Getting real with ubiquitous computing: the impact of discrepancies on collaboration

My position paper on the impact of discrepancies on collaboration in a pervasive context has been published in the spanish HCI journal eMinds. It was written last Fall with the support of Nicolas. Of course, now with 6 months of literature review behind me, I see some flaws. However, it gives an overview I what I intend to do in my PhD thesis.

Girardin, F., Nova, N., Getting real with ubiquitous computing: the impact of discrepancies on collaboration. e-Minds: International Journal on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 1, Number 1, April 2006.

Abstract:

Ubiquitous computing is still a maturing field of investigation. The vision of the seamless integration of computers to people’s life has yet to happen, if it ever has to become a reality. Nowadays, most mobile, distributed systems and sensor technologies have their faults and limitations. Users of ubiquitous technologies often learn to avoid or rectify the systems failures. However, there is still a lack of quantitative information concerning how they impact the collaboration. Therefore, we propose to use a ‘field of experiment’ approach based on a pervasive game platform. Our aim is to rely on a mix of qualitative and quantitative evaluations to find out how uncertainties modified the collaborative processes.