======== (apologies for cross posting) ========

1st call for delegates for IRISS and 
2nd call for abstracts for IRISS

IRISS'98 Internet Research and Information for Social
Scientists
25-27 March 1998
University of Bristol, UK
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/iriss/
email: [log in to unmask]

A three day conference hosted by the Institute for Learning 
and Research Technology at the University of Bristol.

The first international IRISS conference aims to bring
together social scentists who are interested in the
Internet, either as a means of supporting and
enhancing their work, or as a focus for their research.

***CONFERENCE THEMES***

The themes of this year's conference are Internet skills, sites and 
social effects.  The conference aims to reflect the practical and 
theoretical questions raised by the increasing role of networked 
information in the social sciences and society. Topics for debate 
include:

* how can social scientists make effective use of the
Internet in their work?
* where and how are social scientists using the Internet
to enhance their work and what effect is it having on
traditional roles and working methods?
* what high quality information can the Internet supply to
social scientists?         
* what impact does the Internet have on individuals and
society and what visions do we have for the future?

***ATTENDING IRISS AS A DELEGATE***

This is the first call for delegates for IRISS. Confirmed, to date,
for the conference are:

* several high-profile keynote speakers
* a large variety of papers and presentations, covering all of the
conference themes, and presented by speakers from a combination of
academic, commercial, public and social/voluntary organisations
* pre and during conference hands-on workshops, in fully networked
rooms and conducted by experienced Internet for Social Scientist
trainers
* the main conference dinner, held in the prestigious Harveys
Restaurant and Museum - see:
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/iriss/harveys.html

Bristol is a city in the west of England; it is served by an
international airport, located 11 miles south of the city. The city has
two major train stations, with frequent train services to London (in 
under 2 hours) and other cities. South Wales is a few minutes away by
train or car, and the scenic areas of the Cotswolds, Cornwall and Devon
are all easily accessible, as are attractions such as the city of Bath,
Stonehenge and Avebury.

Bristol itself is a thriving cosmopolitan city, with a very lively 
social and cultural scene. The city has many famous sites of 
interest, such as the Clifton suspension bridge and the S.S. Great 
Britain, which are within a short distance of the conference location 
and accomodation. Various on-line guides to Bristol include:

http://www.epost.co.uk/standards/bestofbris.html
http://www.bristol.digitalcity.org/org/council/about-bristol.html

A reduction is available to all delegates registering before 19
December 1997. Further details on booking can be found on the IRISS Web 
site.

***CALL FOR PAPERS***

We invite papers and participation from:

* practitioners in the field who use the Internet to
support their day to day work
* researchers using Internet information and communication
in their research
* librarians developing their Internet knowledge and skills
to serve a social science user group
* educators interested in using the Internet for teaching
and learning
* information providers who publish on the Internet and
wish to reach the social science community

In addition to concurrent paper and workshop sessions the
conference will feature an ongoing poster session and a
dedicated Internet Gallery in a fully networked environment
enabling contributors to display high quality Internet
resources.

***HOW TO CONTRIBUTE***

If you are interested in submitting a paper, joining the 
Internet Gallery or ongoing poster session, visit our Web 
site at:

http://www.sosig.ac.uk/iriss/ 

for conference information together with online booking and 
submission forms. The Web site will be updated frequently 
as information becomes available and will include full 
programme details and abstracts. The deadline for the 
submission of abstracts is 7 November 1997.

***CONFERENCE FEE***

Delegates presenting papers will pay a reduced conference 
fee. A reduction will also be available to all delegates 
registering before 19 December 1997. Full details are 
available from the Web site.

***HOST A MEETING AT IRISS***

Would your organisation or professional association like to 
host a meeting at IRISS? We can provide free meeting 
rooms and refreshments for groups booking to attend the 
conference. Special discounts are available to groups of 
10 or more. For further information contact the Conference 
Secretary at:

[log in to unmask]

General conference enquiries should be directed to:

IRISS Conference Secretariat
Institute for Learning and Research Technology
University of Bristol
8 Woodland Road
BRISTOL 
BS8 1TN, UK
Tel: +44 (0)117 928 8474 
Fax: +44 (0)117 928 8473
Email: [log in to unmask]

IRISS Web site:  http://www.sosig.ac.uk/iriss/           





%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%