[Air-L] Digital Mindfulness Conference 18-19 March 2015

[Lawrence Ampofo]

CALL FOR PAPERS
The Digital Mindfulness conference has been created to inspire meaningful
discussion and action on themes linking technology and practical wisdom
We live in a hyper-connected digital world where access to information is
available at the click of a button and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. We live in a digital utopia. We have never had a greater opportunity
to access the information we want, never more opportunities to educate
ourselves, never more ways to keep in contact with friends and never have we
had a greater opportunity to work on our own terms.
In spite of these opportunities, we, as a society, find ourselves
increasingly unable to cope with our digital devices and services. Digital
distraction is rife, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), Internet addiction, cyber
bullying, information overload, and technology-related anxiety permeate our
existence as we attempt to reconcile the benefits of digital technologies
and living a healthy, happy and productive life. Digital technologies that
were created to make us smarter and more efficient often end up distracting
us and affecting our well being.
The Digital Mindfulness Conference has been created to inspire meaningful
discussion and action on themes linking technology and practical wisdom. It
takes place between 18-19 March 2015 online and at the London Southbank
University. 
Recent advances and emergent trends in digital technologies have raised many
vital and interesting questions and dilemmas for institutions and people in
general such as:
·Are digital technologies beneficial or problematic for individual, societal
or organisational well-being?
·Why do people report feeling more disconnected in an age of technological
connectivity?
·How can people and organisations reduce technology-induced stress and find
ways to enable the mindful use of digital technologies?
·How can organisations, governments, and societies manage the use of
technologies wisely?
The Digital Mindfulness Conference is a space for people to learn and engage
with the increasingly important and trans-disciplinary understanding of both
the role of wisdom in a technology-driven world, and the design and impact
of technologies in a wisdom-starved world.
Practical wisdom, which draws from a range of sources, is concerned with
responding to modern challenges creatively, wisely, mindfully, and
proactively. It is attracting interest from a wide range of academic fields
and disciplines, such as management, leadership, psychology, sociology,
biology, neuroscience, marketing, and medicine.
Practical wisdom is intimately connected to the myriad needs of contemporary
organisations and numerous experts have called for society to progress from
its current focus on data, information, and knowledge to understanding,
intelligence and ultimately to wisdom.
Scholars and industry professionals are exploring the potential impact of
many other attributes of practical wisdom with digital technology such as
intelligence, empathy, mindfulness, authenticity, leadership, creativity,
problem-solving pragmatics, ethics, and awareness. Examples of this include
research on the isolating effects and stresses associated with technology
use, mindfulness meditation practices increasingly used by technology
companies, or Internet-based efforts to tap the wisdom of the crowd
(crowd-sourcing).
Call for Papers
Those people who are keen on presenting a paper at the conference are
requested to submit their abstract of 300 words in length to info [at]
semanticaresearch [dot] com by February 25 2015. If the abstract is
accepted, submission of the original paper is expected. Participants who
have not submitted their papers by the deadline will not be permitted to
give a presentation.
All abstracts will be evaluated by an academic committee.
Selected papers will be published in our book of thematic compilation on
Digital Mindfulness with the consent of the authors.
Possible topics for discussion include the following:
* How can technologies be designed, built, implemented and used for
discovery, creativity, sharing, and encouragement of wisdom in individuals,
organisations, and societies?
* Can technologies enable deeper dialogues between and among individuals and
groups?
* What are the practical implications of wisdom theories and perspectives in
a technological context?
* How do Western and Eastern wisdom traditions, theologies, and spiritual
approaches impact our relationship with and use of digital technologies?
* Can mindful living connected by digital technologies be employed for
personal, professional, and societal well-being?
* Can we critically understand technology-induced stresses, work-life
balance and technology addiction?
* Do technologies have a role to play in mediating practical wisdom,
reducing technology-induced stresses, and improving mindfulness?
* How can technology facilitate more responsive and effective leadership?
* How can we critically understand new phenomena emerging in a
technology-driven world such as; Internet addiction, technological biases,
FOMO, self-esteem and social media, crowd sourcing, excessive gaming, mobile
phone obsession, cyber-crimes, cyber-cultures.
Join industry and academic professionals at the Digital Mindfulness
Conference designed to empower and inspire you with high-level insights,
tactics and techniques from business leaders, health and wellness
practitioners, scholars, journalists and more.


Dr. Lawrence Ampofo
Professor
International Relations Degree
Blanquerna School for Communication & International Relations
Ramon Llull University
Carrer Valldonzella 23
08001 Barcelona
Tel: + 34.722 704 851
E-mail: lawrencepetera at blanquerna.url.edu