April 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.

8 7

seeking ethnographers of information and communication technologies
by Jenna Burrell 04 May '04

04 May '04

Dear colleagues, We are constructing a web-based resource for ethnographic approaches to studying Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The website will be based at the London School of Economics, Department of Sociology, and aims to network the growing ranks of ICT ethnographers, increasing communication and awareness of our work. The website will include: A searchable database of researchers and research projects A searchable bibliography Facilities for announcements Links to web resources In order to develop this network, we are using broad and inclusive definitions of both ethnography ('classic' ethnographies; in-depth, multi-method qualitative approaches; 'online' as well as 'offline' studies with some element of participant observation) and ICTs (internet, mobile communications, computing, radio&TV). And of course all disciplines and multi-disciplinary researchers are welcome. We are trying to identify all researchers and research projects in this domain for inclusion in our online database. If you consider yourself to be an ICT ethnographer according to the specifications described above, please fill out the form below with a little information about your current research activities and e-mail it to J.R.Burrell(a)lse.ac.uk . Let us know if you have any suggestions for other researchers (including postgraduates) who could be included in the database: building this network depends on networking with you! We will not include anyone without first contacting them directly and getting their permission. Your Name: Institution: Position: Project Names: URL: Keywords: Online or Print Publications: Short Description of Research Interests and Projects: Other researchers we should contact (including email address and institution, if possible): If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to contact Don Slater (d.slater(a)lse.ac.uk) or Jenna Burrell (j.r.burrell(a)lse.ac.uk) Thanks for your help. Don Slater Jenna Burrell ---------------------------------------------------------------- Don Slater Reader in Sociology, London School of Economics Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE Tel: +44 (020) 7849 4653 Fax: +44 (020) 7955 7405 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jenna Burrell J.R.Burrell(a)lse.ac.uk MPhil/Phd Student Department of Sociology, London School of Economics ----------------------------------------------------------------

5 5

DC Brown Bag on Korea's Net Election, US Virtual Civil War? - Wed May 5 - 12:15 p.m.
by Steven Clift 29 Apr '04

29 Apr '04

For those in the DC-area ... Steven Clift and CDT invite you to a brown bag lunch discussion on ... What: Brown Bag Presentation and Discussion: South Korea's 2nd Net Election - The Screen Shots US Election 2004 Online - A Virtual Civil War? When: 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Where: Conference Room, Center for Democracy and Technology 1634 I St., NW, Washington DC 20006 (Corner of 17th and I Sts.) - http://cdt.org RSVP: Free. Bring your own lunch. Space is limited. RSVP by Noon on Tuesday, May 4 to: ari(a)cdt.org Or call CDT: 202-637-9800 Agenda: * Introductions * South Korea Net Election - Short Virtual Tour Presentation A preview for the 2006 election in the U.S.? Slides and Comment from Steven Clift's recent visit to Korea. More: http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@lists.umn.edu/msg00173.html * Possible Discussion Topics Bring Your Global E-Election Insights - India, Korea, and more Skulduggery Online - Stories from the US E-Campaign Trail Virtual Civil War? - Plotting a Post-Election Recovery (Article Below) Join some old-tyme e-politicos and share your two cents Early Networking: If you would like to meet one-on-one or in a small informal group with Steven Clift before or after the event, e-mail: clift(a)publicus.net More on Steven Clift: Steven Clift is an e-democracy speaker and strategist who has spoken across 25 countries since helping create the world's first election-oriented web site in 1994. For more information and articles, visit <http://publicus.net>. He runs http://DoWire.org, the Democracies Online Newswire which reaches over 2700 e-democracy/e-government/e-politics experts in more than 80 countries. He recently released a 40 page report on e-government and democracy that he wrote for the United Nations: http://publicus.net/e-government Below is a short article titled "Saving Democracy from the Information Age." It should help spark our brown bag discussion ideas. From: http://www.publicus.net/articles/savingdemocracy.html Saving Democracy from the Information Age By Steven Clift, for CIO Government Magazine, Australia April 2004 For the past 10 years, governments have had unprecedented opportunities to use technology to connect directly with citizens. So why haven?t they? "Is this the end of politics as we know it?" In the United States, journalists around the country were recently falling over each other to write their local article on the Internet and the presidential election. People are using the Internet to "MeetUp.com" and get involved in the presidential campaign of their choice. It is a real story. I was actually asked the "end of politics" question by a reporter back in 1994 when E-Democracy.Org created the world?s first election-oriented Web site. Since then I have seen waves of excess hype and scepticism about the role of new media in elections, governance and community. As far as I can tell, the outcomes of elections, despite the Internet, are pretty much the same ? someone wins and someone loses. Most citizens remain cynical about politics and government. Beyond sorting through their e-mail and putting their biography online, politicians seem content to ignore online opportunities in governance until the next election cycle. Something has changed. For the past 10 years, governments have had the opportunity to use information and communication technologies through e-government to connect directly with citizens. Government has had the opportunity to become more accountable and transparent, and to build the trust of citizens. Instead, most governments have taken the path of services first and democracy later. Access to information has become easier and many representative processes are more open than before the Internet, but for the most part, what citizens experience has changed little. Taking a path is different from choosing a path. The vast majority of government "customers" want convenience and efficient service delivery; however, in democracies we are also "citizens". We are the owners of government. Government has focused on the one-way uses of the Internet and service transactions because few citizens have asked for anything different. Democracy in the information age is not a choice that will exist based on citizen demand. What has changed is that "politics as usual" has figured out how to use the Internet to further their narrow interests. Online advocacy, while democratizing in many ways, is primarily used to generate noise geared towards our representatives and public processes. Governments in wired countries now face a fundamental challenge. Political interests are raising their voices online, but governments, including our elected officials and representative institutions, are largely unable to "listen" online. When speaking in Eastern Europe, it really hit me: as designed, e-government is not able to accommodate the will of the people. The lack of investment in the online needs of representative democracy, compared to large investments in administrative services, is changing the balance of power in our democracies. Despite significant policy explorations by governments in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Victorian parliament, for example, it is amazing that the only state or nation to adopt a formal e-democracy policy is Queensland. (Also note the CitizenScape project in Western Australia.) Not that you need a policy to have significant government-based e-democracy activity, but it helps to move beyond rhetoric and experiments to real investments that save democracy from the negative aspects of the information age. What Should Be Done? At a World Summit on the Information Society session in Geneva, I promoted "democratic evolution" over the path of partisan "virtual civil war". (Check back with me after the 2004 US election. I predict online campaigning by "politics as usual" will poison many a citizen?s view of the medium in politics and governance.) Governments, as democracies, must act now in specific ways to ensure their ability to e-listen to citizens, to make better public decisions and to more effectively engage the public, civic organizations and business as they implement public policy. In my Geneva speech, I suggested that the following best e-democracy practices be made universal thorough the rule of law: 1. All public meeting notices with agendas and all public documents to be distributed at that meeting must now also be posted online. 2. All representative and regulatory bodies must make all proposed legislation and amendments available online the minute they are distributed as a public document to anyone. 3. Every citizen must have the ability to access up-to-date listings of all those who represent them at every level of government. Technology and practices must be implemented to allow citizens and, very importantly, elected and appointed officials to communicate effectively online with one another. 4. Funding must be provided and technology implemented to ensure citizens the right to be notified via e-mail about new government decisions and information based on their interests and where they live. Overall, when it comes to e-government funding, I suggest that no less than 10 percent be set aside for citizen input and democracy. Citizen input embraces "two-way" communication including usability testing, user focus groups, site feedback systems and surveys, and special applications designed for representative institutions and elected officials. After speaking hundreds of times across 24 countries, mostly to e-democracy interested governments, it is clear to me that what is possible is not probable. The best practices and e-democracy technologies are not being effectively shared. If we want the demonstrated potential of the new medium to spread, democratic intent will be required. The default path I see, without a political and resource commitment, is democratic decline. As we enter the second decade of e-democracy activity, now is the time to use the amazing online tools before us and build information-age democracy for our own and future generations. Copyright 2004 - For free reprinting/translation permission, contact: clift(a)publicus.net

1 0

DC Brown Bag on Korea's Net Election, US Virtual Civil War? - Wed May 5 - 12:15 p.m.
by Steven Clift 29 Apr '04

29 Apr '04

For those in the DC-area ... Steven Clift and CDT invite you to a brown bag lunch discussion on ... What: Brown Bag Presentation and Discussion: South Korea's 2nd Net Election - The Screen Shots US Election 2004 Online - A Virtual Civil War? When: 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Where: Conference Room, Center for Democracy and Technology 1634 I St., NW, Washington DC 20006 (Corner of 17th and I Sts.) - http://cdt.org RSVP: Free. Bring your own lunch. Space is limited. RSVP by Noon on Tuesday, May 4 to: ari(a)cdt.org Or call CDT: 202-637-9800 Agenda: * Introductions * South Korea Net Election - Short Virtual Tour Presentation A preview for the 2006 election in the U.S.? Slides and Comment from Steven Clift's recent visit to Korea. More: http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@lists.umn.edu/msg00173.html * Possible Discussion Topics Bring Your Global E-Election Insights - India, Korea, and more Skulduggery Online - Stories from the US E-Campaign Trail Virtual Civil War? - Plotting a Post-Election Recovery (Article Below) Join some old-tyme e-politicos and share your two cents Early Networking: If you would like to meet one-on-one or in a small informal group with Steven Clift before or after the event, e-mail: clift(a)publicus.net More on Steven Clift: Steven Clift is an e-democracy speaker and strategist who has spoken across 25 countries since helping create the world's first election-oriented web site in 1994. For more information and articles, visit <http://publicus.net>. He runs http://DoWire.org, the Democracies Online Newswire which reaches over 2700 e-democracy/e-government/e-politics experts in more than 80 countries. He recently released a 40 page report on e-government and democracy that he wrote for the United Nations: http://publicus.net/e-government Below is a short article titled "Saving Democracy from the Information Age." It should help spark our brown bag discussion ideas. From: http://www.publicus.net/articles/savingdemocracy.html Saving Democracy from the Information Age By Steven Clift, for CIO Government Magazine, Australia April 2004 For the past 10 years, governments have had unprecedented opportunities to use technology to connect directly with citizens. So why haven?t they? "Is this the end of politics as we know it?" In the United States, journalists around the country were recently falling over each other to write their local article on the Internet and the presidential election. People are using the Internet to "MeetUp.com" and get involved in the presidential campaign of their choice. It is a real story. I was actually asked the "end of politics" question by a reporter back in 1994 when E-Democracy.Org created the world?s first election-oriented Web site. Since then I have seen waves of excess hype and scepticism about the role of new media in elections, governance and community. As far as I can tell, the outcomes of elections, despite the Internet, are pretty much the same ? someone wins and someone loses. Most citizens remain cynical about politics and government. Beyond sorting through their e-mail and putting their biography online, politicians seem content to ignore online opportunities in governance until the next election cycle. Something has changed. For the past 10 years, governments have had the opportunity to use information and communication technologies through e-government to connect directly with citizens. Government has had the opportunity to become more accountable and transparent, and to build the trust of citizens. Instead, most governments have taken the path of services first and democracy later. Access to information has become easier and many representative processes are more open than before the Internet, but for the most part, what citizens experience has changed little. Taking a path is different from choosing a path. The vast majority of government "customers" want convenience and efficient service delivery; however, in democracies we are also "citizens". We are the owners of government. Government has focused on the one-way uses of the Internet and service transactions because few citizens have asked for anything different. Democracy in the information age is not a choice that will exist based on citizen demand. What has changed is that "politics as usual" has figured out how to use the Internet to further their narrow interests. Online advocacy, while democratizing in many ways, is primarily used to generate noise geared towards our representatives and public processes. Governments in wired countries now face a fundamental challenge. Political interests are raising their voices online, but governments, including our elected officials and representative institutions, are largely unable to "listen" online. When speaking in Eastern Europe, it really hit me: as designed, e-government is not able to accommodate the will of the people. The lack of investment in the online needs of representative democracy, compared to large investments in administrative services, is changing the balance of power in our democracies. Despite significant policy explorations by governments in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Victorian parliament, for example, it is amazing that the only state or nation to adopt a formal e-democracy policy is Queensland. (Also note the CitizenScape project in Western Australia.) Not that you need a policy to have significant government-based e-democracy activity, but it helps to move beyond rhetoric and experiments to real investments that save democracy from the negative aspects of the information age. What Should Be Done? At a World Summit on the Information Society session in Geneva, I promoted "democratic evolution" over the path of partisan "virtual civil war". (Check back with me after the 2004 US election. I predict online campaigning by "politics as usual" will poison many a citizen?s view of the medium in politics and governance.) Governments, as democracies, must act now in specific ways to ensure their ability to e-listen to citizens, to make better public decisions and to more effectively engage the public, civic organizations and business as they implement public policy. In my Geneva speech, I suggested that the following best e-democracy practices be made universal thorough the rule of law: 1. All public meeting notices with agendas and all public documents to be distributed at that meeting must now also be posted online. 2. All representative and regulatory bodies must make all proposed legislation and amendments available online the minute they are distributed as a public document to anyone. 3. Every citizen must have the ability to access up-to-date listings of all those who represent them at every level of government. Technology and practices must be implemented to allow citizens and, very importantly, elected and appointed officials to communicate effectively online with one another. 4. Funding must be provided and technology implemented to ensure citizens the right to be notified via e-mail about new government decisions and information based on their interests and where they live. Overall, when it comes to e-government funding, I suggest that no less than 10 percent be set aside for citizen input and democracy. Citizen input embraces "two-way" communication including usability testing, user focus groups, site feedback systems and surveys, and special applications designed for representative institutions and elected officials. After speaking hundreds of times across 24 countries, mostly to e-democracy interested governments, it is clear to me that what is possible is not probable. The best practices and e-democracy technologies are not being effectively shared. If we want the demonstrated potential of the new medium to spread, democratic intent will be required. The default path I see, without a political and resource commitment, is democratic decline. As we enter the second decade of e-democracy activity, now is the time to use the amazing online tools before us and build information-age democracy for our own and future generations. Copyright 2004 - For free reprinting/translation permission, contact: clift(a)publicus.net

1 0

possible book of interest
by Charles Ess 29 Apr '04

29 Apr '04

Colleagues: While not directly focused on the Internet as such, the following may be of interest to Aoir-ists, especially vis-a-vis notions of literacy in electronic culture and the possible impacts of shifting from print to electronic culture. +++ Please post and distribute as appropriate. Apologies for duplications and cross-postings - Forthcoming book announcement. Critical Thinking and the Bible in the Age of New Media, edited by Charles Ess. (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2004) Critical Thinking and the Bible in the Age of New Media collects contemporary scholarship to address the question: What does critical thinking about the Bible - e.g., as applied in Jewish and Christian traditions of interpretation, theology, and our very understanding of what "Scripture" means - "look like" as the Bible (_the_ Book of the age of print) is transmediated from print to electronic formats? This volume, the first of its kind, is made up of contributions originally developed for a conference sponsored by the American Bible Society. Contributors represent a wide diversity of religious traditions and academic disciplines--philosophy, biblical studies, theology, feminism, aesthetics, communication theory, and media studies. Ess's Introduction summarizes the individual chapters and then develops their broader significance for contemporary debates regarding media, postmodernism, and the possible relationships between faith and reason. Table of Contents: Introduction: Critical Thinking, Biblical Texts, and Faith and Reason in the Age of New Media Keynote Address: Reasoned Judgment and Revelation: The Relation of Critical Thinking and Bible Study - Peter Facione Critical Thinking Within Biblical Texts: Bible Reading and Critical Thinking - Christof Hardmeier Critical Thinking for Ordinary Believers - Byron Eubanks Three Contemporary Perspectives on Critical Thinking and the Bible Let the Reader Understand: Biblically Disciplined Thought in Light of the Interrogative Model of Reasoning -Susan and Jim Bachman Critical Thinking in the Black Church - Isaac Mwase Women's Feminist Critical Thinking about the Bible - Elizabeth Dodson Gray Postmodern Perspectives Reading Scripture as Critical-thinking Christians in a Postmodern Era - James Voelz McLuhan and a Critical Electronic Ethos: Contexts in Collision or Harmony - Donald Colhour Hearing the Hum in a Wired World: Preliminary Musings on Virtual Reality and Evangelical Education - Ben Witherington Voices of Caution Images Have Consequences: The Impact of the Visual on the Word - Terry Lindvall Reading and Critical Thinking: Pentecostal Traditions vis-á-vis New Media - Michael Palmer Middle Grounds Bible Study, Critical Thinking and Post-Critical Thought: Cultural Considerations - Phil Mullins Bible Reading between History and Industry - Eep Talstra Prayer and the Internet - Kate Lindemann Contributors; Index. 348 pages. Available early summer. ISBN 0-7618-2863-X Paper $38.00 ISBN 0-7618-2862-1 Cloth $65.00 The book may be pre-ordered by calling UPA Customer Service at 1-800-462-6420. +++ Thanks! and cheers, Charles Ess Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Voice: 417-873-7230 Springfield, MO 65802 USA FAX: 417-873-7435 Home page: http://www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html Co-chair, CATaC: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/ Exemplary persons seek harmony, not sameness. -- Analects 13.23

1 0

new post on Postcolonial Feminists meet Internet research blog
by Radhika Gajjala 29 Apr '04

29 Apr '04

The post is about http://cyberdiva.typepad.com/postcolonialaoir/ in relation to Internet studies/cyberculture. Feel free to comment, post etc. http://cyberdiva.typepad.com/postcolonialaoir/ http://www.cyberdiva.org blogs: http://www.cyberdiva.org/cyberdiv/october research and teaching: http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik info on forthcoming book: http://www.altamirapress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB…

1 0

Conference on Internet and Language: Call for Papers
by Naomi Susan Baron 29 Apr '04

29 Apr '04

Here's a conference in July 2005 in Castellon, Spain that may be of interest to members of AOIR. Naomi Baron American University Washington, DC CALL FOR PAPERS Dear Colleagues, We are organising the 2nd International Conference on Internet and Language. This is intended as a forum of discussion for linguists and researchers in areas such as Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Literary Studies or Translation, among other disciplines, who are involved in the use or study of Internet, either as a research or teaching resource or as a linguistic phenomenon in itself. We are expecting papers in relation to the panels listed below: · Internet and Literary Studies · Internet and Translation · Internet and Language Use / Linguistics and digital genres · Internet and Languages for Specific Purposes · Internet and Foreign Language Teaching / Second Language Acquisition Important Dates The Conference is to take place in July, 2005. Deadline for receipt of full papers is September 30, 2004. Notification of acceptance will be sent by November 30, 2004. Deadline for payment of registration fee (150 euros) is December 15th. Beyond this date, registration fee will be 180 euros. Submissions We welcome original papers written in English, Spanish and Catalan, which are the official languages of the conference, although papers in other languages may be considered depending on their interest in relation to the topic of the conference. Presentations will last 20 minutes with five minutes for discussion. Our intention is to receive full papers by September 2004 so as to be able to edit Conference Proceedings and then distribute them during the conference in July 2005. Papers should not exceed 3000 words with abstract and bibliography included. Guidelines for publication can be found at: http://www3.uji.es/~postegui/indexcongreso.htm Those interested should send two printed copies and one electronic copy (RTF format on a floppy disc) to: Panel 1: Internet and Literary Studies Elena Ortells Montón Dept. de Estudios Angleses Universitat Jaume I Castellón, 12071 SPAIN Panel 2: Internet and Translation Alicia Bolaños Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria Campus Humanidades Nuevo Edificio Millares Carló, despacho 118 C/ Pérez del Toro 1 35003 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria SPAIN Panel 3: Internet and Language Use / Linguistics and digital genres Santiago Posteguillo Gómez Dept. de Estudios Angleses Universitat Jaume I Castellón, 12071 SPAIN Panel 4: Internet and Languages for Specific Purposes Maria Lluisa Gea Valor Dept. de Estudios Angleses Universitat Jaume I Castellón, 12071 SPAIN Panel 5: Internet and Foreign Language Teaching / Second Language Acquisition Maria Lluisa Renau Renau Dept. de Estudios Angleses Universitat Jaume I Castellón, 12071 SPAIN Venue The Conferece will be held at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón (http://sic.uji.es/www/ang/ ) CONFERENCE FEE Participants in the conference presenting a paper are to pay a fee of 150 euros. After registration deadline, the fee is raised to 180 euros. This fee includes registration and a copy of the Conference Proceedings edited in two CDs, which will be distributed during the conference. Other participants attending the conference are to pay 80 euros. REGISTRATION FEE FOR THE CONFERENCE Participants in the Conference presenting a paper are to pay a fee of 150 euros. This fee includes registration and a copy of the Conference Proceedings edited in two volumes in CD format. The payment of the registration fee will be done through a bank transfer, no later then two weeks after the notification of the acceptance of the paper, to BANCAJA (in Catalan Bancaixa): · account number: 2077 - 0580- 46 -3103985430 · swift code: CVALESVVXXX · iban number: ES52 2077 0580 4631 0398 5430 In the transfer, the code and the line of the Conference on Internet and Language must be included: - Code: 03G032 - Line: 03025 (Please, include these data, otherwise you may not be officially registered in the Conference) Once the transfer is done, a copy of it must be sent by postal mail before December 31, 2004 (the date remains open for people who are attending the conference without presenting a paper) to the following address: MªJosé Esteve Ramos Dept. de Estudios Angleses Universitat Jaume I Castellón, 12071 SPAIN

1 0

Weak ties
by Lu Ann Darling 28 Apr '04

28 Apr '04

I have no idea to whom and how to respond to this listing that came up on my google search. However, I do want to call attention to Manuel Castell's 2001 book, THE INTERNET GALAXY. He has lots of things to say about weak ties that I think are very relevant. I use Granovetter's concept in my research on mentoring relationships. I'm writing a book and currently seeking a publisher. Lu Ann W. Darling, Ed.d., Los Angeles. E-mail: lw.darling(a)verizon.net

1 0

Call for papers
by Josh Shear 28 Apr '04

28 Apr '04

Call for Papers and Panels The Center for Digital Literacy (CDL) at Syracuse University is sponsoring its first annual Summer Institute for Digital Empowerment July 8-9, 2004 in Syracuse, NY The theme of this first Summer Institute for Digital Empowerment will be “The Internet and Democracy.” It represents a continuation of the Media & American Democracy Institutes initiated in 2002 at Harvard, and continued as “The Media and Democracy in a Time of War” at Syracuse University. The purpose of the Institute is to bring theory into close contact with practice concerning the use of the Internet for political engagement. Keynoters and presenters will be a mix of researchers and activists, scholars and grassroots organizers. Case studies will coexist with quantitative and qualitative studies. The goal is to arrive at a "toolkit" of useful, proven, and theoretically sound strategies for using the Internet for political engagement. And, of course, there will be ample networking with like-minded people from all over. Local attendance will be limited to 150 community and political activists, teachers and students, academics, scholars, and other interested parties. Other attendees will join via Web links from Norway, Germany, and Ghana. Papers, practice-based presentations, and panel proposals are sought with these basic themes: Theme #1: The Phenomenon - The Internet, its growth, and its usefulness as a tool for social and political engagement Theme #2: The Issues - The digital divide, digital literacy, Internet security, universal access and political engagement Theme #3: Political Effects - The ‘Net and political engagement Theme #4: The Challenges - The ‘Net and political institutions Deadline for paper abstracts (250 words maximum), presentation summaries, or panel proposals is Tuesday, June 1, 2004. Please submit abstracts or summaries via e-mail to cdl(a)syr.edu. To submit a panel proposal, please fill out the form at http://newmedia.syr.edu/elin/panelproposal.html. Josh Shear Graduate Assistant Center for Digital Literacy Syracuse University josh(a)joshshear.com http://digital-literacy.syr.edu

1 0

Seminal papers in online interaction research
by David Wiley 27 Apr '04

27 Apr '04

Everyone, Please excuse a little context setting before I get to my question below. =) I'm teaching an introductory "culture of interaction on the net" course in the fall. I'm trying to build the course around a few seminal readings for each technology family, followed by several hours of student interaction with real people in the environments. I've broken out my topics areas like so - _Asynch Environments_ Listservs Newsgroups Web-boards Fan fiction groups Blogs _Synch Environments_ MUD/MOO IRC IM MMPORG Basically students would spend 3 hours reading about each topic and 6 hours out actually interacting in the environments, with the exception of blogs (which they will be using all semester to publish weekly reflection pieces) and the massively multiplayer games, which we will spend two weeks on. In their reflective pieces students will be applying what they've learned to the field of Instructional Technology, and looking for ways to improve online education -- not by using the technologies -- but by leveraging what they learn about the cultures of use of the technologies. SO, I'm writing to ask list members for pointers to seminal articles about each of the above technology families. Maybe some of you have taught similar classes, or have written these papers yourselves? As a carrot back to group members (if needed), the course materials I'm developing will be open sourced (Creative Commons) and available for use later this summer. For this reason, papers available online would be preferred if available. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the design of the course or readings I should use. Please reply directly if you don't feel this would be of interest to other list members, D

2 1