How do we program the home? Gender, attention investment, and the psychology of programming at home

Authors:
Alan F. Blackwell;Jennifer A. Rode;Eleanor F. Toye
Affiliations:
University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building, 15 J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK;University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building, 15 J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK;University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building, 15 J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK
Venue:
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Year:
2009

Citing 16
Cited 1

Paradox of the active user

Interfacing thought: cognitive aspects of human-computer interaction
User-tailorable systems: pressing the issues with buttons

CHI '90 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Do the right thing: studies in limited rationality

Do the right thing: studies in limited rationality
Just-in-time programming

Watch what I do
Increasing the opportunities for aging in place

CUU '00 Proceedings on the 2000 conference on Universal Usability
Harnessing curiosity to increase correctness in end-user programming

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
iCAP: an informal tool for interactive prototyping of context-aware applications

CHI '03 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The information furnace: consolidated home control

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
AutoHAN: An Architecture for Programming the Home

HCC '01 Proceedings of the IEEE 2001 Symposia on Human Centric Computing Languages and Environments (HCC'01)
First Steps in Programming: A Rationale for Attention Investment Models

HCC '02 Proceedings of the IEEE 2002 Symposia on Human Centric Computing Languages and Environments (HCC'02)
The fuzzy felt ethnography—understanding the programming patterns of domestic appliances

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
End-user developers at home

Communications of the ACM - End-user development: tools that empower users to create their own software solutions
The domestic economy: a broader unit of analysis for end user programming

CHI '05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Tinkering and gender in end-user programmers' debugging

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The work to make a home network work

ECSCW'05 Proceedings of the ninth conference on European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work
Design Planning in End-User Web Development

VLHCC '07 Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing

The state of the art in end-user software engineering

ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR)

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

We report a series of studies investigating the choices that users make between direct manipulation and abstract programming strategies when operating domestic appliances. We characterise these strategic choices in terms of the Attention Investment model of abstraction use. We then describe an experiment that investigates the estimation biases influencing the individual parameters of that model. These biases are linked to gender in a way that explains some gender differences in discretionary appliance use. Finally, we suggest design strategies that might compensate for those gender-linked estimation biases, and therefore make programmable features of future homes more accessible to a wider range of users.