Patients and providers are beginning to use patient generated-health data (PGHD) to collaborate to understand patient routines, identify health problems, and tailor treatment strategies. However, current technology designs fail to support key aspects of collaboration, including planning, data collection, review, and analysis. Among all the health data people track, food data is essential for preventing and managing many health concerns. Although numerous tools exist to help people track and understand their diet and its consequences, these tools are often high burden, can lead people to focus on what is easily tracked rather than what is most relevant for their health, and fail to support effective collaboration between providers. In this study, we designed, developed, and deployed novel food tracking diaries to support healthy eating and the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Eighteen people with healthy eating goals used the food diaries for at least two weeks, and then worked with their health providers to plan changes to their diet. Sixteen IBS patients used the IBS version of the diary for at least nine days and then worked with providers to identify food triggers and plan changes. We interviewed patients and providers and observed their collaborations. The photo-based food diaries we designed supported patient-provider communication for both healthy eating and IBS. Compared to traditional food diaries, the photo-based food diaries make data collection, review, and analysis easier for patients and providers. However, patients and providers described scenarios when specific nutritional information -- beyond what they can see in photos -- helped the diagnostic or management process, such as when identifying IBS triggering nutrients. Our research will lead to better use of PGHD to give patients more tailored, accurate, efficient and informed treatment plans. Our results also inform the design of  food diaries that will better support people with different various health goals.

Prolonged wakefulness is the root cause of significant incidents and accidents across numerous shift-working industries. Laboratory research has indicated that exposure to short-wavelength (visibly blue) light enhances alertness and performance, and shifts circadian phase. The strategic use of short-wavelength light may be a suitable fatigue countermeasure to decrease the risk of accidents in demanding occupations. Despite many laboratory studies demonstrating the efficacy of blue light, little work has been done to investigate the translation of such strategies in an occupational setting, where workers are more likely to experience confounding factors that could dampen the effectiveness of lighting countermeasures. One area where lighting countermeasures could be useful is among pilots who must awaken early to begin flying in the early morning hours. Our research aims to investigate the efficacies of integrating fatigue countermeasures in time-sensitive operations to bolster work safety and performance. We conducted a randomized, cross-over study to determine whether blue-enriched lighting could be used to shift circadian phase and sleep, and improve performance among airline pilots working early shifts using 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) concentrations as a default for circadian cycle. Volunteer participants working for a short-haul airline completed a fixed-pattern design (FPD) roster schedule and aMT6s collection protocol outlined in the methods section. The aMT6s data were subjected to a best-fit cosinor analysis to determine the acrophase. Analyses are underway to determine whether circadian phase shifts occurred following the blue-enriched lighting condition.

Modes and forms of communication have evolved drastically over the last several decades, with the emergence of large social media platforms and an increased accessibility to information over the Internet. Traditionally, journalists played the role of both providing and curating information to the general public, but with these new forms of communication, the role of journalists is evolving too. We examine how this role is changing in the crisis context. Specifically, we look at the interactions between journalists, citizens and government information workers after the Oso Landslide that occurred on March 22 of 2014. We analyzed the tweets from this event to see the interaction between these groups at specific points in time as the crisis unfolded. From a collection of ~1 million tweets, we conducted a micro-analysis of two important time periods: 1) all tweets about the Slide in the first two hours after it occurred and 2) all tweets over the first three weeks that included the hashtag created by the lead response agency (530slide.) We combine ethnographic analyses, descriptive statistics, and network analyses to better understand how contemporary crisis information is shared among these groups as presented on Twitter. Preliminary results show that there were common content themes that each represent a specific ‘information need’: situational awareness, public safety, aid, and commentary. 

At a time of heightened global attention to the threat of misinformation, disinformation, political propaganda, and the role of technology in facilitating their spread, this research addresses the media ecosystem encompassing the Syrian Civil War. We examine the competing narratives surrounding the role of Syria Civil Defence, a volunteer humanitarian organization popularly known as the White Helmets, working in war-torn Syria. Mainstream media articles sympathetic of the White Helmets and their efforts brought global awareness to the plight of Syrian people, especially those resisting the Assad government. However, this narrative was not aligned with other views of the complex geopolitical landscape of the Syrian conflict, and in response counter-narratives challenging the White Helmets emerged and spread to other online communities. Using a mixed-method approach based on seed data collected from Twitter, and then extending out to the websites cited in that data, we examine content sharing practices within news articles across distinct media domains that functioned to construct, shape, and propagate these narratives. We articulate a predominantly alternative media “echo-system” of websites that repeatedly share content about the White Helmets. Among other findings, our work reveals a small set of websites and authors generating content that is spread across diverse sites, drawing audiences from distinct communities into a shared narrative. This analysis also reveals the integration of government-funded media and geopolitical think tanks as source content for anti-White Helmets narratives. More broadly, the analysis demonstrates the role of alternative newswire-like services in providing content for alternative media websites. Though additional work is needed to understand these patterns over time and across topics, we provide insight into the dynamics of this multi-layered media ecosystem.

An important and under-explored component of information exchange and diffusion on social media involves permutations—i.e. how information changes, or more accurately, is changed as it flows. In this research paper, we aim to identify the various rumors and narratives that exist within a conversation surrounding Omran Daqneesh, the ‘Aleppo Boy’, on Twitter, and to investigate the actions that users take to propagate a certain permutations of these narratives. Before we can see how narratives propagate, we must first seek to understand these narratives at various levels of analysis, representing both the individual and society more generally. To this end, we examine narratives within the conversation at various levels: the micro, meso, and macro, representing individual actions and rumors, context-specific narratives, and a higher-level beliefs and worldviews. In this research we adopt a mixed methods approach. We quantitatively analyze our data to gain insights into the key events and influential actors in the space, and qualitatively code tweets to identify 1) rumor permutations that contribute to larger narratives surrounding the Syrian conflict; and 2) specific actions that help us to understand how individuals interacting within this information space. We aim to build a deeper understanding of how rumors are spread, how disinformation effects the online information space, and to develop a robust coding scheme that is transferable and can be applied to other rumors outside of the Syrian context in the future.

Food waste is a pressing global issue. In the U.S. alone, 40 percent of food is wasted. With a 15 percent reduction, we can help feed more than 25 million Americans yearly and provide meals to the 15 percent of U.S. households who are food insecure (USDA). The University of Washington (UW) is taking strides to address this issue by working with food recovery agencies. However, these agencies are overworked and their food recovery program requirements deter some dining halls from participating. Utilizing a user-centered-design approach, our team researched, designed, and built an open source website to facilitate food recovery. Over the last 6 months, we employed six research methods: (1) we conducted a competitive analysis of food recovery systems; (2) we interviewed managers at UW dining halls and food service offices, 50 local shelters, and 6 food banks; (3) we completed a contextual inquiry of current food delivery practices; (4) we incorporated participatory design practices with 4 dining hall managers, 3 shelter managers, and 16 students; (5) we conducted iterative in-person usability tests with 25 participants including shelter and dining hall managers, and student groups; and (6) we deployed an online survey to understand the motivation and behavior of student volunteerism, receiving 78 responses. Among our many findings, we identified the need for improved communication among agencies, consistent and universal donation records, and strategies for utilizing student volunteers for donation deliveries. Currently, we are live-testing our website with one UW dining hall, two shelters, and two student volunteer groups. Our interactive, responsive open source website should prove scalable for global adaptation. Universities and corporations worldwide can utilize this system to improve their own food recovery efforts. Through our work, we are educating the public on the food waste epidemic, while building a network that prompts communal action.