Human-centered computing (discipline)

Human-centered computing (HCC) is an emerging, interdisciplinary academic field broadly concerned with computing and computational artifacts as they relate to the human condition. Researchers and practitioners who affiliate themselves with human-centered computing usually come from one or more of the following disciplines: computer science, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, communication studies, science and technology studies, and industrial design.

Research in human-centered computing has multiple goals. Some researchers focus on understanding humans, both as individuals and in social groups, by focusing on the ways that human beings adopt, adapt, and organize their lives around computational technologies. Others focus on developing new design strategies for computational artifacts. Human-centered design of computational tools attempts to address problems that traditional design approaches, such as heuristic evaluations and measurements of productivity and efficiency, do not generally address. Designing computational tools for spirituality, for fun, and for leisure are some examples of non-traditional design problems that are of interest to HCC researchers and engineers. HCC researchers also bring a diverse array of conceptual and research tools to traditional computing areas such as computer-supported cooperative work, computer-supported collaborative learning, and ubiquitous computing.

Human-centered computing is closely related to other interdisciplinary fields such as human-computer interaction and information science, and exactly where the boundaries between these fields lie is not clear. Broadly speaking, however, human-centered computing usually concerns itself with systems and practices of technology use. Human-computer interaction is more focused on ergonomics and the usability of computing artifacts, while information science is focused on practices surrounding the collection, manipulation, and use of information. The Human-Centered Computing program at the National Science Foundation is a combination of former programs in human-computer interaction, universal access (essentially human-computer interaction for the disabled and other special populations), and social informatics (social computing and social implications of computing).

References

*cite conference
first = Alejandro
last = Jaimes
coauthors = Nicu Sebe; Daniel Gatica-Perez
title = Human-Centered Computing: A Multimedia Perspective
booktitle = Proceedings of the 14th annual ACM international conference on Multimedia
pages = 855-864
publisher = ACM Press
year = 2006
location = Santa Barbara, CA, USA
url = http://www.idiap.ch/~gatica/publications/JaimesSebeGatica-acmmm06.pdf
accessdate = 2006-11-30
id = ISBN 1-59593-447-2
doi = 10.1145/1180639.1180829
format = PDF
* cite web
title = Program Description
work = Information and Intelligent Systems: Advancing Human-Centered Computing, Information Integration and Informatics, and Robust Intelligence
publisher = National Science Foundation
date = 2006-05-31
url = http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06572/nsf06572.htm#pgm_desc_txt
accessdate = 2007-01-07
*cite conference
first = James
last = Foley
authorlink = James D. Foley
coauthors = Michel Beaudouin-Lafon; Jonathan Grudin; James Hollan; Scott Hudson; Judy Olson; Bill Verplank
title = Graduate Education in Human-Computer Interaction
booktitle = CHI '05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
pages = 2113 - 2114
publisher = ACM Press
year = 2005
location = Portland, OR, USA
accessdate = 2007-01-07
id = ISBN 1-59593-002-7
doi = 10.1145/1056808.1057112

ee also

* Cognitive science
* Context awareness
* Human-computer interaction
* Information science
* Social computing
* Ubiquitous computing
* User-centered design

External links

* [http://www.is.umbc.edu/programs/graduate/HCC_MS_program.asp MS in Human-Centered Computing at UMBC]
* [http://www.is.umbc.edu/programs/graduate/HCC_PhD_program.asp PhD in Human-Centered Computing at UMBC]
* [http://www.cc.gatech.edu/education/grad/phd-hcc Human-Centered Computing Program at Georgia Institute of Technology]
* [http://hcc.cc.gatech.edu Human-Centered Computing Education Digital Library]
* [http://www.HumanCenteredComputing.org/ Human-Centered Computing Lab at Auburn University]
* [http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~jfc/hcc/ Human-Centered Computing Consortium at Berkeley]
* [http://hcs.cs.ucl.ac.uk/ Human-Centred Systems Group at University College London]
* [http://cmlab.de/ Human-Centred Computing at the Bauhaus-University Weimar]