February 2004 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: first post (An Internet Without Space)
by Michele White 01 Nov '04

01 Nov '04

Dear Colleagues, Thanks for the interesting posts on space. One of my concerns is the ways that the concept of Internet space often leads to the idea that there are people on the screen or inside the interface. While there are certainly people engaging through varied technologies and they are very invested in their connections, the mediated aspects of engagement and the deeply constructed interfaces and identity representations are sometimes not addressed. This mediation significantly shapes what we see and experience. With increasing computer processing speed and connectivity, ubiquitous computing, and more detailed simulations it becomes easier and we are often encouraged to forget the technologies and representations. My hope is that we can address both user interests and the ways that traditional ideas of age, class, gender, race, and sexuality (which are conveyed through visual and textual representations) are reinscribed through technologies, practices, and depictions. I know that Ulla has asked me about alternative terminology and I often try to model this in my writing. I employ such terms as "setting" instead of space. Admittedly, sometimes thinking through our ways of speaking the Internet removes further words from my vocabulary and leads to a spluttering or form of unspeaking. As I researcher, I believe that one of my responsibilities is to consider the ways that individuals view and speak about Internet settings, contemporary technologies, and other social experiences and to suggest the problems, promises, and (as Ulla prompts) the other ways that individuals and societies can represent and produce these technologies and cultural practices. I sometimes rework a vocabulary from the humanitiesparticularly film and media studies, photography theory, literary studies, and art history to write about such depictions as the rectangular or body-shaped images of synchronous graphical settings or the photo-like images of webcams. We might also look to writings about past technologies to understand our representations of the Internet. Television and other media have been understood as live, alive, and a space. Thomas Hutchinson indicated, that with television "the outside world can be brought into the home" (ix) and Charles Siepmann argued that television was a way of "'going places' without even the expenditure of movement" (340). More recently, Rhona J. Berenstein has noted that television also had the reputation of "being a medium of immediacy: an apparatus that, more than film, offers its viewers live access to the world around them and hence it was assumed, to reality " and that television resonates "in spatial terms, suggesting a physical proximity between the viewer and the performance rendered" (26). In any case, it seems to me that each vocabulary and way of understanding the Internet produces a set of cultural perceptions that shape our understanding of these technologies and social practices, what they are, and what they can be. All my best, Michele Rhona J. Berenstein, "Acting Live: TV Performance, Intimacy, and Immediacy," Reality Squared: Televisual Discourse on the Real, ed. James Friedman. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Thomas H Hutchinson, Here Is Television, Your Window on the World. New York: Hastings House, 1948. Charles Siepmann, Radio, Television, and Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950.

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RE: [Air-l] RE: digital recording
by Slater,D 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

Can anyone give some quick advice on this Mini-disk system - I bought a new Sony MD because it both allowed for external mic (sound quality is wonderful) and for transfering files by USB. The problem I've encountered though is Attrac3 - you can only transfer to the computer a file that was originally transferred *from* that same computer - this is an interesting example of current desperation to establish unbreakable copyright protection. So of course all my interviews have to be played into the computer in real time because they did not originate on the computer! I'm about the go into battle with Sony over this, to see if there is any way around it (ie, can I not convince the software that I in fact originated this material!), but before I do this, does anyone know about how to deal with this issue? Don Sony hits a grand slam! Announcing Hi-MD (spec) a new Minidisc format based upon a 1GB MD medium and existing MD media reformatted to 300MB. Hi-MD equipment features uploading to PC for mic-input recordings, and built-in linear PCM as well as ATRAC3plus encoding at 256 and 64kbps. Hi-MD recorders also function as USB data drives. Available in April, recording equipment prices will be $200 (MZ-NH600D), $250 (MZ-NHF800), $300 (MZ-NH900) and $400 (MZ-NH1) with Hi-MD blanks costing about $7. Sony Press Release: http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4270 Best, Zoe _________________________________________________ Zoe Dowling, Ph.D. Candidate Department of Sociology, School of Human Sciences University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/~scp1zd/ Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:11:58 -0500 From: bernie.hogan(a)utoronto.ca To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] digital recording Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org Hi Everyone, A thread was started last week about digital transcription software. This week I was wondering what people were using to actually get the digital files. I've been using a minidisc player and a program called WinNMD, but that is subpar since it only transfers in realtime. Any suggestions? Take Care BERNiE Bernie Hogan Ph.D. Student Department of Sociology NetLab, Knowledge Media Design Institute University of Toronto _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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Girls Who Bite Back (Press Release) (fwd)
by Barry Wellman 04 Mar '04

04 Mar '04

Folks, Emily Pohl-Weary, whom I've known as Judy Merril's granddaughter since she was knee-high to a snowmobile, has a nice anthology out with lots of techno research sociological stuff. Emily, like her late granny (one of my best friends) is a great writer. (And while I'm thinking of Judy, my obit of her is on my website - Publications - Memories. 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 _____________________________________________________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 16:52:15 -0500 From: Emily Pohl-Weary <emily(a)kissmachine.org> Subject: Girls Who Bite Back (Press Release) Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks Edited by Emily Pohl-Weary Taking on the bombshell spies, slayers, witches and assassins who are fighting their way into movies and television shows everywhere, Girls Who Bite Back examines what these new role models for young women are really about. Emily Pohl-Weary, co-author with Judith Merril of the Hugo Award-winning Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril, puts her unique stamp on the field of speculative fiction and pop culture in this one-of-a-kind anthology of short stories, cultural analysis, comics and original artwork. Girls Who Bite Back cuts through the layers of the new "female power," questioning its corporate origins and investigating issues of race and sexual orientation. And it goes a crucial step further by asking: If you don't like what's out there, what do you want to see? In response, writers like Hiromi Goto (The Kappa Child, Chorus of Mushrooms), Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, The Salt Roads), Larissa Lai (Salt Fish Girl, When Fox Is a Thousand), Nikki Stafford (Bite Me! An Unofficial Guide to the World of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How Xena Saved Our Lives), Mariko Tamaki (True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice, Cover Me) and more have chronicled good and evil supergirls, envisioned new role models and created a do-it-yourself guide to being a superhero. Talented artists, including Shary Boyle, Eliza Griffiths, Sonja Ahlers, Sheila Butler and Matthew Blackett, have imagined stronger, more intelligent superheroines and explored the ugly side of girls who fight back. There's even an illustrated recipe for action! Pohl-Weary has put together an assembly of fresh voices that bring rich insight, as well as wry irreverence, to this compelling and controversial issue. From Little Orphan Annie to Kill Bill, Girls Who Bite Back shows how far we've come, how far we have to go, and gives us a sneak peak of a future where all girls bite back. Visit the site at: www.girlswhobiteback.com Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks Edited by Emily Pohl-Weary Sumach Press 332 pages. 6"x 9". $26.95 Cdn/$22.95 US pb. ISBN 1-894549-33-3 Release date: April 2004 Download a lovely PDF version of this press release: http://www.girlswhobiteback.com/gwbbPR.pdf For further information, please contact our publicist, Angela Rawlings, sumachpress(a)on.aibn.com

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new reviews in cyberculture studies (february 2004)
by david silver 29 Feb '04

29 Feb '04

Folks, a treasure chest of new reviews in cyberculture, available at http://www.com.washington.edu/rccs/ David E. Nye, America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of New Beginnings (MIT Press, 2003). Reviewed by Craig McFarlane Jeffrey Sconce, Haunted Media: Electronic Presence From Telegraphy to Television (Duke University Press, 2000). Reviewed by Dougie Bicket Andy Clark, Natural Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence (Oxford University Press, 2003). Reviewed by Steven A. Benko Hubert L. Dreyfus, On the Internet (Routledge, 2001). Reviewed by Geoffrey Cain Chong-En Bai & Chi-Wa Yuen, eds., Technology and the New Economy (MIT Press, 2002). Reviewed by Suely Fragoso Geert Lovink, Uncanny Networks: Dialogues with the Virtual Intelligentsia (MIT Press, 2003). Reviewed by Ted Kafala david silver To SUBSCRIBE to cyberculture-announce, a low volume announcement list for RCCS events and updates, email: listproc(a)u.washington.edu; No subject is needed. In the body, type: subscribe cyberculture-announce

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9 new working papers + 1 thesis on freesoftware.mit.edu|opensource.mit.edu
by Karim R. Lakhani 29 Feb '04

29 Feb '04

Hello All, <sorry for any x-posting> Please find below the following new papers on our website. As usual the authors will appreciate your direct feedback. Many thanks to all the authors that have submitted papers. Keep em coming! Best Karim ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paper 1 Authors: Chan, Tzu-Ying & Jen-Fang Lee Title A Comparative Study of Online User Communities Involvement In Product Innovation and Development http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/chanlee.pdf Abstract: The literature lacks a conceptual understanding on how different types of online user communities can influence the product innovation and development. Therefore, this research attempts to understand this phenomenon by re-classifying the current online user communities from the perspective of product innovation and development and has resulted in five different models of user communities. We compare and discuss of the five models. Lastly, we will further discuss the deficiencies of the User Collaboration Innovation Communities, theoretically and practically, to suggest the feasibility of the research direction in the future. Paper 2: Author: Dahlander, Linus Title: Appropriating Returns From Open Innovation Processes: A Multiple Case Study of Small Firms in Open Source Software http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/dahlander.pdf Abstract: This paper addresses a largely neglected area within the growing literature on open source software (OSS) namely how firms generate returns and how that changes over time. Firms exist and sell a variety of products and services related to OSS, even though the OSS community has used legal and normative mechanisms to avoid property right claims and commercial transactions. The paper draws upon an explorative multiple case study of six small firms in Sweden and Finland that try to commercialize OSS, with rich empirical evidence from various data sources. The cases illustrate how firms try a variety of approaches to generate adequate returns and that selling services seem to be the dominant trend. By being adaptive and change ways of generating returns over time, the firms tackle the rapidly changing environment and uncertainty of what works. Firm also balance the relative inefficiency of traditional means of intellectual property right such as patents by putting greater emphasi s on first mover advantages and creating network externalities. Paper 3 Author: Hemetsberger, Andrea Title: When Consumers Produce on the Internet: The Relationship between Cognitive-affective, Socially-based, and Behavioral Involvement of Prosumers http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/hemetsberger1.pdf Abstract: This article advances our understanding of the motivational sources for consumer involvement in online joint innovation. The 'free' or 'open-source' software movement is the largest socio-technical network and most visible empirical evidence of this new phenomenon. The paper promotes a behavioral view of involvement and offers a conceptualization and empirical evidence of the relationship between cognitive-affective, socially-based and behavioral involvement in online joint production. An Internet survey with 1486 contributors to open-source software revealed that the extent of behavioral involvement is strongly related to the structure and strength of relationships between different motivations. The relationship between concern for self and concern for others especially distinguishes the level of contribution to online projects. Paper 4 Author: Hemetsberger, Andrea Title: Fostering cooperation on the Internet: social exchange processes in innovative virtual consumer communities http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/hemetsberger2.pdf Abstract: Virtual communities of consumers increasingly engage in voluntary collaborative production of digital goods and services which became highly successful in recent years. This paper offers a theoretical conceptualization and empirical evidence of the key elements and processes of exchange in those communities. Within a culture of gift-giving and generalized social exchange, knowledge as the main resource of the community is multiplied by giving it away freely to others and thus, fosters contribution behavior. Friendship, peer reputation and external feed-back provided by a global user community represent highly motivating social rewards which, combined with individual gain of knowledge, constitute a self-sustaining system of exchange. Paper 5: Author: Hemetsberger, Andrea Title: Understanding consumers' collective action on the Internet - a definition and discussion of relevant concepts for research http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/hemetsberger3.pdf Abstract: This paper offers a new approach for understanding online collaboration and collective action of 'prosumers'. It is proposed here that theories of collective action and social representations theory, in particular, provide a theoretical framework for studying the structural and social context of online collaboration of consumers, the social actors involved, and how public discourse contributes to shared meaning creation and dissemination in online communities. Processes of naming, classifying, personalizing and institutionalization give their actions ontological reality and contribute to the sustainability of the common effort. An overview and definition of these processes and relevant influencing factors is given and possible indicators of these concepts in open-source communities are highlighted. Paper 6: Authors: Hemetsberger, Andrea & Christian Reinhardt Title: Sharing and Creating Knowledge in Open-Source Communities The case of KDE http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/hemreinh.pdf Abstract: Our research suggests that knowledge is shared and created in online communities of practice through the establishment of processes and 'technologies' that enable virtual re-experience for the learners at various levels. It demonstrates that online communities of practice overcome the problem of tacit knowledge transformation through the usage of technological tools, task-related features, analogies and usage scenarios. Three questions guided our research. The first one concentrates on how community members organize content with regard to their daily routines that potentially transforms into knowledge for other members. Secondly, as open-source communities depend on attracting and socializing new members, we inquired how new members are enabled to accumulate the knowledge necessary for becoming a valued member. Thirdly, we asked how members co-create and conceptualize new ideas - create new knowledge - in absence of physical proximity. Re-experience is enabled by modular tas ks and transactive group memory, rigid guidance of new members, openness and legitimate peripheral participation, asynchronous communication, and virtual experimentation. Empirical evidence is based on an ethnographic investigation of the KDE project community. Paper 7 Author: Scherler, Thorsten Title: Open Source Software within organization - Critical factors for consulting http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/scherler1.pdf Abstract: The consultation of enterprises and organizations regarding the correct implementation of modern information technology is an important segment on the modern consulting market. The main focus of this work is to conduct the consultation in consideration of the topic “Introduction of Open Source e-Business Technologies”. Due to limited budget funds more and more enterprises are designing their value chain more cost-effective by using web based systems. Mostly all parts of the value chain can be supported by e-business technologies. To further reduce the costs this e-business technologies should be Open Source. Paper 8 Author: Prufer, Jens Title: Network Formation via Contests: The Production Process of Open Source Software http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/prufer.pdf Abstract: Why do both software developers and firms contribute to the production process of Open Source Software (OSS) despite not receiving direct monetary rewards for it? This papers extends results of the economic literature by modelling the OSS production process as an application contest to a "qualified network". The winners receive reputation and high investments. Investors searching for highly talented applicants profit from the selection mechanism of the OSS production process and finance it to receive inside information. We describe incentives for developers and firms and compare the mechanism with alternatives for its efficiency. Paper 9 Author: Masum, Hasan Title: TOOL: The Open Opinion Layer http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_7/masum/index.html Abstract: Shared opinions drive society: what we read, how we vote, and where we shop are all heavily influenced by the choices of others. However, the cost in time and money to systematically share opinions remains high, while the actual performance history of opinion generators is often not tracked. This article explores the development of a distributed open opinion layer, which is given the generic name of TOOL. Similar to the evolution of network protocols as an underlying layer for many computational tasks, we suggest that TOOL has the potential to become a common substrate upon which many scientific, commercial, and social activities will be based. Thesis: Author McLaughlin, David Title: Opening The Code: Software Excellence As A Function Of Its Development Environment http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/mclaughlin.pdf Abstract: Software is an increasingly important component of the modern world; indeed, software forms the architecture around which today’s digital society is built. Because of the complex interrelationship between computer code, liberty, and the distribution of power in society, the environment in which code is produced makes a tremendous difference in the resulting structure of the world. An "Open" foundation for software development provides a variety of economic and societal benefits, but there are a number of preconditions necessary for its full deployment. One of the primary stumbling blocks is the need for the Open development process to demonstrate its capacity for producing "excellent" software. This thesis tackles that obstacle by first defining excellence in software, and then examining the software ecosystems that surround proprietary and Open Source conceptions of digital property in terms of their incentive structures--incentives that either encourage or discourage quali ty. Herein, this thesis demonstrates that not only can an Open Source development model produce quality software, but it also takes advantage of the complex adaptive systems model of diversity and adaptation to better meet the established criteria of an "ideal" software development system. -- =============================================== 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 mobile: 617-851-1224 http://spoudaiospaizen.net/ | http://web.mit.edu/lakhani/www http://opensource.mit.edu | http://userinnovation.mit.edu

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Hanging Out Gets Kudos
by Barry Wellman 29 Feb '04

29 Feb '04

She's too modest to tell you, but there's a really nice book review of Lori Kendall's _Hanging out in the Virtual Pub: Relationships and Masculinities Online. Berkeley: Univ of California Press, 2002. The review by UCLA community sociologist David Halle is in the January 2004 issue of _Contemporary Sociology_, v.33, n.1, p. 31-32. (CS is the major soc review journal.) Here are some excerpts: "In the course of this engagingly written, well-researched, and illuminating case study, Kendall examines almost the entire gamut of theories about the nature of online interaction." "Kendall's main conclusion is that online interactions are much more like those offline than is sometimes thought." Lori's book is a wonderful ethnography of a bunch of guys (and a few gals) highly involved in an online, text-based community (no cute little avatars).

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Assistant Professor in Environmental/Risk Communication (Rutgers University)
by Ulla Bunz 28 Feb '04

28 Feb '04

Assistant Professor (tenure track) Environmental/Risk Communication, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University: Basic and applied research, teaching, and Extension outreach in the area of environmental or risk communication. Issue may vary (e.g., natural resources, land use, natural hazards, environmental and/or health risks). Research related to topics such as stakeholder involvement, risk perception, public information, science communication, environmental justice. The person filling this position will be expected to teach undergraduate courses in environmental or risk communication and have the possibility of graduate teaching in her/his discipline. Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in the land grant college (Cook College, which houses the multi-disciplinary Department of Human Ecology), and schools of policy, communication, and medicine, among others. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in social science related to the field of environmental/risk communication such as communication, journalism, psychology, planning, sociology, geography, environmental studies, law, urban studies, or anthropology. The successful candidate will have experience teaching, conducting research, and implementing outreach efforts. Send letter of application, two writing samples, and three letters of reference to: Environmental Communication Search Committee, Caron Chess, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, 55 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520. Electronic submissions encouraged: humanecology(a)aesop.rutgers.edu. Applications will be reviewed starting March 1. Rutgers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. -- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901

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journalists weblogs
by Alexandru Leonties 27 Feb '04

27 Feb '04

Does anybody know a good place on the web that integrates/aggregates weblogs of journalists? I am interested for a research on the credibility of such (journalism) weblogs. Thank you, ===== Alexandru Leonties Assistant Lecturer Journalism Department A.I.Cuza University Iasi + 40 740 049 246 aleonties(a)yahoo.com, leonties(a)uaic.ro __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

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RE: digital recording
by Zoe Dowling 27 Feb '04

27 Feb '04

Bernie, As far as I am aware (and I've spent quite a bit of time looking into this recently) getting your minidisc recordings onto PC always involves recording back in real time, using one software program or another. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for MD fans (however this would mean ditching your current MD player and investing in a new one!) As reported on Minidisc.org: Sony hits a grand slam! Announcing Hi-MD (spec) a new Minidisc format based upon a 1GB MD medium and existing MD media reformatted to 300MB. Hi-MD equipment features uploading to PC for mic-input recordings, and built-in linear PCM as well as ATRAC3plus encoding at 256 and 64kbps. Hi-MD recorders also function as USB data drives. Available in April, recording equipment prices will be $200 (MZ-NH600D), $250 (MZ-NHF800), $300 (MZ-NH900) and $400 (MZ-NH1) with Hi-MD blanks costing about $7. Sony Press Release: http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4270 Best, Zoe _________________________________________________ Zoe Dowling, Ph.D. Candidate Department of Sociology, School of Human Sciences University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/~scp1zd/ Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:11:58 -0500 From: bernie.hogan(a)utoronto.ca To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] digital recording Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org Hi Everyone, A thread was started last week about digital transcription software. This week I was wondering what people were using to actually get the digital files. I've been using a minidisc player and a program called WinNMD, but that is subpar since it only transfers in realtime. Any suggestions? Take Care BERNiE Bernie Hogan Ph.D. Student Department of Sociology NetLab, Knowledge Media Design Institute University of Toronto

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cfp: LIFE WITH THE ULTIMATE CONGLOMERATE
by katharine sarikakis 27 Feb '04

27 Feb '04

**apologies for crosspostings** international journal of Media & Cultural Politics (MCP) LIFE WITH THE ULTIMATE CONGLOMERATE: a call for short essays on the politics of contemporary media content, control and policy We, the citizens, own the airwaves, yet we don't control them. The corporations that control them feed us a steady diet of electronic junk food and it is making our democracy sick. (Ralph Nader) The first half of the twentieth century produced pessimism about ideological control and social and cultural harm as a consequence of media expansion. By the end of the second half of the century, a variety of theoretical positions had posited the media as a usurpation of reality itself. Whatever the status of such claims, the media now claim a centrality which has profoundly redefined culture. To mark the launch of MCP, the Editors are inviting scholarly mini-essays of over 1000 and not more than 1500 words on any theme exploring the relationship between the contemporary media and the politics of representation, or policy, or control, and commenting on recent waves of pessimism about the media in culture (Virilio's concept of 'fin de siècle infantilization', for example, or Nader's 'electronic junk food'). Contributors are invited to address print, broadcast or electronic media as they choose, and likewise to adapt the theme to specific forms, genres, theories, practices, demographics, localities, audiences, pedagogic and research contexts, and topical issues. All contributions should be submitted to Katharine Sarikakis k.sarikakis(a)coventry.ac.uk by email attachment, by 31 May 2004. For details on style, please go to: http://www.intellectbooks.com/journals/mcp/ Best wishes The Editors MCP Please note that MCP is also now accepting full length submissions for the inaugural volumes to be published in 2005, on general media and cultural politics themes. -- Dr Katharine Sarikakis Communication, Media and Culture Coventry University Priory Street Coventry CV1 5FB, UK Tel:+44.24.76887474 Fax:+44.24.76887440 ******************** http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cms/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=583&a=3243 ******************** International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics http://www.intellectbooks.com/journals/mcp/

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