Marios Mouratidis, M.Sc.
Vita
Marios Mouratidis studied Literary, Cultural and Media Studies with
Language and Communication as a minor subject (B.A.) and Human Computer
Interaction (M.Sc.) at the University of Siegen.
He works as a research associate at the chair of CSCW and Social Media
in the Center for Smart Production Design funded by the EU
and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
His research interests include participation, maker methodologies,
digital fabrication, innovation and come_IN computer clubs in Palestine.
He pursues qualitative research approaches.
During his studies he was able to contribute as a student assistant to
various research projects at the chairs of Information Systems and New
Media and CSCW and Social Media.
From 2016 on, he focused on field research in Palestine and coordinated
the DAAD funded project YALLAH! You All Are Hackers, where
he supervised students in small research projects around the framing of
social innovation and lectured qualitative research methods for
empirically based design.
Eversince, he coordinated the research projects of the Chair of
Information Systems and New Media in Palestine and also worked in the
BMBF-funded project PiHub and in the EU funded project Fostering Entrepreneurship in Science,
Technology, Engineering & Math (FESTEM).
His master thesis “(Un-)Sustainable ICT-interventions in occupied
Palestine” is a case study summarizing 9 years of research on come_IN
computer clubs in Palestine and investigated factors for sustainable
ICT-centered communities.
Before and during his studies he worked as a freelancer in media design
(web, print, mobile) and game design.
Projects
SMaP (EFRE, 2018-today)
Fab Lab Siegen
FESTEM (2018-today)
PiHUB (2019)
YALLAH You All Are Hackers (DAAD, 2016-2018)
come_IN – Intercultural learning using computer supported projectwork
Publikationen
2020
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Rüller, S., Aal, K., Mouratidis, M. & Wulf, V. (2020)Messy Fieldwork: A Natural Necessity or a Result of Western Origins and Perspectives?
Companion Publication of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 185–190 doi:10.1145/3393914.3395864
[BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]With this Provocation, we aim at starting a dialogue between researchers who struggle with applying qualitative and ethnographic methods and following approaches in non-Western settings. Going by the book might not be an option when conducting research in politically charged or un-stable regions. Local politics, social pressure and even people’s personal safety are aspects that require consideration. Based on our experience from conducting fieldwork in Morocco, Palestine and Botswana, we reflect upon the difficulties we came across. We argue that, messiness, to some extent comes naturally with immersive fieldwork. On the other hand, in order to find ‘clean’ ways of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in non-Western contexts, novel forms of (applying) methods are needed. By providing questions regarding three different aspects (applying methods on the Ground, Ethics, and Participation) we encourage researchers to reflect upon their own experiences.
@inproceedings{ruller_messy_2020, address = {New York, NY, USA}, series = {{DIS}' 20 {Companion}}, title = {Messy {Fieldwork}: {A} {Natural} {Necessity} or a {Result} of {Western} {Origins} and {Perspectives}?}, isbn = {978-1-4503-7987-8}, shorttitle = {Messy {Fieldwork}}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3393914.3395864}, doi = {10.1145/3393914.3395864}, abstract = {With this Provocation, we aim at starting a dialogue between researchers who struggle with applying qualitative and ethnographic methods and following approaches in non-Western settings. Going by the book might not be an option when conducting research in politically charged or un-stable regions. Local politics, social pressure and even people's personal safety are aspects that require consideration. Based on our experience from conducting fieldwork in Morocco, Palestine and Botswana, we reflect upon the difficulties we came across. We argue that, messiness, to some extent comes naturally with immersive fieldwork. On the other hand, in order to find 'clean' ways of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in non-Western contexts, novel forms of (applying) methods are needed. By providing questions regarding three different aspects (applying methods on the Ground, Ethics, and Participation) we encourage researchers to reflect upon their own experiences.}, urldate = {2021-04-15}, booktitle = {Companion {Publication} of the 2020 {ACM} {Designing} {Interactive} {Systems} {Conference}}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, author = {Rüller, Sarah and Aal, Konstantin and Mouratidis, Marios and Wulf, Volker}, month = jul, year = {2020}, keywords = {participation, ethnography, ethics, fieldwork, global south, methods, non-western, western}, pages = {185--190}, } -
Rueller, S., Aal, K., Mouratidis, M., Randall, D., Wulf, V., Boulus-Rødje, N. & Semaan, B. (2020)(Coping with) Messiness in Ethnography – Methods, Ethics and Participation in ethnographic Field Work in the non-Western World
CHI EA ’21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, United States, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 1–5 doi:10.1145/3411763.3441328
[BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]There are several frameworks and approaches, addressing how to conduct ethnographic and qualitative field work in various settings. However, going by the book might not be an option when conducting research in politically charged, unstable or simply non-western regions. Politics, social pressure and even someone’s personal safety might be necessary to consider. Another important area to consider are research ethics. Privacy policies might do their work with regard to existing laws which differ from each country and should ensure no harm for all involved parties, but how can this be guaranteed and does it also cover all aspects of ethics? Including stakeholders as a basis for user-centered work and design is common. But what does participation mean in such contexts? The questions are: What is important to consider when conducting ethnographic field work in such settings? How can we foster different degrees of genuine participation? How can we ensure, that the work we do is ethically correct without endangering the research outcome? In this workshop, we invite researchers and practitioners to rethink existing methods and approaches and start working on guidelines, that better serves the needs of such specific and to some extent critical circumstances.
@inproceedings{rueller_coping_2020, address = {New York, NY, United States}, title = {({Coping} with) {Messiness} in {Ethnography} – {Methods}, {Ethics} and {Participation} in ethnographic {Field} {Work} in the non-{Western} {World}}, url = {https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3411763.3441328}, doi = {10.1145/3411763.3441328}, abstract = {There are several frameworks and approaches, addressing how to conduct ethnographic and qualitative field work in various settings. However, going by the book might not be an option when conducting research in politically charged, unstable or simply non-western regions. Politics, social pressure and even someone’s personal safety might be necessary to consider. Another important area to consider are research ethics. Privacy policies might do their work with regard to existing laws which differ from each country and should ensure no harm for all involved parties, but how can this be guaranteed and does it also cover all aspects of ethics? Including stakeholders as a basis for user-centered work and design is common. But what does participation mean in such contexts? The questions are: What is important to consider when conducting ethnographic field work in such settings? How can we foster different degrees of genuine participation? How can we ensure, that the work we do is ethically correct without endangering the research outcome? In this workshop, we invite researchers and practitioners to rethink existing methods and approaches and start working on guidelines, that better serves the needs of such specific and to some extent critical circumstances.}, language = {en}, urldate = {2021-04-19}, booktitle = {{CHI} {EA} '21: {Extended} {Abstracts} of the 2021 {CHI} {Conference} on {Human} {Factors} in {Computing} {Systems}}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, author = {Rueller, Sarah and Aal, Konstantin and Mouratidis, Marios and Randall, Dave and Wulf, Volker and Boulus-Rødje, Nina and Semaan, Bryan}, year = {2020}, note = {Accepted: 2020-06-15T07:28:12Z Publisher: European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET)}, pages = {1--5}, }
2019
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Mouratidis, M. & Khatib, R. (2019)Why ethnography matters – the case of a Palestinian Refugee Camp
With an Eye to the Future: HCI Research and Practice in the Arab World – Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: ACM, Pages: 25–29 doi:10.1145/3290607.3299006
[BibTeX] [Download PDF]@inproceedings{mouratidis_why_2019, address = {New York, NY, USA}, series = {{CHI} {EA} '19}, title = {Why ethnography matters – the case of a {Palestinian} {Refugee} {Camp}}, isbn = {978-1-4503-5971-9}, url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3290607.3299006}, doi = {10.1145/3290607.3299006}, booktitle = {With an {Eye} to the {Future}: {HCI} {Research} and {Practice} in the {Arab} {World} - {Extended} {Abstracts} of the 2019 {CHI} {Conference} on {Human} {Factors} in {Computing} {Systems}}, publisher = {ACM}, author = {Mouratidis, Marios and Khatib, Renad}, year = {2019}, pages = {25--29}, }
2017
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Weibert, A., Mouratidis, M., Khateb, R., Rüller, S., Hosak, M., Potka, S., Aal, K. & Wulf, V. (2017)Creating Environmental Awareness with Upcycling Making Activities: A Study of Children in Germany and Palestine
Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Interaction Design and Children. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: ACM, Pages: 286–291 doi:10.1145/3078072.3079732
[BibTeX] [Download PDF]@inproceedings{weibert_creating_2017, address = {New York, NY, USA}, series = {{IDC} '17}, title = {Creating {Environmental} {Awareness} with {Upcycling} {Making} {Activities}: {A} {Study} of {Children} in {Germany} and {Palestine}}, isbn = {978-1-4503-4921-5}, url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3078072.3079732}, doi = {10.1145/3078072.3079732}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 {Conference} on {Interaction} {Design} and {Children}}, publisher = {ACM}, author = {Weibert, Anne and Mouratidis, Marios and Khateb, Renad and Rüller, Sarah and Hosak, Miriam and Potka, Shpresa and Aal, Konstantin and Wulf, Volker}, year = {2017}, keywords = {yallah, computer club, children, environment, intercultural, learning, making, upcycling}, pages = {286--291}, }
2016
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Aal, K., Mouratidis, M., Weibert, A. & Wulf, V. (2016)Challenges of CI Initiatives in a Political Unstable Situation -Case Study of a Computer Club in a Refugee Camp
doi:10.1145/2957276.2996281
[BibTeX] [Abstract]This poster describes the research around computer clubs in Palestinian refugee camps and the various lessons learned during the establishment of this intervention such the importance of the physical infrastructure (e.g. clean room, working hardware), soft technologies (e.g. knowledge transfer through workshops), social infrastructure (e.g. reliable partners in the refugee camp, partner from the university) and social capital (e.g. shared vision and values of all stakeholders). These important insights can be transferred on other interventions in similar unstable environments.
@article{aal_challenges_2016, title = {Challenges of {CI} {Initiatives} in a {Political} {Unstable} {Situation} -{Case} {Study} of a {Computer} {Club} in a {Refugee} {Camp}}, doi = {10.1145/2957276.2996281}, abstract = {This poster describes the research around computer clubs in Palestinian refugee camps and the various lessons learned during the establishment of this intervention such the importance of the physical infrastructure (e.g. clean room, working hardware), soft technologies (e.g. knowledge transfer through workshops), social infrastructure (e.g. reliable partners in the refugee camp, partner from the university) and social capital (e.g. shared vision and values of all stakeholders). These important insights can be transferred on other interventions in similar unstable environments.}, author = {Aal, Konstantin and Mouratidis, Marios and Weibert, Anne and Wulf, Volker}, year = {2016}, keywords = {yallah, Come\_In, Community informatics, Computer club, Refugee camp, West Bank}, }