CHI'97 One Day Workshop INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS FOR SUPPORTING THE EMERGENCE OF CONCEPTS AND IDEAS Workshops begin 22 March 1997, Atlanta, Georgia, USA ORGANIZERS Ernest A. Edmonds (LUTCHI Research Centre, Loughborough University, UK) Thomas P. Moran (Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, USA) RESEARCH THEME Current computer application systems are best at dealing with well-defined materials rather than in helping users create new concepts. For example, it is easier to use comupters to draft precise drawings than to quickly sketch new configurations; it is easier to craft polished documents than to jot ideas and play with them. A body of research is beginning to accumulate that explores systems, such as pen-based sketching applications, to support the user in dealing with ill-defined concepts and materials. The key idea is that a person needs be able to easily create a concrete representation, even for abstract ideas and then respond to it perceptually to discover new arrangements representing new ideas. The new concepts emerge from the concrete materials of the representation (see, e.g., "The Reflective Practitioner" by Donald Schon). The research question is how interactive systems can aid users in quickly creating and manipulating representations and whether they can support the discovery of new relationships, structures, and meanings in the materials. This is clearly an important new direction for the development of computer system design. WORKSHOP GOALS The goal is to bring together researchers who have worked on or thought about the theme of emergence from a variety of perspectives, disciplines, and fields. Participation is solicited from a variety of communities: not only the CHI community, the psychology, sociology, design, architecture, philosophy, and other communities. The goal of the workshop is to be integrative across both the basic issues of emergent behavior and the implications for system design. TOPICS In the context of the above theme and goale, an initial set of topics for the workshop are: 1. Theory and empirical studies of discovery - psychological studies of perception and imagery - sociological studies of creative practices 2. Thinking and practice in art and design - emergence and sketching - artifical life - emergence and interaction 3. Computational support for emergent shapes and processes - computational modelling of emergence - support for interaction with emergent shapes and processes - shapes algebras and formalisms for emergence - spatial parsing and structuring - flexible object oriented methodology We expect to refine and revise the set of topics with participants before the workshop via email and the Web. Based on the interests of the participants, we will devise a specific set of topic groups to structure the workshop discussions. SUBMISSION Position statements, no longer than 2 pages, are invited from interested participants. Submitters should state their point of view, relevant work, and what they think are the significant issues for discussion. Submitters should attempt to relate to the above topics or to propose new relevant topics. Selection will be based upon the relevance to the worshop theme and goals. In particular, statements that contribute to understanding the implications for system design or are integrative will be valued. Position statements should be sent electronically to both Ernest Edmonds ([log in to unmask]) and Thomas Moran ([log in to unmask]) by the 7th February 1997. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 28th February. The anticipated number of participants will be no more than 20. DISSEMINATION The normal outcomes of a CHI poster and a report in the SIGCHI Bulletin will be generated. The organizers also intend to develop a special issue of the journal Human-Computer Interaction from the more mature research presented of the workshop. More workshop details:- http://bashful.lboro.ac.uk/chi-wshop/index.html CHI conference details:- http://www.acm.org/sigchi/chi97/