Call for Participation

Please visit the official workshop website for any additional information.

The brain and body provide a wealth of information about the physiological, cognitive and emotional state of the user. There is an increasing opportunity to use physiological data as a form of input control for computerised systems. As entry level sensors become more cheaper and widespread, physiological interfaces are liable to become more pervasive in our society (e.g., through mobile phones and similar devices). While these signals offer new and exciting mechanisms for the control of interactive systems, the issue of whether these physiological interfaces are appropriate for application and offer the user a meaningful level interaction has been relatively unexplored.

The goal of this one-day workshop is to bring together researchers working on brain and body interactive systems in order to (1) provide a platform for understanding physiological interaction in different research strands, (2) establish a forum for the discussion of technologies, techniques and measures, and (3) build and extend the physiological computing community.

Workshop Submissions

We are inviting technical contributions on the following three topics:

Submission information

1. An Application Approach to Sensor Design

The design of a sensor at the hardware and software level defines the type of application for which the device is suitable. In medical and psychophysiological research, high-resolution data capture under laboratory conditions is standard. However not every type of physiological computer requires high-fidelity equipment and many of these systems must work in the field. Perhaps the physiological variable that drives the application must be captured with a degree of sensitivity and robustness. The application domain defines the requirements of the sensor and the type of hardware/software support required.

In submitting under this topic, we ask researchers to consider how the type of application influences the specification of measures and the required specification for sensor design. For example, a heart rate sensor combined with an accelerometer allows physical effort to be removed from changes in heart rate, allowing cognitive and emotional effects to be processed.

2. Meaningful Interactions with Physiology

A physiological computing system can define the relationship between the changes in a physiological signal and a system command in any number of ways. However, certain relations between the physical and virtual will be more intuitive if they can be made meaningful from the perspective of the user (i.e., a natural interaction). For example, increases and decreases in psychophysiological activation should lead to changes that are both appropriate and intuitive at the interface.

In submitting under this topic, we ask researchers to consider what defines a meaningful physiological interaction and what types of meaningful interaction may exist across different categories of physiological computing system (e.g. BCI, telemedicine, affective computing). We also welcome contributions with regard to methods that evaluate meaningful interaction within this context.

3. Ethics and Privacy

Physiological data of users are a highly personalised and private source of information. The storage and/or manipulation of these data can pose certain ethical concerns. For example, the uploading of physiological statistics to an online forum outside a medical context may lead to unsubstantiated self-diagnosis.

In submitting under this topic, we ask researchers to consider the ethics and privacy issues involved in the storage and/or manipulation of a users physiology (e.g., in biocybernetic adaptive systems) and to what extent should we allow the user’s state to be manipulated?

Submission Details

For authors

Authors are asked to submit a 4 page position paper in the CHI extended abstracts format to submit (at) physiologicalcomputing.net by 14 28 Jan, 2011. Papers may describe ongoing work, recent results, or opinions and approaches related to the workshop topic.

A short biography of the author(s) attending the workshop needs to be included (100-150 words). Papers will be peer-reviewed and the organizing committee will select up to 20 participants according to relevance, quality of results, research diversity, and likelihood for stimulating and contributing to the discussion. If accepted, at least one author must register for the workshop and for one or more days of the conference. Papers will also be compiled on the workshop website.

Schedule

Important dates

• Submission deadline: January 14th 28th, 2011
• Notification of acceptance: February 11, 2011
• Workshop: May 8th, 2011

Organising Committee

Organisers

• Stephen H. Fairclough, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
• Kiel Gilleade, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
• Lennart E. Nacke, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
• Regan L. Mandryk, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Dr Gareth Schott (University of Waikato, New Zealand) invites applications for a PhD Scholarship connected to a three-year research project, funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand, Marsden Fund. The project Videogame Classification: Examining Player Experiences is a collaborative project with Prof. Frans Mäyrä (Tampere University, Finland) and Dr Lennart Nacke (University of Saskatchewan, Canada).

We are seeking an individual to join this team and contribute to the production of accounts of gameplay as a gestural, engaging, cognitive and affective activity. The broad intention of the project is to better inform the classification processes associated with the regulation of interactive games. While the projects’ methodological approach will be located at an intersection between the humanities, psychology, social and computer sciences, we are seeking applications from individuals that hold a particular interest in game design, player experience, gameplay metrics and psychophysiological measurement techniques. Participants are expected to learn, evaluate and utilize tools for game development (e.g., Source SDK) as well as tools for quantitative analysis (MATLAB, SPSS). Furthermore, writing and presentation of project documentation and research papers for suitable conferences and journals is expected.

The project has a scheduled start date of February 2011. While scholarship and the research will be based primarily in New Zealand, funds will be made available for travel to one of the other participating universities to receive initial training and sustain international collaboration in the project as well as travel to international conferences.

The application should include the following:

• Cover letter
• CV
• Two academic references
• Certified copies of certificates and diplomas

Interested applicants should contact Dr Gareth Schott (g.schott [AT] waikato.ac.nz) for either further details of the project and what the PhD scholarship entails (study fees + tax free stipend). While it would be preferable for applicants to hold a Master qualification, this should not preclude applications from high achieving students without a Masters.

CfP: Gamification: Using Game Design Elements in Non-Gaming Contexts

For more information on this workshop, please consult the official workshop website!

Definition

“Gamification” is an informal umbrella term for the use of video game elements in non-game systems to improve user experience (UX) and user engagement. The recent introduction of gamified applications such as Foursquare to large end-user audiences promises new lines of inquiry and rich data sources for the manifold endeavors in human-computer interaction (HCI) that have explored game-related heuristics, design patterns and dynamics of motivating, positive user experiences – endeavors as various as persuasive technology, funology, incentive centered design, the social psychology of online communities, motivational affordances, or game UX.

Goal

The goal of this one-day workshop at CHI 2011 is to bring together HCI researchers and practitioners from these diverse fields to take the next step forward by building a shared picture of the current state of approaches and findings pertinent to gamification, and to identify synergies, key opportunities and questions for future research.

Submission details

We invite researchers from all theoretical and methodological backgrounds to submit a 2-4 page position paper in the CHI extended abstracts format on ongoing empirical work or (potentially summative) accounts of existing approaches and findings that might elucidate the user experience, psychology, social dynamics and design of information systems employing game elements via e-mail to chi2011 at gamification-research.org. Further information can be found at the workshop site gamification-research.org/chi2011.

Important dates

Submission deadline is January 14, 2011.

The workshop will take place on May 7 or 8, 2011 (final date to follow).

Note that at least one author of each accepted paper needs to register for the workshop and for one or more days of the conference.

Our friend Kiel at Physiological Computing posted the first part of his review of the Biosplay workshop at the Fun and Games conference 2010.

While prior workshops, such as Brain Body Bytes at CHI 2010, already established a great platform for researchers interested in using biosignals in HCI, BioS-Play established a more focused atmosphere by bring together physiological signal researchers that were explicitly interested in digital gaming. Check out his post to get a review of the workshop.

Call for Papers

In conjunction with Mensch & Computer 2010 – Duisburg, Germany
September 12, 2010

Workshop Background, Theme and Goals

Entertainment Interfaces Workshop on Using Game Design and Affective Evaluation to improve User Experience and User Research

Video games are highly complex software products with an increasing need for formal playtesting methods from user research and academia. Gaming is becoming a popular topic for HCI research including the establishment of novel interaction and evaluation methodologies and the formal assessment of existing practices.

Employing user research methods in game development, especially combined qualitative (e.g., questionnaires, interviews) and quantitative (e.g., EEG, EMG, game metrics) methods lead to a better understanding of the relationship and interactions between players and games.

Most knowledge of game design has been created during years of practice and is often based on personal experience of a game designer, which commonly comes from observing individual reactions to game mechanics. However, since such game design knowledge takes years to manufacture, faster insights into complex player behavior as a reaction to game mechanics are desirable.

The goals of this workshop are to provide (1) an overview of available methods and techniques of evaluating game design and (2) to foster a productive discussion on creating guidelines for studying users with affective evaluation methodologies.

Submission Topics

Submission topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Submission Topics

• Experimental game studies using affective measurement
• Usability or playability case studies
• Psychophysiological evaluation (e.g., EEG, EMG, EDA, HR, Eye Tracking, etc.)
• Game-based heuristic evaluation methods
• Concepts and theories relating to flow, immersion, and presence
• User/Player experience (UX) or gameplay experience
• Game design case studies for tying UX to desktop or web applications
• User-centred design (UCD)
• Studies of novel interaction practices for gaming (e.g. iPad, camera tracking, etc.)
• Game design evaluation principles for pervasive and ubiquitous gaming
• Modelling of player emotion for game evaluation
• Visualization techniques for quantitative player data
• Methodology reports for evaluation of game design and user interface design
• Guidelines for the evaluation of players and game design
• Industry perspectives on evaluating fun as part of UX
• Affective evaluation studies of computer games
• Game metrics and behavioral analysis of user actions and events in games

Submission details

For authors

If you are interested in participation, please submit a 2-4 page position paper or a 2-4 page industrial case study to the workshop organizers (email: lennart.nacke at acm.org) using the LNI format (Template available here [doc]: (German version), LaTEX). Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their work at the workshop by giving a 15 minute presentation. Submissions of papers covering the topics of the workshop should be submitted by 1st of July 2010. Notification of acceptance will be sent out 12th of July 2010. At least one author from each accepted submission is expected to attend the workshop and register for the conference. Accepted submission will be compiled in the common workshop proceedings (Tagungsband der M&C, DelFI und des Doktorandenkolloquiums). These proceedings will be published by the Logos Verlag (http://www.logos-verlag.de/). All proceedings will be additionally available in an electronic version (and online) at the conference date. Do not hesitate to email lennart.nacke at acm.org with questions.

Schedule

Important dates

July 1 July 9, 2010 – Submission Deadline
July 12, 2010 – Notification of Acceptance
July 15, 2010 – Camera Ready Deadline
September 12, 2010 – Workshop Date (currently pending)

Organizing Committee

Organizers

Lennart Nacke, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Jörg Niesenhaus, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Stephan Engl, University of Regensburg, Germany
Alessandro Canossa, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Kai Kuikkaniemi, Aalto University, Finland
Thomas Immich, Centigrade GmbH, Germany