litmus :: may 2007

Litmus is the monthly newsletter of ACID, the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design

  1. acid News
    • ACID Showcase, 1 June 2007
    • In-kind Reporting Now Online
  2. Research and Project Updates
    • Intimate Transactions in California
    • |GEO|Landscapes 0.1 in Sydney
    • ACID research papers - updates
  3. acid People
    • ACID postgrad students examined
  4. DATE CLAIMERS: Mark Your Diary Now

1. ACID NEWS



:: ACID Showcase, 1 June 2007

ACID researchers from all over Australia and New Zealandcontributed to an exciting Showcase event on 1 June, demonstrating their recent research outcomes for ACID team members and representatives of our shareholder organisations.

ACID Executive Director Jeff Jones said the Showcase event was the first step in ACID's shift to a 'demo culture'.

"A number of ACID research projects are delivering exciting developments that can be demo'd hands on," he said. "And the demos we saw on 1 June were very exciting both for other ACID researchers and for our shareholders and partner organisations.

"I'm keen to see the projects delivering concrete demos as often as possible - whether that's live demos that people can play with, or showreels and websites that show off the works. I'll be working with the research teams in coming weeks and months to help them develop compelling demos."

Linda Leung, a researcher on the Virtual Communities project, said the ACID Showcase was her first opportunity to see what work is being done by other projects within ACID.

"Because we're located in nodes all over the country and New Zealand, we don't have many opportunities to get to know each other or see each other's work," she said. "The Showcase on 1 June was terrific because we were able to meet each other face to face, and play with the demos and systems being developed as a result of ACID research."

 

:: In-kind Reporting Now Online

ACID's new online system for in-kind reporting has been rolled out to all researchers, project and program managers, and node coordinators.

The online system offers researchers an easy way to report in-kind contributions via a secure website. The system automatically inserts the budgeted in-kind, and researchers need only update their actual activity against the budgeted amount.

The next key dates for in-kind reporting are 4 July 2007, for the Quarter 4 (April to June) figures from researchers, and 11 July 2007 for the Quarter 4 reports from Project Managers.

All researchers should ensure they log in at https://ipregistry.acid.net.au/Main.aspx and update their figures before 4 July.

All researchers, project managers and node coordinators should have received instructions on using the new in-kind reporting system on 13 April 2007, in an e-mail from ACID Executive Director Jeff Jones.

For more information or to report your suggestions, concerns or problems, e-mail ACID at ip@acid.net.au.

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2. RESEARCH AND PROJECT UPDATES

:: Intimate Transactions in California

QUT Creative Industries Research Fellow Dr Keith Armstrong is spending this semester as a visiting professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he's working with postgraduate students on content surrounding the work done by ACID and the Transmute Collective on the Intimate Transactions project.

Intimate Transactions is an interactive installation that allows two people, in separate geo-spatial locations, to interact using their bodies connected through the internet. Each participant senses their place in a complex web of relations that connect them within the work.

Keith is showing the Intimate Transactions exhibition simultaneously between Cal Poly and the University of California Santa Barbara, California Nanosystems Institute, from 4-6 June.

STOP PRESS: The Intimate Transactions book - an exhibition catalogue and interdisciplinary, critical analysis of the work - is available now for $55 plus postage & handling. To order your copies, contact Jillian Hamilton at j.hamilton@qut.edu.au.

 

:: |GEO|Landscapes 0.1 in Sydney

Chris Bowman, Shigeki Amitani and Alastair Weakley of Creativity & Cognition Studios (the location of most ACID research happening at UTS) present |GEO|Landscapes 0.1, now showing at Beta_Space at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

|GEO|Landscapes 0.1 is an interactive artwork-in-progress that transports visitors virtually to the Brickpit Ring Walk at Sydney Olympic Park, an elevated walkway and viewing platform set inside the old brickpit at Homebush Bay. Through text, sound, photography, video and GPS, visitors to |GEO|Landscapes 0.1 can explore time and space as a layered virtual environment.

This early prototype explores how video sequences, selected narratives, and site-specific information can be captured across two or more locations, then reconstructed by groups or individuals to create personal or collective narratives.

The exhibition is open now and will run until 16 June, 10-5 daily, free with entry to the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

STOP PRESS: Chris Bowman and Beta_Space spoke at a recent Pecha Kucha Night in Sydney at the invitation of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Pecha Kucha is a global movement of local forums for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public, with Pecha Kucha Nights now happening regularly in 80 cities across the world.

To keep things interesting and fast, each presenter is given 20 slides at 20-second intervals to talk about their work. http://www.pecha-kucha.org/sydney/

 

:: ACID Research Papers - Updates

Truna aka J Turner has had a number of papers published or accepted for publication lately:

  • "Destination Space: Experiential Spatiality and Stories" appeared in the proceedings of ACM Cybergames06, which was held in Perth in December 2006. Game and virtual world conceptualisations of space; the rich challenges that arise when we design such environments for immersive experiences beyond game-play.
  • A demo of the Digital Songlines Environment also appeared as a peer-reviewed paper in the proceedings of ACM Cybergames06.
  • "Redisplacement by Design", co-authored with Nicola Bidwell of JCU and Peter Radoll of ANU, appeared in Interactions Vol 14 Issue 2, March/April 2007. Traditional knowledge systems inspire technology design, and the interdependency between Aboriginal culture and landscape provides insight into an embodied approach to HCI. The authors call for the hand-over of the power of design, rather than using design to exploit country and people.
  • "Wanderer Beyond Game Worlds" has been accepted as a full paper for PerthDAC07 The Future of Digital Media Culture.
  • Truna presented "To explore strange new worlds: experience design in 3-dimensional immersive environments - role and place in a world as object of interaction", exploring the construction of rich graphical immersive worlds, as an HDM Workshop at OZCHI 2006.

Congratulations Truna on a huge output and acceptance in such highly regarded forums.

The Indigenous Communities team has had a paper accepted by the International Journal of Architectural Computing special edition on cultural heritage:

  • "Doing Cultural Heritage using the Torque Game Engine: Supporting Indigenous Storytelling in a 3D Virtual Environment" was co-authored by ACID researchers and developers Theodor Wyeld, Joti Carroll, Craig Gibbons, Brenden Ledwich, Brett Leavy, James Hills, and Michael Docherty. The paper outlines the goals achieved over the last three years in the development of the ACID Digital Songlines Engine.

Congratulations to the team on having this paper accepted in such a prestigious journal.

Calling all ACID Researchers: If you'd like to let others at ACID know when and where you're publishing, just send the details to Litmus. But don't forget the publication process requires all ACID publications to be approved - the guidelines are available from Education Program Manager Michael Docherty.

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3. ACID PEOPLE

:: ACID postgrad students examined

Three ACID post-graduate students have just been through the process of presenting their work for examination.

Yoko Akama and Keith Deverell presented their works as an exhibition and oral presentation to a panel of examiners in a public forum at RMIT on 31 May and 1 June.

Yoko is working for a PhD in Communication Design, and was a vital part of the ACID Human Dimension Methodology team. Her research investigates the value of human relationships in communication design.

Keith is working for a Masters degree in Communication Design, and is a researcher in the ACID Virtual Communities project. His research explores simultaneous stable and unstable states and the way this dualism shapes people's engagement with the world.

Sherwin Huang presented his Masters research on location-based games (LBGs) at QUT on 22 May. Sherwin's work explores the potential for subversion of space and direct social interaction offered by LBGs, the issues preventing LBGs from reaching full potential, and how to make LBGs available to mass audiences.

He has found that readily available networks like GSM are ideal for LBGs, and that employing a Web 2.0 approach harnesses the collective intelligence of the mass audience for creation and distribution of games.

Sherwin is also a key contributor to the ACID Cipher Cities project. From his research into popular digital social networks such as Flickr, Deviant Art and Lost.fm, he understood what was required of an interface design to encourage creative co-production and socialisation. These are critical to the success of the Cipher system and the communities the project team hopes to inspire to participate. Sherwin was also a key member of the team that designed the multiple trials resulting in the refinement of the interface to maximise the user experience.

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4. DATE CLAIMERS: Mark Your Diary Now!

:: Fun Stuff

Collaboratory - Innovation and Thought Leadership Festival 2007
29 June 2007, Sydney NSW.
ACID and Creativity & Cognition Studios will demonstrate generative and collaborative arts tools.
for more information, contact Deborah Turnbull.

Get Game Tournament - Leave your mark on Medieval II
Presented by International Game Developers Association Greater Brisbane Chapter
6-7 July 2007, 10am-4pm, Community Hub, Kelvin Grove QLD.
for more information, visit the IGDA website.

 

:: Calls for Papers

Fourth Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment
Long papers due: 15 June 2007 (max 8 pages)
Short papers due: 15 June 2007 (max 3 pages)
3-5 December 2007, Melbourne VIC.
visit the conference website for more info.

VSMM07: 13th international conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia
Exchange and Experience in Space and Place
Long papers due: 17 June 2007 (12 pages, approx 3000-4000 words)
Short papers due: 17 June 2007 (5 pages, approx 1200-1800 words)
Posters due: 15 July 2007 (single A2 or other format by negotiation)
23-26 September 2007, Brisbane QLD.
visit the conference website for more info.

DUX07: conference on designing for user experience
Changing Roles and Shifting Landscapes
Papers due: 13 July 2007
5-7 November 2007, Chicago USA.
visit the DUX07 website for more info.

NEW JOURNAL: International Journal of Design
Peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishing research papers in all fields of design, calling for papers.
Topics include: social/cultural aspects of design; globalisation & localisation approaches to design; design strategy & management; ergonomics & perceptions in design; design theories & methodologies; computer applications in design.
visit the Journal's website for more info.

Design Research Quarterly
NEW SERIES: Case Studies in Research: Knowledge and Inquiry
Calling for submissions: 3000 - 6000 words, APA guidelines
Contact Peter Storkerson for more info.

 

:: Awards Programs and Fellowships

Queensland-Smithsonian Institution Fellowships
Spend up to six months undertaking research at the USA's prestigious Smithsonian Institution.
Applications close: 27 July 2007
visit the Qld Premiers Department website for more info.

Fresh Science 2007
Sixteen early-career researchers present their work to the media, schools and the public.
Nominations due: 15 June 2007
13-16 August 2007, Melbourne VIC
visit the Fresh Science website for more info.

 

:: Conferences

Mobile Media: international conference on social and cultural aspects of mobile phones, convergent media & wireless technologies
2-4 July 2007, Sydney NSW.
visit the conference website for more info.

10th Pacific Rim First Year in Higher Education Conference
Regenerate, Engage, Experiment
4-6 July 2007, Brisbane QLD.
visit the conference website for more info.

CCCT2007: International Conference on Computing, Communications and Control Technologies
12-15 July 2007, Orlando Florida USA.
visit the CCCT07 website for more info.

e-CASE 2007: International Joint Conference of e-CASE, e-Commerce, e-Administration, e-Society, and e-Education
15-17 August, Hong Kong.
visit the e-CASE website for more info.

DIMEA 2007: 2nd international conference on Digital Interactive Media and Entertainment and Arts
19-21 September 2007, Perth WA.
visit the DIMEA website for more info.

Qualitative Research as Interpretive Practice (QRIP) Conference 2007
Interpreting Professional Worlds - Qualitative Perspectives on Practice
20-21 September 2007, Albury NSW.
visit the Ripple website for more info.

VSMM07: 13th international conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia
Exchange and Experience in Space and Place
23-26 September 2007, Brisbane, QLD.
visit the VSMM07 website for more info.

Communications Policy & Research Forum 2007
24-25 September 2007, Sydney NSW.
visit the conference website for more info.

WikiSym 2007: International Symposium on Wikis
Wikis at work in the world: open, organic, participatory media for the 21st Century.
21-23 October 2007, Montreal Canada.
visit the WikiSym website for more info.

Blog World Expo
8-9 November 2007, Las Vegas USA.
Early registrations before 3 August 2007.
visit the expo website for more info.

Defining the Scientific Evolution of Technology Enhanced Learning: the Kaleidoscope 2007 Symposium
Impact, Excellence, Value, Synergy
26-27 November 2007, Berlin Germany.
visit the Kaleidoscope website for more info.

 

:: Workshops, Seminars, Forums

ICT Women Set Up For Success workshops
Presented by the Australian Information Industry Association
Perth: Monday 18 June
Adelaide: Tuesday 19 June
Melbourne: Wednesday 20 June
Hobart: Friday 22 June
Darwin: Monday 25 June
Canberra: Wednesday 27 June
Sydney: Thursday 28 June
Brisbane: Friday 29 June
visit the Set Up For Success website for more info.

Serious Play: How to Stimulate Your Organisation to Innovate
Presented by the Creative Leadership Forum
26 June 2007, Sydney NSW.
Registrations close: 12 June 2007
visit the CLF website for more info.

National Scholarly Communications Forum 2007
Improving Access to Australian Publicly Funded Research - Advancing Knowledge and the Knowledge Economy
16 July 2007, Canberra ACT.
visit the NSCF website for more info.

Netgames 2007
19-20 September 2007, Melbourne VIC.
Early registrations: 13 July 2007
Registrations: 10 August 2007
visit the workshop website for more info.

 

:: Calendar Call

The ACID calendar function is temporarily unavailable. If you have an event, meeting or conference date to share with ACID colleagues, just click here to e-mail the info.

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About Litmus

Litmus aims to keep you informed about news and events at ACID, the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design.

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