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In this paper we present our work on the design and evaluation of a web-based digital archive. The aim of this research project was to explore ways of enabling easy access to materials about their cultural heritage for indigenous people. In this project we worked in close collaboration with the Sami people across brainstorming sessions, design workshops, prototype development, and user tests. During this process we became aware of two intertwined sensitivities, i.e. a cultural sensitivity and a design sensitivity - and we refer to this as a “double sensitivity”. The data recorded from the interviews and the participants' interaction with the prototype were analyzed using thematic analysis as the methodological approach. Our results pointed at five main code clusters including: tonality of the design, usability, sociability, ethical considerations and technical errors. In this paper we discuss these findings, and we suggest that our results, and the proposed notion of “double sensitivity” contributes important research on human computer interaction (HCI) design for indigenous people.

A growing number of personal informatics (PI) systems have been designed to break the habit of prolonged sitting and to encourage physical activity during workdays and leisure hours. Few studies, however, have investigated the nature of local movement and mobility in workspaces. Relatively little is known about how such movement patterns are shaped and in what ways micro-mobility in workplaces could be increased. By undertaking a concept-driven design approach, and on the basis of our ethnographic prestudy, we introduce a conceptual framework. In this conceptual framework, we indicate the five main agencies that shape local movement and mobility among office workers. On the basis of this empirical and conceptual work, two prototypes, the non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)-Lamp and Talking Tree, have been designed, implemented and observed in an office environment. This paper describes this design project and articulates the role of discussions in socially established settings in work environments in order to increase daily movement. The paper concludes by highlighting not only technology, but also collective reflections to spark behavioral change in office environments as social settings. 

The design and usage of Personal Informatics (PI) systems have been subjects of rapidly growing interest in recent years. PI systems are typically designed to monitor individuals' physical activity and encourage them to be more active, thereby 'hacking' the habit of prolonged sitting. Most PI systems focus solely on collecting quantitative data to encourage self-reflection and are therefore sometimes discussed in terms of the Quantified Self movement. However, this perspective is wholly focused on individual bodily movements and neglects the role of architectural spaces. This paper discusses an ongoing project focused on PI systems design at the intersection of bodily movements and the office as an architectural space. Taking this as a point of departure, we introduce a simple prototype interactive lamp known as the NEAT lamp, which was designed, implemented and evaluated in relation to everyday office work. The rationale underpinning the prototype's design is presented, followed by the results of a real-world evaluation of its effects in practice. We also discuss the role of the NEAT lamp as an ambient light that promotes awareness of sedentary behavior in the office as an open architectural space. Finally, we highlight the role of ambient displays as a medium for creating a sense of unity between the self and the architectural space, and propose that this observation suggests that we should move the discussion away from "quantified selves" towards qualitative spaces.

"Personal Informatics" (PI) and "Quantified Self" (QS) are two contemporary notions in the field of Human–Computer Interaction. Such hardware and software systems gather personalized quantified data and visualize them for the purpose of supporting self-reflection. Many of these systems focus on breaking the habit of prolonged sitting and increasing physical activity in our daily lives. The problems associated with the sedentary lifestyle and prolonged hours of sitting have been noted in many studies. In fact, stationary behavior is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain types of type of cancer. Nowadays we, as adults, spend more than 8 hours a day on work and work-related activities. As a consequence, the time spent sitting in office workspaces contributes to the majority of stationary behavior in our daily lives. Throughout history, designers and technocrats have constantly redesigned workspaces in attempts to increase work productivity and efficiency. Thus "modern" office work configuration includes desks and stationary computers and so office workers have become accustomed to prolonged sitting in their workplaces.    

In relation to this research problem, I have worked on my PhD thesis within the context of a four-year cross disciplinary research project in which we have been exploring ways of increasing physical activity and breaking the habit of prolonged sitting among office workers. This is a thesis in informatics and closely allied to medicine and it focuses on studying how contemporary office work affects the body and how to redesign this context. For this thesis, I conducted three empirical studies and designed and developed two prototypes - the "NEAT Lamp" and the "Talking Tree". The "Sport Co." study was the first quantitative study, and was followed by two qualitative observational ethnographic studies – the "Housing Co." study and the "Health Co." study. The research process adopted during the work can be described as an intertwined process consisting of three methodological approaches: observational ethnographic studies, concept development and prototyping. These three came together to form a coherent contextual design process for tackling the research question, "How can we approach the design of work in today's offices in order to make office workers more physically active in their workspaces?"  This process resulted in five papers presenting various aspects and results of the research conducted. The results cover the role of bodies at work by considering the history of work design, knowledge about the local movement and mobility patterns of office workers in modern office spaces and eventually the design and evaluation of the two prototypes introduced in this thesis. Finally, I conclude this thesis by highlighting my overall contributions. The first contribution targets designers willing to design for increasing physical activity and breaking the habit of prolonged sitting in workspaces. In relation to this I introduce a design space as a tool for understanding the design of work in relation to worker’s bodies. The second contribution highlights how observational ethnographic studies, concept development, and prototyping can be combined when exploring the context of physical activity in office environments and it shows how contextual design might be a suitable approach for such studies. In addition, it emphasizes ways for how we can redesign work and expand our contextual knowledge. This, by examining and evaluating interactive prototypes in real office settings.

At the core of ‘Healthcare Information Systems’ is an idea of designing systems that are functional, practical and contained integrated solutions. As humans have always spent the majority of their hours in seated positions in work environments and workplaces, it is important to investigate these environments before applying a design for promoting daily movement and physical activity. In this paper we focus on the history of workplace design. We argue that the strategies for reaching this sedentary living style have been carried out by different means during the past 70 years of technological development. Further on, we illustrate this current paradigm through the presentation of an empirical study that shows how people compensate for a passive mode of working. In this paper, we contribute to the current development in our field by offering this alternative design paradigm and we suggest concept-driven design research as a possible way forward if we are to design information systems for active worklife.

Office workers tend not to move about during work hours. A series of medical observational studies

have shown that extended sitting is associated with several negative health outcomes including

obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), breast and colon cancer and premature

mortality. Therefore, developing ways to encourage physical activity and breaking the habit of

prolonged sitting in offices is urgently needed. Few studies, however, have investigated the nature

of local movement and mobility in workspaces in depth and taking a cross disciplinary approach.

This paper reports on an ongoing cross-disciplinary research project targeted at increasing physical

activity of office workers while reducing prolonged sitting. Our collaboration between the

departments of Informatics, Public Health and Clinical Medicine and the Design School at Umeå

University resulted in two ethnographic studies. This led to the development and implementation of

two prototypes referred to as the “NEAT Lamp” and the “Talking Tree”. The “NEAT Lamp” is a

simple sensor-based lamp that was evaluated in situ in our second ethnographic study. The results

of this study deepened our understanding of local movement and mobility in offices and resulted in

the design of a second prototype, the “Talking Tree”. Using the knowledge gained through our

ethnographic studies and the experience of using the prototypes, we were able to develop a

conceptual framework for describing the patterns of local movement and mobility of office workers.

This paper describes the process leading to the development of this framework. Moreover, it

highlights how this process benefited from the cross-disciplinary nature of the project.

The history of work is very much related to the history of bodies at work. Bodies  have always been a focal point in work design as sources of effort, knowledge  and skill for increasing productivity but seldom have they been the centre of  attention for their own good. Recently a handful of alarming studies indicate  problems associated with sedentary behaviour in offices. In order to interrupt  prolonged sitting and increase physical activity in workplaces many interventions  have been suggested. This paper is an attempt to breakdown the duality of bodies  in workspaces. Beginning by examining the history of bodies at work, we go on  to describe the role of bodies in today’s offices based on a three-month  ethnographic study. Finally, we discuss how current Interaction Design can aid us  in optimizing the role of bodies in carrying out future work.