Dr Christine Satchell’s research is dedicated to understanding the social and cultural nuances of everyday user behavior in order to inform the design of new technology. Integral to this is the development of a methodological approach that embeds a variety of research methods, including cultural probes, cultural theory and participatory design within Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and more specifically, the user centered design process.

This was reflected in Dr Satchell’s PhD thesis, A Young Nomad’s Guide to New Digital Terrains, which explored the use of mobiles to enhance young people’s formation of social networks in urban environments. This led to the development of The Swarm, a patented mobile phone prototype that supports the spontaneous formation of social worlds while simultaneously reducing gratuitous interactions.

Dr Satchell is dedicated to furthering her chosen field of HCI and was the Technical Program Co-Chair of OZCHI 2008 – the Austral-Asian Computer-Human Interaction Conference. In the past six years Dr Satchell has published over 25 peer reviewed book chapters, journals articles and conference papers. Dr Satchell’s research is frequently disseminated in public forums including keynote addresses and has been covered extensively by the media including New Scientist, Wired Magazine and over 50 Internet blogs. Recently, Dr Satchell’s research has focused on the relationship between constellations of technologies including (but not limited to) mobile devices, social networking sites, sensors and shared displays in urban environments.

Currently Dr Satchell is working as an APDI (Australian Postdoctoral Research Investigator) for QUT on an ARC/Optus/Queensland Department of Housing project ‘Swarms for Urban Villages: New Media Design to Augment Social Networks of Residents in Inner-City Developments.’

Publications

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Satchell,_Christine.html