August 2021 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Polymedia
by Traci Belanger 11 Jul '25

11 Jul '25

Hi everyone, does anyone have suggestions for articles on "polymedia" or specifically how polymedia interacts with media ecology? Thanks so much! Traci Belanger --- May all winds at your back inspire you, and may you have harmony and peace today.

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For my US colleagues: an 8 minute survey, where your input might make a difference
by Patricia Aufderheide 08 May '25

08 May '25

I know, exactly what you don't need to do at this crazy point in the semester. At AU, Profs. Aram Sinnreich, Joseph Graf and I have been working with Electronic Frontier Foundation and New Media Rights to design a survey about DMCA exemption language and its accessibility. Would you be interested in taking, sharing with your students and networks, including putting on social media the survey link <http://bit.ly/2nEfY8j>? Here it is again: *http://bit.ly/2nEfY8j <http://bit.ly/2nEfY8j>* Your generosity much appreciated! 👏 -- Patricia Aufderheide, University Professor, School of Communication Founder, Center for Media & -- Patricia Aufderheide, University Professor, School of Communication Founder, Center for Media & Social Impact American University 4400 Massachusetts Av., NW American University, Washington, DC 20016-8017 McKinley Hall 323 @paufder @cmsimpact cmsimpact.org paufder(a)american.edu 202-885-2069 office <202-643-5356> 240-643-4805 mobile <202-643-5356> "The world we have received also belongs to those who follow us." --Pope Francis

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Non-software uses of GitHub
by Jim Herbsleb 16 Apr '25

16 Apr '25

I’m looking for GitHub repositories that are used for things other than software, especially where users are actively collaborating rather than just putting together static collections. So far, we have found a few books being written, some musical transcriptions being error-checked, and some policy documents maintained online. Does anyone know of any examples of these or other categories? Any pointers much appreciated. Happy to share what we find with anyone interested. Jim ---- Jim Herbsleb Carnegie Mellon University http://herbsleb.org/ Google Scholar profile: https://goo.gl/sv3p7l

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Research: Short exercise on disguising online sources
by Joseph Reagle 26 Jan '22

26 Jan '22

Hello all, I'm researching the necessity, methods, and efficacy of researchers altering (i.e., “fuzzing”) prose to disguise their online sources. I have a brief instrument where I ask you to alter three quotes and then judge three alterations. It's very simple and shouldn't take more than 10--15 minutes. The short URL below takes you to a consent form and then the exercise. https://reagle.org/disguise Thank you to those that participate! -- Joseph Reagle, Communication Studies, Northeastern University

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Conversations with Journal Editors
by Rafael Grohmann 17 Nov '21

17 Nov '21

Hello, Brazilian Association of PostGraduate Programs on Communication Sciences (Compós) invites you to livestream conversations with journal editors. We will talk about editorial practices, internationalization, impact, open science, among other issues. COMPÓS' Youtube Channel: [1]https://youtube.com/compos_oficial August 19, 5PM EST [2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1wP9ojulFM Speakers: Larry Gross (International Journal of Communication) and Fábio Pereira (Brazilian Journalism Research) September 16, 1PM EST [3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVjlhvWsgvc Speakers: Monika Chibita (Journal of African Media Studies) and José Luiz Aidar Prado (Galaxia Journal) Please join us! best, Rafael Grohmann References 1. https://youtube.com/compos_oficial 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1wP9ojulFM 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVjlhvWsgvc

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Funded PhDs on Social Research in "Just" (as in justice) Technology with ESC at the University of Michigan
by Christian Sandvig 05 Nov '21

05 Nov '21

Dear AoIR colleagues, I decided to go to grad school when one of my profs suggested it. I was not very clear about what a PhD was. That conversation changed my life. I'm writing to ask you to consider having this conversation with your promising students right now. It's that time of year. It's a little personally embarrassing, but in order to improve our outreach to prospective students I've been experimenting with video. My video is a little bit like a late-night TV ad for a used-car lot, except I'm advertising getting a PhD in Information OR Communication & Media with my lab group. Here it is: https://lab.csandvig.people.si.umich.edu/join/ Some additional details: Infra.Lab is a multi-disciplinary research group at the University of Michigan dedicated to “just” technology (as in justice) at the ESC Center. We investigate the intermingled social and technical aspects of computing and digital media technologies and their implications for society. Our approaches include human-computer interaction; science and technology studies; policy research on politics, laws, and institutions; design; software development; artistic practice; and more. Our recent work has focused on racial and gender discrimination by algorithmic systems, negative consequences of targeted advertising, inequality and social media use, and the future of technology policy. We are recruiting prospective Ph.D. students with interests in tech and human rights, civil rights, social justice, racial justice, and inequality. We are building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. We particularly want applications from people who are interested in addressing the perspectives or needs of groups that have been historically underserved by academic research, computing, and digital media. - The deadline is usually December 1 every year. - The GRE exam isn’t required. - If the application fee (US$70-90) is a barrier to your application, we will waive the fee. Write to the relevant graduate program’s email address (see link above) for help with this. - The Ph.D. is full-time. Part-time degrees are not possible. - The Ph.D. takes about 4 years to complete. Usually the first 2 years involve mostly coursework, the last 2 years involve mostly research. - You do not have to pay tuition to get a Ph.D. Successful applicants are paid for 4 years as apprentice teachers and/or researchers. During this time you will make about US$45,000 per year for about 8 months of work each year. Summer funding is also possible. You also receive health, life, and dental insurance. - You don’t need a master’s degree to apply, but it may help you stand out from other applicants. - You DO need a bachelor’s degree to apply, but it does not have to be in these particular fields. You can apply with any bachelor’s degree if you make the case that you have some relevant background or experience. - We offer additional funding and incentives to those students whose admission will reduce disparities in graduate education. You do not need to apply separately for this funding, you will automatically be considered. - You do not need to be a US Citizen to be admitted, or to receive the funding described here. International students are common. - Either qualitative or quantitative skills/interests are relevant to us. - You do not need to be a computer programmer. - You do not need to have gone to a fancy school for your undergraduate degree. There is more information at the URL above. Please feel free to forward this email. Sincerely, Christian -- Christian Sandvig Director, Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC) H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor Information, Communication & Media University of Michigan http://esc.umich.edu/ -- http://umich.edu/~csandvig/

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CfP Disinformation-for-Hire and Click Farming (Social Media + Society Special Issue)
by Rafael Grohmann 06 Oct '21

06 Oct '21

Colleagues, Please consider submitting your abstract. https://journals.sagepub.com/page/sms/collections/cfp On August 18th, 1:30PM EST, Jonathan and I will do a livestream featuring the call for papers. We will send you more information soon. And help us spread the word. Disinformation-for-Hire and Click Farming around the World: Identities, Incentives, Infrastructures Special collection of Social Media + Society (Open Access Journal) Abstract submission deadline: October 15, 2021 Full paper submission deadline: March 1, 2022 Special Issue Editors: Rafael Grohmann (Unisinos University, Brazil) and Jonathan Corpus Ong (University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA) From state-sponsored propagandists using paid troll armies, to commercially motivated data analytics firms selling their toolkits to politicians, and platform workers producing memes for overseas clients, the global industry of disinformation production has only professionalized and diversified. This special issue for Social Media + Society aims to deepen understanding about the social identities, work arrangements, and political and commercial motivations of an emerging class of digital disinformation workers. We are interested in critical and interdisciplinary research that examines the political economy, specifically the digital and creative industries that propel and produce disinformation. The special issue’s focus on business models and disinformation worker identities in global context aims to expand on disinformation studies’ analysis of “fake news” and hate speech as content that require better policing or fact-checking. It also aims to expand platform studies’ research agenda and consider the range of digital professionals and entrepreneurs who buy and sell engagement on social media–with pernicious political consequences especially in contexts where dissenting voices are suppressed. Thus, we solicit submissions that discuss the diverse worker hierarchies and conditions, outsourced gig arrangements, money politics, and/or regulatory loopholes in the promotional industries that enable the strategic production of disinformation. We are interested in interdisciplinary and ethnographic research that engages with the deep stories of workers in “dark PR” firms (Silverman, Lytyvenko & Kung 2020; Verwey & Muir 2019), data analytics firms (Briant 2021), Latin American and Indonesian Instagram click farms (Lindquist 2021), and “propaganda secretary” offices (Hassan & Hitchen 2019). We are also interested in normative discussions about complicity and collusion in digital industries as well as scholarly self-reflection about the challenges of doing engaged research about disinformation (Ong 2020). We are especially interested in submissions that shed light across these themes: * ethnographic portraits of paid trolls, meme producers, click farm workers, and political strategists * precarity, aspiration, and the tactics of resistance of digital workers / disinformation producers * the ethics of representing perpetrators; whistleblowers as unreliable narrators * participatory disinformation (Starbird 2021) and networked disinformation * the infrastructure, materiality, and “platform trees” (van Dijck 2020) of click farm platforms with mainstream social media * moral justifications of disinformation producers (Ong & Cabañes 2019) * the complicity of advertising and public relations to “organized lying” (Edwards 2021) * legitimacy, respectability, and plausible deniability; the role of intermediaries or brokers in the disinformation industries * mental health of workers in digital shadow economies * the social proximities between content moderators and paid trolls in the global South * regulatory loopholes in political marketing and PR; experiments with self-regulation and codes of ethics in digital campaigning (Udupa 2019) * auto-ethnographic reflections of engaged scholars about their experiences working with governments, platforms, workers, and journalists to shed light on disinformation shadow economies The special issue will include an interview with ProPublica's Craig Silverman and a response to the contributions from Dr Joan Donovan. Timeline 300- to 500-word abstracts should be emailed to rafaelgrohmann(a)unisinos.br and jcong(a)umass.edu by October 15, 2021. The abstract should articulate: 1) the issue or research question to be discussed, 2) the methodological or critical framework used, and 3) the expected findings or conclusions. Feel free to consult with the Special Issue Editors about your article ideas and potential angles or approaches. Decisions will be communicated to the authors by November 1, 2021. Full papers of the selected abstracts should be submitted by March 1, 2022. References Briant, E. (2021). Lessons from the Cambridge Analytica Crisis: Confronting Today’s (Dis)information Challenges. The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, 3(3), 125–127. https://doi.org/10.21810/jicw.v3i3.2775 Edwards. L. (2021). Organised Lying and Professional Legitimacy: Public Relations’ Accountability in the Disinformation Debate. European Journal of Communication, 36(2), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323120966851 Hassan, I. & Hitchen, J. (2019, April 18). Nigeria’s Propaganda Secretaries. Mail & Guardian. https://mg.co.za/article/2019-04-18-00-nigerias-propaganda-se cretaries/ Lindquist, J. (2021). Good Enough Imposters: The Market for Instagram Followers in Indonesia and Beyond. In: Woolgar, S. et al (eds). The Imposter as Social Theory: Thinking with Gatecrashers, Cheats and Charlatans. Bristol University Press. Ong, J.C. (2020). "Limits and Luxuries of Slow Research in Times of Radical War: How Should We Represent Perpetrators?" Journal of Digital War 1(1): 1-6. Ong, J. C., & Cabañes, J. V. A. (2019). When Disinformation Studies Meets Production Studies: Social Identities and Moral Justifications in the Political Trolling Industry. International Journal of Communication, 13, 5771–5790. Silverman, C., Lytyvenko, J. & Kung, W. (2020, January 6). Disinformation for Hire: How a New Breed of PR Firms Is Selling Lies Online. Buzzfeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/disinformatio n-for-hire-black-pr-firms Starbird, K. (2021, May 6). Participatory Disinformation: The Big Lie during the 2020 Election and the January 6, 2021 Attack on the US Capitol. Twitter thread. https://twitter.com/katestarbird/status/1390408145428643842 Udupa, S. (2019, January 31). India Needs a Fresh Strategy to Tackle Online Extreme Speech. Engage. https://www.epw.in/engage/article/election-2019-india-n eeds-fresh-strategy-totackle-new- digital-tools. Van Dijck, J. (2020) Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Visualizing Platformization and Its Governance. New Media & Society, 1-19. Online First. Verwey, S., & Muir, C. (2019). Bell Pottinger and the Dark Art of Public Relations: Ethics of individuality Versus Ethics of Communality. Communicare: Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa, 38(1), 96-116.

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Postdoc and PhD Positions in Platform Governance, AI Discourses, and Digital Methods
by Christian Katzenbach 10 Sep '21

10 Sep '21

Hi everyone, I am currently hiring Postdocs and PhD cand. for a new lab „Platform Governance, Media, and Technology“ that I am building at the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen. With the lab, I will continue my research agenda developed at the HIIG, and built a team to do research and teaching at the intersection of governance, technology and communication in close collaboration with international partners and continue to collaborate closely with the HIIG and the global network of centres. I am looking forward to see many candidates from the AoIR-community, this is certainly the key community for all three positions. So please consider applying, share with your colleagues and students – and don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s always good to talk! ⚠️ Deadline is Early September! (September 3, resp. September 9) Postdoc „Platform Governance" (1FTE, 3 years, ~54-63k€/year) https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/university/the-university-as-an-employer/job-v… Postdoc „Empirical Platform Studies and Digital Methods“ (0.95FTE, 3 Years, ~50-60k€/year) https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/university/the-university-as-an-employer/job-v… PhD Position „Imaginaries of AI“ (0.65FTE, 3 Years, ~35k/year) https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/university/the-university-as-an-employer/job-v… All the best, Christian -- Christian Katzenbach Professor of Media and Communication Centre for Media, Communication & Information Research (ZeMKI) University of Bremen www.uni-bremen.de/zemki Senior Researcher Alexander von Humboldt Institut for Internet and Society (HIIG) www.hiig.de

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Tenure-Track Faculty Job: Digital Platforms and Ethics at University of Oregon
by Bryce Newell 09 Sep '21

09 Sep '21

Dear colleagues, The School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) at the University of Oregon is looking to hire a tenure-track Assistant Professor Digital Platforms and Ethics within our Media Studies program. The job ad is at https://careers.uoregon.edu/en-us/job/527570/assistant-professor-of-media-s…. Dr. Nicole Dahmen and I are co-chairing this search, and we welcome questions as well as recommendations or virtual introductions to strong candidates who may be interested in this job. A portion of the position description from the job posting is copied below: "The University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor with a research and teaching emphasis in the area of Digital Platforms and Ethics. We seek to hire a colleague who will conduct research on and teach ethics in the context of mass media, communication, and digital media technologies-including internet platforms, software, algorithms, and technical infrastructure. Apps, algorithms, and digital platforms dominate much of our economy, politics, culture, and everyday lives, with consequences for communication, mass media, democracy, and public life. For example, the ascendancy of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft requires assessment of issues ranging from bias built into software to monopolization of online markets and even their role in the rise and spread of misinformation around COVID-19, climate change, and recent elections. The hire would bring the following key contributions to our faculty: 1) Expertise in theories and concepts pertinent to media ethics generally and digital media ethics specifically, including issues of free speech, privacy, surveillance, transparency, content moderation, platform power, trust, misinformation, and/or human rights; 2) A related specialty, such as the study of algorithms, software, platforms and infrastructures, and/or critical approaches to programming; and 3) A capacity to teach our required Media Ethics course, other core courses (such as Media and Society and courses within our four undergraduate and graduate sequences as related to their area(s) of expertise), as well as develop innovative courses across the SOJC. This person must have a Ph.D. in communication, media studies, journalism, information science/studies, philosophy, or another related field in hand by time of appointment; demonstrated potential for teaching excellence; ability to execute independent and/or collaborative research that advances theory and bridges knowledge and practice; and a record or promise of scholarly accomplishment that includes publication of peer-reviewed articles and publication in academic journals in communication, media studies, journalism, information studies, surveillance studies, and/or related fields. This faculty hire will join our Media Studies area, which focuses on three key areas: Media Technologies and Public Life, Media Structures and Regulation, and Culture and Power in the Media. Further, they should contribute to making the SOJC a destination for graduate and undergraduate students to engage with and understand the ethical, social, and cultural implications of digital technologies. This hire would ideally strengthen SOJC's ties to other units on campus, including existing collaborations with CAS (e.g., the annual Data|Media|Digital Graduate Symposium), the campus-wide New Media and Culture Certificate program for graduate students, the ethics minor in philosophy, and UO's Data Sciences Initiative, through a practical orientation to ethical issues in society. Finally, the ideal candidate will have strong potential to mentor undergraduate and graduate students as well as strong potential for and commitment to contributing to a culture of inclusive teaching and evidence of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion. This position is based in Eugene." Best wishes, Bryce C. Newell, Ph.D., J.D. Assistant Professor of Media Law and Policy School of Journalism and Communication University of Oregon

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📣Survey respondes recruitment! A research project of global digital propaganda that adopts an innovative survey design.
by Ziyu Jiao 07 Sep '21

07 Sep '21

Hi everyone, I hope you’re making process of your research on these difficult days. I’m Ziyu, a last semester master student from the University of Sydney. I’m recruiting survey respondents for my dissertation project! It concerns the employment of social media as a new arena for political propaganda across many countries. The topic is mostly related to internet research, international relations (also as my degree), political communication (e.g., propaganda, public perceptions, media literacy, digital information market, etc.). And any other area for who may consistently following the process of regulating online propaganda. Desired participants should be qualified as “expert” in the related fields. It’s because that I adopt the Delphi method in the study. This method is an iterative anonymous panel discussion among knowledgeable individuals that allow them to present their future forecast and exchange opinions in a safe environment. You find more information about this method via this link: https://www.rand.org/topics/delphi-method.html (as who invented it in the 1960s). I plan to run three rounds of this survey, and currently it’s in fact running to the end of the first round. I really don’t want you to be deterred by the expectation of “expertise”. The first-round already have 11 participation who comes form 9 countries, different academia interest and discipline. However, one of them may consider dropping out in the next round. So, I highly encourage anyone who may be interested and considering joining the project to reach out. I’m more than happy to talk! You can also read the brief background information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jllh8DqWNBxI0AmcdBnTgSnI8pddUe4E/view?usp=… for understanding the context of my project, And the participation information statement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rbRws5IlnGKfKfyKFpMFEZWjEUWdUDpm/view?usp=… for more information about your status as research participant as required as it’s required by the Ethical Department of the University of Sydney. Due to the restriction of my research method, I need to know you first then send you access to the survey. But I can still brief you on the content of my questionnaire. It is designed in three parts to understand your perception of the employment and development of current online propaganda; how different stakeholders have addressed these problems; and discuss a few scenarios of future online environments and regulations. It also concludes a few jargon such as “information operation” “deterrence” “grand strategy”, and requires your judgment and analysis of the political or commercial motivation of countries and internet companies. If you have more knowledge of their technical ability to control and detect propaganda information on social media platforms, that would be desirable. Please get in touch with me if you have a mere interest to join! You can also forward this information to anyone you think may interesting in my topic. Feel free to email me or call me if that’s more convenient for you. Kind regards, Ziyu Master student of International Relations Department of Social and Political Science Faculty of Arts and Social Science The University of Sydney zjia4517(a)uni.sydney.edu.au +86 183 2809 2092

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