March 2002 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: [Air-l] How do journalists report internet research? (Request for experi...
by Zunt＠aol.com 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

In a message dated 3/4/2002 3:46:13 PM Eastern Standard Time, jvc(a)MIT.EDU writes: > I have a large set of two paragraph texts saved in separate HTML files that > I want to conver to MS Word. Does anyone know a way to do it without having > to open the files one by one? maybe try Web2Text: w2t16v12.zip http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/24799.html Cheers, Bob Briggs Westport, MA

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"Death" of a website
by rsiddall 03 Apr '02

03 Apr '02

AOIR: I am working on a project in which I am looking at several activism websites that were the home of a great deal of communication (bbs, chats, etc.) for a period of a few years, but whose activity has since dwindled to nothing. This despite the fact that the organization they were so boldly against still exists and still operates as it always has. My guess at this stage of the project is that I will use current community/identity research as a way to explain this phenomenon, but I wanted to throw this out to the list: Is anyone aware of instances in which this research has been used as I intend it? And/or are there other approaches you may be aware of that I am missing and which would better inform my paper? Your help is appreciated. Ralph Siddall ralph-siddall(a)uiowa.edu Ralph W. Siddall The University of Iowa Department of Communication Studies Department of Rhetoric (319) 335-0178

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intercultural communication
by Lokman Tsui 31 Mar '02

31 Mar '02

Hello, I was wondering if anybody knows of any prior research / literature about intercultural communication mediated over the internet or other electronic media, in specific between the west and asia. i came across the following: Ma, Ringo, ¡§Computer-Mediated Conversations as a New Dimension of Intercultural Communication between East Asian and North American College Students,¡š in Susan C. Herring (ed.), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1996. pp.173-185. regards, Lokman Tsui National Taiwan University / Leiden University

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RE: [Air-l] intercultural communication
by Charles Ess 31 Mar '02

31 Mar '02

With apologies for self-promotion... Fay Sudweeks and I have been collecting research on culture vis-a-vis technology and communication for nearly six years now. Several papers and related chapters from our conferences - "Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication" (CATaC), beginning in 1998 - have been published in a variety of places, including special issues of the Electronic Journal of Communication (on the www.cios.org website), AI and Society (1999), Javnost (1999), and new media and society (if memory serves: vol. 3, no. 3 - September, 2001) Our book, _Culture, Technology, Communication: Towards an Intercultural Global Village_ (with a foreword by Susan Herring), made up of CATaC'98 and related papers, was published by SUNY Press in 2001. We're just finishing the reviewing process for CATaC'02 - in Montreal this July 13-17. There are a large number of excellent papers from a range of cultural contexts that will be accepted for presentation. I'm sorry I can't give more precise details - including the URL for the CATaC'02 conference. The joke is - I'm in Thailand currently, relying on an Internet cafe for e-mail. Certainly good enough for most purposes - but all the appropriate data is in my (unconnected) laptop. The Thailand connection is worth mentioning as well: there is a conference here in a few days on "Information Technology and the Universities of Asia." I can tell you that in preparing for my talk - yes, indeed, there's more and more good research on the differences (and similarities) between cultures vis-a-vis IT. Indeed, in my own research, it was the conflicts between Western and Asian cultures that first began to pop up on the scholarly radar screens, suggesting that these cultural differences were significant - especially as obstacles to the more sanguine (if not imperialistic) visions of an "electronic global village" that at least North Americans happily swam in in the 1980s and (early-to-mid?) 1990s. Some of the earliest discussions of this that I have found are from around 1990. But there still was very little - no more than a handful of articles - so far as I could tell by 1998, when we held our first conference. Since then - though I do not any special claim credit for this - the literature has dramatically expanded and matured. Thailand is a particularly appropriate place to consider these things - the Thai language presents notorious problems for Western-based computer systems (beginning with the problem of no standardized system for transliteration into Roman characters). At the same time, my friend and colleague, Soraj Hongladarom (Chulalongkorn University) has presented what I still find to be one of the most helpful models for conjoining a global communication medium with uses of IT that preserve and enhance local cultural identities. Yes, you can find his chapter in our book (smile!). This interesting hybrid model may have something to do with Thai culture itself. It is, with Japan, a country that has never been militarily colonized, but represents the (relatively) peaceful amalgamation of a range of cultures and peoples - not only the various Thai peoples, more narrowly speaking, but also Chinese and (East) Indian peoples/cultures/religious traditions. The famous Chinese gods of prosperity, happiness, and longevity sit comfortably next to numerous Hindu gods and goddesses - and larger buildings, from luxury hotels to Police Headquarters are marked by spirit houses for propitiating what religion scholars categorize as animist entities. A Japanese worshipper offering incense to the Hindu elephant god can also calmly take a call on her cellphone: there seems to be no sense of lines crossed - if there is much of a Western sense of lines at all. (I realize that this comfortable pluralism is characteristic of many Asian societies: I can't say how far Thailand is distinctive in this. If I make any progress in this direction of research, I'll happily pass it along.) In any case, if you'd like more details, please e-mail me privately and I'll respond more fully as soon as I can. With all best wishes from Bangkok, Charles Ess Interdisciplinary Studies Center Drury University Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA -----Original Message----- From: Lokman Tsui To: air-l(a)aoir.org Sent: 30/3/45 6:47 Subject: [Air-l] intercultural communication Hello, I was wondering if anybody knows of any prior research / literature about intercultural communication mediated over the internet or other electronic media, in specific between the west and asia. i came across the following: Ma, Ringo, ??Computer-Mediated Conversations as a New Dimension of Intercultural Communication between East Asian and North American College Students,?? in Susan C. Herring (ed.), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1996. pp.173-185. regards, Lokman Tsui National Taiwan University / Leiden University _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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Antw: [Air-l] intercultural communication (Urlaubsnachricht- AutoReply)
by Thomas Burg 30 Mar '02

30 Mar '02

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren! Ich bin bis 8.4.02 nicht im Büro. In dringenden Fällen setzen Sie sich für diese Woche bitte mit Eva Zauchinger, Customer Relations unter zauchinger(a)donau-uni.ac.at oder 02732-893-2501 in Verbindung. Mit besten Grüßen Thomas N. Burg, Zentrum für Neue Medien Donau-Universität Krems Neue Lehrgänge unter: http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/znm >>> air-l 03/30/02 13:47 >>> Hello, I was wondering if anybody knows of any prior research / literature about intercultural communication mediated over the internet or other electronic media, in specific between the west and asia. i came across the following: Ma, Ringo, íºComputer-Mediated Conversations as a New Dimension of Intercultural Communication between East Asian and North American College Students,í¿ in Susan C. Herring (ed.), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1996. pp.173-185. regards, Lokman Tsui National Taiwan University / Leiden University _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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intellectual property
by Patrick B. O'Sullivan 29 Mar '02

29 Mar '02

The Berkman Center at Harvard Law School offers a wide range of courses online, and is an excellent resource for all things cyberlaw. Here's the url: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ Patrick >Message: 3 >Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 13:12:38 -0600 (CST) >From: Ed Lamoureux <ell(a)hilltop.bradley.edu> >To: air-l(a)aoir.org >Subject: [Air-l] intellectual property, online >Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org > > >One of my students needs a course about intellectual property/law, online. > >any suggestions?

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Fwd: Transparencies: Technology, Culture, Communication
by Steve Jones 29 Mar '02

29 Mar '02

[Apologies for cross-posting.] CALL FOR PAPERS: Transparencies: Technology, Culture, Communication A graduate student conference Friday, November 1 and Saturday November 2, 2002 Transparencies, a graduate student conference at the University of Texas at Austin, is an invitation to explore the implications of both historically significant and recently emergent technologies from a critical and cultural perspective. In the beginning of the 21st century, our constant interactions with technology have become nearly transparent and problematic in new ways. New forms of transnational and transcultural identity are supported by global flows of culture. Provincialism and isolationism emerge in different guises. Cultural critique and journalism take on new paths and responsibilities. Vital data flows and banal spam fill "superhighways" running alongside persistent social and digital divides. How do these elements interact, and how are they contingent on each other? How do technologies participate in these "transparencies" that help us negotiate the micro- and macro-conflicts and contradictions of everyday life? The conference is an opportunity for scholars in all disciplines engaged with issues of technology and culture to come together and share their ideas on these and other topics. In addition to panels, the conference will include a keynote address, a reception and other unstructured time to facilitate the exchange of ideas. As a regional conference we invite our colleagues from across Texas and the surrounding south-central US states, as well as from northern Mexico, to participate. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): _ Communication technology and the formation of identity (gender, ethnicity, nation) _ Technologies on the border _ Historiographic accounts of media technologies _ Transcultural identity and uses of technology _ Media, technology, citizenship _ Communication technology and discourse _ DIY Communication: Media sabotage and culture jamming _ Television and Radio's future and their past _ Failed technologies of culture and communication _ "Non-traditional" technologies of communication _ Popular music and technology _ Personal computer culture _ Cinema as cultural technology _ Video games, computer games Deadline for Abstracts: Friday, June 14. Abstracts should be 300 words or less. Abstracts may be emailed, or mailed if postmarked no later than June 14. Electronic submissions encouraged. Participants will be notified of acceptance or rejection by July 19. Panel submissions cannot be considered. A draft of the conference program will be made available online. Complete papers must be submitted by the September 15, 2002. Papers submitted by the September 15 deadline will be eligible to compete for a "top paper" award of $500, sponsored by the Technology and Information Policy Institute. For more information or for paper submission, please contact Coordinating Committee Transparencies Department of Radio-Television-Film CMA 6.118 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 Email: transpar(a)uts.cc.utexas.edu Sponsored by the Department of Radio-TV-Film, Technology and Information Policy Institute, and Graduate Students in Radio-TV-Film.

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FW: As the Web Matures, Fun Is Hard to Find (L Guernsey NYTimes)
by Ellis Godard 28 Mar '02

28 Mar '02

Expiring domains outnumber those registered or renewed, and web useage is (purportedly) down... -----Original Message----- POLLING ABSTRACT The lack of compelling content may be contributing to a decline in the amount of time that people spend online. In March 2000, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington, people averaged 90 minutes per online session. A year later, when the same people were polled, that number had dropped to 83 minutes. According to the report, those polled said that they were using the Web more to conduct business than to explore new areas, aiming to get offline as quickly as possible. The toy box has turned into a toolbox. Even without new technologies crowding the spotlight, the Web today seems to be less than inspiring. About half of Internet users in 2000, for example, said the Internet helped "a lot" in enabling them to learn new things. A year later, when the same group was polled, only 39 percent made that claim. "For fun Internet activities, users report little or no growth in having gone online for hobbies, game playing or just to seek out fun diversions," the Pew report said. Even for newcomers -- those who might be most likely to surf around for kicks -- growth is tepid, the report added. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company --------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/28/technology/circuits/28WEBB.html March 28, 2002 AS THE WEB MATURES, FUN IS HARD TO FIND By LISA GUERNSEY GLENN DAVIS, the founder of the once-popular online destination Cool Site of the Day, used to be so addicted to the Web that he called it his "recreational drug." He started Cool Site in 1994, after discovering the thrill of happening upon an especially interesting Web site and telling his friends what he had found. Within a year, more than 20,000 people a day were visiting the site, and Mr. Davis became a Web celebrity, giving interviews to online magazines and fending off gifts from Webmasters who were desperately seeking his recommendation of their sites. Today, Mr. Davis has not only kicked his Web habit but also almost completely given up the medium. The Cool Site of the Day still exists, but it is no longer run by Mr. Davis, who has also lost his enthusiasm for trolling for new pages. "We lost our sense of wonder," he said. "The Web is old hat." Just 11 years after it was born and about 6 years after it became popular, the Web has lost its luster. Many who once raved about surfing from address to address on the Web now lump site-seeing with other online chores, like checking the In box. What attracted many people to the Web in the mid-1990's were the bizarre and idiosyncratic sites that began as private obsessions and swiftly grew into popular attractions: the Coffee Cam, a live image of a coffee maker at the University of Cambridge; the Fish Tank Cam from an engineer at Netscape; The Spot, the first online soap opera; the Jennicam, the first popular Internet peephole; the Telegarden, which allowed viewers to have remote control of a robot gardener; and the World Wide Ouija, where viewers could question the Fates with the computer mouse. The Web was like a chest of toys, and each day brought a new treasure. "I remember sitting there for hours thinking it was so neat," said Jason Gallo, an office manager in Washington who discovered the Web in 1994. He said he would often get lists of favorite sites from his friends, which he called "quirky islands of fun." "I don't see that anymore," he said. Lisa Maira, a computer network administrator at the University of Buffalo, designed the Mr. Potato Head site with colleagues in 1994 (the name was later changed to Mr. Edible Starchy Tuber Head to avoid trademark infringement). It allowed viewers to dress up an online version of the toy. The site attracted thousands of visitors and a dozen "best of the Web" awards. "It was just amazing," Ms. Maira said. Now, not only has the site fallen into disrepair, with broken links and missing game pieces, but many of the sites that gave it accolades are also out of business. That kind of Web activity "doesn't impress people anymore," Ms. Maira said, adding that she counted herself among the disenchanted. The problem facing the Web is not that some of these particular sites have come and gone -- there are, after all, only so many times anyone can look at a coffeepot, even online -- but that no new sites have come along to captivate the casual surfer. Bob Rankin, the co-editor of Tourbus, an electronic newsletter, frequently sent his readers to innovative pages. Now the newsletter is more likely to provide information about online charities and antivirus software. "I have a harder time finding the oddball sites that I like to highlight," Mr. Rankin said. The lack of compelling content may be contributing to a decline in the amount of time that people spend online. In March 2000, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington, people averaged 90 minutes per online session. A year later, when the same people were polled, that number had dropped to 83 minutes. According to the report, those polled said that they were using the Web more to conduct business than to explore new areas, aiming to get offline as quickly as possible. The toy box has turned into a toolbox. Web sites also face stiff competition from other online services. Music programs like Morpheus, a Napster alternative, allow people to download files using a piece of online software instead of clicking from one site to the next. Instant messaging has grown exponentially, and many users say they would rather chat with their friends than spend their time surfing the Web. Even without new technologies crowding the spotlight, the Web today seems to be less than inspiring. About half of Internet users in 2000, for example, said the Internet helped "a lot" in enabling them to learn new things. A year later, when the same group was polled, only 39 percent made that claim. "For fun Internet activities, users report little or no growth in having gone online for hobbies, game playing or just to seek out fun diversions," the Pew report said. Even for newcomers -- those who might be most likely to surf around for kicks -- growth is tepid, the report added. There are other signs that all is not well in Webville. For the first time, the number of expiring domain names outnumbers those being registered or renewed, according to SnapNames, an industry research company in Portland, Ore. Although the SnapNames report theorizes that many of the expired domains were simply unused placeholders for existing companies, like those who wanted a .org version of their .com site, there is no counterbalancing rush to build new sites. In addition, researchers at several online measurement companies have found that the rate of growth in new sites and unique visitors has slumped in recent months. And about 20 percent of public Web sites that existed nine months ago no longer exist, according to a sample studied last week by the Online Library Computer Center, a nonprofit library group in Dublin, Ohio. Separate research shows that of the sites that are still operating, a large number have been taken over by pornography. How did the Web arrive at this juncture? Some people say that the rush to make money, in which profits mattered more than passion, was a significant driver. Mr. Davis, for instance, said he did not design Cool Site of the Day with profit in mind. The site, which was housed on servers at Infinet, the Internet service provider for whom Mr. Davis worked, was taken over by the company when he left in November 1995. In 1998, Infinet sold the site to Mike Corso, a businessman in Chappaqua, N.Y., who charges $97 to those who submit a site for "priority express" consideration, plus $19 a month if the submission is selected and added to the archives. The Web's commercialism dismays many longtime surfers. "Everywhere you go someone is jumping on you to buy something," said John Walkenbach, an author in San Diego, who has written books about software. "It's like walking down the streets of Tijuana." Other users say they are less inclined to hunt for innovative sites because many of them require plug-ins or browser updates that force users into bothersome downloading. Entertainment sites, for example, usually require a program like QuickTime, and even if Web surfers take the time to download a copy, they are likely to be cajoled later into downloading an updated version. There are still islands of innovation and creativity on the Web. For example, iFilm .com shows eclectic video clips posted by Web users. Among longtime Web surfers, personal online diaries, known as Weblogs or blogs, are often cited as the last bastion of interesting material. Lee deBoer, former chief executive of Automatic Media, believes that the downturn in the Web is temporary. In the summer of 2000, his company bought Feed and Suck, two popular online magazines, and started Plastic.com, a Web site that allows users to filter interesting Web content for one another. After just a year, Mr. deBoer's company was forced to close its doors, killing both magazines and relinquishing Plastic.com to a group of investors. (The site still exists, run almost entirely by volunteers.) Even after the bruising taken by his company, Mr. deBoer is not prepared to declare the Web dead. "We've taken a pause," he said, citing a tough advertising climate, a lagging economy and a seriousness that has infused society since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "But I don't think it's much more than a pause." Mr. Davis said he believes that the Web's malaise is more permanent. He is building an online gaming company that uses the Internet but bypasses the Web. "I'm a frontiersperson, and the Web is not a frontier anymore," he said. "It is simply a place." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/28/technology/circuits/28WEBB.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *******

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(Virtual) Community Informatics: Workshop & Patterns at DIAC-02
by Michael Bieber 28 Mar '02

28 Mar '02

Geo-Physical + Virtual Communities = (Virtual) Community Informatics Call for Participation: Workshop on (Virtual) Community Informatics DIAC 2002 Seattle May 16-19, 2002 http://ccsweb.njit.edu/~bieber/vci-diac2002.html "(Virtual) Community Informatics" lies at two cross-roads: bringing together people concerned with Geo-Physical and Virtual or On-Line Communities, and bringing together the researchers and practitioners (developers, leaders and participants) in these two domains. Community Informatics is the study of information technology to support communities and their processes. Virtual Community Informatics promotes the cross-fertilization found at this cross-roads, bringing together researchers and practitioners from such varied disciplines as Sociology, Social Services, Planning, Computer Sciences, Information and Library Sciences, (Management) Information Systems, among others. (Virtual) Community Informatics is a new concept. We are conducting a 1/2 day workshop as part of the DIAC 2002 program. The workshop has the following goals: - developing a fuller understanding of (virtual) community informatics - developing approaches for bringing together the fields of Virtual Communities and Community Informatics - developing approaches for bringing together researchers and practitioners in these domains - determining a research agenda for (virtual) community informatics as field of study and practice - identifying and synthesizing the "patterns" that may be common to virtual and geo-physical community informatics as for example in such areas as training, boundary identification and maintenance, decision making, problem solving The workshop will include short presentations by invited speakers, a panel discussion with a lot of audience participation, and a lot of time for brainstorming and collectively developing the goals above. Position statements are strongly encouraged but not mandatory. They will be distributed at the workshop. Please email a position statement to both Michael Bieber (bieber(a)homer.njit.edu) and Michael Gurstein (gurstein(a)adm.njit.edu) by Tuesday April 30, 2002. We will email people who have expressed an interest more information soon. Stay Informed on (Virtual) Community Informatics If you would be interested in further developments concerning (Virtual) Community Informatics, please email Michael Bieber (bieber(a)homer.njit.edu) or Michael Gurstein (gurstein(a)adm.njit.edu) About DIAC 2002 & Patterns CPSR's 8th biannual "Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing" (DIAC) symposium: Shaping the Network Society: Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change Seattle, May 16-19, 2002 http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 A variety of events are planned ranging from invited speakers, panel discussions, and pattern presentations to informal working sessions -- both planned and spontaneous. Symposium topics include the digital divide, human rights and privacy, cyberspace and economic development, open content research, pattern language development, community networks, wireless community networking, developing a civil society charter for the UN Summit on the Network Society, virtual communities, online activism, cross-border collaborations, and MORE! Join 500 researchers, practitioners, activists, journalists, educators, artists, policy-makers and citizens from around the world to address critical questions and develop action plans. Based on the insights of architect Christopher Alexander, DIAC-02 is soliciting "patterns" that people use to create communication and information technology that affirms human values. We will use these patterns to craft a "pattern language" - a useful and compelling "knowledge structure" based on the collective wisdom of our community. Ideally our pattern language will help articulate -- and promote interest in -- engaged and effective research and activism. All patterns entered by May 1st will be reviewed at the symposium for possible inclusion in the final pattern language. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Bieber, Associate Professor - Collaborative Hypermedia Research Lab (Co-Director) Email: bieber(a)homer.njit.edu URL: http://ccsweb.njit.edu/~bieber Phone: (973) 596-2681 FAX: (973) 596-5777 Information Systems Department (http://is.njit.edu/) College of Computing Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology 5500 Information Technology Center University Heights, Newark, New Jersey 07102-1982 USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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RE: [Air-l] intellectual property, online
by Aryne Blumklotz 28 Mar '02

28 Mar '02

I believe there is a pretty good one at Lewis and Clark Law School here in Portland, OR - but I do not have any details. > -----Original Message----- > From: Ed Lamoureux [SMTP:ell@hilltop.bradley.edu] > Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 11:13 AM > To: air-l(a)aoir.org > Subject: [Air-l] intellectual property, online > > > One of my students needs a course about intellectual property/law, > online. > > any suggestions? > > > Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D. > Associate Professor, > Speech Communication and Multimedia > Editor, Journal of Communication and Religion > Bradley University > Peoria IL 61625 > ell(a)bradley.edu > http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~ell > Fax: 309-677-3446 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Air-l mailing list > Air-l(a)aoir.org > http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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