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

virtual ethnography and online fieldwork
by CHRISTINE HINE 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

I’ve been following the discussions on virtual ethnography with interest, and sorry to have been too snowed under (literally and metaphorically) to contribute until now. I think I agree with a lot of what Pearse has said. I did commit ethnographic sins in Virtual Ethnography and in later work I’ve tried to rectify some of them in some of the directions that Pearse advocates. The actual fieldwork in the original book was pretty thin, but I’d stand by most of the theoretical/methodological discussion in which I tried to argue that ethnography needed to be adaptive to new forms of connection and circumstance and take online interactions seriously, but not to assume in advance that any online setting constituted a bounded cultural whole. Miller and Slater argued similarly, with better fieldwork, that one shouldn’t assume the existence of a “virtual” in advance. Actually, I never meant “virtual ethnography” in my usage to imply ethnography performed only in the virtual arena. In the original book I talked about the old-fashioned meaning of virtual, as implying that something was good enough for practical purposes, or virtually the real thing, and I used that to index the need for creative adaptations of method in the face of new circumstances. I wonder now whether we need the label "virtual ethnography" at all? The embedding of internet etc in everyday life seems to me to imply that any ethnographer might be led online by the cultural connections that they follow, and it seems not good ethnography to place fieldwork boundaries according to the medium that happens to be used. Following that line of thought, has “virtual ethnography” simply collapsed back into “ethnography”? That having been said, there are certainly some fieldwork practices that are a bit different in online settings, and some tips and tricks of the trade to make it easier. The late cyberanthropologist Mario Guimaraes described some of the ways that he organized his collections of logfiles, screenshots and field diaries when carrying out fieldwork in The Palace. A short paper of his on this subject is available at http://www.websm.org/uploadi/editor/doingonlineethnography.pdf I learned a lot from Mario’s organized approach to these practices – although I never managed to be that organized myself. Best wishes, Christine Christine Hine Department of Sociology University of Surrey Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/ staff/chine/

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Studies regarding users/use of Twitter or
by Samater Liban (gmail) 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

Hi! I am a very late adopter to Twitter - or so it seems to me. To really understand Twitter, I would love to get my hands on any data concerning it - I of course tried to search and ask on Twitter itself, but... So any kind of link or information regarding Twitter users, useage, by socio-demographics or whatever, would be very much appreciated. I am a quiet reader from time to time, BTW...for long :-) Have a great day/evening/night! sam

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Digital research data survey
by jeremy hunsinger 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

forwarding from humanist-jh Dear Sir/Madam, In the course of their work, researchers routinely create, use and re-use digital information. The results of such research are usually published and preserved for future generations by publishers and/or libraries. But what happens to the underlying research data which is vital for verifying the research outcome, or which might prove of great value to other researchers in other contexts? Digital data are much more fragile than printed resources, as hardware and software platforms evolve. Which present-day computer can deal with an 8-inch floppy disk with Wordstar text on it? The European Alliance for Permanent Access to the Records of Science (http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/ ) aims to build a European infrastructure to preserve research data for future re-use, and a number of Alliance partners have initiated a project entitled PARSE.insight (http://www.parse-insight.eu http://www.parse-insight.eu/ ) which aims to gain insight into the present practices of researchers, data managers and funding agencies with regard to creating and storing research data. The results of this project will help the European Commission determine how to invest in the European research infrastructure. Filling out our survey allows you to express your opinions on the way the EC should invest its resources. In other words, a small investment of your time now may help make your valuable research data save for future access and use. *Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JmgTTZ251MBEDyYBoKoUmA_3d_3d* * * The survey will take about *15 to 20 minutes*. Reponses are aggregated for analysis and made anonymous. Thank you. PARSE.insight team

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Corporate Blogging Bibliography
by Cornelius Puschmann 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

Dear colleagues, after receiving several messages signaling interest in the bibliography on corporate blogging assembled for my PhD thesis, I have decided to publish it on my website: http://corporatebloggingbib.ynada.com/ I've also uploaded the bibliography in several data formats for easy importing into citation managers such as Zotero and EndNote. This post contains the links to the files: http://corpblawg.ynada.com/2009/02/05/the-corporate-blogging-bibliography There are a few minor formatting issues as a result of conversion errors, but they can be corrected fairly quickly. Note that works on blogging in general, on CMC and publications on general (linguistic) theory are also included - a bibliography that includes _only_ works specifically on corporate blogging would have been quite short. All the best from rainy Düsseldorf, Dr. des. Cornelius Puschmann, M.A. Department of English Language and Linguistics / University of Düsseldorf, Germany University Library Center (hbz), Cologne, Germany +49 211 811 5927 (office) +49 176 811 78067 (mobile) +49 211 139 566 84 (home) www.ynada.com www.elanguage.net

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Reminder: Language in the New Media conference
by Crispin Thurlow 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

Abstract submission deadline: February 26, 2009 International Conference Language in the New Media: Technologies and Ideologies Thursday 03 to Sunday 06 September 2009 University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Keynote speakers Naomi Baron, American University, USA Jannis Androutsopoulos, Kings College London, England Theo van Leeuwen, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Conference theme We invite you to submit abstracts for papers which explore the representation, construction and/or production of language through the technologies and ideologies of new media - the digital discourse of blogs, wikis, texting, instant messaging, internet art, video games, virtual worlds, websites, emails, podcasting, hypertext fiction, graphical user interfaces, and so on. Of equal interest are the ways that new media language is metalinguistically represented, constructed and/or produced in print and broadcast media such as newspapers and television. Abstract submission Please submit abstracts for papers (20 minutes plus 10 for discussion) by email to lim2009(a)u.washington.edu no later than Thursday 26 February 2009. Abstracts should include a title, your contact details (name, mailing address, email) and a description of your paper (250 -350 words). The conference committee will begin reviewing abstract submissions immediately after the deadline; notification of acceptance will be Thursday 19 March. (Please send your abstract as a Word document or in the body of your email.) FOR MORE INFORMATION WEB: http://www.com.washington.edu/lim/ EMAIL: lim2009(a)u.washington.edu SENT BY: Crispin Thurlow University of Washington

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Re: [Air-L] virtual ethnography
by Carmel L. Vaisman 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Hi Dan and everyone else in this discussion. - Has anyone read any good writing on the practicalities of doing online participant observation specifically with respect to the writing of fieldnotes following sessions? I'm writing a something like that but since I'm writing my doctoral dissertation in Hebrew it might take a year before i publish it in English. I'm both a Communication researcher and an active (what you'd call A-List) blogger in Israel. My methodology chapter deals with my blog as both a field journal and a form of presence in the field. I agree with the fact people use ethnography loosely these days. Personally, I'm very suspicious towards non-participant observer ethnographies. In order to write a culture you must practice it yourself. There are so many specific practices that elude the eye if you're not really part of the field. You can watch all you want but never have access to key elements of an online subculture. I feel that only a long term participant observation with emphasis on the participation part, gives me the confidence and authority to write the culture. Carmel Vaisman, PhD Candidate, Communication Department The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Re: [Air-L] Virtual sex -- from Second Life to online sites
by Trudy Barber 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Please contact me - I can certainly help you on this one... See my profile - am working on a book - Cheers Trudy Dr. Trudy Barber FRSA Senior Lecturer in Media School of Creative Arts, Film and Media University of Portsmouth Room 3.19 St. George's Building 141 High Street Portsmouth PO1 2HY United Kingdom Trudy.Barber(a)port.ac.uk T: +44 (0)23 9284 5307 F: +44 (0)23 9284 5372 http://www.port.ac.uk/research/ceisr/members/title,69965,en.html Ongoing current project see: http://www.cdpt.info >>> "CarrieLynn D. Reinhard" <carrie(a)ruc.dk> 27/01/09 8:28 AM >>> Does anyone know any good sources to read from people who are looking into virtual sex and virtual pornography, from CGI pornography to sex games to sexual acts in virtual worlds? _______________________________________________ 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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[CFP] Learn, Teach and Play in 3D Virtual Worlds
by Jimmy Ang 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

[CFP] Learn, Teach and Play in 3D Virtual Worlds in Second Life and City University London We are running a one-day seminar on the topic of "Learn, Teach and Play in 3D Virtual Worlds" and we are inviting you to join us in this exciting event! We welcome teachers, students, educational technologists, researchers, and anyone interested in 3D virtual worlds and games. We welcome you to showcase your virtual world projects (e.g. education, virtual museum, etc), to present your research findings, or simply to voice your opinions about it. Time and place • the seminar (whole day, 18 March 2009) will be face to face meeting at City University London (time and room will be announced later). Types of participation • If you are interested in attending this event, please send in a short bio (50-100 words) to us. • If you are interested in showcasing your project, please send in a short bio (50-100 words) and a short description of the project (around 300 words) • If you are interested in presenting your research findings, please send in a short bio (50-100 words) and an abstract of the study (around 300 words) We are not just looking for presentations but participatory formats to share and debate. Thus, we welcome ideas of other types of participations. Please submit a proposal (around 300 words) to let us know what you would like to discuss, how you think we could best exchange ideas in this event and the anticipated outputs. In addition, a virtual meeting (in Second Life) will take place a day before the face to face event and everyone is welcome. Further information of the virtual event will be announced shortly. Please register the event at http://learnteachandplay.eventbrite.com/ If you have further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact Ulrike Pfeil (U.Pfeil-1(a)city.ac.uk) Hope to see you there. Jim Ang, City University London Panayiotis Zapihris, City University London David White, Oxford University Steven Warburton, King's College Palitha Edirisingha, University of Leicester This event is sponsored by JISC EMERGE http://elgg.jiscemerge.org.uk/ -- Cheers (Jim) Chee Siang Ang Research Fellow Room A210 Centre of Human-computer Interaction Design City University London EC1V 0HB Phone: +44 (0)20 7040 8166 Fax: +44 (0)20 7040 8859 Web: http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~cf559/

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Re: [Air-L] Air-L Digest, Vol 55, Issue 3
by pearse stokes 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Hi It's great being on a mailing list with people who share the same interests! First off, Chris, I hope it didn't sound like I was implying that you didn't have proper training. Proper ethnographic training is not confined to anthropology departments, and not all anthropology departments would provide proper training. When I said 'proper' training, I meant just that; proper. Oliver, Regards the distinction between virtual ethnography and cyber anthropology (as I see it, and hopefully many others will input here!), cyber anthropology - Concerned with the human and the technological - Does not assume a shape or location of the field site - May use ethnographic methods including virtual ethnography virtual ethnography - A method - Performed purely in the virtual arena, which therefore, assumes the existence of a virtual arena and limits the shape and location of a specific 'culture' - May be just one method in a research (lets hope so) I use this distinction because most 'virtual' research is concerned with the interaction or mediation of communications between individuals and computers or individuals and individuals. No research is purely virtual. It can't be, by virtue of the fact that the researcher is there. Just like no field site, however long ago, was truly separate from the world. As such, cyber anthropology, in my mind at least, is concerned with researching that part of humanity that interface with technology. More generally cyber anthropology can refer to researching mobile phone use, epidemiological factors relating to computer use, the shape of family structure around the computer, etc. It is acutely aware of the 'real'. In fact, I would suggest that any good cyber anthropological or cyber sociological research would not bring pre-conceptions like virtual and real into the research in the first place. To do so is to assume the shape and location of the research site. Now lets hear what other people think on the subject! Pearse

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Re: [Air-L] qual data analysis software for Mac?
by Karen Smith 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Hello, For QDA software for a Mac, another option is HyperResearch: http://www.researchware.com/hr/ There is a free trial for download which is quite robust. Best, Karen Smith karen.louise.smith(a)utoronto.ca PhD Student Faculty of Information and Knowledge Media Design www.karenlouisesmith.net

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