CHI 98 Basic Research
Symposum
Note: Submissions Still Being Accepted -- Contact Program Chairs
Organizers:
Welcome to the CHI 98 Basic Research Symposium home page. In this
page you will find:
BRS Overview
The CHI Basic Research Symposium (BRS) is a long-running special event
that presents an opportunity for researchers from different disciplines
to exchange new developments and insights from their own fields and thereby
expand their vision of human-computer interaction. This two-day event
is a cross between a mini-conference and a workshop. Participants
are selected by a program committee that reviews submitted position papers
to bring together a diverse group of researchers with innovative research
underway. The symposium itself includes interactive research presentations,
group discussions around common themes, and small-group break-out activities.
The goal of the BRS is not to become a "mini-CHI." Both the format
and content are selected to emphasize thoughtful discussion of research
while that research is still malleable enough to evolve from the discussion.
The BRS has always been limited in size, specifically to prevent it from
becoming a place to present papers. The spirit of the BRS is best
captured by some of the quotes from last year's participants.
If I could keep anything the same about the symposium, it would be
...
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informal, intimate, detailed discussions
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the interaction of the participants
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number of participants (small enough for interaction)
The BRS will be held on Sunday April 19 and Monday April 20.
The BRS is a two day event with group lunches and optional group dinners
(accompanying persons welcome). The CHI conference charges $100 for
participation in the BRS, to cover facilities, coffee breaks, etc.
Lunches and dinners are at your own expense.
The BRS and CHI Conference
Starting in 1997, the CHI conference decided that it was too administratively
challenging to provide special administrative support to the BRS.
At the same time, BRS participants and organizers insisted that the independence
of the BRS, particularly of its program selection and format, was critical
to the success of the event. A compromise was reached in which the
BRS is treated by the conference as a workshop, for administrative purposes.
The symposium chairs and committee, however, retain control over the content
and format of the BRS.
BRS Topics and Themes
Like the CHI conference itself, the Basic Research Symposium’s content
is based on the research topics addressed in submissions. Past symposia
have spanned all subfields of human-computer interaction ranging from human
notions of time to interface construction tools to research methods to
education and beyond. The program committee selects submissions based
on quality alone, and only afterwards attempts to organize a thematic program.
This year, the symposium embraces the CHI 98 application domain focus
areas by making a special effort to reach out to researchers with a background
in the areas of education, entertainment, and health care. Researchers
from these fields who are working on basic human-computer interaction research
are especially invited to share their research ideas, learn what others
are doing, and further broaden the diversity of the symposium.
Misson and Vision
The mission of the CHI Basic Research Symposium is to provide a venue where
researchers conducting ground-breaking, controversial, and emerging research
can discuss that research with a diverse group of peers.
This mission has three important components:
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ground-breaking, controversial, and emerging research. The
symposium does not seek “archival” research that has been well-established
and completed. Much of the research at the symposium will eventually
mature into work suitable for the CHI conference and journals, but it is
equally important to include research that may fail. This is not
a venue for safe results.
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discuss. Participants in the research symposium do not simply
present research with nominal time for questions; discussion and feedback
are integral to the symposium, as are the group and small-group discussions.
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diverse group of peers. Each year the symposium attracts a
group of people from all over the world and from all disciplines related
to HCI. Senior researchers, emerging researchers, and graduate
students participate side-by-side in a non-threatening and lively atmosphere.
Our vision for this year’s Basic Research Symposium is for each participant
to leave with a better understanding of the research methods, goals, and
frontiers of a wide range of HCI disciplines. Each participant should
contribute to the collective understanding and leave with new ideas for
conducting, integrating, and applying research.
The BRS Format
The specific format of the BRS changes based on the submissions.
At the minimum, we expect the CHI 98 BRS to include:
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Extensive introductions, to ensure that people meet each other and learn
about each other's work, rather than simply forget each other's names.
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Presentations of emerging research, with extensive discussion and interaction.
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Small-group activities designed to bring together smaller diverse groups
to explore themes relating to the research submissions and topics of interest.
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Group discussions (and perhaps debates) that grow out of themes touched
on by various researchers; these unplanned discussions are often a highlight
of the BRS.
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Lunches and dinners. Participants are strongly encouraged to fill
two days with stimulating discussions. Lunch and dinner are arranged
at local restaurants (at your own expense) with attention paid to dietary
restrictions. Accompanying persons are welcome to join you.
To help capture the results of the BRS, we will be creating a web page
for the CHI community that summarizes the happenings.
Submission Guidelines and Timetables
The BRS welcomes two types of participation:
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Position papers of up to ten pages, introducting your field and
your work. Authors of accepted position papers will be given time
to present their work in an interactive discussion format.
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Position statements of up to two pages, introducing you and your
interests. Authors of accepted position statements will be invited
to participate in the symposium and may be asked to sit on discussion panels.
All submissions should be in HTML format, and sent (either as a file or
a URL) to chi98-brs@cs.umn.edu.
If you have questions about your submission, or have difficulty generating
HTML, please send e-mail to chi98-brs@cs.umn.edu.
Submitters of papers by the original February 15 deadline will receive
decisions by March 1. Submissions will continue to be accepted until the
symposium is full, but earlier submissions have a greater opportunity for
acceptance for presentation. Contact the program chairs
(chi98-brs@cs.umn.edu) to discuss potential submissions if they would not be
submitted before March 15. Revised position papers will be accepted through
April 1, after which papers will appear on a private web page for
participants.
On April 1, a private web page for participants will be established
so all participants can read the position papers and statements before
the symposium. To encourage cutting-edge thoughts that may not be
ready for wide distribution, position papers and statements will not be
published for a general audience (though you are certainly welcome to do
so yourself).
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I find out about the results of the BRS?
This year, the BRS will create a web page summarizing the highlights
of the discussion. To preserve the feeling of safety and openness
in the symposium, however, we will continue to distribute copies of position
papers only to participants. (http://www.cs.umn.edu/~konstan/BRS98).
Written reports on the BRS have appeared in SIGCHI Bulletin in recent years.
Must one submit a position paper and present research to participate
in the symposium?
While preference is given to authors of accepted position papers, others
with an interest in participating are invited as space allows. Each
year the symposium includes a few graduate students and other researchers
who are interested in hearing about and discussing others’ research without
presenting their own. These participants submit a one- or two-page
position statement that outlines their background and interests for the
other participants.
What are the demographics of BRS attendees?
The BRS draws attendees from all demographic groups. We have had
a mix of students, faculty, and industry researchers from around the world.
Overall, the BRS is more reflective of the research community than the
CHI conference, with more academic researchers and a broader representation
of non-North American researchers.
Must one register for the conference to attend the BRS?
We expect that all BRS attendees will want to take advantage of the
whole conference. It is CHI conference policy to require conference
attendance of participants in pre-conference activities. If, however,
this policy causes a hardship, please let us know as soon as possible so
we can attempt to arrange some accommodation.
How can I combine the BRS and tutorials or workshops?
You've hit on a wonderful challenge of the whole CHI conference--there
is simply too much going on to take advantage of it all. Indeed,
you do have to choose between these valuable alternatives. Remember
that good tutorials are often offered more than one year (and often at
other conferences). Also, this year some very interesting tutorials
are offered on Saturday and Monday evenings.
What if I have other questions?
Send them to us at chi98-brs@cs.umn.edu.
If they are of general interest, we'll post the answers here after sending
them to you by e-mail.