Method

perthDAC is designed to have a high level of outcome for its delegates. A rigourous two stage refereeing of both abstract and then full papers will ensure that all the work published and presented will be of a very high standard. Further, the perthDAC schedule is organised to maximise opportunities for dialogue, networking and exposure to new ideas. This will be particularly obvious in the physical presence of the BEAP exhibition artworks.

Abstracts of a maximum of 500 words will each be refereed by four readers in September 2006. Abstracts that are accepted will be notified by the middle of October 2006. This "abstracts first" approach has many advantages for both the writer and the conference overall. Successful abstract writers will not spend time writing a full paper that the review committee might not find relevant to the conference theme, and the detail of the conference sub-themes can more easily be identified by the organising committee.

Abstracts are due by 28th August 2006, as Microsoft Word documents (10 point Arial or Helvetica, with bolded headings, author/s name, e-mail and affiliation at the top). The Word document must be named with a single author's family name eg: "hutchison.doc". E-mail as an attachment to a.hutchison@curtin.edu.au, with "abstract-submission-DAC" as the subject/title of the e-mail.

Please note that abstracts cannot include links to websites, as this will violate the "blind" feature of the refereeing process, in which it is critical the reviewers do not know (or find out) who you are.

Full papers will also each be refereed by four reader, not just to judge them in or out, but to help develop the argument or position presented. Because of the previous abstract refereeing, if the full paper is well written, it is very likely to be accepted (though all authors will still have to respond to the referee's observations).

All writers who submit a paper will be invited to join the review panel (of course the double blind review process will ensure you do not read your own paper). Thus, all writers will not only receive the referee's feedback, but will also have read papers by three other paper writers.

Full papers are due by 30th January 2007.

Papers are to follow the format available for download from the ACM site and a specific example of a finished DAC 2005 Copenhangen paper is available. Papers are limited to 10 pages only in this format.

Papers will be confirmed as fully accepted/rejected by the end of Febuary 2007. This allows presenters plenty of time to organise travel, and in some cases, plan time away from teaching duties. perthDAC will provide hardcopy letters of support for those who need to negotiate time away from teaching duties. In addition, perthDAC will provide hardcopy letters of paper acceptance for those who need them for funding.

Final papers, incorporating responses to the referee's comments will be due in April 2007.

The initial conference schedule will be available in May 2007. Session chairs will be appointed at this time, and session presenters introduced to each other to work on maximising the session's outcomes well ahead of the conference. In this way, the preparations for perthDAC become a global workshop that prepares each presenter, and lifts the level of discourse before we all arrive in Perth. The BEAP exhibition artworks will be finalised around this time, and presenters will be encouraged to incorporate observations of these new media works in their presentations. Proposals for artworks for BEAP should be sent directly to BEAP itself, using the e-mail address admin@beap.org.

The conference's four day schedule will include the opportunity to experience all of the BEAP exhibitions, and maximise discussion/networking time. perthDAC delegates will be prioritised for bookings for those "immersive" artworks that have limited number of visitors. Session chairs will have the additional responsibility of identifying key themes, outcomes, or observations that emerge as the conference progresses.

All papers will be published in the proceedings, and papers deemed to be particularly relevant will be published as a special themed journal edition. Discussions are underway to develop other publishing opportunities for perthDAC delegates.