January 2008 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Clifford G. Christians Ethics Research Award
by Mark D. Johns 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS Clifford G. Christians Ethics Research Award Sponsored by Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research http://www.cccsir.org/ The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for research papers and published works (i.e., books or articles) to be considered for Clifford G. Christians Ethics Research Award. To be considered for the Christians Award, submissions should interpret or address important theoretical issues in the areas of ethics, mass communication theory, and the relationship between media and technology and culture; interpret and apply concepts employed in Christians' work in new and insightful ways. Submissions will be evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery of Christians’ approaches and concepts, (2) originality, (3) organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of knowledge. Evaluation will be administered by a Review Committee of four: Dr. Lee Wilkins, University of Missouri Dr. Robert Fortner, Calvin College Dr. Deni Elliott, University of South Florida Dr. Ronald Arnett, Duquesne University Both single and co-authored works are accepted. Applications may only be submitted for award consideration once. Published materials submitted must have appeared no earlier than eighteen months prior to each year’s application. The Award winner will receive a Christians Award plaque to be presented in the 2008 Annual Convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), or the National Communication Association (NCA). Those interested please send six copies of the research papers or published works (if the publication is a book, six copies of the table of contents and of one chapter is sufficient) with a 100-word abstract to: Shing-Ling S. Chen Dept. of Communication Studies Univ. of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614 Tel: 319-273-6021 E-mail: chen(a)cccsir.org Application deadline is February 29, 2008. Notification of the award will be sent out by May 31, 2008. Questions and comments about Christians Award application, please contact Shing-Ling S. Chen, Dept. of Communication Studies, Univ. of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614; Tel: 319-273-6021; E-mail: chen(a)cccsir.org

1 0

Politics: Web 2.0: An International Conference - programme and registration details announced
by Chadwick Andrew 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

Politics: Web 2.0: An International Conference, New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London - programme and registration details announced The programme and details of registration and accommodation packages for this conference are now available: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/ We received a fantastic response to the call for papers, the results of which are contained within the mouth-watering programme of excellent panels. How to Register The conference will be held in the new, award-winning Windsor Building, complete with state of the art audio-visual facilities and free Wi-Fi. Accommodation is in premium ensuite rooms in the new halls of residence on campus - opened in 2007. Places are limited, so please register early. The conference is open to all. Please visit the conference page to register online and to read more about the gathering: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/ DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: March 3, 2008. We warmly invite you to join us for what promises to be an exciting and stimulating event. Please distribute this email widely. Andrew Chadwick Ben O'Loughlin New Political Communication Unit Conference Organisers http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk

1 0

Search for new JASIS&T Editor
by Richard Hill 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

After an distinguished and unprecedented term (1985 to present) as Editor of _The Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology_, Don Kraft will be stepping down once a replacement is selected and ready to serve. Below is a position description and information on the application procedure.. Position Description, Editor-in-Chief Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST) Nature of Position: The Editor�s foremost responsibility is to ensure the high quality and quantity of papers published in JASIST. Working in collaboration with the Editorial Board, the Editor�s additional responsibility is to set the vision and scope for the Journal in a manner consistent with those of the Society. The Editor solicits high quality papers that fit the scope of JASIST, and oversees the activities of the Associate Editors, Guest Editors, and Editorial Board to ensure that submitted papers are peer reviewed by appropriately qualified persons. The Editor ensures prompt communication with authors to accept or reject manuscripts or to request revisions in response to referees� reports. The Editor, in consultation with the Society, appoints and renews Editorial Board members for an agreed term ensuring that the Board�s composition is sufficiently international and broad in scope to maintain JASIST�s stature worldwide within its field. The Editor communicates at least annually with the Editorial Board concerning the development of the Journal, editorial strategy, submissions and promotion. The Editor assists the Publisher in promoting JASIST by advising on publicity, and promoting JASIST wherever possible through contacts and at conferences attended. The Editor is responsible for the intellectual workflow (e.g., using the electronic manuscript system, sequencing papers in issues, etc.) and ensuring that the instructions to authors are followed (e.g., that papers are original and have not been published elsewhere; that papers are not defamatory or otherwise unlawful, and that appropriate illustrations and tabular matter, permissions, and assignments of copyright are included). The Editor receives some support for editorial assistance from the Publisher. BACKGROUND REQUIREMENTS a) Education: Graduate degree. b) Skills Required: The Editor must be a leader who has strong motivational, interpersonal, and communication skills. He or she must be highly motivated to publish a successful journal and must recognize the broad scope of information science and technology. A global perspective, flexibility, and diplomatic skills are required to encourage diverse and creative contributions and to arbitrate controversial issues and points of views. Knowledge of electronic communications and manuscript management systems is essential. The Editor must be familiar with electronic publishing trends, issues of originality and reuse, open access points of view and publishing economics. In additional to oversight abilities, the Editor must be willing and able to delegate responsibilities. c) Term: The term for this position is five years. A limit of two terms is imposed. d) Relevant Experience: Substantial knowledge of JASIST and the field of information science and technology and a strong record of scholarly publication. Prior editorship experience and/or editorial board experience with a comparable scholarly, technical, or scientific (refereed) journal is highly preferred. APPLICATION PROCEDURE Applications will be considered beginning on March 1, 2008 and until the position is filled. Send applications to: JASIST Editor Search Committee c/o Richard Hill ASIS&T 1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510 Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA The application package should include but not be limited to, the following: * Applicant�s vision of information science: the directions it should take; its hot, warm, and cold areas; * Applicant�s publishing & editorial experience; * Reasons why the applicant is specially qualified as Editor-in-Chief of this publication; * Applicant�s view on current issues and strategies with the publication: backlog, special issues, etc.; * Applicant�s ideas on ways to improve the readability of the publication: special initiatives, survey articles, etc.; * Applicant�s ideas on methods to shorten reviewing time and strengthen the review process; * Experience with electronic manuscript management systems; * Applicant�s vision of JASIST as an international journal; * Applicant�s vision of JASIST Editorial Board structure and function; * Applicant�s understanding of ASIS&T, and conception of the relationship of the Journal to ASIS&T members; * Other plans for improvement. The applicant must also provide a detailed resume, listing all past and present affiliations, editorial positions held, and activities in professional societies and technical conferences. Further, the applicant should provide a complete list of publications, honors and awards received, and other information deemed relevant to the Editor-in-Chief position. _____ Executive Director American Society for Information Science and Technology 1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510 Silver Spring, MD 20910 FAX: (301) 495-0810 (301) 495-0900

1 0

Issues in design research and design research methods
by Charlie Breindahl 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

Artifact invites contributions for a special issue on issues in design research and design research methods edited by Jonas Löwgren and Yukari Nagai. Please consider contributing and repost where appropriate. Best and thanks, Charlie Breindahl http://www.informaworld.com/artifact ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS Journal: Artifact Special issue: Issues in design research and design research methods INTRODUCTION: DESIGN RESEARCH AND OUR SCOPE Design research is a challenging topic with many open issues concerning conceptual foundations and methodological practices. It is also a timely topic, given the current movement in art and design institutions towards articulation, conceptualization and research, where labels such as practice-based research abound. We aim at compiling a special issue of Artifact that collects up-to- date experience and thoughts on design research, crucial issues for taking the field further, and best practices in design research methodology. To be a little more specific, we might use the well-known distinction between research-into-design, research-for-design, and research-by- design that was introduced by British scholars in the 1970s. Even though it is somewhat debated, it helps in indicating the breadth of the design research field. Research-into-design refers to studies of the activity of designing, whereas research-for-design concerns the development of knowledge to support design practice and research-by-design refers to developing knowledge about a phenomenon by designing for it. What we are looking for are contributions that report on theoretical and methodological findings in design research, or reflect upon theoretical and methodological issues in design research, rather than examples of design research per se. Here are some examples of questions to indicate the kind of contributions we have in mind. - Research-into-design: How can we study the activity of designing? What are the methodological conclusions and caveats? What are the characteristics of designing that have an impact on the choice of research methods? - Research-for-design: What is design ability and how can it be developed? How can the development of design ability be facilitated by knowledge contributions from research? What does validation mean in relation to such knowledge contributions? What are the criteria for judging the quality of research results? How can we conduct research that leads to knowledge for design? - Research-by-design: How can we conduct research by design? Can we construct knowledge about a phenomenon by designing for it? What is the nature of that knowledge? What is the role of the artifact in such knowledge construction processes? What does validation mean in relation to knowledge constructed by designing? What are the criteria for judging goodness of research results? What are the epistemological foundations of exploring possible futures? There are, of course, also general questions to be addressed, such as: What is design research? What should it be? What is the role of design research? What should it be? Our list of questions is by no means complete. It is provided merely for inspiration, to get your thoughts started on what could be a useful contribution to the special issue. TIMELINE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS 1. Submit your manuscript as a PDF file by email to both of us, no later than March 15, 2008. You can find our addresses below. The manuscript should be no more than 12 000 words and formatted for general readability. See the Instructions for authors at the Artifact web site (address below) for information on how to treat references and other aspects of manuscript preparation. Start the subject line with the words "Artifact special issue submission". 2. Your manuscript will be peer-reviewed and we will notify you of our decision no later than May 1, 2008. The manuscript can be accepted for publication (as-is or with minor revisions), accepted conditionally if you revise it according to our instructions, or rejected. 3a. Authors of accepted manuscripts submit final version of text and images for publication no later than June 1, 2008. 3b. Authors of conditionally accepted manuscripts submit final version of revised text and images for publication no later than June 1, 2008. We provide notification of acceptance no later than June 8, 2008. 4. We write an editorial introduction and hand it over to the general editors, together with the accepted manuscripts, on July 1, 2008. The articles appear in volume 2, issue 3, of Artifact, which is slated to appear in September, 2008. CONTACT If you have questions about this call for contributions, or if you have an idea for a contribution that you want to discuss with us before starting to develop it, we would be happy to talk to you. Please send us an email and we will get back to you. We are looking forward to your contribution! The guest editors: Jonas Löwgren, Malmö University, Sweden, jonas.lowgren(a)mah.se Yukari Nagai, Japan Adv. Institute of Science and Technology, ynagai@ jaist.ac.jp The journal Artifact is published by Taylor and Francis. It is an international peer-reviewed academic journal dealing with design. The journal addresses topical themes and issues that are of relevance to design researchers, practising designers, and manufacturers. It reflects the broad field that makes up design today by giving researchers from different disciplines the opportunity to debate and exchange ideas about specific areas and issues. The aim of the journal is to promote transdisciplinary design research, encourage cross-fertilization, interconnections, and crossbreeding among different scientific disciplines, the design industry, and the arts. The journal embraces experimental research approaches to design, with a basis in, or view to applied design practice. More information about Artifact, including general instructions on manuscript preparation, is available at http://www.informaworld.com/artifact -- Charlie Breindahl External Lecturer University of Copenhagen + IT University of Copenhagen Co-editor, Artifact, http://www.informaworld.com/artifact "For the modern Don Quixote, the windmills have been preprogrammed to turn into knights" - Janet H. Murray

1 0

Deadline submission approaching: Call for paper International Symposium on Online Journalism
by Vanessa Higgins 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

Dear colleagues, This is a reminder that the deadline for papers or three-page abstracts for the 5th International Symposium on Online Journalism is soon approaching (this Friday, Jan 25th, 2008). In case you had missed the original call for paper, the information to send papers, as well as more info on the symposium itself follows. "I'd like to extend this invitation to an upcoming event to be held in April 2008, at The University of Texas at Austin. This is a good opportunity to present your new media/online journalism research. The symposium combines presentation by online journalism professionals with academic research presentations. For the fifth year, the International Symposium on Online Journalism will include presentations of original research into online journalism. All presentations will take place on the second day of the conference. The first day is devoted to presentations and panels of online journalism professionals. Prior symposia have included professionals from around the world from news organizations such as the NYTimes.com, OhMyNews, ep3.es (El Pais' multimedia magazine in Spain), MSNBC.com, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, WashingtonPost.com,ElTiempo.com (Colombia), ElComercio.com.pe <http://elcomercio.com.pe/> < http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/online/> (Peru), and several others. Deadlines for papers or three-page abstracts: January 25, 2008 (midnight). Symposium dates are April 4-5, 2008 Submission requirements: Academic papers should present original research into any aspect on online journalism including, but not limited to, changes in news content and presentation, business models for online journalism, shifting roles of journalists and readers, and the legal and ethical implications of globally accessible journalism. For submission details and requirements, visit this site for more details: http://online.journalis m.utexas.edu/callforpapers.php<http://online.journalism.utexas.edu/callforpapers.php> The symposium also has a website containing transcriptions, videos and other documents from previous year's presentations. Visit the site at http://online.journalism.utexas.edu Thank you and hope to see you there, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins PhD candidate The University of Texas at Austin"

1 0

new journal issue with articles of relevance, interest
by Charles Ess 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

Elizabeth Buchanan has already kindly announced the first issue of the International Journal of Internet Research Ethics (IJIRE), available at <http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SOIS/cipr/ijire/issue_1.1.html> allow me to pass along the Table of Contents - in part, because elements of our current discussions regarding copyright, terms of service, etc. are addressed in exquisite and helpful detail in a number of the articles in the first issue. More broadly - though of course I'm a trifle biased, I think the whole darned thing is just so interesting! cheers, - c. ToC: Small Talk Annette Markham Ethical Approaches to Robotic Data Gathering in Academic Research Gove Allen, Dan Burk, and Charles Ess Data as Representation: Beyond Anonymity in e-Research Ethics Annamaria Carusi Researching the Researchers: Market Researchers, Child Subjects and the Problem of ³Informed² Consent Sara M. Grimes Emerging Legal Issues in the Collection and Dissemination of Internet- Sourced Research Data: Part I, Basic Tort Law Issues and Negligence Tomas A. Lipinski Creating a Web of Attribution in the Feminist Blogosphere Erin Hvizkak

1 0

4th International Conference on e-Social Science
by Yuwei Lin 22 Jan '08

22 Jan '08

*** Apologies for cross-posting *** 4th International Conference on e-Social Science Manchester, June 18th-20th, 2008 Initial Announcement and Call for Submissions The aim of the conference on e-Social Science is to bring together leading international representatives of the social science, e-Infrastructure/ cyberinfrastructure and e-Research communities in order to improve mutual awareness, harmonize understanding and instigate coordinated activities to accelerate research, development and deployment of powerful, new research methods and tools for the social sciences and beyond. We invite contributions from members of the social science, e-Infrastructure/cyberinfrastructure and e-Research communities with experience of, or interests in: 1) exploring, developing, and applying new methods, practices, and tools afforded by new infrastructure technologies - such as the Grid and Web 2.0 - in order to further social science research; and 2) studying issues impacting on the wider take-up of e-Research. Submission categories include: full and short papers, posters, demos, workshops, tutorials and panels. Topics of interest include, but are not restricted to, the following: * Case studies of the application of e-Social Science research methods to substantive social science problems * Advances in tools and techniques for quantitative and qualitative e-Social Science, including statistical analysis, simulation, data mining, text mining, social network analysis and collaborative environments * Enabling new sources and forms of sociological data through e-Social Science, including ethical issues and challenges in the collection, integration, sharing and analysis of sociological and other personal data *The e-Research technical roadmap, including grids, web 2.0 and their future (co-evolution) ------------------- Important Deadlines ------------------- Paper abstracts: Feb 4th, 2008. Workshop, tutorial and panel outlines: February 22nd, 2008. Poster and demo abstracts: March 21st, 2008. Authors will be informed of the programme committees decision in early March, 2008. For full details of this call, including a full list of topics of interest and submission instructions, please visit http://www.ncess.ac.uk/events/conference/call/

1 0

Re: [Air-L] anthropology is not a science?
by Christian Nelson 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

Hi Denise, I didn't deny that "science" has a material referent, and certainly didn't deny that there is a tangible referent to the term "material world." Indeed, I don't know of any social constructionist who would do so, despite the army of objectivists who busily construct straw social constructionists who do do so. What I did do was claim that whatever material thing or set of material practices we conjure in our heads or reference by the term "science" is something whose boundaries have been set by people rhetorically struggling over the use of the term. As an extension, I would also claim that the realm of things and concepts to which we apply any term is shaped by the discourses in which we use each term, and that those discourses--even scientific ones--can be politically fraught. Consider past discourses about "phlogiston" or current discourses about "fibromyalgia." However, I don't claim that the use of every term is politically fraught--political wrangling is not the only process by which meanings and things are socially constructed. Further, and more importantly, to the contrary of Hobbes, I claim that politics and science are not polar opposites. Indeed, if one's use of a term leads to a culturally valued result (like the building of a significantly more steady bridge), then one's political stock within science (as understood to this point) will often (though not always) rise, albeit often only after a great deal of resistance from the scientific establishment (e.g., the establishment's resistance to Einstein's unique use of the terms "mass," "energy," "time," "space," etc. both individually and in concert). That is, the politics of science, as that has been variously constructed in our society, has till now actually led, however spasmodically, to scientific "progress." Whatever the case, I also claimed that a lot of variable analytic social scientists have a funny way of constructing the referent of the term "science"--they often do so by limiting the referent to variable analytic studies, despite the fact that those "scientists" they look up to--physicists, etc.--do not construct the referent of science thus. --Christian Nelson On Jan 16, 2008, at 6:39 PM, Denise N. Rall wrote: > Yes Christian, > > I couldn't agree more about the boundary work. But > when I hope that the bridge will stay up, and the > airplane will stay in the sky, I want the scientific > method. That limits the domain of understanding > considerably, but for material processes, I am more > than happy to make the exception. > > That doesn't lessen the political burdens, but perhaps > puts a box around it. It's our job as social > scientists to make sure it's not a black one. > > Ok, that's me done. > Cheers, Denise

1 0

the internet resembles face-to-face
by Robert Whitney 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

"Perhaps this quote is the most useful for supporting Pam's thesis (one I've been working on, too) that much of the Internet resembles face-to-face communication. Why else would Internet researchers have to be reminded that posting emails is a form of publication unless, of course, Internet posting is so pervasively considered to be something other than publishing--e.g., f2f communication." - Alex Halavais, last week I find this statement curious for a number of reasons. For instance, I feel that many books and print works have the same visceral quality as face to face communication, while many print ads or commercials, billboards, etc. feel cold. I think that the same is true of the net, so that "desktop publishing" resembles face-to-face in so far as it is personalized in some way by the writer. However, since the formal establishment of signs and signifiers is not quite present, static, or established in our consciousness- and since the volume of information that we deal with is so daunting that these things often have shifting meanings and allusions, we are confronted in a far more colloquial manner. I believe that individuals, in most informal cases (such as this), write more as if they were having a conversation, which should be obvious but, I question very much if it is anything beyond that. We all know that the internet has "changed the way we communicate" but I think that behind all the rhetoric, and the obvious difference in tools, the nature of the message behind it all is the same (though moving at a much faster rate). An unpersonalized message, or a corporate site- something anonymous does not resemble the visceral qualities of a conversation to me no matter how it is presented. Also, are you proposing to set aside the great deal of pornography which engulfs the internet and would you say that it resembles f2f? -Bob

3 2

Fair use analysis
by Bill Herman 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

Thanks to Christine Greenhow and Dan Burk for the website referrals. In the same vein of helpful sites, I’d also recommend the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center, at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ As regards the finer points of copyright discussed thus far, I also “don’t want to bore the list,” but I’d like to invite those who are interested in following the spirited debate about fair use to go to this rather extended blog post: http://www.shoutingloudly.com/2008/01/21/internet-researchers-and-copyright… Comments welcome. However, here I would like to rebuff Prof. Burk’s statement that “its virtually impossible for the average person to have any sense of whether a given use is fair or not.” While fair use is very murky in many circumstances, this cold statement that “average” people can’t possibly learn enough to know whether fair use applies in their case is untrue, and it unnecessarily chills speech. Knowing in some broad sense what counts (or might count) as fair use is possible and important for anybody who produces information. For instance, nobody should sit around wondering whether quoting 50 words from a journal article in one’s scholarly writing will be fair use. It is. My fellow Ph.D. candidate didn’t need our guidance to find out whether the same guidelines would govern similar uses of list discussions, but asking the list was probably the easiest way to do so. With a little work, an average person can find an accessible introduction to copyright and get a reasonably good sense of how to determine what else counts as a fair use. In addition to the above websites, I recommend Stephen Fishman’s book, The Copyright Handbook, from Nolo Press. Most people in fact know little if anything about fair use, but it’s not particle physics; average people (not to mention the above-average lot on this list) could get a decent sense with a little investigation, and this basic understanding would provide helpful guidance on a number of fair use questions. There will always be gray-area cases, especially in this area. Ask an attorney if you’re unsure. But don’t write it off as impossible.

2 1