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August 2017 Table of Contents In Memoriam: Gary Madden (1952-2017) Call for Papers for ITS Seoul 2018 Call for Papers for ITS Lusaka 2018 Call for Papers for 13th ITS Ph.D. Seminar – Lusaka, Zambia An Invitation to Join the International Telecommunications Society Calendar of Events – 2017-2019
——————- To ensure uninterrupted delivery of the ITS membership journal, Telecommunications Policy, as well as e-mail announcements of upcoming Calls for Papers, publications, conference registration discounts and similar news of potential interest sent via the Don Romaniuk, ITS Secretariat at secretariat@itsworld.org —————— Editor: Don Romaniuk Graphic Design Artist:
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In Memoriam: Gary Madden (1952-2017)
Long-time ITS Board member, Professor Gary Madden passed away on July 13, 2017 in his home city of Perth, Australia. He was 64 years of age. His untimely death very much caught unawares and deeply saddened the close-knit ITS community. Past ITS Chair, Erik Bohlin, and current ITS Chair, Stephen Schmidt, in a jointly-issued statement recalled Professor Madden “as one of our organization’s most active and respected members.” They went on to state, “Gary was passionate about economics and regulation, especially as they concern the ICT industry. Possessed of an intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm that knew few bounds, Gary was intensely driven as a researcher, author, editor, conference organizer, teacher and mentor to students, and colleague of and collaborator with a great many other ICT researchers, scholars, and industry specialists. He will be fondly remembered and very much missed by all who knew him. On behalf of the ITS Board and our entire membership, we wish to extend to Gary’s wife Pat and his children James and Kate and their families, our deepest and most heartfelt condolences on their loss. We share in their grief and deeply mourn his passing.” ITS Board member, Christian Dippon, who studied at Curtin University and completed his Ph.D. in Economics in 2011 under Professor Madden’s supervision likewise spoke warmly of him and emphasized the significant impact he had on ITS. “Gary was a close friend and professional colleague. He loved ITS. I witnessed firsthand his work in organizing ITS conferences and assisting on the program committees of numerous others. If he wasn’t reviewing or refereeing papers written by fellow researchers, he was writing his own papers or presenting them at conferences. This is in addition to the time he spent editing ITS conference proceedings and his many years of service as an associate editor of successive ITS journals. He was a consummate scholar and academic – forever engaged in research, teaching and mentoring students, and publishing scientific books and articles.” Dr. Dippon added: “I feel very fortunate to have known Gary and to have worked with him. He had a way of inspiring and motivating others to excel, to be the very best they could be, that one rarely encounters. His wit and humour were also such that people naturally gravitated towards him. He was taken away from us far too soon. And we shall miss him dearly.” Professor Madden was elected to the ITS Board in 2002. He served as a Director for the next 15 years, the first 12 as Chair of the Publications Committee. His legacy of accomplishments as an ITS member has few peers. Professor Madden organized and served as Chair of, and his employer (Curtin University) hosted, seven Regional ITS Conferences between 2001 and 2013 (including the first Asia-Indian Ocean Regional ITS Conference, the first Asia-Australasia Regional ITS Conference and five successive Africa-Asia-Australasia Regional ITS Conferences). Professor Madden also served on the organizing and/or program committees of 12 other ITS Conferences between 2001 and 2016. In addition, he was Associate Editor of the ITS journal, Telecommunications Policy, between 2009 and 2014, and served continuously on the International Editorial Board of Communications & Strategies since 2005. He was also Guest Editor of several special issues of both Telecommunications Policy and Communications & Strategy between 2005 and 2010. Over the past two decades, Professor Madden authored, edited and/or co-edited nine scholarly textbooks in the field of ICT economics; authored or co-authored 24 separate chapters in various scholarly texts; authored or co-authored over 75 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals (with several more under review or awaiting publication); wrote and presented some two dozen papers at ITS Conferences and a similar number of papers at various non-ITS Conferences; served as a reviewer for Cambridge University Press, Edward Elgar, MIT Press, Routledge, and Yale University Press; served as a referee for 32 different academic journals; held numerous editorial positions with non-ITS affiliated scholarly publications; and held visiting positions at several major U.S. and European universities, as well as numerous professional and academic affiliations including Director, Communication Economics and Electronic Markets Research Centre, Curtin University between 1995 and 2014. Professor Madden also mentored dozens of honours and graduate students in economics during his career. Gary Madden was one of a kind. He may have lived at the end of the world, but his legacy extends to every part of the globe. May he long be remembered. ————————————————– Call for Papers for ITS Lusaka 2018 The 2nd African Regional ITS Conference will be held March 15-16, 2018 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The theme of ITS Lusaka 2018 is Communications and Applications for All – The ICT Thrust Transforming Business, Competition, Policy, and Regulation. As such, the Conference will focus on the interplay between developments in technology, markets, policy and regulation in the ICT field in African countries. The Call for Papers for this Conference invites abstract submissions dealing with any of the following broad subject areas, with a specific emphasis on Africa (although contributions focusing on other countries and regions of the world are also welcome):
Within these broad subject areas, authors are invited to submit papers on a very broad range of issues including, but not limited to, the following:
Abstracts and suggestions for panels, tutorials and seminars should be sent to ITS Board member, Anders Henten at henten@cmi.aau.dk Please note that outstanding papers will be considered for publication in an edited book or special issue of Telecommunications Policy. For complete details on the Call for Papers, including an expanded list of suggested topics, please visit the Conference website at http://www.itsafrica.org.zm/index.php Online registration is now available. Individuals planning to attend this Conference are reminded to register online before the early bird deadline of January 12, 2018 if they wish to save on their registration fees. Additional savings in registration fees are available to all ITS members in good standing. All prospective Conference attendees are advised to inquire well in advance about visa requirements for travel to Zambia from their home country. The Lusaka Conference website also provides very helpful information on hotel accommodation and tourism for first-time visitors to Zambia. Please see, http://www.itsafrica.org.zm/venue.php The Conference will begin with a welcome reception on the evening of March 14, 2018. Conference sessions will be spread over two days, starting in the morning of March 15. Coffee and refreshments as well as lunches will be provided to all registered attendees on both days of the Conference. Dinner will also be provided to attendees on the evening of March 15. All sessions and related activities will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka. See, https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/lusaka/lunha/hoteldetail The Conference program includes a keynote address on Day 1 (March 15), six parallel sessions spread over Days 1 and 2, as well as a plenary session on Day 2 (March 16). The social program for ITS Lusaka 2018 includes an optional tour of Chaminuka Lodge and Game Reserve featuring over 70 species of Zambian wildlife and birds, as well as a tour of Chaminuka art gallery, both on March 17.
Visitors planning to stay for more than a day or two after the Conference may wish to consider taking in some of the following additional sights and activities in and around Lusaka:
For those visitors willing to travel a bit further, two must-see places in Zambia are Victoria Falls and Lower Zambezi National Park.
ITS Lusaka 2018 is being hosted by the International Telecommunications Society and co-hosted by the University of Zambia. Anders Henten (Aalborg University, Denmark) is Program Chair while Simon Tembo (University of Zambia) is Program Vice-Chair. All Conference-related inquiries should be directed to secretariat@itslusaka2018.org ITS Lusaka 2018 will also feature the 13th ITS Ph.D. Seminar to be held on March 17. A complete description is provided immediately below. ————————————————– Call for Papers for 13th ITS Ph.D. Seminar – Lusaka, Zambia The 13th ITS Ph.D. Seminar will take place on March 17, 2018, immediately following the completion of the 2nd African Regional ITS Conference to be held March 15-16, 2018 in Lusaka. Access to this Conference will be free of charge for participants in the Ph.D. Seminar.
The objective of the Ph.D. Seminar is to share the valuable expertise in the information, communications, and technology sectors residing with leading academics, industry experts and renowned researchers in the ITS community with a selected group of graduate students in a highly-focused learning environment. As such, the focus of the Seminar will be on the discussion of ideas presented by the student participants, rather than simply on the presentation of papers. Up to 10 students will be invited to participate in the Ph.D. Seminar based on responses received to the Call for Papers (see below). Several distinguished international scholars from within the ITS community will participate as discussants. Please note that to be most effective, the discussion will be based on full (draft) papers. Only in exceptional cases will extended abstracts (minimum 8 pages) be accepted for submission. Papers presented at the Seminar will be considered for refereed submission in Telecommunications Policy. The Ph.D. Seminar is being organized locally with the assistance of ITS. Participation is free of charge. Successful participants will receive a certificate from ITS. Each student selected to participate in the Seminar will be eligible to receive a subsidy of up to USD $500 to cover personal travel expenses. (If individual expenses are lower, ITS will only fund the actual expenses). Call for Papers Papers can be submitted for presentation and discussion related to the following topics – which are also the main topics of the ITS Conference:
Submission of expression of interest and papers Expressions of interest should be sent to Anders Henten by 1 November 2017 and a full paper by 1 January 2018. Please send your full paper together with a CV to: Prof. Anders Henten at henten@cmi.aau.dk. Submitted papers will be assessed by a panel. Further details about the Ph.D. Seminar are available on the main Lusaka Conference web site at http://www.itsafrica.org.zm/phd.php ————————————————– ITS Conferences 2018 March 2nd African Regional ITS Conference 13th ITS Ph.D. Seminar June 22nd ITS Biennial Conference 14th ITS Ph.D. Seminar 2019 February 2nd Middle East and North African (MENA) Regional ITS Conference Other Conferences of Potential Interest 2017 August-September CPRsouth 2017 September 2017 TPRC | 45th Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy November 39th Annual DigiWorld Summit 13th CTTE and 10th CMI Conference 2018 January Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) Conference |
Call for Papers for ITS Seoul 2018 The 2018 ITS Biennial Conference will take place in Seoul, Korea, June 24-27, 2018. ITS last visited Seoul in 2002 for the 14th ITS Biennial Conference. Much has changed since then. According to a 2015 report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), South Korea is now the most connected country in the world. Home to Samsung and LG, two of the world’s largest and most successful high tech companies, South Korea boasts the highest average internet connection speed in the world and the 4th highest penetration rate for smartphones.
The theme of the 22nd ITS Biennial Conference is Beyond the Boundaries: Challenges for Business, Policy and Society. The Call for Papers (CFP) for the Seoul Biennial was issued in late July 2017. Abstract submissions are now welcome. The CFP envisions six separate plenary and parallel session tracks as follows:
Within these tracks, authors are invited to submit papers on a very broad range of subjects including, but not limited to, the following:
Complete details on the Call for Papers, including specifications for — and how to electronically submit – abstracts, are available on the Conference website at: Authors are reminded that the deadline for abstract submission is January 26, 2018. The Conference will be hosted by three of Korea’s leading academic and scientific institutions and associations: the School of Media & Communication, Korea University; Korea University Research Institute for Information & Culture (KU RIIC); and the Korean Association for Information Society (KAIS). ITS Board member, Professor Seongcheol Kim (Korea University), is Chair of the local Conference Organizing Committee. Professor Youngsun Kwon (KAIST) is Program Chair, while Professor Sangwoo Lee (Yonsei University) is Conference Secretary General. All Conference sessions will be held at Korea University.
The Conference itself will begin with a welcome reception for all attendees on the evening of June 24, 2018. Conference sessions will then run continuously for the next two and a half days. They will include Keynote addresses on Day 1 and Day 2, two plenary sessions, seven sets of parallel sessions, and the closing ceremony. Tea breaks, lunches and dinners will be provided on all three days of the Conference, including the main Conference banquet at the end of Day 1, and a special buffet dinner at the Season’s Table at the landmark N Seoul Tower in Namsan, followed by a Han River Cruise on Day 2. The dinner on Day 3 will be at the Sanneri Korean Restaurant on Seoul’s renowned Insa-dong Street. (“Sanneri” means “a small village in a mountain”). It will be followed by a tour of the Gangbuk area of Seoul. The Conference program also includes a Ph.D. Seminar that will commence immediately following the Conference closing ceremony. Online registration for the Conference will begin in February 2018. For further details, please see https://itsseoul2018.org/registration/ All registration and program-related inquiries, including questions about visa requirements for entry into the Republic of Korea and questions about the Ph.D. Seminar, should be directed to Dr. So-Eun Lee (Korea University) at contact@itsseoul2018.org. The Conference website also provides detailed information on numerous hotels within a 10 to 30 minute bus or subway ride of the main conference venue at Korea University. Individuals interested in attending this Conference may wish to add a few extra days to their Korea visit as there is much to see and do in Seoul and nearby areas. Useful tourist information for attendees planning to spend additional time in Korea may be found on the Conference website at https://itsseoul2018.org/information/
With a population (including metropolitan area) of some 25 million people, Seoul is the financial, commercial, political and cultural capital of Korea. Although more than 600 years old, Seoul has managed to preserve much of its traditional architecture while simultaneously showcasing some of the newest and most spectacular high-rise buildings in the world.
Like other metropolises, it is a city that never sleeps, as visitors to its many fascinating night markets and other nocturnal haunts can well attest.
It also offers visitors and residents alike a clean, modern and efficient municipal transportation system. For travellers wedded to their smartphones, tablets and/or personal computers, please note that Seoul is expected to extend free WiFi accessibility to all public spaces and modes of transportation before the end of 2017.
Average late June temperatures in Seoul range from daytime highs in the low 80s F (∼27C) to evening lows in the high 60s F (∼20C), ideal for strolling about or leisurely dining in outdoor cafes and restaurants (where you never know who you might meet).
Please be sure to add Seoul and the 22nd ITS Biennial Conference to your calendar for the last week of June 2018. ————————————————–
In this (August 2017) issue of Interconnect, the Message from the Chair consists of (slightly edited) excerpts from Stephen Schmidt’s opening and closing remarks at the Regional ITS Conference held in Kyoto, Japan (June 25-27, 2017). Excerpts from ITS Chair’s Opening Remarks in Kyoto Dear ITS Colleagues: We are very fortunate to find ourselves together in one of the most beautiful cities in Asia. The sacred spaces of Kyoto’s many temples and shrines, the silent poetry of its gardens, the intricate and colourful splendour of its traditional arts and architecture — these are not museum curiosities that capture and preserve a vanished past. No, these are a window into a permanent present, a window into enduring features of Japanese culture, beliefs, and aesthetics. We come, then, to Kyoto, to discover the true spirit and the living heart of Japan. In a similar way, if on a much smaller scale, the return of ITS to Japan brings us into contact with our history and our true spirit. The very first conference under the ITS name took place in Tokyo, Japan, in November of 1986 – almost 31 years ago. As we find ourselves, again, on this ground, it serves as a reminder of the vitality of our roots and, in a larger sense, of the importance of Asia for ITS. Asia was – and remains — a crucial centre of scholarship, membership, and conference activity for ITS. And we have with us, today, in this room, participants from that very first ITS Conference. So our history comes full circle and our true spirit and living heart finds tangible expression… Excerpt from ITS Chair’s Closing Remarks in Kyoto This conference has been too wonderful to leave you with only a haiku – with only seventeen syllables. I need to share a little more. As we come to the conclusion of this delightful experience, I want to share three impressions with you. They are my impressions – those that are in my heart — but I hope that they reflect some of the feelings in your hearts. My first impression – concerns our evening together last night This may sound like an impossibly romantic way to begin a public speech at an academic conference – but it is exactly how I should begin and exactly how I will begin. It would be difficult to design or describe a more perfect evening than last night. The meal we enjoyed together was an intricate and beautiful procession of colours, textures and flavours. The traditional entertainment provided by the maiko and the geiko brought the enduring grace and aesthetic refinement of ancient Japan into our living presence. It was as if small pieces of stars floated down to earth and filled the room – and our hearts – with light. My second impression is about your friendship I am always overwhelmed by the goodwill and warmth of the people at ITS conferences. We come together beyond the bonds and claims — and limits — of history, nation, language and tribe. Instead, we come together, first and foremost, as friends. This sense of friendship between colleagues – and between nations – advances understanding and advances scholarship. So, thank you for your friendship. My third impression is about your ideas. Each of you, one by one, has created this Conference. You have done this through papers, you panel presentations, and your sharing of ideas. It is deeply gratifying – and very reassuring – to see the way you are collectively bringing ITS into the 21st century through your focus on new topics, new fields and new approaches. Thank you. Speaking of new ideas, it was a great honour for us to be able to bestow best student paper awards last night on Maude Hasbi and Jing Bei (courtesy of the financial assistance provided by Canada’s TELUS Communications Inc.). At my office, I always say that two of my favourite things are announcing promotions and new babies, because it is such a joy to share joy with the world. I will now add announcing student paper awards to my list of favourite things. Students are not only our future. Our future leaders will be drawn from the best of this generation’s students. For this reason, it remains one of our most urgent priorities to encourage as many students as possible to participate in our Conferences and Ph.D. Seminars and for all of us to make them feel welcome and comfortable. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the months and years ahead and to engaging you in discussions on the issues and subjects of greatest interest and concern to the telecommunications and broader ICT industry. I also welcome your thoughts on how we can make ITS more relevant and valuable to you and to the broader ICT community. Sincerely,
Stephen Schmidt ————————————————– An Invitation to Join the International Telecommunications Society Who We Are The International Telecommunications Society (ITS) is an association of professionals in the evolving communications sector, including telephony, computing, internet, broadcasting, content (media) and related industries. Our goal is to provide a forum where people can meet to identify developing business and regulatory issues and share new findings, public policy ideas and research methodologies. We are an independent, non-aligned and not-for-profit organization with a worldwide network of several hundred members, from over 40 countries, from the academic, private sector and government communities. Our diverse membership base is a source of innovative ideas and solutions not likely to be developed in one discipline, one profession or one country. Our work focuses on the socioeconomic, technological, legal, regulatory, competitive, organizational, and ethical dimensions of public policy issues. We welcome new members who want to participate in this important work. Benefits of ITS Membership There are many benefits of ITS membership including the opportunity to present, as well as to obtain access to, economic research and strategic policy papers at conferences, workshops or seminars hosted by ITS and to meet and interact with public policy decision-makers, corporate executives, students, academics and industry professionals at numerous ITS-sponsored events throughout the year. Membership benefits also include an annual subscription to the ITS membership journal, Telecommunications Policy, which is published 11 times a year, as well as access to the ITS-L Listserv, which is used to notify members of upcoming ITS events and of publication of each new issue of Interconnect, the official newsletter of ITS. Please note that the registration fees for all ITS Biennial Conferences include a two-year individual membership in ITS (including a two-year subscription to Telecommunications Policy). In addition, all ITS members in good standing are entitled to reduced registration fees at all ITS-organized Regional Conferences. Other individual membership benefits include online access to papers presented at ITS Conferences, discounts as announced for ITS publications, and occasional special discounts on ITS conference proceedings. Conferences ITS holds a number of outstanding conferences each year, and the past few years have been no exception. Our largest and most dynamic gatherings are our Biennial Conferences. The 21st and most recent ITS Biennial Conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan in June 2016. The 2018 ITS Biennial Conference will be held in Seoul, Korea, June 24-27. See the Conference web site at https://itsseoul2018.org for the Call for Papers as well as other information about this Conference. Other cities that have hosted ITS Biennial conferences include Rio de Janeiro, Bangkok, Tokyo, Montreal, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Berlin, Sydney, Stockholm, Venice, Boston and Seville, among others. ITS also organizes one or more regional conferences each year in various parts of the world. In the past two years, regional conferences have been held in Passau, Germany; Kyoto, Japan; Cambridge, UK; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India: and Los Angeles, USA. Select conference papers are frequently published in Telecommunications Policy. Since 2010, ITS has also hosted twelve Ph.D. Seminars in conjunction with Biennial and major regional conferences. The objective of these Seminars is to allow leading academics, industry experts and researchers to share their knowledge and expertise with a select group of younger researchers in a highly focused learning environment. To date, over 80 Ph.D. students from more than two-dozen countries have participated in these Seminars. Students selected as having authored the most innovative and thoughtful papers at these Seminars are encouraged to submit them for publication on a refereed basis in Telecommunications Policy. Periodically, scholarships are also awarded for the best student papers. On the immediate horizon, and as is described in more detail in this issue of Interconnect, ITS conferences are planned for Lusaka, Zambia (March 15-16, 2018) and Seoul, Korea (June 24-27, 2018). The ITS Conference Committee has also recently announced that a Regional ITS Conference will be held in Aswan, Egypt (February 18-21, 2019). Information on all upcoming ITS conferences is posted on the ITS web site at www.itsworld.org. In addition, periodic updates on future conferences, including announcements of Calls for Papers, are regularly sent to ITS members via the ITS-L Listserv distribution list. Further Information About ITS For further information about ITS please visit our website at www.itsworld.org. Please feel free to direct any questions to any member of the Board of Directors (see website for contact information) or to the ITS Secretariat at secretariat@itsworld.org. Please Join Us Today To join ITS, simply go to www.itsworld.org and click on “Membership”. The cost of an annual ITS membership is U.S. $125. Credit card payments (VISA and MasterCard) are accepted. Please consider becoming an ITS member today. |
