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

Call for papers: Sustainability and Community Technology: What Does this Mean for Community Informatics, Prato Italy 29 Sept-1 Oct 2004
by Michael Gurstein 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

-----Original Message----- From: larry Stillman [mailto:larrys@vicnet.net.au] Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 5:13 PM To: cirnadmin Cc: comm-vic(a)vicnet.net.au; aliawsis-rt(a)alianet.alia.org.au; ciresearchers(a)vancouvercommunity.net; communityinformatics(a)vancouvercommunity.net Subject: [ciresearchers] Call to papers: Sustainability and Community Technology: What Does this Mean for Community Informatics, Prato Italy 29 Sept-1 Oct 2004 Dear Colleagues, The Community Informatics Research Network Inc. (CIRN) calls for papers to its 2004 Inaugural Conference and Colloquium with the overall theme, 'Sustainability and Community Technology: What Does this Mean for Community Informatics?, at the Monash Centre, Prato, Italy, 29 September - 1 October, 2004. www.ciresearch.net/prato2004. The event is meant to provide an opportunity for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to present findings and reflect in a convivial atmosphere on key issues of concern for the future of enabling communities with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It will also be the founding organisational conference of CIRN. Further details of the conference will be forthcoming shortly. Please bookmark the website for updates. CIRN members will receive a conference discount (see www.ciresearch.net for membership information), and the number of places available is limited. Please forward this notice to colleagues. Call for Papers Papers (full length for blind peer review and discussion or position papers) from researchers and practitioners are invited. Possible topics include: . Defining 'sustainability' in a community technology context: is it an adequate concept? What are its meanings and how are they relevant? . Are there alternate concepts which are more practicable and how are they linked to the life of communities and community networking? . Sustainability and the Digital Divide: Friend or Foe? . The political economy of community technology sustainability: dependency on government, and funders' understanding of 'sustainability' . Community Technology Sustainability in different spheres: developed, developing countries: are there universal principles? . The sustainability criteria of national and international financial institutions and donors: Explanations and Critiques . Indigenous and first nations people and the sustainability of community networks . Gendered technology and the sustainability of community networks. . Is there a connection between sustainability and 'social capital'? . Time, virtual space, geography and network sustainability . Power relationships in networking and their impact on sustainability . The policy dimensions (dementia) of sustainability . Evaluating 'sustainability' . Case studies of 'sustainability' in different community informatics settings . Case studies of the policy frameworks and applications of 'sustainability' ## A special issue of Community Informatics: A Global E-Journal will be prepared as part of this event and contributors to the event will be encouraged to submit their papers for either the peer-reviewed or the commentary section of the journal. * Doctoral Colloquium * The CIRN Doctoral Colloquium offers PhD students a special forum on 29 September 2004 where they will have a chance to present their research plans and discuss them with peers and established senior researchers. Interested students should prepare a 2 page summary of their research. This should provide a context for the research, describe the methods being used, the progress to date and expectations and hopes from the colloquium. Please submit your 2 page application by 1 April 2004 to: Marcus Foth at m.foth(a)qut.edu.au Applicants will be notified of acceptance by 1 June 2004. Successful applicants will be asked to prepare an 8 page paper on their research by 1 August 2004. For further details please contact the organiser of the CIRN Doctoral Colloquium, Marcus Foth, at m.foth(a)qut.edu.au Key Dates * Abstracts of papers (in English only) should be sent as soon as possible. Please submit abstracts to Professor Michael Gurstein (gurstein(a)njit.edu) or Larry Stillman (larrys(a)vicnet.net.au) by 1 April. 2004. * Full Papers (up to 5,000 words, including references) are due 1 August 2004 for blind refereeing via peer review and inclusion in the publication. This deadline is final if you wish to be included in the publication. Papers can be in English, French, Italian, German or Spanish. There will be a prize given for the best refereed paper and a second, for the best paper submitted by a student (please indicate on your submission whether you are a student). Position papers (up to 2,500 words) are also welcome and are due by 1 August 2004 if the abstract is accepted. Research students are particularly encouraged to attend to present work-in-progress. * Interim Conference Committee Michael Gurstein, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA Peter Day, University of Brighton, UK Don Schauder, Monash University, Australia Michel Menou, CoVITALC (Virtual Latin American and Caribbean Consortium for Telecentres Research), México Larry Stillman, Monash University, Australia Scott Robinson, Universidad Metropolitana, México Graeme Johanson, Monash University, Australia Wal Taylor, Central Queensland University, Australia Beris Gwynn, Foundation for Community Development, Australia Barbara Craig, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ Roger Harris, Roger Harris Associates, Hong Kong Marcus Foth, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Fiorella de Cindio, Rete Civica di Milano, Italy Sergei Stafeev , Centre for Community Networking and Information Society Policy Studies St. Petersburg, CIS Tom Horan, Information and Technology Institute, Claremont Graduate University, USA Conference Host Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University Sponsors include - Information and Technology Institute, Claremont Graduate University Further information Preliminary information about registrations, accommodation etc. can be found at www.ciresearch.net/prato2004 Registration will be approximately 150 Euros with CIRN member discounts. -------------------------------- Larry Stillman CCNR, Monash University 61 3 9903 1801 www.ccnr.net www.webstylus.net --------------------------------

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re:first post(Am I wrong?)
by Eero Tarik 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

when I write "there is no cyberspace", am I wrong, or am I merely not the flavour of the month? Is it wrong to not see a concept that some others can see? Or is it just like looking at an abstract painting - you see in it whatever you feel like seeing? see ya Eero Tarik Adelaide

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Post-doctoral opportunity in International Communication
by C. Courtright 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

Forwarded message -- 2004-2005 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Announcement The Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, at the University of Southern California, was established in 2003 to study the emergence of new communication infrastructures, examine the attendant transformation of government policies and communication patterns, and analyze the social and economic consequences. The project is multi-disciplinary - including communication, sociology, economics, and political science approaches - and follows an international comparative perspective - spanning North America and Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific, Western and Eastern Europe. The core faculty members are: Jonathan Aronson, François Bar, Manuel Castells, and Hernan Galperin, all four at the Annenberg School for Communication The research network also includes other faculty, at USC and elsewhere. For more information, see: http://annenberg.usc.edu/international_communication/ 2004-2005 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in International Communication We invite applications for a post-doctoral research position during the 2004-2005 academic year, from candidates who do innovative research in International Communication. The competition is open to junior scholars: those who received a Ph.D. since 1995 or who will have completed a dissertation by August 2004. Applicants from a variety of social science disciplines and from a variety of countries are encouraged. Evaluation Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of academic achievement and promise, based on publications and previous research experience, the quality of the research proposal, and the fit of their research interest with the project's focus on international communication. Compensation The project will provide an appropriate stipend in accordance with University guidelines, desk space, computer support and network access, as well as USC library privileges. Application Procedures Applicants must submit: 1) a curriculum vitae, including a list of publications when applicable, 2) a 5-page research proposal, 3) a graduate transcript, and 4) three confidential letters of recommendation. Applications must be in English. Application materials must be received by March 22nd, 2004, (either hard-copy or e-mail). Selection will be announced in April 2004. Please send application materials to: re: Post-doctoral fellowship Guita Irani Administrative Coordinator Annenberg Research Network on International Communication Annenberg School for Communication University of Southern California 3502 Watt Way, ASC 332A Los Angeles, California 90089 Tel: 213-821-5385 Fax: 213-821-1606 Email: mirani(a)usc.edu

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Internet studies job
by Greg Elmer 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

George Mason University Internet Studies and Information Literacy Assistant Professor New Century College seeks applications for an Assistant professor of Internet Studies and Information Literacy, to begin in August 2004. The successful candidate will join a vigorous program in New Media Studies that offers significant opportunities for pedagogical and scholarly innovation. Applicants should be prepared to contribute actively to an Integrated, technology-enriched first-year curriculum and to teach upper-level theoretical courses. Candidates should also be willing to engage in academic responsibilities, including committee work and student mentoring, unique to our learning community model of education. Prospective candidates should possess a scholarly background in computers and writing with a specialization in Internet Studies and Information Literacy. Experience of curricular development and familiarity with the integration of service learning and computer technologies is strongly preferred. A Ph.D. is required, accompanied by proven expertise in teaching and a record of scholarly publication. Information about NCC can be found at www.ncc.gmu.edu. For fullest consideration, applicants should send a cover letter, CV, statements of teaching philosophy and research interests, and three letters of recommendation to: Lesley Smith, Director, Search Committee, MSN 5D3, New Century College, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444. Review of applications will begin March 1, 2004 and will continue until the position is filled. AA/EOE. -- Greg Elmer Associate Professor Department of Communication Florida State University 356 Diffenbaugh Tallahassee, FL 32303 850.645.4692 (tel.) Co-Editor Space and Culture: An International Journal of Social Spaces http://www.carleton.ca/space/ ________________________________________________________________________________

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Query re. programs in Global Communication
by Nan Kim-Paik 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

Dear AoIR members I am facilitating the development of a new curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the area of global communication, and I would greatly appreciate your insights regarding trends in the field. I would be particularly interested in your thoughts on: --which programs (anywhere in the world) you think are particularly vibrant and provide curricular leadership; --and what you think would be important to include in an undergraduate curriculum in global communication, whether or not such courses are currently included in program with which you are familiar. What we mean by "global communication" is still under negotiation, but we hope that the program will combine the study of communication, information, media and culture. Several people have already suggested that I look into the programs at Goldsmiths and LSE, but if you have other leads, I would be most grateful. Nan Kim-Paik Global Studies Coordinator Center for International Education University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee P.O. Box 413 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413 nkim-paik(a)cie.uwm.edu Tel: (414) 229-2976

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February on -empyre-: Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz discuss networks, art and collaboration
by Michael Arnold-Mages 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

February on -empyre-: networks, art & collaboration With Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz collaboration 1. United labour, co-operation; especially in literary, artistic, or scientific work. 2. specifically Traitorous cooperation with the enemy. --Oxford English Dictionary, Online Edition Rarely does a word contain within it such positive and negative connotations. The history of collaboration reflects this duality. Wordsworth and Coleridge, Fluxus, Wiki, Blogging, the organization of the WTO protests, the rise of Nazism in pre-WWII Germany and surrounding states, and the actions of the recent US-led "coalition" in Iraq demonstrate positive and negative aspects of collaborative effort. -empyre-, in cooperation with the conference on networks, art, & collaboration (http://www.freecooperation.org) welcomes Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz, as they discuss the complexity, challenges and rewards of collaboration both off and on-line. Subscribe at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre ------------ Lovink and Scholz are both part of a collaborative team that created the collaborative weblog Discordia on arts, politics, and techno cultures. (http://discordia.us) ------------ Geert Lovink Geert Lovink is an Amsterdam-born media theorist and activist who co-founded the on-line group for media arts producers, nettime, and the Australian-based forum fibreculture.org. Lovink has lectured widely on media theory, and is a member and co-founder of Adilkno (Foundation for the Advancement of Illegal Knowledge). http://www.laudanum.net/geert ------------ Trebor Scholz Born in East Berlin, Trebor Scholz is a media artist who, involved in ventures both collaborative and individual, addresses issues on the intersection of art, politics and the Internet. Dividing his time between Brooklyn and Buffalo he is professor at the Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo. http://molodiez.org ------------ Subscribe at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre

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

04 Feb '04

Regarding the place - space conversation, a question comes to my mind. When we invest of ourselves in cyberspaces or cyberplaces, are we investing in the space/place, or are we investing in the people that occupy that space/place. As a researcher/practitioner in the development of cyber**aces that can encourage and support the interaction between the people of a geographic locality, it seems to me that an understanding of such things lies in the perceptions of the people that appropriate them as part of their lives. 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. Using the term place in the vein of "third places", I prefer to focus my lens on the people that make up space to see if it is a place. But more importantly I like to examine how and why people are willing to turn a cyberspace into a cyberplace. To put it in more layman's terms, space is the final frontier, a place is somewhere you go. ;-) BTW, this is my first post to this list. But with recent conversation on this list, I am prepared and my flame proof suit is now on, so fire at will. That's Will --> 8-) Regards, Kevin W. Tharp

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Re: first post (An Internet without Space)
by Michele White 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

Thanks to Ben and other colleagues for the developing citations. I have read Harrison and Dourishs Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems as well as other works. I believe that place is not a better term than space. As Dourish suggests, places largely exist within spaces. There may also be reasons to be concerned about the idea that: Physically, a place is a space which is invested with understandings of behavioural appropriateness, cultural expectations, and so forth. I would be concerned that to theorize the Internet or particular technologically mediated settings as places is to suggest that they are geographically situated and to relate a variety of practices, conflicting desires, and diverse users to a singular culture or experience. All my best, Michele

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Re: [Air-l] Re: first post (An Internet without Space)
by Jonna Ahti 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

Greetings from Helsinki! The big piles of snow have begun to melt down and the city seems to be floating on water... I would like to add my humble opinion to the discussion of spaces and places on the Internet. I don't see any problem in using these terms when we discuss Internet. More problematic from my point of view are those people who only look at the Internet as a form of technical invention and as a technical environment. For me it is primarily a social environment that is regulated by technical properties. I also find it problematic in the academic world that there is a constant need for terms that sound fine but are lightyears away from the terms that "normal" people use. The users have created a whole bunch of terms that are good and widely spread and I think that "cyberspace" is one of those terms. I think it is one of peoples basic psychological needs to "be at home"; to be a part of something that one can in some way get a hold of. Chat rooms are imagined to be real rooms because we deal with real people there. If someone starts to cry in a chat room other users offer her/him a handkerchief - acts are in other words regarded as real acts. "Space" is a great term because it let's us imagine things spatially but it also tells us that Internet users are aware of the non-spatiality of the net. They know that it is not a real world in a same sense as our physical world but a limitless space(!). I think my role as a researcher is to be a link between academia and Internet users and to try to get these two worlds closer to each other, not to separate them with terms that nobody understands or with theoretical junk that has nothing to do with reality. I am young, naive and unexperienced and not very good in expressing myself in English but I wonder if I am alone with these thoughts on this list... Jonna Ahti -- Ms. Jonna Ahti PhD student NORDICA - Department for Scandinavian Languages and Scandinavian Literature P.O.Box 24 00014 University of Helsinki Finland jonna.ahti(a)helsinki.fi tel. +358-40-5625497

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Re: [Air-l] first post
by Jonathan Marshall 04 Feb '04

04 Feb '04

Good series of questions. I guess the interesting thing to me is why the hell people need to construct using the Internet as a spatial thing in the first place? We don't talk of 'phone space' or 'TV space'. So if I can cheat here, I'd say Cyber'space' is affected by the intersection of at least four factors. Firstly, by the use of offline space Secondly, by the use of the 'locale' for the reduction of communicative ambiguity. Thirdly, by the structures of communication employed online and Fourthly, by the use of space metaphors as a topos for persuasion, Offline space effects online space in that it gives the routes for wires, and the relevant social boundaries which affect the composition of the different types of offline groups (ethnic, class, politcal or subcultural, etc) which influences the composition of online groups, and the ways that people interpret each others messages. These offline space factors determine ease of access, delay, time of day people are online etc and therefore also affects the population composition of online groups which in turn gives the sense of the group's space through the emails or message they emit. (ie this is a way of saying onine groups develop cultures, and these cultures are not independent of the offline world) Offline the 'locale' often gives indications of expected behaviour, (ie bank, public park, person's home etc) which allows interpretation of communication, and a similar idea becomes important in the construction of Cyberspace, as is the distinction made between locales of public and private action - and the behaviour allowed and expected there. The ambiguities which arise are part of the dynamics of onlilne life. Online 'space' is also created by the structures of communication (ie whether the online forum is a Mailing List, MOO, Newsgroup etc) and the patterns of naming and exchange which eventuate. For example, people on a List define list locale by the volume and style of their posts and this might be quite different from other lists - giving it a sense of place and hence (to us) a sense of space. The involvement of communicative organization in the construction of space means that List space differs from MOO space and from Web space and has consequences for the kinds of social action and conflict which can easily eventuate. Online social space in many ways revitalizes the metaphorical similarity between topic and place which features in the rhetoric of Aristotle (ok :). Topos determines the method of persuasion, or poetic figuration which determines the nature of place which in turn determines topos. Topos (topic) is a tool of persuasion in rhetoric theory. People making political arguments about the Internet, or commercial organisations trying to exploit the Internet, often try to define it as a particular type of place to mobilize the persuasive topos associated with that locale. ie whether it should be free or controlled, or how people should behave. For example I was on a list once where people were arguing whether the list was like a lounge room or a pub, in order to say what kind of behaviour was appropriate or allowable. to self promote. I wrote about this at length in: "Cyber-space or Cyber-topos: the Creation of Online Space", Social Analysis, Special Issue on the Cultures of Cyberspace, No. 45(1), pp81-102. which may be completely irrelevant :) 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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