Abstract
In this chapter we describe a trend we have observed in 3rd-wave HCI research, which we are calling “peripheral practices research”. This form of research consists of primarily qualitative studies of niche, unusual, marginalized and/or highly specialized communities of practice that result in implications for HCI outside of that community. We describe how peripheral practices research serves three critical functions within HCI: (1) It introduces a diversity of perspectives into the field; (2) It identifies new approaches to existing problems and challenges; (3) It serves as a defamiliarizing lens on existing norms and assumptions within the field. We survey a broad and diverse selection of studies that engage with peripheral practices, and discuss four specific cases in more detail. By giving this mode of HCI research a name, we hope to see even more studies that look outside of the classical HCI domain for new ideas, new perspectives, and new values around technology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abowd GD (2012) What next, Ubicomp?: Celebrating an intellectual disappearing act. In: Proceedings of the 2012 ACM conference on ubiquitous computing. ACM, New York, pp 31–40
Badillo-Urquiola KA, Ghosh AK, Wisniewski P (2017) Understanding the unique online challenges faced by teens in the foster care system. In: Companion of the 2017 ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work and social computing. ACM, New York, pp 139–142
Bardzell S (2006) The submissive speaks: the semiotics of visuality in virtual BDSM fantasy play. In: Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGGRAPH symposium on videogames. ACM, New York, pp 99–102
Bardzell S, Bardzell J (2007) Docile avatars: aesthetics, experience, and sexual interaction in second life. In: Proceedings of the 21st British HCI group annual conference on people and computers: HCI...but not as we know it – Volume 1. British Computer Society, Swinton, UK, pp 3–12
Bardzell J, Bardzell S (2011) Pleasure is your birthright: digitally enabled designer sex toys as a case of third-wave HCI. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 257–266
Bell G, Blythe M, Sengers P (2005) Making by making strange: defamiliarization and the design of domestic technologies. ACM Trans Comput-Hum Interact 12:149–173. https://doi.org/10.1145/1067860.1067862
Bødker S (2006) When second wave HCI meets third wave challenges. In: Proceedings of the 4th Nordic conference on human-computer interaction: changing roles. ACM, New York, pp 1–8
Chandra P (2016) Order in the warez scene: explaining an underground virtual community with the CPR framework. In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 372–383
DiSalvo C, Sengers P, Brynjarsdóttir H (2010) Mapping the landscape of sustainable HCI. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 1975–1984
Dourish P, Mainwaring SD (2012) Ubicomp’s colonial impulse. In: Proceedings of the 2012 ACM conference on ubiquitous computing. ACM, New York, pp 133–142
Eaglin A, Bardzell S (2011) Sex toys and designing for sexual wellness. In: CHI ‘11 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 1837–1842
Foster D, Kirman B, Linehan C, Lawson S (2017) The role of social media in artisanal production: a case of craft beer. In: Proceedings of the 21st international Academic Mindtrek conference. ACM, New York, pp 184–193
Goodman E, Vertesi J (2012) Design for X?: distribution choices and ethical design. In: CHI ‘12 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 81–90
Harrison S, Tatar D, Sengers P, Harrison S, Art C, Tatar D, Sengers P (2007) The three paradigms of HCI. In: SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems
Hauser S, Desjardins A, Wakkary R (2013) Skateboards as a mobile technology. In: CHI ‘13 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 1419–1424
Hillman S, Procyk J, Neustaedter C (2014) Tumblr fandoms, community & culture. In: Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work & social computing. ACM, New York, pp 285–288
Kirman B, Lineham C, Lawson S (2012) Exploring mischief and mayhem in social computing or: how we learned to stop worrying and love the trolls. In: CHI ‘12 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 121–130
Koepfler JA, Fleischmann KR (2012) Studying the values of hard-to-reach populations: content analysis of tweets by the 21st century homeless. In: Proceedings of the 2012 iConference. ACM, New York, pp 48–55
Kuznetsov S, Paulos E (2010a) Rise of the expert amateur: DIY projects, communities, and cultures. In: Proceedings of NordiCHI. ACM Press, New York, pp 295–304
Kuznetsov S, Paulos E (2010b) Participatory sensing in public spaces: activating urban surfaces with sensor probes. In: Proceedings of the 8th ACM conference on designing interactive systems. ACM, New York, pp 21–30
Kuznetsov S, Paulos E, Gross MD (2010) WallBots: interactive wall-crawling robots in the hands of public artists and political activists. In: Proceedings of the 8th ACM conference on designing interactive systems. ACM, New York, pp 208–217
Le Dantec CA, Edwards WK (2008) Designs on dignity: perceptions of technology among the homeless. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 627–636
Lingel J (2012) Ethics and dilemmas of online ethnography. In: CHI ‘12 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 41–50
Lingel J, Trammell A, Sanchez J, Naaman M (2012) Practices of information and secrecy in a punk rock subculture. In: Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on computer supported cooperative work. ACM, New York, pp 157–166
Liu C (2017) Alternative identity mediation across space and performance. University of California, Irvine
Massimi M, Dimond JP, Le Dantec CA (2012) Finding a new normal: the role of technology in life disruptions. In: Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on computer supported cooperative work. ACM, New York, pp 719–728
Mitchell RG (2002) Dancing at Armageddon: survivalism and chaos in modern times. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Pargman D, Raghavan B (2014) Rethinking sustainability in computing: from buzzword to non-negotiable limits. In: Proceedings of the 8th Nordic conference on human-computer interaction: fun, fast, foundational. ACM, New York, pp 638–647
Roberson J, Nardi B (2010) Survival needs and social inclusion: technology use among the homeless. In: Proceedings of the 2010 ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work. ACM, New York, pp 445–448
Rogers Y (2012) HCI theory: classical, modern, and contemporary. Synth Lect Hum-Centered Inform 5:1–129. https://doi.org/10.2200/S00418ED1V01Y201205HCI014
Rosner DK (2012) The material practices of collaboration. Conference on computer supported collaborative work. ACM Press, New York
Rosner DK, Bean J (2009) Learning from IKEA hacking: I’m not one to decoupage a tabletop and call it a day. In: Proceedings of CHI’09. ACM Press, New York, pp 419–422
Rosner DK, Taylor AS (2011) Antiquarian answers: book restoration as a resource for design. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 2665–2668
Sambasivan N, Weber J, Cutrell E (2011) Designing a phone broadcasting system for urban sex workers in India. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems ACM, New York, pp 267–276
Semaan BC, Britton LM, Dosono B (2016) Transition resilience with ICTs: “identity awareness” in veteran re-integration. In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 2882–2894
Silberman MS, Nathan L, Knowles B, Bendor R, Clear A, Håkansson M, Dillahunt T, Mankoff J (2014) Next steps for sustainable HCI. Interactions 21:66–69. https://doi.org/10.1145/2651820
Star SL (1999) The ethnography of infrastructure. Am Behav Sci 43:377–391. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027649921955326
Strohmayer A, Laing M, Comber R (2017) Technologies and social justice outcomes in sex work charities: fighting stigma, saving lives. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 3352–3364
Tanenbaum J, Tanenbaum K, Wakkary R (2012) Steampunk as design fiction. In: CHI 2012. ACM Press, Austin, pp 1583–1592
Tanenbaum J, Desjardins A, Tanenbaum K (2013a) Steampunking interaction design: principles for envisioning through imaginitive practice. Interactions 20:28–33
Tanenbaum JG, Williams AM, Desjardins A, Tanenbaum K (2013b) Democratizing technology: pleasure, utility and expressiveness in DIY and maker practice. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 2603–2612
Thornton S (1996) Club cultures: music, media, and subcultural capital. Wesleyan University Press, Hanover
Tomlinson B, Silberman MS, Patterson D, Pan Y, Blevis E (2012) Collapse informatics: augmenting the sustainability & ICT4D discourse in HCI. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 655–664
Van De Wiele C, Tong ST (2014) Breaking boundaries: the uses & gratifications of Grindr. In: Proceedings of the 2014 ACM international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing. ACM, New York, pp 619–630
Vlachokyriakos V, Crivellaro C, Wright P, Karamagioli E, Staiou E-R, Gouscos D, Thorpe R, Krüger A, Schöning J, Jones M, Lawson S, Olivier P (2017) HCI, solidarity movements and the solidarity economy. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 3126–3137
Wang T, Kaye JJ (2011) Inventive leisure practices: understanding hacking communities as sites of sharing and innovation. In: Proceedings of CHI 11, extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. ACM Press, New York, pp 1–10
Woelfer JP, Hendry DG (2010) Homeless young people’s experiences with information systems: life and work in a community technology center. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 1291–1300
Xu Y, Maitland C (2016) Communication behaviors when displaced: a case study of Za’Atari Syrian refugee camp. In: Proceedings of the eighth international conference on information and communication technologies and development. ACM, New York, pp 58:1–58:4
Yeo TED, Ng YL (2016) The roles of sensation seeking and gratifications sought in social networking apps use and attendant sexual behaviors. In: Proceedings of the 7th 2016 international conference on social media & society. ACM, New York, pp 18:1–18:9
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tanenbaum, T.J., Tanenbaum, K. (2018). Steampunk, Survivalism and Sex Toys: An Exploration of How and Why HCI Studies Peripheral Practices. In: Filimowicz, M., Tzankova, V. (eds) New Directions in Third Wave Human-Computer Interaction: Volume 2 - Methodologies . Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73374-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73374-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73373-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73374-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)