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

40-minute interview on Wisconsin Public Radio about Twitter, New New Media, and Iran
by Paul Levinson 02 Aug '10

02 Aug '10

The interview was conducted at 7am this morning. You can listen to it anytime at http://clipcast.wpr.org:8080/ramgen/wpr/jca/jca090624b.rm PL

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Ranking Web of Universities: July 2009 edition
by Isidro F. Aguillo 22 Jul '10

22 Jul '10

The July edition of the Ranking Web of World Universities (http://www.webometrics.info) shows important news. Most of them are due to changes done to improve the academic impact of the open web contents and to reduce the geographical bias of search engines. As a result, the US universities still lead the Ranking (MIT with its huge Open Courseware is again the first, followed by Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley), but the digital gap with their European counterparts (Cambridge and Oxford are in the region’s top) has been reduced. Even more important, some of the developing countries institutions reach high ranks, especially in Latin America where the University of Sao Paulo (38th) and UNAM (44th) benefits from the increasingly interconnected Brazilian and Mexican academic webspaces. Several countries improves their performance including Taiwan and Saudi Arabia with strong web oriented strategies, Czech Republic (Charles), the leader for Eastern Europe, Spain (Complutense) and Portugal (Minho, Porto) with huge repositories and strong Open Access initiatives. Norway (NTNU, Oslo), Egypt could be also mentioned. On the other side, the underrated are headed by France, with a very fragmented system, Korea, whose student-oriented websites are frequently duplicated, New Zealand, India or Argentina. Africa is still monopolized by South African universities (Cape Town is the first, 405th), as well as Australian Universities are the best ranked for Oceania (Australian National University, 77th) Other well performing institutions include Cornell or Caltech in the USA, Tokyo (24th) Toronto (28th), Hong Kong (91st), or Peking (104th). On the contrary, in positions below expected we find Yale, Princeton, Saint Petersburg, Seoul and the Indian Institutes of Science or Technology. Check out also: Ranking Web of Research Centers http://research.webometrics.info/ Ranking Web of Repositories http://repositories.webometrics.info/ Ranking Web of Hospitals http://hospitals.webometrics.info/ Ranking Web of Business Schools http://business-schools.webometrics.info/ -- ************************************* Isidro F. Aguillo, HonPhD Cybermetrics Lab CCHS - CSIC Albasanz, 26-28, 3C1. 28037 Madrid. Spain Ph. 91-602 2890. Fax: 91-602 2971 isidro.aguillo @ cchs.csic.es www. webometrics.info *************************************

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Information wants to be ASCII or Unicode? Tibetan-written information cannot be ASCII anyway.
by Han-Teng Liao (OII) 31 Oct '09

31 Oct '09

Dear all, Running the risk of trolling and misrepresenting the famous motto "Information wants to be ASCII", I want to raise the question of the difference between "Information wants to be ASCII" versus "Information wants to be Unicode" from a multilingual perspective. It should be pointed out when Lev Manovich declare "Information wants to be ASCII" when talking about remix and remixability of information, it was in 2005 when the adoption of Unicode was just in the early adoption period globally. So I do not intend to raise the question to make lazy criticism against the America-centric implication inside ASCII, but rather raise the question about remix and remixability across linguistic boundaries. Why the Unicode is not universally deployed yet? How can we measure the remixability across linguistic boundaries simply because the information are encoded not in Unicode? Why so many user-generated content websites in China are only using their simplified-Chinese-only kind of "national standard" (GB2312) even when Hong Kong (using traditional Chinese not included in GB2312) is part of China and Beijing claims Taiwan is part of China? What about Tibetan-written information: is it want to be Unicode or GB 18030-2000? Tibetan-written information cannot be ASCII anyway. I really like to hear from you. Best regards, -- Han-Teng Liao PhD Candidate Oxford Internet Institute http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/students.cfm?id=123

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looking for a collaborative real-time editor
by Kimberly Silk 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hello, I have 2 researchers who would like to work on the same document simultaneously, with the ability to see each other's edits in real time. Any suggestions out there? Thanks, Kim -- Kimberly Silk, MLS Data Librarian, Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto President-elect, Faculty of Information Alumni Association, University of Toronto M: (416) 721-8955 kimberly.silk(a)gmail.com

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The Internet & Politics: Key Readings
by Stephen Coleman 09 Aug '09

09 Aug '09

This sounds like a very interesting project, Bill. In the interest of provoking some discussion, I'm responding via the open list. I suppose that I would categorise works under three broad headings: i) those that have reflected in interesting theoretical ways about new relationships of political mediation arising from the Internet; ii) empirical studies of particular projects, applications and institutional adaptations; and iii) policy analyses and proposals relating to the Internet and politics, ranging from open source software to WSIS to the evaluation of government-funded initiatives. Under i, I would want to go back to the 1987 work by Arterton on Teledemocracy. In many respects, he raised most of the theoretical questions about media interactivity and politics that we are still asking today. These questions have been subsequently addressed in interesting ways by Wilhelm (2000) and Bimber (2003) and in several chapters in volumes edited by Hague and Loader (1999), Axford and Huggins (2000), Quah et al (2007) and Chadwick and Howard (2009. I also think that Blumler and Kavanagh's 1999 article on 'the third age of political communication' is a seminal piece in its account of the transition to a new media era - and that Nick Couldry's recent work on mediatization and mediation is illuminating. Under ii, there is much that is worth including. I would certainly include key works by Hampton and Wellman, and Kavanaugh and Patterson on the Internet and social capital; Bennett on the Internet and collective action; Gibson and Ward on political parties; and various chapters from the three volumes on the Internet and youth citizenship edited by Bennett, Loader and Dahlgren. Work by Richard Rogers, Warren Sack and John Kelly has been very useful in relation to the potential of the Internet for public deliberaration. There is less immediately obvious material to be included within the third category. There are some good articles written, jointly and separately, by John Street and Scott Wright - and Arthur Edwards, Robin Mansell, Laurence Monnoyer-Smith and Lincoln Dahlberg have all had interesting things to say. In my own work, conducted firstly in collaboration with John Gotze and then with Jay Blumler, an effort has been made to connect theory and experimentation to questions of policy. So, you will have no problem in filling four volumes. It would be stimulating if some discussion within this list could not only guide your choices, but perhaps articulate some of the different ways in which scholars have made sense of the Internet-Politics literature. Stephen Coleman Professor of political Communication and Director of Research Institute of Communications Studies University of Leeds New book: The Internet and Democratic Citizenship: Theory; Practice; Policy: http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521817523

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Sources on activism and social technologies
by Anastasia Kavada 06 Aug '09

06 Aug '09

Dear all, I am currently investigating the potential of the 'participatory web' (mainly social networking, video and photo-sharing sites) for activism and political participation and I'm looking to expand my list of references. I am particularly interested in chapters and journal articles based on concrete empirical research and case studies. In my experience, there is a shortage of published research in this area (I guess it's stil too early for the slow cycles of academic publishing), so I'd also be interested in any working or conference papers on the issue. I will compile a bibliography with the references that you suggest and the ones already in my database and publish it on the aoir list. Please feel free to also contact me off list at A.Kavada(a)westminster.ac.uk . Many thanks, Anastasia Kavada Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) School of Media, Arts & Design University of Westminster Harrow Campus Watford Road, Northwick Park, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3TP United Kingdom tel: +44 20 7911 5000 email: kavadaa(a)wmin.ac.uk http://www.wmin.ac.uk/mad/page-1723

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Volunteer to Review InSITE Conference Submissions / Call For Participation
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 31 Jul '09

31 Jul '09

Colleagues/ Posted on Behalf of Eli Cohen / Informing Science Institute/ [ http://informingscience.org/ ] /Gerry *** Please Post and Share with Colleagues *** Please Volunteer to Review Conference Submissions during December for the InSITE 2010 Conference [ http://2010.informingscience.org/ ] The Informing Science + IT Education (InSITE) Conference brings together colleagues from diverse fields to share their solutions to common problems. Papers are submitted during November for review during December and early January. The conference takes place in June. Please volunteer your expertise as a paper reviewer for the Informing Science + IT Education Conference. Sign up online at http://InSITE.nu/volunteer.html Reviewers receive a reduction in their conference registration fee, are acknowledged online and in the printed material, and receive the warm, fuzzy feeling of gratitude. This conference is in three parts. It takes place June 17 - 24, 2010 in Bari and Cassino, Italy with onsite visits to various universities and places of interest. Its website is http://InSITE.nu <http://insite.nu/> or http://2010.InformingScience.org <http://2010.informingscience.org/> . Will you review papers on three or more of the following topics? Call For Participation [ http://2010.informingscience.org/ ] Technology Enhanced Learning Environments (TeLE) Includes e-Learning, m-Learning, d-Learning and all other methods of using technology to enhance learning, such as the following: Assessment, Evaluation, and Security Issues in Technology Enhanced Learning , Course Design & Pedagogy for Technology Enhanced Learning, Cultural, Social, & Political Issues in Technology Enhanced Learning, Issues in the Storage and Use of Learning Objects, Platforms for Technology Enhanced Learning, Research Regarding Technology Enhanced Learning, Technology Enhanced Classrooms, Virtual Communities, OTHER Issues Related to Technology Enhanced Teaching and Learning Informing Science and IT Education: Includes issues regarding informing systems and the teaching of IT, such as the following: Art & Design as Elements of Informing (media, graphics, packaging, performing arts), Collaborative Work / Working Together / Teams, Control, Audit, and Security, Curriculum Issues, Decision Making / Business Intelligence (DM/BI), Doctoral Studies (theory, practice, innovation, and research), E-Commerce and Commerce, Educational Assessment & Evaluation, Emerging Technologies, Ethical, Social, Cultural, Legal, and Philosophical Issues, History / Social Sciences, Image / Vision / Graphics, Info & Knowledge Mgmt / Organizational Learning, Issues related to Computer Science, Instructional Design / How to Teach / New Ways to Teach, Journalism / Public Relations / Communications, Library / Information Science, Mathematical & Statistical Issues, Media & Information Literacy , Medical / Health / Biological Informing Systems, Misinformation, Disinformation, & Bias in Informing Systems, Networks and Telecommunication, Organizational Issues, Project Management & Practice, Psychological Aspects / HCI / Usability Issues, Public, Governmental, Community, and Political Issues, Research Methods, Robotics (Informing non-humans), Systems Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Assessment, Teaching Cases, Training for the Teaching of Information Technology, Visualization of Information, Web / XML / Internet /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu <mailto:gerrymck@iastate.edu> There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed / Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace

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"M Is For Service: Current Mobile Trends in Libraries"
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 30 Jul '09

30 Jul '09

Colleagues/ I am pleased to announce the availability of my PPT for the morning keynote presentation I gave earlier today (July 30 2009 / 11 AM - Noon (EDT) at the _Handheld Librarian Online Conference_ > "M Is For Service: Current Mobile Trends in Libraries" _Outline_ The Context Definitions Mobile Services Library Sources / Resources / Services Challenges/Opportunities Key Works My presentation as well as links to the Twitter HashTag Posts, Event Tracker,and the conference site are available from [ http://tinyurl.com/nz78ms <http://tinyurl.com/nz78ms> ] BTW-1: This Is A LARGE Presentation (160+ Slides) BTW-II: I Will Post Links To Other HHL09 Presentations As Time Permits ... Other Examples Of Mobile Sources / Resources / Services Are Of Great Interest; Please Post As A Comment On The Blog Entry. Thanks A Million ! Enjoy ! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu <mailto:gerrymck@iastate.edu> There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed / Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace

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research on older people's use of social networking sites
by Virpi Ylanne 30 Jul '09

30 Jul '09

I wonder if anyone on this site is doing research on older people's (60+ yrs) use of social networking sites (e.g. facebook, myspace), or if you know of any such work. If so, I'd like to hear from you. with best wishes, Dr Virpi Ylanne Centre for Language and Communication Cardiff University, Wales, UK ylanne(a)cf.ac.uk

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Graduation Announcement
by John Laprise 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

Dear Colleagues, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you on the AOIR listserv who have supported my work over the past six years. My dissertation "White House Computer Adoption and Information Policy 1969-1979" has been accepted by my committee and Northwestern University. Interested parties may email me for a copy of the abstract and/or dissertation. Best regards, John P. Laprise Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Communication Studies School of Communication Northwestern University in Qatar

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