[ecrea] CFP: Chinese Non-Governmental Organizations, Digital Media and Culture: Perspectives, Practices and Challenges

Chinese Non-Governmental Organizations, Digital Media and Culture:
Perspectives, Practices and Challenges
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2016
Guest Editors
Pauline Hope Cheong (Ph.D., Associate Professor, Hugh Downs School of
Human Communication, Arizona State University)
Aimei Yang, (Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California)
The general aims and focus of the Special Issue
In today’s increasingly mediated Chinese societies around the world,
innovative forms of non-profit organizing have emerged to address
pressing social concerns. While state systems and corporations are
sometimes portrayed as inefficient in dealing with local and
transnational social and environmental problems, the rising power of
civil groups in many Chinese societies are increasingly prominent.
Non-government organizations (NGOs) play significant roles in areas such
as the building of emerging nations, international civil society and
global development, corporate global alliance networks, international
relationship and public diplomacy, humanitarian aid, environmental
conservation and engaged spirituality. Given the increasing influence of
Chinese NGOs in many facets of social, political, and religious life, it
is important to examine their mediation, communication networks, and
organizational dynamics in their operational and advocacy work.
While a growing corpus of research is being done on Chinese NGOs, we
know less about the opportunities and challenges facilitated by Chinese
NGOs’ appropriation of various forms of communication, including the use
of newer digital media to build their community, social capital and
service capacity. NGOs have traditionally faced the challenges of
mobilizing their volunteers, translating their abstract principles into
embodied interventions, sustaining members’ interest and commitment, and
maintaining relationships with resourceful strategic partners. These
difficulties are amplified in today’s increasingly media saturated
environment where a diversity of ideas, ideologies, information and
causes are available, which can serve as competition for Chinese NGOs
and may not be compatible with their local and global capacity building.
Moreover, although NGOs exist to serve the public good, their work is
mired in and may be hindered by local cultural conditions, including
value orientations, socio-political governance and regulations, as well
as telecommunications infrastructure (or lack thereof) in which they are
embedded.  Yet, at the same time, Chinese NGOs may creatively adopt and
negotiate their media connections and communication networks to
(re)build their trust and legitimacy to members, policy makers,
potential donors and other civil actors.
Accordingly, this special issue aims to address the theoretical issues
underlying the constitution and evolution of Chinese NGOs and to map
empirical research on the mediated and communicative mechanisms fueling
Chinese NGO growth and collaborations across different institutional actors.
We invite contributions in the following areas:
·        Historical perspectives on Chinese non-profit organizing, media
use and culture

·        Analysis of digital media use and innovation in the
constitution of Chinese NGOs

·        Examinations of the use of mobile social media by Chinese civil
actors in communication and capacity building

·        Implications of cultural frameworks on volunteering and
nonprofit service

·        Potential and limitations of digital advocacy, issue
management, and/or fundraising in Chinese societies in Asia and beyond

·        Collaboration and/or conflict in multi-actor/cross-sectoral
constellations of private, government and Chinese NGO networks

·        Assessment of globalization and/or glocalization developments
in Chinese NGOs and their relationships with international NGOs and
international developments

·        Comparative research on non-profit organizing, social value and
partnerships

·        Short and longer terms implications of Chinese NGOs, civil
society and social change

We welcome multidisciplinary scholarly contributions that draw upon,
integrate or cross-fertilize literature from varied divisions of
communication and media, information sciences, and management. We seek
both qualitative and quantitative research, and papers that present
critical reflections on methods, detailed discussions of the specific
challenges of doing fieldwork in this area and data-mining on Chinese
social media are welcome.

All manuscripts must be submitted by January 15, 2016. All accepted
manuscript will be published online first and the planned printed
publication date is an issue of CJC in 2017.


Submissions should conform to the editorial guidelines of the Chinese
Journal of Communication found at http://www.informaworld.com/cjoc under
“Instructions for Authors”.


--
/Aimei Yang, Ph.D./
/Assistant Professor/
/Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism/
/University of Southern California/



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