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

CourseFeed + Facebook = Social Learning
by Gerry Mckiernan 23 May '08

23 May '08

Colleagues/ A BreakThrough Discovery /Gerry CourseFeed makes online learning social. Students go to class for all kinds of reasons - to hang out with friends, to get a degree, and to learn - probably in that order. As more and more instruction goes online the *real* classroom experience is left behind. We at CourseFeed believe the best learning experiences require that groups of students be involved, engaged, and interested. The so-called online learning management systems of today are sterile data repositories that manage data transfer, not learning. CourseFeed is .... a *mash-up* between online school content and Facebook. CourseFeed*s seamless integration with a school*s LMS ensures classmates displayed in a CourseFeed course are the same students enrolled in corresponding LMS course. Users see names and photos of their classmates and are given tools to interact - making online course work social and collaborative. CourseFeed*s alerts let students know when a change is made in the LMS course and provide single-click access to course content ... . List of Features, Links, Graphics, And More Available At [ http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2008/05/coursefeed-facebook-social… ] OR [ http://tinyurl.com/6pe4bs ] Enjoy! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has Come Victor Hugo [ http://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ] Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind Blows [ http://alternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/ ]

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Content Online for Creativity conference 4-6 June
by Fueg, Oliver 22 May '08

22 May '08

Dear list, for those of you interested in how European policy in the field of online content creation and distribution is going to evolve, this conference hosted by the Slovenian Presidency may be of interest: http://www.mk.gov.si/en/konferenca_spletne_vsebine_za_ustvarjalnost/invitit… <http://www.mk.gov.si/en/konferenca_spletne_vsebine_za_ustvarjalnost/invitit…> It is centered around four main topics: * new business models for online distribution of content; * piracy and legal offers; * management on copyright online; * media literacy and cultural diversity. Contrary to what it says on the website, registration should still be possible until the end of the day (and possibly the end of this week). Be quick, however, places are limited! Best regards, Oliver -- Oliver Fueg Centre for Regulatory Governance Department of Politics University of Exeter Amory Building EX4 4RJ Exeter o.c.fueg[at]ex.ac.uk

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CFP: Mobile Internet Services: a special session at the Mobile LIfe Conferences
by Prof. I Kushchu 22 May '08

22 May '08

------ Apologies if you receive multiple copies Call for Papers Mobile Internet Services --------------------------------- A Special Session at the MOBILE LIFE CONFERENCES and EXHIBITIONS -- mSOCIETY 2008 -- The 1st International Conference on Mobile Society -- EURO mGOV 2008 -- The 3rd European Conference on Mobile Government 15 -19 September 2008, Sheraton Voyager, Antalya, Turkey http://www.mgovernment.org/events/index.html mlife(a)mgovernment.org Chair: --------- Gianluca Misuraca Founder & CEO, KITE International UK LLP Research Associate, Chair Corporate Strategy & Innovation, College of Management of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, EPFL The purpose of this session is to explore the promises of Mobile Internet Services for next generation e-Government. Mobile Internet, in fact, is a relatively new phenomenon (actually yet to be effectively deployed) whose potential is largely unknown and unexplored but is already considered by many to be a key element in support of Government strategies and initiatives in the future. But what are the conditions and key enabling factors for this to become a reality? Indeed, mobile services and technologies have rapidly evolved. However, the use of these technologies in specific areas, such as public services for example, is still in its infancy and remains to be further researched and documented. Discussing some cases and innovative experiments of Mobile Internet Services, the session intends to point out a number of possible areas of application and promising technologies to be further elaborated, identifying the potential benefits, as well as the risks -and barriers- connected to their implementation, and the expected impacts on society. Moreover, the mix of mobile and web 2.0 technologies into a Mobile Internet paradigm, is potentially leading to new forms of participation pushed by enhancement of social awareness, as well as capacity of users. This is more and more the case in emerging markets, where demographic growth is exponential and education is also increasing, just as the availability of a large population of young and skilled people to use the latest device and readiness to be part of what someone called the “ubiquitous society” (mobility of content coupled with mobile access). In practice, the session will explore future scenarios with service- and knowledge-intensive perspectives, as more promising objectives than (or even to some extent, opposite to) a simple (and risky) information-intensive society evolution. In this regard, it is important to outline a key question around which the session is built: what kind of changes will take place in society in the next 10-20 years? And what will be the role of ICTs and mobile technologies in particular, in government operations? Please refer to http://www.mgovernment.org/events/specialSessions.html for further description on this special session call. Submissions ------------------ Submissions in the form of research papers (max 10 pages) and practice talks (max 1 page) are solicited via the conferences online submission system at the http://www.mgovernment.org/confadmin/ confadmin.php Further information on submissions and all about the conference can be found at http://www.mgovernment.org/events/mgov2008/home.html We are soliciting special sessions, panels or tutorials in your area of expertise.. please write to mlife(a)mgovernment.org if you are willing to so. This is greta opportunity to promote significant/emerging topics and your area of expertise, and a way to receive a complimentary registration to the conference. Contacts ------------- For all enquiries please write to the session chair: gianluca.misuraca(a)epfl.ch or the conference secretariat mlife(a)mgovernment.org indicating the name of the special sessions in the email. ------ IBRAHIM KUSHCHU, MBA, MSC., PHD Associate Professor and Director, Mobile Government Consortium International, UK http://www.mgovernment.org ik(a)mgovernment.org +44 1273 777853 == please visit mLife events www.mgovernment.org/events/

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PhD Studenship, Privacy and Information Systems (Univ. Bath, UK)
by Adam Joinson 21 May '08

21 May '08

Apologies for any cross-posting. Rdgs Adam ------------------------------------------------------+++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------------------------------- PhD studentship in Information Systems and Privacy at the University of Bath, School of Management Privacy Value Networks is a major new three-year research project that will produce a strong empirical base for developing concepts of privacy across contexts and timeframes; investigate ways in which to establish an equitable relationship between stakeholders in terms of the value and costs inherent in the collection, processing and use of personal data; and develop and apply new, validated, ethical and privacy-sensitive methodologies for the study of privacy. The project involves collaboration between the University of Bath, UCL, St. Andrew's University and the Oxford Internet Institute. The project includes a three-year PhD studentship at the University of Bath to support a doctoral student to work as part of the team that will carry out this research, commencing October 2008. This award will cover tuition fees for UK/EU students and, for those "ordinarily resident" in the UK, a tax-free stipend of £12,940 per annum. We are looking for candidates who display the talent, creativity, and enthusiasm necessary to perform outstanding research into privacy that will make a difference – to ask original, concrete questions and to adopt incisive methodologies for exploring them, in order to help positively shape the development of digital networked space, and those whose lives are affected by it. Applicants should have, or expect to receive, a minimum of a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree in a relevant a relevant social science (such as information systems, business studies, psychology), with strong research training and an interest in privacy and the e-society. Additional interests in the area of social networks (and social network analysis) would be valuable. Please send any further informal queries to Dr Adam Joinson (A.Joinson /at/ bath.ac.uk or see http://www.joinson.com) If you wish to apply for this research studentship, please complete the application form at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/prospectus/postgrad/docs/appnform-2007.doc & send together with your CV and a cover letter, by email to mnscb(a)management.bath.ac.uk Closing Date: 19/06/08 Bath's Credentials The University of Bath School of Management is rated 5A for research in the latest UK government's Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and is ranked among the top UK business schools. In the 2007 Financial Times rankings we are ranked 6th in Europe for research. This is calculated according to the number of faculty publications in 40 leading international academic and practitioner journals. See: http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/.

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Facebook’s Friends Data Has Already Left the Barn
by Sam Ladner 21 May '08

21 May '08

Folks, See a story on TechCrunch that describes a new service that allows users to export their facebook or bebo (among others). Users can put their data into a feed for their own Web sites, for example. The article describes how this might complicate facebook's ability to guard users' privacy. I'm a little more interested in what it means for the digitization of identity. Are people's identities becoming "co-mingling bits", as Negroponte would have us believe? I'm interested in what others on this list might have to say. Here's the article: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/17/facebooks-friends-data-has-already-lef… -- ~~~~~ Sam Ladner, PhD Sociologist Toronto

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New on ICT Guides
by Craig Bellamy 21 May '08

21 May '08

Dear AOIR, ICT Guides is a service offered by the Centre for eResearch at King's College in London (CeRch). It seeks to promote the use of ICTs in research and learning through cataloging digital arts and humanities projects along with the tools and methods they employed. A number of new projects have been added to ICT Guides: Highlight: Semantic Tools for Archaeological Resources "Increasingly within archaeology, the Web is used for dissemination of datasets. This contributes to the growing amount of information on the ‘deep web’, which a recent Bright Planet study estimated to be 500 times larger than the ‘surface web’. However Google and other web search engines are ill equipped to retrieve information from the richly structured databases that are key resources for humanities scholars. Important archaeological results and reports are also appearing as grey literature, before or instead of traditional publication. Typically these are not indexed or made available for searching other than as ordinary web documents. It is difficult using conventional search engines to link these to datasets or indeed to search them using terminology other than that employed by the authors". See: http://ahds.ac.uk/ictguides/projects/project.jsp?projectId=864 ** Suggestions for new projects most welcome. -- Dr Craig Bellamy Research Associate Centre for eResearch (CeRch) King's College, London http://ahds.ac.uk/ictguides/ ----- 26 - 29 Drury Lane 3rd Floor King's College London LONDON, WC2B 5RL Phone: 020 7848 1976 ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________

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SL Journalism research
by Annabelle 20 May '08

20 May '08

Hello all, I¹ve been lurking on this list for a little while now and think the time has come to speak up. I am an undergrad Honours student from Sydney Uni and am researching SL for my thesis. This list has been very generous with honours enquiries before and I am hoping to tap into that expertise! I¹m looking at the role of journalism (using a fairly broad definition) in Second Life, and how this impacts upon governance and the idea of a public sphere¹ within SL. I am planning to research this through using a public forum in SL and a blog, complemented by individual interviews and textual analysis of some of the journalistic publications themselves. I would really like some feedback on whether anyone has done this kind of research before, how successful or otherwise it was and any tips on how to get it up and running. I would also love to hear from anyone who has done any research or study of journalism in virtual worlds. I¹m particularly interested in the idea of journalism as public conversation¹ and ideas about the public sphere and public opinion negotiation. I know there is a growing body of work on governance in virtual worlds (or the lack thereof) and would also appreciate any pointers towards any new or social science based work in this area (there appears to be lots of scholarship around legal questions of governance and not so much on the social/political side but maybe I¹m wrong!). Thank you for any help or pointers. Will keep the list posted on when the public forum is happening and hopefully see some of you there in SL. Regards, Annabelle Boyd Jones Honours Student, Department of Media and Communications The University of Sydney e: annabellebj(a)student.usyd.edu.au

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Rest in Peace: Steve Cisler
by Jeremy Hunsinger 20 May '08

20 May '08

Begin forwarded message: > Resent-From: nettime(a)kein.org > From: t byfield <tbyfield(a)panix.com> > Date: May 19, 2008 11:15:46 PM CDT > Resent-To: Nettime <nettime-l(a)kein.org> > To: Nettime-l <nettime-l(a)kein.org> > Subject: <nettime> Steve Cisler > > Steve Cisler passed away on Thursday 15 May, from a medical > condition he'd > known about for several years, which had worsened over the last > several > months. His wife, Nancy, said that he was with his entire family -- > which > had grown in the last few years -- and that he was relaxed and > accepting as > his health faded. > > Steve spent much of his life in what's become Silicon Valley, and he > sometimes talked about how he had seen it turn from almond groves > and dusty > roads into an intricate suburban sprawl. He lived there when > computing was > a small scene, and, I guess because of his curious and easygoing > style, > became sort of famous among Silicon Valley's famous -- not that he > ever > showed any interest in fame. On the contrary, he cared very deeply > about > everyday settings and people, and he had a knack for finding the > exceptions > and difference on the fringes of computers and networking. > > These interests led Steve into the delicate, nebulous field of > community > networking. At its best, it was guided by the some of the fine > ideals that > shaped the rise of computing: mainly, the hope that new technologies > could > enable organic forms of social mobility. Though he'd probably > chuckle at > the idea that he was a pioneer, he was -- of the kinds of values and > approaches that, happily, have become familiar as "appropriate" and > "sustainable." > > It seems strange to say so, but I don't think Steve was an idealist. > There > were only a few times that I ever saw a hint of tragedy in his > thinking. > For example, I remember him talking pointedly about how new forms of > media > were driving misdirected urbanization as people (especially the > young), led > by grotesquely glamorized images of urban life, conclude that rural > life is > "intolerable" and abandon it. But dystopian trends lay far beyond any > difference he could hope to make, so he mostly reserved his > skepticism for > community-oriented projects and initiatives that had gone awry. When > he > talked about them, it was with a hint of frustration -- and patience > for > the people who he felt had lost their way. He usually balanced that > out by > talking about what he loved most, idiosyncratic projects and > settings where > people had pieced together new and old techniques and technologies in > engaging and creative ways. But these weren't ideals, they were > examples. > If anything, Steve was a pragmatist. > > A few years ago, I joked to a friend that Steve was a "walking > Wikipedia": > not a heroic project to redefine knowledge but an endless reservoir of > impressions and observations. But it wasn't really a joke. Steve > had an > amazing range of experience from his work across several continents, > much > of it in developing areas (very much including the rural US). He > thought > very intently about what he'd seen and heard, and he appreciated > most of > all the idiosyncratic people and settings that triumphalism and > transformationalism have no time for. Given the context that defined > much > of his life -- the rise of networks small and large -- his ways of > working > had a quietly contrary or even polemical side; but he won't be > remembered > for that. Everything he said took a very genial form -- a friendly > chat > about some friendly chat he once had. Stories -- hearing them, telling > them, it didn't matter -- were a big part of what he did and how he > did it: > informing, guiding, encouraging. If "small is beautiful" is a > cliche, then > he was a walking cliche; but it isn't, and he wasn't. > > For all his stories, though, he never seemed to present his own life > in a > narrative form, so there are a few odd things I know about him, but > I don't > know where or how they fit in. At some point and in a surprisingly > early > context, he advocated to Native American tribal elders that they > develop a > ".ind" top-level domain -- a hilarious idea that could have had > enormous > impact. He worked as a librarian for Apple's speculative Advanced > Technology Group, which did incredible work -- various QuickTime > technologies, HyperCard, and advanced in speech recognition and > synthesis > as well as handwriting-recognition software). > > As a young man, he served in the US Coast Guard; I think it must have > whetted his appetite for travel, and showed him a world that, in an > age of > airlines and the internet, fewer and fewer see -- of disparate small > worlds > joined by the sea they share. And he enjoyed traveling around the > western > US; I think those landscapes also shaped his view of the world -- > expanses > where you see how small you are, how small everything is, and how > immense > the sum of it all is. In the last years, somewhere between few and > several, > he'd taken to bringing an inflatable kayak when he traveled to > conferences > and paddling around cities all over the world. > > Steve's involvement in nettime dates back to a time when the list > was still > a family of sorts, and one that he enjoyed very much. His > involvement in > the list tapered off around the Next 5 Minutes 4 conference as his > interest > turned to what eventually became his last major endeavor, the Offline > Project: an effort to understand why, or maybe how, many people and > organizations "that are not directly using the Internet to learn > about them > and how they cope in a world that is increasingly interconnected." I > won't > pretend to know in any detail what he learned through his research, > but two > things he told me have stayed with me. First, that many people have > positive reasons for living as they like, with no regard for the > clatter of > technical advance; and, second, when he stopped using email and the > like, > how quickly many of his connections and friendships dissipated. For > someone > who dedicated much of his life to community networking in remote > areas, > this fragility must have said a lot -- but I don't know what, > because he > never elaborated on it. > > Beyond years of emails, which now seem strangely immaterial coming > from > such a material guy, I have a surprising number of physical objects > he's > given me over the years: a few bottles of wine he made with family and > friends, some seeds for some curious local kind of squash, a vanilla > bean > (from Uganda, I think), and a few recipes -- for a West African stew > and a > ciabatta that turned out really well. These came over a period of > several > years, simple gifts of whatever was at hand, but together they say a > lot > about who he was and how he lived. > > I was lucky to be able to get together with him a few times a year. In > times past, that, and a bit of correspondence, would have made for a > normal > friendship; but in a time when communicating is so much quicker and > easier, > it seems like very little. > > I'll miss Steve very much. > > Steve's friends were very far-flung, so feel free to forward this. If > anyone sends me messages about Steve, I'll assemble them and make sure > they end up in the right place. > > Ted > > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)kein.org

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Dumbest Generation and the academics who encourage them
by subbies＠redheadedstepchild.org 20 May '08

20 May '08

Since we were just discussing the topic, here's an article Bauerlein wrote slapping the MacArthur foundation's hands in Inside Higher Ed today: http://insidehighered.com/views/2008/05/20/bauerlein -Alexis + -------- redheadedstepchild.org ------- +

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CFP: MindTrek Conference, 7-9 Oct 08, Finland
by Frans Mäyrä 20 May '08

20 May '08

Please distribute freely: ===================================================================== 11th MindTrek Conference MindTrek 2008: Entertainment and Media in the Ubiquitous Era Call for Position Papers, Workshops, Workshop Contributions October 7th to 9th 2008 in Tampere, Finland http://www.mindtrek.org www.mindtrek.org/cfp ===================================================================== We are happy to invite you into MindTrek Conference in October 7–9, 2008. MindTrek is a three day conference to explore current and emerging topics of social media, ubimedia and games. MindTrek includes a workshop day, three main tracks, plenary sessions and invited presentations. MindTrek is a leading Northern new media festival and conference series, arranged already for more than a decade, since 1997. Interdisciplinary and open for innovation, MindTrek is a meeting place where experts and thinkers present results from their latest work regarding the development of Internet, interactive media and information society. MindTrek brings together researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines that are involved in the development of media – from sociology, economy, to technology. The organizing committee invites you to submit original high quality papers addressing the special theme and the topics, for presentation at the conference and inclusion in the proceedings. The submitted papers will be selected for the following streams of the conference: • Social media • Gaming • Ubiquitous and ambient media Feel free to suggest workshops which are co-organized with the MindTrek 2008. Workshop proposals should include organizing committee, one page description of the theme of the workshop, short CV of organizers, duration, proceedings publisher, and schedule. Important Dates: 31st May 2008: submission of position papers (abstract, 1000 words) and workshops 16th June 2008: review statements 29th August 2008: camera ready papers from authors (5 pages) 7th-9th October 2008: conference Conference Themes: 1. Social Media • business models, service models, and policies • questions related to identity, motivation and values • blogs, wikis, and collaboration designs in practice • user-created content and social networks 2. Ubiquitous and ambient media • ubiquitous and ambient services, devices, and environments • business models, service models, and policies • context aware, sensing, and interfaces for ubiquitous computation • ergonomics, human-computer interaction designs, and product prototypes • software, hardware and middleware frameworks • digital television, digital film production, and new media systems • pervasive and ubiquitous games • ambient intelligence applications and services • artistic works related to ubiquitous computation • entertainment and experiences • new human-computer interaction models 3. Games • Theoretical and analytical contributions to the study of games and play • Novel approaches to the design research of games • Discussions of gaming technologies from user- or player-centred perspectives • Studies of social play and role-play • Analyses of online, mobile, casual and cross-media gaming • Research into user-created game content • Studies of pervasive games Position paper submissions will be peer-reviewed as abstracts, and full versions of papers will be published both in conference proceedings and online by an international scholarly organization. Future edited versions of selected papers will be considered for special issues in journals, or as book chapters. Further possibilities for publication are currently under assessment. Conference venue: MindTrek takes place at Hotel Scandic Rosendahl, in Tampere, Finland. The organiser of the conference has booked quota for the conference delegates from this hotel. More information on accommodation and registration will be made available in our website. Please note that the accommodation is not included in the participation fee. There is also other accommodation available in Tampere, ranging from modern first class hotels to smaller traditional hotels and dormitories. If you select one of these options, you should make the reservations by yourself with that specific hotel. For more, see: http://www.mindtrek.org/matkustus/scandic-rosendahl_en Conference Organizing Committee: Artur Lugmayr (Scientific Chair) Frans Mayra, Katri Lietsala, and Heljä Franssila (Conference Co-chairs) Contact: Artur Lugmayr, artur.lugmayr(a)tut.fi For up to date information and further details please visit: http://www.mindtrek.org Send your contributions and any inquiry about the conference to: http://www.mindtrek.org/cfp Supported by: City of Tampere, Ubiqutious Computing Cluster, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere University, TAMK, PIRAMK, Technology Centre Hermia, Neogames, COSS, Gemilo, B105. Host: MindTrek Association (www.mindtrek.org) -- Best regards, Frans ** Frans Mäyrä * Professor, PhD * Hypermedia Laboratory ** ** University of Tampere * Games Research Lab * Finland ** * www.uta.fi/hyper * http://gamelab.uta.fi * www.digra.org * ** frans.mayra(a)uta.fi *gsm +358503367650 *tel +358335517933 ** *** www.unet.fi/fransblog **** www.uta.fi/~frans.mayra ***

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