November 2013 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

History of speech-generating software
by Meryl Alper 23 Nov '13

23 Nov '13

Hi all, I am writing to ask if anyone knows of a good book that either in whole or part provides an overview of the history of speech-generating software and/or devices - essentially, a history of humans making computers "talk." For background, my dissertation is primarily a qualitative study of how US parents of young non-verbal children with developmental disabilities incorporate the iPad into their families' lives when the child uses the mobile device partly or primarily as a speech-generating system. I am pairing this fieldwork with archival research on how parents have historically navigated the world of personal computers equipped with software for producing synthetic speech. Thanks! Meryl Alper Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism University of Southern California

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Fwd: [IP] The David and GG Farber Distributed Chair in Computer Science
by Joly MacFie 23 Nov '13

23 Nov '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dave Farber <dave(a)farber.net> Date: Sat, Nov 23, 2013 at 12:59 PM Subject: [IP] The David and GG Farber Distributed Chair in Computer Science To: ip <ip(a)listbox.com> Stevens Institute of Technology invites nominations and applications for The David & GG Farber Distinguished Chair in Computer Science. We seek a renowned scholar and/or a uniquely accomplished practitioner who aspires to be a senior academic leader. The Chair holder will also serve as the Director of the Department of Computer Science, and will assume a leadership role in the School of Engineering and Science to strengthen and expand the department’s cross- disciplinary role within the Institute and to further enhance our national and international impact in computer science education, research, and service. The ideal candidate will have an exceptional record of achievement in one of the areas of Computer Science in which Stevens possesses unique strengths - computer security; visual computing; and machine learning for big data. The candidate should also have a demonstrated interest in working at the intersection of computer science and society, with the ability to lead research and educational programs that not only advance the field but also address the impact of these advances on society at large. The candidate will have demonstrated the qualities of leadership and innovation, and will be eligible for a tenured academic appointment at the rank of Professor. The Computer Science department is one of the most vibrant academic departments at Stevens, with 17 full-time faculty and numerous distinguished adjuncts drawn from nearby research centers. Nearly all of the faculty have extensive externally-funded research programs with federal agencies including NSF, NSA, DHS, NIH, and others. The department hosts a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, and a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research, both designated by NSA. The department has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 200 students, and more than 300 graduate students in seven Masters programs and one Ph.D. program. Candidates are encouraged to visit the Department’s homepage at www.stevens.edu/ses/cs. Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private university, located in Hoboken, New Jersey. The 55-acre campus is located in a beautiful park-like setting on the Hudson River, directly across from New York City. Stevens' location offers excellent opportunities for collaborations with nearby universities such as NYU, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers/DIMACS as well as major industrial research laboratories such as Bell Labs, AT&T -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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ICT4 Democracy "Summer" school - deadline approaching
by Jakob Svensson 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

ICT4Democracy Summer School 2014 March 9-15, 2014 New Delhi, India www.serd.org.in/summerschool2014 Organized by: Society for Education and Research Development -India & HumanIT, Karlstad University -Sweden in Collaboration with Institut für Publizistikwissenschaft und Medienforschung, Univesity of Zürich,Switzerland FH Applied Science University Vienna , Austria Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi, India Donau Universität, Krems, Austria Uppsala University, Sweden Introduction Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have emerged as powerful tools for reaching to the ever-increasing information demands of the society. The increasing diversity of ICTs and their equally diverse applications in different domains of human life are posing a lot of questions every moment. Researchers around the globe are working to take-up these questions and challenges. This summer school is focused upon political aspects of ICTs and in particular their role in political and democratic development. The developments of E-government and E-services have been remarkable the last five years and when it comes to ICTs for social and political change, the recent popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have provided us with examples of how information circulation using online platforms can induce processes of democratization and political developments. We are especially inviting participation from students who are at the stage of preparing their doctoral or masters' theses qualifications as well as activists, government officials, practitioners, NGO and aid agency workers to participate in the summer school to share experiences and learn from each other. The school is interactive in character, and is composed of keynote lectures, tutorials and workshops with the presentations from young researchers. The idea is to encourage participants to build up collegial relationships. The topics and angles of this summer school will be relevant for young researchers and practitioners from various academic disciplines as Political Science, Informatics, Computer Science, Media & Communication Studies, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy,Economics Law and Anthropology. Our aim is to create a good mix of research and practice, theory and empiric material, we cordially invite projects, government organizations, as well as other senior researchers to present papers or to organize workshops as part of the summer school. We are aiming at between 50 to 60 participants and 15 invited faculty members (keynote speakers, workshop organizers, seminar leaders and paper supervisors). Contributions Invite Researchers from all disciplines as well as practitioners and activists are welcome to the summer school. We invite contributions on application scenarios, use cases, and good practices; research with an empirical focus; and inter-disciplinary work. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: a.. E-governance a.. E-government and E-administration a.. E-participation a.. E-campaigning a.. E-voting a.. Role of ICT in Social and Political change a.. ICT for Corruption Fighting, Transparency and Accountability a.. ICT for Civic Empowerment and Gender Equality a.. ICT for Grass roots Media and Freedom of Expression a.. ICT for Poverty Reduction a.. ICT for Peace a.. ICT and Human Rights a.. ICT for Corporate Governaance Contributions will be selected based on an extended abstract review by the Summer School Program Committee consisting of reputed academics, well-known practitioners and activists. Contributions should contain a clear problem statement; an outline; and a clear messages. Accepted short versions of papers will be made available to all participants in the Summer School Pre-Proceedings and on the summer school website. Work in progress is strongly encouraged since the aim of this summer school is for participants to develop and discuss their ideas before having the opportunity to turn them into final papers. Final full papers between 8 and 15 pages in length will be graded by reputed academics and considered for a book publication by Springer edited by the summer school chairs. To submit an extended abstract (max. 700 words in length) please go to the Submission page at the summer school website at www.serd.org.in /summerschool2014 Schedule and Structure of Summer School The summer school will have an integrated week long program consisting of keynotes, workshops, paper presentations, panels and discussions. The aim of the summer school is to encourage a stimulating interchange between all participants from different fields and from different parts of the Globe - be they new researchers, activists or experienced practitioners. The summer school will start on Sunday 9th with registration, welcome addresses and mingle for participants to get-together. This will be followed by the welcome dinner. The following five days, Monday to Friday, will be centered around one theme a day with a morning keynote followed by discussions in smaller groups lead by a reputed academic, activist or professional. The second half of the morning will be devoted to participants presenting their works and discussing them in smaller constellations also lead by reputed academics activists, and professionals. The afternoons will be devoted to workshops related to the theme or study trips organized by research groups, government or development organizations. There will be good opportunity for the participants to work on their final papers, organize own meetings/ discussions with each other and faculty in the evenings. Friday afternoon will be devoted for individual meetings of participants with the faculty mentors to discuss their final papers (students will be allocated to different faculty mentors as per the area of expertise). The summer school will finish Saturday with a sightseeing tour around Delhi. Final papers will be due within two weeks from the end of the summer school. Registration and fee The registration fee includes access to all the sessions during the summer school, workshops and demonstrations, keynotes, Social Programme, lunches and refreshments throughout the summer school and Welcome Reception and Dinner on 9th March. Shared Accommodation of six nights (with breakfast ) is included in the registration fee of USD 450. Else, the participants will have choice to book their own accommodation and go for a registration Fee of USD300. Payment instructions will be made available on the summer school web page. Registration fee (With shared accommodation for 6 nights - checking in Sunday 9th ) USD 450 Registration Fee (Without Accommodation) : USD 300 Important Dates Extended Abstract Submission December 10, 2013 Acceptance/ review note: December 31, 2013 Registration and short paper deadline: February 1 , 2014 Financial Assistance and Grants? We are working hard on getting sponsorship for few participation grants (including travel support) for the best rated proposals. In the event that we will be able to provide such travel grants - the selection will especially target participants from developing countries (with the best reviews). We have not secured this funding yet. Hence, at this stage we are not yet able to sponsor anyone. When we have any more information it will be made available on the website. Hence, there is no need to email us concerning this - just keep an eye on the webpage. Best Paper Award An award for best student paper submitted and presented will be organized, which will be presented during the closing ceremony of the summer school. The paper should be written by the participant her/ himself for consideration of the award. The paper may include the names of the supervisor (s), however any contribution to the paper by other researchers should be made clear. Course Certificates Participation Certificates will be issued to all the participants. Summer School Chairs: Dr. Vikas Kumar, SERD / Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi Dr. Jakob Svensson, Karlstad University & Uppsala University, Sweden Contacts: Questions Related to the Summer School Should be directed to the summer school secretariat: ict4dd(a)serd.org.in summerschool2014(a)gmail.com Jakob Svensson, Ph. D. Ass. Prof. Media and Communication Studies Director, BA Programme in Media & Communication Studies Director, MA Programme in Global Media Karlstad University SE-65188 Karlstad, Sweden Telephone +46 54 700 1893 Mobile + 46 73 443 48 04 www.kau.se/media www.kau.se/en/humanit twitter.com/Centre4HumanIT facebook.com/karlstadsuniversitet KAU.SE

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Book announcement: Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity and Branding in the Social Media Age
by Alice E. Marwick 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

HI all, I apologize in advance for the completely self-serving and self-promoting announcement. My first book, "Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity and Branding in the Social Media Age" has just been published by Yale Press. The book is an ethnography of the San Francisco tech scene, the people who create social media technologies. It argues that these people use social media to boost their online status, and includes in-depth critiques of such status-seeking strategies as self-branding and life-streaming. I build on AOIR all-star Terri Senft's theory of "micro-celebrity" to show how it plays out in the tech world in particular. There's also a very long chapter called "The Cultural History of Web 2.0" which looks at the rhetoric around social media as participatory, democratic, etc. and links this to various counter-cultural movements like punk rock, zines, and cyber-utopianism, as well as entrepreneurial capitalism. I also drill down into gender and how the industry's discourses of meritocracy and authenticity contribute to excluding women from the upper echelons of tech. Ultimately, I conceptualize social media as a technology of subjectivity which encourages people to govern themselves according to neoliberal ideals of the entrepreneurial individual. As most of you know, AOIR is very near and dear to my heart and many portions of this book have been presented at AOIR. Many of the people on this list were instrumental to how I conceptualize social media use and technology use in general. If you read the book, please let me know what you think-- or better yet write an Amazon or GoodReads review! (Spoken like a true self-promoter. Call it participant observation.) You can order it directly from Yale (http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300176728) from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Status-Update-Celebrity-Publicity-Branding/dp/0300176…) or your favorite bookseller. Reasonably priced! Makes a great gift! Best, Alice -- Alice E. Marwick, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Communication and Media Studies Fordham University (718) 817-4861 amarwick(a)fordham.edu http://www.tiara.org http://www.socialmediacollective.org

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Deadline extended: a funded PG/early career workshop on Citizen Media in Russia, China and the Arab World
by Adi Kuntsman 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

Dear AoiRs Please circulate this widely, the deadline ffor submitting abstracts has been extended and we have funding available to support successful applicants all the best Adi --- Dr Adi Kuntsman https://sites.google.com/site/adikuntsman/ Citizen Media in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, >China and East Asia, and the Arab World >An interdisciplinary doctoral/postdoctoral training workshop >27-28 January 2014, The University of Manchester >http://citizenmediamanchester.wordpress.com/ >http://www.ceelbas.ac.uk/ceelbas-news/news/workshop-news/citizenmedia Attendance free of charge, some travel/accommodation funding available. >EXTENDED DEADLINE: 30 November 2013 > > >Call for Contributions from Doctoral Students and Early Career Researchers >The term ‘citizen media’, or ‘participatory media’, covers a wide range of activities undertaken by ordinary, non-professional citizens who lay a claim to an area of public life and politics and seek to transform it in some way. From videos circulated on Youtube to graffiti, street performance and other forms of street art, and from community radio to blogging, crowd sourcing, tweeting, flashmob protest and hacktivism, new forms of civic engagement continue to develop, expand and shape uthe relationship between the private and the public, the local and the global, mainstream and alternative media, corporations and clients, the state and civil society. The aim of the workshop is to bring together doctoral students and early career researchers who work on citizen media in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe, China and East Asia, and the Arab world – areas where citizen media has been at the centre of political contestations, censorship and everyday struggles. The workshop will focus on methodological challenges of researching citizen media, whether these are conceptual, practical, ethical or political. >We welcome proposals for 15-minute presentations which discuss any topic relating to the methodologies of researching citizen media in any of these regions. Papers should reflect the current research of postgraduates or early career researchers. The workshop will also include a guided training session on methods, and several presentations by expert scholars (detailed below). To apply, please send a title and a 300-word abstract to gabrielle.hendry(a)postgrad.manchester.ac.ukby the 22nd of November 2013. >The event is free of charge and open to doctoral students and early career researchers. Limited funds are available to cover travel and accommodation expenses. To apply for funding assistance, please indicate so on your submission, and outline the estimated cost of your travel. Successful candidates will be notified in December. > > >*** > > >Please check our website for updates http://citizenmediamanchester.wordpress.com/ >The event is organised by Adi Kuntsman, Mona Baker and Elena Barabantseva, and sponsored by The Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies www.ceelbas.ac.uk/ , Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/crcees/ , White Rose East Asea Centre http://www.wreac.org/, Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World http://www.casaw.imes.ed.ac.uk/ and The British Inter-University China Centrewww.bicc.ac.uk > >Provisional Programme >1.Theory and methods workshop >Luis Pérez González, The University of Manchester, UK >Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives on Citizen Media >The first part of this workshop will deliver an overview of key theoretical approaches and conceptual networks driving current research on citizen media and different instances of self-mediation. Participants will then be introduced to a range of methods of data collection and analysis in the field, with particular emphasis on qualitative approaches. The final part of the session will involve an interactive discussion of two exploratory case studies illustrating different theoretical and methodological perspectives on the study of citizen media. >2.Art and pedagogy workshop >John Johnston, Goldsmith College, UK >3.Plenary 1 >Astrid Nordin, Lancaster University, UK >Ironic ‘Resistance’ in Chinese Citizen Media Online >The ‘online generation’ of Chinese citizens, or ‘netizens’, have developed numerous strategies for criticizing and avoiding the heavy online censorship regime to which they are subjected. One aspect of the ironic ego culture of particular interest here is the play with homonymous or near-homonymous words that can help an individual evade censorship software whilst simultaneously critiquing and ridiculing this censorship. Where the methodology of previous scholarship has attempted to pin down this form of expression to mean only one thing (resistance to politics, Bakhtinian carnival), this presentation argues that what is methodologically most interesting about these homonyms is their undecidability as simultaneously either/or and neither/nor. Such a methodological approach can make us better appreciate the complexity of this aspect of Chinese citizen media beyond the resistance/not-resistance binary. >4.Plenary 2 >Georgiana Nicoarea, University of Bucharest, Romania >Cairo’s Graffiti Goes Vir(tu)al. Facebook walls, their graffiti avenues and the afterlife >The graffiti of downtown Cairo has become one of the trademarks of the January 25 Revolution. What looked at first like an over-productive artistic practice appears to be fuelling, through its overwhelming presence, the construction of the revolution’s imagery. Egyptian graffiti has travelled in various forms from real-life walls to Facebook walls and from there to official media and bookstores. This dynamic was initiated by what seemed to be a very natural step into virtual space where liberation graffiti accompanies citizen media and illustrates creative netizen activism. What can this journey tell us about the dynamics of Cairo’s urban inscriptions? Can the virtual public’s interaction with graffiti give more information about its outreach? Does this exposure help Cairo’s graffiti go viral or just virtual? These are the key questions that will be addressed in this talk. >5.Plenary 3 >Eugenia Nim, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration Humanities Research Center (Moscow), Altai State University (Barnaul), Russia >‘Nanodemonstrations’ as Media Events: Networked Forms of the Russian Protest Movement >‘Nanodemonstrations’ first became part of the Russian protest movement in 2012. Originating in the northern town of Apatity, a wave of ‘doll protests’ – demonstrations and other citizen actions which were staged by using lego dolls and soft toys – swept over many Russian cities. Forbes Magazine included the nanodemonstrations which took place in the Siberian city of Barnaul in the list of ‘the 12 loudest art protest actions in Russia’. The activists used social media to organise these actions; nanodemonstrations were planned as media events from the start. In my talk, I will attempt to apply different methodological approaches to the phenomenon of nanodemonstrations – from the theories of mediatisation of politics to the conceptions of contested urban spaces. My discussion will offer the potential theoretical models and frameworks that can be developed to analyse similar mediatised and theatrical forms of civil resistance. >-- > >Dr. Adi Kuntsman >Simon Research Fellow >Department of Anthropology and >Research Institute for Cosmopolitan Cultures >The University of Manchester >Second Floor, Arthur Lewis Building, room 2.007 >Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK >http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/ricc/index.html >http://adi.kuntsman.googlepages.com > > > The HUM-DIGITAL-MEDIA list is archived at: http://listserv.manchester.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa?A0=HUM-DIGITAL-MEDIA

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Workshop in Berlin: REFORMING FORMATS. Producing and protecting audiovisual formats in convergent media
by Christian Katzenbach 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

Hi, I'd like to draw your attention to a workshop on "producing and protecting formats" we have put together: REFORMING FORMATS. Producing and protecting audiovisual formats in convergent media AN INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP – RESEARCH MEETS PRACTICE http://www.hiig.de/en/events/reforming-formats/ Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), in collaboration with CREATe. Berlin, 5 and 6 December 2013 See description and details below. Best, Christian Katzenbach Project Lead Policy & Governance katzenbach(a)hiig.de Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany http://www.hiig.de/en/research/internet-policy-governance/ *** REFORMING FORMATS. Producing and protecting audiovisual formats in convergent media AN INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP – RESEARCH MEETS PRACTICE Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin 5 and 6 December 2013 Formats galore. Watching audiovisual formats takes a great share of people’s media menus. Producing formats is a core part of the global entertainment industry. Protecting formats is a key issue for debates on copyright and the legal requirements to bring forth cultural goods. Looking at the multi-level dynamics of the circulation of formats, the workshop focuses on three aspects. First, it looks at the contemporary types of audiovisual formats and their current production in changing organizational networks, trade markets and business models for convergent media. Second, it looks at the protection of formats and the ways, formats are handled as goods that can be traded, adapted and distributed. Third, it asks how these two aspects can be studied in comparing different national and transnational media markets and legal systems The two-day workshop brings together academia and practice. The workshop will be held at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin. It is hosted by Jeanette Hofmann, Christian Pentzold and Christian Katzenbach from the Internet Policy & Governance working group in cooperation with CREATe, the Research Councils UK Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy at the University of Glasgow. Full rationale and program here: http://www.hiig.de/en/events/reforming-formats/ The workshop is free but registration is required. Please contact christian.pentzold(a)hiig.de for further information. Twitter #reformats THURSDAY, 5 DECEMBER 2013 10:00 – 10:30 Registration 10:30 – 10:45 Welcome and Outlook 10:45 – 11:45 Keynote: Susanne Stürmer, Managing Director, UFA Film & TV Production 13:00 – 14:30 Theme I: THE CHANGING PRODUCTION OF FORMATS Jean K. Chalaby, City University London, UK: The Global TV Format Trading System: Trends and Developments Since the Format Revolution. Andrea Esser, Roehampton University, UK: Reality TV Formats as multimedia brands: a case study in affective economics and effective revenue generation Klaus-Dieter Altmeppen, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany: Routines and flexibility. Social practices in the entertainment production Claudio Coletta, University of Trento, Italy: Imitation at work: production and consumption of media formats 15:00 – 16:30 Theme II: THE CHANGING PROTECTION OF FORMATS Albert Moran, Griffith University, Australia: Two Configurations of screen franchising Christoph Fey, Unverzagt von Have, Germany: Copyright or Right to Copy? Rights and Wrongs in the Search for Format Protection Sukhpreet Singh, CREATe, UK: Localisations and its Role in the Protection and Exploitation of Formats 16:30 – 17:00 Wrap Up; Jeanette Hofmann, Director, HIIG 17:00 – 18:00 Stand-up Reception FRIDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2013 09:30 – 09:45 Welcome and Outlook 09:45 – 11:15 Theme III: COMPARING FORMAT PRODUCTION AND PROTECTION Jessica Silbey, Suffolk University Law School, USA: Borrowing and Contests over Form, Distribution and Market Control: Analysis of an Empirical Study in the US Oliver Castendyk, Potsdam University and German Producer Alliance, Germany: Acquiring and selling formats. A field report Lothar Mikos, Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf, Germany: Comparative Research on TV Formats Worldwide. Adaptation Strategies and Production Contexts Sukhpreet Singh, CREATe, UK: Protecting Millionaries. Case Study of Protecting and Exploiting ‚Who Wants to be a Millionaire‘ format 11:15 – 11:45 Wrap Up; Martin Kretschmer, Director, CREATe

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REMINDER CfP: ICA Pre-Conference on Sharing
by Wolfgang Sützl 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

Call for Papers ICA Pre-Conference: Sharing Thursday, May 22, 2014 University of Washington, Seattle Abstracts: November 30, 2013 Full papers: April 15, 2014 Enquiries: n.john(a)huji.ac.il ******* Sharing is a rich and emotive concept that refers to a range of distinct yet associated practices, all of which are powerfully salient in contemporary society. At the very least, sharing is the constitutive activity of Web 2.0, an alternative mode of production, distribution and consumption, and a type of speech. This pre-conference invites scholars from a range of fields to contribute to the research and theorization of sharing. Thematic background The notion of sharing is widely deployed nowadays, and in a number of different ways. First, sharing is a keyword for the digital age: In Web 2.0 we share statuses, tweets, files, photos, videos, book reviews and more. Second, sharing is the proposed bedrock of alternative forms of production and consumption. Some of these forms are known collectively as the Sharing Economy, an emergent movement that identifies with and rests upon the technologies of social networks; others might fall under headings such as FLOSS, peer production, or the P2P economy. Third, sharing is a category of speech, or a type of communication, that is fundamental to our therapeutic culture, referring mainly—but certainly not only—to the conveyance of intimate information about the self to a significant other. These are just some of the ways in which sharing, in its different senses, is constitutive of important aspects of our social, economic and intimate lives. A feature of sharing that is common to these different practices is that they all touch on the nebulous and porous boundary between the ‘public’ and the ‘private’: for instance, SNS users are criticized for polluting the public sphere, or ‘oversharing’; a popular model in the Sharing Economy involves offering private spaces (spare bedrooms, space in one’s car) for public consumption; and the rise of the therapeutic discourse has entailed increased levels of self-exposure between intimates, friends, and even colleagues. Relatedly, each of the types of sharing draws on a similar pool of values, which includes honesty, openness, trust, and commonality. To the extent that these are desirable values, sharing would thus seem to be integral to any vision of the good life. Indeed, sharing is almost by definition good. But this is precisely the point at which a critique of sharing is required. For instance, we might wish to note that by sharing on social network sites we are contributing to privately-owned (and government-accessed) assemblages of surveillance; we might want to ask in what sense renting out a spare room is sharing it, and we might want to explore the role of venture capital and big business in the Sharing Economy; and we might wonder what structures of power are enacted and reproduced by privileging certain types of culturally-situated speech. More generally, if inclusion in a social framework is predicated on the ability to share, where does this leave people who have nothing? Topics Empirical and theoretical papers are invited on any topic for which sharing is a central concept. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: ● Sharing online: What is the political economy of online sharing? How does the metaphor of sharing as the constitutive activity of Web 2.0 operate? ● Technologies of sharing: Reports have claimed that online sharing (e.g. of statuses) increases people’s propensity to share stuff offline (e.g. power drills). How is sharing today technologically mediated, encouraged, or forced? And: how do different technologies encourage sharing or punish non-sharing? Skype users, for instance, must share bandwidth to use the service; peer-to-peer file sharers share what they are uploading for as long as they are downloading. ● The word, ‘sharing’: Etymologies; ‘sharing’ in different languages; evolving meanings. And: what is stake by calling a practice one of sharing? What is gained? ● The Sharing Economy: The Sharing Economy and collaborative consumption as a critique of capitalism; the differences between sharing and gifting – for instance, does sharing create the same obligations described by Mauss and Derrida in relation to gifts? ● Sharing as a category of speech: What characterizes it? What rules of reciprocity and mutuality govern it? How do the values of sharing as a category of speech inform sharing in other social fields? ● Sharing and gender: Is sharing gendered? What would it mean to say that it is? ● Sharing, giving, exchanging: conceptual boundaries ● What’s new? Sharing is a practice as old as human society, so what is new about sharing in the 21st century, if anything? ● Sharing as a norm: How is sharing normatively promoted? What are the sanctions for non-sharing in the different spheres of sharing? ● Sharing as a form of subjectivation and desubjectivation ● Sharing between having and being: towards existentialist understandings of sharing ● Sharing and the concept of intimacy ● The anthropological narrative of sharing We are particularly interested in submissions that actively interrogate the concept of sharing. If sharing is an important notion in your research, we therefore invite you to think about the work done by the word in your field and how it might relate to other senses or uses. Submissions Submissions are welcomed from scholars at all stages of their careers, and across multiple disciplines engaged in research that relates to sharing. Submissions should be extended abstracts of around 750 words and be in Word doc/docx or PDF format. Please submit your abstract as an email attachment to sharingpreconference(a)gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is November 30, 2013. Papers will be judged on criteria of relevance and originality of topic, clarity of presentation, as well as proximity to—and contribution to—the preconference theme. Notifications on acceptance will be emailed in mid-January. In an effort to facilitate informed discussion of papers, the organizers hope to have the papers for this pre-conference posted online. For this reason, we will ask for full papers to be submitted no later than April 15, 2014. Venue The sharing pre-conference will be held at the University of Washington. Transportation to the venue from the conference hotel will be provided at the beginning and end of each day's events. The preconference is sponsored by the divisions of Popular Communication and Philosophy, Theory and Critique, as well as by the Department of Communication, University of Washington. It is being organized by Nicholas John (Department of Communication, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Wolfgang Sützl (School of Media Arts & Studies, Ohio University). Queries may be directed to n.john(a)huji.ac.il. This call for papers may be downloaded in PDF format at http://sociothink.com/sharingcfp.pdf ++++++++++++++++++ http://www.wolfgangsuetzl.net http://www.uibk.ac.at/medien/

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REMINDER: IIPC Public Conference Call for Contributions: Deadline Dec. 1
by Grotke, Abigail 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

Just a reminder that the deadline for getting proposals in for the International Internet Preservation Consortium public conference in May is coming up (Dec 1). Details below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abbie Grotke | Web Archiving Team Lead | Office of Strategic Initiatives National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program | Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/webarchiving/ | http://www.digitalpreservation.gov 202-707-2833 | abgr(a)loc.gov | @agrotke ----------------------------------------------------- Annual conference of the International Internet Preservation Consortium (Paris, May 2014): call for contributions Each year the IIPC holds a day-long public conference in conjunction with their General Assembly. It will be held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, on 19th May 2014. This year's theme is Building Modern Research Corpora: the Evolution of Web Archiving and Analytics. Libraries, archives and other heritage or scientific organizations have been systematically collecting web archives for over 15 years. Early stages of web archiving projects were mainly focused on tackling the challenges of harvesting web content, trying to capture an interlinked set of documents, and to rebuild its different layers through time. Institutions, especially those on a national level, were also defining their legal and institutional mandates. Meanwhile, approaches to web studies developed and influenced researchers' and academics' use of web archives. New requirements have emerged. While the objective of building generic collections remains valid, web archiving institutions and researchers also need to collaborate in order to build specific corpora - from the live web or from web archives. At the same time, "surfing the web the way it was" is no longer the only way of accessing archived web content. Methods developed to analyse large datasets - such as data or link mining - are applicable to web archives. Web archive collections can thus be a component of major humanities and social sciences projects and infrastructures. With relevant protocols and tools for analysis, they will provide invaluable knowledge of modern societies. This conference aims to propose a forum where researchers, librarians, archivists and other digital humanists will exchange ideas, requirements, methods and tools that can be used to collaboratively build and exploit web archive corpora and datasets. Contributions are sought that will present: - models of collaboration between archiving institutions and researchers, - methods and tools to perform data analytics on web archives, - examples of studies performed on web archives, - alternative ways of archiving web content. Attendance will be free but registration is obligatory. Abstracts (no longer than one page) should be sent to Peter Stirling (peter.stirling(a)bnf.fr) by 1st December 2013. Acceptance will be notified on 6th January 2014. Abstracts should be submitted in English but speakers may present in English or French. Simultaneous translation (French/English) will be offered to the audience. Final presentations will be published on the IIPC website, but no proceedings of the conference will be published. Those submitting a presentation proposal who also wish to propose a paper for publication are encouraged to send in parallel their abstract to Alexandria, The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues, for its special issue on web archiving (abstracts due Friday 13th December 2013; more information on www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/journals/alx<http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/journals/alx> or from the editor, Monica Blake, at info(a)blakeinformation.com) Limited, half-day time-slots are also available for workshops or training for specific web archiving tools, concepts, or issues. Past workshops included a legal issues discussion, hands-on Hadoop training, and a Crowdsourcing exercise. Workshops will be held on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd May 2014. Proposals for workshops (no longer than 2 pages) should be sent to Peter Stirling (peter.stirling(a)bnf.fr) by 1st December, 2013. Acceptance will be notified on 6th January, 2014. All proposals will be reviewed by a program committee made up of web archiving practitioners and researchers in the IIPC. The committee members are: - Abbie Grotke, Library of Congress - Gildas Illien, Bibliothèque nationale de France - Rosalie Lack, California Digital Library - Hansueli Locher, Swiss National Library - Leïla Medjkoune, Internet Memory Foundation - Claude Mussou, Institut national de l'Audiovisuel - Clément Oury, Bibliothèque nationale de France - Mary Pitt, communication and program officer of the IIPC The International Internet Preservation Consortium is a membership organization dedicated to improving the tools, standards, and best practices of web archiving while promoting international collaboration and the broad access and use of web archives for research and cultural heritage. Please find English and French downloadable pdf versions of this call for contributions here<http://netpreserve.org/resources/call-contributions-2014-general-assembly-o…> ############################ To unsubscribe from the NDSA-ALL list: write to: mailto:NDSA-ALL-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LIST.DIGITALPRESERVATION.GOV or click the following link: http://list.digitalpreservation.gov/scripts/wa-DIGITAL.exe?SUBED1=NDSA-ALL&…

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PhD scholarship on mobile games, RMIT University
by Larissa Hjorth 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

*3-year PhD Scholarship * *(The Game of Being Mobile: A Study of Mobile Gaming Cultures)* School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Australia *Application deadline: *31 December 2013 This three-year scholarship is for a PhD candidate who will contribute to ethnographic fieldwork and data analysis as part of a larger three-year study of mobile gaming in Australia in the broader context of the global industry. The larger project—*The Game of Being Mobile: A Study of Mobile Gaming Cultures*—is funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant (see below for project summary). The PhD research will comprise a discrete case study adaptable to the candidate’s specific expertise and research interests, but will constitute a key component of the ARC Discovery project and comparative analysis of mobile gaming practices. The candidate will also become a Postgraduate Member of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre: http://www.digital-ethnography.net Eligible candidates will have a BA, BA with Honours or MA/MSC in Communication, Anthropology, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Informatics, Media Studies or other related discipline. International and Australian nationals are eligible to apply. The Scholarship, which covers tuition, fees, a small stipend and other research expenses, will begin in February 2014. Initial expressions of interest should be sent to Prof. Larissa Hjorth larissa.hjorth(a)rmit.edu.au Please note that all applicants will need to apply for and be accepted to the PhD program in Media and Communication at RMIT University. Application details can be found here: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=DR211 *About the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University:* RMIT University has a long and distinguished history of applied and theoretical media research, with our doctoral graduates positioned throughout the sector. The School of Media and Communication, formed in 2009, supports research across a number of sub-fields in media and communications, which allows for both discrete disciplinary excellence and interdisciplinary interventions. Our researchers were ranked above world standard in our fields in the recent ERA round (achieving a 4 ranking in 2001 FoR code). The new School has a total staff of over 200, an academic staff of 128, and 107 HDR candidates (80 PhDs & 27 Masters). In addition, the School has two APDs, a QEII, three Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellows, a VC Fellow, and an Early Career fellow. The School also supports a top academic journal, Communication, Politics and Culture (previously ranked A through ERA) and a series of Centres, Groups and Labs including the Digital Ethnography Research Centre; the Communication, Politics and Culture Centre; the GEELab; the Exertion Games Lab; the Creative Writing Group and others. *Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (2014-2017)* CI Larissa Hjorth (RMIT) and CI Ingrid Richardson (Murdoch University) *Funding Dates:* February 2014- February 2017 *Project Summary:* This is the first Australian study to examine the social uses of mobile gaming. Smartphones have put location-based and social media games in the hands of mobile users worldwide. Through ethnographic methods, this study will explore how mobile game consumption is reflecting, and being shaped by, complex social and technological practices integral to contemporary life. Dr Larissa Hjorth Professor, Games Programs School of Media and Communication RMIT University Melbourne 3000 Victoria AUSTRALIA E: larissa.hjorth(a)rmit.edu.au

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2nd CFP: Designing Futures for Peer-to-Peer Learning, CSCW '14 workshop
by Peyina Lin 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

2nd CFP. CSCW '14 <http://cscw.acm.org/> workshop Designing Futures for Peer-to-Peer Learning <http://p2pl.media.mit.edu/> Sat. Feb. 15, 2014 *Application deadline:* Dec. 1, 2013 *Notifications:* Dec. 16, 2013 *Website:* http://p2pl.media.mit.edu/ *Submission email:* p2pl.cscw(a)gmail.com Looking forward having you with us at the workshop!!! *About the workshop* Open, online learning environments, such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and open learning communities have been promoted as a way to expand equitable access to quality education. Such learning experiences are potentially enriched via extensive networks of peer learners. Even though challenges exist to realize these aspirations, open, online learning environments can serve as a mechanism for how we provide transformative learning experiences. This workshop aims to bring researchers, designers, and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to explore how the body of CSCW knowledge can better support the vision of sustaining peer-to-peer learning in online environments. *Themes* We are interested in themes that leverage open and networked settings to engage learners from a diversity of backgrounds. These settings also include systems that enable learners to design learning experiences for other learners and any other emergent learning practices, peer-to-peer or otherwise, enabled by the networked and collaborative systems. The workshop topics and themes will revolve around these and similar topics listed below. We view these example topics as guide-posts: - Design of online learning systems - Peer-to-peer learning systems - Learning analytics - Equitable access and broad participation online - Crowdsourced evaluation and other assessment methods - Creativity - Accreditation - Badges - Mentorship - Peer feedback - Learning webs - Peer interaction and collaboration - Motivation and engagement - CSCW topics that push the boundaries of peer-to-peer learning *Plenary speakers*Jonathan Grudin<http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/jgrudin/>(MSR), Andrea Forte <http://www.andreaforte.net/> (Drexel U), Philipp Schmidt <http://web.media.mit.edu/%7Eps1/>(P2PU/MIT Media Lab), Submission Please submit a 2 to 4 page “vision” paper that connects to the workshop themes listed above. In this vision paper (in CHI Extended Abstract Format<http://chi2013.acm.org/authors/format/>), select a setting or specific scenario related to online learning environments. Submissions should address three questions: - What problem space in open, online learning environments are you interested in? - What is your vision for addressing that issue or issues? - How would you plan to carry out that vision? In addition, please provide a 100 to 150 word biography to describe your interests and skill sets you envision contributing to the workshop. We will review all submissions based on the relevance to the workshop themes, supporting a diversity of topics and disciplinary backgrounds. *Main Activities* Using the Futures Workshop approach, participants will generate critiques, co-create visions, and propose implementations for open, online learning environments. In small groups, the implementations will be presented/shared with other workshop participants. Please visit the workshop website for more information (http://p2pl.media.mit.edu/) *Outcomes* In addition to the implementations, we will discuss future steps to sustain a community of researchers and practitioners; e.g., partnerships, designsand implementation projects, plans for research proposals, symposia or panel proposals for conferences, new empirical studies to conduct, or publications to write. *Organizers:* Peyina Lin <http://www.peyina.com>, University of Washington Ricarose Roque <http://www.ricarose.com>, MIT Media Lab Peter Wardrip <http://www.lpc.pitt.edu/personnel/peter-wardrip>, University of Pittsburgh June Ahn <http://ahnjune.com/>, University of Maryland, College Park Ben Shapiro <http://benshapi.ro/>, Tufts University

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