December 2011 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

CfP IAMCR CP&T Durban 2012
by Jo Pierson 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference, July 15-19, 2012, Durban (South-Africa) http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za/ Communication Policy & Technology Section CALL FOR PAPERS The Communication Policy and Technology (CP&T) Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites submissions for the IAMCR 2012 conference to be held from July 15-19, 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban (South Africa). The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals is February 14, 2012. The conference will be held under the general theme, 'South-North Conversations'. While the theme points to the asymmetry of and divides in global communication flows, it expresses at the same time a need for Western countries to listen to and learn from experiences from the global South. The theme thus calls for balanced and empowering narratives that do not regard those in ‘the South’ primarily as victims in need of hand-outs from the more affluent. Rather, the conference wishes to emphasise the communicative empowerment and the positive potential of media and communication technologies in and from the ‘Global South’. The general conference theme is very relevant for the CP&T Section, which is oriented towards policy and practices with respect to (digital) communication technology. The role and meaning of ICT in the global South-North relationship also serves as a metaphor for issues of disempowerment-empowerment on national and local levels. The use of the notion of ‘empowerment’ is a long-standing tradition especially in the social welfare and radical education literature. When applying it in the analysis of the implications of communication technology, however, it is crucial to take into account Mansell’s (2002: 409) assertion that: ‘[...] the implications of the new media are contradictory. Once connected, there are no grounds for simply assuming that citizens will be empowered to conduct their social lives in meaningful ways. There is, therefore, a growing need to examine whether the deployment of new media is consistent with ensuring that the majority of citizens acquire the necessary capabilities for interpreting and acting upon a social world that is intensively mediated by the new media.’ Starting from this perspective, we observe a paradox: on the one hand, ICT instruments like social media are proliferating, reinforcing the potential for communicative empowerment; on the other hand, empirical evidence on what empowerment actually consists of is still limited. In addition, the risks and structural constraints associated with this potential for empowerment are often downplayed in techno-optimistic accounts of the impact of technology on society and politics. Understanding both the opportunities and risks involved in the co-evolution of media technologies and society is at the core of the section’s remit in the IAMCR 2012 conference. In addition to our open call for papers, the CP&T section invites paper and panel proposals addressing the following themes that are particularly relevant to the section, organised for presentational purposes by a thematic focus on policy, on practices, and on technology: 1 - Policy - Net-neutrality: a first amendment for the Internet? - Internet censorship and control mechanisms - Transparency of government, open data and whistleblowing in the post-Wikileaks age - DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) and Internet governance - Redefining Internet openness and power relations in the age of ‘platformisation’ - Civic/internet liberties in relation to hacktivism and peer-to-peer file sharing - A new civil society agenda and a new strategy for the next WSIS? - Social, economic and legal issues related to (new) regulatory initiatives worldwide on privacy and data protection (eg EU) 2 - Practices - User (dis)empowerment and the disappearance of media for people living ‘in’ media - Reconfiguring trust and identity in online/offline communities and user-generated content - Privacy and the commodification of personal data - Radical protest, (everyday) resistance and networks - Social and policy consequences of (behavioural) advertising - targeting, filtering, profiling and sorting - Mitigation of risks and responsibility in online environments for different audiences - OccupyWallStreet/ Indignados movement: how communication technologies and policies are used by and affected by those involved? - Tensions between content producers (including users and ‘produsers’) and content distributors 3 - Technology - Construction of technology: privacy-by-design versus surveillance-by-design - Political economy of social media - Changing policies, value networks and user practices in a digital audio-visual landscape - Role of mobile technologies and services in global South contexts - Hegemony and post-hegemony, and Internet technologies and algorithms - Creativity and control through ambient intelligence, and the Internet-of-Things (RFID) - Changing nature of digital divides and mass self-communication Submission information The CP&T section welcomes proposals for papers bearing on the above or related issues by submitting an abstract (300 – maximum 500 words). Abstracts should state the title, the methods or approach used, and briefly introduce the theoretical framework and empirical research on which the paper will be based. The scholarly presentation of accepted submissions can take place in several types of sessions: Paper presentation sessions (i.e. 4-5 presenters each with 12-15 minutes, requiring full paper submitted on time) and High intensity sessions (i.e. 6-8 presenters each with 5-7 minutes). While, IAMCR accepts presentations and papers in English, French and Spanish, it is requested that abstracts and panel proposals, if at all possible, be submitted in English to facilitate the reviewing process. Proposals for panels are also welcome. A proposal should have four to five papers and should provide: (1) a panel title, (2) a framing text and (3) short abstracts for all the papers with paper titles and authors. The framing text (maximum 500 words) should contain the overall idea and goal of the panel, how it responds to the CP&T section CfP. A panel chair and a discussant should also be proposed. The 500 word panel framing text and the individual paper abstracts need to be submitted separately. They will be reviewed and based on this review we will accept, accept with revisions, or decline the panel. Submission of abstracts, panel proposals and (once accepted) full papers can only be done online through IAMCR Open Conference System (OCS) using the link to be found on the official Durban conference website. The OCS system at <http://iamcr-ocs.org> will open on 1 December 2011 and close on 14 February 2012. Submissions via e-mail will not be reviewed. It is expected that, normally, only one abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than three abstracts bearing the name of the same proposer either individually or as part of any group of authors. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other IAMCR Sections or Working Groups for consideration, after an initial submission. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System (OCS), by the Head of the Section or by the Conference Programme Referee. Applicants submitting multiple abstracts for papers risk being removed entirely from the conference programme. The deadlines are: - February 14, 2012: Submission of abstracts via OCS (papers and panel proposals will be assessed by double blind review) - March 12, 2012: Announcement of acceptances and start of conference registration. - June 10, 2012: Full papers due via OCS (around 7,500 words, excluding notes and references). There is no second round of reviewing for acceptance. If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must also register for conference participation in order to be included in the final conference programme of the Section. A CP&T best paper award will be made to one of the paper presenters, based on the full papers submitted in time. Additional questions about the CP&T sessions (submission, themes, panels etc.) at the IAMCR 2012 conference can be addressed to Maria Michalis (m.michalis[AT]westminster.ac.uk) and Jo Pierson (jo.pierson[AT]vub.ac.be). For further information on the conference (registration, theme, location, etc.), please contact the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) or consult the Conference Organizers via the website at: <http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za> or by email at <IAMCR2012(a)ukzn.ac.za>. Section Chair: Jo Pierson / Vice-Chairs: Maria Michalis and Bart Cammaerts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jo Pierson (Phd) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels (VUB) Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (IBBT) Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication (SMIT) Pleinlaan 2 / B-1050 Brussels / Belgium T: + 32 (0)2 629 2412 F: +32 (0)2 629 1700 E: Jo.Pierson(a)vub.ac.be Office: 0C.005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Digital Social Research: Symposium and Forum
by Eric Meyer 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

On 12-13 March 2012, the Oxford e-Social Science project (http://microsites.oii.ox.ac.uk/oess) at the Oxford Internet Institute is organizing a pair of events. On the 12th of March, an academic symposium on Social Science and Digital Research: Interdisciplinary Insights<http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/?id=486> will bring together researchers interested in understanding how e-research has influenced the foci, quality, and significance of research. Abstracts are due by 9 December 2011. More information at http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/?id=486 On the 13th of March, a policy forum on Digital Social Research: A Forum for Policy and Practice<http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/?id=487> will focus on understanding the adjustments to policy and practice that must occur for the potential of e-research to be more fully realized. Those academics presenting at the academic symposium will be invited, but also we plan to invite researchers and relevant leaders from business, industry and government around the table to discuss the implications of social science research on digital scholarship for policy and practice. We would value any nominations or suggestions of individuals we should invite to the forum. More information at http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/?id=487 Eric T. Meyer Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford eric.meyer(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:eric.meyer@oii.ox.ac.uk> Web: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=120 SSRN: http://ssrn.com/author=912385

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Second CFP - CATaC'12 - June 18-20, 2012 - Aarhus, Denmark: keynote speaker announced
by Charles Ess 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

Dear AoIRists, with the usual apologies for duplications and cross-postings - but please forward to relevant lists and potentially interested students and colleagues: CATaC¹12 (Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication) Second Call for Papers Conference theme: Beyond the digital/cultural divide: in/visibility and new media. The conference will take place June 18-20, 2012, at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Please see <http://www.catacconference.org/> for more details. AoIRists will understand our very great pleasure in announcing that our first keynote speaker is Dr. Rasha Abdullah (Associate Professor and Chair of the Journalism & Mass Communication Department, The American University in Cairo). Provisional title: ³Lessons from Egypt: the roles and limits of social media in political activism and transformation.² As AoIRists will know, Dr. Rasha Abdullah has researched digital media and social media usages and their impacts in the Egyptian and Arab contexts for over a decade. In particular, Dr. Abdullah was among the first to examine how blogging practices could circumvent state censorship and thereby foster greater dialogue, freedom of expression, and political dissent. Her own blog posts both contributed to and helped document the Egyptian revolution of 2011, while at the same time critically correcting Western enthusiasms for so-called Facebook or Twitter Revolutions. Additional keynote speaker to be confirmed. The biennial CATaC conference series, begun in 1998, has become a premier international forum for current research on the complex interactions between culturally-variable norms, practices, and communication preferences, and interaction with the design, implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Our 2012 conference, as the title suggests, begins with the recognition that the ongoing issues and challenges clustering around digital divides - often involving mutually reinforcing cultural divides - extends beyond classic and stubborn problems of access to new media and communication technologies. For example, matters of representation come into play, issuing in a cluster of questions: - Whose images and words are seen/presented/promoted and whose aren't? And why? If activists are using new media to represent realities of, say, oppressed indigenous people in a given country, is this better than no visibility at all, even if the people in question do not have access or skills to present themselves as subjects? - In particular: Local and indigenous HCI/ID is about making visible the semiotic scripts and political processes of meaning construction that shape the process of technology design and knowledge representation from a sociotechnical perspective. Making visible these scripts enables the assessment of the value of these tools and frameworks from indigenous and/or local perspectives. Key concerns here are (1) to examine the meaning and validity of democratic values that drive participatory design as a discipline, and (2) to question 'exported' representations of what constitutes good usability and user experience. And: - How do new practices of cloaking messages in otherwise public or semi-public media; for example, the strategies of online steganography work to create intentional invisibility in otherwise visible spaces? Are there important culturally-variable elements in these practices that, when brought to the foreground, help illuminate and clarify them in new ways? Finally: - What are the role(s) of (culturally) diverse understandings and representations of gender in structuring the frameworks and practices of design and implementation. How do these roles foster the visibility of some vis-a-vis the invisibility of 'others' (in Levinas' sense, in particular)? Additional submissions are encouraged that address further conference points of emphasis: - Theoretical and practical approaches to analyzing 'culture' - New layers of imaging and texting interactions fostering and/or threatening cultural diversity - Impact of mobile technologies on privacy and surveillance - Gender, sexuality and identity issues in social networks - Cultural diversity in e-learning and/or m-learning - Culturally-variable approaches to online identity management/creation, privacy, trust Copyright and intellectual property rights: recent developments, culturally-variable future directions - Culturally-variable responses to commodification in online environments Both short (3-5 pages) and long (10-15 pages) original papers are sought for presentation. Panel proposals addressing a specific theme or topic are also encouraged. Our provisional schedule: Submission of papers (short or full), panel proposals: 17 February 2012 Notification of acceptance: 16 March 2012 Final formatted papers (for conference proceedings): 19 April 2012 Conference: 18-20 June 2012 Further details regarding program (including keynote speakers and pre-conference activities), registration fees, travel and accommodations will be available soon on the conference website, http://www.catacconference.org/. We look forward to welcoming you to Aarhus next June! Charles Ess (IMV, Aarhus University, Denmark), Chair Fay Sudweeks (Professor Emerita, Murdoch University, Australia), honorary chair Herbert Hrachovec (University of Vienna, Austria) Leah Macfadyen (University of British Columbia, Canada) Jose Abdelnour Nocera (University of West London, UK) Kenneth Reeder (University of British Columbia, Canada) Ylva Hård af Segerstad (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden) Michele M. Strano (Bridgewater College, Virginia, USA) Andra Siibak (University of Tartu, Estonia) Maja van der Velden (University of Oslo)

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CSCW 2012: Advance program online; early registration deadline Dec 15 (2 weeks)
by Joe McCarthy 02 Dec '11

02 Dec '11

The Advance Program for The *ACM 2012 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work* has been posted online: http://cscw2012.org/program.php. The conference will be held February 11-15 in Bellevue, Washington, USA (near Seattle). CSCW is a premier venue for presenting research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, and communities. CSCW encompasses both the technical and social challenges encountered when supporting collaboration. The development and application of new technologies continues to enable new ways of working together and coordinating activities. Although work is an area of focus, CSCW embraces research and technologies supporting a wide range of recreational and social activities using a diverse range of devices. The conference brings together top researchers and practitioners from academia and industry who are interested in both technical and social aspects of collaboration. This year's program includes * Plenary speeches by Yochai Benkler, Judith Olson and Marietta Baba * 164 Papers and Notes * 3 Panels * 2 Special Sessions * 55 Interactive Posters * 9 Demonstrations * 7 Videos * A conference banquet Sessions throughout the program will address the following topics: * Ethnography in the Very Wild * Community and Classification Online * Four Life Stages * Crowdsourcing * Recommending * Twitter and Social Transparency * Civic and Community Engagement * Distributed Teams I * Qualitative Studies of Software Development I * Social Network Analysis * Across the Globe: Cross--cultural Studies * Public Communities Online * Distributed Teams II * Qualitative Studies of Software Development II * Collaboration in the Wild * Social Media in War and Crisis * Family Life * Coordination * Supporting Software Co--development * Incentives * Social Media in Crisis and Culture * Privacy and the Home * Coordination and Artifacts * Achieving Harmony through Architecture * Tabletop Displays: From Activity to Activity Theory * On the Road: Mobile * Medical * Social Activity in Games * Media Production * Forums Online * Scaling our Everest: Wikipedia Studies I * Health * Games and Virtual Worlds * Supporting Art & Literature * Online Disclosure * Wikipedia Studies II * eScience and eMedicine * Virtual Environments * Tools for Analysis * Mediating Communication More information about attending the conference, including the *early registration rates available until December 15*, can be found here: http://cscw2012.org/attending.php We hope you will join us! -- *The 2012 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work* 11-15 February 2012 Bellevue, Washington, USA /Homepage/: cscw2012.org <http://cscw2012.org> /Twitter/: @ACM_CSCW2012 <http://twitter.com/acm_cscw2012> /Facebook/: www.facebook.com/CSCW2012 <http://www.facebook.com/CSCW2012>

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Re: [Air-L] blogs and confidentiality
by Shannon M. Oltmann 01 Dec '11

01 Dec '11

I recently dealt with a similar issue for my dissertation--not blogs, but other ppublicly available information. I worked with a research ethicist on my campus (see http://poynter.indiana.edu/) to address the ethical concerns in a responsible way; I thought the suggestions might be useful for a broader audience here. I interviewed folks involved with, or working for, the federal government about fairly sensitive topics. Several people were concerned about remaining annonymous because our frank discussions could have implications for their current or future jobs, contracts, colleagues, and so on. To address their concerns, I created pseudonyms for each person (even if they did not explicitly ask for confidentiality) and obscured their job titles and agencies/departments to provide further protection. (This approach was approved by my IRB.) My problem was that many respondents had also given Congressional testimony and depositions and conducted interviews with the media; in each of these publicly available instances, their real names were used. I thought I might want to use some quotations from these sources, but it would create a problem with confidentiality. Say I interviewed "Bob" and used this pseudonym to protect his identity, but in another section I used a quotation from "Bob's" Congressional testimony. Any interested party could easily locate "Bob's" testimony online, with his real name, thus breaking his pseudonym and creating the possibility for harmful effects. I could solve the problem by using two different pseudonyms for one individual (one for the interview data and one for the testimony), but that creates additional ethical concerns--now I'm stating/implying that I have data from two different people when there is only one person. To handle this potential problem, I divided my participants into several groups: 1. People who gave an interview but did not have relevant testimony. I used their pseudonyms and did not have an ethical dilemma here. 2. People who gave no interview, but had publicly available testimony. I could use their actual names, because I did not promise confidentiality and their names are already connected to their testimony. 3. People who gave an interview, had relevant testimony, and explicitly asked for anonymity. If I wanted their testimony, I would need to ask them for permission to use their testimony and ask if they wanted two different pseudonyms. I would have to be okay with not using their testimony if they asked me not to use it. 4. People who gave an interview, had relevant testimony, and explicitly said they did not care about anonymity. I should treat this group the same as #3 above, since these respondents may not have considered their public testimony. 5. People who gave an interview, had relevant testimony, and did not make an explicit statement about wanting anonymity. I should treat this group the same as #3 above, since these respondents also may not have considered their public testimony. Essentially, the research ethicist and I determined that the most ethical approach was to clear the use of publicly available testimony/information with my respondents. This would likely result in me being unable to use some testimony, but it was the position with which I was most comfortable. As it turned out, I avoided the ethical problems altogether. Although many interview respondents did have relevant testimony, there was not critical information in the testimony; I was able to successfully build my dissertation without using their testimony. I did use the testimony from two people who did not provide interviews, and in those cases I was comfortable using their real names. To apply my experience to the discussion at hand: interview the bloggers, then determine if you really, really need to quote from their blogs. If you do, then you should ask them how they would like it to be handled. This may not be required by your IRB or dissertation advisors or the AIR community here, but it seems like a reasonable, ethical approach to the problem. -Shannon Shannon M. Oltmann Doctoral Candidate Adjunct Instructor Profile: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/faculty/spotlight/index.php?facid=108 School of Library & Information Science Indiana University

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