Special Issue on Inclusive Design in the Context of Social Media and Emerging Technologies

Call for papers for Special Issue of Interacting with Computers on Inclusive Design in the Context of Social Media and Emerging Technologies

Recently we have witnessed the increased proliferation of new digital technologies such as online social networking sites, micro-blogging and virtual worlds which has changed the way we communicate and interact with each other. Emerging studies are being conducted in order to investigate these interesting socio-technological phenomena.

To date, little has been done with respect to inclusive design in the context of social networking and emerging technologies. These technologies have the potential to have a positive impact on the lives of a wide range of people, for instance older people, disabled people, and people from different social and cultural backgrounds. For example, it has been reported that the fastest growing demographic of the social networking sites is women over 55 years old (Facebook Global Monitor, 2009).

With this special issue, we aim to analyse existing and novel ways in which social networks and emerging technologies are used by these user groups. We ask questions such as: In what ways can these technologies be designed to be more inclusive? What are people’s motivations for engaging with these new technologies? What is the effect on people’s behaviour, attitudes and social interactions? What methods can be used to analyse these interactions?

This special issue of Interacting with Computers is inviting contributions from both the academic community, industry and the design practitioners.  We welcome research papers which trigger discussions based on investigations, case studies and overviews in this area.

Possible topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Inclusive design issues related to social media and emerging technologies
• Concepts, methods and frameworks aimed at motivating people to participate
• Case studies in various social and cultural contexts
• The impact of participation on the society and culture
• Different user groups’ engagement with social media
• New technologies such as virtual worlds and
• The application of these technologies in a variety of settings (e.g. e-government, communities, sustainability and environment, etc.)

Submission details

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract to Dr Jim Ang (c.s.ang@kent.ac.uk) no later than 28th January 2011.   Please include full contact information and a biographical note (up to 75 words) on each of the authors.

Important dates

28th January 2011:  Deadline for abstract submission

25th February 2011:  Announcement of results and full paper invitations

29th April 2011: Submission of full papers

24th June 2011: Response to authors

2nd September 2011: Final submission

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Jim Ang, Ania Bobrowicz (c.s.ang@kent.ac.uk))
School of Engineering and Digital Arts, University of Kent, UK

Panayotis Zaphiris
Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus

Ben Shneiderman
Human Computer Interaction Laboratory, University of Maryland, USA

BBC first click campaign

I just had a look at the 'First click' website - the video is ok (and not too patronizing), but I find the concept to create this website somewhat flawed. The person who accesses this website needs to have basic computer skills. Also I find the benefits to go online (or to learn how to use the Internet) not well explained... I expected to see benefits mentioned such as 'sent your digital photographs to family and friends', 'reduce cost by choosing online billing', 'read up on medical information from trusted websites', 'find your ancestors' etc

About First Click:

First Click is a BBC Learning campaign to encourage those aged 55 and over, who currently do not use the internet, to understand and enjoy its benefits. The BBC has created the First Click Beginners’ Computer Course to take participants through the first and essential steps of using computers, also linking with BBC WebWise. To find out more, have a look here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/connect/campaigns/first_click.shtml

Ofcom research: Next Generation Services for Older and Disabled People

Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Older and Disabled People has published research into the benefits that next generation super-fast broadband could bring to older and disabled people. The publication’s findings are based on desk research and in-depth interviews with senior representatives from across a range of industries, government, academia and the third sector.
The research gives examples of a range of services already being piloted or in development. The research also identifies some of the challenges and barriers which might hinder this potential including usability, accessibility and cost.
A copy of the full research Next Generation Services for Older and Disabled People can be found here.