ROSACEAE: ROSE FAMILY

Abstract

the design of complex sociotechnical systems was primarily known as cognitive engineering or cognitive systems engineering (CSE), a term introduced in the 1980s to denote an emerging branch of applied cognitive psychology. 1,2 Research focused on such topics as human–computer interaction , the psychology of programming, display design, and user friendliness. Although some have sought to make the term cognitive engineering seem less of an oxymoron by doing work that somehow looks like actual engineering, a number of new terms have emerged, all of which might be considered members of the " genus " Human-Centered Computing. Researchers, research organizations, funding sources, national study groups and working groups, and even entire national funding programs espouse these approaches. A number of varieties have entered the judging competition, as the " acronym soup " in Figure 1 shows. This variety has come about for many reasons. Some individuals have proposed terms to express views that they believe are new. Others have proposed terms as a consequence of the social and competitive nature of science and science funding, leading to turf wars and the need for individuals to win awards and claim niches that set themselves and their ideas apart from the crowd. The obvious, and obviously incorrect, question is, " Which term is the right one? " As we hope to suggest in this essay, this question is rather like the quest for the blue rose. Using the rose metaphor , and taking some liberties with Latin, we organize the essay around a set of " genuses " into which the individual " varieties " seem to fall. Rosaceae: The rose family Traditionum: The act of handing over Contrarium: Opposite or contrast This genus includes those varieties that express a reaction against some less desirable alternative, often left un-named (we will make up names to fill the voids). A proposed umbrella term is Human-Centered Systems, which people have used to denote • Programs of college study—for example, at Cornell University 3 The rose is a rose, And was always a rose. But the theory now goes That the apple's a rose, And the pear is, and so's The plum, I suppose. The dear only knows What will next prove a rose. You, of course, are a rose— But were always a rose. " The Rose Family, " Robert Frost, 1928 I n this essay, we concern ourselves with characterizations of the " new …