Assistive Technology calls for papers / meetings & conferences

Call for Short Papers: 9th International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies

September 10–12, 2012 Laval, France

Papers are encouraged in all areas that span Disability, Virtual Reality and its Associated Technologies, encompassing both practical application and more generic research.

The following topics are just a few of those that will be relevant to the conference:

Virtual and enhanced environments
Motor rehabilitation
Clinical assessment
Cognitive rehabilitation
Communication and language
Ambisonics and audio environments
Haptic devices
Sensory impairment
Medical systems
Input devices, sensors and actuators
Multi-user systems for user interaction
Computer access
Virtual humans
Balance, posture and mobility
Communications aids
Tools for architectural/CAD design
Product design, testing and prototyping
Training tools for rehabilitation
Augmented reality applications
Human factors
Rehabilitation robotics
ArtAbilitation

Short Papers (Poster Presentation) - Direct Submission - Review and Acceptance Notification

Short Papers can be submitted for review in final conference ready format by May 31, 2012.

Short Papers submitted after February 29, 2012 must be submitted in final conference format (see Section 4 below).
The format is the same as for final Full Papers but is limited to 4 pages maximum.
See below for link to the paper format and template.

Short Papers will be reviewed by three members of the Programme Committee.
Authors will be notified of the outcome of the reviews by June 20, 2012.

There will be a limited opportunity for revision/clarification of Short Papers after review.
The final submission deadline for accepted Short Papers is July 1, 2012.

Call for Papers: Deaf World/Hearing World: Spaces, Techniques, and Things in Culture and History

Sponsored by the Max Planck Institute in Berlin and Project Biocultures, University of Illinois at Chicago

The history of deafness presents an exemplary model of a community’s mobilization for the recognition of a cultural identity. It is also an unequaled history of divisions across a broad range of pedagogy, techniques, and scientific inventions. Across the last four centuries at least, constructions of deafness as a cultural identity and/or as a disability have lead to opposite claims. Deafness became a focal point for arguments over citizenship, eugenics, language, theories of the mind, and the like. A different set of categories was produced to give voice to these claims and the dialogue between their supporters has been extremely difficult for lack of a common stake. Depending on the approach, one can say such a heated debate has given the question of deafness a very specific place among human variations. Sign language, in particular, has lead many to question the relationship between mind, body, and language.

We welcome papers on the social, cultural, scientific and philosophical attempts to mediate the space between the deaf and the hearing across history. Topics include the use of objects and techniques for creating a space of encounter, conceptions of the relationship between humans and language, language and thought, or language and society across time and space. We are seeking explorations of the dialectic between hearing and silence, deaf and hearing as well as the technologies and ideologies that intervene between the deaf world and the hearing world, the deaf person and the hearing person.

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin in conjunction with Project Biocultures at the University of Illinois at Chicago will host the conference on December 10-11, 2012 in Berlin.

Please send your abstract to Thu-Tra Dang ttdang@mpiwgberlin.mpg.de by July 3, 2012.

Scholars will be informed by July 23 if their abstracts have been selected. A travel fund is available, please let us know when submitting your abstract if you need an allowance to cover part of your trip.

The conference will be in English and in sign language. The Max Planck Institute will welcome interpreters to make possible presentations in sign language. To facilitate the organization, please contact us as soon as possible if you need an interpreter of American/British/national sign language. Please mention the contact information of a couple of interpreters.

If you have questions please contact Sabine Arnaud at sarnaud@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de, or Lennard Davis at lendavis@uic.edu

If you plan to attend the conference without giving a paper and require special assistance, please send an email to Thu-Tra Dang ttdang@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

Call for Presentation Proposals: American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association 2013 Conference

May 29 – June 1, 2013 Bloomington, Minnesota

Goal of the Conference

The American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA) is pleased to announce the 2013 ADARA Conference, a national conference to be hosted in Minnesota. Our conference theme is “Blazing New Trails” which refers to “doing something different,” “doing early or pioneering work that others will follow up on,” and “doing something that no one has done before, especially something important for other people.”

This conference seeks to provide training and networking opportunities for mental health professionals, vocational rehabilitation counselors, independent living service providers, educators, interpreters, transition specialists, community-based rehabilitation providers, and any support staff in the helping professions.

Presentation Proposals

Presentation proposals for concurrent sessions, pre-conference sessions, or poster session should address effective or innovative practices used in working with deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing consumers in the settings of mental health, rehabilitation, school, independent living, transition, group homes, etc.

Submitted proposals should include learning objectives and references that will assist in applying for professional continuing education units for conference attendees. Proposals for concurrent sessions should be for 90 or 180 minutes long. Proposal topics are listed below, but are not limited to:

Possible Areas and Topics

• Interfacing education and mental health
• Working with trilingual families
• Testing demonstrations
• Olmstead, recovery, peer support
• Supporting community living options
• Drug/alcohol abuse treatment strategies
• Trauma informed care
• Working with low functioning/language dysfluent consumers
• Developing cultural competency
• Therapeutic techniques/theories & effective counseling techniques & strategies (e.g., EMDR, DBT)
• Mental health/chemical dependency interpreting

• Deaf/Hard of Hearing cross-cultural conflicts
• Professional management
• Public policy
• Using technology in therapeutic settings
• Navigating the new health care environment
• Client-centered approaches/ Early interventions
• Career assessments
• Residential programming
• Levels of care: residential, outpatient, intensive, group homes
• Job coaching/Job placement
• Transition
• Autism
• Vocational evaluations
• Work adjustment

Process for Submitting Proposals

1) Complete the required presentation proposal form.

2) Develop a brief abstract of the presentation, not to exceed 125 words. If accepted, this description will be included in the program book.

3) Briefly describe how your presentation ties into the conference theme.

4) Briefly describe experience, qualifications, or credentials which reflect your expertise for your intended presentation topic.

5) Submit a summary, not to exceed 500 words, of the proposed presentation for review by the planning committee. This summary should include a minimum of three (3) learning objectives.

6) Include a short biography (up to 125 words) for each presenter.

7) Workshop sessions will be 90 or 180 minutes long. Put all the above information in MS Word and e-mail with the application form to:

Mr. John Gournaris
2013 ADARA Conference Chair
John.Gournaris@state.mn.us

Selected presenters (two per presentation) will be provided free registration for the conference. Presenters will be responsible for their own travel, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. Please plan to bring your own laptop computer for PowerPoint presentations.

Conference proceedings will be published and disseminated following the conference.

The deadline for submitting proposals is November 15, 2012.

Call for Papers: Child Development and Dyslexia

November 15-17, 2012 Larnaca, Cyprus

Abstract submission: till 15 July 2012

An International Symposium to bring together a group of researchers and other parties who have an interest in various aspects of learning difficulty in children.

We are pleased to invite you to attend the international symposium entitled "Child Development and Dyslexia" at the Lordos Beach Hotel in Larnaca, Cyprus on November 15-17, 2012.

The symposium will cover topics related to recent advances in dyslexia using psychology, cognitive science, developmental science, clinical neuroscience, brain imaging, neurophysiology, and information technology. Our aim is to bring together researchers, individuals and organizations who have interest in various aspects of learning difficulty in children.

For academic inquiries related to the symposium, please contact:

Prof. Andreas Ioannides
Lab. for Human Brain Dynamics, AAI Scientific Cultural Services Ltd.

Galaxias Centre Office 501
33 Arch Markarios III Avenue
Nicosia 1065
Cyprus

Tel: +357 22 460228 , Fax: +357 22 028060

Email: events@aaiscs.com

Web site: http://www.aaiscs.com/LHBD

Call for Poster Presentations: American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium

February 20-23, 2013 Orlando, Florida

Deadline: September 30, 2012

Poster Presentations provide an additional forum for sharing information. Submissions should offer solutions to common problems, patient/practice management techniques, innovative uses of technology, current research findings, and more.

Abstracts must be submitted online.

Questions? Call (202) 380-3663 or Email: cblondes@oandp.org

Call for Papers: 29th International Seating Symposium

The University of Pittsburgh, Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology Continuing Education Program (RSTCE) now invites proposals to present at the 29th International Seating Symposium - Building the Future to be held from 8:30 AM Thursday, March 7 to 1:00 PM Saturday, March 9, 2013. Pre-Symposium Workshops will take place on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6, 2013. This ISS will return to Nashville, TN, and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The 2011 ISS in Nashville was a big success with record attendance.

Also, based on feedback the Exhibit Hall will open a day earlier on Wednesday, March 6, giving attendees more opportunity to visit the Exhibits. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.

The ISS will once again offer full-day preconference sessions that include the Fundamentals of Wheelchair Seating and Mobility on Tuesday, March 5; and additional preconference workshops on Wednesday, March 6th.

Proposals are now being accepted for Paper and Poster presentations in addition to 1 hour and 2 hour Instructional Courses. For 2013 hands-on programs and advanced sessions are sought to take advantage of the resources in the exhibit hall that will be equipped with a large stage for presentations.

Deadline for Submission of Proposals; May 30, 2012

Proposal Topics

The symposium will include scientific and clinical papers, a research forum, in-depth workshops, panel sessions, and an extensive exhibit hall. Presentations should address the seating and wheeled mobility issues of people with disabilities across the lifespan such as neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury and diseases of the spinal cord, orthopedic conditions, systemic conditions, obesity, or polytrauma. Proposals that address service delivery issues including evidence-based practice, models of practice, policy and funding, documentation, and outcomes are also very much encouraged.

Submissions
Abstract submissions will only be accepted via our web-interface.

General Content
Presentations must be educational in format and intent. They must not have the appearance of product promotion, commercial bias, or advertisement.

Call for Papers: Interactive Technologies and Games: Education, Health and Disability 2012 (ITAG)

The “Interactive Technologies and Games: Education, Health and Disability 2012″ (ITAG) conference takes place this year on 23-24 October 2012 at Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

The aim of the conference is to bring together academics and practitioners working with interactive technologies to explore and innovate within the areas of Education, Health and Disability. We have a particular focus on the use of gaming hardware and software to implement accessible solutions, interaction design using new input/output devices and the increasing impact of ubiquitous computing on our everyday well being.

The conference provides an excellent opportunity to showcase practice and to mainstream research ideas and outcomes. It introduces a wider audience to key findings and products from research and illustrates how practice feeds back into and informs research. The conference creates a forum for two-way communication between the academic and practitioner communities and particularly welcomes user led presentations and workshops.

The programme includes presentations of papers, workshops, and an exhibition space for demonstrations and posters. This event is held in partnership with GameCity – the World’s best-loved videogame festival (http://gamecity.org/) and delegates are welcome to attend all GameCity events including the opening drinks reception.

Scope

As guidance to participants on scope of papers and activities we state that: ‘Education’ includes both compulsory and post-compulsory education; ‘Disability’ includes physical, sensory and cognitive impairment; and the impact of interactive technologies and games on health and well-being is also a focus of this conference. An emphasis is placed on practical applications and guides to where currently available training resources and tools can be found and used. A selection of papers will be published electronically in full, so presentations will be limited to 20 minutes for the key findings, including time for questions from the floor. It is hoped (as in previous years) that the best papers will be published in a special issue of a relevant academic journal. Previous special issues have included:

Journal of Assistive Technologies – Volume 3 issue 2 June 2009 (ITAG 2008 selected papers)
Computers and Education – Volume 56, issue 1 (ITAG 2009 selected papers)
International Journal of Games Based Learning – in press (ITAG 2010 selected papers)
Journal of Assistive Technologies – Volume 6 issue 3 in development (ITAG 2011 selected papers)

Themes and topics:

The conference encourages multidisciplinary papers and examples of themes and topics include (but don’t let this restrict you):

Games Based Learning:

Social and collaborative aspects of games (e.g., educational aspects of Massively Multiplayer Online Games)
The efficacy of games based learning
Self authored content and personalisation in games
Learning theory, pedagogy and instructional design in games
Motivational aspects of games
Collaboration between Science and Art for more effective learning
Games to promote the inclusion (e.g., for offenders and people with disabilities, motivation of female gamers)

Game related Technologies:

Using contemporary games controllers to create new opportunities in health and rehabilitation applications (e.g., applications for Wii Fit, Kinect. Move).
Brain control interfaces to games
Pervasiveness and mobility of games
Location based services
Handheld learning in the classroom

Games for Health:

Serious games for clinical assessment (e.g. after stroke)
Serious games for rehabilitation and treatment (e.g. of phobias, ADHA, post-traumatic stress disorders, stroke)
‘Modding’ for health
Art and music rehabilitation in 3D multisensory environments
Games for children in hospital
Games to increase physical activity in children

Accessibility and Design:

Open source accessibility
Participatory design
Design for all
Natural user interfaces
The representation and promotion of gender equality in games
Alternative input modalities to games for people with disabilities (e.g., brain, haptic and audio interfaces)
Access to interactive technologies for elderly people

Web based technologies:

Resources for interactive learning tools and environments, e.g. Flash, podcasts, simulations, mobile games, Web 2.0 tool etc.
The Internet as a communication medium ( e.g. for people with Asperger Syndrome).
Browser based games and linking into social media channels

Submissions

Those wishing to present papers or hold a workshop should send abstracts, to a maximum of 500 words. For those hoping to exhibit or produce a poster, a 300-word abstract is required. The deadline for submissions is Friday 1st June 2012 to be sent to: karen.krelle@ntu.ac.uk

Final copies of accepted papers are required by Friday 14th September 2012

There is a conference fee of £150 for 2 days, and £80 for 1 day registration. This price includes your invitation to the Game City opening event, lunch, and morning and afternoon refreshments.

Accommodation and Travel Links: https://www.conferencebookings.co.uk/delegate/NCBITAGEHD2010 and http://www.nctx.co.uk/

Prizes Offered:

As in previous years prizes will be awarded!

Best Paper Award: £250
Best Student Paper award: £250
Best Student Poster: £150

Call for Presentations: Assistive Technology Industry Association 2013 Orlando Conference

January 30 – February 2, 2013 Orlando, Florida

Save the date for next year's conference, ATIA 2013 Orlando!

Call for Presentations Opens Late April

ATIA is holding the Call for Presentations for a period of two months (April 23 – June 22, 2012) to enable speakers to submit abstracts for the 2013 Orlando conference. Speakers receive discounted registration to the conference. Please contact education@atia.org with your questions.

Call for Papers: 95th Annual American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) National Assembly

AOPA is excited to announce this "Call for Papers" for the 95th Annual AOPA National Assembly to be held September 6-9, 2012 in downtown Boston. The "call for papers" requests that all interested presenters submit an abstract of their proposed scientific paper or description of their proposed business paper. Presentations will be selected from among papers received by the AOPA Assembly Program Committee. Currently, submissions are being accepted for the following AOPA National Assembly programs and awards:

Clinical Presentations and Award Winning Thranhardt Lectures: Your submissions, based on sound research and strong empirical data, will set the stage for a broad curriculum of highly valued clinical and scientific offerings at the 2012 AOPA National Assembly.

Business Presentations and Sam E. Hamontree, CP Award Submissions: AOPA is looking for qualified O&P professionals and business management experts who have significant business experience. Join the ranks of our profession's recognized experts and share your knowledge and know-how at the 2012 AOPA National Assembly.

Poster Presentations: Present your research findings or a particular case presentation at the 2012 AOPA National Assembly. Presentations should be a graphical display in a poster format using photographs, diagrams, flowcharts and graphs and any sample educational materials developed. Applications for poster presentations will be accepted through July 1, 2012.

Otto and Lucille Becker Award will be presented for the best orthotic abstract submitted and the Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast Award for the best prosthetic abstract submitted by a qualifying student or resident.

Eligible presenters will receive a complimentary full-conference registration for the 2012 AOPA National Assembly. Due to programming time constraints and the volume of abstracts typically received by the committee, please remember that only top-quality papers will be accepted for presentation at the 2012 Assembly.

Submissions for Clinical and Business Presentations will be accepted through January 31 and Poster Submissions will be accepted through July 31.

Questions? Contact Tina Moran at tmoran@AOPAnet.org or (571) 431-0808.