November 2009 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

CFP: FDG 2010: The 5th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
by Yusuf Pisan 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

[Apologies for cross-posting. Please forward to colleagues and mailing lists as appropriate ] ========== FDG 2010: CALL FOR PAPERS ========== FDG 2010: The 5th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games 19-21 June 2010, at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Monterey, California. http://fdg2010.org/ *** Important Dates *** Workshop Proposals: 18 Sep 2009 (past) Paper and Poster Submission: 5 Feb 2010 Doctoral Consortium Submission: 12 Feb 2010 Author Notification: 29 Mar 2010 Demo Submission: 2 Apr 2010 Registration for Authors: 9 Apr 2010 Camera Ready Papers: 23 Apr 2010 Conference: 19-21 Jun 2010 LATEST NEWS =========== * Invited Speaker: James Gee James Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at the Arizona State University and the author of "What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy", "Good Video Games and Good Learning: Collected Essays" as well as other influential books and research papers is the first Invited Speaker for FDG 2010. * Advertisement in the November issue of Communications of the ACM The November issue of CACM features a full page ad for FDG 2010. You can download a copy of the ad from http://fdg2010.org/downloads/FDG2010-acm-ad-small.pdf to distribute to your colleagues and students. If you would like some color flyers to distribute at the next conference you are attending, please contact Yusuf Pisan yusuf.pisan(a)uts.edu.au and we will get some flyers out to you. * Workshops at FDG 2010 There will be 3-4 workshops held in conjunction with FDG 2010. See web page for details of the workshops and on submitting papers to workshops. Please note that selection and publication of the papers for the workshops is the responsibility of specific workshop organizers and is not conducted by the FDG Program Committee. * Panels at FDG 2010 In addition to invited speakers from industry and academy leaders, peer-reviewed papers and tutorials, FDG 2010 will have panels on topics related to games. If you have any burning suggestions for panel topics or people you would like to see on the panel, please email Ian Bogost ian.bogost(a)lcc.gatech.edu OVERVIEW ======== FDG 2010, the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, is a focal point for academic efforts in all areas of research and education involving games, game technologies, gameplay and game design. The goal of the conference is the advancement of the study of digital games, including new game technologies, capabilities, designs, applications, educational uses, and modes of play. FDG 2010 will include presentations of peer-reviewed papers, invited talks by high-profile industry and academic leaders, hands-on tutorials and topical panels on a range of subjects related to games research and education. We invite researchers and educators to share insights and cutting-edge results relating to game technologies and their use. PAPER and POSTER SUBMISSIONS ============================ FDG 2010 will accept both full paper and poster submissions. Authors may choose to submit their papers and posters to the general conference or to a specific theme area. The seven theme areas for FDG 2010 are described below. 1) Artificial Intelligence Track Chair: Magy Seif El-Nasr, Simon Fraser University We solicit papers on artificial intelligence research that provides novel solutions to traditional game AI problems (e.g., path planning, camera control, terrain analysis, user modeling, tactical/strategic and decision making), supports novel game concepts or gameplay elements (e.g. interactive drama, narrative/character development and NPC belief/attitude/emotion modeling), provides automated or semi-automated solutions to game production challenges (e.g., game design, content creation, testing and procedural animation), or describes the integration of AI technologies (e.g., machine learning, logical inference and planning) into game AI architectures. 2) Computer Science and Games Education Track Chair: Andrew Phelps, Rochester Institute of Technology The Computer Science and Games Education Theme Area invites researchers and educators to submit papers illustrating the latest advances and innovation in curricula for games and computer science, in both formal and informal educational contexts. All papers must show rigorous and compelling evaluation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: game design and development curricula, effective practices and infrastructure for the use of games and game technologies in Computer Science courses and programs, Web-based (adaptive) educational games and interdisciplinary collaboration among computer scientists and others to create games in educational contexts. 3) Game Design Track Chair: Tracy Fullerton, University of Southern California The Game Design theme seeks detailed reports of creative practice and methods, as well as the exploration and development of innovative gameplay forms and mechanics. Design postmortems that rigorously analyze the intent and effect of particular solutions, mechanics, structures or gaming situations are very welcome. Also, research on new models for player involvement, design for learning, participatory design, iterative player-centered process, and investigations into the relationship between hardware and software platforms and design are strongly encouraged. Submissions may discuss theoretical designs or implemented ones, but should provide evaluative evidence and rigorous analysis of outcomes. 4) Game Studies Track Chair: Mia Consalvo, MIT Game Studies as a field is broadly interdisciplinary, welcoming a variety of theoretical, methodological and computational approaches to the study of games and play. This year, we particularly seek submissions that investigate areas such as player experience, game ontology, the social and cultural aspects of gameplay, cross-cultural or global analyses, networked play (including consoles), game aesthetics and criticism, casual and serious gaming and analysis of new and emerging phenomena. All submissions must provide rigorous analysis and present evaluative evidence. 5) Graphics and Interfaces Track Chair: Steven Feiner, Columbia University The Graphics and Interfaces theme seeks papers on all aspects of computer graphics and user interfaces that are specifically related to digital games, including but not limited to: animation, modeling, rendering, 2D and 3D user interfaces, collaborative user interfaces, mobile user interfaces, tangible user interfaces, design of (interfaces for) Web 2.0 game focused web applications, integration of web-based and computer/console based game worlds, augmented reality and virtual reality, and novel interaction devices and displays. 6) Infrastructure (Databases, Networks, Security) Track Chair: Mark Claypool, WPI The Infrastructure track invites submissions that focus on the many aspects of improving systems support for digital games. Suitable papers should describe novel networks, operating systems or database systems that are especially designed for games, or make novel use of existing systems to support games. Topics of interest include: networked game architectures, network protocol design for games, latency compensation and synchronization methods, mobile and/or resource-constrained game platforms, software and middleware support for networked games, content delivery and adaptation, services for supporting networked games, cheat detection and prevention, networking and security for Web-based games and game portals, database engines and database optimization for games, distributed database techniques and consistency models for networked games, and data management for games that cross physical and virtual worlds. 7) Learning in Games Track Chair: Elisabeth Hayes, Arizona State University Learning in Games invites papers that investigate how games contribute to intellectual, creative, social, and embodied forms of learning in and outside the classroom, for learners of all ages. Studies focused on educational games as well as the learning potential of COTS games are welcome. Research on the design of games for learning, the outcomes of game-based learning, and learning that occurs in the social contexts and interactions around games (such as within fan communities) should be submitted to this track. Papers on the professional training of game developers should be submitted to the Computer Science and Games Education track. All paper and poster submissions will be rigorously peer reviewed for their technical merit (where applicable), significance, clarity and relevance to the advancement of the study of games. All full papers must describe a completed unit of work and show rigorous and compelling evaluation of the ideas they present. Poster submissions should describe novel work in progress that is not at the same level of research maturity as a full submission. Full papers must not exceed eight pages, but can be shorter. We will review for quality not length! Poster submissions must not exceed two pages. All submissions must be submiteed via https://easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=fdg2010 and must comply with the official ACM proceedings format using one of the templates provided at http://www.acm.org/sigs/pubs/proceed/template.html All accepted paper and poster submissions will be published in the conference proceedings. For a paper or poster to appear in the proceedings, at least one author must register for the conference by the deadline for camera-ready copy submission. Papers from FDG 2009 and its predecessor (GDCSE 2008) are included in the ACM Digital Library and we anticipate that all paper, poster, and doctoral consortium publications from this year's conference will appear there as well. Submissions must not have been published previously. In addition, a submission identical or substantially similar (or even a subset or superset) in content to one submitted to FDG should not be simultaneously under consideration at another conference or journal during the entire FDG review process (i.e., from the submission deadline until the notifications of decisions are emailed to authors). WORKSHOP PROPOSALS ================== The workshops portion of the conference provides an informal setting for new developments to be discussed and demonstrated. We invite proposals for full-day and half-day workshops focused on specific topics related to the broader themes around games. We are particularly interested in topics that will bridge different communities. Proposals should include: A 2-page extended abstract, the objectives and expected outcome of the workshop, the planned activities, the background of the organizer(s), the anticipated number of participants, and the means for soliciting and selecting participants. Proposal should be emailed directly to the Michael Mateas, Workshop Chair, at michaelm(a)cs.ucsc.edu. DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM =================== The FDG Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for a limited group of Ph.D. students to discuss and explore their research interests and career objectives with a panel of established games researchers and industry professionals. The consortium has the following objectives: (1) to provide a setting for mutual feedback on participants' current research and guidance on future research directions; (2) develop a supportive community of scholars and a spirit of collaborative research; (3) support a new generation of researchers with information and advice on academic, research, industrial, and nontraditional career paths; and (4) contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and participation in conference events. Students whose submissions to the Doctoral Consortium are accepted for presentation will receive complimentary conference registration and some support for their travel/housing expenses. FDG 2010 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ============================= Conference Chair Ian Horswill, Northwestern University Program Chair Yusuf Pisan, University of Technology, Sydney Doctoral Consortium Chair Zoran Popovic, University of Washington Workshops Chair Michael Mateas, University of California, Santa Cruz Panels Chair Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of Technology Tutorials Chair Robin Hunicke, That Game Company Local Arrangements Chair Marilyn Walker, University of California, Santa Cruz Webmaster Karl Cheng-Heng Fua, Northwestern University ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ====================== Please see http://fdg2010.org/ for this year's conference and http://foundationsofdigitalgames.org/ for past years, including: Table of Contents for FDG 2009: http://portal.acm.org/toc.cfm?id=1536513 Table of Contents for GDCSE 2008: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1463673 Proceedings for GDCSE 2007: http://www.eng.unt.edu/ian/Cruise2007/madgdcse2007.pdf To get the latest news on FDG, subscribe to the FDG-announce mailing list. Send an email to listserv(a)listserv.it.northwestern.edu with no subject line and a body saying: SUBSCRIBE fdg-announce firstname lastname Yusuf -- A/Professor Yusuf Pisan Games Studio Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology University of Technology, Sydney http://staff.it.uts.edu.au/~ypisan/ http://games.it.uts.edu.au/ Skype: ypisan [CFP v2, sent out on 4 Nov 2009]

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PhD Studentship in Webometric methods to assess emerging research fields
by m.thelwall＠blueyonder.co.uk 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

PhD Studentship in Webometric methods to assess emerging research fields A significant part of the effort in the research field of scientometrics is devoted to tracking new and emerging scientific fields by analysing their publications in standard databases like the web of science. This approach suffers from an inevitable time lag due to the publication cycle. The objective of this PhD is to develop web-based methods to track heterogeneous emerging research fields, bypassing the publishing time lag and encompassing commercial, governmental and other actors that would not be fully represented in traditional academic publishing. This research will build upon pilot studies already conducted at Wolverhampton. The candidate will ideally have some knowledge of bibliometrics or scientometrics and interview or qualitative analysis techniques. The PhD will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches and would suit someone with a library and information science background. Funding is available for a three-year full-time PhD. Essential: Degree in information science, mathematics or related discipline. Ability to use novel software and do simple analyses of quantitative data. Desirable: Masters degree. Experience of writing scientific articles. Experience of interviewing and interview analysis. Knowledge of bibliometrics, scientometrics, webometrics, social network analysis, science studies. Programming experience. For more information see: http://cybermetrics.wlv.ac.uk/phd_2009a.htm

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Reminder -- CFP: Games and Game Culture (SW/TX PCA/ACA Conference, Feb. 2010)
by Judd Ruggill 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

CFP: Games and Game Culture (SW/TX PCA/ACA Conference, Feb. 2010) This is just a reminder that the deadline for proposals on game and game culture topics is 12/15/2009. Please see the CFP below for more information. Cheers, Judd Ruggill Arizona State University _____ CFP: Games and Game Culture Computer Culture Area 31st Annual SW/TX PCA/ACA Conference February 10-13, 2010 The Computer Culture Area of the SW/TX PCA/ACA welcomes paper, panel, and other proposals on any aspect of games or game culture. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): Alternative reality games Archiving and artifactual preservation Economic and industrial histories Educational game design and development Foreign language games and culture Game advertising (both in-game and out) Haptics and interface studies Localization Luddology and other theories of play Machinima MOGs, MMOGs, and other forms of online/networked gaming Narratology Performance Pornographic games Religion and games Representations of race and gender Representations of space and place The rhetoric of games and game systems Serious games Table-top game design and theory Technological, aesthetic, economic, and ideological convergence Wireless and mobile gaming For paper proposals: Please submit a 250 word abstract embedded in the body of an email. Include contact information (e.g., postal and preferred email address, phone and fax numbers, etc.) and a biographical note about your connection to the topic. For panel and other proposals: Feel free to query first. Panel and other proposals should include all of the information requested for individual paper proposals, as well as a 100-word statement of the panel’s raison d’etre and any noteworthy organizational features. As always, proposals are welcome from any and all scholars, including graduate students, independent scholars, and tenured, tenure-track, and emeritus faculty. Also, unusual formats, technologies, and the like are encouraged. Please submit proposals to Judd Ruggill (jruggill(a)asu.edu) by 12/15/2009. Information on the SW/TX PCA/ACA and its conference can be found at: http://swtxpca.org.

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Food updates
by Suzanne Aurilio 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

I hid someone in FB recently because she frequently updated about food she was eating and then wrote elaborate, intimate notes about body image issues, clothing sizes, workout etc. TMI. She's a colleague, who I happen to like too. I felt as if I were in a private domain, a confession. I've noticed the women I know post about food more than men. Yeah <food>fat>skinny>food>workout> is a women's issue and a national obsession. I respond (and react) to discourses like that one and yes I know, I know, that's abstract, but it's really not. So the personal is political and it's public. ~~ Suzanne Aurilio Assistant Director pICT -People, Information and Communication Technologies San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-1623 619-594-2953 Office AD220C pict.sdsu.edu cdi.sdsu.edu sdsu-aztlan.wikispaces.com SL Aurilio Oh Twitter saurili Delicious saurilio

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Re: [Air-L] Research on
by Amelia Kassel 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

Perhaps of related interest though not precisely on point is a study from Nielsen covering Twitter retention rates. The study was criticized in some blogs. A Nielsen blog includes 152 comments and anecdotal comments related to our question - see http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/twitter-quitters-post-roa… For more on the study, Google: Nielsen study twitter Amelia Kassel, MLS Distance Faculty, San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/faculty/kassela/kassela.php -----Original Message----- >From: Lisbeth Klastrup <klastrup(a)itu.dk> >Sent: Nov 4, 2009 6:44 AM >To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org >Cc: klastrup(a)itu.dk >Subject: [Air-L] Research on "passive" social media use? > >Hi all, >A question related to what we do NOT do while spending our time on social >network sites: > >Im currently trying to dig up academic literature documenting in some form >the numbers of active versus passive users of social media, with special >focus on the passive users. Active here for the sake of argument meant in >a broad sense: uploading content, commenting, rating; and passive as just >watching or reading, but not interacting with content in any way. Im >basically interested in all forms of recent academic research on this, which >actually provide some numbers, not just mentionings of rule of thumbs or >second-hand information. > >Particularly, Id love to know if anyone has researched how many people >just read status updates and do NOT comment, retweet, Like them etc on >sites like Facebook or Twitter. (I know its a tricky question and perhaps >not very useful to make the distinction, since most are likely to have >commented or liked at some point, but then again I surmise some people are >more likely to do it on a more regularly basis than others, and some are >very rarely active??) > >What I have found so far: >A 2008 OfCom report in their UK survey results reports that 40% looks at >other peoples sites (eg. SNS profiles) without leaving messages, but does >not deal with passivity otherwise. A Sysomos survey of Twitter users >claims to have found that 21% of people with Twitter-accounts have never >tweeted (so they must be passive readers of other peoples tweets?). > >I know of Jenny Preeces early work on lurkers, and Jose Van Dijck in her >2009 paper Users like you? Theorizing agency in user-generated content >mentions a Forrester report from 2007 Mapping Participation in Activities >(which you have to pay for), talking of 33% of users being passive >spectators (of videos, blogs etc) and 52% inactives. An OECD 2007 report >Participative Web: User-Generated content (according to Dijck) says more >than 80% are passive recipients of content. All in all not much knowledge to >go by, and mostly just numbers. And then theres the 1/10/89 % meme, but how >substantial is it: >www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jul/20/guardianweeklytechnologysection2 > >I've perused Danah Boyds extensive list on social network research, but at >least judging from the titles of articles listed there & still unknown to >me, passive SNS use hasnt really been the topic of any papers so far? > >So: >Do any of you know of any (other) work in this area? Ill be happy to do a >summary here or in the social media sphere.. > >Lisbeth Klastrup, >IT University of Copenhagen > > >_______________________________________________ >The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list >is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org >Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > >Join the Association of Internet Researchers: >http://www.aoir.org/

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my breakfast
by Barry Wellman 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

Well, AoIR-ists, I will cater to your tastes: I had a glass of fresh organic orange juice first (don't know which type of orange, alas). Followed by 3 teaspoons of organic maple-tinged sheep yogurt (Ewenty Farms, Ontario -- don't know which type of sheep), topped with fresh organic blackberries and raspberries Followed by one of Sharon Wohl's delicious non-sugar muffins for diabetes While sipping Prince of Darkness coffee from Ideal Coffee Co in Toronto, roasted last week, but freshly ground this AM. This tells you a lot about me, but I am not going to repeat everyday. (In any event, it would basically be Ibid, except the days I travel or have Whole-Os). BTW, the person who started me off thinking about this theme was a guy. Sorry, Caroline -- you did have a 50% accuracy probability. Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 University of Toronto Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 twitter:barrywellman http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _______________________________________________________________________

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First Call for Papers for the Open Source Convention held at the Fourth MT Marathon
by MT Marathon 2010 Organising Comittee 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

CALL FOR PAPERS: OPEN SOURCE TOOLS FOR MACHINE TRANSLATION The Fourth Machine Translation Marathon, which will take place January 25-30 in Dublin, Ireland, is hosting an Open Source Convention to advance the state of the art in machine translation. The MT Marathon is organised by the National Centre for Language Technology and the Centre for Next Generation Localisation at Dublin City University on behalf of the EuroMatrixPlus Consortium. We invite developers of open source tools to present their work and submit a paper of up to 10 pages that (a) describes the underlying methodology and (b) includes instructions how to use the tools. We are looking for stand-alone tools and extensions of existing tools, such as the Moses open source systems. Accepted papers will be presented during the MT Marathon and published as a special issue of the Prague Bulletin of Mathematical Linguistics (http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pbml ). Possible topics: * training of machine translation models * machine translation decoders * tuning of machine translation systems * evaluation of machine translation * visualization, annotation or debugging tools * tools for human translators * interfaces for web-based services or APIs * extensions of existing tools * other tools for machine translation This is the second time that the MT Marathon will host the Open Source Convention. The papers from last year are available online: http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pbml-91-100.html Papers will be reviewed by two reviewers appointed by the program committee. Important dates: Deadline for paper submission: December 1, 2009 Notification of acceptance: December 7, 2009 Camera-ready paper due: December 14, 2009 Presentations: January 25-30, 2009 (at the MT Marathon in Dublin) Please send non-anonymized full-version submissions in .pdf format to Philipp Koehn <pkoehn(a)inf.ed.ac.uk>. Please use the PBML style files from http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pbml-instructions.html (follow the "short paper" track instructions) or download the style package directly from http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pbml-style-standard.html . Program Committee Philipp Koehn Chris Callison-Bruch Ventsislav Zhechev

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Re: [Air-L] Food updates/Presentation of Authentic Self
by RBerkman＠aol.com 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

Re: authenticity of the presentation of a more"true/actual self" on Facebook. There has been an interesting debate in some circles as to whether or not one is more honest and an accurate portrayal of self on a site like Facebook where there is a high level of authentication versus Twitter where there is little to none. Some say that because in an authenticated site one is more accountable for their words, that therefore one is going to be more honest and present more who they "really are". (This is important for market researchers in particular who want to have some higher level of assurance that who they are reaching is who they *think/assume* they are reaching). But others have presented a counter argument that the possibility of being anonymous and NON-accountable on a site like Twitter actually frees a person up to be more honest and "who they really are" since they don't have to be worried about "who is looking".... Robert Berkman Associate Professor, Media Studies The New School

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reminder:CfP - PRism Special Issue on Online social networks, communication practice and PR
by Erika Pearson 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

Just a reminder that the following CfP is still open, with full papers due 5th Feb 2010 - for more information see: http://praxis.massey.ac.nz/cfp_socialnet.html The social networking emerging online is now seen as one of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 and beyond. From virtual worlds to microblogging, individuals and groups are forming diverse and sometimes apparently novel ways of building and maintaining social bonds. These mediated exchanges between individuals and groups who may never physically meet challenge our current understandings of friendship, communication, and belonging. For communication and public relations scholars and practitioners, such interactions pose a number of signification questions. How do researchers explore these nebulous social connections people forge in online spaces? How do we re-evaluate what it means to be an individual and part of a group in this context? Do these new channels of communication change the way we present ourselves and our ideas? This special edition seeks papers which discuss and explore ways in which to approach, study, and account for the diversity of online social experience, particularly in regard to communication practice and issues of public relations. Possible topics include: * methodological frameworks for studying online social behaviours * theory building (normative or critical) regarding the social web as part of communications or public relations practice * ways of conceptualizing the online self and society, such as; performance, identity, network theory, and their implications for organisational communication and public relations * issues and ethics in online data collection on social networking sites * case studies exploring the impact of multimodal (online/ offline) social ties in research * opinon pieces on using social networks in public relations * critically informed speculation on the future of communication practice in social media (beyond ‘Web3’) * multimedia submissions on a related topic Papers are welcome from all disciplinary areas. Full papers will be due by Friday 5th of February, 2010 and will be peer reviewed. Academic papers should be 5,000 words and practitioner papers between 2,500-3,000 words maximum. Style should follow house guidelines: praxis.massey.ac.nz/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Journal_Files/ Prism_House_Style.pdf Enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Erika Pearson (erika.pearson(a)otago.ac.nz ).

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Food Status Updates and Twittering
by RBerkman＠aol.com 04 Nov '09

04 Nov '09

I also think that status updates and tweets about cooking, eating, recipes and meals add a richness and (imagined) physical substance to a medium that can is more abstract, word based and cerebral. You take in a post about a meal and you immediately conjure up senses: smell, taste, even touch--that are pleasing and missing from these forms of communication. Bob Berkman Associate Professor Media Studies The New School

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