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John Waterworth PhD, Professor of Informatics
Department of Informatics at Umeå University in Sweden.
This page in (something like) Swedish.

See my list of publications and a talk about presence and the self.

I've been doing interaction research since 1980, including work with human aspects of speech interaction, hypermedia, multi- and cross-sensory interaction, information exploration, experiential and embodied interaction, virtual reality and ambient interaction.

My research focuses on how personal experience and creativity are affected by interactions with and through information and communication technology (ICT), which is evolving fast. Without technology, we would not be human. We make sense of it, and of ourselves, as we go along.

I'm research leader of the Q-Life research group. We explore ways in which ICT can be used to enhance quality of life and health, for example through the use of "mood devices", memory and social supports, often by designing and developing working prototypes and exploring them in use.

I'm also Director of Studies for Research Education in the department, and I work part-time as an EU Expert at ENS.

I have a PhD in Experimental Psychology (1984), and I'm a Chartered Psychologist of the BPS, with a current practising certificate. My professional experience includes consulting for many commercial and governmental organisations, as well as organising courses for industry on psychology and HCI design and evaluation.

I've been part of this department since 1994. From 2000-2006 I also worked for the Interactive Institute Tools for Creativity/QLife studio, as Research Director. From 1988 to 1994 I worked in Singapore at the Institute for Systems Science, and from 1980 to 1988 in England, at British Telecom Research Labs in Suffolk.

More links: A live camera image of the campus, the weather here today, Swedish news in English, a British look at Sweden, a short film and information about Umeå.

All materials on this web site © J A Waterworth, unless otherwise.
Last modified October 2009.
jwworth@informatik.umu.se, mobile: +46 (0)73 8111 440
Department of Informatics, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden.

 


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Some Research Topics

ICT and Older People
Older people are too often excluded from the use of new information and communication technology (ICT), a fact which contributes to their tendency to become socially isolated and under-stimulated.Yet a growing body of evidence emphasises the potential of new interactive technologies to maintain health and independent living, and even improve some cognitive functions in the elderly. Our approach is to design and test potentially beneficial technologies for older people.

On the Sense of Presence
We view the feeling of being more or less present in a mediated environment as reflecting the functioning of a universal animal faculty to distinguish self from other. In people this has evolved to enable us to separate the internal or conceptual (the self) from the external or perceptual (the other), even though both may engender emotional or intellectual engagement. See our paper on the three layers of presence, a recent short piece on the future of presence, and a recent talk about the Cyborg, the Self, and the Other.

Embodied Interaction
Linking the body directly to interactive media (by sensing movements or physiological changes) has a powerful impact - on the physical body (and brain), on the emotions, and on the sense of presence within the electronic medium. This approach can also be applied to special need situations. One manifestation of this approach, Seclusive IT, responds to people's often submerged needs for non-interruption, for peace and quiet.

Transformed Sensory Experiences
Our experiences are increasingly mediated through technological devices. This opens up a potential universe of altered sensations and perceptions of the world around us. And of course we can choose how we experience stored or transmitted information, through what I have called synaesthetic media (an early example is pianoFORTE).

Information Exploration classic (i.e. old) papers on:
- Experiential Design of Shared Spaces
- Dextrous and Shared Interaction with Medical Data
- Effects of Desktop 3D World Design
- Exploring public information space in a private vehicle
- Personal Information Spaces
- A model of information exploration
- WIMPs and NERDS

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My News (2009)
See also: Q-life research group news and
My list of publications

Coauthored paper in press in Journal of Consciousness Studies.

Coauthored paper in press in New Ideas in Psychology.

Presented the AGNES project at the AAL Forum, Vienna, October.

Coordinator of new project - AGNES - starting Sept 1, funded by AAL Joint Programme with 10 partners in six EU countries.

Panelist on "Mobility, Emotion, and Universality in Future Collaboration" at Interact 2009, Uppsala, August.

Co-authored paper presented by Kei Hoshi at CyberTherapy and CyberPsychology. Italy, June 2009

Co-authored paper presented by Christian Peter at Workshop on Affect and Behaviour Related Assistance in Support for the Elderly. PETRA, Greece, June 2009

Co-authored paper presented at HSI 2009. Special session on Positive Technology, Sicily, May.

Participant and co-presenter at
FET 2009 in Prague, April.

Joint author of The Presence of Happiness.
In Benyon, D., Smyth, M. & Helgason, I. (eds): Presence for everyone.

New Book Chapter to appear in
Immersed in Media.

New Book Chapter in
Dementia, Design and Technology.