October 2006 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

UW job ad
by Philip Howard 06 Oct '06

06 Oct '06

This job ad is for a post in rhetorical studies, and we would welcome applications from people working on new media & society themes. Phil Dr. Philip N. Howard Assistant Professor Department of Communication University of Washington Communication (Rhetorical Studies) - Assistant Professor The University of Washington seeks a tenure-track assistant professor or advanced assistant professor in the area of rhetorical studies. Preference will be given to candidates who have strong background in rhetorical theory, critical rhetoric, public address, or argumentation, and a research area that productively contributes to one or more of our areas of study (see http://www.com.washington.edu/Program/Grad/areas.html) This is a full-time permanent position with a 9-month service period. Applicants should have an ongoing program of research and be highly qualified for undergraduate and graduate teaching. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research, and service; more specifically, faculty are expected to teach 4 courses during a three-quarter academic year, conduct research, and supervise graduate students at the master's and doctoral levels, as well as serving on Department and University committees. Applicants must demonstrate a potential for excellence in teaching and research and the ability to contribute to the Department's curriculum. Experience mentoring students of under-represented groups would be highly valued. Candidates must have earned or be close to completion of a Ph.D. by September 2007. Candidates should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching interests, copies of teaching evaluations, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation. The start date for this position is September 16, 2007. Applications will be reviewed beginning November 1, 2006, and until the position is filled. Send hard copy application material to: Professor Gerald Baldasty Chair Department of Communication University of Washington Box 353740 Seattle, WA 98195-3740 The University of Washington is the largest and most active research institution in the northwest with several extensive libraries and substantial computing and support facilities. The Department of Communication is committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and covered veterans. The University of Washington is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

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back to 1984
by Barry Wellman 06 Oct '06

06 Oct '06

In the old days (1984), we used to call this "thought crime". And what is a reputable university like Cornell doing with such stuff? Might put out of a job some US national security folks I met recently whose task it is to listen to TV, read papers from the -stans (Kazakhstan, etc.) Barry Wellman _____________________________________________________________________ wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _____________________________________________________________________ "Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S." New York Times (10/04/06) P. A24; Lipton, Eric The Department of Homeland Security is funding the development of "sentiment analysis" software by a consortium of major universities that uses natural language processing technology to scan foreign publications for negative views on America and its government. The goal of the three-year, $2.4 million grant is to help DHS locate possible dangers to the U.S. The software would provide Homeland Security personnel with instant access to an entire article that contains subversive statements. While efforts have always been made to stay abreast of global opinions of our country, this new technology will make the process far more efficient. Cornell University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Utah are working on the research, which is led by Joe Kielman, who says it could take several years to get the system in place. He says, "We want to understand the rhetoric that is being published and how intense it is, such as the difference between dislike and excoriate." Kielman noted that they are not monitoring U.S.-based news sources. Currently, the system is being fed hundreds of articles published between 2001 and 2002 from a variety of publications and tested on its ability to discern between similar statements. The task of classifying and ranking opinions expressed about America without error has proven quite challenging, says Cornell computer science professor Claire T. Cardie and University of Pittsburgh computer science professor Janyce M. Wiebe. Electronic Privacy Information Center executive director Marc Rotenberg calls the research "really chilling," and compares it to the Defense Department's aborted Total Information Awareness project. He says the research "seems far afield from the mission of homeland security." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/04monitor.html

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From Lurking to Querying (questions about graduate studies)
by Ivan Mulkeen 06 Oct '06

06 Oct '06

I've been following the ranging (and sometimes boomeranging) topics on this list for several weeks now, I've even gone as far as to contact some of you personally for advice on the subject of graduate studies, but having conducted a fair amount of my own research, I find myself no further progressed than I was a month ago. So I find myself asking you all directly for advice. I'm a fourth year undergrad, doing an honours BA in English and Social & Political Though. I'm looking to move onto graduate studies next year, focusing more carefully on Cyber culture, the impact the Internet and digital technologies have on our language, the English western discourse, and the related fields of video gaming and comics (print and web based) as forms of narrative. I've been flipping and flopping back and forth between finalizing my study field, it's not something I want to commit to til I'm sure of it, but I'm looking at masters programs in Ontario, Canada, for the time being, then hopefully PhD programs elsewhere. The two main schools I'm looking at for an MA are York University (Toronto) and Western (London), both Ontario schools that seem to have programs that look at related fields to my interests -- but I'm wondering if I have missed any institutions in my research that might be applicable. York has a Humanities MA that addresses my research, and I could probably find faculty in the English department that would also be interested, Western, however, seems to have at least half a dozen minds working in that field, but it means moving (something that might not be possible for a year at least). Any advice or insight you can offer, or opinions in general, are greatly appreciated. Ivan Mulkeen -- -------------------------------------------------------------- Gone, Gone O'Form of Man, And rise the Demon, Etrigan!

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Gender and Video Games
by Adam Matthew Ormond 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Hello Everyone, I am co-authoring a book chapter on First Person Shooter (FPS) games and violence, and am looking for demographic and statistical information on the types of video/computer games girls play, ages of players, reasons for playing, and impact on the development of perception and identity. Would anyone be able to direct me to any resources covering this subject matter? Adam Matthew Ormond, Ed.D. Lecturer Department of Education University of California, Irvine 2001 Berkeley Place Irvine, CA Phone: (949) 824-2882 Email: aormond(a)uci.edu Office: BP2082

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Re: [Air-l] Reactions to PhD blogs at conference
by Melissa Gregg 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

It *was* fun, Radhika, although I didn't realise how much was going on in the audience as I was giving the paper. I had my own word count obsession going on so I could finish in 15 minutes! For those of you interested in the project from which my paper developed - a project which looks at the impact of new media technologies on workplace culture and identity - a couple of other pieces I've written deal with some of these issues and in that sense the audience reactions don't really surprise me. In terms of the emotional responses - of laughter, of shock, indeed of horror that people would want to blog so openly about their lives and their research - these fall in line with the reactions I've seen amongst many senior academics who see (junior faculty) blogs as simply narcissistic, or in the words of someone I was talking to last week, 'like watching a soap opera'. This reaction overlooks the range of blogging styles that exist, which is part of the reason I wanted to start a very specific taxonomy. It also underestimates how blogs can generate traditional academic outcomes (or at least, very full conference sessions). But I also think an older generation of academics might be resistant to the very social aspects of blogging, but particularly its temporality (this is what blogs share with email lists). Blogs' capacity to archive thinking-in-progress can be confronting for academics who see scholarship as generally a solitary pursuit that is counted by 'polished' end results - published articles, books, etc. that go through layers of editing and checking. Perhaps that is what scholarly'ness' has always been, and perhaps they are right to defend it. In 'Feeling Ordinary: Blogging as Conversational Scholarship', a paper from an earlier conference panel Jean and I did together, I describe blogging as the latest development in a wider history of 'recreational' scholarship that takes place outside, and alongside, institutionalised modes of academic scholarship. In this sense it should not be seen as a threat: it doesn't compete with, so much as complement, existing forms of academic practice. The PhD bloggers are still 'invested' enough in the scholarly ideal to want to get a PhD and a tenured job. That's what's interesting. In terms of the 'Do these people have kids?' question, my chapter in the Uses of Blogs book launched at AoIR makes significant mention of the amount of time involved in maintaining a blog (and that the unequal amount of childcare/homemaking is still a big factor in the ongoing debates about 'where are the women bloggers?' on A-lists). This has real overlaps with Jean's paper on Flickr dynamics when she discussed the implicit 'rules'/ethics of online presence - updating and maintaining presence is key to participating 'properly' in the subculture. Like Mary-Helen, I really welcome more thoughts on these issues on or off-list. Cheers Melissa Dr. Melissa Gregg Postdoctoral Research Fellow Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies and Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies School of English, Media Studies and Art History The University of Queensland QLD 4072 CRICOS provider number: 00025B phone 61 7 3346 9762 mobile 61 4 1116 5706 fax 61 7 3365 7184 -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of radhika gajjala Sent: Wednesday, 4 October 2006 12:04 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Reactions to PhD blogs at conference all sounds like so much fun.... r >Mary, Denise and other AoIR-ers > >I was another one who laughed during Mel's presentation. I was also one >who was interviewed for Jean's Flickr presentation and am glad she >picked someone else's family room to illustrate how we Flickr folks >live. ;) (She did take a photo of mine.) > >Knowing that was Jean's blog with the word count obsession post, >knowing her sense of humour, and knowing she is due to submit her >thesis shortly, I happily laughed and kept laughing even when she said >"it's not funny". Jean is also an editor and would be enforcing word >counts for other people all the time, so there is that side of it too. > >I agree with Denise's comment about the fonts. They can be so >expressive. Clancy Ratliff's "Culture Cat" blog on Rhetoric and >Feminism used to have a wonderful retro font called "Beauty School >Dropout" for the title. (I'm into fonts so I know things like that.) I >don't know why Clancy changed it. (Culture Cat is no longer a PhD blog >so Mel didn't present it this time.) > >Mary it is a pity you had to catch that flight and couldn't be there >for the whole session. It was the liveliest session of all that I went >to, and afterwards as we broke up into conversational groups to leave >the room, the pitch of the conversation was more like a party than a >conference. I don't think there was any animosity. > >Pam > >Pamela Rosengren >Graduate Student, Internet Studies, Curtin University of Technology > > > > >_______________________________________________ >The air-l(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/ -- Radhika Gajjala Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator School of Communication Studies 302 West Hall Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43402 http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik/index2.html For queries about BGSU's School of Communication Studies Grad program, email comsgrad(a)bgsu.edu For info on the Theory Research cluster at SCS - see http://scs.bgsu.edu/Research/ResearchClusters/theory.php _______________________________________________ The air-l(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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query: video game music
by Charles Baldwin 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Question: Anyone know of research on computer/video game music. Issues of production but particularly of circulation and popularity beyond the game? Thanks. Sandy Baldwin West Virginia University Assistant Professor of English Director of the Center for Literary Computing www.clc.wvu.edu

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NEW POSITION AT UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEW MEDIA
by Hector Postigo 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

NEW POSITION AT UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEW MEDIA The Department of Communication at the University of Utah invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor of new media studies, effective July 1, 2007. Strong candidates will have teaching and research interests in one or more of the following areas: Internet/Web studies; new media, globalization, and social movements; digital and mobile technologies; computer-mediated communication; online communities/networks; group decision support systems and computer-assisted decision making; new media ethics, law and policy; new media, justice, and marginalization; new media arts including video games; and post-human studies. Highly qualified applicants will have a completed, or nearly completed, Ph.D. in communication or a closely related discipline or interdisciplinary program; appropriate technical knowledge; a record of or demonstrated potential for teaching excellence; and the promise or early evidence of a productive research or creative scholarship program. Qualified candidates will be able to teach relevant undergraduate and graduate courses. The University of Utah recognizes that a diverse faculty benefits and enriches the educational experiences of the entire campus and greater community. To this end, the Department of Communication is committed to removing barriers that have been traditionally encountered by individuals from underrepresented groups; strives to recruit faculty who will further enrich our campus diversity; and makes every attempt to support their academic, professional and personal success while they are here. The presence and success of these faculty members enhances the experiences of everyone. The Department of Communication is an intellectual community that is committed to diversity, features a broad array of interests, and pursues a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary projects. Strong candidates will be able to make connections to our wide-ranging and vibrant scholarly community. The University of Utah features a collegial academic environment, contributes to a culturally rich metropolitan area, and enjoys an extraordinarily beautiful natural setting. Review of applications begins November 1, 2006 and continues until the position is filled. Applicants must submit an application letter, vita, three letters of recommendation-solicited and confidential, samples of scholarly and/or creative activity, a complete graduate transcript, and evidence of teaching excellence to: Professor George Cheney, New Media Search Committee Chair, Department of Communication, 255 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 2400, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0491. The University of Utah is fully committed to policies of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity and vigorously pursues affirmative action in all programs, activities, and employment with regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, and status as a person with a disability. Religion, sexual orientation, and status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era also are protected under nondiscrimination and equal opportunity employment policies. The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer which provides reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities of applicants and employees.

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clearinghouse for internet-related conferences?
by Lauren M. Squires 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Dear list, This is a question I feel silly for not already having an answer to, but does anyone know where I could find a (semi-)comprehensive listing of upcoming conferences related to ICTs, CMC, "internet studies," etc. across various fields? (The AoIR wiki doesn't seem to have this, and I know people are always sending out conf. notifications but does anyone know of an aggregation of them?) Thanks! Lauren -- lauren m. squires lx: http://polyglotconspiracy.net cmc: http://sociocmc.blogspot.com

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Re: [Air-l] Reactions to PhD blogs at conference
by Jeremy Depauw 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Hi all ! It's been quite a ot of e-mails concerning this conference and episode on blogging phd students... Since i am actually (a french speaking) one them, I would be very pleased to catch a pdf version of the article... I could may be have a new source to argue about the positive efect of academic blogging... Would it be possible ? My e-mail is: jeremy.depauw(a)gmail.com Thanks in advance, Jer'm http://dev.ulb.ac.be/philo/jdepauw/ (just in case) 2006/10/5, Nancy Baym <nbaym(a)ku.edu>: > > I really enjoyed this panel and Melissa's paper on academic blogs. My > sense of the laughter was more recognition of our own experience than > hostility. And yeah, a little envy from those of us who aren't > labelling ourselves "bitch" on our blogs though we might at times > feel that way (I used to fantasize about an anonymous blog called > 'the angry professor' where I could post all the aggravating emails > students send -- like "I wasn't in class today, can you tell me what > I missed?"). > > Regarding the PhD student/older academic split Mary-Helen alludes to, > I guess I now qualify as the latter, and my sense sitting in there > was that the PhD students might be romanticizing what it was like > back in the old days. I don't recall a world where writing a > dissertation caused no stress, where we were assured of rewarding > academic employment, and so on. It was hard then too, we just didn't > have blogs to share the experience. That said, one of the interesting > things I got a little bit of a feel for in Brisbane was the > differences between the Australian higher educational system and the > American one, and maybe it is different for younger Australian > academics than older ones. > > Thanks to Fay and Axel for organizing such a nice conference, I > really had a great time meeting so many new people and hope you'll > all be joining us in Vancouver next year! > > Nancy > _______________________________________________ > The air-l(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/ > -- Jeremy Depauw The Power of Knoweldge Sharing and Skills Synegism Journal de recherche: http://dev.ulb.ac.be/~jdepauw/dotclear/index.php

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Ummm.... Ooops?
by Alex Halavais 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Never send email before mainlining morning caffeine! Please ignore the previous email: it wasn't intended to have gone to the list. But, if you were wondering about when the papers will be up--I am aiming for that October 22 deadline. Because of the way things are set up right now, this requires quite a bit of manual moving of files, etc., so please excuse the delay. Hopefully by next year this process too will be automated, and members will have more immediate access to the conference papers. Best, Alex -- -- // // This email is // [X] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais // Social Architect // http://alex.halavais.net //

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