SIG SI & IEP 2022: The 18th Annual Social Informatics Research Symposium and the 4th Annual Information Ethics and Policy SymposiumResilient Sociotechnical Systems for Social Good
When: October 29, 2022 from 08:00 to 12:00 (ET)
Where: Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown
ASIS&T Special Interest Group (SIG) Social Informatics (SIG-SI) and SIG Information Ethics and Policy (SIG-IEP) will jointly hold a workshop addressing “Resilient Sociotechnical Systems for Social Good” as a preconference workshop at the joint 2022 ASIS&T and ALISE Annual Meetings. This will be SIG SI’s 18th Annual Social Informatics Research Symposium in conjunction with SIG IEPs 4th annual symposium and will be held as a half-day workshop. SIG-SI’s focus on the interaction of people, technology, and society, in conjunction with SIG-IEP’S focus on ethical, practical, and policy issues provide a robust lens through which to explore issues of resilience and social good.
THEMES AND TOPICS
This symposium’s theme, “Resilient Sociotechnical Systems for Social Good,” aligns well with the ASIS&T Annual Meeting’s theme, “Crisis, Transition, Resilience: Re-Imagining an Information-Resilient Society.” It offers opportunities to critically explore the conceptualization, development, implementation and adoption, use, and subsequent implications of ICTs for social good, drawing on the foundations of social informatics. Further, it emphasizes the importance of information ethics and policy research to analyze crises, relevant values and social norms, and social impact in order to revise, develop, and promote positive institutionalization processes aimed at information quality, resilience, and safety. As such, a range of inquiries are welcome in this workshop, such as analysis of digital activism in support of Ukraine, ethical frameworks to guide sustainable and robust public information systems, or policy analysis of organizational documents regarding privacy, technology, and work-from-home.
Such research topics benefit from sociotechnical approaches alongside ethical, practical, and policy perspectives, drawing on multiple disciplines and sectors. With a strong interest in understanding how information and technology professionals explore these issues in theory and practice, this workshop will provide a physical and virtual space to share and exchange experiences and ideas or suggest theories and directions for future work among international SI researchers and practitioners.
We are particularly interested in work that supports the symposium’s theme; however, we will also continue our tradition to broadly solicit research relevant to either SI or information ethics and policy outside of the theme. Submissions for the symposiums may include empirical, critical and theoretical work, as well as richly described practice cases and demonstrations. We encourage all scholars interested in social aspects of ICT to share their research and research in progress by submitting an extended abstract of their work or a poster and attending the symposium. The symposiums are also the venue for the presentation of the best social informatics paper awards for each year. The topics of interest this year include, but are not limited to:
- Critical theoretical approaches (e.g., critical race theory, queer theory, crip theory, feminist approaches)
- Digital equity and digital divide
- AI and facial recognition systems
- Data surveillance, privacy, and ethics
- Mis- and dis-information in sociotechnical systems
- Freedom of expression, hate speech, and the role of platforms
- Human rights, civil rights, and platform regulation
- Inclusive and identity-aware technology design, implementation, and use
- Information policy interventions to promote equity and justice
- Sustainability, environmental concerns, and information technology manufacturing
- Digital labor and labor organizing in the technology sector
- Commercial content moderation
- Cooperative, commons, and other alternative economic and governance models
- Implications and socio-political influence of ICTs
- Re-conceptualizing social informatics concepts, methods, frameworks, and theories through a critical lens
- Community informatics approaches to addressing local needs and concerns
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We encourage submissions in the form of extended abstracts (1,000–2,000 words, including references) that either proposes a panel discussion or present complete (or nearly complete) work in these topic areas. We additionally encourage the submission of poster proposals (500 words) for works in progress and early research ideas. We also invite nominations for best paper; self-nominations are welcome. Submissions must be submitted by July 8, 2022. Acceptance announcements will be made by August 5, 2022, in time for conference early registration (ends August 12, 2022).
The workshop will incorporate different types of contributions including papers and interactive sessions. We plan to organize submissions into themes to facilitate discussion and cross-collaboration among participants. Instead of a traditional paper presentation, participants will discuss their work in detail with small groups, allowing for meaningful synthesis of ideas and new collaborations.
Submissions can be sent to [email protected] and must include SIG SI & IEP 2022 in the subject line. Files should be labeled by paper title, not author names. Authors should indicate what submission type in their email: paper, panel, poster, or best paper nominee.
Program Committee
Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Adam Worrall (University of Alberta), Alicia Takaoka (University of Hawaii at Hilo; UC Berkeley), Cynthia Orozco (UCLA), Rae Simons (Old Dominion University), Beth J.H. Patin (Syracuse University)
Madelyn Rose SanfilippoAssistant ProfessorSchool of Information SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign