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

Re: [Air-l] Trolls. Lurking. And the "we" that should move on
by William Bain 20 May '07

20 May '07

Steve Eskow wrote: >"Is there, then, the need for a totalizing decision for "us" to "move on"? Steve, my view is that aoir is putting together its moving on in the ongoing discussions here. There is, obviously, an executive group, which consults the membership, probably more (just guessing) right here in the discussions than in f2f meetings. You're right that my post was generalizing my own perceptions and assuming a kind of monolithic organisational agreement on readers' part before really establishing a definite argument. From my side of the computer screen the air-l group assessment seems to be that no general (if that is what totalizing means in this case) decision on the part of aoir membership neaeds to be established as basic policy. Or the basic polciy already exists that malicious trolling is considered inappropriate & flaming if it gets out of hand will bring exec warnings and possibly exclusion from listserv. I think gettning any ore specific than that would be unwarranted totalizing,actually. My general and lurkerish dos centavos fwiw :) wrb William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona --------------------------------- You snooze, you lose. Get messages ASAP with AutoCheck in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.

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Research on International Outsourcing/Offshoring
by Kirk St.Amant 19 May '07

19 May '07

Hi all, Does anyone know of any research (ideally, research reported in an academic journal or book) that has been done on the use or the efficacy of online media in relation to international outsourcing or offshoring practices? Thank you all in advance or your time and help with this question. Best, Kirk

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Lurker and Participant Survey
by James Whyte 19 May '07

19 May '07

Indicated in earlier postings, I have created a survey to assess AIR-L Participant / Lurker behavior. Initially it was specifically directed towards "Lurking". I have change the approah to include all AIR-L registrants. It would be hepful and appreciated if all list registrants would take a few minutes and fill out the survey. It is hoped that the results will be generative of other studies, so, we will share the data for everyones benefit. It is a blind study and there are no questions that can be used to identify individuals. A single optional question ask for an email address, if you will allow yourself to be interviewed. click on this link to obtain the survey: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=706379 James --------------------------------- Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing.

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CFP: Case Studies in Research: Knowledge and Inquiry
by Ken Friedman 19 May '07

19 May '07

Call for Papers: Design Research Quarterly announces a new series of articles: Case Studies in Research: Knowledge and Inquiry 'we want to hold a discussion on how research steers theory' Call for Papers: Designers use the term 'design' to cover a wide range of activities and types of problems, and we have many differing, often incommensurable and opposing models of design and its theoretical and methodological bases. As a result, we also have have a history of lively debates over specific theories. These debates have not been able to resolve differences. Many regions of design are not well defined, and in such situations, researchers can find that apparently straightforward problems can lead to fundamental questions about the nature of design, what kinds of philosophical and theoretical positions that can frame the research and ground the methods, and their implications with regard to knowledge: what kinds of knowledge are possible within the frames needed to do the research. In short, we want to hold a discussion on how research steers theory. Our idea is to look at research and theories in design not primarily as related to subfields per se, but to see theories as products of research problems themselves: the topics studied studied and the questions being researched. Rather than look at abstract problems of research and theory, we want to present actual problems as case studies. In this way, we can clarify design by mapping its terrain of activities and problem types with their fundamental theoretical and methodological requirements. Over the next two years, DRQ will collect and publish articles on these topics and replies to those articles, using its regular publication schedule to build a discussion. If you have an interest or idea for an article or other submission, please contact the editor, Peter Storkerson. -- Topics: We seek papers that explore issues including: - ontological and epistemological implications or require- ments of a research problem - status of knowledge, its bases and levels of certainty - conflicts between the knowledge that is possible in a given situation and the research goals. -how research fits into fundamental paradigms: scien- tific, humanist, phenomenological, pragmatic, etc., and how those approaches compare in their strengths and weaknesses - working across the boundaries of humanism and science: the extent to which a research problem requires use of more than one basic philosophical frame and how different frames can be reconciled Specifications: 3,ooo to 6,000 words APA guidelines For information or submissions: Peter Storkerson email: peter(a)drsq.org --

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texting in noisy places
by Kathy Mancuso 19 May '07

19 May '07

Actually, Holly, while I'm not sure how much formal research has been done on it, texting while copresent is a common practice among the D/deaf/HOH community. People typically text each other during conferences while watching the interpreter instead of having sign conversations among themselves (of course, the rest of us do this too). Gallaudet students often walk along in groups texting with their Hiptops. This isn't my area of research, but you might ask on the DS-HUM or deaf academics listserv -- or I can forward your query. kathy Message: 6 Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 23:15:31 -0500 From: Holly Kruse <holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu> Subject: [Air-l] Observation, and texting in noisy places To: <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> Message-ID: <C2729293.9ECE%holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" As air-l list manager, although not really list content decision-maker, and mostly lurker (I am a proud lurker on a few lists, including a huge one that I founded almost 15 years ago and and on this one), I'd just like to say that I think it would be super-nifty if we could cease and desist, at least for a while, from all discussion of/comments about particular individuals and their flaws and strengths. I am very interested in the discussion of online research interviews, in the general discussion of the etymology and usage of terms like "lurker" and "troll," in the trends in landline vs. mobile telephone usage, and in other substantive discussions. With that in mind, I found very interesting an article in today's Washington Post about the growth of texting in noisy environments, like clubs, to communicate with those with whom one is physically co-present: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600 649.html I found myself thinking a bit about the use of texting in situations where it would be totally fine to chat aloud with the co-present friend (as opposed to in class or a meeting) but there may be environmental barriers. And it made me curious about the research being done -- and just the observations being made more generally -- on this phenomenon. Holly -- Holly Kruse Faculty of Communication The University of Tulsa 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-3845 holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~holly-kruse<http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/%7Eholly-kruse> -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Katherine Mancuso, scholar, artist, activist, web designer thoughts on disability dance, crip culture, and social technology: http://museumfreak.livejournal.com linkblogging the world of designing media for connecting people: http://del.icio.us/museumfreak Alternate Roots: working at the intersection of art & activism: http://www.alternateroots.org "Disability is an art, an ingenious way to live." --Neil Marcus ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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ICT-for-D books... sharable and otherwise
by Frederick Noronha 18 May '07

18 May '07

Maxigas of Green Spider in Hungary asked me about some ICT-for-D books mentioned recently. These books are (just sharing the same with some additional ones, in case any one is interested): *** Code: Collaborative Ownership and the Digital Commons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code:_Collaborative_Ownership_and_the_Digital_… *** Codev2 by Lawrence Lessig From the Preface: "This is a translation of an old book—indeed, in Internet time, it is a translation of an ancient text." That text is Lessig's "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace." The second version of that book is "Code v2." The aim of Code v2 is to update the earlier work, making its argument more relevant to the current internet. Download the book free: http://pdf.codev2.cc/Lessig-Codev2.pdf *** Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Communication_and_Society:_A_Global_Per… *** Another interesting book I came across (and shared some of my notes via the Wikipedia, please do too if you can, w.r.t. ICT-for-development books specially ) is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenging_The_Chip *** Then, take a look at Coding Cultures (Francesca da Rimini, ed): A Handbook for Coding Cultures provides a lasting companion to the inspiring projects and topical currents of thought explored in the Coding Cultures Symposium and Concept Lab. Six invited writers and groups from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, England, Italy and Hong Kong share their experiences of building imaginative digital tools, social networks, open labs and internet-based knowledge platforms for communication and creativity. Complementing these commissioned texts are contributions from our guest artists from Canada, England and Jamaica. Artist statements from Symposium speakers completes this snapshot of contemporary cultural practice. Keeping true to the traditions of the free circulation of knowledge and culture, the Coding Cultures Handbook is available free of charge. A limited print edition of the Handbook was launched at the Coding Cultures Symposium on 9 March 2007. The complete Handbook can be viewed or downloaded below. Alternatively, essays can also be downloaded individually (see List of Contents below) and where available, a link to the Author's online essay is also provided. You can download this book free. http://www.dlux.org.au/codingcultures/handbook.html *** Free As In Education: a 2003 Finnish study on Free Software/Open Source in the "developing" world. By Niranjan Rajani et al (sharable)... am still trying to get the chapters on Asia, Africa and Latin America, as the downloadable links seem broken. Write to me for a copy of the main report (minus the regional chapters) if interested. Please share any other interesting books if you come across these. Rgds, FN/Frederick Noronha-Goa, India -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India

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Re: [Air-l] laptops and Internet access in class
by Jean H 18 May '07

18 May '07

Hi Steve, We've actually done this in a second year Communication class (with some students attending remotely via Elluminate). Including the remote group (and projecting their chat window onto the main screen) seemed to enrich and enliven the discussion. Anecdotally, students who were less inclined to participate vocally in the lecture hall reported that they were more inclined to have a voice in this multimodal group discussion. Some students in the lecture hall logged in to participate textually on the screen, while most sat back to watch, preferring to interact orally. Certainly raises some question marks, doesn't it? There was a recent thread here about incorporating backchannel discussions in select presentations/panels (presenters willing) at AOIR this year. That would be interesting to see! Cheers, Jean. Jean Hébert PhD Candidate, Sessional Instructor School of Communication SFU, Vancouver, Canada > On 5/18/07, Steve Jones <sjones(a)info.comm.uic.edu> wrote: > >> I've often wondered what it would be like if I provided students with >> a back-channel via IRC for the class (and what would it be like if I >> projected the channel on a screen in front of the class)? What would >> students do with this (if anything)?

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laptops and Internet access in class
by Julie Cohen 18 May '07

18 May '07

A colleague of mine recently published this op-ed in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/06/AR200704 0601544.html He describes his reasons for banning his first-year students from bringing laptops to class (they go into "stenographic mode", or they surf and check e-mail, which distracts other students and detracts from the learning experience). He reports that his students reacted positively to the experiment (some of my own reacted quite negatively when I mentioned they idea, but they were upper-years who had self-selected to study IP/technology law). He has also begun campaigning to have us modify our wireless network so that it is turned "off" in classrooms during class time and/or to modify our entire network to disable students' university e-mail and web accounts during the hours that they're listed as being signed up for class. I was surprised to learn this, but apparently the U. of Michigan law school has done both of these things and some other law schools are considering it. In the ensuing debate, many colleagues cited what I think are some very good reasons not to do the last two things, including: missed pedagogical opportunities (both re use of the Internet for on-the-fly research as subjects come up in class and re ethics of networked technology use), cost, inequality as between students who use only our network and students who can access other available wireless networks via commercial accounts, and excessive paternalism. Now that the semester has ended, I expect the subject to come up again, and I thought I would see what members of this list think. Most specifically, I'm wondering (1) what you all say to colleagues who react to laptops and wired classrooms in this way; and (2) techniques that you use to encourage students to think about their own responsibilities re networked technology usage. Thanks, Julie

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correct ref for Wellman & Haythornthwaite
by Barry Wellman 18 May '07

18 May '07

Someone suggested Suman & Lunn's article on e-commerce in everyday life, but gave the wrong source. It's in Barry Wellman and Caroline Haythornthwaite, eds., The Internet in Everyday Life. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. While I am at it: I sometimes see references/citations to the American Behavioral Scientist issue of the same name (Internet in Everyday Life) that Caroline and I edited in 2001. Every one of the articles in the ABS was seriously revised for the 2002 Blackwell book version, so please try to use and reference the book version. Happy Queen Victoria's Birthday to You All! (And especially to Caroline below the world's longest formerly undefended border.) 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 -- updating songs, movies and history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php Elvis wouldn't be singing Return to Sender now _____________________________________________________________________

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Trolls
by William Bain 18 May '07

18 May '07

Folks, I wonder if I could break lots of rules and send a short comment here in a too general sense and jamming together diifrent thing s that have been talked about in regard to this subject. I was kind of briefly in on the discussuion when it started, and I did mention the diea of agreeing to disagree, which by now has been much more elocquently expressd or re-expressed by a number of people. Anyway, the short bit I wanted to say was just that I, like several others who have recently spoken, have always found this list welvcoming and at the same time (as I'd hope) bright enough to be impateint with tiresome comments. I do hope that this isn't a tiresome comment, but I also wanted to add my voice to others saying we should move on from this topic. Actually, I think that's already the case and people have shown that the elenchics aoir rpomotes have an eloqunces of their own. the one negativish idea that sprang up (from my perspective) is some of the comments about students. Adult to adult, we're all students, tho ovbiously at different phases and in different roles. several moons ago an experession was used on this list, "ghetthoisation of graduate students" I think wa s the phrase. I think it's good to recall that expression in regard to moving on and, well, end of short bit and in support of continued elenics :-) WRB William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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