June 2019 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Politics and Computational Social Science (PaCSS) Conference, Wednesday August 28 @ Georgetown University
by Ericka Menchen-Trevino 03 Jun '19

03 Jun '19

Hello, Apologies for cross-posting. Proposals accepted through June 10th. *Call for Presentation Proposals* *Politics and Computational Social Science (PaCSS) Conference, Wednesday August 28 @ Georgetown University* The data and methodologies available to social scientists have exploded with the emergence of vast archives of passive data collection, large scale online experimentation, and innovative uses of simulation. These data are of a larger magnitude and methods are of a greater computational complexity than approaches that have dominated the study of politics for the last 50 years. This offers the potential for rich insights into society at scale, while simultaneously introducing new ethical and infrastructural challenges. In parallel, the information and communication technologies that have driven these changes are also driving changes in politics, around the world, that require study. In order to understand the political world, it is increasingly important to gain access to the political communication and behavior occurring online. This preconference gathering will offer a forum for political science research in this emerging space. Example relevant topics/approaches include: analysis of social media; text analysis; use of finely granular geographic data; large scale online experimentation. Scholars from all subfields of political science are welcome, as are researchers in other relevant disciplines, such as computer science, sociology, and physics. The meeting will take place 9am-5pm on Wednesday, August 28th at Georgetown University. Everyone who wishes to attend should apply. We welcome applications to present, discuss or simply participate. We recognize that strength comes through diversity, and actively seek, welcome, and encourage people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities to apply and attend. This will be a one day conference with a keynote by Sandra González-Bailón of the University of Pennsylvania. A wide range of subjects for presentations are welcome, including purely methodologically oriented presentations or applications thereof; synthesis/overviews of research; discussions of ethics and/or data infrastructures; and so on. Papers are not required. Applications to present should be submitted by June 10 at our proposal submission page <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__docs.google.com_forms_…> . Register for the conference at our registration page <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.eventbrite.com_e_p…>. Registration is $50 before August 1, 2019 and $100 after that. The conference includes breakfast, lunch, coffee and snacks. Pew Research Center is pleased to host two parallel training workshops at their office in downtown D.C. These workshops will focus on two key areas: 1) natural language (NLP) processing techniques and their application to social science questions, by Sarah Bouchat of Northwestern University; and 2) deep learning techniques with applications to image analysis for social scientists, by Nora Webb Williams of the University of Washington. Participants will be given hands-on experience building and training models in these subject areas and will also be able to meet members of Pew Research Center’s Data Labs team <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.pewresearch.org_to…>. Workshops will run from 2pm to 5pm Tuesday August 27. Light snacks and coffee will be provided. Workshop cost per participant is $25. PaCSS 2019 is sponsored by the McCourt School of Public Policy Data Science for Public Policy Program, the Office of Provost Robert Groves, Georgetown University and Sage Publishing and the Pew Research Center. -Ericka --- Ericka Menchen-Trevino, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, School of Communication American University, Washington D.C. http://www.ericka.cc/ https://www.american.edu/soc/faculty/menchent.cfm

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Call for signatures on open letter to Facebook to lift restrictions for research and journalism
by Jennifer Stromer-Galley 03 Jun '19

03 Jun '19

Hi everyone, As likely most of you know, last year Facebook closed the API that some of us used for research purposes, and instead have funneled academics to the Social Science Research Council initiative for limited access to certain aspects of FB data. I have been in conversations with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The Knight Institute has urged FB to create a safe harbor for researchers and journalists to conduct unfettered research of public content in the public interest. I have signed on to the public letter. You can read the letter and sign if you wish by following this link: http://tiny.cc/iw7p7y Happy to answer questions or discuss further if anyone wishes. Email me directly or on list. ~Jenny Stromer-Galley Professor Syracuse University jstromer(a)syr.edu

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Improving academic success through service-learning
by Dr. Patrick Blessinger 03 Jun '19

03 Jun '19

Dear Colleagues, New article in UWN. Please share if you like: Improving academic success through service-learning <https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190526153905418> <https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190526153905418>. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190526153905418 -- Patrick Blessinger, Ed.D. <http://www.patrickblessinger.com/> University World News <http://www.universityworldnews.com/search.php?query=blessinger&type=all&mod…> UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab <http://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/users/patrick-blessinger> St. John's University, New York City <https://www.stjohns.edu/academics/faculty/patrick-blessinger-edd> Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education <http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=jar…> Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning <https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/series-detail/Innovations-in-Higher-E…>

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Towards a Public Service Internet: The Future of the Public Sphere and Digital Democracy?
by Christian Fuchs 03 Jun '19

03 Jun '19

Towards a Public Service Internet: The Future of the Public Sphere and Digital Democracy? Tue, June 11, 16:30-19:30 University of Westminster 115 New Cavendish St Fitzrovia, London W1W 6UW Room C1.18 (Pavilion) Organised by the Policy Observatory of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), Speakers: Dr Richard Burnley, Legal and Policy Director, the European Broadcasting Union; Prof Christian Fuchs, Co-Director of CAMRI, University of Westminster; Dr Rhianne Jones, Research Lead, BBC Research and Development; Dr Maria Michalis, Director of the CAMRI Policy Observatory; Chair: Laima Janciute, CAMRI Policy Observatory The event is free, but advance registration is required: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/towards-a-public-service-internet-the-future… 4:30pm - 6pm panel debate and discussion with the audience; 6pm – 7:30pm networking drinks reception. What alternatives to the commercial Internet are desirable? How can a Public Service Internet be created and financed? What are the potentials of public service media in providing non-profit Internet platforms? How should public service Internet platforms look like and how should they differ from commercial ones? What are public service Internet platforms’ potentials to strengthen democracy? What is the role of citizens? This workshop organised by the Policy Observatory of the Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster, aims at bringing together academics, policy-makers, civil society and industry to exchange views on how to advance a public service Internet, the digital public sphere and digital democracy. The theme of the public service Internet has only received little public attention thus far but is of huge importance in the context of how we can best overcome fake news, algorithmic politics, filter bubbles, digital tabloid culture, online hatred and nationalism, high-speed superficial online communication, the digital monopolies of Google/YouTube, Facebook, Amazon. Apple, etc.

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SIGCHI Summer School on Expanding the Horizons of Human-Centered AI (July 24-27, 2019)
by Neha Kumar 02 Jun '19

02 Jun '19

Dear friends, followers, and skeptics of Human-Centered AI, We invite you to apply to our SIGCHI-sponsored Summer School on Expanding the Horizons of Human-Centered AI (HCAI). In this four-day program to be held from July 24 to July 27, 2019, in New Delhi, India, participants will engage with various aspects of human-centered AI and discuss the challenges and opportunities that it presents for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and HCI-friendly researchers, designers, practitioners, educators, and entrepreneurs. The program consists of four modules: Systems and Design, Human-Centered Machine Learning, AI and Social Good, and Critical Perspectives on HCAI. Our goal is to identify future roles, undertakings, and collaborations for participants interested in exploring and expanding on these areas from varied professional perspectives. We welcome a range of backgrounds, including HCI of course, but also informatics, computer science, science and technology studies, communication, product design, global development, and more. You can find more details in this <https://medium.com/@nehakumar/expanding-the-horizons-of-human-centered-ai-8…> Medium post. The program will be conducted at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Registration fees are INR 4K (approx. USD 50) per day, and INR 10K (approx. USD 140) for all four days. If interested to attend, apply here <https://forms.gle/58LdXbj6sXmiEHvp7>. Applications received by June 15 will be given highest priority, but later applications will also be considered if there is room. Participation is by application only. Please note that participants selected to attend (and be provided a registration fee waiver) must be SIGCHI members prior to the event. This is an HCI Across Borders <http://www.hcixb.org> event, sponsored by ACM SIGCHI <https://sigchi.org/>, hosted at IIIT-Delhi, and held in cooperation with ACM FCA <https://www.acm.org/fca>. Feel free to contact us at expandinghcai(a)gmail.com with any questions. Neha Kumar (Georgia Tech) Pushpendra Singh (IIIT-Delhi)

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Query on supportive teen online affinity groups
by Mizuko Ito 02 Jun '19

02 Jun '19

Dear AoIR colleagues, I am seeking to expand my knowledge of teen online affinity networks for a new project I am scoping out, and was hoping to tap your wisdom. We are looking to partner with youth online community organizers and influencers to promote positive social support and mental wellness through digital channels. The goal is to work with networks involving teens (ages 13-18) who experience disproportionate amounts of discrimination, trauma, and stress, and are not currently well-served by more conventional mental health services. We’re particularly interested in serving girls of color and subgroups (eg. immigrant, Latinx, and Muslim teens), and LGBTQIA+ teens. Two questions: • Do you know of online groups, communities, networks, or influencers who serve these groups of teens, and who might be possible partners for this kind of effort? • Are there channels and forms of teen online participation that might be fruitful avenues for reaching vulnerable teens? For example, young women of color in college might form GroupMe or FB groups for social support, but I’m not certain if a similar practice exists at the high school level. The project is U.S. focused but I’d be interested in examples from outside the U.S. as well. I would be super grateful for any suggestions and advice, including literature to read and general feedback. Thanks so much for considering. Best, Mimi Ito Professor | UC Irvine @mizuko Director | Connected Learning Lab CEO | @connectedcamps http://www.itofisher.com/mito New Book! Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning <https://nyupress.org/9781479852758/affinity-online/>

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Forbes story on FB, Social Science One and GDPR
by Joly MacFie 02 Jun '19

02 Jun '19

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/05/23/gdprs-massive-research… [excerpt] Many of the research outputs of Social Science One that will be published in academic journals will directly benefit Facebook’s own commercial interests and effectively perform commercially beneficial research in proxy. Asked how this is handled under GDPR, especially given the privacy legacy of “research” like that of Cambridge Analytica, the Commission again emphasized that GDPR applies to research but also affords numerous exemptions for research. Stepping back, Social Science One will enable researchers from all across the world, including those whose labs are primarily funded by adversarial governments engaged in misinformation operations against the EU, to freely mine the most intimate personal and private EU citizen data. That data may eventually include medical records, financial information, intimate photographs, communications and information regarding minors, highly sensitive vulnerable population membership and other enormously sensitive information shared over social channels EU citizens thought were private. EU citizens are prohibited from opting out of this research and both Facebook and the initiative have strangely declined to guarantee that content and accounts deleted by users will not be preserved for permanent researcher access. Even active manipulation and intervention in EU elections has not been ruled out. Moreover, despite its much-vaunted privacy safeguards, those protections may be rapidly exhausted due to the initiative’s research design, while other Facebook initiatives that use similar privacy protections acknowledge that they still pose a privacy and safety risk and thus require a layer of professional gatekeepers that are not part of the Social Science One model. All of this would appear to be permissible under GDPR and in fact the entire initiative may even find itself exempt from any GDPR regulation at all. This raises the question of just what benefit GDPR actually provides to the citizens of the European Union when their right to digital privacy, the protection of their data and the freedom to not be mined and manipulated seems little changed from the pre-GDPR era. -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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WEBCAST TODAY: Making ‘The Future of Work’ Work
by Joly MacFie 02 Jun '19

02 Jun '19

(yes I am simulcasting Christian Sandvig's event - with supplemental AI captions) The University of Michigan has a new outfit - the Center for Ethics, Society,and Computin <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/%E2%80%8Bhttp://esc.umich.edu/>g (ESC) - not officially launching till late in the year, but already beating the drum.. Follow their twitter <https://twitter.com/MichiganESC>. [image: livestream] <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/platformeconomy> Today *Saturday June 1 2019* at *09:30 EDT* (13:30 UTC) the *University of Michigan School of Information <https://www.si.umich.edu/>* hosts a workshop *Making 'The Future of Work' Work <http://techculturematters.com/events/nsf-workshop-making-the-future-of-work…>* which will explore the potential for tech work inside and outside traditional capitalist structures. The workshop comprises two sessions: 1) *Labor in the Global Platform Economy* and 2) *Algorithms, Scale, Speed, and the Labor of Logistics* both of which examine the role of worker-solidarity in algorithm-ruled workspaces. *LIVESTREAM* *https://player.cloud.wowza.com/hosted/hk5cjpf7/player.html <https://player.cloud.wowza.com/hosted/hk5cjpf7/player.html>* *SIMULCAST* *https://livestream.com/internetsociety/platformeconomy <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/platformeconomy>* *TWITTER @umsi + #futureofwork http://bit.ly/2Xjd8md <http://bit.ly/2Xjd8md>* *SPONSORS* *Center for Ethics, Society,and Computing (ESC) http://esc.umich.edu/ <http://esc.umich.edu/>* *National Science Foundation* *https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1744359 <https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1744359>* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/11091/ -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Call for Papers
by Hakikur Rahman 01 Jun '19

01 Jun '19

Description Information and communication technologies are directly influencing the way human beings are engaging themselves in their routine activities. The governance including socio-economic environment needs a catalyst for social change for human development. Currently, technologies are required to play the role of a catalyst to bring this social change for human development. The *International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development (IJICTHD)* will compile theoretical and empirical works that significantly contribute to the still unexplored field of how ICTs can make a difference in the lives of human beings and contribute to human development. Topics Covered - ICTs and citizen participation - ICTs and commerce - ICTs and culture - ICTs and education - ICTs and ethics - ICTs and gender equality - ICTs and governance - ICTs and health - ICTs and human empowerment - ICTs and human rights - ICTs and international cooperation - ICTs and political development - ICTs and poverty alleviation - ICTs and rural development - ICTs and social change - ICTs and social media - ICTs and social networks - ICTs and socio-economic development - ICTs and the environment - ICTs and urban development - Knowledge for human development - Policy making with regard to ICTs for development Mission and ScopeThe mission of the *International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development (IJICTHD)* is to bring improvement in governance including the socio-economic political environment of society. IJICTHD identifies potential processes, tools, techniques, and applications for the development of human beings and provides insightful analysis about those factors (also contextual and institutional ones) that affect ICTs for human development initiatives. Proposing strategies to both governance and international cooperation organizations for moving forward, this journal also addresses future challenges.

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