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HSRV 321 (Rev. C6): Computing in Everyday Life Report a Broken Link

Communication Studies 321: Computers and Human Experience is a three-credit course that surveys the psychological and sociological impacts of the ongoing advances in computer technology.

Unit 1: Overview

Required Readings
Hewett, T., Baecker, R., Card, S., Carey, T., Gasen, J., Mantei, M., et al. (1992, 1996, 2004) Chapter 2: Human-computer interaction. In ACM SIGCHI Curricula for human-computer interaction. New York: Association for Computing Machinery.

In this article, which has been updated a number of times since its initial publication in 1992, the authors review the field of human–computer interaction (HCI). They talk about how the field emerged and how it is likely to develop. They also summarize the various content areas of HCI.

Supplementary Readings
Myers, B. A. (1998). A brief history of human computer interaction technology. ACM Interactions, 5(2), pp. 44–54.

Myers briefly delineates the major advances in human-computer interaction technologies.

Home page: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/
Some video programs available online elaborate on where computing is going. These are from the Library of Congress Series on the Digital Future (http://www.c-span.org/congress/digitalfuture.asp):

Note: You must install a video player such as RealPlayer on your computer before you can watch these programs.
Gershenfeld, N. (2005, March 28).

Gershenfeld, director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT, introduces his concept, Internet Zero, which proposes to “allocate an IP address to all electronic devices—from light bulbs to Internet addresses and URLs.”
Paz, J. P. (2005, January 24).

This presenter discusses quantum computing and its potential effects on information collection, storage, and distribution.

Unit 2: Artificial Intelligence

Required Readings
McCarthy, J. (2007). What is artificial intelligence?

This article, written for the layperson, answers basic questions about what AI is, and discusses branches and applications of AI.

Home page: http://www-formal.stanford.edu/

Supplementary Readings
American Association for Artificial Intelligence. Welcome to AI topics: History.

This site offers a brief overview of the major AI topics at a level for students and researchers alike.

Home page: http://www.aaai.org/home.html
Li, F. F. (2006). Natural scene categorization in humans and computers. Research Channel.

This is one of many offerings from the Microsoft Research Channel online about computers and the internet. Each presentation is a video with audio of a lecture and is accompanied in sync by PowerPoint slides. This one is a great introduction to knowledge about human information processing systems, and a basic primer on computer visual recognition systems.

Home page: http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/index.aspx

Shyam, S. S. (2004). Loyalty to computer terminals: Is it anthropomorphism or consistency? Behaviour & Information Technology, 23(2), pp. 107–118.

Unit 3: Virtual Reality and Robotics

Required Readings
Bogue, R. (2014). The role of artificial intelligence in robotics. The Industrial Robot, 41(2), 119-123.
Biocca, F., Kim, T., & Levy, M. (1995). The vision of virtual reality. In F. Biocca & M. Levy (Eds.) Communication in the age of virtual reality (pp. 3–14). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Supplementary Readings
Brooks, F. P., Jr. (1999). What’s real about virtual reality? IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 19(6), pp. 16–27.
Brooks, one of the pioneers of virtual reality, discusses its challenges and successes.

Home page: http://www.cs.unc.edu/
Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Current projects.

This website shows the astonishing array of robots that are either in production or in development.

Home page: http://www.ri.cmu.edu/home.html
Crandall, J., Goodrich, M., Olsen, D., Jr., & Nielsen, C. (2005). Validating human-robot interaction schemes in multitasking environments. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man & Cybernetics: Part A: Systems and Humans, 35(4), pp. 438–449.

This article explores the interface between robots and humans in fairly technical terms.

Home page: http://www.mit.edu/
Giuseppe, R., Waterworth, J., & Waterworth, E. (2004). The layers of presence: A bio-cultural approach to understanding presence in natural and mediated environments. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(4), pp. 402–416.

These authors propose a theory of presence.

Unit 4: The Internet

Required Readings
Ellerman, E. (2007). Chapter 1: The Internet in context. In J. I. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the Internet (2nd ed.) (pp. 11–33). San Diego: Academic Press.

A copy of this title is also available in the AU Library.

 
Gackenbach, J. I. & von Stackelberg, H. (2007). Chapter 3: Self online: Personality and demographic implications. In J. I. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the Internet (2nd ed.) (pp. 55–71). San Diego: Academic Press.

A copy of this title is also available in the AU Library.

These authors consider the role of personality and demographics in considering the self online. They also speak about how we may experience multiple selves online and they explain the disinhibition effect.

Supplementary Readings
Frodigh, M., Johansson, P., & Larsson, P. (2000). Wireless ad hoc networking: The art of networking without a network. Ericsson Review, 4, pp. 248–263.
These authors discuss the background and challenges of communication with no central infrastructure.

Home page: http://www.ericsson.com/
Hamm, S. (2004, October 18). Getting a grip on the grid. Business Week, 3904, p. 124.
Sawyer, S. (2005, June/July). Social informatics: Overview, principles and opportunities. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 31(5), p. 9.

Unit 5: Cell Phones

Required Readings
Srivastava, L. (2005, March/April). Mobile phones and the evolution of social behaviour. Behaviour & Information Technology, 24(2), pp. 111–129.
The author writes, “Today’s mobile phone is a pervasive tool. It has become such an important aspect of a user’s daily life that it has moved from being a mere ’technological object’ to a key ’social object’. This paper explores the societal and human implications of advances in mobile technology, and notably the increasingly personalized nature of the mobile device. It argues that human and identity and social interaction have not been untouched by the mobile phenomenon” (Srivastava, 2005). While a bit dated in terms of claims that the heavy use of texting has not come to North America, this essay offers a look at directions that cell phone use might take.
Supplementary Readings
Geser, H. (2004, March). Towards a sociological theory of the mobile phone. Sociology in Switzerland Online Publications, 3.
Geser explores the effects of mobile technology on the human social sphere.

Home page: http://socio.ch/
Health Canada. (2009, May). Safety of cell phones and cell phone towers.

Health Canada summarizes research into the effects of cell phone use on human health.

Home page: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html

Wei, R., & Lo, V-H. (2006). Staying connected while on the move: Cell phone use and social connectedness. New Media & Society, 8, pp. 53–72.

Unit 6: Augmented Reality: Portability, Accessibility, and Wearability

Required Readings
Starner, T., Mann, S., Rhodes, B., Levine, J., Healey, J., Kirsch, D., et al. (1997). Augmented reality through wearable computing. Presence, 6(4), pp. 386–398.
The authors point out that “wearable computing moves computation from the desktop to the user.” They go on to explain that “a long term goal of this project is to model the user’s actions, anticipate his or her needs, and perform a seamless interaction between the virtual and physical environments” (Starner et al., 1997).

Home page: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/
Vallino, J. (2002). Introduction to augmented reality.
Augmented reality is compared to virtual reality in this article, and then the various potential and real applications of augmented reality are reviewed.
Supplementary Readings
Denegri–Knott, J. (2004). Sinking the online “Music Pirates”: Foucault, power and deviance on the Web. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 9(4).
This author evaluates the power relationships between music “pirates” and corporate owners.
Fels, D. I., Samers, P., & Robertson, M. (2003). Use of the asynchronous BlackBerry technology in a large children’s hospital to connect sick kids to school. International Conference on Computers in Education, Hong Kong.

These researchers studied the value of wireless email for children in a hospital setting.

Home page: http://www.wch.org.au/

Madan A., Caneel R., & Pentland A. (2004). Towards socially intelligent wearable networks. Paper presented at the Eighth IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers.

These authors propose wearable technologies that learn about and adapt to the user’s social context.

Home page: http://www.media.mit.edu/

Unit 7: Video Games

Required Readings
Goldstein, J. (2003). People @ play: Electronic games. In H. van  Oostendorp (Ed.), Cognition in a digital world (pp. 25–45). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Supplementary Readings
Anderson, C. A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J. D., Linz, D., Malamuth, N. M. and Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(3), pp. 81–110.

This is a classic review of the literature examining how media, including video game play, may contribute to subsequent aggression in viewers/players.
Bedigian, L. (2005). Professor James Paul Gee shows the world the importance of video games. GameZone.
This article briefly highlights the work of James Paul Gee on how video game play is a great learning device and, in fact, how it teaches us about learning.
Home page:

http://www.gamezone.com/

Unit 8: Health Information and Disabilities: Computer Applications

Required Readings
Bowker, N. & Tuffin, K. (2003). Dicing with deception: People with disabilities’ strategies for managing safety and identity online. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 8 (2).

The authors talk about how the visual stigmas associated with disabilities are largely gone with online interactions and, thus, allow the disabled person a chance at normal social interactions. However, the authors also point out the risks of this for the disabled user.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

This well-respected Internet research organization always has interesting reports on health and internet use.

Note: Type “health and disabilities” in the search box to find the latest results of their research in this area.
Supplementary Readings
Eysenbach, G., Powell, J., Kuss, O., & Sa, E. (2002). Empirical studies assessing the quality of health information for consumers on the world wide web a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287, pp. 2691–2700.

These researchers are working toward a system for the assessment of the integrity of online health information.
Holden, M. K. (2005). Virtual environments for motor rehabilitation: Review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(3), pp. 187–211.
Riva, C. (2005). Virtual reality in psychotherapy: Review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(3), pp. 220–230.
Rose, F. D., Brooks, B. M. & Rizzo, A. A. (2005). Virtual reality in brain damage rehabilitation: Review. CyberPsychology &  Behavior, 8(3), pp. 241–262.
Standen, P. J. & Brown, D. J. (2005). Virtual reality in the rehabilitation of people with intellectual disablities: Review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(3), pp. 272–282.