Professor  John McCarthy

John McCarthy is Professor of Applied Psychology at University College Cork, Ireland, where he leads the People and Technology Group (PAT). PAT is a collection of human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers engaged in experience-centred and participatory design of digital technology to understand and enhance people’s lived experience and to ensure their voices are heard in the design of things that matter to them.

John has over 20 years experience working in HCI research with about 100 publications including three books with Peter Wright on theoretical and methodological foundations of experience-centred HCI Design: Technology as Experience (MIT Press, 2004) and Experience-centred design (Morgan Claypool, 2010), and most recently, Taking [A]Part (MIT Press, 2004). The most recent reflects on some design projects that they were involved with, to think about the politics and aesthetics of taking part in HCI design projects. His current research projects are concerned with further developing understanding and practice of participation in HCI. These projects focus on:
(i) The potential to develop dementia friendly research communities to do experienced centred design of technologies and services with people with dementia and their carers in order to understand and enhance their experience and wellbeing;
(ii) The emergence of digital communities and publics as expression of civic engagement in e.g. information, support and advocacy around dementia care and sustainable energy.

John is a member of ACM SIGCHI and Chapter Officer of the Irish SIGCHI Chapter. He has been a Theme Chair for the ACM DIS conference, General Co-Chair of Irish HCI, on Programme Committees for a number number of ACM SIGCHI workshops, Editorial Board of Interacting with Computers and a regular reviewer for SIGCHI conferences and HCI journals.

• Digital publics and counter-publics: varieties of community participation online
  The idea of publics is gaining traction in HCI as a construct for framing design of and understanding media engagement. This talk presents a critical enquiry into the emergence, values, and...
• The politics and aesthetics of participation in HCI
  In one form or another, participation is deep in the DNA or culture of HCI, from the very earliest pragmatic commitments to have computer users involved (even indirectly) in the design of...
• Thinking about sensible technologies for people with dementia
  Much technology design and development for people living with the diagnosis of dementia is remedial and focuses on providing assistance in areas that are perceived to be cognitive deficits....