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

Reminder: Online discussion on the drivers and benefits for faster broadband
by Bermonte, Anne (MGS) 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

The Ministry of Government Services in Ontario is hosting the last of three online consultations as part of its research into the challenges and opportunities of broadband technology and digital divide issues. What: Speed Matters in Ontario: Digital Infrastructure Capacity ePanel When: Wednesday December 3, 2008 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EST. Where: http://digitalontario.na3.acrobat.com/digitalinfrastructure/ <http://digitalontario.na3.acrobat.com/digitalinfrastructure/> Moderator Bill Hutchison, chair, "i-Waterfront Advisory Council," Waterfront Toronto will lead a panel of experts who will discuss the drivers and benefits for faster broadband, and next generation technologies such as fibre optics. Panellists are: Matt Wenger, President, OpenGlobal Dr. Paul Salvini, Chief Technology Officer and VP Canadian Operations, Side Effects Software Dr. Paul Hearty, Associate Dean and Director Rogers Communications Centre, Ryerson University You must pre-register for these ePanels at digitalontario(a)ontario.ca Anne Bermonte Senior I&IT Project and Policy Advisor OCCIO I&IT Strategy, Policy and Planning Branch Ministry of Government Services

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Collaborative Information Behavior - Final Call for Chapters
by Jonathan Foster 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

**APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTINGS** FINAL CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS Proposal Submission Deadline: January 15, 2009 Collaborative Information Behavior: User Engagement and Communication Sharing A book edited by Dr. Jonathan Foster University of Sheffield, UK http://www.igi-global.com/requests/details.asp?ID=514 Introduction Collaborative information behavior can be broadly defined as the study of the behaviors, practices, and systems that enable people to collaborate during the seeking, searching, retrieval and use of information. In recent years, it has become commonplace for users and organizations alike to engage in such collaborative information behavior. Collaboration may be quite direct when users seek, retrieve, and use information as part of a shared work activity (e.g. research and development project) or learning activity e.g. (collaborative group work); or more indirect as users draw for example on the automated recommendations generated by collaborative filtering and reputation systems. In the fields of information studies, information science, information systems, human-computer interaction, and computer-supported cooperative work, there is a need for an edited collection of articles in this area. Objective of the Book This book will aim to coordinate and integrate current research and practices in the area of collaborative information behavior. It will aim to provide information on empirical research findings, theoretical frameworks, and models relevant to understanding the following aspects: the range of contexts in which collaborative information behavior occurs; the range of approaches, qualitative and quantitative, currently being used to study collaborative information behavior; and the range of systems and practices that enable and constrain its occurrence. Target Audience The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals, educators, and researchers working in the fields of information studies, information science, information management, information retrieval, and knowledge management, human-computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work. Practitioners who have role in organizational information, communication, and knowledge sharing will also find the publication of value in understanding and assessing the collaborative information behaviors that occur within their organizations. Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Collaborative information behavior - conceptual frameworks Collaborative information behavior - methodologies and methods Collaborative information behavior - qualitative and quantitative approaches Collaborative information behavior - frameworks and models Collaborative information behavior in business settings Collaborative information behavior in educational settings Collaborative information behavior in legal settings Collaborative information behavior in medical settings Collaborative information behavior in government Collaborative information behavior in other professional contexts Collaborative information behavior in everyday life Collaborative information needs, seeking, and use Collaborative filtering systems Collaborative querying systems Recommender systems Social bookmarking systems Social navigation systems Social tagging systems Designs for systems to support collaborative information behavior Evaluations of systems to support collaborative information behavior Submission Procedure Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before January 15, 2009, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by January 22, 2009 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by March 15, 2009. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference) and Medical Information Science Reference imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to: Dr. Jonathan Foster Department of Information Studies Regent Court, 211 Portobello Street, Sheffield S1 4DP UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD Tel.: +44 (0)114 222 2665 Fax: +44 (0)114 278 0300 E-mail: j.j.foster(a)sheffield.ac.uk

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Imagined communities
by Philippa Smith 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

I'm seeking out references to Benedict Anderson's theory of "imagined communities" in relation to the Internet and how new technologies enable the construction of national identities. Certainly this is mentioned in Ananda Mitra's chapter "Virtual Commonality: Looking for India on the Internet" in Virtual Culture edited by Steven Jones and in S. Jones' chapter in the same book "The Internet and its Social Landscape. Mark Poster (1999) National Identities and Communications Technologies in The Information Society 15:4, 235-240 is another reference. But if there are any other references where people apply the theory in their research or discuss it please let me know. Many thanks. Philippa Smith PhD Candidate Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication AUT University Auckland New Zealand

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"Best Research Thesis Award" in Internet Research
by Uwe Matzat 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

If you have any questions on this, I'm happy to answer. Sorry for cross-posting. Regards, Uwe - DGOF prize "Best Research Thesis Award" The German Society for Online Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Onlineforschung, DGOF) announces its Best Research Thesis Award in the field of Internet Research. The prize has a value of 3000,- Euros. It will be given to students who have finished a thesis (Bachelor/Master/Ph.D.) in 2007 or 2008. The submission deadline is: December 31, 2008. Requirements Submissions in English or German language must include an electronic version (word or pdf) of the thesis plus an additional English language extended abstract (600-1000 words) that summarizes the analyzed question, the used methods, the most important findings, and its relationship to relevant existing theories and earlier findings. The thesis must be written in 2008 or 2007. At the time the thesis was submitted all authors must have been graduate or postgraduate students only. Works by post-docs are not eligible for submission. The thesis may have multiple student authors. Evaluation Criteria The prize will be given to the author(s) of a thesis that provides an exceptional analysis of a specific issue in the area of internet research. The analysis should focus on aspects of * social, organizational, or psychological consequences or aspects of mobile or online communication (Web 2.0, social networking, online communities, E-Health, digital inequality, etc). and/or * method research (web surveys, online experiments, mobile surveys, multi-mode data collection, statistical biases, innovative forms of data collection, etc). All applications will be evaluated by a jury of experts in the area of internet research on basis of the following criteria, if applicable. * innovativeness of the findings * theoretical foundation * adequacy of the chosen research design and, if applicable, the empirical foundation * clarity of the presentation. The Award The author(s) will be given the opportunity to present the findings at the General Online Research Conference 2009 (see www.gor.de) and to publish the work. 1300,- Euros of the prize will go directly to the applicant(s) who are selected as winners by the expert evaluators. Additional 1700,- Euros will be provided for publication in the book series "Neue Schriften zur Online-Forschung" and, if necessary, English language translation of a short manuscript that presents selected findings of the thesis for submission as an article to the International Journal of Internet Science Procedure Applicants have to submit an electronic copy of their thesis, including the extended abstract and a copy of the received grade (if available) online at the GOR 09 Conftool: www.gor.de. Email submissions are excluded. Authors of empirical as well as theoretical contributions that score high on the evaluation criteria are encouraged to submit their work. More information is available at www.gor.de and via office(a)dgof.de. Submission via GOR09 Conftool at www.gor.de: Please create an account ("Register new"), then submit your thesis. Please follow this scheme: "Your submissions" and after that please choose "DGOF prize "Best Research Thesis Award"". === ==================================================== Uwe Matzat Sociology Section, Department of Technology Management Eindhoven University of Technology P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven The Netherlands ------ phone +31 40 247-8392, fax +31 40 247-4646 http://www.tue-tm-soc.nl/~matzat ====================================================

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Ph.D. position at Eindhoven University of Technology
by Uwe Matzat 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

Dear colleagues, we still have a vacancy to offer for an interested student with knowledge in quantitative methods of data analysis. The Ph.D. position at Eindhoven University of Technology (NL) is funded for 4 years. If you are interested in analyzing disclosure and use of information in different social contexts then you should consider applying. Deadline is December 18. I'm available for any questions you might have. Best regards, Uwe Matzat ============ The Eindhoven University of Technology has the following vacancy PhD student on the project "Surfing the information waves: Finding, revealing, and evaluating information online" at the School of Innovation Sciences. Job description The Ph.D. student is expected to do research leading to a Ph.D. thesis in the project "Surfing the information waves: Finding, revealing, and evaluating information online". At the core of this project lies the question how people deal with the reliability of information on the Internet, to what extent the formal and informal mechanisms that facilitate reliable exchange of information offline have online equivalents, and to what extent new online mechanisms and tools are and can be developed to facilitate reliable information exchange. Typical questions of interest are: How do people discern useful and reliable information from useless and unreliable information in online settings? How can users be motivated to provide reliable information and how can the provision of unreliable information be minimized? To what extent do the answers to these questions depend on the kind of online setting? For the project we anticipate doing research in several areas of application, such as medical information sites and groups, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Xing, etc), and general economic and consumer sites, such as eBay, Amazon. Requirements The candidate should have a Masters degree (or equivalent) in the social sciences (sociology, psychology, political or communication science), excellent knowledge and skills in quantitative methods of data analysis, and familiarity with new forms of online communication. Most of all, we are looking for someone with a natural curiosity with respect to online interaction of any kind. Knowledge about theories pertaining to the topic in (social) psychology or sociology would be an additional asset. The candidate should be proficient in English (speaking and writing). Organization The candidate will work at the school of Innovation Sciences at the Department of Technology Management at Eindhoven University of Technology (NL), at the Chair of Sociology of Technology and Innovation. Research interests in and around that chair generally include the way in which humans interact with technology and how that interaction can be improved, both from the user-level as from the level of policy- making. Additional information can be found at: http://www.tue-tm.org/snijders/PhD/ Conditions of employment We offer a (full-time) Ph.D. position for 4 years. Gross salaries are in the range of EUR 28K gross per annum in the first year and EUR 35K during the fourth year and include attractive benefits (e.g. technical infrastructure, child care, sports facilities). A small teaching load can be part of the job. Application Send your application or requests for further information by email to Prof. dr. C. Snijders (c.c.p.snijders `at´ tue.nl). The application should consist of a motivation for your application, and extended curriculum vitae, a description of your obtained scientific degree, and a list of courses and the grades you obtained for those courses. ===================== ==================================================== Uwe Matzat Sociology Section, Department of Technology Management Eindhoven University of Technology P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven The Netherlands ------ phone +31 40 247-8392, fax +31 40 247-4646 http://www.tue-tm-soc.nl/~matzat ====================================================

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Imagined communities
by Mariana Goya 01 Dec '08

01 Dec '08

Sometimes, it is also useful to see how old technologies, such as magazines, have helped to develop a sense of community among its readers. For this, the classic book of Thomas & Znaniecki, "The Polish Peasant", shows the role of a Gazette as a communication channel among Polish immigrants and how it created a sense of community among them. This work is previous to Anderson's. Mariana ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:58:55 +1300 From: "Philippa Smith" <philippa.smith(a)aut.ac.nz> Subject: [Air-L] Imagined communities To: <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> Message-ID: <4930072C.B0F6.0036.0(a)aut.ac.nz> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII I'm seeking out references to Benedict Anderson's theory of "imagined communities" in relation to the Internet and how new technologies enable the construction of national identities. Certainly this is mentioned in Ananda Mitra's chapter "Virtual Commonality: Looking for India on the Internet" in Virtual Culture edited by Steven Jones and in S. Jones' chapter in the same book "The Internet and its Social Landscape. Mark Poster (1999) National Identities and Communications Technologies in The Information Society 15:4, 235-240 is another reference. But if there are any other references where people apply the theory in their research or discuss it please let me know. Many thanks. Philippa Smith PhD Candidate Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication AUT University Auckland New Zealand

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