April 2012 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Question: Likeconomy and the [digital] verbing of nouns
by Ravindra N. Mohabeer 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Hi, I know this area has received attention in print which I will be reading in the coming weeks but I have a question, mostly out of curiosity. Last night as I couldn't sleep I wondered about the verbing of nouns that is so much more common these days - e.g. googling, friending, trending, etc. - and also about what I imagine must be called the 'like-economy' which in my mind contracts to the likeconomy. While this has happened at other times historically I wondered whether there isn't a passivity inherent in this verbing, or making an object into an action, that has implications both for our understanding of and outcomes associated with the digitality of the current collective mind? Does making say google into an action defer the underlaying energy to the algorithms that were discussed on this list this week, or does trending suggest that the wave or flow of popularity makes something important whether or not that momentum is built of clever psychological prodding or actual will to action (curiosity rather than interest like Gustov Le Bon's psychic contagion)? I'm not really sure if this makes sense but it is a question that I wonder if anyone can help me make sense of so I can know where to start my reading. Please and thank you, Ravi ..................................................... Ravindra N. Mohabeer, PhD Media Studies Vancouver Island University Nanaimo, BC CANADA V9T 5S5 ravindra.mohabeer(a)viu.ca .....................................................

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research associate in new media (50% teaching, 50% PhD), university of leeds, UK
by Helen Kennedy 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear list Please forward this message to any new media professional practitioners in your networks, or MA graduates with a background in the new media industries, who you think might be interested. Thanks Helen ---------------------- Research Associate in New Media (Part-time PhD studentship, linked to a 50% FTE Teaching Assistantship) This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate with research ambitions and new media industry experience to make the transition to an academic career. It offers a part-time PhD studentship and a 50% FTE teaching assistantship. Applicants are required to include evidence of practical new media skills and abilities, as well as a 1500 PhD proposal, in applications. University Grade 6 (£24,520 – £29,249 p.a. pro rata) plus an annual stipend commensurate with postgraduate research scholarships; PhD fees will be paid by the Institute. Informal inquiries may be made to Dr Helen Kennedy, email h.kennedy(a)leeds.ac.uk Closing Date: 4 May 2012 Full description and details of how to apply: http://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/fe/tpl_universityofleeds01.asp?s=yhJgMRoBzQChEeQzw&… ---------------------- Dr Helen Kennedy Senior Lecturer in New Media & BA Hons New Media Programme Leader, Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds (http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/) OUT NOW: Net Work: Ethics and Values in Web Design (http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=363693) More about me: http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/staff/h.kennedy

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2nd Call: ESA RN18 Conference "Communication, Crisis, and Critique in Contemporary Capitalism"
by Christian Fuchs 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Communication, Crisis, and Critique in Contemporary Capitalism. Conference of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network 18 - Sociology of Communications and Media Research October 18-20, 2012. University of the Basque Country, Bilbao http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/ESA_RN18_CfP2012.pdf Keynote Talk: Prof. Peter Golding (Northumbria University, UK) – Why a Sociologist should take Communications and Media Seriously Peter Golding is pro-vice chancellor of research & innovation at Northumbria University, founder and honorary chair of ESA RN18. Call for Submissions and Participation We are living in times of global capitalist crisis that require rethinking the ways we organize society, communication, the media, and our lives. The current crisis seems to a certain degree be different compared to previous ones, among other reasons due to the role of mediated communication and information in establishing/changing economic, political, and social relations as well as the crisis itself. The crisis can also be seen as crisis of what has been called consumer capitalism or informational capitalism. More precisely it has resulted on the one hand in a hyperneoliberal intensification of neo-conservative policies and on the other hand in the emergence of new popular movements that are critical of the commodification of everything and demand the strengthening of society’s commons. The second movement has in the social sciences been accompanied by a renewed interest in critical studies, the critique and analysis of class and capitalism, and critical political economy. The overall goal of this conference is to foster scholarly presentations, networking, and exchange on the question of which transitions media and communication and media sociology are undergoing in contemporary society. The conference particularly welcomes contributions that are inspired by sociological theories, critical studies, and various strands and traditions of the critical study of media & society. Questions that can be covered by presentations include, but are not limited to: * What is a crisis? What forms of crisis are there? How do they relate to capitalism and communication? * How have the media presented the crisis? Which similarities and differences in crisis reporting are there between different media (television, press, and new media) or between media in different countries? * How has the crisis affected various media and cultural industries? What is the role of changing media technology in the economic crisis? How has the media economy changed since the start of the crisis in 2008? How have advertising investments, profits, market values, etc developed in the media economy since the start of the crisis? How has the global expansion of media industries been reshaped by the crisis and what is the future of global media and news agencies? What changes can be traced in the production of news and other media content? Are there changes in the nature of media products? * What is the role of media and communication technologies in the financialization, acceleration, and globalization of the capitalist economy? How can a post-crisis media economy look like? How has advertising favoured a climate of private consumer debt? * What are the ideological implications of the crisis for mediascapes? Which ideological discourses do companies, CEOs, managers, or neoliberal politicians use for justifying their interests, lay-offs, high bonuses, inequalities, etc and how are these discourses represented by the media or in strategic company reports? How are hyper-neoliberal crisis policy responses (“socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor” in the form of bank bail outs and budget cuts in areas like welfare, education, social security, health care, etc) ideologically justified and how do the media represent such ideologies? What is the role of finance capital in the media and cultural industries? Which hegemonic, alternative, or contradictory interpretations and reception practices of media content that relates to the crisis are there? Which ideologies and myths underlie the capitalist crisis? * What is the role of media, communication, critical journalism, and alternative media in contemporary uproars, riots, rebellions, social movements, protests, demonstrations, and revolutions? * How do identities and mediated identities change in times of crisis? How should one think about the relationship of economy and culture in light of the capitalist crisis? What is the relationship of class and identities and of politics of redistribution and recognition today? How do we have to rethink and reshape the relation between political economy and cultural studies in the light of capitalist crisis in order to adequately study the media and communication? * How is the public sphere changing in the light of the global crisis? What are perspectives for politics, participation, and democracy today and how do these perspectives relate to the media and communication? Is the role of media in democracy changing? If so, how? Are media a distinct player in politics? If the established media form an estate of power in democracy, do we today new a new estate of power? If so, how could it look like? * What are the causes, realities, and consequences of the commodification of the communication commons? What are alternatives to the commodification of the communication commons? How can one strengthen and create public media and commons-based forms of communication? What are the relationships and differences between the commodity logic, the gift logic, and the logic of public goods and how do these logics shape the media? * How do contemporary societal trends, such as integration, diversity and conflicts in Europe and the world, transnationalism and networking, digitization, informatization, globalization, glocalization, prosumption, neoliberalism, privatization and commodification, migration, racism, changing gender relations, consumer and advertising culture, warfare, terrorism, the new imperialism, surveillance, social movement protests, global societal risks, the strengthening of right-wing extremist and fascist movements, or the anti-corporate movement and other movements, shape media and communication and how do media and communication in turn shape society in times of crisis and transition? * What are the tasks, roles, responsibilities, and identities of the sociology of media and communication in a society that is facing deep crisis? What is the actual or potential role of critique, ethics, struggles, counter-power, resistance, protest, civil society, and social movements in contemporary societies and contemporary communications? * What are the major trends that shape contemporary society and how are these trends related to mediated communication and knowledge production? In what society do we live? What society do we desire to have? What forms of media and communication do we find in contemporary society? What forms of media and communication do we desire and how must society change in order to achieve these goals? * What are the major trends in respect to crisis, communication, and critique in Europe? What are the major trends in respect to crisis, communication, and critique in other parts of the world? * How do different companies and organizations make use of different information transmission technologies? What is the role of high speed financial flows and associated transmission networks in the finance industry? How (in)visible are these flows? Submission An abstract of 200-250 words should be sent to Dr. Romina Surugiu, University of Bucharest, at the following e-mail address: bilbao.conference(a)yahoo.com Please insert the words Bilbao in the subject. The deadline for abstract submission is May 31st, 2012.

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Call for Participation, DiGRA Nordic 2012
by Frans Mäyrä 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear all, DiGRA Nordic 2012 is now open for registrations: http://digra-nordic2012.org/registration/ You can access the draft program (with timetables and keynote titles) from here: http://digra-nordic2012.org/program/ The full program will be made available as soon as all speakers and sessions have been confirmed. Note that the deadline for speakers' registrations is Monday, 23 April, 2012. The deadline for participants registration is Monday, 14 May, 2o12. There is information about hotels, travel arrangements and the venue available at the conference website: http://digra-nordic2012.org/venue/ Welcome to Tampere! - Frans > -----Original Message----- > From: Frans Mäyrä [mailto:frans.mayra@uta.fi] > Sent: 23. tammikuuta 2012 15:33 > To: 'Games Research Network'; aoir list; finland(a)digra.org > Subject: DiGRA Nordic 2012 Call for Papers (updates) > > DiGRA Nordic 2012 Local and Global: Games in Culture and Society > 6-8 June 2012, Tampere, Finland > > - Updates! We can now announce all four conference keynote names note also > the updates to submission and registration information (below): > > * Nick Montfort is associate professor of digital media at MIT and president of the > Electronic Literature Organization. He develops text generators and interactive > fiction and has participated in dozens of literary and academic collaborations. > Montfort co-edited The New Media Reader and The Electronic Literature > Collection Volume 1 and wrote Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive > Fiction, Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (with Ian Bogost), > and Riddle & Bind. His next book, 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10, is > a collaboration with nine other authors about a one-line Commodore 64 BASIC > program. > * Kristine Jørgensen is associate professor in media studies at the University of > Bergen. She has published articles on game sound, the user interface in games, > the player role, games research methods, the Norwegian game industry, and game > narratives. She is the author of A Comprehensive Study of Sound in Computer > Games, and is currently writing a book on game user interfaces. > * Espen Aarseth is principal researcher at the Center for Computer Games > Research, IT University of Copenhagen, and adjunct professor at the Department > of Media and Communication, University of Oslo. He is also co-founding Editor- > in-Chief of the journal Game Studies, founder of the Digital Arts and Culture > conference series, and co-founder of the Philosophy of Computer Games > conference series, and author of Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature > (Johns Hopkins UP 1997), a comparative media theory of games and other > aesthetic forms. > * Minna Ruckenstein is a Senior Researcher at the Finnish National Consumer > Research Centre in Helsinki and the President of the Finnish Anthropological > Society. Her ethnographic research has focused on childrens uses of virtual pets > and virtual worlds. Recent articles contribute to the study of childhood from the > perspectives of money, value creation and innovation. > Published books include co-edited Rahan kulttuuri [The Culture of Money] > (2009) and co-written Forget Innovation (2011). In 2011 she received the > ITRA/BTHA and Brio prizes. > * Also: the updated conference submission template is based on the DiGRA > 2011 format you can download the paper template from here: > http://digra-nordic2012.org/submission/ > * Registration information is available from here: > http://digra-nordic2012.org/registration/ > > - Overview: The study of games, players and related phenomena has expanded > strongly both in its academic as well as in geographical range during the last > decade. The DiGRA Nordic 2012 conference aims bring together Nordic and non- > Nordic games researchers to discuss the cultural and social context of games and > play from multiple perspectives, including reflections of local and global in game > cultures. Year 2012 is the tenth anniversary of the Tampere Computer Games and > Digital Cultures (CGDC 2002) conference, providing also an opportunity to reflect > on the last decade of developments in Nordic game studies, as well as its wider > international scope. The conference will be open to themes related to non-digital, > as well as digital games and their different forms of play. > > - Review process: the conference accepts full paper submissions, which will be > handled in anonymous peer review. There are Theme Chairs who oversee the > reviews in specific paper categories. There will be online publication of accepted > papers in the DiGRA Digital Library. > > - Venue: The conference will take place in Tampere, Finland, and will be jointly > hosted by Universities of Tampere, Jyväskylä and Turku. The modern facilities of > the new Technopolis building and the University of Tampere campus provide the > venue for plenary keynote sessions and paper sessions in parallel rooms. There > will be also social and other program available during the event. > > - Suggested themes and Theme Chairs: the conference has dedicated Theme > Chairs who head the selection submissions as the meta-reviewers for the key > themes in the conference: > > * local/global in game cultures (Chair: Thorsten Quandt) > * historical perspectives into digital gaming (Chair: Melanie Swalwell) > * social player studies (Chair: Torill Mortensen) > * games industry (Chair: Mirva Peltoniemi) > * design of games (Chair: Annika Waern) > * gamification and gameful design (Chair: Sebastian Deterling) > * gambling vs. gaming studies (Chair: Pauliina Raento) see also the special > workshop program > (http://digra-nordic2012.org/seminars-and-workshops/) > * games as art (Chair: Simon Niedenthal) > * critical approaches to game studies (Chair: Jonas Linderoth) > * games as media and communication (Chair: Marko Siitonen) > * other (the conference submissions are not limited to the above themes) > > - Organisers: The conference will be hosted jointly by the Finnish DiGRA chapter, > coordinated by Dr Olli Sotamaa and the Creation of Game Cultures research > project, coordinated by professor Frans Mäyrä. Assisted by the review board and > local organising team, the main organisers are: > > * Review Chair: professor Raine Koskimaa > * Program Chair: professor Jaakko Suominen > * Local Chair: professor Frans Mäyrä > > - Dates: > > * deadline for full papers, panels and alternative forms: 13 February 2012 > * authors are informed of review: 2 April 2012 > * final paper submission deadline: 7 May 2012 > * conference dates: 6-8 June 2012 > > - Contact details: You can find more, up-to-date information in http://digra- > nordic2012.org. The email contact address for the organising team is: > digranordic2012 [at] gmail.com. For more information about other Nordic DiGRA > activities, go to: http://www.nordic-digra.org/ > > Welcome to Tampere! > > - Frans > > -- > Frans Mäyrä, Professor, Digital Culture & Game Studies > ** Information Studies and Interactive Media INFIM/TRIM > ** School of Information Sciences SIS ** > ** 33014 University of Tampere, Finland ** > frans.mayra(a)uta.fi / fransmayra(a)gmail.com / frans(a)unet.fi > ** gms 050 3367650 / fax 03 3551 7503 www.uta.fi/sis/ > www.fransmayra.fi www.unet.fi www.uta.fi/~frans.mayra >

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Re: [Air-L] Conference in Second Life
by Nentwich, Michael 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Dear Jim, we have done a case study on Second Life in our book "Cyberscience 2.0" that has been published just this month. You may be interested in our (not so enthusiastic) conclusions about the prospects of Second Life with regard to, among others, academic conferencing. You may order the book with Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cyberscience-2-0-Research-Networks-Interaktiva/d p/3593395185 Best regards, Michael On 18 Apr 2012 at 14:13, Jim Parker wrote: > Reply to Sender: mailto:drjparker@gmail.com > Reply to List: mailto:air-l@listserv.aoir.org > > The American Communication Association, http://americancomm.org/, is > thinking of doing an online conference in Second Life. I have been to > meetings in Second Life and found the experience to be superior to > video conferencing and other alternatives for getting people together. > > I would be interested to know what others have tried for online > conferences and especially about any experiences with conferences in > Second Life. > > thank you, > > Jim Parker > President American Communication Association > Asst. Prof, Austin Peay State University. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* PD Dr. Michael NENTWICH Director Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-1030 Vienna, Strohgasse 45/5 Tel. +43 1 51581 6583 Fax. +43 1 7109883 mailto:mnent@oeaw.ac.at Personal homepage: http://eiop.or.at/mn/ Institute: http://www.oeaw.ac.at/ita/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail, thank you! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Conference in Second Life
by Jim Parker 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

The American Communication Association, http://americancomm.org/, is thinking of doing an online conference in Second Life. I have been to meetings in Second Life and found the experience to be superior to video conferencing and other alternatives for getting people together. I would be interested to know what others have tried for online conferences and especially about any experiences with conferences in Second Life. thank you, Jim Parker President American Communication Association Asst. Prof, Austin Peay State University. -- ...it's a crazy quilt reflected in a fun-house mirror! - Zippy the Pinhead

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Re: [Air-L] Conference in Second Life
by Greg Wadley 19 Apr '12

19 Apr '12

Erickson and colleagues presented a paper at CHI 2011 about a conference in Second Life - see http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1979013 . I've been to a different conference in SL and it worked pretty well I think - however it primarily attracted experienced SL users. I'm not sure whether a large group of novices would have as good an experience. -Greg ----- from Greg Wadley The University of Melbourne http://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/gwadley On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 12:13 PM, Jim Parker <drjparker(a)gmail.com> wrote: > The American Communication Association, http://americancomm.org/, is > thinking of doing an online conference in Second Life. I have been to > meetings in Second Life and found the experience to be superior to video > conferencing and other alternatives for getting people together. > > I would be interested to know what others have tried for online conferences > and especially about any experiences with conferences in Second Life. > > thank you, > > Jim Parker > President American Communication Association > Asst. Prof, Austin Peay State University.

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Future of Social Media Analysis Event, London, 27 April
by Lawrence Ampofo 18 Apr '12

18 Apr '12

Dear Colleagues, This is a announcement that the Insight 2.0: The Future of Social Media Analysis on Friday 27 April 2012 in central London will take place in nine days time. The conference is designed for everyone interested in the potential of social media data to stimulate data-driven discovery and decision-making in this hyper-connected digital era. Please email lampofo(a)zero1events.com for the discount code for university affiliates, students and charities allowing entry for £37. More information about the event can be found by visiting www.zero1events.com The event will feature short, energetic talks from experts from the fields of psychology, political and security intelligence, gamification, big data and brand insight amongst others. Distinguished speakers include: Alberto Nardelli - TweetMinster Kevin Anderson – The Guardian, Al-Jazeera Pippa Norris – Ministry of Defence Stewart Bertram - VeriSign Professor Martin Everett – University of Manchester, Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis David Stillwell – University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre Nathalie Nihai – The Web Psychologist Alfred Rolington – Former CEO Jane’s Information Group, Oxford Analytica For more information, please visit www.zero1events.com and Twitter @zero1events We hope you will be able to join us to think differently about social media analysis. Sincerely, Dr. Lawrence Ampofo.

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Canadian Congress Meetup?
by jeremy hunsinger 18 Apr '12

18 Apr '12

Hello Everyone, if you are interested in having a AoIR meetup at the Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences http://congress2012.ca/ let me know, I live here, and can arrange it. I'd imagine it as an informal gathering in a pub's backroom where you'll have to buy your own drinks and food, but we can meet, chat, network, etc. I've done these before elsewhere in the world, and usually we have between 5 and 20 people, but as so many Canadians and so many other colleagues from so many fields will be in town... this might be a good opportunity to informally meet. send me an email at jhuns(a)vt.edu (this is my lifetime/alumni address) Jeremy Hunsinger Communication Studies Wilfrid Laurier University Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. -Jules de Gaultier () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

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Doctoral Positions at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin
by Christian Katzenbach 18 Apr '12

18 Apr '12

Hi all, at our newly funded research institute in Berlin we recently announced doctoral positions for early-stage researchers in the field of Internet and society. International applications as well as applicants already well under way with their doctoral thesis are especially welcome. See the full announcement below and on our website: http://hiig.de/en/research/doctoral-programme-internet-and-society/ Best, Christian Katzenbach ## Doctoral Positions in the field of Internet and Society The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) has openings for doctoral candidates from all disciplines interested in the visionary planning of particular developments of the Internet and the interplay with societal and economic dynamics. Starting date is September 1, 2012. In the context of a doctoral position (65% TVL 13, plus children, literature and travel allowances) we promote innovative and transdisciplinary-orientated research projects focusing on the following aspects: • Regulation and order from a social scientific perspective, particularly within the fields of copyright and big data • Open science – science in transformation • Personality right and data protection in the Internet and the role of the Internet within the process of the global constitutionalism • The current structural change of the public sphere and its legal consequences The doctoral candidates will be part of a research groups at the Institute for Internet and Society. Besides specified mentoring agreements, regular presentations and mentoring appointments will be scheduled in order to facilitate sufficient scope for the development of independent research projects. Additionally the Institute for Internet and Society supports the philosophy of open science and promotes networking within the international research community. The required documents include the completed online application form including • Letter of motivation (max. 2 pages) • Exposé of the dissertation project/ if applicable a short description of the current work progress (max. 3 pages) • Curriculum vitae/ relevant certificates and letters of recommendation • Commitment to one of the research directors as a mentor International applications as well as applicants already engaged in their doctoral thesis are especially welcome. Further information on the announcement can be found under www.hiig.de. Please submit your complete application by May 31, 2012 using the online application form on our website. The interviews will be held on July 5th and 6th 2012. We kindly ask all applicants to save these dates. The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society is incorporated into the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the University of Arts Berlin as well as into the Social Science Research Center Berlin in alliance with the Hans-Bredow Institute Hamburg as an integrated co-operation partner. The overall goal of the institute is to understand the dynamic interdependence between society and the Internet and thus, offering the opportunity to shape the digital, networked future open to everyone. -- Christian Katzenbach Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society Humboldt Universität zu Berlin | Unter den Linden 6 | 10117 Berlin | Germany katzenbach(a)hiig.de

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