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The Topicality of Agent-Based Modeling/Multi Agent Systems in Human Computer Interaction Research: An African Perspective

Published:21 November 2016Publication History

ABSTRACT

Motivated by the uniqueness of the African culture we took an intellectual trip through some topical HCI discourses in order to highlight areas amenable to flexible abstractions using Agent-based modeling/Multi agent systems (ABM/MAS). We identified issues arising from "Social computing" in Embodied Interaction and "Reassessing culture difference" in Postcolonial Computing; these underpinned the framework of our analyses. Above all, we highlight the relationship between agent technology and HCI areas; and present a summary of how it has been applied and where it can be applied in African contexts as well as the benefits of its application. The usefulness of this study is depicted in its ability to illuminate the relationship between HCI and ABM/MAS and to explicitly show what can be possibly achieved using the agent modeling approach. It is our hope that the application of ABM/MAS would stimulate rich theoretical (and intellectual) discussions that further HCI development in Africa.

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        cover image ACM Other conferences
        AfriCHI '16: Proceedings of the First African Conference on Human Computer Interaction
        November 2016
        279 pages
        ISBN:9781450348300
        DOI:10.1145/2998581

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        • Published: 21 November 2016

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