------ Call for Papers 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2015) 27-30 June 2015, Limerick, Ireland In September 2003, the biannual conference series ‘Communities and Technologies (C&T)’ started with a meeting in Amsterdam attracting some 350 participants. Almost at the same time, the more policy, advocacy and practice-oriented Community Informatics (CI) series of conferences began in Prato, Italy in 2002, along with an online email network and the Journal of Community Informatics. It is time to cross fertilize these discussions and to identify convergences, overlaps, divergences and common paths, as well as challenges for future research, advocacy, policy and practice. We cordially invite submissions to the Seventh International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2015), hosted from 27 to 30 June by the University of Limerick, Ireland. This biennial meeting serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating research on the complex connections between communities - both physical and virtual - and information and communication technologies. This seventh edition of the conference will mark a stronger opening toward Community Informatics work. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Journal of Community Informatics (http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej). The goal is to revitalize the academic discussion with a new format in order to make the academic discourse more relevant for practice. The organisers hope to widen the base of relevant case studies, and at the same time, strengthen the reflection regarding these practice-based cases. C&T 2015 welcomes participation from researchers, designers, educators, industry, and students from the many disciplines and perspectives bearing on the interaction between community and technology, including architecture, arts, business, design, economics, education, engineering, ergonomics, information technology, geography, health, humanities, law, media and communication studies, and social sciences. The conference program will include competitively selected, peer-reviewed papers, as well as pre-conference workshops and tutorials, a doctoral consortium, and invited keynote speakers. We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting conference in Limerick, a vibrant university city on the west coast of Ireland! Gabriela Avram Conference Chair Organising Committee Programme Chairs: Fiorella de Cindio and Volkmar Pipek Workshop Chairs: Anne Light and Nemanja Memarovic Tutorial Chairs: Doug Schuler and Sabine Moebs Doctoral Consortium Chairs: Susanne Boedker and Volker Wulf Local Organisation Chair: Norah Power Student Volunteers Chair: Laura Maye Conference Themes C&T focuses on the notion of communities as social entities comprised of people who share something in common; this common element may be geography, needs, interests, practices, organizations, or other bases for social connection. Communities are considered to be a basic unit of social experience. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can support community formation and development by facilitating communication and coordination among members, as well as enable and empower communities to deal with challenges and threats. Topics appropriate for submission to this conference are manifold. Examples of some of the vibrant areas of communities and technology research include, but are not limited to: • Communities, technologies and government (learning/education, health, cultural heritage, crises and natural disasters) • Civic Activism, Community Engagement, Participatory Publics • Communities and innovation • Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, collective intelligence • Maker communities (makerspaces, Fablabs, crafters) and DIY • Online and offline communities • Urban and rural communities; urban technologies; urban informatics; urban interaction design • Smart communities in the context of smart cities • Sustainable communities • Communities, social media and social capital • Community-centred Design, Infrastructuring and Evaluation Methodologies • Ethnographic and case studies of communities • Communities, ICTs and Economic and Social Development. Submission categories, Formats We are calling for submission of full (research) papers, work-in-progress papers, tutorial and workshop proposals and applications to the doctoral consortium. Please submit all papers and abstracts in ACM SIGCHI two column layout (see http://www.sigchi.org/chipubform). Papers In order to allow for a diversity of contributions, the conference will accept full papers and work-in-progress papers. Full papers must be no longer than ten pages, including all additional material such as references, appendices, and figures. Work-in-progress papers must be no longer than four pages. The papers must include a title, sufficient space for the author name(s) to appear on the paper, abstract, keywords, body, and references. Papers submitted by the due date will undergo a double blind peer review process by an international panel and will be evaluated on the basis of their significance, innovation, academic rigour, and clarity of writing. Accepted full papers will be included in the published conference proceedings if at least one author of any accepted submission has registered and attends the conference. Accepted work-in-progress papers will be published in the adjunct proceedings, and the same rule applies: at least one of the authors will have to register and attend the conference. Papers will be submitted via an online submission system that will open in December 2014. Please send any questions to the Programme Chairs: PC_chairs@comtech.community . Workshops Workshops provide an opportunity to discuss and explore emerging areas of Communities & Technologies research with a group of like-minded researchers and practitioners. They run for a half or one full day and will take place on June 27th or June 28th. Workshops offer the opportunity to advance specific research areas. C&T workshops might address methodologies, emerging application areas, design innovations, organisational issues or education. Each workshop should generate ideas that give the C&T community a new, organised way of thinking about the topic, or ideas that suggest promising directions for future research. Some workshops result in edited books or special issues of journals; you may consider including this goal in your workshop proposal. Please send proposals to the Workshop Chairs: workshops@comtech.community Tutorials The purpose of the tutorials is to give the attendees the opportunity to acquire knowledge in new areas and add to their professional development. Topics can range from physical computing (Arduino, Raspberry Pi) to visualization, mapping applications, setting up a disaster coordination centre, and so on. We invite individuals or teams interested in presenting a tutorial to submit proposals. Tutorials will run for a half or one full day on June 27th. Please send proposals to the Tutorials Chairs: tutorials@comtech.community Workshop and tutorial proposals should be no longer than 4 pages and should include: the title of the workshop, the list of organizers and their backgrounds, and an abstract of no more than 150 words, as well as the workshop's theme, goals and activities, maximum number of participants, means of soliciting participation, and means of selecting participants. Doctoral Consortium The Doctoral Consortium is scheduled prior to the main conference programme, on Sunday 28 June 2015. The Doctoral Consortium (DC) offers research students a special forum where they can present, discuss and progress their research plans with peers and established senior researchers. Research students wishing to attend the doctoral consortium should submit up to 4 pages, using the ACM SIGCHI two column layout available at http://www.sigchi.org/chipubform, addressing the following: Introduction setting up your research area and specific research question(s)/goals(s) (including key related work); Overall research approach, methodology, and expected contributions; Work in progress (including findings to date and next steps); Questions and issues for discussion, and what you hope to gain from attending the DC; short bio. Please send proposals to the Doctoral Consortium Chairs: dc@comtech.community Student Volunteers C&T actively encourages students to volunteer at the conference. Being a student volunteer is a great way to support the research community, meet other students in the field, and attend an international ACM conference. You will help the conference organisers with the running of the conference and support the setting-up of presentations and workshops. You will see the latest in C&T research and development, and have fun while learning about running the conference. In return, you will get free registration. To apply, email us your contact details (email, phone, university), an abstract of your research project, a CV, and the reasons why you would like to be a student volunteer. Please send applications to the Student Volunteers Chair: volunteers@comtech.community Important Dates • 1 Feb 2015 Papers, Workshop and Tutorials Proposals due • 1 Mar 2015 Notification of acceptance (for Workshop &Tutorial Proposals) • 1 Apr 2015 Notification of acceptance (for Full Papers) • 1 May 2015 Camera Ready Papers • 1 May 2015 Workshop Papers, Work-in-Progress Papers, Doctoral Consortium Submissions and Student Volunteers Applications due • 1 June 2015 – Early bird registration ends • 27-28 Jun 2015 Workshops, Tutorials and Doctoral Consortium • 29-30 Jun 2015 C&T Conference More Information For updates, please check the conference website: http://comtech.community