The theory-practice gap is a well-known concept in HCI research. It provides a way of describing a space that allegedly exists between the theory and practice of the field, and it has inspired many researchers to propose ways to "bridge the gap." In this paper, we propose a novel interpretation of the gap as a generative metaphor that frames problems and guides researchers towards possible solutions. We examine how the metaphor has emerged in HCI discourse, and what its limitations might be. Our examination raises concerns about treating the gap as given or obvious, which could reflect researchers' tendencies to adopt a problem-solving perspective. We discuss the value of considering problem setting in relation to the theory-practice gap, and then explore Derrida's strategy of "reversal" as a possible way to develop new metaphors to capture the relationship between theory and practice.

Massive changes in the economy and computing technology in recent years call for a close examination of their relationship. Changes include a broad range of topics and issues, some of which directly and crucially fall within the purview of HCI research and practice. We propose a perspective that engages issues of political economy, with a focus on social inequality. We introduce some of the history of concepts of this perspective, and discuss implications for HCI. We observe that practical and conceptual resources within HCI for considering political economy and inequality are emerging.

The rise of citizen science as a form of public participation in research has engaged many disciplines and communities. This paper uses the lens of Participatory Design to contrast two different approaches to citizen science: one that puts citizens in the service of science and another that involves them in the production of knowledge. Through an empirical study of a diverse array of projects, we show how participation in citizen science often takes the more limited forms suggested by the former approach. Our analysis highlights the implications of limited participation and demonstrates how the CHI community is uniquely positioned to ameliorate these limitations.

Scientific disciplines are distinct not only in what they know but in how they know what they know—that is, in their “epistemic cultures.” There is a close relationship between the technologies that a field utilizes and sanctions and the process of inquiry, the character and meaning of corroborative data and evidence, and the kinds of models and theories developed in a field. As the machinery changes, epistemic practices also change. A case in point is how the epistemic practices of historians are reconfigured by the introduction of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We argue that GIS mediates historical understanding and knowledge creation in at least three ways: (a) by allowing historians to bring new sets of data into analysis, (b) by introducing novel questions, fresh insights, and new modes of analysis and reasoning, or discovering new answers to older questions; and (c) by providing new tools for historians to communicate with each other and with their audiences. We illustrate these mediations through the study of the historiography of Budapest Ghettos during World War II. Our study shows how GIS functionalities reveal hitherto unknown aspects of social life in the ghettos, while pushing certain other aspects into the background.

Drawing perspectives from science and technology studies, philosophy of science, and literature from ethics and social justice, this paper examines the promises and challenges in the development of self-driving vehicle (SDV) technology. We start with the premise that the combination of different computing technologies embedded in SDVs is a powerful tool for efficiency in communications, information gathering, processing, and storage. However, by focusing on efficiency, SDVs provide a new mode of industrialized transportation whose users can only choose between transportation services, but have little or no say about the broader social implications of the technology. We argue that perspectives from social justice and ethics show that SDVs have implications beyond transportation, with profound consequences for users and societies. In particular, values such as privacy, security, and responsibility may be changed for good or bad, in both the short and long-term. The examination of these changes, while the technology is still under foundational development, is as urgent as it is needed.

The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and policy practices along with an evolving debate among its proponents, detractors, and skeptics. While the practices draw on a common set of tools, techniques, and technologies, most contributions to the debate come either from a particular disciplinary perspective or with a focus on a domain‐specific issue. A close examination of these contributions reveals a set of common problematics that arise in various guises and in different places. It also demonstrates the need for a critical synthesis of the conceptual and practical dilemmas surrounding Big Data. The purpose of this article is to provide such a synthesis by drawing on relevant writings in the sciences, humanities, policy, and trade literature. In bringing these diverse literatures together, we aim to shed light on the common underlying issues that concern and affect all of these areas. By contextualizing the phenomenon of Big Data within larger socioeconomic developments, we also seek to provide a broader understanding of its drivers, barriers, and challenges. This approach allows us to identify attributes of Big Data that require more attention—autonomy, opacity, generativity, disparity, and futurity—leading to questions and ideas for moving beyond dilemmas.

Abstract Digital artifacts have novel properties that largely derive from the processes that mediate their creation, and that can be best understood by a close examination of such processes. This paper introduces the concept of “quasi‐object” to characterize these objects and elucidate the activities that comprise their mediations. A case study of “bugs” is analyzed to illustrate exemplary activities of justification, qualification, and binding in the process of bug fixing in Free/Open Source Software development. The findings of the case study lead to broader reflections on the character of digital artifacts in general. The relationship of “quasi‐object” to other similar concepts are explored.

Science and engineering education in the U.S. has traditionally focused on the technical aspects of technology at the expense of the social, economical, organizational, and ethical aspects. This attitude has had profound implications for the transfer of technology to and from other parts of the world, many of which have already been uncovered and others probably discerned in the future. The current trend toward globalization calls for new perspectives that can accommodate the broader issues of technology. In this paper, we seek to uncover some of the limitations of the traditional view as it relates to the education of information technology (IT), and to propose the perspective of social informatics as a viable alternative for the training of IT professionals. Our discussion is organized around three major themes: (1) Socio-cultural: Technology is a social phenomenon and technological systems are socially shaped. In contrast to the traditional accounts of technology, which tend to characterize IT as a tool, the view of social informatics portrays IT as a socio-technical network, where technological effects are indirect, contexts are complex (matrices of business, services, people, technology history, location, and so on), and issues of incentive, trust, and understanding are central. (2) Economical: Technology is resource-dependent. The utilization of technology requires the availability of various resources such as infrastructures for communication and transportation, services, skills, and so on. The availability of these resources varies from place to place and from time to time, and a technologist should be trained to deal with this variability on a global scale. (3) Organizational/Managerial: Technology is implemented, used, and carried out in and by organizations, where relationships are complex and negotiated, knowledge and expertise is distributed and implicit, and politics is often central. Furthermore, there is a great variability across cultures in terms of management styles, organizational structures and hierarchies, work philosophy, time management, and so on. A technologist should have sufficient training to understand these nuances in any given setting. Technological education of a kind that meets the demands and challenges of globalization should pay specific attention to the above aspects. In this paper, we discuss the components of a curriculum that could better meet the globalization challenge.