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

Re: [Air-L] Survey completion rate
by Jason Mittell 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

On a medium-length survey I did last year (via SurveyMonkey, which I too found quite lovely), I had a completion rate of 79%. (The published results of the project, about online spoiler fans of LOST are available at http://www.participations.org/Volume%204/Issue%201/4_01_graymittell.htm if anyone is interested.) -Jason -- Jason Mittell, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Film & Media Culture Middlebury College 204 Adirondack House Middlebury, Vermont 05753 (802) 443-3435 / fax: (802) 443-5123 Homepage: http://seguecommunity.middlebury.edu/sites/jmittell Blog: http://justtv.wordpress.com

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Re: [Air-L] public private
by Bram Dov Abramson 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

This is probably getting away from the IRB focus, but Lior Strahilevitz, a legal scholar, had a good article a few years back entitled "A Social Networks Theory of Privacy", suggesting some ways to think through the discomfort which many -- rightly, I think -- have with seeing public/private applied as a binary distinction to speech: "This paper argues that insights from the emerging literature on information transmission through social networks can help courts develop a more rigorous and objective notion of 'privacy' for the purposes of the privacy torts. It argues that privacy tort law should not focus on the abstract, circular, and highly indeterminate question of whether a plaintiff reasonably expected that information about himself would remain 'private' after he shared it with one or more persons. Instead, the law should focus on the more objective and satisfying question of what extent of dissemination the plaintiff should have expected to follow his disclosure of that information to others." cheers Bram

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International Journal of Design -- Vol. 1. No. 2, August 2007
by Ken Friedman 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

Dear Colleagues, I am very pleased to announce the publication of Vol. 1, Issue 2 of the International Journal of Design. It is now available online at <http://www.ijdesign.org> www.ijdesign.org. The on-line version is open access, freely available for anyone, anywhere to download, read, distribute, and use for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution. We hope you will enjoy reading this issue of IJDesign. If you have any suggestion, please let us hear from you. Authors are encouraged to submit their manuscripts online at <http://www.ijdesign.org>www.ijdesign.org. Regards, Lin-Lin Chen Editor-in-Chief International Journal of Design -- International Journal of Design Vol. 1(2) August 2007 | Table of Contents Original Articles * Christena Nippert-Eng Privacy in the United States: Some Implications for Design * Vicki Karaminas Imagining the Orient: Cultural Appropriation in the Florence Broadhurst Collection * Hernan Pablo Casakin Metaphors in Design Problem Solving: Implications for Creativity Design Case Studies * Richie Moalosi, Vesna Popovic, and Anne Hickling-Hudson Product Analysis Based on Botswana's Postcolonial Socio-cultural Perspective * Rung-Tai Lin Transforming Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Features into Modern Product Design: A Case Study of a Cross-cultural Product Design Model State-of-the-Art Reviews * Suzan Boztepe User Value: Competing Theories and Models -- International Journal of Design <http://www.IJDesign.org>www.IJDesign.org

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Fwd: Literature Factory Announcement to forward
by Jeremy Hunsinger 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

> Forwarded with permission:) Please distribute as appropriate. -jh > You are invited to the grand opening of the Literature Factory at > Kula 2 (187,7) in Second Life. What is a Literature Factory? Well > now, that's a silly question, it's simply a factory that makes > literature. According to Wikipedia: > > "The term "literature" has different meanings depending on who > is using it and in what context. It could be applied broadly to > mean any symbolic record, encompassing everything from images and > sculptures to letters. In a more narrow sense the term could mean > only text composed of letters, or other examples of symbolic > written language (Egyptian hieroglyphs, for example). An even more > narrow interpretation is that text have a physical form, such as on > paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of inscriptions > or digital media." > > Well, we certainly meet that criteria, excepting the physical form > bit, but we hope you'll appreciate the transgression. > > Now, we have things to do and people to see, so we went ahead and > automated the factory. The Word-o-Mats runs tirelessly day and > night, manufacturing words for the factory, the Bin Bots with them > take charge of ferrying the words from the Word-o-Mats to the > sorted bins on the other side of the factory. From there other > bots build sentences and transfer them into the new works of > literature under constant production. > > We're celebrating our grand opening Saturday with an open house > from 4pm to 6pm SLT so drop in to the Literature Factory at Kula 2 > (189,9,25). > > I 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] Dissertation
by McKee, Heidi Auchincloss Dr. 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

Hello, Brook, I am not sure where you are studying and earning your degree, but your first step would be to check with your institution's research review board--if you are in the United States, almost all doctoral granting institutions have institutional review boards. Depending upon how you structure your study, some boards might designate your research "exempt," but only a board can give that designation, a researcher cannot exclude his or her own study from review. Also, every institution's treatment of internet-based research is different, so just because a colleague at one institution was exempted doesn't mean another will be. As Asa Roseberger noted, another key issue is the public/private nature of the blog--yes, all blogs may be publicly available, but does the blogger himself/herself has a perceived sense of privacy that might make their blog less "public" in their eyes? I'm typing quickly here so I don't have the exact citation, but I remember someone writing (perhaps in Elizabeth Buchanan's excellent collection Virtual Research Ethics) "who is the audience for the blog? and does it include you the researcher?" The first aim of ethical research should be to do no harm, and if someone might feel violated by having their blog studied and quoted, then that's a concern, and would, I think, tilt the scales toward seeking informed consent for your research. Conducting a linguistic analysis that does not include direct quotation and instead, for example, quantifies features of texts, might tilt the scales in the other direction toward not needing informed consent provided there is no way for others (or even the bloggers themselves) to identify anything--but as you probably know from conducting other studies, you might find that partway through your analysis you really do need/want to use direct quotations. If that's the case and you hadn't obtained the necessary consent than that could impede your research. The blogger you mention who was concerned for readers, particularly those who post comments, is also an issue. If you are studying power interactions between bloggers and readers, than will you be examining comments as well? If you'll be quoting the comments than you have the same public/private/perceived audience issues to consider as well as how you would be using those comments. There are so many millions of bloggers out there, my approach would be to seek consent, if someone were to turn me down, then I would move to the next blogger, feeling better with the knowledge that I wasn't studying someone's work against their will if they had been writing with a perceived sense of privacy. But your first step should be to check with your review board and check with your dissertation committee. Also, in addition to the AoIR guidelines, the following sources might be helpful. Some which I've co-authored are in press and I'd be glad to send you the mss. Good luck, Heidi --Banks, Will, & Eble, Michelle F. (2007). Digital spaces, online environments, and human participant research: Interfacing with institutional review boards. In McKee, Heidi A., & DeVoss, Danielle Nicole (Eds.), Digital writing research: Technologies, methodologies, and ethical issues (pp. 27-47). Cresskill: Hampton. [this chapter examines issues of informed consent and gay youth bloggers and expectations of a U.S. IRB] --Buchanan, Elizabeth A. (Ed). (2004). Readings in virtual research ethics: Issues and controversies. Hershey, PA: Information Science. --Ess, Charles. (Ed.) (2001). Internet Research Ethics. Retrieved June 20, 2005 from <http://www.nyu.edu/projects/nissenbaum/projects_ethics.html>. --Frankel, Mark S. & Siang, Sunyin. (1999). Ethical and legal aspects of human subjects research in cyberspace: A report of a workshop. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved June 20, 2005 from <http://www.aaas.org/spp/sfrl/projects/intres/report.pdf>. --Mann, Chris, & Stewart, Fiona. (2000). Internet communication and qualitative research: A handbook for researching online. London: Sage. --McKee, Heidi A. (in press) Ethical and Legal Issues for Writing Researchers in an Age of Media Convergence. Computers and Composition. --Mckee, Heidi A. & Porter, Jim. (in press). The ethics of digital writing research: A rhetorical approach. College Composition and Communication. --McKee, Heidi A. & Porter, Jim (forthcoming). Feminist Research Practices in Cyberspace. In Schell, Eileen (Ed.), Rhetorica in Motion: Feminist Rhetorical Methods and Methodologies. [this chapter is based on interviews with internet researchers--mostly blog researchers--who discuss their approaches for seeking informed consent etc.] --Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). (2001). US Department of Health and Human Services. Code of Federal Regulations, 45CFR46. Retrieved June 20, 2005 from <http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm>. --Sapienza, Fil. (2007). Ethos and positionality in studies of virtual communities. In McKee, Heidi A., & DeVoss, Danielle Nicole (Eds.), Digital writing research: Technologies, methodologies, and ethical issues (pp. 89-106). Cresskill: Hampton. ******** Heidi McKee Assistant Professor & Coordinator of Digital Writing English Department Miami University Bachelor 364 Oxford, Ohio 45056 513-523-8403 (office) mckeeha(a)muohio.edu

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Re: [Air-L] Dissertation
by McKee, Heidi Auchincloss Dr. 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

Sorry if my last post included the complete digest--I meant to delete! Heidi ******** Heidi McKee Assistant Professor & Coordinator of Digital Writing English Department Miami University Bachelor 364 Oxford, Ohio 45056 513-523-8403 (office) mckeeha(a)muohio.edu ________________________________________

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speaking of crime
by Tuszynski, Stephanie 10 Aug '07

10 Aug '07

Australia's PM rolls out a new plan, vows "to clean up the internet" http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22218929-421,00.html The scariest bit, to my mind: "As well as practical tools to help families put internet pornography beyond the reach of children, the Government will form partnerships with major computer providers in upgraded steps to block porn sites and detect predators using popular websites such as MySpace and Facebook to contact children. Of the $189 million, $43 million will be provided immediately to double the size of the online child sex exploitation branch of the AFP and establish a working group to find ways of getting around privacy laws that protect sexual predators. A "black list" of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which covers Australian-based pornographic and terror sites, will be expanded internationally after consultation with the Attorney-General. " Stephanie Tuszynski Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Theatre and Film University of Toledo

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Re: [Air-L] Dissertation
by Matthew Bernius 09 Aug '07

09 Aug '07

To second what Alex and other have said, in my experience US IRB boards in general: 1. Treat anything that's posted to the internet, without any form of membership/login as public speech. That goes for posts and comments. 2. In general once any form of log-in comes into play (as in myspace or live journal) then you need to get specific permission to publish. The only case where you have wiggle room is in cases where all that is needed is to create a log in based on an e-mail address (which can be argued are freely available to anyone). However, if the owner of the blog has to give you permission to read their entries (or in some cases the owner of the content) then you definitely need to get consent there. 3. If individuals have taken steps to protecting their identities, you also need permission if you are going to link screen names with RL "real names". 4. Get permissions for any interview data (again, just like in off line studies). - Matt -- ----------------------------- Matthew Bernius Visiting Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology mBernius(a)gMail.com http://www.waking-dream.com

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Fwd: MM 333: Intro. to Field Research Methods in Virtual Worlds Syllabus now available
by Ed Lamoureux 09 Aug '07

09 Aug '07

> thought, perhaps, some of you might be interested in seeing what this undergrad research course in SL looks like > this course meets this fall, online in Second Life, T-T 12noon-1:15 > pm. There are seats for Juniors, Seniors (with special permission; > I'll consider sophomores with special recommendation from faculty). > Students need access to computers and bandwidth during class (we've > not reserved labs for this online course). Interested students > should contact me. > > http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/333/mm333.html > Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D. Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Department of Communication Co-Director, New Media Center 1501 W. Bradley Bradley University Peoria IL 61625 309-677-2378 <http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/index.html> <http://gcc.bradley.edu/mm/> AIM/IM & skype: dredleelam Second Life: Professor Beliveau

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test
by Ed Lamoureux 09 Aug '07

09 Aug '07

sorry for this intrusion, but have had a lot of trouble posting to the group. list admins are trying to fix it. have to test it. peace Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D. Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Department of Communication Co-Director, New Media Center 1501 W. Bradley Bradley University Peoria IL 61625 309-677-2378 <http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/index.html> <http://gcc.bradley.edu/mm/> AIM/IM & skype: dredleelam Second Life: Professor Beliveau

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