ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Deadline: March 30, 2019

Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia (JCEA), Vol. 18, No 2 - Winter 2019 (special Issue)

Invited editor: Tim Dwyer, University of Sydney (timothy.dwyer@sydney.edu.au)

In recent times there has been a noticeable shift in thinking about the possibilities for regulating social media platforms. A steady stream of scandals in relation to Facebook and Google sharing personal data with third parties, the growing evidence of Russian hacking of the 2016 US Presidential elections, and the role of the boutique data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica contributed to this shift. The turn to regulatory solutions was prompted by both US Congressional and European Commission investigatory hearings. At the same time, there is a growing understanding that these media-tech platforms in the West and Eastern Asia use less than transparent algorithms to amass personal data for achieving various objectives. We are seeing ongoing investigations and new models of regulation are just around the corner. A pervading sense that the ‘Tech Giants’ have betrayed our trust arising from their role in spreading misinformation and the manipulation of breaking news calls out for more detailed theoretical and empirical analysis. For this special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia we welcome any topics that deal with media manipulation, fake news, misinformation and disinformation. The topics that we are particularly interested in include, but are not limited to:

• Algorithmic news and manipulation
• Media pluralism and algorithmic news provision
• News recommender algorithms such as YouTube’s ‘Up Next’ recommender
• Sellers of fake followers or ‘likes’ on social media platforms
• Elections and strategies for online news manipulation/disinformation
• Regulatory responses, including responses to news manipulation by the platforms

Please submit your abstract in English to timothy.dwyer@sydney.edu.au by 30 March (please include “JCEA Special Issue” in the title). The maximum word limit for the abstract is 500 words.

Deadlines

• Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 March
• Notification on Submitted Abstracts: 15 April
• Article Submission Deadline: 1 August
• Notification of Article Acceptance/Rejection :20 September
• Deadline for the final submission of revised papers: 30 October

For more information about the journal, please refer to https://jceasia.org/.

July 12, 2019

University of Madrid

Deadline: March 4, 2019

The IAMCR 2019 post-conference aims to bring together specialists to reflect on the performance of digital platforms in the field of information, communication and culture.

Description: This post-conference will highlight insights from scholars all over the world working on online communication and culture platforms. We seek to broaden ideas of what are the main characteristics of online platforms, raising questions about the ways in which this new enterprise form is connected with previous long-term trends and what is really new in its performance. Complementarily, we are interested in thinking about the design and implementation of public policies whose purpose is to regulate the functioning of digital platforms in the field of information, communication and culture.

Location: Puerta de Toledo Campus, Carlos III University of Madrid (Madrid centre)

Date and time: Friday, 12 July, 2019

We are seeking contributions that discuss how operate online platforms? What are the characteristics of "platforming" compared to other forms of organization of the culture and communication industries? Do online platforms contribute to the online diversity of cultural expressions? Do they express a more concentrate cultural and communication worldwide market? How do they challenge existing public policies, especially policies for the cultural and communication industries, or how do they rely on some of these policies to assert themselves?

This IAMCR 2019 post-conference aims to bring together insights from scholars all over the world working on the current presence of the online communication and cultural platforms. We seek to broaden ideas of what are the main characteristics of online platforms, raising questions about the ways in which this new enterprise form is connected with previous long-term trends and what is really new in his performance.

Please send title and abstract of no more than 500 words, and a short bio (150 words), along with a selection of key references no later than MONDAY MARCH 4, 2019.

Abstracts and enquiries should be sent to the following electronic address: mailto:onlineplatforms.IAMCR2019@gmail.com

Timeline:

• Call for Paper launch: November 2018
• Abstracts due: March 4th 2019
• Notification of abstracts accepted: April 1st 2019

Organisers: The post-conference is organized by the research group Diversidad

Audiovisual (Audiovisual Diversity), based at Carlos III University of Madrid together with the LabEx ICCA (France) and the Political Economy Section of IAMCR.

May 22-24, 2019

Washington, DC USA

Deadline: March 18, 2019

http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2019/

Partnership for Progress on the Digital Divide (PPDD) is the only academic professional organization in the world focused solely on the digital divide and on connecting research to policymaking and practice to strategize actions and catalyze solutions to this pressing societal concern. The academic research, policymaker, and practitioner community represented by PPDD stands ready to advance the agenda on broadband and the digital divide, to address the many challenges and opportunities presented by the digital world, and to further evidence-based policymaking and practice so that all citizens can participate fully in the digital, networked age.

The interdisciplinary Partnership for Progress on the Digital Divide 2019 International Conference brings together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners for an extended, in-depth dialogue about key issues that inform information and communication technologies and the digital divide around the world. The Conference works to identify new areas of necessary, productive focus, foster greater understanding, advance research, and enlighten policy and practice going forward. An optional 21 May afternoon Field Trip to digital inclusion program sites offers the opportunity to learn firsthand about innovative initiatives to bridge the digital divide in Washington, DC.

PPDD 2019 is particularly significant as it marks the 25th anniversary of the recognition of the digital divide through social scientific research. And, within PPDD 2019, we plan to have the largest worldwide gathering of disability digital divide experts ever.

As a major outcome of PPDD 2019, in addition to the PPDD 2019 Proceedings and E-Book, we plan to produce an edited volume of the top papers as well as special issues of our Publishing Partners’journals on specific themes within the digital divide area.

If you would like to present and discuss your work during PPDD 2019 and have it included in the online PPDD 2019 International Conference Proceedings and/or if you would like to provide a Position Paper for inclusion in the PPDD 2019 E-Book, please see the Call for Participation section below.

If you would like to just attend PPDD 2019 to explore the issues and grow your knowledge and network of connections, please know that you are very welcome and valued in the PPDD Conference Community.

Please join PPDD and an unprecedented broad multi-disciplinary coalition of co-sponsoring organizations from academic, policymaking, and practitioner communities to share your insights and expertise. Together, we will enrich the dialogue, connect research, policy and practice, and advance the agenda on the digital divide.

Please contact conference [at] ppdd [dot] org with any questions.

If you would like to

1) present and discuss your work during PPDD 2019 and have it included in the online PPDD 2019 International Conference Proceedings, and/or if you would like to

2) provide a Position Paper for inclusion in the PPDD 2019 E-Book, we look forward with enthusiasm to your contribution and ask that you please follow the instructions provided at http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2019/cfp/ to submit your work. 

Submissions are welcome from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners at all stages of their careers, from any theoretical and methodological approach, and across multiple disciplines.

1) Deadline to Submit Your Presentation Title and Short Summary for Consideration for Presentation: 18 March 2019 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time

Notification of Acceptance: 25 March 2019

If you have visa or other time-sensitive concerns, please submit your work as quickly as possible and email conference [at] ppdd [dot] org to request an expedited review so you can receive notification shortly after submission.

Before we can address the digital divide, we must first understand the nature of life in the digital age, the many challenges and opportunities it presents, and the interplay of influence between technological and social change. Then, in turn, we can fully understand digital inequality; its place alongside other long-standing, persistent issues of social equity, social justice, and media justice; and what it means to be disconnected from the most important technological advancement in communication in a generation and the myriad possibilities it facilitates. Thus, PPDD 2019 invites work that informs issues related to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the digital divide broadly defined, including but not limited to:

• gaps in access and connectivity
• digital inclusion
• digital exclusion
• digital (dis)engagement
• challenges and opportunities
• social and cultural aspects of the divide
• the skills and digital/information literacy needed to interpret, understand, and navigate information presented online and the requisite curriculum
• effective use by individuals and communities
•  the impact of socioeconomic factors on user behavior
• the role of motivation, attitudes, and interests
• differences in patterns of usage
• characteristics and conceptualizations of non-users
• the ways in which people use the Internet to create content
• content creation and inequality
• different forms of capital and power relationships, including in terms of content creation, labor, and ownership
• the role of theory in understanding ICTs and digital inequality
• the impact of new and evolving technologies
•  the mobile divide
• the interplay of influence with mobile technologies
• human-computer interaction, human factors, and usability
• social media
• digital games
• apps
• socioeconomic and cultural effects
• social equity, social and economic justice, and democracy
• media justice and ICTs
• the ethics of digital inequality
• community informatics
• social informatics
• urban and regional planning
• social planning
• international development
• indigenous populations
• children and childhood
• education
• ICTs and well-being
• health
• disability and accessibility
• politics, digital government, digital citizenship, smart cities/citizens/government, civic engagement, adoption issues, and (in)equality
• global citizenship
• policy discourse
• law and policy and its impacts, including information/telecommunications policy, net neutrality, open access, open source, copyright, Internet filtering software, and censorship
•  the digital security divide
• the digital privacy divide
• big data and inequality
• organizations and ICTs
• public access initiatives
• anchor institutions
• practitioner-oriented topics considering aspects of design, management, implementation, assessment, collaboration, challenges, problem solution, and opportunities
• architectural challenges and deployment experiences
• Internet access cost analyses
• the application of research to communities, practice, and public and private sector initiatives

2) Deadline to Submit a Position Paper for the PPDD 2019 International Conference E-Book: 6 May 2019 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time

All PPDD 2019 attendees may submit a position paper and all submissions that follow the guidelines provided at http://www.ppdd.org/conferences/ppdd2019/cfp/ will be included in the PPDD 2019 E-Book.

vista - visual culture journal

Deadline: March 15, 2019

Social context determined by the culture of media convergence, together with the proliferation of digital devices connected to the Internet and their penetration among citizens, has given relevance, more than ever, to the media and visual culture. Digital media and images have conducted visual field towards the study of consumer´s practices and producer´s image, in accordance with the social aspects and the cultural contexts that characterize them.

To the multidisciplinary approach of media and digital literacy, intergenerational issue is added as the starting point of this issue, which seeks to delve into the fact that the media experience occurs in differentiated conditions, characterized by different cultural (media and digital) competences between generations: analogical and digital citizens, emigrants and digital natives. From the family portraits to the selfies of our smartphones, from soap opera and TV series to social networks. Images produced and consumed get increased from a diversity of experiences and memories, from a multiplicity of lifestyles and media uses, which is worth to be rethought from the idea of ​​"generations".

Which are the visual environments of socialization for the different generations? What influences do they exercise in their daily lives, in their experience, and in their memory? What is the role of visual and media literacy in the process of understanding the relationship between different generations and the different media? How visual culture contributes to the pedagogical processes? Does the generational perspective contribute for the understanding of the image transformation and impact in contemporaneity? Is the visual culture an approaching element among generations? Which are the more suited proposals and theoretical reflections in the current context? Is the visual culture an inspiring element to favor participative methodologies in this field? Can digital age and its visual culture favor generational barriers? Does the digital visual culture assume an intergenerational perspective?

vista - visual culture journal is a peer-reviewed journal and operates under a double blind review process. Each submitted work will be send to two reviewers previously invited to evaluate it, in accordance with the academic quality, originality and relevance for the objectives and scope of the issue of this edition of the journal. Articles can be submitted in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French to the e-mails of the invited editors: apepanda@gmail.com; britesmariajose@gmail.com;inesamaral@gmail.com. Guidelines for authors can be found here.

Invited editors: Ana Pérez-Escoda (UNIR/Universidad Nebrija), Maria José Brites (Lusófona University of Porto/CICANT) and Inês Amaral (University of Coimbra)

Deadlines

• Submission: 15 March 2019
• Notification: 29 April 2019
• Date of publication: 31 July 2019

The full call for papers and author guidelines: http://vista.sopcom.pt/pag/en#call

April 12, 2019

Cardiff University

A one-day conference at Cardiff University addressing photography, language and postwar reconstruction, c.1944-49

This symposium addresses the transnational spaces of encounter for the establishment of post-war Europe and the disestablishment of Empire and, crucially, their refraction via photographic images. Looking at post-conflict situations across a range of nations, we consider the contact zones where soldiers and civilians encountered one another as simultaneously physical spaces, language spaces and media spaces. The event addresses the following questions: How were photographs used to translate certain stories across languages or promote certain images about the war and the post-war moment? What questions of interference, mediation and cultural translation do the spaces of exhibition halls or the printed page throw up for the study of post-war reconstruction and its many languages? What are the tools of analysis that we can mobilize for interpreting visual materials and their multilingual contexts?

Read more

King's College London

Deadline: March 21, 2019

Abstract requirement: 250 Words ( individual abstracts, panels, posters and multimedia)

Date of Conference: May 17, 2019

Venue: Bush House ( North East) ground floor, King's College London, Strand

Website for more information: http://newperspectivesdh.com/

Social media platforms and the internet have become a battleground for ideas and political discussion. As the importance of these digital intermediaries has grown, many questions about how to navigate the world of digital politics in a meaningful and effective way have emerged. With the controversies surrounding the 2016 United States Presidential election, Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and other democratic conflicts across the globe, it is becoming increasingly evident that these media have come to play an essential role in structuring political discourse, social movements, and collective identity.

When the internet emerged as a global commodity, it came with promises of nascent forms of political engagement. Digital platforms gave people new methods of voicing common grievances, starting social movements, and creating an impetus towards a more just society. However, in recent years there is evidence of increased polarisation and even hostility in online networks. With curated news feed, echo chambers, and fake news, users can shape their own isolated online politics.

This conference will investigate how social media platforms and the digital are changing the nature of political discourse, online debate, and collective action. These platforms have shaped and altered many traditional forms of political involvement, such as campaign funding, candidate representation, and pertinent debates remain as to what extent digital media is enhancing or limiting democratic processes.

Digital technologies have impacted politics and social engagement in a myriad of ways, so we invite submissions that breach this theme from multifarious critical and

methodological approaches and from diverse contexts. The academic implications for this broad topic are numerous, as we begin to understand more deeply how digital technologies are adapting to and transforming the political world.

Topics for discussion and presentation may include (but are not limited to):

• The role of digital media in elections across the globe
• Collective action and social movements online
• Online campaigns
• Alt-Right and populist politics
• Free speech and liberty online
• Regulation and data misuse of online political spaces
• Gender and online politics
• Big data and politics

Abstracts are to be submitted to digitalpeople.digitalpolitics@gmail.com by March 21st 2019. We are open to:

• Individual papers (250 word abstract with a short academic bio, plus any specific requirements authors may have).
• Panel proposals (250 word abstract with a short academic bio for each person, additional 250 word abstract for the panel as a whole, plus any specific requirements authors may have).
• Workshops (1.5 hours – 250 word abstract with the aims and a description of the proposed workshop, short academic bios of workshop organisers plus any specific requirements organisers may have)
• Posters/ multimedia presentations/ art (250 word abstract with a short academic bio, any relevant URLS, plus any specific requirements).

All applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have been invited to present by 15th April, 2019.

For updated information on the conference, please see the website

Prague Media Point Conference

November 21-23, 2019

Prague, Czech Republic

Deadline:  May 15, 2019

Scholars from all disciplines and interdisciplinary fields are kindly invited to submit their abstracts.

Volumes have been written and numerous events have been held over the past decade lamenting the plight of the media in the modern world. Much less attention has been paid to what’s actually working. That is why the 2019 edition of the Prague Media Point will highlight inspiring examples that have managed to overcome the challenges the media are facing these days.

We encourage submissions of abstracts that focus on examples in the media that appear to be working and generating impact in the following subjects and topics, though this list is not exhaustive:

• Technology in editorial work and content delivery
• Engagement through social media
• Examples of solutions or constructive journalism
• Trust-building techniques
• Different forms of storytelling
• Youth-driven news delivery
• Innovative business and ownership models
• Diversity in the newsroom
• Minority media

Submission deadline: May 15, 2019

• Learn about the cutting-edge examples of innovations
• Network with leading professionals and experts in an informal setting
• Stay for the stunning scenery of Prague

For more information on submission, deadlines, and fees go to http://www.praguemediapoint.com

October 30-31, 2019

Brussels, Belgium

Deadline (EXTENDED): March 15, 2019

The two-day conference “Digital Fortress Europe” intends to be a forum to reflect on the relations between media, migration, and technology. These relations demand our fullest attention because they touch on the essence of what migration means in societies that are undergoing democratic challenges. Research shows that media and technologies play a vital role for people who migrate, but that the same media and technologies serve to spread xenophobia, increase societal polarization and enable elaborate surveillance possibilities. With its intensifying anti-migration populist discourses, humanitarian border crises and efforts to secure borders through technological solutions, the European context provides a pulsating scene to examine such deepening relations. Taking place in the heart of Europe’s political capital, this conference aims to critically reflect on what the much-debated notion of “Fortress Europe” means in the digital age and how it can guide our future thinking on media and migration. As such, scholars of media, communication, migration and technology will be stimulated to contribute to critical discussions on border politics and migration debates.

The thematic focus of this conference is on media, migration and technology and all their possible linkages and intersections. While significant attention goes to digital technologies and social media, the organizers do aim for a broad focus that also includes traditional media, and aspects of media production, organization, consumption, representation and policy.

The three confirmed keynote speakers will be:

• Dr Payal Arora(Erasmus University Rotterdam)
• Professor Huub Dijstelbloem (University of Amsterdam)
• Professor Myria Georgiou (London School of Economics)

Besides the keynotes and parallel paper presentations the programme will also include a public event, a PhD masterclass and a book launch (details to be confirmed in the final programme).

The conference takes place at the Palace of the Academies in the centre of Brussels (Hertogstraat 1, 1000 Brussel).

The conference is organized by the European Communication Research & Education Association’s (ECREA) Diaspora, Migration & the Media (DMM) section in collaboration with the ECREA’s International & Intercultural Communication (IIC) section, the Young Scholars Network of ECREA (YECREA), the Netherlands-Flemish Communication Association (NeFCA), and has received support from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB).

The organizers welcome submissions for paper presentations on the following three broad themes:

• Borders and media technologies, particularly focusing on critical research on biometrics, algorithms, drones and cartography.
• Producing and circulating meanings and media on migration, including work on discourse and representation, journalism, popular culture and policy.
• Media uses and technologies by and for migrants and diasporas, including research on activism, identity, emotion/affect, education, well-being, language and mediated social relations.

Especially welcome are submissions rooted in critical cultural studies, critical data studies, postcolonial studies, feminist research and from scholars who build bridges between academia, policy, activism, arts and public debate.

Instructions

Please submit a 500-word abstract in an anonymized MS Word file only (other formats or non-anonymized documents will not be considered) per e-mail to ecreadmm@gmail.com. Please mention “Submission Brussels Conference” in your e-mail subject.

A separate call for the related PhD masterclass will soon be circulated.

After the evaluation of abstracts, accepted authors will be invited to submit full papers in order to be considered for the Best Paper Award (junior award and senior award) and for a possible publication in a Special Issue and/or a book. We refer to previous collaborations in the form of a special issue of the European Journal of Cultural Studies (Sage), Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture (Intellect), Communications: The European Journal for Communication Research (Mouton De Gruyter).

Timeline

• 7 December 2018: launch call for papers
• 15 March 2019: deadline abstract submission
•  15 April 2019: notification of acceptance
• 10 May 2019: opening of registrations
•  1 July 2019: publication of final programme
• 15 September 2019: closing of registrations
•  30-31 October 2019: conference

Organizing team

• Kevin Smets, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ECREA DMM vice-chair (local organizing committee)
• Yazan Badran, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (local organizing committee)
• Paola Condemayta Soto, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (local organizing committee)
• Koen Leurs, Utrecht University, ECREA DMM chair
• Irati Agirreazkuenaga, University of the Basque Country, ECREA DMM vice-chair
• Melis Mevsimler, Utrecht University, ECREA DMM young scholars representative
• Leen d’Haenens, KU Leuven
• Alexander Dhoest, University of Antwerp
• Stijn Joye, Ghent University

Tifts University

The Film and Media Studies Program at Tufts University seeks a full-time lecturer or one or more part-time lecturers for the 2019-2020 academic year to teach courses at the undergraduate level in Television History, Media Theory, and Contemporary Television. This limited appointment is to cover the teaching, advising, and service duties of a full-time faculty member who will be on a year-long sabbatical. We anticipate needing coverage for at least four courses and perhaps more.

QUALIFICATIONS

A Ph.D. in Film and Television or a humanities-based field with atelevision emphasis is preferred; ABDs in these fields are also invited to apply. Teaching experience at the undergraduate level in Television Studies or a related field is required.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Apply with cover letter, CV, sample syllabi, a writing sample of relevant research, and three confidential letters of reference submitted directly by their authors. All application materials must be submitted via Interfolio here

Review of applications begins March 22 and continues until the position is filled.

Questions about the position may be directed to the Film and Media Studies Program, Tufts University: fms@tufts.edu . Tufts University, founded in 1852, prioritizes quality teaching, highly competitive basic and applied research, and a commitment to active citizenship locally, regionally, and globally. Tufts University also prides itself on creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

Current and prospective employees of the university are expected to have and continuously develop skill in, and disposition for, positively engaging with a diverse population of faculty, staff, and students.

Tufts University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our faculty and staff and fostering their success when hired. Members of underrepresented groups are welcome and strongly encouraged to apply. If you are an applicant with a disability who is unable to use our online tools to search and apply for jobs, please contact us by calling Johny Laine in the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) at 617-627-3298 or at johny.laine@tufts.edu

Applicants can learn more about requesting reasonable accommodations here

Deadline for submitting full texts:  March 10, 2019

Please submit your manuscripts via e-mail address medialnistudia@fsv.cuni.cz

Paper types

Studies are based on original research, solving the issue raised empirically, theoretically or methodologically. The recommended length of the studies is 6000-8000 words, including footnotes and references with an abstract of up to 150 words, up to 10 keywords, and brief information about the author up to 100 words.

Essays explore upcoming or current media trends or events and discuss their relevance. Or, they ruminate upon different conceptual or methodological approaches. The recommended length of the essays is 3000-4000 words, including footnotes and references with an abstract of up to 150 words, up to 10 keywords, and brief information about the author up to 150 words.

Polemics brings discussions on actual theoretical, or methodological, or empirical studies previously published. The recommended length of the polemics is 3000-4000 words, including footnotes and references. Interviews introduce inspiring personalities within the media and communication field, both from academia and practical operation. The recommended length of the interview is 3000-4000 words including footnotes and references. The interviews include brief information about the interviewee.

Book reviews introduce and critically evaluate new books emerging within the field of study. The recommended length of studies is 2000-4000 words, including footnotes and references.

Reports inform about interesting events connected with media life (conferences, workshops, festivals, summer schools etc.). The recommended length of studies is 1000-2000 words, including footnotes and references.

For a more detailed description of papers types and other information, please follow the guidelines for authors (see https://www.medialnistudia.fsv.cuni.cz/en/autor-s-manual).

About the Journal

Mediální studia / Media Studies is a peer-reviewed journal based in disciplines of media and communication studies. Nonetheless, it also is open to contributions from close research fields such as cultural studies, sociology, social and cultural anthropology, gender studies, or linguistics. We publish original research papers investigating media texts or mechanisms of their production or ways of their reception.

We especially welcome papers focused upon media in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe which do not separate the region from its wider social or political ties. We endeavour to emphasise the dynamics of local-global knowledge on media and its mutual connections. Also for these reasons, we prefer texts written in English. In exceptional cases, however, we publish also manuscripts in Czech or Slovak.