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

Eric Kluitenberg, Legacies of Tactical Media (INC Network Notebooks 05)
by Geert Lovink 13 Dec '11

13 Dec '11

http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/portal/publications/network-notebooks/no-5-… Tactical Media employ the ‘tactics of the weak’ to operate on the terrain of strategic power by means of ‘any media necessary’. Once the rather exclusive practice of politically engaged artists and activists, the tactical appropriations of media tools and distribution infrastructures by the disenfranchised and the disgruntled have moved from the margins to centre stage. The explosive growth of mass participation in self-mediation incountless blogs, video sharing platforms, micro-blog ging, social networking has created an unprecedented complexity in the info-sphere. While this frenzy of media activity has been heralded as the catalyst of the new democratisation movements in North-Africa and the Middle- East, the anti-austerity/precarity movements in Southern Europe and the UK, and the recent #occupy movements in the US and Northern Europe, its increasingly intransparent complexity combined with the post 9/11 ‘crash of symbols’ has thrown its political efﬁcacy into question. The demise of WikiLeaks as the crown jewel of on-line whistle-blowing has added to a thoroughly opaque picture. More than ever tactical media operators require effective instruments to the create tactical cartographies they need to navigate the hybrid realities they are immersed in. This notebook traces the legacies of tactical media to begin creating these hybrid cartographies. about the author: Eric Kluitenberg is an independent theorist and writer on culture, media and technology. He is editor in chief of the Tactical Media Files - an on-line documentation resource for tactical media practices world-wide. colophon: Network Notebooks editors: Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer. Producer: Margreet Riphagen. Copy editing: Allison Guy. Design: Studio Léon&Loes, Rotterdam http://www.leon-loes.nl. Publisher: Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam. Supported by: School for Communication and Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Domein Media, Creatie en Informatie) and Stichting Democratie en Media.. Download the pdf here: networkcultures.org/_uploads/ NN5_EricKluitenberg.pdf If you want to receive free paper copies of this pamflet, lets say 10 or 20 for your Occupy scene of media activism class please write to books(a)networkcultures.org and mention a more or less reliable postal address. Please note: without a postal address it is difficult for us to send you copies! Eric Kluitenberg, Legacies of Tactical Media - The Tactics of Occupation: From Tompkins Square to Tahrir, Network Notebooks 05, Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, November 2011.

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book announcement: Cybernetic Revolutionaries
by Eden Medina 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

Dear all: Apologies for cross posting. Just a short note to announce the publication of my book Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende’s Chile, which was just released from MIT Press. It may be of interest to those engaged with the relationship of technology and politics; the use of ICTs for structural change in society; value-centered and participatory design; computer use outside of the U.S. and Europe, and the history of computer and communication technologies. I am pasting the back cover blurb below. More information about the book is available at: http://www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com. Best wishes for the holidays, Eden ---- Book Summary: In Cybernetic Revolutionaries, Eden Medina tells the history of two intersecting utopian visions, one political and one technological. The first was Chile’s experiment with peaceful socialist change under Salvador Allende; the second was the simultaneous attempt to build a computer system that would manage Chile’s economy. Neither vision was fully realized—Allende’s government ended with a violent military coup; the system, known as Project Cybersyn, was never completely implemented—but they hold lessons for today about the relationship between technology and politics. Drawing on extensive archival material and interviews, Medina examines the cybernetic system envisioned by the Chilean government—which was to feature holistic system design, decentralized management, human-computer interaction, a national telex network, near real-time control of the growing industrial sector, and modeling of the behavior of dynamic systems. She also describes, and documents with photographs, the network’s Star Trek-like operations room, which featured swivel chairs with armrest control panels, a wall of screens displaying data, and flashing red lights to indicate economic emergencies. Studying Project Cybersyn today helps us understand not only the technological ambitions of a government in the midst of political change but also the limitations of the Chilean revolution. This history further shows how human attempts to combine the political and the technological with the goal of creating a more just society can open new technological, intellectual, and political possibilities. Technologies, Medina writes, are historical texts; when we read them we are reading history. -- Eden Medina Assistant Professor of Informatics Adjunct Assistant Professor of History School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University, Bloomington edenm(a)indiana.edu www.edenmedina.com Learn about "Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile" (MIT Press, 2011) @ www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com

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new book: Leet Noobs: The Life and Death of an Expert Player Group in WoW
by Mark Chen 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

Hey all, Apologies for x-posting. Just plugging my first book, out now on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Leet-Noobs-Warcraft-Literacies-Epistemologies/dp/1433… *Leet Noobs* documents, for over 10 months, a group of players in the online game *World of Warcraft* engaged in a 40-person joint activity known as raiding. Initially, the group was informal, a family that wanted to hang out and have fun. Before joining, each player had been recognized as expert in the game; within the group they had to adapt their expertise for the new joint task and align themselves to new group goals. Through their shared activity, members successfully established communication and material practices that changed as they had to renegotiate roles and responsibilities with new situations and as the larger gaming community evolved. Players learned to reconfigure their play spaces, enrolling third-party game mods and other resources into their activity. Once-expert players became novices or noobs to relearn expert or leet gameplay. They became leet noobs who needed to reconfigure their expertise for new norms of material practice. Ultimately, these norms also changed what it meant to play *World of Warcraft*; some group members no longer wanted to just hang out and have fun, and eventually the group died in an online fiery meltdown. A summary of findings can be found in this post I did at Terra Nova a year ago: http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2010/10/a-dissertation-distilled-into… but the book has basically been rewritten for a more general audience, focusing a bit more on the story arc of the raid group, and now features a bunch of personal anecdotes about being a gamer in academia. :) Plus, I did the cover art! :) mark -- Mark Chen, PhD | @mcdanger | markdangerchen.net Post-Doctoral Scholar | LIFE Center | UW Institute for Science and Math Ed Advancing Gaming in Innovative Learning Ecologies (AGILE) This was sent from a PC with a full-size keyboard; misspellings and brevity are entirely my fault.

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SMS Content Filtering in Pakistan - The Real Story and Way Forward
by Fouad Bajwa 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

SMS Content Filtering in Pakistan - The Real Story and Way Forward http://internetsgovernance.blogspot.com/2011/12/sms-content-filtering-in-pa… #obscene #sms #filtering #internet #censorship -- Regards. -------------------------- Fouad Bajwa Researcher and Adviser Internet Public Policy in Pakistan My Blog: Internet's Governance: http://internetsgovernance.blogspot.com/ Follow my Tweets: http://twitter.com/fouadbajwa

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CFP: Ethics of Secrecy (International Review of Information Ethics)
by Michael Zimmer 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

International Review of Information Ethics (http://www.i-r-i-e.net) Call for Papers for Vol. 17 (07/2012) Ethics of Secrecy Edited by Daniel Nagel, Matthias Rath, and Michael Zimmer The concept of “secrecy” is bound up in a variety of aspects of information ethics, sometimes in con- flicting ways: respecting personal privacy and opposing undue surveillance ensures a certain level of secrecy in one’s personal life and activities; to ensure security and public safety, government secrecy is often justifiable; open records laws and whistleblower protections are meant to limit government secrecy and promote transparency; corporate trade secrets remain secret to protect investments and economic growth; the secrecy of our personal lives is increasingly shattered – and commodified – through social media or, to paint a black picture: the personal freedom to conceal and reveal infor- mation and thus even the concept of personal identity might be at stake. This special issue will explore the complex nature of “secrecy” in our contemporary information socie- ty. The ethical exploration of secrecy must be renewed in the face of the multiple and shifting social, political and cultural contexts in which information and people flow. We welcome papers discussing the ethical complications of “secrecy”, including, but not limited to, these areas of inquiry: • Privacy, reputation, and the secrecy of personal information • Tensions between secrecy and transparency • Corporate secrecy and the ethics of whistleblowing • The value of secrecy in a social information ecosystem • The ethics of secrecy across cultures and societies • Secrecy, transparency, privacy: moral principles of democracy? • Government secrecy and the ethics of WikiLeaks • Privacy and secrecy in ethical and sociological discussion • The “interplay" between secrecy and mass/social media • Privacy and secrecy in the discussion of communication science Submission guidelines: Potential authors are requested to submit an extended abstract (for details see http://www.i-r-i- e.net/about_irie.htm) by December 31, 2011. Abstracts may be submitted in the native language of the author though an English translation of this abstract must be included if the chosen language is not English. IRIE will publish articles in English, French, German, Portuguese or Spanish. The author(s) of contributions in French, Portuguese, or Spanish must nominate at least two potential peer reviewers. Abstracts will be evaluated by the guest editors. Deadline for the final article (usually ca. 3,000 words or 20,000 characters including blanks) is May 1, 2012. All final articles must conform to the IRIE style sheet. All full submissions will be subject to peer review. Therefore the acceptance of an extended abstract does not imply the publication of the final text, unless the article has passed the peer review and revisions (if required) have been included in the text. All submissions should be sent by email with “IRIE-Secrecy Submission” in the header to Michael Zimmer: zimmerm(a)uwm.edu - Deadline for extended abstracts: January 15, 2012 - Notification of acceptance to authors: February 29, 2012 - Deadline for full articles: May 1, 2012 - Deadline for revised articles: June 15, 2012 - Publication: July 2012 -- Michael Zimmer, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies Co-Director, Center for Information Policy Research University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee e: zimmerm(a)uwm.edu w: www.michaelzimmer.org

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Fwd: First Call for proposals EARLI SIG 6 & 7 meeting 2012
by Nadia Sansone 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

Dear all, please consider the first call for the next *EARLI SIG 6 & SIG 7 meeting * on Instructional Design for Advancing Learning in a Networked Society *Bari (IT), September, 11-13 2012 * Further information: http://earli-sig67.slo.nl/ Best Wishes Nadia Sansone E-tutor & Community Manager University of Bari (IT)

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CFP: Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society – Special Issue on Video Games
by Jenn Martin 12 Dec '11

12 Dec '11

The *Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society* invites submissions for a special issue dealing with video games. As video and computer games have increased in accessibility, influence, and cultural prominence, they have had a significant impact on many facets of society, culture, and our attitudes toward technology, including entertainment, industry, play, education, identity, community, and art. At the same time they have provoked both popular and academic debate and controversy over their perceived benefits and issues. In addressing these claims and concerns, video games have become an important focus of academic work as scholars seek to better understand their impact on the people who play them and on culture and society in general. We invite submissions to a special issue of the *Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society* that further this body of work by critically engaging with video games and their implications. Video games are an ideal subject for interdisciplinary research and discussion, as they can be analysed using a variety of theoretical lenses and methodological approaches including those of social science, anthropology, technology history and technology studies, media, political economy, and the hard sciences. Therefore, this issue is open to critical perspectives on video games in culture and society from any discipline. Topics of interest include, but are not limited, to: - the history and progression of video games - video game industries (software and/or hardware) - political economy and economics - theories of play - issues and benefits of video games - players, audiences, and reception - gaming cultures and communities - avatars, digital bodies, and identity - representations of age, race, and gender - video games in education - serious gaming Interested scholars should submit an abstract of up to 500 words for consideration. Submissions should be emailed to Jennifer Martin at jmart9(a)uwo.ca by January 15, 2012. We aim to make decisions regarding abstract acceptance by January 22, 2012. Full papers will be due by March 1, 2012 for peer review. Correspondence may be directed by email to jmart9(a)uwo.ca or by fax at 519-661-3506. Additionally, phone messages may also be left with Tim Blackmore at 519-661-2111 ext. 88513.

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CFPs: M/C Journal issues in 2012
by Axel Bruns 11 Dec '11

11 Dec '11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 12 Dec. 2011 M/C - Media and Culture http://www.media-culture.org.au/ is calling for contributors to the 2012 issues of M/C Journal http://journal.media-culture.org.au/ M/C Journal is inviting new contributors. Founded in 1998, M/C is a crossover journal between the popular and the academic, and a blind- and peer-reviewed journal. Our Website at http://journal.media-culture.org.au/provides open access to all past issues. To find out how and in what format to contribute your work, visit http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/about/submissions. M/C Journal is now calling for contributors to its six issues scheduled for publication in 2012. Prospective contributors should email an abstract of 100-250 words and a brief biography to the issue editors. Abstracts should include the article title and should describe your research question, approach, and argument. Biographies should be about three sentences (maximum 75 words) and should include your institutional affiliation and research interests. Articles should be 3000 words (plus bibliography). All articles will be refereed and must adhere to MLA style (6th edition). M/C Journal was founded (as "M/C - A Journal of Media and Culture") in 1998 as a place of public intellectualism analysing and critiquing the meeting of media and culture. Contributors are directed to past issues of M/C Journal for examples of style and content, and to the submissions page for comprehensive article submission guidelines. M/C Journal articles are blind peer-reviewed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M/C Journal issues scheduled for 2012: 'suspicion': article deadline 20 Jan. 2012, release date 21 Mar. 2012 'coffee': article deadline 2 Mar. 2012, release date 2 May 2012 'ecology': article deadline 27 Apr. 2012, release date 27 June 2012 'embody': article deadline 22 June 2012, release date 22 Aug. 2012 'list': article deadline 17 Aug. 2012, release date 17 Oct. 2012 'marriage': article deadline 12 Oct. 2012, release date 12 Dec. 2012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M/C - Media and Culture is located at <http://www.media-culture.org.au/>. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M/C Journal is online at <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/>. All past issues of M/C Journal on various topics are available there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- end Dr Axel Bruns -- General Editor editor(a)media-culture.org.au M/C - Media and Culture http://www.media-culture.org.au/

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Re: [Air-L] OECD report Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising
by Robert Rattle 11 Dec '11

11 Dec '11

Hi Peter, This is a main feature of my latest book (Computing Our Way to Paradise: The Role of Internet and Telecommunications Technologies in Sustainable Consumption and Globalization - the publishers website is linked from the book image on that page [note the url Peter]) in which I explore the sustainability of ICTs across four different levels of increasing complexity to trace their roles in society. The book includes a lengthy bibliography that may be of help. A main argument of the book is that the advance, development, progress, adoptions and adaptations of ICTs is predominantly affected by the social environment out of which they develop, and that those who wield the greatest power in that environment continue to dominate the discourse and development of ICTs (ie. the 1% in todays jargon), despite the enormous potential for ICTs to both transgress and transform that environment. In terms of sustainability, I link both 'social' (from a social determinants of health perspective) and the 'environmental' (from the sustainable consumption perspective). In Chapter Seven - Pathological Tendencies: The Health Link - I explore the role of IC Technologies in health explicitly from a SDoH framework. The sub-sections of that chapter are: - Population health and the social determinants of health - An expanded vision of sustainable consumption - Social determinants of health and social factors determining health: critical issues defining behaviour and the health gradient - Smoke and mirrors (an example from tobacco) - Shaping social behaviour - Globalization, ICTs and the social environment of population health - Health and sustainable consumption I conclude the chapter with: "It should be apparent that we have not discussed in this chapter the direct health effects of ICTs. Although there is a growing body of evidence indicating health impacts from ICTs as a result of ergonomic, chemical, electromagnetic and other possible causes (including the risks derived from the inattentiveness to surrounding environments during their use), this approach diverts attention toward the individual. The assumption is that if you limit or avoid use of or exposure to a specific product, your chances of contracting certain diseased states is reduced. These studies ... neglect the deeply profound societal embedding of the nature of using ICTs, which is where we will now turn our attention." I further develop these arguments in a variety of publications that may be of help to you, including: Rattle, Robert (2011), Computing Our Way to Paradise, in Globalisation and Ecological Integrity in Science and International Law, Westra, L. Soskolne, C., and Bosselmann, K. (eds.), Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Rattle, R. (2012), Internet and Communication Technologies' Roles in an Environmental Society, in Cudlinova, E. and Lapka, M. (eds.) Towards an Environmental Society, Karolinum Press, Charles University. Hope this helps. Best, Robert --- On Sun, 12/11/11, Peter Timusk <ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca> wrote: From: Peter Timusk <ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca> Subject: [Air-L] OECD report Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising To: "aoir list" <air-l(a)aoir.org> Received: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 10:11 AM Quoting from this report: ( my questions are below after the link to the report) Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising In the three decades prior to the recent economic downturn, wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries. This occurred even when countries were going through a period of sustained economic and employment growth. This report analyses the major underlying forces behind these developments: - An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries (free .pdf) <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/12/49170449.pdf> - Special Focus: Inequality in Emerging Economies (free .pdf) <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/13/49170475.pdf> - Part I. How Globalisation, Technological Change and Policies Affect Wage and Earnings Inequalities - Part II. How Inequalities in Labour Earnings Lead to Inequalities in Household Disposable Income - Part III. How the Roles of Tax and Transfer Systems Have Changed http://www.oecd.org/document/51/0,3746,en_2649_33933_49147827_1_1_1_1,00.htm l This report by about OECD countries has a bit of technological content. Apparently technology increases income inequality. I think historically these trends are parallel may be you don't agree. I think the OECD moved fast to produce this report based on the Occupy movement if that chicken came first or this egg was first. We know the rich use the net more and has anyone looked really deeply at income inequality and technology? Can you point me to some deeper current studies on this? How are empowerment studies going? Peter Timusk at571(a)ncf.ca ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca web: www.crystalcomputing.net blogs www.cyborgcitizen.org _______________________________________________ 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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OECD report Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising
by Peter Timusk 11 Dec '11

11 Dec '11

Quoting from this report: ( my questions are below after the link to the report) Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising In the three decades prior to the recent economic downturn, wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries. This occurred even when countries were going through a period of sustained economic and employment growth. This report analyses the major underlying forces behind these developments: - An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries (free .pdf) <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/12/49170449.pdf> - Special Focus: Inequality in Emerging Economies (free .pdf) <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/13/49170475.pdf> - Part I. How Globalisation, Technological Change and Policies Affect Wage and Earnings Inequalities - Part II. How Inequalities in Labour Earnings Lead to Inequalities in Household Disposable Income - Part III. How the Roles of Tax and Transfer Systems Have Changed http://www.oecd.org/document/51/0,3746,en_2649_33933_49147827_1_1_1_1,00.htm l This report by about OECD countries has a bit of technological content. Apparently technology increases income inequality. I think historically these trends are parallel may be you don't agree. I think the OECD moved fast to produce this report based on the Occupy movement if that chicken came first or this egg was first. We know the rich use the net more and has anyone looked really deeply at income inequality and technology? Can you point me to some deeper current studies on this? How are empowerment studies going? Peter Timusk at571(a)ncf.ca ptimusk(a)sympatico.ca web: www.crystalcomputing.net blogs www.cyborgcitizen.org

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