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

ViewPlus: Feeling is More Than Seeing
by Gerry Mckiernan 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Friends/ A Most Remarkable Development! /Gerry Not As Crazy As Some Say [:-) [snip] What the ViewPlus technology does is to create image files that can be rendered in tactile form (via a tactile touchpad or printed out with an embossing printer) and also in audio (via text-to-speech technology). At the core of this technology is an image format known as SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics). Unlike bitmapped image formats like TIFF and JPEG, SVG is an XML-based format that provides the images as vector graphics (the core of PostScript and PDF) with text and metadata in XML. [snip] The benefits to the print-disabled user are obvious. Dr. Gardner demonstrated how a graph that was otherwise inaccessible to a print-disabled user was made meaningful: He could feel the slopes of the various lines on the graph, and as he did so, the software read labels describing the lines, including the values of datapoints, as he touched them. [snip] What the ViewPlus software had done with that image was nothing less than adding the semantics that takes it from being "dumb" to dynamic data. Imagine a whole collection of such images in which a researcher could use a computer to search for certain patterns, values, and features and do comparisons or calculations on them. This is Tim Berners-Lee*s vision of the Semantic Web: information that a computer can understand. Not just store, find, and deliver, but understand. Your Thoughts? Please Comment On The Blog Post on Scholarship 2.0 At [ http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/06/viewplus-feeling-is-more-than-see… ] OR [ http://tinyurl.com/65bvhe ] /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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SIN: The Next Stage Of Web Evolution = Web 3.0
by Gerry Mckiernan 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Colleagues/ For Your Consideration ... Is Sensory Information Navigation (SIN) [:-)] The Next Stage of Web Evolution = Web 3.0? [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_3 ] /Gerry ________________________________________________________ The Big Picture(sm): Visual Browsing in Web and non-Web Databases The Big Picture(sm): Visual Browsing in Web and non-Web Databases is a clearinghouse of projects, research, products and services that describe or apply information visualization technologies for enhancing use and access to Web and selected non-Web databases, notably MARC and bibliographic records. Selected significant reports, papers, and articles are also provided for each profiled activity. The clearinghouse is arranged by the name of the university, corporation, or other organization with which the principal investigator of a project is affiliated. A general bibliography of applicable works is also provided. [Suspended] ________________________________________________________ The Magic Touch(sm): Haptic Interaction in Web and non-Web Databases The Magic Touch(sm): Haptic Interaction in Web and non-Web Databases is a clearinghouse of projects, research, products and services that describe or apply Haptic, Tactile, or Kinaesthetic interfaces, displays, or interactive technologies to enhance use and access to Web and selected non-Web databases. Selected significant reports, papers, and articles are also provided for each profiled activity. The clearinghouse is arranged by the name of the university, corporation, or other organization with which the principal investigator of a project is currently, or was formerly, affiliated. A general bibliography of applicable works is also provided. [Suspended] _________________________________________________________ The Next WAVe(sm): Auditory Browsing in Web and non-Web Databases The Next WAVe(sm): Auditory Browsing in Web and non-Web Databases is a clearinghouse of projects, research, products and services that describe or apply auditory interfaces, displays or interactive technologies to enhance use and access to Web and selected non-Web databases. Selected significant reports, papers, and articles are also provided for each profiled activity. The clearinghouse is arranged by the name of the university, corporation, or other organization with which the principal investigator of a project is currently, or was formerly, affiliated. A general bibliography of applicable works is also provided. [Suspended] _______________________________________________________ Text~Tone(sm): Auditory Highlighting/Rating of Text Text~Touch(sm): Haptic Highlighting/Rating of Text _________________________________________________________ See Also: _Morning Becomes Electric: Post-Modern Scholarly Information Access, Organization, and Navigation_ _New Age Navigation: Innovative Information Interfaces for Electronic Journals_ Article / PPT __________________________________________________________ BTW: I have created a Facebook Global group for Sensory Information Navigation at [ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15798543757 ] Sensory Information Navigation (SIN) is devoted to documenting, discussing, and disseminating information about multi-modal technologies (auditory, haptic, visual, etc.) for accessing and navigating any and all information spaces. Please Consider Joining ... _________________________________________________________ Your Thoughts? Please Post As Comments To This Blog Entry At [ http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/06/colleagues-for-your-consideration… ] OR [ http://tinyurl.com/5rgff6 ] Regards, /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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Re: [Air-L] [Web4lib] Text~Tone(sm): Auditory Highlighting/Rating of Text (UNCLASSIFIED)
by Gerry Mckiernan 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Mike/ Wait To You See My Next Posting ... [:-) /Gerry c: Lists, Holly >>> "Mike McDermott" <mcmikedermott(a)gmail.com> 6/10/2008 10:58 AM >>> You obviously didn't lick the e-mail to get full content on olfactory integration as well... "The weblinks taste like snozberries!" :-) On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 4:26 PM, Hill, Holly K Ms CIV USA IMCOM < holly.k.hill(a)us.army.mil> wrote: > Classification: UNCLASSIFIED > Caveats: NONE > > The color one was beyond strange. The haptic one went way over that > border into WTF territory. Now auditory? This has to be a joke, right? > Were these postings just delayed from April? This is scholarship now? > Has publish or perish reached its limit? > > Just colour me perplexed. > > > _______________________________________________ Web4lib mailing list Web4lib(a)webjunction.org http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/

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Re: [Air-L] Metaphors in Technology
by Cameron Adams 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Gordon, Metaphors in technology go way back. One very important one is William Harvey describing the heart as a pump. This was not only the first sense of what the heart was actually doing, but could only be done through metaphor (ok, its backwards, tech metaphor for non-tech) . Then an interesting one is that the radio project was almost scrapped by Marconi because it was a lousy wireless telegraph (no one to one communication). Then someone came up with the broadcast metaphor (from agriculture). In terms of computer tech, how about the information superhighway. This leads to more effort being done to make modems (the cars) faster and the lines (roads) smoother and more efficient. This is at the expense (to some degree) of other possibilities such as information packaging and network structure. I really don't think you can really do justice to the metaphor stuff by focussing on describing various metaphors and how they manifest, though. There is a huge literature on metaphor theory and cognition. If you want a slice of it, I can give you a pretty good biblio, drop me a line off-group and I'll send you one. I am an anthropologist so the focus is there, but there is a lot of stuff that should be useful to you (ie where do specific metaphors come from, and why, what is going on in the brain, how it affects how we perceive stuff post-metaphor, etc). Also, you may be interested in http://creet.open.ac.uk/projects/metaphor-analysis/index.cfm (metaphor analysis website), and Researching and Applying Metaphor International Association (RaAM) at http://raam.org.uk/Home.html Best, Cameron

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Fostering Creativity in Higher Education - A Study by the European University Association
by scbr 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

I know this is slightly off topic but I am pretty sure this study may be interesting for some in the group. I have a summary in my blog (with some of my own views on the issue) http://www.uglydoggy.com/2008/06/fostering-creativity-in-higher.html . You can find there the link to the original PDF too. . I am very interested in your comments/thoughts about the study and their recommendations. Also if someone is specifically interested in the issue of creativity in education and would like to exchange ideas and bibliography off list, please feel free to email me. Thanks and best regards, Sandra :)

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Re: [Air-L] Metaphors in Technology
by Jason Mittell 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Gordon, If you're interested in work exploring metaphors of older technologies (and can stand a little self-promotion), I wrote an essay years ago that might be of interest: “The Cultural Power of an Anti-Television Metaphor: Questioning the ‘Plug-in Drug’ and a TV- Free America,” Television and New Media, 1: 2, May 2000, 215-238. (Downloadable at my website below). That essay was greatly inspired by Janice Radway's excellent piece, "Reading is not Eating: Mass- Produced Literature and the Theoretical, Methodological, and Political Consequences of a Metaphor," Book Research Quarterly, #2, 1986, 7-29. Both might be useful as models to update for your study of online metaphors. Good luck, -Jason On Jun 8, 2008, at 6:15 PM, air-l-request(a)listserv.aoir.org wrote: >> Hi All, >> >> I am working on a project dealing with the use of metaphor in >> communication about technology, as well as communication within >> software. I am trying to compile a list of metaphors used on the web >> and in computer software. For example, the "shopping cart" in online >> shopping, PowerPoint using "slides", "dialog" boxes in operating >> systems, "bulletin boards", etc. >> >> Have any of you come across or perhaps even thought of other >> metaphors >> employed in software, online or off, or in communication about >> technology? I would like to make a giant list of examples. >> >> Also, any recommended readings would be greatly appreciated. >> >> Thanks in advance for any help! >> >> >> >> -Gordon Carlson >> -University of Illinois at Chicago >> -PhD Student of New Media Communication and RA in Electronic >> Visualization Lab >> -- Jason Mittell, Associate Professor of American Studies and Film & Media Culture Chair of Film & Media Culture Department Middlebury College 208 Axinn Center at Starr Library Middlebury, Vermont 05753 (802) 443-3435 / fax: (802) 443-5123 Homepage: http://seguecommunity.middlebury.edu/sites/jmittell Blog: http://justtv.wordpress.com

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Email Analysis Software
by Derek Hansen 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Like many of you, I frequently analyze relatively large collections of email messages (e.g., up to 100,000 messages sent to an email list). To do this I have used a hodge-podge of different programs, none of which I am completely happy with. I have used both quantitative and qualitative approaches and would be interested in hearing from you about software that works well for either approach. The only requirement is that it works well with lots of messages. Below I have listed some of the basic things I've done with various tools. I'd love to see you all add to the list. Thanks ahead of time. Tool: Mailbag Assistant (PC only, $40 - see http://www.fookes.com/mailbag/index.php) - View messages from large corpus (90,000 messages) quickly (much quicker than traditional email clients) - Create complex searches (using regular expressions) that can be saved and re-run on different subsets of data - Export messages (or just message headers) into a database format (e.g., export header information into MS Access Database) - Run some basic built-in queries (e.g., # of messages per month, contributors, most frequently used words) Unfortunately, the version I used (as of a year ago) did not allow you to tag individual messages or pull out a random sample of messages easily. Tool: Custom built programs that help multiple coders tag messages that are shown in a web browser. Unfortunately, I could not find an existing program that worked and have used 2 different custom programs for the same purpose (each with slightly different functionality). The tools that were developed are not really meant to be easily used for other rating scenarios :(, so I am interested in finding a more general purpose rating support tool. The most important functionality included: - Displays a message (randomly selected from a corpus of messages that all get rated) through a web browser, along with a set of pre-defined codes with check boxes that can be marked off. - Supports multiple raters and calculates inter-rater reliability statistics (Cohen's kappa) - highlights words of interest to the coders on the web display - includes some analysis ability: can click on any code (in analysis mode) and all messages coded by either rater (or just one rater) will be displayed; can display messages where there was disagreement between raters; can find messages coded into multiple groups, etc. Also shows overall summary stats on number of messages coded into each group etc. Any thoughts on programs that do these things, or even more generally, tools that are useful in working with email (e.g., visualization of messages) would be greatly appreciated by me and probably many other list members. Thanks ahead of time. Derek Hansen Assistant Professor iSchool at Maryland

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Re: [Air-L] Email Analysis Software
by Rhiannon Bury 10 Jun '08

10 Jun '08

Derek: In the past, I've also analyzed large amounts of email messages. No doubt there is newer software out there but my instinct is the same as it was then: get them into a specialized program for qualitative research, which has complex and powerful search functions. I have used QSR's N6, which has now been replaced by NVIVO. The latest version 8 has just been released. The trick will be importing the messages into NVIVO. It may have a function to do that itself but until I take the training later this month, I don't know. Here's a link to the QSR website: http://www.qsrinternational.com/ Rhiannon Bury Assistant Professor Athabasca University

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CFP - Digital imageries: culture and reception
by kelly boudreau 09 Jun '08

09 Jun '08

*Call for papers: Digital imageries: culture and reception * The deadline for submissions for this double issue is August 1st, 2008 Founded at the Université de Montréal, Kinephanos (www.kinephanos.ca) is a bilingual inter-university web-based journal. Focusing on questions involving cinema and popular media, Kinephanos encourages interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. The journal's primary interests are movies and popular TV series, video games, emerging technologies and fan cultures. The preferred approaches include cinema studies, communication theories, religion sciences, philosophy, cultural studies and media studies. Theme Kinephanos' first issue aims to explore and understand how digital technologies change the communication relations between the object and the subject. As a double issue, "Digital imageries: culture and reception" will also be devoted to the different influences digital technologies have brought to cinema and other forms of audiovisual expression, such as television, animation and video games. In addition the articles must incorporate ideas pertaining to the spectator's and/or gamer's reception. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: - Remediation of film's aesthetics outside of cinema - The new cinematographic experience and the challenge of archival - Case study: critical reception of a digital movie (Speed Racer, Beowulf, 28 Days Later, etc.) - Popular culture, virtual community and collective intelligence - The video game trailer : trompe-l'oeil and out-of-bounds - Who wants digital? - Japanese animation: web and fansubbing - Film and digital projection… or fiction! - Digital legitimation While Kinephanos privileges publication of thematic issues, we strongly encourage writers to submit articles exceeding the theme which will be published in each issue. How to submit? Abstracts of 750 words are to consist of the subject, the problem addressed and the title of the article. Please include bibliographical references, your name, email address and your primary field of study. Send submissions (in French or English) by August 1st, 2008 to: marc.joly(a)umontreal.ca or martin.picard(a)umontreal.ca Following our approbation sent to you by email (2-3 weeks later), please send us your completed article by November 1st, 2008. Editorial guidelines Kinephanos is a refereed Web journal. Each article is evaluated by double-blind peer review. Kinephanos does not retain exclusive rights of published texts. However, material submitted must not have been previously published elsewhere. Future versions of the texts published in other periodicals must reference Kinephanos as its original source. Your text must comply with the following specifications: 6,000 words maximum (excluding references but including end notes) with double spacing, Times New Roman 12-point font, a bibliography with all your references, end notes must be inserted manually in the text as follow : « ... » (1), references must be within the text as follow « … » (Jenkins 2000, p. 134), and 5 keywords at the end of the text. Kinephanos accepts articles in French and in English

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_Morning Becomes Electric: Post-Modern Scholarly Information Access, Organization, and Navigatio
by Gerry Mckiernan 09 Jun '08

09 Jun '08

Friends/ Nearly a Decade Ago I Speculated About The Future of Scholarly "Information Access, Organization, and Navigation" Well It's The Future and It's About Time That The Predictions Happened [:-)] ... The Section on Navigation Can be Viewed As ***Sensory Navigation***, The Thread of My [Other] Recent Postings. /Gerry _Abstract_ Scholars are facing unprecedented Information Overload in their attempts to identify potentially relevant information sources. Electronic networks have not only expedited traditional forms of publishing but created new formal and informal opportunities for communication. Conventional methods of information management are reaching the limits of their effectiveness. To enhance access to information in the coming decades, systems that fully utilize the digital nature of a growing number of scholarly resources must be implemented. _Table of Contents_ Scholarly Communication Scholarly publishing E-Communication _Indexing and Abstracting Services_ Biology Engineering Geology Mathematics Medicine _Citation Indexing and Indexes_ Access E-Journals E-Articles _Transformational Communication_ Intelligent Software Agents Information Overload Custom-Configured Institutional E-Journals Just-in-Time Electronic Collections _Organization_ Conventional Automated Navigation Information Visualization Auditory Browsing Haptic Interaction Virtual Environments _"In The Beginning ... "_ References Full Text and Links Available At [ http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/06/morning-becomes-electric-post-mod… ] OR [ http://tinyurl.com/6f6e74 ] Comments Are Most Welcome On The Posting 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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