Call for papers for the 1st “Emerging Threats” Conference, 3-4 September 2022

Keynote Speaker: Diana Slade

Abstract Due Date: 4 August 2022

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This conference brings together academics, researchers, business people and medical practitioners from a wide variety of fields, for a collaborative, multidisciplinary exploration of health as set within a context of global emerging threats.  Abstracts are peer-reviewed. Themes and issues for the conference include, but are not limited to:

 

Stream A       Emerging threats in healthcare

The twenty-first century has already seen various healthcare threats, including an increased risk of zoonotic pandemics due to the increased proximity of humans and animals, combined with warmer temperatures, outbreaks of Ebola and similarly high-risk pathogens, the spread of severe diseases such as dengue due to insect vectors, vaccine hesitancy and its social consequences, weak primary and public healthcare, the spread of superbugs, antimicrobial resistance and the reduced efficacy of antibiotics. Climate change will impact the health of regional populations through the migration of disease vectors such as ticks and mosquitos. Some remain acute, such as the health impacts of a lack of sanitation. Many are increasing, such as from noncommunicable diseases including heart disease, cancer, HIV and related co-morbidities. How can we handle these threats? Communication represents one of the frontline tools for minimising negative impacts to human health. What does preparedness mean? What are the challenges, and opportunities, in various contexts?

 

Stream B       Language, risk and security

Global threats and global safety involve the careful use of language, to analyse risks and threats. Communication practices are crucial in effectively conveying the priorities and procedures that ensure safety. How do governments, corporations, the media, and other actors define vulnerabilities, make decisions to minimise threats, and allocate resources for security? We welcome linguistics, media, multimodal and communications papers these and other aspects of local and global threat understanding and management. We welcome experience narratives from those working in the field, regarding their posters, information campaigns and outreach efforts, and other matters. You can find more information on this here.

 

Stream C       Global threats

Conflict, poverty, climate change, refugee flows, and food and water insecurity are likely threats to global health in the coming decades which will impact health. Other threats include fake medicines, ransomware and data privacy, insufficient investment, and environmental biohazards. What responses will be most effective? Where is prevention possible? How should the developed world respond? How can we handle the depletion of natural resources? Threats come also from new techniques. Current trends in healthcare include precision medicine, nuclear medicine, robotic surgery, wireless brain sensors, 3D printing, artificial organs, telemedicine and AI, and gene editing. All have problems, for cost, accessibility, and global equity. Many entail challenges, for example rogue AI and biotechnology. Gene-editing techniques offer powerful new tools for solving health issues, but raise questions about designer babies, transgenic animals and humans, runaway human mutations with unintended consequences, disruption of the human germ line, military applications of gene-editing techniques in altering soldiers and in creating genetic weapons, and the potential for radically altering the human social order. We welcome papers exploring the potentials, downsides and possible management and risk mitigation measures for these and other emerging areas and techniques.

 

Stream D            Data analytics and emerging threats

In order to explore notions of emerging threats and responses to these in the area of health and healthcare, we are soliciting research cooperation from scientists, academics, business people, and healthcare practitioners of all kinds. These papers use data from recorded patient-practitioner interactions, and structured interview questions, and evaluate this data with sentiment analysis software. Conference participants interested in cooperating with this effort will publish papers in a journal special issue with HEDRA advisory board members.  If you are interested in this, please click here.

 

The conference welcomes abstracts from academics and researchers working in medicine, linguistics, social sciences, government and politics, business and management,  medical and healthcare practitioners, as well as people working in social sciences and business, and in interdisciplinary and interprofessional fields, and others. We also welcome experience narratives, case studies, and situation reports from members of the public, people working in any related field, and specialists. You can find more information on this here. Participants will be able to watch a plenary session, and participate in a live-stream roundtable, and a conference roundtable discussions.

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