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

[deadline extended] Call for Papers - Special Issue on Agent Technology in Cyberspace, Journal of Internet Technology (SCI-E)
by Maiga Chang 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

[deadline extended but an one-page abstract is needed by March 21, 2011] Manuscript submission deadline has been extended to April 14, 2011, however, you have to submit an one-page abstract by March 21, 2011 to indicate your intention in sending complete manuscript by April 14. [Apologies if you receive multiple times, please circulate this to your colleagues who might be interested, thank you so much.] ----- SI on Agent Technology in Cyberspace Call for Papers --------- Journal of Internet Technology (SCI-E) Special Issue on Agent Technology in Cyberspace (http://jit.ndhu.edu.tw/callforpaper/CFP_S_I_on_Agent_Technology_in_Cyberspa…) Theme and Scope Many agents now exist in our life, searching agents help us find resources which we are interesting in and/or feel useful to ourselves; backup agents help us backup important data and documents daily, weekly, or monthly; spam-filter agents help us block malicious pop-up windows when we are surfing on the Internet; anti-virus agents secure our computers and data from worms, virus, and other on-purposed attacks; and learning companion agents and virtual tutor agents help us in lifelong learning process. This special issue is going to recruit those researches regarding using software agents, intelligent agents, and multi-agent systems to assist users in cyberspace, e.g. Internet, mobile networks, and virtual worlds include chat rooms, discussion forums, web conferencing software, computer games and video games. This special issue will be attractive to both Intelligent Systems and Computational Engineering researchers, more than that, this issue can be very interesting to ordinary people to know how agent technology could affect our lives in the future. The trend of using agents is becoming more discernable and we can foresee that agents exist in multidiscipline and various application areas.. Guest Editors (in alphabet order): Maiga Chang, Athabasca University, Canada Fuhua (Oscar) Lin, Athabasca University, Canada Timothy K. Shih – National Central University, Taiwan Suggested topics: All papers related to agent technology in cyberspace are welcome. This special issue is going to provide a forum for researchers, practitioners and users of agent technology to exchange ideas, to share experiences and requirements, and to lay the foundations for agent technology in cyberspace research area. We cordially invite presenters to submit manuscript for any application domain as long as the core of the manuscript belongs to: - Practical experiences in using and applying agents - Successful cases (best practices) - Not-so-successful cases and the lessons learnt - Mature agent applications, tools and/or systems - Evaluation models for agents - Software agents in cyberspace - Intelligent agents in cyberspace - Multi-agent systems (conceptual/practical) Instructions for Manuscripts: This special issue aims to foster state-of-the-art research in the agent technology in cyberspace. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts reporting original unpublished research and recent developments. Manuscripts should be written in English and strictly follow the guideline of the Journal of Internet Technology at http://jit.ndhu.edu.tw/preparation2.php. The covering letter should indicate the names of the authors and their affiliations, addresses, faxes, and e-mails. Prospective authors should submit one-page abstracts with MS Word format, .doc, electronically by e-mail to Guest Editor, Dr. Maiga Chang, at maiga.chang(a)gmail.com by March 21, 2011 to indicate your interest in sending full manuscripts by April 14, 2011. Important dates: One-page Abstract Due: March 21, 2011 (needed to be submitted to indicate your intention of submitting a complete manuscript by April 14, 2011) Manuscript Due: April 14, 2011 (extended) Notification of Acceptance/Revision/Rejection: May 31, 2011 Revised Manuscript Due: June 30, 2011 Final Manuscript Due: July 31, 2011 Tentative Publication Date: November 31, 2011 For queries, you may contact Dr. Maiga Chang (maiga.chang(a)gmail.com)

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Semantic technologies and Education
by Klobucar, Philip A. 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

Dear listserv, A recent panel I was on at the Writing Across Borders conference in Fairfax, VA discussed varying levels of confidence among writing professors in automated scoring technologies. I have been working consistently in my field (Digital Humanities) over the past year, looking at advances in natural-language processing and their effect on writing curricula. Different software developers alert me from time to time to their projects in semantic technology and AI, wondering how such work may be used in education and writing. So... My request: As this field begins to mature, I'm wondering what kind of collections or archives already exist regarding semantic or language processing technology and education. My index so far seems quite minor. Is anyone on this list analyzing these developments? Thanks in advance, Andrew Klobucar Assistant Professor Communication and Media Department of Humanities New Jersey Institute of Technology ------------------- (This message was composed by phone, so plews fpgive añu tupis.)

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list of CMC textbook recommendations: on more book
by Nadia Dresscher-Lambertus 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

Dear all, I want to add the following book on the recommendation list for the undergraduate course on CMC: A networked self, Identity, community and Culture on Social Network Sites, edited by Zizi Papacharissi This is an incredible valuable resource on social media. warm regards, Nadia -- Nadia Dresscher-Lambertus Teacher & Researcher at the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) University of Aruba J.E. Irausquinplein 4, P.O. Box 5 Oranjestad, Aruba (E) ndresscher(a)gmail.com (T) +297-5823901 (F) +297-5831770 " The spirit of Dialogue is one of free play, a sort of collective dance of the mind that, nevertheless, has immense power and reveals coherent purpose. Once begun it becomes continuing adventure that can open the way to significant and creative change." David Bohm (1917-1992)

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social media course
by Nikki Usher 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

Hi All: I am planning a social media syllabus for next year. I'd like to be able to draw on a few key themes that touch on the manifold ways that people are using social media in their lives, from everything for participatory content creation to uprisings. I'd also like to look at the critical/cultural side of social media, the history and origins, the political/economy side, the role of ICTs in social media's development, and - how best we call it - media effects of social media. If people have good readings to recommend for undergraduates (or that can be scaled up to masters' students), I'd really appreciate it. Better yet, if you're teaching a course on the subject yourself, I'd love to touch base. Thank you! -- Nikki Usher PhD Candidate Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism University of Southern California mobile: 213-220-7824 home: 213-493-4204 www.nikkiusher.com

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share a list of CMC textbook recommendations
by Min Wu 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my request for a textbook recommendation for an undergrad course on CMC. I've collected all the recommended titles and am sharing it here. Hope it will be helpful for some of you too :-) Min Wu 1. For some wonderful reference, historical, and foundation material for lectures you should look at The Network Nation: Human Communication via Computers (revised 1993, MIT press) which can still be ordered at a very reasonable price compared to most text books. It provides a lot of material on work done before CMC in many fields that was relevant as well as some ways of thinking about the technology you will not find in most places as well as all the very early work that most students never hear about. The authors were Hiltz and turoff and the original edition was 1978. The 1993 as a new chapter summarizing the next 15 years. the cost benefit analysis done in the book seems to have been forgotten and serves as a very good lecture. So does the early related work in psychology and sociology. The interesting aspect were the predictions in the issue of the Boswash times that began every chapter some of which came true and some which have not yet come true. It sets a nice tone for the students to try making predictions about what might be the next prediction beyond current systems. I forgot to mention one item i consider important. In the new chapter I did a morphological exercise to come up with the three dimensions I felt was most important for guiding the design of different forms of CMC and I have always found that very useful for pointing out to students why the nature of the group and the nature of the application (a Delphi concept from the 1975 Delphi method book) influences the design of CMC systems. These were: 1. the degree of problem complexity from the classic IS literature on the design of information systems. 2. the nature of evidence (C.W. Churchman) with the addition of "negotiated reality" form management science (marketing and behavior, non scientific evidence). 3. An extension of Thomasa's? dimensions of organizational communication types between units or "groups" in the organizations. there are sample group problems used to illustrate the differences for the first two and a sample of how voting is used very differently to do many things/objectives beyond reaching a consensus. Most students (and some faculty) never seem to realize this until it is explained to them. 2. Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. It comes with a companion website: http://www.com.washington.edu/cmc/ 3. I recommend Conversation and Community by Lynn Cherny and Always On by Naomi Baron. 4. I would take sections of both of these for a generalized class on CMCs, but I'm personally looking at these two books for a class I'm designing on new media - they take very different approaches. Deuze, Mrk ed. (2011) *Managing Media Work*. Los Angeles and London: Sage. This one's an industry insider's take on media industries. A good collection but I'm judging it to be an "only textbook" for a particular kind of class. Lister, Martin, John Dovery, Seth Giddings, Iain Grant and Kieran Kelly. (2009) New Media: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge. This one is a broader introductory text, but I'm looking at it for a sociology undergraduate class. 5. Baym, N.K. (2010) Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Digital Media and Society Series. Malden, MA: Polity Press (this one is recommended by three 6. Internet (Routledge Introductions to Media and Communications) Lorenzo Cantoni (Author), Stefano Tardini (Author)

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Still time to submit POSTERS for 2nd Researh Data Access and Preservation Summit
by Richard Hill 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

[Apologies for multiple postings] The 2nd Research Data Access and Preservation (RDAP) Summit Denver, CO | Hyatt Regency | March 31-April 1, 2011 http://www.asis.org/Conferences/RDAP11/ Early Registration deadline is on or before 2/18/2011 In cooperation with the Coalition for Networked Information The second Research Data Access and Preservation (RDAP) summit will take place on March 31-April 1, 2011 in Denver at the Hyatt Regency Denver. The RDAP summit will focus the state of institutional repositories in the academy and government agencies and efforts toward interoperability across these emerging systems. Clifford Lynch will keynote the meeting and the summit will include panels that focus on different approaches to building and operating IRs, efforts to support national (e.g., NSF�s data stewardship requirements) and scholarly (e.g., open and commercial publishers) linkages to IRs, and open discussions about the future of IRs and digital libraries. Submit Posters by Feb. 28: http://www.softconf.com/asis/RDAP-2011/ complete program at http://www.asis.org/Conferences/RDAP11/ Program outline: Keynote Clifford Lynch, CNI: Institutional Repositories Today and Tomorrow Panel 1 Institutional Repository Case Studies: Erin O'Meara, UNC: Organizer/Moderator Panel 2 NSF Data Management Plan Case Studies: Michael Giarlo, Penn State: Organizer/Moderator Panel 3 Data Publication Repositories: From Small to Large Data Joe Hourcle, NASA: Organizer/Moderator Panel 4. Data Archives in Federal Agencies: Bill Anderson, UT Austin, Oranizer/Moderator Panel 5. Policy-based Data Management Reagan Moore, UNC-RENCI: Organizer/Moderator Panel 6 Future of Digital Libraries: Gary Marchionini, UNC Organizer/Moderator Group activity and discussion: Main challenge in your institution; main challenge to field Posters Submit Posters to ASIST by February 28: http://www.softconf.com/asis/RDAP-2011/ Dick Hill _____ Executive Director American Society for Information Science and Technology 1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510 Silver Spring, MD 20910 FAX: (301) 495-0810 (301) 495-0900

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Reminder: SMS 2011 call for abstracts DEADLINE 10 March 2011
by Klara Chlupata 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

Dear All: Please don't forget the deadline for submitting abstracts for the Small Media Symposium taking place in London, UK on 8-9 April 2011 is 10 March 2011. More info here: http://www.smallmediainitiative.com/ All best, Klara

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Reminder: Amsterdam Digital Methods Summer School 2011, Call for Participants
by Anne Helmond 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

- Please note that the early bird application deadline is *7 March 2011*. Early bird candidates will be informed on 7 April 2011 - *Digital Methods Summer School 2011* Media Studies, University of Amsterdam, 27 June - 8 July 2011 *After Cyberspace: Data-rich Media* The Digital Methods Summer School, now in its fifth edition, trains post-graduates, PhD candidates and motivated students and scholars in how to undertake Web research after cyberspace. The idea of "after cyberspace" is an invitation to think through and study the web without resort to the traditions informing "virtual" and "cyber" corporality, politics and identity. Rather the web, first with locative technology, later with language and national webs, and more recently with college and corporate networking software (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) continues to be grounded. In the 2011 Digital Methods Summer School we will pay homage to cyberspace, in the opening, by presenting thought on a particular strand of media coverage about WikiLeaks, where cybergurus and cyberwar experts reappear on the scene. Just as importantly, we will ask, how to make use of the leaks, and their containers, for research purposes? From data-driven journalism to bespoke cablegate engines, does WikiLeaks spawn an online ecology of tools, visualizations and other substantive practices and outputs? Is such an ecology typical for data platforms? For comparative purposes, we will introduce and study the tool and visualization universes of Twitter as well as Wikipedia, both of which are examples of data-rich media. We would like to learn from platform media analytics and apply it to other data-rich media, so as to further develop tools for cultural diagnostics. One challenge is the question of device effects. For example, when comparing the Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian Wikipedia entries for the Srebrenica Massacre, does Wikipedia's "neutral point of view" policies overdetermine the content, perhaps neutralize it, or can one read culturally distinctive views on the events? Another strand of study is networked content, which is thought of as online content held together, maintained or even co-authored by software and bots. The interplay of search engines and content interests us this year, not just because Wikipedia articles are routinely at the top of Google results. (The relationship between Google and Wikipedia remains understudied.) But there is also content seemingly authored for engines first and readers only second, as in the case of "demand media." We would like to study efforts that seek to fill in engine results with content, reopening the question of engine epistemology. Presentations will include work on engine log analysis. Apart from (Google) flu trends, are log analyses able to identify and geo-locate cultural and political preference? *About "Digital Methods" as Concept* Digital Methods is a term coined as a counter-point to virtual methods, which typically digitize existing methods and port them onto the Web. Digital Methods, contrariwise, seek to learn from the methods built into the dominant devices online, and repurpose them for social and cultural research. That is, the challenge is to study the info-web and the social web with the tools that organize them. There is a general protocol to digital methods. At the outset stock is taken of the natively digital objects that are available (links, tags, threads, etc.) and how devices such as search engines make use of them. Can the device techniques be repurposed, for example by remixing the digital objects they take as inputs? * * *About the Summer School* The Digital Methods Summer School, founded in 2007 together with the Digital Methods Initiative, is directed by Professor Richard Rogers, Chair in New Media & Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam. The Summer School is one training opportunity provided by the Digital Methods Initiative (DMI). DMI also has a Winter School, also known as the mini-conference, where papers are presented and responded to. Winter School papers are often the result of Summer School projects. The Summer School is coordinated by two PhD candidates in New Media at the University of Amsterdam, or affiliates. This year the coordinators are Anne Helmond (University of Amsterdam) and Carolin Gerlitz (Goldsmiths, University of London). The Summer School has a technical staff as well as a design staff. The Summer School also relies on a technical infrastructure of some five servers hosting tools and storing data. Participants bring their laptops, learn method, undertake research projects, make reports, tools and graphics and write them up on the Digital Methods wiki. The Summer School concludes with final presentations. Often there are guests from non-governmental or other organizations who present their issues. Women on Waves came along during the 2010 Summer School. Greenpeace International, based in Amsterdam, will be invited in 2011. Previous Digital Methods Summer Schools, 2007-2010, https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/DmiSummerSchool. The Digital Methods Initiative was founded with a grant from the Mondriaan Foundation, and the Summer School is supported by the Center for Creation, Content and Technology (CCCT), University of Amsterdam, organized by the Faculty of Science with sponsorship from Platform Beta. * * *Summer School Training Certificate* The Digital Methods Summer School issues completion certificates to participants who follow the Summer School program, and complete a significant contribution to a Summer School project. For previous Summer School projects, see for example https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/WikipediaAsASpaceOfControversy. * * *Applications & Fees* To apply for the Digital Methods Summer School, 27 June - 8 July 2011, please send a one-page letter explaining how digital methods training would benefit your current work, and also enclose a CV. Mark your application "DMI Training Certificate Program." The early bird application deadline is 7 March 2011. Early bird candidates will be informed on 8 March 2011. The regular deadline for applications for the Summer School is 8 April. Notices will be sent on 15 April. Please address your application email to the Summer School coordinators, Anne Helmond and Carolin Gerlitz, and send to info [at]digitalmethods.net. Informal queries may be sent to Anne or Carolin, anne [at] digitalmethods.net or c.gerlitz [at] digitalmethods.net. The Summer School costs EUR 295 per person. Accepted applicants will be informed of the bank transfer details upon notice of acceptance to the Summer School. The fee must be paid by 15 May 2011. * * *Logistics* Participants must arrange their own travel and accommodation. The Summer School meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and all participants also work on the Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please bring your laptop. We will provide abundant connectivity. * * *Summer School Location* New Media & Digital Culture, University of Amsterdam, Turfdraagsterpad 9, 1012 XT Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Rooms 0.13 & 0.04 We look forward to welcoming you!

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Registration for the Remix Cinema workshop (Oxford, 24-25th March 2011) is now open
by Daniel Villar Onrubia 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

Registration for the Remix Cinema workshop (Oxford, 24-25th March 2011) is now open. The programme and details about registration and accommodation are available at www.remixcinema.org The Remix Cinema Workshop is a student-led initiative funded by the Beyond Text programme of the Arts & Humanities Research Council - AHRC (UK). It is organised by the Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford) in collaboration with UNIA Prácticas y Culturas Digitales and it is supported by St. Antony’s College, Modern Art Oxford and the Instituto Cervantes. Please note that, thanks to the support of the AHRC, we are able to offer free accommodation on the night of the 24th to a limited number of UK students. Those students interested in applying for free accommodation must send a short statement of interest (including their affiliation, programme of study, and motivations to attend the workshop) to submission(a)remixcinema.org before registering. Apologies for cross-posting. Best wishes, The Remix Cinema organising committee. www.remixcinema.org

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UCL Anthropology Virtual Open Day (12pm GMT, Wed 9 Mar)
by Lane DeNicola 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

Virtual Open Day UCL Anthropology 12.00-1.00pm GMT Wed 9 March, 2011 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/digital-anthropology/vod The Anthropology Department at University College London is pleased to announce a special "Virtual Open Day" event. Intended especially for those applicants from outside the UK or who otherwise would have difficulty attending one of our "in-person" Open Days, this event will be live-streamed over the Web at the address above and offers an opportunity to interact with academic staff in a more interactive way than email alone. The only requirement for viewing is an Internet-connected computer or mobile device with a Flash-enabled web browser. Prospective students and other viewers (whether already admitted or yet to apply) are invited to submit questions during the event via Twitter, Facebook, Skype, or email, and participating staff will respond immediately to as many inquiries as possible (following up later via other channels on those we are unable to field during the live event). Specific details on how to submit questions will be available at the URL above. For this first virtual event, in addition to their discussion of the department as a whole staff will profile the following subset of programmes and modules offered within the department: Material & Visual Culture (MA) Digital Anthropology (MSc) Culture, Materials & Design (MA) Documentary & Ethnographic Film (modules) Your questions need not be limited to these programmes, but inquiries specific to the department's other programmes will likely be deferred for later response by appropriate staff. After live-streaming, the full recorded version of the event will remain available online as a video on the Anthropology Department website. Please join us for what is sure to be a unique and informative event -- Dr. Lane DeNicola Lecturer in Digital Anthropology Department of Anthropology University College London http://www.lanedenicola.name

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