dg.o 2007

Computer Science and Social Science: Dual Perspectives on Interdisciplinary Research in e-Government

Sunday, May 20, 2007, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

The objectives of this workshop are two-fold:

• First, the workshop will provide a forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with interdisciplinary work in e-government.

• Second, the workshop presenters will provide an introduction to key concepts in social science and computer science that have application in e-Gov research. Hopefully this exchange of knowledge across the disciplines will provide a basis for interdisciplinary work by providing a basic understanding of important ideas in these fields.

The workshop presenters hold active e-Gov grants with collaborative computer science and social science teams. The workshop will be divided into two parts.  In the first part, the presenters will provide instruction in their areas of expertise. This will be followed by a facilitated discussion of issues raised in the presentations, including both technical topics and issues regarding the difficulties and benefits of interdisciplinary e-government research.  We seek active participants who will join in this conversation and challenge the perceptions about interdisciplinary research. However, unlike other workshops, attendees are not required to submit a white paper to the organizers.

Moderator

Larry Brandt, Program Director, Information and Intelligent Systems Division, US National Science Foundation

Presenters

e-Gov Project: An Assessment of Voting Technology and Ballot Design

• Paul Herrnson, Director, Center for American Politics and Citizenship, University of Maryland

• Catherine Plaisant, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland

e-Gov Project: E-government and the Preparation of Citizens for Natural Disasters

• Laura J. Steinberg, Environmental and Civil Engineering Department, Southern Methodist University

• Stephan Gant, consulting information scientist