ISA is sponsoring the following innovative panel during the 2012 Annual Convention and announces this call for participation:
Call for Participation
From Virtual to Real:
Simulating Conflict Dynamics in a Global Information Age
A unique teaching and learning innovative panel hosted at ISA's 2012 Annual Conference
Deadline: November 15, 2011
What Is It?
The innovative panel will occur in two parts: first, participants will meet on Facebook for several sessions to be scheduled from January to March 2012. As part of a global online simulation, participants will represent political leaders in the Arab-Israel conflict, powers outside the region, and international organizations. Here, participants will help create foreign policy goals and plan strategic options representing their group's interests. Next, at the ISA Annual Conference in San Diego, participants will work, face-to-face, in a conflict management role, to address the issues developed in the first part of the simulation. This will be done as a part of a special innovative panel session on Monday, April 2nd, 2012 from 4:00 - 5:45pm.
Organized by: Hemda Ben-Yehuda, Chanan Naveh & Luba Levin-Banchik, Political Studies Dept., Bar Ilan University & School of Communication, Sapir College, Israel
How Will It Work?
Part One - Connect on Facebook 
The simulation begins on Facebook with virtual interactions within and between participating teams. The simulation covers events in the Middle East focusing primarily on the Arab-Israel conflict in 2012. It integrates diplomatic interactions between actors in the region (Egyptians, Iranians, Israelis, Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians), external powers (Russia, USA), international organizations (EU, UN), and the media (regional, global). Each registered participant is assigned to a specific team and takes part in both intra-team (domestic politics) and inter-team (international relations) virtual interactions through several Facebook sessions during the months of January-March 2012.
Part Two - Meet at ISA 2012 in San Diego 
The simulation continues in an innovative panel scheduled for Monday, April 2, 2012 from 4pm-5:45pm at the ISA 2012 annual conference in San Diego with an international conference on the Middle East, where representatives from the virtual teams meet face-to-face. This engagement focuses on conflicts issues that emerged during the Facebook simulation in effort to reach some agreement between participating teams. The simulation will end with a wrap-up discussion on the simulation itself and its utility as a teaching and research tool.
How to Register?
To register, use the link above. Registration deadline is November 15, 2011.
Questions and Comments
Please direct all inquires to: sim2012isa@gmail.com
For further details on the simulation visit, https://sites.google.com/site/sim2012isa/
Schedule
