ATTW Bulletin

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication is accepting submissions for a special issue on professional communication in humanitarian environments. Communication in humanitarian environments supports systems designed to meet the needs of communities and individuals in developing countries and post-disaster areas where existing systems and technologies are not adequately functioning. Many of the assumptions of the market-based professional environment do not hold for humanitarian work: e.g., there is not the usual customer/provider relationship, goals are far more complex, and existing infrastructure is unreliable. Effective research and practice must consider not only efficiency or effectiveness, but also the full range of social, behavioral, political, cultural, and economic issues that impact the humanitarian service domain.

To explore this important domain and the complex challenges associated with it, IEEE-TPC welcomes papers that examine how information and communication practices, approaches, tools, and innovations in for-profit organizations translate into the humanitarian environment, as well as where these practices fall short. We welcome a wide range of approaches, including case studies, histories, annotated bibliographies, original research, action research, and others.

Topics may include but are not limited to the following:

Examinations of the gaps between traditional professional communication and the needs of the humanitarian environment
Proposals of strategies or tools that may be appropriate or useful in the humanitarian work environment
Case studies describing the humanitarian environment and current communication practices
Unique benefits and challenges of trans-disciplinary research efforts in the humanitarian work domain

Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words to Rebecca Walton at rebeccaww@gmail.com

Submission schedule:

Abstracts due: April 15, 2008

Invitations to submit papers: May 5, 2008

Papers due: August 15, 2008

Acceptance notifications (after review): November 3, 2008

Tentative publication date: December 2009