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

Re: product placecment
by Jonathan Sterne 05 Sep '01

05 Sep '01

At 12:01 PM 9/5/01 -0400, air-l-request(a)aoir.org wrote: >From: Barry Wellman <wellman(a)chass.utoronto.ca> >Subject: [Air-l] Sponsored papers >Folks, You've read the story about novelist Fay Weldon getting sponsorship >from Bulgari jewelers for her latest book. > >I too want product placement gelt! If it's good for hockey rinks, it's >good enough for the American Sociological Review! > >So here's part of my next paper. Here's one to go with yours, Barry. I teach an intro to mass communication course where we start that semester by talking about political economy, and today we talked about media that are funded by advertising vs. media that aren't. One student (most likely a 1st year student) asked, in all seriousness, why textbooks didn't include advertisements so that they would be cheaper (I just got done comparing my 600-page _Technics and Civilization_ by Mumford with the latest issue of _Vogue_ which clocks in at 700 pages and sells for $12 less -- there's also economy of scale issues as well). My answer was that most professors would balk at assigning textbooks with ads in them. Again, she followed up with a "why" to that. So my answer was that a lot of us professors believe -- "and this may sound corny," I added -- in the sanctity and independence of scholarly knowledge. To place ads in textbooks would be to compromise that independence. And to think, the advertising industry used to need PR people. Best, --J

2 1

Re: [Air-l] Ethics and legalities of copyright
by Wendy Robinson 05 Sep '01

05 Sep '01

It's also ethical to share. That's what makes the Net and scholarship go round, right?

1 0

research and copyright
by Sandra Braman 05 Sep '01

05 Sep '01

steve jones raises an important point regarding which rules cover the use of web texts for research purposes. actually, three sets of rules may apply -- university rules regarding the ethics of research, copyright considerations, and privacy. fair use under copyright law would provide ethical justification for quoting from texts for research purposes -- but would not cover using complete messages. brenda danet and others have provided leadership in this regard by requesting permission to include entire messages or significant portions of them in books, while many others are on sound ground when they refer to or quote from texts studied via content analysis and other types of discourse analysis. even quotes from sources such as e-mail, however, could potentially trigger privacy concerns without consent. and so these all come around to where jones notes we should begin -- the consent required by university guidelines provides full legal protection on both copyright and privacy fronts. sandra braman

2 1

the epitome of dot.doom
by Barry Wellman 05 Sep '01

05 Sep '01

Found this on the web this AM. It is more poignant than the now-normal dot.com meltdown in what Launchbase is transitioning to: Not only old economy, but transportation (RVs) over communication And high energy consumption, South Texas based, RVs at that. Here's the blurb: "Due to unforeseen changes in the Internet marketplace, Launchbase Network has cease to be sufficiently profitable to justify its continued existence. We have therefore regretfully decided to undergo a transition to a much more specific focus -- namely recreational vehicles. As a result, all of the Launchbase Network domain names unrelated to recreatoinal vehicles, travel or South Texas are being offered for sale." Barry ___________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman(a)chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 ___________________________________________________________________ To Live is To Network To Network is To Live

1 0

Ethics and legalities of copyright
by David Jacobson 04 Sep '01

04 Sep '01

I've addressed some of the questions being raised about the ethics and legalities of copyright and other issues in "Doing Research in Cyberspace." The paper is online at http://people.brandeis.edu/~jacobson/Doing_Research.html. David Jacobson Professor of Anthropology Department of Anthropology MS 006 Brandeis University Waltham, MA 02454-9110 USA

2 1

Sponsored papers
by Barry Wellman 04 Sep '01

04 Sep '01

Folks, You've read the story about novelist Fay Weldon getting sponsorship from Bulgari jewelers for her latest book. I too want product placement gelt! If it's good for hockey rinks, it's good enough for the American Sociological Review! So here's part of my next paper. Technological change has enabled dispersed community. People use their Nokia phones together with MCI's Friends and Family to hear each other's voices. AOL helps fill in the gaps with text messages -- including the hot new Instant Messaging feature -- while the urge to actually see and touch someone can be satisfied with the Ultimate Driving Machine -- BMW -- or Flying the Friendly Skies of United. And you can order via Amazon now for Palm's new video kit -- watch your significant other and the road at the same time! Barry ___________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman(a)chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 ___________________________________________________________________ To Live is To Network To Network is To Live

1 0

trace/elo chat 16 sept
by jeremy hunsinger 04 Sep '01

04 Sep '01

>Electronic literature is becoming a major force in the academic >world--from course materials to journals online to electronic >literature. The trAce/ELO chat on Sunday September 16 (in Lingua MOO) >will discuss these burning issues. We would like your input--where do > >you think new media literature and electronic publishing fit in the >long standing traditions of academic presses? > >We'll meet with Jeremy Hunsinger with Virginia Tech Press, Gregory >Newby with Project Gutenberg, and the Association of University >Presses to discuss: > > How can we ensure that electronic literature and criticism count >in the world of publish or perish? > How do we do peer review and ensure high standards on web >publications? > How do we handle new issues such as electronic rights and >distribution? > >Jeremy Hunsinger with Len Hatfield and Timothy Luke is a founder of >the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture ><http://www.cddc.vt.edu/index2.html> at Virginia Tech. The Center is >home to the Virginia Tech Press. During his career at Virginia Tech, >Jeremy has participated in several major projects aimed at changing >the academy including online education, electronic publication, and >the redefinition of academic work. The CDDC's current project, the >Virginia Tech Press seeks to re-envision academic publishing and the >goals of publishing in general in order to bring about a new awareness >of the broader bounds of scholarship that is emerging with new >technologies. > > Gregory B. Newby, Assistant Professor in the School of Information >and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One >of his favorite volunteer activities is his work as the main FTP >manager, mailing list maintainer and >auxiliary tech guru for Project Gutenberg <http://www.promo.net/pg/>. >This is a free collection of thousands of electronic texts, including >most of the world's great literature. > >----WHEN---- > >Chats are on Sundays at 22:00 Rome, 21:00 London, 16:00 New York, >14:00 Denver,13:00 L.A, and 06.00 Sydney (Mon). > >We will have a half hour practice before the actual chat, the official > >archived chat runs an hour, and people are free to continue after the >chat. > >The third Sunday of every month we have a special program chat. On >all the other Sundays, please join us in the trAce webboard chat for a > >general discussion of writing, electronic literature, and other >topics. > >Directions for using the Lingua MOO and the chat webboard are at the >bottom of this message. > >You can get more information on the chat schedule and read archives at > >http://www.eliterature.org/com/index.shtml or email >chathost(a)eliterature.org > > >----------HOW TO JOIN IN ON LINGUA MOO-------------------- >Go to http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000 >Click on the LOG IN button on the left hand side >Type in your name at the prompt >Once in the MOO, type "@go eliterature" to get to the electronic >literature chat room. > > >--------HOW TO JOIN IN ON THE trAce WEBBOARD------------------ > >You need to sign in to the WebBoard to use the Chat at >http://hum-webboard.ntu.ac.uk/~trace. > >Click on the CHAT button in the blue menu (the top toolbar) > >Allow the applet to load (be patient!) > >Alternatively, use an IRC client such as mIRC (PC) or IRCLE (Mac) > >Point your client at > hum-webboard.ntu.ac.uk port 7000 and join the channel #trace. > >For more information, see <http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/online/moo.htm> > >----OUR FALL LINE UP OF CHATS---- > >October 21 (in trAce WebBoard) > FrAme 6: Net : Spirit in WebBoard. Join frAme's authors, editors, >and readers to discuss the overarching issues of spirituality on the >net. > > November 18: Converging electronic art and lit (in Lingua MOO) >Electronic literature is rapidly becoming indistinguishable from art > >December 16 (in trAce WebBoard) >Alt X and e-publishing. > >----------MORE LINKS ------------- > > >These chats are a joint production of: >trAce <http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/> >Electronic Literature Organization <http://www.eliterature.org/> > > >For more information, please email me at chathost(a)eliterature.org > > >Hope to see you there! > >Deena Larsen > Jeremy Hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu Instructor of Political Science Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Webmaster/Manager CDDC 526 Major Williams Hall 0130 http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy Virginia Tech --my homepage Blacksburg, VA 24061 (updated, aug. 19 2001) (540)-231-7614 icq 5535471

1 0

copyright considerations
by Sandra Braman 04 Sep '01

04 Sep '01

works that can be copyrighted in the us must meet the following criteria: - be the EXPRESSION of an idea (ideas can't be copyrighted) - be ORIGINAL (be accomplished by the author) - be CREATIVE (involve at least a modicum of intellectual activity by the author -- an emotive grunt, even by an author, is not copyrightable) - be FIXED (be in some form that permits it to be reproduced) works do NOT have to be good, unique, or novel (new) -- or have any economic value. since 1978, copyrightable works are covered by copyright from the moment of production, even if there is no copyright notice and even if the work is not registered with the copyright office. (however, one cannot pursue copyright infringement without registration and notice.) e-mail, websites, etc., whether fortunately or unfortunately, generally meet these criteria. sandra braman

4 4

more on copyright
by Sandra Braman 03 Sep '01

03 Sep '01

the thread on copyright has brought up 2 additional issues worth a response: - nancy baym brings up the question of whether or not we OWE it to the author to cite -- in europe the "moral rights" of all artists are much stronger than in the US, where only visual artists have protections for some forms of moral rights. moral rights include the right to be known as the creator of a work, to control what is done to it, etc. what nancy mentions would be considered a moral right of authors in the european context. - and the question of the ephemeral feel of conversations on a listserv or via e-mail was brought up. here we must importantly distinguish between the nature of the experience and legal treatment of the products or processes of that experience. it is precisely the point that e-mail and listservs FEEL like ephemeral conversation, but the law (in the US) has repeatedly made clear that irrespective of that any e-mail message or listserv contribution is treated as publishing. this means that one of the significant shifts in the way in which the law operates in the internet environment is that many laws that previously usually affected only "professional communicators" such as journalists and advertising folks now affect all of us. few of us feared that watercooler gossip would result in a libel suit, for example, but today the e-equivalent of watercooler gossip may well do so. on the unfortunate side, the simple fact that it doesn't FEEL as if we're publishing is irrelevant to the legal treatment of what we produce. sandra braman

2 1

Re: [Air-l] copyright considerations
by radhika gajjala 03 Sep '01

03 Sep '01

On email lists this blurring is more apparent than on websites without synchronous components - it is easier to treat websites as "published" material than it is the interactions on email lists. Does one treat email list participants as "human subjects" or "texts"...or something else/more/less altogether? As I type to a general public email discussionlist, I realize the imaginedness of most of my audience, so perhaps this is an act of "publishing" -but as I respond directly or indirectly to Nancy Baym or Sandra Braman or Barry Wellman (who have probably never really seen me f2f or might not even consider this email as addressing them directly, interpersonally - just as I have lost track of who actually started this thread) is this an act of "talking" .... and what if to complicate things even more I were not posting from within the US but from somewhere where US academic or corporate or other laws and "ethics" mean nothing contextually .... just adding more to the pot of confusion (I worked out some answers when doing my research, so I'm not as confused as i sound, but the working out is always tactical/strategic and contextual - emphasis on contextual because it is so easy to lose sight of the multiply mediated contexts online...) r At 08:21 PM 9/2/01 -0500, you wrote: >This raises for me an interesting aspect to the ethics struggle, >which is that if something is copyrighted, we OWE it to the author to >give full credit, which comes up against research ethic traditions of >hiding identities of subjects when studying online discussion. I >struggled with this with some of the more creative posts I quoted in >my work and erred on the side of anonymity over credit. Nancy. > > >> works that can be copyrighted in the us must meet the following criteria: >> >>- be the EXPRESSION of an idea (ideas can't be copyrighted) >> >>- be ORIGINAL (be accomplished by the author) >> >>- be CREATIVE (involve at least a modicum of intellectual activity by the >>author -- an emotive grunt, even by an author, is not copyrightable) >> >>- be FIXED (be in some form that permits it to be reproduced) >> >>works do NOT have to be good, unique, or novel (new) -- or have any economic >>value. >> >>since 1978, copyrightable works are covered by copyright from the moment of >>production, even if there is no copyright notice and even if the work is not >>registered with the copyright office. (however, one cannot pursue copyright >>infringement without registration and notice.) >> >>e-mail, websites, etc., whether fortunately or unfortunately, generally meet >>these criteria. >> >>sandra braman >_______________________________________________________________ >Nancy Baym, Communication Studies >University of Kansas >NEW! email: nbaym(a)ku.edu >NEW! snail mail: 102 Bailey, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045, USA >NEW! url: http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym > >_______________________________________________ >Air-l mailing list >Air-l(a)aoir.org >http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l > > ___________ Radhika Gajjala Assistant Professor, Dept of Interpersonal Communication/School of Communication Studies tel - 372-0528 http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik http://www.cyberdiva.org http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000/4425/ fax: 419-372-9841 __________

2 1