Tag: Fukuoka

CFP ICA 2016 Preconference: The Politics and Economics of Chinese New Media Industries

Call for Papers: ICA 2016 Preconference:
The politics and economics of Chinese new media industries

[Selected full papers will be included in a special issue for International Communication Gazette, to be published in early-2018.]

Date and Venue
June 9th 2016, ICA conference hotel (Fukuoka, Japan)

Division Affiliations
Communication Law and Policy Division
Communication and Technology Division
Media Industry Studies Interest Group

Organizing committee:
Weiyu Zhang, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore
Zhan Li, Associate Professor, Xiamen University, China
Jing Wu, Professor, Peking University, China
Bingchun Meng, Associate Professor, London School of Economics, UK
Min Jiang, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, US

Keynote Speaker
Prof. Stephen Reese, School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin

Spotlight Presentation
Selected best submission will be featured as a spotlight presentation.

Conference Fee (lunch and two tea breaks included)
–         Free for presenters
–         25 USD for general audience

Sponsors
Xiamen University, China
Peking University, China

Aim and Scope
Just like many other indicators of China’s development, digital media industries in China are constantly generating impressive figures. For example, Alibaba’s initial public offering in 2014 was ranked world’s
biggest at $25 Billion; Wechat, the fastest rising social media app developed by Tencent, achieved a user base of 440 million within four years of its release. By February 2015, Chinese Internet users have
reached 641 million, more than double the number of users in the U.S. Numbers aside, however, there have not been much academic research on the regulatory context, the political and economic dynamics, as well as the broader implications at both domestic and global levels of such fast-pace development. For instance, there are increasing efforts from the Chinese government and elites to articulate alternative frameworks over the global governance of the Internet and new media industries.

This preconference intends to serve as a platform to facilitate dialogues around the political, the economic, the institutional and the policy aspects of media industries in China, in view of the rapid
development of digital media. But this is not just about having ‘China experts’ analyzing Chinese companies or Chinese policies. We are keen to move beyond the ‘China exceptionalism” by taking an explicitly global and comparative perspective. For one thing, the ownership structure and the business practices of Chinese digital media companies are intricately related to global capitalism in general. For another, Chinese information technology companies, such as Baidu, Alibaba, ZTE and Huawei, are aggressively expanding their businesses overseas, especially in Africa and South East Asia, with varied degrees of success. Last but not the least, through platforms like the National Office for Internet and Information, and channels like the Sino-US Internet Forum, the Chinese authorities are actively participating in the construction of international and global policy frames concerning the future development of digital media industries.

With the global reach of Chinese IT companies and the international ambition of Chinese government, it is imperative to understand how the new developments in Chinese digital media industries, are reconfiguring the politics and the economics of information and communication technologies (ICTs).  Moreover, it is important to understand how traditional media such as mainstream newspapers respond to such changes and incorporate digitalization into their own industry plans. This preconference aims to invite scholars from all over the world to tackle the issue, primarily using China as a context in which innovative research questions and methods can be applied.

We are particularly interested in papers that address the following themes:
–         The globalization and internationalization of Chinese media industries, including both Internet and other traditional media
–         The roles of international regulatory bodies and international non-governmental organizations in shaping the landscape of new media in China
–         The roles of Chinese authorities in shaping global policies regarding information and communication technologies (ICTs)
–         The economics of Chinese new ICT companies, including foreign and local venture capitalists, shareholders, business models, sources of profits, consumer strategy, etc.
–         The evolving political parallelism in Chinese media industry
–         Comparisons of Chinese new media industry with other countries’ media industry

Abstract Submissions
Please submit a 500-words abstract in word or pdf format to ica15china@gmail.com.  All submissions will be subject to a double-blind review by at least 2 reviewers. To facilitate the review process, please write a separate cover sheet with the paper title and affiliation/s and omit the affiliations in the actual abstract.

Deadlines
–         Submission of abstracts: Jan 15th 2016
–         Notification of acceptance: March 1st 2016
–         Final paper submission: June 1st 2016

CFP ICA 2016 Communicating with Power (Fukuoka, Japan)

CFP International Communication Association convention
Fukuoka, Japan, 9-13 June 2016

As communication scholars, we research a field so important that it is protected by all constitutions and, at the highest level, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The subject matter of our study, human expression and its formal form as media, is protected because governments recognise (or at least declare that they do) human expression and the media can be politically charged. Through communication, we make the difference to democracy and thereby make a difference in the lives of others.

Although communication is present in many important areas of policy making and in the ways our societies are governed, yet we are not often heard or even consulted. The theme of this year’s conference is reminder to ourselves as well as the larger world about the potential contribution of our work and raising awareness about such contribution. The theme of the conference is therefore aimed at raising our profile in communicating effectively with not only government agencies and corporate players but also civil society and grassroots organizations. The acts of communication occur at micro, meso, and macro levels, from the psychological to interpersonal, from organizational to global. They need more theoretical critique, methodological rigor, philosophical reflection, creative intervention, and alternative historical imagination.

The theme may be understood at a couple of levels. Communicating power is about communicating—both sending and receiving—powerfully or forcefully. This is reaching out to the influencers, not necessarily just those holding formal positions. It is speaking with a louder voice, designing with cleverer graphics, shooting with more artistic and appealing videography. It is gamification so that messages are absorbed and acted upon. It is investigating phenomena and variables that, when better understood, will make a bigger difference with more people, making a corner of the world a better place.

But there is a level I would like members to consider: how can we make our research better understood by those with the power to use them for good. This is not just for the law and policy crowd and policy makers. How can, for example, health communication scholars reach their target audience—be they doctors, public policy-makers, citizens—with their findings? How can colleagues studying culture and identity help children and youth, who grow up in today’s global culture, to understand their own identity? After studying the latest video games or the next Gangnam Style, how can we communicate our meaningful discoveries to parents and teachers, to multimedia corporations such as Sony?

We cannot be naïve if we want to communicate with power. Sometimes, communicating with power requires us to bypass power centres entirely because they are flawed or corrupted and appeal directly to our audience. What are such occasions? What are the limiting conditions in appealing to power centres?

The currency of academia is influence. If we can influence to make a positive difference, we would have communicated with power.

Conference Program Chair
Peng Hwa Ang, President Elect
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Theme Session Proposals
Submissions to theme session must follow general guidelines (i.e., papers must be blinded and will be peer-reviewed; they should be no longer than 25 pages or approximately 8,000 words). Proposals for papers and panels on the conference theme are invited from all sectors of the field, and will be evaluated competitively by anonymous referees. Theme-based submissions should be cross-divisional; that is, they should span the interests and purview of more than one ICA Division or Interest Group. Papers or panels must not, however, be submitted simultaneously for consideration to more than one Division or Interest Group. All submissions should have broad appeal across the units of the association. All theme-based papers and panels may also be programmed on special panels or within the interactive paper (poster) session. Panel proposals on the conference theme must include a 400-word rationale explaining how the panel fits the conference theme and a 75-word summary of the rationale to appear in the conference program. In keeping with ICA tradition, an edited volume focusing on the conference theme will be published. This volume will draw from presentations in Divisions, Interest Groups, and theme sessions.

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