[Colloq] PhD Seminar Today March 12, 2002 4:00pm CN 149

[Rachel Bates]

Tuesday, March 12, 2002
149 Cullinane Hall

tea will follow talk at 5:00pm


User Interface Design in Mobile Computing:
Notification Cues in New Workplace and Social Settings

Professor Peter Tarasewich

Abstract

The growing use of mobile information technology has increased concern about
the impact of such technology on society as a whole. Many computer-based
devices are no longer constrained to relatively permanent work or home
environments, but are likely to be found in almost any physical location or
in any social setting. But concerns with mobile applications have arisen in
areas such as safety (e.g., using a handheld organizer while driving) and
appropriateness (e.g., using a cell phone in a theatre or restaurant). Users
are also subject to "attention overload," which can occur when individuals
are overwhelmed and interrupted by intrusive and attention demanding
external events, such as loud auditory cues or flashing bright lights.

With this proliferation of "anytime, anywhere" systems and technology comes
the need to understand the use of information and information systems in new
workplace and social settings. The "new workplace" represents the ability to
perform information tasks outside the confines of the traditional office
setting, allowing the creation of a virtual workplace based on the worker's
current location. Social settings can range from two people talking together
on a sidewalk to a dinner part of twenty close friends to thousands of
people watching a concert in an auditorium. The goals of this research are
to 1) examine the use of mobile information systems, 2) determine the
information needs of mobile users, and 3) explore the use of notification
cues (which alert the user to the arrival or availability of information) in
workplace and social settings. Since mobile applications, by definition, can
be used in various locations, the context of the application and the device
must be taken into account. Another factor that needs to be considered is
the effect (if any) that these systems have on other people who happen to be
in the proximity of the user when the system is used. This research builds
on the field of information science and falls squarely under the relatively
new discipline of mobile informatics, which is concerned with the theory of
mobile information technology use.