The Communication Policy and Technology Section (CPT) of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2024, which will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 30 June to 4 July 2024.
The deadline for submission is 7 February 2024, at 23h59 UTC.
See the CfPs of all sections and working groups
Theme
IAMCR conferences address many diverse topics defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. We also propose a single central theme to be explored throughout the conference with the aim of generating and exploring multiple perspectives. This is accomplished through plenary and special sessions, as well as in some of the sessions of the sections and working groups.
The central theme for 2024 focuses on "Whiria te tāngata / Weaving people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening" - which draws upon a Maori proverb about the strength that comes through common purpose.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme
The Communication Policy and Technology Section focuses on the role of policy (broadly defined) in the development of media and communication technologies, both analogue and digital, in past, current and future societies.
For the IAMCR 2024 conference we invite papers that explore how the general theme “Weaving people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening” relates to media and communication policy and technology. We are interested in papers related to policy issues around media, communication technologies and online platforms, ranging from print-cultures to online applications and artificial intelligence in different domains of society. Over the last decade, the relations between (state and regional) institutions, citizens, and corporations have been fundamentally reconfigured. This development is accelerated and complicated by the rapid rise of transnational digital media platforms and their role in public discourses, leading to policy struggles to keep up with the dynamic changes in all societal spheres. In addition, we witness the emergence of social (and populist) movements, often related to new modes of governance and participation, which reconfigure the boundaries between culture, communication and politics. And lastly, we see increasing tendencies to “re-nationalize” policies and politics related to media and the digital, leading to an increasing fragmentation of regulatory frameworks.
The Communication Policy and Technology section invites submissions that critically engage with these issues from a policy and technology perspective.
We welcome both papers and panel proposals addressing the following themes that fit in the general call for papers and are relevant to our section:
- Big Data and its implications for privacy, inclusiveness, respect etc.;
- Policies and debates around artificial intelligence and its ethical and social implications, including bias, discrimination, transparency and responsibility in different contexts;
- The increasing levels of automation, algorithms and quantification in different social domains (e.g. health, social welfare, finance, news and entertainment production) and its ethical and social implications;
- Policies and debates around recent and future communication technologies, including metaverse, blockchain, 5G, IPv6, etc.;
- Digital sovereignty, internet fragmentation and the challenges for global internet governance;
- Global media and communication governance (e.g., the UN Internet Governance Forum; Digital Compact) and their impacts;
- National and regional policy initiatives, e.g. China's Belt and Road Initiative, ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI), the Digital Service Act / Digital Market Act in the EU, etc.;
- Comparative analysis of different policy regimes (e.g. trade policies and the resulting tensions between countries such as China and the US), their implementations and implications for communication and media practices;
- The effectiveness of international policies and laws related to ICTs and the Internet in different regions of the world;
- Historical development of communication and media policies in diverse regions and countries;
- The roles played by citizens, communities and organizations (both locally and globally) in shaping communication and media policies;
- Policies and research into the digital divide, mobile access, media literacy, access and inclusion programmes etc.;
- Policies and governance regarding disinformation, social network bots, online harassment, hate speech, and cyberbullying, particularly as it relates to gender, race, class, ethnicity, nationality etc.;
- Policies related to online advertising and marketing, their implications for consumers and their privacy;
- Policies and debates around public service obligations, pluralism and diversity, convergence and net neutrality in broadcasting and internet/telecommunications services;
- Policies and regulations related to online activities that influence elections and electoral campaigns.
Please note that the section does not cover all the spectrum of communication technology-related research. As such, it is not meant to be the primary submission venue forproposals which focus only on the role of technology for political communication (e.g. campaign effects on voters), on human-computer-interaction (e.g. user research without policy implication), on the political economy of technology without a clear connection to policy (e.g. media ownership and concentration) and similar topics without a clear policy dimension. Please note that, depending on the number of submissions received, we may not be able to redirect proposals covering such topics and submitted to CPT to more appropriate sections or working groups of IAMCR.
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts are requested for papers to be presented in person at the conference in Christchurch. Abstracts submitted to the CPT Section should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.
Abstracts should contain a title, main question or research problem, brief descriptions of the theoretical framework and method(s) used, and summarise the findings and their policy relevance.
The deadline to submit abstracts is 7 February 2024, at 23.59 UTC.
We encourage submissions by emerging scholars and plan to hold at least one joint session with the Emerging Scholars Network Section (ESN).
Proposals are accepted for both single papers and for panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals.
See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind
Requirements and Evaluation
It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same author, either individually or as part of any group of authors.
The same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, must not be submitted to more than one Section or Working Group. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected by the abstract submission system, by the Head of the Section or Working Group or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.
Within CPT, the review is conducted this way: after a first screening by the section chairs, submitted abstracts fitting the scope of the section and fulfilling the necessary requirements will be evaluated by double-blinded reviews on the basis of: (1) theoretical contribution, (2) methods, (3) quality of writing, (4) relevance of the submission to the work of the CP&T section and (communication/technology/media) policy, and (5) originality and/or significance of the work.
If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must confirm and register for the conference. Only registered participants will be included in the final conference programme.
Prior to the conference, a full paper will need to be submitted.
To continue our pre-Covid tradition, a CPT best paper award prize may be awarded. Only full papers submitted in advance of the conference, and by the full paper deadline of 7th of June, qualify for consideration.
Languages
We welcome submissions in all three official languages of IAMCR: English, French and Spanish.
Please note that if you wish to present in French or Spanish, we will ask you to prepare English language slides to facilitate communication.
See resources for IAMCR conference preparation and participation
For further information on the Communication Policy and Technology Section themes, submissions, panels and on the CPT section please contact:
Co-chair: Julia Pohle (WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany) <julia.pohle@wzb.eu>
Co-chair: Weiyu Zhang (National University of Singapore) <viyucheung@gmail.com>
Vice chair: Leah Komen (Daystar University, Kenya) <ledavid2002@gmail.com>
Vice chair: Guy Hoskins (Carleton University, Canada) <ghoskins@torontomu.ca>
