CFP: SHOT Special Interest Group for Computers, Information & Society Workshop 2015

Proposals for entire sessions and individual presenters are both welcome. We hope to run special sessions featuring dissertations in progress and other works in progress. The workshop is a great opportunity to get helpful feedback on your projects in a relaxed and supportive environment. All proposals will be subject to a peer review process based on abstracts.

Individual contributions can fit one of a variety of formats:

1. Traditional 15 to 20-minute presentations followed by a question and answer session. In this case, a one-page abstract (maximum 400 words) will be reviewed and included in the electronic conference program. Abstracts should address the paper's topic, argument, evidence used, and contribution to the existing literature. A full version of the paper should be sent to the session commentator at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting. We welcome proposals for entire sessions (3-4 papers that elucidate a common theme) or for individual presentations.
2. Dissertation proposals. SIGCIS usually hosts a special session on dissertations in progress so that scholars can receive critical feedback in a relaxed and supportive environment. Interested students in the early stages should submit a dissertation proposal. Those whose project is more advanced should submit a dissertation chapter together with table of contents of the whole dissertation. Accepted submissions will be pre-circulated in the electronic conference program. Participants will be encouraged to read this prior to the session. Dissertators will have five to ten minutes to introduce their material, leaving the bulk of time available for discussion.
3. Works in progress. This is your chance to receive informal and expert discussion of draft journal articles, or book chapters. Submit a one page abstract (maximum 400 words) including discussion of the current state of the work and any specific kinds of feedback you are seeking. If your proposal is accepted you will need to supply the draft for discussion by September 18 for inclusion in our electronic program. You will have five to ten minutes to introduce the material, leaving the bulk of time available for discussion.
4. Proposals in other formats are also welcome, such as round table discussions, demonstrations of software of interest to historians of computing and information, or "author meets critics" sessions. Descriptions should be 400-600 words and clearly identify format, objectives, activities, and participants.

As we attract proposals from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds it is best to be explicit: SIGCIS follows traditional practices for the submission of papers for professional historical conference. These include selection based on abstracts rather than full papers; no dissemination of full papers (with the exception of dissertation proposals and work in progress formats as noted above); and the requirement that presenters share their full paper with the session commentator at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting.

Submission Procedure

All submissions should be made online via the SIGCIS website (http://www.sigcis.org). The same person should not be included as a panelist or speaker in more than one proposal for the workshop, though it is okay to appear as a speaker/panelist in one session and a chair/discussant in another. People already scheduled to participate on the main SHOT program are welcome to submit an additional proposal to our workshop, but should make sure that there is no overlap between the two presentations. Please note that the SIGCIS Workshop Program Committee may choose to give higher priority to submissions from those not already presenting at SHOT.

Proposals for individual papers should be made at http://www.sigcis.org/workshop15a. Note that this requires a one-page curriculum vitae as well as the proposal itself in the form described above.

Proposals for complete sessions can be made at http://www.sigcis.org/workshop15b. Note that this requires one-page curriculum vitae for each presenter, compiled into a single document and included with the submission.

The SIGCIS Workshop Program Committee will provide acceptance decisions by July 15. The Program Committee includes:

- Andrew Russell (Chair), Stevens Institute of Technology, arussell@stevens.edu
- Laine Nooney, New York University, laine.nooney@gmail.com
- Jason Gallo, Science and Technology Policy Institute, jgallo@ida.org 
 

Travel Support

The top financial priority of SIGCIS is the support of travel expenses for graduate students, visiting faculty without institutional travel support, and others who would be unable to attend the meeting without travel assistance. The submission page includes a box to check if you fall into one of these categories and would like to be considered for an award. These is no separate application form, though depending on the volume of requests and available resources we may need to contact you for further information before making a decision. Any award offered is contingent on registering for and attending the workshop. Participants in work in progress or dissertations in progress sessions must also meet the deadlines set for providing the material to be discussed. Please note that SHOT does not classify workshop presentations as participation in the SHOT annual meeting and so acceptance by SIGCIS does not imply eligibility for the SHOT travel grant program.

Details of available awards are at http://www.sigcis.org/travelaward. Funding sources include donations from SIGCIS members at our annual meeting, income from the Mahoney Fund http://www.sigcis.org/mahoney and support from MIT Press for our annual book auction.

For information on previous SIGCIS workshops in 2009-2014, please visit the "Activities and Events" section of the SIGCIS website at http://www.sigcis.org.