Stuart Reeves
Research Fellow at Horizon Digital Economy Research, Faculty of Science
Current Research
My research work is guided by a concern with investigating and analysing the social aspects of human-computer interaction. In order to pursue this I have worked extensively both in the practical design and implementation of interactive systems, as well as qualitative techniques of analysis used to understand the material ways in which those systems are experienced in the context of real world (so-called 'in the wild') settings.
A major strand of this work (primarily documented in my book [3]) has been an attempt to conceptualise and design interaction with interfaces in a variety of public and semi-public settings. A main focus for this work has been understanding how we might design interfaces in situations that are substantially different to classical human-machine dyadic interactions, or even collaborative environments (e.g., workplaces). Investigations of technology in public and semi-public settings opens up greater possibilities for the roles of bystanders, spectators [8], and audiences to human-machine interactions, but also invites us to unpack more general questions of how we design for a variety of forms of technological engagements in public. A further key attribute of my interest these settings has been that of performance (in the theatrical sense, rather than in a traditional, task-oriented sense), specifically concentrating on the ways in which performance practices that reside within the arts can inform HCI. This existing work has been published (and awarded) at major international conferences, and has contributed to the growing body of work within HCI that is concerned with technology deployed 'in the wild' outside more traditional workplace contexts, particularly for recreational, educational and performance uses.
Practically speaking this work has meant my involvement in deploying and evaluating novel, often very heterogenous assemblies of technologies in settings such as museums, galleries and 'exploratoria' [2, 7], mobile and static artistic or performance (often 'ticketed') events [1], crowded urban locations [4], theme parks [5], city streets [6], and so forth. As part of this, I have engaged in a number of detailed ethnographic, video-based studies of interaction in public and performance settings, and through this have collaborated with a wide variety of other researchers (e.g., psychologists, sociologists), artists, designers, curators and technologists. As well as being engaged in analysis of such settings, I have frequently been involved in the practical matters of software design and implementation (frequently working as part of a team) for wide range of systems, from stand-alone gallery interactives, to networked, large-scale performance systems involving many devices and hundreds of participants. Increasingly I have found this 'vertical' involvement (from design processes, software construction, and qualitative analytic work) vitally useful in informing research outputs.
Beyond my interests in developing understandings within human-computer interaction for public and performance environments, I have cultivated interests variously in issues of crowdsourcing and human computation [11, 12], practical expertise in games [10], and conceptual work on system field trials and notions of 'in the wild' deployments [9].
References
-
Oppermann, L., Flintham, M., Reeves, S. et al. Lessons from touring a location-based experience. In Proc. Pervasive. Springer, June 2011.
-
Flintham, M., Reeves, S., Brundell, P. et al. Flypad: Designing trajectories in a large-scale permanent augmented reality installation. In Proc. ECSCW. Springer, September 2011.
-
Reeves, S. Designing interfaces in public settings: Understanding the role of the spectator in Human-Computer Interaction. Springer, January 2011.
-
Reeves, S., Sherwood, S., and Brown, B. Designing for crowds. In Proc. NordiCHI, pages 393-402, New York, NY, USA, 2010. ACM.
-
Schnädelbach, H., Rennick-Egglestone, S., Reeves, S., Benford, S., and Walker, B. Performing thrill: Designing telemetry systems and spectator interfaces for amusement rides. In Proc. CHI, pages 1167-1176, New York, NY, USA, April 2008. ACM.
-
Benford, S., Crabtree, A., Reeves, S., et al. The frame of the game: Blurring the boundary between fiction and reality in mobile experiences. In Proc. CHI, pages 427-436, New York, NY, USA, April 2006. ACM.
-
Dix, A., Sheridan, J. G., Reeves, S., Benford, S. and O'Malley, C. Formalising performative interactions. In Proc. DSVIS, pages 15-25, July 2005.
-
Reeves, S., Benford, S., O'Malley, C., and Fraser, M. Designing the spectator experience. In Proc. CHI, pages 741-750, April 2005.
-
Brown, B., Reeves, S., and Sherwood, S. Into the wild: Challenges and opportunities for field trial methods. In Proc. CHI. ACM Press, May 2011.
-
Reeves, S., Brown, B., and Laurier, E. Experts at play: Understanding skilled expertise. Games and Culture, 4(3):205-227, July 2009.
-
Bell, M., Reeves, S., Brown, B. et al. Eyespy: Supporting navigation through play. In Proceedings of SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), pages 123-132, New York, NY, USA,
2009. ACM Press.
12. Reeves, S. and Sherwood, S. Five design challenges for human computation. In Proc. NordiCHI, pages 383-392, New York, NY, USA, 2010.