DigitalFriend Blog

November 2012

International Journal of People-Oriented Programming (IJPOP)

ISSN: 2156-1796, EISSN: 2156-1788

CALL FOR PAPERS - for the 3rd Issue

http://www.igi-global.com/IJPOP

The 2nd Issue of IJPOP is now published. Details of the papers in issue 1(2) are available here: http://www.igi-global.com/journal-contents/international-journal-people-oriented-programming/41021

These papers are well written and have been combed over by many of our best and brightest on the topics (see IJPOP International Editorial Review Board at above link):

  1. Towards an Understanding of Requirements for Model Versioning Support
  2. The Benefit of Ambiguity in Understanding Goals in Requirements Modelling
  3. Developing Speech Input for Virtual Applications: A Human Factors Perspective
  4. Book Review: Ethnomethodology at Work (http://www.facebook.com/notes/people-oriented-programming/book-review-in-vol-1-issue-2/492116644152573)

Also, my thanks for the effort and my commiserations too, to those submitting authors that didn't make the cut this time around; however, I'm sure you have found the insightful and constructive expert feedback, invaluable in improving your work.

In the time gone by since the last IJPOP call, a significant number of events have occurred regarding people-oriented programming and the development of interactive content. A few at the extremes that really bought my eye included: the Mayor of New York taking on the personal goal to learn the JavaScript language, as part of a broader quest to make his city a recognised leader in interactive content for online and ebook development, with particular emphasis upon the new wave of interactive textbooks. Of course the HTML5 and EPUB3 formats have facilitated this broad enthusiasm, as has the iPad and the maturing of Android tablets in the V4 rendition, and lately Windows8. However, once again, the tools remain distinctly programmer-friendly, more so than people-in-general-friendly, alas. Sure, almost anyone (with a Lion-based Mac) can use the otherwise free iBooks Author, but you still need to program in JavaScript for genuinely creative interactivity in your eTextBooks, don't you.

And while game mods have been a topic of interest for IJPOP from the outset, in that game players are able to modify and extend the games they are playing - usually with specialised toolkits made available for the purpose - the increasingly popular Minecraft has taken game modding to a whole new level of player development. In Minecraft the user-interface between user-construction (Creative Mode) and playing (Survival Mode) is little different, apart from the options available in each. Both involve simply gesturing ones intentions through the touch-screen. In Creative Mode one has everything available as limitless material for building at no cost and there are no 'baddies' to hinder the architect/builder/artist-at-work. In Survival Mode you start with nothing (except the multiple hearts you can loose) and must earn the materials with which you can build a safe house come nightfall, in fending off the mobs of zombies, creepers, spiders, skeletons, etc. (a bit like ideal socialism vs raw capitalism, for children ... little wonder its popular)

While encouraging everyone to learn the rigors of conventional programming in JavaScript may well have useful side effects beyond the screen - much like the view-of-old that Grammar Schools - 'in which the learned languages are grammatically taught' (Samuel Johnson, 1755) might improve the rigorous thought processes in general - that's certainly not what many (I hope most) think of as people-oriented programming here! The Minecraft approach to creation is much more in line with our account of 'programming' - but its just very limited in what one can do within it, beyond being a virtual playground for children young and old, and very ... well, chunky. I.e. I'm looking for papers that dig deeper than teaching everyone JavaScript and that can be applied to worlds beyond the block-world of childhood (but retaining that fabulous usability) - somewhere in the middle ground.

The first Issue ranged across many of the topics of the journal, setting the tone. The second Issue has something of a focus upon requirements gathering, as I've pointed out in the issues Preface currently here: http://www.facebook.com/PeopleOrientedProgramming

In this CFP the emphasis is placed on papers that focus upon models and meta-models that help realise people-oriented programming, by way of highly usable tools and integrated 'creation environments'; or else with methods for applying them appropriately, by people largely building technology for their own use. Note: the models and meta-models may be for describing highly-usable tools, or they may be about the mental constructs that people appropriate when they use digital tools to construct their own digital artifacts.

In the 4th Issue (i.e. you could send one paper now; then start writing a companion piece for the following Issue) we are putting the focus upon proven methods and working tools that facilitate people of all persuasions in rolling their own digital technology futures.

So the opening four issues of IJPOP have and will cover, respectively:

together aimed at this very worthwhile endeavour of getting people to do their own 'programming' by way of empowering themselves in what they do best. If your research and its application covers some aspect/s of the latter two, please consider sending me a journal-length paper, today.

Steve Goschnick, Editor
International Journal of People-Oriented Programming (IJPOP)
Website: http://www.IGI-Global.com/IJPOP
Facebook: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PeopleOrientedProgramming
Please Email papers to: stevenbg@unimelb.edu.au


 

 

Home | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | ©2012 Solid Software Pty Ltd