Call for Abstracts: 2019 iConference
Posted January 3, 2019
In this workshop, we seek to bring together researchers from the information fields broadly construed, along with researchers in related disciplines, to showcase the range of areas, practices and methodologies available to research forced migration. The aim is to introduce our information science colleagues to research in related disciplines, as well as acculturate our colleagues from other disciplines into the rich research context and frameworks in information science.
The workshop will feature a panel, lightning talks and various engagement sessions. A Special Issue featuring some of the Workshop contributions will also be produced following the event.
The following two themes will frame the workshop contributions and discussions:
1. Information spaces of refugees
- Navigating the information environments in new and/or transitional countries
- Operational knowledge about information practices in different contexts
- Making space for refugees
- Evolving services provided by (public) libraries and other information professionals in the context of forced migration
2. Digitally-mediated environments of refugees
- Information-related skills and strategies that facilitate access to (and uses of) information
- Role of social media and online spaces in creating/regaining a sense of place
- Access, accessibility, usability issues in forced migration research
- Credibility and assessment; multilingual interactions; user-generated content
Abstract Submission
The workshop welcomes submissions for presenting a lightning talk of 15 minutes in one of the main themes of the workshop: Information spaces of refugees and digitally-mediated environments for refugees. Each lightning talk session will be followed by an interactive engagement with the audience led by the speaker. When submitting an abstract for a talk, please state your plan for an interactive session that encourages audience commentary and engagement. Please plan for no more than 30 minutes. Your submission should include the following things:
● Abstract of your lightning talk with up to 300 words
● Short description of your audience engagement idea with no more than 200 words.
Please send your submission to iconf2019-forcedmigrationws@
Important Dates
● Abstract submission deadline: Jan 15th, 2019
● Notification of acceptance: Feb 15th, 2019
Knowledge Dissemination – Special Issue of IJIDI
In addition to the Workshop, we will also produce a Special Issue in The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI) on the theme of the future of forced migration in information science. We welcome full research papers that make a novel contribution to this area of research (e.g., empirical, theory-based, methodological, comparative), and we seek a broad spectrum of submissions from workshop attendees as well as those who are not able to attend the workshop. The Special Issue will also have a special section for student work, works in progress, opinion pieces, and professional reports.
Deadlines for the Special Issue of IJIDI: Extended abstracts of up to 1,000 words for full research papers and up to 500 words for contributions to the special section are due by April 30, 2019. Authors will be notified of acceptance by May 30, 2019. The final papers will be due by October 15, 2019. Publication scheduled for the April 2020 issue.
Organizers
Dr. Juliane Stiller, Berlin School of Library and Information Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany ([email protected]
Dr. Nadia Caidi, Faculty of Information, University Toronto, Canada ([email protected])
Dr. Violeta Trkulja, Berlin School of Library and Information Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany ([email protected]
Dr. Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Computer Science, University of Toronto, Canada ([email protected])