CALL – for papers to First International Workshop on 'Understanding Delight in Design: User Experience, Technologies and Tools'

University of Birmingham

10 September 2012

Deadline for paper submissions: 18 June 2012

This workshop is organised at HCI 2012 - People and Computers XXVI, University of Birmingham, 12-14 September 2012.

Drawing on the established fields of usability, user experience and interaction design, this workshop aims to bring together people to discuss the concept of 'delight' in interface, product and interaction design.

The organisers argue that 'Delight' or 'delightful' design is an aspirational quality that the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community would do well to consider when designing and evaluating interfaces. Open-mindedness and designing for emotion seem critical aspects of a broader call or desire for design which is ‘delightful’; an experience which engages the user more fully, an experience which provokes ‘ensoulment’, a term coined by Nelson and Stolterman to describe an emotional response to a product which results in a deeply moving feeling of being significantly changed.

This workshop seeks to explore: 

1. what constitutes a delightful interface, and how we can determine its value
2. how this can be capitalised on in interaction and interface design and
3. how successful realisation of the 'delightfulness' of interfaces might be evaluated.

'Delightful design' is an aspect of research and user experience under investigation in SerenA, a multi-disciplinary project to design interactive systems that create opportunities for serendipitous connections.

The organsising committee invites contributions that address the concepts of delightful design; appropriate topics include but are not limited to:

• Case studies and reports of positive emotion or delightful design in product and interaction design, and visual practices;
• theoretical or conceptual discussions around the notion of 'delight' and unexpectedness in interfaces, technologies and products;
• papers which propose a new understanding of user experience and usability goals;
• evaluation techniques that consider the assessment of 'delight' or emotion;
• the role of 'delight' and participant engagement within the user-centred design process;
• the changing role of emotional design in interactive interfaces across media platforms and emergent technologies.

For more information http://www.serena.ac.uk/delight-in-design-workshop/

Networks - hard copies of issues 1 - 12 available

Issues 1 - 12 of Networks published between 2007 and Spring 2011, are still available as hard copies. If you are based in the UK and would like us to send you any issues (free of charge), please contact j.embleton@brighton.ac.uk

Up until issue 12, Networks was a predominantly hard-copy publication produced by the Art Design Media Higher Education Academy Subject Centre; it was distributed to colleagues in art, design and media higher education and readers informed us that the news, features, projects and reviews impact on their teaching practice in positive ways. Many of the articles are currently being republished online, see our FROM THE ARCHIVE posts.

Networks issues 1 - 12 

NEWS - launch of Amateur Cinema Studies Network

The Amateur Cinema Studies Network (ACSN), is the first international initiative to explore amateur cinema studies in a wide-ranging and cross-disciplinary framework.

The ACSN Ltd. and its website aim to advance the study of amateur cinema through pioneering scholarship, international collaborative research and practice-based projects.

The ACSN Mission statement:

• Integrate and consolidate the existing cross-disciplinary scholarship relevant to amateur film studies, from film history to social anthropology, psychology, imperial history and gender studies
• Create a forum for discussion, debate and up to date information for scholars and visual artists
• Develop templates for teaching amateur cinema studies and promote their inclusion in film and media studies curriculumExamine academic and popular responses to amateur cinema

http://amateurcinemastudies.org/

EVENT - Community-powered digital transformations in learning workshop

University College London
21 June 2012

Digital transformations mean that cultural and media organisations now find themselves in a new environment in which communities of participants interact to create, curate, organise and support cultural experiences.

This workshop, organised by University of Westminster and UCL, is the fourth in a series of AHRC-funded events where practitioners and researchers come to consider innovative practices, and develop new ideas together. (All welcome – attendance at the previous events is not necessary).

This event considers: How can we use digital tools to explore knowledge in new ways, and translate ideas and materials into digital arenas in order to gain new understandings? How can communities of digital participants transform their own learning, and that of others? What are the uses and implications of this for museums, schools, and universities? How can learning in the arts and humanities be enhanced by online creative participation?

Speakers include:

• Amy Twigger Holroyd, Keep and Share
• Sam Strudwick, Digital Editor, Amnesty International
• Kate Lindsay, Learning Technologies Group, University of Oxford
• Alison James, Head of Learning, London College of Fashion
• Caroline Bassett, University of Sussex

The day will involve presentations, discussions, and smaller-group conversations.

The event, including refreshments and lunch, is free, but registration is essential. (Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council – Digital Transformations Programme).

http://bit.ly/digital21june

CALL and NEWS – Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies

The Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to bridge the gap between media and communication research and actors with a say in media production, i.e. broadcasters, newspapers, radios, Internet-based media outlets, etc. It is devoted to research with an applied angle in which a clear link is made between the prevalent theories and paradigms media and communication scholars work with, and the real world where media and communication activities take place. It tackles issues and practices related to the output and organization of media outlets in our digitized age.

The journal has a particular focus on and interest in contemporary issues and practices of media firms as they are experienced by their actors journalists, executives, publishers and proprietors, among others. Besides scholarly submissions, the editors are interested in articles written by media actors focusing on topics including their activities, problems, strategies, guidelines, management and editorial issues, organization, ethical codes, coverage, distribution, marketing, handling of user-generated material, etc. The journal is the first scholarly publication giving due consideration in publishing to material by media actors. Practitioners, for the first time, will have their articles printed alongside academic papers within the pages of the same journal.

To celebrate the launch of this new Journal, Intellect are offering Issue 1.1 for free online: http://bit.ly/IQN2hX.

Call for Papers:

The Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies focuses on practical issues media outlets confront today. Its main interest is in research and studies that help media actors – journalists, proprietors and publishers – improve their output. The editors are interested in topics covering problems media outlets face in our digitized world. Contributions from both academics and practitioners are welcome. http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=220/view,page=2/

Winner and runner up of Student Award 2012 announced!

We are very pleased to announce that the winner of this year's Student Award, Reflect:on Learning Experiences in Art, Design & Media, is Lydia Hardwick from the Royal College of Art.  She wins the first prize of £300. Congratulations Lydia!

The runner up is Bradley Bailey from Bath Spa University and he will receive the runner up prize of £100, well done Bradley!

We would like to thank all the students who took part in the competition this year; the work is of a very high standard. Submissions were not formally assessed; the winner and runner up were selected via an online voting system and we are very pleased that 843 voters took part to register their preferences.

The award, now in its seventh year, provides a unique opportunity for students to showcase their work alongside a range of UK institutions to a global audience. Students were asked to focus on their experiences of learning in art, design and media and submit an image or piece of multimedia (visual / audio / film / etc) accompanied by a short statement that reflects the epiphanies, inspirations, enablers and opportunities that are part of the experience of higher education.

Lydia and Bradley's entries and statements are reproduced below. You can see all the entries in the online gallery.

The Epiphany Head

The Royal College of Art sets your brain on positive overload. I sometimes feel my head will swell and burst. You are constantly fuelled by information and innovation provided through lectures, visiting speakers, critiques, conversation with your peers, exhibitions, technical workshops… 

My piece is a visual summarisation of my reaction to this information-dense environment. The material qualities are loose and roughly produced, demonstrating the fast flux of information, settling into little colourful simultaneous epiphanies around my head. I purposeful chose the figure to be straight and wearing grey, to show how my body can sometimes feel flat and static in comparison to the activity running though my head.

Lydia Hardwick
Ceramics
Royal College of Art

Work placement
Video

This is a hand-drawn Animation I created about the work placement I did in March 2010. It’s all about the experience of my first day on the job. I worked for a week with a freelance Health Journalist. I  wanted to learn how she successfully set up her business and works freelance.

This was a valuable work experience for me, I gained business knowledge and advice for ways in which I can setup and start my own career as a freelance animator. She’s also a contact I’ll always have and will hopefully be able to work with again in the near future. Work experience has been a big part of my learning in higher education.


Bradley Bailey
Creative Media Practice
Bath Spa University

FROM THE ARCHIVE - Perception / Interpretation / Impact

Perception / Interpretation / Impact Bernadette Blair, Kingston University

Bernadette Blair examines the design studio critique and the learning value of formative feedback. The focus of her doctorate thesis was the formative verbal feedback design students receive in studio crits and the learning achieved through these experiences. The full findings of this study are published in Dr Blair’s EdD thesis but this article is a précis some of the findings.

Published in May 2007: Networks, Issue 1, pp. 10 - 13.

To access the article

GENERAL NEWS - from HE

EVENT -  'Curriculum Reform at the University of Hong Kong - Assessing Employability Skills'

Pedagogy Research Centre Seminar
Oxford Brookes University

29 May 2012

Curriculum reform involves changes in educational system, program structures and objectives, leading to changes in approaches to teaching and students’ learning outcomes. These changes often focus on areas such as higher order thinking skills, standards and employability skills which have been lobbied by employer demands to introduce skills development strategy in higher education. Often these changes need corresponding changes in assessment as assessment drives learning. Hong Kong is currently going through such changes and in this seminar/workshop, some of these changes will be introduced and also how assessment is transforming in Hong Kong higher education.

For more information

NB, this seminar is also taking place at Aston University on 31 May. To find out more contact: Zara Kendrick at z.v.h.kendrick1@aston.ac.uk

______________________________________________________

EVENT Touching Hearts and Minds: Tackling Disparities in Student Attainment

Coventry University Techno Park

18 June 2012

The Disparities in Student Attainment (DiSA) programme has produced a wealth of findings about how disparities in student attainment can arise; the most evident of these revolving around the quality of relationships that students have with their lecturers. This Conference presents this finding in depth, exploring all aspects of student and lecturer relationships, the impact this has on attainment and thus the attainment gap.  The day will also provide the opportunity to explore theoretical issues relating to the framing of the issue and post-race approaches.

For more information

Drawing on All Resources - we had a great day!

We had a great time yesterday at Drawing on All Resources: developing open educational practice in art, design and media at Grand Parade, University of Brighton. The verbal feedback during the day was very positive and we hope that everyone who came along found it useful and enjoyable. 

We shall be putting the presentations, films of the presentations and reports from the event online in Networks 18. 

In the meantime, have a look at some of the comments made on Twitter #droar.

If you were there and took any photographs we would love to see them.

Thanks to all the presenters on the day: Tina Barnes Powell, John Casey, Polly Christie, Jane Devine Mejia, Alex Di Savoia,  Chris Follows,  Paul Gerhardt, Paul Grivell, Clare Harris, Stuart Laing, David Mathew, Malcolm McInnes, Paul Postle, Adam Procter, Christoph Raatz, Tony Reeves, Lucy Renton, Tim Seal, CJ Taylor and Helen Waddington; the support staff at Brighton, in particular Joe Mansfield and Chris Williams, Debbie King and her team and of course to everyone who attended.

CALL - Call for Papers Social Media, Digital Network and Globalization

2012 China New Media Communication Association Annual Conference

Macao International Conference, Macao SAR, China

6 - 8 December 2012

Deadline for abstract submissions: 15 July 2012

This conference is co-organized by the Department of Communication, University of Macao and China New Media Communication Association (CNMCA). CNMCA is the only national academic organization in China specialized in computer-mediated communication studies. Starting in 2004, its annual conference was held in various cities in Greater China including Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. It has become the top academic convention in China on new media communication studies.

The Organizing Committee of the conference is now calling for papers from both Chinese and international scholars, media professionals and graduate students. The conference offers Best Student Paper Awards to papers contributed by graduate students of CNMCA members. The winners of the Best Student Paper Awards will receive travel subsidies to come to Macao for the conference.

The central theme of the conference:  Social Media, Digital Network and Globalization. Related issues include, but are not limited to:

• Development of new media and social media
• New media and cultural and creative industries
• New media and civil society
• New media, culture and globalization (including intercultural communication)
• Advertising and brand communication in relation to new media
• New media and transformation of traditional media
• Other related topics

The conference will be held in parallel sessions of Chinese and English.  It will establish special forums and a round table discussion in English and Chinese to encourage a cross-cultural dialogue and debate for scholars at home and abroad.

http://www.umac.mo/fsh/comm/newmediaconference/en/en.htm