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

Re: first post (An Internet Without Space)
by Eero Tarik 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

My apologies for starting this debate and then running away - I 've spent most of the past week in hospital or recovering from the experience :-) (I wont take this opportunity to lavish praise on the freely available Australian health system and how such systems are surely the measure of whether or not a nation is civilised) I'm surprised to see such a lengthy thread develop and have enjoyed catching up this morning with the views expressed over the past few days although its a pity your conference roundtable idea which has evolved from my thread won't be a real contest between the "yes there is a cyberspace" and "no there isnt" sides but rather like an All Stars charity match. However, if I might divert your attention a little - it appears that nobody found it noteworthy that half the members of a class of mature aged Internet Studies students disagreed with the idea that there is a cyberspace. What if we are typical of the modern internet user and typical of present and future students? Your ranks will swell with people who dont believe in cyberspace because we are people who see the internet as a tool and as an natural extension of our daily tasks. Some of my fellow students have already remarked how believing the cyberspace concept seems to be a religious like act of faith. It does make me wonder whether Internet Studies should be in the Arts/Humanities area or whether it should be a Science where numbers, rather than concepts, are investigated and analsyed. Now there is a subject worthy of discussion - Internet Studies, is it Art or a Science ?? see ya Eero Tarik Adelaide

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job announcement for digital arts specialist
by Lisa Nakamura 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

apologies for cross postings. Lisa DIGITAL ARTS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR The University of Wisconsin Art Department is looking for a dynamic and versatile colleague with expertise and a strong dedication to teaching and research in digital arts. Candidates must hold an MFA degree in studio art (preferred) or another terminal degree in an art-related field by start date. Must have demonstrated a broad expertise in digital art. Prior college/university level teaching experience is preferred. We seek candidates with distinguished professional activities who have a comprehensive knowledge of the history, theory, and practices of new media, contemporary art production and aesthetic concerns in the visual arts. Must be able to provide, and have the ability to provide, leadership and vision for the overall curriculum in Digital Arts in context of our program strengths in other art forms. Teaching assignment includes three courses per semester at the undergraduate to graduate level. Candidates will develop new courses and teach or supervise the teaching of courses in Computers in the Visual Arts, Computer Imaging Techniques, Computer Mediated Art, Computer Aided Design and Visualization, Animation, or Digital Art Installation, and participate in the diverse curriculum of a 3-D area within a nationally recognized department. Additional responsibilities include serving on MA and MFA graduate committees. Must keep current with new developments in technology and participate in the supervision, maintenance, and improvement of computer lab(s). Must meet the teaching, research, and service expectations of the department and university. To apply include a letter of application, a statement about your creative research, a statement on teaching philosophy for digital arts that includes a vision for overall curriculum in this area, a curriculum vitae, name and contact information for three references, documentation of creative research. Student work optional. Work samples will be accepted in the format that best showcases the work (CD, DVD, URL, video tape, text, etc.) but must include clear instructions for viewing (system specifications and start-up procedures) in hard copy. Application materials must arrive on or before March 1, 2004 in order to be considered. Applications received by January 23, 2004 will be reviewed for CAA conference interview. All applications must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of materials. Send materials to: Digital Arts Search Committee University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Art 455 N Park Street 6241 Humanities Building Madison WI 53706-1483 Lisa Nakamura Assistant Professor of Communication Arts/Visual Culture Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison 821 University Ave Madison, WI 53706

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CFP: Persistent Conversation Minitrack
by Tom Erickson 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

* * * Please forward as appropriate * * * CALL FOR PAPERS Sixth Annual Minitrack on Persistent Conversation at the Hawai'i International Conference on Systems Science on the Big Island of Hawaii, January 3-6, 2005 *** AT A GLANCE *** * Topic Area Conversation via digital media such as email, chat, IM, texting, web boards, blogs, wikis, mailing lists, 3-D VR, multimedia computer-mediated communication, etc. The focus of work may range from the analysis of structural characteristics of conversation such as turn-taking and threading, to the use of digital conversation in domains such as distance learning, knowledge management, and workplace collaboration, to the design of novel systems for supporting computer-mediated conversation. * Who Researchers and designers from fields such as anthropology, computer-mediated communication, HCI, interaction design, linguistics, psychology, rhetoric, sociology, and so forth. * Chairs Thomas Erickson, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center Susan Herring, School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University * Important Dates Abstract submission - Monday, March 15, 2004 [instructions below] Abstract feedback - by Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Paper submission - Tuesday, June 15, 2004 [instructions below] Accept/Reject notice - Sunday, August 15, 2004 Final papers due - Friday, October 1, 2004 One author must register for HICSS - Friday, October 1, 2004 Deadline for conference-negotiated hotel rates - Wednesday, December 1, 2004 * For More Information - The online call, including pictures of the 2004 minitrack, and a list of previous years' papers: http://www.pliant.org/personal/Tom_Erickson/HICSS38pc - Contacts: snowfall(a)acm.org, herring(a)indiana.edu - About the HICSS conference: http://www.hicss.org/ *** DETAILS *** * About the Minitrack This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. The phenomena of interest include human-to-human interactions carried out using chat, instant messaging, text messaging, email, weblogs, mailing lists, news groups, bulletin board systems, multi-authored Web documents, structured conversation systems, textual and graphical virtual worlds, etc. Computer-mediated conversations blend characteristics of oral conversation with those of written text: they may be synchronous or asynchronous; their audience may be small or vast; they may be highly structured or almost amorphous; etc. The persistence of such conversations gives them the potential to be searched, browsed, replayed, annotated, visualized, restructured, and recontextualized, thus opening the door to a variety of new uses and practices. The particular aim of the minitrack and workshop is to bring together researchers who analyze existing computer-mediated conversational practices and sites, with designers who propose, implement, or deploy new types of conversational systems. By bringing together participants from such diverse areas as anthropology, computer-mediated communication, HCI, interaction design, linguistics, psychology, rhetoric, sociology, managment, and the like, we hope that the work of each may inform the others, suggesting new questions, methods, perspectives, and design approaches. * About Paper Topics We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: it is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. USENET) Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital talk The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems For other examples of appropriate topics see the list of previous years' papers: http://www.pliant.org/personal/Tom_Erickson/HICSS_PC_History.html * The Workshop [tentative] For the past five years the minitrack has been preceded by a half-day workshop; we hope this will be continued for 2005, but will not know for sure until April. The intent of the the workshop is as follows: The workshop will provide a background for the sessions and set the stage for a dialog between researchers and designers that will continue during the minitrack. The minitrack co-chairs will select in advance a publicly accessible CMC site, which each author will be asked to analyze, critique, redesign, or otherwise examine using their disciplinary tools and techniques before the workshop convenes; the workshop will include presentations and discussions of the participants' examinations of the site and its content. The workshop is primarily intended for minitrack authors, although other participants are welcome provided they are willing to prepare for it as described above. * Instructions for Abstract Submission 1. Submit a 250 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson <snowfall(a)acm.org>, Susan Herring <herring(a)indiana.edu> by the deadline noted above. 2. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract shortly thereafter. * Instructions for Paper Submission 1. HICSS papers must contain original material not previously published, or currently submitted elsewhere 2. Do not submit the manuscript to more than one Minitrack Chair. If unsure which Minitrack is appropriate, submit the abstract to the Track Chair for guidance. 3. Submit your full paper according to the detailed formatting and submission instructions found on the HICSS website. Note: All papers will be submitted in double column publication format and limited to 10 pages including diagrams and references. * About the HICSS Conference Since 1968 the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) has become a respected a forum for the substantive interchange of ideas in all areas of information systems and technology. The objective of HICSS is to provide a unique environment in which researchers and practitioners in the information, computer and system sciences can frankly exchange and discuss their research ideas, techniques and applications. Comments and feedback from each HICSS conference indicate that the conference format continues to be professionally rewarding and stimulating to everyone who attends. More information about the HICSS conference can be found at http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/. * Conference Administration: Ralph Sprague, Conference Chair, sprague(a)hawaii.edu Sandra Laney, Conference Administrator, hicss(a)hawaii.edu Eileen Dennis, Track Administrator, eidennis(a)indiana.edu * 2005 Conference Venue Hilton Waikoloa Village (on the Big Island of Hawaii) 425 Waikoloa Beach Drive Waikoloa, Hawaii 96738 Tel: 1-808-886-1234 Fax: 1-808-886-2900 http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com -- ------------------------------------------ Tom Erickson IBM T.J. Watson Research Center Email: snowfall(a)acm.org (preferred); snowfall(a)us.ibm.com(IBM confidential) http://www.pliant.org/personal/Tom_Erickson/

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Quantitative Spuriousity
by Michael Gurstein 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Since at least some of our referencing to quantitative assessment seems to be drawn from in-class responses to professor driven questions... In my graduate class after a lot of snickering and a few tentative raised hands, which after furtive glances around the room were quickly lowered, none of the 30 or so students indicated that they were currently downloading music off the net. In my undergraduate class with similar initial glances and rather stronger indications of humour, all of the students indicated that they were currently (illegally) downloading music off the Net. Hmmm... MG

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RE: [Air-l] re:-my first post(reply to Ulla)
by Charlie Breindahl 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Eero wrote: > Doesnt this give us enough to research and study without > hallucinating about cyberspace? > Must we have so much "cyber jargon" to describe what are very > simple processes and for most users merely a convenient > communications tool? > > Communication is all about speaking/writing clearly and > simply. The greater the number of people who can understand > you, the greater your ability to communicate. > I dont understand how "cyber jargon" and hallucinating about > cyberspace makes the world a better place or enriches > humankind - or how it makes one a greater communicator. > :-) Nah. Communication is about at least three things, all involving time and space: 1) Historically, communication is a synonym to transportation. Prior to the telegraph, virtually any message had to be physically carried from sender to receiver. Needless to say, we still conceive of communication as a process involving transport/dissemination of messages and thus, time and space. 2) Communication is about the (electronic) exchange of information that you allude to. This is not a trivial matter, though. 2a) A bus schedule (trivial informatiation) works in most parts of the world, but it works according to complex local customs and tools structuring the time-space continuum (spatial knowledge such as geography and the use of time keeping devices). 2b) Richer forms of communication mostly use verbal language. According to Mark Johnson et al., language is full of metaphors alluding to space and time - surely you would _go along_ with this _proposition_, right? 3) Communication is about shared interiorities, as I think John Durham Peters calls it, i.e. the bond to our fellow humans. I think that he fails to recognize how much objects and our bodies matter in communication. If you love somebody, do you send them an e-mail? No, you present them with a rose. Sharing sentiments is often a matter of bodily gesture: :o)= Now if I should deliver a bold jab at your world-view, just as you did to mine (and I thank you for it), I would suggest that you are so focused on communication as trivial information (2a above) that you forget about all the rest. In essence, you are like a blinkered horse, faithfully trotting along sensing only the familiar road ahead, but missing all the exciting things happening in the landscape around you. You should be galloping in the fields instead! Best, Charlie -- Charlie Breindahl Ph.D. Student, Copenhagen + Malmö Web: http://staff.hum.ku.dk/hitch/ http://www.creativeenvironments.mah.se/ Phone: +45 35 32 81 14 Mobile: +45 51 92 15 98 E-mail: hitch(a)hum.ku.dk "For the modern Don Quixote, the windmills have been preprogrammed to turn into knights" - Janet H. Murray

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re:-my second post(help etc...)
by Eero Tarik 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Jonathan, whilst I published that list of stats for fun it wouldnt surprise me if "help" was a significant legitimate result. Obviously it appears high up the list in a Google search since its mentioned somewhere on most opening web pages but it would, I would imagine, get a fair share of action from users trying to work their way around a site or trying to get more info. Anyhow, it would make an eye catching title for a paper - "Help - who needs it?" "Business" was the surprising entry on the list for me and I was amazed "god" has so few entries - obviously internet users are too interested in making money, using it to pursue sex and then seeking help, but not from a "god" :-) see ya Eero Tarik

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JOB: Personal Social Network Coordinator
by Art McGee 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

http://newyork.craigslist.org/ofc/23123114.html Wanted: Personal Social Network Coordinator Reply to: job-23123114(a)craigslist.org Date: 2004-01-25, 10:33PM EST Permanent full-time position for a personal social coordinator for a New York-based web designer. Your primary responsibility will be managing my accounts with various online social networking sites including, but not limited to, Friendster, LinkedIn, Tribe, Orkut, Ryze, Spoke, ZeroDegrees, Ecademy, RealContacts, Ringo, MySpace, Yafro, EveryonesConnected, Friendzy, FriendSurfer, Tickle, Evite, Plaxo, Squiby, and WhizSpark. Specific duties include: - approving or rejecting invitations of friendship - managing a database of usernames and passwords for each of the social networking sites - sending out friendship invitations - keeping my social network synchronized; that is, invite friends from one social networking site to be friends in all of the other social networking sites - handling requests by friends to be introduced to another friend that they might not know - keeping track of my current likes & dislikes and updating my personal information within each service accordingly - writing testimonials for friends - various "damage control" functions when rebuffed "non-friends" become upset due to non-acceptance of their offers of friendship - continually browsing my friends' 1st and 2nd degrees for potential new friends and business contacts - participating on any of the sites' message boards on my behalf Future duties may include discouraging companies and individuals from starting new social networking sites so that additional staff won't be necessary in the future. Past employment as a bouncer, "heavy", or hired goon may be helpful in this regard. Benefits include addition as my friend in all of the social networking sites I belong to. Compensation: Telecommuting is ok. Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster. Please, no phone calls about this job! Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests. This is in or around Manhattan 23123114 -end-

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RE: [Air-l] structuration
by Steve Fox (NISD) 09 Feb '04

09 Feb '04

Interesting to incorporate Giddens' structuration...it seems sometimes that we are under-emphasizing the contributions of the 'infrastructure'...depending on the environment (e.g. asynchronous/synchronous, use of avatars, etc.) the end-user experience can shift, thus the way in which people interact, communicate and envision that interaction can shift as well...an interesting question is to what degree does structure, or in this case infrastructure, impact human action/consciousness/communication/etc. -->community...I would extend this infrastructure to include all that affects the end-user experience (e.g. bandwidth, processor speed, type of content, etc.) would need to be considered... Steve ________________________________ From: air-l-admin(a)aoir.org on behalf of Kevin Tharp Sent: Sun 2/8/2004 1:18 PM To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] structuration I suggested: > Similar to the concept of community (dare I use such word in > educated company), it is not the infrastructure that makes the > community, it is the people that make the community. The > community is then supported by the infrastructure. To Which Jonathon Marshall replied: >I'd suggest that the infrastructure is not quite that passive. The infra structure allows certain types of community to form, >and is in turn shaped by the politics of that community and >may reinforce those politics. The more permanent the structure the more it enstructures. But even a permanent shifting structure >enables certain behaviours more than others. I Absolutely agree! This is much in the vein of Giddens structuration, which is a balance between determinism and social shaping. I still stand by my conviction that it is not the infrastructure that makes the community it is the people. Without the people, there is no community. Perhaps it would have been better stated, "the community is then supported and shaped by the interaction of the people and the infrastructure." Regards, Kevin W. Tharp _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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Re: [Air-l]Re: [Air-l]RE: [Air-l] Re: first post (An Internet without Space)
by Jonathan Marshall 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

If i can be excused replying to myself .... > And it would be the ability to make the comparisons between > forums, and sites and what they enable, which make them seem > like different kinds of 'locale' (to use the term I prefer :), > to an extent which is not the case with 'phone space' or 'TV space' > where only a limited set of relatively uniform actitons are > possible. Picked up Rheingold's smart mobs in a sale over the weekend, and after reading the intro, thought - this kind of contact is probably never going to be thought of as a 'space', in people's lives, so why is that? Provisional answer... Because it *is* integrated into their lives immediately. People use this stuff Rheingold is writing about as an extension of immediate life. Perhaps we only think of cyber'space' because it is not yet integrated into our lives. It seems 'somewhere different'. It enables contacts, behaviour etc. which is not integrated into daily life completely. Its 'elswhere'. When it becomes integrated, it will no longer seem to be another 'space'. Just a thought. jon UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F DISCLAIMER ======================================================================== This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views the University of Technology Sydney. Before opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. ========================================================================

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Re: [Air-l] structuration
by Jonathan Marshall 08 Feb '04

08 Feb '04

Kevin Tharp <k.tharp(a)cqu.edu.au> writes > I still > stand by my conviction that it is not the infrastructure that > makes the > community it is the people. Without the people, there is no > community.Perhaps it would have been better stated, "the > community is then > supported and shaped by the interaction of the people and the > infrastructure." Thanks Kevin. It *is* always a complicated matter :) and one with a lot of type face used on it. However, if i was to propose a methodology, it would be to take both approaches. Thus in the first scan, perhaps you look at the people, in the second scan you look at the 'infrastructure'. If you only do one then it often falls into one side alone. Ie the people seem self determining, and the infrastucture seems to have only minor effects. However, despite ambiguities about what the hell anyone means by 'infrastructure', it should be remembered that the infrastructure is something we, as people, grow into. It is there before we arrive and, unless we succeed in killing everyone and obliterating all archaeology, it will be there, or traces of it will be there, after we depart. If we wanted to sociobiological about it, people and infrastructure of some type or another seem to exist together - they cannot be separated. I'd like to emphasise again that there could be more than one type of infrastructure. Thus for the Internet: a) there is the corporate organisational strucure of the wider society and the way that affects what can be legally done online. b) there is the general physical layout of the Internet wiring. c) there are the technical programming features of the net which give it is possible porperties. d) there are the ways of, and distributions of access to the net e) there are the ways communication on the net is structured, email ICQ, Mailing List, MOO, chatroom etc.... f) there are the 'microsocieties' which people come from to use the net. which give things like time available, provision of contacts, 'unsatisfied needs', work organisation, township organisation, local politics, local disasters etc, which people use the net as adjunct for. undoubtedly many more. People live within these kinds of restrictions and enablements, and these r&e's at least partially make them what they are. or so it seems to me :) But at this point, I'd go back to arguing 'community' is not a thing in itself, but the term is something we should look at as a rhetorical deployment. What is its role in politics, who uses it, what is it used for etc? jon UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F DISCLAIMER ======================================================================== This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views the University of Technology Sydney. Before opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. ========================================================================

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