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

FW: ::fibreculture:: Fibreculture::Brisbane_2003::fibrepower:
by Danny Butt 23 Feb '04

23 Feb '04

Hi I thought Air-l members may be interested in this. Cheers Danny -- http://www.dannybutt.net ------ Forwarded Message Fibreculture::Brisbane_2003:::::::::: fibrepower:: Currents in Australasian New Media Research and Internet Culture :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: July 11, 12, 13th:::2003 Fibreculture http://www.fibreculture.org Brisbane::Powerhouse - Centre for the Live Arts New Farm Park, Brisbane QLD Tel: 3358 - 8622 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Fibreculture::Brisbane_2003::::::Fibrepower::Schedule & Themes Three day Meeting Fri July 11, Sat 12, Sun 13th Powerhouse: Courier Mail room Fibreculture :: in association with critical new media studies sections in universities across Brisbane, invites you to a meeting in July 2003 on theory, policy, practice, and education in New Media and the Internet. Fibrepower :: Currents in Australasian New Media Research and Internet Culture will bring together practitioners in the academy and industry from around Australia and New Zealand to participate in critically informed debates about new media and its cultures. It follows the ANZCA03 conference (see http://www.bgsb.qut.edu.au/conferences/ANZCA03/index.html - 9-11 July at QUT Gardens Point Campus, Brisbane). :: Theme of the 2003 Fibreculture Meeting :: fibrepower:: In academic and popular discourses, new media, the Internet, and 'virtual reality' are often described as just this - a 'virtual' reality, an Other, a 'cyberspace' which is somehow disconnected from the 'real' and secondary to 'life' experiences and issues. It is rarely accepted in the dominant Internet discourses of commercial and social culture that the truth is vastly different. New media and networked technologies currently pervade our lives and connect us ever more closely and solidly as citizens of networked society. If information and knowledge, in the new economy, are 'power', then the copper, optical, or wireless fibres spanning the networks are conduits for this power; they are full of power, and powerful. Their daily influence and the network's influence on human society is real and tangible. Fibreculture:: wants to address this continued insistence on conceptualising networked life and Internet cultures as a separate, second-rate or exotic reality, a dichotomy which obscures fact and prevents any in-depth engagement with and critique of the power of 'fibre' over and in our everyday lives. Set in a literal and figurative locus of power from the previous, industrial, era, ::fibrepower:: will engage with a range of themes that disclose the unseen power of fibre-culture in the informational age. Outcomes of this event will include a high profile public forum, an online publication of refereed articles, and deeper connections between new media industries, the academy and others. The meeting will be held at the Brisbane Powerhouse from July 11-13, 2003. (For reports from past fibreculture meetings and updates on fibreculture 2003, please see the Website at http://www.fibreculture.org/.) :::::::::::: FRIDAY nite JULY 11th 7 p.m. Welcome and Registration 8 p.m. Session 1: Fibrepower in the Regions :: Headed by Gerard Goggin Public forum with Guest Speakers, Panelists, and Q&A (TBA) In Australasia regional and rural areas continue to miss out on reliable and fast access to the global networks. This contributes significantly to the growing digital divide, and carries important implications for public and private policy. How can we increase the fibrepower of the regions, and what are current examples of best practice? Gerard Goggin (g.goggin(a)uq.edu.au) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland. He is writing a book entitled *Networked Imaginings: Cultural History of Australian Internet*, and has long had an interest in rural and regional internet and telecommunications (not least from living in the country himself). plus :: Introduction to the Fibreculture List & its Open Session, M/C Collaboration, fc Webjournal, and other Fibreculture activities with Geert Lovink, David Teh, Axel Bruns, and other list facilitators. **10 p.m. OPENING Art & Music :: Digital Literacies :: New Media Arts Exhibition :: Guest djs and vjs. No host bar. In conjunction with the conference, Fibreculture and fineArtforum are offering an online gallery space set up as an opportunity for artists to explore critical literacies and conference themes. An A4 gallery of resonant works will also be displayed at the meeting venue providing opportunity for practitioners and attendees to respond visually to the fibrepower themes both beforehand and during the discussions. Organized by Jane Turner. --- :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Fibrepower::Weekend Schedule - Discussion Sessions Brisbane Powerhouse - July 12th and 13th SATURDAY JULY 12th 8 a.m.::Registration 8:45 a.m.::Welcome 9 - 10:45 a.m.::Session 2: Intellectual Property-Intellectual Possibilities :: Headed by Esther Milne and Kate Crawford The exercise of intellectual property rights can stifle the generation of intellectual property. The U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been abused on any number of occasions. How can copyright be reconfigured for the networked age? How can creative rights be protected, and innovation ensured? How can fibrepower be harnessed to drive intellectual possibilities? What measures, policies and action should be implemented to protect indigenous cultural heritage and intellectual property? 10:45 a.m. Morning tea & coffee 11:15 - 1 p.m.::Session 3: Information Warfare :: Headed by Steve Stockwell and Geert Lovink Weapons of mass destruction may remain elusive - but weapons of mass disinformation are evident in any political or military conflict, if you know where and how to look. Information warfare adds to the firepower of conventional weapons arsenals. How do we disarm the information warriors? How do we distinguish freedom of information fighters from info-terrorists? How do we keep truth from becoming a battlefield detainee? 1 p.m.LUNCH 2:00 - 4 p.m. ::Session 4: Fibre Access Geopolitics Wired :: Headed by Guy Redden Much has been made of the distributed nature of the Internet. Does this make it a means through which previously unheard voices can carry, enhancing democracy? Or is it more that network capitalism can now get its tentacles everywhere, determining access and usage on its terms? This session invites critical appraisal and geopolitical interpretation of the spread of informational networks. How does the digital divide play out across space, class and ethnicity? Is access a luxury? With Google in China and aol.com in Australia and numerous other mergers and shifts, who controls the networks? With concentration/convergence, will there be an enclosure of the networks, new ways of constraining and exploiting their use to the detriment of the 'online commons'? Will distributed fibrepower continue to give an edge to international activism, indigenous rights, direct democracy/publishing, and other mobilisations against the centralisation of power? At least relative to other media? Consideration also needs to given to how these matters can be regulated. Is it time for a United Networks alongside the United Nations and who would hold the veto rights?! ____ 4 p.m.:: Warchalking Walk - Methods & Details Bring laptop with a wireless modem installed. Anyone with knowledge, please attend. ____ 7 p.m. Fibreculture dinner (optional) __ SUNDAY JULY 13th 9 a.m. Registration 10 - 11:45 a.m.::Session 5: The Internet Is Not Virtual :: Headed by Axel Bruns The myth of a separate, containable 'cyberspace' persists despite all evidence to the contrary. Rather than perpetuating new age visions of leaving the body behind to virtually 'inhabit' cyberspace, it is important to begin to realise that cyberspace, or fibrespace, already envelops society; is society. What are the implications of this fact? For example, how can disciplines like teaching and publishing turn to integrating Internet content, literacies, and technologies as part of their core activities rather than as an adjunct afterthought? In doing so, how can this 'fibrepower' be released from the strangleholds of outdated mythologies? 11:45 LUNCH 12:45 - 2:30 p.m.Session 6 ::Teaching Fibrepower:: :: Headed by Molly Hankwitz and Danny Butt Debates over technology and education are often couched in between the university sector hanging on to its critical freedom, authority and scholarship vs. government policy directions which are pushing higher education, among other sectors, into more corporatized, privatised spheres. Meanwhile, schools, colleges, and universities are struggling to keep up with the pace of technology. Teaching methods and approaches to cybercultures lag behind and students are often forced to take the initiative into their own hands if they hope to build useful skills sets and acquire an understanding of new media. Whole communities miss out on participating if they cannot make their voices heard. How can teaching institutions redress this situation? What are some excellent practices? 2:30 - 3 p.m. Afternoon Tea 3 - 4:45 p.m.::Open Session:: No set topic. Discussion about the direction of fibreculture. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: REGISTRATION: Three-day registration includes attendance at all sessions, lunches, morning and afternoon teas. All prices include GST. :: Three-day registration $27.50/$55.00 :: Opening nite forum and art exhibition only $10.00/$15.00 (Prices are for students and other concession cardholders / non-students) Pre-registration forms are available from the fibreculture website: http://www.fibreculture.org/ Late registration will be possible during the meeting. Cheques, cash and money orders only, thank you. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For more information and to subscribe to the fibreculture list: See http://www.fibreculture.org/ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For more inf. contact meeting organizers: Axel Bruns snurb(a)snurb.info Molly Hankwitz m.hankwitz(a)qut.edu.au Thank you to all participants and sponsors, John Hartley, QUT, UQ Media & Cultural Studies, M/C, fAf, Brisbane Powerhouse, Karen Hands, David Cox, Anna Zagala, and Jo Gray. Fibreculture 2003 sponsors: QUT Creative Industries Faculty http://www.creativeindustries.qut.edu.au/ - UQ Media and Cultural Studies Centre http://www.emsah.uq.edu.au/ - M/C - Media and Culture http://www.media-culture.org.au/ - fineArt forum http://www.fineartforum.org/ - Australian Network for Art and Technology http://www.anat.org.au/ - Brisbane Powerhouse - Centre for the Live Arts http://www.brisbanepowerhouse.org/ - Fibreculture is served by: Myspinach http://www.myspinach.org/ ::::::::::::::::::: ::posted on ::fibreculture:: mailinglist for australian ::critical internet theory, culture and research ::subscribe: fibreculture-request(a)lists.myspinach.org ::with "subscribe" in the subject line ::unsubcribe: fibreculture-request(a)lists.myspinach.org ::with "unsubscribe" in the subject line ::info and archive: http://www.fibreculture.org ::please send announcements to seperate mailinglist: :: http://lists.myspinach.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibreculture-announce ------ End of Forwarded Message

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FACCT Online Forum - Empowering Patients Online
by Aryne Blumklotz 20 Feb '04

20 Feb '04

Join us for a FACCT online forum Empowering Patients Online* featuring Gary Schwitzer Health care journalist and communications authority Tuesday, June 18 - Thursday, June 20 We invite you to participate in an online discussion about Web-based decision-support tools. Learn how these tools work, how they are developed, who is using them and how they benefit consumers. Log on for a few minutes each day to: * Learn about the top Web-based consumer support tools for online decision-making. * Discuss the pros and cons of the most popular tools. * Find out what consumers want and what these online products offer. * Generate ideas for building a consumer-centered model for online decision-making. *Empowering Patients Online is a free event - but you must register to participate. To register simply reply to this e-mail listing your name and e-mail address in the message space. We'll send you instructions on how to log onto the site and participate in the discussion. Aryne Blumklotz, MPH - Communications Coordinator FACCT - The Foundation for Accountability 1200 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 470 Portland, OR 97209 Phone: (503) 546-9717 Fax: (503) 223-4336 www.facct.org

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virtual reception theory (or still dense!)
by Denise N. Rall 12 Feb '04

12 Feb '04

> Dear AIR-ers - > Okay, I have refined my question. I think I am looking for literature that defines how reception theory differs when reception is mediated through a virtual audience. I have read a bit of Manovich, L. (200x). "Post media aesthetics: Medium in crisis [online]." Also quite a bit of Michael Heim, virtual realism. To me, he was talking about the differences in social identity when we present ourselves online (also Turkle). I am looking for the reception side of this equation rather than the presentation side and I don't know the CMC comm. theory too well. I have read _Secondary Orality_ and I don't think Ong is the answer, either. Thanks for any pointers in this direction! Denise [Maybe I'm still dense in which case ignore this email as well ;-)] ===== "Stupidity is not just a lack of content; it's also a process" Denise N. Rall, Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator & PhD student, School of EnvironSciMgmt, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480 Australia Phone +61-2-6624-8627 Fax +61-2-6624-8637 Office (Tuesdays) (02) 6620 3577 Mob 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/edu/research/deniserall/index.html __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

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transcription tools?
by Karen Lunsford 02 Dec '03

02 Dec '03

Hello AoIR members, I'm hoping to hear that ethnographic transcription tools have advanced miraculously since I last was transcribing tapes. Does anyone know whether it is now possible to have voice recognition (or other) software transcribe interview tapes directly? For example, if I have a digital or analog recording, is there anything out there that can provide even a rough transcription of it automatically? perhaps like closed captioning? In the past, I've used Dragon Naturally Speaking to help me transcribe analog audio cassette tapes. To do this, I listened to the tape using a regular foot- pedal transcription machine and then repeated everything that I heard into the microphone attached to the computer. That way, it didn't matter that I had multiple voices on the tape and that I didn't have each speaker train the software to recognize his/her voice (not a possibility). Dragon was trained to recognize my voice, and my re-voicing of everything could produce acceptable first passes of the transcript. Then, I could go back to edit. Saved some time, but more important, it saved some of the repetitive motions of typing. Does anyone know of a better technique now? And/or are there tools other than voice recognition available? Thanks, Karen -- Karen Lunsford, Assistant Professor of Writing Writing Program University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3010 klunsford(a)writing.ucsb.edu 805-893-8556

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Subject: Re: [Air-l] Rich Site Summary Technology
by Chris Williams 01 Dec '03

01 Dec '03

You criticized the content that was covered in my post but included none yourself to rectify what you perceived to be a problem. That was not only unhelpful, it was nonacademic. And every single rss program I listed in my post most certainly does require .net to work properly. You not providing any of your own sources that do not require .net wasn't very helpful. And your one link, http://syndic8.com , that you included in your reply was mentioned several times in the tutorials and rss explanations that I also provided links to. I hope you put a little more effort and consideration into any further replies regarding this topic. Unlike you, I spent about a week putting my original post together that you so callously disregarded. <From: elijah wright <elw(a)stderr.org> <"RSS is one of my favorite useful bits of technology - I agree with your promotion of it, but disagree with the scope of what your post covered." "o, most of them don't require .NET. Only the dirty hacks do."> Chris Williams, Ph.D. Instructor of Social Sciences Mississippi Virtual Community College http://www.msvcc.org

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Fwd:: CfP Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication Conference
by Michel J. Menou 30 Nov '03

30 Nov '03

See in particular the 2 special topics that have been added to the earlier call. Michel This is a forwarded message From: catac(a)wirth.murdoch.edu.au <catac(a)wirth.murdoch.edu.au> To: Michel.Menou(a)wanadoo.fr Date: Sunday, November 30, 2003, 3:07:13 PM Subject: Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication Conference ===8<==============Original message text=============== CALL FOR PAPERS Fourth International Conference on CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'04) 27 June-1 July 2004 Karlstad University, Sweden www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/ Conference theme: Off the shelf or from the ground up? ICTs and cultural marginalization, homogenization or hybridization The biennial CATaC conference series provides a continuously expanding international forum for the presentation and discussion of current research on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference series brings together scholars from around the globe who provide diverse perspectives, both in terms of the specific culture(s) they highlight in their presentations and discussions, and in terms of the discipline(s) through which they approach the conference theme. The first conference in the series was held in London in 1998, the second in Perth in 2000, and the third in Montreal in 2002. Beginning with our first conference in 1998, the CATaC conferences have highlighted theoretical and praxis-oriented scholarship and research from all parts of the globe, including Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East. The conferences focus especially on people and communities at the developing edges of ICT diffusion, including indigenous peoples and those outside the English-speaking world. Understanding the role of culture in how far minority and/or indigenous cultural groups may succeed - or fail - in taking up ICTs designed for a majority culture is obviously crucial to the moral and political imperative of designing ICTs in ways that will not simply reinforce such groups' marginalization. What is the role of culture in the development of ICTs "from the ground up" - beginning with the local culture and conditions - rather than assuming dominant "off the shelf" technologies are appropriate? Are the empowering potentials of ICTs successfully exploited among minority and indigenous groups, and/or do they rather engender cultural marginalization, cultural homogenization or cultural hybridization? Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.) and short papers (e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results) are invited. Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to: - Culture: theory and praxis - Culture and economy - Alternative models for ICT diffusion - Role of governments and activists in culture, technology and communication - ICTs and cultural hybridity - ICTs and intercultural communication - Culture, communication and e-learning Our conference themes provide a range of approaches to the questions raised. KEYNOTE SPEAKER Nina Wakeford, Foundation Fund Lecturer in Sociology and Social Methodology. For her DPhil at Nuffield College, Oxford, Dr Wakeford studied the experiences of mature students using a sociological conception of risk. Before coming to the University of Surrey in September of 1998, she spent three years studying "Women's Experiences of Virtual Communities", funded by an ESRC Post-Doctoral grant. The last two years of this Fellowship she conducted fieldwork in and around Silicon Valley while based at the University of California, Berkeley. CATaC04 will also feature two particular foci, each chaired by a distinguished colleague who will oversee paper review and development of the final panels. PANEL 1: The Multilingual Internet Panel Chairs: Susan Herring and Brenda Danet Expanding on their collective work, including a special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (Vol. 9 (1), November, 2003 - see http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/) this thread invites papers with a specific focus on how the Internet impacts language choice and linguistic practices in traditionally non-English speaking cultural contexts. Of particular interest are situations that respond in various ways to the tension between global English dominance and local linguistic diversity, e.g., through use of English as an online lingua franca, the "localization" of global or regional linguistic influences, translation or code-switching between different languages, and strategic uses of the Internet to maintain and invigorate minority languages. Susan Herring is Professor of Information Science and Linguistics, Indiana University Bloomington Brenda Danet is Professor Emerita of Sociology and Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem PANEL 2: Utopian Dreams vs. Real-World Conditions: Under what conditions can ICTs really help worse off communities? Panel Chair: Michel Menou. CATaC'04 will likely feature some examples of "best practices" in using ICTs to aid culturally-appropriate development, especially as pursued through governmental or NGOs' projects, community informatics endeavours, etc. At the same time, however, real-world politics and realities - e.g., violent oppression, political corruption, gender and ethnic discrimination, abuse of dominant economic position, structural disasters, worst practices of all kinds and origins, etc. - can shatter the best-laid plans for using ICTs to supposedly help especially the poorest of the poor. How far can ICTs succeed in supporting culturally-appropriate development - and what appropriate answers to real-world conditions are required in order for our best efforts to realize the liberatory potentials of these technologies not be broken down? Michel Menou, has worked on the development of national information policies and systems in many countries of the Southern hemisphere since 1966. Since 1992 his work focused on the impact of information and ICT in development. He is a member of the Community Informatics Research Network and of the network of Telecentres of Latin America and Caribbean. PAPER SUBMISSIONS All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference proceedings. Initial submissions are to be uploaded to the CATaC website according to the paper guidelines (available at the conference website). Submission of a paper implies that it has not been submitted or published elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted paper is expected to present the paper at the conference. There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2004 conference to appear in special issues of journals and a book. Papers in previous conferences have appeared in journals (Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique de Communication, AI and Society, Javnost- The Public, and New Media and Society) and a book (Culture, Technology, Communication: towards an Intercultural Global Village, 2001, edited by Charles Ess with Fay Sudweeks, SUNY Press, New York). You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2002 conference from www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac. Important Dates Full papers (10-20 pages): 12 January 2004 Short papers (3-5 pages): 26 January 2004 Notification of acceptance: end February 2004 Final formatted papers: 29 March 2004 CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, catac(a)it.murdoch.edu.au Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac(a)it.murdoch.edu.au CONFERENCE CO-VICE-CHAIRS Malin Sveningsson, Karlstad University, Sweden, malin.sveningsson(a)kau.se ===8<===========End of original message text=========== ===8<===========End of original message text===========

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7 new papers on opensource.mit.edu | freesoftware.mit.edu
by Karim R. Lakhani 30 Nov '03

30 Nov '03

Hello Friends <sorry for any X-posting> Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. Below you will find 7 new papers related to open source and free software. We have papers from Sociology, Social Psychology, Economics, and Computer Science. Many thanks to all the authors that submitted their papers! Thanks! Karim ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 1 Authors: Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Cristina Rossi Title: Comparing motivations of individual programmers and firms to take part in the Open Source movement. From community to business http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/bnaccorsirossimotivationlong.pdf Abstract: A growing body of economic literature is addressing the incentives of the individuals that take part to the Open Source movement. However, empirical analyses focus on individual developers and neglect firms that do business with Open Source software (OSS). During 2002, we conducted a large-scale survey on 146 Italian firms supplying Open Source solutions in Italy. In this paper our data on firms’ motivations are compared with data collected by the surveys made on individual programmers. We aim at analysing the role played by different classes of motivations (social, economic and technological) in determining the involvement of different groups of agents in Open Source activities. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 2 Authors: O'Mahony, Siobhan & Fabrizio Ferraro Title: Managing the Boundary of an ‘Open’ Project http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/omahonyferraro.pdf Abstract: In the past ten years, the boundaries between public and open science and commercial research efforts have become more porous. Scholars have thus more critically examined ways in which these two institutional regimes intersect. Large open source software projects have also attracted commercial collaborators and now struggle to develop code in an open public environment that still protects their communal boundaries. This research applies a dynamic social network approach to understand how one community managed software project, Debian, develops a membership process. We examine the project’s face-to-face social network during a five-year period (1997-2001) to see how changes in the social structure affect the evolution of membership mechanisms and the determination of gatekeepers. While the amount and importance of a contributor’s work increases the probability that a contributor will become a gatekeeper, those more central in the social network are more likely to become gatekeepers and influence the membership process. A greater understanding of the mechanisms open projects use to manage their boundaries has critical implications for research and knowledge producing communities operating in pluralistic, open and distributed environments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 3 Authors: Schach, Jin, Wright, Heller & Offutt Title: Quality Impacts of Clandestine Common Coupling http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~srs/preprints/clandestine.preprint.pdf Abstract: The number of instances of common coupling between a module M and the other modules can be changed without any explicit change to M; this is termed "clandestine common coupling." This paper presents results from a study of clandestine common coupling in 391 versions of Linux. Specifically, the common coupling between each of 5332 kernel modules and the rest of the product as a whole was measured. In more than half of the new versions, a change in common coupling was observed, even though none of the modules themselves was changed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 4 Authors: Schach, Jin, Wright, Heller & Offutt Title: Maintainability of the Linux Kernel http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~srs/preprints/linux.longitudinal.preprint.p… Abstract: We have examined 365 versions of Linux. For every version, we counted the number of instances of common (global) coupling between each of the 17 kernel modules and all the other modules in that version of Linux. We found that the number of instances of common coupling grows exponentially with version number. This result is significant at the 99.99% level, and no additional variables are needed to explain this increase. We conclude that, unless Linux is restructured with a bare minimum of common coupling, the dependencies induced by common coupling will, at some future date, make Linux exceedingly hard to maintain without inducing regression faults. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 5 Authors: Schach, Jin, Yu, Heller & Offutt Title: Determining the Distribution of Maintenance Categories: Survey versus Measurement http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~srs/preprints/lst.preprint.pdf Abstract: In 1978, Lientz, Swanson, and Tompkins ("LST") published the results of a survey on software maintenance. They found that 17.4% of maintenance effort was categorized as corrective in nature, 18.2% as adaptive, 60.3% as perfective, and 4.1% was categorized as other. We contrast this survey-based result with our empirical results from the analysis of data for the repeated maintenance of a commercial real-time product and two open-source products, the Linux kernel and GCC. For all three products and at both levels of granularity we considered, our observed distributions of maintenance categories were statistically very highly significantly different from LST. In particular, corrective maintenance was always more than twice the LST value. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 6 Author: Shah, Sonali Title: Understanding the Nature of Participation & Coordination in Open and Gated Source Software Development Communities http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/shah3.pdf Abstract: This paper explores the motivations of participants from two software development communities and finds that most participants are motivated by either a need to use the software or an enjoyment of programming. The latter group, hobbyists or enthusiasts, are critical to the long-term viability and sustainability of open source software code: they take on tasks that might otherwise go undone, are largely need-neutral as they make decisions, and express a desire to maintain the simplicity, elegance, and modularity of the code. The motives of hobbyist evolve over time; most join the community because they have a need for the software and stay because they enjoy programming in the context of a particular community. Governance and licensing structures affect this evolution. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 7 Author: Warner, Julian Title: Forms of labour in information systems http://informationr.net/ir/7-4/paper135.html Abstract: The idea of technology, including information technology, as a human construction is taken as the basis for the themes to be developed. The possibility of constructing an information dynamic, continuous with the dynamic of capitalism, is considered. Differentiations are made between forms of semiotic labour: semantic from syntactic labour and communal from universal labour. Information retrieval systems and the departure from the labour theory of copyright are considered in relation to the forms of labour distinguished. An information dynamic is constructed. The potential and limitations of syntactic labour are considered. The analytic value of the distinctions developed is differentiated from the possible predictive power of the dynamic indicated. -- =============================================== Karim R. Lakhani MIT Sloan School of Management & The Boston Consulting Group, Strategy Practice Initiative e-mail: karim.lakhani(a)sloan.mit.edu | lakhani.karim(a)bcg.com voice: 617-851-1224 fax: 617-344-0403 http://spoudaiospaizen.net/ http://opensource.mit.edu | http://freesoftware.mit.edu http://userinnovation.mit.edu -- =============================================== Karim R. Lakhani MIT Sloan School of Management & The Boston Consulting Group, Strategy Practice Initiative e-mail: karim.lakhani(a)sloan.mit.edu | lakhani.karim(a)bcg.com voice: 617-851-1224 fax: 617-344-0403 http://spoudaiospaizen.net/ http://opensource.mit.edu | http://freesoftware.mit.edu http://userinnovation.mit.edu

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Rich Site Summary Technology
by Chris Williams 29 Nov '03

29 Nov '03

If you are using Rich Site Summary (RSS) and know of any relative feeds that are not listed at the bottom of this post, please email me to let me know. Other than that, the purpose of this post is to inform non-RSS users of the benefits of RSS. In short, RSS feeds bring websites of your choosing to one place on your computer instead of you having to go to site after site to look for updates or other new material. Unfortunately, whether sites have RSS feeds to offer is completely up to the webmasters. Afterall, why would a webmaster want to use a technology that would keep internet users from visiting their website? There are a few academic sites, listed below, that do. But CNN and Fox, for example, send only their top 5 headlines through their RSS feeds. There are several free programs to choose from that will accept these RSS feeds. They are listed below along with some example RSS feeds that might be of interest to social scientists. Also, if you do not want to fool with learning a new technology and its software but are interested in RSS, you can go here: http://www.bloglines.com/. Most RSS programs do require Microsoft's .NET to be installed on your computer. You can get that from the MS Updates option under your Start button if you use Windows. This is the RSS reader that I use: http://www.awasu.com . It is one of the easiest to set up and learn. A tour of what the program does is located here: http://www.awasu.com/tour.php . Five software packages that require a bit of technical knowledge are SharpReader ( http://www.sharpreader.net/ ) and Wildgrape News Desk. A Java installation is required for nntp//rss ( http://www.methodize.org/nntprss/ ), a program that lets you read RSS files in Outlook Express or any other newsgroup-reading software. Or if you would like your RSS headlines in a news ticker, try wTicker ( http://www.wticker.org/mt/ ). Headline Viewer is another type of news ticker ( http://www.headlineviewer.com/download.html ). When you come across a website that offers a RSS feed, all you have to do is copy the address and paste it into your RSS reader. Here are some rss feeds that might be of interest to political scientists: China News http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?o=rss&c=China%20news ------------------ US Political News http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?o=rss&c=US%20politics%20news ------------------ US Political Columnists http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?o=rss&c=US%20political%20columnists ------------------ US Social Policy http://p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?o=rss&c=US%20social%20policy%20news ------------------ Working-Paper Sites of Political Science http://workingpapers.org/rss.rss ------------------ CNN Top Stories (not great, but we need to see what are students are seeing) http://csociety.purdue.org/~jacoby/XML/CNN_TOP_STORIES.xml ------------------ FOX (not great, but we need to see what our students are seeing) http://www.newsisfree.com/HPE/xml/feeds/67/3167.xml ------------------ If you want to read more about RSS, here are some links for you to explore: http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/xml/rss/intro/ http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2003/07/23/rssone.html Chris Williams, Ph.D. Mississippi Virtual Community College http://www.msvcc.org

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Re: [Air-l] online interview
by Mark D. Johns 29 Nov '03

29 Nov '03

At 01:57 PM 11/27/2003 -0200, you wrote: >Dear friends, >I am conducting a research project on online courses and I´m planning to >interview some students online. Is anyone on this list familiar with some >papers/books/sites where people write about the methodology of conducting >online interviews or the methodology of researching in the Internet, in >general? > >Thank you very much for your time, >best regards, >Daniela Papelbaum At the risk of self-promotion, you might want to take a look at: Online Social Research: Methods, Issues, and Ethics (Digital Formations Series, Vol. 7 Steve Jones, Series Editor) Edited by Mark D. Johns, Shing-Ling Sarina Chen, and G. Jon Hall has just been released by Peter Lang Publishers, New York © 2004 ISBN 0-8204-6101-6 ------ Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Asst. Professor of Communication/Linguistics, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa http://faculty.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain

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network society in catalonia
by Barry Wellman 28 Nov '03

28 Nov '03

For the Catalan readers of the AoIR list, you may well be interested in this new publication: Manuel Castells, Imma Tubella, Teresa Sancho, Isabel Diaz de Isla, and Barry Wellman. 2003. _La Societat Xarxa a Catalunya._ Barcelona: Random House Mondadori, 2003. price: 19.23 Euros. An earlier version is available in English and Spanish at www.uoc.es (uoc is the Open University of Catalonia). Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at 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 network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________

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