experience
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Understanding the diversity in users has been one of the core challenges in user centered design. Yet, averaging across subjects is the common practice in user experience evaluation, partly due to the lack of appropriate techniques. This project aims at proposing techniques that can help designers and researchers to explore users’ diverse experiences with interactive products.
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