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

CFP: Surveillance and Inequality (deadline: July 15, 2007)
by Torin Monahan 12 Apr '07

12 Apr '07

[appologies for cross-posting] Surveillance & Society Call for Papers Special Issue on Surveillance and Inequality: Issue 5(4) (Guest editors: Torin Monahan and Jill A. Fisher) Publication date: December 2007 Deadline for submissions: 15 July 2007 Many domains of social life are being transfigured by new technologies of identification, monitoring, tracking, data analysis, and control. The lived experiences of people subjected to surveillance, however, can vary widely along lines of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and nationality. This can be seen with the enforcement of different types of mobilities for different categories of people, whether at borders, on city streets, or on the Internet. It can also be observed with the increasingly invasive monitoring and discipline of those accessing public services, such as welfare, public education, or healthcare, especially in the U.S. It can be perceived in security-screening and police-profiling practices, which continue to rely upon racial markers of risk. Or inequality can be found in the uneven treatment of individuals by insurance providers, credit agencies, service centers, or other commercial entities. Regardless of the domain, new surveillance systems appear to amplify existing social inequalities and establish rationales for increased control of marginalized groups in societies. The journal Surveillance & Society is seeking papers that examine issues of surveillance and inequality. The editors are especially interested in research papers that address the differential effects of surveillance upon marginalized and privileged social groups. Whereas surveillance studies inquiry often begins with technology as a starting point for analysis, we welcome papers that start with descriptions of power relations in any social settings and then move to illustrate the role of surveillance technologies or practices in the regulation of those settings. We further encourage contributions that theorize the relationship of the political economy to surveillance and inequality, whether by attending to globalization processes, neoliberal policies, or military operations. Finally, we are also quite interested in papers that seek to demonstrate or theorize the empowering potential of surveillance systems to correct social inequalities. Possible papers could investigate the role of surveillance in: * The regulation of gender or status relations in places of employment. * Socio-spatial segregation in cities, suburbs, exurbs, or rural communities. * The restructuring or elimination of public programs and spaces (or citizen rights) by neoliberal policies which could include a focus on schools, welfare, healthcare, voting, etc. * Racial or ethnic profiling by police, security personnel, or immigration agents. * The enforcement of differential mobilities (along with inquiry into the relationship of mobilities to the life chances and well-being of travelers). * The automatic prioritizing of services, rights, and mobilities in software-sorted service domains. * The control of womens bodies, especially in regard to reproduction. * Monitoring of children or the elderly or the monitoring of those charged with taking care of them. * The militarization of borders and the corresponding dangers faced by undocumented immigrants, refugees, and others. Submissions should be sent electronically to Emily Smith, at smithea(a)post.queensu.ca by 15 July 2007 with a publication date of December 2007. We welcome full academic papers, opinion pieces, review pieces, poetry, artistic, and audio-visual submissions. Submissions will undergo a peer-review and revision process prior to publication. Submissions should be original work, neither previously published nor under consideration for publication elsewhere. All references to previous work by contributors should be masked in the text (e.g., Author, 2007). Please see: www.surveillance-and-society.org/call.htm for further submission guidelines. Torin Monahan Assistant Professor Arizona State University School of Justice & Social Inquiry torin.monahan(a)asu.edu | www.torinmonahan.com

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social network analysis
by Barry Wellman 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Someone asked about Social Network Analysis, but gave a non-standard reference as a source. THE standard reference is Stanley Wasserman & Kathryn Faust, _Social Network Analysis (Cambridge U Press). For a non-technical intro, see my "Structural Analysis: From Method and Metaphor to ..." It's out of print (in Wellman & Berkowitz, _Social Structures: A Network Approach_), but scanned into my website. There's also a growing literature on web networks (so much more convenient when you don't have to deal with real people), with key works by Duncan Watts, Lada Adamic, Bernardo Huberman, Jon Kleinberg. I'll let the Actor-Network people speak for themselves. Barry Wellman _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology NetLab Director Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _____________________________________________________________________

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FW: Re: consent for asynchronous qualitative email
by C Cook or A McDonald 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

_____ From: C Cook or A McDonald [mailto:bodhi@nznet.gen.nz] Sent: Thursday, 12 April 2007 08:44 To: 'air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org' Subject: Re: [Air-l] consent for asynchronous qualitative email Thank you for your reply and suggestions, Kristin. I anticipate that I will be able to obtain ethics approval as a number of other nurse researchers internationally have used in-depth email interviews for 'sensitive' topics, using a variety of mechanisms to protect participants' confidentiality to a level considered adequate to enable ease of participation and reasonable security. The use of g-mail, hotmail and encryption all allow for anonymising participants. It is specifically the consent procedures that are currently a focus for me. Kind regards, Catherine Cook PhD candidate Message: 5 Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 19:03:14 -0400 (EDT) From: "Kristin R. Wolfe" <wolfek857(a)duq.edu> Subject: Re: [Air-l] consent for asynchronous qualitative email interviews withinternational participants I believe that an email interview may not get past the ethics review because the name of the participant would be tied to the email. > I am a PhD candidate and I am preparing for my ethics application to > conduct > interviews by email in the area of women's sexual health (ie 'sensitive' > topic). From the literature there seem to be a variety of acceptable > options > with regard to consent, from tacit agreement inherent in the decision to > participate through to a variety of procedures to obtain some form of > consent documentation. >

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CFP: Persistent Conversation minitrack at HICSS (last call for abstracts)
by Tom Erickson 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

LAST CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 41 January 7-10, 2008 Hilton Waikoloa Village, the Big Island, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IMPORTANT DATES - Mon, April 16, 2007: Abstract submission* - Tue, May 1, 2007: Feedback on abstracts - Fri, June 15, 2007: Paper submission [instructions on the HICSS site] - Wed, August 15, 2007: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notice --------------- *If you miss the abstract deadline but are interested in participating, please contact the organizers. ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: they can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: it is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 250 to 500 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/ ------------------------------ Tom Erickson and Susan Herring Chairs, Persistent Conversation minitrack and workshop, HICSS 41

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Re: [Air-l] Internet -- Source or Medium?
by William Bain 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Richard Parent wrote "So, does this internet/web distinction still hold, or have we moved onto some new paradigm?" On that particular point, it seems to be again a question of part/whole and to depend on which or how many protocols are involved. But it makes me wonder about web versus Web. And in passing maybe I could note that I've used as subject line the abbreviated form for this thread, slightly changed from the original one. A rose, possibly, by any other name........ Best, Will William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar.

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AIR-L new member
by Luis Gutierrez 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Greetings, I am an internet addict ... <g> My name is Luis Teodoro Gutierrez, male, 63, Christian, Cuban-American, married to Lourdes 43 years, 2 children, 4 grandchildren. Ph.D. systems engineering Georgia Tech 1974, 30 years with IBM, now semi-retired. We live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. To keep my mind busy, my retirement hobby is an independent research project and newsletter on issues of solidarity, sustainability, and religious violence. My purpose in joining AIR-L is simply to learn more about how to improve my online research skills. Regarding my retirement project, everyone seems to agree that the internet is bringing about new possibilities in terms of collaborative work, both commercially and to support projects such as the UN Millennium Development Goals. But most internet users are in the USA and Europe, so we need a better understanding of how to make the internet accessible to people worldwide. Respectfully, Luis -- Luis T. Gutierrez, Ph.D. Editor, "Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence" http://pelicanweb.org/solisust.html luisgutierrez(a)peoplepc.com

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Re: [Air-l] Hyperlink Network Analysis (HNA)
by Caroline Haythornthwaite 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Here's another resource. As well as HNA as a term, you can look using the term webometrics. You might also look at social network analysis resources -- start with the INSNA home page (http://www.insna.org/) Thelwall, M. & Vaughn, L. (2004). Webometrics. JASIST, 55(14), whole issue. /Caroline ---- Original message ---- >Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:30:30 +0400 >From: Alexander Semenov <semenoffalex(a)googlemail.com> >Subject: [Air-l] Hyperlink Network Analysis (HNA) >To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > >Hello everybody! >After my search in listserv's archieves I revealed that such topic haven't >been discussed yet. Sorry, if my search skills let me down. >Google found the following texts: > >Park, H.W. & Thelwall, M. (2003). Hyperlink analysis: Between networks and >indicators, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 8(4): >http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol8/issue4/park.html ; >Park, H.W. (2003). What is hyperlink network analysis?: New method for the >study of social structure on the Web. Connections, 25(1), 49-61. >http://www.insna.org/Connections-Web/Volume25-1/7.Hyperlink.pdf; >Francesco, M. & Spoto, A. (2006) Social Network Analysis: A brief >theoretical review and further perspectives in the >study of Information Technology, PsychNology Journal, 4(1), pp. 53 – 86; > >Does anybody know some other articles about HNA available in the free >access? I think that the articles listed above will be enough for >methodology, but I need more examples of implication of HNA in differen >areas of research: business, government, science, marketing, >communication. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. > >Alexander Semenov. >MA student >Faculty of Sociology >Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES) >http://www.msses.ru/English/index.html >_______________________________________________ >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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Fwd: [F/OSS-Discuss] Press Release: FOSS infrastructure for Open Digital Villages Development
by Jeremy Hunsinger 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Begin forwarded message: > From: Fouad Riaz Bajwa <fouadbajwa(a)gmail.com> > Date: April 11, 2007 6:14:41 AM MST > To: discuss(a)opensource.mit.edu > Subject: [F/OSS-Discuss] Press Release: FOSS infrastructure for > Open Digital Villages Development > Reply-To: fouadbajwa(a)gmail.com, Dicusssion list for Free/Open > Source Software researchers <discuss(a)opensource.mit.edu> > > Press Release: > http://www.ifossf.org/news/ > foss_infrastructure_for_open_digital_villages_dev > elopment > > FOSS infrastructure for Open Digital Villages (ODiVs): > > iFOSSF and oneVillage Foundation Partner to Create a Difference > > April 10, 2007 San Jose CA USA - oneVillage Foundation has > partnered with > the International Free and Open Source Software Foundation (iFOSSF) on > efforts to develop "Telecenter Portals and Applications." OVF > believes that > iFOSSF's knowledge and vision is vital to the development of its Open > Digital Villages (ODiVs), the first of which will be in Winneba, Ghana > (WODiV). > > Background: OVF staff helped organized and participated in the > AirJaldi > Summit in Dharamsala, India in Oct. 06, which showcased one of the > largest > wireless networks in the world - The Dharamsala Wireless Mesh. At > the event, > low-cost wireless mesh network technology including cantennas (about > antennas made out of cans) was tested. The Wireless Roadshow > Workshop also > enabled participants to discuss plans for organizing events to promote > wireless connectivity around the WODiV including the > WSFIIAfrica2007 Summit, > planned for later this year in Winneba. > > The local Linux User Group (Winneba Linux User Group - WiLUG) is > playing a > key role in the development of the WODiV. In December of last year, > WiLUG > volunteers received their first Drupal open source training as well > as a > series of other trainings increasing awareness of Linux and FOSS. > oneVillage > Ghana, in collaboration with the University of Education Winneba Ghana > (UEW), Wireless Ghana and other institutions has been developing a > plan for > a WiMax backbone and WiFi mesh local distribution system to serve a > region > with two other towns and a population of 105,000. > > > Converging the Networks: > > - Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) offers benefits for people in > developing countries including facilitating access to and increasing > ownership of ICT for Human Development; > > - Community Wireless Networks is changing the way we see and share > information by promoting the development of economically > sustainable local > wireless networks; > > - Sustainable technology "Bioneers" are developing new appropriate > technologies to empower local people economically and socially without > degrading and destroying the environment. > > > WODiV Goals: > > - Develop portal infrastructure that can be replicated to other > communities; > > > - Promote access and develop confidence in FOSS applications by > identifying > and integrating applicable > - ICT4SD FOSS tools for each region; > > - Provide FOSS training and job skill development, training > students on how > to use for their own and their community's empowerment; > > - Operate as model for rapidly replicating booming multimedia ICT > training > facility/social enterprises; > > - Provide center for youth & people all ages to learn basic & > advanced ICT > skills; > > - Promote sustainable human habitats and production systems; > > > What is an Open Digital Village? > The (WODiV) is being designed to be a practical example and best > practice of > what FOSS can do as part of a Holistic ICT for Sustainable Development > (ICT4SD) strategy. ODiVs Provide educational training in both > business and > technical aspects and information technology services to > government, health > centers, and private enterprise, and include the following main > components: > > - Local Portal to enable access throughout the network and the > development > of local support services to facilitate rapid ICT development; > > - Local wireless network to enable low cost connectivity in the > region; > > - Community center for trainings, ICT services and community meetings. > > The WODiV will use UEW as a focused leverage point for coordinating > the > efforts of graduating student teachers participating in program. > Once the > Winneba facility is fully established, this program will be replicated > throughout Ghana as the teachers graduate and are deployed to > outlying rural > regions. In terms of scalability, WODiV is the first step in a more > comprehensive Multipurpose Community & Unity Center (UCs) > Development Model > that will be put in place in Winneba. UCs such as the one planned in > Winneba, will offer educational and research services, eventually > expanding > to incubate ICT & green technologies to promote sustainable economic > development in each region where the centers are located. > > Areas of Collaboration: On business and partnership network > development, > iFOSSF will serve as the Research & Development arm for OVF on > technology > development, while OVF will focus on marketing, business > opportunity and end > user requirements identification, including: > > - Research on issues & technologies related to ICT4SD; > > - Develop human capacity to use, customize, localize, develop and > service > FOSS applications; > > - Develop assets-based approach as a practical model of improving > collective > human intelligence to effectively address world urgent issues; > > - Improve quality of life in the communities of focus through the > implementation of ICT best practices that most directly impact and > improve > people's lives on a practical level; > > The Methodology: A Complete Ecosystem Approach to Sustainable > Development: > Centers will operate as connection points/portals to connect both > online and > offline activities into one seamless global network for sustainability > development. Key to this process is facilitating local/global > exchanges of > information and collection that are relevant to local needs. This > methodology for WODiV will be a assets-based approach called the > oneVillage > Foundation Initiative and will eventually be replicated in other > areas as > relevant to OVF and iFOSSF's mission and focus. > > Field agents will collect, analyze and then post refined content on > the web > suitable for distribution in our networks both locally and > globally. They > will be backed up by a global network of innovators in the > sustainability > and IT fields as well as other appropriate sectors and fields. > ODiVs will > stimulate culturally and socially appropriate knowledge exchanges > between > participating communities and networks. > > The following practices will enhance the capacity of communities and > networks to cope and creatively address challenging issues, > fulfilling both > organizations' missions to implement collective intelligence: > > - Promote ICT and sustainable development research in the field; > > - Collect network content to develop local knowledge portal > > - Collect local content relevant to global network > > Desired Outcome of Partnership: Demonstrate on a practical level > through the > WODiV that many disciplines and fields play a vital role in > stimulating the > movement towards sustainability. These often disparate approaches > will be > converged to facilitate a larger collective effort of people > collaborating > and working together to harness their own talent and capacities while > serving and reinforcing the collective good of humanity. > > Download: OVF-iFOSSF Partnership Press Release 04/06/07 > > For More Information: > > - About iFOSSF contact Jenny Huang Hsueh: jenny {at} > ifossfoundation.org > > - About OVF and the WODiV contact Jeff Buderer Program Development > Manager: > mailto: jeff {at} onevillagefoundation.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss(a)opensource.mit.edu > http://opensource.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/discuss 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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Online Masters in E-learning at Edinburgh
by Sian Bayne 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Dear AoIR Colleague You may be interested to know about the MSc in E-learning offered by the University of Edinburgh. This is a fully online programme which can be studied either full-time or part-time from September 2007. Our web site is at: http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/e-learning This is a fully-supported, innovative distance learning programme which aims to help students gain the practical skills and critical insights they need to become confident practitioners within this fast-moving field. If you are involved in post-school education or in training and development, you may find the programme of interest. Using a range of digital environments as appropriate (WebCT, Second Life, weblogs, chat and wikis for example), we offer courses including: An introduction to digital environments for learning Understanding learning in the online environment E-learning strategy and policy Online assessment E-learning and digital culture E-learning, politics and society An introduction to digital game-based learning Language, culture and communication in online learning For a full list of courses and more information about the MSc, please see the web site, or get in touch with me. with best wishes, Sian -------------------- Dr. Sian Bayne Programme Director, MSc in E-learning Higher and Community Education University of Edinburgh Paterson's Land 37 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AQ (0131) 651 6337 sian.bayne(a)ed.ac.uk MSc in E-learning http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/e-learning/

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turnitin issue
by Barry Wellman 11 Apr '07

11 Apr '07

Dear AOIRers, A colleague teaching another course has come across an issue with an undergrad who refuses to hand in her term paper because the faculty member's course requires that all papers also be submitted to Turnitin.com. The student claims that this violates her own intellectual property because Turnitin reportedly keeps copies for future plagiarism searches. As a supposed ICT & society "expert," my colleague came to me for advice. My first thought was horsefeathers. However, I am wondering if there is any precedent or case law on this in Canada or the US. (EU would be too different, I think.) I am not interested in the ethics or the morality of Turnitin, but in how other situations have been resolved. Thanks, Barry Wellman _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology NetLab Director Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _____________________________________________________________________

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