============ Call for Papers ============

Title: Improving the Relationship between Research and Practice in  
Interaction Design

(NordiCHI 2006 Workshop, Oct. 15th, Oslo, Norway)

http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/hcid/nordichi/workshop.htm
Half-day workshop (total 4 hours)

Theme and Goals:
One of the most discussed topics in HCI research is if and how  
research plays a role in HCI practice. Arguments have been made that  
the research outcome is too abstract or too detailed and therefore  
not useful by practitioners. Another argument that has been raised is  
that the results from research, such as methods and theories, are too  
time consuming to use and demand too much learning and preparation.

There are different approaches a researcher can take in relation to  
practice. One approach is to do research that “has to be done” from  
an academic point of view. Another approach is to use practice as a  
starting point for research—to see practice as the client of  
research. There is also a large part of contemporary HCI research  
that is not focused on practice at all. Instead, this research is  
driven by the researchers’ interests and desires to explore and  
develop new forms of interaction, new tools, and new technologies.  
The research becomes a field of invention and innovation. The  
approaches and methodologies in these activities are often not made  
explicit with the purpose to inform practice about new ways of working.

In this workshop we want to address the issue of improving the  
relationship between research and practice in interaction design.
* How can we in a theoretical and intellectual way approach this issue?
* Are there any existing successful approaches?
* Where can we find inspiration for new approaches for improving this  
relationship?

This workshop aims to develop a research agenda for more substantial  
attempts to address the relationship between research and practice.

Relevance to the field:
We believe that a tighter interaction between research and practice  
in HCI will help us reshaping our field toward the better direction.  
Our workshop will lead us to discuss how research outcomes can help  
improving practice, as well as how experience from practice can help  
researchers find grand challenges in the fields.

Submission:
We like to have two types of papers solicited—one type for  
presenters, and the other type for non-presenters. For presenters, we  
expect to receive 2-page position papers around the following two areas:

* key issues around the relationship between research and practice in  
the interaction design field
* case studies of the trial of marrying or reducing the gap between  
research and practice in the interaction design field

For non-presenters, we expect to receive 1-page paper that explains  
the interests around this topic, the reasons behind the interests,  
and the expectations from the workshop.

The papers will be reviewed by organizers, and the selection will be  
based on the level of contribution to this topic and the balance  
between practice and research.

Papers should be submitted as .doc or .pdf files. The format of the  
papers is not restricted although we expect to have standardized  
formats--regular fonts like Times New Roman in 12 pts.

Please send the submissions to Youn-Kyung Lim ([log in to unmask]).

Important Dates:
* July 20. Deadline for submission of position paper
* August 10. Authors of accepted position papers notified
* August 14. Early NordiCHI’06 registration deadline

Outcomes:
We expect to document the submitted position papers in a proceeding  
form, which will be provided to all the participants in the workshop.  
Issues and discussions explored in the workshop will be summarized  
and documented as a report in an overview form developed in  
conjunction with the workshop.

* Printed and online proceedings of the accepted position papers
* Special issue in a refereed HCI journal (e.g. Artifact)

Participants:
The overall plan is to provide an environment for people from either  
a practical design background or an academic and research-oriented  
design background to get together and share their experiences and  
knowledge around the topic of reducing the gap between research and  
practice in the interaction design area to produce benefits for both  
directions.

Expected number: 8-10 presenters and 5-8 non-presenting participants.
Intended audience: a balanced collection of researchers and  
practitioners in the interaction design area is expected.

Organizers:
Erik Stolterman, Ph.D. (Professor and Director of the HCID program at  
Indiana University, School of Informatics. ([log in to unmask]))
Youn-Kyung Lim, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Indiana University,  
School of Informatics. ([log in to unmask]))
Joannes Vandermeulen (Business Manager of Namahn (www.namahn.com))
  
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