April 2007 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

The 3rd Living Knowledge conference
by Jeremy Hunsinger 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

The 3rd Living Knowledge conference 'COmmunities building knowledge: innovation through citizens' science and university engagement' will take place in Paris from 30 August 30 till 1 September 2007. The conference will provide a forum where information on community based research, carried out in both community and academic settings, on new forms of partnerships between research and civil society and on new modes of innovation, can be shared and developed. It aims at disseminating and exchanging information on community based and participatory research, on citizens' science and cooperative innovation. Registration for the conference is open now! <http://www.livingknowledge.org/lk3> www.livingknowledge.org/lk3. You can also submit a proposal for a contribution (workshop or presentation) within on of the five conference theme's. At the conference website you will find an overview of topics that can be addressed in the theme's. The (extended) deadline to submit a proposal is April 30. Proposals can be submitted online at the conference website <http://www.livingknowledge.org/lk3> www.livingknowledge.org/lk3. Conference themes: * University engagement with communities * Citizens' science and social movements * Research policy - from local to global * Innovation and citizens - added values for communities * Participatory processes in science and technology For additional information about the conference you can contact <mailto:citizens-research-LK3@sciencescitoyennes.org> citizens-research-LK3(a)sciencescitoyennes.org I kindly request you to forward this announcement to your colleagues and in your networks. The conference organisation committee and the Living Knowledge Network hope to meet you in Paris this summer. Caspar de Bok ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- ------------------------- 3rd Living Knowledge conference Communities building knowledge: innovation through citizens' science and university engagement Paris (Fr): August 30 - September 1, 2007 website: <http://www.livingknowledge.org/lk3> http://www.livingknowledge.org/lk3 email: <mailto:citizens-research-LK3@sciencescitoyennes.org> citizens-research-LK3(a)sciencescitoyennes.org The 3rd Living Knowledge conference Jeremy Hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) Words are things; and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. --Byron

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Social media in rural communities
by Steven Clift 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

I am looking for research/researchers exploring the use of social/citizen media in rural communities/areas. This might include uses of interactive web 2.0 tools and the like either autonomously by rural folks "MySpace" or collectively around local community "OurSpace." Cheers, Steven Clift E-Democracy.Org P.S. We are working up a grant proposal to extend Issues Forums <http://e-democracy.org/if to a few rural Minnesota communities built from a series of generic citizen media and online engagement outreach presentations across the state. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steven Clift - clift(a)publicus.net Web: http://publicus.net Blog: http://dowire.org/notes NGO: http://e-democracy.org Replies to slc@ may be missed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fwd: ETHICOMP Doctoral Consortium 2007
by Jeremy Hunsinger 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

> > In the 12 years that ETHICOMP has been in existence it has grown a > vibrant international academic community concerned with the ethical > and social dimensions of information and communication > technologies. One of the most important aspects of this growth has > been the number of doctoral students studying in this area. It is > from this part of our community that our academic leaders of the > future will emerge. To support their development a new initiative, > ETHICOMP Doctoral Consortium is to be launched 13-14 September 2007 > at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort > University, Leicester, UK. > Consortium Directors > Dr Penny Duquenoy, UK, Assoc Prof Nancy Pouloudi, Greece and Dr > Bernd Stahl, UK > > Outline > The consortium will comprise a series of master classes in which > doctoral students will engage with experienced supervisors in the > field to help them hone their research ideas and review their > research strategies. Keynote addresses on relevant topics will > complete the programme. > The cost of attendance will be confirmed but will be kept to a > minimum. There is a limited number of places (probably 20-25) due > to the interactive nature of the consortium. Students at any stage > of their studies can apply. Places will be awarded on the basis of > submitted proposals. Submission procedure > A proposal should be submitted using the following headings: > > Personal Details > Full Name, Nationality > Country of residence > Email address > University of study, Name and title of first supervisor > Title of research, Year of study, Mode of study (pt/ft) > > Details of Proposal > Part A - 500 words explaining the nature of the research being > undertaken and the approach being adopted > Part B - 250 words explaining why a place at the consortium should > be awarded. > Part C - a brief endorsement by the first supervisor > > Personal Details, Part A and Part B embedded in an email should be > submitted by the student. > Part C should be emailed by the first supervisor (the student > should arrange this) > > The language for the consortium is English, and all submitted > proposals must be in English. > > Proposals should be submitted to ccsr(a)dmu.ac.uk by 15 June 2007 > > For more information please visit http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/ > conferences/ethicomp/ethicomp07/index1.html > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > Mohammed Hawash > CCSR Webmaster > ------------------------------------------------------------ > Centre Of Computing and Social Responsibility > Faculty Of Computing Sciences and Engineering > The Gateway > De Montfort University > Leicester > LE1 9BH > > Tel: (+44) 0116 250 6143 > Fax: (+44) 0116 207 8159 > ------------------------------------------------------------ jeremy hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Association of Internet Researchers http://www.stswiki.org/ stswiki http://cfp.learning-inquiry.info/ LI-the journal http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

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Virginia Tech Launches April 16 Archive
by Jeremy Hunsinger 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

> > For immediate release > > Virginia Tech Launches April 16 Archive > http://www.april16archive.org/ > > BLACKSBURG, Va., April 30, 2007 - Virginia Tech's Center for > Digital Discourse > and Culture (CDDC) is pleased to announce the launch of the April > 16 Archive > (www.april16archive.org) This new online archive assists artists, > humanists, > social scientists, and all other scholars who seek, today and in > the future, to > develop a better understanding of the violent events of April 16, > 2007 at > Virginia Tech. It is also available to the general public of the > Commonwealth > of Virginia, the United States of America, and the world at large > as we come to > terms with a local, national, and global event that will have > ramifications for > years to come. This archive works actively to deploy electronic > media for the > collection, interpretation, preservation, and display of stories > and digital > objects related to the tragedy of April 16, 2007 and its many > effects as text, > image, and sound. Developed in cooperation with George Mason > University's > Center for History and New Media (CHNM), this project is receiving > technical, > curatorial and administrative support from Virginia Tech students, > faculty, and > staff. > > The archive will preserve a diverse record of the events > surrounding April 16, > 2007 by collecting first-hand observations, photographic images, sound > recordings, media reports, personal writings, official statements, > individual > blog postings, and any other documents that can be stored as > digital files. In > addition to local reactions, the archive welcomes responses from > across the > globe in any language. Through this archive, we aim to leave a > positive legacy > for the larger community and contribute to a collective process of > healing, > especially as those affected by this tragedy tell their stories in > their own > words. The larger trend exemplified by this project is the "digital > memory > bank." Memory banks are being used to preserve the richness of the > present as > it transitions to the past, thereby ensuring that the collected > records can be > both readily accessible and carefully preserved for future access. > > The April 16 Archive welcomes contributions from the Virginia Tech > community, as > well as from anyone around the world who wants to share words of > support or > reflection following the events of April 16, 2007. The attacks > happened in > Blacksburg, Virginia, but they were experienced around the world > through mass > media and community ties. The accounts of that day from any site > across the > globe are, therefore, very important to the April 16 Archive as it > documents > the full impact of this tragic event. For more information, visit > www.april16archive.org or contact admin(a)april16archive.org. For media > inquiries, contact Brent Jesiek, Manager of the CDDC, at (540) > 231-7614 or > cddc(a)vt.edu. > > Established in 1998, Virginia Tech's Center for Digital Discourse > and Culture is > one of the world's first university based digital points-of- > publication for new > forms of scholarly communication, academic research, and cultural > analysis. > Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) > as well as > the Institute of Distance and Distributed Learning (IDDL) actively > support the > Center for Digital Discourse and Culture. The CDDC is also working > with > Virginia Tech's newly established Institute for Society, Culture, > and the > Environment (ISCE) to develop new scholarly initiatives, such as > the April 16 > Archive, tied into the practices of rhetoric, representation and > the public > humanities. > > This story is also posted on the April 16 Archive website: > http://www.april16archive.org/news/ jeremy hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) wiki.tmttlt.com www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://cfp.learning-inquiry.info/ Learning Inquiry-the journal http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

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Re: [Air-l] I'm researching virality in social networks : suggestedpapers?
by Caroline Haythornthwaite 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

This paper discusses how design of social interactions in conjuction with media affects network formations. Examples are from small online learning groups. Haythornthwaite, C. (2002). Strong, weak and latent ties and the impact of new media. The Information Society, 18(5), 385 - 401. This one extends this to consider effects on and of the Internet as a whole. Haythornthwaite, C. (2005). Social networks and Internet connectivity effects. Information, Communication & Society, 8(2), 125-147. /Caroline ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 10:41:08 +0100 >From: "Tom Shelley" <tom(a)projectredstripe.com> >Subject: [Air-l] I'm researching virality in social networks : suggested papers? >To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > >Hi everyone, > >I'm looking to research virality and social architecture in social networks. >If you could point me towards some papers that deal with these topics I'd be >very grateful. > >Some of the areas that interest me are as the following : > >How does social design affect the spread of social networks? If there were a >paper with great real world examples that would be perfect. > >What specific features can help hinder the spread of a social network? > >How different invitation models effect the spread of a social network, and >the subsequent community development? aSmallWorld vs MySpace vs college- only >Facebook. > >Can a rapid spreading site destroy the original community? > >How to create a truly social space as opposed to YASN? > >These are issues that are clearly very important and I'd love to find some >great research on them. > >Thanks a lot , > >Tom >_______________________________________________ >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/ ---------------------------------------- Caroline Haythornthwaite Associate Professor Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 501 East Daniel St., Champaign IL 61820

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net neutrality by another name, oecd report
by Jeremy Hunsinger 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

I thought some of you might find this interesting/useful. Internet traffic prioritisation: Internet traffic prioritisation is an increasingly important policy issue as bandwidth demands increase and Internet applications require higher levels of quality of service to function well. Debates about traffic prioritisation, particularly in the context of “network neutrality” discussions, have been divisive. The study provides background for national debates by examining the role of traffic prioritisation in networks and highlighting associated policy and regulatory issues. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/63/38405781.pdf jeremy hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) wiki.tmttlt.com www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://cfp.learning-inquiry.info/ Learning Inquiry-the journal http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

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cfp: controversial images in popular communication
by Attwood, Fiona 29 Apr '07

29 Apr '07

CALL FOR PAPERS: CONTROVERSIAL IMAGES For a special issue of Popular Communication: International Journal of Media and Culture, 2009, edited by Sharon Lockyer and Feona Attwood. Controversial images are increasingly central to media which are concerned with scandal, titillation and horror, and in a culture where images and image making is so important. Controversial images circulate in a wide range of different media forms from films, TV programmes, newspapers, and advertisements, to internet sites, video games, and music videos. In recent years there have been a number of instances where controversial images have become the primary focus of public fascination and debate. These include the paparazzi shots of Princess Diana's fatal accident, images from Abu Ghraib, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons and footage of the execution of Saddam Hussein. More generally, images of sex, scandal, destruction and abuse function as the emblem for some of the major social and cultural concerns of our times. This special issue seeks to address the significance of controversial Images and their subsequent public debates, and reflect on what they can tell us about the production, content and reception processes of contemporary media. Proposals are welcomed on, but not limited to, the following topics and areas: Shock sites Extreme porn Religious controversies Atrocity images War reporting Body horror Invasion of privacy issues Media representation of sensitive subjects Censorship and regulation Proposals with an international focus are particularly welcome, as are those which focus on controversial images in various different countries. Proposals of 200-250 words, accompanied by a biographical note of 100 words should be sent by Tuesday 31st July 2007 to Feona Attwood, f.attwood(a)shu.ac.uk. The deadline for submission of drafts will be March 2008 and June 2008 for finished drafts. Popular Communication: International Journal of Media and Culture The journal provides a forum for the scholarly investigation, analysis, and dialogue on communication symbols, forms, phenomena, and strategic systems of symbols within the context of contemporary popular culture across the globe. Popular Communication publishes articles on all aspects of popular communication, examining different media such as television, film, new media, print media, radio, music, and dance; the study of texts, events, artifacts, spectacles, audiences, technologies, and industries; and phenomena and practices, including, but not limited to, fan, youth and subcultures, questions of representation, digitalization, cultural globalization, spectator sports, sexuality, advertising, and consumer culture. The journal welcomes diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives within the tradition of media, communication, and cultural studies as well as interdisciplinary research in and across related disciplines. Editors: Cornel Sandvoss (University of Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM) C. Lee Harrington (Miami University, USA) Jonathan Gray (Fordham University, USA)

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E-Journals
by Michael Gurstein 29 Apr '07

29 Apr '07

I edit and "publish" JoCI an on-line fully open access journal (Journal of Community Informatics http://ci-journal.net) and tend to agree with most of what has been said about the opportunities (and risks) of on-line journals. Just a few points to add: We are a "global" journal which means that most of our editorial board (I think highly distinguished within the context of Community Informatics) is from outside of the US, and I'm based in Canada but with strong links to South Africa and Australia as well as the US. What that means is that the specific nature of the relationship to the P&T & other academic incentive processes are somewhat different from most of those discussed here. The fact that RESEARCH funding as well at P&T in South Africa (and parts of Asia as well as Australia and the UK) is directly tied to publications with ranking in the Thomson ISI index is a problem -- and dare I say a problem not just for us, or for our potential authors. The fact is that the "A" ranked journals in the ISI index are overwhelmingly skewed to the issue areas and recognition structures of developed countries even in those research topic areas of direct and immediate significance to the developing countries themselves such as for example enablng communities with Information and Communications technologies. (Dare I say that these issues are of broader significance than simply academic.) The on-line journal structure and including open access is of course, ideal for an emerging discipline such as Community Informatics where it gives CI and its exponents an opportunity to get wide exposure both academically and among those non-academics with an interest in the area, where other and more traditional routes (and media) would be much slower and more problematic. The issue of academic acknowledgement is of course, an issue but that would be an issue for those identifying with CI in any case, and a journal gives CI a means for legitimation and exposure in the short run which would can only accelerate the broader processes of academic acceptance. Cash funding for the journal is much less of a problem given that we are using very workflow smart software (OJS v.2) but some regular cash is still required for exceptional or highly specialized activities. As well of course, a continuing stream of volunteer labour is required and it helps a lot if one has access to some kind of "incentives" (graduate stipends, control over internal staff resources etc.etc.) to ensure a continuing stream and particularly the timely execution of the various activities otherwise committed to by volunteers. It very much helps if the journal is not simply another P&T publishing venue otherwise whatever the initial spurt of energy (or money) that created it will very quickly fade (or some other opportunity will beckon) and there will be little energy or will to replace this. The reason, I suspect, for the short lifespan of many on-line journals. The opportunity for reach and thus readership and potential influence is vastly greater than the relatively small one of traditional journals. This is both an advantage and a risk in that it rather puts some additional pressure on the core academic mission of the enterprise and forces a contininuing reflection on the precise nature of the research publishing (and thus peer reviewed journal) enterprise. This isn't a bad thing, and re-thinking the rather stale and unwieldy model of traditional academic journal publishing is a very good thing but figuring out how to locate oneself in the almost infinite space of e-publishing opportunity is a continuing challenge. To sum up I guess, the shift to on-line (and dare I say open access) journals is probably unstoppable for a variety of reasons including cost and the pressure for open knowledge which is coming from a variety of directions and not incidentally increasingly from research funders. The new model at the moment is very much an entrepreneurial as opposed to an institutional one i.e. it depends on the energy and creative enterprise of an individual or individuals rather than the continuity of academic or commercial or other institutional structures. My sense though is, as several have suggested in a somewhat tentative way, (and was suggested explicitly in the context of JoCI by Tony Salvador of Intel), that the future is in translating the emerging power and modalities of knowledge networks into e-publishing form. This is one where the "journal" is the publishing expression not of a commercial/institutionally structured discipline/sub-discipline/sub-sub-discipline, nor that of a knowledge community as articulated by its leadership, but is in fact the way that an extended network of knowledge collaborators give a public voice (and public access) to the considered products of their collaborative knowledge creations. Collaborative blogs and wikis are I think, something of a precursor to this but figuring out how exactly this could fit into the broader framework of academic and research structuring and funding is still in the somewhat distant future. And this will have to wait I think, until the current generation of grad students and junior academics i.e. digital/electronic community natives, are in positions of authority. The reality, as several here have already alluded to, is that the academic structures haven't really caught up to web 1.0, let alone adapting themselves to the opportunities and risks of shifting their intellectual product into a web 2.0 (;-)) environment. Best, MG Michael Gurstein, Ph.D. Editor in Chief: Journal of Community Informatics http://ci-journal.net Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training, Vancouver, BC CANADA http://www.communityinformatics.net

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Second Life Research
by Jonathan Basile 29 Apr '07

29 Apr '07

I am researching gendered relations on Second Life, and wanted to know if anyone was aware of studies or rese4arch that had been done on this particular online community. I am most interested in studies focused on gender, but anything more general would be of interest as well. Also, let me know if you are a second life user and interested in chatting. Thanks! -Jonathan Basile

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Resources and teaching materials
by Erika Pearson 28 Apr '07

28 Apr '07

Hello all I am compiling a list of resources (books, AV, etc) for my library to help improve the internet studies section. I would be interested to know what materials or texts others who are teaching/researching in the field think of as being useful. Any references you can suggest, however obvious or obscure, would be greatly appreciated (because I am sure I'm forgetting some key names!) with thanks Erika ~~ Erika Pearson Dept. of Media, Film and Communication. University of Otago P.O. Box 56 Dunedin 9054 Aotearoa/New Zealand Ph: (+0064 3) 479-8680 E-mail: erika.pearson(a)otago.ac.nz

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