Category — Computer and Video Games

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CALL FOR WORKSHOP PAPERS
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„Abuse: the darker side of human-computer interaction‰
An INTERACT 2005 Workshop
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Date: Monday, September 12 (Full day)
Location: Rome, Italy
Submission Deadline: extended to May 30
Web-site: www.agentabuse.org
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AIMS AND SCOPE OF THE WORKSHOP
==============================
Computers are often the subject of our wrath and often, we feel,
with good reason. There seems to be something intrinsic to this
medium which brings out the darker side of human nature. This may
be due to the computer complexity which induces errors and
frustrations in the user (bad interface design), to the human
tendency to respond socially to computers (media equation), or to a
disinhibition effect induced by the interaction with a different
form of information processor, perceived as inferior (master/slave
relationship).

As software is evolving from the tool metaphor to the agent one,
understanding the role of abusive behaviour in HCI and its effect on
the task-at-hand becomes increasingly important. The reaction of
traditional software to abuse is obvious – it should, like a hammer,
ignore it. With the agent model, however, software can be
autonomous and situated. That is, it should be possible to create
software that takes note of its surroundings, and responsibility for
its actions. Conversational agents are a clear case of a software
entity which might be expected to deal with abuse. Virtual
assistants, to take a classic application instance, should not just
provide timely information; a virtual assistant must also be a
social actor and participate in the games people play. Some of
these games appear to include abusive behaviour.

This workshop aims to bring together papers that transcend
disciplinary boundaries. Papers are solicited from researchers and
practitioners who have encountered the occurrence of abuse in HCI
and CMC and given some thought to why and how it happens. Papers
that explore virtual abuse and the abuse of agents as cultural
artifacts are particularly welcome. We hope this will provide a
forum for discussing both the reasons behind aggressive behaviour
and suggestions for how software should deal with abuse.

Relevant topics include but are not limited to
* determinants and correlates of end user frustration
* emotional reactions to computing technology
* emotional interfaces ˆ how to deal with negative emotions
* conversational agents and abusive language
* conflict resolution in face-to-face communication and CMC
* flaming and disinhibition in HCI and CMC
* art on the edge
* relationship of the virtual and the real, the literal and metaphor
* Outing, passing, hiding, covering — how are agents designed to seem
“normal”
and what are the assumptions about “being human” that inform the design

INTENDED AUDIENCE AND WORKSHOP FORMAT
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The workshop will bring together an interdisciplinary group of
researchers and practitioners in human computer interaction,
computer mediated communication, intelligent virtual agents, game
design, social psychology, cultural critics and art. The program
will feature the presentation of refereed papers, demos and poster
followed by interactive sessions drawn on a number of scenarios
which will be distributed prior to the workshop. A part of the
discussion will concentrate on the definition of a roadmap for
future research.

SUBMISSIONS AND DISSEMINATION
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We seek:
- Position papers (4 pages) reporting on experiences, theories, case
studies and experiments.
- Theoretical papers (4 pages) discussing cultural, artistic,
political, and philosophical issues.
- Demo submissions (4 pages).
- Poster submission (1 page description of the poster or 1 page
sketch of the poster)

Position and theoretical papers as well as demo submissions will be
peer reviewed and should be formatted according to the LNCS (Lecture
Notes in Computer Science) format (templates are available at
Springer-Verlag LNCS Authors‚ Instructions page and at
www.Interact2005.org at the Submission page ).

Please e-mail your submission in PDF to
Antonella.de-angeli@manchester.ac.uk
(cc pwallis@acm.org)

Accepted papers will appear in the workshop proceedings and will be
posted on the web (www.agentabuse.org). Outcomes of the workshop
will be summarised and posted on agentabuse.org, which is intended
to become a dynamic repository for relevant research. If enough
interest is gathered from the participants, we will explore
alternatives such as a special journal issue or a book collection.

IMPORTANT DATES
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May 23: submission
June 6: Notification of acceptance
June 10: Registration dead-line for presenters
July 1: camera ready copies
September 12: workshop

REGISTRATION
===============
Registration will cost 150 Euro before June 10 and 200 Euro after
this date. Participants will register through the conference
website (http://www.interact2005.org/).

ORGANISING COMMITTEE
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Co-Chairs:
Sheryl Brahnam (Missouri State University), US
Antonella De Angeli (University of Manchester), UK
Peter Wallis (University of Sheffield), UK

Programme Committee
Pamela Briggs (Northumbria University), UK
Alan Dix (Lancaster University), UK
Dirk Heylen (University of Twente), Holland
Graham Johnson (NCR), UK
Catherine Pelachaud (Universite de Paris 8), France
Daniela Petrelli (University of Sheffield), UK
Laurent Romary (INRIA), France
Daniela Romano (University of Sheffield), UK
Oliviero Stock (IRST), Italy
Alistair Sutcliffe (University of Manchester), UK
Sean Zdenek (Texas Tech University), US
Yorick Wilks (University of Sheffield), UK

Contact Information.
For information, expressions of interest and/or submission please
contact
Antonella De Angeli
Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design
School of Informatics, the University of Manchester,
Manchester
M60 1QD
United Kingdom
Antonella.de-angeli@manchester.ac.uk

Swift Justice:
Justice can be swift, and very funny: Hacker deletes own hard drive:

A CHAT CHANNEL spat ended when a wannabe hacker was duped into deleting his own hard drive.

The 26 year-old German claimed he was the baddest hacker in town and threatened to attack a moderator on #stopHipHop’s RC Channel because he thought he’d been thrown out.

He demanded the moderator cough up his IP address and prepare to be hacked.

So the moderator said that his IP number was 127.0.0.1 (which is IP for “self”). Then he leaned back and waited.

Finally the hacker declared success.”I can see your E: drive disappearing, he gloated, “D: is down 45 percent!” he cried, before disappearing into the ether.

But he hasn’t been heard from since…
Translated transcript of the IRC session

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i saw this yesterday too…. hilarious, an absolute chuckle.

International Campaign Against Mass Surveillance:
An International Campaign Against Mass Surveillance was launched 20 April 2005 in London, Manila, Ottawa and Washington,with initial endorsements on its declaration from almost one hundred groups from around the world.
The introduction and detailed White Paper on the campaign’s Web site speak for themselves, specifically in highlighting the significnace of “The Registration of Populations”, “The Creation of a Global Identification System”, and “The Creation of an Infrastructure for the Global Surveillance of Movement” as 3 of 10 key “signposts” of the emergence of a global infrastructure for mass registration and surveillance — the same things I have identified as among the key trends threatening the right to travel.
I’ve immediately endorsed this campaign. I hope you will too.

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yep, this is something that I’d endorce.

Anonymity and Privacy :

some interesting compsci type readings on the topic

Paris fights for its game sector: “In the anarchic world of video games, unusual international juxtapositions are actually the norm.”

(Via IHT.com: Technology.)

where will ubisoft land?

A new environment for learning?: “

If
you find yourself with some extra time over the next few days and are
feeling adventurous, you should set aside a moment or two and try out
the beta version of Croquet.

Croquet is a 3-D rendered
‘operating system’ and provides an environment for navigating through,
and representing, information. Users are represented by the
avatar of their choice (I ended up as a rabbit) and can wander through
different spaces. When I saw a demonstration earlier this year,
Croquet allowed users to navigate around in the rendered environment,
find and communicate with others and access their favourite desktop
applications from within the Croquet world.

Croquet is open
source and links computers through peer to peer communications.
It does not need a lot of infrastructure; I saw it working on a pair of
computers linked with an ethernet cable. My first exposure to
Croquet left me dumbfounded. It defies definition and must be
experienced.

Be forewarned – Croquet is really still a
beta. Documentation is sparse to non-existent and the people most
likely to benefit from playing with Croquet (in its current form) are
those who can troubleshoot code. Nevertheless, the application
has great promise and the potential to change the way we do many
things. One of its first possible uses is in creating 3-D
simulations (not unlike Ancient Spaces). Other potential applications include community and social environments as well as collaboration spaces.

You can get more information at http://www.opencroquet.org. I would love to hear what uses you find for Croquet!

“

(Via EDUCAUSE Blogs -.)

‘

learning environment?

perhaps….

Video Game Hard Knocks Pain NFL. The National Football League has its jockstrap in a bunch over bone-crunching tackles, violent hand gestures and fisticuffs on the virtual playing field. Most recently, it asked Midway to revise NFL Blitz. By Brad King. [Wired News]

violence in video games take 23564324, action…

Computer games 'to be classified'. Violent computer games are to receive film-style classifications so parents can monitor what their children are viewing, it is reported. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

I had thought I'd posted on this before, but you know, this is nothing new, the u.s. has this type of thing, oz was working on it a few months back. I'm really very much against it on a wide variety of levels. I remember back when Tipper was promoting this type of thing to the world. I wonder why she shut up….

Video games to be classified. Computer games to be regulated by film-style classification system. [Guardian Unlimited]

this as we know is not new in the u.s. and oz has been debating it too.. i wonder if there will be any standards making across countries… doubtful..