Symposium on infrastructuring for the common good - Alpine Ski Seminar on Information Systems 11t edition
The Alpine ski seminar on Information Systems - ALPIS - will achieve in 2015 its eleventh edition. Its main goal will be to open up fruitful conversations between young researchers (in their PhD or at the beginning of a post-doc experience) and senior scholars about infrastructures/ing for the strengthening of the common good. Some significant innovations will be introduced in the format of the seminar, while still keeping the usual and successful informal, highly social atmosphere. In fact, this edition wants to be an ideal continuation of the reflections started during the Participatory Design Conference (PDC) held in Namibia in October 2014 in a dialogue with the Collective Intelligence for the Common Good (Ci4cg) workshop held in London in September 2014 and it is inline with upcoming events such as the 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (Limerick, 27-30th June 2015). In light of this, we seek to enlarge the group of participants in order to achieve an even greater interdisciplinarity, welcoming attendance also from members of the Participatory Design, Human Computer Interaction, and Collective Intelligence communities.
Theme
For decades, fields such as Science and Technology Studies (STS) have focused on the study of infrastructures framed in relational terms, i.e. no longer as a substrate intended to disappear once built, but rather
as something that makes sense for a particular person at a particular moment during a particular practice. Such focus played an important role in the study of large technological systems, mostly in terms
of the political and invisible implications of infrastructures’ design and affordances towards matters such as access, availability, standardization, familiarization and appropriation.
In more
recent years, the attention to infrastructures and infrastructuring gained a new momentum as Information Technology became an increasingly common integral component of contemporary companies, homes, communities
and cities; furthermore, researchers in Participatory Design, Human Computer Interaction, and Collective Intelligence have more and more often stressed the need for projects to actively contribute to the
future of our world.
Because of this, ALPIS 2015 will focus on infrastructures/ing and on their relation with the changes taking place in the common world, with a special attention to the intersection of Information Systems, Participatory Design, Human Computer Interaction, and Collective Intelligence. These reflections will build upon the recent initiatives held at PDC 2014, such as the debates on the commons and the discussions on collective intelligence for the common good.
Senior lecturers
- Andrew Clement, University of Toronto
- Fiorella De Cindio, University of Milan
- Volkmar Pipek, University of Siegen
- Alessandro Mongili, University of Padua
- Judith Gregory, University of California-Irvine
- Michela Cozza, University of Trento
- Judith Gregory, University of California-Irvine
Agenda
We foresee that during the Alpis seminar the mornings will be free for participants to enjoy the nature, the surroundings or the ski resorts, whereas the afternoons (15:00-19:00) will be dedicated to the following academic activities:
- Session for senior lectures ( with a discussant and Q&A)
- Session for PhD students and candidates, and early stage researchers (projects presentations + Q&A)
- Session for open discussion
A preliminary agenda of the Symposium will be made available by the end of January 2015.
Registration
We welcome contributions from PhD students and candidates, early stage researchers and senior scholars. We invite those wishing to apply to send an email to alpis2015@list.disi.unitn.it attaching the following documents before Sunday 18th January 2015, 12:00 (CET):
- An expression of interest of approximately 500 words, describing your research and why you would be interested in participating to ALPIS;
- A short bio describing your background, the community you belong to and your relevant previous work.
We aim at accepting a maximum of 25 applications, provided they meet basic requirements of quality and adherence to the seminar themes.
Applications will be evaluated upon submission and participants will
receive a reply within a few days. This is done in order to make it easier for participants to plan their trip.
Applicants willing to apply for a scholarship covering registration fees should include further 300 words in their expression of interest, explicitly requesting the scholarship and motivating this need. Since we will only be able to cover a limited number of scholarships, priority in this case will be given to PhD students and candidates.
Venue
Alpis 2015 will take place in the Antica Vetreria, in Carisolo, Rendena Valley, in the province of Trento (Italy). The Antica Vetreria is a refurbished glass factory near the Sarca River, at the entrance
of Genova Valley and near the beautiful Adamello Brenta Park, see the map
Carisolo is at the centre of a ski area with multiple winter sport centers
Have a look at the surrounding landscape by checking the
following photos
Accomodation
- shared bedrooms: 2 rooms x 4 beds, 2 x 6 beds, 2 x 8 beds,1 x 10 beds
- 4 shared bathrooms with 9 showers
- furnished shared kitchen with dishwasher
- heating system
- yard and park on the Sarca river
You can find more images about the Antica Vetreria and its surroundings here:
Alternative lodging
Albergo Cavento di Silvana Ciurletti & C. sas
Piazza 2 Maggio, 40 - 38080 Carisolo (TN)
tel. +39 0465 501178
info@albergocavento.it
In case you wish to book your stay at Albergo Cavento, please contact the hotel directly.
Fees
- 200,00 EUR: ALPIS registration plus accommodation in the Antica Vetreria
- 80,00 EUR: ALPIS registration only
The payment system will be open since January 7th, 2015. Upon notification of acceptance, participants will receive further instructions regarding the payment.
We kindly request participants
to confirm their attendance via email before that date, in order for us to have an early assessment of the number of participants and tune the number of scholarships we can offer.
Logistics and Practical Information
Carisolo can be reached in less than two hours by buses leaving from Trento bus station, close to the train station.
Bus n. 201 towards Campo Carlomagno:
Trento-Carisolo (11st February 2015):
8.02-10.06
10.15-12.20
11.20-13.28
Bus n. 201 towards Trento
Carisolo-Trento (14th February 2015)
16.04-18.10
17.16-19.10
Carisolo-Trento (15th February 2015)
11.36-13.45
13.56-16.04
Transfer via Taxi is very expensive, unless it is shared by many (fare approximately around 90 Euro).
We recommend to arrive in Trento the day before starting the seminar and reach Carisolo in the morning
of February 11th. Based on the final number of participants and on organizational opportunities, we may consider to organize collective transportation from Trento to Carisolo and back.
How to reach Trento
By plane: The closest airports to Trento are the following:
Verona Catullo Airport - 90 km
Innsbruck Airport - 180 km
Milano Malpensa - 300 km
Bologna - 230 km
By train: Two main lines reach Trento: the Brennero line (from Rome to Innsbruck) and the Valsugana line (from Venice to Trento).
For additional details:
Trenitalia
Deutsche Bahn
ÖBB
Committee & Organizers
The 11th edition of ALPIS is organized and chaired by the following scholars, who have, in different ways, tight connections with Participatory Design Conferences. Moreover, some of them have been part of the Collective Intelligence for the Common Good workshop held in London in 2014.
Chairs: Poderi Giacomo, Teli Maurizio (University of Trento); Pipek Volkmar (University of Siegen)
Local organizing committee: Bordin Silvia, Macchia Teresa, Menéndez Blanco Maria (University of Trento)