10/29/2009

Lecture to examine "A National Initiative for Technology-Mediated Social Participation"

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

"A National Initiative for Technology-Mediated Social Participation" will be the topic of a Nov. 2 lecture by computer scientist Ben Shneidermann. The lecture, presented as part of the Technology, Society and Public Policy Lecture Series, will be at 4 p.m. in Duncan Hall, Room 1064.

Shneiderman is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland at College Park, founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory and member of the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. He is the author of "Leonardo’s Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies" and "Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction.


	BEN SHNEIDERMANN

Technology-mediated social participation is generated when social networking tools, such as Facebook; blogs and microblogs, such as Twitter; user-generated content sites, such as YouTube; discussion groups; recommendation systems; and other social media are applied to national priorities such as health, energy, education, disaster response, environmental protection, business innovation, cultural heritage or community safety.

According to Shneidermann, as national initiatives are launched in several countries to dramatically increase research and education on social media, a coordinated approach will be helpful.

In his lecture, Shneidermann will discuss potential short-term interventions, including universities changing course content, adding courses and offering new degree programs; industry helping researchers by providing access to data and platforms for testing; and government agencies applying these strategies in pilot studies related to national priorities.

The lecture is sponsored by the Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology.