John Waterworth PhD, CPsychol, Professor of Informatics
Department of Informatics at Umeå University in Sweden
jwworth@informatik.umu.se, mobile: +46 (0)73 8111 440

Note: this page is no longer reliably updated. Please also refer to my departmental web page.

I've been doing interaction research since 1980, looking at people interacting with computers and using other communication devices - how they do it and what effects it has. Some people call it HCI. See my publications.

I'm a member of the Q-Life research group. We explore ways in which ICT can be used to enhance quality of life and health, often by designing and developing working prototypes and exploring them in use. I have recently been involved in RICHARD and other projects. I was the coordinator of the successfully-completed AGNES project. I am currently working in the ELF@Home project and doing some teaching and reviewing.

My own research focuses on personal experience and well-being and how they are affected by interactions with and through information and communication technology (ICT). Without these devices and systems, which are evolving fast, we would not be the people we are. But for technology to be worth having, it must match and extend the nature and needs of individual people. Research is needed to explore the subjective reality of living with technology, and the potential for improving quality of life.

I have a PhD in Experimental Psychology (1984), and I'm a Chartered Psychologist of the BPS. My professional experience includes consulting for many commercial and governmental organisations, and reviewing research projects and proposals for funding bodies in several countries. I also have experience organising courses for industry on psychology and HCI design and evaluation.

I've been part of this department since 1994. From 2000-2006 I also worked for the Interactive Institute Tools for Creativity studio in Umeå, as Research Director. Before 1994 I worked in Singapore for 6 years at what was then called the Institute for Systems Science, and from 1980-88 in the UK, at British Telecom Research Labs at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, England.

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All materials on this web site © J A Waterworth, unless otherwise.
This page is no longer updated. Please refer to my departmental web page.

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On the Sense of Presence
We view the feeling of being more or less present in a mediated environment as reflecting the functioning of a universal animal faculty to distinguish the self from the non-self. This has implications for understanding the link between intention and action, and for the design of interactive environments with specific characteristics.

ICT and Older People
Older people are often deterred from using new information and communication technologies, because of the way they are designed and promoted. We are exploring the potential of new interactive technologies to maintain health and independent living, and even improve some cognitive functions in the elderly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embodied Interaction
Linking the body directly to interactive media (by sensing movements or physiological changes) can have a powerful experiential impact. Our experiences and actions are increasingly mediated through technological devices. This opens up a universe of possible altered sensations and perceptions of the world around us.

 

Information Exploration
classic (i.e. old) papers
- Experiential Design of Shared Spaces
- Dextrous and Shared Interaction with Medical Data
- Effects of Desktop 3D World Design
- Exploring public information space in a private vehicle
- Personal Information Spaces
- A model of information exploration
- WIMPs and NERDS