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

Sad News: Death of Brenda Danet
by Naomi Susan Baron 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

Yesterday, the world of internet research lost a dear friend and colleague. Brenda Danet died in New Haven, CT, following a heroic (and most graceful) battle with leukemia. Despite her years of ups and downs with the disease, she continued to produce work that guides many of us and our students. Brenda was a pioneer -- intellectually and personally. She did her BA at Radcliffe and PhD (in Sociology) at the University of Chicago, but spent most of her professional life in Israel. She taught at Hebrew University, where she was appointed Danny Arnold Chair of Communications in 1998. Following her retirement in 2000, she migrated back to the US, where she became a Research Affiliate in Anthropology at Yale. Most of us know Brenda from her delightful book CyberPlay, and her more recent co-edited volume (with Susan Herring) on The Multilingual Internet. Those of us fortunate enough to have known Brenda in person cherish our memories of a strong, self-confident woman who inspired us to think, was full of wit, wore the most lovely scarves, and helped us laugh at ourselves. Brenda will be very sorely missed. Naomi Baron American University Washington, DC USA

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deliberative democracy - good cases?
by Egle Butkeviciene 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Dear colleagues, I am doing a research on deliberative democracy in virtual space and searching for "best practice" examples. Maybe anybody knows and could share the information about websites that are created to deliberate political issues, policies, laws, ect. And especially the ones created by government. Thank you in advance, Best regards, Egle Butkeviciene --------------------- Assoc. prof. dr. Egle Butkeviciene Kaunas University of Technology Department of Sociology Tel. +370 686 15858 e-mail: egle.butkeviciene(a)ktu.lt

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Undergrad panel for IR 10.0
by Mark D. Johns 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

In a weak (and possibly not entirely sober) moment in Copenhagen, I told some folks that I would attempt to organize an undergraduate panel for IR 10.0 in Milwaukee. At least one of those folks is holding me to it. This is *NOT* a paper competition (see the Couch Award call at www.cccsir.org if you’re interested in that), and I don’t have time to read and "judge" hundreds of undergraduate papers. But I’m willing to put something together IF I can get a little help from all of you in this way: As you are grading papers at this end of the semester, if you come across an undergraduate’s paper that... 1. Is truly an EXCEPTIONAL paper dealing with QUALITY internet research (you be the judge), and 2. It is likely that your institution would fund the student next fall to get to Milwaukee to present it, and 3. The student is a traditional, 18 to 20-something undergrad -- OR, if a non-traditional student, an undergrad who might be in a position to go on to grad school with this sort of encouragement... ...then talk to the student about it, and if s/he is willing, send me their paper electronically. CLEARLY mark the message as an UNDERGRAD PANEL SUBMISSION. NO GUARANTEES! The panel will be submitted to be considered and accepted (or not) through the regular IR 10.0 vetting process. There’s probably room for about 6 or 8 papers max (I assume undergrad papers are short), and if I receive more than about a dozen I’ll probably throw up my hands and forget the whole thing. But if there are really, really OUTSTANDING undergrad papers in that stack that you are grading, see if the student is interested and if your school will pick up the tab to send them if accepted. If so, send the paper to me and we'll see what happens. -- Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Communication Studies Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA http://academic.luther.edu/~johnsmar/ ----------------------------------------------- "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." ---Mark Twain

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Webometrics workshop 22-23 January, 2009 in Wolverhampton, UK
by m.thelwall＠blueyonder.co.uk 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Webometrics workshop 22-23 January, 2009 in Wolverhampton, UK Hosted by the Statistical Cybermetrics Research Group http://cybermetrics.wlv.ac.uk/workshopJan2009.html This Webometrics workshop is aimed at existing researchers working in the area of Webometrics (gathering and analysing data from the web on a large scale) and social scientists wishing to find out about webometrics. Participants will receive training in the use of Webometric methods in social science research as well as hearing presentations on Webometrics topics and having the opportunity to share their own research (not necessarily webometrics) and to meet other researchers. The cost is free but participants will be expected to make their own accommodation arrangements, for example asking for the university discount in the local Britannia Hotel http://www.britanniahotels.com/hotel_home.asp?Page=123, which is in the city centre and 5 minutes from the train station and University. Participants will receive a free draft copy of a new introductory book on Webometrics. All are welcome but please email m.thelwall <at> wlv.ac.uk to pre-book as numbers are limited. Schedule: Thursday 22 January. 11.30 Welcome and coffee 12.00 Lunch at local café 2pm-5pm Open forum each attendee has up to 15 minutes to give a formal or informal presentation of their research, with 15 minutes for questions. 7-9pm Dinner at a world-class Wolverhampton curry house Friday 23 January 9.30-10.30 Presentation by Mike Thelwall, University of Wolverhampton - Introduction to webometrics methods 10.30-12.00 Computer workshop practical training sessions with the LexiURL Searcher and SocSciBot 4 software 12-2pm Lunch at local café 2-3pm Webometric vs. bibliometric profiles of oceanographic research institutes by Tina Ruschenburg, Universität Bielefeld 3-3.30 Coffee Immediately following the workshop there will also be an opportunity to attend a lecture relevant to information science: "Bradfordizing, Relevance and Information Retrieval" by Phlipp Mayr, GESIS-IZ Social Science Information Centre, Bonn, 3.30-4.30pm

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Benkler, Bandwidth, and the State of the Internet in Japan
by Andrew Famiglietti 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

Hey all! I've been doing some writing about the Political Economy of Web 2.0 and happened across this recent piece by one of the giants of Network political economy, Yochai Benkler: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/04/recovery_prescription_build… In it, he calls for a massive public program to build communications infrastructure in the United States. He makes a reference near the beginning of the piece to Japan, where 100 Mbit connections to the home have apparently been common place for awhile now. Here's my question. The basic premise of Benkler's thought is that widespread cheap computational power and bandwidth should lead to a decentralized network full of horizontally collaborating smallholders. Is this what has happened in Japan? Does anyone know of any work on the current state of the Internet there that might address this question? Is Japan a FOSS paradise? Or have the forces Nicholas Carr describes in his "Big Switch" lead to greater centralization? The Japanese case seems like it ought to provide some great evidence on this one way or another, but I never see any referenced. Can anyone get me started? Thanks. - Andy -- - Andrew Famiglietti PhD Candidate Bowling Green State University Bowling Green Ohio

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Call for Papers: IAMCR Communication Policy & Technology section Mexico-city 2009
by Jo Pierson 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

CALL FOR PAPERS: Communications Policy and Technology (CP&T) section International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) 27th Annual Research Conference, July 21-24, 2009 National Autonomous University Of Mexico (Unam), Mexico-City, Mexico Theme: Human Rights And Communication The Communication Policy and Technology (CP&T) Section of the IAMCR invites the submission of abstracts bearing on the Conference theme as well as on the Section sub-theme ‘Human Rights, ICT Use & Technology Policy: Challenges, Options and the Way Forward’. At the heart of the development, usages and policies of information and communication technologies are human beings, whose rights and interests should be paramount in the development process. Is there an inalienable right to information and communication as a basic survival tool within the emerging knowledge economy? How can we conceive internal and external media pluralism in the information age? Should access to the Internet and broadband technologies be a privilege or a right of citizens the world over? Are emerging social and citizen media entitled to the rights of traditional media in terms of press freedom? To what extent are the human rights and interests of children, elderly, disabled, poor and other socially disadvantaged people accounted for in strategic approaches and policy-making in the pre and post WSIS eras? And, with the focus on ‘Rights’, what importance do we accord to ‘Responsibility’ as part of the strategic thinking and policy objectives in the design, implementation and use of ICTs in the national and global communication spheres? What are the best methods to identify human concerns and to involve people’s practices in the design and social shaping of media technologies? How do people within different social-cultural settings experience and give meaning to new media in relation to the challenges of everyday life? How do people deal with hybridization and convergence in the new media ecosystem? Is there a new regulatory paradigm emerging? Empirical and analytical work on these and other related issues will form the central thrust of presentations in the CP&T Section at the 2009 Mexico conference. Your carefully researched, analytical papers and well-crafted presentations could be part of the engaging series of sessions at the Conference. The CP& T Section welcomes abstracts of between 300 and 500 words from scholars of any academic discipline bearing on these and related issues. Topics of particular interest in abstract submissions to the Section include: · Communication Rights in national and local contexts · Human Rights, Internet Access and Sovereignty · Internet Governance, Stakeholderism and Human Rights · Open Access, Human Rights and ICT Policy-making · Policy Challenges of the two IPs –Intellectual Property rights and Internet Protocol networks · Open Source movement and creative commons · Human Rights, Technology Designs and the Market · Human Rights and Global Connectivity in the pre- and post-WSIS era · Next Generation Networks & Net Neutrality · Citizen Rights, Web 2.0 and beyond · Convergence and Cross Media Use · The Rights and Wrongs of the Digital Divide · ICTs Role in Urban and Rural Everyday Life · Cultural and indigenous innovations – the challenge of rights · Technology and Human Rights in communicating wars, conflicts and crises · Telecommunications Networks, Interconnection and Human Rights · Social Innovation and User Involvement in ICT Design · Disability, ICTs and Human Rights · Human Rights and Virtual Communities · ICTs to Support Social Bounding and Social Bridging · Social Inclusion and Social Network Sites and Communities · Youth and Elderly, ICT technologies and the right to communicate · Digital Gaming and Citizen Rights · The Impacts of National or Regional Communications Policies on Minorities · Mobile Broadband, Telephony Usage Patterns and e-Exclusion · Digital television, Switch-over Policies and Digital Divide · Interdisciplinary Methods for Research on User Participation in ICT · Community radio regulation Abstracts (of no more than 500 words) addressing one or more of the above topics should be submitted via the official conference abstracts and registration site: http://www.iamcr2009mexico.unam.mx/english/form.html Also send a copy in Word-format to Bart Cammaerts (B.Cammaerts[AT]lse.ac.uk) and Maria Michalis (M.Michalis[AT]Westminster.ac.uk). All abstracts must be submitted before January 31, 2009. Abstracts should state the title as well as the methods or approaches used and introduce the empirical and theoretical material on which the paper is based. Also include the relevance of the paper for the CP&T section. Each abstract may be submitted to only one Section or Working Group of the IAMCR Conference. Offering duplicates of the same paper to different Sections of the Association is likely to result in elimination of the abstract. Each abstract must include paper title, presenter’s name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and email address(es) of author(s). Applicants will be advised by March 15, 2009 of the outcome of their submissions. The full text of accepted papers (with a maximum of 8000 words) will be required no later than April 30, 2009, in order to ensure that the authors' names and papers' titles are included in the final conference program. For further information on the 2009 Mexico City Conference see Conference Website: http://www.iamcr2009mexico.unam.mx/english/index.html For more information on CP&T visit the IAMCR section site: http://www.iamcr.org/content/blogcategory/53/144 KEY SUBMISSION INFORMATION: - Abstract length: Maximum 500 words - Abstracts to be sent via: <http://www.iamcr2009mexico.unam.mx/english/form.html > with copy sent to Bart Cammaerts (B.Cammaerts[AT]lse.ac.uk) and Maria Michalis (M.Michalis[AT]Westminster.ac.uk) - Deadline for abstracts: January 31, 2009 - Notification of acceptance: March 15, 2009 - Full papers due (max. 8000 words): April 30, 2009 Section Chairs: Jo Pierson and Hopeton S. Dunn (on leave, serving as acting Secretary General, IAMCR) Deputy Chairs: Bart Cammaerts and Maria Michalis

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New mailing list about web history
by Niels Brügger 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

*Please distribute widely. Apologies for cross-posting* For those of you who are interested in web history you may consider joining the new mailing list webhistory(a)imv.au.dk. Statement of Intent: This email list was created on the initiative of the participants in the conference "Web_site Histories: Theories, Methods, Analysis", organized by the Centre for Internet Research, Aarhus University, Denmark, in October 2008. The main purpose of the list is to constitute a forum where any scholar working within the emerging field of historical web studies can share ideas, debate issues, and inform their peers about new publications, upcoming conferences or other relevant information. Vidar Falkenberg & Niels Brügger, the Centre for Internet Research ------------------------------------------------------------ LATEST PUBLICATIONS AND PAPERS Website History: An Analytical Grid. The Centre for Internet Research, University of Aarhus, conference entitled 'Web_site Histories — Theories, Methods, Analysis'. Aarhus: 39 pages, 2008 [ read about the publication: http://www.cfi.au.dk/en/events/conferences/wsh08/abstracts/#brugger ] Strukturalismus (with O. Vigsø), Hans Fink Verlag, München: 104 pages, 2008 [ read about the publication: http://www.utb.de/katalog_suchen_detailseite.jsp?buchid=1942 ] Theoretical Reflections on the Website and Website History: The Website as an object of study. The ICA pre-conference 'The Long History of New Media: Contemporary and Future Developments Contextualized'. Montreal: 40 pages, 2008 NIELS BRÜGGER, Associate Professor, PhD Institute of Information and Media Studies University of Aarhus Helsingforsgade 14 8200 Aarhus N Denmark Phone (switchboard) +45 8942 1111 Phone (direct) +45 8942 9226 Telefax + 45 8942 5950 E-mail nb(a)imv.au.dk Webpage http://imv.au.dk/~nb Profile at LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/1/50a/555 Profile at Kommunikationsforum [in Danish]: www.kommunikationsforum.dk/Niels-Brugger The Centre for Internet Research http://cfi.imv.au.dk Theories of Media and Communication http://www.medieteori.dk Internet Archive in Denmark http://www.netarkivet.dk

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Re: [Air-L] Evolution of the Wikipedia page on the attacks in, Mumbai
by Julian Hopkins 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

> "The terrorists were probably following eye-witness tweets and Flickr photo streams during the Mumbai attacks." Actually, I very much doubt the terrorists had time to check Flickr and Twitter accounts, or even to watch television (though that is more possible, seeing as there would be televisions in every room). What is somewhat possible is that associates on the outside could be sending them updates, pictures, etc. gleaned from the internet. However, they may worry about communications being traced back... These communication possibilities must surely be on the minds of counter-terrorist operatives, and one possibility would probably be to have some sort of mobile jamming device for mobile phones to bring to such locations - but then they also face the risk of cutting off useful communications from hostages and the like. Such devices already exist, and apparently helped save Musharraf's life when a bomb was not able to be detonated by a mobile device. Long-term, one can easily imagine certain locations having mobile-phone jamming devices - I think they exist in some cinemas already, and I can imagine some lecturers wouldn't mind having them in lecture halls :) On the downside, they could also be used very effectively to disrupt dissent and mobilisation - one can imagine the Burmese authorities would love to get their hands on something like that. Cheers, Julian ++++++++++ Blog: www.julianhopkins.net Skype: julhop IM: jfprhopkins(a)hotmail.com Message: 1 Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:22:20 -0800 From: Larry Press <lpress(a)csudh.edu> Subject: Re: [Air-L] Evolution of the Wikipedia page on the attacks in, Mumbai To: "air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org" <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> Message-ID: <4931DCBC.2070406(a)csudh.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed > And the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel , usually quite positive about > digital media (the website is the no 1 on political news in Germany) > criticizes the quality of the citizen journalists and writes about Have you got a link to this? > Another topic to think about : the need of having eye witnesses and > instant explanations in the press: This reminds me of the 1991 Soviet coup attempt, during which my colleagues and I used USENET News to keep information flowing into and out of Russia. ABC requested an interview at the time, but to have granted it might have compromised the position of our Russian networking colleagues. The terrorists were probably following eye-witness tweets and Flickr photo streams during the Mumbai attacks. Larry

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CfP: Web as Culture. Ethnographic, linguistic and didactic perspectives
by Thies Boettcher 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

Apologies for cross-posting ________________________________________________________ Call for Papers Web as Culture Ethnographic, linguistic and didactic perspectives International Symposium of the Giessen Graduate Centre for Study of Culture (GCSC) and the Centre for Media and Interactivity (ZMI), Justus Liebig University, Giessen July 16 - 18, 2009 The World Wide Web is a cultural space in which new forms of social networking, of creating, acquiring and teaching knowledge and competencies, and of constructing personal and cultural identities have emerged. The International Symposium "Web as Culture" is intended to address issues that are involved in the processes of the construction and the perpetuation of social structures, cultural narratives, memories, knowledge and language in the World Wide Web. Particular emphasis is placed on sociocultural processes of transformation such as the change of social networks, the change of teaching and learning cultures and language change instigated by the World Wide Web. These sociocultural processes of transformation will be discussed from various disciplinary perspectives and at all relevant levels of analysis. It is very much in the spirit and tradition of an interdisciplinary study of culture that we invite scholars from all pertinent areas of research to participate in the International Symposium "Web as Culture". Apart from researchers from the core disciplines of ethnography, didactics and linguistics, we would particularly like to invite scholars from the areas of media studies, literary studies, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and neighbouring disciplines to submit abstracts. The plenary lectures will be given by: - Prof. Dr. Henning Lobin (Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen) - Prof. Dr. Angelika Storrer (Universität Dortmund) - Prof. Dr. Jörg Strübing (Universität Tübingen) [to be confirmed] - Prof. Steven L. Thorne, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University) The Symposium will discuss the new cultural space provided by the World Wide Web with a particular focus on three topics: (1) Networks, (2) Learning, (3) Language. The three corresponding sections at the Symposium will address (but are not restricted to) the following research questions: 1. Networks - How does the Web change structures and mechanisms of sociocultural interaction? How is the Internet influenced by social interaction? - How do semantic structures and traditional concepts change on the Web? - How is the cultural space of the Web created (from a sociological and technological perspective) and limited? - In what ways can ethnographic methods contribute to research into sociocultural phenomena on the web and how would such an Internet-oriented application change and influence the ethnographic toolkit? 2. Learning - How do learning processes change on the Web? - What role does the Web play in different learning environments and contexts? - How can the Internet as a medium of information, communication and production exert a positive influence on teaching and learning processes? - What are the pedagogical challenges posed by the Web when it comes to integrating the Internet into learning processes? 3. Language - How does language use change on the Web? - Which new forms of communication and genres have emerged on the Web? - How can the Web be utilized as a linguistic and language-pedagogical resource? - How do Web-specific interactions (e.g. in social networks and in web-based learning processes) manifest themselves in language use? Working languages of the Symposium are English and German. Please submit your abstract of max. 400 words by 31 January 2009 to info(a)webasculture.de. We intend to confirm acceptance of submissions by 28 February 2009. The paper presentations at the Symposium will be 20 minutes in length, complemented by 10 minutes of discussion time. We expect to publish a collection of selected papers after the Symposium. Contact: Email info(a)webasculture.de Website www.webasculture.de Dates: Deadline abstracts January 31, 2009 Notification of acceptance February 28, 2009 Symposium July 16 - 18, 2009 Organisers: Joybrato Mukherjee Centre for Media and Interactivity Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen Ludwigstraße 34 35390 Giessen/ Germany Marcus Burkhardt International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture Justus-Liebig-University Giessen Alter Steinbacher Weg 38 35394 Giessen/ Germany ________________________________________________________ Thies W. Böttcher M.A. | Research Assistant & PhD Fellow International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) Gießener Graduate School for the Humanities (GGK) Justus Liebig University Gießen Alter Steinbacher Weg 38 35394 Gießen Germany Tel.: +49.641.99 300 46 Tel.: +49.641.99 300 41 (GCSC Office) Fax: +49.641.99 300 49 thies.boettcher(a)gcsc.uni-giessen.de http://gcsc.uni-giessen.de/ http://cultdoc.uni-giessen.de/ www.uni-giessen.de/videoblog-gcsc

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Breakout! Escape from the Office
by Laura Forlano 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

Hi All. Please find below the announcement of a new collaborative project that has been funded by The Architectural League of New York as part of the Situated Technologies exhibition, which will take place in September 2009. Apologies for cross-posting. Best, Laura http://www.situatedtechnologies.net/?q=node/89 BREAKOUT! Escape from the Office Key team members: Anthony Townsend (Research Director, Technology Horizons Program, Institute for the Future), Tony Bacigalupo (co- founder, CooperBricolage), Georgia Borden (Associate Director, DEGW), Dennis Crowley (founder dodgeball.com) Laura Forlano (Kauffman Fellow in Law, Information Society Project, Yale Law School), Sean Savage (co-founder, PariSoMa), Dana Spiegel (Executive Director, NYCwireless) Over a two week period, BREAKOUT! will return creative work to the streets of New York. Using co-working as a model, and injecting lightweight versions of essential office infrastructure into urban public spaces, BREAKOUT! will explore new and productive niches for working outside of traditional office buildings. As the 21st century moves towards a knowledge-based economy, conventional office spaces are becoming obsolete; people no longer need to co-locate in order to access shared tools and resources. BREAKOUT! seeks to create a new architecture for the creative city by appropriating public spaces for the collaborative knowledge work that drives the contemporary city. Laura Forlano, Ph.D. Kauffman Fellow in Law Information Society Project Yale Law School

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