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Conference Theme
In the 21st Century, technical communicators must redefine or transcend borders of many kinds: social, linguistic, national, and cultural. As practitioners, researchers, and educators in the field of technical communication, we must learn how to refine our practices, use new technologies effectively, and deepen our understanding of our audiences in order to communicate across constantly evolving borders.
We must ask ourselves:
- How are communication technologies like social media shaping, altering, and reinventing global communication? How are these and other new technologies eroding borders between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers?
- How are today’s engineers being prepared to communicate in a global workplace?
The conference organizers of IPCC 2013 welcome submissions in all areas of technical professional communication. Authors who would like to contribute papers, workshops, or panels related to the conference theme could consider the following areas:
- Cross-cultural communication
- Engineering communication
- Managing information and communication systems
- Information quality
- Humanitarian aid communication
- Engineering Management
- Training and consulting
- Visual/multimedia communication
- Health/environmental communication
- Information and communication security
- Technical and professional communication pedagogy
- Usability
- Information design
- Tools/techniques for collaboration
- Content management/document technologies
- Software user assistance
Student Poster Competition:
Graduate and undergraduate students are invited to submit posters representing projects in any area of technical communication. Prizes will be awarded and first place winners (undergraduate and graduate student categories) will be invited to present their posters at the conference. The Call for Posters contains the details for designing and submitting posters for the competition. Note that the submission deadline for the Student Poster Competition has been extended to May 15, 2013.
Paper Submissions for Authors
Authors must register for the conference by April 29th if they want their papers to be published in the conference proceedings. Papers with multiple authors must have at least one author register for the conference by this date.
If you have any questions, please contact one of the two program co-chairs:
- Darlene Webb – darlene_webb@bcit.ca
- Carolyn Labun – carolyn.labun@ubc.ca
Student Poster Competition Submissions
Submissions for the student poster competition have different criteria and submission procedures than those for regular papers. Click the links below to get the submission instructions as well as the evaluation rubric that will be used to judge the posters.
Instructions for submitting student posters
Evaluation rubric for judging student posters
Conference Program
The preliminary conference program and schedule are available now (last revision: May 16, 2013).
The program will include four types of sessions:
- Individual papers – Each paper will be the subject of a 15-20 minutes presentation in a 75-minute session.
- Panels – Each panel will consist of multiple presenters in a single 75-minute session.
- Workshops – Each workshop will feature one or more facilitators presenting a “how to” or “about” session addressing relevant practices, issues, or technologies of interest).
- Student posters – Instead of printed posters, posters will be displayed electronically on a large screen in an open area. Competition winners will be invited to make poster presentations.
Tracks
Presentations must fit into one of the following tracks:
Teaching Practice Papers address classroom practices, including program, course, or assignment design; instructional practices; and assessment methods.
Professional Practice Papers address workplace practices, including guidelines, best practices, or exemplary efforts for government, industry, civic, or public discourse; approaches to technology management; and related areas.
Empirical Research Papers present data-driven studies (all methods are welcome, including textual analysis, qualitative studies, quantitative studies, and mixed-methods research).
Position Papers present theoretically grounded discussion.
Conference Committee Chairs
| General Chair: | Program Chairs: | Proceedings Chairs: |
| Sandy Bartell The Boeing Company sandy.bartell@boeing.com |
Carolyn Labun University of British Columbia carolyn.labun@ubc.caDarlene Webb British Columbia Institute of Technology darlene_webb@bcit.ca |
Brian Traynor Mt. Royal University btraynor@mtroyal.ca |
Registration
Registration is now open for IPCC 2013! We encourage you to register online as soon as possible so you can take advantage of the “early bird” registration rates which are in effect until June 15. Registration rates increase after this date as shown in the table below. Note: Registration rates are in USD$.
| Through June 15, 2013 |
June 16-July 13, 2013 | Onsite | |
| Members of IEEE PCS and the Society for Technical Communication* | $470 | $520 | $570 |
| Non-members | $625 | $675 | $725 |
| Students and retirees | $185 | $210 | $235 |
| 1-Day (does not include reception) | $210 | $235 | $260 |
| **Engineering Writing Workshop only (includes networking luncheon) | $150 | $160 | $170 |
* Visit the IEEE PCS membership page for information about joining
Registration Cancellation Policy
Registrants who cancel their registration for any reason (including the denial of a travel visa due to delays or other issues) will receive a partial refund according to the following schedule:
- Through June 15 – All registrants will receive a refund of their registration fees minus a $50 (USD) administrative fee.
- From June 16 – July 8 – The cancellation fee will be approximately 50% of the registrant’s fee (or a minimum of $100) in $USD as follows:
- IEEE PCS/STC members – $225
- Non-members – $325
- Students and retirees – $100
- 1-day – $100
- Engineering Writing Workshop – $100
- After July 8 (5 work days before the conference) – No refunds will be granted.
For additional information, or to cancel a registration, contact Brian Traynor (BTraynor@mtroyal.ca).
Location
IPCC 2013 will be held at the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. The campus is located in a beautiful natural setting on Vancouver’s west side and is surrounded by temperate rainforests and sandy beaches. Nearby shops, restaurants, banks, community services, and campus attractions are located within walking distance of the guest accommodations and meeting spaces. The UBC campus is 30 minutes away from Vancouver International Airport and about 20 minutes away from downtown Vancouver.
All conference meeting spaces, including the session rooms, have free wi-fi available.
A main bus terminal is located right across the street from the conference accommodations with 24 x 7 transportation to downtown Vancouver and other local area attractions.
Lodging
The Walter Gage conference hotel is located on the UBC campus within easy walking distance of the conference sessions. PCS has contracted for three types of rooms (see below). Each room rate includes a full breakfast at the Pacific Spirit Place Cafeteria right across from the conference hotel.
The conference rates are valid from July 12 – July 18. Room accommodations can only be reserved online. Please note that the reserved room block for IPCC is available only up until June 12. After this date, the conference hotel will keep taking reservations and honor the rates as long as there are rooms available. If a room category is not available, the conference hotel will offer alternatives.
Private studio apartment
Has a double bed, suitable for single or double occupancy. $119 (CAD) per night for single occupancy. All rooms are nonsmoking.
- Double-size bed in bedroom with luxury linens
- Fully-equipped kitchenette with Starbucks Coffee
- Bathroom with shower stall (no tub)
- Phone
- TV in the living room
- High-speed Internet port available (not wireless)
- Affordable on-site parking
- On-site laundry
One Bedroom Suite
Suite with Queen Bed in bedroom, pull-out double in living room and fully equipped kitchenette. Rate is based on single/double occupancy. $159 (CAD) per night for single occupancy. A fee will apply for each additional guest.
- Queen-size bed in bedroom with luxury linens
- Queen-size sofa bed in living room
- Fully-equipped kitchenette with Starbucks coffee
- Bathroom with shower stall (no tub)
- Phone
- Flat panel LCD TV in the living room
- High-speed internet port available (not wireless)
- Affordable on-site parking
- On-site laundry
Budget Room
A limited number of budget rooms are available forconference
attendees. These are private single bedrooms with wired internet. They sleep only one person. Guests share a lounge with TV and washroom with two showers (no bathtub) with five other guests. $46 (CAD)
per night for single occupancy.
Attractions
Vancouver has been rated as one of the top spots in the world in which to live and to vacation. In addition to world-class museums on the UBC campus, Vancouver offers a wealth of cultural events, tourism attractions, dining, and shopping to please every taste and budget. A perfect place to bring your family!
On-Campus Attractions
The Museum of Anthropology
The Museum of Anthropology was founded in 1949 to collect, preserve, research, and display archaeological and ethnographic material from British Columbia and the rest of the world. Today, it is Canada’s largest teaching museum and one of its most popular public museums. Winner of the 1989 Canadian Tourism Commission’s “Tourist Attraction of the Year – Canada” Award, MOA annually attracts 148,000 visitors.
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is one of the province’s premier showcases for contemporary art. Through exhibitions, publications, lectures and symposia, the Gallery’s programs emphasize research, teaching, and scholarship in areas ranging from B.C. art history to international contemporary art, and contemporary approaches to the practice of art history, criticism and curating.
Nitobe Memorial Gardens
Considered to be the best traditional, authentic Japanese Tea and Stroll Garden in North America and among the top five Japanese gardens outside Japan, the Nitobe Garden includes a rare authentic Tea Garden with a ceremonial Tea House.
UBC Botanical Garden
Welcome to UBC Botanical Garden, a window into the fascinating world of plants. Visitors can view alpine and Asian treasures, medicinal and culinary plants and the towering trees of a BC coastal native forest.
