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

Book announcement 'New media technologies and user empowerment'
by Jo Pierson 24 May '11

24 May '11

New book announcement New Media Technologies and User Empowerment Jo Pierson, Enid Mante-Meijer and Eugène Loos (eds.) Peter Lang - International Academic Publishers May 2011 ISBN 978-3-631-60031-3 Peter Lang published the book 'New Media Technologies and User Empowerment' (edited by Jo Pierson, Enid Mante-Meijer and Eugène Loos) Volume 6 in 'Participation in Broadband Society' series (edited by Leopoldina Fortunati, Julian Gebhardt and Jane Vincent) 'This collection provides numerous and refreshing insights into the claims about the ever more proactive role of users of information and communication technologies. Through a variety of case studies, illustrating the array of theoretical frameworks available, the authors throw light upon the diverse ways in which users engage with innovations. From outlining the challenges of involving users in design, through appreciating the diverse origins and nature of user engagement with ICTs to critically commenting upon the constraints of the user experience, this book provides a welcome and useful contribution to the field.' (Leslie Haddon - LSE London School of Economics and Political Sciences) 'User-generated content, produsage, collective intelligence – these terms have come into their own in recent years, filled with detail as researchers explore the finer nuances of participative Web environments. This is a rich collection of such work, exploring the successes and failures of innovative online projects, and examining how they affect the rhetoric of user empowerment that surrounds Web 2.0. A very welcome addition to this field of research.' (Axel Bruns - Author of Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage) Synopsis: Recent developments in new media devices and applications have led to the rise of what have become known as ‘social media’, ‘Web 2.0’, ‘social computing’ or ‘participative web’. This shift in ICT, from unidirectional to conversational media of mass self-communication has lowered the technological thresholds for everyday users to cooperate for their own benefit, to participate in online environments and social network sites, to co-create business value and to become ‘produsers’ or ‘pro-ams’. At the same time, we see an evolution towards people-centred design and user-driven innovation in the design of new media technologies. This has created new opportunities and heightened expectations regarding user empowerment in different societal arenas. However, the question remains to what extent users and communities interacting in an all-IP new media ecosystem are empowered (and not disempowered) to express their creativity and concerns in their social and cultural environment and to obtain a prominent role in the process of new media design and innovation. The book attempts to answer this question through a collection of chapters that scrutinise this issue. The different chapters focus on the way that social and economic opportunities and threats enable and/or constrain user empowerment. This work consists of four major sections, each of which examines the (potential) empowerment/disempowerment of users in relation to new media technologies from a different angle. The chapters in the first section describe different theoretical perspectives on user roles and user involvement in the new media ecosystem, referring to interpretative, positivist and critical schools of thought. Based on these overall guiding frameworks, we then explore the leverage users have, both on content level and on technological level. This refers respectively to the second and third section of the book. In the fourth section different case studies are presented, each of which highlight how user empowerment manifests itself in different new media sectors and environments (such as publishing, the music industry and social networking sites). The book is based on interdisciplinary research. It offers innovative insights based on state-of-the-art academic and industry-driven ICT user research in various European countries. This work will appeal to post-graduate students and researchers in the field of media and communication studies, social studies of technology, digital media marketing and other domains that investigate the mutual relationship between new media technologies and society. Contents: Yves Punie: Introduction: New Media Technologies and User Empowerment. Is there a Happy Ending? - Enid Mante-Meijer/Eugène Loos: Innovation and the Role of Push and Pull - Valerie Frissen/Mijke Slot: The Return of the Bricoleur: Redefining Media Business - Serge Proulx/Lorna Heaton: Forms of User Contribution in Online Communities: Mechanisms of Mutual Recognition between Contributors - Aphra Kerr/Stefano De Paoli/Cristiano Storni: Rethinking the Role of Users in ICT Design: Reflections for the Internet - James Stewart/Laurence Claeys: Problems and Opportunities of Interdisciplinary Work Involving Users in Speculative Research for Innovation of Novel ICT Applications - Marinka Vangenck/Jo Pierson/Wendy Van den Broeck/Bram Lievens: User-Driven Innovation in the Case of Three-Dimensional Urban Environments - Mijke Slot: Web Roles Re-examined: Exploring User Roles in the Media Environment - Philip Ely/David Frohlich/Nicola Green: Uncertainty, Upheavals and Upgrades: Digital-DIY during Life-change - Eva K. Törnquist: In Search of Elks and Birds: Two Case Studies on the Creative Use of ICT in Sweden - Levente Szekely/Agnes Urban: Over the Innovators and Early Adopters: Incentives and Obstacles of Internet Usage - James Stewart/Richard Coyne/Penny Travlou/Mark Wright/Henrik Ekeus: The Memory Space and the Conference: Exploring Future Uses of Web2.0 and Mobile Internet through Design Interventions - Sanna Martilla/Kati Hyyppä/Kari-Hans Kommonen: Co-Design of a Software Toolkit for Media Practices: P2P-Fusion Case Study - Ike Picone: Mapping Users' Motivations and Thresholds for Casually «Produsing» News - Stijn Bannier: The Musical Network 2.0 & 3.0 - Enid Mante-Meijer/Jo Pierson/Eugène Loos: Conclusion: Substantiating User Empowerment. For more information on the book, follow the link below: <http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseite…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jo Pierson ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels 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 #imuses Office: 0C.005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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this should be useful to air too.Fwd: [ciresearchers] FW: [CommunityInformaticsCanada] The Role of Facebook in Disaster Response
by gene loeb 24 May '11

24 May '11

ir RESEARCHERS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS TOO. gENE ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Gurstein <gurstein(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 3:49 AM Subject: [ciresearchers] FW: [CommunityInformaticsCanada] The Role of Facebook in Disaster Response To: ciresearchers(a)vancouvercommunity.net Cc: George Lessard <mediamentor(a)gmail.com> -----Original Message----- From: cracin-canada-owner(a)vancouvercommunity.net [mailto:cracin-canada-owner@vancouvercommunity.net] On Behalf Of media(a)web.net Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 1:38 AM Subject: [CommunityInformaticsCanada] The Role of Facebook in Disaster Response The Role of Facebook in Disaster Response http://irevolution.net/2011/05/22/facebook-and-disaster-response/ [excerpt] I've been thinking about this topic with a number of other colleagues for a while. I'm also very interested to hear any ideas and suggestions that iRevolution readers may have on this. There's no doubt that Facebook can-and already does-play an important role in disaster response. In Haiti, my colleague Rob Munro used Facebook to recruit hundreds of Creole speaking volunteers to translate tens of thousands of text messages into English as part of Mission 4636. When an earthquake struck New Zealand earlier this year, thousands of students organized their response via a Facebook group and also used the platform's check-in's feature to alert others in their social network that they were alright. See also Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) * NGO's Role in Effective Disaster Response http://causeorganizations.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/ngos-role-in-effective-di saster-response/ * After 911, Facebook Is Top Choice for Disaster Response http://midflredcross.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/after-911-facebook-is-top-choi ce-for-disaster-response/ * Fake earthquake disaster drill tests on Facebook & Twitter http://iansarn.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/fake-earthquake-disaster-drill-tests -on-facebook-twitter/ To unsubscribe (subscribe) send an email to: sympa(a)vcn.bc.ca with the message unsub (sub) ciresearchers -- With Sincerest Best Wishes , Gene Gene Loeb, Ph.D.

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Save the Dates for 2012 MEA Convention in New York!
by Janet Sternberg 24 May '11

24 May '11

Save the Dates: June 7-10, 2012 The Thirteenth Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association at Manhattan College, Riverdale, New York 2012 MEA Convention theme and details to be announced at this year's MEA Convention in Edmonton, Canada, June 23-26, 2011 http://www.media-ecology.org

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John Palfrey lecture at ICA
by Steve Jones 23 May '11

23 May '11

I'd like to invite everyone coming to the International Communication Association (ICA) conference to John Palfrey's lecture, “Internet Research and a Future for Libraries,” on Sunday, May 29, 2011, 4:30 – 5:45 pm EDT, in the Westin Waterfront Hotel, Harbor Ballroom I. His lecture is the latest in the Steve Jones Internet Research Lecture series. Along those lines, please note the announcement of a beta sprint related to the Digital Public Library of America, http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/dpla/. Palfrey is on the DPLA steering committee. The lecture s sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (http://www.cccsir.com) and supported by the International Communication Association (ICA, http://www.icahdq.org) My thanks to Shing-Ling Sarina Chen for her work organizing it and to the Carl Couch Center and ICA for their support. I'll hope to see many AoIR-ers there! Steve

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Call for Chapter Proposals, Book Project on Video Games
by Matthew Wy. 23 May '11

23 May '11

Call for Chapter Proposals, Book Project on Video Games “Issues of Control: Reading and Playing Video Games” (tentative title) The word control has many implications when it is used in connection with video games. Obviously on a basic level, unlike other media, if a player does not control the game, there is no experience. You must participate to keep the story moving forward. Enjoyment of the experience can also connect to control. For many players, pleasure comes from the equilibrium between the player’s control over the game and the game’s control over the player. This book seeks to explore the nature of control in the area of video games. The chapters presented in it are intended to explore a range of ideas. Possible chapters/ideas to explore include: - What does it mean to truly control a game? - Freedom of choice for gamers - How different genres might impact control - How control is central to questions of design - How might games’ narratives or game play ‘control’ the player - Does controlling a game in the virtual world influence our concepts of control in the non-virtual world? - How might we re-conceptualize playing games thanks to new forms of video game controllers like the Wii or Xbox’s Kinect? If you would like to propose a chapter for this project, please send a short author(s) bio as well as a 750 word abstract along with title to Matthew Wysocki (mwysocki(a)flagler.edu) The deadline for receipt of all proposals is June 30, 2011. I will attempt to notify all correspondents by July 31 regarding the status of their submission. Completed draft manuscripts will be due by November 30. Matthew Wysocki Assistant Professor Department of Communication Flagler College

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RES: Paper on "Internet in Brazilian Public Schools"
by Bernardo Sorj 23 May '11

23 May '11

Dear all, the full version of the paper "Internet in Brazilian Public Schools" is freely available at: http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/PDF/WP_6_English.pdf Comments are welcome. Bernardo Sorj Dr. Bernardo Sorj <http://www.bernardosorj.com> www.bernardosorj.com <http://www.centroedelstein.org.br> www.centroedelstein.org.br

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How to run successful webinars? Presentation on Tue 16 Nov 2010
by Fred Dervin 23 May '11

23 May '11

The 2010 Global Education Conference is being held November 15 - 19, 2010, online and free. Sessions will take place in multiple time zones and multiple languages over the five days. http://www.globaleducationconference.com/ TITLE: How to run successful webinars? Lessons learnt and challenges for learning and collaboration at a global level. PRESENTER: Fred Dervin,, University of Turku, Finland (Finland) CO-PRESENTER: Katerina Zourou, University of Luxembourg TIME: GMT Tue 16 Nov 2010 01:00PM click for international time conversions: http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=11&day=16&year=2010&… SESSION ROOM: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=gec2010&password=D.616E7D3800C4CE47B7… to enter the Elluminate session room, open one hour before session. FORMAT: Presentation LANGUAGE: English SHORT DESCRIPTION: Although the number of webinars (i.e. events streamed live over the Internet) is rapidly growing, the orchestration of such events in terms of communication, modes of delivery, opportunities for interaction and follow-up is in its infancy. Moreover, gathering a worldwide audience challenges our understanding of how to address a large number of multicultural participants. The presentation is based on findings from two public webinars, hosted by the University of Turku (Finland) and the University of Luxembourg in 2010. An examination of the events will allow us to identify 5 success factors and a set of quality indicators. Shortcomings in running webinars will also be discussed based on our experience. The presentation ends with some reflections on the nature of interaction in live online events, namely the chat function as a means of learning and group cohesion among online participants, and as a catalyst for interaction between the group and the panelists.

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Invitation for those going to ICA in Boston this week
by Mia Consalvo 23 May '11

23 May '11

[with apologies for cross-posting] Game Studies/ICA folks: You're invited to this Friday's Games at GAMBIT (at MIT), from 4-6 PM on May 27, 2011 in our game lab. Each week we play games, talk about them, and just generally socialize. It's always open to the public, but this week we'd like to extend a special invitation to anyone attending ICA and who has an interest in games. RSVP is not required, but if you definitely know you'll be attending please let me know so we can order enough food (i.e. light snacks :). The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab is located in Kendall Square, right on the MBTA Red Line at 5 Cambridge Center on the third floor. A map for reaching us can be found here: http://gambit.mit.edu/contact/index.php Some weeks we have a special theme, but this week is open. If you have a special game you'd like to play, let us know in advance and we'll do our best to have it there. Finally, please email me separately if I can answer any questions about the event or GAMBIT for you. Thanks all! Mia p.s. I'm also organizing an informal dinner following the event, so we can keep the conversation going. Let me know if you'd like to be a part of that as well. -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. Visiting Associate Professor Comparative Media Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 14N-226 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA consalvo(a)mit.edu 617.324.1868

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Moral Economies of Creative Labour: registration now open
by Helen Kennedy 23 May '11

23 May '11

Registration is now open for Moral Economies of Creative Labour, a two day conference taking place at the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, on 7th & 8th July 2011. To register, visit this webpage: http://www.moraleconomies.leeds.ac.uk/contact/ A preliminary conference programme is available as a PDF link from the bottom of this page: http://www.moraleconomies.leeds.ac.uk/programme/. More information about the conference is available on the conference website. Helen Dr Helen Kennedy Senior Lecturer in New Media, Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds (http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/) More about me: http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/staff/h.kennedy Email: h.kennedy(a)leeds.ac.uk Tel: 0113 3438748 *** new office / address ***: 1.02 Clothworkers' North Building, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT

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membership - election reminder
by Catherine Middleton 23 May '11

23 May '11

Hello everyone, This is a reminder that only current AoIR members may vote in the election for the next AoIR executive. Your membership must be valid as of May 23, 2011 in order to vote. You can join/renew online at http://aoir.org/membership/. Catherine Middleton AoIR Secretary

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