Call for Papers
ACM SIGMIS Computers and People Research 2021
The role of information technology during a crisis
Location: Virtual online conference
Date: June 30, 2021
Conference website: https://sigmis.org/sigcpr2021/
Important Dates for Academic Papers, Posters and Doctorial Consortium
Submission deadline: February 5, 2021
Notification of acceptance: March 15, 2021
Camera-ready version: April 30, 2021
For over 55 years, ACM SIGMIS Computers and People Research (CPR) conference has engaged the academic and practitioner communities in understanding issues pertaining to the intersection of information technology (IT) and people. From its roots in the studies of the IT workforce, CPR has broadened its focus to investigate all aspects of this important and complex relationship. We are delighted to welcome the 2021 ACM SIGMIS CPR conference, which will be the first fully virtual conference in the long history of CPR.
CPR being hosted virtually is a direct response to a crisis, i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic, that has changed and is still changing the way we work, socialize, and communicate. These changes in response to COVID-19 have been mainly enabled by IT, whereas their effects are both positive and negative. On the positive side, IT enables us to manage such crises (e.g., tracking apps) and to support virtual communication and collaboration. On the negative side, IT (e.g., social networking sites) also enables spreading or discussions of fake news in relation to the crisis event.
Hence, the context of a crisis provides CPR research opportunities to develop new theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Such approaches may require novel concepts, models, and methods to understand how societies, organizations, and individuals apply, share, adopt and are impacted by IT while adapting to uncertain environments. Hence, there is a need for research at the intersection of societies, organizations, and individuals in relation to the challenges posed by a crisis and those who are educating the digital creators and leaders of the future. Therefore, the CPR 2021 conference seeks papers addressing the following questions. Note that these are intended to stimulate thought. Papers on traditional conference topics pertaining to personnel, workforce, inclusion/diversity, leadership are also welcome.
Individual
- What leads to individuals adopting or resisting the use of IT in general and of IT in relation to a crisis or in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in particular?
- What are the impacts of IT use on individuals? How does IT use during a crisis influence individuals?
- How does the design of IT impact acceptance and/or resistance?
Organizational
- During a crisis, how might organizations understand emerging technologies and their potential risks and opportunities?
- How might organizations enable incremental and disruptive digital innovations?
- What is the business value of digital innovations? How is this value derived?
- How does IT impact entrepreneurial activities in a crisis?
- What are the best ways to organize IT work to provide support before, during, and after a crisis?
Workforce
- What factors impact retention and turnover in the IT workforce?
- What unique challenges exist for managing IT workers, and how do we meet those challenges?
- Why are some demographic groups under-represented in the IT workforce?
- What are the characteristics of the IT workforce? How are these characteristics changing?
- What are the key skills for entry into the IT workforce? How are these skills changing?
- What ethical issues result from embedding IT in work?
- What security and privacy issues result from embedding IT in work?
- How does a crisis impact IT work and the IT workforce?
Education
- How do we help students develop the skills needed for entry into, and success in the IT workforce?
- How do we help students to make sense of the positive and especially the negative role of IT during a crisis and the corresponding challenges?
- How can we attract promising students to IS programs?
- How should IS programs deal with emerging technologies and digital innovation?
- How can universities best prepare students for careers in IS and IT?
Societal
- How does and will IT impact societies in a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How can we address societal challenges induced by IT?
Format of Submissions
ACM SIGMIS CPR 2021 welcomes both completed papers and research-in-progress papers. All papers must be original, unpublished elsewhere, and submitted on the ACM SIG proceedings template available for download from: https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template-16dec2016. All reviewing will be double-blind.
- Completed papers may include conceptual papers, empirical papers and industry case studies. They must not exceed 5000 words including all text, figures, and tables. The abstract, keywords, and references are excluded from this page count.
- Research-in-progress papers must not exceed 2000 words including all text, figures, and tables. The abstract, keywords, and references are excluded from this page count.
Proceedings and Presentations
Accepted papers will be published by ACM in the refereed conference proceedings. Authors of accepted papers may choose to publish complete papers or extended abstracts of their research in the conference proceedings. All completed research papers that are to be published in their entirety in the conference proceedings will be considered for the Magid Igbaria Outstanding Conference Paper of the Year Award. The Magid Igbaria Outstanding Conference Paper and other exemplar papers will be invited for publication in the DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems-the quarterly journal publication of ACM SIGMIS.
Each paper must be presented during the virtual conference. Articles will not be published in the event proceedings if at least one author of a submitted work is unable to present their article at the conference.
All paper sessions will be held in a roundtable format where all "table members" (3-4 paper authors plus 1-2 senior scholars/mentors/chairs) have read the papers (or potentially watch a presentation) in advance. The session will be used for discussion and question/answer. Others are encouraged to read the papers, attend the sessions, discuss, and pose questions.
AUTHORS TAKE NOTE: The official publication date is the date the proceedings are made available in the ACM Digital Library. This date may be up to two weeks prior to the first day of your conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work. (For those rare conferences whose proceedings are published in the ACM Digital Library after the conference is over, the official publication date remains the first day of the conference.)
Proceedings of all previous CPR conferences are available in the ACM Digital Library at:
http://portal.acm.org/dl.cfm.
Conference Committee
Conference Co-Chairs
Sven Laumer (sven.laumer@fau.de)
Damien Joseph (adjoseph@ntu.edu.sg)
Program Co-Chairs
Daniel Beimborn (daniel.beimborn@uni-bamberg.de)
Leigh Ellen Potter (l.potter@griffith.edu.au)
Jeria Quesenberry (jeriaq@andrew.cmu.edu)
Doctoral Consortium Co-Chairs
Andreas Eckhardt (andreas.eckhardt@ggs.de)
Indira Guzman (indira.guzman@trident.edu)
Michelle Kaarst-Brown (mlbrow03@syr.edu)
Deborah Armstrong (djarmstrong@business.fsu.edu)
Tim Weitzel (tim.weitzel@uni-bamberg.de)
Digital Arrangement Chair
To be announced
Communications Chair
Indira Guzman (indira.guzman@trident.edu)