Dear AoIRists, On behalf of the Organizing Committee, and with the usual apologies for duplication, etc. - and the request for further distribution to potentially interested communities and individuals. Many thanks in advance - -charles == Final Call for papers:

From Digital Taxes to Beta Newsrooms: Media Innovation, Digital Industries and Good Lives The Third Annual International Symposium on Media Innovations (ISMI14)

Dates: April 24-25, 2014 Venue: University of Oslo Sponsors include: the Centre for Research on Media Innovations (CeRMI); the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo; Telenor Research We invite scholars, editors, producers, and executives to contribute to our on-going exploration of how changing technologies, and changing modes of media usage and engagement bring about innovation and transformation of the media sector. ISMI14 specifically examines recent transformations in the broadcast and telecommunication industries. These include the impact of taxation policies on innovation in digital services and focus on our shared interests in good life and work vis-à-vis digital media innovations and innovation processes. Keynote speakers Thor Gjermund Eriksen, Director General of NRK (the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). Keynote: ³Conditions for Innovations in Public Broadcasting² Bjørn Taale Sandberg, Senior Vice President, Telenor Research Steve Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago Distinguished Professor Provisional keynote title: ³Living the Good Life: IT Innovations and the Quantified Self² Submissions are invited that address the themes listed below.  Submissions will be peer-reviewed.  Extended abstracts of proposed papers (750-word maximum) should be sent to <symposium@mediainnovations.no>. Deadlines and Dates November 22, 2013: extended abstracts due December 20, 2013: acceptance notices due March 14, 2014: full papers due April 14, 2014: best paper award announced Publications: Special issue: Journal of Media Innovations.  Submitted papers will be further reviewed for inclusion in a special issue of The Journal of Media Innovations, Vol. 2, No. 1, Fall, 2014. Anthology: Papers submitted to the workshop/seminar on digital media and taxation policies (see below) will be considered for a planned anthology.   Themes for paper and panel presentations (Workshop/seminar) Digital media and taxation policies: What are the roles and implications of value-added tax (VAT) policies for the innovation processes of new digital services? Taxation policies regarding new digital services (e.g., eBooks, online newspaper, music services) are central to both business practices (ranging from design to decisions as to what country in which to incorporate) and policy makers (e.g., as potential revenue streams are diverted to other nations). Innovation processes within digital media are thus shaped and influenced through taxation policies in multiple ways.  The goal of the workshop is to bring forward new research and insight in this domain ­ in part with a view towards publication of selected papers in a forthcoming anthology. For additional information on the workshop/seminar, including abstract submission details (due December 15, 2013), please contact the organizer, Terje Colbjørnsen, <terje.colbjornsen@media.uio.no>. Beta mentality: How are newsrooms dealing with constant change? The speed of technology innovations is breath-taking, as is the way users¹ media habits are changing in front of our eyes.  New media platforms have been introduced to the media mix, including Twitter, which has introduced a new dimension of speed to news reporting. To keep up with the development, many newsrooms are forced to change the way they organize, work and think.  But change can be painful, difficult and frustrating. What are some of the lessons media companies have learned in order to adapt to this constantly changing media landscape? Innovation and the good life ³We no longer have a way of living together ­ of conducting any domain of life ­ _without_ media but we don¹t yet know how to live _well_ with media² (Couldry 2013: 15; emphasis in the original). Media production is often justified and/or evaluated in normative terms.  For example, journalism is often defended in terms of freedom of expression and its contribution to debate crucial to democratic societies. We invite papers that offer normative analyses of media innovations, e.g., Do innovative forms of journalism ­ including so-called Œcitizen journalism¹ or crowdsourcing- contribute to a greater diversity of viewpoints, tolerance, debate, and healthier democratic processes and/or to (anti-democratic) fragmentation, Œherd mentality¹ and polarization? The following themes are also of interest: § media entrepreneurs and small media firms as innovators, particularly: ³Break-through² examples that may serve as models for others? ³Learning from our failures² ­ how not to pursue innovation? Best-case / worst-case examples of innovation § innovation in journalistic practices and media content § innovation in New Product Development routines and practices in media industries § ICTs and innovation in media production tools § innovation, accessibility, and customer service § innovation in children's media § genre innovation, including new genres and styles in e-books, social media and mobile media § gender and media innovation § innovation vis-à-vis media economics and media and cultural policy § humanistic approaches to innovation in media design; § media innovations and political communication; § mobile media, apps, and innovation § media innovation and cultural institutions (museums, libraries, etc.) All papers must be firmly connected with concrete and focused examples of media innovation practices and products. Accommodations: We strongly urge potentially interested participants to explore the resource lists on the conference website <http://www.hf.uio.no/imk/english/research/center/media-innovations/events/a ccommodation.html> of recommended accommodations and book as early as possible.  Notifications of acceptance will be issued sufficiently early (December 20, 2013) so as to allow cost-free reservation cancellation if need be. Planning Committee Jens Barland, Gjøvik University College Niamh Ní Bhroin, University of Oslo Charles Davis, Ryerson University Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk, University of Oslo Bente Kalsnes, University of Oslo Arne H. Krumsvik, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences Philippe Ross, University of Ottowa Knut Kvale, Telenor  We look forward to welcoming to you Oslo!