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CFP: Symbolic Interaction and New Social Media
by Shing-Ling (Sarina) Chen 20 Dec '11

20 Dec '11

CFP: Symbolic Interaction and New Social Media *Studies in Symbolic Interaction*, a research bi-annual, edited by Norman K. Denzin (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), invites submissions for a special issue on symbolic interaction and new social media, to be edited by Shing-Ling Sarina Chen and Laura Terlip (University of Northern Iowa). While the works of George H. Mead, Georg Simmel, Erving Goffman and other leading symbolic interactionists have been integral to the study of social interaction, researchers from this tradition have been somewhat hesitant to engage in the study of mediated communication. It is critical that symbolic interactionists move boldly forward to study what has become for many a dominant form of communication in their everyday life. Symbolic interactionism, a powerful perspective in studying social interaction, seemingly lacks readily available conceptual tools to help researchers fully grasp the nuances of mediated communication. For instance, Mead’s works are full of conceptual tools for studying mind, self, and society yet obviously void of specific tools to study social interaction made possible by advances in communication technology and mediated communication. The prevalence of new social media, Facebook, Twitter, etc. has made it impossible for symbolic interactionists to ignore the effects of mediated communication when they study social relationships in everyday life. Whether we research identities, emotion, memory, family, work, career, presentations of self, deception, love, loss or other areas, the impact of mediated communication is felt by those interacting within it. C. Wright Mills advised that we live in a second-hand world, one mediated by culture, language, and communication. Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and Carl Couch argued that information technologies fundamentally changed the way we form relationships with one another. Stuart Hall further advocates that a politics of representation mediates our relationship to reality, as we no longer confront the world directly. The new social media build on and further complicate all of the issues and processes of symbolic interaction. This special issue provides an arena for researchers to build on and expand the existing symbolic interactionist perspective to include the study of social interaction made possible by the use of new social media. This special issue offers researchers an opportunity to demonstrate the interface between willful social interaction and structured technological features—how social media are defined by social interactions, as well as how social interactions are dictated by the use of social media. There is no shortage of topics that offer insights into the investigation of the relationships between social interaction and social media, such as, but not limited to: Avatars, digital bodies, and identity Gaming communities Facebook and Twitter in education Facebook and Twitter in Congress Microblogs and relationships building Online dating research Self-representation online Social media and deviance Social media and divorce Social media and elections Social media and fan communities Social media and grieving Social media and health/illness Social media and homelessness Social media and immigrants Social media and privacy Social media and religion Social media and social capital Social media and social movements Social media and the elderly Social media network analysis Social media journalism Wikileaks and secrecy Wireless and mobile media studies SUBMISSIONS Interested scholars should submit an abstract of no more than 500 words for consideration. Submissions should be e-mailed to Shing-Ling Sarina Chen at sarina.chen(a)uni.edu by January 31, 2012. IMPORTANT DATES Abstract submission deadline: January 31, 2012 Author notification deadline: February 15, 2012 First-draft manuscript deadline: May 15, 2012 Final manuscript deadline: August 15, 2012 Issue Publication: December 1, 2012 We look forward to receiving your abstract submissions. For more information about this special issue, please contact Shing-Ling Sarina Chen at sarina.chen(a)uni.edu, or Laura Terlip at laura.terlip(a)uni.edu. Sincerely, Shing-Ling Sarina Chen and Laura Terlip Dept. of Communication Studies University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614 USA Tel: (319) 273-6021 Fax: (319) 273-7356

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Online Identities Workshop - Extended Call for Papers (7 January 2012)
by Paul Candon 20 Dec '11

20 Dec '11

Dear All I am organising a workshop as part of the Danish Sociology Conference at Aarhus, !9-20 January 2012. I am seeking papers on the themes of *radical identity performance online*. The deadline for abstracts (to candonp(a)tcd.ie) has been extended to January 7th. Full details are at this link: http://sociologikongres.au.dk/en/workshop-sessions/performing-troubled-and-… This workshop aims to examine the manner in which a complex array of identities – political, cultural, social, and particularly marginal and extreme – are managed and expressed in the online sphere. It seeks to gauge the impact or influence of such sites of identity performance and how the online space itself might serve to advance or hinder the expression of identities which may manifest themselves primarily in this realm. The session will also re-examine the original ideas (e.g. Turkle 1999) concerning the performance of online identity with allied questions about public/private, legality, censorship, ‘net neutrality’, hate speech, social movements and the interaction of media, Internet and society. Potential contributions could be drawn from studies of: - extreme political movements - end of life/suicide forums - diverse sexuality - deviance - anarchism - art as protest Thanks for your help. Paul -- *Paul Candon, **PhD Candidate, **Dept of Sociology School of Social Sciences & Philosophy * *Trinity College, University of Dublin* *3 College Green Dublin 2* *Republic of Ireland* *353 (0)86 8842113*

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colleagues going to thailand,burma
by gene loeb 20 Dec '11

20 Dec '11

Hi all, colleagues of mine are going to thailand and Burma (myamar) and would like to know the status of internet for personal communiations ie. phne, computer, for use during their trip. Thanks Gene

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CFP: Representations of History in Video Games
by Gerald Voorhees 19 Dec '11

19 Dec '11

Dear list, I'm posting on behalf of some colleagues working on a fascinating interdisciplinary project. Please contact Matthew and Andrew directly with inquiries at simulatehistory(a)gmail.com. Apologies for cross-posting. ------------------------------- We are seeking chapters for a new interdisciplinary collection addressing the representation and depiction of history in video games. In a 2005 article discussing the simulation of history through video games, William Uricchio observes that the opportunities for mediation through play pose new and difficult questions about narrative authority and representation. “What happens”, he asks, “if we push the notion of mediation beyond language, to the domain of game, enactment, or simulation? Does this allow us to slip out of the well-critiqued trap of representation? And if so, where does it land us?” As of 2011, his questions remain unanswered. Amid a world of SIMs, first-person warfare games, strategy, MMO and MMORPs in which players can influence the outcome of battles, campaigns, and even entire civilisations, such questions about the means by which history is delivered to new generations gain increasing importance. When history can be simulated, recreated, subverted and rewritten on a variety of levels, new questions arise about the relationship between video games and the history they purport to represent, questions which traditional historical approaches cannot properly address. The proposed edited collection thus seeks to examine representations of history through video and computer games from a multidisciplinary perspective. Our aim is to avoid criticisms of inaccuracy and betrayal or descriptions of games which purportedly ‘get things wrong’, but to look instead at the ways in which contemporary players actually can and do engage with the past, and what effect this has on the period depicted. Suggested topics may include (but are not limited to): • The representation of historical battles, wars and campaigns (e.g. Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Command & Conquer, Battlefield) • The role of play in the recreation, retelling and representation of key events in history (e.g. Anno 1404, Anno 1701, Sid Meier’s Colonization) • The representation of historical personages (Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria, Sun Tzu) • The ways in which non-western histories are depicted (e.g. Seven States, Pharaoh, Age of Empires: Asian Dynasties, East India Company, Total War: Shogun, Assassin’s Creed) • The role of the player and designer in subverting the “master narratives of history” (Sim City, Sim Earth, Populous, Age of Empires, Deus Ex) • Games which rewrite histories across eras (e.g. Civilization, Empire Earth, Europa Universalis, Pride of Nations ) • Instances of alternative history or future history (e.g. Alpha Centauri,Masters of Orion, World of Warcraft, Galactic Civilizations, Homeworld) While we welcome proposals which adopt unusual approaches to representations of the past, we hope to focus on games with a wide fan base in order to appeal to a wide readership of both non-gamer historians and non-historian gamers alike. Likewise, we would encourage essays which address a single topic or theory (such as World War I or the Great Man theory of history) across a number of games. Proposals are sought from both experienced researchers and doctoral students alike, and co-authored submissions which seek to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries are especially welcome. Abstracts of 300 words, along with a brief CV or publication list, should be sent to the editors at simulatehistory(a)gmail.com by January 16th 2012. At this stage we are expecting to receive draft essays of 5-6,000 words by late May 2012. For informal enquiries, please contact either Matthew Kapell or Andrew Elliott at simulatehistory(a)gmail.com.

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Beyond ICT4D: New Media Research in Uganda (INC TOD #10)
by Geert Lovink 19 Dec '11

19 Dec '11

http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/theoryondemand/titles/no-10-beyond-ict4d-ne… Beyond ICT4D: New Media Research in Uganda is a collection of ethnographic reports from diverse perspectives of those living at the other end of the African ICT pyramid. Crucially, these texts refocus on the so-called “ICT4D” debate away from the standard western lens, which depicts users in the developing world as passive receivers of Western technological development, towards Ugandans whose use and production of technologies entail innovations from the ground up. It is this ‘other’ everyday point of view that is too often missing in the ICT4D debate: valuable voices that put technologies, projects and organizations into their proper context. Conducted in 2009 by a group of five Masters in New Media (humanities) students from the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Geert Lovink the research examines both the role and implementation of ICTs in Uganda, covering a wide range of subcultures and projects, including internet cafe usage, print media, NGOs and communities, software subcultures and civic new media. The book argues that now is the time to look beyond the technology layer and instead focus on the social implications and local consequences of digital media’s widespread use. By recognizing the impact that ICTs have on society and identifying what functions currently and what needs to be improved, we can more effectively understand and develop these technologies in the future. Initiated and introduced by Dutch-Australian media theorist and internet critic Geert Lovink this Theory of Demand publication was produced at the Institute of Network Cultures (HvA). Authors: Ali Balunywa, Guido van Diepen, Wouter Dijkstra, Kai Henriquez and Ben White. Colophon: Authors: Ali Balunywa, Guido van Diepen, Wouter Dijkstra, Kai Henriquez and Ben White. Editor: Geert Lovink Copy editing: Cindy Jeffers, Lily Antflick and Morgan Currie. Design: Katja van Stiphout. DTP: Margreet Riphagen. Printer: ‘Print on Demand’. Publisher: Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam 2011. ISBN: 978-90-816021-9-8. This publication is also available through various print on demand services. Download the free pdf here: http://www.networkcultures.org/_uploads/tod/TOD%2310_ICT4D.pdf

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[E-Voting.CC] EVOTE2012: Challenges for Electronic Voting - Transparency, Trust and Voter Education - Submit your papers!
by Manuel Kripp 19 Dec '11

19 Dec '11

Dear all, My apologies for multiple emails. >From 11-14 July 2012, the EVOTE2012 will take place in Castle Hofen in Bregenz, Austria. The submission system for the EVOTE2012 conference is open! We are using easychair for the submission and the review of submitted papers. Submit your papers directly at https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=evote2012. You may have to register first for Easychair to be able to submit a paper. The theme of the EVOTE2012 is "Challenges for Electronic Voting - Transparency, Trust and Voter Education" Please note the important deadlines: - Submission deadline of papers: 3 February 2012 - Review deadline: 2 March 2012 - Notification of acceptance 26 March 2012 - Final paper submission 20 April 2012 Key facts for submitting: - Double-spaced - 3500-4500 words excl. abstract, figures, references - Word or PDF format only Further information in the author's guidelines available for download http://www.e-voting.cc/files/EVOTE2012_authors_guidelines. We kindly ask you to use only the provided template for submissions which is aligned with the Gesellschaft for Informatik. You can download the template here http://www.e-voting.cc/files/EVOTE_word_template_LNI-english. Every full paper submissions will be subject to a double-blind review. Please submit only anonymous submissions (with no reference to the authors). Submissions that do not comply with the guidelines or requirements will not be accepted. Following the tradition of the last conferences, the proceedings will be published in the LNI Series. We would like to thank the Gesellschaft for Informatik and Prof. H. C. Mayr for the great support in publishing the articles. We are looking forward to your contributions and if you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us at office(at)e-voting.cc Yours sincerely, Manuel Kripp On behalf of the E-Voting.CC Team Important downloads: Author's guidelines: http://www.e-voting.cc/files/EVOTE2012_authors_guidelines Template for submissions: http://www.e-voting.cc/files/EVOTE_word_template_LNI-english Call for Papers: http://www.e-voting.cc/files/EVOTE2012-CfP-2 -- Manuel J. Kripp Managing Director E-Voting.CC GmbH Competence Center for Electronic Voting and Participation Pyrkergasse 33/1/2 A-1190 Wien Phone: +43 1 3193950 Fax: +43 1 3193955 Mobile: +43 676 9697 962 Skype: manuelkripp E-Mail: m.kripp(a)e-voting.cc Web: http://www.e-voting.cc -- P Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to! This e-mail is confidential and for the addressee only. This e-mail is confidential and may also contain privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are not authorised to read, print, save, process or disclose this message. If you have received this message by mistake, please inform the sender immediately and delete this e-mail, its attachments and any copies. Any use, distribution, reproduction or disclosure by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited and the person responsible may incur penalties. Thank you!

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Call for Papers for IJDET Special Issue on Emotional Intelligence for Online Learning
by Maiga Chang 19 Dec '11

19 Dec '11

**Wish all of you and your family have a merry Christmas and happy New Year** [Only two months left, February 28, 2012: Submission deadline] [One-page abstract by January 31, 2012 to indicate your intention in sending complete manuscript by February 28, 2012 is strongly recommended]. [Apologies if you receive multiple times, please circulate this to your colleagues who might be interested, thank you so much.] ------- SI on Emotional Intelligence for Online Learning Call for Papers ----------- Special Issue on Emotional Intelligence for Online Learning (http://maiga.athabascau.ca/editors/JDET-Special_Issue-2011-Emotional_Intell…) in International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (EI Journal) (http://www.igi-global.com/Bookstore/TitleDetails.aspx?TitleId=1078&DetailsT…) Many intelligent tutoring systems have been developed and used to support students' learning. Good online learning systems require emotional communications happened in-between the tutors and the learners. Emotions play an important role when users engage in career or drama training, or language learning situations via role-play. Interpreting player experience and affect from open-ended verbal communication and diverse body language has been challenging research tasks. It further promotes the importance of such studies when employing diverse game-play modalities (e.g. mobile interfaces and augmented reality platforms) and when recognizing affect and mood from metaphorical affective expressions, dialogue context, emotionally ambiguous or non-prototypical spoken utterances, facial expressions and gestures. Such research is significantly beneficial to the development of intelligent virtual agents which are capable of interpreting social relationships, context, general mood and emotion, sensing or reasonably predicating others' inter-conversion, identifying its role and participating intelligently in open-ended interaction. How to develop a system which can identify user's emotion and/or present its feelings to the user according to user's words, behaviors, and performance in online learning is definitely an important, a very helpful as well an interesting research topic. The purpose of this special issue is to explore how models, theories, and solutions of emotion intelligence can be used in online learning and what benefits users can receive from such emotion intelligence-embedded systems and agents. Guest Editors (in alphabet order): Dr. Maiga Chang, Dr. Rita Kuo and Dr. Li Zhang Suggested topics: We cordially invite authors to submit high quality manuscripts for any application domain as long as the core of the manuscript belongs to: - Affect sensing from text, speech, facial expression and gestures - Affect inspired interactive intelligent games (e.g., mobile interfaces, augmented reality platforms, natural user interfaces - non touch based user interfaces) - Emotion modelling and generation - Human computer interaction issues and challenges that affective computing/emotional intelligence solutions for online learning may have - Emotional tutoring agents/learning companions/interactive robots - Affective computing tools, systems and applications for online learning - Emotional intelligent agents for assisting teaching or learning - Multi-agent based affective computing systems and applications - Practical experiences in using & deploying emotional intelligence for online learning - Successful cases of applying emotional intelligence to online learning - Not-so-successful cases and the lessons learnt - Evaluation models for emotional intelligent agents/systems Important dates and manuscript guidelines: All submissions have to follow IGI Global journal manuscript guidelines and should be sent to the guest editors directly via email (maiga.chang(a)gmail.com, rita.mcsl(a)gmail.com and L.Zhang(a)cs.bham.ac.uk) by February 28, 2012. It is encouraged to authors who are interested in submitting your works to submit an one-page abstract with manuscript title by January 31, 2012 to indicate your intention in sending complete manuscript by February 28. All submissions are going to be reviewed by at least three reviewers, the final camera-ready manuscripts have to be revised by the author(s) according to reviewer comments before sending to the guest editors by June 1, 2012. The other important dates are: - February 28, 2012: Submission deadline - May 1, 2012: Review result notification - June 1, 2012: Revised manuscript submission deadline - June 15, 2012: Acceptance notification - June 30, 2012: Final camera-ready manuscript submission deadline IGI Global manuscript guidelines at: http://www.igi-global.com/Files/AuthorEditor/journaltemplate.doc For queries, please contact Dr. Maiga Chang (maiga.chang(a)gmail.com)

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Call for Papers for IRRODL Special Issue on Technology Enhanced Information Retrieval and Processing for Online Learning
by Maiga Chang 18 Dec '11

18 Dec '11

[Apologies if you receive multiple times, please circulate this to your colleagues who might be interested, thank you so much.] ------- Call for Papers for IRRODL Special Issue ----------- Special Issue on Technology Enhanced Information Retrieval and Processing for Online Learning (http://maiga.athabascau.ca/editors/IRRODL-Special_Issue-2012-IR.html) in The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (SSCI Journal) (http://www.irrodl.org/n) Online learning has been developed for over decades and has become an important tool for education. Many tutors design web-based teaching materials and share them in the learning management systems. Learners develop knowledge from those materials, tutor supports, and the collaborations with other learners in distance in the online learning environment and platforms. While information technology changes rapidly and the variety of online learning activities increase, especially with the aid of social network and Web 2.0 tools that are available to instruction designers, we may need to consider how to provide learners personalized pedagogical service which can help them learn more efficiently. In order to have such personalized service, both course contents and learner's characteristics need to be well analyzed. How to retrieve useful information from learning materials, data stored in the learning management systems, and discussions and interactions among learners and how to design and use information retrieval technologies to improve learner's online learning performance become interesting and important topics. The purpose of this special issue is to explore how models, theories, and solutions of information retrieval and content analysis can be used in online learning and what benefits users can receive from such systems and agents. Guest Editors (in alphabet order): Dr. Maiga Chang, Dr. Rita Kuo, Dr. Gene Loeb, Dr. Bolanle Olaniran Suggested topics: We cordially invite authors to submit high quality manuscripts for any application domain as long as the core of the manuscript belongs one or more of the following: - Affect sensing from text - Credibility and reliability of data - Culture in information retrieving - Data archiving and retrieval - Data/Text mining in a learning content - Evaluation models for NLP/IR/IE/Ontology-based research and systems - Human computer interaction issues and challenges that NLP/IR/IE/ Ontology-based solutions for online distance learning - Individual knowledge acquisition from user behavior analysis - Information retrieval and extraction algorithms - Information retrieving and processing computing tools, systems and applications for online learning - Intelligent tutoring agents/systems based on NLP, Information Retrieval (IR), Information Extraction (IE), and Ontology - Knowledge navigation in learning content - Knowledge construction - Learning content analysis by semantic web technology - Leaning content organization and knowledge management - Learning style and learning preferences in data retrieval - Mobile dissemination and retrieval - Multi-agent based information processing systems and applications - Not-so-successful cases and the lessons learnt - Ontology learning - Practical experiences in using & deploying NLP/IR/IE/Ontology-based research for online learning - Questioning and Answering applications and systems - Social Network Analysis based of content and of activities occurring in Web 2.0 applications - Social networks and interactions in learning communities - Successful cases of applying NLP/IR/IE/Ontology-based research to online learning - Web 2.0, 3.0, X.0 Important dates and manuscript guidelines: All submissions have to follow International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL) research article guidelines (and should be submitted online by April 30, 2012. All submissions will be reviewed by at least three peer reviewers, the final camera-ready manuscripts have to be revised by the author(s) according to reviewer comments before resubmitting by June 1, 2012. The important dates are: - Submission deadline: April 30, 2012 - Review result notification: July 15, 2012 - Revised manuscript submission deadline: August 31, 2012 - Acceptance notification: September 30, 2012 - Final camera-ready manuscript submission deadline: October 31, 2012 IRRODL research article guidelines at: http://www.irrodl.org/miscfiles/documents/IRRODL_Research_Article_Guideline… Please submit your article to the IRRODL site at http://www.irrodl,org, after registering as an author and hopefully also offering to be a reviewer by clicking the reviewer category in the enrollment form and noting your area of research expertise. For queries, please contact Dr. Maiga Chang (maiga.chang(a)gmail.com)

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CeDEM CFP Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government FINAL CALL
by Johann Hoechtl 17 Dec '11

17 Dec '11

Sorry for cross-posting! CONFERENCE for E-DEMOCRACY and OPEN GOVERNMENT 2012 Due to authors request, the Conference for E-Democracy CeDEM12 is extending the submission deadline until 16 January 2012 Due to requests from authors, we extended the deadline for submissions of papers until <16 January 2012>. For further information and call for papers visit: http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/cedem Topics * EParticipation * Government 2.0 * Social Media and Public Administration * EPolitics and ECampaigning * European Citizen Initiative * Participatory Budgeting * BottomUp Movements * Open Data and Open Access. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. I wish you all the best for 2012. Kind regards, Peter Parycek (Conference Chair) Centre for E-Governance Danube University Krems Austria -- -- Mag. Johann Höchtl Zentrum für E-Governance Donau-Universität Krems Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30 A-3500 Krems Tel.: ++43 2732 893 2304 Mail: Johann.hoechtl(a)donau-uni.ac.at

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Digital Divide and Social Media: Connectivity Doesn’t End the Digital Divide, Skills Do #SciAm_blogs
by Danica Radovanovic 17 Dec '11

17 Dec '11

An article which may be of interest from The Scientific American this week. I wrote a blog post about digital inequalities and social media, discussing "new digital divides" http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/12/14/digital-divide-an… Also, an interesting response to my text: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2011/12/the-new-digital-divides… I have received enormous amounts of feedback to my article and wrote few thoughts about it on my blog (www.danicar.org) I hope in the future publications and conferences there will be more discussion on the issues I've addressed in the text. Wishing everyone the very best for the holidays! Danica -- Danica Radovanovic Doctoral candidate in Communication studies University of Belgrade PhD Chevening Scholar, Oxford Internet Institute Keble college, University of Oxford web: serendipities <http://www.danicar.org/> | twitter @danicar<http://twitter.com/#!/danicar> | skype zmajche

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