WELCOME TO THE 2024 DEBATING COMMUNITIES AND NETWORKS CONFERENCE
Welcome to the Debating Communities and Networks Conference hosted and organised by students in the Digital and Social Media degree program through Curtin University (Bentley and Mauritius) and Open Universities Australia.
We respectfully acknowledge the Elders and custodians of the Whadjuk Nyungar nation, past and present, their descendants and kin. The Curtin University Bentley Campus enjoys the privilege of being located on the site where the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River) and the Djarlgarra (Canning River) meet. The area is of great cultural significance and sustains the life and well being of the traditional custodians past and present. We are proud to honour the Nyungar people and value this place of shared learning. We recognise the impacts of colonisation on Indigenous Australians and are committed to moving forward together in a spirit of mutual honour and respect.
DCN XV (22 April – 10 May 2024) has been filled with insightful discussions and constructive debates surrounding the conference papers, creating a vibrant and enriching online academic community. Congratulations to all conference promoters, organisers, presenters, and attendees. Thank you for making this conference a resounding success. Your dedication, thought-provoking insights, and collaborative spirit have truly made a difference in fostering knowledge exchange and advancing academic discourse.
The conference has now come to a close and no longer accepting comments.
However, the conference papers are still available for those who are interested in reading and exploring the research and ideas presented. Feel free to revisit the papers and continue your intellectual journey beyond the conference.
THIS YEAR THERE ARE FOUR CONFERENCE STREAMS
Our conference is organized around four separate streams, each addressing the overarching theme of “Debating Communities and Networks” from a different perspective.
ONLINE NETWORKS AND SOCIAL CHANGE
This stream is more focused on online social networks. It investigates both individual social networking sites and services and issues that reach across and between different networks. Papers in this stream ask, “How might social media positively and negatively affect and allow social change?”
IDENTITY AND ONLINE ADVOCACY
Papers in this stream focus on the place of identity in communities and social networks. This focus is paired with the intersection of online advocacy and identity in communities and social networks.
COMMUNITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Papers in this stream focus on contemporary issues, particularly how communities have embraced, modified, and organised themselves around digital and social media.
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES ONLINE DIASPORA AND SOCIAL MEDIA
This stream focuses on investigating community, networks, identity, social change, and advocacy through the lens of both indigenous and diasporic online communities and networks.
We hope that by exploring the topics in each stream, you will gain a deeper understanding of the way digital and social media can be used to create forms of social life involving human interaction and engagement.
How The Conference Will Run
The conference opens at 9 am Monday, 22 April 2024 and closes at 5 pm Friday, 10 May 2024 AWST. DCN XV is run completely online. It is fully accessible to the public.
Presenters have shared their papers in the relevant streams of the conference. We invite all conference attendees to read the papers presented. Then post a comment or question in the Comment form beneath each paper to engage in debate with the presenters and other conference participants. We hope this will allow all conference participants to participate in an online community and engage in forms of social networking with other people online who are interested in this subject and/or streams.
Commenting Guidelines
To ensure a productive and respectful dialogue in the comments section of each paper, please adhere to the following guidelines:
- Respectful communication: We encourage all comments to be respectful and constructive, even if you disagree with the author’s perspective or argument. Please refrain from using any derogatory language or launching personal attacks.
- Relevant contributions: We encourage readers to provide relevant and insightful comments that contribute to the discussion and understanding of the paper’s topic. Please avoid irrelevant or off-topic comments.
- Citation of sources: If you make any claims or references to external sources in your comments, it’s useful to provide citations or links to support your argument.
- Confidentiality: Please do not share personal information about the author or any other individual in the comments section.
Our DCN XV presenters will respond to your comments in a timely manner to foster a productive and interactive discussion.
Your Experience of the DCN XV Conference
We would love to hear about your experience at our conference this year via our DCN XV Feedback Form.
Thank you so much for your time with us. We wish you delicious debates and an engaging 14th Debating Communities and Networks Conference!
Hi Jorgia, Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your insightful thoughts. I appreciate your engagement with my…