ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

LSE, UK

Deadline: April 16, 2019

(0.2 FTE role for 12 months, from 01 May 2019-30 April 2020)

Salary from £35,999 to £43,360 pa inclusive with potential to progress to £46,617 pa

inclusive of London allowance (pro-rata)

The Department of Media and Communications is a world-leading centre for education and research in communication and media studies at the heart of LSE’s academic community in central London. We are ranked #1 in the UK and #4 globally in our field (2019 QS World University Rankings).

The candidate will work with the LSE Principal Investigator, Dr Lee Edwards, on the collaborative research project ‘Improving Deliberation, Improving Copyright’,funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The aim of the project is to co-produce, with copyright stakeholders and members of the public, a set of guidelines for policy consultation processes that more effectively incorporate a wide range of stakeholder voices into debates about copyright. The project will close this knowledge gap by developing an in-depth understanding of stakeholders’ experiences of consultation and public engagement, of the opportunities and barriers they associate with this form of public engagement, and of their views about how the consultation process may be improved. Stakeholders and members of the public will use this understanding to collaboratively develop a set of guidelines for improving consultation processes, and to share these guidelines with policymakers at the end of the project. More information about the project can be obtained by emailing Dr Lee Edwards (l.edwards2@lse.ac.uk).

The post holder will conduct background academic and industry research; provide administrative support for the project, conduct interviews and contribute to workshops.

Applicants should have a completed (or near complete) PhD in Media and Communications or a relevant social science discipline and an ability to analyse and research complex ideas and theories, and apply appropriate methods and concepts to empirical data. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to communicate with internal colleagues, industry and government stakeholders and other external bodies are essential. The ideal candidate will have research interests in one or more of the following fields: copyright policy, media policy, media industries, deliberation and consultation processes. The ability to take responsibility for, and work independently on, specific project tasks and the ability to manage time, work to deadlines and prioritise multiple tasks whilst maintaining attention to detail is also essential.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email l.edwards2@lse.ac.uk.

The closing date for receipt of applications is 16th April 2019 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

We expect that interviews will take place in the last week of April 2019.

Apply here.

Commentary and Criticism

Deadline: May 31, 2019

Historically, female filmmakers’ work in television has functioned as a form of invisible labour, with television being seen as definitively distinct from cinema, the site of ‘real' and hard-won work. However, as we move towards the end of the twenty-first century’s second decade, television is regularly valued as the preeminent screen art format of our age, alongside a parallel reanimation of feminist issues and discourses in the spotlight, including gender equity in the screen industries. In this environment, the work that female practitioners from the independent sector undertake in and on television has taken on a wholly different status and potential.

As part of the special issue on Independent Women: From Film to Television, this edition of Commentary and Criticism interrogates this shift in women’s television work and how it is being understood and valued globally. We invite short essays which cast a transnational perspective on the migration of female practitioners from film to television, exploring how the industrial, textual and critical logic of independence moves across formats in different contexts.

We are particularly interested in submissions from practitioners’ perspectives.

The Commentary and Criticism section of Feminist Media Studies aims to publish brief (~1000 words), timely responses to current issues in feminist media culture, for an international readership. Submissions may pose a provocation, describe work in progress, or propose areas for future study. We will also consider book and event reviews, as well as contributions that depart from traditional academic formats. We encourage all submissions to strategically mobilise critique to also offer a productive contribution to both feminist politics and media studies. Submissions must go beyond mere description in order to be considered for publication in Commentary and Criticism.

Please submit contributions by 31 May 2019, via email to both Melanie Kennedy (mjk29@le.ac.uk) and Safiya Noble (safiya.noble@usc.edu). We also welcome questions and expressions of interest in advance of the deadline.

Submissions for Commentary and Criticism will not be correctly processed if submitted through via the Feminist Media Studies site, and should be emailed directly to Drs Kennedy and Noble using the email addresses above.

Please be sure to follow the Feminist Media Studies style and referencing guides, which can be found here.

Nordicom Review Special Issue (open access)

Deadline for submission of full abstracts: April 25, 2019

Special issue editors: Michał Krzyżanowski (Örebro University & University of Liverpool), Mattias Ekman (Örebro University), Christian Christensen (Stockholm University), Per-Erik Nilsson (Uppsala University), Mattias Gardell (Uppsala University)

Rationale/Abstract:

This Special Issue of Nordicom Review discusses interactive practices of articulating and communicating un-civility in the context of post- and anti-democratic change. It approaches un-civility through an array of mediated online and offline discursive and material practices whose common aim is to either undermine the values of liberal democracy or to outright forge anti-democratic ideologies and a post-democratic normative order. We explore uncivility as a continuum of evolving communicative practices that extend across the entire political spectrum. We therefore do not treat uncivility as strictly pre-defined modes of social and political behaviour that are specific for certain groups (e.g. extremists) or located strictly at the specific poles of the socio-political and ideological spectrum.

We see the exploration of phenomena related to the articulation and communication of uncivility as the crucial factor in understanding the current upsurge and trajectories of racism and right-wing populism in the Nordic Countries, Europe, USA and beyond. We particularly target the ongoing radicalisation of extreme and non-extreme modes of political action (e.g. via the growing number of radical groups) but also explore the normalisation of the politics of exclusion in and by the political mainstream along with its endorsement of nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or Euroscepticism. We view the above processes as interconnected through various interactions and communicative practices within and beyond the online/offline public spheres, as well as in the traditional political realm and in organisations satellite to politics.

Contributions to the Special Issue should address a variety of interactive and communicative practices of uncivility.We welcome contributions dealing with the analysis of uncivility in social/online and/or traditional media or other genres and channels of political communication. Contributions should necessarily draw on interdisciplinary approaches to concepts and models related to uncivility (including e.g. civility/incivility, civic norms, normativity, politics and morality, racism/exclusion and populism) against the background of systematic and empirical, nation-specific and comparative examples of analysing un-civility in specific mediated and wider communicative practices. The aim of the Special Issue is comparative—that is, it aims to look at the Nordic countries in a cross-national comparison. We therefore especially welcome contributions looking at practices and dynamics of uncivility in the Nordic region but will also consider papers looking at other national contexts in Europe and beyond.

It is expected that the Special Issue will be published online and in print in late summer 2020. The selection of papers to be published in this Special Issue will take place according to the following two-step procedure:

• Step 1: Authors are first requested to submit the title and abstract (600 words max incl. references) of their papers along with 5-6 keywords and short bios (150 words max. for each author) to the Special Issue Editors. The deadline for submission of full abstracts is 25 April 2019 and the authors will be notified of the eventual acceptance by mid-May 2019 at the latest.
• Step 2: If the abstracts are accepted, authors will be requested to submit full papers (7000 words max. inclusive of any front or end matter) anonymised for double-blind review and formatted according to the Nordicom Review guidelines. The deadline for submission of full anonymised papers is 30 September 2019 after which double-blind peer-review and other administrative matters will take place according to the timeline to be confirmed by the Special Issue Editors.

Please note that if the submitted papers are incompatible with the earlier/accepted abstracts or are of insufficient academic quality, the Special Issue Editors reserve the right to reject such papers in line with Nordicom Review’s editorial policy.

For any questions as well as abstract & paper submissions please contact:

• Michał Krzyżanowski, University of Liverpool, UK (michal.krzyzanowski@oru.se or michal.krzyzanowski@liverpool.ac.uk)
• Mattias Ekman, Örebro University, Sweden (mattias.ekman@oru.se)

About Nordicom Review

Nordicom Review is an international peer-reviewed open access journal published by Nordicom (Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research) at the University of Gothenburg. The publication of Nordicom Review is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordicom Review is indexed by SCOPUS.

View this CFP on Nordicom’s website: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/latest/news/call-papers-un-civility-racism-and-populism

Uppsala University

Deadline:  April 22, 2019

Apply here: http://uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/details/?positionId=260282Two&fbclid=IwAR0xX-HqaQTC6TEczah8xJXwUAabsCgXLrokxFRzcUcH-bzlEWeed3vtKWI

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our mission is to pursue top-quality research and education and to interact constructively with society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has 44.000 students, 7.100 employees and a turnover of SEK 7 billion.

The Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies (IRES) is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University and has an integrated multi-disciplinary long-term research program with an in-depth focus on recent developments in Russia, and in the post-Soviet sphere.

The Department of Informatics and Media (IM) has a broad research profile based on resarch in the disciplines Media- and Communication Studies, Human-Computer Interaction and Information Systems. In Media and Communicaiton Studies research is focused on social and cultural change connected to communication, media and digitalization.

The accepted candidates must have been admitted as doctoral students at the Department of Informatics and Media and to the PhD program in Media and Communication Studies. The holder of the position are to be employed at IRES. Both PhD students will have a supervisor at the Department of Informatics and Media as well as at IRES.

Duties/Project description: The position is a fully salaried PhD position (doktorandtjänst), equivalent to a maximum of four-year full-time PhD studies. The holder of the PhD position shall primarily devote her/himself to her/his own doctoral study (see themes below). Active participation in departmental activities as well as activities at IRES such as seminars, workshops, etc., is expected. Other tasks, including teaching and administrative work, can also be part of the employment (for a maximum of 20%). The language of teaching is English or Swedish.

Both posts focus on the role of media in societal processes in Russia and the post-Soviet sphere. The selected candidates are thus expected to work at the crossroads of two fields, media and communication studies and Russia or post-Soviet sphere studies. A comparative perspective is welcome (i.e comparisons within or between countries in the region, or over time), but not necessary.

One position is devoted to the role of media in social and cultural process of change in Russia or the post-Soviet sphere, including the impact of state powers on the media. This project will have the media users in focus and study the importance of media and communication technologies in the everyday life of people for interaction, relations, identity formation and self-image. Qualitative studies of the role of media in the construction of identities in relation to culture, religion, gender and/or sexuality are of interest.

The second position is devoted to studies of media, communication and the more general societal development in Russia or the post-Soviet space. This project is expected to study organised production and use of images/representation of the country that the political leadership wish to spread, internally and externally, and/or alternative images that are produced and distributed by other actors and that might have an impact on the societal development.

Requirements:

For admission to the PhD program in Media and Communication Studies, an applicant must have basic and specific eligibility prescribed by the Faculty of Social Sciences. Anyone with a degree on the advanced level (i.e. a master’s degree), that has completed course requirements of at least 240 credits (including at least 60 credits at advanced level) has fulfilled the basic entry requirements. The specific eligibility requirements for admission to the PhD program in Media and Communication require that the applicant has passed courses of 90 credits in Media and Communication Studies. Anyone that in any other way, in or out of the country, has acquired equivalent knowledge is also considered to fulfil the basic or specific eligibility requirements, respectively. Information about eligibility requirements and admission rules can be found on the web site of the University, Admissions Ordinance for Studies at the Graduate Level.

We are seeking candidates with a documented background in the Russian or post-Soviet society, and knowledge of media and communication. Candidates should have a good overview of social sciences and/or the humanities, and master the main methodologies used in these areas of research. Good knowledge of the Russian/Eurasian society is required. Language proficiency in Russian and/or in some other official language in the post-Soviet space is a requirement. Also the excellent command of written and spoken English is a requirement for this PhD position.

When the University employs new doctoral students the candidates will be chosen who after a qualitative evaluation of competence and skills are deemed to have the best capacity to fulfill work duties as well as contributing to a positive development of the research environment. Of vital importance is the capacity to finish the doctoral program

Qualifications must be documented so that quality as well as extent can be evaluated.

Candidates should be available for interview, either in person or via Internet

A complete application must include:

• Filled out form applying for admission to the doctoral program in Media and Communication Studies. http://uadm.uu.se/digitalAssets/81/81624_ansokan_forskarniva_eng.pdf
• A letter documenting 
• 1. The motives why you are applying, your research interest and relevant experiences for the PhD post (max 500 words) 
  2. A list over the documents handed in to support the application 
  3. If more than one academic work is handed in, you should name one of them to be prioritized by the admission committee.
• A dissertation plan (two pages). The plan should cover theoretical approach, aim, research questions, type of data, method and time plan.
• Curriculum Vitae / Résumé, including English proficiency with certified transcript(s) of your academic record/degree(s) to date, proving the basic and specific eligibility.
• Two letters of recommendation
• A copy of independently written work produced within the applicant’s course of studies (e.g. bachelor or master thesis; include a draft if not completed) or other relevant text(s)
• Other documents the applicant may wish to attach, e.g. English test results.

Incomplete applications will not be considered

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1.

Uppsala University strives to be an inclusive workplace that promotes equal opportunities and attracts qualified candidates who can contribute to the University’s excellence and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people of all backgrounds.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.

Starting date: 01-09-2019 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Director of IRES Claes Levinsson: claes.levinsson@ires.uu.se, Head of IM Jenny Eriksson Lundström: jenny.eriksson@im.uu.se, Göran Svensson, Head of Subject MCS: goran.svensson@im.uu.se, or Associate Professor Ann-Mari Sätre, Research Director at IRES: ann-mari.satre@ires.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 22 April 2019, UFV-PA 2019/441.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services. Applications must be submitted as described in this advertisement.

Placement: Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies

Type of employment: Full time , Temporary position longer than 6 months

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 2

Working hours: 100 %

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: Seko Universitetsklubben seko@uadm.uu.se

ST/TCO tco@fackorg.uu.se

Saco-rådet saco@uadm.uu.se

Number of reference: UFV-PA 2019/441

Last application date: 2019-04-22

September 9-12, 2019

Zurich, Switzerland

Deadline: April 12, 2019

Continuing the traditions of previous conferences in Barcelona (2014), Paris (2016), and Mainz (2017), and the legacies of predecessors Applications of Social Network Analysis (ASNA) and UK Social Network Analysis (UKSNA), the conference will bring together researchers and practitioners from the social sciences in the broad sense as well as statistics, computer science, data science, physics, economics, humanities, and other areas dealing with network science.

Keynotes

• David Lazer, Northeastern University
• Marijtje van Duijn, University of Groningen

In addition to contributed presentations and posters, the conference will host organized sessions and workshops on social network theory, social network applications, and methods for data collection, modeling, analysis, and visualization of social networks.

EUSN 2019 is endorsed by INSNA, the International Network for Social Network Analysis.

Consider attending the 3rd European Symposium on Societal Challenges in Computational Social Science (Euro CSS), also in Zurich, 2-4 September 2019, and the 2nd Conference of the Academy of Sociology (digital societies), 25-27 September 2019, in nearby Konstanz.

Presentations: (opens 1 March 2019, deadline 12 April 2019)

Presentations are allocated 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for discussion. Any topic relevant to social network analysis, including theory, methods, and empirical applications will be considered. Abstracts are limited to 500 words, not including the title, and should not contain references. You will be asked to indicate a preferred session and to designate a speaker. Contributors are restricted to one presentation but may be co-authors of multiple submissions.

Posters: (opens 1 June 2019, deadline 30 June 2019)

Posters are exhibited during a poster session and reception in the ETH main buildung on Wednesday, 11 September 2019. You will be asked to indicate whether you would like to participate in the associated poster slam competition.

More here: https://www.eusn2019.ethz.ch/?page_id=173

Internet Policy Review 

Deadline: August 25, 2019

Topic and Relevance

As more of our everyday lives become digital, from paying bills, reading news, to contacting companies and services, keeping in touch with your friends and family, and even voting - it has become crucial to include everyone in the online world. But the meaning of digital inclusion keeps on changing and with it also the set of skills that are necessary to be ‘digital’ (Jaeger et al., 2012). What type of skills do people need to ‘be digital’ today? Is access to the internet enough, or do people need to understand how the internet works as well? Which kind of training programmes should be developed? Should there be one type of skills and training programme or different ones who cater to people from different backgrounds and needs (ableism, age, education, gender, race, religion)? With the automation of many jobs, how can we foresee what skills will be needed for future work? These questions have been occupying the private sector and policy makers, and as more tasks become automated and digitalised, addressing them becomes ever more crucial.

Discussions of inequality in the use of digital media and systems have predominantly focused on issues measured by access to the internet and skills such as checking emails, finding information and downloading music (van Dijk and Hacker, 2003, van Dijk, 2005). These topics have been key issues for policymakers (Yates et al., 2014; 2015a; 2015b) and are central to the development of many governmental digital strategies in Europe, the UK, and the USA (Mawson, 2001). Recent academic work on issues of digital inclusion and inequalities has shifted the focused from quantitative indicators and looks at issues of digital skills in relation to the social support networks people receive (Helsper & Van Deursen, 2017). As such research shows, there is strong evidence that the quality of support people have access to is unequally distributed and replicate existing inequalities. Evidence shows that inequalities in access to and use of digital media have measurable impacts on the life chances, health and economic wellbeing of citizens. In other words, it is not only a matter of skills but also the context and communities people live in that influences people’s inclusion in the ‘digital’.

Scope

Since the introduction and widespread use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in different decision making processes relating to citizens’ life (health, justice, policing) and onto entertainment (e.g., Netflix and Spotify) and news, research on digital skills has shifted. This is because inequalities now involve more complex issues of how these technologies work and what they can influence and manipulate. In addition, as ‘fake news’ and misinformation have become common practices by various entities, new avenues in the types of digital literacies citizens need have been introduced. These include digital understanding of how the internet works (Doteveryone, 2018), how to engage with online news (e.g., fact checking), how digital advertising / adtech works (ICO, 2019) and how to use different tools to be able to control and manage the type of information shared with other parties. This shift has become central to some governmental digital strategies, such as those of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (2019) and their equivalents around the globe, in countries such as Brazil, India, and the USA, or the Norwegian Ombudsman (Forbrukerrådet, 2018). After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, governments have realised the power of technology giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, to shape and influence people’s behaviour. Consequently, many aim to regulate and force them to change how they are designed and the way they present information (from content to advertisements).

This special issue draws on over two decades of research, policy, and practice. Over this time digital inequalities, digital inclusion and digital literacies have changed in response to developments in digital technologies and media. Key themes have remained, such as: material and financial access to technological devices and services; skills and digital literacy; effective use by citizens and communities to participate in political and civic discussions and activities; the impact of socio-economic factors; motivation and attitudes; and, more recently socio-economic and socio-cultural variations in patterns of usage. Digital inequalities therefore have become an important part of broader persistent issues of social equity and justice.

Focus of the Paper

The primary aim of this special issue is to link up international policy efforts to address contemporary and future digital inequalities, access and skills with the outcomes of research from around the globe. The intention is on sharing best practice and research insights, while acknowledging that these problems are not the same in different parts of the world and so there are no universal solutions. We invite authors to submit papers that cover empirical research as well as policy and practice interventions, such as:

• Data analysis of levels of digital inclusion / exclusion and engagement
• Studies on the link between misinformation and data literacies
• Studies of the impacts of digital exclusion
• Policy interventions
• Case studies of initiatives and programmes
• Case studies of community impact

SPECIAL ISSUE EDITORS

Special issue editors

Dr Elinor Carmi (Elinor.Carmi@liverpool.ac.uk) - Postdoc Research Associate - Digital Media & Society, Department of Communication and Media, Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences, School of the Arts, Liverpool University, UK.

Professor Simeon Yates - Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research Environment and Postgraduate Research, Liverpool University, UK.

Important dates:

• Release of the call for papers: April 2019
• Deadline for full text submissions: 25 August 2019
• Comprehensive peer review feedback by: October 2019
• Deadline for submission of revised papers: November 2019
• Preparation for publication: April 2020
• Publication of the special issue: May 2020

 All details on text submissions can be found under http://policyreview.info/authors

References

DCMS (2019). Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/1791/1791.pdf

Doteveryone (2018). People, Power and Technology: The 2018 Digital Understanding Report. Available at: http://understanding.doteveryone.org.uk/

Forbrukerrådet. (2018). Deceived by Design: How tech companies use dark patterns to discourage us from exercising our rights to privacy. Available at: https://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-06-27-deceived-by-design-final.pd f

GoodThings Foundation (2018). The economic impact of Digital Inclusion in the UK. Available at: https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/sites/default/files/research-publications/the_economic_im pact_of_digital_inclusion_in_the_uk_final_submission_stc_0.pdf

Helsper, E.J. and Van Deursen, A.J. (2017). Do the rich get digitally richer? Quantity and quality of support for digital engagement. Information, Communication & Society, 20(5), pp.700-714.

ICO (2019). Internet users' experience of online advertising. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/internet-and-on-demand-research/internet-use-and-attitudes/internet-users-experience-online-advertising

Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., Thompson, K. M., Katz, S. M., & DeCoster, E. J., 2012. The intersection of public policy and public access: Digital divides, digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public libraries. Public Library Quarterly, 31(1), 1-20.

Mawson, J. (2001) ‘The end of social exclusion? On information technology policy as a key to social inclusion in large European cities’, Regional Studies Journal, 35(9), 861–877.

Van Dijk, J., & Hacker, K. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The information society, 19(4), 315-326.

Van Dijk, J. A. (2005). The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society. Sage Publications.

Yates, S., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2014). Supporting digital engagement: final report to Sheffield City Council. Supporting Digital Engagement: Final Report to Sheffield City Council.

Yates, S., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2015a). Digital media use: Differences and inequalities in relation to class and age. Sociological Research Online, 20(4), 12.

Yates, S. J., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2015b). ‘Digital-by-default’: reinforcing exclusion through technology. IN DEFENCE OF WELFARE 2, 158.

Journal of Public Deliberation

Deadline: July 31, 2019

Growing anti-immigration attitudes, rising nationalist tendencies, landslide victories of populist figures as well as the dissolution of national and supranational entities – these are just some of the multiple political and societal challenges western democracies are facing nowadays. These challenges have been said to affect the way citizens, the media and political actors communicate among and with each other. More specifically, concerns about the deliberative quality of these communications have been put forward. While this observation has so far been corroborated by a series of isolated studies, which produced not more than a few islands of analysis, an integrative and comprehensive perspective on the deliberative qualities of citizens’, journalists’, and politicians’ communication is yet missing.

The special issue Citizens, Media and Politics in Challenging Times: Perspectives on the Deliberative Quality of Communication thus addresses this gap in the literature by systematically bringing together different strands of research on the deliberative qualities of citizens’, journalists’, and politicians’ communication. The special issue thus aims at providing an integrative and comprehensive picture on modern political communication in times western democracies are facing a multitude of disruptive challenges. Theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions focusing on the deliberative qualities of citizens’, journalists’, and politicians’ communication are welcome. Topics and questions of interest include, but are not imited to:

(1) The deliberative quality of political debates: To which extent do political debates come close to the genuine benchmarks of deliberation? How deliberative is political communication transmitted via different channels (e.g., media types, media formats) as well as by different actors (e.g., journalists, politicians)? How is the deliberative quality of these debates perceived by the public?

(2) Determinants and consequences of citizens’ deliberation: Which role do arguments and scientific evidence play in promoting the quality of citizens’ deliberation? Does civic deliberation indeed result in “better” outcomes? To which extent is civic deliberation positively related to political participation?

(3) Uncivil online communication and deliberative interventions: To what degree does the deliberative quality of user comments reflect the deliberative quality of the news coverage? How does online deliberation via user comments develop over time? How do users interact when encountering dissonant viewpoints? To which extent are online civic interventions a panacea for disruptive and uncivil online behavior?

Submission Guidelines

Submissions need to speak to the deliberative democracy and democratic innovations literature.

When preparing your submission, please check the JPD website for guidelines on style and paper length: https://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/author_instructions.html

Please submit your manuscript to the following email address: si.jpd@mzes.uni-mannheim.de

Questions about the special issue shall be directed to the guest editors Christiane Grill and Anne Schäfer under the email address: si.jpd@mzes.uni-mannheim.de

The deadline for manuscripts to be considered for the special issue is July 31, 2019.

Manuscripts will be peer reviewed and a decision rendered until November 2019 with a target publication of the issue in 2020.

Editorial Information

Guest Editor: Christiane Grill

Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, University of Mannheim,

Email: si.jpd@mzes.uni-mannheim.de

Guest Editor: Anne Schäfer

Department of Political Science, University of Mannheim

Email: si.jpd@mzes.uni-mannheim.de

Joint Conference by the ‘Re-‘ Interdisciplinary Network (CRASSH) and the AI & Society Journal 

June 26-28, 2019

Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge

Deadline for abstracts (300 words): April 15, 2019

A concept that has been at the fore of discussions around the sociology  of scientific knowledge, the limits of AI, and most recently the design  of ‘collective intelligence’, is ‘tacit knowledge’. First coming to  prominence in the 1960’s, with Polanyi’s The Tacit Dimension (1966), it  is a concept that continues to be addressed by scholars and  practitioners from a wide range of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary  perspectives, and applied fields of practice. This conference explores  the place of the tacit in the 21st Century, where our lives are  increasingly augmented by AI algorithms. 

Engagement with and through social media networks and mobile apps are re-shaping the notion of community and family, and affecting wellbeing,  as well as the cultures of the workplace and institutions. The  exponential rise of big data flows in networked communications causes  vast gaps in translation, confusion about what is true and false, and  mistrust of ‘experts’. In the shadows of machine thinking we are unable  to engage with difference. 

This challenges us to come up with technological futures rooted in us as  persons, not as numbers, parts, sensory mechanisms, genes, and  individual bodies. 

What alternative models might allow humans to better engage with  technology?  How can we reconsider the relation between a person and a collective  intelligence?  How can we reconceive the self as interaction in a digital age? 

Ideas of performance and re-performance help us reposition seemingly singular subjects and objects as collective phenomena, and help reconnect art and science after their separation in the 19th Century; but the arts in general can play a key role in questioning and reframing our understandings by directing attention to the tacit assumptions, norms, and expectations embedded in all cultural processes. 

There is a supposed neutrality around technology, evidenced in the idea that human ‘intelligence’ can, in the absence of ‘person’, be artificially re-presented, re-constructed and re-produced through  computation (AI). The conference explores in what ways the interplay of  the arts and sciences is reconceiving augmentation, and questions what  an ‘intelligence’ that is ‘artificial’ might be. 

We invite contributions from across the disciplines and practices of the arts, performance arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences,  engineering, neuroscience, technology, and healthcare to engage in reflections on these and other issues around tacit engagement in the  digital age, in line with the four central themes of the conference: 

• Performance as a Paradigm of Knowledge 
• Self as Interaction in the Digital Age 
• Trust in the Shadows of Machine Thinking 
• Future Possibilities in intersections of Art, Science, Technology,  and Society. 

Abstracts (300 words + references) should be submitted in pdf format to Satinder Gill (spg12@cam.ac.uk) 

http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/28385

Utrech University

April 11-12, 2019

The Utrecht University Humanities Graduate Conference 2019, What’s the Point? Impact and the Future of the Humanities, will take place on Thursday 11th and Friday 12th April 2019. The conference will be held in the heart of the city centre of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Highlights include the Centre for Humanities Discussion on the Future of the Humanities, panels on impact in and outside of academia, (R)Ma and PhD panels on our conference theme, as well as talks and masterclasses by our keynotes, Eleonora Belfiore (University of Loughborough) and Simon During (University of Melbourne).

Registration is FREE and includes lunch on Friday but conference places are limited so sign up fast to avoid disappointment!

SIGN UP HERE: https://hgsc.sites.uu.nl/conference-registration/.

The conference is aimed primarily at (R)Ma students and PhD candidates, from Utrecht University and beyond, in all subdisciplines of the Humanities, but more senior researchers and other interested parties are also very welcome to attend. We would thus very much appreciate if you could forward this message to anyone else it may interest, including students you may teach.

For more information or to contact us, check out our website: https://hgsc.sites.uu.nl/%20or%20email%20us%20at%20whatsthepoint@uu.nl

University of Liverpool in London, Finsbury Square

June 18-19, 2019

London, UK

Deadline: March 31, 2019

As more of our everyday lives become digital, from paying bills, to contacting companies and services and keeping in touch with your friends and family - it has become crucial to include everyone in the online world. What type of skills do people need to ‘be digital’? Do different people from different ages and abilities need different types of skills and training? And how can we foresee what skills will be needed for future work? While these questions have been occupying the private sector and policy makers, as more tasks become automated and digitalised they become ever more crucial.

Evidence shows that inequalities in access to and use of digital media have measurable impacts on the life chances, health and economic wellbeing of citizens. The GoodThings Foundation published a report on September 2018 which identified that over 11 million UK citizens lack the basic digital skills they need to participate fully in our digital economy. As the Foundation predicts, by 2028 the UK will lose over £22 billion of value as a direct result of digital exclusion.

Since the introduction of machine learning and artificial intelligence research has shifted to understanding inequalities in complex skills and use. In addition, as ‘fake news’ and misinformation have become common practice by various entities it has introduced new avenues to include in digital literacies. This shift has become key to some governmental digital strategies, such as those of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and their equivalents around the globe. This conference will bring together academic research with policy makers and stakeholders to review the current state for the art in digital inclusion policy and practice.

The conference will draw upon over two decades of research, policy, and practice. Over this time digital inequalities, digital inclusion and digital literacies have changed in response to developments in digital technologies and media. Though key themes have remained, such as: material and financial access; skills and digital literacy; effective use by citizens and communities; the impact of socio-economic factors; motivation and attitudes; and, more recently socio-economic and socio-cultural variations in patterns of usage. Digital inequities therefore have become an important part of broader persistent issues of social equity and justice.

The primary aim of this conference is to link up international policy efforts to address digital inequalities, access and skills with the outcomes of recent research at from around the globe. The intention being to support sharing best practice and research insights.

The conference will be a mix of invited presentations from policy and research colleagues, along with open paper sessions. For the open sessions we seek presentations that cover empirical research as well as policy and practice interventions, such as:

• Data analysis of levels of digital inclusion/exclusion and engagement
  
• Studies on the link between misinformation and data literacies
  
• Studies of the impacts of digital exclusion
  
• Policy interventions
  
• Case studies of initiatives and programmes
  
• Case studies of community impact
  

Submission and Registration Guidelines

The conference is FREE of charge. To register go to the Eventbrite page:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/diprc2019-digital-inclusion-policy-and-research-conference-2019-tickets-55022589045.

If you wish to present a paper or case study please submit a 300 word abstract by 31st March 2019 to: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=diprc2019.

Acceptance notification will be sent by 25th April 2019.

Contact

The conference is organised by Professor Simeon Yates and Dr. Elinor Carmi, Department of Communication and Media, Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences, School of the Arts, Liverpool University, UK

For questions and other inquiries please email Dr. Elinor Carmi - Elinor.Carmi@liverpool.ac.uk.

We look forward to seeing you in June!

Venue

The conference will run from 18 June to 19 June at the London Campus of the University of Liverpool, University of Liverpool in London, 33 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AG: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/london/ – just off London’s “Silicon Roundabout” district: http://www.siliconroundabout.org.uk/ .

Do you have questions about DIPRC2019: Digital Inclusion Policy and Research Conference 2019? Contact School of the Arts - University of Liverpool