Teresa Almeida | Umeå University (original) (raw)

Papers by Teresa Almeida

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Dec 31, 2022

IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction INTERACT 2023: Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023 , 2023

Privacy is a fundamental human right in the digital age. With the proliferation of intimate healt... more Privacy is a fundamental human right in the digital age. With the proliferation of intimate health technologies, such as datadriven apps and connected devices that track bodily care and sensitive topics, privacy is increasingly critical. In this paper, we explore the complexity of intimate data and user perspectives and the choices they make to protect themselves. We introduce a story completion study with 27 participants to examine individuals' concerns about data privacy, their protective or avoidant actions, and the potential mismatches between privacy concerns and actual behaviors. We suggest future research that combines User-Tailored Privacy (UTP) and participatory threat modeling to create privacy solutions that account for users' needs and the potential risks and harms associated with the use of their data.

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016

International Journal of Design, 2023

Storytelling is a frequently used approach to design. Stories and storytelling also have a role i... more Storytelling is a frequently used approach to design. Stories and storytelling also have a role in mediating information and contributing to people's understanding of the world around them. Previous research suggests that storytelling can be empowering to marginalized and diverse communities, such as Indigenous peoples, by offering a platform to voice their (hi)stories. In this paper, we present a research through design project in which we explore the design of the living archive. This is a web-based digital archive that encourages a user-based approach to restorying the past by focusing on storytelling for empowerment and involving members of Indigenous People, the Sami. We demonstrate how a digital archive can contribute to (re)storying the past in a manner that preserves Indigenous ways of knowing and ethical archiving of social memory. Through this archive, we provide the digital tools for the communities to take on the role to tell their truth and, in doing so, become central in the design and communication of their own stories. In short, design for storytelling to empower those who need a voice.

Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2017

Researchers working in domains such as Research through Design and Feminist HCI have been questio... more Researchers working in domains such as Research through Design and Feminist HCI have been questioning "dissemination practices" and their impact on our capacity to produce reflexive accounts of research in publications. This paper examines academic dissemination practices within HCI research communities from an institutional to individual level. We unpack the practice via a meta-review of recent literature published in CHI and other venues on 'What is HCI?'. We review the core text on this debate and other similar discussions on HCI methodologies and reflexive accounts of research in domains such as 'Research through Design' and 'Feminist HCI'. We highlight the importance of practicing reflexivity through dissemination and introduce 'Research Fictions' in the form of video essays and live performances, produced by the first author with her colleagues, based on their HCI submissions. Through experimenting with alternative dissemination formats, we argue that our exploratory processes engender a practice of reflexivity within a research lab.

NordiCHI 2022, 2022

The digitalisation of the reproductive body has seen a myriad of cutting-edge technologies to pri... more The digitalisation of the reproductive body has seen a myriad of cutting-edge technologies to prioritise neglected intimate health and care topics, such as fertility and contraception. The impact of these intimate data on livelihood and society is pervasive including that privacy is critical to safeguarding security as this increasing digitalisation also produces increasingly large datasets. In this paper, we enquire the collective nature of privacy in female-oriented technologies (FemTech) to show how this ever-extending collection of data implicates many beyond the individual. We introduce a pilot study on the data collection practices of a subset of FemTech devices with fertility tracking service. We demonstrate that data is collected about the user and others, such as their immediate relationships and user groups as a whole. We suggest that it is critical we ask who is vulnerable and discuss approaches to mitigate collective harm.

ARTECH 2021, 2021

The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the ... more The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the whole that defends the body against illness. In this paper, we introduce the immune system as a site to explore more-than-human design. Specifically, we address the effects of chronic stress on the immune system to explore a set of speculative wearable designs that combine the microbial basis of the human body with that of more-than-human. We reflect on the relationships within living materials and discuss symbiosis and mutualistic care when designing alternative wearable artifacts and trackers.

In this paper we explore the potential of postdisciplinary practices to contribute to designing t... more In this paper we explore the potential of postdisciplinary practices to contribute to designing technologies that are in alignment with the fluidity of the female body and the nonfixity of objects. We describe a combination of methods for a deeper understanding of medical devices, and the challenges of prototyping bodily-centred technologies. Keywords— Technology; body; design; health; care; women

The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the ... more The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the whole that defends the body against illness. In this paper, we introduce the immune system as a site to explore morethan-human design. Specifically, we address the effects of chronic stress on the immune system to explore a set of speculative wearable designs that combine the microbial basis of the human body with that of morethan-human. We reflect on the relationships within living materials and discuss symbiosis and mutualistic care when designing alternative wearable artifacts and trackers. CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Interaction design.

CHI ’21, 2021

Fertility tracking applications are technologies that collect sensitive information about their u... more Fertility tracking applications are technologies that collect sensitive information about their users i.e. reproductive potential. For many, these apps are an affordable solution when trying to conceive or managing their pregnancy. However, intimate data are not only collected but also shared beyond users knowledge or consent. In this paper, we explore the privacy risks that can originate from the mismanagement, misuse, and misappropriation of intimate data, which are entwined in individual life events and in public health issues such as abortion and (in)fertility. We look at differential vulnerabilities to enquire data’s vulnerability and that of ‘data subjects’. We introduce the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and how it addresses fertility data. We evaluate the privacy of 30 top ‘fertility apps’ through their privacy notices and tracking practices. Lastly, we discuss the regulations and fertility data as critical to the future design of tracking technologies and privacy rights.

OzCHI 2020 - 32nd Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (HCI), 2020

This paper introduces the design explorations of a multi-sensorial environment focused on emotion... more This paper introduces the design explorations of a multi-sensorial environment focused on emotional pregnancy. We define emotional pregnancy as the psychological and mental reactions to the transitional experiences towards motherhood/becoming a parent. We draw from insights into pregnant women's experiences and expert knowledge shared by midwives and doula to develop a sensorial experience and toolkit that combine affirmations, light, sound, movements and journaling. This is deployed within the context of a prenatal yoga setting with three women at different stages in their pregnancy. We offer insights into how a multi-sensorial approach to designing for the wholeness of pregnancy can support and empower women in their experiences of pregnancy, expand on societal understandings and foster the value of emotions during this time.

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 2020

Women account for over half of the global population, however, continue to be subject to systemat... more Women account for over half of the global population, however, continue to be subject to systematic and 4 systemic disadvantage, particularly in terms of access to health and education. At every intersection, where 5 systemic inequality accounts for greater loss of life or limitations on full and healthy living, women are 6 more greatly impacted by those inequalities. The design of technologies is no different, the very definition of 7 technology is historically cast in terms of male activities, and advancements in the field are critical to improve 8 women’s quality of life. This article views HCI, a relatively new field, as well positioned to act critically in 9 the ways that technology serve, refigure, and redefine women’s bodies. Indeed, the female body remains 10 a contested topic, a restriction to the development of women’s health. On one hand, the field of women’s 11 health has attended to the medicalization of the body and therefore is to be understood through medical 12 language and knowledge. On the other hand, the framing of issues associated with women’s health and 13 people’s experiences of and within such system(s) remain problematic for many. This is visible today in, e.g., 14 socio-cultural practices in disparate geographies or medical devices within a clinic or the home. Moreover, the 15 biological body is part of a great unmentionable, i.e., the perils of essentialism. We contend that it is necessary, 16 pragmatically and ethically, for HCI to turn its attention toward a woman-centered design approach. While 17 previous research has argued for the dangers of gender-demarcated design work, we advance that designing 18 for and with women should not be regarded as ghettoizing, but instead as critical to improving women’s 19 experiences in bodily transactions, choices, rights, and access to and in health and care. In this article, we 20 consider how and why designing with and for woman matters. We use our design-led research as a way to 21 speak to and illustrate alternatives to designing for and with women within HCI.

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (ToCHI), 2020

AN INTRODUCTION BY OUR SELVES In the fields of human–computer interaction (HCI) and interaction d... more AN INTRODUCTION BY OUR SELVES
In the fields of human–computer interaction (HCI) and interaction design, there has been an in- creasing exploration of technology in relation to the body and in particular around issues associated with “women’s health.” Much of the work so far has been about ways design and technology can play in supporting transitions to and experiences of motherhood and maternal health, menstruation, domestic violence, abortion, pregnancy loss, intimate anatomical awareness, fertility management, continence care, menopause, voice training for trans-women, gender stereotypes in voice assistants, and reimagining existing practices and technologies, among others. This Special Issue has been put together to bring together various voices and research strands from within this emerging community of researchers in order to discuss the core ideas, approaches, issues, and challenges that are currently pressing for this area of research.
This ToCHI Special Issue is the product of two-and-a-half years of labour from the original proposal up to the final collection of articles you see before you now. It has involved multiple conversations between the editors and between the authors and editors. Inspired by Data Feminism [36] and many feminist scholars before that, we wish to hold ourselves to account in terms of the values that we as guest editors of ToCHI share, and the extent to which we have been able to uphold ourselves to these values. In curating this Special Issue, we hoped to explore women’s health HCI issues at a global scale. We aimed at highlighting new technologies and new interactions that might respond to core issues affecting women’s health, as well as critically engaging with the sociopolitical context that contributes to health inequality for women and girls worldwide. We wished to generate a pluralistic and intersectional account of women’s health and HCI, one that would speak to issues of race, sexuality, poverty, disability, and aging.
In our Call for Papers, we requested potential authors to submit a short abstract of their planned paper, so we could gauge the broader interest in the topic and the variety of issues being addressed. We were overwhelmed by the response, and indeed many interesting topics were raised, and it was very difficult to decide on a manageable number that we would invite to proceed with the development of a full manuscript for review. Among the abstracts we received, we invited 16 groups of authors to submit full-length papers, and eventually we accepted seven papers for this Special Issue, all having been through three rounds of rigorous peer-reviewing process. Our reviewers included both junior and senior scholars, with expertise in HCI, health, feminism, gender, design, Cultural Studies, and Science and Technology Studies (STS).
Looking at the submissions received for the Special Issue, there were surprisingly few works on how gender, racism, ageing, poverty, ableism, obesity, rurality, mental wellness, HIV, and cancer intersect with women’s health, as well as work from/about regions such as Africa or South and Central America, or the Middle East. And those that did unfortunately did not make it beyond the peer-reviewing process, despite our efforts to encourage them throughout the process. The lack of such contributions or their rejection during the peer-reviewing process was a disappointment. We were also expecting more contributions from the mainstream health informatics community, but we did not have many, and those we had did not emerge successfully from the reviewing process. Additionally, we were hoping to receive contributions around emergent technologies and women’s health, but we did not receive any submissions of that nature either. None of this should be seen as a failing of our field, nor the researchers, but instead highlighting the possible gaps that exist within the current research in this area as a way of motivating all of us interested in this topic. We believe that some of the gaps are the result of systemic issues within academia that make some voices harder to be heard. Some of these are on us too: Did we get the call out wide enough? Are we in the right networks?. We have taken note of how we might do better in the future, because the diversity in research is on all of us to improve. In spite of these limitations, we remain hopeful in that there is much to be explored in/about women’s health and the body in HCI. Moving forward, we hope to see more work in this space that goes beyond the limited geographical regions, stands in contrast to the existing politics around women’s health, and creates new ways of relating to our bodies in/with/through technologies. Such a more expansive view opens up many new and exciting possibilities. The collection of papers in this Special Issue represents only the beginning of the effort towards this end. They not only introduce new practices into women’s health HCI but also suggest new kinds of hope.
Traditionally, a special issue begins with an introduction written by the special issue editors where together the editors narrate the motivation and purpose of the special issue through a single, authoritative voice. A key goal of such a piece is to highlight the main contributions of the articles selected to be published with the special issue, and where possible put those contributions into conversation with one another to showcase the current research landscape—what is well charted, and where needs more work, what are the key concerns, and where are the boundaries.
We have chosen to do something a little different. Instead, what we offer here is a series of conversations between the four editors. The process of talking, responding, and reflecting is simultaneously an individual and collective task, and we see the form of conversations as our feminist commitment to challenge the dominant epistemology, research methodology, and politics in doing women’s health research in the field with the hope of creating some new openings. We wish to make visible that this area of research is still very much open, and its boundaries are blurred. There is no one established way to proceed and no agreed methodology for undertaking research in this area. We, as editors of this Special Issue, while all actively researching women’s health HCI, do not have all the answers. In what follows, we share our conversations around four themes about women’s health research that we came back to time and time again as we curated this Special Issue and show how we and these authors walk alongside each other.

ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS 2020), 2020

Pregnancy is a transformational journey towards parenthood. Bodily and mental changes are inevita... more Pregnancy is a transformational journey towards parenthood. Bodily and mental changes are inevitable for the one who is pregnant, and many find this transformation to be challenging. This paper reimagines the emotional pregnancy within the context of a prenatal yoga setting. In doing so, it explores novel approaches to designing interactions in a supportive environment. We introduce an explorative study with three women at different stages in their pregnancy to suggest avenues for design research in support of emotional wellbeing during this time.

Textile Intersections , 2019

Textiles have a long history of supporting personal health and wellbeing, and textile innovations... more Textiles have a long history of supporting personal health and wellbeing, and textile innovations concerned with the body abound. This paper delves into the biology of the body and brings to the fore its materiality as embodiment to reimagine modes of knowing in intimate care through textiles. It introduces two designerly studies of intimate care in women to advance that material engagement enables knowing and that the fabric of the body is a material of care in itself. In this paper, I embrace an epistemic practice that entwines a feminine sociocultural imaginary that challenges traditional approaches to health and care and, nonetheless, the design of textiles.

RTD Research through Design Conference, 2019

We present the design of a toolkit that explores textile materials with electronics as interactio... more We present the design of a toolkit that explores textile materials with electronics as interaction material for intimate health literacy, and method for engaging women in self-care. This toolkit includes a series of artifacts designed for research. A range of design and craft techniques were used, and materials explored, as medium to engender conversations between communities of women on practices of intimate care. The toolkit consists of a set of materials for the following two activities 1) body mapping and 2) do-it-yourself (DIY) wearable eTextiles. We present findings from our case study that included iterations with the toolkit within four discrete workshops, and a total of 22 women and girls age range 15-52. Our approach draws from feminist biology to assimilate notions of embodiment and bodily functions in ways that are conducive to knowledge production. Within this study we put a focus on interweaving aesthetics with the material landscape of electronic textiles and the body; making with and through DIY artefacts supported by technology-enabled materials , to shape and strengthen knowledge of processes within and between bodies. We contribute a design-erly approach to creating bodily awareness through hands-on engagement with crafting technology.

Book of DRS2018 Conversations, 2018

Woman-Centred Design, a Conversation at DRS2018: Design Research Society International Conference... more Woman-Centred Design, a Conversation at DRS2018: Design Research Society International Conference. Final documentation.

Because publishing with the ACM is essentially required to advance our careers, we must examine i... more Because publishing with the ACM is essentially required to advance our careers, we must examine its practices critically and constructively. To this end, we reflect on our experience working with the ACM student publication Crossroads. We encountered rigid content limitations related to sex and sexuality, preventing some contributors from foregrounding their connection to political activism, and others from publishing altogether. We explore the underlying institutional and sociopolitical problems and propose starting points for future action, including developing a transparent content approval policy and new organizations for politically-engaged computing researchers, all of which should center the leadership of marginalized individuals.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Dec 31, 2022

IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction INTERACT 2023: Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023 , 2023

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016

International Journal of Design, 2023

Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2017

NordiCHI 2022, 2022

ARTECH 2021, 2021

The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the ... more The immune system is built from our cells, organs, proteins and tissue, and it is the sum of the whole that defends the body against illness. In this paper, we introduce the immune system as a site to explore morethan-human design. Specifically, we address the effects of chronic stress on the immune system to explore a set of speculative wearable designs that combine the microbial basis of the human body with that of morethan-human. We reflect on the relationships within living materials and discuss symbiosis and mutualistic care when designing alternative wearable artifacts and trackers. CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Interaction design.

CHI ’21, 2021

OzCHI 2020 - 32nd Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (HCI), 2020

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 2020

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (ToCHI), 2020

ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS 2020), 2020

Textile Intersections , 2019

RTD Research through Design Conference, 2019

Book of DRS2018 Conversations, 2018

FEMeeting, 2019

We discuss how explorations in art and design, at the intersection of science and technology, are... more We discuss how explorations in art and design, at the intersection of science and technology, are uniquely situated to address women's intimate care and contribute to revolutionize practices within the female body. We review feminist theories that underpin our woman-centered designerly approaches to creating technologies and interactions that promote bodily awareness, and invite women to become embodied knowers. Certainly, the female body remains a contested topic. As advanced elsewhere by philosopher Denise Riley, the concept of the female body is underpinned by a core of identification of experiences associated with women, such as pregnancy or menstruation. Yet, woman as a category continues to evolve and women are far from being one homogeneous group. Nonetheless, knowledge available about women's and men's bodies is disproportionate, and knowledge, or lack thereof, is actively produced. In building on this, we argue that knowledge available to women is lacking. Moreover, knowledge that was once inaccessible and technologies that were institutionally bound are currently being challenged by the rise of citizen science, do-it-yourself (DIY), and open source approaches. If, on the one hand, such approaches emphasize active participation as an option to gathering and generating data, e.g about ourselves, our bodies, or the environment, on the other, these data have the potential to disrupt, e.g institutional care, and to promote self-care, all in all creating opportunities for change. We will introduce our own artistic explorations and designs that attempt to explore notions of the scientific body in its relation to biology and entanglements with technology. These include DIY alternative biological practices that embrace domestic remedies (Future Flora, please see figure 1) and wearable biosensors that monitor pH fluids (Alma, please see figure 2) through playful hands-on interventions with electronic textiles (an eTextile Toolkit, please see figure 3) and digital applications (Labella, please see figure 4). Our exemplars align with the ongoing inquiry concerned with addressing the body as a lens for innovating in intimate technologies, the kind that are not confined to the clinical setting. These novel explorations, we argue, configure woman as an active participant, and her (taking) action is at the fore when we design systems that enhance and nurture knowledge.

Crafting Anatomies, 2020

This chapter discusses how design, at the intersection of science and technology, is uniquely sit... more This chapter discusses how design, at the intersection of science and technology, is uniquely situated to address women’s intimate care and contribute to revolutionize practices within the female body. Everyday practices that are conducive to mitigating health disparities and promote well-being throughout the life course are needed, as much as advancements in the design of tools and services that highlight our relationship to the body are crucial to shape our place in society. Knowledge that was once inaccessible and technologies that were institutionally bound are today being challenged by the rise of citizen science, do- it-yourself (DIY), and open source approaches. These are community-oriented viewpoints that emphasize active participation as alternative to gathering and generating data, e.g., about ourselves, our bodies, or the environment. This data have the potential to disrupt, e.g., institutional care, and to promote self-care, which in turn create opportunities for change.
Knowledge available about women’s and men’s bodies is disproportionate, and that knowledge, or lack thereof, is actively produced. In building on this, we argue that knowledge available to women is lacking. It is therefore urgent to challenge traditional forms of engaging women in understanding their bodies. New methods are required that value self-care.
We start by reviewing feminist theories that underpin our woman-centered approaches to designing materials that promote bodily awareness, inviting women to become embodied knowers. In addition, we discuss the design of a series of toolkits as mediums to engender conversations and break taboos. Our exemplars include DIY alternative biological practices that embrace domestic remedies through playful hands-on interventions with electronic textiles and digital applications. This is a suite that aligns with design inquiries concerned with addressing the body as a future lens for innovating in intimate technologies. They configure woman as an active participant, and her (taking) action is at the fore of our quest to design systems that promote agency, autonomy, and knowledge.

Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice, 2021

This paper explores the intersections within bodily materialism and future textiles by inquiring ... more This paper explores the intersections within bodily materialism and future textiles by inquiring into embodied practices and materiality in care. By placing the body as a site of research, it centres around concepts of bodily care and the body as an ecosystem, one that is always in flux and considers the fluidity of bodies and bodily fluids, such as urine, discharge, breath and sweat, as fluids with potential to design with. It looks at how bodies are acted upon by outside forces, and explore more-than-human relations as co-creators in co-habiting the space of the body and that around it. To illustrate this, the paper introduces a series of design research artefacts that take a variety of approaches to exploring the materiality of care in the everyday. First, an eTextile toolkit that aims to create bodily awareness through hands-on engagement with textile crafting technology, then a biotextile harvesting toolkit that involves the raw material of the intimate body that explores DIYbio in the context of the home, and lastly a set of wearable living material-based explorations that recognize biomimicry and symbiotic relationships in designing for chronic stress. In embracing notions of bodily materialism, this paper explores the bodily abject i.e. fluids and the more-than-human as crucial to engendering new modes of knowing in intimate and personal care through textile-based materials. The paper engages critically with textile design research and practice by placing material that embraces care as ambivalent at the forefront and thus challenging traditional approaches to health and care and, importantly, the design of future textiles.

17th Annual Fertility Conference UK , 2024

There is an abundance of digital sexual and reproductive health technologies that present concern... more There is an abundance of digital sexual and reproductive health technologies that present concern regarding their potential sensitive data breaches. We analyzed 15 Internet of Things (IoT) devices with sexual and reproductive tracking services and found this ever-extending collection of data implicates many beyond the individual including partner, child, and family. Results suggest that digital sexual and reproductive health data privacy is both an individual and collective endeavor.