ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Christine Trueltzsch-Wijnen

This book explores the socially and individually determined nature of media literacy, addressing the central question of how individuals’ media activity can be explained and evaluated. It examines people's media activity through the relationship between their competence to act and actual actions. Further, the book discusses the social factors that foster self-determined media activity, including people's abilities and skills and the associated knowledge that facilitates such skills, from the perspectives of various social science disciplines. Lastly, it applies these theoretical reflections to two empirical studies. Overall, this book provides a fundamental introduction to theories of media socialization, media literacy and media competence, and to the relation between media and socialization. It analyses international discourses on children, media, media literacy, and digital literacy. This book is of interest to scholars and researchers in the field of media studies, including media sociology and media education, communication, and cultural studies.

https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783030563592?gclid=CjwKCAiA-_L9BRBQEiwA-bm5fnmtLgN4E_Z87iucB6ApV50nymF-Pn5kIjZr0WrkjI86pWryKZPLyxoC-gUQAvD_BwE

Deadline for Submission for Live Presentations: 15 January, 2021

Because it was not realistic to plan & host a live conference in 2021 for the Crisis Communication Section, we are offering two different avenues for presentation of research in 2021:

• Live Panel Sessions (two-hours each) on the first Friday of each month from 5 February – 2 July

• Live/pre-Recorded Presentations (up to 20 minutes each) posted on our website

Theme for Crisis2021: Risk & Crisis Communication & the ‘New Normal’

As the world responds to 2020 and all of the new challenges it has posed, risk and crisis communication researchers, students, and practitioners have the opportunity to explore issues of work environments, politics, social justice, disasters, ‘ordinary’ crises, learning and teaching, wellbeing, social responsibility, and technology to name just a few areas connected to the tumultuous year we have all experienced. We are calling for abstracts that look forward from Covid-19 to the future across industries and even for reflective discussions about the role of risk and crisis communication.

You can submit an individual abstract or a panel proposal.

Panel Proposals

These will only be considered for the live sessions.

For panel proposals:

• There should be either 3 or 4 speakers representing at least two different institutions

• Preference will be given to multi-national panels

• Panels should have a clear theme, brief (paragraph) justification for the theme, and list the speakers and brief summaries of their proposed presentations

Individual Abstracts

Individual submissions will be considered for the live panels (if submitted before 15 January) unless otherwise noted in the submission, to include:

• Author(s) name(s), institutions, and email(s)

• Preference for live panel or pre-recorded
• Detailed abstract (no more than 700 words) for the presentation

We aim to accept as many abstracts as possible both for the live sessions and pre-recorded presentations. Don’t worry – the pre-recorded presentations CAN but don’t HAVE to include you on camera – they can simply be PowerPoint presentations with voice overs.

More details and submission available at: https://ecreacrisis.com/call-for-participation-crisis2021/

University of Bergen

There is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position within media studies. The position is part of the department's commitment to strategic communication and the postdoctoral fellow will be linked to two of the department's research groups: the rhetoric group and the media use group. The position is for a period of four years with 25% of the total appointment time is a duty to be performed at the department.

The research theme for the post-doctoral fellow is trust, credibility (ethos), and strategic communication. In unison with the research groups for rhetoric and audience studies the fellow will develop a project examining how citizens view and engage with strategic communication and communication from experts. A core question is how utterances from experts are interpreted, negotiated, and used in a society characterized by media platforms run by algorithms, decreasing trust in experts and a high degree of competing claims from different sources.

The applicant should focus the project on the fields of rhetoric and audience studies and is encouraged to tie the project to one or more themes of global challenges, such as climate, migration, or health.

Deadline: January 8, 2021

Read more about and apply for the position here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/…ies

KU Leuven, Belgium

The School for Mass Communication Research (KU Leuven, Belgium) is offering a academic staff position (open rank) on Media and Health communication. SMCR is looking for a colleague who is an expert in one of the following subdomains of health communication:

(1) effects of media use on various health (e.g., addiction, suicide,…) or societal issues (e.g., hate speech, sustainability,…), and ways of responding to these effects with communication and intervention,

(2) the development and testing of mediated promotion and intervention campaigns aiming to advance public health or societal wellbeing,

(3) health information seeking and effects (e.g., resistance to health

information, public service announcements,…), and/or

(4) technological perspectives on health communication (e.g., effects of VR on health outcomes, potential of mHealth in health promotion, artificial intelligence,…).

Teaching will contain several courses at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level and will include theoretical and methodological courses on communication science in general and digital media in particular.

Interested candidates can apply for this job no later than February 21, 2021 via the online application tool. For more information see https://www.kuleuven.be/…=en

Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies

Two posts available in digital media studies/media studies/cultural studies at Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer levels

The School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa, is consistently ranked among the best in Africa. With two positions opening, this is a time of transformation.

We are looking for two experienced colleagues at Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer level in the areas of digital, media and/or cultural studies.

Candidates from within our field as well as related disciplines are warmly encouraged to apply.

Feel free to peruse our website (www.ru.ac.za/jms ) and contact Prof Anthea Garman (a.garman@ru.ac.za ), Prof Lorenzo Dalvit (l.dalvit@ru.ac.za ) or Dr Priscilla Boshoff (p.a.boshoff@ru.ac.za ) to find out more about us.

Documents about the posts and application forms and instructions are available at https://www.placementpartner.co.za/…417

If you have any questions about the application or are experiencing challenges on the system, please contact Ms Ntosh Gongqa on +27 (0)46 603 8616 or submit your application to jobs-red@ru.ac.za

Application closing date: 30 November 2020

Thematic issue of the scientific journal "Comunicologia" (Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil)

Deadline: February 1, 2021

The public-health crisis caused by Covid-19 accelerated the process of migration towards online technology and the digital restructuring of social relations – notably concerning work and affective relationships.

Thus, not only the structural deficiencies in accessing technologies of digital information and communication (TDIC) but also a deficiency in technological literacy itself were evidenced in an unprecedented way. This acceleration in the use of TDIC, combined with the growing social and political discredit of scientific research, as well as the economic crisis, require a renewed intellectual effort in the light of theoretical and methodological perspectives that dare to radically re-articulate the relations between media, culture, technology, and education.

In this sense, the thematic number of Comunicologia “New theoretical perspectives on culture, technology, and education” invites the submission of articles with a robust theoretical component which propose to analyze:

– The role of the media in scientific literacy and the dissemination of information about (but not limited to) Covid-19;

– Cultural actions and the alternatives developed for culture as a profession;

– Reconfigurations of the use of TDIC in cultural and educational institutions (such as in museums, libraries, movie theatres, public and private schools, among others);

– The colonization of everyday life by digital information and communication technologies;

– The haphazard migration of education to virtual environments;

– The resignification of work relations in times of working from home. "Comunicologia" welcomes submissions from holders of Master’s or PhD degrees, especially those from Communication and Media Studies and related academic fields.

Submission deadline: February 1st, 2021

Publication: July 2021

The manuscript can be submitted in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Please, note that no payment from the authors will be required. Guidelines for authors can be found at the journal website: https://portalrevistas.ucb.br/…ons

Further information: bolsista.ppgeucb@gmail.com

Dossier editors:

• Dr Lília Abadia (Associated researcher at the Pos-graduate Program in Education at the Catholic University of Brasilia and the National
• Post-Doctoral Program at CAPES-Brazil)
• Dr Gianlluca Simi (Researcher at Migraidh / Sérgio Vieira de Mello Chair Federal University of Santa Maria).
• Dr Carlos Ângelo de Meneses Sousa (Professor at the Pos-graduate Program in Education at the Catholic University of Brasilia - UCB; and researcher at the UNESCO Chair in Youth, Education and Society - UCB).

December 3, 2020

Virtual Conference

The use of automation in journalism is encroaching more and more on what many would consider to be journalists’ core professional roles, such as the identification of story leads, verification, and decisions about which stories are shown, and with what prominence. Automation has also started to play a role in the creation of news texts, initially by helping to generate natural language—the written word—but now also in the production of news videos.

The proportion of consumers who watch online news videos each week has increased substantially—from 24% in 2016 to 67% in 2020 (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2020). Over the same period, there has been an increase in the use of automation in news video production.

This online event brings together researchers (including Irene Costera Meijer, Nick Diakopoulos, Michael Koliska, Sally Stares, Kim Schrøder, and Neil Thurman) technology-providers (Wibbitz), and publishers (PA Media, Deutsche Welle, and Conde Nast) to explore what audiences want from online news video, and whether automation can help deliver.

For registration, conference program and the full list of speakers, please visit the event website:

https://sites.ifkw.lmu.de/video-automation/

August 25-27, 2021

Örebro, Sweden

Deadline: January 30, 2021

Our conference theme is  “Bringing research together.”

The conference theme targets how business administration is one discipline, but too often is discussed, researched, taught, and indeed conferenced in silos. Together, we are researchers in marketing, accounting, organization, and so on. Yet, together, more importantly, we are business and management researchers. The conference theme ‘bringing research together’ is therefore about tearing down the silos of business administration and starting to think more holistically about the firm, its context, offerings, and performance. None of the individual subject areas matter without the other. Put more strongly: none of us matter without the rest of us.

Bringing research together is also about tearing down boundaries between research, teaching, and business. The conference theme poses us to think about: How we are relevant, yet independent; what we need from industry; what industry needs from us; and, how can we bring our research into teaching and practice.

Bringing research together furthermore gives us the opportunity to meet as researchers, teachers, and practitioners among the Nordic countries. Recent developments have brought relevance to the actual meeting of academics; to discuss research, teaching, and business practice with peers, as well as to socialize. Let’s make NFF 2021 a time to reunite and meet new friends!

To submit your abstract to NFF 2021:

• Complete your abstract following provided author guidelines
• Select a track that fits your abstract
• Submit HERE no later than January 30, 2021

For each step of the process, from track calls to abstract and final paper submissions, we follow guidance within the Nordic countries regarding the current Corona pandemic. Our idea – supported by the NFF board – is to postpone up to August 2022, rather than go digital. Your interest to participate – through track calls, abstracts, and later paper submissions – is vital for any decisions made and we dearly look forward to welcoming you in Örebro!

February 11–12, 2021

Virtual conference

Deadline: December 22, 2020

The symposium is arranged under the theme of Workplace Communication.

The symposium will be held virtually via Zoom. The symposium is free of charge.

The plenary speakers are:

- Assistant Professor Emma Christensen (Roskilde University) and Professor Lars Thøger Christensen (Copenhagen Business School): “Examining the (Re)presentational Voice”

- Professor Samantha Warren (University of Portsmouth): “Using Instagram in a participant-led field study: Reflections on the politics of organizational communication and identity”

The symposium features six thematic panel sessions, two of which are open for presentations.

These are:

• Perspectives to responsibility in organizational communication (See https://sites.univaasa.fi/vakki2021/perspectives-to-responsibility-in-organizational-communication/)
• Terms and conditions – working with terminology during a pandemic

Please submit your abstract by December 22, 2020 to symposium@vakki.net.

Registration for the symposium’s keynotes and/or thematic panel sessions opens on December 17, 2020.

The 2nd Call for Papers and further information is available on the symposium's website:

https://sites.univaasa.fi/vakki2021/en

Best regards

Members of the VAKKI-committee

Edited by: Paolo Ruffino

The edited collection maps the current trajectories of independent game development, at a time when game makers engage with videogame production in a myriad of different ways, ranging from full-time employment to brief and casual investments of time and resources.

The book focuses on four key thematic areas (cultures, networks, techniques and politics), which open up questions surrounding gender inclusivity, creative freedom, funding and publishing strategies, labour, precarity, and social practices taking place in the new contexts of production of the videogame industry. The collection includes a section of geographically specific case studies, with contributions from Latin America, Finland, Australia, United States and the United Kingdom. A final afterword by Bart Simon from Concordia University makes the point on what ‘indie game studies’ have achieved so far, and points at future challenges.

It has been a great pleasure and honour to be responsible for the curation of this collection. It has given me the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant authors who have been researching videogame production over the past 10-15 years. I would like to thank the authors for their invaluable contribution, and Routledge for their support throughout the publication.

I hope that the book will be useful for scholars, researchers and students interested in independent videogames and game production studies. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about the publication.

For more information:

https://www.routledge.com/Independent-Videogames-Cultures-Networks-Techniques-And-Politics/Ruffino/p/book/9780367336202

Table of Contents

1. After Independence

Paolo Ruffino (University of Liverpool, UK)

Part I: Cultures

2. Decoding and Recoding Game Jams and Independent Game-making Spaces for Diversity and Inclusion

Aphra Kerr (Maynooth University, Ireland)

3. Queering Indie: How LGBTQ Experiences Challenge Dominant Narratives of Independent Games

Bonnie Ruberg (University of California Irvine, USA)

4. Virtually Indie: On the Characteristics of Independent Game Development for Virtual Reality Headsets

Paweł Grabarczyk (IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Part II: Networks

5. Network or Die? What Social Networking Analysis Can Tell Us About Indie Game Development

Pierson Browne and Jennifer Whitson (University of Waterloo, Canada)

6. Strange Bedfellows: Indie Games and Academia

Celia Pearce (Northeastern University, USA)

Part III: Techniques

7. The Conditions of Videogame Production: The Nature and Stakes of Creative Freedom in Stiegler’s Philosophy of Technicity

Patrick Crogan (University of the West of England, UK)

8. Boutique Indie: Annapurna Interactive and Contemporary Independent Game Development

Felan Parker (University of Toronto, Canada)

9. Game Production Studies: Studio Studies Theory, Method and Practice

Casey O’Donnell (Michigan State University, USA)

Part IV: Politics

10. Game Workers Unite: Unionization Among Independent Developers

Jamie Woodcock (The Open University, UK)

11. Playing with Risk: Political-Economy, Independent Games, and the Precarity of Development in Crowded Commercial Markets

Nadav Lipkin (La Roche University, USA)

Part V: Local Indie Game Studies

12. Playful Peripheries: The Consolidation of Independent Game Production in Latin America

Orlando Guevara-Villalobos (University of Costa Rica)

13. The Melbourne Indie Game Scenes: Value Regimes in Localized Game Development

Brendan Keogh (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)

14. Modes of Independence in the Finnish Game Development Scene

Olli Sotamaa (Tampere University, Finland)

15. The Rebels Across the Street: IndiE3 and the Strategic Geography of Indie Game Promotion

John Vanderhoef (California State University, Dominguez Hills, USA)

16. Freedom from the Industry Standard: Student Working Imaginaries and Independence in Games Higher Education

Alison Harvey (York University, Canada)

17. Afterword: The Cultural Conditions of Being Indie

Bart Simon (Concordia University, Canada)