Tag: Sun Sun Lim

CFP Mobile Communication & the Asian family

Call for chapters: Mobile Communication and the Asian family – Transforming technologies, changing households
Edited by Sun Sun Lim, National University of Singapore
To be published by Springer in January 2015

This book explores how mobile communication technologies are penetrating Asia at a rapid rate, and being avidly domesticated by households in Asia. It investigates how such technologies are being incorporated into Asian families’ daily routines for work, education, entertainment and household coordination, while being appropriated for communication and the nurturance of family bonds. Even as mobile communication technology is evolving relentlessly, families in Asia are also going through a period of transformation as the region experiences unprecedented
economic growth, urbanisation and demographic shifts. Asia is therefore at the crossroads of technological transformation and social change and this book seeks to capture the mutual impact of these two contemporaneous trends through the lens of the family. I welcome research on different types of families (e.g. nuclear, blended, single-parent, multigenerational, grandparent-led etc.), from a spectrum of socio-economic profiles, that utilise a range of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches, and which are informed by a diversity of theoretical perspectives.

*Research by emerging Asia-focused and/or Asia-based scholars whose work
has not previously been published in English is especially welcome.*

Chapter proposals are sought for topics including but not limited to the
following:
*             Influence of socio-cultural norms on families’ appropriation of mobile communication technologies
*             Time management and micro-coordination
*             Practices and negotiations pertaining to acquisition, ownership and usage of mobile communication devices and services
*             Blurring boundaries between work and family
*             Issues of (dis)empowerment, privacy and surveillance
*             Nature and quality of family interaction
*             Inter-generational differences in perceptions and usage of mobile communication
*             Parental mediation of mobile device usage

Please submit chapter proposals of up to 800 words, and brief author biographies of up to 300 words as an e-mail attachment by 15 May 2014. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by 5 June 2014 and invited to submit a full paper to sunlim@nus.edu.sg . Manuscripts should be no more than 8,000 words, including notes and references, conform to APA style, and submitted by 30 September, 2014.  All papers will be subject to anonymous peer review following submission.

CFP Mobile phones in Asia

Call for papers: Special Issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

From SMS to Smartphones: Tracing the Impact of the Mobile Phone in Asia
Publication date: October 2013

The mobile phone has had a discernible impact on Asia, given its affordability, versatility and ubiquity as the key platform for computer-mediated communication. It has been widely deployed in virtually every aspect of everyday life, be it in commerce, politics, governance, education, religion, entertainment or recreation. The diversity and complexity of this fast-growing region has birthed innovative and ground-breaking applications of the mobile phone. While basic feature phones are already a mainstay in both rural and urban Asia, the smartphone is now rapidly diffusing through the region at a rate exceeding the rest of the world. Bringing the idea of the ubiquitous web to fruition, the smartphone’s heightened connectivity and thriving app market are enabling yet more revolutionary uses of the mobile phone. While the rising adoption of the smartphone burgeons with potential for civic action, commercial enterprise, employment and educational opportunities and social service provision, challenges are also emerging for consumers, industries and governments alike.

The early phase of mobile communication research was influenced by studies and theorization from North America and Europe. Spurred on by the wide diffusion of mobiles globally, research is now very much seeking to understand the international underpinnings of this form of mediated communication, especially as it increasingly blurs the lines between computers, Internet, and phones. Over the past decade, Asian research has been important in addressing the rapid diffusion, transformation, and shift in mobiles. Such research is growing, but is still relatively incipient. Against this backdrop, this special issue seeks to bring together the latest research findings, regional understandings, conceptualizations, and theories of the mobile in Asia. Article proposals are sought for topics including but not limited to the following:

*          does a digital divide exist in Asia with regard to mobile phone penetration and usage trends and if so, how can and should they be remedied?
*          what are the implications of the development of mobiles – especially smartphones and mobile Internet – for contemporary media in Asia?
*          how is the growing proliferation of the smartphone facilitating unprecedented forms and scales of communication?
*          how do issues of broad infrastructure provisions and market pricing influence the behaviour of mobile phone users?
*          how are the location based services offered by smartphones altering user behaviour and lifestyles?
*          how does mobile Internet use complement and possibly complicate fixed location Internet use?
*          what implications does the growth of smartphone apps have for the cultural complexion of Asian countries?
*          how is the mobile phone serving the needs of marginalised communities in Asia?
*          to what extent do smartphones and the behaviour which they enable test the boundaries of existing regulatory frameworks?
*          how does the rising ubiquity of the smartphone and by implication, that of always-on, always-available Internet access challenge prevailing theoretical frameworks relating to inter alia, technology acceptance, mobility, communication, social influence and identity?

Please submit an 800 word abstract and a 100 word biographical note to both special issue editors as an e-mail attachment no later than 30 June 2012.  Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 15 July 2012 and invited to submit a full paper. Manuscripts should be no more than 8,000 words, including notes and references, conform to APA style, and submitted by 30 October, 2012.  All papers will be subject to anonymous peer review following submission.

Important dates
Deadline for abstracts                  30 June 2012
Decisions to authors                      15 July 2012
Full paper submission                   30 October 2012
Decisions                                          30 January 2013
Revised paper submission           30 April 2013
Final proofs                                      30 June 2013
Issue publication                            October 2013

Special issue editors
Sun Sun LIM, National University of Singapore, sunlim@nus.edu.sg
Gerard Goggin, University of Sydney, gerard.goggin@usyd.edu.au