Posts by Elizabeth F. Churchill
Vintage Values
We got some press for our project on vintage shopping. That makes my heart sing! eBay is a commerce platform that embraces new, old, vintage, consignment….. all kinds of goods are circulated through eBay satisfying instrumental needs, nostalgic revisitations, sentimental acquisitions, aspirations fulfilled. I call our more recent project into this Vintage Values – playing… More »
Scrupulous, Scrutable and Sumptuous: Personal Data Futures
This is a draft of a column I wrote for ACM interactions magazine. It was inspired by conversations I had at the User Modeling and Personalization (UMAP) conference in Aalborg in July 2014. More »
Reasons to be Cheerful
This is a draft of a column I wrote for ACM interactions magazine. I have been thinking a lot recently about physical and emotional health, and especially about the tricks we play on ourselves to uplift mood and perspective in challenging times. I have an “earworm” for challenging times, a 1970’s single that was released in the UK by Ian Dury and The Blockheads. This column is named after that song, Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3. More »
The Currencies of Paper Currency
This is a draft of a column I wrote for ACM interactions magazine for early 2014. I have thinking about the “greenback”, the US’ banknote, and its design–instantly recognizable and horribly challenging from a usability standpoint because of the uniformity of the notes. I have also been thinking about the future of banknotes more generally. As virtual currencies emerge and more and more of our transactions are through credit/debit cards and online services like digital wallets, I am wondering what will happen to paper banknotes, often a “billboard” for a country, showcasing people and things that are seen as central to that country’s identity–the face of Queen Elizabeth II, Dame Nellie Melba, Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms, starfish, a chollima, a bee pollinating a flower…… More »
