Upcoming Paper & Conference Calls
Association of Internet Researchers--Deadline February 8
International Conference on Computer Mediated Social Networking--Deadline February 27
International Journal of e-Collaboration--Deadline March 15
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication--Deadline July 1
International and Interdisciplinary Conference Association of Internet Researchers (A.o.I.R)
Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2008
http://conferences.aoir.org/cfp.html
Workshops / Doctoral Colloquium: October 15th, 2008
A. o.I. R conference: October 16–18th, 2008
Deadline for paper submissions: February 8th, 2008
Internet Research 9.0:
Rethinking Community, Rethinking Place
In the past few years, new forms of net-based communities are emerging, distributed on various websites and services, and making use of several media platforms and genres to stay connected. Now, as mobile and location-based technologies are reintroducing "place" as an important aspect in the formation of communal and social activities, it is time to consider and rethink the concept of online or virtual communities. Not forgetting the lessons we have learned from studying the early virtual communities, how do we describe, analyse, theorise and design the communities and social formations of the early 21st century? How do we address the blurring of boundaries between places and communities on- and offline.
We call for papers, panel proposals, and presentations from any discipline, methodology, and community, and from conjunctions of multiple disciplines, methodologies and academic communities that address the conference themes.
Sessions at the conference will be established that specifically address the conference themes, and we welcome innovative, exciting, and unexpected takes on those themes. We also welcome submissions on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and/or aesthetic aspects of the Internet beyond the conference themes. In all cases, we welcome disciplinary and interdisciplinary submissions as well as international collaborations from both AoIR and non-AoIR members.
Submissions
We seek proposals for several different kinds of contributions. We welcome proposals for traditional academic conference papers, but we also encourage proposals for creative or aesthetic presentations that are distinct from a traditional written ‘paper.’
We also welcome proposals for ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS that will focus on discussion and interaction among conference delegates, as well as organized PANEL PROPOSALS that present a coherent group of papers on a single theme
Submissions may be made to our online system.
Submission requirements
All papers and presentations in this session will be reviewed in the normal manner. Further information will be available via the conference submission website, accessible from January 2008 through the conferences.aoir.org website.
Format
- Papers (individual or multi-author): submit abstract of 600-800 words
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Creative or aesthetic presentations: submit abstract of 500-750 words
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Panel proposal: submit a 600-800 word description of the panel theme, plus 250-500 word abstract for each paper or presentation
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Round-table proposal: submit a statement indicating the nature of the roundtable discussion and interaction
Papers, presentations and panels will be selected from the submitted proposals on the basis of multiple blind peer review, coordinated and overseen by the Program Chair. Each individual is invited to submit a proposal for 1 paper or 1 presentation. A person may also propose a panel session, which may include a second paper that they are presenting. An individual may also submit a roundtable proposal. You may be listed as co-author on additional papers as long as you are not presenting them.
Publication of papers
Several publishing opportunities are expected to be available through journals, including a special issue of Information, Communication & Society, based on peer-review of full papers. The final version of the website, available in early 2008, will contain more details.
Graduate students
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Any student paper is eligible for consideration for the AoIR graduate student award. Students wishing to be a candidate for the Student Award must send a final paper by June 30, 2008.
Ph.D. students will also want to consider participating in the Doctoral Colloquium. Following the very successful examples of previous Doctoral Colloquia, we will again aim to offer an all-day Doctoral Colloquium on October 15th 2008 (Wednesday) for Ph.D. students who wish to present their current work for critical evaluation by their peers and senior scholars. Submission and registration details will be available on the conference website (<http://conferences.aoir.org>) as soon as possible.
Paper roposal submission deadline: February 8th, 2008
Presenter notification: March 31, 2008
Workshop submission: March 31, 2008
Submission for student award competition: June 30, 2008
Submission for conference archive: July 31, 2008
International Conference on Computer Mediated Social Networking (ICCMSN - 2008)
The International Conference on Computer Mediated Social Networking (ICCMSN - 2008) is being held at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand on June 11-13. This conference aims to explore issues in the context of social networking such as formation of online communities and how collaboration and cooperation can be achieved.
The submission date is February 27th.
For more information please view the associated Website:
http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/infosci/conferences/isn2008/index.html
CALL FOR PAPERS--Special Issue on "Real-time Collaboration (RTC) and Distributed Work"
International Journal of e-Collaboration (IJEC) ISSN: 1548-3681 (online) 1548-3673 (print)
http://www.idea-group.com/journals/details.asp?id=4297
Submission deadline: March 15, 2008
Scheduled Publication date: Beginning of 2009
Guest editors:
Kai Riemer, The University of Muenster (Germany) Volker Wulf, The University of Siegen (Germany)
IJeC editor:
Ned Kock, Texas A&M International University
The full call for papers can be downloaded here:
http://www.e-collaboration.net/cfp-rtc
TOPIC OUTLINE
Today's work practices are undergoing significant changes due to trends of virtualization and the emergence of new communication technologies. Distributed settings are increasingly common in organizations. While virtualization offers benefits (e.g. remote and flexible interaction), the resulting work environments present a number of challenges such as a lack of awareness of co-workers' activities and locations. At the same time, with the number of available communication channels and devices growing, the communicative complexity increases likewise. People are faced with an increase in communication volume, more work interruptions, and at the same time with a poor availability of co-workers. The latter typically impedes information access and the free flow of knowledge.
Real-Time Collaboration (RTC) technologies are supposed to present an answer to these challenges. The idea of RTC technologies is to lessen the aforementioned problems through enabling instant (real-time) collaboration between people using various media and devices and by enabling the creation of awareness. RTC technologies comprise Voice-over-IP telephony, video conferencing and Instant Messaging with its text chat feature and presence information. Integrated RTC systems are the result of media convergence, device integration, and unified communications. By providing active presence management and rule-based message filtering, RTC systems try to re-empower users to be in control of their communication. Moreover, RTC systems show significant potential for integration with other software systems in order to enable contextual real-time collaboration in work processes (e.g. integration with other groupware systems, office software, and enterprise systems).
We are pleased to invite scholars from any methodological background to contribute papers that advance our knowledge of the design, diffusion, appropriation, usage and impact of RTC systems, particularly in the context of distributed work. We welcome theoretical, conceptual, design-oriented and especially empirical contributions using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Research efforts might focus on different organization levels such as individuals, teams, corporations, networks, and informal communities and on different RTC technologies such as Instant Messaging tools, Voice-over-IP telephony, Video conferencing, Unified communications, Mobile RTC systems, or integrated RTC systems suites.
Typical RTC systems are:
- Small RTC tools: Skype, AIM, ICQ etc.; i.e. Instant Messaging and Voice-Call tools
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Integrated RTC systems: IBM Sametime, Siemens Hipath Openscape, Oracle Collaboration Suite etc.
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Related technologies: Video and web conferencing systems
TOPICS Papers in this special issue might be concerned with any or all of the above mentioned RTC technologies (Instant Messaging, VoIP, Unified Communication systems, etc.) and might address, but are not limited to one or more of the following areas:
Usage, impact and effects of RTC technologies
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Presence and awareness in distributed work
- RTC and typical coordination problems in distributed work
- The time dimension in real-time collaboration
- Diffusion and adoption of RTC technologies in the market place
- Emerging new work practices based on the appropriation of RTC
- Inter-organizational support with RTC technologies
- Effects of RTC on social networks in and across organizations
- Effects of RTC on organizational culture
- Effects of RTC in bridging barriers created by virtualization
- Group level effects of RTC (e.g. reachability, visibility, identity building etc.)
- Individual level effects of RTC (e.g. control, interruptions and disturbance)
- Changing communication behaviors through RTC usage
- Shifts in media usage through introduction of RTC technologies
- Privacy and control issues of increased awareness of peoples' actions
RTC design and systems development
- User interfaces design challenges in RTC systems
- Development, application, and evaluation of RTC prototypes
- Design of presence signaling mechanisms
- Challenges of integrating different media in RTC infrastructures
- Case studies reporting on the integration of RTC with business processes
- Case studies reporting on the integration of RTC with other software systems
- Experimental research to explore user perceptions of RTC features
PLEASE NOTE:
For specific topics and the submission guidelines please download the full CfP at
http://www.e-collaboration.net/cfp-rtc
CALL FOR PAPERS: JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION SPECIAL ISSUE on Young People, Mediated Discourse and Communication Technologies
For more info: http://faculty.washington.edu/thurlow/jcmc.html
Guest Editor:
Crispin Thurlow, University of Washington
IMPORTANT DATES Abstracts due: July 1, 2008
Full papers due: November 1, 2008
Publication: April 2009
ISSUE FOCUS After cybersex and e-commerce, perhaps the most widely discussed CMC-related issue is so called 'cyberkids' and the 'net generation'. Almost on a daily basis there are stories in the media addressing adult concerns about young people's involvement with new communication technologies like instant messaging, text messaging and social networking sites. These popular representations are often speculative, anecdotal and exaggerated. Young people are typically caught in a no-win situation: on the one hand, they are depicted as being somehow naturally predisposed and automatically 'wired' to new technologies; on the other hand, they are viewed as being enslaved to technology, as either arch-consumers or tragic victims.
CMC and new media scholars know well that generalizations about technologically-mediated communicative practices are inherently problematic, conflating as they do important differences in the affordances and constraints of different technologies. By the same token, the homogenizing rhetoric of 'net generation' and 'cyberkids' conceals the diversity of young people's lives and their experiences with communication technology. Most popular discourse also overlooks those disadvantaged young people who cannot simply take the internet and more recent technologies for granted.
This special issue of JCMC seeks to answer a simple question: what are young people really doing with new communication technology? Papers are sought which examine children and teenager's mediated discourse - in other words, their actual language and communication practices. Papers should therefore be empirically grounded, situated and contextual (e.g. user- and use-specific). By no means exhaustive, papers might address the following types of research questions:
* how are young people reworking standard linguistic forms and practices?
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how do young people themselves talk about new technology and/or its role in their lives?
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how are new technologies seen to be supporting young people?s interpersonal needs?
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how are young people using technologies for artistic, political and other creative purposes?
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how are new communication technologies connecting different groups of young people?
Papers reporting findings from diverse and under-represented social backgrounds are especially welcome.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION Potential authors should submit a preliminary proposal of 500 to 750 words by June 1, 2008 to the guest editor Crispin Thurlow (thurlow @ u.washington.edu - please put "JCMC Special Issue" in the subject line). Proposals should include the central research question, the theoretical and/or empirical basis for the paper and preliminary findings, interpretations or insights. Those interested in submitting a proposal are also encouraged to contact the guest editor with their questions and ideas.
Authors whose proposals are accepted will be invited (by August 1, 2008)
to submit for review a full paper of roughly 7,000-10,000 words by September 1, 2008. The JCMC is an interdisciplinary journal and so authors should plan for papers that will be accessible to non-specialists and try to make their paper relevant to this audience. Anticipated publication date for the issue is April 2009.
Final submissions should be emailed to the guest editor, Crispin Thurlow at thurlow @ u.washington.edu. Again, please put "JCMC Special Issue" in the subject line. The usual JCMC manuscript guidelines should be followed.
NOTE ABOUT "YOUNG PEOPLE" There is no shortage of scholarly research on college-age people - a convenient and often captive audience! As a consequence, it sometimes feels as if we know more about this period of the lifespan than we do about any others (Thurlow, 2005). In an attempt to redress this imbalance and to give voice to a major new-media constituency, this special issue will give priority to papers which make the experiences of children and teenagers a central focus - in other words, young people under the age of twenty (to use an otherwise arbitrary cut-off point). Papers which focus on young, college-age adults are encouraged to situate their data/analysis with reference to the broader lifespan
CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THREE EDITED BOOKS
Edited by Andy Kavoori, Grady College, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Book 1: Gaming: An International Communication Perspective
This edited book will address Gaming (video, on-line, single/multiple player) by examining its sociological relevance from a global perspective (most current books have an American focus). Papers should examine one or more of the following topics: (a) History: Growth of gaming as a global industry, discourse and media product (b) Representation: How gaming environments construct the world (this could be for example, a textual/content analysis of games that are international in content) (c) Politics: The political universe of Games. Of special interest to the editor are case studies of Gaming and War/Terrorism especially games like America's Army and Islamogames) (d) Theory: Stand-alone theoretical essays that frame the field of Gaming using international communication theory (for example, political economy, cultural studies, post- colonial studies, globalization theory). Please send abstracts by March 30th to akavoori@yahoo.com and put in the subject line "abstract for international gaming book."
Book 2: The Digital Culture Reader
This edited book will examine the discursive content of on-line mass mediated digital culture. Essays are invited for four sections of the book which will be focused on (a) Stand alone theoretical essays on the subject of "digital culture" defined within the fields of digital cultural studies, technology studies, sociology/anthropology, and media studies. Essays examining institutional development, historical context, and international import are especially welcome. (b) Essays on the "texts" of You Tube (b) Essays on the "texts" of My Space and Facebook and (c) Essays on the "texts" of Second Life. The methodological approach may include content, textual, rhetorical, discursive, ethnographic and other methods commonly used in digital cultural studies. Some specific questions that the textual analysis essays might address include:
(1) What happens to questions of identity politics (race, class, gender and sexuality) in the constructs of Youtube, Facebook/MySpace and Second Life? Does digital culture move the debate about identity politics beyond the big four (race, gender, etc) and construct new hybrid/virtual/idiosyncratic vocabularies for the presentation of identity politics? (2) Does the digital imagination (the process of creating consumer generated content) reconfigure questions of democracy, citizenship, entertainment and representation? (3) What are the ranges of discursive constructs across cultural / national and global contexts? Studies that examine non-western digital content on the above websites are especially welcome. Please send an abstract by March 30th to akavoori@gmail.com and put in the subject line "abstract for digital culture book."
Book 3: Journalism/Gaming: Mapping the Intersection
This edited book seeks to bring together two of the most important contemporary industry trends?the rapidly changing nature of digital journalism and the world of Gaming, both centered on youth culture, practices and politics. The two industries have historically been seen as separate ?with traditional mass media journalism, positioned as a place where the serious work of citizenship takes place and Gaming seen as a vehicle for consumption?and for its critics, a discursive dead end focused on violence and pleasure. Both industries have a very specific orientation youth culture?Gaming is at the heart of youth culture; traditional journalism appears to have little resonance with young people. This book takes as its goal the articulation of a theoretical, empirical and political vision that argues that Journalism and Gaming need to be engaged ? that new genres, modes of participatory culture, political action and ideas about citizenship need to be strategized in order to make such a connection possible. To that end, the collection seeks essays that (a) articulate the terms, conditions and theoretical frameworks that may be usefully applied in "mapping the intersection" between Journalism and Gaming. The editor is especially interested in essays that apply theories of one field onto the other, i.e. theorists of Journalism writing essays about Gaming and theorists of Gaming examining Journalism. (b) Case studies of Games (video, on-line, single, multiplayer) where "Journalism" broadly defined is taking place?this may include studies of the use games that build on contemporary news events or use of games such as "Palestine" (c) cross-cultural and global trends in the use of Journalism/Gaming, especially as they relate to issues of media and war/Terrorism. (d) Media education projects that emphasize the connections between these two industries.
Please send an abstract by March 30th to akavoori@hotmail.com and put in the subject line "abstract for journalism/gaming book".
TIME LINE: Once abstracts have been collected, a formal proposal will be submitted to leading scholarly publishers (the editor has long-standing relations with a number of publishers and has initiated negotiations). Full papers will be sought from selected contributors once contracts have been signed (approximately, mid fall, 2008).
EDITOR BIO:
Anandam (Andy) Kavoori is an Associate Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. His co-edited books include The Cell Phone Reader (Peter Lang), Media, Terrorism, Theory (Rowman and Littlefield), The Global Dynamics of News (Ablex) and Global Bollywood (New York University Press). He is the author of Thinking Television (Peter Lang).
Andy Kavoori, Ph.D Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 akavoori@uga.edu
CALL FOR CHAPTERS--The Culture of Efficiency
Edited by Sharon Kleinman, Ph.D.
The Culture of Efficiency will explore the ways that people are managing, exploiting, and resisting technological advancements in the digital age. This multidisciplinary collection will be a reader-friendly mix of theoretical and empirical chapters designed to provide insights about social and technological trends in the United States that will be valuable for students, researchers, and professionals. Contributing authors will be scholars and professionals from a range of fields, including: communication, psychology, computer science, engineering, business, sociology, neurobiology, education, history, urban planning, disability studies, and environmental studies.
The essays in this collection will examine what it means to live in a culture that emphasizes multitasking, mobility, and efficiency, and what it means to live during an era in which we quantify activities down to the nanosecond—a billionth of a second. Chapters will analyze how the latest technological advances are altering nitty-gritty aspects of everyday life; reveal how people are multitasking with technologies in a burgeoning array of contexts; and assess the benefits and implications of various technologies—especially information and communication technologies (ICTs)—through the analytic lenses of social science, science, engineering, history, and business. The aim is to provide fresh analyses of contemporary social and technological trends and forecasts about future trends in work, leisure, and education from leading-edge scholars and professionals.
Keywords: Digital culture, technology and society, information and communication technologies (ICTs), sociology of work, diffusion of innovations, convergence culture, labor studies, multitasking, mobile communication, mobility, social presence, networked technologies, time—social aspects, time—psychological aspects, time—history of, computer mediated communication, computer supported cooperative work, globalization, leisure studies, simplicity, new media, media studies, American studies.
If you are interested in contributing a chapter to The Culture of Efficiency, please email the title, a one-page working abstract, and your CV to Sharon Kleinman at sharon.kleinman@quinnipiac.edu. Chapters are limited to 6,500 words and are due
July 15, 2008.
ABOUT THE EDITOR:
Sharon Kleinman is Professor of Communications at Quinnipiac University. Her research focuses on the history and social implications of communication technologies and on issues concerning online and place-based communities. She is the editor of the new book Displacing Place: Mobile Communication in the Twenty-first Century (Peter Lang Publishing, 2007) and the author of many articles and book chapters. She holds a B.A. in English and American literature from Brandeis University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in communication from Cornell University. She has been the recipient of numerous academic awards, including the Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award from Quinnipiac University and the Anson Rowe Prize from Cornell University.