January 2003 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

MMRPG cites, study (Re: Greetings and Games)
by Dmitri Williams 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

Federico- In addition to the good cites Lisbeth suggested, there is a study out of Simon Fraser U (which seems to have a good number of MA students interested and working on games in general) which has interesting results: http://www.sfu.ca/media-lab/onlinegaming/ You should also go straight out and buy "Avatars Offline," a low-budget, but thoughtful DVD documentary on MMRPG players. My undergraduates really enjoyed viewing and it was great as a starting point for effects, culture and policy discussions. It's at www.avatarsoffline.com I'd also recommend reviewing the literature on MUDs and MOOs. There is a fair amount of material on them, even beyond Sherry Turkle's fascinating work in "Life on the Screen." And if you're going to be working in this area, you should subscribe to the digiplay list at www.topica.com For myself, I have a two-wave panel study of Asheron's Call 2 that will launch within the month (knock wood, and committee members willing), and should provide causal data, mostly about social networks, but some on general effects as well. A second study of The Sims Online is in negotiation. As a sidenote, I have a draft of my survey instrument ready and in place at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dcwillia/surveys/SurveyIntro.html If anyone is interested enough in the effects of online games over time, I'd love to get feedback on my survey instrument. I'm also open to adding a question or two (within reason), so if anyone is interested in collaborating, write me off-list. Cheers, Dmitri **************** Dmitri Williams Ph.D. Candidate University of Michigan Department of Communication Studies dcwillia(a)umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/~dcwillia

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MMS Technology
by Philipp Budka 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

hi all, the new MMS cell-phones have some implications for several parts of society. for instance it is forbidden in some european gyms and fitness-centers to (enter with) use MMS cellphones because of possible photoshootings. also spionage in companies, etc. is widely discussed. see (unfortunatly only in german): http://orf.at/030113-58706/index.html interesting topic! greetings, -- Philipp Budka email: ph.budka(a)philbu.net +++ GMX - Mail, Messaging & more http://www.gmx.net +++ NEU: Mit GMX ins Internet. Rund um die Uhr für 1 ct/ Min. surfen!

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RE: [Air-l] SMS messaging
by Gilad Ravid 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

Hi All, An article from this weekend newspaper talk about the SMS (and related technologies) phenomena. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=252784&contrassID= 2&subContrassID=14&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y The medium is the message By Dorit Hakim The cellular revolution has made everybody available to everybody, at all times. No wonder people are spending more energy than ever avoiding others Gilad Ravid http://hulia.haifa.ac.il -----Original Message----- From: air-l-admin(a)aoir.org [mailto:air-l-admin@aoir.org] On Behalf Of Donna Ettrick Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 10:00 AM To: Air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] SMS messaging Importance: High Sensitivity: Confidential Hi all, Here in Australia the mobile phone has definitely become part of the everyday, not just for the young, but across all age/socio/economic groups. SMS messaging (cheaper than speaking) has become many peoples' choice of communication and this is obvious whilst travelling on buses,walking through shopping centres,shopping in supermarkets and at the movies one can constantly hear the beep tones of an arriving message and see many people around pulling their phones from their bags or pockets to check if it was their phone. I know people who will only answer to sms messages - not voice calls. Last year I was sitting with a class full of students (25 students, 23 had mobiles), and in the first five minutes at least three quarters of the class had received an sms message, it was a promo message from Telstra?? offering a cheap deal on mobile calls, those people with Vodaphone or Optus didnt receive one and were put out to be left out?? (needless to say, we had to ask them to turn off their phones) Another experience was in a social situation with a group of people (all had mobiles) at a party who were constantly sending and receiving sms's, to people in the room, having a private chat with sms, whilst simultaneously having public chat with others in the same room!! You can subscribe to free sms services on the internet (i.e.smspup) but you must agree to receive and view promotional emails to build up enough points to make sms calls!! Dr. Sadie Plant in the UK has done some research on the development of 'thumbs' in youngsters who have grown up using their thumbs for gaming and SMSing. I read somewhere that soon many things like coke machines or shops will have the technology to automatically detect then sms your mobile as you are walking by and offer you a 'deal' of some sort!! The times they are certainly a changing!! regards, Donna E _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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SMS messaging
by Donna Ettrick 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

Hi all, Here in Australia the mobile phone has definitely become part of the everyday, not just for the young, but across all age/socio/economic groups. SMS messaging (cheaper than speaking) has become many peoples' choice of communication and this is obvious whilst travelling on buses,walking through shopping centres,shopping in supermarkets and at the movies one can constantly hear the beep tones of an arriving message and see many people around pulling their phones from their bags or pockets to check if it was their phone. I know people who will only answer to sms messages - not voice calls. Last year I was sitting with a class full of students (25 students, 23 had mobiles), and in the first five minutes at least three quarters of the class had received an sms message, it was a promo message from Telstra?? offering a cheap deal on mobile calls, those people with Vodaphone or Optus didnt receive one and were put out to be left out?? (needless to say, we had to ask them to turn off their phones) Another experience was in a social situation with a group of people (all had mobiles) at a party who were constantly sending and receiving sms's, to people in the room, having a private chat with sms, whilst simultaneously having public chat with others in the same room!! You can subscribe to free sms services on the internet (i.e.smspup) but you must agree to receive and view promotional emails to build up enough points to make sms calls!! Dr. Sadie Plant in the UK has done some research on the development of 'thumbs' in youngsters who have grown up using their thumbs for gaming and SMSing. I read somewhere that soon many things like coke machines or shops will have the technology to automatically detect then sms your mobile as you are walking by and offer you a 'deal' of some sort!! The times they are certainly a changing!! regards, Donna E

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NEW journal "Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web"
by jeremy hunsinger 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

Begin forwarded message: > From: owner-seweb-list(a)cs.vu.nl > Date: Fri Jan 17, 2003 10:08:00 AM US/Eastern > To: jhuns(a)vt.edu > >> >> ***Call for papers*** >> >> >> Announcing the NEW journal "Web Semantics: Science, Services and >> Agents on >> the World Wide Web". >> >> >> This new interdisciplinary journal focuses on research at the >> intersection >> of three major research areas: semantic web, agent technology and grid >> computing. We call this interdisciplinary field Web semantics. Web >> semantics >> investigates and develops the standards, ontology's, protocols and >> technology that contribute to the development of a >> knowledge-intensive and >> intelligent service Web. This is often referred to as the second >> generation >> of the Web. >> >> >> The journal not only provides a forum for theoretical and experimental >> papers by academic and industrial researchers and developers in the >> area of >> computer science, but also aims at reaching a more application >> oriented >> audience like information specialists or researchers and developers >> from the >> Internet-industry. >> >> >> The editorial board has been carefully selected and consists of the >> world's >> leading researchers from the areas of semantic web, agent technology >> and >> grid computing. >> >> >> Author versions of papers will be published immediately after >> acceptance on >> the web site of the journal (www.semanticwebjournal.org) which will >> also >> allow for semantic annotations and linking of additional non-textual >> material to the article. The official and final version of the >> articles will >> be published on Science Direct(www.sciencedirect.com), Elsevier's >> electronic >> publication platform and on ComputerScienceWeb >> (www.computersienceweb.com) >> Elsevier's computer science portal. >> Web Semantics has free electronic access until the end of 2003. >> >> >> Editors-in-Chief >> Carole Goble, carole(a)cs.man.ac.uk, Univ. of Manchester, UK >> Toru Ishida, ishida(a)i.kyoto-u.ac.jp, Kyoto Univ., Japan >> Rudi Studer, studer(a)aifb.uni-karlsruhe.de, Univ. of Karlsruhe, Germany >> >> >> Online Editor-in-Chief >> Stefan Decker, stefan(a)isi.edu, Information Sciences Institute, USA >> >> >> International Advisory Board >> Jim Hendler, Univ. of Maryland, USA (chair) >> Tim Berners-Lee, MIT, USA >> Ian Foster, Univ. of Chicago, USA >> Makoto Nagao, Kyoto University, Japan >> Keith van Rijsbergen, Univ. of Edinburgh, UK >> Wolfgang Wahlster, German Res. Center for Artificial Intelligence >> DFKI, >> Germany >> Gio Wiederhold, Stanford Univ., USA >> >> >> >> Aims and Scope: >> Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web is >> an >> interdisciplinary journal based on research and applications of >> various >> subject areas that contribute to the development of a >> knowledge-intensive >> and intelligent service Web. These areas include: knowledge >> technologies, >> ontology, agents, databases and the semantic grid. Obviously, >> disciplines >> like information retrieval, language technology, human-computer >> interaction >> and knowledge discovery are of major relevance as well. All aspects >> of the >> Semantic Web development are covered. The publication of large-scale >> experiments and their analysis is also encouraged to clearly >> illustrate >> scenarios and methods that introduce semantics into existing Web >> interfaces, >> contents and services. The journal emphasizes the publication of >> papers that >> combine theories, methods and experiments from different subject >> areas in >> order to deliver innovative semantic methods and applications. >> >> >> The journal addresses various prominent application areas including: >> e-community, knowledge management, e-learning, e-business, digital >> libraries >> and e-sciences. >> The journal publishes high quality papers that cover theoretical >> issues, >> methods, tools, system descriptions and applications. Papers should be >> normal journal-length or short, descriptive papers e.g. systems or >> applications. Special sections will cover conference and workshop >> reports as >> well as book reviews. >> >> >> The journal features a multi-purpose web site >> (www.semanticwebjournal.org) >> Accepted papers are immediately available online (associated with >> appropriate metadata) and readers are able to annotate documents with >> additional comments and links to related material. The unique >> character of >> the journal makes it possible to extend the scope beyond traditional >> journals. Open-source software and tools that help to advance the >> field more >> rapidly, will be published and demonstrated based on a rigorous >> review and >> selection process. Submissions are especially encouraged that >> demonstrate >> the amalgamation of papers and code-content that goes beyond the >> range of >> traditional print journals. >> >> >> The web site itself is also available to interested researchers as a >> test >> site for developing and refining Semantic Web technologies and for >> conduction of user studies (please contact the Online Editor-in-Chief >> for >> further information). >> >> >> The Journal of Web Semantics includes, but is not limited to, the >> following >> major technology areas: >> * The Semantic Web >> * Agents >> * Databases >> * Semantic Grid >> * Knowledge Technologies >> * Ontology >> * Peer-to-Peer Technology >> * Information Retrieval >> * Language Technology >> * Human-Computer Interaction >> * Knowledge Discovery >> * Web Standards >> >> >> The editors invite you to submit your article to this NEW journal now! >> >> >> ***Free electronic access until the end of 2003*** > Sender: owner-seweb-list(a)cs.vu.nl > Precedence: bulk > > jeremy hunsinger jhuns(a)vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy/blog () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

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SMS
by Nuri Soeharto 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

Dear all, My chinese friend from Beijing told me that they used fax to spread the news for people to gather in Tiananmen. That's how the people power start in Tiananmen. Here in Indonesia, emails were used to back up other media in fast-spreading underground news and getting international attention for ousting Soeharto as president of the country in May 1998. Even Abigail Abrash from Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in Washington DC received direct messages from someone who sent latest news by notebook, from inside the Indonesian parliament building that was surrounded by troops. And in Philippines, the people power against the authority worked well by... SMS! Isn't technology amazing??? Best, Nuri Soeharto,- - no relation with Soeharto the ex-president. :-) Graduate Student Cyber-Anthropology University of Indonesia ---

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Re: SMS
by Aaron Delwiche 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned previously on the list, but SMS was used by political organizers to coordinate mass demonstrations against President Joseph Estrada in January 2001. In his book SMART MOBS, Howard Rheingold documents the role of text messaging in the popular uprising. Organizers disseminated messages that asked protestors to "swarm" key public locations such as Epfianio de los Santas Avenue. Within less than ninety minutes of the initial call, at least 20,000 protestors had gathered at this historic location. Within four days, the number climbed to more than a million. Estrada was ultimately forced to step down. The preceding account is paraphrased from Cecil Johnson's article in the Star Telegram. For more details, see: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/4647456.htm Best regards, Aaron Delwiche Lecturer, Department of Communication University of Washington e-mail: <mailto:redwood@u.washington.edu> redwood(a)u.washington.edu

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Wellman and Haythornthwaite
by Nancy Baym 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

Colleagues, Last week I got my copy of Wellman and Haythornthwaite's new collection _The Internet in Everyday Life_ and I have been reading through it. It is wonderful. Thanks to Barry and Caroline for putting it together and to the many Aoir-ers whose work is included. It really does move us forward and provides a great foundation for those of us who want to argue for differentiated ways of understanding the internet, and for understanding the internet as integrated into mundane life rather than set in opposition to it. Not a paid announcement, just a token of sincere appreciation, Nancy -- ________________________________________________________ Nancy Baym http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym Communication Studies, University of Kansas 102 Bailey Hall, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045, USA Association of Internet Researchers: http://aoir.org

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RE: [Air-l] SMS?
by Rosenberg, Adam (SCH) 17 Jan '03

17 Jan '03

About short message service (SMS), I would point out that it was an add-on to the Global System for Mobility (GSM) cellular standard and it took off like hotcakes in Japan. There is also EMS, extended message service, that sends sound bytes and stuff like that. And there is multimedia message service (MMS) that can send images. MMS phones are the ones that can point at something and e-mail a picture, I'm told. Japanese teenagers may have shortened thumbs from sending so many short messages on their cell phones. > -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Warschauer [mailto:markw@uci.edu] > Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 11:37 AM > To: air-l(a)aoir.org > Subject: Re: [Air-l] SMS? > > > >Where do you live, Mark ? > > > Southern California. > > SMS is not as prevalent here as in Europe, and apparently neither is > the term (though I'm sure people more astute than I are familiar with > it). > Mark > > Mark Warschauer > Vice Chair, Department of Education > Assistant Professor of Education and of Information & Computer Science > University of California, Irvine > tel: 949: 824-2526, fax: (949) 824-2965 > markw(a)uci.edu; http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw > > _______________________________________________ > Air-l mailing list > Air-l(a)aoir.org > http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l >

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Developing critical thinkers online
by Andrea Lapa 17 Jan '03

17 Jan '03

Dear All, My name is Andrea. I am a Brazilian Ph.D. candidate, based in London for the current year. I was addressed to this list by my advisor: Michel Menou. My work deals with the changes brought to learning processes by the switch from real to virtual spaces. A special concern in this respect is the formation of critical and autonomous thinkers. The concept of critical thinkers seems a great umbrella. But for me it is less a matter of fostering individual skills and more a social interaction process, which promote a collective questioning, criticism and creativity. I am fostering interesting examples of pedagogical practices. I believe I will find good clues on dialogical methods, such as discussions and collaborative learning, but it's not a "straitjacket". I am also interested in experiences that create and/or maintain community interaction. Does it ring any bells to any of you? I would either appreciate indications of related research and publications. Thanks in advance, Andrea Lapa a.b.lapa(a)soi.city.ac.uk

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