Workshop Symbol 

 

Visual Representations & Interpretations

 

Bullet pointAim of the workshop/conference

The main aim of the workshop is to promote inter-disciplinary awareness. Contributions were invited from researchers in any discipline who are actively investigating visual representations and interpretations, including though not limited to:- artists, architects, biologists, chemists, clinicians, cognitive scientists, computer scientists, educationalists, graphic designers, linguists, mathematicians, philosophers, physicists, psychologists and social scientists.

We are pleased to report that all these disciplines are represented in the papers chosen for presentation at the workshop. We have also had interesting submissions which have been accepted from researchers in Film and Media studies, Philosophy of Science, Molecular and Cellular Science, Theatre Studies, Art and Textile design, Engineering and other design disciplines. This excellent response means that the conference will be a truly multi-disciplinary event.
 

Duration of the workshop/conference

The considerable interest that has been expressed in the workshop has also led us to extend its duration. The workshop will now run from Tuesday 22nd September until lunch-time on Thursday 24th September.

After the end of the workshop, on the afternoon of the 24th September, the Tate Gallery, Liverpool has very kindly invited VRI'98 participants to a guided tour of the Willie Doherty Exhibition "Somewhere Else" , showing as part of Revolution98 (the 9th International Symposium on Electronic Art, 2nd September-11th October). Numbers are restricted so those interested in participating in this tour are requested to email vri98@csc.liv.ac.uk expressing interest in this tour as soon as possible. Please place the words "Tate tour" in the Subject line of your email message. There is no charge for the tour. It is a goodwill gesture by the Tate to VRI'98. Preference for places will be given to overseas visitors.
 

Detailed Programme

A detailed provisional programme for the workshop is now published on this WWW site:- http://intranet.csc.liv.ac.uk/research/other/vri1/programme.html.

Selected papers are organised in themed groups. A chairperson is assigned to each themed presentation. The role of the chairperson will be to enable cross disciplinary communication by highlighting commonalties and contrasts in the research presented. We hope participants will use evenings for informal get togethers in the pubs and restaurants around the University to further discuss common areas of interest. We will provide delegates with a list of such venues.

The workshop will also include poster presentations, interactive software demonstrations and  exhibitions.

Topic areas of the workshop include:- visual languages, user-interface design, data visualisation, diagrammatic reasoning, visual metaphors, semiotics, theories of visual representation and multimodal communication, virtual reality, design articulation, molecular art.

Workshop schedule

The Workshop is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 22nd September at 10.00am. Registration will take place between 9-9.45 am in the South Atrium Room of the Foresight Centre. The Welcome Talk will be given by Pro-Vice Chancellor Williams at 9.45-10.00 am. The Workshop sessions will take place all day until 6-6.30 pm each day.

There will be an Evening Reception (6-8 pm) immediately following the last Workshop session on Tuesday 22nd September with music, nibbles and wine. The remainder of Tuesday evening and all of Wednesday evening is free for participants to explore sights of interest in Liverpool or to meet over an evening meal in a local pub or restaurant to further discuss the day's papers. There is an optional (free) guided tour of the Willie Doherty and the Cubism exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, after the closure of the conference, on the afternoon of Thursday 24th September.

The workshop will be held in the Gallery Room of the Foresight Centre which is part of the recently restored former Royal Infirmary of Liverpool. The Evening Reception for the workshop will be held in the old Chapel. Brochures detailing the architectural history of this building will be available at the Workshop Registration Desk.

Note: The management of the Foresight Centre are interested in new ways through which to express the history of the building and its current facilities to clients and visitors alike. If you have any good ideas, please email Lynne Westbury, the business manager of the centre. A bottle of champagne awaits any particularly interesting suggestions/ideas.
 

Identifying people who can help you

The organisers of the workshop, Ray Paton and Irene Neilson, and all helpers, Austin, Gareth and Duncan, will be wearing red badges. Austin, Gareth and Duncan will also be wearing bright yellow T shirts with the words " Internet Express" and "Connect" on them (Connect has given us a lot of help in organising the Workshop). Please don't hesitate to ask them for any help. The front-desk of the Foresight Centre will be staffed by the management of the centre, all of whom are more than happy to help you.

Registration

We would be grateful if everyone who is intending to participate in the workshop/ conference could download and complete the  registration form below as soon as possible. The form  with a cheque for 75 UK pounds or a request for an invoice (see form for details) should be sent to Beth James, Connect, Foresight Centre, 3 Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GL. Beth will be dealing with the registration for the conference. All queries in respect of registration should be made, ideally by email, to Beth at beth@csc.liv.ac.uk If we have the room capacity to do so, we will accept registrations up to Monday 21st September.

Registration Form (Word 6.0 format)

Registration Form (Text only format)

Registration Form (HTML format)

Cost

As the Workshop/Conference has been extended to run over 2.5 days, the cost of the Workshop has increased slightly to 75 UK pounds. This includes the following:- Please note that the cost does not include accommodation or main evening meals on either full day of the workshop. Lunch is not included on Thursday 24th September as the conference will close at the end of the morning session.

Publication of Workshop Proceedings

Publication of the proceedings of the Workshop has now been agreed with Springer Verlag. An edited book "Visual Representations and Interpretations" will be published after the conference. All presenters have been notified as to the nature of their contribution to this book and advised that we will require a camera ready copy of their contribution no later than Friday 16th October. Papers received after this date are not guaranteed  to appear in the final proceedings. Papers should be formatted according to the guide provided by Springer, Crcguide.doc. It is the responsibility of each individual author to ensure compliance to the Springer Guidelines. Papers which fail to comply with these instructions will be rejected.

It is also the responsibility of individual authors to obtain copyright clearance, if required, of any images used in their paper. For each author it is assumed that the work is original to them and that it has not been published in any form and is not an infringement of any existing copyright or licence or any other right  of any person (including any moral rights of any person) and that it contains nothing libellous or otherwise defamatory and that all statements asserted as facts are true or are based on reasonable research for accuracy and that, to the best of the author's knowledge, no formula, procedure or prescription in the work would cause injury if used or followed in accordance with the instructions and/or warnings contained in the Work.
Each author will be requested to sign a warrent to this effect (see last section of Crcguide.doc). This signed warrent should be returned to the VRI organisers along with the camera ready copy of the paper.

Springer Guidelines for Preparation of final manuscript for book publication (Crcguide.doc)

Letter: Instructions to presenters

Letter: Instructions to presenters (Word 6 document)

Letter: Instructions to presenters (Text only)

Formatting of final abstract for Conference (Word 6 document)

Formatting of final abstract for Conference (text only)
 

Bullet pointAccommodation

There is a wide variety of inexpensive accommodation in the vicinity of the University. In order to accommodate differences in taste and budget, workshop attendees are requested to make their own accommodation arrangements.

General information about hotels and other accommodation in the vicinity of the University can be found at the Merseyside Tourism Web Site. Bookings can generally be made by fax, telephone and occasionally through email. The Merseyside Tourism/ Conference Centre can be contacted by phone on 0151 709 2444. They will help with any queries.

The Adelphi Hotel, which is a 10 minutes walk from the University, offers a discounted rate to visitors to the University of 42.00 UK pounds for bed and breakfast (single) and 56 UK pounds for bed and breakfast (double). If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please book directly with the Adelphi and indicate when booking that you will be attending the VRI Workshop at the University.
 

Bullet pointTravel

The Foresight Centre, The University of Liverpool, 1 Brownlow Street, Liverppol L69 3GL can be readily reached by Road, Rail or Air. The University of Liverpool WWW site hosts detailed information about national and international travel to the University at http://www.liv.ac.uk/university/regional.html. There is also an active map of the University Precint which clearly displays the location of the Foresight Centre (Building 98) at http://www.liv.ac.uk/UniversityPrecinct/precmap.html and a small map of the immediate vicinity of the Foresight Centre at http://www.liv.ac.uk/foresight/map.html

Tourism

Liverpool has a rich history. There is much to see and do around the City. The Tate Gallery at the Albert Dock has recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment. The Albert Dock is also home to the Beatles Museum and the Maritime Museum which charts Liverpool's history as a trading port. Explore Liverpool's many faces through the MerseyWorld Site.

As mentioned previously, revolution98, the 9th International Symposium on Electronic Art, will be running at various Merseyside venues prior to and during the conference (02 Sept-11 Oct). revolution98 is organised by the Foundation for Art & Creative Technology and explores the effect of the so-called 'technological revolution' on art and society by asking the question "How much has technology changed the rules?".

For those who wish to escape to countryside, it is approximately a 1.5 hour drive from Liverpool to the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales and a similar time to the Peak District. The Lake District is a 2.5 hour drive. All these areas are also served by public transport. The Wirral Peninsula, one of Liverpool's best kept secrets, is a 25 minute drive or 30 minute train journey from central Liverpool.

Those from overseas might make the time to visit Scotland. The Scottish Borders are just a 3.5 drive from Liverpool.

For general information about tourist facilities in Merseyside, contact Merseyside Tourism.
 
 

Bullet pointAny queries

Please contact Dr Ray Paton or Dr Irene Neilson for any queries concerning the academic content of the workshop. Please indicate VRI'98 in the subject line of your email message.

Please contact Beth James with any accommodation or travel queries. Beth's phone number is 0151-794-8276. Please use email though for communication wherever possible.

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We gratefully acknowledge sponsorship of the conference from Connect and the Department of Computer Science, The University of Liverpool , The Tate Gallery, Merseyside Conference Bureau, Unilever Research, and Barclay's Bank.