User Experience
and the Human Spirit
Design to facilitate
spiritual and numinous experiences
Elizabeth Buie
@ebuie
Northumbria University
Department of Media and Communication Design
elizabeth.buie@northumbria.ac.uk
Supervisors: Mark Blythe, Gilbert Cockton
Background

Master’s degrees in Mathematics (NC State)
and Human Development (Maryland)

In CHI for many years as a practitioner

Consultant in interaction design, usability
and UX, mostly in government systems
Background

Master’s degrees in
Mathematics and
Human Development

In CHI for many
years as a
practitioner

Consultant in
interaction design,
usability and UX,
mostly in
government systems

Co-editor of book on
UX in government
Eton Choirbook score
Donaldson score
Beltway
Collegium Cantorum
“Spiritual experience”
An experience in which one feels a deep
connection with something larger than oneself
(Seligman’s view, part of “meaning making” in his
PERMA framework of well-being)
“Something” could be a deity or something
else:
the bounty of nature
the grandeur of the universe
the compassion of a humanitarian cause
the richness of a research programme
Research Questions
1.
What characterizes techno-spiritual
experiences and supporting technologies?
2.
Can technology be designed to facilitate
such experiences without being tied to a
specific faith tradition?
3.
What value might such ICTs have beyond
experience & spirituality per se? (e.g.,
creativity, well-being)
The answers should inform the design of
techno-spiritual ICT
Research Goal 1 &
Methods
Explore qualities of techno-spiritual
experiences & ICTs:
1.
Review literature about historical use of means
such as architecture & music to evoke spiritual
experiences
2.
Analyse purposes and qualities of a variety of
existing techno-spiritual ICTs
3.
Interview people from a wide variety of spiritual
perspectives to elicit descriptions of spiritual
experiences that they have had
4.
Analyse descriptions from the interview data using
a grounded theory approach
Research Goal 1: Progress
(1)
1. Review literature about use of means such
as architecture & music to evoke spiritual
experiences:
1.
Literature on the nature of spirituality and spiritual
experience turned out to be much richer
2.
Most from healthcare and
psychology/psychiatry/neuroscience
3.
Spirituality: spirituality vs. religion, assessing
spirituality
4.
Spiritual experience: phenomenology, triggers,
common characteristics
5.
Nature of awe, wonder, numinosity
Research Goal 1: Progress
(2)
2. Analyse purposes and qualities of a variety
of existing techno-spiritual ICTs:
1.
Inventory of iTunes App Store
(and comparison with coverage
of ACM-DL; alt.chi 2013)
Research Goal 1: Progress
(2)
2. Analyse purposes and qualities of a variety
of existing techno-spiritual ICTs:
1.Inventory
of iTunes App Store
(and comparison with coverage
of ACM-DL; alt.chi 2013)
2.Analysis
of viewer comments on
top-viewed YouTube videos for
meditation (and some features of
videos; presented at DPPI 2013)
3.A
recent (April 2014) search of
YouTube for “meditation” found
9.4 million videos
Research Goal 1: Progress
(3&4)
3. Interview people from a wide variety of
spiritual perspectives to elicit descriptions of
spiritual experiences that they have had:
1.
Began pilot interviews to obtain data on spiritual
and religious backgrounds and experiences
2.
Have conducted four pilot interviews so far
4. Analyse interview data (not started)
I would like to discuss some considerations
regarding techniques for data collection and
approaches to analysis, design, and evaluation.
Research Goal 2
Develop a conceptual framework that relates
the qualities of techno-spiritual experiences
and ICTs.
1.Analyze
the qualities of the ICTs that supported
and facilitated the interviewees’ experiences, and
add them to the qualities found by Goal 1
2.Identify
and analyze relationships between the
qualities of techno-spiritual experiences and those of
ICTs that facilitate them, and document them in a
conceptual framework
(not started)
Research Goal 3
Explore in more depth the design space of
techno-spiritual experiences.
1.
Follow the qualitative study with research through
design. Develop a prototype and explore the
space of techno-spirituality in more depth with
participants
2.
Refine and revise the design as appropriate, to
incorporate findings from evaluative studies
Refine the conceptual framework as appropriate
(not started)
3.
I would like to discuss some considerations regarding
techniques for data collection and approaches to
Explorations
Imaginary abstracts: “a summary of a
paper that has not been written about a
prototype that does not exist” (Mark Blythe,
CHI 2014 paper)
Science fiction and its treatment of
techno-spirituality
Contribution to Knowledge
Greater knowledge of how people are
using technology to enhance their
spiritual lives
A better understanding of the
relationship of design to the quality and
qualities of techno-spiritual experiences
Potential value of techno-spiritual design
to other aspects of life
Thank you
Elizabeth Buie
Northumbria University
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
elizabeth.buie@northumbria.ac.uk
@ebuie
uxandhumanspirit.wordpress.com (research)
leisurelyseekingdoctorate.wordpress.com (blog)