Call For Papers - Special Issue of tripleC

Call For Papers - Special Issue of tripleC (http://www.triple-c.at):
Information and Communication Technologies and the Current Crisis:
How Are They Connected?

The Crisis that began in 2007 continues to convulse the world.
Labelled by some as merely a recession, yet it is associated with
dramatic changes in national and global power. Others frame the
Crisis as merely a consequence of over-promoting a narrow range of
financial transactions associated with subprime mortgage instruments.
These were indeed overly aggressively oversold by deregulated
bankers, but this was likely only an important trigger of the Crisis,
not the primary cause.

In this special issue, we will explore the notion that much of the
basis of the Crisis should be assigned to financial transactions not
just made possible but also strongly afforded by use of computer
technologies. Thus, those operating at the highest levels of
algorithmic capacity bear substantial responsibility for the Crisis.

For students of technological innovation and diffusion, many
questions emerge about the connection between the Crisis in general
and computerization. Some of the questions involve the tight
relationship between cultures of technological empowerment and
financial elites. Others questions, while appearing initially to be
purely economic, turn out on examination to articulate strongly with
the public interest, civil society, policymaking, and public
discourse more generally.

These in turn lead to further, perhaps quite new critical questions
about the emerging relationships between capitalism, democracy and
the data-information-knowledge-technology nexus. Thus, equally
important for responsibility is specification of what is known within
computer science about the technological dimensions of the Crisis of
this crisis. Ultimately, a rethinking of the very notion of "crisis"
itself may be needed.

Some specific questions authors may choose to address include:
What kind of crisis is this, how is it different from previous ones,
how are these differences related to automated ICTs and the changed
practices they have afforded?
What role do computer professionals have in the crisis?
Does this crisis suggest a dystopian post-human future?
What media theories best explain the crisis, or has the time arrived
for newly radical approaches in this area?
How does public policy fit in the private world of computerization?
What historical guides are available as tools to foster better
analyses of technological crisis?
Will the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China) be the "winners"
of this crisis?
Are there artistic innovations that help refine political and policy
responses to this crisis?
What new knowledge innovations are needed to understand the forces at
work in this crisis and its implications for democracy?
What new questions need to be addressed to orientate research about
the crisis?
How are the computing-, information-, and media-industries affected
by this crisis? How will they develop in the future?

This special issue of tripleC is intended to feature research from
both theoretical and practical perspectives. We seek contributions
from any theoretical, professional, or disciplinary perspective that
offers innovative analysis that promotes debate about technology and
the Crisis.

Submission deadline: Full papers should be submitted until October
31st, 2009. All papers will be peer reviewed. The special issue will
be published in spring 2010.

tripleC - Cognition, Communication, Co-operation: Open Access Journal
for a Global Sustainable Information Society (http://www.triple-c.at)
promotes contributions within an emerging science of the information
age with a special interest in critical studies following the highest
standards of peer review.

Submissions must be formatted according to tripleC's guidelines
(http://triplec.at/index.php/tripleC/about/
submissions#authorGuidelines), make use of APA style, and use the
style template (http://triplec.at/files/journals/1/template-0.dot).
Papers should be submitted online by making use of the electronic
submission system (http://triplec.at/index.php/tripleC/user/register,
http://triplec.at/index.php/tripleC/login). When submitting to the
electronic system, please select "Special issue on crisis &
communication" as the journal's section.

ISSUE CO-EDITORS: David Hakken (dhakken@indiana.edu) and Marcus
Breen (m.breen@neu.edu)

David Hakken is professor of informatics at Indiana University.
Marcus Breen is associate professor of communication studies at
Northeastern University.
Denise N. Rall, PhD. Special Projects, Faculty of Arts & Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA
Mobile +(61) (0)438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/drall/
Join the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
Internet Research 10.0, October 7-11, Milwaukee, WI, USA