DG 2009 Workshops CFP: the 10th International Digital Government Research Conference

DG 2009 Workshops CFP

We invite proposals for pre-conference workshops or tutorials relevant to digital government research for the 10th International Digital Government Research Conference (dg.o 2009). The dg.o conferences, with major support from the US National Science Foundation, are an established forum for the presentation, discussion and demonstration of interdisciplinary digital government research, technology innovation and applications. The pre-conference sessions provide unique opportunities for researchers and government officials to interact intensely around a critical digital government domain. Each dg.o 2009 conference registration includes one full-day or two half-day tutorials or workshops.

Pre-conference Research or Management Workshops (maximum 2 pages)

Individuals proposing workshops will assume the responsibility of identifying and selecting participants for the workshop and for conducting workshop activities.

Pre-conference Tutorials (maximum 2 pages)

dg.o tutorials are half- or full-day presentations offering deeper insight into the scientific or government domains, research topics or methods, technologies or field experiences of veteran digital government researchers and practitioners. Conveners of successful tutorials will receive a $500 stipend.

The dg.o 2009 conference will be held May 17-20, 2009 in Puebla, Mexico. The conference theme “Social Networks: Making Connections between Citizens, Data and Government” focuses on Web 2.0 technology, the emerging Social Web, and social network systems that allow large scale distributed collaboration, information sharing and creation of collective intelligence in government areas. The Social Web that includes blogs, wikis, facebook, flickr, youtube, etc., is emerging and evolving through massive participation of users in creating, managing, and sharing multimedia data by linking people and forming virtual interactive communities. Governments are facing unprecedented transparency and openness as a result of electronic grassroots mobilizations using social network technology. This conference focuses, in particular, on the policy implications of open government, the innovative applications of Web 2.0, Social Web, as well as technologies throughout the domain. We also welcome submissions from the broader domain of digital government research not linked directly to the conference theme.

For more information about this conference please see the conference sites:
Home Page: http://www.dgo2009.org
General Inquiries: dgo2009@easychair.org
Social Network for dg.o 2009: http://dgo2009.crowdvine.com/
Submission web site: http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dgo2009

Important dates:
- December 21, 2008 - Submission deadline for all Tutorial or Workshop proposals
- February 1, 2009 - Acceptance notifications
- March 15, 2009 - All camera-ready versions are due.
- April 15, 2009 - Early Registration is due.
- May 17, 2009 - Conference begins.
- November 1, 2008 - Conference submission website becomes available. The submission site is located at: http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dgo2009

Workshop and Tutorial Chairs:
Jing Zhang (Clark U; jizhang@clarku.edu)
Andrea Kavanaugh (Virginia Tech; kavan@vt.edu)

Immersive Education Initiative Launches Asia Series of Events in Japan

Immersive Education Initiative Launches Asia Series of Events in Japan
http://mediagrid.org/news/2008-11_Immersive_Education_Asia.html

JAPAN - November 14, 2008 -  The Immersive Education Initiative [http://ImmersiveEducation.org] today announced that it will launch its series of Immersive Education: ASIA events in Japan this month. Immersive Education Japan (iED Japan) begins with “Immersive Education Days at University of Aizu”, which features two days of Immersive Education presentations, lectures, workshops and related events presented by faculty, teachers and researchers from around the world who are participating in the event in person and remotely using virtual worlds technology. During the event, which spans November 18th through the 20th, Immersive Education Initiative members from Boston College, University of Aizu, National University of Singapore, Keio University, Smithsonian Institution, Montana State University, Southeast Kansas Education Service Center at Greenbush, University of Essex and Sun Microsystems will give a series of presentations and demonstrations to provide attendees with an in-depth overview of Immersive Education, the Education Grid [http://TheEducationGrid.org] and related technologies.

“We welcome the Immersive Education Initiative to Japan and the University of Aizu. In our explorations of distance learning and groupware we are compellingly drawn to Immersive Education technologies for our research on stereography, stereotelephony, mixed/virtual environments, SIP-based narrowcasting, mobile telephony, and panoramic imaging. The core technologies that power Immersive Education are quite impressive and modern, well-conceived and well-developed, and we anticipate learning about current best-practices in Immersive Education in addition to having a solid platform from which to launch our own research projects,” said Dr. Michael Cohen, Professor and Director, Spatial Media Group, University of Aizu, Japan.

During the event Japan’s first “node” (virtual world and collaboration server) on the Education Grid will be announced. Hosted by the University of Aizu and sponsored by Sun Microsystems, Japan’s Education Grid node will enable cultural and technological exchange with educators and students around the world through virtual learning worlds and collaboration environments. Related Immersive Education Initiative announcements and activities scheduled for iED Japan include: the launch of three new Project Wonderland Community Groups (CGs); progress report by the Open File Formats Technology Group (OFF.TWG); formation of the Library Technology Working Group (LIB.TWG); formation of the Psychology of Immersive Environments Technology Working Group (PSY.TWG); formation of the Assessment, Evaluation and Grading Technology Working Group (AEG.TWG); preview of Second Life, realXtend, and OpenSim nodes on the Education Grid; and the official launch of the Initiative’s “Own the Node” program [http://ImmersiveEducation.org/own]  that provides educators with steep discounts on a range of servers and workstations certified for use with Immersive Education technologies. [see schedule below]

“As a fully-compliant and accepted technology provider to the Education Grid and Immersive Education Initiative, Sun is committed to bringing the power of immersive 3-D learning to scholarly institutions worldwide with our Project Wonderland open source technology for virtual worlds powered by SunFire servers certified for the Immersive Education ‘Own the Node’ program”, noted Kevin Roebuck, Community Manager, Immersive Technologies, Global Education and Research Group, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Outcomes of iED Japan will be presented at the 11th International Conference on Humans and Computers in Nagaoka, Japan, on November 20th.

A related series of Immersive Education: South America events launched in August, with Immersive Education: Europe scheduled for 2009. Universities, colleges, and research institutes interested in participating in these or other Immersive Education events are encouraged to contact the Immersive Education Initiative for details….

SEE http://mediagrid.org/news/2008-11_Immersive_Education_Asia.html FOR LINKS, SCHEDULE, AND FULL DETAILS

SLACTIONS 2009 - Research conference in Second Life

SLACTIONS 2009

Research conference in the Second Life® world

Life, Imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

Scope and call for papers

The metaverse is emerging, through the increasing use of virtual world technologies that act as platforms for end-users to create, develop, and interact, expanding the realm of human cooperation, interaction, and creativity. The conference focus is scientific research on applications and developments of these metaverse platforms: Second Life, OpenSim, Open Croquet, Activeworlds, Open Source Metaverse, Project Wonderland, and others, providing a forum for the research community to present and discuss innovative approaches, techniques, processes, and research results.

Whereas metaverse platforms are no longer a novel topic, they still pose challenges for the adaption of conventional instructional and business practices, research methodologies, and communication practices. We are looking forward to presenting a program of research results, case studies, panel discussions, and demonstrations that scholars, educators, and businesses can port to their own environments and apply in their research, teaching, and business strategy. We will accept papers from the full spectrum of intellectual disciplines and technological endeavors in which metaverse platforms are currently being used: from Education to Business, Sociology to Social Sciences, Media Production to Technology Development, Architecture and Urban Planning to the Arts.

Topics covered may include but are not limited to:

Accessibility in metaverse platforms
Advanced scientific visualization in metaverse platforms
Automatic content generation
Behavioral studies in the metaverse
Combination of metaverse platforms with external systems (e-learning, e-business, etc.)
Communicational paradigms in the metaverse
Content management
Creativity, design, and arts on the metaverse
E-business and e-commerce applications
Educational research, applications, and case studies
Embodiment in metaverses and Gender Studies
GIS/metaverse mash-ups
Integration between metaverse platforms
Nonprofit activities and fundraising
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
Social Sciences studies in or through metaverse platforms
Space representation, use, and management in metaverses
Using metaverse platforms for cooperation

Conference format
SLACTIONS 09 is the first international conference held simultaneously in several countries on the topic of metaverse platforms. SLACTIONS 09 aims at covering most areas currently enabled by metaverse platforms, from educational research to content production, from gender studies to media distribution, and from metaverse-based branding, advertising, and fundraising to emerging mash-ups and technology applications. SLACTIONS 09 is unique in its format too, as a one-of-a kind event conducted both in a metaverse platform (Second Life) and on-site in multiple countries throughout the world. SLACTIONS will thus contribute to the current redefinition of the way we think about hybrid online and on-site scholarly collaborations.
All paper presentations and talks will be performed via avatars, either using text-based or voice-based communications.

Submissions

Authors are invited to submit, at
http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=slactions2009:

Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop 2008 - 28th and 29th November 2008

Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop 2008

28th and 29th November 2008

http://avww.org/

A growing number of innovative and enthusiastic researchers, educators and practitioners around the globe are exploring the potential of 3D virtual worlds.  Platforms such as Second Life and Vast Park are emerging as the tools of the future for business and education. The Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop (AVWW-08) is an opportunity for these researchers, educators and practitioners to exchange their ideas, knowledge and visions for the future.

The workshop will be hosted by Swinburne University of Technology with opening speaker Gerry White (Principal Research Fellow ACER, and Former CEO of Ecuation.au), guest speakers including Larry Johnson (CEO of New Media Consortium), Bruce Joy (CEO of Vast Park), Chris Collins (Director of Enterprise Business Systems of Linden Lab) and Keren Flavell (Executive  Producer, SLCN). The event builds on the successful
“Discover Your Second Life” workshop hosted at Monash last December with panels chaired by Australian Film TV and Radio School (AFTRS) and IBM and guest speakers from leading Australian universities and TAFE
colleges. “Discover Your Second Life” was a mixed reality event with people attending in both the real and virtual environments, AVWW continues this theme.

The aim of the workshop is to build local capacity in virtual world expertise that connects with global practice and research. It brings virtual world researchers, educators and industry partners together with invited experts to share knowledge and experience and to foster relationships for the future. Ideas and relationships will be developed through our series of theme-based discussion panels.

The event is a two day workshop for researchers, educators and practitioners. It was advertised from June to August 2008 in a variety of international forums along with a call for abstracts and presentation proposals. Authors who submitted in response to this call have been organised into seven theme based discussion panels. These panels operate by participant authors presenting ideas and discussing them while interacting with an audience of invited industry and academic attendees. Over the two days these attendees may also opt to attend demonstration and poster sessions which adjoin, and run concurrently with, the panel sessions. An outcome of the panel discussions will be recommendations of selected authors to be invited to develop full papers for publication in the proceedings of the workshop.

Presenters have submitted abstracts, presentations and panel proposals.  Discussion panels consist of 4 presenters participating with an audience to present and debate ideas and answer questions (similar to the ABC’s Question and Answer program). Participants who wish to publish their ideas will have the opportunity to submit papers to a special issue of a journal after the workshop.

Date, Time & Cost
Date:    Friday 28th and Saturday 29th November 2008
Time:    8.00am (Registration) – 5pm
Venue:     In Second Life and at Swinburne University of Technology
Cost:    AUD50 for participants and AUD20 for students.

There will be a variety of methods of accessing the presentations and activities both In-World (IW) and Real-world (RW).  A conservative estimate of attendees at each location is:
•    Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn Campus (RW) -  100 – 120
•    IBM Island (IW) – 40
•    Jokaydia (IW) - 30
•    Monash Island (IW) – 30
•    Koala Island –  Swinburne Uni (IW) – 30
•    Gordot Island (IW) – 30
•    Terra Incognita (IW) – 30

The primary organisers of the event are:
•    Chair - Suku Sinnappan (Swinburne University of Technology)
•    Publicity and Media - Greg Wadley (Melbourne University), Kim Flintoff (Edith Cowan University), Lloyd England (Monash University)
•    Sponsorship - Suku Sinnappan (Swinburne University of Technology), Matthew Mitchell (Swinburne University of Technology)
•    Call for Papers - Chris Yeoh (IBM Canberra), Kelly Yeoh (IBM Canberra), Melissa De Zwart (Monash University)
•    Venue and Organisation of Workshop - Doc Wallace (Swinburne University of Technology) and Mandy Salomon (Swinburne University of Technology)

Call for Papers /// H2PTM’09 - Hypertext & Hypermedia Products, Tools and Methods

Call for Papers

/// H2PTM’09 - Hypertext & Hypermedia Products, Tools and Methods
/// Retrospective and Perspective 1989 - 2009

September 30, October 1 & 2 2009 / Université Paris 8

http://paragraphe.univ-paris8.fr/h2ptm09/

Laboratoire PARAGRAPHE, Université de Paris VIII
Laboratoire des Sciences de la Communication, Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut Cambrésis
Laboratoire Culture et Communication, Université d’Avignon
Laboratoire CREM (Centre de Recherche sur les Médiations, Pôle « Pixel »), Université Paul Verlaine-Metz

Co-organize the 10th annual edition of the H2PTM: Hypertext,
Hypermedia conference.

/// PRESENTATION

The H2PTM conference celebrates its 20 years and 9 previous editions. The first in 1988 at Paris 8 University and the 9th in 2007 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The 10th edition will bring it back to its roots at Paris 8. The upcoming conference will address advancements and research in the field of hypertext and hypermedia over the last 20 years and discuss perspectives for the years to come. H2PTM’09 will take up some of the classical topics that have accompanied the conference in the past and continue to stimulate our interest. Attentive to current developments the conference will, however, open up in several directions. Hypermedia tools are after all primarily tools of creation and it is along this line that new applications and creative practices define the digital universe. The conference will therefore pay special attention to matters of design for hypermedia, both amateur and professional.
Designing, building, understanding and criticizing web applications built around popular notions such as RSS, syndication and aggregation, mashups, geolocalisation, the semantic Web and blogging will be a particular focus, as well as considerations of use and social impact. The continuous evolution of 3D online, animation and interactivity make it necessary to reflect on video games as networked hypermedia.
The question of sharing and exchange lurks at the heart of networked practices. H2PTM’09 will therefore discuss the question of (multimedia) content online, how it is being created, distributed, stored and organized. This obviously includes the question of collaborative production of content, both for professional workgroups and loosely organized audiences on the Web.
The 10th edition will also give occasion to evaluate the evolution of both the theory and practice of hypertext and hypermedia and their implications for the development of emergent tools and uses (e-learning, accessibility, social networks, non-linear video, etc.). In an effort to bridge the rift between the “two cultures” and to foster interdisciplinary exchange H2PTM addresses creators and researchers from technical fields as well as scholars from the social sciences and the humanities.

/// ORGANIZATION

H2PTM’09 will include two types of sessions :
- The scientific conference
- An interactive exhibition and workshop demonstrations for artistic works, applications and experimental systems

The conference will allow researchers, professionals and publishers to evaluate the state of the art in hypertext and hypermedia theory and practice as well as to discuss future perspectives. The conference proceedings will be published with Hermès Lavoisier publishing, Paris and London.

/// CONFERENCE

Official languages are English and French.

We call for contributions in the following topic areas (list is non-exhaustive):

Theoretical perspectives
- Formal hypertext models
- Hypermedia system architecture
- Indexation
- Interfaces
- Immersive systems
- Image processing
- Uses, appropriation, and subversive practices
- Automatic cartographies
- Automatic generation of hypertext links
- Navigation and search for hypertext
- Online collaboration (content creation,design, tools, critique)

Quality, satisfaction and information richness
- Usability and ergonomics for hypermedia
- Design experiences
- Project management and development methods
- Quality and satisfaction on the Web
- Semantic web applications
- Norms and Standards

New forms of creation, new languages
- Cognitive processes and hypermedia
- Authoring environments
- Interactive screenwriting
- Resources and forms of collaborative writing and creation, collective representation
- Analysis of creative processes
- Formalization of creative processes
- Creative protocols, acts and gestures
- Intentionality and interactive communication
- Artificial intelligence, hypermedia and artistic creativity

Advanced uses of hypermedia
- ICT and e-learning
- Online videogames as hypermedia
- Mobile applications (games, geographic information systems, mobile Web)
- Web design
- Hypermedia and handicap
- Technologies, hypermedia and cultural heritage
- Social and cultural expectations, effects and conflicts
- Hypermedia and artistic practices
- 3D online
- Information search and retrieval
- Social networks and communities

IMPORTANT DATES

March 15 2009: full paper deadline
May 15 2009: notification of acceptance
June 20 2009: camera-ready papers
July 31 2009: at least one of the authors has to be registered for the conference

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

March 15 2009:
Authors submit their papers online at the following URL: http://paragraphe.univ-paris8.fr/h2ptm09

Three types of papers will be taken into consideration:
− Long papers: no longer than 4100 words, the complete paper should not exceed 10 pages in Times 12 points
− Short papers: no longer than 1600 words, the complete paper should not exceed 4 pages in Times 12 points
− Poster proposals: no longer than 540 words, the complete text should not exceed 2 pages in Times 12 points

Every proposition will be examined by at least two peer reviewers who will judge its relevance, scientific validity, originality as well as the general clarity and presentation.

May 15 2009:
A notification of acceptance or refusal is sent to all authors, as well as at least two sets of peer comments. Accepted authors will be informed of all technical details for publication. These technical specifications need to be followed as closely as possible in order to facilitate the preparation for the conference proceedings. A paper being accepted implies that at least one of the authors should be present for the conference.

June 20 2009:
Camera-ready papers must be sent to the program comity, using the final publication guidelines and style sheets. This date is quite important, really, to get the proceedings published in time for the conference.

July 31 2009:
Articles that do not have at least a single author registered for the conference will be removed from the conference as well as the proceedings.

/// EXHIBITION AND WORKSHOPS

Contributions for the exhibition and the workshops can be presented either as public demonstrations with comment or as exhibits. Accepted languages are English and French.

IMPORTANT DATES
June 8 2009: Deadline for exhibition and workshop proposals
July 8 2009: Notification of acceptance
Sept. 1 2009: The final exhibits or demonstrations should be submitted

/// PRESIDENTS OF H2PTM’09
Imad SALEH, Université de Paris 8
Sylvie LELEU-MERVIEL, Université de Valenciennes
Yves JEANNERET, Université d’Avignon
Luc MASSOU, Université Paul Verlaine-Metz

/// PROGAMME AND ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE
Nasreddine BOUHAI Université Paris 8
Pierre MORELLI, Université Paul Verlaine-Metz
Michel LABOUR, Université de Valenciennes
Bernhard RIEDER, Université Paris 8

/// CORDINATION EXHIBITION AND WORKSHOPS
Martine BOUR, Université Paris 8 (France)

/// SCIENTIFIC COMITTEE H2PTM’09
Ghislaine AZEMARD, Université Paris 8 (France)
Jean-Pierre BALPE, Université Paris 8 (France)
Claude BALTZ, Université Paris 8 (France)
Belhassen BADDREDINE Université 7 Novembre, Islain (Tunisia)
Didier BALTAZART, CREM & Université Reims Champagne-Ardenne (France)
Ali BEN CHERIF, Université Paris 8 (France)
Mark BERNSTEIN, Eastgate Systems Inc (USA)
Serge BOUCHARDON, Université de Compiègne (France)
Philippe BOOTZ, Université Paris 8 (France)
Hafida BOULEKBACHE, Université de Valenciennes
Eric BRANGIER, Université Paul Verlaine - Metz (France)
Eric BRUILLARD, IUFM-CRETEIL (France)
Jean CLEMENT, Université Paris 8 (France)
Tristan CAZENAVE, Université Paris Dauphine (France)
François DENIEUL, Laboratoire “Espaces Intelligents” (France)
Giovanni DE PAOLI, Université de Montréal (Canada)
Jacques DUCLOY, INIST (France)
Aude DUFRESNE, Université de Montréal (Canada)
Christian JACQUEMIN, CNRS-LIMSI Orsay (France)
Catherine KELLNER, Université Paul Verlaine-Metz (France)
Christophe KOLSKI, Université de Valenciennes (France)
Jean-Marc LABAT, Université Paris 6 (France)
Pierre LEVY, Université d’Ottowa (Canada)
Abderrazek MKADMI, Université de la Manouba (Tunisia)
Jocelyne NANARD, Université de Montpellier - LIRMM (France)
Marc NANARD, Université de Montpellier - LIRMM (France)
Stéphane NATKIN, CNAM (France)
Sophie PENE, Université Paris Descartes (France)
Vincent QUINT, INRIA Rhône-Alpes (France)
Pierre RABARDEL, Université Paris 8 (France)
Jean-Hugues RÉTY, Université de Paris 8
Everardo REYES, Université de Monterrey (Mexico)
Estrella ROJAS, Université d’ARTOIS (France)
Ioan ROXAN, Université Franche-Comté (France)
Brigitte SIMONNOT, Université Paul Verlaine-Metz (France)
Emmanuel SANDER, Université Paris 8 (France)
Mohammed SIDIR, Université d’Amiens
Basel SOLAIMAN, ENST- Bretagne (France)
Chantal SOULLE-DUPY, Université Toulouse 1 (France)
André TRICOT, CNRS, EPHE & Université de Toulouse-le-Mirail
Saïd TAZI, LAAS-CNRS (France)
Brigitte TROUSSE, INRIA (France)
Philippe USEILLE, Université de Valenciennes
Genviève VIDAL, Université Paris 13 (France)
Gilles VENTURINI, Ecole Polytechnique de l’Université de Tours (France)
Roberto WILLRICH, Université Fédérale de Santa Catarina (Bresil)
Khaldoun ZREIK, Université Paris 8 (France)

///LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Hakim HACHOUR, Université Paris 8 (France)
Rachel KAMGA, Université Paris 8 (France)

/// CONTACT
Université Paris 8 / Laboratoire PARAGRAPHE
Département Hypermédia / H2PTM’09
2 rue de la liberté
93526 SAINT-DENIS CEDEX
Tél. : (33) + (0)1 49 40 67 58 ou (33) + (0)1 49 40 64 25
Fax : (33) + (0)1 49 40 67 83
H2ptm09@univ-paris8.fr

Call for Papers for the 7th Chinese Internet Research Conference

Call for Papers for the 7th Chinese Internet Research Conference

The Chinese Internet and Civil Society: Civic Engagement, Deliberation
and Culture

Annenberg  School for Communication, University  of Pennsylvania Sylvie,

Wednesday May 27 and Thursday  May 28, 2009

By the end of June 2008, China had reached 253 million Internet users,
surpassing the United   States and becoming the country with the largest
number of netizens. The theme of the 7th Chinese Internet Research
Conference, “The Chinese Internet and Civil Society: Civic
Engagement, Deliberation and Culture,” is designed to bring together
scholars and professionals to examine the Chinese Internet from
socioeconomic, political and cultural perspectives and explore uncharted
areas in innovative ways. While much of the research so far has focused
on the political implications of the Internet in China, we have yet to
understand the changes the Internet is fostering in civil society, the
intersection between the market and the state, and the Internet’s
cultural implications for identity formation, emergent cultural
phenomena and social networking.  Topics of the conference include but
are not limited to the following:

1.      Civil society and its obstacles: What is the role of the
internet in the emergent civil society of China? Is there an online
public sphere and what does it look like? How does the internet shape
the interplay between the private, public and state sectors? What are
some of the negative aspects of Chinese online social networking, e.g.
what role does the internet play in enabling terrorism, extreme
nationalism, or violence in China?

2.      The Internet and youth: How do young people use the Internet and
are there generational differences in Internet use? What
cultures/subcultures emerge over the Internet? How are civic cultures
formed through online cultural practices such as peer production,
gaming, and social networking in spaces such as Facebook, YouTube, and
Myspace? What new cultures emerge in virtual worlds such as Secondlife
and Hipihi, the blogosphere and other online spaces?

3.      The Internet, national crisis and media events: What is the role
of the Internet in managing national crisis, for example, by organizing,
coordinating and advancing volunteerism, donations and social support in
cases such as the Sichuan Earthquake? What is the role of the Internet
in managing the national image and advancing cultural understanding?
What is the role of the Internet in media events such as the Beijing
Olympics?

4.      Entertainment, deliberation/opinion-formation and popular
culture: How have the boundaries between news and entertainment changed
and what effect does it have on deliberation and opinion formation? What
is the role of entertainment in Internet use? To what extent are people
addressed as consumers rather than citizens online? How are concepts
such as “fun” and “play” applied in Internet use?

5.      Chinese minorities, China Proper, Greater China or “Cultural
China”: How do Chinese minorities use the Internet? How are they
represented over the Internet? How is the Internet used in other
Chinese-language speaking areas, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and
Singapore? How do Chinese diasporas use the Internet? Is global
Chineseness, if it exists, fostered through the Internet?

6.      Research methodology: What are the appropriate methodologies to
study the Chinese Internet and civil society in particular? What
comparative models can explore the overlap and differences between the
Chinese Internet and the global Internet?

The conference is organized and hosted by the Annenberg  School for
Communication, University  of Pennsylvania. It is the first time that
the conference will be held on the East Coast of the United   States,
which provides new opportunities to link scholars from China and the
rest of the world.

Paper Submission:

We welcome proposals of quantitative, qualitative and critical studies
from all disciplines. English proposal are preferred, but Chinese
proposals will also be carefully considered. Invited papers will build
upon the conference theme or address other significant issues regarding
Internet development, use, and impacts in China and the Chinese-speaking
world.

A proposal of approximately 1000 words is due by Jan. 15, 2009.
Submissions should be sent to Dr. Hongmei Li and Sylvie Beauvais at
penncirc2009@asc.upenn.edu.  Accepted papers will be announced on
February 15, 2009. Completed papers should be submitted by April 24,
2009.

Competitive scholarship:

A limited amount of travel funding will be available for promising young
scholars, especially for those travelling from Asia. To indicate
interest in the travel scholarship, please attach your CV when you send
your abstract.

Paper Award:

Following a tradition of this conference, graduate students may submit
papers for the Annual Best Graduate Student Paper Award. Cash prizes
will be given to the winner or winners. To qualify, submissions need to
be full conference papers written in English authored by or coauthored
among graduate students. Deadline for submission is April 24, 2009.

Conference cooperating institutions include:

The Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong,
the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of
Hong Kong, the Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake University Law
School, the Institute for Pacific Asia at Texas A & M University, the
Singapore Internet Research Center (SIRC) at Nanyang Technological
University, the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking
University, and the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua
University. Paste conferences were held at the University of Hong  Kong,
Texas A   & M University, Nanyang Technological University, Michigan
State University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the
Annenberg  School for Communication at the University  of Southern
California.

Lodging

Participants are responsible for paying for their hotel. You are
encouraged to reserve a room at the Club Quarters of Philadelphia:
www.clubquarters.com, 1628   Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA  19103, (215)
282-5000.

When making a reservation, please specify that you are reserving as a
guest of the University  of Pennsylvania.

Other hotels include the Sheraton University City
(http://www.philadelphiasheraton.com/) and the Inn at Penn
(http://www.theinnatpenn.com/) .

Registration

There is no fee to register for the conference. The conference is open
to the public. If you would like to attend the conference, please
register by emailing your name, institutional affiliation and title, and
email address.

Visa Support Letters

The organizers will provide visa support letters upon request. Please
email your request to PennCirc2009@asc.upenn.edu in an email entitled
“VISA SUPPORT” specifying your name as it appears in your
passport, your dates of travel, the address of the embassy to which you
will be submitting a visa request, and any other information you would
like us to include in the letter. We will email you a PDF of the support
letter.

Travel

The Annenberg  School, which is part of the University  of Pennsylvania,
is located at 3620   Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  19104,
USA. The Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is a 20 minute taxi
ride from either the university campus or downtown Philadelphia. Public
rail transportation is also available from the airport.  You can also
fly to Newark International Airport (EWR) and take a one-hour train to
Philadelphia.

Annenberg School for Communication

Founded in 1959 through the generosity and vision of diplomat and
philanthropist Walter Annenberg, the Annenberg  School for Communication
at the University  of Pennsylvania is devoted to furthering our
understanding of the role of communication in public life through
research, education and service.  Annenberg offers students a firm
grounding in a wide range of approaches to the study of communication
and its methods, drawn from both the humanities and the social sciences.
It is an intellectual crossroads built on nearly 50 years of
interdisciplinary dialogue. Annenberg’s doctoral program prepares
students to make professional contributions to communication
scholarship, research, and policy.

Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for
Communication

The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) is a leader in
international education, research, and training in comparative media law
and policy. It affords students, academics, lawyers, regulators, civil
society representatives and others working in the media sector the
opportunity to evaluate critically and discuss comparative, global and
international communications issues. CGCS draws on various disciplines
(law, political science, and international relations among others) to
explore public policy issues and the way media and globalization
intersect with the changing nature of states.

CFP: “Images of Virtuality: Conceptualizations and Applications in Everyday Life”

____________________________________________________________________________
“Images of Virtuality: Conceptualizations and Applications in Everyday Life”
An IFIP WG9.5 “Virtuality and Society” International Workshop
April 24, 2009
Athens, Greece
_____________________________________________________________________________

Following on last year’s International Working Conference of IFIP 9.5 Working Group on Virtuality and Society: “Massive Virtual Communities” at Leuphana University, Luneburg, this workshop will focus on conceptualizations and applications of virtuality in everyday life, including socialization, governance, education, entrepreneurship and entertainment.

The main objective of this workshop is to encourage the continuation and enrichment of the discussion on virtuality and society, by focusing more on the technologies, arts, and practices of virtuality as they emerge in spaces and contexts of everyday life. The workshop constitutes an opportunity to bring together theoretical conceptualizations and practical applications of Images of Virtuality manifest in human interaction with information, social, professional and technological systems, art, culture, and nature.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Issues to explore, include among others the following: Where and how can we experience Images of Virtuality in our everyday life? Who do such such Images implicate social interaction, information technologies, architectural artifacts, artworks, imagination, or combinations of such elements? What is the meaning of such Images for our everyday life? How does the experience of such Images transform our everyday practices and shape our own individual of collective Image?

Current applications of virtuality make use of various technologies such as WEB2.0 & 3.0, ubiquitous computing with RFID, GIS and GPS, mobile networks, intelligent agents and context-aware systems, to construct a Cyberspace of Virtual Worlds and social networks. Trends in virtuality point towards an integration of such elements at the point where the virtual and non-virtual unite into a new digital space augmenting everyday life interactions. The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in presenting and discussing conceptualizations of virtuality and current applications of Information Systems that underly virtual spaces of interaction.

Relevant topics and themes include, but are not limited to:

* Discussing problems of design, construction, adoption, and use of Information Systems in the context of virtuality
* Exploring new (e-,or v-) research methodologies and techniques on inquiring into social action in the context of virtuality
* Identifying challenging social, ethical, and political issues of socialization in virtuality
* Discussing the role of digital representation in multi-actor remote collaboration contexts, both professional and social
* Identifying opportunities and challenges for education, governance, and entrepreneurship in virtual worlds
* Discussing emerging issues of e-policy and e-quality of life specifically implicated by the Virtual

REVIEWING PROCESS AND WORKSHOP TIMEFRAME

Full and short (in-progress) research papers are solicited for this event. Both types of contributions will be submitted to a double blind-folded peer review process. Details on review schedule are provided later in this Call.Instructions to authors can be found here: http://www.imagesofvirtuality.org/submit.html

The workshop will be a full day event and will be open to a maximum of 50-60 participants. It will comprise presentations of full research papers (15-20 mins) followed by a 10 min discussion coordinated by a discussant allocated to each paper presentation.

On April 23rd, a pre-workshop day is scheduled with two special sessions: First, a morning session with presentations of in-progress research work in a looser format compared to typical conference-like paper presentations. Second, an afternoon doctoral research meeting, offering PhD students the opportunity to present and discuss their work in an informal, ‘loose’ format (posters, case studies and demos are strongly encouraged). Both of these two sessions are subject to an adequate participation. In case of limited offers to contribute to these pre-workshop events, the two sessions will merge in one half-day session.

PROCEEDINGS

Both full and in-progress research contributions will be included in a CD-ROM published with an ISBN. Workshop contributions will also be considered for publication in a Special Issue of a related International Journal.

IMPORTANT DATES

* Paper submissions due: January 31, 2009
* Notification to authors: February 28, 2009
* Final papers submissions due: March 27, 2009
* Workshop: April 24, 2009

ORGANIZAERS

* Angeliki Poulymenakou (IFIP WG 9.5 founding member, Associate Professor in Information Systems, and leader of ISTLab/OIS research group, Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of Economics and Business, akp@aueb.gr)
* Anthony Papargyris (IFIP WG 9.5 founding member, Doctoral researcher in Information Systems, and ISTLab/OIS research associate, Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of Economics and Business, apaparg@aueb.gr)

For more information check the workshop’s web site: http://www.ImagesOfVirtuality.org

Call for Papers: AoIR 10.0 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Dear all,

I’m very glad to announce that the Call for Papers for IR 10.0
conference, Internet: Critical has been announced! The conference web
site is up at http://ir10.aoir.org/

best wishes,
Susanna

Call for Papers

Internet Research 10.0
Internet: Critical

The 10th Annual International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the
Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)

October 7-11, 2009
Hilton Milwaukee City Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

As the Internet has become an increasingly ubiquitous and mundane
medium, the analytical shortcomings of the division between the online
and the offline have become evident. Shifting the focus to the
fundamental intermeshing of online and offline spaces, networks,
economies, politics, locations, agencies, and ethics, Internet: Critical
invites scholars to consider material frameworks, infrastructures, and
exchanges as enabling constraints in terms of online phenomena.
Furthermore, the conference invites considerations of Internet research
as a critical practice and theory, its intellectual histories,
investments, and social reverberations. How do we, as Internet
researchers, connect our work to social concerns or cultural
developments both local and global, and what kinds of agency may we
exercise in the process? What kinds of redefinitions of the political
(in terms of networks, micropolitics, participation, lifestyles,
resistant or critical practices) are necessary when conceptualizing
Internet cultures within the current geopolitical and geotechnological
climate?

To this end, we call for papers, panel proposals, and presentations from
any discipline, methodology, and community, and from conjunctions of
multiple disciplines, methodologies and academic communities that
address the conference themes, including papers that intersect and/or
interconnect the following:

• critical moments, elements, practices
• critical theories, methods, constructs
• critical voices, histories, texts
• critical networks, junctures, spaces
• critical technologies, artifacts, failures
• critical ethics, interventions, alternatives.

Sessions at the conference will be established that specifically address
the conference themes, and we welcome innovative, exciting, and
unexpected takes on those themes. We also welcome submissions on topics
that address social, cultural, political, legal, aesthetic, economic,
and/or philosophical aspects of the Internet beyond the conference
themes. In all cases, we welcome disciplinary and interdisciplinary
submissions as well as international collaborations from both AoIR and
non-AoIR members.

SUBMISSIONS

We seek proposals for several different kinds of contributions. We
welcome proposals for traditional academic conference PAPERS and we also
welcome proposals for ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS that will focus on discussion
and interaction among conference delegates, as well as organized PANEL
PROPOSALS that present a coherent group of papers on a single theme.

DEADLINES

Call for Papers Released: 15 November 2008
Submissions Due: 1 February 2009
Notification: 15 March 2009

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All papers and presentations in this session will be evaluated in a
standard blind peer review.

Format

- PAPERS (individual or multi-author) - submit abstract of 600-800 words

-FULL PAPERS (OPTIONAL): For submitters requiring peer review of full
papers, manuscripts of up to 8,000 words will be accepted for review.
These will be reviewed and judged separately from abstract submissions

- PANEL PROPOSALS - submit a 600-800 word description of the panel
theme, plus 250-500 word abstract for each paper or presentation

- ROUNDTABLE PROPOSALS - submit a statement indicating the nature of the
roundtable discussion and interaction
Papers, presentations and panels will be selected from the submitted
proposals on the basis of multiple blind peer review, coordinated and
overseen by the Program Chair. Each individual is invited to submit a
proposal for 1 paper or 1 presentation. A person may also propose a
panel session, which may include a second paper that they are
presenting. An individual may also submit a roundtable proposal. You may
be listed as co-author on additional papers as long as you are not
presenting them.

PUBLICATION OF PAPERS

Selected papers from the conference will be published in a special issue
of the journal Information, Communication & Society, edited by Caroline
Haythornwaite and Lori Kendall. Authors selected for submission for this
issue have already been contacted prior to the conference.

All papers submitted to the conference system will be available to AoIR
members after the conference.

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

On October 7, 2009, there will be a limited number of pre-conference
workshops which will provide participants with in-depth, hands-on and/or
creative opportunities. We invite proposals for these pre-conference
workshops. Local presenters are encouraged to propose workshops that
will invite visiting researchers into their labs or studios or locales.
Proposals should be no more than 1000 words, and should clearly outline
the purpose, methodology, structure, costs, equipment and minimal
attendance required, as well as explaining its relevance to the
conference as a whole. Proposals will be accepted if they demonstrate
that the workshop will add significantly to the overall program in terms
of thematic depth, hands on experience, or local opportunities for
scholarly or artistic connections. These proposals and all inquiries
regarding pre-conference proposals should be submitted as soon as
possible to both the Conference Chair and Program Chair and no later
than March 31, 2009.
Conference Workshops: http://conferences.aoir.org/workshops.htm

CONTACT INFORMATION

Program Chair: Susanna Paasonen, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
Conference Co-Chairs and Coordinators: Elizabeth Buchanan, Michael
Zimmer, UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies and Center for
Information Policy Research; Steve Jones, University of Illinois-Chicago
Vice-President of AoIR: Mia Consalvo, Ohio University
Association Website: http://www.aoir.org

Conference Website: http://conferences.aoir.org

SPONSORS (partial list)**

• School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Center for Information Policy Research, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Department of Communication Studies, University of Illinois-Chicago
• Center for Information and Society and the Department of
Communication, University of Washington
• American Society for Information Science and Technology—Wisconsin Chapter

**Institutions or organizations interested in sponsorship opportunities
should contact Elizabeth Buchanan—eliz1679 at uwm.edu

CFP: ANZCA 2009 Digital and Social Media Stream (submissions due 5 Feb. 2009)

Dear colleague,

the 2009 conference of the Australia/New Zealand Communication Association will take place in Brisbane on 8-10 July 2009. We are now calling for paper submissions for the conference overall, and for the Digital and Social Media stream in particular. For more information about the conference, a full list of all conference streams, and to submit your papers, please see the conference Website at http://www.anzca09.org/.

Digital and Social Media

ANZCA09: Communication, Creativity and Global Citizenship conference stream http://www.anzca09.org/

8-10 July 2009
QUT Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane, Australia

Stream convenors: Axel Bruns, Creative Industries Faculty, QUT / Teresa Rizzo, AFTRS

Digital and Social Media

Digital media forms constitute an increasingly important element in the overall media ecology. Australians with broadband access now spend more time on the Internet than watching TV, and the growing role of social media (based on the technologies of Web 2.0) in this mix has been well-recognised in both popular discourse and scholarly work.

Digital and social media forms are enabling new modes of communication and new forms of creativity affecting and transforming established models of production. For example, cross-platform productions work in the juncture between traditional and social media.

Social media have also become tools for the active expression of citizenship - key social media sites were utilised by political actors to encourage citizen participation in recent election campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, but also provide a fertile space for new social movements to emerge.

The Digital and Social Media stream of the ANZCA09: Communication, Creativity and Global Citizenship conference is seeking papers and panels that address the following themes:
* How have the practices and aesthetics of social media influenced and altered traditional media such as television, radio and print media?
* What role might social media play in the future of the film and television industry, and for the media industries in general?
* How do we document, investigate, and understand the role of social media within the overall media ecology?
* What drives the success or failure of social media environments?
* How do digital and social media contribute to the expression of active citizenship?
* What are current and future trends in the development of social media environments?

Abstracts and papers are due by Friday 5 February, 2009, and should be submitted directly to the ANZCA09 web site at http://www.anzca09.org/. Enquiries about this stream should be directed to Axel Bruns or Teresa Rizzo (a.bruns@qut.edu.au / rizzo@optushome.com.au).

CFP: Extended Deadline

Colleagues,

At the request of some, I’m extending the deadline for proposals until
December 15. Contact me with any questions you may have. I have
received many outstanding proposals and am excited about this book
being a great resource for corporate educators and others interested
in using virtual worlds for corporate and university learning. So, if
you’ve been doing work in SL that would fit, or you have some ideas
about what work for corporate education in a virtual world, let me
hear from you. The original CFP is here:
http://cybermation-group.com/CFP-Handbook.doc
William

William Ritke-Jones, Ph.D.
President
CyberMations Consulting Group
Boston, MA 02131
http://www.cybermation-group.com