CSLI Special Event

Using Action and Technology to Build Community
Thursday 16 October, 10:00 AM -- 4:00 PM

Organizer: Keith Devlin (CSLI Senior Researcher)
devlin@csli.stanford.edu

A limited supply of lunches and drinks will be available for purchase between Sessions 1 and 2.

Session 1: 10:15 - 11:45 AM
Creating Community by Defining the Human-Technology Boundary

Clifford Nass

Associate Professor of Communication and CSLI
nass@leland.stanford.edu

Abstract

It is increasingly difficult to draw clear distinctions between humans and computers. This talk will focus on the resulting problems and opportunities for defining communities.

About the Speaker

Clifford Nass is an associate professor of Communication at Stanford University, with appointments in Symbolic Systems, Sociology, and Science, Technology, and Society. He is an internationally recognized expert in the area of social-psychological effects of human-computer interaction. He is co-author (with Byron Reeves) of "The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places," as well as over 30 articles on human- computer interaction and statistical methodology. Nass (and Reeves)'s research has been the basis for a number of new media products for companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, OMRON, and General Magic.

Session 2: 12:00 - 1:45 Cordura 100
Using Action to Build Community

Julia Rowntree

Director of the LIFT Business Arts Forum, UK
lift@mail.easynet.co.uk

Abstract

The talk will explore the way that drama, participation and celebration help build communities and understanding across many boundaries.

About the Speaker

Julia Rowntree is Director of the LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) Business Arts Forum in the UK. Since 1981, LIFT has brought over 3000 artists from 60 different countries to theaters, outdoor locations and diverse communities across the UK capital. The LIFT Education program brings international artists together with young people in schools and is currently coordinating projects in Japan and South Africa. The Business Arts Forum is a pioneering experiment in business education, exploring cultural issues affecting today's workplace via events in the Festival.

Rowntree is currently touring the USA as a Winston Churchill Fellow. Among institutions she is visiting in the Bay Area are Global Business Network and Xerox PARC.

Session 3: 2:15 - 3:45 Cordura 100
Using Technology to Build Community

David Leevers

Manager of Multimedia Communications, BICC plc, UK
DavidLeevers@compuserve.com

Abstract

The "Cycle of Cognition" is a framework for integrating natural and electronic communications. This talk will report on work in progress in using the cycle to create an information environment that encourages a sense of community in the heterogeneous, distributed and rapidly evolving teams typical of the construction sector.

Workplace studies in a major construction project are helping to clarify how the cycle can provide a sense of context for communications actions. The cycle is a promising example of how situation theory can be used to support the design of communications and information services.

The very spatial nature of the construction process and of new collaboration tools such as Virtual Reality is proving to be a powerful catalyst for understanding the relationship between the "Inner Space" of mental models, the physical space of the 3D environment and the social space shared with other people.

About the Speaker

David Leevers is Manager, Multimedia Communications at BICC plc, a major UK based construction and cable making company. He is currently leading two European Community projects, CICC and RESOLV, that are exploring how the Web, Augmented Reality, reconstructed reality and common artifacts can be used to improve collaboration and effectiveness in construction and manufacturing.
Emma Pease
Last modified: Wed Mar 8 17:21:01 PST 2000 by emma@csli.stanford.edu