Retransmission: NSF Sonification workshop

[Kramer <kramer@xxxxxxxxxx>]

<fontfamily><param>Times</param>[This is a retransmission of an
announcement  which was accidentally sent out yesterday with formatting
characters (which didn't show up in my text editor or email program).
My apologies. I also apologize in advance to those who receive multiple
copies of this retransmission. GK]


This is a call for position papers for an NSF-sponsored workshop on
sonification to be held in Palo Alto, California, Sunday, November 2,
1997, the day before ICAD '97.


At the request of the National Science Foundation, the International
Community for Auditory Display, conveners of the International
Conference on Auditory Display, is organizing a one day workshop on
sonification. The purpose of the workshop is to assess the status of
the field and produce recommendations to the NSF regarding the
development of a research agenda. For the purposes of this workshop,
sonification is defined as auditory representation of data.


Sonification research includes aspects of human perception and
cognition, sound synthesis and audio signal processing, and music and
sound design, as well as a host of related disciplines and applications
such as computer science, process control and assistive technologies
for the disabled. Relatively little research has been conducted in
auditory representation of data and, with a few real time exceptions
such as geiger counters or pulse oxymeters, no sonification solutions
have been widely used.


What are the key issues facing sonification researchers? Are there
bottlenecks in tool design? In perception research? Are there needs for
design guidelines and theory building? What kinds of applications are
likely to be the most successful? What kinds of research teams might be
assembled to make the needed research or development breakthroughs?
What role might sonification play in education? Conversely, what kind
of background is needed to participate meaningfully in the field? In
what ways can this research be informed by data visualization, haptic,
VR and other perceptualization research? How significant is
interactivity in data exploration via sonification?


These and other questions are likely to arise. The workshop will be
limited to 15-20 participants. We will work ahead of time via email to
ascertain the questions most pressing in the field. When we convene on
November 2 we will hear several talks by participants then further
focus our questions, breaking into working groups to investigate them
in depth. The whole group will reconvene at the end of the day to share
and discuss our results. Initial results will be presented a couple of
days later at the ICAD conference. Following the workshop each team
will return home to write up a portion of a report which will be
compiled, edited, and presented to the National Science Foundation
along with policy recommendations regarding the development of a
research agenda. The white paper will also be circulated throughout the
relevent research communities.


It is hoped that this effort will stimulate new thought and shed some
light on the difficulties and possibilities of this research area. It
may also help researchers at the fringes of sonification to provide
meaningful input, while defining some of the potential benefits and
difficulties of sonification for new research efforts. It is also our
hope that a scientifically responsible position paper will serve as a
useful reference as researchers approach funding agencies, colleagues,
managers and review committees about their work.


Please submit a position paper of 500 words. This paper should present
what you consider to be the key issue(s) facing sonification research,
why these concerns are important, and possibly your current thoughts as
to how to approach the issues. Please include within the paper a brief
bio and description of current sonification research or current
research of relevence to sonification. In selecting participants
consideration will be given to experience, disciplinary and
institutional diversity, demonstrated consideration of relevent issues,
the ability to present quality scientific work, and other criteria.
Participation by young researchers is also encouraged. A range of
participants with varying experience and backgrounds will support
informative discussions as well as provide opportunities to influence
new researchers in this field. Email your submission (no attachments,
please) to Gregory Kramer, workshop Chair, at kramer@listen.com no
later than September 2, 1997.


This workshop is an adjunct to the International Conference on Auditory
Display, ICAD '97, to be held at Xerox PARC November 3-5, 1997 in Palo
Alto, California. Another workshop will be held on the same day
entitled "Audio on the WWW". That workshop will be sponsored by the
Office of Naval Research. Elizabeth Mynatt is the General Chair of ICAD
'97, James Ballas is the Technical Chair. For further information on
this and other ICAD activities, please visit the ICAD Web site at


http://www.santafe.edu/~icad

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Gregory Kramer

Clarity/Santa Fe Institute

310 NW Brynwood Lane

Portland, OR 97229

503-292-8550

Fax: 503-292-4982

kramer@listen.com