Charlie Pinder

I am a PhD student in the HCI Centre here at Birmingham's School of Computer Science. I am exploring pervasive persuasive technology: how ambient and other pseudo-invisible systems can affect people's behaviour, particularly the use of pervasive technology to support habit change. I am particularly interested in the implications of Dual System Theory for technological interventions.

I am currently wondering about the use of cues for System 1 processes (i.e. the sort of fast, automatic pattern-matching processes that can occur below the level of deliberate consciousness, such as reading) to help deliver satisfying, behaviour-changing cross-platform user experiences.

I am funded by the HCI Centre, and was also delighted to receive a 2012 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship.

In 2013, I won two prizes at the University of Birmingham's Research Poster Conference: the peer prize and the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences first prize for my poster "Will the sedentary smartphone owner please stand up?".

I have previously worked as a developer on the Google-funded Privacy Trends project exploring user experiences around discussing privacy issues, an Android developer on the Stroppy Kettle project exploring 'slanty' technology that attempts to shape user behaviour by becoming unco-operative, a researcher on the CASAM project looking at automating the semantic tagging of news video in the SoCS, a senior content developer on a project into context-aware applications for SMEs at BCU, and in various technical and editorial roles at the BBC.

I also participated in a MozNewsLab in 2011, exploring new ways to deliver news content, as part of the Knight-Mozilla News Technology Partnership.

Contact details

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Room 242, HCI Centre, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham.
c.pinder@cs.bham.ac.uk

Publications

Conference papers

  • Cowan, B. R., Bowers, C. P., Beale, R., & Pinder, C. (2013). The Stroppy Kettle: An Intervention to Break Energy Consumption Habits. CHI 2013 Extended Abstracts. PDF.
  • Bowers, C., Beale, R., Byrne, W., Creed, C., Pinder, C, & Hendley, R. J. (2012). Interaction issues in computer aided semantic annotation of multimedia. In Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design (NordiCHI '12). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 534-543. DOI=10.1145/2399016.2399098 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2399016.2399098
  • Apostolikas, G., Spiliotopoulos, D., Georgousopoulos, C., Moller, R., Hendley, R. J., Petridis, S., Giannakopoulos, T., Koutsokeras, M., Papantoniou, K., Tsatsaronis, G., Paliouras, G., Akrivas, G., Gatos, B., Ntirogiannis, K., Perantonis, S., Zavitsanos, I., Karkaletsis, V., Gries, O., Nafissi, A., Rosenfeld, M., Sokolski, K., Wessel, M., Bowers, C., Byrne, W., Melhuish, J., Lonsdale, P., Creed, C., Pinder, C., Beale, R., Sarris, N., Vasiliou, C. & Ramfos, A. (2010) CASAM: A prototype system for computer-aided semantic annotation of multimedia, 5th International Conference on Semantic and Digital Media Technologies, Saarbrucken, Germany, e-print.
  • Bowers, C.P., Byrne, W., Melhuish, J., Lonsdale, P., Creed, C., Pinder, C., Beale, R. & Hendley, R. J. (2010) Interaction Issues in Computer Aided Semantic Annotation of Multimedia. 5th International Conference on Semantic and Digital Media Technologies e-print

Workshop papers

  • Pinder, C. (2013). Breaking and forming habits using technology: theoretical pointers from psychology. 1st Habits in Human Computer Interaction Workshop, BCS HCI 2013.
  • Cowan, B.R., Bowers, C.P., Pinder, C., & Beale, R. (2013). Habits in Human-Computer Interaction. 1st Habits in Human Computer Interaction Workshop, BCS HCI 2013.

Other HCI interests

Cake orchestra

Human-Cake Interaction
I built a cake orchestra using an Arduino, a bunch of LDRs and some cakes. More edible than your average orchestra. More about the code.

fingers

Human-Child Interaction
Why wait until a kid can read before teaching them about Computer Science? I'm interested in ways we might instill core coding ideas at a pre-reading level.

Human-Cat Interaction

Successful HCI outcome: Humbug's pretty relaxed.