MY99call


	Call for Participation


	ASIS 1999 Mid-Year Conference




	Evaluating and Using Networked Information Resources and Services




	Pasadena Hilton Hotel Pasadena, CA May 24 -26, 1999

Access to and use of networked information resources and services over the Internet continues to explode with new and innovative applications as well as in new and unforeseen applications. Traditional uses such as email, web searching, and uploading/downloading files also continues to grow. Commercial applications and uses of the network also are growing and as the "Digital Economy" expands, impacts on society are also likely to occur.

In the last three years the number of domain names has increased by 600%. Government agencies continue to provide Web-based services, in some cases exclusively in electronic format. Entire network-based communities have been created to provide information and services, and to develop social spaces unbounded by geography. Indeed, the networked environment creates opportunities for service innovation, provision, distribution, and capabilities well beyond traditional means.

The development and provision of these innovative services is hindered by our limited knowledge of users and uses of networks, as well as by the lack of ongoing evaluation and assessment of networked resources. To a large degree, there is limited knowledge about users and uses of the network, nor is there much ongoing evaluation and assessment of networked information services and resources. Thus, the primary goals of the conference are to:

Identify what we know and don't know about use and evaluation of networked resources and services.

Propose strategies to improve our knowledge about use and evaluation of networked resources and services.

Provide a forum for attendees to share their knowledge, offer viewpoints, and debate different opinions regarding the use and evaluation of networked resources and services.

Together, the increased use and provision of networks and networked information services, creates the need for understanding the dimensions of electronic networks and the information services provided over such networks. This conference concentrates on exploring the various aspects of electronic network and networked information services to begin to develop the means through which to measure, assess, and classify electronic networking activities.

We invite papers on a variety of topics broadly related to Evaluating and Using Networked Information Resources and Services, including (but not limited to) the following general topics:




	Use Who are the users of networked information resources, what types of services and resources are they using, and why do they use specific types of services and resources? What factors encourage or discourage use of networked resources and services? What constitutes successful use? How do national cultures affect use? Evaluation Is ongoing evaluation and assessment important? How might evaluations be used? What evaluation research methodologies are especially appropriate for the networked environment? What barriers might hinder successful evaluation and how might these barriers be minimized? Measurement What aspects should be measured? What types of measures do we use and need? Are the use of performance measures and quality standards appropriate? How does one insure quality of data in developing such measures? Are we measuring what we think? Theory What models do or can describe and predict use? Are there underlying "laws" that govern use? Do traditional evaluation approaches and concepts apply to the networked environment? Are new types of conceptual underpinnings needed to successfully evaluate networked information resources and services?




	Technology How do changing network technologies affect use and evaluation? Can network technology assist in evaluating networked information resources and services? To what degree do technological advances in areas related to authentication, log files, security, privacy and others affect use studies and evaluation research? Social Implications and Impacts Will use or lack of use of the electronic networked environment create a social division in Society across various types of demographic or geographic categories? What are the social, educational, and economic impacts of providing or not providing users equal access to networks and network-based information resources? Education What training approaches and strategies should be used to develop network evaluation techniques? Are there "Best Practices" for teaching evaluation and assessment techniques for the networked environment? How do education and training for networked assessment vary across public and private sectors? How might evaluators best inform policymakers, network managers, and others as to findings from evaluation and use studies? Policy Do national, local, or organizational information policies affect use and evaluation? How can national, local, or organizational policies related to the networked environment be evaluated? What information policies might be needed to improve use and evaluation? How do politics affect the evaluation?

We encourage submissions across the commercial, public, academic, and governmental sectors. Further, we encourage submissions from National, organizational, and individual perspectives. While the program committee encourages submissions of empirical studies, we also encourage "opinion pieces," policy analyses, "best practice" reports, and conceptual papers. Persons considering submissions in areas related to, but not specifically mentioned in, the above topics should discuss them with the conference Chairpersons for additional guidance.

To offer the most current information to conference attendees, initial submissions will first be comprised of abstracts of no more than 250 words and are due November 1, 1998. These submissions will then be reviewed and refereed by the program committee and others who will invite the best submissions to submit an extended abstract of the paper of no more than 1,000 words for review. Those asked to submit extended abstracts will have until December 15, 1998 to provide this extended abstract. The final version of the extended abstract will be provided to the program committee by April 15, 1999. These extended abstracts selected for presentation at the conference will be mounted on a website prior to the conference.

A selection of these extended abstracts and other conference programs will be identified by the conference chairs to be more fully developed into full and formal papers. These will be organized and edited into a book that will appear as an ASIS publication within six months after the conference.

Practitioners are especially encouraged to submit abstracts and proposals for papers and sessions related to "best practices," case studies, and current activities related to use and evaluation of networked information services and resources. All conference attendees are asked to bring examples of user/use studies, and evaluation efforts that have been conducted in your organization. Other "handouts" that describe efforts to conduct use and user studies and evaluation efforts, data collection techniques and instruments, and other related items are also important information for attendees. Display tables will be made available for conference attendees to provide copies of such information.

TYPES OF SUBMISSION:
Contributed papers, technical session panels, and other presentations can be developed by individuals , by ASIS Special Interest Group (SIG), by collaboration among two or more SIGs, and/or other organizations and individuals within or outside the ASIS community. To submit a proposal, send the title and a 250 word description, and the other required information (see the Technical Sessions Proposal Form or the Contributed Papers Information Form to my99@www.asis.orgor to the address below. All proposals will be refereed. Contributed papers may be integrated into panel discussion sessions.

Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged and should be submitted to my99@www.asis.org. If electronic submission is not possible, two paper copies should be sent as follows:

                                    Richard Hill
                                    ASIS Mid Year '99
                                    8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 501
                                    Silver Spring, MD 20910

Program Chairs:         Charles McClure, Syracuse University, cmcclure@mailbox.syr.edu
                                    Carol A. Hert, Syracuse University, cahert@mailbox.syr.edu
                                    John Carlo Bertot, State University of New York at Albany
                                   jcbertot@cnsunix.albany.edu

Program Committee: Michael Crandall, Boeing Company
                                    Paul Kantor, Rutgers University
                                    Geoffrey Ford, University of Bristol
                                    Ed Fox, Virginia Tech


	© 1999, Association for Information Science Last Update:February 3, 1999