Sunday, June 7, 2009

CFP: 4th International Workshop on Self-Organizing Systems (IWSOS 2009)

CALL FOR PAPERS

IWSOS 2009 - 4th International Workshop on Self-Organizing Systems
December 9-11, 2009, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
http://iwsos2009.ethz.ch

Workshop Scope

IWSOS 2009 is the fourth workshop in a series of annual workshops dedicated to self-organization in networks and networked systems. The necessity for and expected benefit of self-organization is caused by the growing scale, complexity, and heterogeneity of future networked systems, like the future Internet. Future networks will form complex networks integrating wired and wireless infrastructures with mobile ad-hoc, and sensor networks that could be spontaneously deployed in hostile environments, have a dynamic population and a potentially short life time. In spite of this, there will be stringent user requirements, such as high availability and real-time guarantees. Although self-organization is desirable for these kinds of networks, it is not yet clear to what extent self-organization can be exploited.

Research into networked systems started a few years ago to systematically investigate self-organization and has lead to a multitude of open research issues. The applicability of well-known self-organizing techniques to specific networks and networked systems is being investigated, as well as adaptations and novel approaches inspired by cooperation in nature and evolutionary dynamics, sociology, and game theory. Additionally, models originating from areas like control theory and complex systems research, are being applied to networked systems to analyze their controllability and behavior. Aspects of engineering self-organizing networked systems are studied that draw on approaches like programmable networks, and tools and frameworks for deploying, testing, and monitoring self-organizing networks. The role of self-organization in the future Internet and the impact on its architecture is an important topic, as well as the application of self-organization in future intelligent tra
nsportation systems and vehicular ad-hoc networks.

Building on the success of its predecessors, this workshop aims at bringing together leading international researchers to create a visionary forum for discussing the future of self-organization in networked systems. Topics include, but are not limited to the following.

Key Topics

* Self-organization and self-management
* Self-configuration and self-optimization
* Self-protection, -diagnosis, and -healing
* Self-organizing Networks and networked systems
* Autonomic networking principles and practice
* Control theory based models and approaches to self-organization
* Group-forming networks and techniques
* Programmable and cognitive networks as a basis for self-organization
* Visualization of network state
* Inspiring models of self-organization in nature and society (e.g., bio-inspired or based on game theory)
* Self-organization for Quality of Service
* Resilience, robustness and fault tolerance for networked systems
* Security in self-organizing networked systems
* Self-organization in peer-to-peer, sensor and ad-hoc networks
* Self-organization for ubiquitous computing
* Self-organization in heterogeneous network convergence
* Evolutionary principles of the (future, emerging) Internet
* Self-configuring place-and-play mobile networks
* Self-organizing vehicular ad-hoc networks
* Methods for configuration and management of large, complex networks
* Applications, e.g. the self-organizing home network
* Risks of self-organization
* The human in the loop of self-organizing networks

Paper Submission

IWSOS invites submission of manuscripts as full or short papers that present original research results, and that have not been previously published or are currently under review by another conference or journal. Any previous or simultaneous publication of related material should be explicitly noted in the submission. All papers must be submitted in PDF format. Submissions will be peer reviewed by at least three members of the international TPC and judged on originality, significance, interest, clarity, relevance, and correctness.

Full Papers

Submissions should be full-length papers up to 12 pages using the LNCS style, including all figures and references, and must include an abstract of 100-150 words.

Short Papers

Submissions should be position papers, challenging papers, and papers presenting first or late results up to 6 pages length (LNCS style, including all figures and references), and must include an abstract of 100-150 words.

Accepted Papers

The proceedings will be published by Springer-Verlag in their Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. At least one of the authors of each accepted paper must attend IWSOS 2009 to present the paper.

Posters and Demonstrations

To complement the main technical programme of IWSOS 2009, we are soliciting extended abstracts (up to two pages, LNCS style) that describe posters and demonstrations that will be presented at an informal session during the workshop. This session should provide a platform to present and discuss work-in-progress and demonstrations. The abstracts will be collected and made available at the event.

Important Dates

Full Paper submission deadline: July 10, 2009
Notification of acceptance: September 12, 2009

Short Paper submission deadline: August 14, 2009
Notification of acceptance: September 12, 2009

Poster submission deadline: October 16, 2009
Notification of acceptance: October 30, 2009

Camera-ready papers due: September 30, 2009
Early registration ends: October 6, 2009 (except for poster authors)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

TEL-CoPs'09: 3rd International Workshop on Building Technology Enhanced Learning solutions for Communities of Practice

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CALL FOR PAPERS

TEL-CoPs'09: 3rd International Workshop on
Building Technology Enhanced Learning solutions for Communities of Practice

Theme: Linking individual with organizational learning in CoPs.
(Workshop URL: http://palette.cti.gr/workshops/telcops09.html)


held in conjunction with the 4th European Conference on
Technology Enhanced Learning Nice, France,
September 29, 2009 .
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INTRODUCTION

Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been widely recognized as effective environments to support learning among professionals, organisations and educational institutions. Collaborative learning is inherent in such communities, in that their members learn from each other by making their knowledge and practices explicit, sharing them with their peers, and reflecting on them. CoPs have several characteristics that distinguish them from formal organizations and learning situations. In fact, such communities are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, deepen their practical knowledge and expertise in the area under consideration, and interact on an ongoing basis. CoPs often emerge in the context of existing organisations or professional networks, in which people are already involved in common professional practices. Throughout their life, CoPs elaborate current (or develop new) practices, through debates and exploration of internal and external knowledge.

It has been recognized that web-based technologies could support the development of virtual CoPs. Consequently, more and more CoPs use virtual environments to support their activities. However, despite the rapidly increasing potential offered by technologies (including web-based platforms, wireless communications, mobile devices and extensive use of multimedia contents), recent research underline the lack of adequate scaffolding in the form of both technical supports and usage of the technology to express, represent and share practices, debate and reflect about the practices and about the life of the CoP, develop, reify and exploit knowledge inside and outside of the CoP, and facilitate engagement, participation and learning.


TOPICS OF INTEREST

The workshop focuses on current research trends in technology enhanced learning solutions that aim at addressing the multiplicity
and complexity of needs of Communities of Practice all along their lifecycle.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

* Software Engineering issues in tools supporting CoPs
* Multimedia authoring and reuse in CoPs
* Knowledge management services for CoPs
* Mediation services for CoPs
* Computer-supported collaborative argumentation
* Learning issues and CoPs
* User profiling and awareness issues in tools supporting CoPs
* Adaptability issues in tools supporting CoPs
* Visualization issues in tools supporting CoPs
* Web-based interactive applications
* Evaluation issues and case studies


SUBMISSIONS

Papers up to 10 and no less than 5 pages are solicited. All submissions should be original and not published elsewhere or
intended to be published during the review period. They must correspond to the EC-TEL conference format requirements, as they
are described at the conference's web site (http://www.ectel09.org/calls.papers.html) . All accepted papers must be presented
by one of the authors. Workshop attendees need to register for the main EC-TEL conference.

Submissions should be sent by e-mail to both Manolis Tzagarakis (tzagara@cti.gr) and Styliani Kleanthous
(stellak@comp.leeds.ac.uk).


IMPORTANT DATES

* June 25, 2009: workshop paper submission deadline
* July 5, 2009: notification of workshop paper acceptance
* July 15, 2009: workshop paper camera-ready submission


ORGANIZATION

Liliane Esnault, E.M. Lyon, France, esnault@em-lyon.com
Nikos Karacapilidis, University of Patras & RA Computer Technology Institute, Greece, karacap@cti.gr
Styliani Kleanthous, University of Leeds, UK, stellak@comp.leeds.ac.uk
Manolis Tzagarakis, RA Computer Technology Institute, Greece, tzagara@cti.gr


PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Marco Bettoni, Swiss Distance Learning University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
Bernadette Charlier, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Amaury Daele, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Vania Dimitrova, University of Leeds, UK
Sandy El Helou, EPFL, Switzerland
Christina Evangelou, Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece
Denis Gillet, EPFL, Switzerland
Dimitris Kalles, Hellenic Open University, Greece
Vassilis Komis, University of Patras, Greece
Thibaud Latour, CRP Henri Tudor, Luxembourg
Lydia Lau, University of Leeds, UK
Constantinos Mourlas, University of Athens, Greece
Vincent Quint, INRIA - Rhone Alpes, France
Cecile Roisin, University of Grenoble & INRIA - Rhone Alpes, France
Luc Vandenabeele, CRP Henri Tudor, Luxembourg
Christine Vanoirbeek, EPFL, Switzerland
Claus Atzenbeck, Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark

CFP: ACM DIS 2010 - Designing Interactive Systems Conference - Aarhus, Denmark, August 2010

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First Announcement and call for papers
DIS 2010
The ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference

Aarhus, Denmark, August 16-20, 2010

Full paper deadline: February 15, 2010
More info: http://www.dis2010.org

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DIS 2010 invites researchers and practitioners engaged in designing
interactive systems to join five days of conference in Aarhus, August
16-20, 2010.

The conference will be a forum for debating and shaping the future of
interactive systems design research and practice.

We solicit submissions in the categories of full paper, short paper,
workshop, doctoral consortium and demonstration with theoretical,
methodological and experimental perspectives on:

Approaches to interaction: Aesthetic interaction - Experience design -
Engaging interaction - Kinaesthetic interaction - Usability.

Interaction technology: Mobile devises - Sensors - Huge and tiny
displays - Actuators - Smart materials.

Interaction design for: The home - Urban life and rural areas - Schools
- Museums - Digital art - Games and Play - News - Community building -
The workplace.

The design process: Tools and techniques - Materials and representations
- Innovation - Reflection on design processes - Management and business
aspects.

The DIS conference addresses design as an integrated activity spanning
technical, social, cognitive, organizational, and cultural aspects. The
conference brings together professionals and researchers from industry
as well as academia involved in the design of interactive systems
addressing design from a multiplicity of areas including:

Arts - Aesthetics - Architecture - Business - Computer science -
Cultural studies - Design Thinking - Engineering - Ethnography -
Interaction design - Product design - Psychology - Sociology.


Key dates 2010
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Deadlines:
February 15: Full paper and Workshop
May 1: Short paper, Demonstration, Doctoral Consortium

August 16-17: Workshops
August 18-20: Conference

More info: http://www.dis2010.org

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

GRA: Recovery Act (ARRA) - Seismic Upgrades

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=47735

Funding Opportunity Number: 09HQPA0021
Opportunity Category: Other
Current Closing Date for Applications: Jul 01, 2009
Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement
Category of Funding Activity: Other (see text field entitled "Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity" for clarification)
Category Explanation: Recovery Act (ARRA) - Seismic Upgrades
Expected Number of Awards:
Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000
Award Ceiling: $0
Award Floor: $0
CFDA Number(s): 15.807 -- Earthquake Hazards Program External Research and Monitoring Support
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Eligible Applicants

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Additional Information on Eligibility:

Colleges, Universities, profit-making, and nonprofit organizations, and State and Local Governments - This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under the authority of the Earthquake Hazards Program and addresses equipment replacement and upgrades to earthquake monitoring systems under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Eligible recipients must contribute to the upgrades to existing seismic network operations as part of the development of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS)

Agency Name

U. S. Geological Survey

Description

USGS will support the replacement of outdated equipment used to monitor and report on earthquake activity in the U.S. and will improve the data centers and processing capabilities that generate earthquake information products and manage seismic data. These upgrades will further the development of the Advanced National Seismic System. Systems to be upgraded will include existing urban, regional and national seismic networks. Support for objectives to be completed by the resulting assistance awards will utilize funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The USGS will follow a two-track approach for submission of proposals for Program Announcement 09HQPA0021 under ARRA. Proposals shall be submitted electronically to a U.S. Geological Survey e-mail address and one hard copy of the entire proposal must be submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Grants; details for both required tracks for submittal will be provided in the Program (Full) Announcement. Both the electronic copy and the paper copy must be received by the date and time set forth for receipt of proposals in the program announcement. Failure to submit either part by the date and time specified will eliminate the application from consideration. (For example, if the electronic copy is received by the established date and time but the paper copy is not, the application will not be considered - vice versa.) In addition, the electronic copy must be submitted to the only e-mail address identified in the Program (Full) Announcement. Electronic submittal to or through any other location or means will not be acceptable. The closing date set forth in this synopsis is an estimated date. The actual closing date and time will be specified in the Program Announcement. ARRA-SE0005A

GRA: SBIR E-learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response (SBIR [R43/R44])

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=47723

Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-ES-09-006
Opportunity Category: Discretionary
Current Closing Date for Applications: Aug 03, 2009
Funding Instrument Type: Grant
Category of Funding Activity: Environment
Health
Expected Number of Awards:
Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000
Award Ceiling:
Award Floor:
CFDA Number(s): 93.142 -- NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Eligible Applicants

Small businesses

Additional Information on Eligibility:


Agency Name

National Institutes of Health

Description

Purpose. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) that propose to further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT) Products for the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers, emergency responders, and skilled support personnel. These products would complement the goals and objectives of the Worker Education and Training Program (WETP). The major objective of the NIEHS/WETP is to prevent work related harm by assisting in the training of workers in how best to protect themselves and their communities from exposure to hazardous materials. There is a need to ensure that learning and training technologies are further developed, field tested and applied to real world situations. It is the intent of this solicitation to support the development of products to support e-collaboration, e-teaching, e-certification, and e-learning in safety and health training for workers engaged in hazardous materials response. The financial support for this initiative comes directly from NIEHS Worker Education and Training Branch SBIR funds. This FOA is for SBIR applications only. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the SBIR (R43/R44) grant mechanisms for Phase I, Phase II, and Fast-Track applications.

Link to Full Announcement

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-09-006.html