[Air-l] IAMCR-CP&T call for papers

Jo Pierson Jo.Pierson at vub.ac.be
Thu Dec 23 23:50:55 PST 2004


*** Apologies for possible cross-postings ***

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - IAMCR Communication Policy & Technology section
Taipei, 26-28 July 2005

The Communication Policy & Technology section (CP&T) of the 
International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) 
invites submissions of abstracts for papers to be presented at the 2005 
Conference in Taipei, Taiwan, 26-28 July 2005. The Conference will be 
held under the theme: Media Panics: Freedom, Control and Democracy in 
the age of Globalisation. More information about the conference is 
available at: http://iamcr2005.shu.edu.tw/.

The CP&T Section's focus is on communication policy, with a keen 
interest in socio-economic aspects of technological change. The Section 
welcomes research that bridges between theory and practice, theoretical 
and empirical studies, by offering scientific reflection as well as 
guidelines for political action. The CP&T Section does not adhere to 
any single philosophical or theoretical school but encourages research 
that is critical and counter-intuitive. For the Taiwan conference, we 
plan to hold sessions on:

Emerging ICTs and user empowerment
Peer-to-peer exchange, blogging, wiki, smart mobs, social software, 
location-based services, are emerging ICT applications that seem to 
allow the user to adopt an active role in 'configuring' and 
'domesticating' technology. However, all technological change is 
embedded in, and constrained by the social context of everyday life and 
work. The question therefore remains to what extent these new 
applications really enable users to participate in political, economic 
and cultural life.

Internet governance: who rules?
The question of Internet governance is high up on many agendas. 
Governments are discussing how to deal with unwanted content on the 
web, whereas market players are becoming increasingly creative in 
competing for the control of the Internet. The Section welcomes 
contributions that address the question who controls the Internet, why 
and with what effects.

The digital media in Asia: the 'geo'-factor
Papers for this session are to be situated in Asia and have either a 
regional, national or local focus. They highlight geo-political, 
geo-economical or geo-cultural factors as possible explanations for the 
evolution of digital information and communication systems. Papers that 
discuss Asian information and communication systems in relation with 
other continents are also welcomed.

Digital Divide
Digital divide being an indication of unequal access and use of ICT is 
provoked by factors of economic, socio-political, educational, gender, 
and cultural nature. In different national contexts digital divide 
results in inequality, media illiteracy and decreased communication 
competence. Papers for the joint session of the CP&T and Working Group 
on Digital Divide, convened by Elena Vartanova, are invited to discuss 
new models of national and global communication policy to overcome the 
digital divide with a special focus on the role of various social 
agents such as states, NGOs, content and access providers and users.

Criteria for selection of abstracts
The CP&T welcomes abstracts from the global research community. Younger 
researchers from all regions are especially encouraged to submit 
abstracts for evaluation. The CP&T has a tradition for keeping high 
academic standards. In evaluating abstracts, we look at criteria such 
as:
1.The scientific or policy relevance of the research problem
2.The formulation of the research question
3.The clarity of the objective of the paper
4.The consistency of the proposed argument
5.The theories and/or methodologies used
6.The nature of the empirical evidence presented.

Abstracts may be rejected on the basis that they do not meet these 
criteria or that the information provided is of insufficient quality. 
Abstracts of about 500 words should be submitted by 1 February 2005 to 
Tanja Storsul (tanja.storsul at media.uio.no). All prospective presenters 
will be advised by 1 April 2005 of the outcome of their applications. 
The full text of accepted papers would be due for submission no later 
than 1 June 2005.

Joint Heads: Hopeton S. Dunn & Pascal Verhoest
Deputy Heads: Jo Pierson & Tanja Storsul




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