Consequences, Schmonsequences! Considering the Future as Part of Publication and Peer Review in Computing Research
A CHI 2021 Workshop
Call for Participation
When John Connor said “The Future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves” in The Terminator, was he referring to the wonderful power of peer review culture? Perhaps not, but he could have been.
As technologists we have a profound responsibility for what our research and innovation achieves. In this workshop we will explore how to refine the peer review process in order to help promote innovative research, whilst also tempering and mitigating the potential negative consequences.
The workshop will centre on the proposition that authors and reviewers should consider the negative potential
arising from research at the point of submission/review (see this blog post). In order to participate in the workshop we invite you to cite an existing publication and to submit a Consequence Statement which explains what you consider the potential
negative implications of the research to be. During the morning of the workshop we will present and discuss each others’ submitted Consequence Statements. Based on the morning’s discussion, in the afternoon we will use creative methods to explore what core principles and practical concerns a revised approach to peer review will need to take
account of.
Please ensure you submit your application by the 8th March 2021.
How do I take part?
Basically, you need to fill in this form. It requires a Google Account, if you’d rather not use one then please contact us to apply via email.
Sometimes workshops ask attendees to write short papers in order to attend. On this occasion you don’t have to write a paper (however if you want to write a paper, then let us know) instead we ask that you:
- Please read the full proposal abstract, that will explain what to do and why best!
- Choose a reference paper, your favourite/chosen paper which really should have the possible negative implications which could have arisen from its publication.
- Imagine you were the authors of your chosen paper (maybe you are the author, that’s fine), if you had a maximum of 200 words to sum up the possible negative implications of your paper… what would you say?
Costs
There is a fee for the workshop which is set by the conference organisers. Full information on CHI workshop fees is available here including various discount options. The bottom line is the workshop fee of $30 (US) in addition to registering for at least one day of the conference. For those who need support in attending the conference please see the Gary Marsden Travel Awards.
Dates
Please ensure you submit your application by the 8th March 2021.
We will notify you whether your application has been successful by the 12th March and before the CHI Early Bird registration deadline which is on 16 March 2021.
The workshop will take place on 8th May at 1500-1900 CEST, 8th May 2200JST-9th May 0200JST, 8th May 0900-1300 EDT. It’s a real shame that we cannot participate in a physical version of the conference and run the workshop in person. It’s also hard to select the ‘best’ approach for timing with a remote/online workshop and a global community. We have currently proposed a time that would be most comfortable for participants from Europe and North America because that is where the organisers are (mostly) located. However, once our participants are confirmed, we will check to see how our workshop can be most accommodating to all.
When is it happening? What is CHI? Why am I here?
The workshop will be happening at the 2021 edition of the CHI conference (between 8 May and 13 May). “CHI” is a leading conference for professionals and researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Although this workshop is being held under the auspices of the CHI conference, we welcome a wider audience.