Newsgroups: bit.listserv.commed
Date:         Thu, 3 Sep 1992 23:07:38 EDT
From:         Comserve Support Staff <SUPPORT@RPIECS.BITNET>
Subject:      Announcements of General Interest to Comserve's community ...

This issue distributed jointly over Intercom and Newsline.

Three items in this issue:

  1.  CIOS/Comserve Departmental/Institutional Affiliates program:
      Comserve needs your organization's support.

  2.  Call for projects, papers: Computing in Social Sciences
      conference, May 1993.

  3.  Fall issue of Newsline to be delayed.

NOTE:  Please do not use a "reply" function to respond to an item in
this file.  To respond, leave your mail reading software and address
your message explicitly.  For example, if you wish to send a command to
Comserve, address your message by hand to Comserve@Rpiecs (Bitnet) or
Comserve@Vm.Ecs.Rpi.Edu (Internet).
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

                            CIOS / Comserve
                      Affiliates Program for 92-93

    Comserve's parent organization, the Communication Institute for
Online Scholarship, invites academic departments, commercial companies,
and other organizations represented by Comserve's users to help to
sustain Comserve by making a modest donation in order to become a
CIOS/Comserve Departmental, Institutional, or Organizational Affiliate.
Comserve's principal mode of support is through this program of
donations.  The program is vital to our ability to keep Comserve in
operation.  Please encourage your department or organization to
contribute.

    Your department or organization can help to sustain and improve the
services offered by Comserve while at the same time conferring
substantial benefits on yourself and other individuals who use Comserve
from your institution.  For information about benefits for members of
departments or academic institutions, send this message to
Comserve@Vm.Ecs.Rpi.Edu (Internet) or Comserve@Rpiecs (Bitnet):

                         Help Topics Affiliates

Print the file and pass it to your academic chair or department
head.  For information about benefits for other organizations, write to
Comserve's staff at Support@Rpiecs (Bitnet) or Support@Vm.Ecs.Rpi.Edu
(Internet).  Commercial organizations can deduct donations of money or
material, since the CIOS is a non-profit (U.  S. Federal Tax Code
501(c)(3)) organization. Please write for details.

    Comserve has provided services to 28,500 individuals from 53
countries.  It manages over 35 public and private electronic conferences
that connect over 6,500 scholars, students, and professionals.
Comserve's online journals index is the most comprehensive print or
electronic index to the literature of the discipline in existence.  Its
database contains more than 2,500 academic resources and has delivered
more than 120,000 files to individuals at their request, including free
copies of the Electronic Journal of Communication -- one of the world's
first peer reviewed online scholarly journals.

    Please help to support this innovative service!  Your help is very
important.  An investment in Comserve is an investment in international
cooperation in scholarship and education.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

              Preliminary Announcement and Call for Papers

          Computing in Social Sciences 1993 (CSS93) Conference
                            May 19-21, 1993
         at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
               University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

            by Alaina Michaelson <alainam@ncsa.uiuc.edu>

    CSS93 will be the fourth annual conference of the Social Science
Computing Association (SSCA).  The purpose of SSCA, which is an
interdisciplinary organization, is to promote the development of
computing within the social sciences through organized activities and
the interchange of ideas, data, teaching materials, experiences,
research results, and other resources.  The term "computing" is
interpreted in a broad sense encompassing information technology and
electronic networks using computers.  SSCA encourages those interested
in social science computing to attend CSS93.

The theme of CSS93 is, "GRAND CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES ".

    To take advantage of the hospitality of the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and its director, Dr. Larry Smarr,
CSS93 will have as its theme grand challenges for the social sciences.
Grand challenges are problems of national importance which often require
high performance computing for their solution.  Numerous grand computing
challenges have already been designated in the physical sciences and are
receiving federal research support.  CSS93 will help introduce social
scientists to the world of high performance computing and possibly lead
to SSCA proposals for funding for social science grand computing
challenges (e.g., in global climate change policy analysis; pollution
prevention and waste management; health care; education; family
research; international competitiveness; urban development; disease
control,; etc.).

CALL FOR PAPERS

    CSS93 solicits original papers which report new research, survey or
review emerging trends, research in progress, proposed research
projects, or innovative applications.  All papers relating to Social
Sciences and Computing are welcome.  Past topics have included high
performance computing, artificial intelligence, database management,
networks, GIS, visualization, socioeconomic modeling, analytic methods,
hypermedia, and policy impacts of computing.  If you wish to submit a
paper, please send an abstract limited to 200 words to Program Committee
Chairperson, Bruce Tonn, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
37831-6207 (615-574-4041; fax 615-574-3895) by October 31, 1992.
Abstracts could also be submitted electronically by e-mail to Bruce Tonn
at BET@edbet.ed.ornl.gov or BET@ornlstc.bitnet.  All submitted papers
must include a cover sheet containing name, address, telephone number,
FAX and email address of the person to whom correspondence regarding the
paper should be addressed.  Authors will be notified concerning
acceptance of the paper for presentation by December 31, 1992.  Authors
will be required to have their papers available for distribution at the
conference.  The Program Chairperson will arrange for pre-presentation
peer review of papers if so requested by the author(s).  Post-conference
opportunities for publication include the Association's journal, Social
Science Computer Review, and a book to be published by the University of
Illinois Press.


CALL FOR "PROBE" PROJECTS

    One goal for CSS93 is to showcase several social science
applications of high performance computing.  NCSA will assist selected
social science researchers in establishing projects that 'probe' the
benefits for social science of NCSA HPC resources.  Assistance will be
provided in three levels:  high, medium, and low.  At the minimal level,
NCSA will provide accounts on appropriate computers (e.g., Cray,
Connection Machine, etc.).  At the next level, NCSA will also provide
some instruction about appropriate software, such as post-processing
data analysis and/or graphics or scientific visualization software that
is available to the user.  At the highest level, NCSA staff will work
closely with the principal investigator to implement the application.
In all cases, participating researchers will have the goal of presenting
the results of their efforts at the conference.  If you are interested
in working with NCSA on a probe project, please send a one page
description of the project, indicating what level of support is
requested, by September 31, 1992 to Prof.  Vernon Burton, 4143 Beckman
Institute-NCSA, 405 N. Mathews, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
61801, e-mail:  hpcsocsc@ncsa.uiuc.edu.  Please copy e-mail applications
to amichael@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu.  At this point in time, the plans are for
3-4 highest level projects, 6-7 mid-level projects, and approximately 12
minimum support projects.  Notification of selected projects will be
made by October 30, 1992, at the latest, and work will begin immediately
upon notification.


CALL FOR PARTICIPATION, SYSTEM DEMONSTRATIONS, ETC.

    CSS93 also solicits proposals for paper sessions, panel discussions,
poster sessions, and tutorials.  These suggestions should be sent to
Bruce Tonn.  Anyone wishing to demonstrate software systems at the
conference are encouraged to contact the Organizing Committee
Chairperson, Vernon Burton.  You are encouraged to submit any other
ideas for the conference and to become involved!

    More information will soon follow in succeeding announcements.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

                         Newsline Issue Delayed

    Release of the regular September issue of Newsline will be delayed
until later in September or October.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU