Human-Computer Interaction Books

The field of Human Computer Interaction spans a gamut of disciplines, which can be readily appreciated by this book. There is an interplay which of course involves technology as the most obvious factor. The ability to design hardware and software is crucial. Software is covered more fully than hardware, with several chapters on information spaces. A reflection of software being more malleable than hardware, at least in principle.

Website design gets its share of attention, with the primary problem being one of navigating easily through a website.

Electronic communication modalities are also covered. Email, certainly. But Instant Messaging and video-based modes also. Where the latter elides into the concept of a CAVE or 3d immersive environment. If you are already into one of the Massive Multiplayer games, then some of the ideas will be familiar.

But the text also devotes space to the psychology of the humans who will be using such systems. There is a brief recap of cognitive psychology; mostly to discuss various models of perception and memory retention. This matters when designing systems, like virtual reality devices or even just a "normal" 2d GUI.

Of all the chapters, the biggest stretch seems to be that on affective computing. This involves inducing emotions like pleasure or disgust in a user. Or simulating it in a software agent with which you interact. I'm not saying the chapter is wrong, mind you. But that for many readers, it will be a far remove from whatever systems design considerations you have to work with.

With virtual reality (VR) -- or at least the promise of it -- fast becoming a fixture in the public imagination, books like this are vitally important in shaping how we think about, make use of, and create future technologies of representation. Drawing from a remarkable breadth of cultural, technical, and philosophical thought, Ken Hillis's Digital Sensations remains direct and accessible as it deftly weaves together theory, insight, and imagination to understand VR as a technology with specific cultural and historical origins (origins that go farther back than computers, TV, even the telephone and telegraph). Hillis makes a passionate, convincing case that these roots influence the way VR is currently used (in everything from military simulations to avant-garde art installations) and, perhaps more important, how it is publicly perceived: as a utopian, anything-is-possible means of escaping our bodies and the materiality of our lives to achieve a kind of electronic nirvana. Recognizing this as a commercial and ideological vision, Digital Sensations positions itself in one sense as an antidote to that hype, calling our attention both to the far-fetched claims of VR visionaries and to the ethical implications of a technology that depends for its effects on a cunning substitution of illusion for place. Yet the book is not a bringdown; if anything, Hillis helps us think rigorously about the implications and potential of VR, counterbalancing the simplistic, domesticated perspective that characterizes VR simply as a new form of mindless entertainment, virtual singles bar, or faster way of commuting to the electronic office. In chapters on contemporary theory as well as histories of optics and vision, Hillis scrutinizes each component of VR (space, place, body, identity, embodiment, language, and metaphor) calling for a careful consideration of what the desire for a "leap into cyberspace" might mean politically for those who go -- and those who are left behind.

If you are a Master or PhD student, the Encyclopedia of E-collaboration and also the Encyclopedia of Network and Virtual Organization, are an excellent source to discovery the state-of-the-art of the hot topics in the emerging scientific discipline of Collaborative Networked Organizations. [...].

Excerpt: Human computer interaction (HCI) evolved as a recognized discipline that attracts innovation and creativity. For the last 25 years, it inspired new solutions, especially for the benefit of the user as a human being, making the user the focal point that technology should serve rather than the other way around. The advent of the Internet, combined with the rapidly falling prices and increasing capability of personal computers, among other things, made the 1990s a period of very rapid change in technology. This has major implications on HCI research and advances, where peoples' demands and expectations as users of technology increased.
There is currently no agreement upon definition of the range of topics which form the area of human-computer interaction. Based on the definition given by the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction Curriculum Development, which is also repeated in most HCI literature, the following is considered as an acceptable definition:
Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementa?tion of interactive computing systems for human use in a social context, and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them.
A significant number of major corporations and academic institutions now study HCI. Many computer users today would argue that computer makers are still not paying enough attention to making their products "usable". HCI is undoubtedly a multi-disciplinary subject, which draws on disciplines such as psychology, cognitive science, ergonomics, sociology, engineering, business, graphic design, technical writing, and, most importantly, computer science and system design/software engineering.
As a discipline, HCI is relatively young. Throughout the history of civilization, technological innovations were motivated by fundamental human aspirations and by problems arising from human-computer interac?tions. Design, usability and interaction are recognised as the core issues in HCI.
Today, profound changes are taking place that touch all aspects of our society: changes in work, home, business, communication, science, technology, and engineering. These changes, as they involve humans, cannot but influence the future of HCI since they relate to how people interact with technology in an increasingly dynamic and complex world. This makes it even more essential for HCI to play a vital role in shaping the future.
Therefore, preparing an encyclopedia of HCI that can contribute to the further development of science and its applications, requires not only providing basic information on this subject, but also tackling problems that involve HCI issues in a wider sense, for example, by addressing HCI in and for various applications, that is, e-learning, health informatics, and many others.
The following are some challenges in the HCI field, which were taken into consideration when compiling this encyclopedia:
HCI is continually evolving with the fast change in technology and its cost. We, therefore, covered basic concepts/issues and also new advances in the field.
The need to strike a balance between covering theory, methods/models, applications, experiences, and research. The balance was sought to provide a rich scientific and technical resource from different perspectives.
The most important purpose of an encyclopedia in a particular discipline is to be a basic reference work for readers who need information on subjects in which they are not experts. The implication of "basic" is that an encyclopedia, while it should attempt to be comprehensive in breadth of coverage, cannot be comprehensive in the depth with which it treats most topics. What constitutes breadth of coverage is always a difficult question, and it is especially so for HCI, a relatively new discipline that has evolved over the past three decades and is still changing rapidly.
An encyclopedia should, however, direct the reader to information at a deeper level, as this encyclopedia does through bibliographic references, indexed keywords, and so forth.
This encyclopedia differs from other similar related references in that it covers core HCI topics/issues (that we see in most standard HCI books) as well as the use of HCI in various applications and recent advances and research. Thus the choice of specific topics for this encyclopedia has required our judgment of what is important. While there may be disagreement about the inclusion or exclusion of certain topics, we hope and believe that this selection is useful to a wide spectrum of readers. There are numerous articles that integrate the subject matter and put it into perspective. Overall, the encyclopedia is a general reference to HCI, its applications, and directions.
In order to meet these challenges, we invited professionals and researchers from many relevant fields and expertise to contribute. The resulting articles that appear in this volume were selected through a double-blind review process followed by rounds of revision prior to acceptance. Treatment of certain topics is not exclusive according to a given school or approach, and you will find a number of topics tackled from different perspectives with differing approaches. A field as dynamic as HCI will benefit from discussions, different opinions, and, wherever possible, a consensus.
An encyclopedia traditionally presents definitive articles that describe well-established and accepted concepts or events. While we have avoided the speculative extreme, this volume includes a number of entries that may be closer to the "experimental" end of the spectrum than the "well-established" end. The need to do so is driven by the dynamics of the discipline and the desire, not only to include the established, but also to provide a resource for those who are pursuing the experimental. Each author has provided a list of key terms and definitions deemed essential to the topic of his or her article. Rather than aggregate and filter these terms to produce a single "encyclopedic" definition, we have preferred instead to let the authors stand by their definition and allow each reader to interpret and understand each article according to the specific terminology used by its author(s).
Physically, the articles are printed in alphabetical order by their titles. This decision was made based on the overall requirements of Idea Group Reference's complete series of reference encyclopedias. The articles are varied, covering the following main themes: 1) Foundation (e.g., human, computer, interaction,
paradigms); 2) Design Process (e.g., design basics, design rules and guidelines, HCI in software develop?ment, implementation, evaluation, accessible design, user support); 3) Theories (e.g., cognitive models, social context and organisation, collaboration and group work, communication); 4) Analysis (e.g., task analysis, dialogue/interaction specification, modelling); and 5) UCI in various applications (e.g., e-learning, health informatics, multimedia, Web technology, ubiquitous computing, mobile computing).
This encyclopedia serves to inform practitioners, educators, students, researchers, and all who have an interest in the HCI field. Also, it is a useful resource for those not directly involved with HCI, but who want to understand some aspects of HCI in the domain they work in, for the benefit of "users". It may be used as a general reference, research reference, and also to support courses in education (undergraduate or postgraduate).
Human computer interaction will continue to strongly influence technology and its use in our every day life. In order to help develop more "usable" technology that is "human/user-centred", we need to understand what HCI can offer on these fronts: theoretical, procedural, social, managerial, and technical.
The process of editing this encyclopedia and the interaction with international scholars have been most enjoyable. This book is truly an international endeavour. It includes 109 entries and contributions by internationally-talented authors from around the world, who brought invaluable insights, experiences, and expertise, with varied and most interesting cultural perspectives in HCI and its related disciplines.
It is my sincere hope that this volume serves not only as a reference to HCI professionals and researchers, but also as a resource for those working in various fields, where HCI can make significant contributions and improvements.

I am amazed that this book has not been picked up by the media and mad into a film! (remember - like the unionised 'USA Car Factory' some years ago?) This book is truley new way of thinking and a revolutionary way forward. It amalgamates and fuses; technology, the human condition, and (dare I say - a Christian way of thinking) into a practical and down-to-earth way of working in todays terms. FANTASTIC! what have they (Ainger et. al.) been doing since? i will be contacting them asap!

Marian Stewart Bartlett is a talented young scientist who has done some breakthrough work in the image processing of faces, particularly for the analysis of facial expressions. This book describes the details of that work, and places it in the broader context of other work in unsupervised learning and image processing. A must read for those keeping up with the latest and greatest in face image analysis!

This books teach me wide area intelligence which should be described with a formal language.
This book should be read not as a AI book, but formalizing method on wide area knowledge.
Sometimes formalizing degrade real world which include no resolutions.

Collaboratively compiled by program chairs Torsten Moller and Colin Ware, Graphics Interface Proceedings 2003 presents thirty-six essays from a variety of learned authors concerning original research and results in the fields of human-computer interaction and computer graphics. A highly detailed, scientific, technical, and mathematical anthology intended for advanced students and professionals, Graphics Interface 2003 covers issues of modeling, hardware methods, rendering, multimedia, deformable models, and more. Graphics Interface Proceedings 2003 is highly recommended as an excellent cutting-edge resource in the rapidly advancing field of human/computer communications.

Consider the following questions about web design:

*Which font is the best to use for online information?
*What kind of navigation structure best supports user performance?
*What does airplane cockpit research have to do with effective web design?
*How can you design and measure search interfaces to ensure that users view the search results as relevant?
*What must a web designer do in order to ensure that web-based content is accessible to users with physical and cognitive disabilities?
*What task analysis, knowledge elicitation, and user modeling methods are best suited for developing web interfaces and systems?

This handbook gives readers the answers to these questions and more. The book provides a comprehensive treatment of human factors research methods, design guidelines, and processes for use in developing effective websites and web-based technologies. Its 38 chapters are written for a wide audience, and many of the chapter authors lead the field in human factors research and web interface development.

Topics range from the history of human factors and the origins of networked computing, to research methods for understanding user needs and task requirements, to effective interface design guidelines and emerging technologies in the field. Each chapter contains a rich collection of historical and contemporary references, and many chapters provide the reader with links to additional information available online. While some of the information published in this book can be found elsewhere, this text is truly a "one stop shop."

If you can only get one book on web design guidelines and methods (as well as the human factors research behind them), this is the one to have!

This book is a must read for the serious HCI professional. It provides the reader with an understanding of real-world best practices as well as detailed coverage of the key theories. Even though I poured over the first edition while in graduate school I found the new edition worth reading. There are a lot of books by self proclaimed UI experts on the market today. What separates this book from all others is its breadth of coverage and the fact that the authors of each chapter truly are subject matter experts.