CLOSED: Call for Papers: Special Issue on Histories of Computing in Oceania

Submissions due: 22 May 2023

Publication: October-December 2023

The region of Oceania includes Australasia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. To date, the history of computing in this vast and relatively lowly populated region is underrepresented, notwithstanding recent efforts to expand the geographical scope of the history of computing. The geographical characteristics of Oceania have facilitated the development of innovative, interesting (and often unique) patterns of information and knowledge exchange. For instance, despite limited interaction with work undertaken overseas, Trevor Pearcey built CSIR Mark 1, the first digital stored program computer in the world that played music, in Australia

between 1947-49. Nonetheless, representations of these important contributions made to the history of computing in Oceania in the academic discourse are still scant.

This special issue explores the history of computing in the countries of Oceania with reference to the nuanced relationship between the local and the global. Bringing together accounts from Oceania, it seeks to document a history currently often only published in grey literature. Topics of interest include:

• Historical, post-colonial, and regional perspectives on the development, appropriation, and use of computing technologies in Oceania;
• The regional, national, or transnational politics of computing and telecommunications;
• Exploration of multinational versus local initiatives;
• National and international transfer of technologies, knowledge, and people;
• Critical analyses of the development of computing education;
• Studies of community computing, ICT4D, and the role of NGOs; and
• Histories and critical analyses of digital initiatives that involve Indigenous people.

Submission Guidelines

For author information and guidelines on submission criteria, visit the Author Information page. Please submit papers through the ScholarOne system, and be sure to select the special-issue name. Manuscripts should not be published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Please submit only full papers intended for review, not abstracts, to the ScholarOne portal.

Required Endnote and Bibliography Format Change (PLEASE NOTE ): Annals no longer combines endnotes and references, but now follows a format that separates endnotes and bibliography into separate sections at the end of the article. The bibliography of all cited works should be alphabetized by author and not numbered. Endnotes should be denoted in the text by superscript numerals. Please visit the Author Information page for further details and to ensure that your submission follows this format. 

Questions?

Authors in discussing potential topics can reach the guest editors at an4-2023@computer.org.

Guest Editors

• Sebastian Boell (The University of Sydney, Australia)
• Janet Toland (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)