Jul 12, 2012

Quick post: Design for Emotion, co-authored by Trevor van Gorp and Edie Adams

I have been waiting for Design for Emotion to come out, and I look forward to reading it soon.  Below is information about the book from the Affective Design website:



"After seven years of research and almost one and a half years of writing, I’m very pleased to announce that the book I’ve co-authored with Microsoft’s Edie Adams on designing for emotion and personality is available on Amazon."
"Drawing on our combined experience of over 30 years in graphic, interactive and industrial design, human factors, and product management, Design for Emotion explores the what, when, where, why and how of designing emotion and personality. We define and model emotion and personality in a way that relates directly to design practice." -Trevor van Gorp



RELATED
Affective Design  Website

CFP for Special Issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing on Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology (EIST)

CFP for Special Issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing on Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology (EIST) 


Overview 
One of the primary goals of teaching is to prepare learners for life in the real world. In this ever-changing world of technologies such as mobile interaction, cloud computing, natural user interfaces, and gestural interfaces like the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect, people have a greater selection of tools for the task at hand. Given the potential of these new interfaces, software, and technologies as learning tools, as well as the ubiquitous application of interactive technology in formal and informal learning environments, there is a growing need to explore how next-generation technologies will impact education in the future. 


As a community of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and educational researchers, we need to theorize and discuss how new technologies should be integrated into the classrooms and homes of the future. In the last three years, three CHI workshops have provided a forum to discuss key issues of this sort, particularly in the context of next-generation education. The aim of this special issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing is to summarize the potential design challenges and perspectives on how the community should handle next-generation technologies in the education domain for both teachers and students. 

We invite authors to present position papers about potential design challenges and perspectives on how the community should handle the next generation of HCI in education. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: 

  • Gestural input, multitouch, large displays 
  • Mobile devices, response systems (clickers) 
  • Tangible, VR, AR & MR, multimodal interfaces 
  • Console gaming, 3D input devices 
  • Co-located interaction, presentations 
  • Educational pedagogy, learner-centric, child computer interaction 
  • Empirical methods, case studies 
  • Multi-display interaction 
  • Wearable educational media
Important Dates
  • Full papers due: November 9, 2012
  • Initial reviews to authors: January 18, 2013
  • Revised papers due: March 15, 2013
  • Final reviews to authors: April 26, 2013
  • Final papers due: June 14, 2013
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be prepared according to the Word template located at the bottom of this page. All manuscripts are subject to peer review. Manuscripts must be submitted as a PDF to the easychair submission system. Submissions should be no more than 8000 words in length.

Guest Editors and Contact Information
  • Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Cornell University
  • Quincy Brown, Bowie State University
  • Jochen Huber, Technische Universität Darmstadt
  • Si Jung “Jun” Kim, University of Central Florida
  • Lynn Marentette, Union County Public Schools, Wolfe School
  • Max Mühlhäuser, Technische Universität Darmstadt
  • Alexander Thayer, University of Washington 
  • Edward Tse, SMART Technologies

Information about the Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

Seventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction, Feb 10-13, Barcelona, Spain: Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS
TEI 13:  Seventh International Conference on 
Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction
February 10-13, 2013.  Barcelona, Spain
Home

Important Dates:
August 6th, 2012, 11:59 pm (UTC+1): Paper submission deadline 
November 26th, 2012, 11:59 pm (UTC+1): Work in Progress submission deadline 
October 22nd, 2012: Paper acceptance notification 


February 10-13th, 2013: TEI 2013 Conference at Barcelona 


Description 
TEI 2013 is the seventh international conference on tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction. The work presented at TEI focuses on physical interaction with computing technology and addresses design challenges, theories, experiences, systems, and new developments. The intimate size of this single-track conference provides a unique forum for exchanging ideas and presenting innovative work through talks, interactive exhibits, demos, hands-on studios, posters, art installations and performances.


Research on tangible, embodied and embedded interaction has gained substantial visibility and activity over the past decade, under many different names and research topics and disciplines, including tangible interfaces, graspable interfaces, physical computing, tangible interaction, IT product design, appliance design and interactive spaces. It has also been associated with larger research areas, including mixed, virtual, and augmented reality and ubiquitous and pervasive computing. TEI brings together this emerging field, providing a meeting ground for the diverse communities of research and practice - from computing, hardware, and sensor technology, to HCI, interaction design and CSCW, to product and industrial design and interactive arts. We invite submissions from all of these perspectives: theoretical, conceptual, technical, applied, or artistic. The conference is designed to provide appropriate presentation forms for different types of contributions. Accepted submissions of all types will be included in the Proceedings as papers and will be integrated within the single-track conference. Interdisciplinary submissions are particularly welcome. 


This year TEI will be held in beautiful Barcelona, one of the world's leading cities for tourism, gastronomy, commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts. 


Topics for Submission 
Authors are invited to submit high-quality work detailing original research that contributes to advancing this rapidly developing field. Appropriate topics include but are not limited to:



  • Tools to rapidly develop tangible, embedded and embodied user experiences 
  • Case studies and evaluations of working deployments 
  • Analysis of key challenges and proposals of research agendas 
  • Relation of tangible and embedded interaction to other paradigms 
  • Programming paradigms and tools, toolkits, software architectures 
  • Novel interactive uses of sensors+actuators, electronics+mechatronics 
  • Design guidelines, methods, and processes 
  • Novel application areas, innovative systems, industrial applications 
  • Theoretical foundations, frameworks, and concepts 
  • Philosophical, ethical & social implications Interfaces specific in form and context to particular cultures 
  • Advantages, weakness, affordances of tangible, embedded and embodied interaction Learning from the role of physicality in everyday environments 
  • Embodied interaction, movement, and choreography of interaction 
  • Organic User Interfaces: flexible, non-flat or actuated display interfaces 
  • Role of physicality in human perception, cognition and experience 
  • Teaching experiences, lessons learned, and best practices 
  • Standardization, production, and business applications 

Papers 
Papers must present original material and will be reviewed rigorously by at least three reviewers in a double-blind process. Papers in all areas will be assessed on their contribution to the field. Papers are due on the 6th August 2012. Papers may be 4 or 8 pages long in ACM SIGCHI format. All papers will undergo the same review and publication process. The length must match the contribution. Authors may propose the presentation format that they feel best suits their contribution (short or long talk, demo, interactive exhibit, or both talk and demo/exhibit). TEI 2013 remains committed to the principle followed in previous TEI conferences - that TEI values all submissions equally. 


One author of each accepted submission must register for the conference before the early registration deadline in order for the final paper version to be published in the conference proceedings. Papers will be published in the ACM digital library. 


Please contact the program chairs Martin Kaltenbrunner, Dave Kirk and Paul Marshall at
tei2013_programchairs@googlegroups.com with questions about paper submissions.

Submission Details 
All work must be submitted electronically via the TEI 2013 Precision Conference site at https://precisionconference.com/~tei You will have to follow the guidelines regarding paper formats and submission categories at http://www.tei-conf.org/13/papersubmission 


Work in Progress 
There will be a second submission opportunity for work in progress until November 26th 2012. Selected works will be presented during dedicated poster sessions at TEI 2013 but are not published in the conference nor online proceedings. 


Explorations TEI 2013 
Explorations comprise several submission formats intended to embrace and nurture contributions from a wide range of communities - such as artists, designers and graduate students - as well as support the publication of cutting edge research. TEI Explorations include the Graduate Student Consortium and Art tracks as well as the Tangible Interaction Design Challenge. Full details will be confirmed in subsequent calls for papers.

TechCrunch Charlotte Highlights: T1 Vision; inTouch Collaborative Software


Yesterday evening I attended a meetup of TechCrunch and Charlotte-area techies, held at the uptown Packard Place entrepreneurial center.  It was jammed-packed with people all abuzz with tech start-up fever, fueled by awesome food provided by Zen Fusion.  Although my main purpose for attending the TechCrunch meet-up was to learn more about innovative technology start-ups in my region, I also was hoping to capture a few shots of interesting people.   I like to keep my eye open for tee-shirt slogans, and one worn by a young gentleman caught my eye, proclaiming that he'd seen the future, and it is in his browser.  On the back of his tee-shirt was a bright HTML5 logo, something that is dear to my heart, as I am moving from HTML4 to HTML5.  He was polite and agreed to pose for a couple of photographs:
 






It turned out that the HTML5 guy was at the TechCrunch event with one of his colleagues from T1 Visions, a social touchscreen solutions company that I've featured previously on this blog.  They caught me up on the growth of this start-up company, which now has 15 employees and has broadened its reach beyond table-top restaurant applications to the healthcare, education, corporate, retail, and broader hospitality sectors.

What I like about table-top systems is that they provide support for "natural user interaction".  It allows for multiple modes of interaction with and presentation of multimedia content.  Over the past several years, these systems have been proven to be useful to a wider range of people and settings.  Interfaces that support touch and gesture interaction are no longer viewed as novelties, given the pervasiveness of touch-phones and tablets and their ease-of-use for most people.

A useful product from T1 Visions is the T1 Collaboration Table. It supports touch-screen interaction and can also handle up to four simultaneously connected laptops.   The table system provides a media viewer that supports sharing of photos across screens, devices, and surfaces.  It also contains a web browser, a presentation viewer, and a whiteboard that is compatible with video conferencing.  The company provides customized applications for its clients.   In the Charlotte area, some of the tables can be found in restaurants, such as the Mellow Mushroom, Cowfish, and Harpers.  A few were recently installed in the Atkins library at UNC-Charlotte, to support group-work among students.

To learn more about what T1 Visions has to offer, take a few minutes to view the following videos and follow the links at the end of this post!






Demonstration of how the collaboration table can work within a business environment:


Demonstration of the T1VISION touch wall:
RELATED
T1 Visions Gallery
T1 Visions: Social Touchscreen Solutions
Interactive tabletops bring people together
Marty Minchin, Charlotte Observer, South Charlotte News, 2/20/12
Interactive Technology in the Carolinas: T-1 Visions Update

NOTE:
TechCrunch is a technology media group founded in 2005 that focuses on innovative technologies.  This summer, a group of TechCrunchers are visiting cities in the south that were previously not under their radar, such as Savannah and my home region, Charlotte, N.C.   The Charlotte TechCrunch meetup was held on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.  I plan to devote a few more blog posts to share what I learned.

Jul 11, 2012

Digitized History and Interactive Timelines: Lots of examples and links for your exploring pleasure!



One of my tech-savvy daughters is a history buff. She decided to research our family's genealogy, and through this process, has uncovered a treasure trove of interesting things during her on-line research.  

Technology has made it possible for historians, archivists, genealogists, antiquers, and other to digitally curate and share items on-line.  One example is the work of the 2 million-plus members of Ancestry.Com, a website that provides a fairly easy way for novices to create their own family trees, search digitized records, and share their findings with cousins, near and distant, about the stories they've come across along the way. (Please excuse the formatting problems!)

My daughter discovered that one of my great-great grandfathers worked as a conductor and yardman for the railroads before he became a miner and prospector, who apparently died penniless, according to an article she found in the Chronicling America website. This website is part of the Library of Congress and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. (The picture of my great-greet grandfather was taken from an article in the Salt Lake Tribune)

Screen Shot:  Chronicling America




























Knowing that my great-great grandfather worked for the railroad in Utah led to the discovery of related information on-line. Below are two screenshots from the interactive timeline of the history of the Union Pacific railroad.  This website provides an opportunity for people to share their stories about the railroad's history. The timeline provides multiple means of accessing content related to the the railroad and the role of the railroad in the history of the United States.

Screen Shot: 150 Years: The History of Union Pacific





























By clicking on the timeline, the viewer can dig in deeper into each specific era or location by viewing pictures, watching video clips, and reading text, as shown above. The timeline can be downloaded for use on iPad's iBooks 2 or on any computer with iTunes.

  































After my daughter commented that many of our relatives died at a very old age, without the benefits of the life-extending know-how of modern medicine, I wondered what old age might have been like for my elders. This led me to the Elder Web site, which provides an interactive timeline of the history of elder care.  The timeline links to a wealth of pictures and tidbits of information. Links include information obtained from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection

For those of you interested in timelines that focus on more recent events and history including the history of the arts, the following examples are fun to explore:

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music (swf), v2.5 (I'm waiting for 3.0)
Note: Ishkur uses colorful, strong language to express his viewpoints and opinions about musical trends.
History of Modern Music: All Genres (Guardian UK)
Interactive Modern Art Timeline
CNN's Interactive Map and Timeline of Iraq and Afghanistan Casualties "Home and Away"
New York Times:  10 Weeks of Financial Turmoil (the credit crisis of 2008)
New York Times: The History of Overhauling Healthcare
New York Times: European Debt Crisis
New York Times: Major Events in the Afghanistan War
Screen Shot: Hard Rock Cafe Interactive Memorabilia


RELATED
Digital Heritage
The American Memory Project
The Ninteenth Century in Print:  The Making of America in Books and Periodicals
Chronicling America
I take up my pen:  Letters from the Civil War
Digital NC: North Carolina's Digital Heritage
Digging Into Data Challenge and List of Online Data Repositories for Humanities and Social Sciences (Includes lots of links!)
U.S. Yearbooks (searchable via Ancestry.com)
What Was There: Digital versions of historical photographs of places are compared with locations on Google Maps, with the goal of creating a means to explore history through photography.
ImageFlow: Streaming Image Search (Microsoft)
Interactive Timelines using Timemap.js
Digital Storytelling Platforms and Multiple Perspectives:  A look at the work of Jonathan Harris (Food for Thought for Interactive Timeline Design)
List of Digital Preservation Initiatives (Wikipedia)

DIY Timelines (more to come)
Tiki-Toki
Dippity
Timetoast
The Best Tools for Making Online Timelines (Larry Ferlazzo)

Comment:
One unfinished project on my "Tech Bucket List" is a multidimensional, multidisciplinary. multimedia interactive timeline.  Although the concept is far-reaching, it would be a useful tool for students, historians, genealogists, and more.

Please excuse the formatting problems!