Urban Communication Foundation
Call for Proposals
White Paper Project 
 
Urban Communication is the study of communication within an urban context. The built environment is rich with information and physical architectures that manifest unique social situations. From traffic patterns to sidewalks, to mobile computing and surveillance technologies, the issues presented by the rapidly changing communication context constructed through urban environments are vast and varied.

The Urban Communication Foundation (UCF) has been a leader in promoting scholarship in this general area. The Foundation has funded dozens of research projects and acknowledged dozens of scholars that have advanced the field of study. We now seek to extend this influence by focusing in on particular issues or areas of research. As such, will be soliciting public research reports on issues that have a direct bearing on public policy and/or the everyday life for people within cities.
 
These reports should be between 8000-10000 words in length and present original research on the topic. The end product should aim to have some influence on policy makers, community leaders and scholars and contribute to basic research and practical solutions. The author(s) of the top rated proposal will receive a stipend of $10,000. The money can go to individuals or institutions to provide various forms of research support.
 
The UCF is proud to announce the first call for research reports on the topic of Digital Networks and Urban Public Space. Interested researchers should submit a proposal outlining the research problem and how it intersects with established urban questions or problems that have yet to be adequately addressed. (See guidelines below).
 
Topics might include but are not limited to: 

• how urban architecture can use digital scaffolding to enhance public spaces
• how Federal or municipal communication policies can positively impact municipal governments or civic life
• the relationship between open data, communication infrastructures, and better government
• communication technology-focused citizen engagement
• how digital networks alter sense of place and change the shape and role of cities

Guidelines for Submitting Proposals/Applications

• Proposals should address each of the following:
              1. Identification of the communication problem or opportunity
              2. Description of the research project and methodology employed
              3. Desired impact 

Each of these three sections of the proposal should be limited to approximately 500 words. Please include a cover page with the name, position, institution, and contact  information for all authors. Please adhere to a standard citation form.
 
Applications should include a short itemized budget and a concise statement providing a rationale for the expenses listed in the budget. Funds may be expended in a variety of ways (e.g., to hire a research assistant or for a course by-out), provided that it is clear how doing so will enable the researcher(s) to complete the proposed work. Funds may not be used to purchase computer hardware. Funds awarded by the UCF may be utilized to offset fringe costs (such as those often involved in hiring a research assistant), but the Foundation will not cover overhead expenses (i.e., indirect costs). In any case, the total amount of the award will not exceed $10,000.

• Applicants should include a current CV and one letter of recommendation. The referee should be able to assess the significance and viability of the project described in the proposal, as well as the qualifications of the applicant as they pertain to the proposed work.
• Proposals should be submitted to Eric Gordon at Eric_Gordon [at] emerson [dot] edu no later than April 30, 2012. Funding decisions will be made  by  June 1, 2012. White papers should be completed no later than May 1, 2013. White papers will be published on the UCF website and disseminated widely.
  Evaluation of Proposals and Awarding Funds
• A committee consisting of two Urban Communication Foundation members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Advisors, as well as an external reviewer will evaluate all applications submitted by the specified deadline.
• UCF will contact the author(s) of the top-rated proposal to ascertain their commitment to the proposed research project and will subsequently release funds to the researcher(s).
• The UCF will announce the proposal selected on the Foundation’s web site. The author(s) will be recognized as Urban Communication Foundation Fellows.

Journal of Media Psychology
Call for Papers

Journal of Media Psychology is calling for papers for a special issue about the role of media in health communication.

Media is a powerful tool to communicate knowledge and attitudes regarding diverse health issues, and can therefore impact on health behaviour as well as understanding and appraisal of health issues. Media can be used to educate general and specific tar-get audiences about health issues, link health workers to the public, connect people with similar health issues and persuade audiences to adopt new behaviours.

This special issue aims to enhance understanding of the role of media in health com-munication processes. A broad range of topics are welcome, although suggested top-ics should shed light on the role of media in health communication from a psy-chological perspective. A variety of media applications at a diversity of populations, technologies, content and contexts can and should be considered. Papers can explore how meanings about health issues are generated, investigate how health issues and coping with them are portrayed in different forms of media, explore how media use affects the physical, mental, or behavioural health, explore the ways in which diverse audiences engage with media and negotiate health issues. We invite papers in but not limited to the following areas:

• media audiences and health communication
• popular media and health images effects
• using media campaigns for health promotion
• using the Internet as a source of health information
• using entertainment media/electronic games for health issues
• using electronic games, as Wii or Kinect, for sports/physical well-being

Manuscript preparation and submission:

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the journal’s author guidelines (available on the journal’s website at www.hogrefe.com/periodicals/journal-of-media-psychology/). Papers should be clearly labelled as submissions intended for this special issue and must be submitted through the journal’s online manuscript management system (www.editorialmanager.com/jmp/). All submissions will be anonymously reviewed, using the normal Journal of Media Psychology review criteria while also taking into account the contribution of the paper to understanding norms in virtual work.

Deadline for submissions is June 30th, 2012.

Informal enquiries on the special issue can be made to Dagmar Unz
(dagmar.unz@udk-berlin.de) or to the Editorial Office (contact-jmp@uni-koeln.de).

Dagmar Unz & Bettina Friedrich  - Guest Editors

Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (JICMS)
Call for Papers

The Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (JICMS) is a new English-language forum for theoretical, methodological, and critical debate on Italian film and media production, reception, and consumption. It provides a platform for dialogue between academics, filmmakers, cinema and media professionals. This peer-reviewed journal invites submissions of scholarly articles relating to the artistic features, cultural themes, international influence, and history of Italian film and media as art forms and industries.

Within the realm of a postnational and trans-cultural debate, the purpose of the JICMS is to refer to Italy as the unifying geo-cultural site for a contemporary discussion on translocal cinema. The journal aims to elaborate a multifaceted definition of Italian cinema, transcending geo-ethnic land and sea borders and moving away from merely celebratory local cinematic experiences.

The JICMS intends to revive a critical discussion on the auteurs and celebrate the dynamic role played by new directors, revisit the historiography of Italian cinema, and devote attention to Italophone filmmakers and accented cinema. The journal welcomes contributions which explore the impact of globalisation on the Italian film industry, the encounters between cinema and other art forms, the hybridisation of film and media aesthetics, the relationships of multimodal communication and inter-medial practices, and the development of innovative transmedia texts and crossmedia narratives.

The JICMS also invites submissions which examine experimental cinema, video art, short films, long/short feature and documentary animation, original and adapted screenplays, film music (songs and scores), issues of stardom, and reception studies. The professional contributions of screenplay writers, art directors, cinematographers, film editors, costume designers, and make-up artists are also potential subject areas for submissions. Authors should avoid to submit abstracts and essays that deal with only one film or are close readings of a character’s psychological process. JICMS seeks more comprehensive topics and treatments.

Interested contributors should send 500-word abstracts outlining the topic, approach and theoretical bases, relevant bibliography and filmography, and 200-word biographical notes (listing academic publications) to the Editor to the following address: flaviosa@wellesley.edu.

For more information, visit: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=215/

Instructional/Developmental Communication
Call for Papers

The George Gerbner Conference on Communication, Conflict, and Aggression
June 1-2, 2012 in Budapest, Hungary

Inspired by the life and work of Budapest native and renowned Communication and Media scholar Dr. George Gerbner (1919-2005), the Budapest College of Communication and Business invites scholars, researchers, practitioners, students, and other interested parties to submit paper and panel proposals for presentation at the George Gerbner Conference on Communication, Conflict, and Aggression. This conference will take place from Friday, June 1 to Saturday, June 2, 2012 in Budapest, Hungary. The goal of the conference is to bring together individuals with a common interest in aggressive communication and conflict so as to foster international relationships that lead to research collaboration and knowledge exchange. The inaugural Gerbner Conference, held in May 2010, featured presentations by scholars from seven countries and three continents.

This international conference will focus on aggressive communication and behavior, conflict, and other types of antisocial communication and behavior across contexts. Specific topics include, but are not limited to: media violence, media coverage of crime and violence, violence in advertising, political violence, workplace violence and aggression, aggression in instructional settings, war rhetoric, peace and conflict communication, verbal aggression, crime, oppression, injustice, incivility, assertiveness, argumentativeness, disagreement, bullying, indirect aggression, psychological abuse, anger, frustration, hostility, deception, child abuse, spousal abuse, domestic violence, youth violence, school violence, gang violence, sexual violence, discrimination, conflict styles, conflict resolution, the origins, causes, and predictors of aggression, and the management and prevention of aggression.

Interested individuals are invited to submit an abstract (in English) of 200 to 500 words describing their individual presentation or panel idea to Rebecca.Chory@mail.wvu.edu by March 1, 2012. Decisions regarding the acceptance of papers and panels for presentation at the conference will be made by March 19, 2012. Completed papers should be sent to Rebecca.Chory@mail.wvu.edu by May 1, 2012. With the authors’ permission, top papers will be published in the journal Kommunikáció, Média, Gazdaság (Communication, Media, Economics), which is published by the Budapest College of Communication and Business or in an edited book. One scholar will also be honored with the Gerbner Award. The conference registration fee is expected to be approximately $50 to $60USD.

Co-organizers of the conference are Dr. Jolán Róka, Vice Rector for Research and International Relations at the Budapest College of Communication and Business, and Dr. Rebecca M. Chory, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at West Virginia University and 2009 Fulbright Scholar at the Budapest College of Communication and Business. For more information, please contact Jolán Róka at jroka@bkf.hu; +36-20-366-5023 (tel); Budapest College of Communication and Business; Nagy Lajos király útja 1-9; 1148, Budapest, Hungary; or Rebecca M. Chory at Rebecca.Chory@mail.wvu.edu; 304-293-3905 (tel); P.O. Box 6293, 108 Armstrong Hall; West Virginia University; Morgantown, WV, 26506; USA.

CIRC10: Social Media, Digital Entertainment, Governance & Social Movements
Call for Papers
University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

Please note the following NEW DATES for the 10th Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) 2012, hosted by University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

Deadline for submission of papers has been extended to March 10, 2012.

Authors will be notified of acceptance latest by March 31, 2012. We will make every effort to give earlier notification.

Conference dates: May 21-22, 2012.

Ten years ago, when China’s Internet population totaled 22.5 million and Facebook and Twitter had not even been conceived, a group of researchers came together to organize a conference to study the Internet in China. By all indications even then, it was clear that China would have a major impact on the global digital economy. Ten years on, that foresight has been vindicated.

China today has the largest Internet population of any country and it has made its presence felt in the Internet space. In all aspects of the Internet – online gaming, microblogging, search engines, e-commerce, content regulation, Internet governance, international domain names - China is both changing and being changed by the Internet.

The annual Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) investigates these phenomena, asking probing questions into what, how, to what extent, and why these changes are taking and have taken place. Hosted by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, the 10th Annual Chinese Internet Research Conference - CIRC10 - will be held on May 22-23, 2012, in Los Angeles, the world's entertainment capital.

CIRC10 will examine trends and themes as we explore the ways in which the Internet and other technologies interact with Chinese cultural and social life.

We welcome contributions from all and disciplines that seek to address these themes.

This interdisciplinary conference brings together scholars, analysts, industry leaders, journalists and legal practitioners from around the world to examine the impact of the Internet on Chinese societies, its social, cultural, political and economic aspects, as well as how China is changing the Internet.

Submissions may come from any discipline. Specific topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Industry involvement - gaming, youth, social media; consumption patterns, online popular culture; China as original developer in gaming products;
• Governance issues - state regulation and content controls; e-government and mgovernment; civil society and Internet governance; China and global Internet governance;
• Online social movements - social media and grassroots activism; micro blogging and its impact across traditional Internet portals and start-ups over the new generation of Chinese "digital natives";
• Ten years in retrospect – review of developments in digital/social media and prognoses for the future of the internet

We will accept three categories of English-language submissions:

• Full papers - these should be 20-25 pages long with a maximum of
  10,000 words
• Extended abstracts - these should be 750-1,000 words
• Panel submissions - these should have a maximum of 2,000 words.

All proposals will be peer reviewed. Submissions should be sent via e-mail to chinainternet10@gmail.com by March 10, 2012. Please include your affiliation, title (include graduate student status if applicable), and contact information. If you are proposing a panel, please include that information for all panelists.

Authors will be notified of acceptance latest by March 31, 2012. We will make every effort to give earlier notification.

Selected papers from the conference may be published in a conference volume or a special symposium issue of an academic journal. Participation in the conference neither guarantees nor compels publication of a paper.A limited amount of travel funding will be available for promising young scholars.

To indicate interest in the travel scholarship, please attach your CV along with the submitted abstract.

Graduate students may submit conference papers for the annual graduate student paper competition. Eligibility is limited to papers that do not include any faculty co-authors submission.

Conference cooperating institutions include:
The Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake University Law School; Institute for Pacific Asia at Texas A&M University; School of Journalism and Communication at Chinese University of Hong Kong; School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University; Singapore Internet Research Center (SiRC) at Nanyang Technological University

Past Chinese Internet Research Conferences were held at:
Georgetown University (CIRC9), Peking University (CIRC8), the University of Pennsylvania (CIRC7), the University of Hong Kong (CIRC6), Texas A&M University (CIRC5), Nanyang Technological University (CIRC4), Michigan State University (CIRC3), University of California at Berkeley CIRC2), and the University of Southern California (CIRC1).

The Convener of CIRC10:
USC Annenberg School was founded in 1971 with generous support from Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. Its strategic location in Los Angeles at USC enables it to foster dynamic synergies and multidisciplinary approaches to the study of communication and journalism through unparalleled access to the nation's and the world's entertainment, media and technology industries. Today, with more than 83 full-time faculty members and 120 adjunct professors, more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students, and dozens of research and public interest projects and programs, USC Annenberg has become a center for discussion among scholars and professionals in journalism, communication, public policy, media, and education. Multidisciplinary and international in scope, focused and practical in application, USC Annenberg scholars, both students and faculty, are defining these fields for the 21st century and beyond.

USC Annenberg School is proud to host CIRC10, marking the 10th anniversary from when the conference series first started at USC Annenberg.