21.392 cfp: ICTs Bridging Cultures? Theories, Obstacles, Best Practices

               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 21, No. 392.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
  www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/cch/research/publications/humanist.html
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 07:44:17 +0000
         From: Charles Ess <charles.ess_at_gmail.com>
         Subject: 2nd CFP: CATaC'08

Dear Humanists -
please distribute to pertinent colleagues, students, lists - with apologies
for cross-postings -

CALL FOR PAPERS

ICTs Bridging Cultures? Theories, Obstacles, Best Practices
6th International Conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and
Communication (CATaC08)

24-27 June 2008
Universite de Nîmes, France
Conference languages: English and French
www.catacconference.org

The biennial CATaC conference series - 10 years old in 2008! - provides a
premier international forum for current research on how diverse cultural
elements shape the implementation and use of information and communication
technologies (ICTs). The conference series brings together scholars from
around the globe who provide diverse cultural and disciplinary perspectives
in their presentations and discussions of the conference theme and topics
(listed below).

Nîmes, inhabited by Celts since the 4th ct. B.C.E., became a Gallo-Roman
city in 18 BCE, and is home to some of the best-preserved examples of Roman
engineering and architecture. The Pont de Gard, an aquaduct bridge across
the Gard river, serves as our primary metaphor for CATaC 2008: ICTs as
technologies bridging cultures. Our venue in multi-cultural Nîmes further
provides us with a number of cultural experiences and pleasures unique to
the South of France. Finally, CATaC 2008 emphasizes francophone
participation in a number of ways, including, translation provided for
abstracts in French and English, and for questions and answers following
presentations.

Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks
with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.) and short papers
(e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results) are
invited.

TOPICS include but are not limited to:
- Language as a core issue in cultural diversity with IT: are languages
shaping a new IT world?
- CMC as fostering and/or threatening cultural diversity
- Theoretical and practical approaches to analyzing "culture" and its impact
on the use and implementation of ICTs
- ICTs in the francophone world, including: influences of francophone usages
globally and cross-cultural comparisons
- Beyond glocalization and homogenization: new mixtures of identities and
cultures as facilitated by ICTs
- Empowerment and CMC, including issues of gender, languages and power
(economic, political, social)
- Values, ethics, justice, and ICTS
- Cultural and linguistic diversity and e-learning

SUBMISSIONS
All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars
and researchers. Accepted papers will appear in the conference proceedings.
Submission of a paper implies that it has not been submitted or published
elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted paper is expected to present
the paper at the conference.

Schedule:
- Full papers (maximum 15 formatted pages) - 14 January 2008
- Short and panel papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 21 January 2008
- Notification of acceptance - mid February 2008
- Final formatted papers - 28 February 2008

The review process will be handled electronically through a review system,
linked to the conference website. Papers may be submitted in either French
or English. We strongly encourage submissions to include abstracts both in
French and English, since accepted papers will be published in the
Proceedings with abstracts in both languages. We will translate abstracts if
necessary. Accepted papers must be formatted according to the conference
proceedings template (download from www.catacconference.org).

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The keynote speakers are Marie-Françoise Narcy-Combes, University of Nantes,
and Jean-Paul Narcy-Combes, University of Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle. Their
topic is "Local Eyes for Global Vision: Can human intelligence and
technology help?"

PANELS
The program includes a number of panels:
- Culture and psychology (Chair: Professor Alexander Voiskounsky, Moscow
State University, Russia)
- Beyond Hall, Hofstede, and 'Culture' (Chairs: Connie Kampf, University of
Aarhus, Denmark and Jose Abdelnour-Nocera, Thames Valley University, UK)
(Additional panel proposals will be considered.)

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation details are on the conference website. Be aware that Nîmes is
a very popular vacation destination in June and July so accommodation will
need to be booked as early as possible.

SPONSORS
Universite de Nîmes
Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres de Montpellier
Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Bèziers

CONFERENCE CHAIRS
   Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, catac_at_it.murdoch.edu.au
   Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac_at_it.murdoch.edu.au

CONFERENCE VICE CHAIR
   Marie-Christine Deyrich, IUFM de Montpellier,
   France, marie-christine.deyrich_at_montpellier.iufm.fr

PROGRAM CHAIR
   Herbert Hrachovec, University of Vienna, Austria
Received on Wed Dec 05 2007 - 03:52:28 EST