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Article #27

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA

#27
From: Martin Sieg
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 00:00
342 lines
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Some great conferences and a request for help with some student research.

If you are interested you will have to double-check the requirements for
participation in the conferences.

Check out the CIOS homepage.  I think this may be a very valuable organization
 to
join.

Martin

>> FORWARDED >>>>

CIOS/Comserve Support Staff <support@cios.org> wrote:

>    InterCom: A newsletter of the Communication Institute for Online
 Scholarship
>
>                         Volume 12(2) March 1998

> 14 items in this issue:
>   5.  Conference: Information Technology in Africa
>   6.  Conference: Cultural Attitudes on Technology & Communication

>     NOTE:  Please do not use a "reply" function to respond to an item in
> this file.  If you wish to respond, leave your mail reading software and
> address your message explicitly.

>                         ---------------------
>                 Jump to HTML version of this newsletter:
>               http://www.cios.org/www/intercom/inttoc.htm
>                          ---------------------

> URL address of the CIOS/Comserve WWW server:  http://WWW.CIOS.ORG
>
>
> +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>                         African Studies Association:
>                             Call for Papers
>               Submitted by: Brian Murphy <bmm@mediaed.org>
>
>                       Electronic Technology Group
>                           1998 Annual Meeting
>                                 CHICAGO
>                         October 29 - November 1
>
>                             CALL FOR PAPERS
>
>       "GOVERNANCE OF CYBERSPACE AND CAPACITY BUILDING OF MEDIA AND
>                    INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA"
>
>     The Electronic Technology Group of the African Studies Association
> (ETG/ASA) is interested in receiving papers for its panels occurring
> within the ASA's Annual Conference.
>
>     The Group is interested in RESEARCH and REPORTS ON APPLICATIONS
> regarding the convergence of "Information and Communication technologies
> (ICTs) as they relate to AFRICA, AFRICA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS, and the
> practices of AFRICANISTS.
>
>     Convergent technologies include, but are not limited to, computer
> networks, CD-ROMS, satellites, radio, television, video,
> telephone/telecommunications and the digitization of cultural forms
> (e.g. music).  There is also interest in the cultural contextualisation
> within which African ICTs are inscribed.
>
>     Papers need not be limited to traditional Communication or
> Information Science/Technology Studies paradigms.  Papers that
> knowledgeably use paradigms within, but not limited to, Anthropology,
> Cultural Studies, Education, History, Journalism Studies, Political
> Economy/Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology, are welcome.
>
>            Reports on Applications and Methods are Encouraged
>
>     For 1998, ETG is particularly interested in papers that position
> Africa and Africanists in the following themes:
>
>                (1)  THE GOVERNANCE OF AFRICAN CYBERSPACE
>               -------------------------------------------
>
>      * Cyberspace has been defined as a computer-generated public domain
>        that bends traditional perceptions of time and space, questions
>        traditional geographic boundaries, and problematises traditional
>        authorities.
>
>      * How are power relationships between people, institutions,
>        nations, economies etc. changed or reinforced?
>
>      * What are the implications of this flux for the control/management
>        of Information and Communication Technologies at the local,
>        regional, national, and international levels.
>
>      * Do systems of interactive/media technology provide greater
>        autonomy or empower Africanists and students of Africa around the
>        world?
>
>      * In this new set of power relationships, what roles are assumed by
>        the private sector, governments and civil societies?
>
>      * In the different cultural contexts of Africa, what are the
>        ethical, policy, planning, implementation and evaluation issues
>        at stake?
>
>      * Which applications/delivery technologies are appropriate and
>        supportable for Africanists and within current African contexts?
>
>            (2)  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND CAPACITY BUILDING IN AFRICA
>             ---------------------------------------------------------
>
>      * African capacity building for information technology is
>        considered essential for sustaining growth and development.
>
>      * African countries and their institutions can be assisted to make
>        effective use of information and telecommunications technologies
>        to enhance productivity and quality of life in the region.
>
>      * Capacity building is not only limited to training, but it could
>        include:  human resources development, organizational
>        development, and institutional and legal framework development.
>
>      --------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                            INITIAL PROPOSALS
>                   MUST BE SUBMITTED BY March 9th, 1998
>
>                            by Electronic Mail
>      (Please include full name, phone and fax numbers, affiliation,
>                          and  mailing address)
>
>                           E-mail proposals to:
>     ETG Deputy Chair: Brian Martin Murphy (bmmurphy@comm.umass.edu)
>
>                       More info is available from:
>         http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/ASA/asa41.html
>

>>> MORE >>>

> +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>                        International Conference:
>    Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication (CATAC98)
>
>                Submitted by: Fay <fays@arch.usyd.EDU.AU>
>
>                 1-3 August 1998, Science Museum, London
>
>                 http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/~fay/catac/
>                 http://www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/catac/
>
> AIMS AND SCOPE
>
>     Computer-mediated communication (CMC) networks, such as the Internet
> and the World Wide Web, offer tantalizing possibilities of global
> communications.  If such communications facilitate dialogues which both
> cross and preserve irreducible cultural and political boundaries, they
> may contribute immeasurably to greater global understanding and
> democratization.  But diverse cultural attitudes towards technology and
> communication also issue in culturally distinctive ways of implementing
> and using CMC technologies.  Some of these culturally-grounded
> differences in implementation and use frustrate, rather than facilitate,
> hopes for greater global communication.
>
>     Our thematic question:  how do diverse cultural attitudes shape the
> implementation and use of CMC technologies?
>
>     The conference brings together presenters from throughout the world
> who will provide diverse perspectives - both in terms of the specific
> culture(s) they highlight in their presentations, and in terms of the
> discipline(s) through which they approach the conference themes:
>
> * Communication in industrialized cultures
> * Communication in industrializing/capitalizing countries
> * Homogeneity, marginalization, and the preservation of local cultures
> * East/West cultural attitudes and communicative practices
> * The politics of the electronic global village
>
> ACCOMMODATION
> -------------
>
> CROFTON HOTEL
>
> Accommodation has been booked at the Crofton Hotel, a five-minute walk
> from the Science Museum, the venue for the conference. The Crofton
> Hotel, an historic Grade II listed building.  Rooms are newly
> refurbished with en-suites, colour TV, and direct-dial telephones.
> Rooms are small (by American standards), but comfortable.  Many of the
> rooms have mini bars, trouser presses and hair dryers. The
> accommodation package, per person, includes 4 nights accommodation,
> from 31 July to 3 August inclusive, continental breakfast, and VAT
> (full English breakfast is available at an extra charge):
> single room, USD250; twin room, USD175.
>
> Rooms are limited, so book early!
>
> Address:
>   13-16 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5EN
>   Tel: +44 (0)171 584 7201   Fax: +44 (0)171 589 6412
>   Email: lon.crofton.htl@dial.pipex.com (not reliable yet!)
>
> PROVISIONAL PROGRAM
> -------------------
>
> All sessions of the conference (unless otherwise specified) will be held in
> the Fellows Room of the Science Museum. Registration will be on the first
> level foyer of the north entrance to the Museum. All breaks and lunches
> will be in the Ante Room, adjacent to the Fellows Room.
>
>  FRIDAY 31 AUGUST
>
>  17:00-19:00  Reception
>               Registration in the Ante Room
>
>  SATURDAY 1 AUGUST
>
>  09:00-09:15  Opening
>                 Co-Chairs: Charles Ess (Drury College) and
>                            Fay Sudweeks (University of Sydney)
>
>  09:15-10:00  Keynote Speaker
>                 Professor John Durant
>                 Public Understanding of Science Unit
>                 Science Museum Library
>
>  10:00-11:00  Session 1
>                 Communication in Industrialized Cultures
>                 Chair: Herbert Hrachovec (University of Vienna)
>
>  11:00-11:30  Break
>
>  11:30-12:30  Discussion
>                 Session 1 issues and papers
>
>  12:30-14:00  Lunch
>
>  14:00-15:00  Session 2
>                 Communication in Industrializing/Capitalizing Countries
>                 Chair: Fay Sudweeks (University of Sydney)
>
>  15:00-15:30  Break
>
>  15:30-16:30  Discussion
>                 Session 2 issues and papers
>
>  18:00        Conference Dinner:
>                 Elizabethan Banquet, Hatfield House (tentative)
>
>  SUNDAY 2 AUGUST
>
>  09:00-11:00  Session 3
>                 Homogeneity, Marginalization, and the Preservation of
>                 Local Cultures
>                 Chair: Sheizaf Rafaeli (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
>
>  11:00-11:30  Break
>
>  11:30-12:30  Discussion
>                 Session 3 issues and papers
>
>  12:30-13:30  Lunch
>
>  13:30-16:30  Tour: Science Museum (including coffee break)
>
>  16:30-18:00  Session 4
>                 East/West cultural attitudes and communicative practices
>                 Chair: Ang Peng Hwa (Nanayang Technological University)
>
>  18:30-20:00  Dinner: Crofton Hotel
>
>  20:00-21:00  Discussion
>                 Session 4 issues and papers (at Crofton Hotel)
>
>  MONDAY 3 AUGUST
>
>  09:00-11:00  Session 5
>                 The Politics of the Electronic Global Village
>                 Chair: Charles Ess (Drury College)
>
>  11:00-11:30  Break
>
>  11:30-12:30  Discussion
>                 Session 5 issues and papers
>
>  12:30-14:00  Lunch
>
>  14:00-16:00  Plenary
>                 Summary reports from previous sessions:
>                 "Trialogue": Philosophy, Communication Theory,
>                 and Cultural Criticism
>
>  16:00-16:15  Closing
>
>  18:00-       Dinner/Theatre: Optional (not included in conference fee)
>
> Please see the web site for the registration form:
>
>        http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/~fay/catac/register-form.html
>
> +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>                            Discourse Studies:
>         Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Text and Talk
>
> Submitted by: Teun A. van Dijk (University of Amsterdam) teun@let.uva.nl
>
>     A new journal edited by Teun van Dijk entitled Discourse Studies is
> due for publication in February 1999.  This multidisciplinary forum will
> publish work on the structures and strategies of written and spoken
> discourse, reviewed by an international editorial board.
>
>     While contributing to new developments at the cutting edge of theory
> and method, its articles will also be accessible to students and other
> newcomers to each area of specialization.  Although intended as a
> broadly conceived forum for the best international work on discourse in
> any field and specialization, Discourse Studies will especially focus on
> cross-disciplinary studies of text and talk in linguistics,
> anthropology, ethnomethodology, cognitive and social psychology,
> communication studies and law.
>
>     Articles that specifically deal with critical socio-political issues
> are especially welcome in Sage's companion journal Discourse & Society.
>
>     As from April 1998, high quality papers that fall within the scope
> and meet the criteria outlined above are welcome.  Please contact the
> Editor.
>



> +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>                         Help with Student Survey
>             Submitted by: Jo Previte <j.previte@qut.edu.au>
>
>     I'm a student carrying out research about consumer perspectives on
> commercialization of the Internet.  I urgently need responses to my
> survey, which is closing on 12 March 1998.  If you would like to
> participate in an online opinion survey, please go to
>
>                    http://www.bus.qut.edu.au/opinion/
>
> Thanks for your assistance :-)
>
> Jo Previte, The Communication Centre, QUT
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From: Martin Sieg <siegm@GUSUN.GEORGETOWN.EDU>
Subject: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA
Date: 1998/03/08
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