In response to mature markets, increasing worldwide competition, fast technological development, and decreasing resources, many organizations are adopting collaborative work practices in order to solve complex problems and produce innovative products. For example, many organizations have projects that include experts in telecommunications networks, information systems design, human-computer interaction and end users. To collaborate effectively, participants must explore and integrate knowledge and work practices from diverse domains to come to a pragmatic understanding of the work process and expected outcomes. Participants' unique past experiences, specialized work languages and differences in work patterns, culture, perceptions of quality and success, organizational priorities and constraints, can make this process difficult. Collaborative theories, strategies, outcomes and technologies will be highlighted at this meeting.

We invite papers on a variety of topics related to collaboration, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

Technologies that Support Collaboration Emerging collaboration applications (including CSCW, groupware, intranet, WWW, and virtual reality applications) Evaluation of collaboration applications Adoption of collaboration applications The impact of technology on the nature of collaboration New directions for collaboration technology Collaborative Work Case studies of collaborative work (including projects and teams) Evaluation/outcomes of collaborative work The influence of organizational culture on collaborative work Models of collaboration among diverse organizations and institutions Issues in collaborating across organizational boundaries New requirements for employees imposed by collaborative work and technology The role of collaboration in professional organizations The design and management of collaborative versus individual work processes

Collaboration in Society Models of collaboration between countries or large social groups Collaborative community networks Approaches to conflict resolution Collaboration among individuals from different cultures The impact of collaboration technology in society, and among social and economic groups Collaboration in Education Teaching collaborative skills The use of collaboration technology in education Collaborative games for learning cooperation skills Information Seeking as a Collaborative Process Interaction between users and intermediaries Interaction between users and information retrieval systems Collaboration in the digital library Theories of Collaboration Models of collaborative decision making Models of the collaborative process Emerging theories of collaboration

These themes will be elaborated by keynote and invited speakers, and through refereed papers, panels, technical sessions, demonstrations, and other presentations. You are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation, as outlined below. Please include ALL information as requested on the submission form to facilitate our consideration of your proposal. Use the form, copy it, create a reasonable electronic version, send a message to rhill@asis.org for a copy or retrieve it from the ASIS web site Conferences Page.

Contributed papers should address one or more of the topics outlined above, or related topics. All papers will be refereed. Presenters of accepted papers will be allowed 15-25 minutes for delivery; all accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings (electronic and/or print). To submit a paper, send four printed copies of the full paper (no abstracts) to the Contributed Papers Coordinator, Barbara Wildemuth, at the address below and an electronic copy to MY98papers@asis.org. Submitted papers should be approximately 2500-5000 words in length. Submissions should include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the author(s). All submitted papers must be received by November 15, 1997. Guidelines for submission (including style guides for the proceedings) are available on the Internet at the ASIS Conference page.

Panels, technical sessions, and other presentations can be proposed and developed by individuals, one or more ASIS Special Interest Groups (SIGs), or by/with other organizations and individuals. Panel and technical sessions typically bring together expert panelists to present findings or debate. To submit a proposal, send the session title, a 500-word abstract, and participant list to the SIG and Panel Sessions Coordinator, Kris Liberman, at my98panels@asis.org and to the address below. Submissions should also include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the organizer(s), as well as the sponsoring SIG(s) and/or organization(s), as appropriate. All proposals must be received by November 15, 1997. Guidelines for submission (including style guides for the proceedings) are available on the Internet at the ASIS Conference page.

Researchers who would like to demonstrate their work are also invited to participate in this meeting. Demonstration sessions are intended to show both in-progress and mature implementations of novel ideas for collaboration and collaborative work. To submit a proposal for a demonstration session, send the title and a 500-word description of the planned demonstration to the SIG and Panel Sessions Coordinator, Kris Liberman, at my98demos@asis.org and to the address below. Submissions should include the name, position, complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the proposed presenter(s). All proposals must be received by November 15, 1997.

Commercial providers of products and/or services that support collaboration are invited to showcase their products and services at this meeting. We especially encourage previews of pre-commercial release products. Interested companies should contact Michele Devine at ASIS Headquarters concerning arrangements for demonstration and/or exhibit space.

Conference co-chairs:
Kris Liberman kris.liberman@ey.com Ernst & Young LLP One Cambridge Center Cambridge, MA 02142 617-761-4011	Diane H. Sonnenwald dhs@ils.unc.edu SILS 100 Manning Hall, CB #3360 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360 919-962-8065 fax: 919-962-8071	Barbara M. Wildemuth wildem@ils.unc.edu SILS 100 Manning Hall, CB #3360 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360 919-962-8072 fax: 919-962-8071

(c) 1997, American Society for Information Science

Last update: Wednesday, August 20, 1997