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

Digest mode
by Lorenza Parisi 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

Dear, how can I switch to the Digest mode? Best, LP

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New Article about 17Y of Platform Governance Changes and Media Reporting
by Christian Katzenbach 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

Dear AoIR-Colleagues, I just wanted to tell that we have this new article out: Marchal, N., Hoes, E., Klüser, K. J., Hamborg, F., Alizadeh, M., Kubli, M., & Katzenbach, C.: **How Negative Media Coverage Impacts Platform Governance: Evidence from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube** Political Communication, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2024.2377992 I am telling this as this has been so long in the making, and I can imagine that there might be some interest in the community as it includes long-term data on US media reporting about platforms, and addresses a key question of debates on social media platforms. What drives changes, and do platforms respond to criticism? Why is it important for me? (1) How does platform governance emerge in the context increasing controversies and politicisation? This has been on my research agenda for years, and I was so glad the PRODIGI team (led by Fabrizio Gilardi, UZH) approached me to study this systematically, matching longitudinal 17Y data on media reporting with our Platform Governance Archive and its longitudinal data on platform policies. (2) And indeed, we did find that sustained negative coverage significantly predicts changes to platforms’ user policies, highlighting the role of public pressure in shaping the governance of online platforms. While Tarleton Gillespie, Mike Ananny, and also our own research at the Lab Platform Governance, Media, and Technology (PGMT) had shown anecdotical and qualitative evidence of this, this study is a first, I believe, in trying to measure this on scale and in quantitative terms. (3) The 17Y timeline of media reporting on platforms also shows systematically that there is indeed a „tech lash“ in media reporting. We observe a significant surge in negative sentiment and critical new reporting toward major Big Tech companies. Platforms’ outsized power and influence over public life have brought widespread criticisms since 2016, and these are clearly reflected in the increasingly critical tone of tech coverage over that period. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2024.2377992 I hope you like it too – and LMK if you want to talk. At my Platform Governance, Media and Technology Lab (PGMT) in Bremen, we are continuing to work on these issues, specifically with this longterm perspective. At AoIR 2024 we’ll have a presentation on the emergence of misinformation as an issue in platform governance, building on data 2005 to 2023. Maybe see you in Sheffield! Best, Christian

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AoIR Administrative Notice
by Michelle, Association of Internet Researchers 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

We apologise for the last 20 hours of emails coming from an auto-reply email on the AoIR list serv. We are working with the individual, their tech support, and our tech support to resolve the issue. This is a technical glitch that is not within our control and we are working to resolve as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Michelle AoIR Association Coordinator

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WEBCAST JUL 15 – The Royal Society – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Internet
by Joly MacFie 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

This is the second i50 event, the first being the May 19 IEEE Milestone <https://isoc.live/17910/> . Now it's the ACM's turn, with The Royal Society hosting. Again, a high powered lineup of top speakers, this time focusing more on academics, but also including Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the ITU, and Maarten Botterman of GFCE/ICANN. What both events do have in common is the People Centered Internet and its co-founders, Vint Cerf and Mei Lin Fung. Read on blog <https://isoc.live/18150/> or Reader <https://public-api.wordpress.com/bar/?stat=groovemails-events&bin=wpcom_ema…> [image: Site logo image] ISOC LIVE NOTICEBOARD <https://isoc.live/> <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=8b885fa444ec8c2d6ff21d2…>On Monday July 15 2024 from 1pm-7pm BST (12:00-18:00 UTC) The Royal Society <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=624efcbd17c03af84c99879…> and the Association for Computing Machinery <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=16165fec6ebd6d2201e914c…> (ACM) will be *Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Internet <https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2024/07/celebrating-th…> *in London, UK. The event will be opened by the co-inventor of the Internet *Dr Vint Cerf* and will feature a series of panels with eminent speakers that will look back at what the Internet has achieved in the last fifty years and focus on the next generation of the Internet and AI, and is supported by the *Web Science Trust <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=6ad29b4014bbba892e439d1…>, People-Centered Internet <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=ae1b16de67d88a3fe3267ad…>, Digital Enlightenment Forum <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=03945f76530ab6d0ed558a5…>, The Digital Humanism Initiative <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=1fce83ac88ead35285e0504…>,* and the *Web Science Institute* <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=fb02a95f8bf3cd42876ae71…>, University of Southampton, UK. *PROGRAMME* (All times BST = UTC+1) *13:00 Welcome* *Areeq Chowdhury*, Head of Policy, Data and Digital Technologies, The Royal Society *Prof. Yannis Ionnidis*, President, ACM *Prof. Dame Wendy Hall*, University of Southampton / Web Science Trust *13:05 Opening Speech / Conversation* *Dr. Vint Cerf*, Vice President / Chief Internet Evangelist, Google *Mei Lin Fung*, Chair / Co-founder, People-Centred Internet *13:45 Panel 1: The Internet as an Infrastructure* *Prof. Andrew Ellis*, Aston University *Prof. Dimitra Simeonidou*, University of Bristol *Maarten Botterman*, Board Director, ICANN *Prof. Gaven Smith*, The University of Manchester Chair: *Sir David Payne*, Professor of Photonics, University of Southampton *15:15 Panel 2: The Internet as a Facilitator of Opportunity* *Doreen Bogdan-Martin*, Secretary General, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) *Prof. Jim Hendler*, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) *Alan Kay*, Computer Science Pioneer *Prof. Bitange Ndemo*, Kenya's Ambassador to Belgium and EU Chair: *Mei Lin Fung*, Chair / Co-founder, People-Centred Internet Respondent: *Dr. Vint Cerf* *Panel 3: The Internet and Society* *Prof. Noshir Contractor*, Northwestern University *Prof. Victoria Nash*, Oxford Internet Institute *Prof. Sir Nigel Shadbolt*, University of Oxford *Prof. Hannes Werthner*, Vienna University of Technology Chair: *Dame Wendy Hall,* Regius Professor of Computer Science, University of Southampton / Trustee, Web Science Institute / Director, Web Science Trust Respondent: *Dr. Vint Cerf* *Closing Remarks* Dr. Vint Cerf, Vice President / Chief Internet Evangelist, Google *LIVESTREAM https://youtu.be/ltF5uWB9Wg0 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=6c9dc03fa8e7c4387410708…>* *REGISTER VIA EVENTBRITE https://bit.ly/4cW77lZ <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=00db1a310b08b63012ad757…>* *REAL TIME TEXT (see ISOC.LIVE <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=8b885fa444ec8c2d6ff21d2…>)* *TWITTER #i50 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=fd5230a5decaf1fb4ad6e57…> @royalsociety @TheOfficialACM @PCI_Initiative @vgcerf @websciencetrust Digital Enlightenment Forum @DigHumTUWien @sotonWSI* *MASTODON #i50 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=bc56acbf22ca9f1a9823ea0…> @mastodon.acm.org <http://mastodon.acm.org/>* *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/uk-i50 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=ad68edde3751455ac4886f2…>* *** ISOC.LIVE is free community webcasting support service sponsored by the the Internet Society New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) - Big thanks to our July 2024 funder Vint Cerf *** -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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CFP: Race/Gender/Class/Media 6e
by Rebecca Lind 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

With apologies for cross-posting, please consider submitting, and please share widely. *Call for proposals, 6th edition* *Race/Gender/Class/Media: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers* (Routledge) Edited by Rebecca Ann Lind, University of Illinois at Chicago ( rebecca(a)uic.edu) We seek proposals for the *6th edition* of *Race/Gender/Class/Media* (Routledge). This reader contains upwards of 50 relatively short, tightly-written, good-quality research reports. *Contributors who meet deadlines will receive $100 on publication*. Proposals from scholars representing all disciplines and using all methods are welcome. This reader is designed primarily to introduce undergraduates to considerations of race, class, and gender in the media. The book has three sections: content, audience, production. The full CFP at *http://go.uic.edu/rgcm <http://go.uic.edu/rgcm>* contains links to the 5th edition on Routledge and Amazon, and a document listing the full ToCs of all 5 editions. This is also the proposal submission site. Final manuscripts will be between 3250-3750 words, including 3 pedagogical activities, and *must be written in an accessible fashion*. Although the readings are short and accessible, they should represent good scholarship and contain important ideas. More details, and sample readings, will be provided when acceptances are announced. The editor will actively provide guidance and feedback throughout the process. Priority deadline for proposals: September 23, 2024; Decisions announced by: September 30, 2024; Completed readings due: March 28, 2025. Of particular interest (but don’t feel limited to these): studies of production and the media industry, including media workers; studies highlighting class; AI; fake news and disinformation; deepfakes; social media; sports; Latinx, Asian, native/indigenous people and media; all forms of race and ethnicity including religion; whiteness; masculinity; LGBTQI people; sexual identity Read more and submit proposals online: http://go.uic.edu/rgcm. -- Rebecca Ann Lind, Ph. D. Associate Professor Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Communication University of Illinois at Chicago rebecca(a)uic.edu she/her/hers

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Farzaneh Badiei on "surveillance scientificism"
by Joly MacFie 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/farzaneh-badiei-phd-768224b5_a-new-developme… Farzaneh Badiei writes: I am deeply concerned about the behavioral research fever that is going on > in the social media field. Be it teens mental health or how to make dating > apps mental free or coming up with the most amazing trust and safety > governance, researchers keep asking for more and more data. I think here we > are dealing with surveillance scientificism. Researchers access of whatever > kind if not careful can turn into surveillance and the news is: "Meta is > opening a small pilot program that would allow a handful of them > (researchers) to access Instagram data for up to about six months in order > to study the app’s effect on the well-being of teens and young adults" [ > link > <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/07/instagram-teen-well-…>] > I think it is also a direct result of researchers constantly asking for > data access without considering what sorts of effect they might have on the > Internet, privacy, encryption and global interoperability. I have cc'd Farzaneh above, in case any researchers here might want to respond to her concerns. Joly -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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New book announcement!
by Meg Leta Jones 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

Happy summer friends! I've got two new books that I'm very happy to share with this community: *The Character of Consent: The History of Cookies and Future of Technology Policy <https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547949/the-character-of-consent/>* from MIT Press tells the history of digital consent through the lens of the familiar cookie. *Feminist Cyberlaw <https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520388543/feminist-cyberlaw> *from University of California Press is an edited volume exploring how gender, race, sexuality, disability + class shape cyberspace and the laws that govern it. Please consider taking a look as you dust off those syllabi or cram in a bit more poolside reading. Meg ----- Meg Leta Jones, J.D., Ph.D. Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor Communication, Culture & Technology <https://cct.georgetown.edu/> Center for Digital Ethics <https://digitalethics.georgetown.edu/> Founding Faculty Ethics Lab <https://ethicslab.georgetown.edu/> Faculty Fellow Science, Technology, & International Affairs <https://sfs.georgetown.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors/stia/> Core Faculty Institute for Technology Law & Policy <https://www.law.georgetown.edu/tech-institute/> Faculty Advisor Georgetown University Meg.Jones(a)Georgetown.edu MegLeta.com <http://megleta.com/> <http://megleta.com/books>

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*Extended deadline: 30 Sept 2024* OSNEM Special Issue:AI in Online Social Networks: opportunities and challenges
by Andrea Passarella 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PAPERS Elsevier Online Social Networks and Media Journal (OSNEM) Special issue on AI in Online Social Networks: opportunities and challenges ****** EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE ******** Submission Deadline: Continuous submissions September 30st, 2024 ******************************************** https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/online-social-networks-and-media ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Online Social Networks and Media are a fundamental component of everyday life and the use of AI technologies in OSNEM can further boost their role. The use of AI in online social networks offers great opportunities and, at the same time, raises several challenges. AI's ability to analyze vast amounts of data in real-time allows social media platforms to offer highly personalized experiences to users. The use of AI may raise concerns about ethical issues such as privacy, algorithmic bias, misinformation, etc., but AI can also be used for content moderation on social media to detect and remove harmful or inappropriate content, identifying and mitigating the spread of fake news. etc. The use of AI on OSNEM can promote the democratic processes by facilitating the dissemination of information and encourage political engagement. On the other hand, AI algorithms can create echo chambers, influence voting behavior and generate significant risks for democracy. AI-driven security measures can help to protect OSNEM users from fraud and privacy breaches but, malicious actors can also use AI to support their attacks. The exponential diffusion of generative AI adds novel dimensions to this landscape, on the one hand supporting novel forms of interactions spanning into the Metaverse, but on the other hand exposing vulnerable users to dramatic threats. The aim of this special issue is to push the state of the art in using AI in OSNEM, by presenting quantitative contributions that investigate the opportunities and challenges of using AI in Online Social Networks. Within this framework, topics include, but are not limited to: - Using AI in OSNEM for personalization, efficiency, and recommendations; - AI-based studies for analysis and modelling of information and opinion dynamics in OSNEM; - AI-based predictions based on OSNEM data analysis; - AI impact on OSNEM security, trustworthiness and privacy; - Generative AI in OSNEM; - AI and social networking in the Metaverse; - AI methodologies for large-scale OSNEM data collection and analysis - AI methods to safeguard OSNEM users (e.g., bot detection, toxic content identification, content moderation, echo chamber avoidance) - Case studies of AI application in OSNEM Online Social Networks and Media is a multidisciplinary journal for the wide community of computer and network scientists working on developing OSNEM platforms and services and using OSNEM as a big data source to mine, learn and model the (online) human behaviour. Manuscripts only based on questionnaires, even focused on the reported use of social media, are outside the scope of the journal. On the other hand, the journal welcomes papers which present analyses based on big data mined from social networks/media. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Schedule Manuscript submission deadline: continuous submission until September 30th, 2024 (*) First notification: two months after the submission Expected publication: papers are published a few weeks after acceptance. Guest Editors Marco Conti, IIT-CNR, Italy Andrea Passarella, IIT-CNR, Italy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instructions for submission Manuscripts must not have been previously published nor currently under review by other journals or conferences. If prior work was published in a conference, the submitted manuscript should include a substantial extension of at least 35% novel contributions. In this case, authors are also required to submit their published conference articles and a summary document explaining the enhancements made in the journal version. The submission website for this journal is located at https://www2.cloud.editorialmanager.com/osnem/default2.aspx. Please select ''VSI:AI&OSNEM'' when you reach the ''Article Type'' step in the submission process. To ensure that all manuscripts are correctly identified, for consideration by the special issue, the authors should indicate in the cover letter that the manuscript has been submitted for the special issue on “AI&OSNEM”. (*) Manuscripts can be submitted continuously until the deadline. Once a paper is submitted, the review process will start immediately. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (in the first issue available as soon as the paper is accepted). All accepted papers will be listed together in an online virtual special issue published in the journal website. For further information, please contact the guest editors at {m.conti,a.passarella} at iit.cnr.it

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Barry Wellman
by Nicholas John 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

The Association of Internet Researchers is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Barry Wellman <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Wellman> on July 9, 2024. Barry was pioneering social network analysis in the late 1970s before many people had heard of the internet, and his many contributions and collaborations are amongst the most important foundations of Internet Studies. Barry was a keynote speaker at AoIR’s first conference, subsequently served on the AoIR Executive Committee, and by 2004 was already reflecting back <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444804040633> on the formation of Internet Studies as a coherent area. He was a keen collaborator and treasured colleague by many in the AoIR community and academia more broadly. AoIR extends their condolences to Barry’s partner, Bev, his family, friends and many, many colleagues and collaborators. He will be missed; his legacy lives on. An online condolence book <https://benjaminsparkmemorialchapel.ca/ServiceDetails?snum=139365&fg=0&fbcl…> is available for those wishing to leave a personal message or reflection. ____________ Nicholas John Associate Professor President, Association of Internet Researchers Department of Communication and Journalism The Hebrew University of Jerusalem @nik@aoir.social nicholasjohn.huji.ac.il

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CfP Orbis Linguarum
by Bilyana Todorova 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

Dear Colleagues, Orbis Linguarum, an open-access, free-of-charge, double-blind review journal, seeks manuscripts for issues 22.3. (2024), 23.1., 23.2, 23.3 (2025). It publishes materials in the fields of linguistics, literary studies, cultural studies, teaching methodology, reviews and opinions on books and academic events written in Slavic languages, English, French and German. More information may be seen here: https://ezikovsvyat.swu.bg/index.php/en/ Kind regards, Bilyana Todorova Assoc. Prof. Bilyana Todorova, PhD Department of Bulgarian language, South-West University, Bulgaria https://ezikovsvyat.swu.bg/index.php/en/editorialen https://iowdictionary.org/ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bilyana-Todorova http://ais.swu.bg/profile/bilyanatodorova

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