This morning I chanced upon the following Call for Papers (for a special issue of the Journal of Educational Computing Research) which may be of interest to some readers of this blog. The closing date for submission of manuscripts is 27th May 2011.
Digital Pathologies: Education and problematic computer behaviors
With the huge growth of the Internet and other digital technologies such as mobile phones in the past 15 years, there have been growing concerns about misuses of these technologies. Digital pathologies can take many forms. Some people engage in specific activities to the point that their use is interrupting their everyday lives. A growing body of research suggests that some individuals become addicted to the Internet or to specific Internet-related activities including online games such as MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games) or Facebook (Morahan-Martin, 2008). More recently, there has been increasing concern about addiction to mobile phones or to specific uses such as text-messaging (Walsh, White & Young, 2008). Digital media can also expand and change the nature of established pathologies such as bullying, gambling, pedophilia and other paraphilias. Online support groups, such as pro-ana and pro-mia (eating disorder) groups, have been established and used to encourage and support non-digital pathologies. Similarly, digital technology has spurred new types of behaviors such as sexting, which may or may not be pathological.
The wide-spread adoption of digital technologies by young people has led to the above phenomena having wide-ranging educational implications. For example, the combination of flexible study hours, the ready availability of the relevant technology within educational environments, and psychological and developmental factors associated with adolescence and young adulthood are all likely to make students particularly prone to internet-related pathologies (Kandell, 1998; Moore, 1995). The aforementioned human factors together with the high portability and ease of use are likely to be behind similar concerns with respect to other mobile communication technologies. Furthermore, such technologies can provide distractions during scheduled teaching sessions impacting upon student performance (Castiglione, 2008) and allow bullying to be perpetrated both on a 24/7 basis and anonymously (Kowalski & Limber, 2007). On the other hand, educational environments can provide possible settings for the amelioration of digital pathologies too (e.g. Agatston, Kowalski, & Limber, 2007; Du, Jiang, & Vance, 2010).
The Journal of Educational Computing Research is seeking manuscripts for a special issue entitled Digital Pathologies: Education and problematic computer behaviors. This issue will have as broad a scope as possible with respect to educational issues surrounding the above and other digital pathologies. In doing this the Journal aims to not only advance the state of knowledge in this general area but to bring disparate research agendas together in one place to encourage the evolution of synergistic connections.
http://jrnledcompresearch.com/index.php/jecr/announcement/view/1
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