January 2023 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Digital Media Literacy in Africa - call for papers
by P Boshoff 27 Jan '23

27 Jan '23

Digital Media Literacies in Africa: Call for Papers A great deal of scholarly attention has been given to media literacy in recent years, as shown by the numerous books and journal articles published on the topic over the past decade. Yet much of this research examines media literacy in the European, Asian, and American contexts. Africa, by contrast, has been given scant attention. The recent Wiley Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy, for example, has a range of case studies, none of which comes from Africa. Within the research literature, two broad approaches are noticeable. One looks at media literacy from the point of view of “skills” (such as news literacy and how to spot propaganda or fake news) while the other is concerned with how to develop “critical” media literacies (for example, understanding how media ownership shapes news content). However, due to the development of ICTs and social media, media literacy concepts and research foci have expanded dramatically over the past two decades. For example, Keener & West (2021) identify media literacies as including issues such as traditional news literacy; digital citizenship; digital literacy; information literacy; media arts; and technological media literacy. Despite differences in approach to media literacy, the overarching goal of media literacy scholarship and advocacy is to empower media users, enabling them to understand the complexities of media production and consumption as well as the implications of media for individuals and society at large. Ultimately, we argue with Lewis and Jhally (2006) that the primary aim of media literacy education is to create more sophisticated citizens, rather than sophisticated media consumers. What is interesting from our current African context is the particular variety and distribution of media that are available due to our colonial past; and how these are made part of social life in contexts of deep inequalities. Given this history and the inequalities that shape how we are able to access and interact with the media - whether “legacy” or digital media - we ask: “what does it mean - and take - to be media literate in Africa today?” What research there is, appears contradictory: de Laneroll, Walton, and Schoon (2020) for example argue that despite the enormous challenges of being “less connected” in African contexts of economic and infrastructural inequality, people are highly skilled and resourceful in order to overcome their digital limitations. In contrast, research that is interested in a developmental agenda tends to stress the importance of media literacy, particularly in the context of growing disinformation and misinformation spread via digital media platforms. For example, the recent Covid-19 pandemic brought media literacy in Africa into sharp focus, particularly with the creation and spread of disinformation and misinformation about the virus and efforts to combat it (Cunliffe-Jones, et al, 2021). In this unique seven-country study, Cunliffe-Jones et al. conclude that misinformation literacy is barely taught in Africa. Given this paucity of scholarship about media literacy in Africa, especially in relation to the complexity of our media landscape, as well as digital inequalities and its impacts on Africans as media users (producers and consumers) in the age of rising internet connectivity, social media, information overload, disinformation and misinformation, this call for paper is targeted at understanding themes such as: Journalism and digital media literacy in Africa Youth digital media literacy education in Africa Youth, social media and self-representation Media literacy, cyberbullying, sexting, trolling, phishing and media addiction Digital media literacy, gender and body-image positivity Media literacy education in African countries Media literacy in African contexts of socio-economic inequality Media literacy and digital inequalities in Africa Power and hegemony in legacy and digital media in Africa Media literacy, dis/misinformation and fact-checking in African contexts Media literacy and African citizenship education Media literacy, political communication and propaganda in Africa Media literacy and digital media activism in Africa Innovative indigenous digital media literacy practices in Africa Media literacy and health communication Digital advertising and disinformation Digital literacy and COVID-19 Interested researchers and practitioners are invited to submit an abstract of 350 words clearly explaining the details of their proposed contributions in line with the theme by 15 February 2023. Abstracts should be emailed to: digitalliteracies(a)ru.ac.za Contributors will be notified about the status of their abstracts by 17 February 2023. Full papers are expected to be submitted by 31 May 2023 The journal will be published online by 1 February 2024 You may view the special edition page on African Journalism Studies: Digital Media Literacies in Africa at https://bit.ly/Digital_Media_Literacies All interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?show=instructions&journ… All contributions will be subjected to a double-blind review process. No Article Processing Charges apply to *African Journalism Studies*.

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AI, Robots & Culture Symposium - USyd 8 Feb 2023
by Justine Humphry 27 Jan '23

27 Jan '23

You are invited to attend *AI, Robots & Culture*, a one-day symposium on the cultural translation, transference, and adoption of developing technologies in robotics and artificial intelligence. This is a free event (in-person and via Zoom). DATEWednesday 8 February 2023 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM AEST (UTC+11) LOCATIONCase study Lecture Theatre 2090, Abercrombie Business School, The University of Sydney *FULL PROGRAM* https://robotsaiculture.github.io/ *BOOK* https://www.eventbrite.com/e/robots-ai-and-culture-in-person-tickets-510346… (In Person) https://www.trybooking.com/events/1007895/sessions/3678187/sections/1848781… (Online) Thank you, Dr Justine Humphry Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures Discipline of Media and Communications, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences *THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY*

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Article of possible interest: ChatGPT Strikes at the Heart of the Scientific World View
by Blayne Haggart 26 Jan '23

26 Jan '23

Hello all: Some of you might find this piece I wrote for the Centre for Global Innovation Governance (CIGI) to be of interest: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/chatgpt-strikes-at-the-heart-of-the-sci…. Drawing on José van Dijck’s work on dataism, and my own extension of Susan Strange’s concept of knowledge structures, it focuses on the thinking behind ChatGPT and machine learning. It argues that the reaction to ChatGPT highlights that dataist views are becoming more entrenched at the cost of evidence-based, theory-and-method-driven scientific thinking, effectively redefining what we consider to be knowledge and who we think of as experts. Warm regards, Blayne Blayne Haggart Associate Professor Graduate Program Director Department of Political Science Brock University St. Catharines, ON Canada Power and Authority in Internet Governance: Return of the State? Edited by Blayne Haggart, Natasha Tusikov and Jan Aart Scholte Buy it here: https://www.routledge.com/Power-and-Authority-in-Internet-Governance-Return…

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Degraded and/or Dying Twitter APIs
by Shulman, Stu 26 Jan '23

26 Jan '23

Does anyone know the full extent (or cause) of the current API degradation at Twitter? The web front end for the "downloader" has been down for a bit now. https://developer.twitter.com/apitools/downloader I have seen reports of other API issues. Is it broken, breaking bad, under repair, getting a new toll booth, or bound for the graveyard of Internet history? Should we be placing wagers...perhaps in bitcoin? ~Stu

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Cfp: Digital Platforms, Journalism and Democracy, Athens, Greece - November 3-5 2023
by Nikos Smyrnaios 26 Jan '23

26 Jan '23

Dear, please find below a link to a call for papers for a conference that will take place in Athens, Greece, in November 2023 https://amiretreat2023.advancedmediainstitute.com/about/ About the Conference – #AMIRetreat2023<https://amiretreat2023.advancedmediainstitute.com/about/> We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for presentations at the forthcoming international conference entitled “Digital Platforms and Democracy: Journalism and Political Communication in a World of Polycrisis”, which will be held in November 3-5, 2023, in Athens, Greece. amiretreat2023.advancedmediainstitute.com Best

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[CFP-MedComNet 2023] Deadline extension: Feb. 15, 2023 -- 1th Mediterranean Communication and Computer Networking Conference (13-15 June, Island of Ponza, Italy)
by Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou 26 Jan '23

26 Jan '23

======================================================================== MedComNet 2023 13-15 June, Island of Ponza, Italy https://www.medcomnet.org/ ======================================================================== MedComNet 2023 continues the tradition of the MedHocNet conference series that started in Sardinia in 2002 and was held annually in beautiful locations on the shores of the Mediterranean. This year's edition will take place from the 13th to the 15th of June on the island of Ponza, Italy. MedComNet is a forum for the presentation of new research results in the broad area of wired and wireless communication and computer networking. All aspects of the networking research area are welcome. MedComNet will request the technical co-sponsorhip of IEEE. Extended versions of the best papers presented at the conference will be considered, by invitation and upon additional review, for publication in the Elsevier Computer Networks journal. The best paper in the conference will be awarded the Mario Gerla Best Paper Award. Topics include but are not limited to: Networking for future applications: - Internet of Things / Cyber-physical systems - Vehicular networks - Localization and location-based services - Networking for the metaverse - Edge, fog and cloud computing - AI-as-a-Service - Distributed Ledger Technologies Networks at large: - Beyond 5G networks - Edge AI, Networking for AI - Network security and privacy - Routing and multicast - Energy efficiency in networks - Mobile sensing and mobility management - Network economics and pricing - Network management - Network measurement and analysis Physical and MAC layers: - mmWave, THz, VLC networking - MIMO-based networking - Dynamic spectrum sharing - Interference management and mitigation - Optical networks - Satellite networks - Software-defined Radios - Open RAN Tools and techniques for advanced networking: - Network coding for 5G - Machine Learning and AI for networks - Software-defined networking - Network virtualization Please click here to go to the EDAS submission page: https://edas.info/N30533 ======================================================================== Important dates: ======================================================================== Extended paper submission deadline: Feb. 15, 2023 Acceptance notification: Apr. 14, 2023 Camera Ready Papers due: May 3, 2023 Conference: June 13-15, 2023 ======================================================================== Instructions for authors: ======================================================================== Authors are invited to submit original unpublished manuscripts that demonstrate current research related to the aforementioned topics of interest. All paper submissions must be written in English and must be formatted in standard IEEE 2-column format. Only Adobe PDF files will be accepted for the review process. Further instructions (including the submission link) will be published on the website. Be aware that this is still under constructions and it is currently just a mirror of 2022 edition. The website for 2023 should become online soon. Keep an eye on it! https://www.medcomnet.org/ We will consider two different categories of papers: Full papers should describe novel research contributions and are limited in length to ten (10) printed pages (10-point font) including figures, tables, and references. Papers exceeding ten (10) pages will not be accepted at EDAS, nor reviewed at all. Short papers should be more visionary in nature and may report on work in progress without finished results. They are meant to present novel perspectives, so as to foster discussion about innovative directions and new points of view. They are limited to at most four (4) pages including figures, tables, and references, but might in many cases be even shorter. Accepted short papers will be included in the proceedings and they will be given (a shorter) time for oral presentation at the conference. ======================================================================== No-show policy: ======================================================================== Submission to the conference implies willingness to present. No-shows will be excluded from the proceedings. No-show papers are defined as papers submitted by authors who subsequently did not present the paper in-person at the technical meeting (given the current situation, remote presentations may be allowed). Presentations by proxies are not allowed. No refund of the paid fees can be claimed by the no-show author. Exceptions to this policy can only be made by the Technical Program Chairs and only if there is evidence that the no-show occurred because of unanticipated events beyond the control of the authors, and every option available to the authors to present the paper was exhausted. ======================================================================== Presentations in case of travel restrictions: ======================================================================== The organizing committee will consider the possibility of remote presentations for authors coming from countries with travel restrictions in place due to the COVID pandemic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou, Assistant Professor Computer Engineering Vice Chair Director of Recruiting and Admissions Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM, 87131 Office: 326B Tel.: (505)-277-5501 Email: eirini(a)unm.edu<mailto:eirini@unm.edu> Website: PROTON Lab<http://ece-research.unm.edu/tsiropoulou/index.html> PROTON Lab’s News: @Tsiropoulou_EE<https://twitter.com/Tsiropoulou_EE> “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” ~ Aristotle

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IEEE BlackSeaCom 2023, IEEE International Black Sea Conference on Communications and Networking, ISTANBUL, TURKEY
by Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou 26 Jan '23

26 Jan '23

IEEE International Black Sea Conference on Communications and Networking (IEEE BlackSeaCom 2023) 5-7, JULY 2023, ISTANBUL, TURKEY Immersive Bridging of Continents in the Era of Hyperconnectivity https://blackseacom2023.ieee-blackseacom.org/ IEEE BlackSeaCom 2023 will be held in Istanbul that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Themed Immersive Bridging of Continents in the Era of Hyperconnectivity, the conference is seeking highquality and original technical papers not currently under review by any other journal, magazine or conference. Besides the regular technical papers, the technical program seeks poster papers that present work in progress with preliminary results and demos. Also, IEEE BlackSeaCom seeks proposals for tutorials and special sessions. Technical Scope: • 5G mobile systems, 6G connectivity and applications • Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics in wireless communications and networks Software-defined networks, network virtualization, and network slicing • Communications and networks for cloud, edge and fog • Internet of Things (IoT) applications and Sensor Networks • Social networking, smart cities, and multimedia communications • Connected health and e-Health • Optical networks and systems, radio over fiber • Mobile and wireless communications and networking • Image, speech and signal processing for communications • Molecular and nanoscale communications • Modelling, semantic web and ontologies, and interoperability for the Internet, the Metaverse and related applications • Big data analysis, processing, and transmission • Smart grids, M2M and vehicular networks • Future Internet and testbeds • Network and Service Management • Communications and Information theory • Cognitive radio and networking • Security, privacy, and trust • Sustainable communications and computing • Electromagnetic compatibility • Drones, UAV, V2X communications • Cloud-based data streaming General Co-Chairs • Sema Oktug (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey) • Burak Kantarci(University of Ottawa, Canada) Technical Program Co-Chairs • Petros Spachos (University of Guelph, Canada) • Mehmet Yunus Donmez (Ericsson, Turkey) • Sebnem Baydere (Yeditepe University, Turkey) Submission Link: https://www.edas.info/newPaper.php?c=30406 Important Dates • Submission Deadline: Feb 28th, 2023 • Notification of Acceptance: April 15th, 2023 • Camera Ready Deadline: April 30th, 2023 Submission Guidelines Prospective authors are invited to submit a full paper with a maximum paper length of six (6) pages including results, figures, and references without incurring additional page charges (maximum 2 additional pages with over length page charge for an additional fee, if accepted), in the standard IEEE two-column conference format. Papers should be submitted via EDAS<https://www.edas.info/newPaper.php?c=30406>. Papers submitted to the conference must describe original unpublished work that has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. All submitted papers will be reviewed by at least three TPC members, and all accepted and presented papers will be included in the conference proceedings and IEEE digital library. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou, Assistant Professor Computer Engineering Vice Chair Director of Recruiting and Admissions Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM, 87131 Office: 326B Tel.: (505)-277-5501 Email: eirini(a)unm.edu<mailto:eirini@unm.edu> Website: PROTON Lab<http://ece-research.unm.edu/tsiropoulou/index.html> PROTON Lab’s News: @Tsiropoulou_EE<https://twitter.com/Tsiropoulou_EE> “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” ~ Aristotle

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Brief Survey on AI Perception via science fiction, and real-world applications
by philippj＠hawaii.edu 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

Hello everyone, I am supervising a brilliant, High School Student and we are conducting a very brief survey on the perception of AI via science fiction, and real-world applications. We really would like a few more responses, so if you have a few minutes available in your busy lives, please take the survey, we'd be very grateful for the privilege of your time: https://bit.ly/SF-AI-Survey Note: If you don't have the time to take the survey, it'd be similarly awesome if you could snowball it via your networks (via https://bit.ly/SF-AI-Survey) Whether you take the survey or share it with others, I want to thank you for helping us out! Best Phil

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critical infrastructure lab launch event April 13 - 14 // Save-the-Date and Call-for-Contributions
by Niels ten Oever 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

*Executive summary / TL;DR* - The critical infrastructure lab launches on April 13-14, 2023 at the University of Amsterdam - Send in your session proposals for interactive workshops on April 13th (the lab day) - Send in your extended abstracts (academics) or position statements (practitioners) for the panel sessions on April 14th (the research day) - Send submissions to submission(a)criticalinfralab.net by March 1st (750-1000 words) °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸,ø¤°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸,ø¤°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ "Infrastructure makes worlds" -- Ned Rossiter °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸,ø¤°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸,ø¤°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Dear colleague, friend, comrade, Communications infrastructures constitute the invisible scaffolding of social life. Largely concealed to their end-users, they are becoming the main stage where local and global economic, social, environmental, and geopolitical conflicts are played out. Once established, infrastructures shape societies for decades to come. On the *13th and 14th of April* we will launch the critical infrastructure lab* to discuss and develop visions of how communication infrastructures can serve the public interest -- and we want to do that with you! Work in the critical infrastructure lab will focus on the development of new infrastructural futures that center people and planet over profit and capital. Hosted at the University of Amsterdam and led by Fieke Jansen, Niels ten Oever, and Maxigas, the lab will bring together activists, advocates, scholars, policymakers, and industry actors. Three analytical lenses of standards, geopolitics and environment will be applied to built an evidence base, investigate and develop infrastructural imaginaries, and create actionable research for infrastructures that serve the public interest. *About the launch event* The two-day event at the University of Amsterdam will take place on the 13th and 14th of April. It will be a mix of keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, infrastructure walks, and panel discussions. Both days will be in person, but day 1 will be streamed. For both days, we invite session proposals from activists, advocates, scholars, policymakers, and industry. Day zero, 13th of April, will be a hands-on lab day. It will offer space for interactive sessions on geopolitics, environment, and standards. We invite proposals for sessions of 2.5 hours. For instance, workshops, infrastructure walks, policy challenges, simulations, etc. Pretty much everything that is _not_ a panel or paper presentation. Day one, 14th of April, will have a more academic structure. It will kick off with three keynote presentations followed by panel sessions. The keynote speakers - Ksennia Ermoshina, Svitlana Matviyenko, and Yu Hong - will inspire and challenge us. The keynotes are followed by Corinne Cath, who will present her research on exclusionary cultures of internet governance. The afternoon will be dedicated to simultaneous panel sessions in the areas of infrastructure and geopolitics, infrastructure and environment, and infrastructure and standards. Academics can submit an extended abstract (research question, theory/literature, method, data, preliminary findings) and practitioners can submit a position statement. These contributions should be between 750 and 1000 words. *Want to submit?* Do you have an idea you want to workshop, a discussion you want to host, or some research that you want to present? State clearly in an email: - your name and affiliation, - whether you are submitting for day zero or day one, - the research area (infrastructure and geopolitics, infrastructure and environment, or infrastructure and standards) - include an abstract, position statement or a blurb for an interactive session! Send your submission to submission(a)criticalinfralab.net by March 1st. The lab and its research is supported by the Ford Foundation, the Internet Society Foundation, and Omidyar Network. Best, Fieke, Niels and Maxigas https://www.criticalinfralab.net/ -- Niels ten Oever, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher - Media Studies Department - University of Amsterdam Affiliated Faculty - Digital Democracy Institute - Simon Fraser University Non-Resident Fellow 2022-2023 - Center for Democracy & Technology Associated Scholar - Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade - Fundação Getúlio Vargas Research Fellow - Centre for Internet and Human Rights - European University Viadrina Vice chair - Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) W: https://nielstenoever.net E: mail(a)nielstenoever.net T: @nielstenoever P/S/WA: +31629051853 PGP: 4254 ECD5 D4CF F6AF 8B91 0D9F EFAD 2E49 CC90 C10C Read my latest article on network ideologies and how 5G reshapes the internet https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596122001446

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CfA YOUthDIG Travel Grants now open!
by Nadia Tjahja 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

Dear all, Fully-funded travel grants are available for young people aged 18-30 to attend the youth pre-event of the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) and the EuroDIG Conference itself, in June 2023. The Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance (YOUthDIG) brings together 30 young people from all over Europe to learn about Internet Governance, and discuss and exchange ideas with experienced internet policy practitioners. At the end of YOUthDIG, participants design policy messages that will be presented at EuroDIG but also at the global Internet Governance Forum. If your students or colleagues are interested in applying, applications are open until 10 February 2023, 16:59 CET. More information and application form is available on: https://www.eurodig.org/get-involved/youthdig With kind regards, *Ms Nadia Tjahja* United Nations University – CRIS | Digital Governance Cluster | PhD Fellow www.cris.unu.edu Vrije Universiteit Brussel | Brussels School of Governance | PhD Researcher https://brussels-school.be/research/digitalisation-democracy-and-innovation Communications Chair, Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) YOUthDIG Coordinator, European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) *Recent publications* Tjahja, N., Meyer, T., Shahin, J., (2022). Who do you think you are? Individual stakeholder identification and mobility at the Internet Governance Forum. *Telecommunications Policy**, 46*(10*)**,* 102410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2022.102410 Tjahja, N., Meyer, T., & Shahin, J. (2021). What is civil society and who represents civil society at the IGF? An analysis of civil society typologies in internet governance. *Telecommunications Policy*, *45*(6), 102141. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102141 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102141>

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