Research Interests
I am interested in developing methods for design of sociotechnical systems. I prefer to understand this activity as guided evolution in sociotechnical ecologies. In particular, I have three areas of interest:
- Developing methods of structuring the rich detail present in many ethnographic research studies so that it is useful for design activities.
- Exploring how design techniques used in HCI and CSCW, such as participatory design, patchwork prototyping, scenario-based design, and various methods of rapid prototyping and evaluation can be used to guide evolution in the broader context of sociotechnical ecologies.
- Exploring how theoretical concepts developed in Social Informatics and Social Studies of Technology can be used to inform and improve designed interventions in sociotechnical ecologies.
Research Group Participation
Education
Courses include: Social Informatics, Rapid Prototyping and Evaluation, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Scenario-Based Design, Systems Analysis and Management, Design of Information Use Studies, Use and Users of Information, Computer-Mediated Communication, Contemporary Philosophy of Science, Knowledge Representation, Knowledge Representation and Formal Ontology, Information Modeling, Information Organization and Access, Organizational Psychology, Folklore, Self-Organizing Systems, History and Foundations of Library and Information Science, Indexing and Abstracting, Multivariate Analysis, E-Learning Independent Study, Doctoral Research Methods, Storytelling, Libraries and Information in Society. Audited: Ethnographic Research Methods, Qualitative Methods in Research, Data Analysis for LIS, Ontologies in the Humanities.
Experimental Cognitive Science track, concentration in German. Courses include: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Statistical Methods, Probability and Random Variables, Social Psychology, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Development, Origins of Behavior.
Selected Publications
Floyd, Ingbert R.; Twidale, Michael B. (2008). Learning Design from Emergent Co-Design: Observed Practices and Future Directions. Presented at Designed for Co-designers workshop at the Participatory Design Conference 2008 (PDC 2008) [workshop position paper]
Twidale, Michael B.; Floyd, Ingbert R. (2008). Infrastructures From the Bottom-Up and the Top-Down: Can They Meet in the Middle? Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference 2008 (PDC 2008). [short paper]
Jones, M. Cameron; Floyd, Ingbert R.; Twidale, Michael B. (2008). Teaching Design with Personas. Proceedings of the Human Computer Interaction in Education 2008 (HCIEd 2008) Conference, Rome, Italy. [conference paper]
Floyd, Ingbert R.; Renear, Allen (2007). What Exactly is an Item in the Digital World? The American Society for Information Science & Technology Annual Meeting 2007, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [short paper/poster]
Floyd, Ingbert R.; Jones, M. Cameron; Rathi, Dinesh; Twidale, Michael B. (2007). Web Mash-ups and Patchwork Prototyping: User-driven technological innovation with Web 2.0 and Open Source Software. HICSS 2007: 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2007. [conference paper]
Jones, M. Cameron; Floyd, Ingbert R.; Twidale, Michael B. (2007). Patchwork Prototyping with Open-Source Software. In The Handbook of Research on Open Source Software, St. Amant, K. and Still, B. (Eds), Idea Group, Inc., PA. [book chapter]
Unpublished Presentations
Floyd, Ingbert R. (2005). The Use of Feedback and Research in a Successful Distance Education Program. Association of Internet Researchers Conference 6.0: Generations, 2005.
Academic Teaching Experience
This course provides an introduction to the technologies behind the Web. Topics covered include: hypertext, hypermedia, the history of the Web, the role of Web standards and their impact on the development of Web resources. The course introduces principles of Web design and usability. Students will gain an understanding how the Web works and how to design, construct, evaluate, and maintain Web-based materials.
Selected Work Experience
- Performed research on rapid design and design evaluation methods.
- Maintained Eclectic Design Research Group (EDRG) website.
- Helped run Wildcard Session at the iConference 2008
- Developed course materials for LIS 390W1A - Web Technologies and Techniques.
- Solely responsible for all aspects of teaching the Web Technologies class.
- Helped create, maintain, and organize materials in the GSLIS community of IDEALS. IDEALS is the UIUC Institutional Repository.
- Publicized the community within GSLIS, recruited and facilitated faculty, staff, and student submissions.
- Walked faculty through the submissions process, answered questions and concerns that were raised.
- Collected feedback from faculty and staff about IDEALS in general and about the submissions process in particular, including process, interface, and presentational issues; provided it to the IDEALS administrators.
- Contacted publishers to establish copyright permissions for placing their publications in IDEALS
- Collected information about, prepared, and organized materials being sent to a mass digitization effort.
- Gathered publication information from faculty, compiled it, and researched copyright policies of publishers.
- Helped to construct a research framework to investigate New Orleans schools post-Katrina using a Social Informatics perspective.
- Created the first version of the Center for CHASS website (http://www.chass.uiuc.edu/), including both content and design.
- Processed data collected in a semi-structured survey.
- Organized events such as lectures, workshops, and mini-conferences.
- Helped organize the Association of Internet Researchers 6.0 Conference. Duties included assembling the list of reviewer, contacting reviewers, monitoring the submissions process, distributing abstracts to reviewers, organizing the sessions, etc
- Helped with organizing submissions and running the review process for a special issue of the Journal for Computer-Mediated Communication
- Reorganized and restructured presentation of items on website, in catalogue, and in pricelists to increase usability.
- Trained all new employees, explaining the LAN setup & login, the email system, the phone system, the internet and web browsing, use of MS Office programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, how to use the company’s local area network effectively and according to company policy, and warehouse work including order pulling/packing/labeling, forklift driving, etc.
- Supervised shipping and customer service departments when managers were absent.
- Setup, customized, and instructed employees in use of Great Plains Dynamics software package.
- Gathered complete inventory data, entered information into a flat file, setup system for import of data into Great Plains Dynamics.
- Wrote PHP scripts to process the flat file into wholesale price list, retail price list, price lists for holidays, etc.
- Acted as Help Desk answering people’s questions and providing instructions for more effective use of the IT systems while providing company-wide technical support and troubleshooting on both hardware and software.
- Provided hardware/software Technical Support and maintained multiplatform TCP/IP network of Windows and Linux machines, on a Windows 2000 server, including managing connectivity issues between buildings, naming conventions, installing new software, configuring clients, and setting up schedule tasks.
- Maintained website and aided with upgrade to new version of the on-line store.
- Instructed clients of various backgrounds, including home-schooled high school, undergrad, and grad level students.
- Subjects taught include: math of various levels including calculus; written and verbal English—including pronunciation, slang, improving a client’s accent, grammar, reading comprehension, literature, writing skills, essay writing and vocabulary; American history; American culture; and GED, SAT, GRE, GMAT and Citizenship test preparation. Instructed clients in both learning skills and test-taking skills.
- Provided introductory lessons in Windows, MS Office, the internet and web-browsing, and simple customization and maintenance of personal machines to novice computer users.
- Provided consultation on business school applications and essays for top MBA programs.
- Taught SAT & GRE preparation (Verbal, Math and Analytic sections) classes between 1-35 students in size.
- Included emphasis on test-taking skills and strategies, and on familiarizing students with the format of the test.
- Used an interactive format and structured the classes to cover the maximum amount of material while keeping the class focused on the areas where the students felt they needed the most work.
- Developed strong presentation, organizational and interpersonal skills while maintaining classroom discipline.
- Successfully managed and completed an independent research project that investigated the relationship between behavior and memory formation in rodents by monitoring the activity of multiple hippocampal place cells using adjustable microdrive arrays during spatial navigation tasks
- Personally responsible for in depth literature research (library, database and on-line), experimental design, apparatus construction and assembly, animal training and care, assistance with surgery, data collection and data processing using advanced mathematical techniques isolating cells by clustering data spike points across six dimensions and performing statistical analysis on the results.
- Professional presentation (written and oral) of analysis in group meetings involving multiple labs to professors, post-doctoral associates, graduate student researchers, administrators and managers
- Experimental preparation consisted of constructing conical microdrive arrays of 25 to 35 tetrodes (bundles of four microelectrodes), surgically mounting the arrays on the animal subjects (rats), lowering the electrodes into the hippocampus, animal behavioral training and care, and data collection utilizing a specialized array of amplifiers and computers.
- Collaborated in research of neural learning funded by a 1.2 million-dollar Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research grant.
- Used knowledge of C, HTML, MATLAB, postscript, and UNIX scripting commands to write, proofread and optimize programs and scripts.
- Collaborated in research of the behavioral and pharmacological effects of Cocaine, Dexfenfluramine ("phen-fen"), and Melatonin, especially regarding activity levels, weight, levels of various neurotransmitters (Serotonin, Dopamine) in the brain, and levels of various intracellular neural messengers (cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP).
- Extensive qualitative, quantitative and statistical analysis of complex behavioral data.
- Designed and constructed equipment to aid in laboratory investigations using the MIT BCS machine shop.
- Collected behavioral data, pharmacological data using radio-chemical assays, and contributed to the application of new experimental methods.
- Responsible for care and handling of over 60 animal subjects (rats) at a time.
Professional Service
- Doctoral Studies Committee Student Representative – May 2005 - August 2007
- PhD Student Orientation Committee – May 2005 - August 2007
- Lecture Committee – 2004 - 2006
Skills
Computer, Technical: TCP/IP Networking; Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Servers, UNIX, Linux, Macintosh; HTML & CSS; C, PHP, MATLAB, Lisp, Scheme; Statview.
Computer, Office: MS Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint); Corel WordPerfect, Latex; Lotus Notes; Great Plains Dynamics, QuickBooks; data entry, type 65 wpm.
Management Skills: Direct Supervisor, Employee Training, Hiring/Firing, Developing and Codifying Office Procedure: Write-Up and Enforcement, Scheduling, Leadership, Communication Skills.
Teaching Skills: Individual and Classroom Teaching Experience, ability to adjust teaching to level of students, extensive use of feedback to measure effect of teaching on students.
Languages: Conversant in German.
