IAMCR Conference 2011 in Istanbul: Theme: Cities, Creativity, Connectivity
Istanbul, here we come! The International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) will be starting next week from the 12th to 18th of July with papers surrounding the theme of Cities, Creativity, Connectivity. I'll be Chairing a Program session on the " Second Wave of the Digital Divide " as well as presenting a paper on the following topic: The leisure divide: Can the Third World come out to play? In this Web 2.0 era , evidence is mounting on human ingenuity and creativity with and within online spheres. Much has been documented on how users innovate in a myriad of ways, opening possible economic and techno-social opportunities through play. From initially being viewed as “wasteful” and “idle,” cyberleisure is slowly but steadily being recognized as potentially productive, labor intensive and commercially fruitful. In fact, online leisure has stimulated a virtual economy where “dragon sabers,” a cyberweapon of the Legend of Mir III sells on ebay and “...