SCIENTIFIC WORLD CONCEPTIONS 2005. 15.fev

Last Call for Application
VISU/SWC 2005
Extended Deadline: February 15, 2005


VIENNA INTERNATIONAL SUMMER UNIVERSITY
SCIENTIFIC WORLD CONCEPTIONS 2005

Chance and Necessity
Vienna, July 18­29, 2005
organized by the University of Vienna and the Institute Vienna Circle

A two-week high-level summer course on questions related to chance,
probability, and necessity from a historical and systematic
perspective.

Main Lecturers:
Theodore M. Porter (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
Wolfgang Spohn (University of Konstanz, Germany)
Assistant Lecturers:
Franz Huber (University of Konstanz, Germany)
Deborah R. Coen (Cambridge, Mass., USA)


International Program Committee
John Beatty (Vancouver), Martin Carrier (Bielefeld), Maria Luisa Dalla
Chiara (Florence), Maria Carla Galavotti (Bologna), Malachi Hacohen
(Duke), Rudolf Haller (Graz), Rainer Hegselmann (Bayreuth), Michael
Heidelberger (Tübingen), Elisabeth Leinfellner (Vienna), James G.
Lennox (Pittsburgh), Paolo Mancosu (Berkeley), Paolo Parrini
(L'Aquila), Friedrich Stadler (Vienna), Roger Stuewer (Minneapolis),
Thomas Uebel (Manchester), Jan Woleñski (Cracow), Anton Zeilinger
(Vienna)
Michael Stöltzner (Secretary of the PC, Vienna)
Gloria Sultano (Secretary of the VISU, Vienna)


The Main Lecturers

Wolfgang Spohn studied philosophy, logic & philosophy of science, and
mathematics at the University of Munich. He acquired his MA in 1973 and
his Ph.D. in 1976 and completed his Habilitation in 1984. Until 1985 he
was research assistent at the Institute of Philosophy of Science under
Wolfgang Stegmüller at the University of Munich and subsequently Fellow
at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. In 1986 he was appointed professor
at the University of Regensburg, and in 1991 he received a chair at the
University of Bielefeld. Since 1996 he has held a chair for philosophy
and philosophy of science at the University of Konstanz. He has been in
charge of various research projects, most notably the DFG research group
titled "Logik in der Philosophie". From 1988-2001 he was editor-in-chief
of the journal Erkenntnis. Many of his papers deal with philosophical
logics, epistemology, inductive logic and probability, philosophy of
science, in particular the theory of causation and explanation,
philosophy of language and mind, decision theory, game theory, and the
theory of theoretical and practical rationality in general.
http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Philosophie/Mitarbeiter/spohn.shtml

A Systematic Inquiry into Chance and Necessity
The lectures attempt to fulfil three tasks: First, they should provide
an overview of the topic at hand and its problems. There is a perfect
parallel between the case of chance and the case of necessity. To bring
out this parallel will be the second task of the course. Moreover, the
basic problem has to do with the fact that the objectivity involved in
chance and necessity is still poorly understood. A broadly projectivist
account of this objectivity appears to be as most revealing. So, the
third task of this course is to give a precise account of the
projectivist account of the objectivity of chance and natural
necessity.

The course will address the following topics:
- General introduction into modality
- Subjective probability
- Objective probability: an overview
- David Lewis' conception of objective probability
- A projectivistic reconstrual of this conception
- Objectivistic conceptions of natural laws and causation
- Foundations for a subjectivistic account: ranking theory
- A ranking-theoretic account of laws of nature and causation
- How to objectify this account
-The probabilistic-deterministic parallel between chance and necessity


Theodore M. Porter studied history and history of science at Princeton,
where he took his Ph.D. in 1981 with a dissertation on the history of
statistics. He spent a year as member of a research group on the
"probabilistic revolution" at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research
(ZiF) of the University of Bielefeld (Germany) in 1982-1983. His books
- The Rise of Statistical Thinking, 1820-1900 (1986), The Empire of
Chance (1989), Trust in Numbers (1995), Cambridge History of Science,
vol. 7: Modern Social Sciences (2003) ­ focus on: statistical reasoning
penetrating the social and natural sciences, the history and the
implications of probability and statistics from the seventeenth century
to recent times, the relations of quantification and calculation to an
ideal of selfless or impersonal reasoning, and the relation of this
mechanical form of objectivity to the societies within which it has
flourished. His latest book, Karl Pearson: The Scientific Life in a
Statistical Age (2004), is about the unruly life of the founder of the
modern field of statistics, and about the historical vision,
philosophical sensibility, and moral ideals that framed this new field
for Pearson. Since 1991 Porter has been professor of history of science
in the Department of History at the University of California, Los
Angeles.
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/porter/

A Historical Inquiry into Chance and Necessity
Chance and probability were never purely mathematical topics. In the
European tradition, they were full of religious and philosophical
significance from at least the period of the Renaissance. Since then
they have become increasingly integral to natural science, and at the
same time to social, political, medical, and economic affairs. The
course will survey this large historical trajectory by focusing on some
themes and moments of particular interest and significance, esp.:
- Subjective and objective probabilities. Probability in the eighteenth
century was a guide to right reasoning; statistics in the nineteenth
became the science of social collectives.
- Statistical models in the sciences. Physics, physical chemistry, and
biology all developed statistical formulations in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. But not without opposition, for
statistics challenged some basic ideals of scientific reasoning.
- A universe of chance. Statistics meant the taming of chance, order
out of chaos. Ironically, it therefore allowed the recognition of
chance and variation in the elementary phenomena of the world.
- In pursuit of objectivity. In the twentieth century, statistics became
above all a set of mathematical strategies of scientific inference,
which then were linked to canons of experimental design. In this guise,
statistics contributed to a reshaping of public policy, and with it, of
the public role of the scientist.
- Markets and gambling. Our story circles back to the science of
reasoning under uncertainty, which in the later twentieth century has
been applied with great ambition to business and investing.


The Assistant Lecturers

Franz Huber (University of Konstanz, Germany)
Franz Huber studied philosophy, literature, linguistics, and mathematics
at the University of Salzburg, where he acquired his MA in 2000. He
continued studying philosophy at the University of Erfurt, where he got
his Ph.D. in 2003 with a dissertation on theory evaluation. Since 2002
he is member of the Philosophy, Probability, and Modeling group at the
Center for Junior Research Fellows of the University of Konstanz.
Huber's main interests lie in epistemology, philosophy of science, and
philosophical logic, with a particular focus on formal epistemology.
Apart from his work on theory evaluation and related issues such as
explanation and truthlikeness he has published papers on the subjective
interpretation of probability and probabilistic theory confirmation in
journals such as The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science and
Philosophy of Science.
http: www.uni-konstanz.de/ppm/Huber

Deborah R. Coen (Cambridge, Mass., USA)
Deborah Coen earned a bachelor's degree in physics at Harvard before
turning to the history of science. She holds an M.Phil. from Cambridge
University and completed her Ph.D. in history of science at Harvard in
2004. She is currently a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of
Fellows, and she will join the History Department at Barnard College,
Columbia University, in 2006. In her research, she is interested
broadly in how modern scientists have coped with error and uncertainty.
This has led her to investigate the history of statistical physics, the
relationship between laboratory and field science, and the history of
such "problematic" sciences as meteorology and experimental psychology.
She is completing a book on the probabilistic tradition in Austrian
science and its roots in nineteenth-century liberalism. Her current
research is on the development of the concept of "micro-climates" in
post-Habsburg Central Europe.



Cost of the Program: Euro 880,00
Lodging in student dormitories is available at approximately Euro 250,00
for the whole duration of the course.

Applicants should submit:
1. A short educational curriculum vitae
2. A list of their most recent courses and grades or a copy of their
diplomas
3. A one-page statement (in English), briefly describing their previous
work and their purpose in attending VISU-SWC
4. A (sealed) letter of recommendation from their professor, including
some comment on their previous work
5. A passport photo

Application deadline January 30, 2005
(Later applications may be considered if space is still available.)
A letter of admission together with a detailed syllabus will reach
successful applicants by mid-February, 2005.

The administration of VISU-SWC at the University of Vienna can assist
the candidates admitted in applying for funds and in the accreditation
of the course, but unfortunately, cannot offer financial assistance.
However, for a few gifted applicants who can demonstrate that, despite
serious documented efforts, they have not been able to obtain any
financial support, in particular due to economic difficulties in their
respective country, a tuition-waver grant, awarded by the Institute
Vienna Circle and the University of Vienna, will be provided.

Applications should be sent to Professor Friedrich Stadler, c/o
Institute Vienna Circle, Museumstrasse 5/2/19, A-1070 Vienna. For
further inquiries, please send email to Friedrich.Stadler@univie.ac.at.
or consult the IVC's Web site http://univie.ac.at/ivc/VISU
or the University of Vienna's Web site: http://www. univie.ac.at (click
Vienna Summer University)

--
Dr. Franz Huber
Center for Junior Research Fellows
University of Konstanz
P.O. Box M 682
D-78457 Konstanz, Germany

web: www.uni-konstanz.de/ppm/Huber
mail: franz.huber@uni-konstanz.de
phone: ++49/7531/88-4885 (office)
++49/7531/691020 (private)

U N E S C O Section of Philosophy and Human Sciences

Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:02:20 +0100
From: "Balalovska, Kristina" <K.Balalovska@unesco.org>
Reply-To: "Balalovska, Kristina" <K.Balalovska@unesco.org>


U N E S C O

Section of Philosophy and Human Sciences

UNESCO Strategy on Philosophy

DRAFT

November / December 2004


Overview


Section I. Philosophy Facing World Problems: Analysis and Questioning of Contemporary Society

Section II. Philosophy in Education: Fostering Critical Reflection and Independent Thinking

Section III. Promotion of Philosophical Thought and Research


The importance of philosophy to the work of UNESCO is evident. Philosophical analysis and reflection are undeniably linked to the establishment and the maintenance of peace, the core mission of the Organization. By developing the intellectual tools to analyze and understand the key concepts such as justice, dignity and freedom, building capacities for independent thought and judgment, enhancing the critical skills to understand and question the world and its challenges, and fostering reflection on values and principles, philosophy is a 'school of freedom'.

The necessity of a Philosophy Programme at UNESCO was underscored from the very inception of the Organization. One of the tasks proposed for UNESCO in 1946 by the Preparatory Commission of the first General Conference of that year was for a Philosophy Programme to "imbue the public mind a certain number of philosophical and moral notions to be regarded as a minimum equipment, and which are calculated to reinforce a respect for human personality, a love of peace, a hatred of narrow nationalism and the rule of brute force, solidarity, and devotion to the ideal of culture" . Philosophy, then, can also be considered a school for human solidarity .

UNESCO interprets philosophy in a wide sense of ennobling each individual and fostering the intellectual moral solidarity of mankind. It is not only at theheart of human knowledge, but of all human activity, and its scope is as wide as UNESCO's own fields of competence . The major issues dealt with by the Organization, such as education for all, cultural diversity, the ethics of science, human rights, knowledge societies, emocracy, and intercultural dialogue and dialogue among civilizations, need not only to have a solid
philosophical foundation but also analytical and conceptual rigor. An incessant critical analysis on concepts, norms and standards implied in the major programmes of UNESCO is necessary for enhancing effectiveness and relevance.

The importance of philosophy was re-affirmed in February 1995, when philosophers \gathered in Paris to adopt a Paris Declaration for Philosophy . It was stated that all individuals everywhere should be entitled to engage in the free pursuit of philosophy, and that the teaching of philosophy should be maintained or expanded where it exists, introduced where it does not yet exist. Moreover, it was stated that the knowledge of philosophical insight in different cultures, and their comparison, as well as the analysis of their commonalities and differences should be supported.

Key Pillars of Action for UNESCO in the Field of Philosophy:
&#61656; Philosophy Facing World Problems
&#61656; Philosophy in Education
&#61656; Promotion of Philosophical Thought and Research

Global Aims for Philosophy at UNESCO:
&#61553; To serve as a laboratory of ideas and a catalyst for international cooperation and social change based on freedom, justice and human dignity;
&#61553; To foster the generation of knowledge and ground-breaking research;
&#61553; To contribute to the advancement of philosophical study and research;
&#61553; To popularize philosophy among the general public and raise awareness of the pertinence of philosophical analysis;
&#61553; To improve the quality of education by promoting philosophy in education;
&#61553; To contribute in building capacities and tools in Member States for philosophical scholarship;
&#61553; To function as a clearing house in all the above-mentioned domains.



UNESCO will support philosophical analysis and research that would focus on contemporary problems and its concrete consequences to social stability and peace building. Efforts will be made to encourage thinkers to tackle emerging global problems in order to foster new ideas and research. By supporting reflection by philosophers on the major problems facing humanity today, UNESCO will incite philosophers to play an influential role beyond their traditional academic sphere and participate actively in responding to contemporary problems, thus complementing on-going academic research.

For UNESCO, as an intellectual and ethical organization, has a role to play in creating a public space in which dialogue can acquire an authentic international dimension, open to all. This dialogue, nourished by the concepts and ideas produced by thinkers, should also penetrate the realm of decision-makers, and give inspiration to the general public for action. The connection between reflection, debate and action will be re-enforced by bringing together thinkers, policy-makers and the civil society. The main challenge will thus be to make a link between research and action.

Objectives:
a). Provide a forum for philosophical dialogue, with particular emphasis on inter-regional dialogue;
b). Function as a clearing house for current research on specific topics concerning emerging global issues;
c). Serve as laboratory of ideas and a catalyst for international cooperation and social change.

The Proposed Action Includes:
a) Programme of Work relative to the Follow-up of the World Congress of Philosophy: Philosophy Facing World Problems ­ expert seminars, national and international conferences involving policy makers and publications on specific themes relative to globalization (Global Justice and Human Dignity in the Era
of Globalization: topics such as responsibility, equality, collective and individual action, identity, justice). Reflection and analysis related to concrete problems of moral relevance in the contemporary society would be fostered and efforts will be made to ensure follow-up on the national level with relevant partners;
b) Inter-Regional Philosophical Dialogues: Launched in 2004, this programme aims to establish philosophical dialogues amongst scholars of various regions of the world (e.g. the Arab world and Asia, Africa and Latin America, Africa and the Arab world);
c) Virtual Resource Centre: A Website containing reference documents, current research papers, on-line discussions and a virtual library would be set up under the section of the UNESCO Philosophy Website to serve researchers, students and scholars in the field of political and moral philosophy.

Expected Outcomes:
a) Development of research and production of new ideas and concept on responses
to contemporary global problems;
b) Increased knowledge on specific issues (justice, human dignity, globalization, poverty, etc.) by scholars and the civil society;
c) Strengthened partnerships with key actors of the philosophical community;
d) Sensitizing policy-makers on the approaches to solving world problems.



The teaching of philosophy contributes to the development of free citizens. It "encourages one to judge for oneself, to confront all sorts of arguments, to respect what others have to say, and to submit only to the authority of reason". This, in other words, is a 'practical training in basic rights' ­ building the capacity for individuals to have a genuine freedom of thought, freedom from dogmas and unquestioned 'wisdom'. It also fosters the ability for human beings to make judgments concerning his/her situation. This is inevitably linked to the possibility for evaluation, critique and choice for action or non-action .

Objectives:
a) Working at the policy-level with governments to foster the teaching of philosophy and philosophical research;
b) Advocacy on the necessity of teaching philosophy in the world;
c) Developing materials to assist Member States in developing their programs for teaching philosophy;
d) Fostering research on the philosophy of education and the teaching of philosophy in the world.

The Proposed Action Includes:
a) An advocacy program on the teaching of philosophy;
b) Policy-recommendations on the teaching of philosophy;
c) Curriculum development: teaching of the various philosophical traditions, giving a comprehensive overview, and providing the means for professors to teach the different traditions . Particular emphasis will be put on uncovering ways to promote and teach lesser-known philosophical traditions. This would be
done with the Education Sector to develop a comprehensive curriculum and
reference text for teaching the various traditions of philosophy in the world,
as well as to develop a curriculum and reference text for comparative
philosophy. Seminars on the development of region-specific curricula will be
organized, aiming to develop a curricula and recommendations for the teaching
of philosophy. The results will be published, and disseminated to Member
States;
d). The development of International Philosophy Olympiads: The Olympiads,
initiated by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP),
gathers students in the high-school level from over twenty countries. It is an
essay competition in philosophy on two levels. One is national and is
organized
in each country through relevant NGOs and the Ministries of Education. The
winners of the countries are then invited to participate in an international
competition. This fosters philosophical awareness among youth and gives
occasion for intercultural encounters. Nevertheless, the countries, especially
the developing countries, could be further encouraged to organize such events,
and the annual international Olympiad could be held during Philosophy Day at
UNESCO;
e) Creating a UNESCO Network on Teaching Philosophy Today.

Expected Outcomes:
a) Curricula for philosophy teaching developed, with particular emphasis
on the
characteristics and traditions of the different regions;
b) Co-operation with National Commissions developed with a view to
fostering the
teaching of philosophy in Member States;
c) Development of the International Philosophy Olympiads;
d) A network for the teaching of philosophy developed.



Popularization of philosophy is essential in developing a democratic and
peaceful culture. Linking the knowledge generated in philosophy and fostering
independent thought in the minds of the general public is crucial to peace,
especially in countries where philosophy is not yet formally taught. Special
emphasis will be put on the promotion of lesser-known traditions of
philosophical thought.

Objectives:
a) Engaging the general public in philosophical reflection;
b) Popularizing philosophic culture;
c) Imbuing popular culture with the importance of philosophy and its relevance
to everyday life.

The Proposed Action Includes:
a) UNESCO Philosophy Day: This is essentially a forum for reflection,
aiming to
promote and popularize philosophy. Launched in 2002, events to celebrate
philosophy are organized at Paris Headquarters and in Member States in
cooperation with various partners . Special emphasis will be made to working
with various cities initiatives on popularizing philosophy;
b) "Philosophers Today: Conversations with Contemporary Thinkers": A series of
interviews with philosophers from all regions of the world will be launched.
The interviews which will be recorded and filmed will be published in a
booklet
with a CD-Rom attached for wide dissemination. This can also be used as a
teaching material in the Member States. The aim is to establish an evolving
Encyclopedia of Philosophers;
c) Support the development of programmes for television and/or radio on
philosophy, especially for the people in the developing countries which would
complement the work already done through Internet sites on philosophy. The
best way to 'educate' the public mind and to instill philosophical awareness is
through the media of television and radio;
d) UNESCO Fund for Philosophy: a fund would be created in order to support the participation of scholars in developing countries to seminars and international conferences, as well as to give small grants for research at Doctoral level;
e) UNESCO Chairs in Philosophy: in addition to giving coherence to existing
Chairs, efforts will be made to establish Chairs in Africa and South-East
Asia,
as well as other regions in the world.

Expected Outcomes:
a) Awareness raised amongst the general public on current philosophical
debates;
b) Philosophic culture fostered;
c) Visibility of UNESCO in the field of philosophy increased.


ANNEX I

A Philosophy Strategy: The Process

At its 169th Session, the Executive Board of UNESCO requested the Director-General to propose an inter-sectoral strategy on philosophy to be drafted in close consultation with the Member States and their National
Commissions, relevant NGOs and eminent personalities. During the discussion in which nineteen countries took the floor, the speakers stressed the importance of philosophical reflection and analysis for all societies in confronting current contemporary problems, and underscored the need for UNESCO to give greater impetus to its work in the field of philosophy .

The present document is a result of a two-year consultation process in which all Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, every National Commission for UNESCO, 500 NGOs and 600 universities, as well as approximately 150 independent philosophers and eminent personalities were invited to contribute.

Virtual consultations were made in two-phases. First, the relevant stakeholders were invited to contribute by responding to a questionnaire. A draft Strategy was produced in response to the contributions. Second, the draft Strategy was sent to the same stakeholders for comments. This resulted in over a 300 replies, suggestions and comments from 68 countries.

In order to establish an inter-sectoral Strategy, two meetings were held with all the Sectors, and a Working/Drafting Group was established. The Group met twice, and reported back to the inter-sectoral meeting with a draft Strategy.

The following (non-virtual) consultations were made:
- World Congress of Philosophy (Istanbul, 16-17 August 2003) ­
consultations
with the members of the Congress, as well as with the Steering Committee;
- Brainstorming session for elements of a Strategy with Permanent
Delegations to
UNESCO (Paris, 3 June 2004), as well as a session of consultation with the
Delegations on a draft version of the Strategy (2 December 2004);
- Two inter-sectoral consultations (Paris, 10 September 2004 and 1
December
2004);
- Two Working/Drafting Group meetings (20 October 2004 and 5
November 2004);
- Regional consultations in the Developing Countries (Côte d'Ivoire
and the
Democratic Republic of Congo).

Conferences

Entries

1. Third Latin American Web Congress (LA-WEB'05) Buenos Aires - Argentina - Oct. 31/Nov. 2nd, 2005

2. First International Workshop on Philosophical Foundations of Information , 15. febb

3. Ultra-politics and political conflic, subm. 19th April 2005

First International Workshop on Philosophical Foundations of Information , 15. febb

CALL FOR PAPERS

First International Workshop on Philosophical Foundations of Information
Systems Engineering (PHISE'05)

To be held in conjunction with
The 17th Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE'05)

13-14 June 2005, Porto, Portugal

http://kybele.escet.urjc.es/PHISE05/

****************************************************************************

PRESENTATION
------------
Empirical and Formal Sciences are more ancient than Engineering Sciences and, for this reason, they have their own philosophical branch, the Philosophy of Science. Unfortunately, Engineering Sciences have no fully developed philosophical branch working towards conceptual clarity.
This workshop will try to cover different aspects related to philosophical foundations of the research in Software Engineering applied to Information System development. We propose an interdisciplinary workshop as a result of the confluence of three disciplines: Philosophy of Sciences and Technology, Software Engineering (SE) and Information System (IS). The topics that will be covered in the workshop will be related to methodological research in SE and IS (research methods, validation of the research results, etc.) as well as other relevant issues as the use of Ontologies and metaphors in SE and IS, Ethics, Information Society and Cybersociety, Cyberspace, etc.
The following questions about SE research may be posed: Are current methods for SE research appropriate? Do they meet all the possible problems in this area? Is it necessary to define new and different methods to the traditional scientific ones? Is it necessary to adapt the existing ones? How should research works in SE be validated?
It seems clear that methodological aspects in Information Systems Engineering (ISE) should not be separated from the foundations of Philosophy of Science, but benefit from the synergy of both disciplines. Besides, it is easy to appreciate that philosophical foundations affect not only ISE research, but also many others aspects of these disciplines. In general, such foundations are directly imported from traditional sciences, which is not always right. Think, for example of the utilization of the term 'model' in IS or SE: does it have the same meaning as the one used in Models Theory? In this sense, a recent important international activity tries to go deeper into these concepts from a philosophical perspective, mainly studying the philosophical concept of 'ontology' applied to ISE. The workshop will be an attempt to cover the existing lack of philosophical foundation in ISE as a first meeting forum between these two disciplines.

IMPORTANT DATES
---------------
13 - 14 June 2005: Workshops
15 - 17 June 2005: Conference

Submission Deadline: 28 February 2005
Acceptance Notifications: 4 April 2005
Final Due Dates: 25 April 2005

CALL FOR PAPERS
---------------
We ask for contributions related, but not limited, to the following topics:


o        Philosophical foundations of ISE
o        Philosophy of sciences applied to ISE
o        Science and Technology
o        Research methods in ISE
o        Research methods in Requirements Engineering
o        Experiences using and adapting traditional research methods to ISE
o        Validation of research works in ISE
o        Action research
o        Ethics in ISE research
o        Ontologies in ISE
o        Information society
o        Metaphor in ISE
o        Feminist Philosophy and Information Systems Engineering


SUBMISSIONS
-----------
Papers must be original contributions and they have not to exceed 10 pages in Times and following the format specified by LNCS. Full details, can be found on the Springer LNCS Web site. Submissions should be printable on a standard printer on common paper formats.
Submission instructions can be found on the workshop website http://kybele.escet.urjc.es/PHISE05/. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. In case of problems with the submission system or any technical question, please contact with the organizers (cjacunia@escet.urjc.es).
The submission should clearly emphasize the discussion aspects relevant to the workshop. All submitted papers will be judged on their quality and relevance. At least one author of each accepted paper must attend the workshop to present the work. Accepted papers will be published in the CAiSE Workshop Proceedings, with ISBN.

ORGANIZATION
------------

Organization & Programm Committe Chairs
......................................

Esperanza Marcos
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Madrid, Spain

Roel Wieringa
University of Twente
The Netherlands

Organization Committe
....................

Cesar J. Acuña                Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
M. Valeria de Castro        Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Juan Manuel Vara        Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Belén Vela                Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Programm Committe
................

Pere Botella                Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
Christoph Bussler        DERI, National University of Ireland
Jose Mª Cavero                Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
Jürgen Dunkel                Universität Hannover, Germany
Sven Hansson                Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Heinz K. Klein                Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
Mark Lycett                Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
Kalle Lyytinen                 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA
John-Jules Ch. Meyer        Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Tom Maibaum                King's College London, UK
Joan Antoni Pastor        Universidad Internacional de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
Francisco Ruiz                Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
Isidro Ramos                Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Genoveva Vargas                Laboratory LSR-IMAG, CNRS, France

Ultra-politics and political conflic, subm. 19th April 2005.

Pli invites submissions for the next volume (Volume 17, Summer 2005) which
will be concerned with the topic of Ultra-politics and political conflict.

How are we to account for the sense that, just at the point when everything
becomes political, politics itself disappears? Slavoj Žižek has suggested
the term 'Ultra-politics'(1) to name that particular avoidance of the
political which results from the very intensification of political conflict.
Ultra-politics is the result of conflict which is always on its way to
warfare.

If we take contemporary political thought as symptomatic of strong
ultra-political tendencies, then we are forced to think through various
philosophical problems regarding the logic and structure of sovereignty,
domination, struggle and conflict. We would particularly welcome papers
which address these issues and their impact in recent European thought, for
example, in the work of such thinkers as Carl Schmitt, Hannah Arendt, Martin
Heidegger, Giorgio Agamben and Alain Badiou. In this context papers could
address some of the following issues:

- How can we develop a concept of the political which, whilst resisting
Carl Schmitt's ultra-politics, retains some of the advantages of his
conception, e.g., that there is no specific realm of the political and that
political struggle is indeed marked by intensity?

- In the late 1930s Martin Heidegger developed an analysis of 'machination''
as the form of power informing contemporary political phenomena. Such
phenomena as 'total war' are indicative of the dwindling distinction between
war and peace in which both become indifferent manifestations of a
prevailing totality. In doing so Heidegger anticipates the concerns of many
post-war thinkers of ''totalitarianism' and frequently gives a more radical
account of its source and prevalence. In assessing these analyses we are
confronted with the issue of how this 'being-historical' thought comes to
bear upon our understanding of political conflict.

- What are the consequences of the thought that a state of 'permanent
exception' is not simply a contemporary political expediency but, as Giorgio
Agamben analyses it, the very logic of sovereignty?

Submissions, preferably no longer than 8,000 words, should be sent in the
form of a single hard copy, plus a copy on disk as an RTF file. The deadline
for submissions is 19th April 2005. Please refer to the 'Notes for
Contributors'' in this volume (also on the Pli website). Include an e-mail
address if possible for future correspondence.

Pli:

The Warwick Journal of Philosophy,
Department of Philosophy
University of Warwick
Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

For further information e-mail:

Pli_journal@hotmail.com

Visit http://www.warwick.ac.uk/philosophy/pli_journal

1 Slavoj Žižek, The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political
Ontology, (London, New York: Verso, 1999) p.190

Third Latin American Web Congress (LA-WEB'05) Buenos Aires - Argentina - Oct. 31/Nov. 2nd, 2005

May 23, 2005 Deadline for submitting papers
Third Latin American Web Congress (LA-WEB'05)
Buenos Aires - Argentina - Oct. 31/Nov. 2nd, 2005
http://www.la-web.org/

[PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS LA-WEB 2005]

LA-WEB'05 is an endorsed regional conference by IW3C2 International
World Wide Web Conference Committee <www.iw3c2.org>. This will be the
Third Latin American venue for international software and web
researchers, technologists, and leaders from academia, industry, and
government. They will gather together to present, demonstrate, and
discuss the latest developments in the Web, and how this can be used
to empower the Latin American Web. The first two editions were held in
Santiago <www.la-web.org/2003/>, Chile (2003) and Ribeirao Preto
<www.icmc.usp.br/laweb/>, Brazil (2004). In 2005 the congress will be
co-located and sharing one day on Web Retrieval with SPIRE (String
Processing and Information Retrieval Symposium). As in past editions,
the proceedings of LA-WEB 2005 will be published by IEEE CS Press.

Topics

LA-WEB 2005 seeks original papers describing research in all areas of
the Web. Developing successful Web sites and applications require
broader perspectives and the incorporation of a number of principles,
models, methods and techniques from diverse disciplines such as
software engineering, information systems, data structuring and retrieval,
computer science,hypertext, graphic design, knowledge management, mobile
and adaptive computing, among others.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Applications (Area 1),
Browsers and User Interfaces (Area 2),
Electronic Commerce (Area 3),
Hypermedia (Area 4),
Mobility and Wireless Access (Area 5),
Multimedia (Area 6),
Performance and Reliability (Area 7),
Search and Data Mining (Area 8),
Security and Privacy (Area 9),
Semantic Web (Area 10), and
Web Engineering (Area 11).

Papers should cover not only technical but also practical solutions
oriented to solve specific Web problems.

Important Dates
May 23, 2005 Deadline for submitting papers
June 30, 2005 Notification of acceptance of papers
July 30, 2005 Papers received in camera ready form
Oct. 31/Nov. 2nd LA-WEB'05 Conference

Submission of Papers
Submissions should present original reports of new work in English.
Papers should properly place the work within the field, cite related
work, and clearly indicate the innovative aspects of the work and its
contribution to the field. Papers must be submitted electronically in
PDF, and must be formatted using the IEEE-CS Author's styles that are
posted in the LA-WEB site http://ing.unlpam.edu.ar/laweb05/. We
encourage authors to submit concise papers with up to 8 pages; however,
papers with up to 10 pages may be submitted, and an additional 2 pages
(for a maximum of 12) may be purchased later.

Programme Committee
Chair
Luis Olsina, National University of La Pampa (Argentina)

Members
Alberto Mendelzon, University of Toronto (Canada)
Arno Scharl, UWA Business School, (Australia)
Bebo White, Stanford University (USA)
Claudia Pons, National University of La Plata, (Argentina)
Daniel Schwabe, PUC Río (Brazil)
David Lowe, University of Technology (Australia)
Dieter Fensel, DERI, University of Innsbruck (Austria)
Emilia Mendes, University of Auckland, (New Zealand)
Enrico Motta, The Open University (UK)
Ethan Munson, Univesity of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (USA)
Gastón Mousques, ORT University (Uruguay)
Geert-Jan Houben, Technical University Eindhoven (The Netherlands)
Gustavo Rossi, National University of La Plata (Argentina)
Horacio Leone, National Technical University, Sta. Fe (Argentina)
Jean Vanderdonckt, Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium)
João Falcão e Cunha, Porto University (Portugal)
Juliana Freire, University of Utah (USA)
Maria da Graça Pimentel, USP São Carlos (Brazil)
Mario Piattini, Castilla-La Mancha University (Spain)
Maristella Matera, Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Martin Gaedke, University of Karlsruhe (Germany)
Monica Scannapieco, University of Rome (Italy)
Mitsuru Ikeda, Osaka University (Japan)
Nora Koch, Munich University (Germany)
Olga De Troyer, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Oscar Pastor, Valencia University of Technology (Spain)
Piero Fraternali, Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Ray Welland, University of Glasgow (UK)
Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Chile University (Chile)
Ricardo Falbo, Federal University of Espirito Santo (Brazil)
San Murugesan, Southern Cross University (Australia)
Sandro Morasca, University of Insubria (Italy)
Silvia Abrahão, Valencia University of Technology (Spain)
Stefan Decker, DERI, Galway (Ireland)
Steven Furnell, University of Plymouth (UK)
Symeon Retalis, University of Piraeus (Greece)
Virgilio Almeida, Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Yogesh Deshpande, UWS (Australia)
Wieland Schwinger, SCC Hagenberg (Austria)
[List not complete yet]

Organization
SADIO (Argentine Society on Computer Science and Operational Research)
is in charge of organizing LA-WEB'05 in Buenos Aires, the capital of
Argentina. It is a complex, energetic, and seductive port city, which
stretches south-to-north along the Rio de la Plata. Portenos, as the
multinational people of Buenos Aires are known, possess an elaborate
and
rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly
-Italian and German names outnumbered by Spanish, and the lifestyle and
architecture are markedly more European than in any other city in South
America. One of the world's finest opera houses, the Teatro Colon,
flourishes here on the plains alongside the river. Portenos are
intensely involved in the life and culture of their city, and they will
gladly share the secrets of Buenos Aires, from tango lessons to the
best
places to eat the famous Argentinian meat. Buenos Aires is also the
starting point to visit other nice places such as Iguazu falls (on the
Brazilian border), Bariloche and its lakes, or the Patagonia, with its
spectacular geography and wildlife, including the Perito Moreno glacier
or Torres del Paine (in Chile).


Visit LA-WEB site for news:
http://www.la-web.org/
http://www.ing.unlpam.edu.ar/laweb05/
Further comments send to olsinal@ing.unlpam.edu.ar


_________________________________________

Dr. Luis Olsina
GIDIS-Web, Software&Web Engineering R&D Group
Engineering School, UNLPam
Calle 9 esq. 110 - (6360) General Pico
La Pampa - Argentina

E-mail olsinal@ing.unlpam.edu.ar
olsinal@yahoo.com
TE/Fax 54 2302 430497 Ext. 6501