HCI International News, Number 3, April 2004

In this Issue

Invitation to participate in the inaugural International Conference on Augmented Cognition in conjunction with HCI International 2005

Augmented cognition is a multidisciplinary research area that has the potential to enhance human cognitive capacity and capability under complex, operational stressful conditions. One primary approach to augmenting human cognition is through real-time assessment and maximization of cognitive performance. There are, for example, current research programs aimed at understanding cognitive principles and, ultimately, at developing the means to measure a subject's cognitive state non-invasively in real-time, so that co-generated information can be engineered in order to modify and mediate total system "cognition." This new interaction of neural and computer activity will be significantly more potent than is the current sum of a brain and a computer system. Augmented cognition thus promises to move beyond ordinary redesigning of human-computer interfaces. This research will likely re-conceptualize human-machine symbiosis altogether. Findings will lead to significant or revolutionary improvements in the way humans interact with computer-based systems.

This in turn may fundamentally re-engineer complex decision making processes. The Augmented Cognition International Conference 2005 seeks to unite recent studies of cognitive state detection (including the detectors and sensors for assessing brain function) and manipulation to further our understanding of how to design systems that optimize human performance under complex and stressful conditions.

AugCog International will include a day-long tutorial that will walk participants through the needs for augmented cognition, the historical programs that addressed similar issues, the scientific developments necessary to create such an effort, the sensors necessary, and insertion into existing and new platforms. It will also include 30 demonstrations and more than 12 parallel technology sessions that will feature at least seven papers each. For more information, contact the program chair, Dr. Dylan D. Schmorrow.

Announcing the First International Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing in conjunction with HCI International 2005

Increasingly the Internet is a place for social interaction. Online communities enable patients to cope better with their diseases, students to discuss homework projects, hobbyists to pursue their passions, and teens to chat about their lives. Scholars use them to track academic topics, lawyers seek legal information, and professionals exchange business knowledge. Online communities can unite people across different cultures and generations.

A variety of software and devices facilitate social interaction online including discussion boards, instant messaging, blogs, wikis, immersive virtual environments. Innovative software, such as LinkedIn, Friendster,and Orkut orchestrates linking people with shared interests and MeetUp facilitates arranging meetings.

Techniques for managing online behavior are becoming more sophisticated too. Reputation management systems are being integrated into online communities. Impressive work on visualizing online interaction continues. Exciting new phone designs offer texting, email, web access and the race is on to develop more gadgets. Mobile communities supported by light-weight technologies are in, particularly for teenagers, people on the move and those for whom laptops are prohibitively expensive. But successful communities also require good management, recognition of cultural norms and appropriate sociability support. Understanding sociability is key.

Our field is exciting. 'Community' is today's buzzword and now is the time for us to make a difference. We have the opportunity to tackle big issues. For example: What characterizes different community life- cycles? How does life online and off-line relate? How do we design for universal access? How can we help bridge cultural, economic, health and educational divides? This conference brings together researchers, practitioners, teachers and students from across the world to show-case their work, debate issues, form new collaborations and reunite with old friends. Make sure you join us in Las Vegas in July 2005.

Jenny Preece, Conference Chair

Plan Your Participation in the HCI International 2005 Exhibition Early

HCI International, one of the most important and major international scientific conferences in the area of human computer interaction, will be held on July 22-27 in Las Vegas the "Entertainment Capital of the World" in USA. Each Year HCI International gathers over a thousand scientists, academics and professionals representing research institutions, universities, and companies from all over the world. HCII 2005 will be held in one of the most famous hotel facilities "Caesar Palace" of Los Vegas which is one of the most exciting and best executive exposition location in the US.

HCII 2005 intends to attract a variety of related product and technology companies in its exposition. We have created a very attractive package for early registration at the exposition.

Exhibitors who have committed to exhibit early will have a better opportunity in booth location selection and very attractive pricing plus the opportunity to be listed in the program that the will be distributed worldwide. For more information, please contact Dr. Abbas Moallem, Communication and Exhibit Chair.

Sponsor HCII 2005

The HCII 2005 sponsorship is now open. Organizations wishing to sponsor a special event or to be a general sponsor of the Conference are welcome to contact the Conference chair. For questions about the sponsorship program at HCII 2005, please email: [email protected].

Contribute to HCI International Newsletter

We welcome your contribution to the HCI International News. Please send us interesting news, short articles, interesting websites. We will consider your comments and contribution for upcoming issues. Please send your contribution to Dr. Abbas Moallem.

Interesting Recent Articles

• "Creating Effective Online Surveys: Owning Photoshop Doesn't." UI Design Update Newsletter, January 2004.
• "Technology and Worker Efficiency." New York Times, February 2, 2004.
• "Keep Online Surveys Short." Alertbox, February 2, 2004
• "Usable Tours: Transforming the Usability Lab into an IT Learning Zone." Ease of Use Newsletter, January, 2004.
• "Is a smart interface a smart answer?" Ease of Use Newsletter, January, 2004.
• "HOT Lab user-needs assessment and UI design for the Rapid-Triage Management Workbench" HOT Topics!, February, 2004.
• "Defining an Effective Electronic Performance Support System". The Usability SIG Newsletter, January, 2004.
• "Online Search Engines Help Lift Cover of Privacy," Washington Post,Monday, February 9, 2004, p. A01.
• "Why Consumer Products Have Inferior User Experience ." Alertbox, March 15, 2004
• "Risks of Quantitative Studies"Alertbox, March 1, 2004
• "Do y'see what I'm saying? Using visual hierarchy to support your message" UI Design Update Newsletter, February, 2004
• "Ease of Instant Messaging: How the Use of IBM Lotus Sametime Changes Over Time"
• "Targeted Email Newsletters Show Continued Strength" Alertbox, February 17, 2004
• "Interview with Donald Norman on Mental Models" HOT Topics!, March 2004, Volume Three
• "The Measurement and Comparison of Cross-Device Mental Models",HOT Topics!, March 2004, Volume Three

Upcoming Conferences and Events in HCI

• 5-8 April:Web3D 2004 Symposium, 9th international conference on 3D WebTechnology, Monterey, CA, USA.
• 14-16 April: AC 2004, The Ergonomics Society Annual Conference, Swansea,UK.
• 14-17 April: ICEIS 2004, 6th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, Porto, Portugal.
• 21 April: CHIACS2, Conference on the Human Impact and Application of Autonomic Computing Systems, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA.
• 21-23 April: PERVASIVE 2004, Second International Conference on Pervasive Computing, Linz/Vienna, Austria.
• 24-29 April: CHI 2004, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems,Vienna, Austria.
• 3-7 May: Interaccion 2004, 5th international conference on Human- Computer Interaction, Lleida, Spain.
• 7-9 May: Machinista 2004, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
• 11-13 May: 2AD, The second international conference on Appliance Design, Bristol, UK.
• 17-19 May: Graphics Interface 2004, London, Ontario, Canada.
• 17-22 May: WWW 2004, The Thirteenth International World Wide Web Conference, New York, NY, USA.
• 22-24 May: Smart Graphics 04, 4th international symposium on Smart Graphics, Banff, Canada.
• 25-28 May: AVI 2004, International working conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces, Gallipoli, Italy.

Previous Issues of the HCI International NEWS

• January 04 "Breadth, Depth, and the Future of HCI"
• November 03: "Usability and Internationalization" - HCII 2005 Program

About HCI International NEWS

The HCI International NEWS is a newsletter about Human - Computer Interaction topics, the HCI International 2005 Conference deadlines and activities, the HCI International 2005 Exhibition, news in the area of HCI, tips and techniques in preparing effective presentation for publication and more. If you have any questions or comments, or if you want to contribute, please contact the Editor, Dr. Abbas Moallem. The opinions that are expressed in this newsletter are sole responsibility of their authors and do not represent any institution or company.