The Pluralistic Nature of Emotion: Human and Machine Interpretations of Textual Emotional ContentThis paper explores the complex nature of emotion interpretation in text-based communication by comparing human and machine approaches to emotion detection. Human emotions, shaped by personal experiences and cultural backgrounds, reflect individuality, yet many detection systems overlook these nuances. Through a three-part study involving human participants and advanced large language models (LLMs), the research shows that humans naturally embrace emotional ambiguity. Preliminary findings suggest that higher EI may correlate with recognising interpretive nuances rather than seeking consensus, though this relationship requires validation with larger samples. This paper introduces innovative methodologies, such as circumplex-based scoring systems that acknowledge interpretive plurality. The findings suggest that emotion detection systems should complement human interpretation, enhancing human-AI collaboration in tasks requiring individual perspectives and contextual sensitivity.2026ZAZayn Jameel Abbas et al.University of GuelphEmotion Recognition & DetectionAffective Feedback & Emotion Regulation InterfacesHuman-LLM CollaborationIUI
Filtering the Invisible: A Feminist HCI Perspective on Informal Infra-structuring in Gig LaborGig workers increasingly rely on unofficial tools and peer networks to navigate opaque, algorithmic labor systems. This paper investigates the case of Avalon—a paid batch-filtering app used by Instacart shoppers—and its affiliated Telegram community. Drawing on a two-year mixed-methods study including a survey (N=178), interviews (N=20), and 51,764 Telegram messages, we examine how workers resist platform constraints through technological and relational practices. While prior research often frames such resistance as adversarial or economically driven, we apply a feminist HCI lens to highlight care, consent, and infrastructuring as central to workers’ strategies. We show how Instacart’s majority-female workforce builds informal systems to reveal hidden information, protect one another, and maintain dignity in precarious conditions. Our findings contribute empirical insights into gendered algorithmic labor, theoretical extensions of feminist infrastructuring, and design implications for worker-centered platforms that reflect relational labor values. We argue for platforms that honor refusal, transparency, and collective agency from below.2026ZZZhao ZhaoUniversity of GuelphEmpowerment of Marginalized GroupsParticipatory DesignDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)CHI
From Record to Relation: Co-Designing Child-Centered Digital Preservation for Children’s ArtworkHomes overflow with children's artwork, yet domestic technologies emphasize storage (continuity of record) rather than everyday encounters and shared decisions (continuity of relation). We report a mixed-methods study: a survey (N=327), interviews (n=32), and intergenerational co-design workshops with eight families. From eight tensions—visibility, witnessed goodbyes, bounded autonomy and fairness, material aura, meaningful afterlives, time and friction budgets, explainability, and household fit—we derive principles and instantiate four probes: Goodbye, Hello (brief, witnessed retirements that leave a light trace); Magic Frame (explainable resurfacing of digitized art in shared space); Co-Curator (joint parent and child selection with reasons); and New Journeys (named, local afterlives for retired pieces). In workshops, families rehearsed “kit in motion” sequences judged workable within constraints and able to reduce surprise and conflict. We contribute an empirical account of the preservation gap, a reframing from record to relation, a trace from themes to mechanisms, and implications for child-centered, household-fit preservation.2026ZZZhao Zhao et al.University of GuelphParticipatory DesignChild-Computer Interaction DesignParent-Child Co-Use of MediaCHI
Beyond Immersion: Designing Ambient Companions for Wildlife Adoption EngagementConservation organizations often invite the public to adopt endangered animals, but it is difficult to sustain engagement once the initial excitement fades. We explore an alternative to one-off immersive media by designing and studying an ambient digital companion that keeps adopters peripherally aware of their animal in everyday life. Drawing on a survey (N=162), interviews (N=18), and co-design with adopters and staff (N=10), we created WildCompanion, an iPhone widget and Apple Watch app that delivers short, vetted updates and photos. We deployed WildCompanion with adopters (N=22) for 30 days, combining logs, weekly questionnaires, and exit interviews. Our findings show how an ambient companion can become a calm, always-there presence that fits into routines, nurtures emotional connection, and prompts small conservation-related actions without causing notification fatigue. We contribute empirical insights and a design framework for ambient companions in conservation and related cause-driven domains. We discuss implications for future conservation technology research.2026ATAngela Tran et al.University of GuelphSustainable HCIEcological Design & Green ComputingBehavior Change & Reflection TechnologyCHI
Double Incomes, Single Calendar: Reimagining Shared Scheduling for Modern FamiliesCoordinating schedules in double-income households is an ongoing challenge, as traditional calendar tools often fail to meet the needs of families juggling professional and domestic responsibilities. This mixed-methods study investigates the barriers to adopting shared digital calendars and explores how guided onboarding and participatory design can improve their effectiveness for family use. We conducted surveys with 277 participants, interviews with 40 individuals, a one-month calendar adoption intervention with 30 couples, and a design workshop with 12 couples. Our findings reveal persistent obstacles—including privacy concerns, uneven engagement, and limited customization—as well as the potential of targeted support and user-driven design to overcome them. Participants expressed a desire for more flexible privacy controls, role-sensitive features, and smarter coordination support. Thematic analysis across all phases highlights how families negotiate boundaries, share invisible scheduling labor, and creatively adapt tools to fit their routines. We conclude with implications for designing family-centric coordination technologies that balance structure, agency, and trust in everyday scheduling.2025ZZZhao ZhaoConnecting FamiliesCSCW
Handoff and Deposit: Designing Temporal Coordination in Cross-Device Transfer Techniques for Mixed-Focus CollaborationWhen working together, people frequently share information with each other to enable division of labour, assistance, and delegation of responsibility. The literature has explored both synchronous and asynchronous transfer techniques, known as Handoff and Deposit, respectively. However, current cross-device environments tend to only provide a single mechanism. Moreover, we have little understanding of the impact of different techniques on collaborative process. To understand how Handoff and Deposit may be designed to support complex sensemaking tasks, we followed a Research through Design process to iteratively design Handoff and Deposit techniques using paper and digital sketches and high-fidelity prototypes. We consulted the HCI literature to corroborate our findings with studies and descriptions of existing cross-device transfer designs and to understand the potential impact of those designs on mixed-focus collaboration. We learned that as we move away from a restricted physical workspace and leverage the flexibility of digital personal devices, there is a large design space for realizing cross-device transfer. To inform these designs, we provide five design considerations for cross-device transfer techniques: Transfer Acceptance, Action Dependencies, Immediate Usability, Interruption Potential, and Connection Actions.2022LHLeila Homaeian et al.Team Collaboration; Team CollaborationCSCW
TiiS: Learn, Generate, Rank, Explain: A Case Study of Visual Explanation by Generative Machine LearningKim 等人提出了一个整合学习、生成、排序与解释功能的视觉解释系统，通过生成式机器学习为用户提供可解释的视觉内容分析。2022CKChris Kim et al.Explainable AI (XAI)AI-Assisted Creative WritingIUI
Improving Colour Patterns to Assist People with Colour Vision DeficiencyMany daily tasks rely on accurately identifying and distinguishing between different colours. However, these tasks can be frustrating and potentially dangerous for people with Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD). Despite prior work exploring how pattern overlays on top of colours can support people with CVD, the solutions were often unintuitive or required significant training to become proficient. We address this problem by creating two new colour patterns (ColourIconizer, ColourMix). We evaluated these patterns against a previously published colour pattern (ColourMeters) using an online evaluation with three new colour identification tasks (Selection Task, Transition Task, Sorting Task). ColourMeters helped with the Transition Task, but struggled with the Selection and Sorting Tasks. Conversely, ColourIconizer helped with the Selection and Sorting Tasks but struggled to help on the Transition Task. ColourMix provided general assistance on all tasks. Our combined results help inform and improve the design of future colour patterns.2022CGConnor Geddes et al.University of GuelphVisual Impairment Technologies (Screen Readers, Tactile Graphics, Braille)Universal & Inclusive DesignCHI
Joint Action Storyboards: A Framework for Visualizing Communication Grounding CostsBuilding and maintaining common ground is vital for effective collaboration in CSCW. Moreover, subtle changes in a CSCW user interface can significantly impact grounding and collaborative processes. Yet, researchers and technology designers lack tools to understand how specific user interface designs may hinder or facilitate communication grounding. In this work, we leverage the well-established theory of communication grounding to develop a visual framework, called Joint Action Storyboards (JASs), to analyze and articulate how interaction minutiae of a CSCW environment impact the costs of communication grounding. JASs can depict an integrated view of mental actions of collaborators, their physical interactions with each other and the CSCW environment, and the corresponding grounding costs incurred. We present the development of JASs and discuss its various benefits for HCI and CSCW research. Through a series of case studies, we demonstrate how JASs provide an analysis tool for researchers and technology designers and serve as a tool to articulate the impact of interaction minutiae on communication grounding.2021LHLeila Homaeian et al.Methods and Design ApproachesCSCW
Identifying the Factors That Influence DHH Employee Success Under Hearing SupervisorsDHH (d/Deaf and hard of hearing) employees report unique challenges in their workplaces, especially under hearing supervisors. Although a technical intervention might help address these challenges, any intervention first requires a clearer understanding of DHH employees' reality. To learn more, we conducted an autoethnographic study and an online survey of 19 DHH employees and three hearing supervisors. Through thematic analysis, we identified DHH Status, Timing and Implications of Disclosure, Accommodations, Disability Confidence, and Audism and Hearing Privileges as central factors that influence DHH employee success under hearing supervisors. By identifying these factors, this work provides the contextual knowledge necessary for proposing appropriate future technical and design interventions.2021DHDar'ya Heyko et al.Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Support (Captions, Sign Language, Vibration)Cognitive Impairment & Neurodiversity (Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia)DIS
CSCW 2020 Lasting Impact AwardThe CSCW Lasting Impact Award recognizes a paper published at the CSCW conference at least 10 years ago that has been extremely influential since its publication. This year, the award goes to Stacey D. Scott, M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale, and Kori Inkpen for their CSCW 2004 paper “Territoriality in collaborative tabletop workspaces.” This work has proven integral to understanding how people collaborate around large, shared displays and served as a catalyst in shifting towards the design of interactive surfaces and spaces. It has also been applied universally to the design of collaborative systems, including application areas like education, knowledge work, and games, and more broadly as a theoretical framework in which to ground fundamental HCI research. This session will include discussion of the significance of this paper for CSCW, and reflection from and Q&A with the authors. - Jim Wallace, University of Waterloo (Discussant) - Casey Fiesler, University of Colorado Boulder (Moderator)2020SSStacey D. Scott et al.CSCW 2020 Lasting Impact AwardCSCW
MirrorMirror: A Mobile Application to Improve Speechreading AcquisitionMany people around the world have difficulties in day-to-day conversation due to hearing loss. Hearing aids often fail to offer enough benefits and have low adoption rates. However, people with hearing loss find that speechreading can improve their understanding during conversation, but speechreading is a challenging skill to learn. Speechreading classes can improve acquisition, however there are a limited number of classes available and students can only practice effectively when attending class. To address this, we conducted a postal survey with 59 speechreading students to understand students' perspectives on practicing. Using our findings, we developed an Android application called MirrorMirror - a new Speechreading Acquisition Tool (SAT) that allows students to practice their speechreading by recording and watching videos of people they frequently speak with. We evaluated MirrorMirror through three case studies with speechreading students and found that they could effectively target their speechreading practice on people, words and situations they encounter during daily conversations.2018BGBenjamin M Gorman et al.University of DundeeDeaf & Hard-of-Hearing Support (Captions, Sign Language, Vibration)Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)CHI
Group vs Individual: Impact of TOUCH and TILT Cross-Device Interactions on Mixed-Focus CollaborationCross-device environments (XDEs) have been developed to support a multitude of collaborative activities. Yet, little is known about how different cross-device interaction techniques impact group collaboration, including how their impact on independent and joint work that often occurs during group work. In this work, we explore the impact of two XDE data browsing techniques: TOUCH and TILT. Through a mixed-methods study of a collaborative sensemaking task, we show that TOUCH and TILT have distinct impacts on how groups accomplish, and shift between, independent and joint work. Finally, we reflect on these findings and how they can more generally inform the design of XDEs.2018LHLeila Homaeian et al.University of WaterlooRemote Work Tools & ExperienceDistributed Team CollaborationCHI