Call for Papers

The Journal of Applied Interdisciplinary Research (JAIR) invites contributions for the next issue 2027 on resilient communities and regions in the digital age.

In the contemporary era, where digital technologies permeate every facet of everyday life, the resilience of communities and regions increasingly depends on their ability to leverage, govern, and co-produce digital assets while ensuring digital sovereignty and cyber security. Yet, structures and modes of regional governance remain persistent and not adaptive enough to tackle technological and societal acceleration and transformations. The special issue reflects this hiatus by addressing this socio-technical nexus as essential for anticipating how digital divides, algorithmic biases, platform monopolies and artificial intelligence may exacerbate vulnerability, while also uncovering pathways through which connectivity can amplify adaptive learning, collective and regional responses, and the safeguarding of democratic values in digital societies. Conversely, it is necessary to ask whether – and if so, how – new digital technologies challenge democratic structures, digital sovereignty, and cyber security, potentially becoming a threat to resilience and security themselves. And how do regions and societies, with their institutional actors and governance structures, harness digital technologies to enhance their resilience, robustness, and autonomy in an increasingly interconnected yet vulnerable digital landscape – now and in the future?

This special issue aims to generate a transdisciplinary body of knowledge that explicates the mechanisms by which digitalisation reshapes social, technical and regional resilience, governance and participation. We welcome empirical research, theoretical analyses, case studies, and reviews to the topic.

Submission Guidelines:

Important Dates:

• Submission of abstracts: July 15^th, 2026
• Information about acceptance of full paper submission: July 31^th, 2026
• Full paper submission: November 30^st, 2026
• Peer review completion: February 28^st 2027
• Expected publication: May 2027
• For further inquiries, please contact the Guest Editors

Abstracts:

Note: Please submit your abstract (300-500 words) via the online submission platform

Full Paper Submission:

Authors are invited to submit original research articles (5,000–7,000 words), case studies, or review papers aligned with the special issue. All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review process.    

Guest Editors of this issue:

Prof. Dr. Roland Zink

Professorship for spatial sciences and information technology

Affiliation: Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) Faculty of Applied Informatics

Email: roland.zink@th-deg.de 

Prof. Dr. Eberhard Rothfuß

Chair of Social and Population Geography

Affiliation: University of Bayreuth, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry und Geosciences

Email: eberhard.rothfuss@uni-bayreuth.de

Frank Edenharter

PhD candidate

Affiliation: Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT)

Email: frank.edenharter@th-deg.de