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> CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'06)
>
> 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 co!
> mmunication 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) - 13 February 2006
> Short papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 20 February 2006
> Workshop submissions - 20 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.
>



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