ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

January 25-26, 2024

Bucharest, Romania

Deadline: November 5, 2023

Research Network 18: Sociology of Communications and Media Research (ESA) in cooperation with the University of Bucharest, Romania

Mid-Term Conference

Recent technological developments and transformations in media and communication require a global reflection on their effects and outcomes on society, democracy and business. The platformisation process with its institutional dimensions: data infrastructures, markets and governance (Poell, Nieborg & van Dijck, 2019) led to new business models and relationships between social, market and political actors. Journalism as an institution has been under question for over a decade or even two (Deuze, 2020) as the news industry is declining. Journalism as a profession strives to retain or regain the people’s trust. With its recent advances artificial intelligence is seen as a threat or a chance for humanity. The AI’s impact on the media and communication sector is open for debate. Is it a threat or an asset for professional practice? At the same time, the hybridisation of communication professions – roughly defined as a mixture of journalistic and public relations and advertising&marketing practices in the digital context – adds new challenges in maintaining a fair and democratic public sphere and ensuring equal access to quality information.    

Our focus is to foster an open academic debate on broad themes related to the outcomes of digital transformation in contemporary media and communication. We encourage contributions that adhere to the critical sociology perspective.

ESA RN18 calls for contributions that in particular, but not exclusively, addressed to any of the following topics:

·       Market dominance, monopoly, and control through digital technology.

·       Possibilities and limits of current regulatory regimes of digital platforms in liberal democracies.

·       Media and communication professions: transformations, configurations, and challenges.

·       Digital communication: computational propaganda and democracy, fake news, nationalism, illiberal parties and movements.

·       Audiences’ vulnerability in social media – the impact of gender, social class, age and other identity categories.

The abstract (300 words) will contain the author’s/authors’ details, the study’s purpose, research questions, employed methodology or approach, (potential) results, and references.

The deadline for abstract submission is the 5th of November 2023, at the address: conference@fjsc.ro

Participation fee (includes lunch and coffee breaks): 90 Euros (ESA members and PhD students), 120 Euros (non-ESA members). 

Edited by Nicole Talmacs (University of Malta) and Altman (Yuzhu) Peng (University of Warwick)

Using the analogy of an orchestra, this edited volume looks at the ways in which the Party-state conducts communications in China today.

Rather than treating China’s communications system as purely one of centralised top-down control, this book proffers that it is the combination of the government through its state policies, the propaganda bureau’s campaigns, commercial consumer culture, digital and traditional media platforms, celebrities, entertainers and journalists, educators, community interest groups, and family and friends, who all contribute to the evolution of how ideas are perpetuated, enforced, and legitimised in China. 

Covering themes such as censorship, surveillance, national narratives onscreen and in everyday life, political agency, creative work, news production, and gender politics, this book gives an insight into the complex web of conditions, objectives, and challenges that the Chinese leadership and commercial interests face when orchestrating their visions for the nation’s future. 

https://www.routledge.com/Communications-in-Contemporary-China-Orchestrating-Thinking/Talmacs-Peng/p/book/9781032505749

February 7, 2024

NOVA University of Lisbon (In-person or online via Zoom)

Deadline: December 15, 2023

https://inovamedialab.fcsh.unl.pt/wellapp 

Wellness is capturing greater attention. Its reach and perception extend beyond the physical dimension encompassing emotions, spirituality or intellectuality. It focuses on a proactive Self who anticipates challenges and seeks a better version of oneself. Social media networks, digital platforms and software have been playing an essential role in the health and wellness sphere. 

In online environments, users seek information, share their thoughts and experiences and propose “recipes” or methods to achieve a better self. In addition to the forms of expression of wellness on social media networks, the number of mobile apps related to wellness has grown in digital stores. It is possible to find solutions inherent to promoting a wellness Self, whose functions can be as vast as monitoring activities and vital signs, the proposal of physical and mental exercises, emotional diaries, nutrition management, or increasing knowledge to mention some possibilities. We are open to contributions from scholars at all career stages. 

We look forward to submissions on (but not limited to) the following topics:

• The use of digital media for well-being expression;
  
• Health in the digital context: good practices, institutional uses;
  
• Wellness misinformation and disinformation;
  
• Social media and mental health; 
  
• Representations of wellness on media and social media;
  
• Mobile apps: analysis, uses, trends;
  
• Wellness as a business on social media;
  
• Digital influencers and wellness;
  
• Impact of online representation of wellness;
  
• Collective imagery of wellness;
  
• Online communities as spaces of wellness engagement;
  
• Organisations, Companies and Wellness
  
• Digital platforms detox.
  

We are happy to receive your abstract proposal (300 words max) by 15 December, 23:59 (CET). We kindly ask you to submit your abstract through the conference’s website: https://inovamedialab.fcsh.unl.pt/wellapp 

About the Conference

Join us on February 7, 2024, for the “Between Digital Wellness and Hellness: Negotiations, Appropriations, and Expressions” conference. A one-day event exploring the interplay between digital technology and wellness.

Featuring an engaging roundtable discussion with distinguished participants and dedicated scientific sessions, this conference aims to offer a place for scholars and practitioners to delve into cutting-edge research and insights. Attend in person at NOVA University of Lisbon’s Amphitheater 209 (Colégio Almada Negreiros), Campolide campus, or virtually via Zoom. The esteemed Scientific Committee, including Professor Miguel Crespo (ISCTE), alongside invited experts, Professors Ivone Ferreira and Ana Viseu (NOVA FCSH), ensures academic rigour. Participation is free of charge but demands registration at the website.

About the Project

WellApp – Wellness amplified or appified? Wellness management trending in everyday life is hosted by NOVA University of Lisbon, and supported by ICNOVA/iNOVA Media Lab.

The conference is funded within the scope of the WellApp project grant (ICNOVA/UIDB/004/2022/ WellApp) under the auspices of the research unit NOVA Institute of Communication (ICNOVA).

Read more about the project here (in Portuguese).

September 11-14, 2024

Bucharest, Romania

Deadline: March 15, 2023

EUPRERA 2024 Congress

We are happy to invite members and colleagues to the EUPRERA XXV annual congress, taking place in Bucharest on September 11-14, 2024, and co-organized by the Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest, Romania on the theme The Art of Communication: Bridging the Future and Past of Strategic Communication in a New Technological Ecosystem.

In addition to sessions and panels, the programme will also include:

• multiple activities from our networks,
  
• the Paper Development Workshop,
  
• the PhD Seminar,
  
• the Education Café,
  
• a session on project collaboration proposals (new!),
  
• activities from EUNES European Network of Emerging Scholars.
  

Call for Papers

Academics, PhD students and practitioners are invited to submit papers and panel proposals related to the congress theme and tracks:

Track 1 – Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Communication Research

Track 2 – The Future of Strategic Communication: Ethical Implications and Impact of Emergent PR Tools

Track 3 – Learning from the Past of Strategic Communication: Old Theories in a New Ecosystem

Track 4 – Community, Communication, and Stakeholders’ Interactions in the New Technological Ecosystem

Education track (new!) – Public Relations and Strategic Communication Education Research

Open track – Current Research in (Strategic) Communication and Public Relations

THREE TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS ARE POSSIBLE:

1. Short-length paper (double-blind review),

2. Full-length research paper (double-blind review),

3. Panel proposal.

Important dates

Deadline for abstracts: March 15

Feedback on abstracts:  May 28

Full programme release: June 25

Submission of final full paper: August 25

Publications

Authors who have successfully submitted and presented papers at the congress can enter the selection for:

a special issue of the Journal of Communication Management (publication conditional upon the double-blind peer review process of the journal)

the EUPRERA Congress Book (edited collection), part of the Advances in Public Relations and Communication Management series, published by Emerald (publication conditional upon a peer-review process by the editors).

Call for Papers | The programme | Poster

University of Groningen

Excellent research assessments and growing student numbers enable the Department of Media Studies and Journalism to hire an assistant professor of Social Media and Politics. 

More info: https://edu.nl/cjfye

Candidates have a research agenda that focuses on the interplay between social media and politics. This could include a more narrow focus on party and parliamentary politics, but also on politics at large, including online debate, informed citizenship, news and misinformation, polarisation and harassment, connective action and protest movements, or the politics of everyday life. Candidates should be able to work with computational methods to study social media platforms and messenger services. Preferably, candidates have proven teaching skills with R and Python, experience with statistical analysis, and are interested in interdisciplinary research. Candidates are expected to teach in our BA and MA programs with theory courses such as “Political Action in the Network Society” and methods courses including introductory level statistical analysis with R, social network analysis, and/or automated text analysis.

We expect candidates to teach courses in media studies on the BA and MA level, and contribute to our research programme. The position combines teaching (60%) and research (40%). 

Media Studies in Groningen 

The international, English-taught BA programme in Media Studies focuses on the social and informative functions of media. It is rooted in the humanities but also draws upon methods and paradigms developed in the social sciences and other disciplines. The degree aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the affordances of different platforms and the interplay between them; the political and economic underpinnings of media systems; patterns of use, production and content; and the functions and impact of media in culture and society. Throughout the curriculum it provides a comparative perspective by studying media in their cultural, historical, economic, political and international contexts. “Politics and Global Citizenship” is one of the profile students can choose in the second year of the programme. It has an annual enrolment of 120-140 students from all parts of the world.

The MA programmes “Social Media and Society”, “Datafication and Digital Literacy” and ‘Media Creation and Innovation’ provide students with cutting-edge knowledge of the digital transformations that profoundly change society. The MA programmes in Journalism focus on high quality reporting in a cross-media setting with a strong focus on digital skills and innovation, and combine academic reflection with academic skills. Our BA and MA programmes rank first among all Media Studies programmes in the Netherlands in the national student survey.

Research is conducted within the interdisciplinary Centre for Media and Journalism Studies. Its strategic themes focus on “Citizenship and Inclusion in Digital Societies”, “Data Infrastructures & Algorithmic Practices”, “New Interdependencies of Journalism” and “Cultures of Media Production”. Members of the Centre have been successful in recent years in attracting external research funding. If appointed, the candidates are expected to actively contribute to a vibrant research environment. They are provided ample support in applying for bids with national and international funding agencies. 

The successful applicant is expected to:

- teach and supervise students in the department’s undergraduate and graduate programmes. International candidates will teach solely in English. They are expected to follow a Dutch language course

- participate actively in curriculum development, design and administration of course modules

- conduct and generate top research in media studies or communication studies

- pursue research grants and other forms of external funding

- participate actively in international research networks and build international collaborations

- participate actively in the activities of the interdisciplinary research Centre for Media and Journalism Studies.

Requirements

In addition to a number of basic requirements set by the University of Groningen, such as excellent social and communication skills, presentation skills, coaching skills and a results-oriented attitude, we are looking for candidates who have: 

- a PhD in Political Communication, Media Studies, Communication Studies, or related fields

- wide-ranging knowledge of political communication, social media and computational methods, with proficiency in R and Python

- teaching experience at university level and proven didactic abilities

- gained their University Teaching Qualification or are prepared to do so within two years

- an excellent research track record, including relevant publications

- an outstanding national and international academic network as well as strong contacts with professionals in the field

- willingness to make substantial contributions to the development of the Department’s research and educational programmes

- organisational experience and skills

- excellent command of English (at least CEFR B2/C1 level for reading, listening, writing and speaking), and the willingness to learn Dutch in due course.

Conditions of employment

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary based on qualifications and experience of between € 4,332 and € 5,929 (salary scale 11) gross per month for a full time position a full-time position (1.0 FTE)

• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income 

• an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance

• minimum of 29 holidays and additional 12 holidays in case of full-time employment.

The appointment will be initially for a period of one year (standard in the Netherlands, according to the Collective Labour Agreement), with the possibility of appointment for an indefinite period (permanent contract). This will be determined based on a positive appraisal as well as the needs of the programme. The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for the University of Groningen (Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities 2022-2023, available in English at http://www.vsnu.nl).

Preferred date of entry into employment is 1 February 2024, or as soon as possible

Western University

The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) and Faculty of Information & Media Studies (FIMS) at Western University are pleased to invite applications for a joint appointment as faculty colleague and Graduate Program Chair in Health Information Science (HIS). We will appoint at the rank of Associate Professor (tenured), probationary Associate Professor (with early eligibility for tenure at Western) or Assistant Professor in the final years of a tenure-track appointment (probationary). Salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is a dynamic and collaborative teaching and research environment with four signature research areas (FHS strategic research plan) in mobility, social determinants of health/health equity, health information and technology, and changing health services, systems and policy. The Faculty of Information of Media Studies offers research and teaching in information, media and technology systems, histories, and practices to understand the role of media and information in democratic process and the social and cultural determinants of power and agency (FIMS Strategic Plan). Health and its coordinates in policy and technology are key FIMS research areas.

The HIS Program is a well-established graduate program offered jointly by the two Faculties. The program sits at the intersection of our two missions and supports innovative research, teaching, and knowledge mobilization. The HIS program provides students with fundamental knowledge about human health and its sociotechnical contexts; health organizations and health care delivery in Canada and globally; health informatics; and the impacts of digital technologies on individual and societal health. The successful candidate will lead the program as Graduate Program Chair with the support of an administrative coordinator and Associate Deans in both Faculties. Evidence of leadership experience or capacity is important.

Possible areas of research and teaching: As a researcher, the successful candidate will contribute to growing collaborations in digital health studies at FHS and FIMS. Their specialty areas may include (but are not limited to):

• health information science including the critical analysis of health mis- and dis-information,

• online health information contexts

• health and social media

• science and technology studies (STS) with a focus on digital health technologies

• health informatics

• health communication and knowledge mobilization in a digital context

• information ethics and health policy in government and clinical settings

• health equity

• Indigenous health frameworks in community and digital contexts

In addition to research and leadership activity, the candidate will have the opportunity to teach in the Health Information Sciences graduate program (with reduced teaching expectations). The ability to teach and supervise at the graduate level in health informatics, digital health studies, or knowledge mobilization would be beneficial.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD and will have a background in a health-related discipline such as Health Sciences/Studies, Nursing, Kinesiology, or Rehabilitation Sciences and/or in Library and Information Science, Communication, Media Studies, Sociology, or Science and Technology Studies (STS). The joint appointment will be in FIMS and one of six Schools in FHS (Kinesiology, Health Studies, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, or Communication Sciences and Disorders). The successful candidate’s research record will include external funding (from such sources as foundations and government research agencies, including the Tri-Council in Canada), peer-reviewed publication, and national/international exposure through invited lectures and/or conference symposia, as appropriate for their discipline and career stage.

In short, the successful candidate will be an academic with demonstrated teaching and research commitments to digital health studies, openness to interdisciplinarity, and leadership ability.

The candidate may benefit from interactions with Western’s Research Centres and Institutes, among them the Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, and the newly formed Center for Digital Justice, Community and Democracy.

Western has a full-time enrolment of approximately 32,000 in a range of academic and professional programs. With annual research funding exceeding $220 million and an international reputation for success, Western ranks as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western also provides an exceptional employment experience, offering competitive salaries, a wide range of employment opportunities and one of Canada’s most beautiful campuses. Western’s Recruitment and Retention Office is available to assist in the transition of successful applicants and their families.

Western University recognizes that our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is central to the University’s mandate as a research-intensive institution of higher learning and a community leader. Western understands that our pursuit of research excellence and our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion are mutually supporting. The successful applicant will show evidence of contributing to equity, diversity, and inclusion in academia.

The anticipated start date is July 1, 2024. Interested applicants are invited to submit a complete application package, as a single PDF file, containing the following:

• Application for Full-Time Faculty Position form

• Cover letter (highlighting leadership experience or capacity, and connection to both Faculties and

research entities at Western)

• A detailed curriculum vitae

• A brief description of the candidate’s current research program, past accomplishments, and future plans

• Links to representative publications

• The names and contact information for three references

• A statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in relation to their teaching and research

The application package can be submitted via email to:

Drs. S. Jayne Garland and Lisa Henderson

Search Committee Co-Chairs

Western University

Arthur and Sonia Labatt Health Sciences Building, Room 200 1151 Richmond St. N.

London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7 wechebot@uwo.ca

The deadline for receipt of application packages is November 13, 2023.

Please quote number HS-257 on all correspondence for this position.

Positions are subject to budget approval. Applicants should have fluent written and oral communication skills in English. The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Wanda Chebott, Executive Assistant to the Dean of Health Sciences at wechebot@uwo.ca or 519-661-4239.

Deadline: November 22, 2023

Dear authors, open access publishers, and open source tool and platform providers,

The Open Book Futures (OBF) project is delighted to announce support and funding for three experimental book publishing pilots. These book pilot projects will be developed with OBF’s Experimental Publishing Group supported by Coventry University and will be overseen by the Open Book Collective.

We are inviting individuals and project teams to submit proposals for experimental, long-form scholarly book projects. 

Visit our open call to find out more https://copim.pubpub.org/pub/expub-pilot-call/ 

The call is open to individuals looking to collaborate and to already formed project teams (which can consist of authors, publishers, open source technology and software providers, librarians, and designers). If you apply without a complete project team, we will work with you to find suitable collaborators. Work on the pilots must start on 1 April 2024 and the pilots must be finalised by 1 April 2026. 

Experimental book publishing can include experiments with the form and format of the scholarly book; with the various (multi)media through which books can be performed; and with the ways in which scholarship can be produced, disseminated, and consumed, as well as reviewed, reused, and interacted with. It can also include experiments that reimagine the relationalities that constitute academic writing, research, and publishing, and that speculate on what the future of the book and the humanities might look like beyond the printed codex-format as the standard publication choice.  

We want to work closely with authors, presses, and technology providers to create pilot projects and communities of practice to explore how to best enable and support experimental book publishing together, while seeking to increase the recognition given to work published in non-traditional ways.

Open Book Futures (OBF) is the successor to the Community-led Open Publishing Infrastructures for Monographs (COPIM) project which ran from 2019 to 2023. COPIM supported three experimental publishing pilot projects in collaboration with publishers, authors, designers, and tool and platform providers.

We are looking forward to your proposals, or any questions you might have.

Best regards,

Janneke Adema, Rebekka Kiesewetter, Simon Bowie, and Julien McHardy

University of South Florida

Apply here: https://www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/details.cfm?JobCode=178560733&Title=Tenure-Track%20Assistant%20Professor%20of%20Advertising%20-%20ZSAMC

Type: Full-Time 

Posted: 10/05/2023 

Category: Public Relations and Advertising 

Job ID35302

LocationTampa, FL

Full/Part TimeFull-Time

Regular/TemporaryRegular

Posting Details 

Department: The Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications (ZSAMC) / 0-1247-000 

College: College of Arts and Sciences 

Salary Plan: Regular / Faculty 

Job Code/Title: 9003 / Assistant Professor 

Hiring Salary: Competitive 

Position Summary: 

The Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications at the University of South Florida seeks to fill a 9-month, full-time, and tenure-track Assistant Professor of Advertising position starting on August 7, 2024. 

The candidate will teach courses in the Integrated Public Relations and Advertising undergraduate program and in the Advertising master's program. The candidate will have the opportunity to advise an AAF student chapter. Salary is competitive. 

Position is open until November 1, 2023, with review of applications beginning on November 10, 2023. 

For more information about The Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications, visit our website. 

QUALIFICATIONS (Education & Experience): 

Minimum Qualifications: 

A Ph.D. in advertising or a related field is required. Applications from individuals who are ABD will be accepted, but the degree must be conferred by appointment start date. Must meet university criteria for appointment to the rank of Assistant Professor. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

Preference will be given to applicants with a publication record and research agenda focused on advertising and who have experience teaching advertising media strategy and advertising management.

USF Tampa 

Information for Applicants 

This position is subject to a Level 1 criminal background check. This position is subject to Foreign Influence Screening. House Bill 7017 ("HB 7017") 

Job Opening Number: 35302 

Posting Date: 10/04/2023 

Posting End Date: 11/01/2023, with review of applications beginning 11/10/2023. 

How To Apply 

Click on the Apply Now button. When applying to an opening you will have the opportunity to upload the requested materials listed below. 

Apply online by completing the required information and attaching your application materials. Please include your experience as it relates to the qualifications stated above. 

When applying, please attach (as a single combined document): a cover letter highlighting how your research, teaching, and service would make a contribution to The Zimmerman School, curriculum vitae, statement on scholarly work, teaching philosophy, and names and contact information for three references. 

To request an accommodation with the application or interview process, please contact Central Human Resources by telephone: 813-974-2970 or email HR-ADA-Request@usf.edu. 

Conclusion of this search is subject to final budget approval. According to Florida Law, applications and meetings regarding them are open to the public. 

Only online applications are accepted for this position. Click here for additional tutorial information. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

USF is an equal opportunity, equal access academic institution that embraces diversity in the workplace. 

The University of South Florida does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sexual harassment. Any person may report sex discrimination, including sexual harassment (whether or not the person reporting is the person alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sex discrimination or sexual harassment), in person, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic mail, using the contact information listed for the Title IX Coordinator. Reports may be made at any time either online or directly to the University's Title IX Coordinator. 

USF's Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Statement. 

For disability accommodations, contact Camille Rivera at rivera13@usf.edu, a minimum of five working days in advance. 

Federal Rights 

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA). 

Work Location 

Campus map and location overview: USF - Tampa Campus 

About USF 

The University of South Florida, a high-impact research university dedicated to student success and committed to community engagement, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. With campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee, USF serves approximately 50,000 students who represent nearly 150 different countries. For four consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked USF as one of the nation's top 50 public universities, including USF's highest ranking ever in 2023 (No. 42). In 2023, USF became the first public university in Florida in nearly 40 years to be invited to join the Association of American Universities, a prestigious group of the leading universities in the United States and Canada. Through hundreds of millions of dollars in research activity each year and as one of top universities in the world for securing new patents, USF is a leader in solving global problems and improving lives. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu. 

Working at USF 

With more than 16,000 employees at USF, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay region. At USF you will find opportunities to excel in a rich academic environment that fosters the development and advancement of our employees. We believe in creating a talented, engaged and driven workforce through on-going development and career opportunities. We also offer a first class benefit package that includes medical, dental and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, tuition program and generous leave programs and more. 

To learn more about working at USF please visit: Work Here. Learn Here. Grow Here.

January 8-9, 2024

University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland

Deadline: October 25, 2023

Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations have undergone profound economic, social, and political transformations in the past four decades, significantly reshaping their societal dynamics. While some countries, particularly those that became part of the European Union during the enlargements of 2004 and 2013, have made significant progress in their transformation and development processes, others still need to grapple with challenges. These challenges include the establishment of democracy (e.g., Belarus), resolution of independence or geopolitical issues and war (e.g., Ukraine and Kosovo), resurgence of civic protests (e.g., Poland), and a rise in support for populist leaders (e.g., Hungary and Poland).

Throughout this period, Central and Eastern Europe has also experienced rapid technological advancements. Although internet access is widespread, it remains lower than in Western Europe, especially concerning broadband access. The digital divide, notably pronounced between rural and urban areas, imposes constraints on access to information, the availability of internet resources for disseminating civic knowledge, participation in political discourse, and engagement in political activities.

New media, including digital and social media, have allowed citizens to express their opinions and engage in collective actions. However, unequal access to the internet can limit these connections to privileged groups, leaving others marginalized. The digital divide, often rooted in educational and financial disparities, exacerbates societal misunderstandings and polarization.

This conference explores the relationship between technological advancements and the sustainability of democratic systems and civil society in CEE. We strongly encourage regional researchers to submit their research grounded in diverse theoretical frameworks and comprehensive qualitative or quantitative methodologies in the areas of (but not only):

• The role of technological development of the media in the consolidation of the democratic processes
  
• Political and civic engagement in the light of new media affordances
  
• Political actors and their employment of new media communication strategies
  
• The challenges to sustainable democratic institutions from online communication  
  

The conference highlights:

Keynote: Sabina Mihelj and Vaclav Stetka (Loughborough University, UK)

Roundtable I: “Digital democracy and civil society in CEE” - a lunch of the Journal of Information,

Technology and Politics special issue.

Roundtable II: “Political Information Environment: Threats and solutions for sustainable democracy”- presentation of the THREATPIE project and discussion with non-academic stakeholders (journalists, NGO representatives, educators, and politicians).

Organizers:

Institute of Journalism and Media Communication and Faculty of Social Sciences University of Silesia in Katowice

Journal of Information, Technology and Politics

THREATPIE: The Threats and Potentials of a Changing Political Information Environment project, http://threatpie.eu/ 

NORFACE Joint Research Programme on Democratic Governance in a Turbulent Age and co-funded by FWO, DFF, ANR, DFG, NWO, NCN, AEI, and ESRC, and the European Commission through Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No 822166.

Venue:

University of Silesia in Katowice

Faculty of Social Sciences

Institute of Journalism and Media Communication Bankowa 11, 40-007 Katowice, Poland

Conference organizers:

Damian Guzek, University of Silesia in Katowice

Karolina Koc-Michalska, Audencia Business School Nantes and University of Silesia in Katowice Agnieszka Stepinska, Adam Mickiewicz University

Schedule:

Submission of the abstracts: October 25, 2023 Acceptance of the abstracts: end-October, 2023

Requirements for the Authors:

Submission of an abstract of max. 300 words to cee.media.conference@gmail.com providing:

• Title
  
• Brief description of the proposed research scope
  
• Research questions
  
• Description of the data (methodological approach, sample, analytical strategy) 
• First analysis (if available)
  
• Short Bio of the Authors (outside of the word limit)
  

March 20, 2024

Online

Deadline: December 2, 2023

We are delighted to announce this Call for Papers, for the fully virtual and free 1 day conference on Emerging Directions in News Use Research on 20th March 2024. 

The event marks the launch of the Leverhulme Trust funded parents’ news use project - which runs from the fall of 2023 to the fall of 2025. The Leverhulme News Use project aims to examine how parents engage with and respond to news at critical moments of crisis. The project team includes Professor Ranjana Das, Dr Thomas Roberts, Dr Emily Setty and Dr Maria-Nerina Boursinou from the Department of Sociology (University of Surrey)  

Emerging Directions in News Use Research - a day-long, international, virtual conference - aims to bring together a global group of scholars involved with researching news use, news audiences and consumption, and news engagement and disengagement. We are keen to hear from a range of empirical contexts, from projects using tried and tested as well as more creative and innovative methodologies, and to showcase the work of scholars across career stages in the fields of Sociology, Journalism, Media and Communication, and more. 

Keynote speakers at the event include

Professor Brita Ytre-Arne, University of Bergen, Norway; Dr Jonathan Corpus Ong, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Professor Kim Schroeder, Roskilde University, Denmark; Professor Sahana Udupa, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany and Professor Lynn Schofield Clark, University of Denver, Colorado. 

Submission Portal:

We welcome submissions for a 10-12 minute paper presentation on this submission portal in the following areas, which are included below, but not limited to- 

Submission Topics:              

• News use, environmental change and the climate crisis ·               
  
• News use in relation to young people and sex and relationships          
  
• Datafication, algorithms and the news        
  
• Theoretical perspectives on news use       
  
• Methodological aspects of news consumption research         
  
• News use, risk and anxiety     
  
• Families, parenting, children and the news       
  
• News audiences and users          
  
• News literacy      
  
• News use research and global disparities and inequalities           
  
• Disinformation 
  
• News use and disconnection research 
  

Abstract Submission Details: 

Final submission deadline: 5pm BST on Monday 2nd December 2023 

Notification of outcome: Friday 15th December  2023 

Deadline for Registrations (registration is free): Monday 18th March 2024 

Event date (fully online): Wednesday 20 March 2024 , 0900 to 1700* GMT 

Submission portal:

[please submit your abstract here] 

Please email any question you may have about submissions to Dr Nerina Boursinou (m.boursinou@surrey.ac.uk).