While my last post came from the south of Europe, I am now about as far north as you can get: Kiruna in Lapland, northern Sweden. Kiruna is a mining town way above the Arctic Circle (boasting the largest underground iron mine in the world), and is famous for its fantastic wilderness and attractions like the Ice Hotel. Spectacular is that the sun doesn't set this time of year, and I can tell you it's quite an experience to walk around at 2am in broad 'nightlight' !
I am attending the 10th International Working Conference on the Language-Action Perspective on Communication Modelling (LAP 2005). The core idea of LAP is that language is not only used for exchanging information, such as in reports or statements, but also to perform and coordinate actions, such as by promises, orders, requests, and declarations. Such actions are the foundation of communities and organisations and must be understood to create effective organizational and information systems.
I have been involved in the LAP conference community since the beginning, and see it as one of the key sources of solid theories and applications for online communities. With the advent of ubiquitous Internet-access and developments like the Semantic Web, its time has finally come. I predict that you will hear much more about LAP in the years to come.
Contrary to the proceedings of the Communities & Technologies conference, the LAP proceedings are freely available online. If you want to get a quick feel of what LAP is about and why it is important, have a look at Hans Weigand's invited paper 'LAP: 10 Years in Retrospect'.
What a joke: a Lap conference in Lapland! (as a lapper I should have joined)
I've only been in (Finnish) Lapland in the winter (short days), never the longest day nor the "ruska" (I don't know how they call this in Sweden).
Posted by: Carla V. | June 22, 2005 at 01:59 PM