Reminder -- deadline for position papers is 7 January 1999
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Changing Places
A one-day workshop on workspace models for collaboration
12th April 1999
Department of Computer Science
Queen Mary & Westfield College
University of London
The aim of this workshop is to gather experience of designing, using and
evaluating models of collaborative workspaces -- in particular, the
ability of these models to support users' differing and changing needs.
The workshop will consist of talks by and discussion with invited speakers,
and debate and discussion about the issues raised.
Several models exist of network 'places' -- electronic workspaces for
collaborating and socially interacting groups of users. These include
Web-based models such as BSCW, purpose-built 2D places such as Mushroom,
Orbit and TeamWave, and 3D places such as MASSIVE and Sony's
community places.
These systems are platforms for cooperative working and social
interaction: they aim to support a variety of user groups, collaborative
tasks and activities, and shared artefacts. The workshop will raise and
discuss some key questions on the theme of adapting workspaces to suit
different needs. To what extent is such a generic platform possible --
are collaborations so specific in their requirements, that no single
framework could support more than a few of them? Can the platform support
adaptation to changing requirements as collaborations evolve? If we can
produce such an adaptable platform, what fundamental properties should
it have,and what should be its model of configuration and evolution?
Outline of topics
The following list gives an outline of topics on the theme of adaptable
workspace models, and is not intended to be exhaustive:
1. Surveys, characterisations and critical appraisal of existing
workspacemodels, including their modes of adaptation and
configuration for different groups and tasks
2. Requirements studies, task requirements, group requirements (social,
cultural etc.)
3. Identifying design features and dimensions
e.g. navigation models, consistency & integrity,
awareness, etc.
4. Relationships to theories of work-group dynamics and social
theories
5. Case studies and evaluations
6. User interface design
Position papers
The workshop will be limited to 50 attendees, and participation is
by invitation only. Those interested in attending should submit a
position paper of up to four pages, giving an outline of ideas that will
stimulate debate and discussion on the workshop topic.
Workshop format
The workshop will consist of talks by invited speakers (to be confirmed),
and debates and discussion based on topics drawn from the submitted
position papers. Full details will appear on the workshop WWW page:
http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/research/distrib/Mushroom/workshop/.
Important dates
Workshop: 12 Apr 99
Registration deadline: 12 Mar 99
Position papers due: 7 Jan 99
Notification of acceptance 11 Feb 99.
Programme committee
* George Coulouris, Department of Computer Science,
Queen Mary & Westfield College, UK
* Alan Dix, School of Computing,
Staffordshire University, UK
* Paul Dourish, Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre, USA
* Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Distributed Systems Technology Centre,
University of Queensland, Australia
* Tim Kindberg, Department of Computer Science,
Queen Mary & Westfield College, UK
Contact details
For more details, contact mailto:[log in to unmask]
Tim Kindberg
Department of Computer Science
Queen Mary & Westfield College
London E1 4NS.
The workshop web page is:
http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/research/distrib/Mushroom/workshop/.
This workshop is part of the Mushroom project:
http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/research/distrib/Mushroom.
Tim Kindberg
Email: mailto:[log in to unmask] | Computer Science Dept
Voice: +44 171 975 5236 | QMW, University of London
WWW: http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/~timk/ | Mile End Road
Fax: +44 181 980 6533 | London E1 4NS
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