Publications

Conference Papers

1. Pearson, J., Robinson, S., Reitmaier, T., Jones, M., Ahire, S., Joshi, A., … Bhikne, B. (2019). StreetWise: Smart speakers vs human help in public slum settings. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 96:1–96:13.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: This paper explores the use of conversational speech question and answer systems in the challenging context of public spaces in slums. A major part of this work is a comparison of the source and speed of the given responses; that is, either machine-powered and instant or human-powered and delayed. We examine these dimensions via a two-stage, multi-sited deployment. We report on a pilot deployment that helped refine the system, and a second deployment involving the installation of nine of each type of system within a large Mumbai slum for a 40-day period, resulting in over 12,000 queries. We present the findings from a detailed analysis and comparison of the two question-answer corpora; discuss how these insights might help improve machine-powered smart speakers; and, highlight the potential benefits of multi-sited public speech installations within slum environments.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Pearson2019,
    title = {StreetWise: Smart Speakers vs Human Help in Public Slum Settings},
    author = {Pearson, Jennifer and Robinson, Simon and Reitmaier, Thomas and Jones, Matt and Ahire, Shashank and Joshi, Anirudha and Sahoo, Deepak and Maravi, Nimish and Bhikne, Bhakti},
    booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
    series = {CHI '19},
    year = {2019},
    isbn = {978-1-4503-5970-2},
    location = {Glasgow, Scotland Uk},
    pages = {96:1--96:13},
    articleno = {96},
    numpages = {13},
    url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3290605.3300326},
    doi = {10.1145/3290605.3300326},
    acmid = {3300326},
    publisher = {ACM},
    address = {New York, NY, USA}
   } 
   
   
   

2. Robinson, S., Pearson, J., Reitmaier, T., Ahire, S., & Jones, M. (2018). Make Yourself at Phone: Reimagining Mobile Interaction Architectures With Emergent Users. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: We present APPropriate – a novel mobile design to allow users to temporarily annex any Android device for their own use. APPropriate is a small, cheap storage pod, designed to be easily carried in a pocket or hidden within clothing. Its purpose is simple: to hold a copy of the local content an owner has on their mobile, liberating them from carrying a phone, or allowing them to use another device that provides advantages over their own. Picking up another device when carrying APPropriate transfers all pertinent content to the borrowed device (using local no-cost WiFi from the APPropriate device), transforming it to give the impression that they are using their own phone. While APPropriate is useful for a wide range of contexts, the design was envisaged through a co-design process with resource-constrained emergent users in three countries. Lab studies and a subsequent deployment on participants’ own devices identified key benefits of the approach in these contexts, including for security, resource sharing, and privacy.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Robinson2018,
     title = {Make {{Yourself}} at {{Phone}}: {{Reimagining Mobile Interaction Architectures With Emergent Users}}},
     location = {{New York, NY}},
     doi = {10.1145/3173574.3173981},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{SIGCHI Conference}} on {{Human Factors}} in {{Computing Systems}}},
     series = {CHI '18},
     publisher = {{ACM}},
     author = {Robinson, Simon and Pearson, Jennifer and Reitmaier, Thomas and Ahire, Shashank and Jones, Matt},
     date = {2018}
   }
   
   
   

3. Pearson, J., Robinson, S., Reitmaier, T., Jones, M., Joshi, A., Parab, C., … Jenson, S. (2017). Exploring the Use of the Physical Web with Resource-Constrained Communities. Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1117–1125.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: Over several years, our team has been involved in participatory design of novel future technologies with people in resource-constrained contexts in India and Kenya. A key motivator is to include these groups, who often have lower literacy, infrequent access to data connections, low exposure to technology, and other constraints, in the process of shaping and appropriating devices and services. This is in contrast to what typically happens in such regions, where technologies from traditional markets (e.g., in USA and Europe) “trickle down” after several years. In this case study, we explore the potential and barriers of one such new platform - the Physical Web In resource-constrained contexts in Mumbai and Nairobi. The Physical Web is an open source Bluetooth-based beacon system, which aims to provide quick and seamless interaction with physical objects over a web platform. Our goal is to understand how this emerging technology might provide local small enterprise traders in these regions with the facility to quickly and easily create and distribute a simple online presence via a local broadcasting medium. In this case study we discuss the design rationale for the approach in terms of how it might address issues around users’ resource constraints, and present initial findings from deployments in the two locations.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Pearson2017,
     title = {Exploring the {{Use}} of the {{Physical Web}} with {{Resource}}-{{Constrained Communities}}},
     location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
     isbn = {978-1-4503-4656-6},
     url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3027063.3053349},
     doi = {10.1145/3027063.3053349},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 {{CHI Conference Extended Abstracts}} on {{Human Factors}} in {{Computing Systems}}},
     series = {CHI EA '17},
     publisher = {{ACM}},
     author = {Pearson, Jennifer and Robinson, Simon and Reitmaier, Thomas and Jones, Matt and Joshi, Anirudha and Parab, Chinmay and Mogoi, Frankline Onchieku and Jenson, Scott},
     date = {2017},
     pages = {1117--1125}
   }
   
   
   

4. Ssozi-Mugarura, F., Reitmaier, T., Venter, A., & Blake, E. (2016). Enough with ’In-The-Wild’. Proceedings of the First African Conference on Human Computer Interaction, 182–186.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: HCI is a field of study that is no longer confined to European or North American usability labs. HCI is practiced all over the world, and within Euro-American contexts, HCI research is also increasingly turning its attention to real world settings, outside of the controlled environments of the usability lab. One increasingly popular approach to designing and evaluating new technologies in real-world settings is called ‘in the wild’ research. We find this terminology uncomfortable from an African perspective as it evokes negative connotations of the contexts in which we study and the people we study with. Our intention is not to discredit this approach but rather to start a conversation around the terminologies we use to describe our research approaches and contexts. We consider it an ethical imperative to be conscious of the words we use to describe people and places, not only as HCI research expands its empirical focus to real world settings, but equally importantly to support HCI research beyond its traditional centres in Europe or America.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Ssozi-Mugarura2016,
     title = {Enough with '{{In}}-{{The}}-{{Wild}}'},
     location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
     isbn = {978-1-4503-4830-0},
     url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2998581.2998601},
     doi = {10.1145/2998581.2998601},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{First African Conference}} on {{Human Computer Interaction}}},
     series = {AfriCHI'16},
     publisher = {{ACM}},
     author = {Ssozi-Mugarura, Fiona and Reitmaier, Thomas and Venter, Anja and Blake, Edwin},
     date = {2016},
     pages = {182--186}
   }
   
   
   

5. Bidwell, N. J., Robinson, S., Vartiainen, E., Jones, M., Siya, M. J., Reitmaier, T., … Lalmas, M. (2014). Designing Social Media for Community Information Sharing in Rural South Africa. Proceedings of the Southern African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists Annual Conference, 104–114.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: We reflect on long trials of two prototype social media systems in rural South Africa and their biases towards certain communication practices on information sharing. We designed the systems to assist people in low-income communities to share locally relevant information. Both involve communal displays, to record, store and share media, and users can transfer media between the display and their cell-phones. MXShare, which we report for the first time, also enables real-time, text-based chat but AR enables sharing only audio files asynchronously. Both systems were located at the same sites for community communication and co-present oral practices effected media recording and sharing. Their use reinforced differentiations in sharing information between older and younger people. We argue that designing social media systems to widen information access must respond to complex interactions between social structures and genres of communication.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Bidwell2014b,
     title = {Designing {{Social Media}} for {{Community Information Sharing}} in {{Rural South Africa}}},
     location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
     isbn = {978-1-4503-3246-0},
     url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2664591.2664615},
     doi = {10.1145/2664591.2664615},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{Southern African Institute}} for {{Computer Scientists}} and {{Information Technologists Annual Conference}}},
     series = {SAICSIT '14},
     publisher = {{ACM}},
     author = {Bidwell, Nicola J. and Robinson, Simon and Vartiainen, Elina and Jones, Matt and Siya, Masbulele Jay and Reitmaier, Thomas and Marsden, Gary and Lalmas, Mounia},
     date = {2014},
     pages = {104--114}
   }
   
   
   

6. Bidwell, N. J., Reitmaier, T., & Jampo, K. (2014). Orality, Gender and Social Audio in Rural Africa. In C. Rossitto, L. Ciolfi, D. Martin, & B. Conein (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems (pp. 225–241).
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: We claim that digital platforms designed for people in low-income, low-literacy rural communities to share locally relevant, voice-based content did notwiden dissemination because they were incompatible with the nuances of cooperation. We base this on a long-term study of interactions with prototypes to record,store and share voice files via a portable, communally owned display in SouthAfrica. We discuss how men and women used, appropriated and interacted with theprototypes, and how the prototypes and use contexts supported different genres oforality and nonverbal elements of co-present interactions. Rhythm and mimicry ofnonverbal elements participated in cooperation and, we argue, that engaging with such qualities enriches creativity in designing media sharing systems.

   
   
   @incollection{Bidwell2014a,
     title = {Orality, {{Gender}} and {{Social Audio}} in {{Rural Africa}}},
     isbn = {978-3-319-06497-0},
     langid = {english},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the 11th {{International Conference}} on the {{Design}} of {{Cooperative Systems}}},
     series = {COOP'14},
     publisher = {{Springer}},
     author = {Bidwell, Nicola J. and Reitmaier, Thomas and Jampo, Kululwa},
     editor = {Rossitto, Chiara and Ciolfi, Luigina and Martin, David and Conein, Bernard},
     date = {2014},
     pages = {225--241},
     doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-06498-7_14}
   }
   
   
   

7. Reitmaier, T., Benz, P., & Marsden, G. (2013). Designing and Theorizing Co-Located Interactions. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 381–390.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: This paper gives an interwoven account of the theoretical and practical work we undertook in pursuit of designing co-located interactions. We show how we sensitized ourselves to theory from diverse intellectual disciplines, to develop an analytical lens to better think about co-located interactions. By critiquing current systems and their conceptual foundations, and further interrelating theories particularly in regard to performative aspects of identity and communication, we develop a more nuanced way of thinking about co-located interactions. Drawing on our sensitivities, we show how we generated and are exploring, through the process of design, a set of co-located interactions that are situated within our social ecologies, and contend that our upfront theoretical work enabled us to identify and explore this space in the first place. This highlights the importance of problem framing, especially for projects adopting design methodologies.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Reitmaier2013,
     title = {Designing and {{Theorizing Co}}-{{Located Interactions}}},
     location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
     isbn = {978-1-4503-1899-0},
     url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2470654.2470709},
     doi = {10.1145/2470654.2470709},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{SIGCHI Conference}} on {{Human Factors}} in {{Computing Systems}}},
     series = {CHI '13},
     publisher = {{ACM}},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas and Benz, Pierre and Marsden, Gary},
     date = {2013},
     pages = {381--390}
   }
   
   
   

8. Bidwell, N. J., Reitmaier, T., Rey-Moreno, C., Roro, Z., Siya, M. J., & Dlutu, B. (2013). Timely Relations in Rural Africa. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, 92–107.
   PDF Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: Time is a key aspect of cross-cultural ICT4D research and practice, but rarely the focus of discussion. In this paper we, a group of researchers with diverse backgrounds and residences, aim to open up a dialogue about how different conceptualizations of time affect cross-cultural ICT4D research. We do this by reflecting on our long-term participatory research, design and deployment with inhabitants of Mankosi, in South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape. We start by considering different concepts of time from a critical anthropological perspective and propose that ICTs embed and propagate ‘modern’ values in relation to time. We then claim, by using concrete examples from engaging with Mankosi’s inhabitants in ICT4D projects that time contributes to dilemmas and paradoxes. This leads us to advocate a deeper sensitivity to the values associated with, and practices that implicate, time in method(ology) and resulting artifacts can significantly enhance studies in ICT4D.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Bidwell2013,
     title = {Timely {{Relations}} in {{Rural Africa}}},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the 12th {{International Conference}} on {{Social Implications}} of {{Computers}} in {{Developing Countries}}},
     series = {IFIP WG 9.4},
     author = {Bidwell, Nicola J. and Reitmaier, Thomas and Rey-Moreno, Carlos and Roro, Zukile and Siya, Masbulele Jay and Dlutu, Bongiwe},
     date = {2013},
     pages = {92--107}
   }
   
   
   

9. Reitmaier, T., Bidwell, N. J., Siya, M., Marsden, G., & Tucker, W. D. (2012). Communicating in Designing an Oral Repository for Rural African Villages. Proceedings of IST-Africa: Regional Impact of Information Society Technologies in Africa. Dar es Salem, Tanzania.
   PDF Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: We describe designing an asynchronous, oral repository and sharing system that we intend to suit the needs and practices of rural residents in South Africa. We aim to enable users without access to personal computers to record, store, and share information within their Xhosa community using cellphones and a tablet PC combined with their existing face-to-face oral practices. Our approach recognises that systemsare more likely to be effective if the design concept and process build on existing local communication practices as well as addressing local constraints, e.g. cost. Thus, we show how the objectives for the system emerged from prolonged research locally and how we communicated insights, situated in the community, into the process of design and development in a city-based lab. We discuss how we integrated understandings about communication between situated- and local-researchers and designers and developers andnote the importance of recognising and centralising subtle differences in our perception of acts of oral communication. We go on to show how the materiality of the software, the tablet form factor, and touch interaction style played into our collaborative effort in conceiving the design.

   
   
   @inproceedings{Reitmaier2012,
     title = {Communicating in {{Designing}} an {{Oral Repository}} for {{Rural African Villages}}},
     location = {{Dar es Salem, Tanzania}},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of {{IST}}-{{Africa}}: {{Regional Impact}} of {{Information Society Technologies}} in {{Africa}}},
     series = {IST-Africa '12},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas and Bidwell, Nicola J. and Siya, Masbulele and Marsden, Gary and Tucker, William D.},
     date = {2012}
   }
   
   
   

10. Reitmaier, T. (2011). “She Looked Deep into Our Eyes:” Reflections on Cross-Cultural Practice. In N. J. Bidwell & H. Winschiers-Theophilus (Eds.), Proceedings of the Indigenous Knowledge Technology Conference: Embracing Indigenous Knowledge Systems in a New Technology Design Paradigm (pp. 100–107). Windhoek, Namibia.
    PDF Abstract BibTeX

    Abstract: This paper shows the development of a mobile digital sto-rytelling system that suits the needs and functions of ruralAfrican communities. But rather than focusing solely on the artifact and how it was designed, I also present an ac-count of the ideas and perspectives I took on, and how thesechanged in the course of practice. I uncover the slow process of discovering that cross-cultural practice is not only aboutunderstanding users or prototyping ideas in a detached fash-ion, but explore how in the course of practice pre-existing notions embedded in ourselves and in our culture are ‘un-concealed’. It is a learning process in which we learn aboutusers in relation to ourselves.

    
    
    @inproceedings{Reitmaier2011a,
      title = {`{{She Looked Deep}} into {{Our Eyes}}:' {{Reflections}} on {{Cross}}-{{Cultural Practice}}},
      location = {{Windhoek, Namibia}},
      isbn = {978-99945-72-37-3},
      booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{Indigenous Knowledge Technology Conference}}: {{Embracing Indigenous Knowledge Systems}} in a {{New Technology Design Paradigm}}},
      series = {IKTC '11},
      author = {Reitmaier, Thomas},
      editor = {Bidwell, Nicola J. and Winschiers-Theophilus, Heike},
      date = {2011},
      pages = {100--107}
    }
    
    
    

11. Reitmaier, T., Bidwell, N. J., & Marsden, G. (2010). Field Testing Mobile Digital Storytelling Software in Rural Kenya. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, 283–286.
    PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

    Abstract: We describe and reflect on a method we used to evaluate usability and give insights on situated use of a mobile digital storytelling prototype. We report on rich data we gained by implementing this method and argue that we were able to learn more about our prototype, users, their needs, and their context, than we would have through other evaluation methods. We look at the usability problems we uncovered and discuss how our flexibility in field-testing allowed us to observe unanticipated usage, from which we were able to motivate future design directions. Finally, we reflect on the importance of spending time in-situ during all stages of design, especially when designing across cultures.

    
    
    @inproceedings{Reitmaier2010,
      title = {Field {{Testing Mobile Digital Storytelling Software}} in {{Rural Kenya}}},
      location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
      isbn = {978-1-60558-835-3},
      url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1851600.1851649},
      doi = {10.1145/1851600.1851649},
      booktitle = {Proceedings of the 12th {{International Conference}} on {{Human Computer Interaction}} with {{Mobile Devices}} and {{Services}}},
      series = {MobileHCI '10},
      publisher = {{ACM}},
      author = {Reitmaier, Thomas and Bidwell, Nicola J. and Marsden, Gary},
      date = {2010},
      pages = {283--286}
    }
    
    
    

12. Bidwell, N. J., Reitmaier, T., Marsden, G., & Hansen, S. (2010). Designing with Mobile Digital Storytelling in Rural Africa. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1593–1602.
    PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

    Abstract: We reflect on activities to design a mobile application to enable rural people in South Africa’s Eastern Cape to record and share their stories, which have implications for ‘cross-cultural design,’ and the wider use of stories in design. We based our initial concept for generating stories with audio and photos on cell-phones on a scenario informed by abstracting from digital storytelling projects globally and our personal experience. But insights from ethnography, and technology experiments involving storytelling, in a rural village led us to query our grounding assumptions and usability criteria. So, we implemented a method using cell-phones to localise storytelling, involve rural users and probe ways to incorporate visual and audio media. Products from this method helped us to generate design ideas for our current prototype which offers great flexibility. Thus we present a new way to depict stories digitally and a process for improving such software.

    
    
    @inproceedings{Bidwell2010,
      title = {Designing with {{Mobile Digital Storytelling}} in {{Rural Africa}}},
      location = {{New York, NY, USA}},
      isbn = {978-1-60558-929-9},
      url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1753326.1753564},
      doi = {10.1145/1753326.1753564},
      booktitle = {Proceedings of the {{SIGCHI Conference}} on {{Human Factors}} in {{Computing Systems}}},
      series = {CHI '10},
      publisher = {{ACM}},
      author = {Bidwell, Nicola J. and Reitmaier, Thomas and Marsden, Gary and Hansen, Susan},
      date = {2010},
      pages = {1593--1602}
    }
    
    
    

13. Marsden, G., Ladeira, I., Reitmaier, T., Bidwell, N. J., & Blake, E. (2010). Providing a Digital Voice for Storytellers in Africa. In J. Sieck (Ed.), Kultur und Informatik: Interaktive Systeme (pp. 101–132). Boizenburg, Germany: Verlag Werner Hülsbusch.
    PDF Abstract BibTeX

    Abstract: In this paper we examine how digital technology can be used to inspire, record and present oral stories in an African context. In particular we explore how to create technologies that are sympathetic to the cultures of the storytellers, both in the capture of stories and their retelling. Specifically, we look at: inspiring stories in District Six in Cape Town; capturing digital stories from users with low literacy levels and using virtual reality to retell indigenous and personal experience narratives.

    
    
    @inproceedings{Marsden2010a,
      title = {Providing a {{Digital Voice}} for {{Storytellers}} in {{Africa}}},
      location = {{Boizenburg, Germany}},
      booktitle = {Kultur Und {{Informatik}}: {{Interaktive Systeme}}},
      publisher = {{Verlag Werner Hülsbusch}},
      author = {Marsden, Gary and Ladeira, Ilda and Reitmaier, Thomas and Bidwell, N. J. and Blake, Edwin},
      editor = {Sieck, Jürgen},
      date = {2010},
      pages = {101--132}
    }
    
    
    

14. Reitmaier, T., & Marsden, G. (2009). Bringing Digital Storytelling to the Mobile. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. 5726. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2009 (pp. 750–753).
    PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

    Abstract: Technology has changed the way in which people tell their stories. This paper introduces digital storytelling and looks at why the mobile is an ideal platform for creating digital stories. The iterative design approach chosen for our Mobile Digital Storytelling system is discussed. Results of a final experiment, comparing our system to an existing mobile system that supports digital storytelling, are presented, which suggest that our system has met its design goals of providing an effective and efficient user interface. Qualitative insights from user evaluations show that mobile digital storytelling has a future.

    
    
    @incollection{Reitmaier2009,
      title = {Bringing {{Digital Storytelling}} to the {{Mobile}}},
      location = {{Berlin / Heidelberg}},
      isbn = {978-3-642-03654-5},
      number = {5726},
      booktitle = {Human-{{Computer Interaction}} – {{INTERACT}} 2009},
      series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
      publisher = {{Springer}},
      author = {Reitmaier, Thomas and Marsden, Gary},
      date = {2009},
      pages = {750--753},
      doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-03655-2_81}
    }
    
    
    

Journal Articles

1. Reitmaier, T. (2012). ‘She Looked Deep Into Our Eyes’: Reflections on Cross-Cultural Practice in Rural Africa. Knowledge Management for Development Journal, 7(3), 327–339.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: This paper shows the development of a mobile digital storytelling system that suits the needs and functions of rural African communities. But rather than focusing solely on the artefact and how it was designed, I also present an account of the ideas and perspectives I took, and how these changed in the course of practice. I uncover the slow process of discovering that cross-cultural practice is not only about understanding users or prototyping ideas in a detached fashion, but explore how in the course of practice pre-existing notions embedded in ourselves and in our culture are ‘unconcealed’. It is a learning process in which we learn about users in relation to ourselves. The prototype was tested in Adiedo, Kenya.

   
   
   @article{Reitmaier2012a,
     title = {{{She Looked Deep Into Our Eyes}}’: {{Reflections}} on {{Cross}}-{{Cultural Practice}} in {{Rural Africa}}},
     volume = {7},
     issn = {1947-4199},
     url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19474199.2011.649011},
     doi = {10.1080/19474199.2011.649011},
     number = {3},
     journaltitle = {Knowledge Management for Development Journal},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas},
     date = {2012},
     pages = {327--339}
   }
   
   
   

2. Reitmaier, T., Bidwell, N. J., & Marsden, G. (2011). Situating Digital Storytelling Within African Communities. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 69(10), 658–668.
   PDF DOI Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: We reflect on the methods, activities and perspectives we used to situate digital storytelling in two rural African communities in South Africa and Kenya. We demonstrate how in-depth ethnography in a village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and a design workshop involving participants from that village allowed us to design a prototype mobile digital storytelling system suited to the needs of rural, oral users. By leveraging our prototype as a probe and observing villagers using it in two villages in South Africa and Kenya, we uncovered implications for situating digital storytelling within those communities. Finally, we distil observations relevant to localizing storytelling and their implications for transferring design into a different community.

   
   
   @article{Reitmaier2011,
     title = {Situating {{Digital Storytelling Within African Communities}}},
     volume = {69},
     issn = {1071-5819},
     url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581910001655},
     doi = {10.1016/j.ijhcs.2010.12.008},
     number = {10},
     journaltitle = {International Journal of Human-Computer Studies},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas and Bidwell, Nicola J. and Marsden, Gary},
     date = {2011},
     pages = {658--668}
   }
   
   
   

3. Marsden, G., Ladiera, I., Reitmaier, T., Bidwell, N. J., & Blake, E. (2010). Digital Storytelling in Africa. International Journal of Computing, 9(3), 257–265.
   PDF Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: In this paper we examine how digital technology can be used to inspire, record and present oral stories in an African context. In particular we explore how to create technologies that are sympathetic to the cultures of the storytellers, both in the capture of stories and their retelling. Specifically, we look at: inspiring stories in District Six in Cape Town; capturing digital stories from users with low literacy levels and using virtual reality to retell indigenous and personal experience narratives.

       
   @article{Marsden2010,
     title = {Digital {{Storytelling}} in {{Africa}}},
     volume = {9},
     number = {3},
     journaltitle = {International Journal of Computing},
     author = {Marsden, Gary and Ladiera, Ilda and Reitmaier, Thomas and Bidwell, Nicola J. and Blake, Edwin},
     date = {2010},
     pages = {257--265}
   }
   
       

Theses

1. Reitmaier, T. (2018). Human-centred computer architecture: Redesigning the mobile datastore & sharing interface (PhD Dissertation). Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town.
   PDF Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: This dissertation develops a material perspective on Information & Communication Technologies and combines this perspective with a Research through Design approach to interrogate current and develop new mobile sharing interfaces and datastores. Through this approach I open up a line of inquiry that connects a material perspective of information with everyday sharing and communication practices as well as with the mobile and cloud architectures that increasingly mediate such practices. With this perspective, I uncover a shifting emphasis of how data is stored on mobile devices and how this data is made available to apps through sharing interfaces that prevent apps from obtaining a proper handle of data to support fundamentally human acts of sharing such as gifting.

   I take these insights to articulate a much wider research agenda to implicate, beyond the sharing interface, the app model and mobile datastore, data exchange protocols, and the Cloud. I formalise the approach I take to bring technically and socially complex, multi-dimensional and changing ideas into correspondence and to openly document this process.

   I consider the history of the File abstraction and the fundamental grammars of action this abstraction supports (e.g. move, copy, & delete) and the mediating role this abstraction -- and its graphical representation -- plays in binding together the concerns of system architects, programmers, and users. Finding inspiration in the 30 year history of the file, I look beyond the Desktop to contemporary realms of computing on the mobile and in the Cloud to develop implications for reinvigorated file abstractions, representations, and grammars of actions. First and foremost, these need to have a social perspective on files.

   To develop and hone such a social perspective, and challenge the assumption that mobile phones are telephones -- implying interaction at a distance -- I give an interwoven account of the theoretical and practical work I undertook to derive and design a grammar of action -- showing -- tailored to co-present and co-located interactions. By documenting the process of developing prototypes that explore this design space, and returning to the material perspective I developed earlier, I explore how the grammars of show and gift are incongruent with the specific ways in which information is passed through the mobile's sharing interface.

   This insight led me to prototype a mobile datastore -- My Stuff -- and design new file abstractions that foreground the social nature of the stuff we store and share on our mobiles. I study how that stuff is handled and shared in the Cloud by developing, documenting, and interrogating a cloud service to facilitate sharing, and implement grammars of actions to support and better align with human communication and sharing acts.

   I conclude with an outlook on the powerful generative metaphor of casting mobile media files as digital possessions to support and develop human-centred computer architecture that give people better awareness and control over the stuff that matters to them.

     ```
   @thesis{ReitmaierPhD,
     title = {Human-Centred Computer Architecture: Redesigning the Mobile Datastore \& Sharing Interface},
     institution = {{Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town}},
     type = {PhD Dissertation},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas},
     date = {2018}
   }
     ```
     

2. Reitmaier, T. (2011). Designing Digital Storytelling for Rural African Communities (Master’s Thesis). Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town.
   PDF Abstract BibTeX

   Abstract: Chon gilala -- a long time ago -- says Mama Rhoda of Adiedo, Kenya. She looks deeply into our eyes. We record her rhythms and rhymes as she sings and tells a story about her grandparents. She shows us the exact spot where her great-grandfathers and his friends used to sit and drink and how her grandmother used to dance.

   This thesis situates digital storytelling in rural African communities to enable rural people, like Mama Rhoda, to record and share their stories and to express their imaginations digitally. We explore the role of design, and the methods and perspectives designers need to take on to design across cultures and to understand the forms and meanings behind rural African interpretations of digital storytelling. These perspectives allow us to `unconceal' how our Western storytelling traditions have influenced design methods and obscure the voices of `other' cultures.

   By integrating ethnographic insights with previous experiences of designing mobile digital storytelling systems, we implement a method using cell-phones to localize storytelling and involve rural users in design activities -- probing ways to incorporate visual and audio media in storytelling. Products from this method help us to generate design ideas for our system, most notably flexibility.

   Leveraging this prototype as a probe and observing villagers using it in two villages in South Africa and Kenya, we report on situated use of our prototype and discuss, and relate to usage, the insights we gathered on our prototype, the users, their needs, and their context. We use these insights to uncover further implications for situating digital storytelling within those communities and reflect on the importance of spending time in-situ when designing across cultures. Deploying our prototype through an NGO, we stage first encounters with digital storytelling and show how key insiders can introduce the system to a wider community and make it accessible through their technical and social expertise.

   Our mobile digital storytelling system proved to be both useable and useful and its flexibility allowed users to form their own interpretations of digital storytelling and (re)appropriate our system to alternative ends. Results indicate that our system accommodates context and that storytelling activities around our system reflect identity. Our activities in communities across Africa also show that our system can be used as a digital voice that speaks to us, by allowing users to express themselves – through digital stories – in design.

   
   
   @thesis{ReitmaierMSc,
     title = {Designing {{Digital Storytelling}} for {{Rural African Communities}}},
     institution = {{Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town}},
     type = {Master's {{Thesis}}},
     author = {Reitmaier, Thomas},
     date = {2011}
   }