We are thankful to all members of the Architectural Informatics Society (AIS) for participating and supporting us.
AIS is planning to have an annual event “AIS Week 2024” from March 2nd to 5th. “Round Table Session”, an intensive academic discussion, is expecting AIS members holding special interest to participate. Please follow these guidelines below if you wish to propose a topic of and organize a Round Table Session.
1. Overview
The Round Table Session is a new conference format designed to shift the focus of academic exchange from the traditional focus on research presentations to a focus on discussions on specific topics proposed by AIS members. Each session will consist of four panelists in principle, including the session organizer, who has a strong interest in the topic.
The participants will have 60 minutes to discuss the topic prepared by the session organizer. We expect in-depth discussions and exchanges of opinions on topics suitable for the development and advancement of architectural informatics, and the theme of the year described below.
The discussion will be recorded and made accessible to the public during the period of the WEEK event, and to the AIS members afterwards.
2. Theme of Round Table Session in 2024 “Digital Liminality”
Today, with the development and penetration of digital technology, not only the duality of what is built in reality and what is designed or proposed in digital media in architecture, but also the duality of our lives in reality and our activities on digital media are becoming inextricably blended.
The theme for the 2024 Round Table Session is "Digital Liminality. The theme is "Digital Liminality", and we invite applications for round table sessions on topics that explore the possibilities of a new phase that will emerge when the digital and real worlds merge, as follows.
3. Call for Session Organizer
AIS members who wish to propose a session topic and panelists and to be a session organizer at the Round Table Session should apply via the Google Form on the link below. The applications should include the information below and be submitted by the deadline for the open-call.
Please read secion 5 for a detailed timeline. You can submit an application even if you haven't confirmed the participation of the proposed panelists.
The executive committee of AIS WEEK will select and notify you of the theme based on the application.
Application Google Form:. https://forms.gle/6CLZx1RHqGtnPGFR7
(2024年1月28日まで)
- Session Title (in Japanese and English)
- Preferred Venue (Online, in person at the venu, or hybrid)
* see section 5 below.
- Preferred language (Japanese, English or mixed)
- Abstract of the topic [500 Japanese words or less, 200 English words or less, or one of the two, depending on the language used].
- List of candidates for panelists (please specify the current state of each panelist.)
[(A) contacted and confirmed; (B)Contacted and not confirmed yet; (C) Not contacted and will contact by the organizer himself/herself; (D) Not contacted and need a support of the Executive Committee to contact.]
- Reference publications (the applicant’s main authored papers regardless of whether they are new, previously published, or published within a university)
4. Coordinator
Each accepted session organizer will be assisted by a coordinator from the Executive Committee, who will advise on the session's content and the selection of panelists. The session organizer will work with the coordinator to finalize the program by the deadline for program finalization. Please see section 6 for a detailed timeline.
5. Format and Structure of the Round Table Session
The round table session will be conducted either online, in person at the venue,The venue is the University of Tokyo and the sessions at the venue or in hybrid format happen only on March 3rd.
All the sessions will be broadcast and its recording will be shared by the AIS members.
On your application, please indicate whether they prefer a venue, online, or hybrid session format, although this may not always be possible. In any case, all the sessions will be broadcast and its recording will be shared by the AIS members.
After the panelists have been selected, the organizers will be asked to submit their preferred time during the time slots below, after which the Executive Committee will adjust the programs accordingly. In case of difficulty in hosting the session during the time below due to reasons such as panelists' availability, the session could be pre-recorded.
The round table session can be held in English, Japanese, or English+Japanese. The session organizers will moderate Round Table Sessions, who will use the following model to structure the 60-minute session. Panelists are not required to give presentations, but if necessary, please treat them as part of the discussion.
Schedule (Japan time)
Sunday March 3rd, 9AM-6PM: at the venue or hybrid
Monday March 4th, 9AM-9PM: online
Tuesday March 5th, 9AM-9PM: online
- Presentation by the organizer: about 20 minutes
- Panelists’ responses and opinions: about 40 minutes
Within one week after the end of the session, session organizers are required to submit a summary of the discussion (maximum of 1,000 Japanese characters or 300 English words) to be posted on the Web.
6. schedule
- Session Organizer Open Call Period:. January 28th, 2024
- Notification of acceptance of session themes: Before the End of January, 2024
- Program finalization: February 12th, 2024
- Round Table Sessions to be held: March 3rd - 5th, 2024
7. other
The most important feature of the Round Table Session organization is that members can freely propose topics for discussion. In fact, the AIS does not yet have any defined field of study or classification of themes for the discussion. We hope that members will actively discuss what kinds of themes should be addressed by the AIS. It might be quite difficult to gather researchers who have particular interests and experience in a given topic across disciplines and organizations and on an international scale.
It is difficult to bring together people who have a particular interest in or experience with a particular topic across disciplines and organizations, and on an international scale. Given that it is not easy to have such opportunities, especially in the field of architectural informatics, which aims at a new fusion of architecture and information studies, we have prepared this meeting as a way for the society to promote academic progress. We hope that useful discussions will be held from different perspectives, including advanced researchers from overseas, pioneers who have been paying attention from early on, and people with concrete practical experience on various topics, not only research-related but also practical and educational ones.
Any member can apply to be a session organizer; however, however, especially those who are preparing a doctoral thesis or a peer-reviewed paper for the Architectural Informatics Society are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.
If you wish to have discussions with prominent overseas researchers and others, please also use the invitation approach through the AIS WEEK.
8. FAQ
- Is it fine to have more than or less than four panelists including the session organizer?
Yes. The number of panelists does not have to be four, but please be careful to allocate the time so that each panelist can participate meaningfully in the 60-minute session.
- Does the length of the session need to be exactly 60 minutes?
Please plan and conduct your session so that it is approximately 60 minutes in length.
- Is it acceptable to have a question and answer session from the audience and viewers?
It is OK to accept questions and answers from the audience and viewers during an on-site session, or online session via chat section in streaming. However, please plan and conduct the session to have a meaningful 60-minute discussion in both cases with too many or too few questions.
Since I have not yet confirmed the potential panelists’ availability I cannot guarantee that we will be able to have a session on-site at the venue. Can I change my preferred format later?
Yes, you can. We will discuss whether to conduct the sessions online, at the venue, or in a hybrid format after the sessions are selected, and we will adjust the format to what is appropriate for each session based on the overall schedule, so you may just indicate your preference at the time when you submit your application.
If it seems difficult to conduct the sessions during the period of AIS WEEK, do the session organizers need to record and submit a recording of the session with the panelists?
If the session needs to be recorded prior to AIS WEEK, the Executive Committee will set up a Zoom meeting for the recording, so there is no need for the session organizers to record the sessions by themselves. If your session is to be recorded, please arrange a date and time with the coordinator when the panelists can meet in advance, and conduct the session on Zoom. Recorded sessions will be streamed during AIS WEEK.
- If one of the panelists becomes unavailable after the list of panelists has been finalized, can I select another panelist? What is the final deadline for selecting another panelist?
In such a case, it is possible to select another panelist appropriate to the session topic. The final deadline is February 12th, although this will depend on the situation.