V Coloquio Brasil - Estados Unidos de Estudos da Comunicacao
5th Brazil-US Colloquium on Communication Research

CONFERENCE: Dr. Sonia Virginia Moreira of INTERCOM - the Brazilian Society of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication, the School of Communication at Illinois State University (Dr. John Baldwin) and the College of Communication at DePaul University (Dr. Jacqueline Taylor) invite you to submit completed papers to the 5th Brazil-U.S. Colloquium on Communication Research. The deadline for receipt of completed papers is February 1, 2012.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the Colloquium is to bring together Brazilian and United States researchers who work in the field of communication in order to discuss current topics in theory, method, and community engagement. More specifically, this conference aspires to foster a dynamic and intellectually stimulating dialogue between communication scholars from both countries - encouraging the participation and exchange of communication professors and students - and promoting the production of comparative analyses and joint projects related to on-going debates in communication research.  

WHEN and WHERE: The biennial conference will take place at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.. Papers will be presented in English or Portuguese (translation available as necessary). The conference will be August 7-8, 2012.

CONFERENCE TOPIC: The central conference theme is Communication and Community Engagement. Following are some suggested thematic areas:

1. Communication Research and Community Engagement: Linking theory and research to community efforts, growth and change.  (Engagamento social da comunicacao e a pesquisa)
2. Media Literacy and Critical Inquiry: Providing critical tools for analysis, assessment and production of media content. Using media literacy to enhance community leadership and development. Transforming media consumption into an active process, and using independent media for active citizenship. (Educacao para a leitura critica da midia) 
3. Social, Interactive, and Participatory Media: Researching the effect of Internet use on public and social life. Focus on social networking sites - such as Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, etc - and community engagement in social media across cultures and borders.
4. F2F Communication: Including studies on interpersonal (persuasion, message production and reception, nonverbal communication, organizational/small-group, communication among cultural, age-based, or other social groups), or relational communication.
5. Public Relations and Commercial Media: Including studies on advertising, marketing and communication.

NOTE: Papers in any session may include comparisons between communication issues both in Brazil and the U.S., but may also analyze an issue related to a singular country.  We encourage theme-related papers but will consider all submissions.

Each session will have a coordinator with two to four papers, with discussion

SUBMITTING PAPERS:
Paper Requirements

• Submission of proposals to the National Colloquium Coordinator
• Indication of the thematic group desired (if any)
• Summary of paper (250 words maximum
• Complete paper (6.000 words maximum, Times New Roman, 12-pt font)
• Hold at least a Master's Degree
• Brief CV (100 words maximum)

Where to submit papers:

Participantes brasileiros - inscricao pelo website do congresso em www.intercom.org.br

American participants - send by email to: John R. Baldwin - jrbaldw@ilstu.edu

Value for Public Money - Money for Public Value
RIPE@2012
September 5 - 7 in Sydney, Australia

Call for Proposals

For the 6th RIPE conference we will focus specific attention on research that demonstrates how and why the public receives good value for the money spent on public service media provision. Is PSM a good deal, how good a deal it is, and why does that matter? How much does this vary inside Europe, and what can we say about the situation outside Europe? How best to define 'public value' today? It is important to address claims that PSM is wasteful, inefficient, unresponsive, irresponsible, etc. We invite analysis and research that grows understanding of PSM performance in relation to the private commercial sector. It is expected that attention will be given to the quality, variety and differentiation of programmes and services PSM provides, and the value that publics derive economically, culturally and socially. This signals, as well, the importance of money for public value, which shifts the focus to issues that include governance systems, public value testing and similar accountability mechanisms, critical discussion of concerns and problems in taking economic criteria too far or too exclusively, and recognition that the remit of PSM is fundamentally normative. The organisers invite proposals that will address relevant issues related to the following topics that are especially pertinent to the conference theme:

1. PSM Financing & Business models

In the traditional arrangement PSB is financed by public money. Approaches to funding have become a hot topic and a focus of debate. 

•  Is the traditional 'business model' best for PSM today? What are the pros and cons of various alternatives or combinations?
• Are new models emerging for different platforms or types of services?
• How politically feasible and economically viable are various options?
• Where is PSB / PSM sustainable, in what form/s and under what conditions?
• What differences are essential when looking at countries that are only beginning or trying to start PSB / PSM? Is the traditional institutional approach as useful today, and where are there significant developments and alternatives?

2. PSM Structures & Production

This sector has undergone a dramatic shift from mainly in-house production with hierarchical structures and mostly permanent employees with civil servant status, to pursue outsourcing, temporary or freelance contracts, flat organisations, and business-like approaches that favour cost reduction and efficiency.

• Does this produce better value? What are the trade-offs?
• What is essential to understand about the economic foundations of PSM as a financial organisation, despite its non-profit status?
• What do we know about trends in the volume and percentages of programme output and production, number of employees under various contract categories, in different areas and positions, with what productivity gains and losses, etc?
• What is important to know about copyright issues and intellectual property?
• How is media work changing in PSM companies, and with what consequences?
• Where is local production still viable, and why? Where isn't it viable, and why?

3. PSM policy and accountability

The commercial sector claims PSM is causing market distortion that disturbs a 'level playing field'. Politicians and other stakeholders are keen for the public sector to be more transparent and accountable. 

• What is most important to know and respond to in policy debate about these issues?
• What new measures are recommended to improve accountability?
• Which approaches to ex ante evaluation work best, and which are not working? Is there evidence that the approach is counter-productive?
• How much is all of this costing and what do we know about cost/benefit ratios?
• In what ways has the New Public Management approach improved or undermined public value?
• Can public value be measured? How, at what cost, and with what consequences?

4. Defining 'Public Value' in PSM today

Traditionally PSB was expected to provide information, education and entertainment, and to strongly emphasise domestic culture and national identity. Reconceptualising what the PS in PSM means and consists of today is a pressing need.

• What counts as 'public value' today, and how is it both different from and the same as historic understandings? Are there discernable periods that characterise shared understanding? Are there significant patterns of consistency or variation when comparing countries, regions, or discourse in different languages, etc?
• Where has reinterpretation of historic meanings been successful, how and why, and what remains problematic?
• Have there been consequences for the profile and character of service provision as a consequence of new conceptualisation? 
• Has anything been lost or neglected that needs to be revitalised?
• What is not good value for public money today and ought to end? Where and why?
• What is still vital in the historic PSB mission that must be protected and also nurtured?

5. Improving PSM value

The move from PSB to PSM has not been smooth or even. While governments traditionally expect the sector to support technological development and the creation of digital content, the costs and effects have been unpredictable and in many cases controversial.

• Where has PSM contributed to market development? Where has it improved mediated services as a result of innovation? Where is it lagging? Where is it a problem for developing public value in media due to institutional self-interests?
• What has PSM created that is new compared to PSB? What is distinctive compared to the private commercial sector?
• How is PSM responding to social media on the basis of lessons learned? In what ways are these companies contributing to or inhibiting development in this area?
• Are there clear gains in efficiencies or effectiveness in the shift to PSM?
• What is essential for PSM to be viable and sustainable? How does this differ in comparing countries, regions and communities?

6. PSM value for audiences and users

In social reality and research schema, media audiences are more complex and complicated than was the case historically, often also more contradictory in the light of multiple identities.

• What are the implications related to public value when defining audiences in varied terms (e.g. as citizens, consumers, customers, clients, tax-payers, markets, etc)?
• Are there convincing arguments for supporting collective needs and social welfare given the growth of individual choice and personal preference? How can that be articulated to have real impact?
• How is audience research changing, and with what consequences and impact for doing PSM?
• How should contradictions and complexity in identities be conceptualised? Are certain formulations most suitable for PSM?
• What does the evidence reveal regarding re-valuation of audiences as participants in PSM? In what ways are historic valuations still relevant? What needs to be developed?

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Provide the working title of the paper and include your name, organisational affiliation with location, and e-mail address on a cover sheet
• Write the abstract on a separate page that only includes the title of the paper and specify which of the 6 topics (above) your paper would contribute to (you may specify more than one)
• The maximum length for the abstract is 600 words
• Proposals are due on or before January 11, 2012

All submissions will be peer reviewed as the basis for acceptance. Reviewers will use the following criteria to assess proposals:

1. Relevance to the conference theme and connection to at least one specified topic
2. Conceptual and analytic quality (not purely descriptive)
3. Importance of the contribution for contemporary theory in PSB / PSM
4.  Relevance of the contribution for PSM practice and management
5.  Comparative research is highly desired.
6. Empirical research is prioritised.
7. Broadening the scope beyond Europe is welcome.

Sixty proposals will be accepted for papers to be presented in the conference. Decisions to accept or reject will be taken in February with notification sent on or about March 1, 2012. Please send your proposal as an e-mail attachment to both of the following:

 Gregory Ferrell Lowe, University of Tampere in Finland (glowe@pp.inet.fi)
 Anne Dunn, University of Sydney (anne.dunn@sydney.edu.au)

The conference registration fee will be 250 euro for authors. The fee does not include payment for accommodation, but does cover the cost for shared meals and conference materials. For those attending but not presenting, the registration fee is 300 euro and space is limited. A select number of doctoral students can be included and the fee in these cases will be 100 euro. The RIPE conference does not have funds to supplement personal travel costs except for invited keynote speakers. For more information, please visit our website: www.ripeat.org.

EUPRERA 2012 Congress
Call for Papers
Researching the Changing Profession of Public Relations

Theme of the congress
"Researching the Changing Profession of Public Relations"
In recent years, profession of public relations shows drastic changes and more mission is included by field. Since this growing task difficulty requires new definition of public relational missions, transformation and changing of public relations as profession should be researched and analyzed related to future of the profession.

Sub-themes
1. Status and trends of the public relations profession in European countries and regions

• Perception of public relation as a profession in different countries
• New tendencies in public relation as a profession in different countries
• Description of mission differences in public relation profession

2. Comparative public relations research: Methodological challenges, empirical data, case studies

• New research methods in Public Relations
• Study cases related to changes in public relations
• Empirical researches related to changes in public relations

3. Governance of the public relations profession: Standards for education, codes of ethics, role enactment

• Changing of public relations' education
• Need for new ethical codes
• Roles that public relations experts play

4. New frontiers for the profession: Litigation PR, mediation and dialogue, social media, advising the top management

• Contribution of public relations to dialog
• Usage of social media in profession of public relation
• Mentorship of public relation experts to executives

5. Innovative research in public relations and strategic communication.

• New approaches to public relations field
• Researches related to operation process of strategic communication
• Empirical insights in strategic communication in Europe

Academics and practitioners are invited to submit papers relating to the general theme andwith one or more of the sub-themes. All relevant academic, and interdisciplinary, approachesare welcomed, such as sociology, psychology, business theory, organizational theory, mediasciences and communication sciences.

Papers from PhD students and practitioners about the conference theme are welcomed. We are planning to organize a special session for these papers.

Abstract and paper submission

All who are interested in presenting a paper on the above and related topics are invited tosubmit a paper for consideration. Every paper will be submitted to a two-person double-blind reviewing process by representatives from EUPRERA and the local organizers.

For the submission please go to www.euprera.org/congress2012

Relevant dates to be considered:
a. Deadline for abstracts: February 3, 2012
b. Feedback on abstracts: March 5, 2012
c. Deadline for full papers: July 7, 2012
d. Feedback on full papers: August 3, 2012
e. Deadline for final version: August 31, 2012

Abstracts should be 800 words, excluding tables and figures. The required format of submission is electronic (MSWord for Windows or for Mac). See abstracts and full papers format requirements for details.

Full papers should be maximum 7,000 words, excluding tables, figures, and references. See abstracts and full papers format requirements for details.

Language for both abstracts and full papers: English
Address for both abstracts and full papers: www.euprera.org/congress2012

Registration
All participants in the conference, including those who present papers, must register
electronically. Registrations will open in June 2012. Further information concerning conference fees, accommodation and travelling to and from Istanbul will be made available on the congress website as soon as the registration for participation opens.

Information
For more information please e-mail: euprera2012@istanbul.edu.tr

Read the full call at http://www.icahdq.org/cfp/CFPeupreracongress.pdf 

Call for Papers/Works-in-Progress:

Defining and measuring meaningful broadband adoption
an academic workshop at New America Foundation, Washington DC, April 11, 2012

As government services, political discourse and commerce expand online, policymakers and public interest organizations are promoting broadband "adoption" among people who are not currently using the Internet, or using it marginally. Yet there is little discussion of what "adoption" means or how it can be measured. For lack of a better indicator, agencies and researchers often use the metric of home subscription numbers, which tell us very little about the different modes or locations of access which may be more relevant for some populations, nor about the effects of adoption on new users and communities.

In the United States, the absence of meaningful metrics for adoption is becoming evident as two federal digital inclusion efforts - the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) - enter their evaluation phases. As policymakers and advocates search for ways to document the effect of these programs, the design of meaningful metrics could have implications for the sustainability of broadband initiatives and the well-being of individuals and communities identified as possible beneficiaries.

In light of these challenges, the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation is calling for proposals that address the question: "What is meaningful broadband adoption, and how can we measure it?" Authors of successful proposals will be invited for a day-long workshop at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, to present and discuss answers to this question. The goal of the workshop is to bring together researchers from different disciplinary traditions to discuss challenges in defining broadband adoption and its effects, address issues of reliability and validity, and present innovative methods for studying adoption. We welcome proposals that reflect work-in-progress as well as completed studies. We are especially interested in proposals that review recent broadband adoption initiatives, including those outside of the United States.

Please submit your proposal here at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dDZ6NjFlU0tiLWN3d2gtNURCUVJjM1E6MQ#gid=0 by January 31, 2012 (If you cannot open the link, please copy and paste the URL on the browser). Proposals should explicitly identify the methodological and/or conceptual innovation that you are developing or have developed, as well as presentation format (slides, video, map, paper, interactive workshop, etc.). Do not include any information in your proposal that would enable reviewers to identify you. Proposals will be blind-reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of scholars. Please note: final acceptance is contingent upon submission of completed works or works in progress one week before the date of the workshop.

Tentative Schedule:

Deadline for proposals: January 31, 2011

Confirmation of receipt: Week of February 5, 2012

Decision announced: March 2, 2012

Deadline for submission of completed work/work-in-progress: March 30, 2012

Workshop: April 11, 2012

About the New America Foundation and Open Technology Initiative
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. New America's Open Technology Initiative formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks. For more information, visit http://oti.newamerica.net/.

Russian Communication Association
Siberian Federal University
Institute of Philology and Language Communication

6th International RCA Conference
Communication-2012
"Communication in a Changing Society"

You must be the change you wish to see in the world
(Mahatma Gandhi)

First Call for Papers

Russian Communication Association (RCA) in collaboration with Eurasian Communication Association of North America (ECANA) and the Institute of Philology and Language Communication at Siberian Federal University are happy to announce the forthcoming 6th International RCA Conference: "Communication in a Changing Society".

The Conference is convened in partnership with National Communication Association (NCA), International Communication Association (ICA), European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), Polish Communication Association (Polskie Towarzystwo Komunikacji Spolecznej, PTKS), International Federation of Communication Associations (IFCA), World Complexity Science Academy (WCSA), Russian Association for Film and Media Education (RAFM) and Kazakhstan Communication Association (KazCA).

Venue and Dates: Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation, September 27-29, 2012.

Today's global society is on its path of rapid development due to the interplay of global and local factors. Communication processes are crucial to the solution of multiple problems the globalized humanity faces nowadays. Communication helps the world's nations to understand the differences and unite the potentials to achieve common goals. The forthcoming 6th RCA Conference is also aimed at uniting researchers from different countries and various domains, of various genres and types of human communication to form a multidisciplinary paradigm of contemporary communication studies. This time the Conference participants are invited to convene in the very heart of Russia, in Siberia, with the aim of integrating their knowledge, competencies and approaches to promote the study of communication in the whole world.

The discussion will follow the following relevant topics:

• philosophy of communication
• research methods in communication
• speech communication
• interpersonal communication
• organizational communication
• political communication
• mass communication
• intercultural communication
• computer-mediated communication
• educational communication
• communications law
• health communication
• gender communication
• communication education
• communication design
• media education

Submissions from researchers of various aspects of communication are welcome starting from December 20, 2011. Deadline for submissions is April 1, 2012.

Working languages: Russian, English, German.

The Conference will feature plenary lectures and panel presentations, poster papers and round-table discussions, and workshops. Researchers who are interested in organizing focused round-tables, specialized workshops are encouraged to submit their topics.

Prospective participants and workshop/round-table organizers are kindly requested to submit and register at the Conference Website: http://conf.sfu-kras.ru/conf/communication-2012?locale=en. The submissions are subject to blind review. The Website will publish all the relevant information (participant's submission status, preparatory stages of the conference, participation conditions, publication guidelines, etc.). A special webpage of the RCA Website and a Facebook group (in Russian) will also publish the information related to the Conference (in Russian): http://russcomm.ru/rca_projects/rca-conf2012/ and http://www.facebook.com/groups/208406532572509/.

Conference materials (the authors' versions) will be digital published by the start of the Conference. Selected papers will be published in the refereed Journal of Siberian Federal University (Humanities and Social Sciences), ISSN 1997-1370: http://journal.sfu-kras.ru/home and the Russian Journal of Communication.

Conference fee will be announced later, and there will be a discount for graduate and post-graduate students, as well as for members of RCA and partnership organizations.

Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the participants. A wide choice of hotels or on-campus accommodation options will also be announced later.

Detailed information about the former conferences and other RCA projects can be found at:  http://www.russcomm.ru/rca_projects/ You can also find more about the Siberian Federal University and the Institute of Philology and Language Communication at: http://language.institute.sfu-kras.ru/en

Organizing Committee:
Lyudmila V. Kulikova, professor, Dr of Philology, Director of the Institute of Philology and Language Communication, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, President of the Organizing Committee
Irina N. Rozina, RCA President, Dr of Education, professor at the Department of Information Technologies, Institute of Management, Business and Law (Rostov-on-Don), Vice-President of the Organizing Committee
David C. Williams, ECANA Executive Director, Ph.D., professor at Florida Atlantic University, USA, Foreign participants Coordinator

Program Committee:
Olga A. Leontovich, Dr of Linguistics, professor and head of the Department of Intercultural Communication and Translation at Volgograd State Social and Pedagogical University, Co-Chairman of the Program Committee
Viacheslav B. Kashkin, Dr of Linguistics, professor and head of the Department of Translatology and Intercultural Communication at Voronezh State University, Co-Chairman of the Program Committee
Michael D. Hazen, ECANA President, Ph.D., professor at Wake Forest University, USA, the Program Committee's Foreign participants Coordinator

Major Conference Dates:
December 20, 2011 - submissions and abstracts are welcome
April 1, 2012 - deadline for submissions and abstracts
June 1, 2012 - notification of acceptance
July 1, 2012 - Abstracts and Final Program
September 27-29, 2012 - Conference

Call For Participation
The Gene Burd Track on Media and Urban Life

What: Special sponsored track at the 42nd Urban Affairs Association Conference
Where: Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel; Pittsburgh, PA
When: April 18 - 21, 2012
Website: http://www.urbanaffairsassociation.org/annual_meeting/index.html

Primary Goal of Track

Increase the exchange of knowledge and interaction between: a) researchers and practitioners who focus on urban problems/issues/policy, and b) researchers and practitioners who focus on media and urban life. This track will include scholars and practicing professionals in the fields of communication, journalism, urban affairs, public policy, law, political science, sociology, criminal justice, architecture, and city/regional planning, just to name a few.

Conference Track Subtopics

• Role of media in social, economic and political life (particularly in urban areas)
• Interaction between media and urban spaces/places (e.g., human interaction/engagement, public vs. private space, identity)
• Alternative media, access to mainstream media (particularly as an equity issue in urban communities)
• Role of the media in post-industrial cities

Participation Formats

1. Colloquy
   A colloquy is a structured, formal discussion of a topic by a few selected individuals (typically four or five people). Presenters make prepared comments and engage in an open discussion with the audience. They do not, however, present written papers or in-depth research findings. Instead, speakers draw upon their general knowledge, background, and experience of the subject being discussed. For a sample colloquy proposal please visit:
   http://www.urbanaffairsassociation.org/annual_meeting/sample_summary.html.
2. Research Panel
   Individuals may submit a proposal to present a researched-based paper. If your paper proposal is accepted, the program committee groups it with three or four other related papers into a panel. Each panelist presents his or her paper, and an open discussion follows the presentations. Each panel includes a moderator, who manages the time and introduces the panelists. For a sample research paper proposal please visit: http://www.urbanaffairsassociation.org/annual_meeting/sample_abstract.html.

Deadline for colloquy topic or abstract submission: January 9, 2012

How to submit a proposal
Please email your proposal as an email attachment to Deidre Beadle at dbeadle@uaamail.org.

Details Specifically for Research-based Paper Proposals
If you are submitting an abstract for a research-based paper proposal please include your name, institutional affiliation, and email address. If you have a co-author(s), please provide his/her name, institutional affiliation and email address. Your research paper title should be no more than 20 words. Your abstract text should be no more
than 400 words.

Details Specifically for Colloquy Proposals
If you are proposing a colloquy topic please include the names of the participants, their institutional affiliation and email addresses. Remember, a colloquy typically consists of four or five participants. Your colloquy theme summary should not exceed 400 words in length. The colloquy session title should be no more than 20 words long.

Note: Please refer to the web links provided above for sample colloquy and research paper abstracts.

Benefits for Selected Participants
Your proposal will be reviewed and a select number of papers and colloquy sessions will be accepted. Thanks to the generous support of the track sponsor, Gene Burd, if your proposal is accepted you will be awarded the following benefits:

• Two (2) nights of complimentary lodging at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel (the site of the conference) - (a $300 value)
• Complimentary conference registration (a $450 value) - covers meals over the three-day conference period (Wednesday evening-Saturday morning

Expectation of Track Participants

Colloquy participants: Are expected to provide a 1-2 page summary of their discussion points, a copy of any PowerPoint slides used, and a list of references used.

Research paper presenters:
Are expected to provide a copy of the paper's abstract, a draft copy of the paper, a copy of any PowerPoint presentation slides, and a list of references used. These materials are due one week before the conference on Wednesday, April 11, 2011.

All conference track participants:
Will grant UAA permission to videotape their presentation and distribute the recording for educational purposes.

Contact: Please email inquiries concerning this conference track to Deidre Beadle at dbeadle@uaamail.org .

About UAA
The Urban Affairs Association (UAA) is the international professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public service providers. The Urban Affairs Association is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life. Through theoretical, empirical, and action-oriented research, the UAA fosters diverse activities to understand and shape a more just and equitable urban world. Today, UAA includes almost 600 institutional, individual, and student members from colleges and universities throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Update: ECREA 2012 - 4th European Communication Conference
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul, Turkey, 24-27 October 2012

Hosted by the Turkish Communication Research Association (ILAD)

www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu

The European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) and the Turkish Communication Research Association (ILAD), together with Istanbul Bilgi University, welcome the submission of abstracts for presentation at the 4th European Communication Conference to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 24 to 27 October 2012.

The general theme of the conference is 'Social Media-Global Voices'. The organisers call for proposals in all fields of communication and media studies, but particularly invite conceptual, empirical, and methodological proposals on social media and global communication phenomena and/or on comparative research.

ECREA is pleased to accept proposals for individual papers, panels as well as poster presentations. All proposals must be submitted through the conference website www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu and will be reviewed by the 17 ECREA thematic sections. The descriptions of the sections are listed further below in this message.

Abstracts should be written in English and contain a clear outline of the argument, the theoretical framework, and, where applicable, methodology and results. The preferred length of the individual abstracts is between 400 and 500 words (the maximum is 500 words). Panel proposals --which should consist of five individual contributions--, combine a panel abstract with five individual abstracts, each of which are between 400 and 500 words.

Participants may submit more than one proposal, but only one paper or poster by the same first author might be accepted. First authors can still be second (or third, etc.) author of other papers or posters, and can still act as chair or respondent of a panel.

All proposals should be submitted through the conference website from 1 December 2011 to 28 February 2012. Early submission is strongly encouraged. Please note that this submission deadline will not be extended.

Timeline
1 December 2011: Online submission system open
28 February 2012: Deadline for online submission
30 April 2012: Notification of the acceptance
15 August 2012: End of early bird registration fee
1 October 2012: Deadline for online registration

ECREA Thematic Sections descriptions

Audience and Reception Studies
The Audience and Reception Studies section invites contributions that focus on how people use and make sense of old and new media and with what consequences for individuals, groups, communities and societies. The section welcomes various approaches (theoretical/critical works, empirical studies, methodological discussions) and methods (quantitative or qualitative research, or both), and encourages submissions that cross disciplines (e.g. social sciences, political sciences, education sciences, humanities and arts, psychology) and traditional boundaries (e.g. between old and new media, between mass and group communication, between content/production and audience/ reception/effects).

Communication and Democracy
The Communication and Democracy section invites you to send in abstracts for papers as well as panel proposals focusing on the relationship between media, communication and democracy. Democracy is being defined here in a broad sense and is not merely limited to the procedural aspect of political systems, but also includes civic cultures. Equally, democracy does not only refer to (Western) models of liberal democracy, and media and communication relates to both more traditional (mass) media as well as the internet and newer forms of (digital) media and communication opportunities. The section-theme for 2012 Istanbul conference is "Social Media and Global Voices", but papers outside of this general theme will also be accepted. Abstracts and panel proposals should ideally address one of these sub-themes: democracy, participation and citizenship; critical approaches, theoretical challenges and methodological innovations; public spheres, counter-public spheres and beyond; media and political mobilizations, activism and protest cultures; the future of community media and (local) journalism (in a digital age) and their impact on (local) democracy; EU and/or national media & communication policies; civic engagement and media literacies.

Communication History
The Communication History section provides a forum for scholars from different European countries who approach communication with a historical perspective. The section invites contributions dealing with: the history of socially relevant and mass communication (e.g., the history of media production and institutions, history of journalism, public relations and advertising, new media histories, historical audiences); the history of communication in general (e.g., history of interpersonal or group communication); memory studies (e.g., mass media and social memory); the history of ideas related to the field of communication (the history of theories concerning public or mediated communication or the history of communication as a scientific field); the methodology and theory of communication history.

Communication Law and Policy
The Communication Law and Policy section provides a forum for the debate and analysis of past and current national and EU legal, regulatory and policy directions in the field of European media and communication. The field is interpreted broadly to include political, social, cultural, anthropological and economic questions. The section invites contributions (proposals for papers, posters or panels) in any area of (broadly understood) European media and communication law, regulation and policy, including historical, comparative and philosophical approaches to this domain. We welcome critical methodologies and analyses, as well as discussions on new ways of thinking about policy and law in the media, communication and cultural industries. We also welcome works that are situated at the intersection of macro-level and micro-level analysis, that use interdisciplinary approaches and works that push the boundaries of established work.

Diaspora, Migration and the Media
Transnational and diasporic communications have brought a number of theoretical and methodological challenges for European communication research, such as those relating to the significance of the national public spheres, national broadcasting, multicultural media and the cultural and communication practices of people living in culturally diverse societies. The section invites and encourages theoretical and empirical explorations of European communications and diversity from across Europe and beyond. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches and innovative studies in all areas of media and communication research (media production; media texts; consumption of media and communications technologies; national and transnational policy; media ethics and the representation of difference).

Digital Culture and Communication
The Digital Culture and Communication section aims at exchanging and developing research at the European level in the developing field of digital media and informational culture as this is broadly defined. We welcome work that crosses disciplines and that operates at the boundaries of what might generally be allowed to constitute media/communication systems. The section actively seeks both empirical and theoretical/critical work. It therefore welcomes work that questions the general specificity of 'the digital' and/or uses 'the digital' to rethink existing media and communication theories and approaches (as well as research methods).

Film Studies
Ranging from early cinema experiences in European metropolis, to the contemporary blockbuster multiplexes, film has always been at the forefront of European popular culture. The Film Studies section invites for contributions that deal with film in a broad variety of aspects: film as content, as cultural artefact, as commercial product, as lived experience, as cultural and economic institution, as symbolic field of cultural production, as media technology, etc. We strive towards methodological openness and multilevel approaches on the study of historical and contemporary cinema: film text, context, production, representation and reception. Cultural studies perspectives, historical approaches, political economy, textual analysis, audience research all find their place within the section.

Gender and Communication
The Gender and Communication section invites empirical and/or theoretical contributions to the field of communication with a specific interest in gender and its intersections. Gender is conceptualised in a broad sense, aiming for inclusivity and multivocality within the field. Contributions can therefore address gender or gender-related issues' intersection with concepts such as ethnicity, identity politics, age, or queer studies. As with gender, the concept of media is equally open. Contributions might therefore adopt an interdisciplinary approach, for example using insights from feminist media studies, popular culture studies, and post-structural theory or posing philosophical questions. Aiming to bridge the gap between communication and gender studies, this section welcomes approaches that combine a focus on gender with media research, namely media production, content analysis of media texts and media use and/or reception.

International and Intercultural Communication
The field of International and Intercultural Communication has changed considerably over the last years. Globalisation and its consequences have forced the field to broaden its scope. Furthermore the field is challenged from the outside by other disciplines engaging in the debate on the role of communication in globalisation processes. In this section we welcome contributions that take a broad view on cross-border communication in all its forms. We define cross-border communication in terms of communication crossing national or/and cultural borders and we focus on both mediated and personal forms of communication.

Interpersonal Communication and Social Interaction
The Interpersonal Communication and Social Interaction section welcomes contributions that focus on the study of human interaction and human communicative behaviour. The core is constituted of contacts and bonds between people, whether in private or public contexts, whether face-to-face or through various communication technologies. The research fields and theory development areas of interpersonal communication and social interaction are wide-ranging. They include interpersonal relationships, relationship formation, development and termination, group and team communication, conversational organisation, verbal and nonverbal communication, public speaking, radio and television performance, rhetoric, argumentation, persuasion and mutual influence, communicative competence and interpersonal skills, ethnography of speaking, and other related approaches to human social interaction. All kinds of contexts are welcome (e.g., family, work, instructional, political, health), as are all methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed).

Journalism Studies
The Journalism Studies section is concerned with cultural, political, economic, social and professional aspects of journalism and news work. The section accordingly invites for consideration papers of high quality across the range of journalism studies, focussing on occupational, participatory, regulatory, ethical, social, technological, political, commercial, cultural, educational, historical and other dimensions, with particular reference to the European and/or global context.

Organisational and Strategic Communication
The section for Organizational and Strategic Communication promotes an active and critical dialogue among scholars in view of consolidating an interdisciplinary field of debate, applications and complex projects. Its aim is to approach and to debate on the fundamentals of corporate communication, and to encourage the development of research topics and input concepts by different scholars in various European countries or elsewhere. The overall objective of the section is therefore to enhance the European research within the field of organizational and strategic communications as well as to refine the conceptual and methodological background of the correlated practice. The participation rules of the section allow contributions from researchers, professors, master and doctoral students, as well from corporate representatives whose aim is to develop the internal research portfolios of their own organizations. The section also allows for contributions of independent specialists and consultants in marketing, public communication or related fields, as the very field of organizational communication is difficult to observe unless part of the organizational systems.

Philosophy of Communication
The Philosophy of Communication section in particular sets out to consolidate a European forum for the philosophy of communication. Guided by the ideal of a free, rational, diverse, engaged and socially just Europe, the section is explicitly oriented to reflect the cultural variety and the variety of traditions in the history of thought, scholarship and science. The philosophy of communication encompasses a variety of concerns including reflective, theoretical, analytical, normative and historical questions relating to communication as a phenomenon, a dialectical process, a social reality, a form of expression, a theoretical construct or last but not at least a paradox. What distinguishes Philosophy of Communication from other approaches is the foundational dimension embodied by the section. The Philosophy of Communication section welcomes contributions that deal with questions regarding theory formation and methodology in communication scholarship, and with fundamental questions regarding the place of communication in human existence.

Political Communication
The Political Communication section invites empirical and/or theoretical contributions on the changing nature of the relationship between citizens, political actors and the media, old and new. We welcome papers that address issues such as: the implications of mediated and mediatized politics on the quality of modern democracy; the European political communication deficit; the link between political communication and media policy, new journalistic practices, but also rising antagonistic civic communicative inputs, practices and processes of the mediation and mediatization of politics. Similarly, we invite papers on communication strategies and news management of political elites; campaign communication; citizenship and public sphere; media effects on political orientations and participation; as well as interpersonal and online political communication. In line with the general theme of the 2012 ECC we are particularly interested in papers that take a comparative view on political communication in Europe. The section aims to bring together, and encourage critical and interdisciplinary approaches while creating dialogue between, a broad diversity of methodological and theoretical approaches.

Radio Research
Following its successful conference at the University of Minho in September 2011, the Radio Research Section invites proposals for ECC12. Abstracts are welcome from across as wide a range of interests related to radio as possible. We do not wish to limit the focus and scope of members' research in the medium, and the panels will be organized thematically once abstracts have been peer-reviewed and accepted. Whole panel proposals are also welcome, although please note that there will inevitably be pressure on the available timeslots in the programme. Panels and papers could be situated in the following fields as they relate to radio: audience studies; community radio; audio content (programming and genre); audio narratives; radio identities; parallel web and mobile platform content; digitisation; new or revised research methodologies; social networking and user-generated radio. Papers in languages other than English are very welcome, but in the absence of funding for translation services, paper proposers are encouraged to consider ways of communicating their research to as wide a range of participants as possible. This may involve showing a PowerPoint in English or another of the widely-used European languages.

Science and Environment Communication
The 21st century faces unprecedented challenges in the environment and science fields. The Science and Environment Communication section seeks to foster a strong and dynamic research network and welcomes work that crosses a range of disciplinary and methodological boundaries. Examples of topic areas include - but are far from restricted to: media representations of science and the environment; political and commercial discourse on the environment; dialogic, participatory approaches to the communication of research-based knowledge; communication, democracy and research governance; public engagement with science and the environment.

Television Studies
The Television Studies section aims to facilitate strong cooperation for European research and education in the field of television studies. In the face of technological and cultural changes to television 'as we know it', the section provides a network for TV researchers from a wide range of disciplines focussing on all aspects of television, both addressing the 'post-broadcast era' and television's history and multiple futures. The phenomenon of television in its broadest sense is the topic of the section: TV as programme, TV as aesthetic form, TV as lived experience, TV as cultural and economic institution, TV as part of legal and political actions, TV as symbolic field of cultural production, TV as popular entertainment, TV as media technology, TV as commodity, TV as part of convergence culture, etc. The section welcomes various approaches (theoretical, analytical, historical, empirical, critical, methodological) and encourages inter- and transdisciplinary work on television. For this conference, we would particularly but not only like to hear from researchers working on television and its relation to different forms of participatory media and new forms of interactive solutions such as over-the-top television. Another focus could be fan-like activities and television.