I received this today from the folks in the School of Information:

UT School of Information is proud to announce:

Special Guest Speaker:
Dr. John M. Carroll, Professor
School of Information Sciences and Technology
Pennsylvania State University

Lecture:
Understanding and Supporting Awareness in Computer-Supported Collaborative Work
*An Esther L. Stallmann Lecture

When:
Friday, 9/02/05,10:00 a.m.
A.C.E.S. Building, AVAYA Auditorium (ACE 2.302)

Abstract: A contemporary approach to describing and theorizing about joint human endeavor is to posit “knowledge in common” as a basis for awareness and coordination. Recent analysis has identified weaknesses in this approach even as it is typically employed in relatively simple task contexts. Dr. Carroll suggests that in realistically complex circumstances, people share activities and not merely concepts. He describes a framework for understanding joint endeavor and illustrates his analysis with a scenario from emergency management.

John M. Carroll is Edward Frymoyer Chair Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include methods and theory in human-computer interaction (HCI), particularly as applied to networking tools for collaborative learning and problem solving, and the design of interactive information systems. He has written or edited 14 books, including HCI in the New Millennium (Addison-Wesley, 2001). He is a member of the US National Research Council’s Committee on Human Factors and is a Fellow of both IEEE and ACM.