Social Responsibility in the Information Age: Programme Format

• Six one-day seminars will be held over two years at different locations within the UK.
• The first seminar will consider living and working in the Information Age and will be used to set the scene for the remaining five seminars which will each address a specific topic. These have been identified as: regulation and liberty; professional responsibility; information provision; location of work; and virtual education. About 30 people will attend each seminar; 2 or 3 invited speakers, 16 research delegates, 10 research user delegates and 2 representatives from CCSR. All delegates will be asked to submit a 300-500 word statement of their views on the seminar topic prior to the seminar. A nominated facilitator will use these statements to run a group debate on the topic.
• The standard format of the seminar will be two or three presentations about the subject, syndicate work on one or more application briefings, a position statements group debate and a plenary session to identify the key issues and possible research agenda for the topic. Each seminar will include a session led by users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This will either be as a key note presentation or as an ICT application briefing that highlights a particular social responsibility issue. The direct involvement of the research user community will encourage practical relevance from the research community and create a synthesis between the two communities.
• An interim report will be produced after each seminar. This will be distributed to delegates and other interested parties and posted, along with the briefing papers and keynote presentations, on CCSR's website. The programme will culminate in a special report entitled "Social Responsibility in the Information Age". This will be launched at a public event.
• Two of the seminars will be hosted by CCSR at De Montfort University in Leicester. Charles Raab of the University of Edinburgh will host one of the seminars. The timing and focus of this seminar will be such that it links with his ESRC funded project "Privacy Protection in the Virtual Society". Tom Gough of the School of Computer Studies and Dr Graeme Gooday of the School of Philosophy at Leeds University will jointly host a seminar which vividly illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of this work. Dr Duncan Langford, the author of Practical Computer Ethics, will host a seminar at the Computer Laboratory at the University of Kent. Finally, Professor Harold Thimbleby will provide a London venue at the Faculty of Technology of Middlesex University.