CFP: Mobile Research for Building a Better World

11th Annual ICA Mobile Pre-conference Workshop 

Mobile Research for Building a Better World 

May 21 – 22, 2014 Seattle, WA 

www.icamobile.org 

Mobile communication focuses on the intersection of mobility, place, technology, and culture, against a backdrop of rapid international economic and social change. The past decade of research on mobile communication has expanded on topics such as the reordering of social relationships, the global diffusion of mobile media, and the societal and psychological effects of mobile usage. This uniquely situates mobile communication for an interdisciplinary pre-conference to address positive and negative impacts of mobile-mediated communication in society. In the 11th ICA Mobile Pre-conference Workshop, in the lush Pacific Northwest, we want to reflect upon the positive and negative aspects brought to our lives by this rapid spread of mobile communication, through the theme of “Mobile Research for Building a Better World.” Complementing the main conference theme, we expect participants to promote various definitions of “the good life” – such as capital enhancement, personal freedoms, social justice, more productive interactions, and stronger social ties – or factors that impede it. We anticipate a broad range of topics in mobile communication and welcome abstracts based on empirical and theoretical work entwined with mobile communication as it relates to: 

• International contexts 
• International development 
• Health 
• Social media 
• Cultural differences 
• Gender 
• Local culture and heritage 
• Learning and education 
• Journalism 
• Activism and social movements 
• Politics 
• Civic engagement 
• Usability issues 
• Methodologies 

Submission Information 

Submissions are welcomed from scholars at all stages of their careers, and across multiple disciplines engaged in research on mobile communication. Submissions should be extended abstracts of no more than 750 words and be in Word doc/docx or PDF format. Submissions will be accepted through email to submissions@icamobile.org. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM EST on November 18, 2013. Papers will be judged by peer review on criteria of relevance and originality of topic, adequacy of literature review and methodology, legitimacy of conclusions, clarity of presentation, as well as fit with — and contribution to — the conference theme. Notifications on acceptance will be emailed in early January. 

Best Paper Award 

An award for the best paper will be given at this event. Only full papers submitted by the spring deadline for full paper submission (March 31st, 2014) will be considered for this award. 

Venue 

The mobile pre-conference will be held at the University of Washington. Transportation to the venue from the conference hotel will be provided at the beginning and end of each day’s events. Additionally, the venue is accessible by public transportation.

10 Years On: Looking Forwards in Mobile ICT Research (International Communication Association Preconference 2013)

LSE New Academic Building (NAB)

Sardinia Street (off Kingsway), London WC2A 2AE, UK 

June 16-17, 2013 

http://icamobile.org/2013/

Aims of the Pre-Conference Workshop 

This Workshop aims to understand more about the implications of the fast moving mobile world both on the social practices of the users of mobile ICTs as well as, and following the main ICA conference theme, on the ability of researchers to deliver reliable and effective research material. This 10th Mobile Communications ICA pre-conference provides a chance to take stock, reflect on and look forward to developments in research in this field over the forthcoming years. This will include discussing the general expectations and aspirations of an invited panel of experts and exploring the future research implications of contemporary studies to be reported at the conference.

Living Inside Mobile Social Information

April 29-30, 2013 at

Boston University 

An Experts' Workshop & Public Panel Discussion

http://www.bu.edu/com/mobile-life-workshop/index.html

About the Experts' Workshop

What will social life be like when each of us has instant personal information about those around us? It is easy to conjure utopian and dystopian visions of this future. By contrast, the purpose of this workshop is to draw upon empirical evidence we already have to construct frameworks for rigorous understandings of these likely changes. Emerging technologies are increasingly offering mobile people convenient heads-up displays of situationally relevant data on an individualized basis. Such data could be based on cues such as eye-tracking or physical location in an environment. Data streams could include co-location of friends, commercial offers, tourist information, news and sports updates, and even running scans of personal characteristics of passers-by on the street. When chatting with friends, voice stress analysis and other psychological state indications could be detected and displayed to users. A host of issues will arise as people begin interacting with these technologies which will likely engage a gamut of utopian and dystopian possibilities. Google offers a point-of-view video characterizing what life might be like.

Having readily accessible information concerning the ambient environment is for many an exciting prospect though for others it is a source of concern and distress. Yet despite strong reactions to these developments, commentary on how such technologies may affect social relations and individuals' internal states has too often remained the province of casual commentators.

By contrast, drawing on research – including on topics such as ubiquitous and immersive computing, media and locational badges, and distributed context-aware applications – insights may be available concerning interactions that future users may face. Historical analogies should also prove illuminating. The purpose of this workshop therefore is to move past casual speculation and instead draw on systematic social-science based analyses of relevant issues regarding interaction under mobile conditions when information, especially socially relevant information, is widely available.

Living Inside Mobile Social Information