Innovation at the Verge: Computational Models of Physical/Virtual Space Interaction

Description and aim

Social media and social networks are changing not only the way we communicate and interact but also the way we conceive physical places. By negating distance, social media absorb not only functions that traditionally belonged to the physical space, they also offer the possibility for new dimensions of communication and experience that can influence creativity and ultimately innovation.

This workshop looks forward to the fusion of physical space and the virtual spaces of digital networks. What types of impact will this fusion have on innovation and creativity? How will physical space - the design of buildings and cities - need to change to respond to the new ways that people form contacts? How might new technologies change to make most effective use of physical and spatial contexts?

In this workshop, we will bring together researchers who have one main thing in common - all are interested in relationships through which different kinds of network are constructed. These include the networks of real spaces studied by architects, the networks of people and groups studied by social network analysts and the semantic networks through which meaning is conveyed and knowledge is formalized. By looking at things from the point of view of the relationship rather than the entity per se, we believe that new insights will arise.

More specifically, we will bring together researchers and practitioners from different areas related to computer science, social network analysis, language technology/communication and the built environment.

An important goal of the workshop is to find appropriate modeling primitives and paradigms in order to devise a computational model to support the innovation process. We will address three main themes: 1. Methodologies and techniques in the study of virtual and physical space, 2. Impact of the integration of the virtual/physical space on creativity and innovation, 3. Modeling of virtual interactions and of knowledge spaces.

The model can play an important role in organizations since it will support the identification of innovative ideas, the finding of new collaborations and the discovery of complementary expertise. However, it can be valuable also in education where it can be adapted to support knowledge discovery, personalization and virtual tutoring.