More Like this

1. Under the Spell of Deadlines

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3450366  

   Akleman, Ergun; Hasan, MD Tanim; Pavlidis, Ioannis (May 2021, CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)

   null (Ed.)

   Deadlines are constitutional aspects of research life that the CHI community frequently observes. Despite their importance, deadlines are understudied. Here we bring a mixed art and science perspective on deadlines, which may find broader applications as a starter methodology. In a field study, we monitored four academics at the office, two days before a deadline and two regular days, after the deadline had passed. Based on face video, questionnaire, and interview data we constructed their profiles. We added a dose of fictionalization to these profiles, composing anonymized comic stories that are as humorous as they are enlightening. In the stressful and lonely days towards deadlines, the only common presence in all cases is the researchers’ computer. Accordingly, this work aspires to prompt an effort for a deeper understanding of “deadline users’’, in support of designing much needed affective interfaces. 

   more » « less
2. Protecting Sensitive Data Early in the Research Data Lifecycle

   https://doi.org/10.29012/jpc.846  

   Karcher, Sebastian; Secen, Sefa; Weber, Nic (December 2023, Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality)

   How do researchers in fieldwork-intensive disciplines protect sensitive data in the field, how do they assess their own practices, and how do they arrive at them? This article reports the results of a qualitative study with 36 semi-structured interviews with qualitative and multi-method researchers in political science and humanitarian aid/migration studies. We find that researchers frequently feel ill-prepared to handle the management of sensitive data in the field and find that formal institutions provide little support. Instead, they use a patchwork of sources to devise strategies for protecting their informants and their data. We argue that this carries substantial risks for the security of the data as well as their potential for later sharing and re-use. We conclude with some suggestions for effectively supporting data management in fieldwork-intensive research without unduly adding to the burden on researchers conducting it. 

   more » « less
3. Cultivating Altruism Around Computing Resources: Anticipation Work in a Scholarly Community

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3610185  

   Cohoon, Johanna; Kabir, Kazi_Sinthia; Motahar, Tamanna; Wiese, Jason (October 2023, Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction)

   User research for scientific software can inform design and account for the unique concerns of academic researchers. In this study, we explored the user experience on a testbed for cloud computing research, CloudLab. Through 15 semi-structured interviews and observation, we observed the importance of time as a resource to system users. We observed CloudLab users strategically coordinating their time on the platform with other users, navigating the constraints of publication and other academic deadlines. Surprisingly, we found that this coordination may involve altruistic behaviors where users share time on CloudLab that had been allocated for personal use. In light of prior CSCW literature on how actors seek to harness time, we propose concrete opportunities for design interventions. Our strategy across all possible interventions is to increase users' awareness of the rhythms affecting their peers' platform use, allowing coordination based not just on knowledge of CloudLab reservations but also users' progress toward deadlines. The implications of this work inform the design of other similar cyberinfrastructure systems in science where users independently coordinate use of resources. 

   more » « less
4. Reliable and Energy-Aware Fixed-Priority (m,k)-Deadlines Enforcement with Standby-Sparing

   Niu, Linwei; Zhu, Dakai. (March 2020, Proceedings of 2020 IEEE/ACM Design, Automation & Test in Europe Conference (DATE’20))

   For real-time computing systems, energy efficiency, Quality of Service, and fault tolerance are among the major design concerns. In this work, we study the problem of reliable and energy-aware fixed-priority (m,k)-deadlines enforcement with standby-sparing. The standby-sparing systems adopt a primary processor and a spare processor to provide fault tolerance for both permanent and transient faults. In order to reduce energy consumption for such kind of systems, we proposed a novel scheduling scheme under the QoS constraint of (m,k)- deadlines. The evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed approach significantly outperformed the previous research in energy conservation while assuring (m,k)-deadlines and fault tolerance for real-time systems. 

   more » « less
5. Reliable and Energy-Aware Fixed-Priority (m,k)-Deadlines Enforcement with Standby-Sparing

   Niu, Linwei; Zhu, Dakai. (March 2020, Proceedings of 2020 IEEE/ACM Design, Automation & Test in Europe Conference (DATE’20))

   For real-time computing systems, energy efficiency, Quality of Service, and fault tolerance are among the major design concerns. In this work, we study the problem of reliable and energy-aware fixed-priority (m,k)-deadlines enforcement with standby-sparing. The standby-sparing systems adopt a primary processor and a spare processor to provide fault tolerance for both permanent and transient faults. In order to reduce energy consumption for such kind of systems, we proposed a novel scheduling scheme under the QoS constraint of (m,k)- deadlines. The evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed approach significantly outperformed the previous research in energy conservation while assuring (m,k)-deadlines and fault tolerance for real-time systems. 

   more » « less