James T. Rowan Jr.
Research Statement
Modern life fragments what 100 years ago was recognized as the geographically stable
extended family. No longer do we live out our lives in the geographic location of our
grandfathers. While this modern situation allows us the freedom to follow our dreams to
the far ends of the globe, we often find that this results in the necessity of moving to
improve our financial situation. Add to this separation through mobility the fractures to
the extended family at the hand of divorce and we see that the extended family has
become fragmented. My research interests involve using technological interventions to
reconnect those parts of the extended family that have been disconnected by these
modern influences.
For this reason I am of the opinion that the great under-explored area in which
technology can have an impact is that of assisting us in the everyday, day-to-day act of
living. While this brings us out of the arena of “work” and into the arena of “home,” it
does not completely exclude all aspects of our work lives. This opinion has driven three
separate lines of work, the Digital Family Portrait, Dude’s Magic Box! and, most recently,
SteppedAway.
The Digital Family Portrait
One part of this research agenda addresses “Aging in Place” and the question “How can I
deploy technology so that as we age we can remain at home, the place that is clearly
favored over the alternatives?” This is a complicated question that I approached using
ethnographic influenced techniques while conducting research in private homes and in
assisted living facilities. From this one answer became immediately clear; When people
left their homes for some form of assisted living, the move was overwhelmingly initiated
by their adult children. The adult children did not live next door to their aging parents
and because of this, they were deprived of the day-to-day awareness that comes naturally
from that arrangement. Even though there was no compelling reason to be concerned,
major life events like the death of a supportive spouse intensified their concern that
something could happen. The problem here is one of “peace of mind,” or rather the lack
of it, on the part of the adult child. If the adult children could have the peace of mind that
things at mom’s house were fine then they would be satisfied.
My dissertation research at Georgia Tech, the Digital Family Portrait (DFP), is one way
to provide peace of mind for the adult child and provide the quality of life associated with
a non-institutional home environment for the aging parent. Placing sensors in the home
of an aging parent and using the data from those sensors to create the DFP persistent
display [Figure 1] in the home of the adult child, a level of peace of mind was achieved.
Designed to fit easily in the home environment, the DFP looks like a picture in a frame
and displays the aging parent’s level of activity as a butterfly, one butterfly for each of the
past 27 days. A low level of activity for a particular day is shown as a small butterfly while
a large butterfly is used to represent a high level of activity. If the adult child were
interested in knowing more about a particular day, touching the butterfly of interest
would change the display to the activity detail for that day [Figure 2]. Greater detail can
be found in my dissertation which can be downloaded at:
http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-08242005180131/unrestricted/rowan_james_t_200512_phd.pdf
Figure 1: Persistent Display
Figure2: Detail Display
Dude’s Magic Box!
With Dude’s Magic Box! pre-literate children, separated from either their non-custodial
divorced parents or their grandparents, can communicate in a manner that is familiar to
them. By placing objects in the box and closing the lid these children are able to record
and add their voices to the image of the object in the box. Playing to their interests, an
animated character, named Dude and speaking in a synthesized voice, mediates the
interaction encouraging the child to create something and send it. Figure 3 shows an early
conceptual diagram of the interaction where Dude’s Magic Box! (left)is used to send an
image to Gramma’s Lap Desk (right). More detail concerning this interaction can be seen
at: http://home.cc.gatech.edu/jimRowan/5.
Figure 3: Dude’s Magic Box! and Gramma’s LapDesk
SteppedAway
Created as a Senior Capstone class project, this software uses a touch-sensitive panel
located on a professor’s office door. The intent of the design is to reduce the frustration
experienced by both professors and their students in their attempts to meet face-to-face
during office hours. Frequently during office hours a professor will have to step out of the
office to pick up a printout or speak to a colleague. Invariably this is when a student will
stop by for consultation resulting in frustration on the part of the student “These are his
posted office hours!” and on the professor “I was counting on this student dropping by
today!”
With SteppedAway a professor can easily leave a note to the student by touching the
appropriate note displayed on the open door [Figure 4] as he closes the door [Figure 5]
and a student can leave a message for the professor using the SteppedAway touchsensitive display.
Figure 4: Available Messages
Figure 5: Door Closed Display
Another frustration for the professor is the unforeseen circumstance that causes him to be
late for office hours. There is no convenient way to let the student who will arrive at his
door that he will be late. With SteppedAway a message can be sent to the door either
through email if an Internet connection is available or by cell phone if desired. For more
detail on how this interaction proceeds, refer to: http://home.cc.gatech.edu/jimRowan/11
and to the recent article published in the local paper which can be seen at:
http://home.cc.gatech.edu/jimRowan/16
In Summary
Through incorporating my research interests into student projects I can provide
interesting, authentic and engaging class exercises that challenge the students to step
outside their comfort zone, address diverse user groups and incorporate unfamiliar modes
of interaction into their portfolio.