To:       [log in to unmask]
cc:
From:     Donald Day/Commerce/UNSW/AU @ UNSW
Date:     29/04/97 10:42:06
Subject:  Program Details, INTERACT'97


NOTE: If you have an interest in details about the INTERACT '97 conference
to be held in Sydney this July, read on. If not, please excuse -- and
delete!
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IF TRUTH BE TOLD, overseas conferences (any conferences, for that matter)
are a curious mixture of frenetic networking, intellectual stimulation, and
unabashed holiday. An event that fails to deliver any of these is doomed to
failure -- but, overseas conferences especially so, given transportation
costs and time commitments.
     Fortunately, INTERACT'97, the 6th IFIP TC13 Conference on
Human-Computer Interaction, is in a position to deliver on all three
benefits as few conferences are.
     First, the networking. Hits on the INTERACT web site (http:
//www.acs.org.au/interact97/), advance registrations, and the make-up of
the technical programme and tutorials/workshops promises a truly
multifaceted and multinational pool of industry and academic contacts from
global HCI. Web site hits and registrations include HCI specialists from
every inhabited continent. (Antarctica is yet to be heard from, but there's
still room at the inn for delegates from the Penguin Federation!) Yes, many
are from the U.S. and Britain, but many also are from other parts of Europe
and from the Pacific Rim. As the world approaches the millennium and Sydney
girds for the 2000 Olympics, this conference offers an unique preview of
how computers will be made easier to use in the near future, a preview all
the more critical in view of the importance that Asian economic development
is said to have in the new century. There are a lot of humans to interact
with computers in the arc between Tokyo and Delhi, which promises to make
usability a major factor in market competition in the years ahead.
     Many conferences claim to be international, but this year's INTERACT
truly is multinational. In the technical programme (Wednesday through
Friday), papers will be discussed by experts from Europe, North America,
Australasia, and South Africa. Which, in combination with tutorials and
workshops across a wide range of topics, will guarantee that the need for
intellectual stimulation will be met, as well.
     Available tutorials include topics as diverse as "Cost-Justifying Your
Usability Activities" (Randolph Bias, USA, and Helen Kieboom, Australia),
"Adaptive Hypermedia" (Peter Brusilovsky, USA), and "Intelligent Interface
Technology" (David Benyon, U.K.). Workshops participants will tackle
challenges from the "Next Generation of CSCW Systems" (John Grundy, New
Zealand) to "Guidelines for the Design of HCI for People with Disabilities"
(Julio Gonzalez Abascal, Spain).
     Topics in the technical programme will range from scenario development
to cognitive factors to activity theory and cultural bases of interface
acceptance. There will be exhibits, poster displays, demonstrations -- and
specialty tracks for industry and multimedia. Plus, a keynote talk by Lucy
Suchman of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, addressing concerns about
the mutual intelligibility of people and machines in a social world not
reducible to discrete abilities and skills.
     But, moving on to the unabashed holiday. Fortunately (or not, for
daily attendance!) Australia in general and Sydney in particular are a
prime R&R destination for much of the world. During 1996, readers of the
international leisure magazine Travel & Leisure voted Sydney the best value
and most attractive tourist city in the world, and Australia's Great
Barrier Reefs the most desirable destination in the world for natural
beauty. INTERACT'97 offers a great circle tour not only to the Reef but
also to the magnificent red monolith, Ayer's Rock, in the post-conference
offering. In the meantime (i.e., during the conference), Sydney offers a
magnificently redeveloped harbourside venue, Darling Harbour, plus more
than a score of beaches, easily accessed cultural attractions (for example,
the Opera House), and just plain relaxation. A licensed tour operator will
make key points available throughout the conference for spouses and
children, including an outing to the beautiful Blue Mountains in Sydney's
West.
     Early bird registrations for INTERACT'97 (prior to 2 June 1997) are
$645, Australian (about $490 U.S. or 300 Pounds Sterling). Tutorials,
workshops, and the conference dinner are extra, as are tours and
accommodations. For details, access the conference web site or contact the
professional conference organiser at [log in to unmask]
     Whether for networking, intellectual stimulation, or holiday,
INTERACT'97 is an unique opportunity for practitioners, academics and their
families. If you've every thought of coming to Australia for holiday or
business, this will be your best opportunity, this century. See Sydney
before the 2000 Olympics crowd; join us for the HCI event of the decade.


Contact:  INTERACT97 Conference Office
       Australian Convention and Travel Services (ACTS)
       Unit 4/24-26 Mort Street
       Braddon ACT  2601 Australia

       Telephone:   +61 6 257 3299
       Facsimile:   +61 6 257 3256
       Email: [log in to unmask]
     Web: http://www.acs.org.au/interact97