The journal Prometheus is planning to publish a collection of papers treating the September 11th attacks on the United States. Suitable papers (2,000-5,000 words in length) could address the telecommunication, information technology, or media aspects of the tragedy. Of particular interest would be papers that integrate theory with the practical events of the tragedy, perhaps also developing lessons and observations for the future. The deadline for proposals is December 15, 2001 with accepted papers due March 15, 2002.

Some of the papers could treat telecommunications, such as the use of wireless, e-mail, and conventional telephone service. For example, AT&T’s traffic was over 40% more than its busiest day, and wireless calls were made from the doomed airplanes and buildings, with the human voice having a calming influence. Some of the papers could treat the mass media and their use and behavior. It would be useful to apply what has been learned from the behavior of the mass media in past crises to the events of today. Guidelines for the appropriate behavior of the mass media might then be needed. Other papers could treat computers and information technology and its recovery from the tragedy. The use of the Internet as a mass medium to obtain information worldwide would also be a suitable topic. The international communication aspects of the tragedy would also be of much interest.

The collection of papers will be edited by Prof. A. Michael Noll of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, who is also affiliated with the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia University.

If you are interested, please initially send a short summary of your preliminary ideas for a paper to Prof. William H. Dutton [wdutton@usc.edu], Editor of Prometheus. Your final paper will need to follow the editorial guidelines posted at the journal’s web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/08109028.html

Thank you for your interest in this project.

Prof. A. Michael Noll
Annenberg School for Communication
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281
(213) 740-0926