PRESENCE 2002: The 5th Annual International Workshop on Presence

PRESENCE 2002 is hosted by the Media Interface and Network Design Lab, University Fernando Pessoa, a member of the international network of M.I.N.D. Labs.

• Submission Deadline: June, 15 (extended deadline)
• Notification of acceptance: August, 1
• Registration start: September, 1
• Workshop: October, 9, 10, 11

Overview

Academics and practitioners with an interest in research, theory, and applications related to the concept of presence are invited to submit their work for presentation at PRESENCE 2002, at Fernando Pessoa University, October 9-10-11, 2002.

PRESENCE 2002 is the fifth in a series of highly successful International Workshops on Presence. PRESENCE 2002 will provide an open discussion forum to share ideas regarding concepts and theories, measurement techniques, and applications regarding presence, the psychological state or subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience, including the sense of 'being there' experienced by users of advanced media such as virtual reality.

Full details regarding PRESENCE 2002 are available on the web at http://www.ufp.pt/presence2002.

Submissions of papers, videos, and demonstrations regarding completed or ongoing work are encouraged in areas including (but not limited to):

• Explications of the presence concept
• Presence evaluation/measurement methodologies
• Causes and consequences (effects) of presence
• Presence in shared virtual environments and online communities
• Social/affective interfaces, virtual agents, parasocial interactions
• Presence-associated technologies:
• Immersive, interactive, multimodal displays
• Advanced broadcast/cinematic displays (stereoscopic TV, HDTV, IMAX, OMNIMAX)
• Virtual environments/simulators
• Presence applications :
• Education and training
• Medicine and therapy
• Entertainment
• Communication
• Teleoperation
• Presence and design
• Presence in art
• Presence and philosophical issues (e.g., the nature of 'reality')
• The ethics of presence Presence in the future: Media experiences in the 21st century and beyond

The goal of the PRESENCE 2002 Workshop is to bring together academic researchers in the area of media and presence, content and technology developers, and interested commercial parties so they can meet, share experiences, present research, and exchange ideas.

The Workshop will have an interactive format in which all participants (attendees, presenters, invited speakers) attend each of the sessions. This unique format allows all participants to exchange ideas and build knowledge together as the conference progresses. For this reason the number of attendees will be limited to 100.

In addition to presentations and discussion, the Workshop will feature an evening dinner event on October 9, the opening day.

Potential contributors are invited to submit an extended abstract (no more than 4 pages when printed) until June 1. The abstracts should be in HTML format and submitted online at the PRESENCE 2002 web site.

The abstracts will be blind-reviewed. At least two selected reviewers will read each submission and contributors will be notified regarding acceptance on or before August, 1.

Publication

A collection of documents based on the workshop presentations and discussion will appear as an electronic publication. Authors of presentations may also be invited to write up full papers for submission to a special issue of the journal Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments or the journal Displays.

The Workshop will be hosted by University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), a private university located in Porto. UFP is a new (1996), medium size (4000 students) university, with three faculties: Engineering, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences.

Porto is Portugal's second largest city, with approximatelly 400.000 inhabitants. It is the heart of many industrial activities, and it is known by its world famous Port Wine. Porto is located on the right bank of the Douro river, front to the Atlantic Ocean. The town is named after Portus Cale and later Portucale, which is the origin of the country's name: Portugal. The roots of Porto date from the V Century.

Local currency is the Euro. Local time is GMT.

Registration costs are 180 EUR for individuals with an academic, governmental, or non-profit affiliation; 270 EUR for individuals with a corporate affiliation; and 110 EUR for graduate students presenting a paper at the workshop. This fee includes admission to all Workshop sessions, dinner on the first evening, the closing luncheon, and two buffet lunches.

Registration begins September 1, 2002. Please visit the PRESENCE 2002 web site for the registration and payment forms and procedures. For further information, please contact the Organizing Committee chair, Feliz Ribeiro Gouveia, fribeiro@ufp.pt .

Please email any further queries about the Workshop to the Conference Chair, Feliz Ribeiro Gouveia, fribeiro@ufp.pt.