Eurograd message

                ***apologies for cross-posting***
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<br>Dear all,
<br>
<br>We invite you to submit an abstract to our track *Beyond the individual.
<br>Professional expertise and grassroots participation in designing
<br>technologies for mental health and wellbeing *– at the *7th STS Italia
<br>Conference “Technoscience from Below”
<br>**(**www.frombelow-stsitaliaconf.org*
<br>*)*, June 14 through 16,
<br>2018,University
<br>of Padova, Italy.
<br>
<br>*Convenors:*
<br>
<br>Enrico Maria Piras – Fondazione Bruno Kessler, piras@fbk.eu
<br>
<br>Silvia Fornasini – Fondazione Bruno Kessler, fornasini@fbk.eu
<br>
<br>​
<br>*(Track 12) Beyond the individual. Professional expertise and grassroots
<br>participation in designing technologies for mental health and wellbeing*
<br>*Abstract*
<br>
<br>In the last few years there is a growing interest in mental health and
<br>wellbeing technologies. Mobile applications are believed to have the
<br>potential to offer affordable, convenient, and engaging support. Moreover,
<br>the anonymity granted by technologies is often considered a way to attract
<br>people that would not seek for help fearing to be stigmatized. This
<br>increasing attention has led to interventions through instant messaging and
<br>videoconferencing systems, virtual reality, conversational agents, serious
<br>games, social media. These solutions have attracted the interest of
<br>computer science and medical informatics, focused on how
<br>technology-mediated communication can trigger new effective care models:
<br>this happens not only as regards the mental illness, but also in the wider
<br>context of prevention and support of mental disorders related to other
<br>conditions (diabetes, cancer, eating disorders, ageing, cyberbullying
<br>etc.). Furthermore, clinical psychology and human computer interaction have
<br>joined the debate proposing behavioral interventions to be delivered
<br>through persuasive technologies and virtual coaching systems. However, most
<br>of the existing debates focus on how technologies enable selfcare through
<br>symptoms self-tracking and quantification. The implicit depiction of mental
<br>illness is a syndrome based on quantity and duration of symptoms, where the
<br>subject is individualized and separated from any social relation. The aim
<br>of this track is to address some of the underpinnings of the aforementioned
<br>approaches, investigating mental health and wellbeing technologies from an
<br>STS perspective, focusing on this alternative co-production of knowledge
<br>about mental health and shared care practices, where professional and lay
<br>expertise find a new common ground, and in which non-humans play a key
<br>role. We are specifically interested in investigating the role of
<br>technologies for mental health and wellbeing in involving unconventional
<br>and heterogeneous actors in the care network such as parents, friends,
<br>teachers, colleagues, patients support groups.
<br>
<br>Starting from this understanding of care, we intend to attract
<br>theoretically, empirically, and/or methodologically oriented contributes
<br>focused on: - Ongoing changes in health care professions and services
<br>connected to the diffusion of technologies for mental health and wellbeing;
<br>- New professional visions, expertise and abilities mediated by
<br>technologies in the field of mental health and wellbeing; - The role of lay
<br>and professional expertise in the mental health and wellbeing
<br>technologically-mediated care practices; - Technologies of coordination of
<br>new actors in the care network; - Participation of citizens and other
<br>non-institutional actors in the design of technologies; - Peer support
<br>through technologies of mental health and wellbeing; - Emerging conflicts
<br>between politics and practices of mental health and wellbeing care.
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<br>*To participate:*
<br>
<br>
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<br>Abstracts (written in English, or in Italian in case of tracks in double
<br>language) should be submitted *by February, 10* to the conference email
<br>address (7thstsitaliaconf@gmail.com) and to the emails of convenors.
<br>Submission should include:
<br>
<br>
<br>1. Author’s name and surname, institution and email address
<br>2. Title
<br>3. Abstract’s text (no more than 300 word all included)
<br>
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<br>*Next important dates:*
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>February, 10 2018 - Deadline for abstracts submission
<br>
<br>March 10, 2018 - Authors notified of abstract acceptance or rejection
<br>
<br>March 25, 2018 - Early-bird registration fees
<br>
<br>April 15, 2018  - Late registration fees (mandatory to be included in the
<br>programme)
<br>
<br>May 20, 2018 - Publication of final conference program
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<br>
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<br>Please feel free to circulate this announcement widely.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>​Best wishes,​
<br>
<br>
<br>​Enrico & Silvia
<br>
<br>--
<br>Silvia Fornasini
<br>PhD Student @ Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of
<br>Trento
<br>Researcher @ Center for Information and Communication Technology, Fondazione
<br>Bruno Kessler
<br>Office 0461 314140
<br>
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