Accessible Design in the Digital World

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Doctoral Consortium

The Doctoral consortium will provide the opportunity for PhD students in fields related to accessible design in the digital world to share their current dissertation work-in-progress with their peers and academics selected from across our field. The Consortium has the following specific objectives:

• Provide a supportive setting for feedback on participants' current research and guidance on future research directions.
• Offer each participant comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and academics outside their own institution, and from other students.
• Contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events.

The Doctoral Consortium will be held on the first day, Tuesday 23^rd August (which is the same day as conference workshops). About 10 students and four academics will be invited to attend and discuss each student's work in turn. Student participants will have their abstracts published in the conference proceedings and a poster of their work will be exhibited during the conference.

Compensation

Students attending the consortium will receive complimentary conference registration. We also hope to provide a small stipend to help cover travel costs; however this is tentative until the conference budget is finalised.

Submission Requirements

A key factor in applying is the student’s stage of progress towards the degree. Applicants must be far enough along to have a well developed thesis idea, yet still early enough in the process to be able to benefit from feedback.

Participants will be selected on the basis of their anticipated contribution to the conference goals. Emphasis will be placed on forming a diverse group of high quality students. An effort will be made to keep the participating group small to encourage informal interaction.

Consortium submissions must be in English and all documents should be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. Submissions should include three parts:

1. Personal Research Statement
   This will be circulated only to consortium participants. It should contain relevant information that is not suitable for publication in the Extended Abstract, such as any provisional research plans you would like to discuss at the consortium, what you would most like to gain from the consortium and a brief biographical sketch that includes educational background, research experience, publications and potential publications. Please also include whether you have previous applied and/or been accepted for another doctoral consortiums. Finally, include any additional information that would help the review committee evaluate you potential contribution to the Consortium. Where possible this document should be kept to 1 page.
   
   
2. Extended Abstract
   Prepare a description of your thesis using a maximum of 2 pages and use the Conference Publications Format. Your abstract should clearly specify:
   • The problem(s) that the proposed research is addressing.
   • The proposed solution(s), including a brief description of methodology adopted, current status and a tentative plan for future work.
   • The impact of your work to the relevant field(s).
   
   Successful abstracts will appear in the conference proceedings.
   
   
3. Letter of Recommendation
   A letter of recommendation from your thesis advisor, including an assessment of the current status of your work, what your advisor expects you to gain from and contribute to the consortium. Your advisor must also detail your expected date for thesis completion.

Submission Procedure

Consortium submissions must by sent by 5pm your local time on 19th April 2005. Submissions should be in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. Personal Statements, abstracts and letter of recommendations should be sent as three separate documents. Email submissions to mzajicek@brookes.ac.uk and jag76@cam.ac.uk (please send to both email addresses). Submissions arriving after the deadline will not be considered.

Notification

Presenters will be notified of acceptance or rejection via email on or before 24th May 2005.

Review Process

Submission will be reviewed by the co-chairs. Submissions will be evaluated based on their relevance to the conference, their originality, the significance of their contribution and clarity of the writing. Accepted abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.

Confidentiality of Submissions

Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. All submitted materials for accepted submissions will be kept confidential until the start of the conference, 23rd August 2005. Submissions should contain no information or materials that are proprietary at publication time.

At the Conference

Each participant in the Doctoral Consortium is expected to attend throughout the entire day, including the conference welcome reception on Tuesday 23^rd August 2005. You will present your work at the doctoral consortium in front of other consortium participants. In addition, each participant is expected to attend the full conference and present their work in the poster session of the technical program.

Doctoral Consortium Co-Chairs: Mary Zajicek, Oxford Brookes University, mzajicek@brookes.ac.uk and Joy Goodman, Cambridge University, jag76@cam.ac.uk