Research
Current Research Interests
In collaboration with colleagues at The University of Melbourne, I am currently investigating how people use a variety of interactive technologies (video games, community networks, mobile phones, etc.) for convivial and sociable purposes in a variety of situations. I am currently working on the following projects.
Social Engagement and Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) : Currently in the first stage of data collection, this project will examine the social experiences of people who play the MMORPG World of Warcraft. In the first stage of data collection we are focusing on the experiences of people who engage in raiding activities in the MMORPG. See the project description for The Social World of Raiding. We will study the social interactions that take place online while playing the game. We will also study how deep involvement in playing this game fits with players' other social engagements - at home, school, work and with friends. We hope this research will contribute to our understanding of contemporary society by studying a paradigmatic example of social relations that are increasingly mediated by technology.
Computer Supported Cooperative Play (CSCP): CSCP can be understood as the cooperative use of interactive technologies by two or more individuals for reacreational purposes. While, some CSCP activities appear competitive, we view these as cooperation in the pursuit of recreation. Online multiplayer videogaming is a salient example of CSCP and with my colleague Greg Wadley I have been investigating the use of voice communication by people playing a variety of videogames including Dungeon and Dragons Online, Counter Strike and games on the Xbox Live platform. Greg is also investigating the implications of voice communication in the virtual world Second Life.
Connected Homes: The purpose of the research is to understand how communication technologies are used in the home, and how these technologies connect the home to the outside world of friends and family, the local community, institutions, the workplace, and the globe. The Connected Homes Project is using domestic probe techniques to investigate the effect and affect of these technologies and their relationship to the changing character of modern life.
Ongoing Research Interests and Other Projects
Technologies of Intimacy and Grandparenting at a Distance: With collegues at the University of Melbourne, I have been involved in two study using domestic probe techniques to investigate how information and communication technologies are used within intimate relationships such as those between married and defacto, co-habitating couples. A subsequent project investigated the possibilities for using digital technologies to support playful engagment between grandparents and grandchildren. We used insights gained through these studies to generate designs for innovate products to support communication within these a variety of family relationships.
Privacy and Data Quality: An organization's ability to respond to the requirements of privacy legislation can be compromised by the data quality of the personal information the organization holds. In this project we have used a semiotic framework for understanding data quality to critically examine legislation designed to regulate how private sector organizations collect, store, use, and disclose personal information.
Research Groups and Project Teams
I am a member of the Interaction Design Group in the Department of Information Systems and have an abidding interest in Researching Online Communities (ROC) .
I am also currently a member of the Connected Homes Project Team and have previously worked on the projects, Mediating Intimacy: Mobile Devices within Intimate Relationships, and Bridging the Gap: Smart Support for the Intergenerational Distributed Family in collaboration with the Smart Internet Cooperative Research Centre.