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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998
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The Doctoral Consortium (DC) is a pre-conference event sponsored by SIGCHI. The DC is a closed session that provides an opportunity for doctoral students to explore their research interests in an interdisciplinary workshop with established researchers in a group setting. The participants receive feedback on current research and guidance for future research directions. The consortium also aims toward the development of a supportive community of scholars while contributing to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and participation in conference events. Consortium participants are invited based on their dissertation proposals, and reflect the wide range of disciplines within HCI research. The selection of participants is based primarily on the quality of their dissertation proposal (as described in their submission to the DC) and on the extent to which the dissertation represents the study of an HCI issue. Consideration is also given to representing students at different stages of the dissertation process, with a preference for students who have just had their proposal approved.
This year, the Doctoral Consortium opened, as usual, with a dinner off-site. This venue, and the walk to the restaurant, allowed us an opportunity to break the ice and start getting to know one another. Starting the next morning, and for the next day and a half, each of the participants was given time for a presentation and discussion of their research plans, ideas, and outcomes. The final afternoon was spent discussing applying for jobs, initial positions, and differences between positions in industry, academic, and government.
The 15 participants (10 men and 5 women) were each given 20 minutes to present their research, followed by 25 minutes for a discussion of the ideas presented. The research represented work being done in a number of different academic departments: Computer Science (9), Education (1), Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (3), Cinema-Television (1), and Medical Informatics (1).
The presentations provided an opportunity to comment on work at various levels of completion, from proposals that had just been approved to dissertations that had been recently defended.
In typical DC fashion, the atmosphere was one of friendly and constructive criticism, focused primarily on design and interpretation issues, not on presentation style. From the start, the student participants jumped into the fray, raising issues and leading the discussion. Everyone learned from everyone else, and the consensus at the end of the third day was that we all felt it had been a wonderful and fruitful experience.
All of the DC participants presented a poster describing their work during the Student Poster session held during the conference.
Three of the DC participants (Chris North, Kerry Rodden, and Dario Salvucci) also presented their work at the "Students at CHI" SIG, which was organized by Brian Ehret (CHI 97 DC) and Marilyn Salzman. This networking opportunity gave the DC participants a chance to share their work and graduate school experience with a larger group of peers.
The final discussion of the consortium centered around the format and execution of the DC itself. Everyone agreed that having 12-15 students was the correct number of participants. With a larger number of participants, you would either have to cut down the time per person (we had just enough time as it was) or extend the consortium over a longer period of time (too much of a good thing).
The participants also had a number of suggestions for the future. First, they suggested sending the papers out to all the students prior to the meeting. Although the advisors had read the papers prior to the meeting, we didn't think to share them with the student participants.
Second, they suggested setting up a web page for the DC with reference web addresses for all home pages of participants and the ability to download the DC paper and longer papers for each author.
Third, they suggested re-instating an earlier practice of matching the students in pairs such that one student takes notes on another's presentation, the questions asked, and suggestions for changes, improvements, etc. This allows the students to get both a record of the comments raised and get to know another student better.
Finally, the students requested that the advisors provide feedback to the participants on their presentation style in addition to the content of their dissertation.
Two-page summaries of the dissertations were published in the CHI 98 Conference Summary. We invite you to peruse them and contact the authors if you have questions or comments on them.
If you are interested in participating in the 1999 DC, please do not hesitate to contact me for more information about the application process. If you are interested in information regarding the value of the experience in the DC, I would invite you to contact the students who participated this year.
Many of the student participants are nearing the final stages of their graduate careers. If you, or someone you know, are trying to fill a position in academia or industry, I would encourage you to contact these bright and eager members of the CHI community.
Ramon M. Felciano, Stanford U.; "Graphical Style Sheets: Towards Reusable Representations of Biomedical Graphics"
Neil T. Heffernan, Carnegie Mellon U.; "Intelligent Tutoring Systems have Forgotten the Tutor: Adding a Cognitive Model of Human Tutors"
Anthony Hornof, U. of Michigan; "The Low-Level Cognitive Processes Involved in the Visual Search of Pull-Down Menus and Computer Screens, as Revealed by Cognitive Modeling"
Christopher Hundhausen, U. of Oregon; "Toward Effective Algorithm Visualization Artifacts: Designing for Participation and Negotiation in an Undergraduate Algorithms Course"
Susanne Jul, U. of Michigan; "Computational Implications of Human Navigation in Multiscale Electronic Worlds"
Allan Christian Long, Jr., U. C. Berkeley; "Improving Gestures and interaction Techniques for Pen-Based User Interfaces"
Chris North, U. of Maryland; Robust, "End-User Programmable, Multiple-Window Coordination"
John F. Pane, Carnegie Mellon U.; "Designing a Programming System for Children with a Focus on Usability"
Kerry Rodden, U. Cambridge; "About 23 million documents match your query..."
Dario Salvucci, Carnegie Mellon U.; "Interpreting Eye Movements with Process Models"
Carol Traynor, U. of Massachusetts-Lowell; "Putting Power in the Hands of End Users: A Study of Programming by Demonstration, with an application to Geographical Information Systems
David VanEsselstyn, Columbia U.; "The Effect of Accompanying Media on Spatial Models Derived from Text"
Karen Orr Vered, U. of Southern CA; "Schooling in the Digital Domain: Gendered Play and Work in the Classroom Context"
Alvin Yeo, U of Waikato (N. Zealand); "Cultural Effects in Usability Assessment"
Michelle X. Zhou, Columbia U.; "Automated Visual Discourse Synthesis: Coherence, Versatility, and Interactivity"
Deborah A. Boehm-Davis, Co-Chair, George Mason University
Clayton Lewis, Co-Chair, University of Colorado, Boulder
Bonnie E. John, Carnegie Mellon University
William Newman, Rank Xerox Research Centre Europe
Deborah A. Boehm-Davis is Professor of Psychology in the Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Program at George Mason University.
Deborah A. Boehm-Davis
HFAC Program/ARCH Lab
George Mason University
MSN 2E5
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA
E-mail: dbdavis@gmu.edu
Tel: +1-703-993-8735
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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998 |
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