The Madeira Usability and Software Encounters (MUSE) are annual events scheduled to facilitate creative interaction among Visiting Scholars as well as with members of Lab:USE and the faculty of the University. The program is intended to be a kind of mini-sabbatical, a retreat in a setting conducive to interaction, collaboration, research, and writing with time for reflection and recreation in beautiful Madeira.

Highlights

Monday, 6 July, 18:00  (Lisbon Time, GMT +1)

Keynote - Donald Norman

Don Norman, co-founder of the Nielsen-Norman Group and Professor of Design at Northwestern University, is a world renowned authority on usability and design and the author of many books, including “The Design of Everyday Things,” “Emotional Design,” “The Design of Future Things,” and “Sociable Design.” Professor Norman is a guest of the University for MUSE III, the 2009 Madeira Usability and Software Encounters, an annual event sponsored by the Laboratory for Usage-Centered Software Engineering and the Department of Mathematics and Engineering at the University of Madeira.

A recording of the talk is available here

Tuesday, 7 July

Panel Debate - “Design, Sustainability, and Genuine Value”

What does the world truly need? How are genuine needs distinguished from wants and fantasies? Does the world really need “one laptop per child”? Is it reasonable or defensible to spend millions to put laptop computers in the hands of the poor children when those same children lack clean water? In an era of growing concerns over approaching plateaus in energy and critical material resources, is it legitimate to design products to be used briefly, only to be thrown away while still fully functional in order to be replaced with the latest and greatest technology? In short, what should be the proper focus of the product and service design community?

Wednesday, 8 July

Recital for Piano - Menghua Lin

pianist, was born in Taiwan.  She started to play piano at the age of four, and gave her first public performance at six.  She won the Yamaha Piano Competition in Junior Division, Chautauqua Music Festival Concerto Competition, Keystone Piano Competition by Pennsylvania Teachers Association, Steinway Piano Competition, and Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Audition.  As a soloist, she performed Bach D minor Piano Concerto with Carnegie Mellon Baroque Ensemble in 2005, Grieg A minor Piano Concerto in 2004 in Chautauqua Music Festival, and Mozart K 488 in A major in 2007 in Music Fest Perugia in Italy.

Thursday, 9 July

Panel Debate - “Appliances and Tools: General Purpose or Special Purpose”

The “information appliance” was once a fantasy of science fiction writers, but modern “smart phones” can be used to play music and videos, manage appointments, shop for books, and provide turn-by-turn driving directions for getting to a restaurant. Oh, yes, and they can make and receive phone calls. As more and more functions and features are added to products, they become ever more complicated: harder to learn, more difficult to master, and even sometimes harder to use. As they become capable of more things they can become less well suited for any one use. This panel will look at the competing drives in design for broad functionality and better fit for use, of universality versus dedication, of the problems of complexity and simplicity in the design of multi-purpose products of all kinds.

Friday, 10 July

Larry Constantine cooks for guests

Saturday, 11 July

Levada Walk

The levadas originated out of the necessity of bringing large amounts of water from the west and northwest of the island to the drier southeast, which is more conducive to habitation and agriculture (such as sugar cane production). In the sixteenth century the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water to the agricultural regions. The most recent were made in the 1940s. Madeira is very mountainous, and building the levadas was often difficult. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig 25 miles (40 km) of tunnels. Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island but provide hydro-electric power. There are over 1,350 miles (2,170 km) of levadas and they provide a remarkable network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through beautiful countryside.

Sunday, 12 July

Visit to Porto Moniz

Porto Moniz is a remote coastal village located at the north-westernmost point of Madeira. Set high on a hill looking over the seafront, the town is well sheltered by a narrow peninsula that points toward a picturesque islet called Ilhéu Mole. The town's most interesting characteristic is its system of seawater pools created by the reefs in the coastal lava rocks. It is also in Porto Moniz where the traditional “Feira do Gado” a Cattle and Agriculture Fair has place since 1956.

Tuesday, 14 July

Final Presentations