February 2018 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Reminder: CFP Localising Sociological Inquiry
by Jaime García Iglesias 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

The Place I Call Research: Localizing Sociological Inquiry Call for Papers Despite the recent focus in social sciences on situating one’s research, the actual process of selecting and navigating particular community contexts remains a difficult task. The reconfiguring of local spaces into sites of research is particularly relevant now, as the internet and new media blur previously taken-for-granted boundaries and processes of localization. This conference seeks to engage researchers across the social sciences and humanities to discuss the role of places in their work. In particular, we are interested in exploring the ways in which methodologies are contextualized to tackle both new spaces and ‘old’ spaces in the flux of change. However we are also attentive to the interaction between researchers and the larger community regarding those spaces, such as public policy development that is contextually bound and the impact of business models in the alteration and creation of places. The conference will take place at the University of Manchester on 15 June 2018. It is an all-day event which will feature both academic papers and public events including a roundtable with community members, a public screening, and an exhibition. Attendance is free. We welcome submissions for 15 minute papers from doctoral and masters’ students and early-career researchers across multiple disciplines, especially sociology, anthropology, economics, politics, geography, public health, and cultural studies. Some of the conference’s key themes are: - addressing changing political and social contexts in our research - urban/rural dichotomies - new and old spaces: queer, postcolonial and online contexts - place ownership, no-place, and homelessness - how social, cultural, and community challenges affect fieldwork - developing community-specific methodologies and research questions - how theories and knowledges are context-specific, as well as the potential for trans-contextual research Abstract submissions should be between 150 and 300 words and include five keywords. Creative research methodologies are welcomed. Scholars are encouraged to reflect on local engagement in their papers. Deadline for submission is March 26, 2017. Website (and submission form): www.placemcr2018.wordpress.com. Inquiries should be directed at placemcr2018(a)gmail.com

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Artificial Intelligence for Public sector IT: call4speakers / panelists
by Diana Ishmatova 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

[Apologies for cross-posting] We are organising and looking for speakers / panelists to join one of our leading panels at the mobileGov World Summit 2018 and Global mobileGov Awards, to be held in Brighton UK, during June 14-15, at the Hilton Metropole. www.m4life.org Titles and short descriptions of the panels: *Artificial Intelligence and public sector workforce: job displacement vs job creation* AI has already a substantial impact on government work - AI is used in automating mundane tasks and helping handle complex and time-consuming tasks and just like with earlier technologies, AI in government is promised to reduce costs, free time and deliver better and faster services to the citizens. But how will AI affect public sector jobs – will they change, disappear, will new jobs be created? How fast will these job changes occur? And more importantly - what kind of workforce planning does introduction of AI in government require? *Artificial Intelligence* * and inclusion*One of the great promises of artificial intelligence (AI) is its objectiveness allowing making decisions and predictions free from gender, age, racial and other prejudices. But the recent years has shown that AI-powered algorithms adopt and reinforce social stereotypes and thus creating biases in inclusiveness of the Public Sector IT solutions. How does AI produce biases, what are the consequences? How to recognize biases in AI, remove them and how to avoid them at all? Is there a need for new laws and regulations to make AI and machine learning technologies inclusive? What is the potential of AI in achieving a wider social inclusion? *Artificial Intelligence* * and cybersecurity*One of the most critical issue in Public Sector IT is cybersecurity. AI will bring in new dimensions to fight against possible arms cased by security limitations and also develop the domain of solutions for security. This session will explore questions such as: How AI is used by governments in security today and what are its future uses for dealing with cybersecurity threats? What are the possible drawbacks of using AI in cybersecurity? What are the potential threats from the use of AI in cyberattacks and how to prevent and mitigate them? *Artificial Intelligence * *in healthcare - state of field, future uses, unintended consequences* mobileHealth has always one of the fastest growing area in the Public Sector IT domain. Yet we are not very sure how AI will influence these developments, especially when IoT has real time intelligence. This session aims to explore answers to questions similar to: What is the current scale of AI adoption in public healthcare? What efficiencies does the use of AI produce in healthcare? What are the specific barriers to AI adoption in public healthcare? What are the unintended consequences of AI use in healthcare? How to manage them? We are looking for experts and solution providers who can present ideas and working examples related to the proposed topic. We are also open for new proposals of panels or special sessions in your area of expertise. If interested, please send an email to me or conf(a)m4life.org with a brief on your potential contribution to this exciting topic in mobileGov and current advances in the public sector IT. For more info and various ways of participation to the mobileGov World Summit and Global mobileGov Awards, please visit www.m4life.org ----- mobileLife Events - mGovWS2018 conf(a)m4life.org www.m4life.org +447740143135 <+44%207740%20143135>

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ICYMI: Publication of two new reports from Data & Society's Media Manipulation initiative + livestream discussion happening today
by Monica Bulger 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Dear colleagues, This past year has been a sometimes overwhelming whirl of news events and commentary about the origins of fake news and ways to counter it. ICYMI, I’m delighted to share two reports that the Data & Society Media Manipulation <https://datasociety.net/research/media-manipulation/> initiative recently published + share a reminder that “Real Talk about Fake News <https://datasociety.net/events/databite-no-107-real-talk-about-fake-news-na…>” with Nabiha Syed in conversation with Claire Wardle and Joan Donovan is livestreaming today <https://datasociety.net/events/databite-no-107-real-talk-about-fake-news-na…> at 4p.m. Eastern. The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy <https://datasociety.net/output/the-promises-challenges-and-futures-of-media…> , which I co-authored with Patrick Davison, aims to make sense of the complexity of media literacy as a fix or solution to fake news. We examine the research base for media literacy across four themes: what is media literacy, how can media literacy help, how can media literacy fail, and the future of media literacy. Our key findings are: (1) Media literacy places responsibility for discerning quality and accuracy of information, which works in a world that assumes either good actors or that through evaluation, quality information can be discerned. In an environment where the mechanisms for serving information are unclear, traditional markers for quality and trust have been circumvented, individual skills are insufficient. (2) Media literacy is not a panacea, it cannot be considered a standalone solution to fake news and misinformation, but one frame in a complex media & info environment. It must be considered in combination with strategies for addressing how state-sponsored disinformation efforts and tech platforms influence the information we see and how we interact with it. Dead Reckoning: Navigating Content Moderation After “Fake News,” <https://datasociety.net/output/dead-reckoning/> authored by Robyn Caplan, Lauren Hanson, and Joan Donovan clarifies current uses of the term “fake news” and analyzes four specific strategies of intervention. Key findings: (1) Moderating “fake news” well requires understanding the context of the article and the source. Currently automated technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are not advanced enough to address this issue, which requires human-led interventions. (2) Third-party fact-checking and media literacy organizations are expected to close the gap between platforms and the public interest, but are currently under resourced to meet this challenge. Please feel free to share widely! Monica ---- Monica Bulger, Ph.D. Research Affiliate <http://www.datasociety.net/>, Data & Society Research Institute 36 West 20th Street New York, NY 10011 @literacyonline

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CFP: Special Issue of Journal of Computer Mediated Communication (JCMC)
by Yao, Mike 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Call for papers: Special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Theme: What is research on computer-mediated communication today (and what should it be tomorrow)? A special issue examining the state of the field Guest editors Mike Yao, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Rich Ling, Nanyang Technological University What is computer-mediated communication (CMC)? Further, what is the nature of the social and psychological processes vis-a-vis such digitally-mediated communication? In the quarter-century since the founding of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (emphasis added), there have been significant changes in the object of study, the theories, and methods used to examine the phenomenon. The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication invites abstracts for a dedicated issue to consider the scope, theoretical direction, and methodological concerns in technology-mediated communication research. In the case of a special issue, we will suspend the criteria of requiring papers to have a primarily empirical focus. We invite articles that will help frame the future direction of research into digitally-mediated communication. We will first seek extended abstracts of 1000-1500 words that outline the domain of the paper, the main argument, the literature upon which the paper is built, and the proposed contribution to the specific domain and to the sub-discipline. Submit papers to mzyao(a)illinois.edu and mark the subject line with "JCMC Special issue." The submission should come with a brief biography (approx. 100-150 words) of the authors. Abstracts should be submitted by 31 March 2018. Notification of commissioned papers will be made by the end of May 2018. Full articles will be due by 1 Oct 2018, through https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcmc. The manuscripts must conform to the formatting standards of JCMC. Visit https://www.icahdq.org/mpage/JCMCCFP for more details about this CfP. Best regards, Mike Yao, Ph.D. Institute of Communications Research Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology The Cline Center for Advanced Social Research University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign mzyao(a)illinois.edu

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last call for papers: workshop "We are on a mission". Exploring the role of future imaginaries in the making and governing of digital technology, Berlin, 27 April 2018
by Mager, Astrid 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Dear colleagues, there are two more days to submit a paper for the workshop I'm co-organizing together with Christian Katzenbach: "We are on a mission". Exploring the role of future imaginaries in the making and governing of digital technology, Berlin, 27 April 2018 We are happy that Sally Wyatt (Maastricht University) will deliver a keynote on technological imaginaries in fiction, policy and everyday life. The title is: "Imagine you are an iPhone, recharging" If you'd like to participate in the workshop, please send an english language abstract (300-500 words)*until 2 March 2018*. We encourage you to also submit work-in-progress. Here's the website with all the details:https://www.hiig.de/en/events/workshop-exploring-future-imaginaries/ Please contact me off-list if you have further questions! We're looking forward to your contributions! Thanks! Best, Astrid “We are on a mission”. Exploring the role of future imaginaries in the making and governing of digital technology Call for Abstracts Deadline: 02.03.2018 Workshop Friday, 27 April 2018 Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society Französische Straße 9, 10117 Berlin, Germany Keynote: Sally Wyatt (Maastricht University) “We are on a mission to build a more open, accessible, and fair financial future, one piece of software at a time” promises the software platform Blockchain. “Imagine if everyone could get around easily and safely, without tired, drunk or distracted driving” envisions the self-driving car company Waymo(a subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc.). “The Regulation is an essential step to strengthen citizens' fundamental rights in the digital age and facilitate business by simplifying rules for companies in the Digital Single Market” claims the European Commissionwith regard to the General Data Protection Regulation. These examples show how imaginaries of future societies are enacted to promote digital innovations or legitimate certain modes of internet governance. They illustrate how software providers, tech companies and legislators dig into the rich pool of cultural norms, visions and values to support (or question) digital tools, rules and regulations. Future prospects seem to be central for making decisions in the present. What role do future imaginaries perform in the making and governing of present digital technology? How are they mobilised to push or oppose digital innovations such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, blockchain technology or open source/open data projects? How are prospective imaginaries shaped in policy discourses and governance practices regarding networked technology and global data flows? What significance do European specificities have in global technology imaginations? Can different mechanisms be identified in mainstream discourses and counter-narratives? What happens if future scenarios are contested and digital promises become contradictory? Themes of the Workshop These are central questions to be discussed in our workshop. We welcome theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions that help us understand how the future is mobilized to make and govern digital technology in the present. The workshop is organized around three central themes: 1. Theories and concepts to analytically grasp future visions and their roles in the making and governance of digital technology 2. Methods and tools to analyze the nexus between future imaginations and their functions in and impact on policy-making and technology development 3. Empirical research and case studies on future imaginaries and their roles in the making and governing of present digital technology Submission We welcome theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions from various disciplines that speak to the themes of the workshop. Please send an english language 300–500 word abstract including titlethat describes your contribution to the workshop. We encourage you to submit work-in-progress. Abstracts are submitted via e-mail to astrid.mager(a)oeaw.ac.at <mailto:astrid.mager@oeaw.ac.at>before 2 March 2018. We will send out notifications on 13 March 2018. Organisers Astrid Mager Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA), Austrian Academy of Sciences astrid.mager(a)oeaw.ac.at <mailto:astrid.mager@oeaw.ac.at> Christian Katzenbach Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society katzenbach(a)hiig.de <mailto:katzenbach@hiig.de> -- Dr. Astrid Mager Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) Austrian Academy of Sciences NEW ADDRESS: Apostelgasse 23, A-1030 Vienna astrid.mager(a)oeaw.ac.at Tel.: +43 (0)1 515 81-6598 Fax: (+43-1-) 51581-6570 http://www.oeaw.ac.at/ita/mager http://www.astridmager.net

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ECREA Conference 2018: Last Minute Panel Proposal – Call for Abstracts
by Haller, Andre 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Dear Colleagues, with this e-mail I am inviting you to submit abstracts for a panel proposal on scandal communication for the 2018 ECREA conference in Lugano. We are particularly looking for papers on scandal communication in the network society. Since the deadline is fast approaching (Friday!), please submit your 500 word abstract as soon as possible to me: andre.haller(a)uni-bamberg.de<mailto:andre.haller@uni-bamberg.de> -- Cultures of outrage: Scandal coverage across borders Scandal research is characterized by a variety of affected social fields (e.g. political, judicial or economic scandals) and is topic of different disciplines such as communication studies, political science or sociology. What they have in common is that scandal coverage occurs in every liberal-democratic system and fulfills important social functions like monitoring powerful actors, for example politicians or companies (Burkhardt, 2006). However, scandal reporting differs from country to country and is dependent on various aspects on the macro-, meso- and micro-level, for instance: The culture of a society (Hondrich, 2002), different journalistic cultures (World of Journalism Study, 2017), legal backgrounds or characteristics of the audience. This panel proposal aims at contributors who study scandal coverage in their country and to those who conduct comparative analysis of scandal cases in different national contexts. The main aim of the panel is to present recent studies on the cross-cultural aspect in mediated scandalization. The scope of contributions may range from… 1. papers addressing macro-level constraints in scandal coverage like political, legal, historic frameworks or particularities of the media system, 2. contributions focusing on effects of scandal coverage and reasons for scandal reception by the audience, 3. to works in which the style of media coverage on scandalous cases, particularly by online media, is analyzed. Since this list of possible research areas is open-ended, contributions from other areas of communication studies and other methodological standpoints of the field are welcome. As the deadline of ECREA 2018 is approaching very fast (Friday, March 2nd 2018), contributions of no more than 500 words should be submitted to andre.haller(a)uni-bamberg.de -- Best regards, André Dr. André Haller Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg An der Weberei 5 / Raum 04.069 D-96045 Bamberg Tel.: +49 (0)951/863-2136 Fax: +49 (0)951/863-2159 E-Mail: andre.haller(a)uni-bamberg.de<https://mailex.uni-bamberg.de/owa/andre.haller@uni-bamberg.de> Website: http://www.uni-bamberg.de/kowi Twitter: @andrehaller <https://twitter.com/andrehaller/>

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Civic Tech "World Tour" - Want to host a stop?
by Steven Clift 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Over the years, I've had the honor to speak across scores of universities about lessons and trends related to digital democracy and civic technology from a practitioner perspective. I joke that I share "what works" in practice and my academic friends then say, "Yes, but does it also work in theory?" Typically, I've been fiscally hosted by a government or some conference and I've asked if I could also have a free open to all side event at a local university. I value these exchanges tremendously. So here is my looooong shot request ... Based on my 7500+ member Civic Technology and Open Government Facebook Group I am applying for the Facebook Community Leadership Program. They will select five $1 million winners and 100 fellows who will receive $50K to boost their online communities. As part of my proposal, I am plotting a world tour to build the global network city by city and to highlight great civic tech stories we can share from local places to the world. The $1M version involves physical travel and the $50K some virtual real-time travel. If you'd like to tentatively express interest in hosting one of these events, please add a comment here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup/permalink/2080273208870931/ Also, if you don't want to miss out on the vibrant daily global exchange on using tech for civic good and open government, join in here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup It really is quite an amazing community. Thanks, Steven Clift http://stevenclift.com

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ICADIWT 2018
by ijwa＠dline.info 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

CALL FOR PAPERS The Ninth International Conference on the Applications of Digital Information and Web Technologies (ICADIWT 2018) June 25-27, 2018 Porto, Portugal http://www.socio.org.uk/icadiwt The Ninth International Conference on the Applications of Digital Information and Web Technologies (ICADIWT 2018) is a forum for researchers to present the intensive and innovative research, ideas, developments and applications in the areas of Computer Communications, Communication networks, Communication Software Communication Technologies and Applications, and other related themes. This conference (ICADIWT Edition IX) will include presentations of contributed papers and state-of-the-art lectures by invited keynote speakers. Digital Technologies is embeded in the research activites of a large number of people and it ensures the Ubiquitous reaching of more number of people in the recent years. Research in digital technologies has been carried out in many directions using various resources and tools and on the other side, the application issues are addressed by more volume of researchers not necessarily limited to information and computing technology. Thus the proposed conference series realize its value and potential and manifest the requirements in the form of the international conference. This edition will address the following outlined themes (but not limited to) Internet Communication Internet Technologies Web Applications Internet Software Data Access and Transmission Digital Communication Software Digital Networks Web Communication Interfaces Adaptive Systems Internet of Things Internet of breath Augmented Reality Databases and applications Web Systems Engineering Design Intelligent Agent systems/ Semantic Web Studies Adaptive Web applications and personalization Actuators and sensors Robotics and Machine Vision Smart cities and structures Control Automation Human-machine interfaces Real-time simulation Digital Technologies for Mechanical and other designs Publication and Indexing The accepted full papers will be published in the IOS series (Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications (FAIA))and submitted for inclusion in many indexes. Accepted full papers will be submitted for indexing to multiple abstract and indexing partners. The papers will be indexed in many databases as given at http://www.frontiersinai.com/?q=indexing The accepted papers will be published as a post-conference publication. During the conference, the pre-conference volume will be distributed. Important Dates Submission of papers- April 01, 2018 Notification-May 10, 2018 Camera ready-June 10, 2018 Registration-June 15, 2018 Conference Dates-June 25-27, 2018 PROGRAM COMMITTEES Honorary Chair Jolanta Mizera-Pietraszko, (Opole University, Poland) General Chairs Ramiro Smano Robles, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto Rua, Portugal Pit Pichappan, Digital Information Research Labs, India Program Chairs Yao-Liang Chung, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan Ricardo Rodriguez Jorge, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Submissions at http://www.socio.org.uk/icadiwt/paper-submission/ Contact diwt(a)dirf.org or icadiwt(a)socio.org.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------

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Panel proposal at ECREA2018 about social/digital media research ethics
by Locatelli Elisabetta 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Dear all, apologies for cross-posting. I'd like to submit to the ECREA 2018 conference a panel proposal about social media/digital media research ethics. Next October the ECREA 2018 conference will be held in Lugano (Switzerland) and theme of the conference will be "Centres and Peripheries: Communication, Research, Translation". Unfortunately the conference date will be near to the AoIR Conference in Montreal, so I don't know how many of you should be interested or able to come also at ECREA Conference. The deadline of the call for paper has been extended to March 2. Following the conference theme I think that the panel should develop the relationship between centres and peripheries about the ethics of social/digital media research, like new approaches to ethics, research about new topics where an ethical reflection is still developing (i.e. AI, Internet of Things, research involving children...) or confronting the approaches to research ethics in different Countries. Here you can find more information about the conference http://www.ecrea2018lugano.eu/call-for-papers/ If you are interested please feel free to contact me off-list. I've already have some abstracts and I'll be glad to manage the panel submission. All the best Elisabetta Locatelli Adjunct professor Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore elisabetta.locatelli(a)unicatt.it<mailto:elisabetta.locatelli@unicatt.it>

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Late AoIR 2018 Submissions due to UK Universities Strike
by Axel Bruns 28 Feb '18

28 Feb '18

Dear AoIRists, AoIR is aware that many of our UK-based colleagues are currently on strike, and may have difficulties meeting the 1 March submission deadline for AoIR 2018 conference submissions. If your plans to submit a proposal to the conference are affected by the strike, please contact the AoIR 2018 Programme Chair Andrew Herman (AoIRConfChair [at] aoir [dot] org) to arrange for a brief extension to the submission deadline. We will do what we can to accommodate you. Axel Bruns AoIR President -- Prof Axel Bruns a.bruns(a)qut.edu.au - @snurb_dot_info ARC Future Fellow, 2014-17 http://www.amazon.com/author/axel.bruns/ Professor, Media & Communication http://mappingonlinepublics.net/ QUT Digital Media Research Centre http://qut.edu.au/research/dmrc/ Creative Industries Faculty, Z6-503, KG http://snurb.info/ Queensland University of Technology +61 7 3138 5548 GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia CRICOS No.: 00213J

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