November 2024 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Three PhD Positions in AI, Digital Culture and Deep Learning
by Tobias Blanke 17 Mar '26

17 Mar '26

Dear all. The new European Research Council-funded Advanced Grant ‘Deep Culture - Living with Difference in the Age of Deep Learning’ invites applications for three fully-funded PhD positions in Amsterdam. Collaborating with two PostDocs, the aim is to realise an ambitious interdisciplinary research agenda on deep learning and culture. Deep learning technologies like ChatGPT have generated a lot of excitement about our new relations with AI but have also provoked much public anxiety. The project coins ‘deep culture’ to describe the global cultural transformations brought about by deep learning, and how culture is key to deep learning. The project will first explore the relations between deep learning and historical-cultural concepts and practices. Secondly, it will work with deep-learning methods to address their limitations for critical analysis. Finally, it aims to foster public understanding of deep learning’s global relations to culture. We are looking for three talented, ambitious PhD candidates who can combine independent research with team collaboration. You will have the opportunity to explore exciting questions of contemporary digital culture and deep learning and contribute to shaping debates about our relations with AI technologies. For further details and a link to apply, please visit: https://vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/Three-PhD-Positions-in-AI%2C-Digital-Cultu… All best, Tobias

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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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2025 ICA Pre-Conference on Urban Communication: Call for Abstracts
by Jeffrey Lane 09 Jan '25

09 Jan '25

2025 ICA Pre-Conference on Urban Communication: Call for Abstracts Dear Colleagues and Friends @AoIR, We are very excited to invite you to submit extended abstracts and participate in the 2025 ICA Preconference dedicated to Urban Communication. This preconference builds on a series of inspiring ICA events, more recently a Blue Sky, Big Idea Workshop at the 2024 ICA conference. This coming year’s pre-conference topic will be: “Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research to Address Emerging Urban Challenges.” We are grateful for the support of four ICA divisions, including: Ethnicity and Race in Communication, Health Communication, Mobile Communication, and Popular Media & Culture. Below you will find a description with more about this endeavor’s objectives, as well as a detailed call for extended abstracts (including information about where to submit your abstract). The deadline is January 15, 2025, at the end of the day in your time zone. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out using this e-mail address: matthew.matsaganis(a)rutgers.edu<mailto:matthew.matsaganis@rutgers.edu> We look forward to reviewing your submissions in January and seeing you in Denver, Colorado, next June! Warm regards, Jeff Lane (on behalf also of co-organizers Matt Bui, Myria Georgiou, Germaine Halegoua, Pan Ji, Matthew Matsaganis, and Erika Polson) 2025 ICA PRE-CONFERENCE Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research to Address Emerging Urban Challenges CALL FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS Submission Deadline: 15 January 2025 Co-Organizers: Matthew Matsaganis, Rutgers University Matthew Bui, University of Michigan Myria Georgiou, London School of Economics Germaine Halegoua, University of Michigan Pan Ji, Fudan University Jeffrey Lane, Rutgers University Erika Polson, University of Denver Co-sponsoring ICA Divisions (Alphabetically) Ethnicity and Race in Communication Health Communication Mobile Communication Popular Media & Culture Additional Sponsors (Alphabetically) Center for Information and Communication Studies, Fudan University Center for Digital Communication Studies, Zhejiang University London School of Economics Rutgers University University of Denver University of Michigan Location: Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center Date: 12 June 2025, 9 am - 4 pm (local time in Colorado) Description & Call for Extended Abstracts Considering the U.N.’s prediction that two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities in 2050, it is now more critical than ever for us as a field to first reflect on how communication research has contributed to how cities’ diverse stakeholders understand and address enduring and emerging challenges. And second, it is important to reimagine how urban communication scholars can continue to intervene in pressing debates about power and inequality amid multiple convergent crises, including but not limited to affordable housing shortages, increasing poverty and socio-economic inequities, privatization of public spaces, persistent health inequities, forced migration and refugee crises, climate change, and potential harms posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging surveillance technologies. On ICA’s 75th anniversary, we aim to convene communication scholars to reflect on urban communication's past, present, and future and to consider how Communication can disrupt and facilitate the integration of research to help address emerging and persistent challenges of urban communities. This pre-conference aims to create an open and collaborative environment to discuss themes and challenges related to urban communication and opportunities to advance ethical and equitable futures for and through urban communication, technology design, policy, artistic and archival practices, scholarship, and activism. The pre-conference’s agenda is driven by several key questions. We invite extended abstracts that address these questions (in part or combination) from a variety of perspectives and methodologies: What is urban communication? Where does it fit in communication research relative to other subfields? How might urban communication evolve further to shape the future of communication research and/or to allow communication research to shape neighboring fields and academia more broadly? ● What novel/robust urban communication theories and methodologies exist to address new/persistent social, political, and economic challenges within local, transnational, and global urban contexts? ● What are the connections between communication, smart cities, algorithms, and the datafication of urban life? How do these connections enable understanding the persistence and potential alleviation of “wicked problems” (e.g., poverty, homelessness, climate change)? How do they allow for new forms of connection and community-building among diverse populations? ● Are cities today more or less capable of dealing with diversity and promoting social integration than cities of the past? What’s technology’s role in this? What is the role of the media as community stakeholders and as institutions? What is the role of journalists? ● How does place impact our health and health inequities? What is the role of communication as a process (mediated or not) in this relationship? What is the role of communication technologies (from smartphones and wearables to apps that support the gig economy) more specifically? ● How do media technologies and practices encourage new sensory experiences, artistic practices, and social interactions within urban environments? How can these technologies be used to understand embodied urban experiences, collective memory, situated knowledge, and placemaking? ● What are the ethical and practical considerations for engaging with diverse stakeholders including marginalized groups and communities around urban communication? How are (urban and digital) policy and design implicated in these issues? Work foregrounding questions of power and inequality from local, global, and/or transnational lenses, underrepresented regions and communities is strongly encouraged. The pre-conference will unfold over four consecutive sessions. Participants with accepted abstracts will begin the conversation in the first three sessions with short presentations. In the day's final session, organizers and participants will work together to develop an urban communication agenda to inform research for the next decade and discuss plans leading to a collaborative publishing project and bolstering a network of urban communication scholars. As it is crucial to identify mechanisms to sustain and grow a community of scholars whose work can help shape the future of cities and facilitate the discipline’s meaningful engagement with urban communities globally, in this closing session, participants will discuss models for achieving this goal within ICA and beyond. Submission Guidelines Abstracts should be approximately 1000-1500 words in length, excluding references. Participants with accepted abstracts will be expected to present their work as short presentations during the first half of the pre-conference. Extended abstracts should be submitted via this form<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJJo8NjN3PoN3NPi8FQ65Co2DRj5HAmUS…> by the end of the day in your time zone, on 15 January 2025. Registration Fee There will be a $50 registration fee to help offset the cost of food and refreshments during breaks and lunch. Questions? If you have questions, please write to Matthew Matsaganis at this e-mail address: matthew.matsaganis(a)rutgers.edu.

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AOIR Discord?
by Roo S 18 Dec '24

18 Dec '24

Hello! I'm wondering what AoIR members think of building a Discord? I realize that there are several platforms out there, and ironically we all are probably "too close" to some of the failings and/or opportunities of community, communication and digital space, but I would imagine that this group would probably hold a strong consensus that group email threads and listservs is an outdated way to share, organize, search for, and apply information. I'd love to connect more deeply with anyone who's interested. Here's a brief/simple survey to help me follow up and/or learn from the group: https://forms.gle/zbxmg5433r7LctKf8 Last but not least, here's an interesting article about the applications of Discord for better digital community practice: https://www.newkinco.com/projects/anitya-metaverse-platform Looking forward to connecting! Roo -- Systems Thinking for Digital Products | linktr.ee/roosphere | Work with me <https://www.workwithroo.com/>

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Call For Paper - ERQ25 - Observing Digital Practices
by alessandra micalizzi 02 Dec '24

02 Dec '24

PANEL 22: Observing digital practices: The role of Artificial Intelligence in cultural processes Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as any technique applied to computers that can mimic human behaviors and replicate or outperform human decision-making to solve complex tasks with human intervention or, in the most advanced versions, autonomously (Russell, Norvic, 2021; Micalizzi, 2024). Part of the scientific debate is addressed to investigate if and how AI can be considered «intelligent»: in fact, some scholars highlighted the ontological problem linked to the word «intelligence» (Esposito, 2017; 2022).[...] [1]read more Some of the open questions are: * How do Artificial Intelligence and its related technologies intervene in the processes of sense-making? * To what extent do such practices represent a form of cultural production in our time? * How can deep learning-based technologies be integrated into the observation of digital practices, and with what outcomes? The Conference (ERQ25) embraces and endorses a broad, ambitious view of ethnographic and qualitative research. Contributions can be based on a variety of methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, video-based field studies, auto-ethnography, visual ethnography, discourse studies, and other forms of inquiry inspired and informed by an ethnographic sensibility. It will be held at University of Trento, on 10-12th of July 2024. To submit your proposal, please go to [2]https://indico.cern.ch/event/1465821, and follow the instructions in the Call for Abstracts section. Note that, in order to submit, at least one of the authors will need to login/create an account on Indico. Abstracts must be submitted in English. The official languages of the conference, however, are Italian, English, and French. For each session, languages will be used depending on the composition of participants. Proposal must be submitted by 20th January, 2025. Acceptance of proposals will be notified by 13th March, 2025. Contributors must register by 26th April, 2025, to be included in the programme. More details are available at: [3]https://erq-conference.soc.unitn.it/2024/10/23/22-observing-digital- practices-the-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-cultural-processes/ For any question about the panel 22 please write to [4]alessandra.micalizzi(a)unipegaso.it -- Alessandra Micalizzi ------------------------------------------------- cell. 3492928386 [5]http://iulm.academia.edu/AlessandraMicalizzi [6]http://www.linkedin.it/AlessandraMicalizzi *************************************************************** Ai sensi del d.lgs. 196/2003, si comunica che le informazioni contenute in questa e-mail e negli eventuali allegati sono rivolte esclusivamente al destinatario in indirizzo e possono contenere informazioni riservate e/o coperte da segreto professionale, il cui utilizzo, comunicazione e diffusione sono vietati. Se avete ricevuto questo messaggio per errore, siete dunque pregati di segnalarlo immediatamente al mittente e di distruggere quanto ricevuto senza farne copia. -- Alessandra Micalizzi ------------------------------------------------- cell. 3492928386 [7]http://iulm.academia.edu/AlessandraMicalizzi [8]http://www.linkedin.it/AlessandraMicalizzi *************************************************************** Ai sensi del d.lgs. 196/2003, si comunica che le informazioni contenute in questa e-mail e negli eventuali allegati sono rivolte esclusivamente al destinatario in indirizzo e possono contenere informazioni riservate e/o coperte da segreto professionale, il cui utilizzo, comunicazione e diffusione sono vietati. Se avete ricevuto questo messaggio per errore, siete dunque pregati di segnalarlo immediatamente al mittente e di distruggere quanto ricevuto senza farne copia. References 1. https://erq-conference.soc.unitn.it/2024/10/23/22-observing-digital-practic… 2. https://indico.cern.ch/event/1465821 3. https://erq-conference.soc.unitn.it/2024/10/23/22-observing-digital-practic… 4. mailto:alessandra.micalizzi@unipegaso.it 5. http://iulm.academia.edu/AlessandraMicalizzi 6. http://www.linkedin.it/AlessandraMicalizzi 7. http://iulm.academia.edu/AlessandraMicalizzi 8. http://www.linkedin.it/AlessandraMicalizzi

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AoIR Test Email - please disregard and delete
by AoIR Association Coordinator 30 Nov '24

30 Nov '24

Dear all, Apologies for the email. AoIR test only. Please disregard and delete. Thank you, Michelle AoIR Association Coordinator

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WEBCAST NOV 26 – NYC Mesh Org Meetup
by Joly MacFie 30 Nov '24

30 Nov '24

This stream last Tuesday was, as usual, a last minute affair, nevertheless we got strong and detailed presentations: 1) Refurbishing the antennas on the original supernode (funded by ISOC) that started it all off. 2) Update on a state of the art 10 gigabit FTTH install in a 400 apartment building on the Upper West Side, just now going online 3) A detailed breakdown of the entire current NYC Mesh infrastructure hub by hub, and recent efforts to boost its resiliency. [image: ISOC LIVE] <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=c5dfcb269e1eacb397cd9e1…> On *Tuesday November 26, 2024*, *NYC Mesh <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e7446f4044741e260ce087c…>* held its *monthly Org Meetup <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=b573ff8868b83192eac1c18…>* . *PROGRAM* *01 Pearl Hub SN1 NN227 - John Brady* VID <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0b666cca4f3cf0b5025e454…> | AUD <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=f1f113c264ad320e2617bcc…> | EN <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=a59ac945cb82776ca2c535b…> | ES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=4c763252e584b20770162de…> | TXT <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=56c41b3d62e1a86a60d6a0b…> | SLIDES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=506f384db6b4c1b6561b312…> *02 Olmsted Hub NN584 - John Brady* VID <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=852068c3419d20c64277682…> | AUD <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=5fb96884465891a4e721d0f…> | EN <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=4a9ac3857a95b09f02e4b5c…> | ES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0e30f9c3ae116fd2e8d25d3…> || TXT <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=dfd1fc9f887c6aeb539a744…> | SLIDES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=95a3f87927fcee3db224354…> *03 2024 Year in Review - Matthew Boyd* VID <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0b767e317e7325f255b4b99…> | AUD <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=f3887a971f59dd393818f11…> | EN <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=c46a05b75257ae642552101…> | ES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=75a428e319dc60fded6cdbf…> | TXT <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=55fd07a9475c6eb2bf7c61a…> | SLIDES <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e564ce5079796c690d27ee1…> *ARCHIVE https://archive.org/details/nycmesh-nov2024 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=bf9635d224a934b03457a59…>* *LIVESTREAM https://youtu.be/BRNq0cnQB_M <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=1e9d6a5475daf118fd2da12…>* *X @nycmesh <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0f9a9f7abafa419712153ca…> #growinternet #communitynetworks |** MASTODON <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=cf8bfef20c31d00f2dd0a37…> | BLUESKY <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=c7b1251c69d8dde3d72f540…> | INSTA <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e87eee5bd0151723134397c…>* *PERMALINK https://isoc.live/18624 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=c5dfcb269e1eacb397cd9e1…>* *** ISOC.LIVE is a free community webcasting support service sponsored by the the Internet Society New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) - ISOC LIVE is currently unfunded - if you would like to become a monthly sponsor - contact support(a)isoc.live *** - - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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What is Research? Call for Proposals
by Janet Wasko 29 Nov '24

29 Nov '24

WHAT IS RESEARCH? University of Oregon Portland April 3–5, 2025 whatis.uoregon.edu<https://whatis.uoregon.edu/> What is Research? (2025) will bring together scholars to explore various natures, purposes, and roles of research across disciplines, fields, and areas. The event will consider frameworks of systematic and creative inquiry, including methods, designs, analyses, discoveries, collaborations, dissemination, ethics, integrity, diversity, media/technologies, and information environments. The thirteenth What is…? gathering delves into research in its many forms, including searching, critically investigating, and re-examining existing knowledge, as well as emerging functions and procedures in machine intelligence and computation. It will highlight pluralities of research pathways, examining time-honored approaches and new ways of knowing, precedents, issues, and futures. It considers challenges and possibilities that researchers face in today’s rapidly changing world, and ways to promote ethical, inclusive, and impactful research. Scholars, government and community officials, scientists, artists, students, filmmakers, grassroots community organizations, public sector and industry professionals, and the public are invited to collaborate. Proposals that take a transdisciplinary perspective are especially encouraged, drawing on insights and methods from multiple fields to shed new light on research processes. Presentations / panels / experiential installations may include these topics (as well as others): • How does research and creative scholarship emerge from inquiry? How do they impact society? • What are relationships between theory, method, and practice in research? • What are qualitative, quantitative, multimethod, multimodal, participatory & arts-based approaches? • What influences research design and data analysis? • What are issues involved in validation (e.g., reproducibility, replicability, and cross-validating)? • What are various modes of collaboration and how can they be organized? • What are some considerations in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research? • How are integrations of natural & artificial intelligence with quantum computing affecting research? • What are environmental considerations of developments in machine learning & large data centers? • How is research disseminated? How does it effectively engage publics and inform policy-making? • How are ethics imbricated in research and how can researchers conduct work with integrity? • What are benefits and challenges of compliance (e.g., privacy, security, review boards)? • How can research address global challenges (e.g., health, inequality, poverty, climate change)? • How is research used to drive solutions-based approaches and what are the challenges involved? • How does research in academia differ from research in industry and/or community? • What are the obstacles involved in translating findings into action? • What issues are involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion in research? • What are criteria and implications of various forms of research funding? • How are meta-analyses and systematic reviews engaging human-machine collaboration? • How can research education be integrated into teaching and learning, and how are next generations of researchers being trained? Conference Organizers: Janet Wasko and Jeremy Swartz (University of Oregon) Send 150-200 word abstracts for papers / panels / experiences by DECEMBER 2, 2024, to: Janet Wasko • jwasko(a)uoregon.edu<mailto:jwasko@uoregon.edu> University of Oregon Portland, 97211

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