[ecrea] E-youth: Balancing between opportunities and risks?, 27-28 May 2010 - Antwerpen.

Call for papers, posters and
demonstrations
Deadline: 15 January 2010
Online application: www.ucsia.org/eyouth
or www.ua.ac.be/eyouth
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e-Youth
Balancing between opportunities and risks?
Multidisciplinary conference
May 27th & 28th
Antwerp, Belgium 2010
UCSIA and the University of Antwerp are pleased 
to announce the organisation of a two-day 
international, multidisciplinary conference on 
children, adolescents & ICT. We welcome a broad 
audience including researchers, educators, 
students, policy makers, NGO and industry 
representatives to share research results and 
discuss policy and educational issues about 
children¡¦s and adolescents¡¦ use of information 
and communication technologies.
The conference will focus on national and 
international research dealing with social, 
cultural, economic, legal, psychological and 
ethical issues regarding youngsters¡¦ uses of 
different internet applications and mobile 
telephony. Contributions on both the multiple 
opportunities offered by technologies and on the 
(new) risks youngsters are confronted with are 
welcomed. Research and initiatives concerning the 
educational and mediating role of parents and 
educators will be discussed too. The conference 
will also provide a forum for good practices of 
sensitizing or educational campaigns.
Concept:
Children and teenagers are increasingly using 
information and communication technologies 
(ICTs), as these technologies are now widespread 
in the home, school and community. Youngsters are 
using the internet, mobile phones and gaming 
platforms in order to get informed, educated and entertained.
Despite the tremendous opportunities offered by 
ICT, researchers, policy makers and child 
protection experts are also demanding attention 
for different risks youngsters may encounter. 
While they are often depicted as techno-savvies, 
questions rise about their competences to assess 
risks, to cope with negative experiences and to 
maximise opportunities offered by new 
technologies. Moreover, the roles of parents, 
educators, children and adolescent protection 
experts but also mass media in addressing 
specific issues and empowering young users, receive growing attention.
Therefore this international conference wants to 
focus on the increasing body of empirical 
knowledge and fundamental research, as well as on 
policy and other initiatives dealing with the 
opportunities offered by ICT for children and 
adolescents and also how they cope with specific 
(new) risks. Special attention will be devoted to 
emerging social, ethical, psychological and legal 
issues within the context of ICT and minors.
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Scope:
The UCSIA conference steering group welcomes 
researchers, students, governmental and 
non-governmental representatives and other 
experts to share and discuss advancements in the 
diverse disciplines studying children¡¦s and 
adolescents¡¦ ICT-uses. Presentations can 
summarize empirical research outcomes, but also 
conceptual, methodological and policy related 
contributions are welcomed for submission.
Oral presentations, posters and demonstrations 
can be submitted about -but not limited to- the 
following issues (the questions mentioned 
following each issue are exemplary for possible paper topics).
1. Youngsters and ICT: a heterogeneous group
?X Gap in access and competences: How do 
youngsters differ in their access to ICT and 
related competences? How do differences in 
ICT-uses and ¡Vcompetences between 
parents/educators and children/teenagers 
influence dialogue and commitment of adults with 
minors¡¦ (online) activities? How do differences 
in access and competences create new e-gaps?
?X Social differences: How do gender, social or 
cultural differences in ICT-uses and 
¡Vcompetences lead to (new) communitarianism, 
forms of exclusions or introverted assertions of 
identities? Conversely, how can ICT offer new 
contact opportunities between youngsters with 
different social/cultural backgrounds?
?X Distributive (in-)justice: What are the moral, 
ethical and philosophical considerations when 
reflecting on the digital gap amongst youngsters?
2. Youngsters and ICT: developmental changes and related needs
?X Social and identity needs:
o The construction of the self and social 
networks: How do minors and especially 
adolescents use internet applications such as 
social networking sites in their identity 
construction, their presentation and 
self¡Vdisclosure towards peers? To what extent do 
online and offline networks overlap or differ? 
Which opportunities do ICT provide for identity 
construction by minority youth (on issues like 
gender, ethnicity, religious and/or sexual preferences)?
o Self-disclosure & privacy: How do youngsters 
disclose personal data in social networking sites 
and commercial websites? Do they undertake a 
risk-benefit appraisal? How do youngsters define 
¡¥privacy¡¦ and to what extent are they concerned 
about their privacy online? How can 
self-disclosure and exhibition practices of 
adolescents on the new internet scenes (blogs, 
social networks,¡K) be explained? Which coping 
strategies are used to deal with online requests 
of internet users to entrust personal data?
o Sexual exploration and the internet: How do 
teenagers deal with discussing topics on 
sexuality on the internet? How do digital media 
enable them to learn about sexuality in their 
lives? Is there a link between adolescents¡¦ 
exposure to sexual media content and their sexual 
socialization? Are teenagers able to put the sexual
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reality of online pornography into perspective? 
Does online confrontation with pornography affect 
youngsters¡¦ attitudes and behaviours?
o Technological & social normativity: behind the 
traditional controversy between determinism and 
constructivism, what are the new social norms 
regarding self-disclosure and privacy protection 
embedded in the design of social networks, 
blogging and gaming platforms? How do teens and 
youngsters cope with those new norms or develop 
social practices or norms to counter them?
?X Entertainment & information needs:
o Entertainment needs: How do games contribute to 
social and psychological well-being of children 
and adolescents? What is the role of games for 
entertainment, identity formation, social 
relationships and education of minors? Which 
effects do different game genres such as 
first-person shooting games, adventure games, 
Massive Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG¡¦s) or strategy games have?
o Information & education needs: How does the 
introduction of computer technology change the 
educational environment of teenagers? How do new 
facilities of the internet (for instance search 
engines, blogs and wikis) transform the research 
and scholar practices of teens and youngsters? 
How do they cope with this mass of information 
and what are the implicit norms they use to 
assess its liability and credibility? Which new 
opportunities are offered by e-learning 
platforms? Which educational skills are fostered 
by using e-learning applications and does this 
lead to better educated teenagers? How can 
learner-centred interactive educational material 
be developed? How does edutainment and 
infotainment offer new possibilities or 
challenges traditional teaching and learning? How 
can educators and trainers successfully implement 
new learning methods and embed them in 
established and existing forms of learning.
3. Youngsters and ICT: a vulnerable (target) group?
?X Electronic marketing: Can e-commerce aimed at 
youngsters be justified and what ethical 
standards/codes of conduct should be adopted? How 
do internet and mobile marketing techniques 
target young consumers? How do new forms of 
interactive advertising (for instance in-game 
advertising or advergames) and other marketing 
techniques influence children¡¦s and 
adolescents¡¦ perception of products and 
services? Can teenagers easily discern between 
web content and advertising? From what age do 
they understand the persuasive intent of 
advertising messages? What effects does the 
long-lasting exposure to online advertising 
messages have on children¡¦s brand awareness and 
attitudes? How does online commercialism 
influence youngsters in peer and parent-child relationships?
?X Riskful contacts: How do children and 
adolescents cope with specific risks such as 
online (sexual) harassment, racism, cyberbullying 
and other negative experiences? Which 
consequences do these experiences have on 
victims, perpetrators and bystanders? How can 
perpetrators and victims be profiled? How do 
youngsters estimate specific online risks 
(¡¥third person effect¡¦)? How do they engage in 
experimentation, norm transgressive or
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risk-taking behaviour? To what extent are they 
confronted with online sexual harassment and 
racist content? Can sexual harassment by peers be 
linked with exposure to online pornographic 
content? Which media are mostly being used to 
sexually harass or discriminate others in online 
communications? How do minors report acts of 
sexual harassment towards peers and parents? 
Which consequences do these online contacts have? 
How can youngsters be empowered to cope with riskful contacts?
4. Youngsters and ICT: awareness, protection and empowerment
?X Perception of ICT-related risks: How do mass 
media report on opportunities but especially on 
(new) risks young internet users are confronted 
with? Do media priorities correspond with the 
prevalence of risks according to research 
findings? How do parents and youngsters 
themselves perceive these risks and deal with them?
?X Parental mediation: Which mediating techniques 
are applied by parents in relation to the uses of 
internet and mobile telephony of their children? 
How do perceptions possibly differ between 
parents and children about parental involvement 
with and control of ICT-use? How are ICTs 
integrated and regulated in the family life of 
children and teens? How can parental supervision 
be implemented through technological means? ?
?X Sensitizing & educational campaigns: How can 
children and adolescents be informed about 
opportunities and risks of ICT-use? How can they 
be sensitized to be responsible ICT-users? How 
can the effectiveness of pedagogical and 
sensitizing initiatives be measured? Which good 
practices concerning sensitizing campaigns and 
media literacy education can be shared and 
adapted to national or regional cultures and specific target groups?
5. Youngsters and ICT: ethical & legal issues
?X Adapting research methods: Which 
methodological and ethical problems do 
researchers experience when conducting research 
about and with minors? Which ethical issues 
should be taken into account when conducting 
research among minors? What are the societal role 
and ethical responsibilities of human sciences 
research when conducting research on ICT and youngsters?
?X Ethical issues: which moral practices and 
agency do young people show when they are online? 
To what extent is there continuity or 
discontinuity between their moral practices 
online and offline? What ethical issues are of 
importance to young people themselves? How is 
education dealing with these issues? How does 
cybermorality vary in different subgroups, communities?
?X Legislation, self- and co-regulation: How does 
the national and international legal framework 
enable the protection of minors on the internet? 
How to deal with minors as perpetrators? Do 
disparate issues need a legal, self-regulatory or 
co-regulatory response? How can different actors 
(for instance content industries, ISP¡¦s) combine 
forces to empower and protect youngsters?
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Guidelines for submission:
The conference will be composed of two types of contributions:
1. Papers: an extended abstract (maximum 1000 
words) has to be submitted by January 15th 2010 
the latest using the online form at 
www.ucsia.org/eyouth or www.ua.ac.be/eyouth.
Papers include mainly accomplished (empirical) 
research, but also theoretical reflections or 
other scientific, policy or related initiatives. 
The reviewing process will evaluate these 
extended abstracts. Authors of an accepted 
contribution have to hand in their full paper 
(maximum 6000 words) by April 30th
2. Posters or demonstrations: These contain 
implementation information or work-in-progress 
and are presented in an abstract (maximum 200 
words) besides the poster itself (or 
demonstration) that will be exposed at the 
conference. Submissions are subject to a blind 
refereeing process. 2010 to prepare the 
conference proceedings and to be eligible for 
publication. Submissions are subject to a blind refereeing process.
Submission:
Proposals of papers, posters or demonstration can 
only be submitted using the electronic submission 
form on the website at www.ucsia.org/eyouth or www.ua.ac.be/eyouth.
Publication:
The best full papers will be published as 
chapters in a scientific book published by an internationally renown publisher.
A best paper award will honour the author(s) of a paper of exceptional merit.
Practical information:
Date: 27-28 May 2010
Location: Meerminne building, City Campus, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Enrolment fee: 35 £á (one day) or 60 £á (two days)
Website: www.ucsia.org/eyouth or www.ua.ac.be/eyouth
E-mail: (e-youth /at/ ua.ac.be)
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Conference steering group:
Coordinators & contact persons:
Sara Mels, Michel Walrave, Heidi Vandebosch & Wannes Heirman
Members:
Prof. dr. Joke Bauwens, Department of Media and 
Communication Studies, Free University of Brussels
Marie Demoulin, Faculty of Law, Research Centre 
on IT and Law (CRID), University of Namur
Wannes Heirman, Faculty of Social & Political 
Sciences, Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp
Prof. dr. Claire Lobet-Maris, Faculty of Computer 
Sciences, Interdisciplinary Center of Technology 
Assessment (CITA), University of Namur
Prof. dr. Steven Malliet, Faculty of Social & 
Political Sciences, Department of Communication 
Studies, University of Antwerp & KHLim
Sara Mels, UCSIA, University of Antwerp
Prof. dr. Walter Nonneman, UCSIA & Faculty of 
Applied Economics, University of Antwerp
Prof. dr. Yves Poullet, Faculty of Law, Research 
Centre on IT and Law (CRID), University of Namur
Prof. dr. Tim Smits, European Centre of Ethics, 
KU Leuven and Faculty of Political and Social 
Sciences, Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp
Ellen Stassart, Childfocus & Combined Node Safer Internet Belgium
Prof. dr. Chris Timmerman, UCSIA, University of Antwerp
Katrien Vancleemput, Faculty of Political and 
Social Sciences, Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp
Prof. dr. Heidi Vandebosch, Faculty of Political 
and Social Sciences, Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp
Tom Van Renterghem, Childfocus & Combined Node Safer Internet Belgium
Prof. dr. Michel Walrave, Faculty of Political 
and Social Sciences, Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp
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Organisers:
University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp (UCSIA)
UCSIA provides an international and 
interdisciplinary platform that supports and 
stimulates academic research, higher education 
and community service regarding themes that 
express the Christian ideology in a spirit of 
openness and tolerance, thus contributing to a 
more just society. The centre was created five 
years ago as an offspring of the former 
Saint-Ignatius University Antwerp. UCSIA 
organizes a range of activities (such as 
seminars, conferences, lecture series, master 
classes etc.) on topics such as democracy, the 
construction of Europe, and interreligious and 
intercultural dialogue ; for more information, 
please visit our website at http://www.ucsia.org
.
MIOS (Media & ICT in Organisations & Society), University of Antwerp
MIOS (Media and ICT in Organisations and Society) 
is a research group at the Department of 
Communication Science at the University of 
Antwerp (Belgium). The research activities of 
MIOS can be categorized under two headings: 1) 
strategic communication through ICT and other 
media by commercial enterprises, social profit 
organisations and governments, and 2) the 
opportunities and risks related to ICT uses of 
individuals (e.g. adolescents, elderly, the 
poor¡K) and organisations. These include policy 
oriented and fundamental research projects, 
funded by governmental and scientific agencies. 
The research group MIOS is also part of several 
international networks on youngsters and ICT, 
such as the COST IS0801 action on cyberbullying. 
More information, including a list of 
publications and contact data, can be found on http://www.ua.ac.be/mios.

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Nico Carpentier (Phd)
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.56
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.36.84
Office: 5B.401a
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European Communication Research and Education Association
Web: http://www.ecrea.eu
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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