A personal preface:

As president of the International Society for Presence Research 
(ISPR) and editor of ISPR Presence News, I see a ton of calls for 
conference submissions. There are a lot of interesting events in 
interesting places out there. But the presence conferences (I've 
been at all but the first of the 13 held since 1998) have 
consistently provided the most useful and enjoyable conference 
experiences of my career. It's the only conference I go to where I 
want to attend every session. 

If you're interested in any aspect of  (tele)presence, the 
combination of single-track format, social events and meals 
together with a diverse group of unusually nice people, and 
especially the compelling topics, makes it something special. 
Please consider submitting your work and joining us this year in 
Philadelphia. If you have questions, concerns and/or suggestions, 
please let me know directly (at [log in to unmask]). 

--Matthew


CALL FOR PAPERS

ISPR 2012 "Presence Live!" Conference
International Society for Presence Research Annual Conference

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
October 24 - 26, 2012

http://ispr.info

THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS NOW JULY 1, 2012
Online submission is open at: 
http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ispr2012 

INTRODUCTION

-- What´s it about?

Presence, short for telepresence, happens when people use 
technology and overlook at least part of its role in the experience:

A telepresence conferencing system makes us feel as if we´re 
face-to-face; an online virtual world seems real; a 3D IMAX film 
makes us reach out to touch objects on the screen; we get `lost´ 
in the worlds of novels, TV shows, movies, videogames and 
theme park rides; doctors, engineers, explorers and many others 
operate machinery thousands of miles away as if they were at the 
remote site; students learn about the world and workers learn 
how to do their jobs using compelling simulations; we think of and 
interact with computers, agents, avatars, robots and androids as if 
they were living social entities even though we know they´re not; 
we´re delighted by perceptual illusions in everything from ancient 
Trompe-l´oeil paintings to modern digital art. As we expand 
technology´s capabilities and applications, we´re having ever 
more, and ever more compelling, presence experiences.

-- A New Kind of Presence conference

Following a series of 13 successful PRESENCE conferences, 
ISPR 2012 extends presence scholarship to new audiences: 
ISPR is teaming with Interwork Media to produce a 
ground-breaking event that will showcase ISPR researchers and 
research studies to not only a diverse academic community in 
communication, computer science, psychology, philosophy, the 
arts, business, education and other fields, but to researchers and 
professionals in commercial, government, educational and other 
industry sectors. Technology firms - hardware, software, 
infrastructure, services - will be encouraged to attend to 
contribute their findings and projects that support the goals of the 
conference.

ISPR 2012 will retain the single-track format and pleasant social 
environment of previous conferences while featuring expanded 
presentations, workshops and hands-on demonstrations of 
presence applications, services and projects.

TOPICS

We seek original, high quality papers and demonstrations that 
contribute to our collective understanding of the power and 
breadth of presence phenomena and presence applications in 
any/every aspect of life. Topics of interest include (but are not 
limited to):

* Presence technologies
* Mobile & ubiquitous presence
* Presence applications in business
* Presence applications in entertainment
* Presence applications in games
* Presence applications in medicine and therapy
* Presence applications in the arts and humanities
* Presence applications in augmented/mixed reality
* Presence applications in education
* Other presence applications
* Presence theory
* Measures of presence
* Philosophical perspectives on presence
* Psychological perspectives on presence
* Neuropsychology of presence
* The ethics of presence
* Presence in the next 25 years

All accepted papers will be collected in the official conference 
proceedings (with ISBN) and will be permanently available for 
download in the ISPR conference archive. We expect to have all 
accepted papers included in the ACM Digital Library. One or more 
special journal issues are likely as well.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

ISPR 2012 will have an interactive format in which all participants 
(attendees, presenters, invited speakers) attend each of the 
sessions as well as social events, allowing participants to 
exchange ideas and build knowledge together as the conference 
progresses.

The first two days will feature hands-on demonstrations by 
researchers as well as technology and application vendors; 
keynote presentations and panels that feature research related to 
diverse presence applications; and short, dedicated workshops 
on a variety of topics designed to provide focused educational 
experiences on subjects related to presence technology, theory 
and measurement. The final day of the conference will feature 
additional academic presentations on additional presence-related 
topics.

The language of the conference is English.

VENUE

The conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 
The birthplace of the nation, Philadelphia is a city rich in history 
and steeped in culture. It´s the fourth largest media and 
telecommunications market in the country, conveniently located 
between New York and Washington, D. C. (each approximately 2 
hours away by train). Details about the conference site will be 
announced soon.

ACCOMMODATIONS

A free online hotel booking facility with specially discounted rates 
for conference attendees will be available via the ISPR web site.

REGISTRATION

Registration will be available online. Fees, which will include 
meals and social events, will be at or below those for previous 
ISPR PRESENCE conferences; every effort will be made to 
reduce fees for participating academics, and particularly for 
graduate students.

SUBMISSIONS

We invite researchers and practitioners to submit work in the 
categories below. Note that all submissions are to be in APA 
format and (with the exception of panel proposals) not identify the 
author(s) directly or indirectly (for blind peer review).

PAPERS: Comprehensive descriptions of research or design 
work and/or theoretical investigation within the scope of the 
conference. Papers must relate to existing literature on presence 
and make an original contribution to it. Accepted papers will be 
included in the Proceedings and will be allocated time for oral 
presentation.

SHORT PAPERS: Short papers may be up to 10 pages in APA 
format. Accepted papers will be included in the Proceedings and 
will be allocated time for oral presentation.

PANELS: Sets of presentations on a single theme or topic within 
the scope of the conference. Submitters are encouraged to be 
creative regarding both the topic or theme and the format for 
panel proposals (formats that encourage guided discussion are 
particularly welcome). Panel proposals must identify and provide 
contact information for all proposed participants. Accepted panels 
will be included in the Proceedings.

POSTERS: Visual display presentations. Poster proposals must 
describe and/or contain early drafts of the visual display. 
Accepted poster proposals will be published in the conference 
Proceedings. Posters will be displayed on an approximately 
70×40 cm board during a dedicated session of the conference 
and will be allocated a 2 minute oral preview.

DEMONSTRATIONS/EXHIBITIONS: Step-by-step audiovisual 
demonstrations and/or hands-on experiences of non-commercial 
work within the scope of the conference. Accepted 
demonstration/exhibition proposals will be included in the 
conference Proceedings and will be presented during dedicated 
sessions of the conference. For the exhibitions of commercial 
products, please contact Interwork Media for sponsorship terms 
and opportunities:

Timothy Downs
Interwork Media Inc.
Office:  949-766-6785      
Mobile:  949-235-8985      
Email: [log in to unmask]

All submissions will be made through the EasyChair conference 
online submission system and will undergo a double-blind 
peer-review process by at least two selected reviewers.

IMPORTANT DATES

** JULY 1, 2012 -- SUBMISSIONS DUE **
August 8, 2012 -- Early registration opens
August 15, 2012 -- Notification of acceptance decisions
September 26, 2012 -- Finished, camera-ready papers due
September 30, 2012 -- Early registration closes
October 24 -26, 2012 -- Conference

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Conference Chair:  Matthew Lombard, President, ISPR (Temple 
University)

The Program Committee members are prominent members of 
ISPR.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Web site: http://ispr.info
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

ABOUT ISPR

The International Society for Presence Research (ISPR) is a 
non-profit membership organization founded in 2002 to support 
academic research related to the concept of (tele)presence. It 
publishes ISPR Presence News, which features news stories 
about presence; calls for participation in various presence-related 
conferences, publications and projects; job opportunities; and 
more, and is available in various formats (RSS feed; individual 
item and daily or weekly digest email; Twitter; Facebbok). The 
ISPR web site - http://ispr.info - serves as a resource for those 
who conduct research, develop theory, design, market, write 
about, or simply are interested in, the concept and phenomena of 
presence.

We encourage your questions, contributions, comments and 
suggestions.

Contact:

ISPR
2020 N. 13th Street, Rm. 205
Philadelphia, PA 19122
USA

Email: [log in to unmask]

ABOUT INTERWORK MEDIA INC.

Interwork media is an information services, b2b media and 
consulting firm focused on emerging technology communities and 
offering innovative technologies to existing media practices. For 
our partners - publishing companies, analyst firms, trade groups - 
we collaborate to produce high-quality information rich media 
properties that deliver personalized, information-rich and 
interactive programs for senior management in multiple industry 
segments. We have a 10-year history focusing on emerging 
technology communities. Education and information exchange 
was, and is, the foundation of all of our media initiatives, be they 
on the web or in a live event.

Contact:

Interwork Media Inc.
30211 Banderas, Suite 200
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Office:  949-766-6785      
Fax:  949-766-6784

Email: [log in to unmask]

   
-- 
Matthew Lombard, Ph.D.
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
[log in to unmask]
http://matthewlombard.com