Our workshop proposal on IslamicHCI has been accepted to CHI2020 in which we argue that the 'interaction with computers', which is the fundamental topic of HCI, is unique for Muslim population that often cannot be extended from another population group. This is why we need to study this population separately. "Call for Papers" for the workshop will be published soon.

What is Third Space?

Third Space is a research group at the University of Toronto where we conduct research in the areas of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD).

We often draw on theories and concepts of Critical Theory, Design Fiction, Political Science and use computational techniques from Mobile Computing, Social Computing, Natural Language Processing, and Augmented Reality to understand problems of marginalized communities in developing countries and inform the design of computational tools and systems.

We welcome students from diverse areas including Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Science, Design, Anthropology, Sociology, and Gender Studies.


Our Team


Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

Director, Third Space ishtiaque@cs.toronto.edu

Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat

PhD Student, Computer Science,
HCI, ICTD, Sustainability rifat@cs.toronto.edu

Dina Sabie

PhD Student, Computer Science,
(Add specific topics here) dsabie@cs.toronto.edu

Yasaman Rohanifar

MSc Student, Computer Science,
HCI, Financial Technologies, Empathetic Technologies yasamanro@cs.toronto.edu

Abdul Kawsar Tushar

MSc Student, Computer Science,
(Add specific topics here) tushar21@cs.toronto.edu

Hazem Ibrahim

MSc Student, Computer Science,
HCI, ICTD, Education hazemibr@cs.toronto.edu

Cansu E. Dedeoglu

PhD student, Information Science,
(Add specific topics here) cansu.dedeoglu@mail.utoronto.ca

Maryam Mokhberi

PhD Student, Computer Science,
AI for Social good, Human Data interaction, smart NGOs maryam@cs.toronto.edu

Priyank Chandra

Postdoctoral Fellow, Computer Science,
(Add specific topics here) prch@cs.toronto.edu

Latest Publications

2020

  • Understanding the Challenges for Bangladeshi Women to Participate in #MeToo Movement

    Aparna Moitra, Naeemul Hassan, Manash Kumar Mandal, Mansurul Bhuiyan, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    GROUP 2020

  • Towards Automated Sexual Violence Report Tracking

    Naeemul Hassan, Amrit Poudel, Jason Hale, Claire Hubacek, Khandakar Tasnim Huq, Shubhra Kanti Karmaker Santu, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    ICWSM 2020

2019

  • "My cousin bought the phone for me. I never go to mobile shops”: The Role of Family in Women’s Technological Inclusion in Islamic Culture

    Samia Ibtasam, Lubna Razaq, Maryam Ayub, Jennifer R Webster, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Richard Anderson

    CSCW 2019

  • Shada Baksho: a hardware device to explore the fears of using mobile phones among the rural women of Bangladesh

    Sharifa Sultana, Shaid Hasan, Khandaker Reaz Mahmud, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    ICTD 2019 (poster/short paper)

  • Nonparticipation of Bangladeshi women in# MeToo movement

    Naeemul Hassan, Manas Kumar Mandal, Mansulurl Alam Bhuiyan, Aparna Moitra, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    ICTD 2019 (poster/ short paper)

  • Silencing the Minority through Domination in Social Media Platform: Impact on the Pluralistic Bangladeshi Society

    Arpeeta Shams Mizan, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    ELCOP Yearbook of Human Rights

  • Health risk assessment of heavy metals in E-waste recycling shops in Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Marfua Mowla, Ehsanur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud Prottoy, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Nirupam Aich, Nafisa Islam

    iCERP 2019

  • Can Women Break the Glass Ceiling?: An Analysis of #MeToo Hashtagged Posts on Twitter

    Naeemul Hassan, Manash Kumar Mandal, Mansurul Bhuiyan, Aparna Moitra, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    ASONAM 2019

  • Moving into a Technology Land: Exploring the Challenges of the Refugees in Canada in Accessing its Computerized Infrastructures

    Dina Sabie, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    COMPASS 2019

  • Online Sexual Harassment over Anonymous Social Media in Bangladesh

    Fayika Farhat Nova, Shion Guha, Md. Rashidujjaman Rifat, Pratyasha Saha, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Shion Guha

    ICTD 2019

  • Critical Requirements Engineering in Practice

    Leticia Duboc, Curtis McCord, Christoph Becker, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    IEEE Software 2019

  • The Art and Craft of Fraudulent App Promotion in Google Play

    Mizanur Rahman, Nestor Hernandez, Ruben Recabarren, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Bogdan Carbunar

    CCS 2019

  • Trust and Technology Repair Infrastructures in the Remote Rural Philippines: Navigating Urban-Rural Seams

    Esther Jang, Philip Garrison, Mary Claire Barela, Ronel Vincent Vistal, Thessa Cunanan, Philip Martinez, Mia Perez, Matthew William Johnson, Andoy Evangelista, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Josephine Dionisio, Kurtis Heimerl

    CSCW 2019 (Diversity and Inclusion Award)

  • “Parar-daktar Understands My Problems Better”: Disentangling the Challenges to Designing Better Access to Healthcare in Rural Bangladesh

    Sharifa Sultana, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Susan Fussell

    CSCW 2019

  • Of Ulti, ‘Hajano’, and “Matachetar otanetak datam”: Exploring Local Practices of Exchanging Confidential and Sensitive Information in Urban Bangladesh

    S M Taiabul Haque, Pratyasha Saha, Muhammad Sajidur Rahman, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    CSCW 2019 ​

  • Exile Within Borders: Understanding the Limits of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Iraq

    Dina Sabie, Samar Sabie, Cansu Ekmekcioglu Dedeoglu, Yasaman Rohanifar, Fatma Hashim, Steve Easterbrook, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    LIMITS 2019

  • Witchcraft and HCI: Morality, Modernity, and Postcolonial Computing in Rural Bangladesh

    Sharifa Sultana, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    CHI 2019 ​

  • "Everyone Has Some Personal Stuff”: Designing to Support Digital Privacy with Shared Mobile Phone Use in Bangladesh

    Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Md. Romael Haque, Irtaza Haider, Jay Chen, Nicola Dell

    CHI 2019

  • The Breaking Hand: Knowledge, Care, and Sufferings of the Hand of an Electronic Waste Worker in Bangladesh.

    Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat, Hasan Mahmud Prottoy, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed.

    Proceedings of the 37th annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems.(Best Paper Honorable Mention Award)

  • Online Sexual Harassment over Anonymous Social Media in Bangladesh.

    Fayika Farhat Nova, Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat, Pratyasha Saha, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, and Shion Guha.

    The Tenth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2019), Ahmedabad, India.

  • Ambivalence: Simultaneous Tactile Experiences of Using and Recycling Smartphones

    Yasaman Rohanifar, Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat, Nusrat Jahan Mim, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed

    DIS 2019 (Demo)

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