[ecrea] From SMS to Smartphones cfp special issue of JCMC (due 30 June 2012)

Call for papers: Special Issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated 
Communication

From SMS to Smartphones: Tracing the Impact of the Mobile Phone in Asia
Publication date: October 2013

The mobile phone has had a discernible impact on Asia, given its 
affordability, versatility and ubiquity as the key platform for 
computer-mediated communication. It has been widely deployed in 
virtually every aspect of everyday life, be it in commerce, politics, 
governance, education, religion, entertainment or recreation. The 
diversity and complexity of this fast-growing region has birthed 
innovative and ground-breaking applications of the mobile phone. While 
basic feature phones are already a mainstay in both rural and urban 
Asia, the smartphone is now rapidly diffusing through the region at a 
rate exceeding the rest of the world. Bringing the idea of the 
ubiquitous web to fruition, the smartphone's heightened connectivity and 
thriving app market are enabling yet more revolutionary uses of the 
mobile phone. While the rising adoption of the smartphone burgeons with 
potential for civic action, commercial enterprise, employment and 
educational opportunities and social service
provision, challenges are also emerging for consumers, industries and 
governments alike.

The early phase of mobile communication research was influenced by 
studies and theorization from North America and Europe. Spurred on by 
the wide diffusion of mobiles globally, research is now very much 
seeking to understand the international underpinnings of this form of 
mediated communication, especially as it increasingly blurs the lines 
between computers, Internet, and phones. Over the past decade, Asian 
research has been important in addressing the rapid diffusion, 
transformation, and shift in mobiles. Such research is growing, but is 
still relatively incipient. Against this backdrop, this special issue 
seeks to bring together the latest research findings, regional 
understandings, conceptualizations, and theories of the mobile in Asia. 
Article proposals are sought for topics including but not limited to the 
following:

*  does a digital divide exist in Asia with regard to mobile phone 
penetration and usage trends and if so, how can and should they be remedied?
*  what are the implications of the development of mobiles - especially 
smartphones and mobile Internet - for contemporary media in Asia?
*  how is the growing proliferation of the smartphone facilitating 
unprecedented forms and scales of communication?
*  how do issues of broad infrastructure provisions and market pricing 
influence the behaviour of mobile phone users?
*  how are the location based services offered by smartphones altering 
user behaviour and lifestyles?
*  how does mobile Internet use complement and possibly complicate fixed 
location Internet use?
*  what implications does the growth of smartphone apps have for the 
cultural complexion of Asian countries?
*  how is the mobile phone serving the needs of marginalised communities 
in Asia?
*  to what extent do smartphones and the behaviour which they enable 
test the boundaries of existing regulatory frameworks?
*  how does the rising ubiquity of the smartphone and by implication, 
that of always-on, always-available Internet access challenge prevailing 
theoretical frameworks relating to inter alia, technology acceptance, 
mobility, communication, social influence and identity?

Please submit an 800 word abstract and a 100 word biographical note to 
both special issue editors as an e-mail attachment no later than 30 June 
2012.  Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 15 July 2012 
and invited to submit a full paper. Manuscripts should be no more than 
8,000 words, including notes and references, conform to APA style, and 
submitted by 30 October, 2012.  All papers will be subject to anonymous 
peer review following submission.

Important dates

Deadline for abstracts             30 June 2012
Decisions to authors               15 July 2012
Full paper submission              30 October 2012
Decisions                          30 January 2013
Revised paper submission           30 April 2013
Final proofs                       30 June 2013
Issue publication                  October 2013

Special issue editors:
Sun Sun LIM, National University of Singapore, (sunlim /at/ nus.edu.sg) 
<mailto:(sunlim /at/ nus.edu.sg)>
Gerard Goggin, University of Sydney, gerard.goggin@ 
<mailto:(gerard.goggin /at/ usyd.edu.au)>sydney.edu.au

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Gerard Goggin
Professor and Chair
Department of Media and Communications
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
University of Sydney
e: (gerard.goggin /at/ sydney.edu.au) <mailto:(gerard.goggin /at/ sydney.edu.au)>
p: +61 2 9114 1218 m: 0428 66 88 24
w: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/media_communications/staff/ggoggin

Address:
Level 2, room 206
Holme Building (A09a)
Footbridge terrace entrance
University of Sydney NSW 2006