[Sighci-l] Live or let die?

[Joe Konopka]

To be quite honest, there are many sigs out there from other organizations
covering the topic of HCI. ACM is the one that comes to mind immediately. I
think HCI as a central theme for IS research needs to remain but whether
asis is a good fit, should be the real question. When I receive mailings
from asis, many of the topics cover the area of library science rather than
information systems.
joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Dillon" <adillon at gslis.utexas.edu>
To: <sighci-l at asis.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 5:21 PM
Subject: [Sighci-l] Live or let die?


> Well there are a couple of points to consider here. First, is the field of
> HCI dying? That is a real question but I sense that Joette is asking more
> about the SIG within ASIST and I thank her for raising this.
>
> Is  this SIG beyond dying and in fact dead? Where is the discussion on
this
> list? Where were the members at the recent annual meeting? Barbara
mentioned
> Sig USE which seems to be thriving- I was not aware until the recent
annual
> that SIG USE now covers usability (appratently) as part of its
> discussions....why have we got an HCI list if that is the case? Barbara
> mentioned that SIG Use is more concerned with people's interactions with
> information than technology. Again, I always felt that HCI did cover that
> too......so I have to ask, what are we here for if the major areas we
> consider important to HCI are covered by other SIGs? I cannot subscribe
that
> HCI is only about people and technology without information being part of
> that use of the 'technology' word, but that might just be me....Do others
> SIGS cover HCI issues adequately? If not, why is there so little activity
in
> this list?
>
> And if this is not enough, I have a bigger question than these (it is
> possible)....just what do we expect from a SIG?
>
> According to the official ASIST view:
>
> "SIGs give members with similar professional specialties the opportunity
to
> exchange ideas and keep themselves informed about current and discrete
> developments in their fields. The activities of the SIGs, planned by their
> members and elected officers, provide clear indication of the diverse
> interests and needs of ASIST members. Through participation in SIGs, you
can
> help design what, in essence, are small professional organizations within
> the broader national society. "
>
> So we have the forum but we have not had the events or plans. I am not
sure
> I need another list to discuss ideas on when I find the various divisions
> between HCI, UE, IA, USE etc. to be largely irrelevant to me, and if I
just
> need to talk narrow usability or interface design issues then there are
many
> other dedicated lists I can use outside of ASIST. So, I have to ask the
> members,  what do we want here? If we cannot answer this, then this group
> is, in my view, defunct. I hope it is not so, and cannot help but think
that
> ASIST without an HCI group would be a poorer society but the evidence of
the
> last year makes me wonder how we might consider it otherwise. Is there
> really room for an HCI sig anymore? I'd love to hear some voices.....
>
>
>
>
>
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