IAMCR 2014: Working Group Health Communication and Change - CfP - Deadline 10 February

Communication and HIV/AIDS and Health Communication and Change Working Groups – Call for Papers

The Communication and HIV/AIDS and the Health Communication and Change Working Groups of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) welcome the submission of papers for the Conference to be held in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India between 15-19 July, 2014.

We live in an increasingly globalised world characterised by mutual interdependence. Yet the nation-state remains critically important in setting the policy frameworks that shape health outcomes that have wider impacts on its citizens. Further, the research we do and how we do it is shaped by the regional and socio-political contexts in which it is located. The conference theme “Region as Frame: Politics, Presence, Practice” lends itself to a range of sub-themes and topics pertinent to researchers and practitioners working in the areas of Health and HIV/AIDS communication. It presents an exciting opportunity to facilitate dialogue between people from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds from different parts of the world. More information about the conference theme is available here.

We invite papers on (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Tensions between local and global interests in health programmes and interventions

• Impacts of the securitization of health risks

• Structural drivers and social determinants of health

• Interconnections between health and place (i.e. human and environmental health)

• The role of rural health insurance in reducing disparities in health care

• Regional influences on health policies and frameworks

• Innovative (mass and social) media approaches to facilitate HIV/AIDS communication for development and social change

• Emerging methodologies and innovations in HIV/AIDS and Health communication

• Intersections between health and HIV/AIDS and popular culture

• Labelling and ‘othering’ diseases as problems of particular regions/populations

• Impacts of the public profile of diseases

• Social, political and economic underpinnings and effects of the circulation of health knowledge, research, products and services

We are interested in facilitating interactions between practitioners and researchers and sharing and creating strategies to increase the relevance and uptake of research findings.

Other research areas of interest to the working groups include: how digital media is transforming people’s relations to medical authority and creating space for redefining notions of health and the normal and pathological; the contexts in which online communication is a source of empowerment or disempowerment for users; contexts and implications of mediatisation within the fields of health and medicine; ethical dimensions of public health interventions; representations of  health/diseases and people affected; ways of evaluating the impact of health promotion campaigns; relationships between media and health literacy.

We encourage papers from multiple disciplinary perspectives and are particularly interested in qualitative approaches and critical theoretical contributions. The sessions of the working groups will be organised to suit emerging themes from submitted abstracts.

Abstracts need to be around 300-500 words in length and should include the overall research objectives, theoretical framework and methodology. Abstracts must be submitted through the online Open Conference System at http://iamcr-ocs.org from 1 December 2013 – 10 February 2014.

Panel proposals are also welcome. Such proposals should provide a panel title, a framing text (with the overall idea of the panel in maximum 500 words) and short abstracts for the included papers with titles and authors. A panel chair and a discussant can also be proposed. The panel framing text and the individual paper abstracts need to be submitted separately and each individual abstract should include the title of the panel of which it is part.

The proposals should include: the name(s) of author(s) and professional title(s); institutional affiliation; and e-mail address/contact information. Early submission is encouraged. There are to be no email submissions of abstracts addressed to any Section or Working Group Head.

It is expected that for the most part, only one (1) abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same applicant either individually or as part of any group of authors. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other Sections or Working Groups of the Association for consideration, after an initial submission. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System, by the relevant Head or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Such applicants risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

Upon submission of an abstract, you will be asked to confirm that your submission is original and that it has not been previously published in the form presented. You will also be given an opportunity to declare if your submission is currently before another conference for consideration.

Announcement of acceptances and start of conference registration is March 24, 2014.

Full papers should be uploaded via IAMCR OCS by June 20, 2014.

Presenters are expected to bring fully developed work to the conference. Prior to the conference, it is expected that a completed paper will be submitted to Section, Working Group, Session Chairs, and/or Discussants.

Please note that if your abstract is accepted, you may be called upon to facilitate or moderate one of the working group sessions.

Key dates and deadlines:

If you have trouble with the online submission process or questions related to this call for papers, please contact the co-chairs of the working groups (cc all co-chairs):

NannaEngebretsen
nanna.engebretsen[at]hil.no

Sarah Cardey
s.p.cardey[at]reading.ac.uk

Ravindra Kumar Vemula
ravindrakumar[at]efluniversity.ac.in

Kate Holland
kate.holland[at]canberra.edu.au

Marjan DeBruin
Marjan.debruin[at]uwimona.edu.jm