CALL FOR PAPERS [online: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html ] Eighth Annual Minitrack on Persistent Conversation Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science (HICSS 40) Hilton Waikola Village Resort , Big Island, Hawaii January 3-6, 2007 The Persistent Conversation minitrack and workshop is a yearly gathering of those who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. === AT A GLANCE === = Summary of Topic = Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, wikis, web boards, MOOs, graphical VR environments, document annotation systems, text messaging on mobile phones, etc. Such forms of conversation play a crucial role in domains such as online communities, the sharing and management of knowledge, and the support of e-commerce, e-learning and other network mediated interactions. The persistence of digitally mediated conversation affords new uses (e.g., searching, replaying, restructuring) and raises new problems. This multi-disciplinary minitrack seeks contributions from researchers and designers that improve our ability to understand, analyze, and/or design persistent conversation systems. = Who = Researchers and designers from fields such as anthropology, computer-mediated communication, HCI, interaction design, linguistics, management, psychology, rhetoric, sociology, and so forth. We also welcome submissions from graduate students. = Chairs = Thomas Erickson, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center (snowfall@acm.org) Susan Herring, School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University (herring@indiana.edu) = Important Dates* = Fri, Mar 31, 2006: Abstract submission Fri, Apr 14, 2006: Feedback on abstracts Th, June 15, 2006: Paper submission - [Instructions will be on the HICSS site] Tu, Aug 15, 2006: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notice To be determined: Resubmission of Conditional Accept papers - Fri Sep 15, 2006: Final publication-ready papers due - Fri Sep 15, 2006: One author must register for HICSS - ---------- * For other dates, such as end of early registration and hotel deadlines, see the official HICSS conference site === DETAILS === = About the Minitrack = This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. The phenomena of interest include human-to-human interactions carried out using chat, instant messaging, text messaging, email, blogs, wikis, mailing lists, newsgroups, bulletin board systems, multi-authored Web documents, structured conversation systems, textual and graphical virtual worlds, etc. Computer-mediated conversations blend characteristics of oral conversation with those of written text: they may be synchronous or asynchronous; their audience may be small or vast; they may be highly structured or almost amorphous; etc. The persistence of such conversations gives them the potential to be searched, browsed, replayed, annotated, visualized, restructured, and recontextualized, thus opening the door to a variety of new uses and practices. The particular aim of the minitrack and workshop is to bring together researchers who analyze existing computer-mediated conversational practices and sites, with designers who propose, implement, or deploy new types of conversational systems. By bringing together participants from such diverse areas as anthropology, computer-mediated communication, HCI, interaction design, linguistics, management, psychology, rhetoric, sociology, and the like, we hope that the work of each may inform the others, suggesting new questions, methods, perspectives, and design approaches. = About Paper Topics = We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. *Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: * Turn-taking, threading, and other structural features of CMC * The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g., USENET) * Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives * Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation * The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management * Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations * Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems * Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems For other examples see the list of previous years' papers: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html = The Workshop = The minitrack is normally preceded by a half-day workshop open to all minitrack authors, as well as those who will form the core audience for the minitrack. We will know whether the workshop has been accepted for HICSS 2007 in early April. Watch the online version of this call for more details: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html = Instructions for Abstract Submission = Submit a 250 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson <snowfall@acm.org>, Susan Herring <herring@indiana.edu> by the deadline noted above. = Instructions for Paper Submission = * HICSS papers must contain original material not previously published, or currently submitted elsewhere. All papers will be submitted in double column publication format and limited to 10 pages including diagrams and references. Papers undergo a double-blind review. * Do not submit the manuscript to more than one Minitrack. If unsure which Minitrack is appropriate, submit the abstract to the Track Chair for guidance. * Submit your full paper according to the instructions that will appear on the HICSS web site: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/ = For More Information = * This call for participation, etc.: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html * History (papers and participants in previous minitracks): http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html * About the minitrack, contact: snowfall@acm.org, herring@indiana.edu * About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/ === END, HICSS PERSISTENT CONVERSATION CFP === -- -- ------------------------------------------ Tom Erickson IBM T.J. Watson Research Center Email: snowfall@acm.org (preferred); snowfall@us.ibm.com(IBM confidential) http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/