LINGUIST List 5.374

Thu 31 Mar 1994

Confs: DTI CSCW SIG ONE DAY CONFERENCE

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1. Pemberton Lyn, CFP: Linguistics and CSCW - London

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DTI CSCW SIG ONE DAY CONFERENCE

LINGUISTIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS IN COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE WORK

10 a.m. Tuesday 1st November
Department of Trade and Industry, Kingsgate House, 66-74 Victoria St, London
SW1E 6SW

Organisers: John Connolly (Loughborough University of Technology)
and Lyn Pemberton (University of Brighton)

Computer -Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is the name of a fairly new field
of study, which emerged in the 1980's and has been the focus of growing
interest in the 1990's. It is concerned with the scientific and
technological implications of the fact that when people are confronted with a
problem to solve or a task to accomplish, they frequently seek to achieve
their goal through collaboration with others. This cooperative method of
working, which is intrinsically based on the group rather than on the
individual, can often benefit from assistance which computer-based systems
are capable of providing. This technological support may take the form of
electronic mail, multi-author word processing packages, shared drawing
environments or any of number of other facilities. However, the design and
implementation of such systems (known collectively as 'groupware') raises a
whole host of unresolved issues, all of which fall within the purview of
CSCW. These issues involve a wide range of academic disciplines, including
Linguistics.

As is widely acknowledged, an essential prerequisite to successful
cooperative working is communication among the participants in the task
concerned. Linguistics provides procedures for the analysis of verbal
communication, whether spoken or written, and hence immediately suggests
itself as a source of descriptive methods that may be fruitfully employed
in the study of the communication inherent in CSCW. However, linguistic
concepts can also be applied in other ways to CSCW technology, notably in
relation to the design of groupware-based systems. Furthermore, not only
is it feasible for Linguistics to cast light upon CSCW, but it is also
possible for our understanding of human language as a vehicle of
communication to be broadened and deepened through the investigation of its
use within CSCW activity.

The HCI (Human Computer Interface) Club of the DTI (Department of Trade and
Industry) has established a thriving Special Interest Group (SIG) devoted to
CSCW. One of the main activities of the SIG is to organise a series of
regular one-day conferences on topics of interest. (The papers presented at
these seminars are normally published, in revised form, as part of the
Springer-Verlag CSCW Book Series). The purpose o f the seminar to be held on
November 1 1994 is to explore and examine the relationship between
Linguistics and CSCW.

Among the various levels of linguistic analysis, so far it has been the
pragmatic layer that has attracted the most attention from the point of view
of CSCW. However, the other levels
are equally relevant. So too are the related subjects of Sociolinguistics,
Anthropological Linguistics, Stylistics, Quantitative Linguistics and
Psycholinguistics. Papers on any of these topics will be considered for
inclusion in this seminar; and since the bringing together of Linguistics
and CSCW is a comparatively new idea, papers may be submitted which deal
either with actual or with potential applications.

The seminar should appeal to members of the Linguistics community who
appreciate the potential for applying their subject in a new and exciting
technological domain; to members of the computational linguistic community
with an interest in language technology in relation to computer-mediated
 communication
and to members of the CSCW community with an interest in the communicative
interaction among cooperating partners. Furthermore, the seminar should be
attractive not only to academics pursuing research in the above areas but
also to members of the industrial and commercial community who are interested
in the implications of such research for the design of marketable systems.
It is hoped, therefore, that the seminar will lead to a valuable exchange of
ideas among individuals and groups from different backgrounds, and that it
will result in an enhanced, shared understanding of the benefits of bringing
together CSCW and the various applicable concepts and methods from
Linguistics.

Offers of papers concerned with any aspect of Linguistics (pure or hybrid!)
will be welcomed and should be sent to John Connolly (address below) to
arrive by Monday 1 August, 1994. Email submissions are acceptable. Typically
art a CSCW SIG meeting, a 20 minute slot is allocated to each presentation.
However, requests for slightly longer or shorter durations will be
considered, provided that these are received at the same time as the
abstract.

Those who wish to attend but not present a paper should contact Patrick
Holligan (address below). They will then be sent particulars when these
become available. For security reasons, the DTI insist on the preregistration
of delegates. It is therefore essential that everyone who wishes to attend
should inform Mr Holligan beforehand.

Addresses : Dr.J.H. Connolly, Department of Computer Studies, Loughborough
University of Technology, Loughborough, Leics., LE11 3TU, U.K.

Janet: J.H.Connollyuk.ac.lut
Internet: J.H.Connolly%lut.ac.uknsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Telephone: 0509-222943
Fax: 0509-211586

Dr L. Pemberton: IT Research Institute, University of Brighton, Lewes Rd,
Brighton, BN2 4AT, UK.

Janet: LP22uk.ac.bton.unix
Internet: LP22%unix.bton.ac.uknsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Telephone: 0273 642916/2476
Fax: 0273 606 653

P.J. Holligan
Dept of Computer Studies
Loughborough University of Technology, Loughborough, Leics., LE11 3TU, U.K.

P.J. Holliganlut.ac.uk
Internet: P.J.Holligan%lut.ac.uknsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Telephone: 0509-222694
Fax: 0509-211586