Now about these colloqiums, panels and roundtables... FAQs 1. Can I send my proposal to that nice Program Chair chap and hope that he puts it on the system? Answer: No you must submit it yourself but if you have any problems or made a mistake please contact that very nice Charlie Breindahl person who (unlike the Program Chair who just talks about ICTs)is a wizard with the site - charlie.breindahl@gmail.com 2.If some colleagues and I are part of a panel proposal, can we also be part of a roundtable proposal? Answer: Yes probably. The rules are: one paper + one panel = fine One paper + one roundtable = fine one paper + two panels = fine (but any element may be rejected) One paper + one panel + one round table = fine (but any element may be rejected) more than one paper / unless there are _really_ compelling reasons second author is o.k.) / not so fine. You can be second author of anything over and above what you submit above. Obviously we are looking to provide high quality sessions with the widest possible contributions. 3. "Graduate students wishing to be a candidate for the Student Award must send a final paper by June 30, 2008". Does it mean that they do not have to submit abstract first and get accepted before submitting the full paper? Answer: Proposal/abstract should be submitted in the usual way. Full papers for Student Award by June 30, 2008. 4.Can you tell me how long panels and roundtables are scheduled to last and how many people are supposed to participate in each type of session? Answer: The sessions will be one and a half hours long. There is no fixed numbers but my experience is that together with a Chair/Moderator you should consider four to six participants. BUT please think about the needs of the audience who will want to participate in the discussions. I'm sure someone on the list (Barry Wellman?) can provide us with a social scientific law which demonstrates that academics will always talk for twice the allotted time given to them. Therefore leave plenty of time for interaction and debate. 5.i'm just writing up a panel proposal for the conference and am not sure of the word count. the call for papers suggests 600-800 words for information about the panel (not including paper abstracts). i'm wondering if this should include the information about presenters too? Answer: The poposal should list panel members. Very brief biogs with accompanying abstracts please. 6. Any information on the Doctoral Colloquium yet? Answer: We are delighted to announce that Professor Klaus Bruhn Jensen will be facilitating the Doctoral Colloqium on Wednesday 15 October. More details to follow on the list and website soon. OK that's it for now but please ask more questions if you are still unsure of anything. Brian Brian D. Loader Co-Director, Social Informatics Research Unit (SIRU), Department of Sociology, Wentworth College, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD Email bl506@york.ac.uk Tel: +44(0) 1904 432639 Fax: +44(0) 1904 433043