November 2001 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Online moderation
by Dorine Andrews 27 Nov '01

27 Nov '01

The work of Hiltz and Turoff from NJIT has information on the effects of moderation. They have published many papers on distance learning. Dorine --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dorine Andrews, DCD Research Professor Communication, Culture & Technology Program Georgetown University www.georgetown.edu/faculty/dca4 email: dca4(a)georgetown.edu or (202) 784-4338 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Media Policy Position at Oxford
by Christian Sandvig 26 Nov '01

26 Nov '01

All, Position announcement attached; please feel free to distribute. I am not involved in hiring for this position, but I am forwarding this to AIR-L because it is my impression that specializing in Internet research with clear links to law and policy would qualify as "media policy". Christian Sandvig ------------------------ Christian Sandvig christian.sandvig(a)csls.oxford.ac.uk http://www.niftyc.org/ ************************************************************* UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD CENTRE FOR SOCIO-LEGAL STUDIES PROGRAMME IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA LAW AND POLICY Senior Research Fellowship and Programme Head of Comparative Media Law and Policy Applications are invited for a full-time post of Senior Research Fellow and Programme Head for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewal thereafter, in the area of Comparative Media Law and Policy. Comparative Media Law and Policy is a Programme of research within the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, the object of which is to conduct research into issues of media law and policy in their social context. The person appointed will be expected to conduct research, to develop the research of the Programme, and generally lead and oversee the Programme. In addition to its research, the Programme also provides technical assistance on policy issues to governments and non-government organisations. The appointee should have a strong research record and should be able to foster the research of others. Good communication and interpersonal skills are desirable. Salary will be on the University scale for academic related research III (currently £30,514 - £38,221), with placement depending on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate. The grade of this position is currently under review. For more information about the Programme please see: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk Applications, with full curriculum vitae, the name and addresses of two academic referees and a full statement of current research interests, should be sent to: The Administrator, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford, OX2 6UD. UK telephone number (01865) 284223. Please note: Candidates are asked to arrange for references to be sent by their referees directly to the Administrator, to arrive by the closing date. Closing date for applications is the 14th December 2001. A longer version of this announcement is available at: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/DirectorAdvert.htm

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Geert Lovink Web Archive
by Reinhold Grether 26 Nov '01

26 Nov '01

Geert Lovink, an eminent voice of netculture, just launched his up-to-date web archive. <http://www.laudanum.net/geert/ > Introducing his site, Lovink writes: "The archive contains material as of early 1998 until the present, where the www.thing.desk.nl/bilwet site, at that time maintained by Walter van der Cruijsen and me, stopped. I will be updating this archive regularly, and I will be publishing all my recent works here, including items not found elsewhere." Enjoy a multitude of texts on a distinguished interface communicating the intention of a web-based text archive. <http://www.laudanum.net/geert/ >

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Open rank faculty position in HCI/CSCW at IU Bloomington
by Susan Herring 26 Nov '01

26 Nov '01

Indiana University, Bloomington Faculty Position (Open Rank) HCI/CSCW Indiana University's (IU) School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Bloomington invites applications for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position in the area of human-computer interaction (HCI). The ideal candidate will have proven excellence in research and teaching in HCI, with an emphasis on the social consequences of designs in organizational or institutional settings. In addition, one or more of the following areas of specialization is desirable: computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), computer-mediated communication, universal usability, participatory design, multimedia, cross-cultural issues. The successful candidate will join a full-time interdisciplinary faculty of seventeen -- recently ranked #1 in North America for its scholarly productivity and impact -- whose backgrounds include information science, computer science, linguistics, and political science. SLIS offers a master's degree (MIS) and Ph.D. in Information Science, along with a master's in Library Science (MLS) and a post-master's specialization in Library and Information Science. SLIS faculty are committed in both their research and teaching to exploring the cognitive, contextual and social processes that characterize information behavior at individual, organizational and societal levels. Interdisciplinary co-operation is encouraged, and the school maintains dynamic working relations with other academic units such as Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Journalism, Education, and the university's new, multi-disciplinary School of Informatics (http://informatics.indiana.edu/) SLIS is also actively involved in IU's Digital Library Program (http://www.dlib.indiana.edu) and is home to the Center for Social Informatics. Further information about SLIS's faculty, degree programs and research activities, including the Center for Social Informatics and the school's Usability Laboratory, can be found at http://www.slis.indiana.edu/. Indiana University Bloomington is a major public research university with 1,500 faculty and 35,000 students. The beautiful campus, situated in one of the top ten "best college towns" in the U.S., hosts 110 research centers and institutes, as well as a wide array of distinguished academic departments and schools. Indiana University's library collections are among the largest in the nation, and the university is consistently rated one of the best networked in the U.S. The university recently acquired the nation's largest university-owned supercomputer, and IU is also home to the Abilene network operations center supporting Internet2 applications and development. Indiana University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, offering a full range of benefits, including TIAA/CREF. Salary is competitive, commensurate with qualifications and experience. To apply, submit a letter of application which explains some of the ways you can contribute to SLIS, names of references (3 for assistant rank, 6 for associate and full) and a current curriculum vitae. Informal inquiries are encouraged. Applications, curricula vitae and names of references should be sent to the co-chairs of the search committee: Susan C. Herring, Ph.D. & Debora Shaw, Ph.D. School of Library and Information Science Main Library 011 1320 East 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-3907 Phone: (812) 855-3261; fax: (812) 855-6166. E-mail: herring(a)indiana.edu, shawd(a)indiana.edu First consideration will be given to applications received by January 15, 2002 for employment starting in fall of 2002. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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RE: [Air-l] Academic studies
by Matthew Allen 26 Nov '01

26 Nov '01

Dear air-ers Though not in Europe or US, our Internet Studies program offers BA(Internet Studies), Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Internet Studies, Master of INternet Studies, plus research PhDs here in Australia. An interesting development for 2002 is a major sequence in INternet COntent Management, with the information/library studies folk - seems to be attracting interest. http://smi.curtin.edu.au/internet for more, or email me Matt

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hee hee: streaming ASCII video
by D. Silver 26 Nov '01

26 Nov '01

People, Is it just me or has the Net seemed a bit lacking lately in terms of inspiration and originality? Well, I dare you - Star Wars fan or not - to visit the following site without giggling. Enjoy: telnet://towel.blinkenlights.nl david silver

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On-line Moderation
by Lois Ann Scheidt 25 Nov '01

25 Nov '01

I am working on a paper looking at the effect of moderation on adolescent discouse. Can anyone recommend literature related to the effects of moderation and online groups? lscheidt(a)indiana.edu Lois Ann Scheidt MPA MIS SPHR CCP Doctoral Student School of Library and Information Science Indiana University Bloomington IN USA

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Academic studies
by Pablo Weinsteiner 25 Nov '01

25 Nov '01

Dear all, Does anybody know about any academic institution either in Europe or the US offering courses, study programs, masters, etc regarding any of the following: -Content development/management for the www -Comparative social studies applied to the virtual medium -Community building/development in the www Any info will be more than welcomed Pablo Weinsteiner Director of Web-based Programs The American Joint Distribution Committee Paris, France

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citations sought: email and journalists
by D. Silver 25 Nov '01

25 Nov '01

Folks, Vimla Sriram, a graduate student at the University of Washington, asked me to post the following query to air-l. If you have any suggestions, please email her directly at <vimla(a)u.washington.edu>. Thanks! david silver *** I am interested to find out if the ease and efficiency of using e-mail has induced a significant amount of people to communicate to newspaper journalists, and whether the journalists are able to reply to their readers. I am aware of Brian L. Massey and Mark Levy's research on leading Asian newspapers that published online, and while their research mainly focused on how the newspapers utilized interactivity, they found that even though newspapers provided e-mail addresses of journalists it seemed that it was more for "appearance than for functionality." I am looking for similar research, hopefully where the primary aspect being studied is the e-mail flow between people and a specific group (journalists, in my case). Has there been any other research documenting e-mail feedback to journalists? Tanjev Schultz published an exploratory study in Media, Culture and Society. He questioned journalists from the NYT about the e-mails they receive, and how they deal with it. I haven't come across anything else. Any and all suggestions are welcome! Vimla Sriram vimla(a)u.washington.edu

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Query on the use of email by deaf persons
by Ken Friedman 25 Nov '01

25 Nov '01

Dear Colleagues, A debate on another list in which I participate occasional a post suggesting that there is something to be learned from the way that deaf email users communicate. The post stated that the deaf may use email in a way that has something to teach the hearing. I queried the writer on this, but I have had no reply. Is there someone on AIR-L who knows anything about how the deaf use email? Do they have some special habits or usage patterns that are instructive to the rest of us? If anyone here has some knowledge of this, I would welcome a post. If the deaf use of email is, in some way, different than the use of email by the hearing, I would appreciate a description of how the deaf use email. The deaf may well have some special culture of email use that enables effective social communication. Since the note argued that this involves the way the deaf use email, it means they are limited to exactly the same tools and skill sets available to the rest of us. This is what made the concept promising. At the same time, there would seem to be a limit on likely explanations. The explanations must either be technical or cultural. If the explanation has something to do with the culture of the deaf, there are several likely explanations. The deaf use of email may in some way relate to the development and use of sign among deaf. If this is the case, the applications to people from other cultural groups will be limited. The deaf use of email may in some way be related to usage patterns within small groups of people who already know each other in face-to-face meetings. If this is the case, it parallels the use of text email by hearing that already know each other through face-to-face meetings. Research in computer mediated communication shows that usage patterns and understanding among those who already have a feeling for each other is vastly different than between and among those who know each other only through email. Another possibility in the deaf use of email may involve some cultural phenomenon or social pattern that involves written communication by the deaf without depending on sign or face-to-face meetings. If this is the case, we may well have something to learn. If the issues are technical, the possibilities are not necessarily significant. An example of a technical solution would be the use of emoticons or shared symbols. These are, in essence, substitutes for words. What is to be learned from this involves learning to be clearer and more careful in using words. The problem with solutions such as emoticons is that they are symbols, just as words are. Emoticons do nothing more than can be done with words. They are simply compact substitutes for verbal phrases. Just as a computer program involves two levels of communication -- a what and a how -- so, written text can do the same. This requires careful writing, and it requires that one attend to every aspect of the written communication. Good writing often communicates on the level of feeling and intended emotion as well as on the level of content. This is common in writing known for its artistry -- Shakespeare, Ibsen, LeGuin, Hemingway, are all examples. You also see this in elegant scholarly writing by scholars who attend to the how of what they write as well as to the what. There is also the question of how much is relevant to scholarly and scientific communication. Much human communication is transmitted in non-verbal signals. Email is limited to words. This is also the case for scholarly and scientific communication. The goal of scholarly and scientific communication is to render information explicit to the greatest degree possible. This is how people are able to gather all the aspects and attributes of an item of information even at a distance, with enough clarity that they are able to transform it into their own knowledge. In this, I imagine that the deaf are very much like the rest of us. While I am no expert on the deaf, I have long been aware of the special nuances and subtleties of communication that are available in sign and the parallel series of gesture and physical tone that seem to accompany the use of sign. I first studied deaf communication in my doctoral work back in the 1970s. I have remained interested in some of these issues, at least from a distance. It would make good sense to me that the deaf culture may have produced a more sophisticated use of email than is common among the hearing. There is no way to know if this is so without a description. I am aware of the deaf culture and the subtleties of sign because people took the time to document, explain, and clarify it. If anyone who has this information could post it to the list, it would be a real contribution. Thank you. Ken -- Ken Friedman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Department of Technology and Knowledge Management Norwegian School of Management Visiting Professor Advanced Research Institute School of Art and Design Staffordshire University

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