Primary HICSS Program Components


HICSS-40
January 3-6, 2007
(Wednesday through Saturday)

Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort, Big Island

 


The HICSS series of conferences has become a unique and respected forum in computer and information systems and technology for the exchange of ideas among researchers and development communities around the world. This reputation derives from the high quality papers and active discussions and interaction which the conference carefully facilitates and promotes.   The three program components which specifically contribute to the quality and the interaction are Minitracks, Symposia, Workshops, and Tutorials.

Minitrack
The primary and most formal program component is the minitrack in the regular conference.  The papers are double blind reviewed by at least three reviewers and published in the Proceedings. The overall acceptance rate is about 50%. Minitracks for new emerging topics might be somewhat higher, and mature fields lower.   Papers are summarized by the author(s) and discussed in the session.  These discussions frequently result in modifications and improvements to the papers, so that revised versions of the papers are published in books or journals.  A minitrack may schedule an “open forum” discussion, but no panels are permitted in paper sessions.   

Symposium   A Symposium is a half-day or full-day meeting at which several specialists deliver short presentations on the title topic.  The session consists primarily of invited talks by persons distinguished in the area of research.  Also, there may be panel discussions with the intent to summarize or encourage a particular research area.  A symposium will have a well-defined agenda, specifically allowing for Q & A and discussion toward the end of the session. 

 

Workshop        A Workshop, as the name implies, involves "work" by those who attend as part of a half-day or a full-day session.  The structure may include a few paper presentations or talks or panels, but will primarily involve a collaborative activity that will advance thinking and discover new insights, often about a relatively immature area of research.  Workshop leaders may invite specific contributors, or they may use a more general call for contributions, or they may structure their session in some other way to achieve their desired goal, a goal that should be specifically defined in the publicity description of the workshop.  The output could be a state-of-the-art report, a taxonomy, a research framework, a survey, a research agenda, or some other study that in some way advances the field. 

 

Tutorial            A tutorial is a half-day or a full-day gathering that is cross-disciplinary in nature, and aims to give participants a brief overview of the subject matter.  Some tutorials are actually advanced seminars that are an in-depth survey of the topic for those who already have significant background in the area under discussion.