[ecrea] cfp: 'Digital Economies of Disability' special issue of ICS

*‘Digital Economies of Disability’ *

call for papers for special issue of /Information, Communication & 
Society /(ICS)**

edited by Haiqing Yu (UNSW), Gerard Goggin (Sydney), Karen Fisher 
(UNSW), and Bingqin Li (UNSW)

This special issue aims to bring together original research papers from 
a diversified range of disciplines in disability studies, media and 
communication studies, social policy research, economic anthropology, 
and sociology to explore pragmatic and innovative ways to provide and 
enable equal economic, social and political opportunities for people 
with disabilities, from a comparative framework. It seeks to examine the 
opportunities for economic participation of people with disabilities 
enabled by digital and social media technologies and their political and 
social implications on respective communities and societies.

It is known that digital economy is developing rapidly and unevenly 
worldwide. It heralds a transformative force in creating digital 
entrepreneurs and driving future economy. Digital entrepreneurship is 
seen as core to digital economy in that it can lead to economic growth, 
job creation, and social innovation. National governments, civil society 
organizations, and disability activists have considered digital 
technologies (represented by computers, the Internet, and smart phones) 
potentially useful in improving the life quality and life-chances for 
people with disabilities and in bringing about social inclusion for all 
people, particularly in health care, education, and employment.

Efforts have been made to remove barriers of access to technologies, 
skill trainings and acquisition that are friendly to users with 
disability. Assistant programs are also implemented to ease the 
financial burden to access and acquire these technologies by people with 
disabilities. However, access to technologies (digital inclusion) does 
not equate with social inclusion. There is a long way to go before 
digital technologies can successfully impact on the lives of people with 
disabilities, as suggested by Goggin and Newell (2003).

In the context of digital and networked world, we ask questions such as:

  * Can digital inclusion lead to social inclusion, particularly for
    people with disabilities?
  * What are the power structure, hierarchy, struggle, and appropriation
    implied in the rise of digital economy for and by disability?
  * What can be done by people (with or without disabilities),
    governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations to
    address the structural barriers to social and economic inclusion
    (not just digital inclusion) by utilizing digital and networking
    technologies?
  * Will digital economy and digital entrepreneurship present an
    opportunity to address social inequality and contradictions?

The current economic slowdown/crisis calls for innovative and pragmatic 
approaches to solve social problems, approaches that can strike a 
balance between economic and social development. Social entrepreneurship 
that leverage digital technologies to create opportunities to address 
social issues, for example, may offer a new pathway of employment and 
enablement for people with disabilities and other traditionally 
disadvantaged groups of people. Digital social entrepreneurs with 
disabilities and for disabilities are part of a bigger structure and a 
key stakeholder in the digital social economy.

Born of necessity, social economy has increasingly employed digital 
technologies and platforms to achieve efficiency, transparency, and 
optimum results in achieving social missions and social impact through 
economic activities. Will social economy for and of people with 
disabilities through digital means be an answer to tackle barriers for 
people with disability to be more actively members of society and 
enabling people to achieve collective social goals, and ultimately 
enhance social justice?

This special issue welcomes critical case analyses of digital economy by 
and for disability and its implications for digital and social inclusion 
for people with disabilities from all walks of life. It is hoped that 
this special issue will generate scholarly interests from a wide range 
of geographical and disciplinary areas to explore innovative approaches 
to and opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve agency, 
social recognition, economic security, and political participation, 
through enterprising and digital means.

*Timeline*

Abstract submission: 31 July 2017. Please send a 500-word abstract and 
100-word author bio to the 1^st -named guest editor: Haiqing Yu 
((h.yu /at/ unsw.edu.au))

Invitation to submit full papers: by mid-August 2017

Full paper submission: by 01 February 2018

Expected date of publication: January 2019


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