Digitalisation Research Seminar (DigiSem 2022)
“Data Literacy – Key competence for a fair digital society?”
The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), and the Weizenbaum Institute (WI), three leading German institutions in the field of digitalisation research, invite doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to present their work at the joint Digitalisation Research Seminar – DigiSem. DigiSem will take place on 22-23 September 2022 in Nürnberg. This year’s overarching theme is “Data Literacy – Key competence for a fair digital society?”
DigiSem is a bi-annual workshop for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, organised by bidt, CAIS, and WI. The workshop will include a keynote by a renowned expert, multiple sessions on specific aspects of the workshop’s overarching theme chaired by experienced researchers from the organising institutes, and other formats, such as a poster session in which researchers present results and discuss current hot topics in a collaborative and experimental fashion. The seminar provides a platform for discussing project ideas, research results, feasibility studies, and/or pilots for product/app development with senior researchers and experts from bidt, CAIS, and WI.
The first edition of DigiSem focuses on Data Literacy as a fundamental pillar for leading a meaningful, fair and happy life in a digital society. Data Literacy is a multi-layered concept with rather distinct fields of application. The German Informatics Society defines it as „the ability to deal with data in a planned way and be able to use and question it consciously in the respective context“ (GI, 2018). This definition is particularly applicable to the scientific field as well as the economy and raises a set of questions, e.g., related to data protection or data management. Applying a somewhat different perspective, Bhargava et al. (2015) understand Data Literacy as „the desire and ability to constructively engage in society through and about data.“ This definition is more socio-politically oriented and entails questions of media literacy and inclusion, but also problems related to global justice. Combining both perspectives, DigiSem wants to approach the topic in an interdisciplinary and holistic way, shedding light on the different facets of the concept, and – if possible – relating them to each other.
We invite submissions addressing topics, such as:
- Data Literacy as a basic prerequisite for a digital (knowledge) society
- Data ownership and ethics: knowledge and skills involved in acquiring, processing and protecting data
- Data justice, the digital/algorithmic divide, and digital inclusion
- Challenges for Data Literacy in education, training, and lifelong learning
- Digital tools and technologies as support and/or barrier for Data Literacy
Deadline for abstract submission: 17 June 2022
Accepted submissions may be presented either orally (approx. 30 min slots including discussion) or as a poster, depending on own preferences and the Programme Committee’s recommendation. Abstracts of accepted submissions will also be collectively published on the institutions’ websites. Sessions will be chaired by experts from the convening institutions.
How to apply
Submissions should address an original research question and present (preliminary) results addressing that question. Inter- and transdisciplinary work is particularly encouraged. Please submit an extended abstract as PDF, no longer than 2 pages, excluding references. Submissions should be uploaded by 17 June 2022 via EasyChair.
Your submission will be reviewed anonymously, please avoid information in your abstract that could point to your authorship (including information in references and notes).
After review through the Programme Committee, you will be notified by the end of July 2022 whether your submission has been accepted.
Programme Committee
- Johannes Breuer, Team leader Research Data and Methods, CAIS
- Zohar Efroni, Research group lead: Frameworks for Data Markets, WI
- Felix Freiling, Professor of Computer Science, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and bidt director
- Angela Graf, Postdoc at TU Munich and PI at bidt
- Bianca Herlo, Research group lead: Inequality and Digital Sovereignty, WI
- Antonia Köster, Research group lead: Digital Integration, WI
- Josephine Schmitt, Scientific Coordinator, CAIS
- Gergana Vladova, Research group lead: Education and Advanced Training in the Digital Society, WI
References
Gesellschaft für Informatik (2018). Data Literacy und Data Science Education: Digitale Kompetenzen in der Hochschulausbildung (Policy Paper). https://bit.ly/3rXke1j
Bhargava et al. (2015). Beyond Data Literacy: Reinventing Community Engagement and Empowerment in the Age of Data (White Paper). https://bit.ly/3vnaK1v