Workshop on the Family and Communication Technologies - Newcastle, UK

Workshop on the Family and Communication Technologies (FACT)- Northumbria University, 24th May 2007

Contributions in the form of 4 page position papers are invited for a one-day workshop at Northumbria University, UK.

The FAMILY and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
New communication technologies are increasingly being used in family and social contexts to support and extend relationships. Yet the social aspects of these communication technologies and impact upon family life are often overlooked by researchers and designers keen to create task-based products. With this in mind we feel that attention should now focus on the social aspects of communication technologies within the family if we are to better understand how and why people are using and adapting communication technologies to suit their family and social lives. Questions naturally arise related to social and moral values, trust, privacy, disclosure, exclusion, status within the home and also the impact upon the home/work/leisure divide. We want to focus on issues of context, purpose and benefit to see if we can build up a richer, more detailed account of real technology usage and impact upon family life.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Abigail Sellen, Microsoft,UK: Abigail is a Senior Researcher in Microsoft's Cambridge Lab in the Socio-Digital Systems, a new interdisciplinary group with a focus on the human perspective in computing. Her talk is entitled, ‘Connecting to the home.’

Panos Markopoulos, University of Eindhoven, Nederlands: Panos is an Associate Professor with the User Centred Engineering Group at the Faculty of Industrial Design of the TU/e in the department of Industrial Design. Title of talk TBA

ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION INCLUDE:
1) The need to understand how current technology use impacts upon family life. What are the positive and negative aspects of use?
2) What kinds of communication technologies are people using and why?
3) What factors influence take-up and continued use of communication technologies?
4) What impact do communication technologies have upon the family’s social and moral values?
5) Evidence and examples of the benefits of communication technologies in supporting and increasing social interactions within the family.

GOALS:
The following are the goals of the workshop:
1) to explore in more depth the impact new communication technologies have on family life
2) to bring together people with different disciplinary backgrounds to discuss and explore the use of communication technologies within the family
3) to generate ideas with a view to informing research and practice into the family and impact of communication technologies

EXPECTED STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION
The workshop will provide a forum for those interested in the family and communication technologies to interact and discuss relevant issues and will be undertaken through the following structure. The day will be divided into a morning and an afternoon session. Each session will open with a keynote speaker. This will be followed by a series of short presentations. The rest of each session will be given over to group discussion.

EXPECTED PARTICIPANTS
The workshop will provide a forum for researchers and practitioners interested in the family and communication technologies to present their work and ideas. Participants will be selected on the basis of their interest and familiarity with the topic. Contributions will be circulated beforehand and posted on the workshop website (under construction).

FORMAT AND SUBMISSION
The workshop is designed as a one-day mix of presentations and group discussions. Please send your contributions by 1st March 2007 to
l.little@unn.ac.uk
Acceptance notifications will be sent on or before 6th April 2007. Linda Little is also the point of contact for further information and informal expressions of interest.
KEY DATES
1st March 2007 Position paper submission
6th April 2007 Paper acceptance notification
4th May 2007 Accepted paper distribution
24th May 2007 Date of workshop

ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Linda Little, Northumbria University, UK
Liz Sillence, Northumbria University, UK
Pam Briggs, Northumbria University, UK
Cath Kenny, Northumbria University, UK
Nicola Davinson, Northumbria University, UK
Lynne Coventry, NCR Financial Solutions Ltd., UK
Janet Read, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Adam Joinson, Open University, UK

REGISTRATION COSTS
The cost of the one day workshop is £50 this includes attendance at the workshop sessions, buffet lunch and tea and coffee breaks.

PUBLICATION
A publisher has already been approached with a view to having the workshop proceedings published as either a special issue journal or as a book. Publication issues will also be discussed by the workshop group at the end
of the final session.

Please contact Linda Little for further information l.little@unn.ac.uk

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