CFP: National Association for Ethnic Studies 34th Annual Conference
Location:
California, United States
Conference Date:
2006-03-30

From March 30 to April 1, 2006, the National Association for Ethnic Studies (NAES) hold its 34th national conference at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. The conference theme is "Ethnic Communities in Transition." The papers, panels, workshops and media productions from prople in all disciplines and interdisciplinary areas of the arts, business, social sciences, humanities, science and education will ensure a lively conference. For more information, please contact us or go to our website. We hope to see you in San Francisco.

Cecily C. Hazelrigg National Association for Ethnic Studies American Cultural Studies Western Washington University 516 High Street-MS 9113 Bellingham, WA 98225-9113 Phone: 360-650-2349 Fax: 360-650-2690Email: cecily.hazelrigg@wwu.eduVisit the website at http://www.ethnicstudies.org

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CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: TELEPRESENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE
A study of portrayals of presence
Due Date:2006-04-13
Technologies that evoke presence (short for telepresence) - a sense of "being there" in a virtual or media environment, or more generally, an "illusion of nonmediation" - are increasingly available to and popular with the public. And even though the term itself is rarely used, portrayals of presence have become common in popular culture - in films (e.g., The Matrix), on television (e.g., the various Star Trek series), in novels (e.g., William Gibson's Neuromancer), and elsewhere.

We're conducting a systematic analysis of these portrayals in which fictional characters experience one or more types of presence (see the web site of ISPR, the International Society for Presence Research, , for detailed definitions) to better understand:
<> the possible forms and contents of future presence-evoking technologies and experiences
<> the types of presence-evoking technologies, experiences and applications that people want
<> the types of presence-evoking technologies, experiences and applications that people fear
<> the reasons humans desire presence experiences
<> the different ethical issues and perspectives raised by advanced presence-evoking technologies
<> the degree to which fictional portrayals have accurately predicted the form and content of new technologies

We've developed a short online coding instrument for a qualitative content analysis of portrayals of presence and linked the instrument with an online database to which entered information is stored. As the database of information about these portrayals grows, we'll examine the data for meaningful patterns, and eventually write a report of our findings.
--> What you can do (and why you might want to)

This is a fun but ambitious project that requires many hands - we really need and want your help.

When you encounter or remember a movie or TV show, novel, video game, comic book, or advertisement that includes a portrayal of presence, please visit the project web site () and fill out the short web form to add a new portrayal to the project's database.

There's also a list of portrayals that need to be added; if you're familiar with any of them, or would like to see/read one or more of them, please add them to the database as well. Or if you know of portrayals not in the database, please let us know so we can add them to the list.
If you teach a course (e.g., related to presence and/or research methods), please consider creating an assignment (e.g., for extra credit) in which students review the web site, read/watch a presence portrayal and enter the information into the database.

All contributors to the database will be acknowledged by name in all reports.
If you have any questions (and/or might be interested in becoming a project member and co-author on this project), please contact Matthew Lombard at lombard@temple.edu.

Project members
Matthew LombardMelissa SelverianKarl HorvathSung Bok ParkHa Sung Hwang
-- Matthew Lombard, Ph.D.Temple UniversityPresidentInternational Society for Presence Research (ISPR)
(215) 204-7182lombard@temple.eduhttp://matthewlombard.comhttp://ispr.info

Matthew Lombard, Ph.D. Temple University President, Intl Society for Presence Research (215) 204-7182 lombard@temple.edu http://matthewlombard.com http://ispr.infoEmail: lombard@temple.eduVisit the website at http://lombardresearch.temple.edu/p4

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CFP: Modernisation, Modernity and the Media in China

The China Media Centre (CMC) at the University of Westminster is pleased to
announce a two-day conference on ‘Modernisation, Modernity and the Media in
China’ that will be held at University’s Harrow Campus (London) on the 15th
and 16th June 2006.

Building on the success of last year’s Founding Conference, this year’s
event, co-sponsored by the Annenberg School for Communication at the
University of Pennsylvania, aims to tackle two major aspects of theoretical
and practical concern in research on China and its media:

- the transformation of Chinese media as embedded in the ‘modernisation’
process of China;
- the formulation and mediation of ‘modernity’ in Chinese media and
intellectual discourses.

The large number of abstracts received from Asia, Europe and North America
has shown a growing interest in those research areas. A wide range issues
will be discussed at the conference, addressing important topics such as
environmental journalism, gender representation in the media, rural
communication, community media, and media policy.

Amongst other prominent speakers, who will provide an insight analysis on a
variety of issues from insiders’ point of views, are:

Professor Lin Min (University of Waikato, New Zealand),
the primary author of ‘The Search of Modernity: Chinese Intellectuals and
Cultural Discourse in the Post-Mao era’ (1999) and the sole author of
‘Certainty as a Social Metaphor: a comparative study of the idea of
certainty in the Western and Chinese philosophical tradition’;

Professor Hu Zhengrong (Director of the National Center for Radio & TV
Studies, Executive Dean of the Graduate School of the Communication
University of China).

Professor Hu has published extensively on media policy and institutional
transformation in both Chinese and English and served as policy advisor for
various organisations.

Dr. Zhang Zi, (Deputy Director of the Centre for Development and Reform, the
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), Beijing)
SARFT is the highest government body in China responsible for electronic
media’s regulation and broadcasting policy. Dr. Zhang will give a
presentation on the Chinese government’s broadcasting regulation and policy.

Mr. Ou Nianzhong, (Vice-President of the Southern Media Group, Guangdong)
Guangdong has China’s most liberalised and internationalised TV market. The
Southern Media Group is the biggest media group in the region. Mr. Ou will
analyses the impacts of the landing of the transnational TV channels on the
local TV market and how the local Guangdong media competes with the
transnational channels.

Registration information:
The full conference fee includes accommodation for two nights, on the 14th
and 15th June, meals and conference materials. Booking forms can be
downloaded from the conference website at

http://www.wmin.ac.uk/mad/page-1264

Registration by 15th April 2006 for a reduced fee (£250). Later registration
is possible by the 15th May 2006 (£300) and on the day (£400).