PNC 2001 Interim Conference in Guadalajara, December 2- 4

The Annual PNC Conference features a world-class assortment of digital content presentations showcasing the state of the art in the use of digital technology to support scholarship. PNC, bringing together specialists from around the Pacific Rim, explores issues of information and technology exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of cultural knowledge contexts. In fostering access to digitized data on the Pacific Rim, the PNC serves as a portal for access to digital research. It helps scholars to find the library, archive, and museum materials needed to support both teaching and research. PNC works to build better communications worldwide through its conferences, workshops, and publications.

The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI), which is participating in the PNC 2001 Interim Conference in Guadalajara, is building a digital research infrastructure to support interoperable data from distributed sources. The humanities and social science projects affiliated with ECAI represent a range of work engaging questions of spatial and temporal relationships. Many are pioneering efforts in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for historical and cultural material. ECAI encourages proposals for papers on or computer demonstrations of projects drawn from the humanities or social sciences that employ GIS or offer examples of data-rich projects with geo-spatial components.

Papers and demonstrations on the following topics will be considered: networking, distance learning, digital museums, digital archives, content analysis, interoperability, metadata, GIS, content mark-up, internet ethics, and intellectual property rights, sacred sites and pilgrimage routes, archaeology, linguistic mapping, inscriptions and rubbings, cities, public health, human rights, historic maps, and human-environment interactions. Sessions are intended to contribute to enlarge understanding of access issues concerning the ever-increasing volume of digital information, and the integration of these resources in the context of a globally networked research community.  Research by scholars from Latin America will be given priority.  Projects will be selected by an international panel for their potential scholarly impact and innovative approach.

The conference information including program, presentation materials and photo album has been posted on the PNC Website at http://pnclink.org/annual/annual2001/interim2001.htm.