I am Full Professor of Animal-Computer Interaction and founding head of the Animal–Computer Interaction Lab in The Open University's School of Computing and Communications. My research involves studying the interaction between animals and technology; developing interactive technology to support animals’ wellbeing, activities and relationships; informing animal-centred approaches enabling animals to participate in the design process. With a focus on both design and methodology, my interest areas include multispecies sensemaking, collaboration and participation, animal welfare, conservation and ethics. I chair the School's teaching module Interaction Design and the User Experience, and I am the School's Sustainability lead for research. Address: School of Computing and Communications The Open University Walton Hall Milton Keynes MK7 6AA United Kingdom
Thirteen cat participants wearing GPS devices were monitored through ethologically-informed obser... more Thirteen cat participants wearing GPS devices were monitored through ethologically-informed observations, designed specifically to measure the behaviour of the animals with the biotelemetry tags. Here, findings from the behavioural analysis are presented.
This paper proposes the paradigm of ‘Cinematic ’ Hypertext (CH), in which discourse form is repre... more This paper proposes the paradigm of ‘Cinematic ’ Hypertext (CH), in which discourse form is represented following principles that underpin the expression of narrative patterns in cinema. Primarily tackling hypertext discourse coherence in the non-linear medium, CH is conceived as a way of thinking the hypertext medium that is consistent with its characteristics. CH envisages the consistent and concurrent use of the medium’s formal features, grounded in structuring principles, in order to allow the emergence of a local language. Relational primitives based on Cognitive Coherence Relations are proposed as a structuring principle to define hypertext links, while the use the medium’s graphic features is proposed to render these relational primitives as patterns that will take shape during navigation. Taking scholarly hypertext as a domain, this paper articulates the theoretical basis for cinematic hypertext, presents the elements of a prototype visual language to express a sub-set of CC...
www.kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto Abstract: We discuss issues arising from the design, implem... more www.kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto Abstract: We discuss issues arising from the design, implementation and first use of a prototype infrastructure for distributed collective practice (IDCP), and reflect upon their intersection with some of the themes emerging from the Paris 2000 IDCP workshop. The problem of maintaining coherence in a distributed system is of central interest to us. We focus on the notion of representational coherence, and consider both process issues (the evolution of a discourse structuring scheme; tracing infrastructural history), and the affordances of the resulting product (uncertainty with respect to the scheme’s application; ways to map the topography of the emergent representation, with particular interest in graph theory). Throughout, we highlight issues that could have broader implications for IDCPs.
and other research outputs Ubicomp for animal welfare: envisioning smart envi-ronments for kennel... more and other research outputs Ubicomp for animal welfare: envisioning smart envi-ronments for kenneled dogs
Personnel recovery teams must operate under intense pressure, taking into account not only hard l... more Personnel recovery teams must operate under intense pressure, taking into account not only hard logistics, but ‘messy ’ factors such as the social or political implications of a decision. The Collaborative Operations for Personnel Recovery (Co-OPR) project has developed decision-support for sensemaking in such scenarios, seeking to exploit the complementary strengths of human and machine reasoning. Co-OPR integrates the Compendium sensemaking-support tool for real time information and argument mapping, with the I-X artificial intelligence planning and execution framework to support group activity and collaboration. Both share a common model for dealing with issues, the refinement of options for the activities to be performed, handling constraints and recording other information. The tools span the spectrum from being very flexible with few constraints on terminology and content, to knowledge-based relying on rich domain models and formal conceptual models (ontologies). In a personne...
For guidance on citations see FAQs. c ○ [not recorded] Version: [not recorded] Link(s) to article... more For guidance on citations see FAQs. c ○ [not recorded] Version: [not recorded] Link(s) to article on publisher’s website:
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
and other research outputs Hyper-Document structure: maintaining discourse coherence in non-linea... more and other research outputs Hyper-Document structure: maintaining discourse coherence in non-linear documents
Abstract. This paper characterises weaknesses in the ability of current digital libraries to supp... more Abstract. This paper characterises weaknesses in the ability of current digital libraries to support scholarly inquiry, and as a way to address these, proposes services grounded in semiformal models of the naturalistic argumentation commonly found in research literatures. It is argued that a design priority is to balance formal expressiveness with usability. We summarise the requirements for an argument modelling scheme for use by untrained researchers, describe the resulting scholarly discourse taxonomy, contrast it with other domain modelling and semantic web approaches, before focusing on examples of computational services to support the filtering and analysis of the repository. 1 1
Privacy is an essential consideration when designing interactive systems for humans. However, at ... more Privacy is an essential consideration when designing interactive systems for humans. However, at a time when interactive technologies are increasingly targeted at non-human animals and deployed within multispecies contexts, the question arises as to whether we should extend privacy considerations to other animals. To address this question, we revisited early scholarly work on privacy, which examines privacy dynamics in non-human animals (henceforth “animals”). Then, we analysed animal behaviour literature describing privacy-related behaviours in different species. We found that animals use a variety of separation and information management mechanisms, whose function is to secure their own and their assets' safety, as well as negotiate social interactions. In light of our findings, we question tacit assumptions and ordinary practises that involve human technology and that affect animal privacy. Finally, we draw implications for the design of interactive systems informed by animal...
To produce coherent linear documents, Natural Language Generation systems have traditionally expl... more To produce coherent linear documents, Natural Language Generation systems have traditionally exploited the structuring role of textual discourse markers such as relational and referential phrases. These coherence markers of the traditional notion of text, however, do not work in non-linear documents: a new set of graphical devices is needed together with formation rules to govern their usage, supported by sound theoretical frameworks. If in linear documents graphical devices such as layout and formatting complement textual devices in the expression of discourse coherence, in non-linear documents they play a more important role. In this paper, we present our theoretical and empirical work in progress, which explores new possibilities for expressing coherence in the generation of hypertext documents.
This paper introduces the Memetic toolkit for recording the normally ephemeral interactions condu... more This paper introduces the Memetic toolkit for recording the normally ephemeral interactions conducted via internet video conferencing, and making these navigable and manipulable in linear and non-linear ways. We introduce two complementary interaction visualizations: argumentation-based concept maps to elucidate the conceptual structure of the discourse using a visual language, and interactive event timelines generated from the meeting metadata. We discuss in detail the affordances of Memetic's tools, in particular the Compendium hypermedia mapping tool, and the Meeting Replay tool that renders the semantic navigation indices into the videoconference replays. Additionally, with respect to methodology and evaluation, we describe how we are engaging diverse end-user communities in the process of designing and deploying these tools.
Current requirements engineering methods are heavily reliant on verbal techniques, which are inac... more Current requirements engineering methods are heavily reliant on verbal techniques, which are inaccessible to non-verbal users, such as mobility assistance dogs (MAD). Findings from a recent pilot study, conducted at a MAD training facility, show that the elicitation of canine stakeholder needs while in training is highly dependent on employee interpretation. This paper promotes the use of technology in support of meeting canine user needs, as suggested by the emerging field of Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), by enabling trainers and employees to accurately elicit and interpret canine stakeholder requirements.
We describe the design of three empirical studies planned as part of an investigation into privac... more We describe the design of three empirical studies planned as part of an investigation into privacy wh en mobile. The studies exemplify complementary investigation strands, whose aim is to uncover the multi-faceted nature of privacy for mobile computin g applications.
The passage from linear text to hypertext poses the challenge of expressing discourse coherence i... more The passage from linear text to hypertext poses the challenge of expressing discourse coherence in non-linear text, where linguistic discourse markers no longer work. While hypertext introduces new possibilities for discourse organisation, it also requires the use of new devices which can support the expression of coherence by exploiting the technical characteristics and expressive capabilities of the medium. In this paper we show how in hypertext the notion of abstract document structure encompasses animated graphics as a form of meta-language for discourse construction.
Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction, 2016
Although animals have been exposed to interactive technology for the best part of a century in fi... more Although animals have been exposed to interactive technology for the best part of a century in fields as diverse as ecology, cognitive science and agricultural engineering, it is only recently that interaction designers have begun to take an interest in these interactions. And it was only three and a half years ago when a small group of researchers first came together during a Special Interest Group meeting, hosted by the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI2012), to discuss a topic very few had done work in or even heard about: Animal-Computer Interaction. Since then, dedicated workshops and congress editions hosted by computing conferences and conventions have fostered the development of a keen community, while an increasing body of work has begun to shape an emerging discipline now referred to by abbreviation as ACI. A highly interdisciplinary field, ACI encompasses work whose aim is to understand the interaction between animals and technology in naturalis...
Thirteen cat participants wearing GPS devices were monitored through ethologically-informed obser... more Thirteen cat participants wearing GPS devices were monitored through ethologically-informed observations, designed specifically to measure the behaviour of the animals with the biotelemetry tags. Here, findings from the behavioural analysis are presented.
This paper proposes the paradigm of ‘Cinematic ’ Hypertext (CH), in which discourse form is repre... more This paper proposes the paradigm of ‘Cinematic ’ Hypertext (CH), in which discourse form is represented following principles that underpin the expression of narrative patterns in cinema. Primarily tackling hypertext discourse coherence in the non-linear medium, CH is conceived as a way of thinking the hypertext medium that is consistent with its characteristics. CH envisages the consistent and concurrent use of the medium’s formal features, grounded in structuring principles, in order to allow the emergence of a local language. Relational primitives based on Cognitive Coherence Relations are proposed as a structuring principle to define hypertext links, while the use the medium’s graphic features is proposed to render these relational primitives as patterns that will take shape during navigation. Taking scholarly hypertext as a domain, this paper articulates the theoretical basis for cinematic hypertext, presents the elements of a prototype visual language to express a sub-set of CC...
www.kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto Abstract: We discuss issues arising from the design, implem... more www.kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto Abstract: We discuss issues arising from the design, implementation and first use of a prototype infrastructure for distributed collective practice (IDCP), and reflect upon their intersection with some of the themes emerging from the Paris 2000 IDCP workshop. The problem of maintaining coherence in a distributed system is of central interest to us. We focus on the notion of representational coherence, and consider both process issues (the evolution of a discourse structuring scheme; tracing infrastructural history), and the affordances of the resulting product (uncertainty with respect to the scheme’s application; ways to map the topography of the emergent representation, with particular interest in graph theory). Throughout, we highlight issues that could have broader implications for IDCPs.
and other research outputs Ubicomp for animal welfare: envisioning smart envi-ronments for kennel... more and other research outputs Ubicomp for animal welfare: envisioning smart envi-ronments for kenneled dogs
Personnel recovery teams must operate under intense pressure, taking into account not only hard l... more Personnel recovery teams must operate under intense pressure, taking into account not only hard logistics, but ‘messy ’ factors such as the social or political implications of a decision. The Collaborative Operations for Personnel Recovery (Co-OPR) project has developed decision-support for sensemaking in such scenarios, seeking to exploit the complementary strengths of human and machine reasoning. Co-OPR integrates the Compendium sensemaking-support tool for real time information and argument mapping, with the I-X artificial intelligence planning and execution framework to support group activity and collaboration. Both share a common model for dealing with issues, the refinement of options for the activities to be performed, handling constraints and recording other information. The tools span the spectrum from being very flexible with few constraints on terminology and content, to knowledge-based relying on rich domain models and formal conceptual models (ontologies). In a personne...
For guidance on citations see FAQs. c ○ [not recorded] Version: [not recorded] Link(s) to article... more For guidance on citations see FAQs. c ○ [not recorded] Version: [not recorded] Link(s) to article on publisher’s website:
All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you... more All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
and other research outputs Hyper-Document structure: maintaining discourse coherence in non-linea... more and other research outputs Hyper-Document structure: maintaining discourse coherence in non-linear documents
Abstract. This paper characterises weaknesses in the ability of current digital libraries to supp... more Abstract. This paper characterises weaknesses in the ability of current digital libraries to support scholarly inquiry, and as a way to address these, proposes services grounded in semiformal models of the naturalistic argumentation commonly found in research literatures. It is argued that a design priority is to balance formal expressiveness with usability. We summarise the requirements for an argument modelling scheme for use by untrained researchers, describe the resulting scholarly discourse taxonomy, contrast it with other domain modelling and semantic web approaches, before focusing on examples of computational services to support the filtering and analysis of the repository. 1 1
Privacy is an essential consideration when designing interactive systems for humans. However, at ... more Privacy is an essential consideration when designing interactive systems for humans. However, at a time when interactive technologies are increasingly targeted at non-human animals and deployed within multispecies contexts, the question arises as to whether we should extend privacy considerations to other animals. To address this question, we revisited early scholarly work on privacy, which examines privacy dynamics in non-human animals (henceforth “animals”). Then, we analysed animal behaviour literature describing privacy-related behaviours in different species. We found that animals use a variety of separation and information management mechanisms, whose function is to secure their own and their assets' safety, as well as negotiate social interactions. In light of our findings, we question tacit assumptions and ordinary practises that involve human technology and that affect animal privacy. Finally, we draw implications for the design of interactive systems informed by animal...
To produce coherent linear documents, Natural Language Generation systems have traditionally expl... more To produce coherent linear documents, Natural Language Generation systems have traditionally exploited the structuring role of textual discourse markers such as relational and referential phrases. These coherence markers of the traditional notion of text, however, do not work in non-linear documents: a new set of graphical devices is needed together with formation rules to govern their usage, supported by sound theoretical frameworks. If in linear documents graphical devices such as layout and formatting complement textual devices in the expression of discourse coherence, in non-linear documents they play a more important role. In this paper, we present our theoretical and empirical work in progress, which explores new possibilities for expressing coherence in the generation of hypertext documents.
This paper introduces the Memetic toolkit for recording the normally ephemeral interactions condu... more This paper introduces the Memetic toolkit for recording the normally ephemeral interactions conducted via internet video conferencing, and making these navigable and manipulable in linear and non-linear ways. We introduce two complementary interaction visualizations: argumentation-based concept maps to elucidate the conceptual structure of the discourse using a visual language, and interactive event timelines generated from the meeting metadata. We discuss in detail the affordances of Memetic's tools, in particular the Compendium hypermedia mapping tool, and the Meeting Replay tool that renders the semantic navigation indices into the videoconference replays. Additionally, with respect to methodology and evaluation, we describe how we are engaging diverse end-user communities in the process of designing and deploying these tools.
Current requirements engineering methods are heavily reliant on verbal techniques, which are inac... more Current requirements engineering methods are heavily reliant on verbal techniques, which are inaccessible to non-verbal users, such as mobility assistance dogs (MAD). Findings from a recent pilot study, conducted at a MAD training facility, show that the elicitation of canine stakeholder needs while in training is highly dependent on employee interpretation. This paper promotes the use of technology in support of meeting canine user needs, as suggested by the emerging field of Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), by enabling trainers and employees to accurately elicit and interpret canine stakeholder requirements.
We describe the design of three empirical studies planned as part of an investigation into privac... more We describe the design of three empirical studies planned as part of an investigation into privacy wh en mobile. The studies exemplify complementary investigation strands, whose aim is to uncover the multi-faceted nature of privacy for mobile computin g applications.
The passage from linear text to hypertext poses the challenge of expressing discourse coherence i... more The passage from linear text to hypertext poses the challenge of expressing discourse coherence in non-linear text, where linguistic discourse markers no longer work. While hypertext introduces new possibilities for discourse organisation, it also requires the use of new devices which can support the expression of coherence by exploiting the technical characteristics and expressive capabilities of the medium. In this paper we show how in hypertext the notion of abstract document structure encompasses animated graphics as a form of meta-language for discourse construction.
Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction, 2016
Although animals have been exposed to interactive technology for the best part of a century in fi... more Although animals have been exposed to interactive technology for the best part of a century in fields as diverse as ecology, cognitive science and agricultural engineering, it is only recently that interaction designers have begun to take an interest in these interactions. And it was only three and a half years ago when a small group of researchers first came together during a Special Interest Group meeting, hosted by the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI2012), to discuss a topic very few had done work in or even heard about: Animal-Computer Interaction. Since then, dedicated workshops and congress editions hosted by computing conferences and conventions have fostered the development of a keen community, while an increasing body of work has begun to shape an emerging discipline now referred to by abbreviation as ACI. A highly interdisciplinary field, ACI encompasses work whose aim is to understand the interaction between animals and technology in naturalis...
Uploads