[ecrea] CFP Special Issue: Data on demand: Ranking the nation, predicting the future

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Global Media and China (A Sage 
journal) - Deadline Extended to 15th October 2018

Theme: “Data on demand: Ranking the nation, predicting the future”

*Guest Editors*:
Michael Keane (Curtin University, Australia)
Gary Rawnsley (University of Nottingham Ningbo China )

*Target issue*:
June Issue, 2019

*Deadlines*:

Submission of Extended Abstracts: _*15 October, 2018 (500 words)*_

Notification of Abstracts Acceptance: _20 November, 2018_

Submission of Full Papers: _February 28 2019_


OVERVIEW

Many organisations, including governments, are now investing 
considerable resources into trying to measure both quantitatively and 
qualitatively the success and impact of their activities. This has given 
rise to a whole new industry that conducts longitudinal studies and 
feeds a new interest in global rankings. Governments are using their 
country’s position in these rankings as an indication of attraction, and 
a rise in global rankings is good news unless this represents a negative 
indicator, such as pollution or press freedom.

Today one of the most pervasive indicators of national reputation is 
soft power, with organisations such as Portland developing rankings for 
institutions such as the Annenberg School of Communication, the British 
Council and the government of Wales; while /Monocle/ magazine publishes 
its own soft power rankings at the end of each year. Other rankings 
measure a range of issues, including social progress, innovation, 
happiness, food security, Internet access and connection speeds, and pop 
culture exports. In addition, regions and cities are also analysed in an 
effort to understand the growing influence of sub-national actors. 
Rankings compare cities according to their liveability, global 
connectivity, friendliness, cultural diversity and creativity. A further 
development is the use of metrics to rank people within prescribed 
social demographics.

The methodology behind such metrics has attracted less attention than 
the rankings themselves, though understanding this is crucial for our 
interpretation of the data. For instance some have argued that China’s 
soft power and social progress rankings would be far higher if they were 
measured according to values endorsed by the Chinese government rather 
than by the more liberal norms of OECD institutions. Moreover, 
measurement itself reveals little about the emotional response of 
audiences to cultural products or their engagement with political 
institutions. Clearly, we need to pay more attention to qualitative 
rather than quantitative research if we wish to know how and why 
audiences engage with a particular country or government.

This special issue examines critically the current fascination with 
indexing, mapping, ranking and metrics as they apply to nations, 
regions, municipalities, publications and even citizens. Papers might 
address the topic of indexing from a range of disciplinary perspectives 
including media industry metrics, cultural policy studies, soft power 
and public/cultural diplomacy, international communications, and 
audience research.

The editors are interested in scholarly papers that address any of the 
following topics:


  *        The value of surveys and rankings in international relations
    and communications
  *

  *        The global business of producing comparative metrics
  *

  *        Use of such metrics in international and national media reports
  *

  *        Use of such metrics in evaluating academic reputations and
    institutions
  *

  *        Policy implications of metric driven comparisons
  *

  *        The methodology and management of indexing, mapping and ranking
  *

  *        The use and abuse of big data, and the transparency of data
  *

  *        Cultural trade data collections and cultural statistics
  *

  *        The reliability and functionality of user recommendation
    sites and search engine rankings
  *

  *        The use of algorithms and social credit scores to manage
    individuals within populations


SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND REVIEW PROCESS:

The deadline for submitting abstracts is *September 30, 2018*. Abstracts 
should be 500 words in length, detailing the purpose, methods, and main 
points of research. The abstracts should be submitted to Professor 
Michael Keane by email at (m.keane /at/ curtin.edu.au) 
<mailto:(m.keane /at/ curtin.edu.au)>.

Following peer-review, a selection of authors will be invited to submit 
a full paper in accordance with the journal’s ‘Instructions for 
authors.’ Please note acceptance of the abstract does not guarantee 
publication, given that all papers will be put through the journal’s 
peer review process.

Please refer to the full submission guidelines available at: 
https://uk.sagepub.com/en- gb/asi/global-media-and-china/journal202494#submission-guidelines 







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