Update: Due to the lack of enough submissions the workshop needed to be cancelled.
The human is always at the center of my research. So it is no surprise that I’ll try to investigate another facet of socio-technical computational systems in the upcoming workshop on Human Centered Case-Based Reasoning HCCBR. The workshop is part of the 8th International Conference on Case-Based Reasoning ICCBR 2009 and will take place 20–23 July 2009, in Seattle, Wahington. Here is an excerpt of the call for papers (submission deadline: 23 March 2009):
Human-centered computing focuses on methodologies and technologies to improve the interaction and performance of socio-technical systems. Intelligent systems are not longer considered to be black boxes that provide a full solution to a problem on their own, instead, problem solving is seen as an interactive process. Case-Based Reasoning would appear to be a natural fit for such integrated human/computer systems.
A number of important questions are raised by Human-centered approaches. It is important to gain a better understanding of how each part of the combined system can help to extend the capabilities of the other. It is also of interest to examine how human knowledge modelling and construction can best be supported through technology.
Many of these issues are already being addressed in other disciplines, however, the question remains as to how findings from the social sciences and psychology may be integrated into the design of CBR systems. This integration ranges from psychologically plausible knowledge models to the delivery of an attractive end user experience.
Another important research topic in human centred computing centres around the issue of communication and, in particular, explanations. Problem descriptions, as well as other input, can be incomplete and changing. As a consequence, there has to be communication between human and software agents. Communication requires mutual understanding that can be essentially supported by explanations.
Further, context sensitive processing plays a key role in many modern IT applications. Context-awareness and context-based reasoning are essential not only for mobile and ubiquitous computing, but also for a wide range of other areas such as collaborative software, web engineering, personal digital assistants, information sharing, health care workflow and patient control, adaptive games, and e-Learning solutions.
From an intelligent systems perspective, a further challenge is to integrate context with other types of knowledge as an additional major source for reasoning, decision-making, and adaptation and to form a coherent and versatile architecture. There is a common understanding that achieving desired behaviour from intelligent systems will depend on the ability to represent and manipulate information about a rich range of contextual factors.
This workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners exploring human aspects of the design, implementation, and use of intelligent systems, from a broad range of areas, to share their problems and methodologies across different research and application areas. The workshop will examine methods, mechanisms, and techniques to keep the human in the centre of attention during the whole lifecycle of an intelligent system, from initial problem description through to knowledge acquisition and modelling and on to interactive use and maintenance.
Please consider submitting a paper!
