ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

April 6-7, 2020

School of Economics, Cape Town, South Africa

Deadline: December 1, 2019

https://www.monssa.org/its2020

Digital Transformation in Africa

The 3rd African International Telecommunications Society (ITS) Conference will take place at the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town on 6-7 April, 2020. The previous two African editions of the conference were hosted in Lusaka (Zambia) in 2018 and Accra (Ghana) in 2016.

The International Telecommunications Society (ITS) is an association of about 400 professionals in the information, communications, and technology sectors. The ITS Conferences provide a forum where academic, private sector, and government communities can meet to identify pressing new problems and issues, share research results, and form new relationships and approaches to address outstanding issues.

The ITS Conference in Cape Town will bring together experts, academicians, policy makers and sector regulators from South Africa and other countries in Africa, and worldwide. During 2-days conference, the participants will discuss a broad range of issues related to investments in telecommunications and Internet infrastructure, competition dynamics and regulation of digital markets, emergence of global information society and many others.

We welcome submissions on a range of topics as outlined below:

• Infrastructure investment strategies in both fixed and mobile markets
• Consolidation in mobile markets
• Digital divides – their changing nature and how they can be overcome
• Monopolisation within high-technology markets – e.g., how can markets be defined and monopolisation measured
• The socio-economic impact of new technologies – e.g., 5G, IoT, AI, blockchain
• Operator strategies – bundling, content and convergence
• The impact of OTT on the telecommunications sector
• The adoption of ICT in other sectors – manufacturing, transportation etc.
• Platforms – their scope, regulation and impact
• Encouraging ICT innovation in Africa

Submissions addressing any other subject relating to telecommunication systems and markets are also welcome. Theoretical and empirical papers are welcome, as are methodologically qualitative and quantitative papers.

Important dates

• Abstract submission open : August 1, 2019
• Deadline for abstracts : December 1, 2019
• Notification of acceptance : December 15, 2019
• Registration open: October 1, 2019
• Early registration deadline : December 31, 2019
• Deadline for final papers : January 31, 2020
• Late registration deadline: January 31, 2020

Contact

• Lukasz Grzybowski - lukasz.grzybowski@uct.ac.za
• Anders Henten – henten@cmi.aau.dk

Website of ITS: https://www.itsworld.org

Loughborough University, UK

Deadline: September 26, 2019

The Department of Communication and Media in the School of Social Sciences at Loughborough University, UK, is seeking to appoint a Research Associate to work with Dr Vaclav Stetka (PI) and Professor Sabina Mihelj (Co-I) on the ESRC-funded research project "The Illiberal Turn? News Consumption, Political Polarization, and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe". Combining survey data, digital tracking of media consumption, as well as media diaries and qualitative interviews, the project will carry out a systematic study of news consumption and political polarization in Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Serbia, at a key point in time when the region is witnessing the rise of populist leaders, resurgence of illiberal nationalism, and a shift towards authoritarian forms of government.

This Research Associate will assist with qualitative data collection, analysis and management. Apart from taking an active part in designing interviews and media diaries, the successful candidate will collect the data from one of the four countries covered by the project and assist the Co-I with the comparative analysis of qualitative data from all four countries. The researcher will also support the PI and the Co-I with the integrative analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, co-author some of the publications, and contribute to impact activities and events. Proficiency in English and one of the local languages (Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Serbian) is essential.

The successful applicant for this post will be an experienced researcher with postgraduate training in sociology, media/communication studies, cultural studies, anthropology or another related social science or humanities discipline, (PhD, or very close to completion), and with experience in qualitative social science methodologies, such as interviews and/or diaries. Demonstrable knowledge of media, politics and society in one or more Central and Eastern European countries covered by the project is also expected.

IMPORTANT: Shortlisted applicants for this post who are not selected may be offered a short-term (4-5 months) research position. Please indicate in your application/cover letter if you are interested in this.

Informal enquiries should be made by email to Professor Sabina Mihelj, S.Mihelj@lboro.ac.uk

Application Closing Date: 26 September 2019

Interviews (including presentation) will be held on: 7 October 2019

Start date: 1 January 2020

For more information on the project see our project website: https://www.illiberal-turn.eu/

For further details on the job see: https://vacancies.lboro.ac.uk/jobdesc/REQ190622.pdf.

Tallinn University (TLU)

Deadline: August 26, 2019

Tallinn University (TLU) seeks an internationally recognized scholar in digital humanities or digital culture studies to become an ERA Chair Professor in Cultural Data Analytics.

Position starts in Autumn or early Winter 2019

Tenure: The position will be tenured.

All details about the application process and what documents are needed can be found here: https://www.tlu.ee/en/professor-cultural-data-analytics

Position includes excellent remuneration package; secured substantial research funds for the first 4 years; the possibility to create own research team and an Open Lab; cooperation networks with several external cultural and media institution; strong institutional support from the university.

Profile of the candidate

TLU has won a grant for this position from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 ERA Chair programme. The programme supports universities in their efforts to build on their reputation as leaders in research and innovation. The programme awards top researchers and their teams EUR 2.5 million over five years to establish ambitious research programmes. Estonian Research Council is expected to top it up with additional 200 000 euros from its Mobilitas scheme. After the CUDAN project ends and the position gets tenured TLU will support the Chair by its own means.

TLU has used the grant to establish a new professorship in Cultural Data Analytics (CUDAN) together with the new research team that consists of 5-7 senior researchers and at least 5 PhD students. The team will also run CUDAN Open Lab - an actual space and a cooperation platform for collaborating with external cultural and media institutions. See more about the whole CUDAN project here: http://cudan.tlu.ee

The candidate for the professorship is expected to have experience of managing research projects and/or teams in digital humanities/digital culture studies and with spearheading open stakeholder collaborations.

CUDAN ERA Chair will interconnect three TLU Schools - Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School (BFM), School of Humanities (SH) and School of Digital Technologies (DTI). The ERA Chair holder will be hired as a professor at BFM.

The applicant has to have a PhD degree in digital humanities, digital culture studies or in data analytics and at least 5 years of experience in managing research teams and/or planning and implementing research and innovation projects.

More specifically the following experience is required:

• Strong academic background and international reputation in digital humanities/digital culture studies;

• Publications in international peer reviewed journals;

• Supervision of PhD students;

• Experience in formulating and managing research teams;

• Experience in planning new research projects;

• Experience in coordination of or participation in international research projects (e.g. Framework Programme, Horizon 2020);

• Collaboration with non-academic stakeholders.

The ERA Chair holder will need to reside permanently in Estonia and sign an employment contract with TLU.

The salary of the ERA Chair professor will be negotiable, but will be based on the existing experience and seniority of the candidates and equate broadly with professor salaries in Western European countries. Yet, employment in Estonia could be more beneficial due to low income tax rates (approximately 21% for this position).

TLU offers modern ergonomic working conditions and flexible schedules in a brand new campus located in the city centre. TLU employees enjoy numerous benefits in areas such recreation, health care, child care, employee training, etc. TLU allows for its professors extensive paid vacation - 65 days each year. TLU will help the newly expected professor and her/his family with the move to Estonia, relocation allowance can be negotiated.

Deadlines: The application process opened June 22nd 2019 and ends August 26th. A decision will be made in the Autumn of 2019. All the details about the process and what documents are needed can be found here: https://www.tlu.ee/en/professor-cultural-data-analytics.

See more about the CUDAN Open Lab: http://cudan.tlu.ee

CUDAN team is happy to respond to any questions and at any time about the position. Please contact us at cudan@tlu.ee.

Deadline for application: September 2, 2019

The YECREA network is calling for early-career communication researchers across Europe to apply for the vacant position as YECREA representative in the Film Studies section of ECREA.

The young scholar (YECREA) representative in each section/TWG/network of ECREA assists the managing team (consisting of a chair and two vice-chairs) in organising panels, symposiums and/or conferences, promoting the specific research area. Furthermore, the YECREA representative works to inform early-career scholars about events in the field and take part in organising events, such as pre-conference workshops or meetings.

The ‘young’ in young scholar is not a measure of age, but of career progression. Thus, all scholars in non-tenure positions (e.g. PhD’s and postdocs) are welcome to apply. It should be noted that the position as YECREA representatives is not paid.

Applications should be no more than 500 words and contain the following information:

• A heading with your name and the specific position you are applying for
• Details on your current university, position and progression
• A brief description of your research
• A brief statement on your work’s connection to the specific section, TWG or network
• A brief statement on your aspirations for improving early-career research

The managing team of YECREA (Corinna Lauerer, Norbert Šinković and Johan Farkas) will evaluate applications. The final decision on candidates will be taken in collaboration with the managing teams of each section/TWG/network.

As part of the evaluation, motivation will be emphasised as well as ensuring geographical diversity and supporting new scholars in the field.

More information about each section/TWG/network can be found at: https://www.ecrea.eu/Sections

More information about YECREA can be found at: http://yecrea.eu/

Questions can be addressed to Johan Farkas (Chair): johan.farkas@mau.se

Applications should be sent to: yecreanetwork@gmail.com

Deadline: December 31, 2019

The Professional Wresting Studies Association invites submissions for the inaugural issue of the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal, an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal.

We welcome scholarly work from any theoretical and methodological lens that is rigorous, insightful, and expands our audience’s understanding of professional wrestling past or present as a cultural, social, political, and/or economic institution.

All submissions must be original scholarly work and free of identifying information for blind review. Written articles should be submitted as Word documents and no more than 8,000 words, inclusive of a 200-word abstract and a reference list. MLA citation style is required. Any images that are not original require copyright clearance. Articles will be converted into PDFs for publication, so hyperlinks should be active.

For multimedia productions and experimental scholarship, please contact PWSJeditor-in-chief Matt Foy (foym38@uiu.edu) to verify length and proper format in which to send the piece.

The deadline for submissions to the journal is October 31, 2019 for an April 2020 publication. Please email submissions to prowrestlingstudies@gmail.com.

Additionally, the PWSA invites submissions for their inaugural PWSA Symposium: WrestlePosium I.

This virtual symposium will happen online on Saturday, April 4th, to coincide with WrestleMania. That week has become a touchstone for all of professional wrestling, not just the World Wrestling Entertainment’s signature show. As such, the PWSA seeks to bring academic scholarship to the festivities by connecting wrestling scholars around the world to present their research and ideas.

Presentations can be given live, via a videoconferencing tool, or be recorded and collected for viewing during that day. Additionally, all live presentations will also be recorded and collected for later viewing. Presentations and videos will be no longer than 15 minutes, but applicants can also submit ideas for roundtable discussions and complete panels. Sessions will be scheduled during the day based on the proposals.

Interested applicants should submit a 500-word proposal outlining the purpose and scope of their presentation, roundtable or panel. Proposals should include titles and contact information for all speakers. Submissions should be sent to PWSA president CarrieLynn D. Reinhard (creinhard@dom.edu).

The deadline for submissions to the symposium is December 31, 2019.

Deadline: December 15, 2019

Edited by Daniela Stelzmann (Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) and Josephine Ischebeck (Psychologist, Berlin, Germany).

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a problem which takes place in the center of our society and has dramatic effects on the victims’ physical and mental health. Between 3 to 31 % of the children worldwide have been sexually abused in either offline or online environments (Barth, Bermetz, Heim, Trelle, & Tonia, 2013). Accurate estimations are difficult due to the high amount of undetected cases. Although a large percentage of children become victims in every social stratum, CSA remains a highly tabooed topic. Very few victims and other significant groups (e.g. spouses, parents, etc.) talk about their experiences, often out of fear of stigmatization (Ybarra, Strasburger & Mitchell, 2014).

Although most people did not experience CSA or do not have access to first hand reports, we have a certain mental representation of CSA including its causes and effects. We gain this indirect experience from media coverage (Jackob, 2018; Meltzer, 2019) which is – until up to date – often focused on high profile cases (Kitzinger, 2008; Popović, 2018). Information about prevention programs and follow up stories are rare (Kitzinger, 2004).

With the upcoming edited book about CSA and the media, we hope to draw attention to the status quo of this topic: From perspectives of significant groups, to possible risks and opportunities of media coverage, as well as ideas for improvement. Submissions dealing with the use of media as a platform for CSA (e.g. CSA images and videos, online grooming in social media) are also welcome.

Topics for chapters may include but are not limited to: 

• Media coverage of CSA
• Effects of media coverage for victims, offenders and other significant groups, especially regarding CSA
• Risks and opportunities of media coverage, especially regarding CSA
• How to improve media coverage about CSA
• Media and crime prevention, especially prevention of CSA
• Media influence on public and individual opinions and political discussions
• Media and stigma
• Education through media
• Journalists’ point of view and its influence on their publications
• Effects on journalists of dealing with emotional topics
• Effects of CSA for victims, offenders and other significant groups
• CSA in music, film, gaming and television
• Usage of media as a platform for CSA (e. g. CSA images and videos, online grooming)
• Your own suggested idea

Submission details

We would like to invite extended abstracts (a maximum of 500 words), accompanied by a short biographical statement, until December 15th, 2019. The submissions should contain an introduction, theoretical background, methods as well as (preliminary) results.

Please address proposals and/or any inquiries to Daniela Stelzmann (Daniela.Stelzmann@fu-berlin.de). Submission implies a commitment to publish in this volume if your work is selected for inclusion.

Your submissions will be reviewed until January 15 th, 2020. Accepted contributors will be asked to submit their full chapters of 5000 to 6500 words (including references, tables etc.) by May 31 th, 2020. The book is intended for publication with NOMOS.

April 2- 4, 2020

University of Bamberg

Deadline: September 30, 2019

3rd International Conference  in Scandalogy

The conference will focus on “Scandals in New Media Environments”. The  overarching theme serves a two-fold goal: On the one hand, we want to  intensify research on mediated scandals(cf. Entman 2012; Burkhardt 2018)  and substantiate our understanding of such forms of scandals and their  impact on societies. On the other hand, we hope to connect the study of  scandals with a larger scientific community in the broad field of  digital communication research, be it in organizational communication,  journalism studies, political communication research or other fields. 

Even to the casual observer of media and society the conference theme  appears timely because currently we seem to be living through an age of  perpetual scandalization. Arguably, digital technologies are a catalyst  in this respect. On an everyday basis, we can observe how social media  offers new means to vent emotional attacks, spark outrage, or voice  public discontent. Not only politicians, celebrities, and other  individuals in the media spotlight are subject to such firestorms.  Increasingly, ordinary citizens experience intensifying levels of  digital slander and character attacks online as well. In many cases, the  cause are simply gaffes or a careless public remark. 

The increasingly low threshold by which such incidents become the  subject of scandalous media coverage has been a matter of critique. It  may be a significant feature of an overall trend in the tabloidization  of culture and the rise of infotainment. Some authors even speak of  “unleashed scandals” (Pörksen & Detel 2012) in such “hybrid media  systems” (Chadwick 2013). 

Such scandals typically have a rather short communicative half-life  period, but may have gained a new quality through the rise of social  media and digital technologies. In this respect, participatory digital  publics can create a ‘spill-over’-effect so that the consequences of a  public gaffe may incite a more substantiated discourse in the political  system and in conventional journalistic mass media. On the other hand,  the scandalizing potential of new media requires modified strategies of  reputation management by politicians, celebrities, institutions and  corporations. 

Against this backdrop, we should inquire if we are witnessing a  transformation of mediated scandals through digital communication  practices. If so, what will be the consequences for dealing with future  scandals and cultural affairs? 

Yet, new media also offers a different perspective on journalism and  scandals as technological infrastructure and digital tools give  journalists new means to investigate hard scandals like substantial  financial or political wrongdoings. One example is the work of the  International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the  publication of the Panama Papers or the Paradise Papers respectively.  Such reporting can rely on data-driven analyses and may incite political  change, if further actors like online news sites, whistleblower  platforms or ordinary users comment such cases and share information. 

However, rather often these exposés do not substantiate a due process of  scandalization and fail to bring reform. If so, we should ask why  traditional reporting on scandals, despite new means of collaboration  and research, may have lost its effectiveness. 

To tackle these issues we believe that our conference theme should bring  the practitioners’ perspective into the academic field as well: Often,  journalists are limited to describing scandal cases and criticizing  scandalized actors, instead of reflecting a potential lack of (or too  much) response by the public. Possibly, academic research and journalism  could alleviate this deficit, if both fields would be more sensitive to  technological and social characteristics of new media in the process of  scandalization. We assume that professional communicators could provide  an important perspective to this as well. For example marketing- and  campaign-experts who evoke scandals with strategic goals in mind, or  media spokespersons who have to deal with online scandalization and  mitigate its consequences. Therefore, we also invite contributions that  are not limited to the academic field but deal with practical aspects of  scandals and digital media. 

Therefore, possible submissions for this conference may focus on:

• scandals in Social Network Sites and their ‘spill-over’-effects,  i. e. amplifications/ catalysts between online and offline media 
• users as opinion-leaders and scandalizers 
• tabloidization and scandals in online media 
• investigative journalism, whistleblowing and the datafication  of scandals 
• pitfalls of crisis communication in digital environments and  online firestorms 
• the power of algorithms (e. g. filter bubbles) in the reception  of scandal cases 

However, to understand scandals in new media environments, we also  suggest broadening the scope of our scientific analysis. Arguably,  scandals occur in every culture and at all times in human history, thereby constituting a part of our species’ social evolution. We would  like to encourage submissions that cover the historical perspective as  well. This can help us to understand how new media of the past (ancient  theatre, early modern pamphlets, bourgoise mass media, cinema,  television, etc.) allowed groups to effectively mediate social events  which involved the breaching of certain moral or legal codes and helped  to determine how to elicit a public response. 

Additional topics may include:

• theoretical implications of scandals and the emergence of new  media technologies 
• historical case studies analyzing the relationship between  scandalization and new communication channels and forums 

Information about paper submissions

Abstracts should not exceed 300 words. Please include an additional  short biographical note of no more than 150 words. 

As the selection of abstracts will be peer-reviewed anonymously, we ask  contributors to include a separate title page containing title,  author/s, affiliation/s, and the address, phone, fax, and e-mail of the  first author. 

Peer reviewers will evaluate all submissions based on relevance and  originality, clarity of research purpose, grounding of theoretical and  methodological approach, focus, and organization. 

We plan a publication of selected articles in a collected volume (most  likely with the Herbert von Halem Verlag  ) 

Please email abstracts to scandalogy.kowi@uni-bamberg.de  by September 30 2019.  You will receive a notification by November 8th 2019. 

Keynote

Confirmed keynote speaker is Jan Fleischhauer. It is a pleasure and an  honor to welcome Jan Fleischhauer, one of the leading German columnists  (FOCUS, DER SPIEGEL) and a regular guest in national talk shows. 

Fleischhauer is an engaged and stridently argumentative publicist. He  will give personal insights how journalists can endure heated public  debates, character attacks and scandals in digital media environments. 

October 21-25, 2019

St. Petersburg (Russia)

Deadline: August 14, 2019

The theme of this year’s conference is "The Aesthetics of Computer Games". Playing games yields particular kinds of playful experiences or perceptions through the senses, which can be studied with an aesthetic focus, emphasising aísthesis over noêsis. Computer games can be regarded as playful media that organise our perceptions and modify our sensibilities. For this conference, we welcome submissions on (but not limited to) the following themes and questions:

1. Aesthetics as aesthesis (aísthesis). Is there an aesthetics or mode of experience that is specific to computer games? How do their visual, audio, and haptic aspects come together to produce distinctive experiences? How are ‘experience’ and ‘perception’ explored in computer games and shaped by them? Can concepts such as ‘affect’, ‘atmosphere’, and ‘rhythm’ be productively applied to computer games? What is the role of game interfaces on player experience?

2. Games as art? What are the conditions of possibility of games being art? How do computer games fit into established categories or conventions of aesthetics, and how do they contribute to new ones? Do games recognised as having a claim to artistic status differ from mainstream games? How do accounts of art based on necessary and sufficient conditions match up against anti-essentialist accounts in terms of gauging the status of computer games?

3. The aesthetics of gaming practices. Are games collaboratively authored? How do different kinds of play, or player-game conjunctions, bring about different kinds of gaming pleasures or aesthetic experiences? How do different bodies encounter computer games and what can be said about the way in which gameplay experience is mediated by our bodies? Do some kinds of gameplay or extra-gamic player practices have an aesthetic orientation? Are computer games performances?

4. The ethical, political, and social dimensions of game aesthetics. What is the transformative potential of computer games and how does this compare to the transformative capabilities ascribed to artworks? How do aesthetic issues interconnect with ethical, social, and political ones – what is the autonomy or heteronomy of the aesthetic domain? How are taste, sensibility, and habit acquired with respect to gameplay and what are the social implications of this?

In addition to this central theme, the conference also features an open category, for which we invite welcome contributions that do not fit this year’s theme, but that nonetheless offer a valuable contribution to the philosophy of computer games.

Submitted proposals should have a clear focus on philosophy and philosophical (including media philosophical) issues in relation to computer games. They should also refer to specific games rather than invoke them in more general terms. Submissions should be made in the form of extended abstracts of up to 1000 words (excluding bibliography). Please indicate if you intend your paper to fit in the open category. The extended deadline for submissions is 23:59 GMT, Monday, 14th August, 2019.

Please submit your abstract through review.gamephilosophy.org. All submitted abstracts will be subject to a double-blind peer review process.

Notification of accepted submissions will be sent out in the beginning of September 2019. A full paper draft must then be submitted by Monday, 14th October 2019 and will be made available on the conference website.

We also invite proposals for themed panels and workshops that will take place on the 20th and 24th October, 2019. Please contact the program committee chair if you are interested in organising one.

We cannot provide grants or subsidies for participants. There will, however, be no conference fee.

Workshops and panels

We will accept submissions for workshops and panels in all areas pertinent to the philosophy of computer games. This has been a tradition of the conference series, which has used this format to gauge emerging philosophical issues. This year, we have a particular interest in the topics of ‘diversity in computer games’ and ‘the aesthetics of computer games’, but workshop and panel proposals in all areas concerning the philosophy of computer games will be considered.

We have chosen to extend the submission deadline for workshops and panels (not papers) to the 25th Aug 2019, 23:59 BST.

Teleconferencing

It will be possible for a limited number of authors to present their work via teleconferencing. If your submission is accepted and you wish to present via teleconferencing, please inform the program chair.

The proportion of papers presented in person to those presented through teleconferencing has not been definitely settled and will be more thoroughly discussed by the program committee at a later point. We hope to be able to accept as many as is viable. If the number of requests for teleconferencing exceeds the number of available places that have been decided upon, we will ask you to provide details of your situation that make it difficult or impossible to travel to St Petersburg. Individuals that are selected to present via teleconferencing will be chosen on a case-by-case basis, taking into account their circumstances as a whole.

We strongly advise presenters who wish to make use of teleconferencing, where possible, to submit their presentation as a video, which would bypass any potential connectivity issues that would threaten the presentation of the paper within the allotted time frame, and to use teleconferencing only for the Q&A section.

Additional resources

Further, please note that certain additional resources, some of which may be relevant for LGBT+ travellers, will be made available in the ‘VISA information’ and ‘Location’ section of the conference website. We cannot, however, verify the contents of all of these resources.

For more information about the conference series, please go to gamephilosophy.org.

For additional queries, do not hesitate to email the organisers using the following email address: feng (dot) zhu (at) kcl (dot) ac (dot) uk

Important dates

• Submission deadline: 14th August.
• Announce acceptance/rejection: 12th September.
• Workshops: 20th, 24th October.
• Conference: 21-24th October.

Committees

Program committee:

• Alina Latypova (St Petersburg State University)
• Anita Leirfall (University of Bergen)
• Darshana Jayemanne (Abertay University)
• Feng Zhu (King’s College London) (chair)
• Grant Tavinor (Lincoln University)
• Hans-Joachim Backe (IT University of Copenhagen)
• John Richard Sageng (Game Philosophy Network)

• Konstantin Ocheretyany (St Petersburg State University)
• Marc Bonner (University of Cologne)
• Margarita Skomorokh (St Petersburg State University)

• Mathias Fuchs (Leuphana University of Lüneburg)
• Olli Leino (City University of Hong Kong)
• Pawel Grabarcyzk (IT University of Copenhagen)
• Sebastian Möring (University of Potsdam)
• Sonia Fizek (Media Academy Stuttgart)
• Veli-Matti Karhulahti (University of Jyväskylä/University of Turku)
• William Huber (Abertay University)

Organizing committee:

• Alexander Lenkevich (St Petersburg State University)
• Alina Latypova (St Petersburg State University) (chair)
• Konstantin Ocheretyany (St Petersburg State University) (chair)
• Margarita Skomorokh (St Petersburg State University)

Contacts

Program Chair:

Feng Zhu, King’s College London, feng.zhu@kcl.ac.uk

Conference Chairs:

Alina Latypova, St Petersburg State University, latypova.al@gmail.com

Konstantin Ocheretyany, St Petersburg State University, kocheretyany@gmail.com

Deadline: October 25, 2019

Editors: Sara Bannerman (McMaster University) and James Meese (University of Technology Sydney)

In January 2018, Facebook declared that it would no longer prioritise news content in its NewsFeed. Instead, it would surface posts from ‘friends and family’, with the goal of bringing ‘people closer together’ (Mosseri, 2018). Facebook had stopped promoting particular forms of news before (like clickbait headlines) but they had always retained a broad commitment to distributing news content. However, the change in 2018 represented a major pivot for a platform that had increasingly become a central intermediary for online news distribution. In response, digital-first publications, who had staked their business model on Facebook’s ability to surface news to audiences, started to lay off staff in significant numbers. These new disruptive news enterprises (like Buzzfeed and Mic) were supposed to usher in a new future for news. However, it appeared that their business models were as unstable as those of their print predecessors.

These recent developments have not gone unnoticed by governments. Policymakers and politicians across the world are starting to examine the role that platforms and algorithms play in the distribution of news. Inquiries in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and elsewhere have explored the consequences of the algorithmic distribution of news. Alongside these national inquiries, a broader international discussion has focused on the apparent rise in disinformation and the increasingly partisan nature of political discourse. This discussion has intensified recently, leading to the formation of an International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy composed of elected officials from governments around the world.

This edited collection will respond to this international policy moment and examine the challenges posed by the algorithmic distribution of news. It will critically assess recent media policy developments in this space and explore the broader economic, political and industrial transformations associated with algorithmic distribution. In doing so, we aim to offer a comprehensive account of this moment of institutional change, which has significantly altered the distribution and consumption of news (see Nielsen 2018).

The book will be split into two sections. The first section will consist of thematic chapters (5 - 6,000 words) and the second section will feature shorter case studies (3 - 4,000 words) describing and analysing recent policy developments related to algorithmic distribution in particular countries. We are currently in discussions with interested publishers and seeking contributions for both sections.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• International governance of the algorithmic distribution of news, including the formation and operation of the International Grand Committee;
• Measures to support media diversity in light of algorithmic distribution, including measures to support local, Indigenous, alternative, independent, ethnic, women’s and minority news media;
• Case studies of countries (for section two): how have particular countries approached regulatory problems in light of the algorithmic distribution of news?
• Subsidies and tax exemptions that respond to the algorithmic distribution of news;
• Discussions of regulations intended to ensure the objectivity and/or transparency of search and recommendation algorithms;
• Regulatory measures that respond to layoffs and closures of news outlets;
• Intersections between copyright law and news aggregation (such as the EU’s Article 11, the ‘Google News tax;’
• The relationship between news, platforms, and competition law;
• Regulation of targeted advertising in relation to news;
• Histories of early forays into online (or social) news distribution;
• Analyses of innovative forms of news distribution;
• Civic risks associated with algorithmic distribution (or online engagement);and
• Detailed analyses of relevant inquiries or reform proposals.

If you are interested in contributing to either section, please send a short chapter or case study proposal (of about 400 words) and a biography (150 words) by the 25th of October 2019 to james.meese@uts.edu.au and banners@mcmaster.ca. 

Journal of Information Technology and Politics

Deadline: September 16, 2019

This message announces a search for the Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Information Technology and Politics (JITP) for a 5-year term. JITP is the official journal of the Organized Section on Information Technology & Politics in the American Political Science Association. It is published by the Taylor & Francis Group.

The new Editor-in-Chief will serve a renewable five-year term, beginning with the production of Volume 17 of the journal. Candidates for the Editorship are expected to receive some support from their home institution for the editorial process. This ideally would include a partial release from teaching responsibilities plus graduate research assistant and administrative staff support.

Additional support, in the form of a yearly stipend, is provided by the publisher.

The members of the Search Committee are:

• Christine Williams (chair)
• Filippo Trevisan
• Leticia Bode

The Search Committee seeks nominations and applications for the Editorship. Both individual and team candidacies are equally eligible for consideration. Among other duties, the Editor or

Editors will be expected to:

• Sustain and build JITP’s current high stature as one of the preeminent publication outlets for scholarship within the important subfield of information technology and politics.
• Ensure that JITP be open to submissions from all areas within the subfield and to innovative work that may span traditional disciplinary boundaries.
• Be discerning, fair, and equitable in all aspects of the review process.
• Handle publication decisions in a manner that is reasonable, timely, and open but preserving confidentiality.
• Work with available resources to maintain journal operations and the editorial office.

Applications for the position of Editor-in-Chief of JITP should be sent to the Search Committee Chair, Dr. Christine Williams (cwilliams@bentley.edu). A complete application for the JITP

Editorship should consist of the following elements:

1. Application Letter: The candidate or team should provide a letter indicating willingness to be considered for the position of JITP and their willingness to serve as Editor if selected. This application letter should discuss professional and scholarly experiences that make each candidate uniquely suited and well-qualified for the position. It would be helpful to highlight and explain prior experience in an editorial capacity.

2. Vita: A complete CV should be provided by each candidate, including separate CVs for all members of any proposed editorial team.

3. Support Plan: Candidates should outline their plan to support JITP while it is housed at their institution(s). This outline should include a listing of the resources that will cover the various aspects of managing the Journal. It also should explain who will provide these resources.

4. Management Plan: The application should include a formal statement from the candidate or team, laying out plans for managing JITP. Candidates should feel free to discuss any issues they believe to be relevant to the intellectual content and/or management of the Journal.

An effective management plan may address questions such as the following:

• In what directions do you wish to take the Journal? For example, are there new or additional areas of interest within the subfield of information technology and politics you would like to develop, perhaps through new features? Are there new or additional editorial policies or a different specification of editorial positions, functions or roles you would like to propose?
• How will you manage reviewers and the review process to ensure quality and timeliness? Specifically, one of the biggest challenges of editing a journal is finding sufficient number of quality reviewers and ensuring timely reviews. How will you manage the process in such a way that will overcome these challenges?

• How do you foresee interacting with the journal’s internal and external constituencies including Associate Editors, Editorial Assistants, members of the Senior Editorial Board and the Full Editorial Board, the Organized Section on Information Technology & Politics in the American Political Science Association, and the publisher?

• What plans do you have to increase communication about and visibility of the journal and its publications?

• At the end of your tenure as Editor-in-Chief, what contributions would you like to have made?

• If you are proposing an Editorial team, what would be the division of labor and decisionmaking among the individuals comprising the team?

Please submit final proposals to the Search Committee as a single PDF or MS Word file by September 16, 2019. We intend to select the new Editor-in-Chief no later than October 15, 2019.

Applications should be made as soon as possible, so that ample time can be given to the selection process for this important position.