Frontiers of Human-Centered Computing, Online Communities and Virtual Environments Rae Earnshaw . (ed.)

Rae Earnshawand John A. Vince --_. . _----- 1 Introduction The USPresident's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC)recently advised the US Senate of the strategic importance of investing in IT for the 21st century, particularlyin the areas of software,human-computer interaction, scalable information infrastructure, high-end computing and socioeconomic issues [1]. Research frontiers ofhuman-computer interaction include the desire that interac­ tion be more centered around human needs and capabilities, and that the human environment be considered in virtual environments and in other contextual infor­ mation-processing activities. The overall goal is to make users more effective in their information or communication tasks by reducing learning times, speeding performance, lowering error rates, facilitating retention and increasing subjective satisfaction. Improved designs can dramatically increase effectiveness for users, who range from novices to experts and who have diverse cultures with varying educational backgrounds. Their lives could be made more satisfying, their work safer, their learning easier and their health better.

Introduction.- VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: A Review - John Vince. The Role of Virtual Humans in Virtual. Environment Technology and Interfaces - Daniel Thalmann. Perceptual User Interfaces - Matthew Turk. Guidelines for Telepresence and Shared Virtual Environments - Rae Earnshaw.- AUGMENTED REALITY AND MOBILE COMPUTING: Mobile Augmented Reality as an Example of a Complex and Demanding Human-Centred System - Simon Julier, Steven Feiner and Larry Rosenblum. Toward Tightly-Coupled Human Interfaces - Thomas Furness. Situation-Aware Mobile Assistance - Thomas Kirste.- DEVICES FOR DISPLAY AND INTERACTION: Devices for Display and Interaction - Turner Wittted. Technologies for Virtual Reality/Tele-Immersion Applications: Issues of Research in Image Display and Global Networking - Tom DeFanti, Dan Sandin, Maxine Brown, Dave Pape, Josephine Anstey, Mike Bogucki et al.- FUTURE INTERFACES: Post-Wimp User Interfaces: The Human Connection - Andries van Dam. Supporting Creativity with Advanced Information-Abundant User Interfaces - Ben Shneiderman. Virtual Spaces Revive Real World Interaction - Luc Julia, Jehan Bing and Adam Cheyer. An HCI Agenda for the Next Millennium: Emergent Global Intelligence - John Thomas.- APPLICATIONS AND TOOLS: The Impossible 'Killer App': Catalyst for Change - David Arnold. 3D Data Visualization Components on the Web - Results from AVS'involvement in several EC ESPRIT Research Projects - Mikael Jern. Creating a Shared Reality for Research and Education through Networked Virtual Reality - Judith Brown.- ONLINE COMMUNITIES: Usability, Sociability, Theory and Methods - Jenny Preece. Collaboration and Shared Virtual Environments - From Metaphor to Reality - David Leevers. On the Need for Cultural Representation in Interactive Systems - Sudhir Mudur. Internet Security from Diverse Viewpoints - Christoph Busch.- FOUNDATIONS FOR INTERACTION: Why Performance Always Comes Last in Interactive Systems Design and What to do about it - William Newman. Virtual Environments for Human-Centred Computing - Tosiyasu Kunii. Some Aspects of the Human Communication Process: Preliminary Steps Towards a Conceptual Framework - Richard Guedj. Society and Human Action: Technology Revisited - Veronique Havelange. Natural Human-Human-System Interaction - Neils Ole Bernsen.- BUSINESS/ACADEMIC/RESEARCH/GOVERNMENT: Challenges and Frontiers of Computer Graphics - A Vision for an Applied Research Agenda - Jos Encarnao. Business, Academia, Government: Toward Symbiotic Collaboration in a Networked Society - Kozo Akiyoshi, Nobuo Akiyoshi, Tosiyasu Kunii and Sakaki Morishita. A Research Agenda for Visualization and Human Interfaces: A Position Paper - Chuck Koelbel. Publishing Technologies: Towards a Wider Concepts of Documents and Related Issues - Jürgen Schönhut. The Future and its Enemies - Bertram Herzog.- INVITED LECTURES: New Industrial Temporal Objects - Bernard Stiegler. Cognition and Computers: The Context of the Matter, the Matter of Context - Daniel Andler. Universal Usability: Pushing Interface Research to Address the Needs of Every Citizen - Ben Shneiderman.