ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

February 3 (17:00, GMT)

Online (Zoom)

iNOVA Media Lab I NOVA FCSH I Universidade Nova de Lisboa

SMART ˚ ˚ Social Media Research Techniques I #SMARTDataSprint

Open Webinar | SMART Data Sprint 2021

We are pleased to announce that José van Dijck is joining SMART Data Sprint 2021 with a keynote open to the public on the theme of a European perspective on platformization. José van Dijck is a distinguished professor at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands), and a former dean of the University of Amsterdam. From 2015 to 2018, she also served as president-elect of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Van Dijck's field of research focuses on media studies and digital society. Her work covers a wide range of topics in media theory, technologies and communication, social media, and digital culture. She is the co-author and co-editor of ten books and over one hundred journal articles and book chapters. Van Dijck’s book The Culture of Connectivity. A Critical History of Social Media (Oxford UP, 2013) was distributed worldwide and was translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Farsi. Her latest book, co-authored by Thomas Poell & Martijn de Waal is titled The Platform Society. Public values in a connective world (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Van Dijck's lecture will be online (via Zoom) and open to SMART Data Sprint participants and the general public under free registration at https://bit.ly/SMARTDataSprint_keynoteJvD.

About SMART Data Sprint

SMART Data Sprint is an international event promoted by the SMART research group (iNOVA Media Lab/NOVA University of Lisbon) that provides an intense hands-on experience, driven by online data and digital methods.

More info at http://smart.inovamedialab.org/.

Tripodos No. 50 – Special Issue

Deadline for submissions: March 15, 2021

Publication: June 2021

The 50th edition will cover the crucial issue of gender. In particular, the intersection of gender with communication and technology.

Papers should be sent by March 15, 2021. In order to submit original papers, authors must be registered with the journal (www.tripodos.com) as authors. Following this step, authors must enter their user name and password, activated in the process of registering, and begin the submission process. In step 1, they must select the section “Monograph”.

Rules and instructions regarding the submission of originals can be downloaded at www.tripodos.com. For any queries, please contact the editorial team of the journal at tripodos@blanquerna.url.edu.

Call for papers: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fhEwBkIXJS0J1XBbOJZddjlaQwfZ6hQW/view?usp=sharing

Revue Communication & Organization, Issue 60, December 2021

Deadline: March 1, 2021

Whether academic or for practitioners, discussions about influence are dominated by work in marketing and psychology, with influence being conceived as an object that could be theorized, analyzed, quantified, manipulated, or even marketed. Issue 60 of Communication & Organization aims to enrich the conceptual field around the notion of influence through the prism of other notions such as prescription, recommendation, routines and familiarization, trust, the role of a third-party symbolizing, or the place of reputation.

Coordination

• Camille Alloing, Université du Québec à Montréal – alloing.camille@uqam.ca
• Stéphanie Yates, Université du Québec à Montréal – yates.stephanie@uqam.ca
• Benoit Cordelier, Université du Québec à Montréal – cordelier.benoit@uqam.ca

Argumentation

Influence as an object of research in social sciences and in communication (Mucchielli, 2009) mobilizes numerous definitions and approaches, putting at their center both the media (Maigret, 2015) and social interactions (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). Through a more instrumental prism, we could say that exerting influence consists in getting others to freely do something that they would not have done spontaneously without a given intervention (Massé et al., 2006). Influence can also translate into the status quo, when the objective is, for example, to avoid mobilization (Gendron, 2014).

Influence can be conceived as the result of an act of communication on an audience’s behavior or social representations (Jodelet, 2003), as the result of a process of circulating ideas and opinions (Heath, 2006), or as a set of practices and strategies aimed at persuasion (Breton, 2008).

Whether in academic research or in practitioners’ perspective, work in marketing and psychology dominates discussions about influence as an object that could be theorized, analyzed, quantified, manipulated, or even marketed (see notably François and Zerbib, 2015; Dupont, 2011; Cialdini, 2009; Ouimet, 2008). Indeed, can influence theories be divorced from psychology and marketing? Enriching our conceptual field by discussing influence through the prism of other notions such as prescription, recommendation, routines and familiarization, trust, the role of a symbolic third-party, or the place of reputation in the process would undoubtedly renew our understanding of the concept. This is the avenue we propose here.

First, this call for articles focuses on contextual elements, particularly on cultural dimensions as a substructure - or infrastructure - of influence (Seltzel et al., 2013). We thus question cultural elements, whether they are linked to practices or organizational modes or, more broadly, to societal values that allow influence to be exercised in a given context. Under what conditions influence attempts generate tangible effects, or affects? Can influence be considered as a quantifiable, manipulable object that generates adherence (or acceptance), commitment or mobilization?

Second, we aim at gathering articles analyzing concrete practices that generate influence. Primarily, the central place of the "digital" (its industries, devices, uses, economies) in communication strategies and practices need reflection in order to define this notion better (Coutant, 2013): The web's sociotechnical devices can be complementary to other media (mass or not) as vectors of influence; however, they also generate new difficulties in reaching the different audiences of an organization, sometimes confined in "echo chambers" (Colleoni et al., 2014). Professional practices aimed at producing or instrumentalizing influence, particularly for public relations and organizational communication, are constantly being reorganized (Desmoulins et al., 2018) and lead to an extension of influence and accountability regimes (Cordelier and Breduillieard, 2011). Indicators for measuring influence proliferate on platforms that define their standards and concepts - such as Facebook and "engagement" (Alloing and Pierre, 2019). Influencers, for their part, are becoming unavoidable opinion producers (Poell et al., 2016; Charest et al., 2017). Moreover, trust (re)becomes a central issue when the same platform allows both advertising and disinformation; indeed, digital platforms are shaking up the codes of legitimate knowledge production (Lalancette, Yates and Brouillard, 2020). What is more, the influence on online groups questions the quality and instrumentalization of the social link (Cordelier and Turcin, 2005). In all cases, pre-digital authoritarian models are transformed (DiStaso and Bortree, 2014). In short, the practices of influence deployed in digital spaces produce observable behaviors or discourse with societal consequences that are often highly mediatized; it is, therefore, worth looking into them.

However, even if it seems more obvious to identify changes in the conditions and forms of influence on and through the digital world, organizational practices of influence are not limited to this medium. Traditional approaches to influence thus fully retain their relevance, whether it is a question of reputation management (Turbide, 2017; Huffaker, 2010), lobbying (Koutroubas and Lits, 2011; Juanals and Minel, 2013), astroturfing (Lock and Heath, 2016), patronage or sponsorship (Cordelier and Desaulniers, 2020), advertising (Kapferer, 1978) or press relations (Yates, 2018). However, to be effective, these practices must be in line with the contextual elements mentioned above while taking into account the dynamics taking place in digital spaces, which have a direct impact on their deployment (Hampton et al., 2017), despite the resistance of some practitioners to appropriate them (Kondratov, 2018).

In short, the economy of influence, like the communicational work it involves, is broad and requires us to put this notion into perspective. We wish to explore the contexts and cultural dimensions in which it is deployed and question the practices associated with it to become a lever for organizational strategies.

Issue 60 of Communication & Organization invites proposals for articles addressing the following topics in a theoretical or conceptual, empirical, and/or methodological manner, from three angles. The aim is to construct a real perspective on the notion of influence for/by communication research:

- Is influence an outcome that can be evaluated? And if so, how? Or is it a set of practices aimed at acting in a specific way on the representations or behaviors of given audiences? Thus, this angle focuses on approaches that aim to question the very concept of influence as practitioners use it in info-communication theories or media discourse. It may then be interesting, from this perspective, to discuss the notions often associated with the concept of influence (authority, trust, etc.) but also other forms of communication strategies aimed at influence, such as "engaging communication" or "persuasive communication."

- The cultures and contexts that enable influence techniques to be effective, acceptable, and guide those who use or are exposed to them. Indeed, influencing requires the ability to understand and integrate audiences' values and beliefs into one's rhetoric to generate trust and authority. It also requires an understanding of each organization's culture and the media in which this influence occurs and is exercised. Are there, therefore, cultures of influence? Is influence done differently depending on the organization or are there forms of conventions or even standards specific to the professions?

- Whether professional or amateur, organizational practices participate in these possible cultures of influence as much as they depend on them. This must be described, analyzed and taken into account in their socio-historical contexts. Can be addressed, for instance, questions related to techniques for "producing" influence, communication practitioners deploying actions qualified as influence (online or offline), or the possible forms of marketing influence.

Calendar :

• Abstract submission: March 1, 2021
• Return to the authors of the selection of proposals: March 15, 2021
• Submission of the full article: June 1, 2021
• Return to the authors of the peer review: July 30, 2021
• Return of final articles (reviewed after evaluation): September 2021
• Publication date: December 2021

Proposal writing instructions (summaries)

• 6000 characters including spaces
• Bibliography not counted in the number of characters
• On a cover page: title of the proposal, first and last name of the author, university, laboratory, e-mail address, five key words
• The abstract must allow for a clear identification of the problematization, the theoretical and conceptual framework, the method, the analyses and the discussion.
• Proposals should be sent to the following address: influence.comorg@gmail.com.

Instructions for writing the final articles

- 35,000 characters, including spaces, including bibliography

- Layout standards for final articles are available online on the Journal's website: https://journals.openedition.org/communicationorganisation/5909.

- The final formatting according to the standards provided will condition the final acceptance of the article.

The evaluation of complete articles will be done in double-blind by the journal's reading committee.

You can consult the list of the members of the reading committee on the following page: https://journals.openedition.org/communicationorganisation/5910

DETECt is a large EU-funded research project on crime fiction and European identity. DETECt and Serial Eyes are jointly organinsing an international screenwriting contest. We are looking for proposals for crime TV series for either broadcast or streaming services. An international jury of top industry professionals from HBO, Netflix, Mediaset and Cattleya, will review the final five submissions. The winning author(s) will be invited to attend the DETECt final conference in Rome in June 2021 to meet the jury.

More info available here: https://www.detect-project.eu/contest/

Submission portal: https://serial-eyes.com/detect-contest/

Deadline for submission: 1 March 2021.

Paul Reilly

How are platforms such as Facebook and Twitter used by citizens to frame contentious parades and protests in 'post-conflict' Northern Ireland? What do these contentious episodes tell us about the potential of information and communication technologies to promote positive intergroup contact in the deeply divided society?

These issues are addressed in what is the first in-depth qualitative exploration of how social media were used during the union flag protests (December 2012-March 2013) and the Ardoyne parade disputes (July 2014 and 2015). The book focuses on the extent to which affective publics, mobilised and connected via expressions of solidarity on social media, appear to escalate or de-escalate sectarian tensions caused by these hybrid media events. It also explores whether citizen activity on these online platforms has the potential to contribute to peacebuilding in Northern Ireland.

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719087073/

There will be a book launch hosted by John Coster (Doc Media Centre) on Friday 29 January (1-2pm). Full details on how to register can be found here.

Edited by Eli Skogerbø, Øyvind Ihlen, Nete Nørgaard Kristensen, and Lars Nord.

The Nordic countries are stable democracies with solid infrastructures for political dialogue and negotiations. However, both the “Nordic model” and Nordic media systems are under pressure as the conditions for political communication change – not least due to weakened political parties and the widespread use of digital communication media.

In this anthology, the similarities and differences in political communication across the Nordic countries are studied. Traditional corporatist mechanisms in the Nordic countries are increasingly challenged by professionals such as lobbyists, a development that has consequences for the processes and forms of political communication. Populist political parties have increased their media presence and political influence, whereas the news media have lost readers, viewers, listeners, and advertisers. These developments influence societal power relations and restructure the ways in which political actors communicate about political issues.

This book is a key reference for all who are interested in current trends and developments in the Nordic countries. The editors, Eli Skogerbø, Øyvind Ihlen, Nete Nørgaard Kristensen, and Lars Nord, have published extensively on political communication, and the authors are all scholars based in the Nordic countries with specialist knowledge in their fields.

URL: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/sv/publikationer/power-communication-and-politics-nordic-countries

July 2-3, 2021

Online conference

Deadline: February 1, 2021

BledCom 2021

The 28th International Public Relations Research Symposium (BledCom) will be fully digital. The conference will be held on July 2-3, 2021. This year’s theme is: “” We are happy to inform you that because of the generosity of our sponsors, which will cover the fee we will need to pay digital providers, we are able to waive the registration fees for BledCom 2021!

We plan to organise virtual classrooms for debates, as well as parallel sessions and plenary sessions organised to accommodate different time-zones. The program will enable synchronous discussions between participants.

As in previous years, this year also you will submit abstracts/panel proposals that will be evaluated and authors informed of the selection in a timely manner. We invite abstracts that are between 500 and 800 words (including title and keywords) with up to 5 references. Please note that as has been the norm in the past, BledCom welcomes all papers that are relevant to public relations and communication management and not just papers that discuss the conference theme.

Please note that the chances of your abstract being accepted are enhanced if you observe the following format in preparing it:

• Introduction and purpose of the study (and research question if there is one) – helps summarize the purpose and rationale of your study.
• Literature review – Helps place your work in context with the existing body of knowledge. 
• Methodology – Define the main method used for gathering data including sample size, and state the rationale for using this method. 
• Results and conclusions – Helps summarize the answers to the research questions while also outlining the implications of the results. Also summarize the limitations of the study and offer suggestions for future research. Practical and social implications – Offer the potential implications both for practice and society. 

Also provide us with 3 to 5 keywords that highlight your study. Abstracts should come as blind copies without author names and affiliations, who are to be identified on a separate cover page. Please use the suggested headings to structure the abstract. A list of literature is not necessary, but if it is provided it is included into the word count.

The presentations will be through short videos and will be meaningfully grouped and discussions arranged immediately afterward. Paper abstracts should be submitted via email to bledcom@fdv.uni-lj.si by February 1, 2021. Decisions will be made by March 4, 2021 after peer review. Full papers not exceeding 6.000 words will be due by September 16, 2021 for inclusion in the conference proceedings.

Journalism Education Conference 2021

May 13, 2021

Autonomous University of Barcelona

Deadline: February 28, 2021

From the ECREA 'Journalism & Communication Education' TWG, we are happy to invite you to submit abstracts for our 6rd annual Conference titled, “Trial and Error IV. Rethinking digital native communicators training”, that will take place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona on May 13, 2021.

The unpredictable situation of the pandemic forces us to perform virtually for the first time. But we are sure that it will also be a great opportunity to exchange ideas between communication teachers at the European level.

Keep in mind that different research approaches are accepted from all areas of the Communication and that it includes varied presentation formats.

For more information, we attach the call for abstract conference.

Deadline for submissions: 28th February, 2021

Official Website: https://trialanderror2021.blogspot.com/

Registration price: 30 euros

In addition, we encourage you to join this working group to follow all the news and events from the official Ecrea website.

https://www.ecrea.eu/…ion

University of Leeds

Can you provide the strategic vision and leadership necessary to enable the School to successfully develop and deliver its plans, through motivating and developing staff to achieve their full potential? Are you passionate about delivering world-leading research and an exceptional student experience in an international and interdisciplinary context?

You will lead and manage the School of Media and Communication, maximising strategic opportunities arising from the changing landscape of higher education and the University’s strategic plan, whilst leading and delivering excellence in research and education.

You will be an active member of the University’s Leadership Forum and of the Executive Committee of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures promoting a coordinated approach to delivering innovative strategic academic development. You will be taking on a significant and complex leadership role in the Faculty, and must be able to lead with a clear vision, engaging others across the School, Faculty and University.

You will have the leadership skills, ambition and creativity to take forward the development and delivery of the School’s academic strategy and objectives. You will thrive on working collaboratively in a busy and dynamic environment to enhance the reputation of the School with a focus on quality and excellence.

Academic credibility is essential. You will have a sustained track record of excellence in research and/or student education, combined with excellent skills in team working and collaboration.

This represents an opportunity for a senior scholar proficient in inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary working to shape collectively the future of a School with a diverse portfolio of subject specialisms at a leading Russell Group University. You will be able to obtain very quickly a detailed working knowledge of the School’s complex, multi-disciplinary operations, including a very wide variety of research projects and programmes of both undergraduate and postgraduate study.

As an international research-intensive university with a strong commitment to student education, the University aims to create an inclusive environment that attracts, supports and retains the best students and staff from all backgrounds and from across the world. In line with this vision, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We select candidates on the basis of merit and ability, and aspire to further diversify our Faculty community. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been under-represented in the University including, but not limited to: Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people; people who identify as LGBT+; and people with disabilities.

The University of Leeds has engaged the services of Berwick Partners (an Odgers Berndtson company), to whom applications should be sent.

To apply, please visit: https://www.berwickpartners.co.uk/opportunities/assignment/81716/

For an informal and confidential discussion, please speak with our advisors at Berwick Partners

Elizabeth James

Partner

D: +44 121 654 5924

M: +44 7715 993 443

elizabeth.james@berwickpartners.co.uk

Clare Bromley

Principal Researcher

D: 0121 654 5915

clare.bromley@berwickpartners.co.uk

Location: Leeds - Main Campus

Faculty/Service: Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Cultures

School/Institute: School of Media and Communication

Category: Academic

Salary: Competitive salary

Post Type: Full Time

Release Date: Thursday 14 January 2021

Closing Date: Monday 15 February 2021

Reference: ASN-81716

Downloads: Candidate Brief

Södertörn University

https://www.sh.se/om-oss/det-har-ar-sodertorns-hogskola/lediga-jobb

Id: 2652

Doktorand i MKV

Diarienummer: AP-2021/18

Södertörn University in south Stockholm is a dynamic institute of higher education with a unique profile and high academic standard. A large proportion of the university staff holds doctorates and there is a strong link between undergraduate education and research. Södertörn University has around 11 000 students and 840 employees. Södertörn University is an equal opportunities employer.

Media and Communication Studies is one of Sweden’s leading environments for media research and education. It engages with the contemporary media landscape and is founded on a historically informed understanding in which digital communication technologies and their contexts are related to their predecessors. The research environment currently comprises around 25 researchers/lecturers, including five full professors, eight associate professors (docents), and three doctoral students. All the doctoral students have an international profile, and English is the working language for the doctoral degree programme.

For more information, please click here (English version) or see www.sh.se/mkv (Swedish version). General Syllabus for third-cycle programmes in Media and Communication Studies (English version) or Swedish version.

Critical and Cultural Theory is an interdisciplinary research environment with seven subjects in the humanities. Research focuses on critically motivated studies of cultural artefacts and human practices. For more information, please click here.

The planned research for this studentship must be relevant to the Baltic Sea region or Eastern Europe, since the position is affiliated with the Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), www.sh.se/beegs, which is financed by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, and part of the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) www.sh.se/cbees, at Södertörn University.

Entry requirements

The general entry requirements are:

1. a second-cycle qualification

2. fulfilled requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or

3. substantially equivalent knowledge acquired in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

The Faculty Board may permit an exemption from the general entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds. (Ordinance 2010:1064)

Specific entry requirements are fulfilled by a student who has passed courses worth at least 90 credits in Media and Communication Studies, including a degree project worth at least 15 credits, or who has acquired the equivalent knowledge abroad or through a previous qualification. If there are special grounds, the Faculty Board may permit an exemption from the specific entry requirements for an individual applicant.

The ability to assimilate academic material in English and a command of the language necessary for work on the thesis are prerequisites for admission to the degree programme.

Admission and employment

This position includes admission to third-cycle education, i.e. research level, and employment on a doctoral studentship at the School of Culture and Education at Södertörn University. The intended outcome for admitted students is a PhD. The programme covers 240 credits, which is the equivalent of four years of fulltime study. The position may be extended by a maximum of one year due to the inclusion of departmental duties, i.e. education, research and/or administration (equivalent to no more than 20% of full-time). Other grounds for extension could be leave of absence because of illness or for service in the defence forces, an elected position in a trade union/student organisation, or parental leave. Provisions relating to employment on a doctoral studentship are in the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Sections 1-7.

Date of employment: 1 September 2021

Information about admission regulations (including selection criteria) and third-cycle education at Södertörn University (English version) or Swedish version.

Further information

Göran Bolin, Director of Studies, Media and Communication Studies (third cycle), goran.bolin@sh.se

Claudia Lindén, Chairperson, Critical and Cultural Theory, claudia.linden@sh.se

Florence Fröhlig, Director of Studies, Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), florence.frohlig@sh.se

Mirjam Bargello Lindberg, Human Resources Officer, School of Culture and Education, mirjam.bargello.lindberg@sh.se

Application procedure

Please use Södertörn University´s web-based recruitment system “ReachMee”. Click on the link "ansök" (apply) at the bottom of the announcement.

Your application should be written in English and must include:

- an application letter

- curriculum vitae

- degree certificate and certificates that demonstrate eligibility to apply for the position

- Bachelor’s essay and dissertation at second-cycle level in the field in accordance with the entry requirements

- a research plan (project plan) of between 1000 and 1500 words. The project’s relevance to Critical and Cultural Theory and studies of the Baltic Sea region or Eastern Europe must be clear

- two references, with contact details.

If available, a maximum of three publications may also be attached.

Application deadline: 15 February 2021 at 23:59

On our website, sh.se/vacantpositions, there is an application template that the applicant needs to follow.

Publications referred to must be attached to the application. An application that is not complete or arrives at Södertörn University after the closing date may be rejected. The current employment is valid on condition that the employment decision becomes valid. Södertörn University may apply CV review. Welcome with your application! Union representatives: SACO: info.saco@sh.se ST: Karin Magnusson, tel: +46 8 608 41 75, karin.magnusson@sh.se SEKO: Henry Wölling tel: +46 8 524 840 80, henry.wolling@ki.se Södertörn University has made strategic advertisement choices for this recruitment. Therefore, we decline all contact with advertisers and other salespersons of advertisement.