[Air-L] Reminder!!!! New HICSS-58 Minitrack on "Combating Abuses of Power in Systems"

[Ocepek, Melissa G]

Dear colleagues,

Please consider submitting your research to a new minitrack, “Combating Abuses of Power in Systems”<https://hicss.hawaii.edu/tracks-58/information-technology-social-justice-and-marginalized-contexts/#combating-abuses-of-power-in-systems-minitrack>, at the 58th annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-58<https://hicss.hawaii.edu/>) on the Big Island of Hawaii, January 7-10, 2025. Please see the description of our timely transdisciplinary minitrack<https://hicss.hawaii.edu/tracks-58/information-technology-social-justice-and-marginalized-contexts/#combating-abuses-of-power-in-systems-minitrack> below; this minitrack builds upon a workshop convened at HICSS-57 in January 2024, which in turn grew out of presentations at HICSS-56 in January 2023. Please consider sharing your work to make an impact and grow the scholarship in this space (and did we mention you would be presenting in Hawaii in January?) Paper submissions are due by June 15, 2024, and reviews will largely take place during the months of June and July 2024. Additional details vis-a-vis minitrack key dates and timelines<https://hicss.hawaii.edu/minitrack-chairs/> may be found here<https://hicss.hawaii.edu/minitrack-chairs/>.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this opportunity. Our contact information is at the conclusion of this message. Here is our minitrack description:

Systems of all sizes, shapes, and types have always contained abuses of power. How we understand and mitigate such abuse is one way to create better systems that support people to be their best, optimizing performance and teamwork. This minitrack aims to explore how the global system sciences community, in collaboration with other diverse stakeholders worldwide (and synergistic disciplines), can leverage the power of history, social science, and information technology to glean valuable insights that can be made actionable and harnessed to combat abuses of power in systems; addressing such abuses early can potentially prevent real-world negative implications on people navigating those systems, which have proven to be especially detrimental to members of marginalized communities.
This minitrack seeks to advance conceptual, historical, and empirical approaches to combating abuses of power in systems broadly defined. For guidance, we define abuses of power in systems as occurring when influence and control are misused by one or more individuals within systems to the detriment of others. We are open to a variety of research methods and theoretical approaches encompassed within systems sciences, focused on abuse in systems and/or understanding systemic abuses of power. Papers should bring a transdisciplinary perspective and should be written for a broad and diverse target audience. Potential topics for exploration could include, but should not be limited to:

  *
How to advance prevention of, and/or active surveillance for “big abuses” of power rooted in systemic enablers, incentives, and cultures in academia and in other societal institutions.
  *
How to engender transparency in reporting, measurement, and amelioration of systemic abuses of power.
  *
How to reimagine and drive cultural transformation to eradicate abuses of power at organizational and system levels in academia and beyond, including how to recognize and surmount barriers they pose to innovation.
  *
How to envision a path to learning systems underpinning continuous improvement in ameliorating systemic abuses of power in academia and beyond.
  *
How to raise social consciousness vis-à-vis such issues so as to mobilize society toward ultimately eradicating them.
  *
How to empower Davids to outmaneuver abusive systems of Goliaths supported by “Armies of Enablers”.
  *
How to understand the social, economic, and (physical and mental) health consequences of abuse.
  *
How to collaboratively formulate a research agenda to guide and propel this global scientific community forward.


Thank you for considering contributing to our minitrack at HICSS-58. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance in any way.

Best wishes,

Melissa G. Ocepek, PhD
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
mgocepek at illinois.edu<mailto:mgocepek at illinois.edu>

Joshua C. Rubin, JD, MBA, MPH, MPP
Department of Learning Health Sciences
University of Michigan Medical School
Josh at JoshCRubin.com<mailto:Josh at JoshCRubin.com>

Rebecca D. Kush, PhD
Catalysis Research
rkush at catalysisresearch.com<mailto:rkush at catalysisresearch.com>