[Air-L] CFP: Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC'08)

[Fay Sudweeks]

CALL FOR PAPERS 

ICTs Bridging Cultures? Theories, Obstacles, Best Practices
6th International Conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC08)

24-27 June 2008
Universite de Nîmes, France
Conference languages: English and French
www.catacconference.org

The biennial CATaC conference series - 10 years old in 2008! - provides a premier international forum for current research on how diverse cultural elements shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference series brings together scholars from around the globe who provide diverse cultural and disciplinary perspectives in their presentations and discussions of the conference theme and topics (listed below).

Nîmes, inhabited by Celts since the 4th ct. B.C.E., became a Gallo-Roman city in 18 BCE, and is home to some of the best-preserved examples of Roman engineering and architecture.  The Pont de Gard, an aquaduct bridge across the Gard river, serves as our primary metaphor for CATaC 2008: ICTs as technologies bridging cultures.  Our venue in multi-cultural Nîmes further provides us with a number of cultural experiences and pleasures unique to the South of France. Finally, CATaC 2008 emphasizes francophone participation in a number of ways, including, translation provided for abstracts in French and English, and for questions and answers following presentations.

Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.) and short papers (e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results) are invited. 

TOPICS include but are not limited to:
- Language as a core issue in cultural diversity with IT: are languages shaping a new IT world? 
- CMC as fostering and/or threatening cultural diversity 
- Theoretical and practical approaches to analyzing "culture" and its impact on the use and implementation of ICTs 
- ICTs in the francophone world, including: influences of francophone usages globally and cross-cultural comparisons 
- Beyond glocalization and homogenization: new mixtures of identities and cultures as facilitated by ICTs 
- Empowerment and CMC, including issues of gender, languages and power (economic, political, social) 
- Values, ethics, justice, and ICTS 
- Cultural and linguistic diversity and e-learning 

SUBMISSIONS
All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars and researchers. Accepted papers will appear in the conference proceedings. Submission of a paper implies that it has not been submitted or published elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted paper is expected to present the paper at the conference.

Schedule:
- Full papers (maximum 15 formatted pages) - 14 January 2008   
- Short and panel papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 21 January 2008
- Notification of acceptance  - mid February 2008 
- Final formatted papers  - 28 February 2008 

The review process will be handled electronically through a review system, linked to the conference website. Papers may be submitted in either French or English. We strongly encourage submissions to include abstracts both in French and English, since accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings with abstracts in both languages. We will translate abstracts if necessary. Accepted papers must be formatted according to the conference proceedings template (download from www.catacconference.org).

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The keynote speakers are Marie-Françoise Narcy-Combes, University of Nantes, and Jean-Paul Narcy-Combes, University of Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle. Their topic is "Local Eyes for Global Vision: Can human intelligence and technology help?"

PANELS
The program includes a number of panels: 
- Culture and psychology (Chair: Professor Alexander Voiskounsky, Moscow State University, Russia)
- Beyond Hall, Hofstede, and 'Culture' (Chairs: Connie Kampf, University of Aarhus, Denmark and Jose Abdelnour-Nocera, Thames Valley University, UK)
(Additional panel proposals will be considered.) 

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation details are on the conference website. Be aware that Nîmes is a very popular vacation destination in June and July so accommodation will need to be booked as early as possible. 

SPONSORS
Universite de Nîmes
Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres de Montpellier
Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Bèziers

CONFERENCE CHAIRS
  Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, cmess at drury.edu
  Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, sudweeks at murdoch.edu.au

CONFERENCE VICE CHAIR
  Marie-Christine Deyrich, IUFM de Montpellier, 
  France, marie-christine.deyrich at montpellier.iufm.fr

PROGRAM CHAIR
  Herbert Hrachovec, University of Vienna, Austria

-----
Dr Fay Sudweeks
School of Information Technology
Room ECL3.058
Murdoch University
Murdoch WA 6150 Australia
Tel: (08) 9360 2364  Fax: (08) 9360 2941
sudweeks at murdoch.edu.au
www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks