Calls & Grants

This volume explores the largely untapped field of Rural Media Studies, focusing on the impact of digitalization beyond metropolitan centers. We aim to compile the final manuscript by *December 15, 2025*. Scope and Objectives The volume will examine the processes of digitalization and their unique influences in rural contexts, addressing the need for scholarship that moves beyond urban-focused research. Digitalization—the integration of digital technology across sectors of government, business, and society—is often examined through an urban lens, leaving the media landscapes of rural areas underexplored. This volume seeks to address this gap by establishing a *"rural turn"* within Media Studies. This shift is essential to avoid knowledge gaps and enhance decision-making across social, political, and environmental domains. Recognizing that transitioning to climate-neutral societies requires a robust understanding of media practices within rural populations, this volume encourages scholarship that moves beyond traditional urban-centric frameworks.

The journal Sozialer Fortschritt is dedicating a special issue to the topic of ‘Digitalisation in social policy – processes, effects and perspectives’ (guest editors: Prof. Dr Felix Wilke, Wesley Preßler, Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena). We are looking for theoretically and empirically sound contributions that deal with digital transformation processes in various fields of social policy. The focus is on, among other things: - Digitalisation processes in health, care, old-age provision and social services - Effects on institutions, actors and addressees - Theoretical approaches to explaining digital transformations - Consequences for participation, fundamental rights and social inequality - Datafication, algorithmic systems and governance Submission: Abstracts (max. 400 words in German) by 31 December 2025 to felix.wilke@eah-jena.de.

Childism, decoloniality, and interculturality each serve as transformative lenses, offering critical insights into systemic inequalities and enabling the rethinking of power, agency, and relationality. Childism – akin to feminism, but from the position of children and childhood – offers underexplored theoretical possibilities for decoloniality and interculturality by examining age as a dimension of oppression and oppressive structures. The myth of an ‘ideal and universal childhood’ that progresses through neat developmental stages as well as the ‘figure of the child’ as an inferior state of being human are significant enablers of continued marginalisation of not only individuals below the age of 18 years defined as children as per international law, but also populations described Eurocentrically as child-like e.g., formerly colonised and indigenous peoples. While theoretical developments in adult-centric oppressive logics are significant for expanding the scope of decolonial and intercultural studies, these synergies have not yet received sufficient scholarly attention. The special issue aims to explore how these critical frameworks intersect to challenge entrenched paradigms, reimagine inclusive practices, and inspire new possibilities in educational research, practise, and policy. We invite contributions that explore connections between childism, decoloniality, and interculturality. Together, these lenses hold the potential to disrupt Eurocentric adultist norms underlying colonial legacies and assumptions that continue to shape societal structures.

Please visit www.ai-uni.dk for the full and updated call for papers. // As we write this, in November 2025, three years after ChatGPT was made available to the general public, ‘AI’ seems to be every­where. Strong in connotation, weak in deno­tation, and deeply entangled in contradictory dis­courses of desire and anxiety, profit and preju­dice, power and injustice, capitalism and en­vironmentalism, ‘AI’ has – for better and for worse – become a keyword of our times. A range of different technologies branded in­dis­criminately as ‘AI’ have ac­quired a discur­sive and material presence in the social world, affecting the lives of millions of people around the globe, in different ways and with different consequences. // Though not the only form of ‘AI’ around, large language models and their deployment as part of text-generative tools have come to be seen as prototypical exemplars of ‘AI’. Lan­guage plays a central role in ‘AI’ – not only as part of the discourses surrounding the tech­nology, but also as part of the technology it­self. It is therefore not surprising that socio­linguists have been keen to explore ‘AI’ from a range of different perspectives. Many im­portant in­sights have started to emerge, but a seemingly endless list of questions con­cerning the inter­face between socio­linguistics and ‘AI’ never­theless remains to be explored: // If ‘AI’ is indeed a keyword of our times, then what does sociolinguistics have to say about it? How can sociolinguistics as a discipline help us understand the ‘new’ technologies that are being introduced at breakneck speed? And what about the implications of the tech­nologies for fundamental human concerns such as identity, social relations and, indeed, humanity? Is ‘AI’ changing the way we use lan­guage, think about language or think about hu­mans as a languaging spe­cies? Is it changing language itself? Do we need new ways of con­ceptualizing the rela­tionship between lan­guage, technology and the environment? Do we need new methods and theories to bring sociolinguistics into the era of ‘AI’ – or will estab­lished approaches suffice? // Against this background, we are pleased to in­vite submissions for the conference Socio­lin­guistics and AI, hosted by the AI-UNI group at the University of Copenhagen, 19–21 August 2026. The conference is an in-person event. We welcome contributions from all research traditions associated with the field of socio­linguistics, including but not limited to (and in no particular order): sociocultural linguistics, interactional socio­lin­guistics, ethnometh­od­ology and conversa­tion analysis, linguistic ethnography, linguis­tic anthropology, (critical) discourse studies, language policy and plan­ning, social semi­otics, variationist socio­linguistics, educa­tional linguistics, and eco­linguistics. // Contributions should address ‘AI’ in some re­spect while clearly relating it to themes and issues commonly addressed within socio­linguistics, including but not limited to: multi­lingualism, social interaction, language and power, agency, identity, language and edu­ca­tion, (language) ideologies, minoritised lan­guages, heritage languages, linguistic di­ver­sity, language policy and planning, lan­guage variation and change, (de)standardi­sation, (de)co­loniality, language policy and plan­ning, the An­thropocene, mediatisation and socio­linguistic change. // We particularly encourage submissions that report on empirical work, but we also wel­come papers that are methodological or theo­retical in nature. For more info please visit www.ai-uni.dk

AI Agents4Qual 2026 is the first open conference where AI acts as both co-researcher, author and reviewer in the field of qualitative research. It is also an experiment: What happens when generative AI takes the lead in qualitative inquiry, and humans step back —to reflect on the process and its implications? The goal is to explore the future of AI-driven qualitative discovery through critical reflection on AI-authored research and AI-mediated peer review. AI Agents4Qual invites a different kind of experiment. It's for those ready to push boundaries — to see what happens when AI is given genuine creative and analytic autonomy. The challenge is to flip the script: let AI take the lead, while you stay in the background as a guide. Steer the process, but don't drive it.

The special issue aims to bring together innovative, thought-provoking contributions, from different fields, national and regional contexts, exploring a range of topics, including: • Gender and visual political communication • African political communication and visuals • Disinformation, misinformation, and visual political communication • The use/abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Visual Political Communication in Africa’s Digital Sphere. • Audience research on visual political communication, and digital spaces • Methodological considerations in researching visuals • Theoretical and conceptual concepts of studying Visual Political Communication in Africa/ African Visual Political Communication • Decoloniality and Visual Political Communication in Africa’s Digital Sphere. • Ethical issues in Visual Political Communication in Africa’s • Citizenship, activism, social movements, and visual political communication • Satire/humour, and the use of visuals in political communication • Political campaigns, electoral campaigns and the use of Visual Political Communication

Migration, Flucht und Zugehörigkeit stehen im Zentrum gesellschaftlicher Aushandlungsprozesse. Doch jenseits aktueller Polarisierungen stellen sich grundlegende Fragen nach Treibern und Prozessen des gesellschaftlichen und politischen Wandels: Wie sind die Konflikte um Migration historisch und strukturell eingebettet? In welchen Kontexten sind Migration und Vielfalt wenig umstrittene Normalität? Wozu führen „Ungleichzeitigkeiten“, ein Nebeneinander unterschiedlicher Konfliktintensitäten und -logiken? An welchen Konfliktlinien werden rechtsstaatliche Prinzipien zugunsten antidemokratischer oder illiberaler Politik angegriffen? Mit diesem Zugang untersucht die Konferenz aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive, wie globale Krisen, transnationale Verflechtungen, nationale Diskurse sowie lokale Erfahrungen langfristige Verschiebungen von Solidarität, Exklusion und Demokratie formen. Ziel ist es, Konflikte nicht nur als Symptome der Gegenwart zu lesen, sondern als zentrale Dynamiken gesellschaftlicher Transformation und Zukunftsfähigkeit zu analysieren. Die Konferenz versteht sich als interdisziplinäres Forum für Austausch und Vernetzung zwischen Wissenschaft, Politik und Praxis. Eingeladen sind Wissenschaftler*innen aller Karrierestufen sowie Akteur*innen aus Politik, Verwaltung, Zivilgesellschaft und Praxis, die zu den Themen Migration, Integration, Rassismus und Konflikten arbeiten.

It has been just over 30 years since the Salamanca Statement was endorsed by 92 governments and 25 international organisations in 1994, which marked an internationally shared commitment to inclusive education (UNESCO, 1994). The UN Sustainable Development Goals further affirm the indispensable role of quality inclusive education for a peaceful and sustainable future of the globe (UNESCO, 2015). While the definition of inclusive education is often contested, it can be usefully understood as a process that aims to maximise the presence, participation, and achievement of all students regardless of their backgrounds, and minimise any form of marginalisation, discrimination, and exclusion (Ainscow et al., 2006). Inclusive education requires an education system to adapt to student diversity through systematic changes, ranging from policy and resource distribution at a macro-level to classroom pedagogy and support at a micro-level. Inclusive education is to respect a student’s right to dignity, and it is every educator’s responsibility to build a learning environment with the right conditions for inclusion (Cantali et al., 2025). In the past few decades, we have seen landscape shifts in many countries with a growing recognition and valuing of student diversity in classrooms. The ways that countries address equality and equity issues in education systems tend to vary depending on complex economic, social, cultural, and political factors. For instance, in China, a traditional special education system operates as a way to ensure that resources and services are in place for children with disabilities, the country’s most vulnerable group to exclusion in education, while tremendous efforts have been made recently to increase access to regular schools and improve inclusive practice by reshaping teacher education programmes (Wang, 2023). In contrast, in Scotland, its unique Additional Support Needs system reaches nearly 40% of its student population and all teachers are expected to be competent in inclusive practice, whereas it still faces issues that compromise what the support system sets out to achieve (Morgan 2021; Scottish Government, 2025). There won’t be a single unified solution that can be uncritically applied across international contexts. This does not undermine the difference it makes to our understanding when we learn about, in more depth, how progress is made and how challenges are overcome in one another’s social-cultural context. Indeed, there have already been many examples that demonstrate the importance of learning across contexts (e.g., lesson study). Therefore, this special issue will bring together the latest research that adds to the global learning of innovative and transformative approaches to quality inclusive education. The collection is intended to contribute to the conceptualisation of inclusive education and create a positive impact on the future development of policy and practice.

Sección 7 – Perspectivas decoloniales en la enseñanza de dinámicas culturales hispanoamericanas: cruzando umbrales hacia la pluralidad y la post-digitalidad. Formatos para las presentaciones (una propuesta por persona): 1: Ponencia interactiva de unos 45min (30min con 10min de discusión) 2: Taller práctico (90min) Lengua: español o alemán Es crucial que en las escuelas como lugares de socialización y formación, la enseñanza crítica y decolonial sea parte del currículo. No solo en los materiales que se utilizan sino también en la práctica docente. Es notable que haya estudiantes que llegan a su formación universitaria sin haber reflexionado sobre continuidades poscoloniales. Este hecho puede ser un indicador de la ausencia en la sociedad en general de perspectivas críticas sobre estas continuidades, o de un inadecuado tratamiento de éstas en el sistema escolar en particular. El presente panel propone crear un espacio de reflexión sobre cómo incorporar e implementar perspectivas críticas de lo poscolonial en la enseñanza de dinámicas culturales en Hispanoamérica y España, en consideración de todos los ámbitos involucrados en este proceso. Esto es considerar, junto a la enseñanza del idioma español, las transformaciones sociales de los contextos de sus hablantes y cómo éstas son abordadas y/o representadas por miembros de las respectivas comunidades. También significa considerar el contexto de aprendizaje, vale decir la escuela o centros de formación adulta, puesto que las condiciones de la poscolonialidad generan realidades también en el interior de las instituciones educacionales y se manifiestan, entre otras cosas, en los programas de enseñanza. Esta propuesta se enmarca entonces en la necesidad de cruzar umbrales epistemológicos y metodológicos para fomentar una comprensión crítica, diversa y plural que cuestione los imaginarios dominantes (Castoriadis, 2005) y dé voz a narrativas subalternas, propiciando así polifonías decoloniales. Considerando las experiencias de personas que trabajan en los distintos contextos de enseñanza, el panel busca discutir sobre perspectivas y herramientas de implementación para el fomento de una educación crítica y representativa de la pluralidad de los contextos en los que se habla la lengua. De esta manera se busca también contribuir a la necesaria transformación de currículos e inclusión de nuevas metodologías y prácticas. Se propone un abordaje interdisciplinario, que combine los aportes de la teoría poscolonial (Coronil, 2000 / Hall 2013) e interseccional (Lugones, 2008 / Mignolo, 2005 / Spivak, 2017), con un enfoque que reconoce la “mediatización profunda” (Hepp, 2020) y la continuidad entre los mundos “en línea” y “fuera de línea”, es decir, post-digitales (Knox, 2019). En este contexto es que las nuevas tecnologías y los medios pueden servir para explorar nuevas formas de enseñanza con materiales innovadores para los estudios del español, las dinámicas culturales de sus hablantes y la representación y mediatización de éstas. La interdisciplinariedad puede manifestarse también en los acercamientos metodológicos. Se invita a reflexionar sobre cómo las herramientas digitales y las plataformas de redes sociales pueden ser utilizadas para crear espacios de diálogo intercultural (López García, 2024) y de construcción colectiva de conocimiento. Se destaca la utilización del cine y otros medios audiovisuales (Troncoso Salazar, 2021) como vehículos para explorar imaginarios sobre el sur global, la diversidad de voces subalternas y su mediatización. El análisis crítico de producciones cinematográficas y series televisivas pueden reflejar realidades sociales y procesos culturales, entregando imágenes de mayor resolución, vale decir, más complejas, de las comunidades de la lengua estudiada. El panel busca entonces explorar experiencias pedagógicas que reflexionen sobre los siguientes posibles tópicos, sin limitarse a ellos: 1) Metodologías en la enseñanza del español y de estudios culturales sobre Hispanoamérica y España que incorporen una perspectiva crítica poscolonial. 2) Utilización de medios audiovisuales y digitales para explorar imaginarios emergentes subalternos. 3) Análisis crítico de sitios de redes sociales y plataformas digitales como espacios de producción cultural. 4) Desafíos y oportunidades de la post-digitalidad en la enseñanza de lenguas y culturas.

Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English edition) is a peer reviewed academic international journal publishing original research in the field of marketing in French and translated into English. It is a main reference for the development and dissemination of new concepts and new methods in marketing. Recherche et Applications en Marketing publishes articles covering any aspect of marketing, including consumer behaviour, communication, retailing, CRM, new product development and more. The journal publishes research articles, research notes, critical state of the art papers, and also articles offering perspectives from other disciplines which might be applied to marketing. Recherche et Applications en Marketing is an official journal of the AFM (French Marketing Association - Association Française du marketing). It is the leading French research journal in the field of marketing which has been published since 1986, and in both English and French since 2007.

Advances in Developing Human Resources (ADHR) focuses on the issues that help you work more effectively in human resource development. The journal spans the realms of performance, learning, and integrity within an organizational context. Balancing theory and practice, each Issue of the journal is devoted to a different topic central to the development of human resources. ADHR has covered subjects as wide-ranging and vital as performance improvement, action learning, on-the-job training, informal learning, how HRD relates to the new global economy, leadership, and the philosophical foundations of HRD practice.

Human Resource Development Review (HRDR) is an international journal focusing on theory development for scholars and practitioners in human resource development and related disciplines. HRDR publishes high-quality conceptual work using non-empirical research methods. The journal is committed to advancing HRD by providing fresh theoretical insights, new conceptual models, critical examination of literature, and multi-paradigm approaches to theory building.

The journal is peer-reviewed and focuses on international and national issues and is aimed at researchers, professionals and practitioners in all sectors. It publishes both research articles and reflections on policy and practice, and offers opportunities for all concerned with post-compulsory education to make contributions to debate.