Computer Science | Grinnell College

On Thursday, September 1, Assistant Professor Juan Pablo Hourcade of the University of Iowa will speak:

Peace is an important value for the human-computer interaction research community, yet it has not resulted in the development of a research sub-community or even a research agenda. In this presentation I seek to address this void by first motivating the need for computing research on promoting peace and preventing war. I will then review evidence on the factors that affect the likelihood that armed conflict will occur, as well as the aspects involved when individuals make moral decisions on whether or not to support a war. Based on this review,I propose a research agenda, citing research examples from the human-computer interaction literature and discussing new ideas.

Refreshments will be served at 4:15 p.m. in the Computer Science Commons (Noyce 3817). The talk, “HCI for Peace,” will follow at 4:30 p.m. in Noyce 3821. Everyone is welcome to attend!

On Thursday, May 12, students from Professor Janet Davis's course “Human-computer interaction” will give a talk in the “Thursday Extras” series:

The goal of Project Zucchini is to re-design the Grinnell Local Food Co-op Web site so that it better supports the Co-op's mission of providing the Grinnell community with access to local foods. Students from CSC 232, Human-Computer Interaction, will explain how they applied User Experience Development methods to understand the work context, extract requirements and models, develop new designs, build prototypes, and evaluate user experience.

Refreshments will be served at 4:15 p.m. in the Computer Science Commons (Noyce 3817). The talk, “Project Zucchini: re-designing the Local Food Co-op Web site,” will follow at 4:30 p.m. in Noyce 3821. Everyone is welcome to attend!

At 4:15 on Thursday, September 16, in Noyce 3821, Professor Janet Davis will give a talk based on research conducted during her sabbatical last year:

Persuasive technology, in the words of B.J. Fogg, is technology to change what we think and do. Though technology can help us change our behavior for the better, persuasive technology raises ethical questions concerning both the means and the ends of the persuasion. Participatory design, with its commitment to engaging future users as full partners in the design process, is one approach to addressing such concerns. In this talk, I will present my participatory design work with Grinnell College's EcoHouse to design technology to support them in their mission of sustainable living.

Refreshments will be served at 4:15 p.m. in the Computer Science Commons (Noyce 3817). The talk, Exploring persuasive technology through participatory design, will follow at 4:30 p.m. in Noyce 3821. Everyone is welcome to attend!