IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC'04)
Rome, Italy
September 26-29, 2004


Call For Papers

The IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing
(VL/HCC) celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004. Predicated on the idea
that visual representations can greatly benefit the task of computer
programming, the conference has become the premier international forum
on VL research. Originally named "Symposium on Visual Languages", the
conference has undergone several changes in response to the evolution of
the field. Its present name, extended to Human-Centric Computing,
reflects the expanded mission of the symposium:

   to support the design, formalization, implementation, and evaluation
   of computing languages that are easier to learn, easier to use, and 
   easier to understand by a broader group of people. 

This includes all research aimed at the above mission, regardless of
whether it is focuses entirely on visual technology, text, or instead
focuses on the use of sound, taste, virtual reality, the web, or other
technologies. Examples of research in this area include, but are not
limited to, language/environmental design aspects, theory that supports
the many media used toward this goal, implementation aspects, empirical
work, software comprehension aspects (including software visualization),
and software modeling and/or software engineering aspects.

This year's symposium will be held from September 26-29, 2004 in Rome
Italy, the site of the 1989 edition. This wonderful city affords
participants a unique environment for scientific discussion.
Distinguished researchers, including Paul Dourish of the University of
California, Irvine, USA, and Margaret-Anne Storey of the University of
Victoria, Canada, will give talks on relevant and emerging issues
related to the field of visual languages and human-centric computing.
The conference also includes a demo section of working prototype systems
that provide a closer look at recent results within this broad area.

We seek papers reporting unpublished, original research in all areas
related to visual languages and human-centric computing. Topics include,
but are not limited to:

* Empirical studies of Visual Programming Languages and Environments
* End-user and Domain-Specific Programming Languages
* Formal specification of Visual Languages and Environments
* Meta CASE Tools for Visual Language Processing
* Human-Centric Computing Languages and Environments
* Human-Centric Software Development
* Multimedia Authoring Languages 
* Multi-Modal Interaction Environments
* Software Engineering for Visual Applications and Languages 
* Software Visualization and Animation 
* Usability Evaluation of Visual Programming Systems
* Visual/Multimedia Environments for Distance Education
* Visual Approaches to Software Comprehension and to Software Re-Engineering
* Visual Environments for Ubiquity Computing
* Visual Geographic Information Systems
* Visual Language Theory 
* Visual Modeling Languages 
* Visual Programming Languages 
* Visual Query and Visual Presentation in Databases

Paper submissions are invited in two separate categories: full-length (8
pages) and TechNote (3 pages). Authors should prepare and electronically
submit a PDF version of their paper in the standard IEEE 2-column
format. Submissions will be rigorously reviewed by the international
program committee. Please see the Submissions area of the conference
website (http://vlhcc04.dsi.uniroma1.it/) for further details and
guidelines on paper submission.

Important dates: 
Paper submissions due: March 15, 2004 
Notification of acceptance: May 20, 2004 
Camera ready versions due: June 21, 2004 

General Chairs
Stefano Levialdi and Paolo Bottoni, University of Rome, "La Sapienza", Italy

Program Chairs
Genny Tortora, University of Salerno, Italy
Chris Hundhausen, Washington State University, USA

Program Committee
Alan Blackwell, Cambridge University, USA 
Margaret Burnett, Oregon State University, USA 
Augusto Celentano, University of Venice, Italy 
Shi-Kuo Chang, Knowledge Systems Institute of Chicago, USA 
Maria Francesca Costabile, University of Bari, Italy 
Phil Cox, Dalhousie University, Canada 
Paul Dourish, University of California at Irvine, USA 
Gregor Engels, University of Paderborn, Germany 
Martin Erwig, Oregon State University, USA 
Masahito Hirakawa, Shimane University, Japan 
John Hosking, University of Auckland, New Zealand 
Robert Laurini, National Institute for Applied Sciences of Lyon, France 
Clayton Lewis, University of Colorado, USA 
Henry Lieberman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA 
Jonathan I. Maletic, Kent State University, USA 
Mark Minas, Univ. of the Federal Armed Forces, Germany 
Piero Mussio, University of Milano, Italy 
Marian Petre, The Open University, UK 
Mary Beth Rosson, Virginia Tech, USA 
Andy Schürr, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany 
Trevor Smedley, Dalhousie University, Canada 
John Stasko, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA 
Brad VanderZanden, University of Tenessee, USA 
Kang Zhang, University of Texas at Dallas, USA

Workshop Chair
Andy Schürr, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany

Tutorial and Demo Chair: 
John Hosking, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Publicity Chairs:
USA: Martin Erwig, Oregon State University, USA
Australasia: Ewan Tempero, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Europe: Corin Gurr, University of Edinburgh, UK
Asia: Noritaka Osawa, National Institute of Multimedia Education, Chiba, Japan

Local Arrangements & Industrial Liason Chair
Giuliana Vitiello, University of Salerno, Italy

Web manager
Emanuele Panizzi, University of Rome, "La Sapienza", Italy, panizzi@dsi.uniroma1.it