*CFP* "ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION IN THE GREATER CHINA REGION", SPECIAL ISSUE, CHINA MEDIA RESEARCH JOURNAL

This special section of China Media Research invites scholars from a broad range of disciplines and methodologies to submit manuscripts on the theme of “Environmental Communication Research in the Greater China Region.”

The Greater China Region is an informal term referring to four Chinese-majority societies (i.e., China, Hong-Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) that have formed strong cultural, economic, and political ties (Cheung, 2013; Harding, 1993; William, 2016). During the past five decades, strong emphasis on economic development in this region has impacted their environments. For example, China’s fragile environment has been severely impacted after decades of rapid industrialization, population pressure, and urbanization (Morton, 2003). In recent years, governments in the Greater China Region have become increasingly aware of human toll of these environmental problems. According to the World Bank (2007), health costs of severe air and water pollution account for about 4.3 percent of China’s GDP. As a result, both governmental and non-governmental organizations in this region have launched communication initiatives or campaigns to protect the environment (Dai, Zeng, & Wang, 2017). 

Local environmental NGOs have also enthusiastically embraced new communication technologies to accomplish their conservation objectives (Yang, Kang, & Wang, 2019). Environmental communication has become a research area of great importance to ensure the sustainable development and people’s welfare in this region. However, existing literature shows that there is a lack of programmatic research to study best practices, issues, policies, and theories pertinent to this region.

CMR invites scholars to submit their original manuscripts that investigate but are not limited to the special theme topics. Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method approaches that study environmental communication phenomena relevant to the Greater China Region are welcome. In addition to theoretical manuscripts, this special section also welcomes rigorous case studies that report best practices in environmental communication campaigns in this region. Emerging research approaches such as text mining and computational text analysis, network analysis, netnography, and autoethnography are strongly encouraged.

Submissions must not have been previously published nor be under consideration by another publication. An extended abstract (up to 1000 words) must be received by June 3, 2019 or a complete paper received by August 26, 2019. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the APA publication manual (6th edition) and should not exceed 8,000 words including charts, figures, references, and tables. All manuscripts will undergo the standard blind review, and the authors will be notified of the final acceptance/rejection decision within three months of the submission. CMR is a quarterly journal, which publishes both print and online versions. Send your questions and submissions to the CMR special section guest editor, Dr. Kenneth C. C. Yang at cyang@utep.edu.