This page lists news items such as, conferences, calls for papers, and requests for proposals that have previously been listed on different sections of the CISS website.

Keynote Speaker:
James W. Carey, School of Journalism, Columbia University, author of Communication as Culture
Plenary Sessions: Camille Paglia, University of the Arts, author of Sexual Personae; Leonard Shlain, University of California at San Francisco, author of The Alphabet Versus the Goddess;
Marvin Kitman, Media Columnist, Newsday

Themes of the convention:
-How technology is reshaping our media landscape
-New communication platforms and old communication environments
-Information technology and place
-Ghettoes in the global village - the technology divide
-Urban and suburban communication environments
-Media content
-Media and religion
-Ethics in media
-Transforming public life and private life
-Creating social spaces
-Digital economics and the changing media landscape
-Sustainable digital communities
-Non-technological communication in a media world
-Understanding new communication environment in media history
-Media and cultural change
-Language and the new communication technologies

MelbourneDAC:streaming wor(l)ds will bring together an international cohort of artists, practitioners, developers, theorists and teachers to define and explore major themes and ideas confronting contemporary new media practice. The 2003 event will explore the theory and practice of computer gaming, ergodic narrative, distributed and/or immersive performance environments, and streaming media with a particular focus on the real, imagined and wished for worlds that these things create.

For more information, please visit: http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/

The conference as a whole will focus on critical studies of new media texts and their social impacts. The purpose of the conference is to bring senior scholars in the humanities working on critical analysis of new media texts together with early-career faculty and doctoral students doing work in the same area. Eight of the papers presented at the conference will be published in 2004 in a special issue of The Electronic Journal of Communication which is sponsored by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship.

The keynote speaker for the conference will be N. Katherine Hayles, Professor of English at the University of California at Los Angeles. Her 1999 book, How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics has received wide recognition. Hayles' interests include work in critical theory, semiotics, and textual analysis. All submitted papers must conform to the Instructions for Authors for The Electronic Journal of Communication.

Complete information about the conference is posted at its web site: http://faculty.washington.edu/barbwarn/rhetconf

Computers and the Internet are becoming increasingly important mediums for social interaction. Many types of relationships including business, casual, and intimate are formed and maintained through the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC). The CSI 2K3 conference is an effort to bring together leading researchers in the field of CMC to discuss the psychological implications of technology on social relationships. Individuals are also invited to submit proposals for poster or 10 minute oral presentations on topics related to the area of computer-supported social interaction.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
By Friday Sept 20th, submit the following to qgjones@acm.org

This workshop seeks papers for a workshop at ACM 2002. Proposals should be no longer than 6 pages and should include description of the following aspects.
1) An existing place used to support community (or communities);
2) An examination of how the place/s under consideration provides common ground for user interactions; and
3) Theoretical ideas or approaches that help you understand context and social interaction, or an exploration of virtual community development and maintenance.

Position papers should explain how the author’s work relates to the workshop theme. We are particularly interested in seeing perspectives at a variety of levels from high and meta to micro- scales.

Position papers will be reviewed by the workshop organizers and the final organization will be adapted to take into account the number expected and the range of submissions. We expect about 12-15 participants, but could expand up to 20. If size approaches the maximum we will adjust the workshop organization to spend some time broken into small groups so that the quality of the discussions remains high.

We look for a wide range of participants. System architects and designers who have thought about and implemented supports for social interaction, social psychologists, linguists and sociologists who have studied online interactions, and others we may not have previously considered.

"This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the Internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice."

Conference leaders seek volunteers to serve as chairs for one or more of the sessions. Contact Klaus Bruhn Jensen to discuss this opportunity. A preliminary program announcement is now available at: http://aoir.org/2002/program/

Keynote Speakers include;
Dr. Detlef Eckert, Head of Unit for Policy Planning, European Commission, Directorate General Information Society, Bruxelles
Professor Bill Dutton, Director, Oxford Internet Institute
Professor Dr. Cees J. Hamelink, University of Amsterdam
Professor Dr. Robin Mansell, London School of Economics

Registrations are now open.
For more information visit the conference website at: http://www.aoir.org/2002

Even as technical and social infrastructures of digital design pervade, they threaten to disappear into an opaque foreground, becoming the unacknowledged tools of the everyday. But the everyday of one can be the struggle of another. Infrastructures have typically been thought of as 'cold' phenomena, invoking images of wires and switches, devices and systems devoid of social content.

Infrastructures of Digital Design argues that there is a great deal of aesthetic, political and cultural heat in infrastructure. To conceive of thinking/building/living infrastructures is a call to move beyond conventional understandings of design and focus attention on the ways people work and play, create and critique within the interstices of digital environments. It pulls back to the possibility of design, brings us to actions in design, and pushes forward to the consequences - intended and unintended - of design in use.

Infrastructures of Digital Design encourages submissions of papers, projects and works from graduate students in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and engineering. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Negotiating Design
- Design and Control
- Forms and Functions
- Scaling Up
- Cultural Frameworks of Design
- Ethics in Digital Infrastructures

NMEDIAC (New Media and Culture), a journal out of U North Carolina Chapel-Hill, is sponsoring a special session on new media/culture at the April meetings of the American Comparative Literature Association meetings in San Marcos. The session will include three panels, a total of 9-12 scholars, writers and artists, that will meet over a two day period on the topic of new media. The sessions are intended to result in a journal issue dedicated to the topic.

The session panels on new media will explore questions of digital poetics, genre, and the role of narrative models and metaphors from non-digital media, such as those of literature, film and performance on electronic writing and art. The journal hopes to speculate on what happens to once vital metaphors and genres as media change.

A special invitation is extended to digital artists and writers.

This workshop will bring together campaigners, practitioners and researchers to examine the use of technology by the organisations of civil society, such as trade unions, NGOs, campaign groups and charities. The workshop will explore how existing knowledge of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), in its broadest senses, can be applied by such groups, and what questions such groups pose for our emerging understanding of HCI.

We invite submissions from practitioners, designers, campaign organisers, activists and researchers who are: * involved in designing for, or supporting NGOs, trade-unions, community, campaigning or voluntary groups; * concerned with the relationship between 'the network society', democracy and the capabilities of socially excluded groups and people in developing countries; * interested in understanding the impact of electronically mediated communication on the development of civil society.

Modern communication technologies increasingly situate interpersonal interactions virtually; often in online community spaces that enable shared inter-personal interactions. Researchers are still trying to understand basic usability issues associated with these community spaces. Further complicating matters, new types of online spaces are emerging that link community systems to aspects of the physical environment or user mobility. This workshop aims to examine the connection between community space design and community interactions. This will be achieved through a diverse group of participants exploring together from a wide variety of perspectives the significance of various features of online communities spaces.

Pista '03 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit their original and unpublished works, innovations, ideas based on analogical thinking, problems that require solutions, position papers, case studies, etc., in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT researchers are invited to present their research results. Practitioners and consultants are invited to present case study papers and innovative solutions. Corporations are invited to present political information systems and software based solutions. Public servers are invited to present case studies, information systems developed for specific purpose, and innovative ideas and designs. Political and social scientists are invited to present research or position papers on the impact and the future possibilities of ICT in Societal systems and political processes. Politician and political consultants are invited to present problems that might be solved by means of ICT, or solutions that might be improved by different approaches and design in ICT. All are invited to organize panel or invited sessions. Panel sessions with panelists coming from both: ICT researcher/practitioners and political consultants or politicians are highly encouraged.

The conference will be the first official event of the new interdisciplinary association DiGRA, aiming to promote quality research of games, interdisciplinary collaboration in games research, design and development, and recognition of game studies as an academic field of enquiry. A wide range of approaches is encouraged focussing on research, design and development. We aim at a broad diversity of topics, such as; computer games, design/production, reception, games as cultural/social phenomenon, etc.

This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference marks the launch of a new annual project in the Critical Issues series of research projects. The project aims to provide a challenging forum for the examination and evaluation of the theme of 'convergence' in media and multimedia. Viewing multimedia research as a divergent and multi-layered phenomenon, the conference series seeks to provide a forum whereby people working in differing disciplines and professions can become aware of and share the perspectives generated by developments in areas other than their own. Papers, reports, presentations and workshops invited.

The (Virtual) Community Informatics Workshop, to be held the first day of the WWW2003 Conference, seeks participants. Researchers, students and practitioners interested in the areas of community informatics, virtual communities and communities of practice are welcome to submit either a position statement or a full paper for presentation. People are also welcome to attend without a position paper.

Call for participation for those with single papers addressing Internet-related intellectual property issue for possible merger into panels at conference. As in previous conferences, the aim is to develop a coherent theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet and those that are empowered and disenfranchised by it.

Digital communications networks such as the Internet are changing the way people interact with each other, with profound effects on social relations and institutions. Yet many remain excluded from access and meaningful participation. It is timely to consider who is included, who is excluded and what we now know about the composition and activities of online communities.

Internet Research (IR) 4.0 will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet, organized under the theme Broadening the Band. As in previous conferences, the aim is to develop a coherent theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet and those that are empowered and disenfranchised by it. IR 4.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, creators, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges.

This year's conference will focus on what can be learned from the
adoption of mobile phones that could be applicable to other, new, digital technologies. What was expected when mobile technology arrived? In the 1970s? In the 1980s? What has actually happened? What can we learn? Papers can either focus on mobile phones and the lessons to be learned or on other technologies of which the development may benefit from the mobile phone experience.

The objective of this workshop is to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of available and foreseeable digital tools as a support for specific types of human interaction. Submitted papers, reporting both theoretical and experimental work, should address one or more of the following questions:
- Which digital tools best support different types of human interactions? (association tool / interaction type)
- If we focus on one specific type of human interaction, what are the consequences on the design of the supporting tool? (association interaction type / system design)
- How do humans select the appropriate interaction tool?
- How can semantic and environmental aspects of interaction be supported by digital tools? (e.g. agent systems)

Eight of the papers presented at the Conference on Rhetorical Dimensions of Electronic Texts will be published in 2004 in a special issue of The Electronic Journal of Communication which is sponsored by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship. The conference as a whole will focus on critical studies of new media texts and their social impacts. The purpose of the conference is to bring senior scholars in the humanities working on critical analysis of new media texts together with early-career faculty and doctoral students doing work in the same area. Papers must be submitted in triplicate and received by January 15, 2003 to be assured of consideration. Papers should be submitted to:

Barbara Warnick
Department of Communication
Box 353740, University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195

Papers are sought for this edited collection of interdisciplinary research in cultural history exploring reconfigured, renewed, recycled, disposed, neglected, abandoned, and trashed media technologies and practices. What is the process by which media, and their related devices, texts, objects, spaces and competencies, fade away? How do some - whether in archives or attics, minds or training manuals - become the background for the introduction of other forms? In what manner do they reappear as environmental problems, as the "new" elsewhere, as collectables, as memories, and as art? What are the qualities of our everyday engagement with the half-life of media forms and practices? Residual Media will bring together original scholarly work on these and related issues, combining theoretical essays on the problems of media historiography with studies of specific residual forms, practices and materials. Work may investigate any number of visual, sound, projection, broadcast, and writing technologies.

Proposals are due January 15, 2003, preferably sent by email. They will include a 250-word description of the research, a sample bibliography and a one-paragraph author's biography. Send proposals to address above.

Diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of media environments, including historical, philosophical, aesthetic, literary, psychological, sociological, anthropological, political, economic, and scientific investigations, applied, and pedagogical perspectives are welcome. Complete papers may be considered for top competitive paper award or top student paper award through a refereed process.

Send two copies of abstracts and/or proposals to:
Conference
Professor Carol J. Drummer, MEA
School of Communication
Room 318 Dempster HallHofstra University
Hempstead, NY, 11549-1110

Date: August 2, 2002
Publication: Seeking particpation in CHI 2003, April 5-10, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Deadlines:

Contact: Conference Office, chi2003-office@acm.org
More Information: http://www.chi2003.org

CHI 2003 is an annual conference sponsored by ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI).

CHI 2003 offers many avenues of participation. Submission of papers, demonstrations, designs and usability reports are welcome, as well as proposals for a panel, workshop or tutorial. Volunteer opportunities are available to help with mentoring and reviewing. Recruitment, exhibition, and sponsorship opps. available as well.

CHI 2003 will focus on communicating via interactive digital media. Three special areas support this theme: mass communication and interaction, e-learning, and emotion. Submissions on the conference theme and the special areas are particularly welcome. The development consortium will address challenges for CHI posed by mass communication via interactive digital media.

This year's conference themes are:

• Creating Content for Interactive New Media
  Alternative approaches to the design of content and narrativity in interactive digital environments

• HumanIT
  An exploration of the human values of technology

• Virtual Globalization
  Links between the economic, political and social effects of the combined forces of globalization and information technology

Manuscript submissions discussing media and communications are invited for a special issue of International Journal of Communication. Submissions dealing with (but not limited to) the following topics are invited:

- Communication theories of media: Advancement and critique
- New and "old" communication technologies
- Language of/in media
- Media and construction of the Other
- Media institutions: Power, ownership, and control
- Mediating between public and private space
- Identity and freedom of expression
- Cultural aspects of media
- Media ethics and decision-making

This book collection will consider the contributions that the humanities disciplines can make to understanding and improving the emerging practices of Web design and use. Disciplinary perspectives might include, but are not limited to, rhetoric and composition, cultural studies, creative writing, literary studies, history, critical theory, communication, art history, media studies,women's/gender studies, etc. The collection will speak to an audience of scholars and advanced students, and include critical pieces that reflect on institutional and cultural practices, as well as practical pieces that describe and recommend specific techniques of humanities-based digital design, online use, and electronic pedagogies. Send a 20-to-30-page manuscript and short vita in Word format or RTF by October 1, 2002 either by e-mail to cstroupe@d.umn.edu or by mail to:

Craig Stroupe
Department of Composition
1201 Ordean Court # 420
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN 55812-2496

New Technologies are impacting on the way we produce, receive, access and even interpret news. Traditional definitions of news are being challenged by new and emerging technologies, especially those that demand faster responses in the news production process. This issue of Transformations explores the impact of new technologies on news content and news practices, and seeks to discuss the implications of this, as well as future directions. We are seeking papers which contribute to the debates and discussions currently occuring in the area. Submissions should explore the theme, or aspects of it, in practical and theoretical ways. Papers which have a particular focus on the theme in relation to region and regionality are particularly welcome.

This project aims to develop and apply multi-scaled, multi-disciplinary approaches to better understand the causes and ramifications of change and to increase collective capabilities to anticipate its complex consequences.  A related goal is to improve the understanding of the dynamics of behavior and the human mind.  HSD also aims to advance knowledge of the cognitive and social structures that create and define change and to help people and organizations better manage profound or rapid change.  In this initial year of a multi-year effort, the following topical areas will be emphasized:  (A) Decision Making Under Uncertainty (DMUU), a part of the President's Climate Change Research Initiative; (B) Enhancing Human Performance (EHP); and (C) Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM).

To be eligible for this solicitation proposals must have the following components;
- multidisciplinary
- focus on critical infrastructure and related systems
- focus upon all hazards

Eligible research proposals must include at least one investigator from engineering and at least one investigator from a social science
discipline.

This Announcement broadly invites innovative fundamental research proposals that address the challenges that face IT or seek advances at the frontiers of science and engineering through the creative and innovative use and further development of IT. The ITR Program is interested in fostering visionary work that could lead in the future to major advances, new and unanticipated technologies, revolutionary applications, or new ways to perform important activities. The program is especially interested in multi-disciplinary research. In general, research that fits well in existing NSF disciplinary programs and that pursues an already established research agenda should be directed to those programs and will be less competitive in the ITR Program. 

Government is a major collector and provider of data and information, provider of information–based services and user of information technologies. The research goals of the Digital Government Program are to support:

1) multi-disciplinary and multi-sector partnerships of researchers in information technologies and government agencies at all levels in order to foster collaboration among societal sectors, and
2) research on the relationships between the design and use of information technologies on : i) forms, processes, and outcomes of democracy, ii) government organizational forms, learning, and adaptation, iii) new forms of government-government collaboration, iv) citizen/government interaction, and v) other social/political science research related to IT and government. Academic/government collaborations are expected to contribute to government strategic planning for information technologies and services (external and internal) while providing interesting and unique new research problems and data sets for the academic research community.

While most community-based organizations across the country now believe they have adequate hardware and software, many still lack the expertise needed to fully maximize technology's potential - especially when it comes to providing technology training for underserved communities, according to SBC Communications Inc.'s new survey of community-based organizations. If given the right tools and training, 60 percent say they could substantially increase the success rate of their programs.

Continuing a heritage of supporting programs that strengthen our communities, the SBC Foundation is launching SBC Excelerator, a new $25 million national initiative that will help community-based organizations accelerate their ability to create stronger digital connections with America's underserved. SBC Excelerator is aimed at supporting community-based organizations throughout SBC's 13-state region that are creating programs aimed at improving technology access, education and workforce development. SBC kicked off the first phase of SBC Excelerator by announcing a $10 million competitive grants program, funded through the SBC Foundation, and presenting the first two, $1 million national grants under SBC Excelerator.