iSchool Associate Professor Wanda Pratt and Ph.D. candidate Jeff Huang, and their colleagues, won Best Paper Honorable Mentions Award for the CHI 2013 conference and Associate Professor Jacob Wobbrock won Best Note Honorable Mention. Of the nearly 2000 papers submitted to CHI this year, these papers were among the less than 5% of submissions to receive this designation.
- Best Paper Honorable Mention: Mastering the Art of War: How Patterns of Gameplay Influence Skill in Halo, by J. Huang (Univ. of Washington, USA), T. Zimmermann (Microsoft Research, USA), N. Nagapan (Microsoft Research, USA), C. Harrison (Microsoft, USA) and B. Phillips (Microsoft, USA). Abstract: We look at patterns of skill through large-scale gameplay analysis and player surveys to identify how different factors (play intensity, skill change over time, demographics, breaks, and prior games played) affect players' skill in Halo.
- Best Paper Honorable Mention: Health Vlogger-Viewer Interaction in Chronic Illness Management, by L. Liu (Univ. of Washington, USA), J. Huh (Univ. of Washington, USA), T. Neogi (Univ. of Washington, USA), K. Inkpen (Microsoft Research, USA), W. Pratt (Univ. of Washington, USA). Abstract: Health video blogs (vlogs) allow individuals with chronic illnesses to share their stories, experiences, and knowledge with the general public. Furthermore, health vlogs help in creating a connection between the vlogger and the viewers. In this work, we present a qualitative study examining the various methods that health vloggers use to establish a connection with their viewers. We found that vloggers used genres to express specific messages to their viewers while using the uniqueness of video to establish a deeper connection with their viewers. Health vloggers also explicitly sought interaction with their viewers. Based on these results, we present design implications to help facilitate and build sustainable communities for vloggers.
- Best Note Honorable Mention: Age-Related Differences in Performance with Touchscreens Compared to Traditional Mouse Input by L. Findlater (Univ. of Maryland, USA)J. Froehlich (Univ. of Maryland, USA)K. Fattal (Univ. of Maryland, USA)J. Wobbrock (Univ. of Washington, USA)T. Dastyar (Univ. of Maryland, USA). Abstract: We compared performance of older and younger adults on a range of desktop and touchscreen tasks. The touchscreen reduced the performance gap between the two groups relative to the desktop.
- Innovative Game Design: Ph.D. candidate Gifford Cheung in a finalist in the Student Game Design Competition
In addition to current iSchool faculty and students, Ph.D. alumnus Pedja K. Alasnja won an award for his paper:
- Mind the Theoretical Gap: Interpreting, Using, and Developing Behavioral Theory in HCI Research, by E. Hekler, P. Klasnja, J. Froehlich, M. Buman. Abstract: Are you trying to use behavioral theory in your work? Our paper will help by providing a context and organizing framework for interpreting, using, and developing behavioral theory.
As reported on the CHI conference website, the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the premier international conference on human-computer interaction. CHI 2013 is about changing perspectives: we draw from the constantly changing perspectives of the diverse CHI community and beyond, but we also change perspectives, offering new visions of people interacting with technology. The conference is multidisciplinary, drawing from science, engineering and design, with contributions from research and industry in 15 different venues. CHI brings together students and experts from over 60 countries, representing different cultures and different application areas, whose diverse perspectives influence each other.