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

Call for Room Moderators
by Elizabeth A Buchanan 14 Aug '09

14 Aug '09

Dear Colleagues, With the Internet: Critical schedule now posted (http://ir10.aoir.org/?page_id=4) we would like to begin assigning room moderators for each session. The moderators introduce the speakers, keep time, and assist with any other needs in the room. Please review the schedule, and let me know at your earliest convenience what day/time/session you would like to moderate. Also, again reminders on early bird pricing (end by 31 August) and hotel reservations. We had an onsite meeting yesterday and our room block is filling up very quickly. Also, the banquet dinner at the Harley-Davidson Museum is NOT included in your regular registration and there are limited numbers of tickets available to this very exciting event. Register early!!! Remember to check the conference web site for additional updates and reminders. Any questions, of course, please let me know. Best, Elizabeth Elizabeth A. Buchanan, Ph.D. Director, Center for Information Policy Research School of Information Studies University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Co-Chair, Local Organizing Committee AoIR 10: Internet Critical http://ir10.aoir.org/

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Registration reminders
by Elizabeth A Buchanan 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Hello, everyone, Just a few reminders--note especially the early bird pricing ending 31 August!!! Registration for Internet: Critical is now open. Conference Fees: (Early bird prices are in effect until August 31, 2009) * 2009-2010 Member, Professional Conference Registration - $ 275.00 * 2009-2010 Member, Student Conference Registration - $ 160.00 * Non-member Professional Conference Registration - $ 320.00 * Non-member Student Conference Registration - $ 190.00 Registration fees include: full access to conference sessions, free wireless Internet access, Thursday and Friday evening receptions (with 2 complimentary drinks at each), and discounted rates to area attractions (details provided at registration). A few notes: * All attendees and presenters must register. * To qualify for member rates, you must renew your membership within the registration system. * Additional charges for banquet and pre-conference workshops are detailed on the registration site. * Payment is processed securely through PayPal, but a PayPal account is not required. Don’t forget to book your hotel room, too. The hotel is quickly filling up at the conference rate. Best, Elizabeth

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Call for Participation: Mobile Life 2009
by Prof. I. Kushchu 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

Dear Colleagues The preliminary detailed program for Mobile Life Conferences (mGOVERNMENT, mSOCIETY and mDEVELOPMENT) to be held in Barcelona 2-4 September is now posted on the conference web site: http://www.m4life.org Key speakers include: -- Serge Ferre, NOKIA, Vice President Corporate and Head of EU Representation -- Bruno Jacob feuerborn, Deutsche Telekom - Board Member of T-Mobile Germany and T-Home. -- Evelyne Rys, CISCO, Sales and Business Development Manager, EMEA Public Sector Vertical, Cisco Systems -- Ken Banks, Kiwanja Net -- Micheal Bull, Professor, University Sussex BACKGROUND: mLife Events form A Platform for Socially Responsible Organizations in Mobile Value Chain The influences of mobile technologies range from personal relations to interaction in society, and from the transformation of the public sector to the dynamics of economic development. mLife conference and exhibitions are prime events for all organizations and professionals who would like to monitor, take part in, and shape the development of the social impact of the mobile revolution. They provide opportunities to businesses, public sector organizations and researchers to explore the frontiers of the social mobile revolution and be informed in order to reach their goals. The three conferences will cover all aspects of mobile life, technology, services, implementation as they relate to individuals, society, economies and governments. ORGANIZERS and SUPPORTERS: mLIfe Events are organized by the MObile Government Consortium Int, and Barcelona City Council and Sponsored / Supported by CISCO, BlackBerry (RIM) and SPIDER ONLINE REGISTRATIONs and for further information please refer to the http://www.m4life.org/ or email conf(a)m4life.org Regards Kushchu ------- IBRAHIM KUSHCHU, MBA, MSC., PHD Associate Professor and Founding Director, Mobile Government Consortium International, UK http://www.mgovernment.org ik(a)mgovernment.org +44 1273 777853

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FW: Deadline extention till 21st of August: 3rd Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards Competition
by Artur R. Lugmayr 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

Dear colleagues and friends, sorry for cross-posting, however, as you are in the field of ubicom, I would like to pinpoint to our extended deadline for the Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards Competition. we reward the best ubicom applications during the MindTrek 2009 conference taking place in October in Finland/Tampere. The award sum is 7.000 Euros plus free travel for the winners. Please find more information below. feel free to forward this call to your colleagues and friends as well: ================================================================================================ Call to participate in the 3rd Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards Competition - award sum 7.000 Euros for the best ubiquitous applications, products, services, and ideas - Competition deadline EXTENDED: August 21st 2009 September 30th – October 2nd, 2009, Tampere, Finland http://www.mindtrek.org/ubimedia find previous year's contributions and email list click here: http://webhotel2.tut.fi/emmi/forum/ ================================================================================================ The purpose of the competition is to encourage makers of digital media to generate ideas and develop new and innovative ubimedia products & services. The entries are expected to take a stand on the following questions, for example: * How does ubiquitous computing affect media environments? * What are intelligent media environments like? * What will the location- and context-aware media services of the future be like? A few other examples are: * Pervasive and ubiquitous games * Ambient installations * Artistic works related to ubiquitous media and computation * Business models * Ambient and ubiquitous media technology * Ubiquitous and ambient media services, devices, and environments * Context aware, sensing, and interfaces for ubiquitous computation * Ergonomics, human-computer interaction designs, and product prototypes * Software, hardware and middleware framework demonstrations * Ambient television * etc. The total award sum for the Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Award is 7 000€. The sum can be awarded to one entry, divided between several entries or not awarded at all if the award criteria set by the jury are not fulfilled. All ubimedia, ubiquitous, pervasive, or ambient products or product and service concepts which have been finalized during the previous year after 1st January 2008 are eligible to take part in the competition. Competition deadline is August 7th How to participate? Please check out the website http://mindtrek.org/ubimedia for entry forms and actual information. In case of questions, please contact: ubiaward (AT) mindtrek.org Rules of the Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards 1. Organizers The Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Award is a category of the 2009 MindTrek competition. The category is organized collaboratively by MindTrek, Tampere Region Centre of Expertise in Ubiquitous Computing, New Ambient Multimedia Group (NAMU)/Tampere University of Technology, the TAMK University of Applied Sciences, and Nokia. The award is funded by Nokia and the Tampere Region Centre of Expertise in Ubiquitous Computing. 2. Products qualifying for participation All Ubimedia products or product and service concepts which have been finalized during the previous year after 1st January 2008 are eligible to take part in the competition. An example of a suitable competition entry is a finished product, product pilot or demo. No drafts or mere ideas without relevant documentation will be accepted. The competition rules do not place limitations on the technology used in the products. The jury has the right to reject the participation of an entry if it does not fulfil the participation criteria. All jury decisions are final. 3. Entry Submissions For completing a successful submission, the following information is required from your side: * filled application form; * video documenting the submission (approx. 3-5 minutes, also longer will be accepted); * documentation of the concept; A demonstration, production, pilot, or demo is eligible to be submitted to the competition. Each entry should be in form of a video documenting the submission (approx. 3-5 minutes, however also longer videos will be accepted). The video should clearly indicate how the demonstration, production pilot, or demonstration works and relates to ubiquitous media. In addition to the video, a short English-language based description of the concept should be attached to the competition entry in form of e.g. sketches, images, power points, word documents, or implementations. The description should present the key characteristics and benefits of the product or service in a concise and marketing-oriented manner. In addition, also other materials supporting the jury in their decision (e.g. sketches, images, power points, word documents, implementations) can be attached to the competition entry. However, the jury decision will primarily be based on the video submissions, and additional materials will be used in case of further questions. We welcome also links to project homepages, but the jury decision can only base the decision on submitted materials. 4. Participation Registration for the competition ends on 7th August 2009 at 15:00 (+2 GMT). If the competition entry is delivered to MindTrek via mail, it must arrive at the MindTrek Association’s office in three (3) copies no later than 7.8.2009 at 15:00 (+2 GMT). If the competition entry is implemented on the internet, its web address must be submitted to MindTrek when registering within the deadline. Late entries will not be accepted. In addition to submitting the competition entry, participation requires registration using the registration form at the MindTrek website. All submissions must be in English. Originals sent to the competition will not be returned, so you should keep a copy for your own use. Post and packaging costs are the responsibility of the entrant. 5. Award The total award sum for the Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek competition category is EUR 7,000. The sum can be awarded to one entry, divided between several entries or not awarded at all if the award criteria set by the jury are not fulfilled. 6. Immaterial property rights The immaterial property rights related to the competition works remain the property of the competitors. The entrants are responsible for ensuring that they have full copyrights to their competition entries and the right to use the works and their elements when participating in the competition. The material submitted to the award programme remains the property of the author and may not be modified, changed in any way or used in whole or in part for the production of any other work. 7. Evaluation of the entries and the jury The participating works will be evaluated in the following areas: * Innovativeness * Commercial potential * Entertainment value and/or usefulness and/or artistic merit and creative implementation * The usability of interactive and context-aware functions and functions utilizing ubiquitous computing in some other manner * Feasibility (in terms of technology and production) * Visual implementation and technical functionality Nokia, Tampere Region Centre of Expertise in Ubiquitous Computing and MindTrek will jointly assemble the jury for this competition category. The jury will comprise at least one member from Nokia, one member from MindTrek and one member from Tampere Region Centre of Expertise in Ubiquitous Computing, and have a minimum of four members in all. In addition to the actual jury, MindTrek’s preliminary jury will take part in the evaluation if required, by carrying out a preliminary elimination. 8. Reference rights MindTrek has the right to use the competition entries and a mention of the entrants as references in its marketing communications. MindTrek, Nokia and Tampere Region Centre of Expertise in Ubiquitous Computing have the right to disseminate information about the competition arrangements, competition entries, the awarding of the winners and other details related to the competition in their marketing and advertising, e.g. on the web and in brochures and newsletters. The submitted works may be used by MindTrek without any restrictions or written permission in all presentations, TV broadcasting, CD/DVD productions, CD/DVD compilations and advertisements (internet, CD-ROM, TV, print). MindTrek has the unlimited right to use the submitted material for distribution on DVDs and other media, especially the right to distribute the video material to labels and broadcasting companies. 9. Announcement of the results and presentation of the awards The results of the competition category will be announced and the awards presented at the MindTrek Awards Ceremony. The winners will be announced at Hotel Rosendahl on 1.10.2009 at the MindTrek Awards Ceremony. Later there will be the Awards Party to honor the winners of the competitions. Award nominees will be notified in advance. The presence of the nominees at the MindTrek event in October is strongly recommended. All nominees are invited to give a half day workshop around the ideas of their nominated project with the students and tutors at Demola, www.demola.fi 10. Compensation of the finalists’ travel and other expenses MindTrek will pay travel and accommodation costs up to the sum of EUR 800 per team for a maximum of three invited finalists/teams flying from abroad in economy class. Any Finnish entrants among the finalists will not receive compensation for their travel costs. However, MindTrek will pay for one conference ticket (includes entrance to the MindTrek Awards Party) and one entrance ticket to the MindTrek Awards Party for all finalist teams. MindTrek will not pay compensation for any other possible costs incurred by the entrants due to their participation in the competition. Further Information Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards Competition ubiaward (AT) mindtrek.org Or in urgent matters the competition chairs: Artur Lugmayr, artur.lugmayr (AT) tut.fi, Tel.: +358 40 821 0558 Cai Melakoski, cai.melakoski (AT) tamk.fi, Tel.: +358 50 555 6581 Kirsi Lindfors, kirsi.lindfors (AT) hermia.fi, Tel.: +358 40 820 4608 Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Awards Jury 2009 Head Of Jury: • Bjoern Stockleben, RBB , DE Competition Chairs: • Artur Lugmayr, NAMU group, Tampere Univ. of Technology (TUT), FI • Cai Melakoski, TAMK University of Applied Sciences, FI • Kirsi Lindfors, Hermia, FI Jury Members (to be completed): • Petros Belimpasakis, Nokia, FI • Jonas Forth, Abo Academy, FI • Glen Gebhard, LMU, US • Michael Hausenblas, Johanneum Research, AT • Andreas Holzinger, MBCS Head Research Unit HCI4MED, Medical University Graz (MUG), AT • Juha Kaario, Nokia, FI • Mirette Kangas, YLE New Media, FI • Katri Lietsala Gemilo OY, FI • Timo Ojala, Universit of Oulu, FI • Daniel Salber, mackey.nl, NL • Susanne Sperring, Abo Academy, FI • Joelle Stemp, Yu Centrik, CA • Riku Suomela, Nokia, FI • Teija Vainio, TUT, FI • Robert Wierzbicki, wierzbicki.org, DE • Roger Zimmermann, National University of Singapore, SG • Demola students About the MindTrek Conference Conference Venue MindTrek takes place at Hotel Scandic Rosendahl, in Tampere, Finland. The organizer of the conference has booked quota for the conference delegates from this hotel. Please, look for more information on accommodation and registration later from 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. MindTrek Conference in General Jukka Matikainen, +358 (0)40 5336 379, jukka.matikainen (AT) mindtrek.org www.mindtrek.org Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Award 2009 MindTrek.org/ubimedia

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CfP: Hungry 24/7? HCI Design for Sustainable Food Culture, OZCHI 2009, Melbourne
by jaz choi 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

Call for Participation Hungry 24/7? HCI Design for Sustainable Food Culture Full day workshop at OZCHI 2009 24 Nov 2009, The University of Melbourne http://food.urbaninformatics.net/events/ozchi2009/ http://www.ozchi.org/mediawiki/index.php/HUNGRY247 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128413300549 This workshop proposes to explore new approaches to cultivate and support sustainable food culture in urban environments via human computer interaction design and ubiquitous technologies. Food is a challenging issue in urban contexts: while food consumption decisions are made many times a day, most food interaction for urbanites occurs based on convenience and habitual practices. This situation is contrasting to the fact that food is at the centre of global environment, health, and social issues that are becoming increasingly immanent and imminent. As such, it is timely and crucial to ask: what are feasible, effective, and innovative ways to improve human-food-interaction through human-computer-interaction in order to contribute to environmental, health, and social sustainability in urban environments? This workshop is an open and active forum for forward- thinking practitioners and scholars across disciplines to discuss this question, and plan and promote individual, local, and global change for sustainable food culture. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE WORKING IN FOOD HCI RESEARCH. YOU DO NEED TO BE HUNGRY (for networking, knowledge, creativity, fun, and of course, food!) We suggest, but do not limit to, three broad topics of interests for this workshop: - Participatory networks - Research and design methods - Deployability and interoperability We kindly ask prospective participants to submit a short position statement (300-500 words) or abstract by 20th September 2009. Please send all submissions and queries to Jaz Choi at h.choi(a)qut.edu.au. Acceptance notification will be sent by 27th September 2009. Important Dates: - 20 Sep 2009: Submission of position statements - 27 Sep 2009: Notification of acceptance - 24 Nov 2009: Workshop Organisers: - Jaz Hee-jeong Choi (Queensland University of Technology, Australia) - Marcus Foth (Queensland University of Technology, Australia) - Greg Hearn (Queensland University of Technology, Australia) - Eli Blevis (Indiana University, USA) - Tad Hirsch (Intel, USA) ---- e: h.choi(a)qut.edu.au w: www.nicemustard.com p: +617 3138 0007 m: +61 433 167 151 ----

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Re: [Air-L] The Internet and Politics: Key Readings
by Kluver, Randy 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Bill and Steve, I apologize for not quite understanding the thread, but from what I read it seems to be an attempt to identify key readings in internet and politics. At the risk of being overly self-serving, I just want to mention the work that we did from 2004-2007 on the internet in international political campaigns (Bill, I know you are aware of it, given Nick's time at OII during this project). It is so far the only comparative analysis of the impact of the internet in elections around the world, using a common framework of analysis and methodology, and many members of AoIR were involved in the research. There were multiple publications out of the work, but the summary was ultimately published as The Internet and National Elections: A Comparative Study of Web Campaigning (Eds. R. Kluver, N. Jankowski, K. Foot, and S. Schneider, Routledge, 2007). If you are interested, pre-publication proofs of the chapters are available here: http://ipa.tamu.edu/projects/Elections.asp -- Randy Kluver, Ph.D. Director, Institute for Pacific Asia Texas A&M University Coke 204 | 1377 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-1377 | USA Tel. +1 979.845.3099 | Fax. +1 979.845.3085 Email rkluver(a)tamu.edu | Web ipa.tamu.edu

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a collaborative assignment?
by Kristin Scott 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Hello everyone, I'm teaching a class at George Mason University (in Virgina, U.S.) this fall called Internet Literacy, in which we'll be exploring the theories/practices of everything from communication, information, new genres, multiple media, social networking, mobile web, internet collaborations (i.e. political, intellectual, social), emerging cultures and subcultures, gaming, etc. Since this class has an experiential learning component, I was thinking that it would be really cool if I could connect with a professor/class from some other part of the world (Australia, the UK, India, Canada, or wherever we could communicate in English) who is teaching/learning something similar and work together to create some mini-assignment where our students collaborate on some small project (that would suit both our needs -- mine being a combination of the practical use of networking/communication/collaborative software and explore some of the cultural implications of this kind of internet activity). I'm imagining the students working together in groups and using Skype, wikis, IMs, and/or other communication media to converse. Would anyone on this list be interested in discussing such a mini-collaboration? Or perhaps know of another professor who may be interested? If so, please email me, Kristin Scott, at kscotta(a)gmu.edu. For those who may be interested, here's a course description (though I'm still tinkering a bit with it): I'm still tinkering around with the syllabus, but here's the course description as it currently stands: NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy is a learning community that investigates both critical and practical aspects of the internet, including communication and information literacy, mobile web, multiple media, social networking, intellectual, political and civic collaborations, emerging cultures and art forms, gaming, and additional issues you, as participants, introduce to the learning community. This course will therefore have both a theoretical and practical approach: we will examine issues about networked life presented by both popular and academic literature, as well as learn (and teach one another) the practical applications of various internet programs and publishing tools. Thanks much! Kristin -- Kristin Scott Instructor, New Century College & Cultural Studies PhD student, Cultural Studies George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 kscotta(a)gmu.edu http://www.kristinscott.net

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Mobile Museum-Based Educational Activities ?
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Colleagues/ I am greatly interested in learning of any / all Mobile-based educational activities / initiatives / projects /etc. which focus on providing relevant local / regional / museum content to any / all Mobile Devices, most notably to cell-phones. BTW: I have browsed / searched the Museum Computer Network (MCN) Project Registry as well as the available online MCN conference proceedings. Please post any / all recommendations / suggestions / etc. as (a) Comment(s) on the blog entry associated with this post at [ http://tinyurl.com/kpdybn ] Thanks A Million ! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)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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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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Reminder: CFP Free Culture Research Workshop 2009, deadline Aug 8th, 2009
by Jude Choonloong Yew 08 Aug '09

08 Aug '09

Hi, Just a quick reminder about the approaching deadline for the Free Culture Research Workshop 2009. More details in the call for participation below. === Call For Participation Free Culture Research Workshop 2009 October 23, 2009 Berkman Center for Internet & Society / Harvard University (with additional support from the NEXA center at the Politecnico di Torino and iCommons) The Free Culture 2009 research workshop builds on the enthusiasm generated by the First Interdisciplinary Research Workshop on Free Culture which took place during the 2008 iSummit in Sapporo, Japan. It presents a unique opportunity for scholars whose work contributes to the promotion, study or criticism of an emerging Free Culture, to engage with a multidisciplinary group of academic peers and practitioners, identify the most important research opportunities and challenges, and attempt to chart the future of Free Culture. Our aim is to provide an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to discuss their findings, experiences, and vision for a Free Culture with peers whose backgrounds extend beyond individual disciplines, because we believe that the wider participation in the creative process (and consequently in the formation and dissemination of our modern culture) enabled by new Internet technologies, innovative legal solutions and new business models, are far-reaching and therefore deserve to be examined through the lens of multidisciplinary inquiry. More specifically, this year's workshop will be focused on: (a) participant interaction and joint reflection on key findings from cutting edge research in the field (b) the development of a research agenda, with the identification of key topics for future research (c) facilitating research collaborations and exchange of ideas between different academic institutions engaged in Free Culture research (d) fostering useful academic outputs over the next 12+ months (e) considering policy recommendations or a policy orientation that may emerge as a result of Free Culture research and scholarship Program design and participant selection will be guided by these objectives, as set by the organizing committee in consultation with the host institution. Venue Harvard University Event format The event will consist mainly of sessions oriented towards discussion and idea generation. The organizing committee will therefore strive to convene those parties that will be most helpful in engendering dialogue and providing perspectives on the future of free culture research. To that end we will do our utmost to convene academics and others who have already made an impact with their works and actions in shaping the landscape of free culture. An open call for short essays (similar in length to an extended abstract, for details see below) will complement this effort and provide opportunities for wider participation and discussion. Submitted essays will be reviewed by the program committee and the authors of accepted submissions will be invited to attend the event. We will only be able to accept a small number of participants through the open call given the small size of the event, and we seek your understanding in this respect. Every accepted essay will be disseminated before, during and after the workshop and will provide useful inputs for the structuring of the discussions and working sessions to take place during the event. However, we wish to emphasize that the focus this year will be on participant interaction and idea generation rather than on traditional podium presentation. Being invited to the workshop is therefore also not a guarantee that you will be able to present your own work, but rather an invitation to contribute your expertise and perspectives to the discussions and outcomes that the workshop will foster. Dates * Submission of short essays: Aug 9, 2009 * Notification of acceptance: Aug 23, 2009 * Event: October 23, 2009 Short essays Interested parties should submit a short essay with a title and brief text (about 1,000-1,500 words) consisting of: 1. A reflection on the main findings of the author's more recent work (from research, any type of scholarship, or practice, depending on the author's background) and how these relate to the topic of Free Culture. 2. At most 3 key challenges arising from these findings that the participants of this workshop and/or relevant third parties could attempt to address during and/or after the event (remember, accepted essays will be posted online). In the same document the author should include: 1. References, if any, cited appropriately in the main document, in APA, BlueBook or ACM format (not included in the word limit) 2. A separate paragraph explaining why this essay will be of broad enough interest and have the potential to generate interesting discussions during and after the event (not included in the word limit) 3. A short bio of the author (not included in the word limit) Given the discussion/working-session focus of the event we may not invite authors whose work may have academic merit but lack a clear fit with the objectives of the event. This also means that we do not encourage the submission of short essays that simply report on research findings, without establishing why a broader community of participants should care about the findings and what we can learn from them about the future of free culture research and practice. Forward-thinking and agenda-setting thought pieces (which should be clearly informed by one's own research or practice-related experience) will be preferred. Note that if your submission is accepted through the open call we would expect that your home institution will assist with travel support and we will provide letters of invitation to that end, if needed. We especially encourage submissions from developing countries and will try to provide assistance where possible to participants from such countries. Note that there will be no ideological 'litmus test' of any sort applied to submissions, i.e. all viewpoints are welcome and submissions will be judged purely on their potential to generate interesting discussions and point to new research directions. We especially welcome critical voices. Topics Even if we may not be looking for 'traditional' paper presentations this year, you may find it useful to look at this list of research topics that we are generally interested in: * Studies on the use and growth of open/free licensing models * Critical analyses of the role of Creative Commons or similar models in promoting a Free Culture * Building innovative technical, legal, organizational, or business solutions and interfaces between the sharing economy and the commercial economy * Modeling incentives, innovation and community dynamics in open collaborative peer production and in related social networks * Economic models for the sustainability of commons-based production * Successes and failures of open licensing * Analyses of policies, court rulings or industry moves that influence the future of Free Culture * Regional studies of Free Culture with global lessons/implications * Lessons from implementations of open/free licensing and distribution models for specific communities * Definitions of openness and freedom for different media types, users and communities * Broader sociopolitical, legal and cultural implications of Free Culture initiatives and peer production practices * Free Culture, Memory Institutions and the broader Public Sector * Open Science/ Research/ Education * Cooperation theory and practice, dynamics of cooperation and competition * Methodological approaches for studying the characteristics, history, impact or growth of Free Culture Submission Guidelines Short essays must be submitted by the given deadline for peer review. Submission entails a commitment that at least one author will attend the event in the case of acceptance. Also, authors grant the organizers the right to publish accepted submissions in the form of online proceedings or a similar format. In addition, accepted submissions will be automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license, unless the authors explicitly state in their submission that they wish to opt out of this licensing agreement. We encourage authors to use said license in order to promote open access to scholarly work, although decisions to opt out will be respected and will not influence the review process in any way. In any case, authors of accepted essays cannot opt out from the basic condition that they grant the organizers the right to publish the essays online. Please submit your short essay in PDF, Word or plain text format at: https://www.easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=freeculture2009 (you will need an easychair account to submit, you can create one on the spot if you don't already have one). Organizing Committee The organizing committee is tasked with setting the basic framework and agenda for this year's event, coordinating activities before, during, and after the event, and ensuring that the experience will be valuable for all participants. * Amar Ashar, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Yochai Benkler, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Giorgos Cheliotis, National University of Singapore, Singapore * Juan Carlos De Martin, NEXA Center for Internet and Society, Italy * Terry Fisher, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Urs Gasser, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University, USA * Colin Maclay, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Elizabeth Stark, Yale University and iCommons, USA * Prodromos Tsiavos, London School of Economics, UK * Jude Yew, University of Michigan, USA * Jonathan Zittrain, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA Academic Program Committee The academic program committee comprises senior scholars, recognized thought leaders and some promising young scholars from around the world. Its main task will be to assist in the review of submitted manuscripts. * Bodo Balazs, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary * Yochai Benkler, Berkman Center for Internet & Society USA * Giorgos Cheliotis, National University of Singapore, Singapore * Tyng-Ruey Chuang, Academia Sinica, Taiwan * Juan Carlos De Martin, NEXA Center for Internet & Society, Italy * Melanie Dulong de Rosnay, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands * Terry Fisher, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Urs Gasser, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * James Grimmelmann, New York Law School, USA * Herkko Hietanen, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, Finland * Minjeong Kim, Colorado State University, USA * Mathias Klang, Lund University, Sweden * Karim Lakhani, Harvard University, USA * Ronaldo Lemos, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil * Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University, USA * Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law Forum, India * John Palfrey, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA * Wolf Richter, Oxford University, UK * Anil Samtani, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore * Jan Philipp Schmidt, UWC/UNU-MERIT, the Netherlands * Elizabeth Stark, Yale University, USA * Victoria Stodden, Yale University, USA * Alek Tarkowski, University of Warsaw, Poland * Anas Tawileh, Cardiff University, UK * Prodromos Tsiavos, London School of Economics, UK * Ariel Vercelli, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina * Jude Yew, University of Michigan, USA * Jonathan Zittrain, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, USA Note If you have questions about the event, or wish to be kept updated on this and related topics, please subscribe to the commons-research mailing list at: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/commons-research You can then send your emails to commons-research(a)lists.ibiblio.org and one of the organizers and/or other members of the list will follow up on your query.

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