Associate Professor Barry Brown
- Reference number
- SR07-0019
- Start and end dates
- 080701-110731
- Amount granted
- 1 396 000 SEK
- Administrative organization
- RISE Interactive Institute
- Research area
- Information, Communication and Systems Technology
Summary
A strategic area in Mobile Life Centre is to understand and design for leisure activities. They occur as forms of play, relaxation, entertainment, sociable conversation or sensor stimulation. We expect that more “truly mobile” or context dependent services for leisure will occur in the future. However, the research foundation on leisure is weak and immature which hamper the generation of such applications. We need more knowledge on leisure as detailed activities, as well as the experiences of leisure, to influence design. First we will continue with work previously conducted by Prof Brown and members of the Mobility studio on the experience of spectators at events, and the role of spectating in technology design. Second project will be to develop further the concept of passive engagement in the use of technology. This work will research how it is that technology is often engaged with in such a way as to cause considerable enjoyment, but with an ease and relaxed mode of interaction. A core focus of this collaboration will be ethnographic fieldwork, the development of new theoretical resources as well as generation of design concepts. It will provide a foundation for those designing, thinking and studying technologically mediated leisure in the future. The results are a strengthened theoretical framework in the mobile leisure area, design of new applications; improved training of research students and support for all partners engagement in leisure computing
Popular science description
Professor Barry Brown kommer under två år att gästa Interactive Institute och forskningscentret Mobile Life i Kista. Professor Brown är en ung ledande forskare inom människa-dator-interaktion, som intresserat sig för det speciella i att utforma ny mobil teknik som understödjer sociala aktiviteter inom fritid och underhållning. Han kommer med denna kunskap förstärka våra forskningsrupper och addera till våra studier av t ex sport publikens upplevelser och TV-tittande. De teorier och den kunskap som skapas genom dessa studier kommer senare att användas för att skapa nästa generations mobila applikationer som tar hänsyn till de sociala sammanhang i vilka de brukas. Not: Han är ju "associate professor" som egentligen motsvarar docent. Men jag har här valt att kalla honom ptofessor.