CALL FOR PAPERS

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society is sending out invitations for the annual colloquium to be held in Berlin on 21 November 2013. In cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung we wish to gather together early stage researchers (Ph.D. candidates and post-docs) from all disciplines in order to push ahead with the discussion revolving around Internet research. The colloquium provides a stage for new perspectives on current issues of Internet and society.

This year’s colloquium will consist of six thematically focused sessions. We cordially invite you to submit your research projects on one of the following six topics:


Slacktivism, activism and protest online. Does the internet have what it takes to be political? Online activism is a widely debated topic. It raises the question as to which degree and under what circumstances online action is an effective part of political participation. This session welcomes submissions from both theoretical and empirical perspectives on various forms of online activism and political participation online, for example online petitions or hacktivism.

From net neutrality to governance: Where are the points of entry to understanding present-day problems with Internet infrastructure? This session looks at the social implications of Internet architecture and maintenance regarding the process of rule-making, infrastructure and value as well as the role of regulation. Technical or structural approaches dealing with Internet exchange points, content delivery and intermediaries are welcome as well as theoretical viewpoints focussing on net neutrality or networking paradigms.

Censorship and chilling effects: How does the law determine online behaviour? Notice and take down, online wire-tapping and mass automated online surveillance are widely discussed among scholars from various disciplines. This session aims to explore how these measures and the underlying law influence our online behaviour in both direct and indirect ways. It also provides a forum for discussing how these influences are to be evaluated from the point of view of fundamental rights.
(Please note that submissions and presentations pertaining to this topic may also be in German.)

Open Science – How does the Internet change knowledge creation and dissemination? The Internet changes established practices relating to academic knowledge creation and dissemination. This session focuses on questions concerning online collaboration and knowledge sharing, emerging publication forms and alternative impact measurements. Entries can also cover open data, crowdfunding for scientific projects, social networks for scientists and open research.

Internet-enabled innovation – How does the Internet enable new forms of corporate goods, communication and interaction between consumers, stakeholders and companies? Consumers, companies and stakeholders are able to put their heads together virtually in order to discuss, to cooperate, to collaborate or to be creative. This session focuses on Internet-based collaborative innovation and provides a forum for researchers who address these issues with empirical, theoretical or application-oriented perspectives.

Entrepreneurship – What are the hindering and promoting factors of Internet-enabled entrepreneurship? In recent years, Internet-enabled entrepreneurship has grown to become a considerable driver of innovation and growth. Our session focuses on the role and nature of entrepreneurial clusters, but also on the process of developing a business model and starting up an enterprise.


Please feel invited to submit theoretical, practical or experimental research work. We kindly ask you to follow these submission guidelines:

An abstract outlining the relevance of the topic, the research method and questions max. 300 words/1800 characters with spaces (possibly printed in the programme)
A short proposal providing more detailed information about the research project (may include abstract) max. 1000 words (2 pages) in the form of a PDF
Short CV max. 2 pages in the form of a PDF

The submission process opens on 15 May 2013 and closes on 26 June 2013. Please note that you need to register in order to submit a proposal.


Background information:

The official language of the event is English
All submissions will be reviewed by 2 researchers,
No more than 3 submissions will be chosen for each session