Job Offer in Usability

Company: Centre for Usability Research (CUO, IBBT / K.U.Leuven), Belgium

Job Title: HCI / Usability researchers

Description:

The Centre for Usability Research (CUO) of the K.U.Leuven pursues research into the design and evaluation of user-friendly ICT products and has special usability labs (iLab.u) to perform user tests. The CUO is part of the Interdisciplinary institute for BroadBand Technology (IBBT). We are looking for:

HCI / USABILITY RESEARCHERS


You will be doing contract research within the domains of usability, human- computer interaction and user interface design (please visit the CUO website for more information about the projects: http://www.kuleuven.be/cuo/ ).


We expect:


• A university degree (or similar), preferably in Communication Sciences, (Cognitive) Psychology, Cognitive Ergonomy, Anthropology, Product Development, Interaction Design or HCI
• Above average knowledge of and interest in ICT
• Interest in scientific research


Plusses are:


• Experience with writing scientific articles and reports
• Experience in the usability domain
• Experience with research projects


We offer:


• A flexible and dynamic environment in a respected research group.
• Conducting and participating in high-tech research projects.
• An opportunity to take responsibility.
• A stimulating salary.




Are you interested?


Send your application before June 15th 2008 to dirk.degrooff@soc.kuleuven.be


More information about CUO can be found on our website: http://www.kuleuven.be/cuo/


Contact details of CUO: Parkstraat 45 Bus 3605 – 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

Phone: +32 16 32 32 09__________________________________________
David Geerts
Project Leader
Centre for Usability Research (CUO)
IBBT / K.U.Leuven
Parkstraat 45 Bus 3605 - 3000 Leuven - Belgium
T.+32 16 32 31 95 - F.+32 16 32 32 10
M. +32 486 63 32 61
http://www.kuleuven.be/cuo/
__________________________________________

Mobile applications in Cultural Heritage at WCC 2008

WCC 2008 Conference >>>
The current state of the art and the near coming future of mobile technology used in cultural institutions.
World class speakers and discussants will provide a comprehensive and updated view on the subject.
Coordinator : Paolo Paolini
>>>>

Slidecast about social tagging study

For those who are interested in social tagging or who might have missed the Community Engagement session at Museums and the Web 2008 (MW2008) in April, I just posted the slides and audio track of my presentation Seeing Tibetan Art through Social Tags on Slideshare. The slidecast covers preliminary results of an ongoing study of social tagging among the Tibetan exile community in Switzerland. A quick summary of results includes:

• Different tagging and viewing patterns among Tibetans and Westerners
• Complex and often awkward feelings young Tibetans experience when viewing traditional artworks
• Clearly discernible levels of cultural pervasiveness of traditional images
  
• Shared misunderstandings about specific types of images

The presentation offers suggestions on successful approaches to social tagging studies within native and diaspora communities. Full details of the results and the techniques of analysis used to arrive at them are available in the conference paper. This project is sponsored by the Rubin Museum of Art and uses the steve.museum platform for tag collection.

Enigma Helvetia Tales

The exhibition Enigma Helvetia has been organized jointly by the two art museums in Lugano: the Cantonal Art Museum and the Art Museum of the City of Lugano. This is one of the first initiatives of the emerging Polo culturale (the to-be cultural center of Lugano). If you are around until 18 August, a visit is worth while.

For who cannot see the live exhibition, USI's TEC-Lab (Technology-Enhanced Communication Laboratory) has prepared a multimedia narrative which goes through the main themes of the exhibition: Enigma Helvetia Tales. The narrative is also available as downloadable podcast episodes (see the Download page for the Italian or the English version).

Serena's thesis defense

For her thesis, Serena worked out a proposal for preserving and communicating interactive art. She had some good material to use from her experience with the project iPoint, where she was involved with creating an interactive searchable database for presenting interactive art, promoted by AIEP. In her own words: "interactive art cannot be archived; being an experience, interactive art can only be communicated through the reenactment of an interactive experience: the artist and users/visitors contribute to spreading information about unstable time-based art."