From: Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: 13 February 2006 10:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CFP: deadline extended: CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATION (CATaC'06)

International Conference on

CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'06)



**Submission deadline extended to: 27 February 2006**



28 June - 1 July 2006

University of Tartu, Estonia

http://www.catacconference.org



Conference theme:

Neither Global Village nor Homogenizing Commodification:

Diverse Cultural, Ethnic, Gender and Economic Environments



The biennial CATaC conference series continues to provide an 
international forum for the presentation and discussion of current 
research on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and 
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference 
series brings together scholars from around the globe who provide 
diverse perspectives, both in terms of the specific culture(s) they 
highlight in their presentations and discussions, and in terms of the 
discipline(s) through which they approach the conference theme.



The 1990s' hopes for an "electronic global village" have largely been 
shunted aside by the Internet's explosive diffusion. This diffusion was 
well described by Marx - all that is solid melts into air - and was 
predicted by postmodernists. The diffusion of CMC technologies quickly 
led to many and diverse internets. A single "Internet", whose identity 
and characteristics might be examined as a single unity, has not 
materialised. An initially culturally and gender homogenous Internet 
came more and more to resemble an urban metropolis. Along the way, in 
the commercialization of the Internet and the Web, "cultural diversity" 
gets watered down and exchanges strong diversity for a homogenous 
interchangeability. Such diversity thereby becomes commodified and 
serves a global capitalism that tends to foster cultural homogenization.



CATaC'06 continues our focus on the intersections of culture, 
technology, and communication, beginning with an emphasis on continued 
critique of the assumptions, categories, methodologies, and theories 
frequently used to analyse these. At the same time, CATaC'06 takes up 
our characteristic focus on ethics and justice in the design and 
deployment of CMC technologies. We particularly focus on developing 
countries facilitated by "on the ground" approaches in the work of NGOs, 
governmental agencies, etc., in ways that preserve and foster cultural 
identity and diversity. By simultaneously critiquing and perhaps 
complexifying our theories and assumptions, on the one hand, and 
featuring "best practices" approaches to CMC in development work, on the 
other hand, CATaC'06 aims towards a middle ground between a putative 
"global village" and homogenizing commodification. Such middle ground 
fosters cultural diversity, economic and social development, and more 
successful cross-cultural communication online.



Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical 
frameworks with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.: 
10-20 pages) and short papers (e.g. describing current research projects 
and preliminary results: 3-5 pages) are invited.



Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to:

- Culture isn't 'culture' anymore

- The Internet isn't the 'Internet' anymore

- Gender, culture, empowerment and CMC

- CMC and cultural diversity

- Ethics and justice

- Free/Open technology and communication

- Internet research ethics

- Cultural diversity and e-learning



SUBMISSIONS

All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of 
scholars and researchers and 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.



Full papers (10-20 formatted pages) - 27 February 2006
Short papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 27 February 2006

Notification of acceptance  - mid March 2006

Final formatted papers  - 29 March 2006



There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2006 
conference to appear in special issues of journals. Papers in previous 
conferences have appeared in journals (Journal of Computer Mediated 
Communication, Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique 
de Communication, AI and Society, Javnost- The Public, and New Media and 
Society) and a book (Culture, Technology, Communication: towards an 
Intercultural Global Village, 2001, edited by Charles Ess with Fay 
Sudweeks, SUNY Press, New York). You may purchase the conference 
proceedings from the 2002 and 2004 conference from 
www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac.



CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS

 Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, [log in to unmask]

 Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, [log in to unmask]

PROGRAM CHAIR

 Herbert Hrachovec, University of Vienna, Austria, 
[log in to unmask]

CONFERENCE CO-VICE-CHAIRS

 Pille Runnel, Tartu University, Estonia

 Pille Vengerfeldt, Tartu University, Estonia

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