CFP: Communicating the Future / Future of Communication, Fincom2012 (Finland, Aug ‘12)

Fincom2012: Finnish Conference of Communication Research. Theme Communicating the Future / Future of Communication.

Deadline for extended abstracts is February 28, 2012. The Finnish Conference of Communication Research will be organized in Jyväskylä on August 30-31, 2012.

Conference topics (Groups in English)

1. Organizational survival in the new media environment

The dynamics of the new media environment have changed the way organizations are perceived, how they are expected to behave and how publics can expect to participate and voice opinions. In an environment where demands have already been raised for shared problem-solving and dialogue, joint responsibility, as well as ever more transparency and credibility, social media has brought forth new tools for joining forces and making voices heard among various stakeholders. Furthermore, social media emphasizes the need for fast responses, as all issues go potentially viral in an online environment and organizational control on messages concerning themselves is diminishing. This means that functions such as crisis communication needs to be applied to both online and offline environments. What is more, completely new skills and functions for communication might be called for.

It could be argued that social media has changed communication. Is that the case and if so, how can organizations survive in the new media environment? What models are applicable, what are not? The proposals for this session can include both theoretical and empirical analyses of what organizations need to take into account while operating in the new media and communication environment. The workshop accepts both finished research as well as research in progress, and the language for this workshop is English.

2. New Trends in Journalism – Towards Ubiquitous Journalism?

In these challenging financial times, new ideas, concepts, tools, methods, and innovations are needed in societies in many different levels; also in news business and journalism. This group focuses on the latest global, national and local trends in journalism. It discusses, for example, the role of the social networking services like Facebook and Twitter in news ecosystems, the possibilities of data journalism and data visualization, and the new long form journalism like the Atavist’s.  Furthermore, the group offers a forum to present new emerging theories, models and concepts that could help us better study the accelerating changes in news ecosystems. It also discusses about the future of journalism, and asks for example, whether we are already heading to the age of ubiquitous journalism, where real-time news streams or pulses will dominate the news agenda.

3. New directions in intercultural communication research

The research area of Intercultural Communication (IC) has been of interest for various subjects, and thus grown broad enough to incorporate a variety of viewpoints and approaches. Conventionally, IC is nevertheless relying on some basic theoretical assumptions, which are reflected for example in the focus on nationality and ethnicity, the prevalence of cross-cultural comparisons, the pursuit of generalizable measurements (i.e., cultural value orientations), or the idea that when people of different national backgrounds interact their communication is especially prone to misunderstandings, break downs, and the like. Open questions with respect to these points, as well as the growing relevance of newer domains, like CMC, are providing interesting grounds for discussion regarding IC and its future.

Within this work group emphasis lies on:

• critical reviews of IC theories and research,
• future foci of IC studies,
• new approaches within the field of IC research,
• new theories or theoretical frameworks and concepts, and underrepresented contexts of social interaction in the field of IC.

4. Social interaction in distributed groups and teams in working life

This work group focuses on communication between members of distributed groups and teams (sometimes also called virtual teams). In contemporary working life, especially in knowledge-intensive professions, it has become increasingly common to participate in various kinds of distributed teams. The emphasis of the work group is on working life teams with task-related goals. Communication in this context is typically at least partly technologically mediated, but the presentations are not limited to studies in TMC only.

The work group welcomes submissions dealing with the interrelations between interpersonal communication competence, teaming, and team outcomes, the relational dynamics of distributed teams, as well as inquiries into leadership and membership in distributed settings, long-term versus short-term teaming, communicative practices during initiation and end-phase of distributed teams, etc. Applications of new and traditional theories and models are also welcome.

Read more: http://fincom2012.net/