July 2005 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Fwd: Participation in EFF 15th's Anniversary Blog-a-thon
by Dan L Burk 23 Jul '05

23 Jul '05

Of interest. DLB On 22 Jul 2005, Jason Schultz wrote: > * EFF Announces "EFF15 Blog-a-thon" � Blog for Freedom! > > > For the past 15 years, EFF has been fighting to preserve > > the constitutional right to freedom of expression on the > > Internet. In the last few years, we've seen an explosion > > of expression as new web publishing tools emerged, > > providing countless netizens with their own personal First > > Amendment machines. This month is our 15th anniversary > > and to celebrate, we're putting these publishing tools > > front and center. We're holding an EFF15 Blog-a-thon > > where you're invited to blog about your personal > > experiences fighting for freedom online � a project to > > celebrate new publishing tools, attract new EFF members, > > and mark our 15th all at once. > > > > We want to hear about your "click moment" � the very > > first step you to took to stand up for your digital > > rights - whether it was blogging about an issue you > > care about, participating in a demonstration, writing > > your representatives, or getting involved with EFF. > > > > As a thank you, we've enlisted an independent panel of > > judges to choose from among your posts for "Most > > Inspirational," "Most Humorous," and "Best Overall." > > At the end of the Blog-a-thon, we'll announce the > > names of the three bloggers with the best posts on our > > website and in EFFector. We'll also publish the three > > best posts on our site and send the authors a blogging > > "kit" as an extra thank you: an EFF bloggers' rights > > T-shirt, special EFF-branded blogger pajama pants, a > > pound of coffee, and a pair of fuzzy slippers! > > > > Follow the links below for details on how to participate > > and watch the Blog-a-thon - and for extra inspiration, > > check out the posts by EFF staff members and interns > > describing their first steps in fighting for online > > freedom: > > > > Join the EFF15 Blog-a-thon: > > <http://www.eff.org/bloggers/eff15> > > > > Deep Links - EFF15: > > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/cat_eff15.php> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ------ > Jason M. Schultz (415) 436-9333 x 112 > Staff Attorney jason(a)eff.org > Electronic Frontier Foundation www.eff.org > > Dan L. Burk Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly Professor University of Minnesota Law School 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA *************************************** Voice: 612-626-8726 Fax: 612-625-2011

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[Fwd: [ciresearchers] Roundtable workshop: "Supporting community through ICT" held at the Open University, UK, 02 -03 June 2005 -- wiki is now online]
by Michel J. Menou 22 Jul '05

22 Jul '05

Apologies for multiple postings Dear colleagues (and please forward) The wiki documenting the roundtable workshop: Supporting community through ICT" held at the Open University, UK, 02 -03 June 2005 is now online: http://kmi.open.ac.uk/events/ci2005/ We built the wiki during the event, and have since been adding additional texts, photos, and videos. We'd welcome your visits and feedback. Nineteen people came together from Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, Sri Lanka, and the UK. During the workshop, this wiki was used to document the sessions, and since then participants have been revisiting the site to engage in ongoing discussion, and formulating propositions to take forward ideas and practice. You will find a considerable amount of documentation on the site. Please feel free to contribute (contact Mark Gaved - m.b.gaved(a)open.ac.uk for a password). We hope that the wiki and the workshop are a contribution to the development of a deeper understanding of the use of qualitative methodology/ies in conjunction with community-focussed uses of information and communication technologies. Other activities are planned to progress the outcomes of the workshop, including a special issue of the Journal of Community Informatics, and events at the Monash University Centre, Prato (Italy), in the second week of October 2006. Details about both activities will be posted. We look forward to your participation in an exciting new development. Larry Stillman, Mark Gaved, Peter Day ********************** Larry Stillman Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University www.ccnr.net www.webstylus.net 03 9903 1801 fax 9903 2564 -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.14/48 - Release Date: 13/07/2005 -- ================================================================= Dr. Michel J. Menou Consultant in ICT policies and Knowledge & Information Management Adviser of Somos@Telecentros board http://www.tele-centros.org Member of the funding steering committee of Telecenters of the Americas Partnership http://www.tele-centers.net/ B.P. 15 49350 Les Rosiers sur Loire, France Email: Michel.Menou(a)wanadoo.fr Phone: +33 (0)2 41518165 Fax: +33 (0)2 41511043 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ciber/peoplemenou.php ================================================================== -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.14/48 - Release Date: 13/07/2005

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Mário José Lopes Guimarães Jr.
by Christine Hine 22 Jul '05

22 Jul '05

It is with great sadness that I announce to the Internet research community the loss of one of its own. Mário José Lopes Guimarães Jr. had been a doctoral student at Brunel University in the UK since 2000. On 29 April 2005, shortly after submitting his thesis, Mário was tragically killed in a road accident. In recognition of his work, a posthumous doctorate was awarded by Brunel University at a graduation ceremony last week. Many people may have met Mário at AoIR conferences and virtual methods seminars. He was a passionate scholar and a vibrant and lovely person. There is a tribute to him on the Anthropology Matters web site at http://www.anthropologymatters.com/mario_tribute.htm Mário had been working on a multi-sited ethnography of avatars in development and in use. As an anthropologist influenced by science and technology studies, he was interested to explore the socio-cultural processes that bring these technologies of embodiment into being. Too little of Mário's work was published, but some can be accessed via his web site at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/~hspgmjg/home.html. There is also an online paper on the practicalities of ethnography in virtual worlds at http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/virtualmethods/doingonlineethnography.pdf and a chapter on "Doing anthropology in cyberspace" in C. Hine (ed.) Virtual Methods (Berg, 2005). If you read portuguese, there is an article on his recent work at http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0104-71832004000100006&script=sci_a bstract&tlng=en and you may also be interested in his Brazilian web site at http://www.cfh.ufsc.br/~guima/ In sadness, but also in celebration of a life well-lived, Christine Christine Hine Department of Sociology University of Surrey Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK c.hine(a)surrey.ac.uk http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/christine_hine.htm

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tech & society course outline
by Barry Wellman 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

Re the inquiry about course outlines for AoIR stuff: Tracy Kennedy and I taught an advanced undergrad Sept > April course in Technology and Society 2004-2005. The syllabus is at: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/courses/soc356-04.html We're doing it again this year, but haven't finished revised syllabus. Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________

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Antw: Air-l-aoir.org Digest, Vol 12, Issue 18
by Carl-Markus Piswanger 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

I am out of office - for urgent requests please call +43 (0)664 8340264 (Mailbox and Callback). I will be back on August 1. Carl-Markus Piswanger

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Roommate finder
by Suely Fragoso 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

Dear colleagues Do you intend to set up a 'room mate finder' service as in 2003? It was a great idea and I am certain that it would help AoIR to meet the minimum occupancy in the Marriot this time. Thanks Sue Dra. Suely Fragoso Coordenadora Executiva PPG Ciências da Comunicação UNISINOS <suely(a)unisinos.br> >>> sjones(a)uic.edu 07/21/05 12:17 PM >>> I write to remind you that online registration is now open for the sixth annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers to be held in Chicago October 6 - 9, 2005 (with pre-conference workshops held on October 5, 2005) at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile hotel. To register for the conference and workshops go to: https://www.conted.vt.edu/ssl/aoir/index.lasso You will be able to pay the registration fees by credit card or by check. You can also at this time register for the conference banquet (taking place on Friday, October 7, at the Mid-America Club, on the 80th (top) floor of the Aon Center, Chicago's second tallest building, and the conference brunch (taking place on Sunday, October 9). [Vegetarian options will be available at both meals.] You may also register for a historical tour of Chicago's "L" elevated train (taking place on Saturday morning, October 8). Join others in an AoIR-only L car for a tour of some of the L system's oldest routes with the Chicago Transit Authority's historian. A link to online hotel registration is provided on the site after you have clicked the "submit" button and sent in your registration. We have negotiated the best possible rate from the hotel and encourage you to book a room early. As is the case with most all hotel-based conferences we have to meet the minimum occupancy with which we are able to use the hotel's meeting rooms and if we do not meet that occupancy rate then we'll have to increase the registration fees, to cover the additional meeting room cost. The direct link is: http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/chidt? groupCode=airaira&app=resvlink By using that url you should receive the AoIR group rate of $155 USD per night for accommodations during the conference. I am also delighted to be able to announce our keynote speakers for this year's conference and to share information about their presentations. Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology and a member of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics will give a speech titled "Youthful experts? A critical appraisal of children and young peoples' emerging internet literacy." Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, and Centennial Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, is another keynote speaker. Her speech is titled "Digital formations: The intersection of technical and social logics in electronic space." And our third keynote speaker is Ang, Peng Hwa, Professor of Media Management and Law at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, who will give a speech titled "The UN and Internet Governance: Fears, Hopes and Possibilities." I appreciate everyone's support of the conference and of AoIR and look forward to seeing you in Chicago in October! Sj _______________________________________________ The Air-l-aoir.org(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/

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AoIR 6.0 Chicago 2005 Keynote Information & Registration Reminder
by Steve Jones 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

I write to remind you that online registration is now open for the sixth annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers to be held in Chicago October 6 - 9, 2005 (with pre-conference workshops held on October 5, 2005) at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile hotel. To register for the conference and workshops go to: https://www.conted.vt.edu/ssl/aoir/index.lasso You will be able to pay the registration fees by credit card or by check. You can also at this time register for the conference banquet (taking place on Friday, October 7, at the Mid-America Club, on the 80th (top) floor of the Aon Center, Chicago's second tallest building, and the conference brunch (taking place on Sunday, October 9). [Vegetarian options will be available at both meals.] You may also register for a historical tour of Chicago's "L" elevated train (taking place on Saturday morning, October 8). Join others in an AoIR-only L car for a tour of some of the L system's oldest routes with the Chicago Transit Authority's historian. A link to online hotel registration is provided on the site after you have clicked the "submit" button and sent in your registration. We have negotiated the best possible rate from the hotel and encourage you to book a room early. As is the case with most all hotel-based conferences we have to meet the minimum occupancy with which we are able to use the hotel's meeting rooms and if we do not meet that occupancy rate then we'll have to increase the registration fees, to cover the additional meeting room cost. The direct link is: http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/chidt? groupCode=airaira&app=resvlink By using that url you should receive the AoIR group rate of $155 USD per night for accommodations during the conference. I am also delighted to be able to announce our keynote speakers for this year's conference and to share information about their presentations. Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology and a member of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics will give a speech titled "Youthful experts? A critical appraisal of children and young peoples' emerging internet literacy." Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, and Centennial Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, is another keynote speaker. Her speech is titled "Digital formations: The intersection of technical and social logics in electronic space." And our third keynote speaker is Ang, Peng Hwa, Professor of Media Management and Law at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, who will give a speech titled "The UN and Internet Governance: Fears, Hopes and Possibilities." I appreciate everyone's support of the conference and of AoIR and look forward to seeing you in Chicago in October! Sj

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Gianluca Miscione's book (in Italian) Sui limiti della rete
by Michel J. Menou 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

A new book by doctoral candidate Gianluca Miscione, is available at http://www.kszm.org/dadalo/ Below is a summary in English by the author MY WORK draws an analytical trajectory through some of the main topics related to the Internet. The guiding line of the work is discursive, but not speculative. Indeed the relation with empirical reality is based on theoretical sampling (all main positions are supported by addressing cases). The overall sensibility for this matter is rooted in readings of French post-structuralists, in research activities in sociology of communication, in a work as a journalist, and in a "culture" lived personally. Being skeptical about the reclaimed autonomy/independence of the 'cyberspace', I focused my attention on its relations with existing communicative, social and power relations. My aim was to highlight how infosphere is mutually interweaved with 'offline' world. In order to do that, each chapter is focused on a specific aspect and related boundaries are addressed. HOW THE WORK IS ORGANIZED Chapter 1 Technocratic reductionism is criticized for the impossibility to create a perfect language to represent reality or to communicate universally. The irrationality of any language does not permit to automate it, and then embed it into technologies. Chapter 2 Semiotics show that signs do not mirror reality but construct it on the social level, characterized by own rules (different from physical ones). Then, the discussion of net.art (§ 2.1.1), hypertexts (§ 2.2.1), intertextuality (§ 2.2.2), interfaces (§ 2.2.3) and 'cybergeographies' (§ 2.3) is relevant to describe main characteristics of this space made up of signs. Chapter 3 Paying attention to real uses of the Internet allows to reflect on the fact that many projects and ideas theoretically possible failed because of unexpected social inertia (misleading perceptions, divergent routines, lack of trust). Scarce success of city-networks (§ 3.1) and Semantic Web (§ 3.2) are two examples of the risk to assume a rational conception of ICT implementations, forgetting social construction of reality. Based on those three chapters, the second part arguments the centralità of social aspects in understanding communication and power on the Internet. Chapter 4 How is a place where communication is content and place of social relations? How is experience organized there? Why are those social phenomena rather than produced by an aggregation of individuals? Assuming that if people believe something is real, it will be real in its consequences (Thomas' theorem, § 4.4), it is possible (and actual) to construct imagined and shared places. Intersubjectivity of meanings and weak context in CMC, emphasize the social construction of virtual spaces, of any kind. The need of constructed and shared social contexts brings together constructivism and pragmatism (§ 4.4.3). Chapter 5 On the political level, are we in a distributed situation in which nobody and nothing is fundamental for the system to work? Does the lack of political frontiers -that bond people to political decisions- pulverize a legitimated debate and decision place? Contemporary social fragmentation is represented and supported by the Internet. Indeed many issues arisen from the Internet go towards wider individual independence and group autonomy. Consequently, the Internet is more like an arena than an agora. Chapter 6 The conclusion is that the Internet is an extension of reality -not a representation- with particular rules and dynamics. Exclusion from it has the paradoxical effect to produce silence, usually unperceived. MAIN POINTS About power and policies on the Internet, I accept a relational conception of power which is based on the attention to how actions are affected, not only commanded (§ 5). Indeed the ease to create groups and to escare national boundaries, and laws (§ 5.1) do not allow to apply power categories which rely on a sovereign power (Locke, § 5.4). Autonomy and privacy claims deal with that reality (§ 5.1). On the other hand, fluidity of social phenomena on the Internet does not mean that power is not applicable: servers, data organizations, controls embedded into technologies, laws that only expert users can go around are ways to control users. Public sphere (§ 5.1.1), free speech (§ 5.1.2.), and copyright (§ 5.2) have to deal with the described reality, which does not fit with usual dichotomy private/public. More generally autonomy claims tend to weaken a public and homogeneous public sphere. Democracy is interpreted more as liberty than as distribution of power (§ 5.3). Another relevant dualism is nomos/techné. Since Industrial Revolution laws and technology prospect diverse futures: (in continental philosophy) laws are expression and support for politics as "volonté générale", technologies promote social automation and technocracy. About this particular intersection, it is proposed an analysis of the hackers' phenomenon (§ 5.3.2. this part has been published on a academic journal). Opensources and freesoftware (§ 5.2.2.1) cases are addressed for their relevance in circulation of information on the Internet (or in the digital age). Those movements, which generated similar activities for contents in general (§ 5.2.2.2 <http://5.2.2.2>), propose a conception of knowledge which can be produce profit without reducing its public utility. WITH THIS WORK I WANT TO highlight the boundaries of information society, as far as it assumes the autonomy of cyberspace without dealing with existing social and power relations. I find this understanding needed to analyze further and design future activities and policies about the infosphere. Finally this trajectory explains my interest and perspective on development issues, where basic and common assumption about knowledge society cannot be taken for granted -- ================================================================= Dr. Michel J. Menou Consultant in ICT policies and Knowledge & Information Management Adviser of Somos@Telecentros board http://www.tele-centros.org Member of the funding steering committee of Telecenters of the Americas Partnership http://www.tele-centers.net/ B.P. 15 49350 Les Rosiers sur Loire, France Email: Michel.Menou(a)wanadoo.fr Phone: +33 (0)2 41518165 Fax: +33 (0)2 41511043 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ciber/peoplemenou.php ================================================================== -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.9.2/54 - Release Date: 21/07/2005

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RE: [Air-l] Course Prep Assistance Request
by Heidelberg, Chris 20 Jul '05

20 Jul '05

Ted: I am interested in knowing what is the name of the text book that you plan on using for the course. I am a Phd student doing a dissertation on "Edutainment and Convergence." -----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Ted M Coopman Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 4:02 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Course Prep Assistance Request Hello All, I am a Ph.D. candidate who has been assigned to teach an upper-division course titled “New Media as Virtual Communities” for this fall. Here is the catalog description: “Technologically-mediated virtual communities considered through analysis of historical precedents and influences and through an exploration of the concept of community. Issues include a focus on social interactions; the social, political, economic, and technological contexts of virtual communities and the limits for their sustenance.” I know many of you have done research in this area and have also likely taught classes on the subject. I was hoping that some of you would pass along some tips and ideas for the course, including but not limited to literature and syllabi. I am not completely unschooled on the topic, having taken a graduate seminar on computer mediated communities, but would like to have the benefit of a variety of approaches. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Please respond off the list to coopman(a)u.washington.edu. If anyone else would like access to the material I wind up collecting, shoot me an email and I will forward any material sent to me. Thanks! -TED Ted M. Coopman Department of Communication University of Washington _______________________________________________ The Air-l-aoir.org(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/

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election reminders
by Jeremy Hunsinger 20 Jul '05

20 Jul '05

I just sent out the election reminders to members. If you think you should have received one because you are a paid member, and have not received a reminder, then send me an email at buridan(a)aoir.org and I'll look into it, probably by working with the treasurer:) jeremy hunsinger jhuns(a)vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu jeremy.tmttlt.com www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Associatiion of Internet Researchers

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