SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS - PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

[Those who have attended previous PRESENCE conferences can 
attest that they are extremely interesting and enjoyable, with a 
single-track format and joint social activities and meals that 
provide an ideal atmosphere for learning and networking; this 
year's conference, which will include additional discussion and 
knowledge-building panels, will be held in beautiful, peaceful 
Marina Del Rey in the dynamic (and warm in November!) city of 
Los Angeles. Please join us... 

--Matthew Lombard]


Call for Papers

PRESENCE 2009
12th Annual International Workshop on Presence

Los Angeles, California, USA
November 11-13, 2009

***Submission deadline: JULY 1, 2009***

Conference web site (new information has been added): 
http://ispr.info/conference


OVERVIEW

Academics and practitioners with an interest in the concept of 
(tele)presence are invited to submit their work for presentation at 
the 12th Annual International Workshop on Presence, to be held 
in Los Angeles, California on November 11-13, 2009. Often 
described as a sense of "being there" in a mediated environment, 
telepresence is broadly defined as a psychological state or 
subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and 
completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience. 
It is a rich, fascinating subject of scientific investigation, artistic 
exploration and diverse application, with increasingly important 
implications for the ways in which people work, play and live, and 
technologies are developed.  

Designing technologies and imagining practices to modify, 
prolong and reconfigure the possibilities of being present and co-
present has been a continuous endeavor of the human species, 
from early attempts at constructing communication and 
transportation devices, to the many current technologies we 
continue to develop to reach other places and people. Today 
presence phenomena are the subject of research and theory in 
communication, computer science, psychology, business, 
philosophy and many other fields. Technology designers are 
working to create and refine presence experiences for 
entertainment, business, medicine and health, teaching and 
learning, exploration, art and performance, and a great many 
other commercial and noncommercial arenas. The PRESENCE 
conferences provide a relaxed and enjoyable forum for 
presentation of presence scholarship and applications and 
(especially in the planned format this year), discussion sessions 
that allow attendees to join together in synthesizing and 
expanding our collective knowledge and visions for the future 
regarding this compelling topic.  

PRESENCE 2009 is co-organized by the International Society for 
Presence Research (ISPR; http://ispr.info) and The University of 
Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT; 
http://ict.usc.edu).  


TOPICS  

Issues of prominent interest include (but are not limited to):  

* Presence in shared virtual environments and online 
communities  

* Presence in social interactions with virtual agents and digital 
counterparts  

* Real bodies, avatars and cyborgs  

* Presence and ubiquity with mobile and geo-location 
technologies  

* Realistic action in virtual environments  

* Parasocial interaction and relationships  

* Presence as a socio-cultural achievement; practices, 
preferences and material resources to manifest presence  

* Linguistic and non-verbal strategies to create, negotiate and 
challenge presence in mediated environments  

* Cognitive processes and the sense of presence  

* Neuropsychology of presence  

* Presence affordances in digital technologies  

* 3D sound, acoustic environments and presence  

* Advanced broadcast and cinematic displays (stereoscopic TV, 
HDTV, IMAX)  

* Haptic and tactile displays  

* Holography  

* Affective and socio-affective interfaces  

* Presence augmentation through social, physical, and contextual 
cues  

* Presence, involvement and digital addiction  

* Presence theory; historical investigation of presence concepts; 
fictions, constructions and realism; transportation, flow, 
absorption, awareness; philosophical perspectives on presence  

* Causes and consequences (effects) of presence  

* Presence analysis, evaluation, and measurement techniques  

* Presence applications (communication and collaboration; 
education and training; medicine, health and cybertherapy; 
entertainment and gaming; art and performance; exploration; 
teleoperation; technology usability and design; etc.)  

* Ethical and societal implications of presence technologies  

* The future of presence experiences  

We seek original, high quality papers that make substantial 
contributions to the field. All accepted papers will be collected in 
the official conference Proceedings (with ISBN) and will also be 
permanently available for download on the ISPR conference 
archive (http://ispr.info).  

Authors may also be invited to revise their paper for publication in 
a special issue of PsychNology (http://www.psychnology.org) or 
another journal.  


CONFERENCE FORMAT  

PRESENCE 2009 will have an interactive format in which all 
participants (attendees, presenters, invited speakers) attend each 
of the sessions as well as several social events, allowing 
participants to exchange ideas and build knowledge together as 
the conference progresses. Discussion sessions will be built into 
the schedule to enhance collective knowledge-building. The 
language of the conference is English. Please visit the conference 
web site (http://ispr.info/conference) for more information on the 
conference program, local accommodations, registration, etc.  


VENUE  

The conference will be hosted by The The University of Southern 
California Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) in Los 
Angeles, California. The conference events will take place at The 
Marina del Rey Hotel (http://www.marinadelreyhotel.com) in the 
beautiful Marina del Rey area. Only 4 miles from Los Angeles 
International Airport (LAX), and easily accessible from all major 
Southern California freeways, the Marina del Rey/Venice Beach 
area offers waterfront beauty with shopping, dining, great 
recreation and miles of beautiful beaches.  


SUBMISSIONS  

We invite researchers and practitioners to submit work in the 
following categories:  

PAPERS: Comprehensive descriptions of research or design 
work and/or theoretical investigation within the scope of the 
workshop. Papers must relate to existing literature on presence 
and make an original contribution to it. Papers are 4 to 10 pages 
including references in the PRESENCE 2009 template format 
(see the submission page at http://ispr.info/conference). 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 workshop. 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 and be 4 to 10 
pages long including references in the PRESENCE 2009 
template format). Accepted panels will be included in the 
proceedings.  

POSTERS: Visual display presentations. Poster proposals are 
limited to 4 pages including references in the PRESENCE 2009 
template format. Accepted poster proposals will be published in 
the conference proceedings. Posters will be displayed on an 
approximately 28 in (70 cm) by 40 in (100 cm) board during a 
dedicated session of the conference and will be allocated a 30 
second oral preview.  

DEMONSTRATIONS/EXHIBITIONS: Step-by-step audiovisual 
demonstrations and/or hands-on experiences of non-commercial 
work within the scope of the workshop. Proposals for 
demonstrations/exhibitions are limited to 4 pages in the 
PRESENCE 2009 template format. Accepted 
demonstration/exhibition proposals will be included in the 
conference proceedings and will be presented during a dedicated 
session of the conference. For the exhibitions of commercial 
products, please contact ISPR (ispr@ispr.info) for sponsorship 
terms and opportunities.  

All submissions will be made through the conference online 
submission system at http://ispr.info and will undergo a double-
blind peer-review process by at least two selected reviewers. The 
submission deadline is July 1, 2009.  


IMPORTANT DATES  

July 1, 2009 - Submissions due; early registration opens  

August 15, 2009 - Acceptance/Rejection notifications  

September 15, 2009 - Finished, camera-ready papers due 
(electronic submission)  

October 1, 2009 - Early registration closes  

November 11-13, 2009 - Conference (onsite registration)  


CONFERENCE COMMITTEE  

Conference Co-Chairs  

Jacki Morie and Belinda Lange (Institute for Creative 
Technologies)  

Program Co-Chairs  

Kwan Min Lee (USC) and Matthew Lombard (Temple University)  


CONTACT  

For more information or assistance, please send e-mail to 
ispr@ispr.info or Matthew Lombard (lombard@temple.edu).