[Commlist] ACM WebSci'21 | Call for Papers

*WebSci’21 | 13^th ACM Web Science Conference | Second Call for Papers*

21-25 June 2021

Hosted by the University of Southampton, UK, delivered on online

https://websci21.webscience.org/

*Globalisation, Inclusion and the Web in the Context of COVID*

The Web has enabled a globally connected network of individuals and 
communities, but divides still exist and emerge in various online 
environments. Fostering an inclusive and just online environment is a 
persistent challenge: Web technologies can hinder or promote equity, and 
can exacerbate intersectional disadvantages. In recent years, this 
challenge has been amplified by the increasing prevalence of artificial 
intelligence and the automation of Web-based tasks as well as ongoing 
divides in Web access, use, and skill. The theme for WebSci 2021, 
Globalisation, Inclusion and the Web in the Context of COVID, calls 
attention to these challenges, particularly in light of the ongoing 
global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Web Science is an 
interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding the complex and 
multiple impacts of the Web on society, and vice versa. As such, the 
field of Web Science is particularly well situated to address these 
pressing issues. This year’s theme seeks to call attention to core 
issues facing the field, but as always we welcome a broad array of 
submissions relevant to Web Science.

*Call for Papers*

The 13th International ACM Conference on Web Science in 2021 (WebSci’21) 
is an interdisciplinary conference where a multitude of research 
disciplines converge with the purpose of creating a greater insight into 
a complex global Web than the sum of their individual parts. We invite 
participation from diverse fields including computer and information 
sciences, communication, economics, informatics, law, linguistics, 
philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Contributions may be analytical, conceptual, creative, critical, 
predictive, theoretical (or all of the above) and should aim, wherever 
possible, to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. The conference 
provides a platform to a range of practitioners from Ph.D. students to 
experienced researchers and ideas ranging from early work through 
projects as well as final analysis and completed publishable work. We 
look to evaluate and value the impact of the Web Science approach, its 
current theoretical, methodological, and epistemological challenges as 
well as Web practices of individuals, collectives, institutions, and 
platforms.

Building on our theme for 2021, we especially welcome contributions that:

● Have a broader perspective on the Web and that combine analyses of Web 
data and other types of data (e.g., from surveys or interviews) to 
better understand user behaviour (i.e., online and offline)

● Present successful cases of interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary 
Web research

● Examine trends in globalisation, fragmentation, rejoining, and 
Balkanisation of the Web

● Examine automation and AI in all its manifestations relevant to the Web

● Interrogate questions of discrimination, representation, and fairness

● Bring lenses such as intersectionality or design justice to questions 
of marginalisation and inequality

● Consider the impact of COVID on technology adoption, risk perception 
and risk taking, rates of change, change management, digital health, and 
privacy

Methodologically, Web Science is a discipline that is agnostic to 
specific methods. We welcome quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods 
research, including methods from the social sciences and computer 
science. In addition, we welcome work that explores the ethics of 
Web-based data collection and research.

More broadly, possible topics for submissions include (but are not 
limited to) the following:

● Ethical challenges of technologies, data, algorithms, platforms, and 
people in the Web

● Modeling Web-related structures, data, users and behaviours

● Impact of AI and machine learning on the development of Web Science

● Detecting, preventing and predicting anomalies in Web data (e.g., fake 
content, spam, algorithmic and data biases)

● Data curation, Web archives and stewardship in Web Science

● Safeguarding and governance of the Web, including anonymity, security 
and trust

● Temporal and spatial dimensions of the Web as a repository of information

● The architecture and philosophy of the Web

● Social machines, crowd computing and collective intelligence

● Analysis and modeling of human vs. automatic behaviour (e.g., bots) 
and their influence on the structure of the Web and responding behaviour

● Health and well-being online

● Humanities, arts, and culture on the Web

● Critical analyses of the Web and Web technologies

● Web economics, social entrepreneurship, and innovation

● Analysis of online social and information networks

● Legal issues including rights and accountability for AI actors

● Inclusion, literacy and the digital divide

● Health, politics, and education on the Web

*Format of the submissions*

Please upload your submissions via EasyChair 
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Feasychair.org%2Faccount%2Fsignin%3Fl%3DQbWFl3jUs8dTpoapjNMeGd&data=04%7C01%7Cwebscience-announce%40ecs.soton.ac.uk%7C7bb25139537e40c14e5d08d8bb9c8cd6%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C637465628340957843%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=LjHt8rYJN1PlMUWkn9EvpXnP3c81VJ1wZ79XLmwG%2FqI%3D&reserved=0>.

The ACM Web Science Conference will run as an online conference, where 
authors will present their work remotely to online participants. There 
is one format for submission. All contributors will submit an abstract 
(max 400 words) followed by a full paper of between 6 and 10 pages 
(inclusive of references, appendices, etc.). The authors shall adopt the 
current ACM SIG Conference proceedings template 
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.acm.org%2Fpublications%2Ftaps%2Fword-template-workflow&data=04%7C01%7Cwebscience-announce%40ecs.soton.ac.uk%7C7bb25139537e40c14e5d08d8bb9c8cd6%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C637465628340967807%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=u%2B%2BD18IhDNfxpplNF9%2B9M33lei%2FkmaNYwH0HprNcrqY%3D&reserved=0> (acmart.cls). Please 
submit papers as PDF files using the ACM Submission template (single 
column), either in Microsoft Word format 
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.acm.org%2Fbinaries%2Fcontent%2Fassets%2Fpublications%2Ftaps%2Facm_submission_template.docx&data=04%7C01%7Cwebscience-announce%40ecs.soton.ac.uk%7C7bb25139537e40c14e5d08d8bb9c8cd6%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C637465628340967807%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=O8tu8BPjAqMEIIow5FPeV7oQxV8M8isF8WozhhaqCw0%3D&reserved=0> or 
with the ACM LaTeX template 
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.overleaf.com%2Fgallery%2Ftagged%2Facm-official%23.WOuOk2e1taQ&data=04%7C01%7Cwebscience-announce%40ecs.soton.ac.uk%7C7bb25139537e40c14e5d08d8bb9c8cd6%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C637465628340967807%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=2%2FRamxbbO8xvfcDqxKviHDL4jmTKhh2tKgIaSjXIrT0%3D&reserved=0> on 
Overleaf (ACM Conference Proceedings “Master” Template) using the 
“manuscript” option. A full description of the procedure can be found in 
this link (https://www.acm.org/publications/taps/word-template-workflow 
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.acm.org%2Fpublications%2Ftaps%2Fword-template-workflow&data=04%7C01%7Cwebscience-announce%40ecs.soton.ac.uk%7C7bb25139537e40c14e5d08d8bb9c8cd6%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C637465628340977757%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=A9VrZ10FffA7YZj9PrX8Km954iPQS5EyiooZF5e91Dw%3D&reserved=0>). 
Accepted papers will be formatted with the sigconf style at camera-ready 
time

All contributions will be judged by the Program Committee upon rigorous 
peer review standards for quality and fit to the conference, by at least 
three referees. We will adopt a single-blind review process. Do not 
anonymize your submissions. Submissions without authorship information 
will be desk-rejected without review.

For authors who wish to opt-out of publication proceedings, this option 
will be made available upon acceptance. This will encourage the 
participation of researchers from the social sciences that prefer to 
publish their work as journal articles. All authors of accepted papers 
(including those who opt out of proceedings) are expected to present 
their work (virtually) at the conference. In 2020, the Web Science 
conference registration costs were kept low, and the intention is to 
continue this for Web Science 2021.

*Important Dates*

*Feb. 12, 2021 Abstract Submission Deadline*

*Feb. 19, 2021 Paper submission deadline*

*April 9, 2021 Notification*

*May 10, 2021 Camera-ready versions due*

*June 21-25 Conference dates*


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