Pursuing Health and Inclusion Through Sociotechnical Systems

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Passcode:  277893

President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Candidate

Abstract: In this talk, I show how studying human and contextual factors can reveal user needs and result in innovative technical systems. I focus particularly on technologies that support the work of healthcare professionals to improve the availability of care for people with disabilities. I find that systems should account for social and environmental factors in addition to physiological data. Further, design efforts should balance the tension between addressing the challenging versus the mundane parts of professional work. Based on my work on epilepsy and feeding disorder care, I hypothesize that there is a rewarding or unrewarding quality to work that is dictated in part by its social, temporal, and clinical characteristics. I close by identifying future opportunities to study and design inclusive technologies that enhance the care of people with disabilities.

Bio: Megh Marathe is a PhD candidate in the School of Information at the University of Michigan (UM) advised by Kentaro Toyama. Their research is situated at the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI), science & technology studies, and disability studies. Their work has led to eight first-authored publications at top HCI venues, including a CHI best paper award; and earned prestigious grants and awards including a Microsoft Research fellowship. Prior to UM, Marathe received a master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and spent several years working at companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle.