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New Book: Disruptive Fixation: School Reform and the Pitfalls of Techno-Idealism
by Christo Sims 28 Mar '17

28 Mar '17

Hello everyone, Apologies for cross-posting and please excuse the self-promotion. I'm writing to announce that my first solo-authored book, Disruptive Fixation: School Reform and the Pitfalls of Techno-Idealism <https://goo.gl/sVqyJV>, has just been released by Princeton University Press as part of their Culture & Technology Series <http://press.princeton.edu/catalogs/series/title/princeton-studies-in-cultu…>. The book addresses the idealization of “new media” and its potential to unite or segment society, not only in our schools but in our lives more generally. The publisher's blurb and initial endorsements are below, and the first chapter <https://goo.gl/ufqWpy> is available for free on the publisher's website. The ideas of many people on this list have informed my own and it is my hope that the book contributes back in helpful ways. Christo Sims Assistant Professor Director, Studio for Ethnographic Design Department of Communication University of California, San Diego https://quote.ucsd.edu/sims/ *New Book (Princeton)* <http://press.princeton.edu/titles/11029.html> *Publisher's Blurb* In New York City in 2009, a new kind of public school opened its doors to its inaugural class of middle schoolers. Conceived by a team of game designers and progressive educational reformers and backed by prominent philanthropic foundations, it promised to reinvent the classroom for the digital age. Ethnographer Christo Sims documented the life of the school from its planning stages to the graduation of its first eighth-grade class. *Disruptive Fixation *is his account of how this "school for digital kids," heralded as a model of tech-driven educational reform, reverted to a more conventional type of schooling with rote learning, an emphasis on discipline, and traditional hierarchies of authority. Troubling gender and racialized class divisions also emerged. Sims shows how the philanthropic possibilities of new media technologies are repeatedly idealized even though actual interventions routinely fall short of the desired outcomes—often dramatically so. He traces the complex processes by which idealistic tech-reform perennially takes root, unsettles the worlds into which it intervenes, and eventually stabilizes in ways that remake and extend many of the social predicaments reformers hope to fix. Sims offers a nuanced look at the roles that powerful elites, experts, the media, and the intended beneficiaries of reform—in this case, the students and their parents—play in perpetuating the cycle. *Disruptive Fixation* offers a timely examination of techno-philanthropism and the yearnings and dilemmas it seeks to address, revealing what failed interventions do manage to accomplish—and for whom. *Endorsements* "The chronicle of a failure foretold, this remarkably reflexive ethnography of a project aiming at reinventing education via digital devices, managerial transformations, and philanthropic initiatives is an important fable for our times of techno-idealism. Its sobering morality is a call for modesty, lucidity, and honesty with regards to the permanent request for innovation, the immoderate pretension to avant-gardism, and the inflationary rhetoric of cutting-edge research, from which the social sciences themselves are not exempt."*-- Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton* "Sims's book is rich in conceptual tools for analyzing school reform movements. It offers a brilliant explanation for their persistent failures. He argues that projects of reform move through ‘cycles of disruptive fixation' that consolidate rather than dissolve class, racial, and gendered inequities. He punctures the hype about techno-philanthropic nostrums for what ails public education. Though some of what he has to tell us is hard to hear, his searching critique is clearly the work of a scholar of concerned and generous spirit. The book should be required reading for anyone who finds themselves the agent or target of similarly misguided benevolence."*– Jean Lave, University of California, Berkeley* "A first-of-its-kind addition to the field. Sims gives us a rich and nuanced picture of the everyday, even mundane ways that privilege and inequity insinuate themselves into an ambitious reformist project, often undermining intentions. He astutely and sympathetically shows how all involved often end up reproducing patterns and structures they set out to challenge."*— T. L. Taylor, author of Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming* "How do the engines of educational reform so often drive us back to the status quo? Decades ago, the computer industry promised us the tools to transform our schools. Why haven't they worked? In this richly researched analysis, Christo Sims answers these questions and points the way toward new and more effective modes of technological intervention. This book should be required reading for anyone thinking about learning and technology today."*– Fred Turner, Stanford University* "Christo Sims gives us a front-row seat to an effort to ‘disrupt' public schooling with new technology. The story that emerges, in all its messy particularities, shows the way that such efforts often reinforce the very structures that they set out to change. There are powerful lessons here for education, but also for those other domains of public life where the language of technological disruption echoes."*– Paul Dourish, University of California, Irvine* "A valuable book about education-reform movements, technology, and American anxieties." – *Shamus Rahman Khan, author of Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School*

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The Point is to Change It! TripleC special section with interviews published
by Jernej Amon Prodnik 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Dear All, A Special section of journal TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique, which we entitled "The Point is to Change It! Critical Political Interventions in Media and Communication Studies" (No 1, Vol 15, pp.: 214-336), has just been published. The section includes six interviews with some of the main representatives in critical media and communication scholarship, amongst them Bogdan Osolnik, member of the MacBride Commission. Interviews cover several intertwined topics and issues, which are connected together in the introduction, where we reflect on the role of critical communication studies and the antagonisms it faced in the past and faces today. The texts are available via the following links: - The Point Is to Change It! Introduction to Critical Political Interventions in Media and Communication Studies. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/858/968 - "The intention was to democratise the sphere of communication." An Interview with Bogdan Osolnik. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/859/970 - "What happened was foremost an assault by interests of the big capital." An interview with Breda Pavlič. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/860/971 - "Well friends, let's play jazz." An Interview with Cees J. Hamelink. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/861/972 - "Is enlightenment just a European idea?" An interview with Daya Thussu. Available via:http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/862/973 - "The concentration of power, represented by current prevailing media conditions, is and ought to be open to challenge." An interview with Peter Golding. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/863/974 - "I can't imagine a radically reformed political economy that isn't built on a radically reformed public sphere." An interview with Dan Hind. Available via: http://triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/864/975 You can also download the complete section on this link: http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/866/989 Feel free to share the information about this publication with your colleagues and apologies for cross-posting. Best regards, Jernej Amon Prodnik, Sašo Slaček Brlek

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First occurrence of a Twitter hashtag
by Pollack, Rachel 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Hi everyone, A question for all the Twitter researchers out there: does anyone know how to find the first use of a hashtag? I came across the tool Who Tweeted It First (http://ctrlq.org/first/) but it seems to cover only very recent Tweets, and I am interested in a hashtag that has been used for several years. Thank you! Rachel Rachel Pollack Ichou Associate Programme Specialist Section for Freedom of Expression Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development Communication and Information Sector United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, Place de Fontenoy F-75352 Paris 07 SP France Tel.: +33 (0)1 45 68 12 94 Email: r.pollack(a)unesco.org www.unesco.org

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Textbook / material suggestions for Legal and Ethical Issues in Strategic Communications
by Federica Fornaciari 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Dear colleagues, I am currently designing a MA course focused on the legal and ethical issues related to strategic communications. I am aiming towards books that provide a good balance between theoretical and practical approaches to law and/or ethics in communication, addressing both new and traditional media. Any suggestion on textbooks, readings or other material would be very appreciated! Thanks in advance, Fede *Federica Fornaciari**, Ph.D., Assistant** Professor* *Academic Program Director, MA Strategic Communications * National University College of Letters and Sciences Department of Arts and Humanities 11255 North Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, California 92037-1011 Email: ffornaciari(a)nu.edu

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Re: [Air-L] First occurrence of a Twitter hashtag
by Amelia Kassel 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

According to Hashtags.org (https://www.hashtags.org/user-agreement) "Chris Messina, a social technology expert, is credited to have come up with the very first hashtag on Twitter. He first posted the hashtag #barcamp in August 2007." The whole tweet appeared like this: ?how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?? "Messina came up with the hashtag with the purpose of gathering discussions and online exchanges regarding Barcamp, a technology unconference gathering activity that spans worldwide. His handle is @MrMessina. Since then, hashtags have spread to other social media sites and all over the internet to become one of the most widely used functions." http://bit.ly/1bRvaUp https://www.hashtags.org/featured/hashtag-history-when-and-what-started-it/ More info at the link above. Amelia Amelia Kassel | Research is your first step Business, Market, CI, and Due Diligence Research amelia(a)marketingbase.com Research Consulting and Training • Amelia's Mentor Program – Develop, Grow, and Expand! • US Private Company Research Expertise -----Original Message----- From: Air-L [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Pollack, Rachel Sent: Monday, March 27, 2017 5:39 AM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Cc: De Roy, Gerwin Subject: [Air-L] First occurrence of a Twitter hashtag Hi everyone, A question for all the Twitter researchers out there: does anyone know how to find the first use of a hashtag? I came across the tool Who Tweeted It First (http://ctrlq.org/first/) but it seems to cover only very recent Tweets, and I am interested in a hashtag that has been used for several years. Thank you! Rachel Rachel Pollack Ichou Associate Programme Specialist Section for Freedom of Expression Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development Communication and Information Sector United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, Place de Fontenoy F-75352 Paris 07 SP France Tel.: +33 (0)1 45 68 12 94 Email: r.pollack(a)unesco.org www.unesco.org _______________________________________________ The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/

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Rethinking digital health: experience, ethics, justice
by Adi Kuntsman 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

CFP: Rethinking digital health: experience,ethics, justice. A one day workshop for postgraduate students and early career researchers. 14 June 2017 https://sites.google.com/view/rethinkingdigitalhealth/home The Shed, Manchester Metropolitan University Organisers: EJ Gonzalez-Polledo (Sheffield University), Adi Kuntsman (ManchesterMetropolitan University), Esperanza Miyake (Manchester Metropolitan University)The event is FREE and limited travel funding is available In the recentyears, with the increasing use of tele-communication, mobile devices,smartphone apps and self-tracking devices for medical purposes, ‘digitalhealth’ has emerged as a field of interest for researchers in the socialsciences and the humanities. At the centre of this small but rapidly growingarea of interdisciplinary investigation are studies of websites and platformsfor medical care providers and patients’ self-help forums; conceptualexplorations of topics such as ‘digital embodiment’ or the ‘quantified self’;as well as explorations of digital health from the point of view of big data.However, these approaches often overlook issues relating to under- or mis-represented groups in ‘digital’ economies, and often celebrate, rather thancritically interrogate, the development of digital health itself. This workshopaims to challenge some of the unquestioned assumptions that guide researchersand practitioners of digital health alike. We ask instead: How might a focus onexperience, ethics and justice contribute to critical digital health studies? In this one-dayworkshop we invite submissions from postgraduate students and early careerresearchers in social sciences, social care, humanities and the arts, whosework deals with digital health. Our aim is to collectively raise questions thathave not yet made their ways to the field of digital health. Suggested topicsinclude: - Overt and covert exclusions in digital health practices - Marginalised and disenfranchised communities and digital health - Race, racism and digital health - Digitisation, health care and disability justice - Ethics and politics of bio data/big data In addition topresenting your own work, you will have the opportunity to discuss relationsbetween digital media, research methods and critical health research in themasterclass ‘Chronic Media Worlds – Social media, epistemic justice andcritical health politics’; and take part in an interactive workshop on ‘Optingout? Digital health and digital disengagement’. Submissionguidelines: please send a 300 word abstract and a short bio to rethinkingdigitalhealth(a)gmail.com by 15 April 2017. Funding: a smallnumber of bursaries is available to cover train travel within the UK (secondclass only. Please indicate on your submission if you would like to beconsidered for the travel bursary). All applicantswill be informed of the outcome by 15 May. For further information on programmeand registration, please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/rethinkingdigitalhealth/home

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Assistant professorship in EU health law / regulation of health technologies
by Bryce Newell 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Forwarding on behalf of my department: *TILT invites applications for an Assistant professorship (UD) in the field of EU health law, with a focus on regulating health technologies (broadly defined).* Healthcare, which has traditionally been a protected and tightly-regulated arena of action, is increasingly challenged by the development of new technologies that may or may not be inherent to the practice of medicine and biomedical research. Given the continual permeation of emergent technologies into healthcare, researchers and policy makers are not always able to foresee or oversee the potential implications and anticipate the regulatory measures necessary to governing the use of these technologies in the everyday practices of patients, care professionals and biomedical/health researchers. As part of a growing research program on the regulation and governance of health technologies, we are looking for legal scholars specialized in EU health law, who have solid knowledge of the law (in the books) as well as broader interest in issues of technological governance. Candidates should have demonstrable knowledge of current regulatory developments at the EU level that influence the practice of medicine and/or medical research in member states, as well as a solid basis in health law in one or more national legal systems. Knowledge of Dutch health law is considered to be an advantage. Deadline: 15 April 2017 More information: http://bit.ly/2nr4Zg5

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FINAL CALL Carey Media Research Award
by Mark D. Johns 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS James W. Carey Media Research Award 2017 Sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research http://www.cccsir.com/ The Carl Couch Center invites nominations or self nominations for works to be considered for its annual James W. Carey Media Research Award. Welcome are works on topics that were central to Carey's scholarship. Submissions might focus on technology, time & space and communication, the nature of public life, the relation between journalism and popular culture – among others – taking these themes in new or different directions. Applications will be evaluated based on engagement with Carey's approaches and concepts, originality, and advancement of knowledge. Evaluation will be administered by a Review Committee of: Dr. Kathy Roberts Forde, University of Massachusetts Dr. Mark D. Johns, Luther College Dr. John Pauly, Marquette University Dr. Linda Steiner, University of Maryland Both single and multiple authored works will be accepted. All submissions must be works that have been published or have been accepted for publication in a book or journal. To be considered for the 2017 award, works should have been published or accepted in 2016. Submitted works should be sent to Mark D. Johns, at the address below, according to the following directions: Works may be submitted electronically in plain text, Microsoft Word or PDF format. If a book is submitted, please send a copy of the table of contents and front matter electronically, along with a brief author statement (500 words maximum) describing how the book relates to Carey's thought. Then ask your publisher to furnish five (5) review copies for consideration by the committee. The application deadline is April 1, 2017. Notification of award application will be sent out by June 30. For questions and comments about the Carey Award, please contact: Dr. Mark D. Johns Communication Studies Luther College Decorah, IA 52101 USA E mail: mjohns(a)luther.edu

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AoIR Nomination Deadlines
by Michelle, AoIR Association Coordinator 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Dear AoIR List Readers: There are several looming deadlines for all things AoIR. Please read the information below to make certain you don't miss any of these. *Nominations for AoIR Executive Committee:* Deadline for Nomination: 3 April 2017 Information available here: https://aoir.org/2017execcom_nominations/ *Nancy Baym Book Award* Deadline for submission: 15 April 2017 Information available here: https://aoir.org/2017bookaward/ *Annual Dissertation Award* Deadline for submission: 15 April 2017 Information available here: https://aoir.org/2017dissaward/ *Doctoral Colloquium Participation* Deadline for submission: 20 May 2017 Information available here: https://aoir.org/aoir2017/subinfo2017/ If you have any questions please reply to ac(a)aoir.org Regards, Michelle AoIR Association Coordinator

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Call4Panelists: Limits of IoT Intelligence?
by emre＠mgovernment.net 27 Mar '17

27 Mar '17

Dear All, We are organising and looking for for panelists to join one of our leading panels at the mobileGov World Summit 2017 (www.m4life.org) to be held in Brighton UK, during May 7-9: 'Limits of IoT Intelligence?’ The panel explores the relationship between IoT and Artificial Intelligence and how intelligent could the IoT systems be. Basic questions it raises are on the limits of current learning mechanisms in AI that could help making sense of collected large amounts of data through sensors and converting that ‘sense’ into intelligent actions. Some of the topics to discuss include deep learning and resulting performance in IoT systems. The panel will be chaired by Prof. I Kushchu and his contribution, without technical details but practical views, will be based on many years of Kushchu’s scientific work in Evolutionary AI and generalisation of learned behaviours and advances mobile technologies, and will be a critical evaluation of the expected performance from intelligence of IoT. We are looking for experts and solution providers who can present ideas and working examples in IoT and Intelligence; generalised (deep) learning; current performance, limits and future prospects. If you are interested please send an email to me or conf(a)m4life.org with a brief on your potential contribution to this exciting and significant topic related to trends in mobile technologies and IoT. For more and participation to the mobileGov World Summit and Global mobileGov Awards, please visit m4life.org Best wishes, -- Emre Simsek Researcher MobileGov UK http://www.mgovernment.net/ emre(a)mgovernment.org

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