Call  For  Panels:  IJCAI-95 
----------------------------
 
The IJCAI-95 Program Committee invites proposals for the Panel Program
for IJCAI-95, which is to be held in Montreal, Canada, August 20-25,
1995.

A panel allows three to five people to present their distinct views on an
issue or question of general interest.

Panels should be both relevant and interesting to the AI community, and have a
clearly specified issue that is narrow enough to be addressed in a single
session of one hour (though longer sessions could be negotiated). Panelists
must have substantial experience with the topic.

A panel presents focused questions that stimulate audience discussion.
It focuses on alternative approaches to, or views on, a common question,
where panelists present their ideas. The question must be such that there are
significantly opposing views expressed by the members of the panel.

Panels are usually organized as follows: the chairperson starts the panel by
introducing the topic and by providing appropriate background material; next,
the panelists provide short presentations, followed by an exchange between the
panelists and the audience; the chairperson ends the panel with a summary
statement.

The discussion with the audience must take precedence.  Panel chairs should
plan on at least one-third of the total time to be spent on this.

Requirements for Submission 
---------------------------

Panel proposals will only be accepted if it is very clear that the panel will
allow for the expression of widely diverging positions on an issue
of concern to a wide section of the AI community. Because of this very
strong requirement, it is likely that only a small number of proposals
will be accepted.

A panel proposal consists of a cover page, an overall summary, a
summary of each member's presentation, and letters from the panelists
confirming their intent to participate.

The cover page should contain:
  
  * Title of the panel
  * Name, postal address, phone number and email address of the proposed
	chairperson
  * Names, postal addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of the
	proposed panelists.
 

The overall summary should be about 500 words in length, giving a
clear description of the topic of the panel in a manner that general
members of the AI community can understand and appreciate.  It should
indicate how the member's presentations will present a range of
different approaches to the common issue. In addition, the summary
should address the following questions:
  
  * What is the relevance or significance of the panel at this time?
Everyone's research area is important, but why is a panel particularly useful
now, on this topic, and in the IJCAI-95 context?

  * What is the general AI interest in the topic?  Please give evidence, such
as recent important papers, workshops, etc.

  * How does the panel membership demonstrate broad coverage of the topic,
or, if this is not the case, why is narrow coverage preferable?

  * If your topic has been discussed by another panel at a recent national or
international AI conference, how will your panel differ from it?
 

The final part of a proposal consists of brief summaries of each
member's presentation, including the chairperson's presentation, if
there is one. Each summary should give a clear description of the
member's view or approach and demonstrate connections to the panel
topic.  Each member's summary should be approximately 500 words in
length.

The entire proposal should make it clear that all the participants are
addressing a common issue, but from very different viewpoints.

Panel proposals should be submitted as soon as possible, but no later
than November 1st 1994.  Proposals will be reviewed as soon as they
are received. Proposals may be accepted as they stand or revision and
re-review may be required.

Chairpersons for accepted proposals will be responsible for:
  
   * Preparation of a description of the panel for publication in the
conference proceedings (Normally, this will be an extended version of the
complete proposal.)

  * Determining the format of the panel session and ensuring that it runs
according to schedule

  * Ensuring that the presentations of the panelists adequately address the
panel's topic.
 

Submit proposals and enquiries to:


	Dr Chris Mellish 
	Department of Artificial Intelligence 
	80 South Bridge 
	Edinburgh EH1 1HN 
	United Kingdom [ ]
	Phone: +44-31-650-2711 
	Fax: +44-31-650-6516 
	Email: c.mellish@ed.ac.uk