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21st International Conference on Discovery Science (DS 2018): Last Call for Papers (deadline extended)
by Announce Announcements 18 Jun '18

18 Jun '18

*** LAST CALL FOR PAPERS *** 21st International Conference on Discovery Science (DS 2018) St. Raphael Resort, Limassol, Cyprus, 30-31 October, 2018 http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… (*** In conjunction with ISMIS 2018 ***) (*** Submission Deadline Extended: 28th June, 2018 ***) WELCOME The 21st International Conference on Discovery Science (DS 2018) provides an open forum for intensive discussions and exchange of new ideas among researchers working in the area of Discovery Science. The scope of the conference includes the development and analysis of methods for discovering scientific knowledge, coming from machine learning, data mining, intelligent data analysis, big data analysis as well as their application in various scientific domains. We welcome papers that focus on the analysis of different types of massive and complex data, including structured, spatio-temporal and network data. We particularly welcome papers addressing applications. Finally, we would like to encourage contributions from the areas of computational scientific discovery, mining scientific data, computational creativity and discovery informatics. DS 2018 will be co-located with ISMIS 2018, the 24th International Symposium on Methodologies for Intelligent Systems. The two conferences will be held in parallel, and will share their invited talks. TOPICS We invite submissions of research papers addressing all aspects of discovery science. We particularly welcome contributions that discuss the application of data analysis, data mining and other support techniques for scientific discovery including, but not limited to, biomedical, astronomical and other physics domains. Applications to massive, heterogeneous, continuous or imprecise data sets are of particular interests. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: · Knowledge discovery, machine learning and statistical methods · Ubiquitous knowledge discovery · Data streams, evolving data and models · Change detection and model maintenance · Active knowledge discovery · Learning from text and web mining · Information extraction from scientific literature · Knowledge discovery from heterogeneous, unstructured and multimedia data · Knowledge discovery in network and link data · Knowledge discovery in social networks · Data and knowledge visualization · Spatial/temporal Data · Mining graphs and structured data · Planning to learn · Knowledge transfer · Computational creativity · Human-machine interaction for knowledge discovery and management · Biomedical knowledge discovery and analysis · Machine learning for high-performance computing, grid and cloud computing · Applications of the above techniques to natural or social sciences PAPER SUBMISSION Papers may contain up to fifteen (15) pages and must be formatted according to the layout supplied by Springer-Verlag for the Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. Submitted papers may not have appeared in or be under consideration for another workshop, conference or a journal, nor may they be under review or submitted to another forum during the DS 2018 review process Authors can submit their papers electronically via our submission page through Easychair: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… . PUBLICATION AND JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUES The DS 2018 proceedings will be published by Springer in LNAI (Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence) and will be available at the conference. Authors of best papers will be invited to submit their extended versions to the Machine Learning journal (https://link.springer.com/journal/10994) published by Springer. Fast Track Processing will be used to have them reviewed and published. IMPORTANT DATES · Paper Submissions due: 28th June 2018 (*** extended ***) · Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: 18th July 2018 · Camera-Ready Versions of Accepted Papers: 28th July 2018 · Author Registration: 31st Juy 2018 · Early Non-Author Registration: 10th September 2018 · Late Non-Author Registration: after 10th September 2018 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chair · George Angelos Papadopoulos (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) Program Committee Co-Chairs · Larisa Soldatova, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK · Joaquin Vanschoren, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

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14th International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob 2018): Fourth Call for Papers
by Announce Announcements 16 Jun '18

16 Jun '18

*** FOURTH CALL FOR PAPERS *** 14th International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob 2018) St. Raphael Resort, Limassol, Cyprus, 15-17 October, 2018 http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… (*** Sponsorship Approved by IEEE Communication Society ***) *** Submission Deadline Extended to July 10, 2018 *** WiMob is an international forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience among researchers, developers and practitioners of wireless and mobile technology. For fourteen years, the International WiMob conference has provided unique opportunities for researchers and developers to interact, share new results, show live demonstrations, and discuss emerging directions in a number of contemporary topics in wireless and mobile computing. WiMob 2018 is soliciting high quality technical papers addressing research challenges in the areas of wireless communications, wireless networking, mobility, nomadicity, ubiquitous computing, services and applications. Papers should present original work validated via analysis, simulation or experimentation. Practical experiences and Testbed trials also are welcome. TOPICS WiMob 2018 will host 5 parallel symposia on: · Wireless Communications · Wireless Networking, Mobility and Nomadicity · Ubiquitous Computing, Services and Applications · Green and Sustainable Communications and Network Computing · Security on Wireless and Mobile Networks A full list of topics for each symposium can be found on the conference web site. PAPER SUBMISSION Authors are required to submit fully formatted, original papers (PDF), with graphs, images, and other special areas arranged as intended for the final publication. Papers should be written in English conforming to the IEEE standard conference format (8.5" x 11" - US letter, Two-Column). The initial submission for review will be limited to 8 pages. The final manuscript for publication will be limited to 8 IEEE pages included in the registration. However, additional charges may apply for additional pages. The conference content will be submitted for inclusion into IEEE Xplore (after approval) as well as other Abstracting and Indexing (A&I) databases. Each accepted paper must be presented at the conference by one of the co-authors or a third party, otherwise it will not be indexed and archived through IEEE Xplore. Only timely submissions through EDAS at http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… will be accepted. For more details, please visit the Facebook page for WiMob 2018: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… as well as the conference web site. IMPORTANT DATES · Paper submission: July 10, 2018 (***extended***) · Notification: August 15, 2018 · Final manuscript: September 1, 2018 ORGANISATION Honorific Chair · Lajos Hanzo, University of Southampton, UK General Chair · Abderrahim Benslimane, University of Avignon, France Steering Committee · Abderrahim Benslimane - University of Avignon, France · Hsiao-Hwa Chen - National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan · Khaled Ben Letaief - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HK · Victor C. M. Leung - University of British Columbia, Canada · Samuel Pierre - Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada · Dovan Thanh - Telenor & Norwegian Univ. of Science & Technology, Norway Executive Co-Chairs · Wessam Ajib, Universite du Quebec - Montreal, Canada · George Angelos Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Workshop Co-Chairs · Nirwan Ansari, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA · Hossam Hassanein, Queen's University, Canada · Anna Maria Vegni - Roma Tre University, Italy TPC Co-Chairs · Abbas Bradai, XLIM Institute, University of Poitiers, France · Brigitte Jaumard, Concordia University, Canada · Ming Li, University of Arizona, USA · Qi Liao, Nokia Bell Labs, Germany Publication Co-Chairs · Abderrahim Benslimane, University of Avignon, France · Corinna Schmitt, University of Zurich, Switzerland Publicity Co-Chairs · Abdellatif Ezzouhairi, ENSA Fez, Morocco · Chunxiao Jiang, Tsinghua University, China · Neeraj Kumar, Thapar University, India · Cristina López-Bravo, Universidade de Vigo, Spain · Roca Vincent, INRIA Rhone-Alpes, France

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microblogging lit suggestions
by Daria Dayter 16 Jun '18

16 Jun '18

Dear all, I am currently writing an article on microblogging for a humanities & social studies handbook. I'd be grateful for any tips on the stuff that is brand-new or about to come out, or also on anything that you feel always gets missed in overviews, or absolutely must be in there! All tips are welcome! My email is daria.dayter(a)unibas.ch thanks, Daria Dr. Daria Dayter Department of English - University of Basel Postdoctoral Assistant Nadelberg 6, room 15 CH-4051 Basel / Switzerland Tel: 0041 - 61 - 2 07 27 82 Email: daria.dayter(a)unibas.ch https://english.philhist.unibas.ch/en/persons/daria-dayter/ <https://mail.unibas.ch/owa/redir.aspx?C=t43PAokK023HdoY32oG4I1F8KAxEq-X1QZ8…>

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Re: [Air-L] Online transcription services
by Theo Plothe 16 Jun '18

16 Jun '18

I vote Amazon Turk. They were fantastic transcribing my focus group recordings for my dissertation. Best, Theo -- Dr. Theo Plothe Digital Media Scholar for Hire Researcher, Remixer, Gamer

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Call for Panel - Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) 2019
by Camille . 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

Dear all, The usual apology for cross-posting but this may be of interest to some on the list. Call for Panels CPDP2019 – Data Protection and Democracy This call for panels is aimed at academic consortia, research projects, think tanks and other research organisations. (Another call, to individuals for academic research papers, will go out towards mid June 2018) The overarching theme of the 2019 edition is "Data Protection and Democracy". The Cambridge Analytica exposé reminded the world once again that data protection is vitally important for the health of our democracies. It thus protects not only the individual but also the core values and the common good. The GDPR has gone into effect on May 25 and is expected to change how companies and governments handle personal information. With growing user backlash after the recent privacy debacle, will the GDPR serve as a model for a new standard of data privacy around the world? Will the new data protection and privacy frameworks in Europe and elsewhere make a difference? Could they be effectively enforced? What is data protection beyond legislation? CPDP2019 will highlight data protection as a core element of a democratic society. We welcome cutting edge panels in all areas related to technology, privacy and data protection, but particularly invite proposals that fit the general conference theme. We encourage panels that are well-balanced, multidisciplinary and geographically and gender diverse. More information about rules for panel composition and submission can be found here: http://www.cpdpconferences.org/callforpanels.html Please note: chosen institutions, organisations or EU research projects will become CPDP2019 event partners. This implies that the event partner is able to finance all costs of the panel speakers (travel and lodging) in addition to paying a conference contribution of €1200. In return, the event partner’s logo will be visibly displayed on the CPDP website and the programme brochure. The partner will also have the option of putting a flyer or advertisement in the conference bag. All panelists will get free registration for the three conference days. Organizations such as nonprofits for whom the panel fee would cause financial hardship can get in touch after submitting their panel proposal. Panel proposals should be submitted through the online form at: http://www.cpdpconferences.org/callforpanels.html#form Please fill in the form as completely as possible. Key Dates Final panel submission/suggestion: Thursday, 21st June 2018 Notification sent to panel proposers: Thursday, 12th July 2018 Panel organisation finalised: Friday, October 19th, 2018 Dates of CPDP2019: 30th January to 1st February, 2019 Contact If you have an innovative idea for the set up of a panel or workshop or have any questions regarding potential panel topics, please contact the organisers at info(a)cpdpconferences.org<mailto:info@cpdpconferences.org> Best wishes, Camille on behalf of the CPDP2019 Programme Committee Camille Van Puymbroeck Communication & Community Manager Privacy Salon and CPDP Join us for the next edition of the CPDP conference on 30th January - 1st February in Brussels: http://www.cpdpconferences.org/

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2018 European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2018): Final Call for Papers (*** deadline extension***)
by Announce Announcements 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

*** FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS *** 2018 European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2018) Golden Bay Beach Hotel, Larnaca, Cyprus, 12-14 November, 2018 http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… *** Submission Deadline: 27th June 2018 (extended) *** Ambient intelligence refers to normal working and living environments being surrounded by embedded devices that can merge unobtrusively and in natural ways using information and intelligence hidden in the network connecting these devices (e.g. The Internet of Things). Such devices, each specialised in one or more capabilities, are intended to work together based on an infrastructure of intelligent systems, to provide a variety of services improving safety, security and the quality of life in ordinary living, travelling and working environments. ABOUT AMI 2018 The 2018 European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2018) has a focus on the role of Ambient Intelligence "Towards a Smart and Human Centered Internet of Things". We invite submissions of full and short papers as well as posters, presenting original research. AmI 2018 is an interdisciplinary venue for leading international researchers, designers, and practitioners that present and discuss new results in Ambient Intelligence. AmI builds on the success of thirteen predecessor conferences, which started in 2003 with the EUSAI-event in Veldhoven, The Netherlands. More information about the AmI series can be found here: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… . The Proceedings of AmI 2018 will be published by Springer in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. Furthermore, Springer will sponsor the Best Paper Award with 1,000 EUR. TOPICS AmI 2018 will revolve around the focus topic "Towards a Smart and Human- Centred Internet of Things" that follows the vision of Calm Technology, where technology is useful but does not demand our full attention or interfere with our usual behavior and activities. Relevant research topics include, but are not limited to: · Sensors and Actuators Networks · Ambient Networking and Communication · Mobile, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing · Internet of Things and Interconnected devices · Internet of Humans and Human Sensors · Artificial Intelligence Models, Methods and Techniques · Machine Learning, Data mining and Big Data · Modelling Context Awareness and Location-based Services · Agent Technologies and Multi-agent Platforms · Cloud Computing for Intelligent Ambients · Multimodal Human-Computer Interaction · Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Reality · Symmetric Interaction in Real and Virtual worlds · Reliability, Assurance and Safety · Security, Privacy and Trust · Systems Architecture and Middleware · Software Development Methodologies and Tools · Robotic Companions · Industrial Internet and Industry 4.0 · Sustainability and Fair Trade · Smart Homes and Intelligent buildings · Energy Efficiency · Ambient Assisted Living · Healthcare and Well-being · Smart Cities · Connected Cars and Autonomous Driving · Pervasive Games in Hybrid Worlds · Ambient Intelligence Education · Evaluation methods and techniques for Trials · Citizen science, Living labs, Maker communities PAPER AND POSTER SUBMISSION Papers must be anonymized to facilitate blind review. Authors are encouraged to minimize any references that may reveal the identity of the authors and their institutions. Relevant references to an author's previous research should not be suppressed but instead referenced in a neutral way. All papers will be reviewed by at least three Program Committee members. The length of each paper including figures and references may not exceed 16 pages for regular papers and 6 pages for short papers. The posters session aims to collect papers showing work in progress and thus raise opportunities to present and discuss current work in an informal setting. These papers will be presented as posters in the conference. Poster contributions may not exceed 2 pages, including figures and references. For more information about what should be considered a regular, short or poster contribution, please refer to the conference web site. All paper and poster submissions must be written in English and submitted in PDF format. Submission of a paper or poster should be regarded as an undertaking that, should the paper or poster be accepted, at least one of the authors will attend the conference to present the work. For preparation of papers and posters please follow the instructions for authors available at the Springer LNCS Web page (http://www.springer.com/gp/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-gui…) Authors of full and short papers as well as posters are welcome to submit using the conference review system: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… . This year's best paper awards are graciously sponsored by Springer with 1,000 EUR. SPECIAL ISSUE The authors of the best papers to be accepted at AmI 2018 will be invited to submit substantially extended and revised versions of their papers with at least 70% new material to a special journal issue for AmI 2018 to be published in the Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanised Computing, by Springer. IMPORTANT DATES · Paper and Poster Submissions due: 17th June 2018 (***extended***) · Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: 22nd July 2018 · Camera-Ready Versions due: 29th July 2018 · Author Registration: 5th August 2018 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chair · George Roussos, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Program Chairs · Achilleas D. Kameas, Hellenic Open University, Greece · Kostas Stathis, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK Workshops Chairs · Ioannis Chatzigiannakis, University of Rome, Italy · Fariba Sadri, Imperial College, UK Local Organization Chair · George Angelos Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

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New book: Hybrid Media Events – The Charlie Hebdo Attacks and the Global Circulation of Terrorist Violence
by Tikka, M Minttu T 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

*New Book by Emerald Publishing* // /Hybrid Media Events – The Charlie Hebdo Attacks and the Global Circulation of Terrorist Violence/ // What are hybrid media events? Who creates them and what purpose do they serve in contemporary societies? This book addresses these questions by re-thinking media events in the contemporary digital media environment saturated by intensified circulation of radical violence. The empirical analyses draw on the investigation of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, in 2015, and the global response the attacks provoked in the media audience. The authors pay special attention to the hybrid dynamics between the different actors, platforms and messages in such media events, explaining how global news media, political elites and terrorists interact with ordinary media users in social media. The book demonstrates how, for example, hashtags such as “Je suis Charlie” circulate from one digital media platform to another and how emotions, speed of communication and fight for attention all become hybridized in digital media. All these elements, the authors argue, shape the ways in which we make sense of global media events in the present digital age. https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Hybrid-Media-Events/?k=9781787… The authors: *Johanna Sumiala*is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki. *Katja Valaskivi*is Vice Dean for Research at Faculty of Communication Sciences, and Research Director at Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. *Minttu Tikka*is a Researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences/Media and Communication Studies, University of Helsinki. *Jukka Huhtamäki*Intelligent Information Systems Laboratory at Tampere University of Technology, TUT, is a Co-founder of Innovation Ecosystems Network. With best regards from Finland, Minttu Tikka Grant Researcher Media and Communication Studies Faculty of Social Sciences P.O. Box 54, 00014 University of Helsinki +358 50 311 4935<tel:+358%2050%203114935> minttu.mt.tikka(a)helsinki.fi<mailto:minttu.mt.tikka@helsinki.fi> http://blogs.helsinki.fi/mmttikka

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Bloomberg on Facebook Research Project
by Joly MacFie 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/if-you-re-a-facebook-use… If You’re A Facebook User, You’re Also a Research Subject The social network is careful about academic collaborations, but chooses projects that comport with its business goals. By Karen Weise and Sarah Frier June 14, 2018 The professor was incredulous. David Craig had been studying the rise of entertainment on social media for several years when a Facebook Inc. employee he didn’t know emailed him last December, asking about his research. “I thought I was being pumped,” Craig said. The company flew him to Menlo Park and offered him $25,000 to fund his ongoing projects, with no obligation to do anything in return. This was definitely not normal, but after checking with his school, University of Southern California, Craig took the gift. “Hell, yes, it was generous to get an out-off-the-blue offer to support our work, with no strings,” he said. “It’s not all so black and white that they are villains.” Other academics got these gifts, too. One, who said she had $25,000 deposited in her research account recently without signing a single document, spoke to a reporter hoping maybe the journalist could help explain it. Another professor said one of his former students got an unsolicited monetary offer from Facebook, and he had to assure the recipient it wasn’t a scam. The professor surmised that Facebook uses the gifts as a low-cost way to build connections that could lead to closer collaboration later. He also thinks Facebook “happily lives in the ambiguity” of the unusual arrangement. If researchers truly understood that the funding has no strings, “people would feel less obligated to interact with them,” he said. The free gifts are just one of the little-known and complicated ways Facebook works with academic researchers. For scholars, the scale of Facebook’s 2.2 billion users provides an irresistible way to investigate how human nature may play out on, and be shaped by, the social network. For Facebook, the motivations to work with outside academics are far thornier, and it’s Facebook that decides who gets access to its data to examine its impact on society. “Just from a business standpoint, people won't want to be on Facebook if Facebook is not positive for them in their lives,” said Rob Sherman, Facebook’s deputy chief privacy officer. “We also have a broader responsibility to make sure that we’re having the right impact on society.” The company’s long been conflicted about how to work with social scientists, and now runs several programs, each reflecting the contorted relationship Facebook has with external scrutiny. The collaborations have become even more complicated in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which was set off by revelations that a professor who once collaborated with Facebook’s in-house researchers used data collected separately to influence elections. “Historically the focus of our research has been on product development, on doing things that help us understand how people are using Facebook and build improvements to Facebook,” Sherman said. Facebook’s heard more from academics and nonprofits recently who say “because of the expertise that we have, and the data that Facebook stores, we have an opportunity to contribute to generalizable knowledge and to answer some of these broader social questions,” he said. “So you’ve seen us begin to invest more heavily in social science research and in answering some of these questions.” Facebook has a corporate culture that reveres research. The company builds its product based on internal data on user behavior, surveys and focus groups. More than a hundred Ph.D.-level researchers work on Facebook’s in-house core data science team, and employees say the information that points to growth has had more of an impact on the company's direction than Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s ideas. Facebook is far more hesitant to work with outsiders; it risks unflattering findings, leaks of proprietary information, and privacy breaches. But Facebook likes it when external research proves that Facebook is great. And in the fierce talent wars of Silicon Valley, working with professors can make it easier to recruit their students. It can also improve the bottom line. In 2016, when Facebook changed the “like” button into a set of emojis that better captured user expression—and feelings for advertisers— it did so with the help of Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who’s an expert in compassion and emotions. Keltner’s Greater Good Science Center continues to work closely with the company. And this January, Facebook made research the centerpiece of a major change to its news feed algorithm. In studies published with academics at several universities, Facebook found that people who used social media actively—commenting on friends' posts, setting up events—were likely to see a positive impact on mental health, while those who used it passively may feel depressed. In reaction, Facebook declared it would spend more time encouraging "meaningful interaction." Of course, the more people engage with Facebook, the more data it collects for advertisers. The company has stopped short of pursuing deeper research on potentially negative fallout of its power. According to its public database of published research, Facebook’s written more than 180 public papers about artificial intelligence but just one study about elections, based on an experiment Facebook ran on 61 million users to mobilize voters in the Congressional midterms back in 2010. Facebook’s Sherman said, “We’ve certainly been doing a lot of work over the past couple of months, particularly to expand the areas where we’re looking.” Facebook’s first peer-reviewed papers with outside scholars were published in 2009, and almost a decade into producing academic work, it still wavers over how to structure the arrangements. It’s given out the smaller unrestricted gifts. But those gifts don’t come with access to Facebook’s data, at least initially. The company is more restrictive about who can mine or survey its users. It looks for research projects that dovetail with its business goals. Some academics cycle through one-year fellowships while pursuing doctorate degrees, and others get paid for consulting projects, which never get published. When Facebook does provide data to researchers, it retains the right to veto or edit the paper before publication. None of the professors Bloomberg spoke with knew of cases when Facebook prohibited a publication, though many said the arrangement inevitably leads academics to propose investigations less likely to be challenged. “Researchers focus on things that don’t create a moral hazard,” said Dean Eckles, a former Facebook data scientist now at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Without a guaranteed right to publish, Eckles said, researchers inevitably shy away from potentially critical work. That means some of the most burning societal questions may go unprobed. Facebook also almost always pairs outsiders with in-house researchers. This ensures scholars have a partner who’s intimately familiar with Facebook’s vast data, but some who’ve worked with Facebook say this also creates a selection bias about what gets studied. “Stuff still comes out, but only the immensely positive, happy stories—the goody-goody research that they could show off,” said one social scientist who worked as a researcher at Facebook. For example, he pointed out that the company’s published widely on issues related to well-being, or what makes people feel good and fulfilled, which is positive for Facebook’s public image and product. "The question is: ‘What’s not coming out?,’” he said. Facebook argues its body of work on well-being does have broad importance. “Because we are a social product that has large distribution within society, it is both about societal issues as well as the product,” said David Ginsberg, Facebook’s director of research. Other social networks have smaller research ambitions, but have tried more open approaches. This spring, Twitter Inc. asked for proposals to measure the health of conversations on its platform, and Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn is running a multi-year program to have researchers use its data to understand how to improve the economic opportunities of workers. Facebook has issued public calls for technical research, but until the past few months, hasn’t done so for social sciences. Yet it has solicited in that area, albeit quietly: Last summer, one scholarly association begged discretion when sharing information on a Facebook pilot project to study tech’s impact in developing economies. Its email read, “Facebook is not widely publicizing the program.” In 2014, the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a massive study, co-authored by two Facebook researchers and an outside academic, that found emotions were “contagious” online, that people who saw sad posts were more likely to make sad posts. The catch: the results came from an experiment run on 689,003 Facebook users, where researchers secretly tweaked the algorithm of Facebook’s news feed to show some cheerier content than others. People were angry, protesting that they didn’t give Facebook permission to manipulate their emotions. The company first said people allowed such studies by agreeing to its terms of service, and then eventually apologized. While the academic journal didn’t retract the paper, it issued an “Editorial Expression of Concern.” To get federal research funding, universities must run testing on humans through what’s known as an institutional review board, which includes at least one outside expert, approves the ethics of the study and ensures subjects provide informed consent. Companies don’t have to run research through IRBs. The emotional-contagion study fell through the cracks. The outcry profoundly changed Facebook’s research operations, creating a review process that was more formal and cautious. It set up a pseudo-IRB of its own, which doesn’t include an outside expert but does have policy and PR staff. Facebook also created a new public database of its published research, which lists more than 470 papers. But that database now has a notable omission—a December 2015 paper two Facebook employees co-wrote with Aleksandr Kogan, the professor at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook said it believes the study was inadvertently never posted and is working to ensure other papers aren't left off in the future. In March, Gary King, a Harvard University political science professor, met with some Facebook executives about trying to get the company to share more data with academics. It wasn't the first time he'd made his case, but he left the meeting with no commitment. A few days later, the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, and soon Facebook was on the phone with King. Maybe it was time to cooperate, at least to understand what happens in elections. Since then, King and a Stanford University law professor have developed a complicated new structure to give more researchers access to Facebook’s data on the elections and let scholars publish whatever they find. The resulting structure is baroque, involving a new “commission” of scholars Facebook will help pick, an outside academic council that will award research projects, and seven independent U.S. foundations to fund the work. “Negotiating this was kind of like the Arab-Israel peace treaty, but with a lot more partners,” King said. The new effort, which has yet to propose its first research project, is the most open approach Facebook’s taken yet. “We hope that will be a model that replicates not just within Facebook but across the industry,” Facebook’s Ginsberg said. “It’s a way to make data available for social science research in a way that means that it’s both independent and maintains privacy.” But the new approach will also face an uphill battle to prove its credibility. The new Facebook research project came together under the company’s public relations and policy team, not its research group of PhDs trained in ethics and research design. More than 200 scholars from the Association of Internet Researchers, a global group of interdisciplinary academics, have signed a letter saying the effort is too limited in the questions it’s asking, and also that it risks replicating what sociologists call the “Matthew effect,” where only scholars from elite universities—like Harvard and Stanford—get an inside track. “Facebook’s new initiative is set up in such a way that it will select projects that address known problems in an area known to be problematic,” the academics wrote. The research effort, the letter said, also won’t let the world—or Facebook, for that matter—get ahead of the next big problem. -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Online Automated Interview Transcription Service
by Julian Hopkins 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

Hi All, It seems that voice recognition technology has finally become useful enough to usefully help with transcribing interviews. I just thought I would share this service that I have found to be extraordinarily useful: https://www.temi.com/ They do speech to text transcription and you can listen and edit the transcript online also. Then download everything. It does a surprisingly good job of recognising words even in less than perfect conditions (background noise, accents). Although too much background noise still impedes it. The first transcription is free, then afterwards it's a reasonable US 10 cents per minute. There may well be others that are similar and are just as good, but I don't know of them. Regards, Julian --- *DR JULIAN HOPKINS* Senior Lecturer in Communication Undergraduate Coordinator School of Arts & Social Sciences Building 2, Level 6, Room 16 (2-6-16) Monash University Malaysia Jalan Lagoon Selatan 47500 Bandar Sunway Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia T: +60 3 5514 4920 E: julian.hopkins(a)monash.edu W: sass.monash.edu.my <http://www.sass.monash.edu.my/> *Your reaction is more important than who is right.*

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Fwd: New Book: The Open Revolution - rewriting the rules of the information age
by Cecilia Tanaka 15 Jun '18

15 Jun '18

Hi, lovely people! Hope you all are having a great time and feeling gorgeous, yay! :D Really respect Rufus and his work a lot. I swear you will probably love his book and references! :D And, well, if you eventually hate all of them, it's pretty OK, no problem... The best thing about him is knowing he is completely open to _constructive_ feedbacks and _productive_ discussions about the Open Culture! :D He is cute and patient, millions of times more polite than me, and zillions of times more intelligent too. One of the good guys, trust me! :) Wish you all kisses, hugs, books, smiles, music, and love! <3 Ceci, still alive and kicking... and being kicked, ouch! :P ---------- "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live." - Mae Jemison ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock(a)okfn.org> Date: Thu, Jun 14, 2018, 14:10 *The Open Revolution: rewriting the rules of the information age* Hi thackday, *This is one-off email to share with you the release of my book, The Open Revolution: rewriting the rules of the information age.* Get the book on OpenRevolution.net » <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/bTuFEnR7gQR1apt3EyPsTr7ghVgqEGmE2aA0…> This book is about something bigger than tech itself. It’s about information, ownership and control in a digital age. It talks directly to a number of lives issues, ranging from access to medicines, to the future of work and privacy, digital monopolies and power in a connected world. <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/IVRhtsXzL5tRXrUqz6Ct_bN3usWwdygpSkr7…> Will the digital revolution give us digital dictatorships or digital democracies? Forget everything you think you know about the digital age. It’s not about privacy, surveillance, AI or blockchain—it’s about *ownership*. Because in a digital age, who owns information controls the future. Today’s “Closed” digital economy is the source of problems ranging from the power of a handful of tech monopolies to control how we think and vote, to unaffordable medicines, to growing inequality. The solution is not technological but political: a choice between making information Open, shared by all, or making it Closed, exclusively owned and controlled. By choosing Open we can make a more equitable, innovative and profitable future for all. Find out more on OpenRevolution.net » <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/ysNWV3x4LAxuiFfMeGvNvptKxFJTGxmfS-Yf…> Order directly on Amazon UK <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/uvwtBlWGgFAxcHZMbRgI4RJQmPe8L1fQpx0R…> - Amazon US <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/COd2yiSuiJierly24LEIcy7-axESDxFgcMJx…> I also warmly invite you to share this book and its ideas. We will only realize an Open world when more people are present to its potential. The book is itself openly licensed so you are free to share and reuse it however you wish! Post for sharing on Facebook <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/cl2xiCKXsrmeN40f4aCFAoqm3ZV9RMlnqX_a…> - Twitter <http://3lgi9.r.ah.d.sendibm4.com/mk/cl/ArjaV81aFDZoRgJVaUER8JvGOL6WC8NZ_I8Z…> Thank you, Yours, Rufus Pollock – Building wise societies and an information age that works for everyone - https://rufuspollock.com/ Founder and President of Open Knowledge - https://okfn.org/ Co-Founder, Art / Earth / Tech - https://artearthtech.com/manifesto Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow Previously Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge

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