This multi-disciplinary, international conference on e-Research will be held at the University of Oxford from 11-13 September 2008. It is being organized by a consortium of research projects in association with the journal Information Communication and Society (iCS).
The Oxford e-Research Conference 08 seeks to stimulate and inform multi-disciplinary research on the development, use and implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs), like the Internet, in shaping research across the disciplines. It will bring together research from key e-Research projects from around the world examining the role of the Internet, Web and the Grid in research. The conference seeks to facilitate scholarly communication and publication on this topic, and help foster a broader public understanding of the significance of this area to the sciences and humanities as well as to the public at large.
Anyone with a serious interest in conducting research on the development or use of ICTs across the disciplines should attend, as well as those with questions about how new research tools might impact the range, significance and quality of research. The conference is intended to complement and extend the activities of key research projects and programmes in this area, representatives of which are among the organizing committee.
Topics will include, but not be limited to:
Major e-Research initiatives, such as e-infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure programmes in Europe and North America;
E-Social Science, including social, legal and institutional dynamics of e-Research;
Case studies of e-Research projects, programmes, and policies;
Policy analyses of key issues, ranging from IPR to privacy;
Ethical and legal analyses of innovations in e-Research, focusing on risks as well as approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas;
Research on e-collaboration, including new platforms for scientific collaboration, such as those using social networking sites;
Survey research and in-depth interviews focused on the attitudes and practices of researchers;
Usability of e-Research tools, and related issues of human-computer interaction;
Showcasing new methods, practices, and tools afforded by new ICTs;
Research on the social shaping and impact of e-Research;
Take-up, diffusion and sustainability of e-Research infrastructures;
Technical advances of relevance to any stage of research, from agenda-setting and budgeting to data collection, analysis, dissemination and evaluation of research;
Social and technical perspectives on innovations in metadata, the development of ontologies, and the semantic Web;
Overviews and comparisons of particular schools of research, including Web Science, e-Social Science, e-Research, and e-Infrastructure communities.
Individuals may submit abstracts, or drafts of full papers; workshop or panel proposals; and demonstration projects, which can be showcased at the conference. Top papers presented at the conference will have an opportunity to be prioritized for review by the journal iCS.
Conference Programme Committee
Chair: Professor William Dutton, Oxford Internet Institute
Panel Chair: Dr Marina Jirotka, Oxford e-Research Centre
Committee Members
Professor Christine Borgman, Information Studies, UCLA
Professor Alan K. Bowman, Ancient History, Faculty of Classics, Oxford
Professor Roger Burrows, Social Informatics Research Unit, University of York
Professor Thomas Finholt, School of Information, University of Michigan
Professor Wendy Hall, Computer Science, University of Southampton
Professor Paul Jeffreys, Director of Information Technology, Oxford University
Brian Loader, Editor of iCS and Social Informatics Research Unit, York
Professor Rob Procter, National Centre for e-Social Science, Manchester
Dr Ralph Schroeder, James Martin Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
Professor Nigel Shadbolt, Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
Professor Anne Trefethen, Oxford e-Research Centre, Oxford
Professor Yorick Wilks, Oxford Internet Institute and Sheffield University
Professor Steve Woolgar, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
How to Make a Submission
Those who wish to propose a paper should submit a paper abstract of 500-1000 words by 15 March 2008. Proposals for a workshop or panel session should define the focus and proposed title, provide an outline of topics likely to be covered, and describe the proposed format, audience, and any special requirements. All proposals should include the name of the authors or contributors, their affiliations, where applicable, and indicate who will present the paper or chair the proposed panel. Submissions will be reviewed by two or more members of the Conference Programme Committee, which will communicate its decision by 15 April 2008. Final versions of accepted conference papers will be compiled and posted on the conference Web page.
Send all proposals and abstracts to: eresearch@oii.ox.ac.uk
For Registration and Further Information: events@oii.ox.ac.uk
Deadlines
Abstracts (or drafts) of Proposed Papers: 15 March 2008.
Workshop and panel outlines: 15 March 2008.
Authors will be informed of the programme committee’s decision by 15 April 2008.
Full Papers should be received by 15 August 2008
Registration and Fees
The conference will be supported by the Oxford e-Social Science Project and the e-Horizons project, but a registration fee will be charged to cover the costs of meals and entertainment not covered by these research funds. Therefore, the following fees will apply for those registering to attend the conference:
Students £15*
Speakers (authors of accepted papers) £25
Panelists £50
Other attendees £75
*Students may volunteer to assist in the conference in lieu of a fee.
More information about the conference and the collaborating centres can be found at:
Conference Web site: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/eresearch08/
Information, Communication & Society (iCS):
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713699183~db=all
Collaborating Projects and Programmes
e-Horizons Project of the James Martin School for the 21st Century at http://www.e-horizons.ox.ac.uk/
EPSRC’s Embedding e-Science Applications: Designing and Managing for Usability See: http://www.oesc.ox.ac.uk/usability/
EPSRC’s Networks for Web Science Project http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/ViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/F013701/1
ESRC’s e-Society Programme at http://www.york.ac.uk/res/e-society/
ESRC’s National Centre for e-Social Science http://www.ncess.ac.uk/
James Martin 21st Century School, University of Oxford at http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/
Oxford e-Social Science Node of the ESRC National Centre for e-Social Science at http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oess/
Oxford e-Research Centre http://www.oerc.ox.ac.uk/
Oxford Internet Institute at www.oii.ox.ac.uk
Social Informatics Research Unit www.york.ac.uk/soci/siru.html
Additional details online: