October 2025 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Bartz v. Anthropic Copyright Case and new posts on When the Field is Online
by Janet Salmons 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

Hello friends, Bartz v. Anthropic Copyright Case The Claims Process for Textbook & Academic Authors is Unique. Review Guidance from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association Before Filing Claims. See detailed information here: https://tinyurl.com/mwr4usr4 Diary methods, that is, a research approach that involves sending/sharing a series of questions or prompts for participants' responses over a defined period of time, are the focus for October. These are methods that work for informal as well as scholarly research. The new post: Diary Methods: Why and How? is online (https://tinyurl.com/msa9pha8) Check out the whole series: * Narratives and Diaries in Online Research: https://tinyurl.com/4emjhhzd Learn about the lived experience from first-hand accounts * Narrated Lives https://tinyurl.com/3kw5duex Using biographical methods in qualitative research Next week we'll explore found diaries and narratives, including an exciting author interview! November is Academic Writing Month, with a focus on informal ways to share research-based thinking. Subscribe so you don't miss anything (and share this link with your students): http://tinyurl.com/qualnews Have qualitative or mixed methods publications or events to share? Send them to me off-list. Take care, Janet Janet Salmons, PhD (She/her/hers) www.salmons.blog Unabhängie Forscherin, Free-Range Scholar and Creative 2024 Research Fellow, Center for Advanced Internet Studies Boulder, Colorado USA janet(a)salmons.blog<mailto:jsalmons@vision2lead.com>

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Book talk "World War and World Peace in the Age of Digital Capitalism" (Christian Fuchs)
by Christian Fuchs 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

https://iamcr.org/webinars/war-peace-digitalcapitalism The International Association for Media and Communication Research’s Political Economy Section host a webinar where Christian Fuchs will introduce his book „World War and World Peace in the Age of Digital Capitalism“. When: Tuesday 18 November, 2025 @18h00 CEST/ 09h00 Los Angeles / 12h00 New York / 17h00 London / 18h00 Berlin / 20h00 Nairobi / 22h30 Kolkata. The event will last 1 hour. Registration by 16 November here: https://forms.gle/iQEUuS7VmCPmXZ48A In this talk, Christian Fuchs introduces some aspects of his book „World War and World Peace in the Age of Digital Capitalism“. World politics has become highly polarised. We live in times when a new world war has become more likely. The United Nations’ 2024 Pact for the Future expresses concerns about ”the growing risks of a nuclear war which could pose an existential threat to humanity“. Will humanity descend into barbarism and world war, or will we realise the dangers of our global problems, weapons of mass destruction, and the threats posed by a potential new world war, and a climate catastrophe in order to avoid annihilation and create perpetual world peace? The book deals with violence, world war, and world peace in global digital capitalism. It asks: How do violence and war manifest themselves in global digital capitalism? How do digital capitalism and digital technologies manifest themselves in violence and warfare? What are the prospects for world peace today? In order to prevent world war and advance world peace, we need a better understanding of war and violence and of their contexts and causes. We need to ask what war is, what violence is, what war and peace look like today and how they have changed in the 21st century. Open access and afforable paperback version of the book: DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/mpub.13082283 Christian Fuchs. 2025. World War and World Peace in the Age of Digital Capitalism. London: University of Westminster Press. ISBN 978-1-915445-77-3 (pbk), 978-1-915445-78-0 (pdf), 978-1-915445-79-7 (epub), 978-1-915445-80-3 (mobi). 360 pages.

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CFP – Shaping the Future of the Information Society: WSIS+20 and Beyond
by Joly MacFie 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

(Fwd FYI) *P&I Special Issue Call for Papers – Shaping the Future of the Information Society: WSIS+20 and Beyond* https://internet-policy-meco.sydney.edu.au/2025/09/specialissuewsis20/ At the ITU Plenipotentiary conference in 1998, a proposal was made with the question: what if the world united to shape the future of the Information Society? This question sparked a global journey towards digital cooperation. Endorsed by UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) became a cornerstone of global multistakeholder dialogue. Developing its Declaration of Principles, the WSIS Action Lines and the creation of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), WSIS laid the groundwork for an ongoing ecosystem of meetings and initiatives. Over the past 20 years, a remarkable set of achievements have shaped the world. Grassroots efforts have helped build Community Networks. Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) have dramatically improved speeds and reduced costs. We have a multilingual Internet through domain names which use non-Latin scripts, the establishment of national and regional forums have empowered local voices to contribute in discussions on digital policies, among many others. These achievements underscore that the Internet’s resilience and openness is a result of sustained and coordinated efforts across borders, sectors and actors. As we prepare for WSIS+20 in 2025, the United Nations General Assembly will reflect on our progress, assess current gaps and engage a broad range of stakeholders to shape the future of Internet governance in a rapidly transforming digital era. Therefore we invite papers that explore: *Governance Modalities and Stakeholder Dynamics* We welcome papers that critically examine the evolving architecture of Internet governance, key questions include: - *Modes of Governance and Participation: *Analyses of the WSIS+20 Review process, including its modalities, elements and drafts. - *Stakeholder Inclusion and Participation Models:* Reviewing how the Global Digital Compact (GDC) and WSIS have approached multistakeholderism, inclusion and diversity in its processes. - *Meta-participation in Digital Governance: *Exploring second-order stakeholder engagement – where stakeholders not only participate in processes, but actively shape the process itself - *Norm Development and Frameworks:* Studies on the alignment and adoption of the SDGs, Sao Paulo Principles, the GDC Frameworks and ROAM-X as normative anchors. - *Multilateralism and Multistakeholderism:* Reviewing the interplay between multilateralism andmultistakeholderism - *Global and regional multistakeholderism*: Evaluating tensions, synergies and practical implications in decision-making *Institutional Futures in Internet Governance* We invite contributions that address the evolution and future of key institutions shaping Internet governance: - *Preserving and Evolving the IGF:* The future of multistakeholder governance through the IGF and its potentially renewed mandate - *Developing Institutional Architectures:* Reevaluating the changing role of different offices such as the UN Tech Envoy’s office/ODET, and proposals for new bodies for future governance. - *Evolving institutions:* Reflecting on ICANN’s role in the evolving governance ecosystems and its place in future frameworks. - *Governing Artificial Intelligence:* Proposals for new spaces or mechanisms to coordinate global AI governance across stakeholders. *User-centric Perspectives in Internet Governance: Exploring Internet use and its socioeconomic consequences* We invite contributions that are user-centric and/or address topics related to the WSIS Action Lines: - Digital Inclusion and Equity - User rights - Behavioural and psychological impacts - Economic and labour transformations - Education - Cultural and language diversity - Data sovereignty - Topics related to the WSIS Action Lines *Submission Guidelines:* Please send through your title and 300 word abstract to Jonathon Hutchinson [jonathon.hutchinson(a)sydney.edu.au] and Nadia Tjahja [nadia.tjahja(a)vub.be] with the subject line: “Policy & Internet Special Issue” by 2 November 2025. - Abstracts: up to 300 words - Abstract deadline: 2 November - Full papers: 6000-8000 words - Full paper Deadline: 1 March 2026 -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and Configuration (VARIABILITY 2026): First Call for Workshop Proposals
by Announce 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

*** First Call for Workshop Proposals *** International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and Configuration (VARIABILITY 2026) 29 September - 2 October 2026, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina Limassol, Cyprus https://conf.researchr.org/home/variability-2026<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> VARIABILITY is a new conference that has been merged of three prominent conferences focussing on software and systems variability, configuration and reuse: SPLC (the International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, 29 successful editions, ranked as a top conference), VaMoS (the International Working Conference on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems, 19 successful editions), and ICSR (the International Conference on Systems and Software Reuse, 22 successful editions). We invite you to submit proposals for half-day or full-day workshops in any area related to the field of Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and Configuration, all of which fall under the broader area of Variability. In particular, workshops on challenging, emerging areas related to the conference topics are especially sought. We particularly encourage workshop proposals for highly interactive and collaborative workshops, rather than mini-conferences, e.g., apart from the traditional short and long papers, consider allowing position papers with only one page (not included in the proceedings) and focus on a lively discussion after the presentation, to foster new ideas and gather feedback (rather than just defending the presented work). The expected date of the workshops will be the September 29th, 2026, before the main track of the conference. Submissions / Publishing VARIABILITY workshop papers will be published in a volume of the conference proceedings published by Springer. Moreover, a one-page summary of each accepted workshop will be published in the proceedings as well. Workshop proposals should be authored by at least two organizers, preferably from different institutions, and they should contain the following three sections and address each corresponding point: 1. Organizers • Name: organizers’ full names • Contact information: affiliations, job titles, postal addresses, e-mail addresses, URLs, and phone • Brief biography: 100-200 words, focusing on the organizers’ expertise in the field and experience as workshop organizers 2. Workshop Content • Title: workshop title and acronym • Abstract: max 150 words describing the workshop (suitable for the conference’s website) • Tentative Website URL • Topics and motivation: • What are the topics, themes, and areas of interest of the workshop? • How is the workshop relevant to VARIABILITY? • How does the workshop connect VARIABILITY to other research communities? • Goals and expected results: • Explicitly state the goals of the workshop and how you intend to reach them • What are the expected results of the workshop? • How will these results be disseminated? • Format: • What is the planned workshop format (paper presentations, working sessions, invited talks (please note here that such talks are not financially supported by the conference), lightning talks, demonstrations, etc.)? • To avoid duplicated topics and cancellations, did you coordinate with or (plan to) merge workshops on the same/similar topics from previous years (if there are any)? • What will be done to stimulate collaborative interaction? • What are the planned pre- and post-workshop activities? • Participants: • What is the expected number of submissions and participants? Provide a plan for attracting sufficient submissions and promoting attendance • If applicable, please provide information from previous or related workshops. Have there been previous workshops on the same or a closely related topic? When, where and with how many participants? • Special room equipment (please note that VARIABILITY conference and the workshops are in-person events) like flip charts, microphone, etc. • Do you plan for a half-day or full-day workshop? • Program Committee: list of tentative program committee members, names and affiliations 3. Preliminary Call for Papers This will necessarily repeat some of the information from the previous sections but should be targeted towards prospective participants. It should address the following items: • Overview of the motivation, topics, and goals • Workshop format • Deadlines of the workshop (see dates in this call for proposals) • Submission guidelines and review process • References to previous workshops (websites) • Dissemination campaign to distribute the CFP 4. References to previous workshops (websites) Submission Instructions Please send your workshop proposals using EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences?conf=variability2026<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> A workshop proposal must be at most 4 pages long. Submissions must follow the Springer guidelines: https://www.springer.com/gp/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-gu…<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> Relevant supporting material, such as proceedings from previous editions of the proposed workshop or other workshops organized by the proposal authors, should be included if available but are not required for submission. Acceptance Criteria Each workshop proposal will be evaluated according to the relevance of its topic, the expertise and experience of the workshop organizers, and the workshop’s potential for attracting participants and generating useful results. We underline the importance of active and creative workshops that foster a collaborative environment of interest to both practitioners and researchers, aiming, e.g., to evolve the field of Variability and to identify elements of joint future work. To obtain a balanced and cohesive workshop program, the Organizing Committee will collaborate closely with workshop organizers and reserves the right to circulate proposals to other submitters in view of possible workshop mergers. The organizers of accepted workshops will be required to create and maintain a website in a timely manner to serve as a workshop information center and to provide a repository for documenting pre- and post-workshop activities. At least one author of each accepted proposal must register and attend VARIABILITY 2026 in order for the workshop to be accepted and the summary of the workshop published. The submission and review platform for workshop papers will be the one for the main conference (i.e., all workshops will be as different tracks under the same Easy Chair installation). Important Dates (AoE) • Workshop Proposals: 2 March 2025 • Notification of Acceptance: 16 March 2026 • Workshop Papers Submission: 15 June 2026 • Workshop Papers Notification: 7 July, 2026 • Camera-Ready Version Submission: 14 July, 2026 • Workshop Summary: 14 July, 2026 • Author Registration: 14 July, 2026 Organisation General Chairs • George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus • Gilles Perrouin, FNRS & University of Namur, Belgium Research Track Chairs • Thorsten Berger, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany • Ina Schaefer, KIT, Germany Industry Track Chairs • Shaukat Ali, Simula Research Lab and Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway • Martin Becker, Fraunhofer IESE, Germany Journal First Track Chairs • Mathieu Acher, University Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, France • Xhevahire Tërnava, LTCI, Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France Doctoral Symposium Track Chairs • Rick Rabiser, LIT CPS, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria • Iris Reinhartz-Berger, University of Haifa, Israel Demos and Tools Track Chairs • Sandra Greiner, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark • Leopoldo Teixeira, Federal University of Pernambuco Projects Showcase Chairs • Daniel Struber, Chalmers, University of Gothenburg, Radbound University, Sweden • Dalila Tamzalit, Nantes Université, France Hall of Fame Chairs • Martin Becker, Fraunhofer IESE, Germany • Goetz Botterweck, Lero - The Irish Software Research Centre and University of Limerick, Ireland • Natsuko Noda, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan Workshops Chairs • Lidia Fuentes, Universidad de Malaga, Spain • Malte Lochau, University of Siegen, Germany Tutorials Chairs • Loek Cleophas, Eindhoven University of Technology and Stellenbosch University, The Netherlands • Mahsa Varshosaz, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark Proceedings Chair • Sophie Fortz, King's College London, UK Publicity Chairs • Wesley Assunção, North Carolina State University, USA • Kentaro Yoshimura, Hitachi Ltd, Japan Local Organiser and Finance Chair • George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

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Symposium on ‘Decentralised Technologies and Global Chinese Communities’ (27 Oct)
by Tom McDonald 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

Symposium on ‘Decentralised Technologies and Global Chinese Communities’ https://sociology.hku.hk/dtgcc Date: Monday 27 October 2025, 9am-6pm HKT (GMT +8) Location: Hybrid * In person: Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F., The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus The University of Hong Kong * Online via Zoom Register via: https://sociology.hku.hk/dtgcc Join us for a dynamic symposium exploring the transformative impact of decentralised technologies—such as blockchain, DeFi, DAOs, and cryptocurrencies—on global Chinese communities. This event will examine how these communities are reimagining networks, identities, and cultural practices through decentralisation, often challenging Western-centric narratives and fostering innovative, community-based models rooted in Chinese cultural and political contexts. Topics include grassroots experimentation, state-aligned visions of decentralisation, and the development of infrastructure, from mining operations to digital currencies, that underpin these technologies’ social and economic dimensions. Bringing together leading scholars from STS, media, communication, and anthropology, this symposium aims to deepen understanding of how decentralised systems intersect with Chinese transnational communication, societal organization, and historical traditions of decentralisation and explore their innovations and tensions. Participants will explore the ideological, infrastructural, and everyday practices shaping decentralised ecosystems, highlighting Chinese contributions to technological innovation and cultural transformation. This event offers a rich platform for discussing the role of decentralised technologies in shaping new publics, media systems, and transnational networks within Chinese contexts and beyond. Keynote speakers * Ellie Rennie — RMIT University/ADM+S * Janet Roitman — RMIT University/ADM+S * Nicholas Loubere — Lund University * Wang Jing — NYU Shanghai Additional speakers * Andrew Mak — Web3 Harbour * Fan Jia — City University of Hong Kong * Gallam Jialin Zhang — Hong Kong Shue Yan University * Helena Hang Rong — NYU Shanghai * Holy Hoi Ki Shum — Hong Kong Shue Yan University * Hou Jiaxi — RMIT University/ADM+S * Huang Sunquan — China Academy of Art * Jeremy Chiang — Renaissance College Hong Kong * Liu Yahao — Beijing Normal University * Mahdi Yousefi — Hainan Normal University * Rao Yichen — Utrecht University * Tom McDonald — The University of Hong Kong * Violeta Camarasa San Juan — Chinese University of Hong Kong * Yao Qicheng — The University of Chicago * Yu Haiqing — RMIT University/ADM+S * Yuan Yuhang — Beijing Normal University * Zelin Li - Web3 Harbour * Zhang Qikai — Fudan University Co-organisers * Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China * ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Australia Enquiries socievent(a)hku.hk --- Tom McDonald Associate Professor Department of Sociology The University of Hong Kong mcdonald(a)hku.hk Tel: +852 3917 1105 http://sociology.hku.hk/mcdonald

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Jobs and CFPs from the University Writing Program at the University of Florida
by Chen, Yukai 20 Oct '25

20 Oct '25

Dear colleagues, The University Writing Program at the University of Florida invites you to share the following opportunities with faculty, graduate students, and writing instructors in your department: _______________________________________________________________ Faculty Job Openings We’re hiring four full-time Lecturers (Assistant Instructional Professors) to begin in August 2026. These are nine-month, non-tenure accruing appointments with renewal and advancement opportunities in UF's lecturer track. We seek candidates interested in experiential learning, with facility in AI and/or digital media, and experience in teaching professional, discipline-specific, or public-facing writing. Required: Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition or related field Teaching load: 3/3 Details: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/537006/lecturer-in-the-teaching-of-r… _____________________________________________________________________ CFP: Pedagogy, Practice, and Philosophy Conference-- Meaningful Writing Date: February 7, 2026 (In-person at UF) UF’s annual Conference on Pedagogy, Practice, and Philosophy invites proposals exploring how writing fosters agency, identity, and engagement—especially in the age of AI. Formats include activity swaps, roundtables, workshops, and research papers. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Neal Lerner, co-author of Making Writing Meaningful (2025), whose work has shaped national conversations around writing, reflection, and student agency. CFP Deadline: November 30, 2025 Submit to: Angela Brown (walther(a)ufl.edu) Details: https://writing.ufl.edu/students-2/annual-uwp-pedagogy-conference/ __________________________________________________________________________ CFP: Research in the Age of AI Date: March 12–13, 2026 (Virtual & Asynchronous) This conference explores how AI is reshaping research practices across disciplines. We invite proposals that examine how AI tools are being integrated, resisted, or reimagined in research pedagogy, policy, process, and publishing. Building on past events focused on writing and teaching in the age of AI, this year’s theme centers on integration: what’s gained, what’s lost, and what’s emerging. Presenters are encouraged to share creative formats such as pre-recorded talks, digital posters, and interactive exhibits. CFP Deadline: December 22, 2025 Submit via: https://www.jwai.org/events/research-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence Contact: Zea Miller (zea.miller(a)ufl.edu) Details: https://www.jwai.org/events/research-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence Regards, Kai Yukai Chen, Ph.D. (any) Assistant Instructional Professor University Writing Program University of Florida

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Book launch of Sophie Bishop's Influencer Creep - 29 October at King's College London
by Zeena Feldman 20 Oct '25

20 Oct '25

Dear colleagues, Next Wednesday, 29 October, Sophie Bishop (University of Leeds) visits KCL’s Department of Digital Humanities to discuss her new book Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture<https://www.ucpress.edu/books/influencer-creep/paper> (University of California Press, 2025). The book draws from in-depth ethnography and interviews with influencers and professional artists. Bishop argues that looking to the shifts within influencer culture can help us understand contemporary changes to labour conditions, compensation and representation within creative industries. Bishop will be in conversation with KCL’s Rafal Zaborowski and Zeena Feldman. A drinks reception will follow. Join us! Register at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/digitalhumanitieskcl/1912207. Best wishes, Zeena [- - - - - - - ✄ - - - snip - - - - - - - - - -] WHAT: Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture WHEN: Wed 29 Oct 2025 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM WHERE: King’s College London, Bush House, room BH(S)2.03 Registration (free): https://www.tickettailor.com/events/digitalhumanitieskcl/1912207 About the speakers: Sophie Bishop is an Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the University of Leeds. She has been researching the social and cultural implications of the influencer industry for a decade. Sophie has advised policy makers in UK Parliament and the European Union on influencer culture and has written for academic journals New Media & Society, Social Media + Society and Media, Culture & Society and has been interviewed in Paper, Real Life, Financial Times, BBC and The Atlantic. Sophie lives in Manchester, England with her husband, daughter, and two cats. Influencer Creep is her first book. Zeena Feldman is Reader in Digital Culture in the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. She is Director of Queer@King’s Research Centre and Co-Director of the Centre for Digital Culture. Her research examines how digital technologies impact understandings of traditionally analogue concepts – for instance, belonging, wellbeing and work. Zeena has published widely, including in Information, Communication & Society, Feminist Media Studies, Celebrity Studies, TripleC and the European Journal of Cultural Studies. Her books include Digital Food Cultures (Routledge, 2020) Art & the Politics of Visibility (IB Tauris, 2017). Rafal Zaborowski is Senior Lecturer in Digital Culture in the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. His research looks at the intersections of media audiences, texts, platforms and producers, focusing especially on the role played by media in people's everyday lives. He is interested how social practices of engagements with media correspond to changes in modern digital cultures. Rafal's monograph, Music Generations in the Digital Age (Amsterdam University Press, 2024) explores contemporary digital music culture. [- - - - - - - ✄ - - - snip - - - - - - - - - -]

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CFP: Comics and Machines (2026) - Uppsala and Stockholm - 1 Dec 2025: Abstracts Due
by Marianne Goldin 19 Oct '25

19 Oct '25

**Call for Papers and Conference Talks** “Comics and Machines” April 22-23, 2026 Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm & Uppsala University, Sweden Deadline for abstracts: 1st December 2025 Notifications of acceptance: 30th December 2025 Read more: https://www.echochamber.be/en/opencalls/comics_and_machines/ Contact: conference(a)echochamber.be Today, the field of comics is undergoing a profound transformation marked by a growing heterogeneity of forms, formats, and production processes. >From synthetic comics, operational images, data-driven visualization to embodied, non-visual comics, comics are expanding beyond the conceptual and historical frameworks that have traditionally defined it. Existing models in research— grounded in the artisanal craft traditions, narratology, text-image correlation, and human-centered authorship— are struggling to account for this rapidly diversifying landscape. Craft-based approaches might appear resistant or inadequate in the face of new technological practices that recombine production, circulation, and reception through computational logics.The current moment compels a broader redefinition of comics as fundamentally technical objects. The boundaries that once separated comics from technical and operational systems are dissolving. To grasp the full scope of these developments, we must account for comics as sites where technological processes are not external influences but internal engines — where creation is entangled with computation, standardization, and new modes of mediation. As computational processes— from machine learning to synthetic image generation and communication systems powered by computer vision— increasingly shape the creation, distribution, and experience of comics, it is no longer sufficient to understand the medium solely through the lenses of narrative, visual storytelling, or artisanal craft. Recognizing comics as engineered configurations of information, relational diagrams, and experimental knowledge structures is not a speculative gesture; it is a necessary step for understanding the profound transformation underway in the medium’s ontology, practice, and future potential. Within this expanded computational landscape, comics increasingly function as sites of artistic research— experimental configurations that generate knowledge through making rather than merely representing it. As comics engage with computational systems, they become laboratories for investigating the material conditions of contemporary media production. These research-oriented practices extend beyond traditional academic boundaries. Rather than simply illustrating research findings, comics-as-research deploys their unique capacity for relational thinking— the medium’s inherent ability to orchestrate temporal, spatial, and conceptual relationships — to investigate how technical systems reshape creative labor, audience relations, and the very possibility of narrative meaning. This artistic research dimension positions comics not as objects of study but as active investigative tools, capable of generating insights about computational culture that emerge specifically through the medium’s hybrid technical-aesthetic operations. We are pleased to announce a two-day international conference on April 22-23, 2026 at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and at Uppsala University dedicated to examining the rapidly evolving landscape of comics. Rather than framing this transformation solely as a rupture, the conference seeks to situate it within a longer history of computational rationality— a lineage in which the medium has continuously negotiated the demands of efficiency, scalability, and technical constraint. Our aim is to critically rethink comics not as passive recipients of technological change, but as active computational configurations: media fundamentally entangled with systems of automation, standardization, and information processing. We welcome submissions addressing the following areas (among others): * Histories of automation and engineering in comics production and distribution * Transformations in formats and workflows driven by technological change * Comics as data: informatization, discretization, and database design * Human-machine collaborations in past, present, and speculative comics practice * Audience and user labor in automated platforms and circulation systems * Data-mining and recirculation techniques in digital comics ecologies * Machine subjectivities: authorship, intention, and expression in machinic agents * Computational archiving practices: scraping, clustering, and vectorization * Speculative and critical practices addressing automation and machinic mediation * Industrial logics in comics: international and comparative perspectives * Resistance to automation: sabotage, slow media, and disobedient design * Operational aesthetics: the visual and affective languages of automation * Speculative histories and alternative futures of comics as technical media * Comics as simulations: diagrams, blueprints, and procedural environments * Comics as artistic research methodologies: practice-based inquiry and knowledge production where comics are used to interrogate emerging technologies and social systems We invite submissions for the following presentation formats: * Research Papers (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion): Traditional academic presentations suitable for theoretical, historical, or analytical work * Practice-Based Presentations (15 minutes + 15 minutes discussion): Presentations by creators, artists, and practitioners demonstrating work and reflecting on process * Interactive Demonstrations (30 minutes): Hands-on sessions showcasing new tools, platforms, or methodologies * Panel Discussions (90 minutes): Collaborative sessions bringing together multiple perspectives on specific themes * Lightning Talks (5 minutes): Brief presentations ideal for work-in-progress, provocations, or preliminary findings * Workshop Sessions (3 hours): Extended collaborative sessions for skill-sharing and collective exploration of tools and methods -- Steering committee: Jan Baetens, Jaqueline Berndt, Jan von Bonsdorff, Gareth Brookes, Benoît Crucifix, Björn-Olav Dozo, Anna Foka, Isabelle Gribomont, Andre Holzapfel, Per Israelson, Gaëtan Le Coarer, Ilan Manouach, Pedro Moura, Everardo Reyes, Keith Tillford, Ray Whitcher with the production support of Src Material (Seattle) and Echo Chamber (Brussels) – Submission instructions: Abstract length : 250 words Short bio: 150 words Deadline for abstracts: 1st December 2025 Notifications of acceptance: 30th December 2025 Send to conference(a)echochamber.be More info: https://www.uu.se/en/centre/digital-humanities-and-social-sciences/events/a… – With production support by Src Material <http://srcmaterial.org/>, a non-profit organization supporting artists and researchers at the vanguard of new media.

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Postdoc/predoc in digital tech, University of Potsdam, Berlin metro area, Germany
by Bolsover, Gillian 19 Oct '25

19 Oct '25

Hi AoIR, Obrigade UFF pela conferência! I have two open two-year postdoc (or high-flying pre-doc) positions on my team at the University of Potsdam in Germany (Berlin metro area). - One of these needs to have computational methods skills. - Our team forefronts research on global south issues or contexts. - We’re especially interested in people with interests in digital colonialism, global inequalities, platformatisation, open-source software, peer-to-peer, e-democracy, data justice and power in global governance, digital sovereignty, technology policy and regulation and digital economies, but are open to any strong candidates broadly within our research remit. - As a group, we have a strong commitment to knowledge dissemination, both more traditional (policy, blogs, workshops) and innovative (social media, podcasts, whatever you come up with). - Our working language is English. However, some openness to learning a bit of German is obviously helpful for living and working in Germany. - Deadline is 21 November. - Submit your application documents (only as PDF) via email to: christine.buckley(a)hpi.de<mailto:christine.buckley@hpi.de> More info: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOZ424/post-or-pre-doctoral-researcher-in-digita… Inquiries: office-bolsover(a)hpi.de Best, Estariol de la Paz / Gillian Bolsover Professor of Digital Technology, Governance and Policy Hasso Plattner Institut, University of Potsdam Publications@Google Scholar<https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=MOitBtYAAAAJ&view_op=list_w…>

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CFP Extension: Knowledge Graphs and Contemporary Media: Power, Practice, Publics
by Indrek Ibrus 17 Oct '25

17 Oct '25

EXTENSION: New deadline October 30th Baltic Screen Media Review announces a Call for Papers titled “Knowledge Graphs and Contemporary Media: Power, Practice, Publics” Over the past decade, media have quietly become graph-shaped. Newsrooms, streaming platforms, archives, and social networks now depend on webs of entities - people, places, works, events - and the typed relations that connect them. Under labels such as linked data, the semantic web, and knowledge graphs, these infrastructures coordinate how content is produced, described, discovered, licensed, preserved, and increasingly generated by AI. They sit beneath the interfaces we see, but they structure what becomes visible, recommendable, and valuable. Understanding contemporary media, therefore, requires understanding the graphs that organise them. The rise of knowledge graphs in media is not an accident of technical fashion; it is the logical outcome of long trajectories in cataloguing, digitisation, and platformisation. Libraries and broadcasters moved from card catalogues to MARC and Dublin Core; heritage institutions spent two decades aligning authority files and opening collections; web companies standardised schema-based markup at scale; collaborative knowledge bases such as Wikidata turned entity curation into a public good; and audiovisual industries confronted the complexity of rights, versions, localisations, and windowing across global markets. In parallel, machine learning made structured, linked metadata indispensable: entity linking, recommendation, search, summarisation, and content moderation all perform better when grounded in persistent identifiers and interoperable ontologies. To all this was added the trust and provenance crises of the synthetic media era, which has led to a renewed emphasis on verifiable origin trails, signatures, and content credentials that are most useful when they are linked. The economics of attention, the politics of authenticity, and the pragmatics of large-scale automation all seem to converge on the need for shared, machine-readable meaning. These developments demand analysis from multiple angles. From the political economy of media, knowledge graphs can be read as new “coordination layers” that concentrate bargaining power and lock in ecosystems - or, alternatively, as public infrastructures that lower search and verification costs, widen market access, and enable plural discovery. Media industry studies can show how graphs reshape workflows: from pre-production knowledge bases and clearance graphs, to versioning and localisation, to explainable recommendation pipelines in the platform back-end. Media economics can evaluate the intangible asset value of metadata itself, model network effects that arise when catalogues interlink across firms and borders, and assess when openness produces positive externalities and when enclosure yields short-term rents but long-term fragility. For media semiotics, graphs offer a new instrument to study meaning circulation: intertextuality, world-building, genre drift, and translation across modalities can be traced as patterns of links among works, motifs, and characters. Audience and reception studies can examine how knowledge graph-grounded explanations and provenance labels affect trust and satisfaction, when serendipity expands or narrows horizons, and how fan communities co-produce knowledge that later feeds institutional graphs. Media archaeology could bring historical depth, showing how past documentation practices prefigure today’s ontologies and how reconciliation of “lost” entities can revive suppressed or minoritised histories. Science and Technology Studies could open the black box of standards and maintenance: ontologies are negotiated, versioned, and policed by communities; their categories include and exclude, often reproducing the centre–periphery dynamics of media culture. For media law and ethics, licensing and rights graphs raise questions about privacy and cross-jurisdictional compliance. Provenance frameworks aim to restore trust, yet their governance determines who can certify whom, under what terms, and at what cost. Finally, a public value perspective to media infrastructures asks how these infrastructures can be designed as durable, fair, and pluralistic, especially for small languages and small markets where linked openness may be the difference between invisibility and participation. This thematic issue takes linked data not as a niche technique but as a constitutive feature of contemporary media. We invite contributions from all the perspectives discussed above to open up the phenomenon and to illuminate the diverse implications that linked data has brought to contemporary media. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics: The role of linked data in organizing contemporary media ecosystems. Governance models for media knowledge infrastructures and their societal impacts. How linked data adoption reshapes news and platform discovery. How interoperability standards shape collaboration across media institutions. Cross-ID interoperability among broadcasters, archives, and streamers. Economic consequences of open vs. proprietary media metadata. Linked data, cultural diversity, and the visibility of small languages and regions. Audience trust and transparency in graph-enabled discovery and curation. Legal and ethical frameworks for graph-based media production and reuse. From catalogues to knowledge graphs: historical trajectories and lessons. Research methods for studying media with graph-based datasets. Public value and policy approaches to sustaining linked media data. Fan wikis as co-curators: aligning community and institutional graphs. Graph-aware recommenders and explainability in public service media. Mapping intertextuality and transmedia worlds via entity-relation graphs. Ontology politics: who defines genres, roles, and identities. Privacy-preserving linkage of audience data with content graphs under GDPR. Media archaeology of metadata: reconciling legacy catalogues into RDF. Event knowledge graphs for breaking-news verification. Authority alignment between knowledge graphs and cross-border memory. Knowledge graphs as coordinators in media innovation systems. Ethical risks of automated ontologies: bias, erasure, contested identities. The use of graphs for AI training. Media data spaces (e.g., European initiatives): architectures, incentives, and competition effects. Submission Guidelines We invite scholars, practitioners, and interdisciplinary researchers to contribute original research articles, theoretical essays and industry case studies. Submissions should not exceed 8000 words and must adhere to the journal’s formatting guidelines. All manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review process. - Abstract Submission (400 words) Deadline: October 30th 2025 - Full Paper Submission Deadline: January 30th 2026 - Publication Date: August 20th 2026 Please submit your abstracts and papers by email to (bsmr/at/tlu.ee <http://tlu.ee/>). For any inquiries, contact the editorial team at indrek.ibrus/at/tlu.ee <http://tlu.ee/>. We look forward to receiving your contributions to this timely discussion. Issue editor: Indrek Ibrus, Tallinn University The Baltic Screen Media Review is a free-to-publish open-access peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the analysis of audiovisual media and screen culture, particularly in the Baltic Sea region and its surrounding areas. It seeks to address media transformations within broader European and global contexts, emphasizing both regional specificities and transnational connections. Published by Tallinn University's Baltic Film, Media and Arts School, the journal serves as a forum for interdisciplinary research, offering insights into film, television, new media, and related cultural phenomena. Find out more: https://sciendo.com/journal/bsmr

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