Justin Petelka

Justin Petelka

PhD Candidate, The Information School @ University of Washington

Publications

“A Mirror, Not a Glass Door”: Legal Code and Software Code in Practice

Published in Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Political Economy of IT, 2025

We asked people in the United Kingdom, India, and the United States to request copies of their personal data and found evidence of a Brussels Effect and corporate performative transparency.

Petelka, J., Finn, M., Srinivasan, J., Oreglia, E., and Janani, A.P. (2025) "A Mirror, Not a Glass Door": Legal Code and Software Code in Practice. Just Code: Power, Inequality, and the Political Economy of IT. Johns Hopkins University Press. 87-108. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/oa_edited_volume/chapter/4268030

On the Making of Alternative Data Encounters: The Odd Interpreters

Published in Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2023

We developed three bespoke, imaginative IoT devices, and it was one of the most fun projects I have ever worked on.
Honorable Mention for Best Paper (Top 5%)

Desjardins, A., McWhirter, J., Petelka, J., Simon, C., Shin, Y., Peven, R., Widjaja, P. (2023) "On the Making of Alternative Data Encounters: The Odd Interpreters". In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581323

Generating Practices: Investigations into the Double Embedding of GDPR and Data Access Policies

Published in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW), 2022

We asked data subjects to request copies of their personal data and found that data subjects struggle at multiple points in exercising their rights which negatively affects their perception of the effectiveness of laws.

Petelka, J., Finn, M., Oreglia, O., Finn, M., Srinivasan, J. (2022) "Generating Practices: Investigations into the Double Embedding of GDPR and Data Access Policies. In Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 6 (CSCW2). https://doi.org/10.1145/3555631

Principles Matter: Integrating an Ethics Intervention into a Computer Security Course

Published in Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 2022

We deployed an ethics learning module in a computer security course; it went well, but one module in one course can only do so much.

Petelka, J., Finn, M., Roesner, F., Shilton, K. (2022) "Principles Matter: Integrating an Ethics Intervention into a Computer Security Course. In Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education Volume 1. https://doi.org/10.1145/3478431.3499275

Someone Is Wrong on the Internet: Having Hard Conversations in Online Spaces.

Published in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW), 2021

We asked people how and why they argue on the Internet, and identified social media design features that help and hinder online arguments.

Baughan, A., Petelka, J., Yoo, C., Lo, J., Wang, S., Paramasivan, A., Zhou, A., Hiniker, A. (2021) "Someone Is Wrong on the Internet: Having Hard Conversations in Online Spaces". In Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 5 (CSCW1). https://doi.org/10.1145/3449230

Being (In)visible: Privacy, Transparency, and Disclosure in the Self-management of Bipolar Disorder

Published in Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2020

We examined how people managing bipolar disorder experience privacy while discussing mental health management.

Petelka, J., Van Kleunen, L., Albright, L., Murnane, E., Voida, S., Snyder, J. (2020). "Being (In)Visible: Privacy, Transparency, and Disclosure in the Self-Management of Bipolar Disorder". In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376573

GestureCalc: An Eyes-Free Calculator for Touch Screens

Published in The 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, 2019

We developed a calculator that used gestures as input; blind people used our calculator faster than a seek-based touch calculator.

Chaudhuri, B., Perlmutter, L., Petelka, J., Garrison, P., Fogarty, J., Wobbrock, J. O., & Ladner, R. E. (2019). "GestureCalc: An Eyes-Free Calculator for Touch Screens". In The 21st Interactional ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. https://doi.org/10.1145/3308561.3353783

Put Your Warning Where Your Link Is: Improving and Evaluating Email Phishing Warnings

Published in Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2019

We experimentally compared different types of email phishing warnings; some worked better than others.
Honorable Mention for Best Paper (Top 5%)

Petelka, J., Zou, Y., and Schaub, F. (2019). "Put Your Warning Where Your Link Is: Improving and Evaluating Email Phishing Warnings". In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300748