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

FW: The Dream Sequence
by Matthew Allen 03 Aug '04

03 Aug '04

Feel free to distribute more widely The Dream Sequence website has now gone live. The Dream Sequence is a unique, interactive digital film project, produced and directed by Christopher Kenworthy. We harvest dreams from around the world, choose one, and turn it into a digital film. The film will be screened on this web site in late August 2004, and used to stimulate further dreams through a technique known as 'incubation'. We will again gather the resulting dreams and make one into a film. This continues over ten weeks, until we have a five-part dream sequence authored entirely by sleeping people. www.thedreamsequence.com Please forward this e-mail to interested parties. Produced in Association with the Australian Film Commission

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FW: Network Media Symposium September 2004 (Mark Poster)
by Matthew Allen 03 Aug '04

03 Aug '04

Network Media: Code, Culture and Convention A cross-disciplinary symposium at the University of Western Australia 9-10-11 September 2004 How can we make sense of the rapid development of such intersecting and yet diverse technological features as digital and satellite television; the Internet; mobile telephony; computer games; global media empires; the database; instant communication; and digital creativity? We propose that the array of information and communications technologies, practices and concepts can be approached under the broad heading of Network Media because, in doing so, we become aware of the tensions and possibilities inherent in juxtaposing the established realm of 'the media'; and the emerging world of 'the network'. Network Media is convergence for the twenty-first century. It recognizes that the old and the new are coming together, but suggests a more subtle, more nuanced appreciation of the changes and continuities that attend the dramatic interpellation into everyday life of computing and communication technologies, and the discourses which make them meaningful. Not only does 'the network' (pragmatically, the Internet but, in a more analytical frame, decentred interactivity and virtual-world mediation) now come to operate with, and through, and as if it was 'the media'; but 'the media' (paradigmatically centralized and institutionalized) now exhibits many signs that it is, itself, an interactive network. But Network Media does not imply any necessary 'coming together' - each term stands in partial opposition to the other, even as they are joined in the title of this symposium. Network Media poses new questions about the interrelationship of explicit governing codes (both legal and "software codes"); implicit regulatory conventions through which people operate collectively; and the expressive practices through which cultural meanings emerge. Code, Culture and Convention provide just three openings through which we might begin to explore Network Media. We invite you, in this symposium, to introduce new ways of thinking about the conflict and intersection of the paradigms of 'network' and 'media'. Participants: Professor Mark Poster, University of California, Irvine Associate Professor Matthew Allen, Curtin University Professor Mark Armstrong, Law, RMIT Dr Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology Professor Ross Gibson, University of Technology, Sydney Dr Marjorie Kibby, University of Newcastle Ms Carolyn Penfold, Media Law, University of NSW Professor Trevor Barr, Swinburne Institute of Technology Abstracts and registration form available at: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/activities_and_programs/other_activities_and_event s/network_media_code,_culture_and_convention <http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/activities_and_programs/other_activities_and_even ts/network_media_code,_culture_and_convention> Terri-ann White Associate Professor Director, Institute of Advanced Studies University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Nedlands 6009 Western Australia Telephone: +61 8 6488 2114 Fax: +61 8 6488 1711 tawhite(a)cyllene.uwa.edu.au http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/ <http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/> Please note the new telephone and fax prefixes

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FW: Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia by Gerard Goggin
by Matthew Allen 03 Aug '04

03 Aug '04

FYI From: marketing.press(a)unsw.edu.au [mailto:marketing.press@unsw.edu.au] Sent: Tuesday, 3 August 2004 7:55 AM To: Matthew Allen Subject: Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia by Gerard Goggin UNSW Press is proud to announce the August release of a new book entitled Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia by Gerard Goggin. This is one of the first comprehensive books on the Internet in Australia and its social and cultural implications. It features chapters from leading experts on topics including history, use, culture, policy and future and is an indispensable resource for students, researchers, teachers, policy-makers, technologists and anyone interested in how digital technologies are transforming our lives. If you would like any further information please let me know. Regards Nella Soeterboek Marketing Manager UNSW Press and UNIREPS Ph. 02 96640912 Fax. 02 96645420 nella.s(a)unsw.edu.au www.unswpress.com.au

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Defunct web sites/sources
by Betty Hanson 02 Aug '04

02 Aug '04

I would like to know what to do about using statistics from a website that no longer exists. Presumably the source, a formerly respectable one, no longer exists. I am referring to Matrix Information and Directory Services (MIDS). Betty Hanson

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new reviews in cyberculture studies (august 2004)
by david silver 02 Aug '04

02 Aug '04

New reviews (found at http://www.com.washington.edu/rccs/) include: Philip N. Howard & Steve Jones, eds, Society Online: The Internet in Context (Sage, 2004) Reviewed by: Mei Zhang Author Response: Philip N. Howard & Steve Jones David M. Levy, Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age (Arcade Books, 2001) Reviewed by: Meghan Dougherty and Adrienne Massanari Howard Rheingold, Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution (Perseus Publishing, 2002) Reviewed by: Wendy Robinson Author Response: Howard Rheingold david silver www.theseptemberproject.org --> http://www.com.washington.edu/september/map.asp <--

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Call for Papers - Culture and Computer-Mediated Communication
by Charles Ess 02 Aug '04

02 Aug '04

Dear AoIR'ists, Below please find a CFP for a special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Please distribute to colleagues and lists as appropriate. See you in Suffolk! 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 == Call for Papers, special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication: CULTURE AND COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION: TOWARD NEW UNDERSTANDINGS Guest editors: Charles Ess (cmess(a)drury.edu) Interdisciplinary Studies Center, Drury University Fay Sudweeks (sudweeks(a)murdoch.edu.au) School of Information Technology, Murdoch University. IMPORTANT DATES Proposals due: October 1, 2004 Full papers due: April 15, 2004 Anticipated publication: January 2006 Gert Hofstede¹s oft-cited dimensions of culture, along with Edward T. Hall¹s frameworks for understanding culture and communication (including his distinctions between ³high content/low context² and ³high context/low content² cultures, and between polychronic and monochronic perceptions of time) have emerged as methodological starting points for a considerable range of empirical research into how far extant CMC technologies succeed or fail in fostering cross-cultural communication online. At the same time, these frameworks can be challenged in a variety of ways. First of all, such frameworks inherit the risks and difficulties surrounding the notion of ³culture² in general. Too often, our efforts to define cultural characteristics assume a static and largely hermetically-sealed notion of culture one that is, in many instances, operationally assumed to coincide with membership in a given nation-state or group defined by a specific geographical boundary. Moreover, the efforts of cultural theorists such as Hofstede and Hall to analyze and define culture lead to generalizations that run the risk of falling into overly simple stereotypes and binary oppositions. By contrast, more careful reflection on ³culture² should reveal that whatever else we mean by the term, cultures are fluid, not static; members of different cultures constantly intermix, hybridize, and develop their own distinctive collocations of diverse cultural elements. Moreover, given the complexity of human beings and their identification with multiple cultures and subcultures, it is by no means clear how far such characterizations as ³high content/low context² and ³high context/low content² are adequate explanations of human behavior. For this special issue of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, we invite submissions that explore (a) the utility and limits of Hall¹s and Hofstede¹s and related frameworks for CMC research, and/or (b) alternative frameworks for researching culture that explicitly seek to move beyond previously identified weaknesses and limits in Hall and Hofstede, et al., and that result in fruitful and insightful findings as regards CMC. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES Potential authors should submit a preliminary proposal of 500 words by October 1, 2004, to the issue editors Charles Ess (cmess(a)drury.edu) and Fay Sudweeks (sudweeks(a)murdoch.edu.au) The proposal should indicate (a) the theoretical bases and/or earlier research results to be used in analyzing, critiquing, and moving beyond Hall¹s and related frameworks of cultural analysis, and/or (b) alternative frameworks of cultural analysis, to be used for specific empirical research whose goal is to test the fruitfulness and/or limits of these frameworks, as applied to one or more types of CMC (e.g., the Internet, the Web, and/or mobile communication). In addition, proposals should clearly indicate the data to be analyzed, the methods used, the actual or anticipated findings of the empirical analysis, and the implications of these findings including how the findings may confirm and/or point to limitations of the cultural framework(s) used in the analysis. Proposals should demonstrate awareness of key references in the culture and communication debates . For potentially useful sources, prospective authors may want to review one or more publications related to the conferences on Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication [CATaC], for example, Macfadyen et al. (2004); see also the CATaC website at http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/. Since JCMC is an interdisciplinary journal, authors should plan for papers that will be accessible to non-specialists, and should make their papers relevant to an interdisciplinary audience. In addition, judicious use of the multimedia possibilities of web publication are encouraged, e.g., screen shots, photos, etc. Earlier submissions and questions are welcome. Authors whose proposals are accepted for inclusion will be invited to submit a full paper of roughly 7,000-10,000 words by April 15, 2005. Anticipated publication date for the issue is January 2006. Proposals and final submissions should be e-mailed to the special issue editors Charles Ess (cmess(a)drury.edu) and Fay Sudweeks (sudweeks(a)murdoch.edu.au) Reference Macfadyen, L. P., Roche, J., and Doff, S. (2004). Communicating across Cultures in Cyberspace: A Bibliographical Review of Online Intercultural Communication. Hamburg: Lit-Verlag.

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RE: [Air-l] digital media courses
by Matthew Allen 02 Aug '04

02 Aug '04

It's interesting to ponder whether multimedia is or is not 'new' media. Curtin's multimedia program dates back to the late 1980s. In fact, at the moment, it is being completely renovated (for 2006) simply because it has, to some extent, fallen behind the 'newness' of new media (not from a technical point of view...just the conceptualisation of the course which began life in the school of design). It is also worth considering how 'new media' is being embedded within existing courses, rather than being a course of its own. One reason the BA Internet Studies which Denise so kindly mentioned was set up at Curtin was precisely because the existing course structure is highly 'professionalised', even within Arts (Curtin is a former institute of technology). Therefore it wasn't possible to introduce a small number of new media units that students would do within a liberal art/science degree - a whole course had to be introduced. Nevertheless, the main student population for the core units in Internet Studies actually comes from the BA Mass Communication. One might argue that a well-designed BA Mass Comm might be the most effective home for 'new media' since those degrees tend to permit integration of different kinds of media, with units of both creative/production and theoretical focus. Side-note: australian courses = degrees or programs in US terminology; what we call 'units' are normally referred to elsewhere. Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Humanities Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen(a)curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) Vice-President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org -----Original Message----- From: Lamoureux, Edward [mailto:ell@bumail.bradley.edu] Sent: Sunday, 1 August 2004 7:14 PM To: Association of Internet Researchers; Association of Internet Researchers Subject: RE: [Air-l] digital media courses Bradley University offers undergraduate major and minor BA/BS in Multimedia. -----Original Message----- From: Denise N. Rall [mailto:denrall@yahoo.com] Sent: Sat 7/31/2004 9:53 PM To: Association of Internet Researchers Cc: Subject: Re: [Air-l] digital media courses Dear Lee - I actually tried to find out the number of Internet Studies courses in 2001. I came up with about eight "legitimate" courses world-wide by which I mean, courses that studied the internet rather than studied online or taught web site production. The vast number were located in Schools of Media, although a couple of these programs were centered in their own Departments. Here's a para from a paper I have submitted. Feel free to cite as long as you reference me! "Interdisciplinary programs included Internet Studies & Research is fueled by the growing number of scholars who explore the internet and its users. Besides the explosion in journals relating to the internet, a number of centers for Internet Studies have opened at universities. In 1999, the Center for Internet Studies (CIS) opened as a clearinghouse for internet-based research at the University of Washington in Seattle (www.cis.washington.edu) Brandeis University, a liberal arts college was the first to offer an undergraduate minor in Internet studies. From 1999, the program had a director, but classes were taught by staff visiting from other departments (www.brandeis.edu/programs/inet) Two more Internet Studies programs that offer minors have appeared, at the Appalachian State University (part of the University of Tennessee system), and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. The Internet Studies Program at Appalachian State University started in Fall 2002, and offers an undergraduate major concentration and a minor in Internet Studies through the Interdisciplinary Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences (www.internetstudies.appstate.edu) (Norman Clark, pers. comm.). At UA-Huntsville, the Internet Studies program expanded from a 'computer literacy' model adopted from a local community college. It developed into an interdisciplinary minor across multiple fields of study. Now it is comprised of a fusion of courses within the fields of graphic design, communication arts, and information technology (Mike Hubler, pers. comm.)." Also in 1997, Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia started Internet Studies with a single class (unit in Australia) called Internet 200. The program quickly moved to offer a graduate certificate in Internet Studies. By 2001, Curtin offered the first Internet Studies BA in the world. Currently, it offers certificates, diplomas, and both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the Master's and PhD level (smi.curtin.edu.au/NetStudies). [Note that graduate study in Australia and the UK is called postgraduate study]. Internet Studies at Curtin University was also one of the first to offer all of their coursework online. The program is also widely disseminated through an online learning consortium called Open Learning Australia. The OLA permits entry to the BA (Internet Studies) for non-traditional students studying completely off-campus (Matthew Allen, pers. comm.). >From 2000, graduate study in Internet Studies was offered as one area of focus in the graduate programs (MS, MA, PhD) in the Department of Rhetoric and Technical Communication at the University of Minnesota. Students interested in Internet Studies are affiliated with the Internet Studies Center (www.isc.umn.edu) Graduate students seeking full funding apply through the normal application process; those seeking additional funding through the Internet Studies Center must submit research proposals. These proposals are evaluated for their significance in illuminating some social ramification of internet use (Laura Gurak, pers. comm.)." Ok, that's hardly conclusive, just what I found in 2000-2001 timeframe and it's not specifically Media Studies. I would reckon that almost every major university around the world would have some sort of media studies program . . . and searching via the web would be difficult, but interesting! Cheers, Denise ===== Denise N. Rall, PhD candidate, School of Environ. Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 - Mobile 0438 233 344 Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator and Casual Academic for Coastal Resource Management - Office phone: 6620 3789 Hours: TBA Presenting! AoIR 5.0, Assoc. of Internet Researchers, Sussex University http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall/index.html _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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RE: [Air-l] digital media courses
by Lamoureux, Edward 01 Aug '04

01 Aug '04

Bradley University offers undergraduate major and minor BA/BS in Multimedia. -----Original Message----- From: Denise N. Rall [mailto:denrall@yahoo.com] Sent: Sat 7/31/2004 9:53 PM To: Association of Internet Researchers Cc: Subject: Re: [Air-l] digital media courses Dear Lee - I actually tried to find out the number of Internet Studies courses in 2001. I came up with about eight "legitimate" courses world-wide by which I mean, courses that studied the internet rather than studied online or taught web site production. The vast number were located in Schools of Media, although a couple of these programs were centered in their own Departments. Here's a para from a paper I have submitted. Feel free to cite as long as you reference me! "Interdisciplinary programs included Internet Studies & Research is fueled by the growing number of scholars who explore the internet and its users. Besides the explosion in journals relating to the internet, a number of centers for Internet Studies have opened at universities. In 1999, the Center for Internet Studies (CIS) opened as a clearinghouse for internet-based research at the University of Washington in Seattle (www.cis.washington.edu) Brandeis University, a liberal arts college was the first to offer an undergraduate minor in Internet studies. From 1999, the program had a director, but classes were taught by staff visiting from other departments (www.brandeis.edu/programs/inet) Two more Internet Studies programs that offer minors have appeared, at the Appalachian State University (part of the University of Tennessee system), and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. The Internet Studies Program at Appalachian State University started in Fall 2002, and offers an undergraduate major concentration and a minor in Internet Studies through the Interdisciplinary Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences (www.internetstudies.appstate.edu) (Norman Clark, pers. comm.). At UA-Huntsville, the Internet Studies program expanded from a ‘computer literacy’ model adopted from a local community college. It developed into an interdisciplinary minor across multiple fields of study. Now it is comprised of a fusion of courses within the fields of graphic design, communication arts, and information technology (Mike Hubler, pers. comm.)." Also in 1997, Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia started Internet Studies with a single class (unit in Australia) called Internet 200. The program quickly moved to offer a graduate certificate in Internet Studies. By 2001, Curtin offered the first Internet Studies BA in the world. Currently, it offers certificates, diplomas, and both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the Master's and PhD level (smi.curtin.edu.au/NetStudies). [Note that graduate study in Australia and the UK is called postgraduate study]. Internet Studies at Curtin University was also one of the first to offer all of their coursework online. The program is also widely disseminated through an online learning consortium called Open Learning Australia. The OLA permits entry to the BA (Internet Studies) for non-traditional students studying completely off-campus (Matthew Allen, pers. comm.). >From 2000, graduate study in Internet Studies was offered as one area of focus in the graduate programs (MS, MA, PhD) in the Department of Rhetoric and Technical Communication at the University of Minnesota. Students interested in Internet Studies are affiliated with the Internet Studies Center (www.isc.umn.edu) Graduate students seeking full funding apply through the normal application process; those seeking additional funding through the Internet Studies Center must submit research proposals. These proposals are evaluated for their significance in illuminating some social ramification of internet use (Laura Gurak, pers. comm.)." Ok, that's hardly conclusive, just what I found in 2000-2001 timeframe and it's not specifically Media Studies. I would reckon that almost every major university around the world would have some sort of media studies program . . . and searching via the web would be difficult, but interesting! Cheers, Denise ===== Denise N. Rall, PhD candidate, School of Environ. Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 - Mobile 0438 233 344 Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator and Casual Academic for Coastal Resource Management - Office phone: 6620 3789 Hours: TBA Presenting! AoIR 5.0, Assoc. of Internet Researchers, Sussex University http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall/index.html _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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quoting Internet sources: reproducing errors and typos?
by Alexandra Samuel 01 Aug '04

01 Aug '04

Now that I am arriving at the final edit stage of my dissertation on hacktivism, I find myself struggling with an aesthetic and scholarly dilemma. Since so much of my interview material comes from e-mail and IRC exchanges, and much of my additional material comes from site defacements, bulletin boards, etc, the direct quotations in my dissertation are just jammed with typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. I feel that it would be irritating and condescending to insert a "sic" after every error. But in correcting them I lose some relevant information (like a sense of whether the respondent is a native English speaker) and compromise the accuracy of the quotation. My current compromise is to leave all the errors intact, but to acknowledge the problem in an early footnote. But this seems a bit problematic, too, since all the errors are a bit distracting, and maybe do a disservice to my research subjects. After all, who among us would want our IRC typos preserved for eternity? I'd love to know how others have handled this. I haven't been able to find any standard for how this should be handled in Internet research. Thanks, -- Alexandra Samuel samuel(a)fas.harvard.edu http://www.alexandrasamuel.com

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