Call for Participation: 2010 Summer Research Institute for the Science of Socio-Technical Systems: 13-17 June, 2009 Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, WA (www.skamania.com) We are seeking 30 scholars to join the outstanding set of mentors for this year's Summer Research Institute If you are an advanced doctoral student, post-doctoral scholar or pre-tenure faculty at a US-based institution, you are eligible to participate. Application screening begins 1 March, 2010 with notification by early April, 2010. Application requirements can be found below. Most costs will be covered for accepted participants. Background --------------- A multi-disciplinary science of socio-technical systems is emerging from research in the fields of CSCW, social computing, social informatics, the sociology of computing, HCI, organizational studies, ICT for development, medical informatics, information systems, library and information science, and other related intellectual communities. To support this, the Consortium for the Science of Socio-Technical Systems (CSST, see http://sociotech.net) was established in 2007 as an organization devoted to advocating for this intellectual movement. Building on the successes of the 2008 and 2009 Summer Research Institutes, the CSST will, with generous support by the National Science Foundation, again be organizing a summer research institute for advanced doctoral students and pre-tenure faculty to be held 13-17 June, 2010. A primary goal of the institute is to build a trans-disciplinary cohort of scholars who examine the complex interplay among the technical and the social across all levels of analysis: individuals, groups, organizations, cultures, and society. Examples of this kind of work include research on: * new forms of organizing (e.g., virtual organizations, massive online activities) * social computing (e.g., online communities, online social networks); * distributed work (e.g., collaboratories, virtual teams); * emerging technologies (e.g., recommender systems, prediction markets); * novel forms of production (e.g., open source software, Wikipedia); * new forms of expression and entertainment (e.g., blogs, wikis, massively multiplayer online games); and * information and communication technologies for developing regions (e.g., cell phone-based applications to assist economic development, infrastructure development for local economic action). 2010 Institute Mentors ------------------------- Steve Sawyer, Syracuse University, Director Wayne Lutters, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Geoff Bowker, University of Pittsburgh Brian Butler, University of Pittsburgh Christine Halverson, IBM Corporation C. Suzanne Iacono, National Science Foundation David McDonald, National Science Foundation Christine Neuwirth, Carnegie Mellon University Gary Olson, University of California, Irvine Judith Olson, University of California, Irvine Tony Salvador, Intel Corporation Susan Leigh Starr, University of Pittsburgh Michael Twidale, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Institute goals ----------------- The goals of the institute are to: * Expand on and strengthen connections among researchers in this area, linking across intellectual communities and further building upon the network of relations formed through the 2008 and 2009 Summer Research Institutes. * Guide the work of the new researchers by interacting with experts in the sciences of socio-technical systems. * Provide encouragement and support for the selection of socio-technical systems research topics. * Illustrate both the connection among and diversity of the fields that contribute to socio-technical systems research. How the institute will be conducted ------------------------------------------- The institute will be conducted as a residential program at Skamania Lodge (www.skamania.com) with a combination of small group sessions devoted to providing feedback on participants' research and larger group sessions consisting of panels and presentations led by the institute mentors. These sessions will cover research topics such as core principles and viable methods and also career development, how to obtain funding, and publication strategies. Time will be reserved for informal recreational activities. Costs of participation, including travel, food and accommodations, are covered thanks to the funding provided by the NSF. How to apply ---------------- The application process requires two parts: 1. A 350 word response to the question: "How will your research contribute to advancing our scientific understanding of socio-technical systems?" In responding to this question, please also explain what you mean by socio-technical. You may also want to include a core or defining reference that guides your work in this area. 2. A current curriculum vitae. Please email your application materials as attachments (in PDF or in a common word processing format) to csst2010@syr.edu with the email subject line being "CSST 2010 Application" If you have questions, contact Steve Sawyer or Wayne Lutters directly.