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Doctoral Research Fellowship in Popular Music
by Ragnhild Brøvig-Hanssen 22 Dec '16

22 Dec '16

Doctoral Research Fellowship in Popular Music Department of Musicology, University of Oslo Annual Salary: NOK 432 700 - 489 300, depending on level of expertise Closing Date: 1 February 2017 Reference: 2016/13844 A PhD Research Fellowship in popular music studies is available at the Department of Musicology, University of Oslo. It is expected that the successful candidate will work on an independent project dealing with a topic in the area of popular music research. Projects on remix culture, Internet and new media are encouraged but projects in other areas such as production, sound studies and identity will also be considered. The candidate will work under the guidance of Associate Professor Ragnhild Brøvig-Hanssen<http://www.hf.uio.no/imv/english/people/aca/ragnhiba/index.html>. The person appointed will be affiliated with the Faculty's organized research training. The academic work is to result in a doctoral thesis that will be defended at the Faculty with a view to obtaining the degree of PhD. The successful candidate is expected to join the existing research milieu or network and contribute to its development. The appointment is for a duration of three years. All PhD Candidates who submit their doctoral dissertation for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3 years or 3 ½ years after the start of their PhD position, will be offered, respectively, a 12 or 6 month Completion Grant<http://www.uio.no/for-ansatte/arbeidsstotte/fa/utdanning/hf/stipendiater/gj…>. Further details: http://uio.easycruit.com/vacancy/1736219/62048?iso=no

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Re: Teaching Social Media (Hazel Kwon)
by Hazel Kwon 22 Dec '16

22 Dec '16

Hi Seth, There is a recent book titled "Social Media in the Classroom" Might be of your interest... https://www.amazon.com/Social-Media-Classroom-Hana-Al-Deen/dp/1433129043 *Social Media in the Classroom* provides a comprehensive resource for teaching social media in advertising, public relations, and journalism at the undergraduate and graduate levels. With twelve chapters by contributors from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, this volume provides original scholarly work which encompasses a wide range of methodologies, theories, and sample assignments for implementing social media. This book is an excellent resource for preparing students to transform their personal skills in social media into professional skills for success in the job market. best, Hazel On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 10:52 AM, <air-l-request(a)listserv.aoir.org> wrote: > Send Air-L mailing list submissions to > air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > air-l-request(a)listserv.aoir.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > air-l-owner(a)listserv.aoir.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Air-L digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. > > Re: Teaching Social Media (P. VIGNESWARA ILAVARASAN ) > 2. DPASSH 2017 CFP: Short Papers and Panels - 14-15 June 2017, > Brighton, UK (Natalie Harrower) > 3. Fw: Posts in Sociogy/Media/Criminology at Surrey (CHRISTINE HINE) > 4. "Online anonymity: Right or threat?": a CRCC symposium > (Thais Sardá) > 5. Data on app adoption (Jarosław Kopeć) > 6. Re: Data on app adoption (Andrew Herman) > 7. Re: Data on app adoption (Stuart Shulman) > 8. Re: Data on app adoption (Thomas Ball) > 9. CFP - Web Science Summer School 2017 (Юрий Рыков) > 10. Re: CFP - Web Science Summer School 2017 (Юрий Рыков) > 11. Recommendations for short literary fiction and films on > "digital culture"? (Emma Stamm) > 12. CFP: The Politics of Gender (Adrienne Trier-Bieniek) > 13. Re: Recommendations for short literary fiction and films on > "digital culture"? (Thomas Ball) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 09:41:16 +0530 > From: "P. VIGNESWARA ILAVARASAN " <evignesh(a)gmail.com> > To: Seth C Bradshaw <bradshawsc(a)sfasu.edu> > Cc: "air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org" <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> > Subject: Re: [Air-L] Teaching Social Media > Message-ID: > <CAO_kf-iwdgbKCm+u2s4zYn03HXLBMhan9PsKGi8sfvivqesZmA@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Hi Seth > Greetings!, > I teach an elective curse 'Social Media & Business Practices' to MBA > students at IIT Delhi. > This book is a great starting point: > Blanchard, O. (2012). Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media > Efforts in Your Organization. Pearson: New Delhi. > More practical stuff for personal SM branding & community engagement can be > taken from: http://guykawasaki.com/books/the-art-of-social-media/ > Pull out articles from MIT Sloan Management Review & HBR. There are plenty. > Business Horizon has some seminal papers. > Social Media examiner, Social Media Week, Social Samosa, SM tab of > Mashable, and Pulse in LinkedIn gives you hundreds of caselets. > If you want videos, start with likes of: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYI1_gPGu7w > Men, Women & Children is a good movie too. > Hope this helps. > Would love to look at the final syllabus, if possible. > Best Regards, > Vignesh. > http://web.iitd.ac.in/~vignes/ > ________________________________ > P. VIGNESWARA ILAVARASAN, PhD > Associate Professor > Dept. of Management Studies > Indian Institute of Technology Delhi > Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 India > M:+91 9910230407 (India); O: +91 11 2659 1174 > E: vignes(a)iitd.ac.in W:http://web.iitd.ac.in/~vignes/ > * > > On Mon, Dec 19, 2016 at 5:44 PM, Seth C Bradshaw <bradshawsc(a)sfasu.edu> > wrote: > > > I am looking for information about social media, not using social media > to > > teach. In particular, I am interested in the professional application of > > social media in the areas of advertising and public relations. > > > > > > Thank you for all of the tips I've received thus far! > > > > > > Seth C. Bradshaw > > Assistant Professor > > Department of Mass Communication > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > > Boynton Bldg. Box 13048 SFA Station > > Nacogdoches, TX 75962 > > > > 936.468.1265 | Boynton Bldg. 302 > > ________________________________ > > -- "Truth will sooner come out from error than from confusion" - Francis Bacon K. Hazel Kwon (권경희) Assistant Professor Barrett Honors Faculty Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Arizona State University www.hazelkwon.net @HazelKwonASU (Twitter) Tel: 602-496-5268 <(602)%20496-5268>

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Fwd: IFIP 8.5 eGov/ePart 2017 - Open Government & Open and Big Data Track
by Robert Krimmer 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

dear colleagues, please see below our cfp for open gov, open & big data track within egov conference. if you have any questions please feel free to turn to ida or myself. robert Anfang der weitergeleiteten Nachricht: Von: Ida Lindgren <ida.lindgren(a)liu.se<mailto:ida.lindgren@liu.se>> Betreff: IFIP 8.5 eGov/ePart 2017 - Open Government & Open and Big Data Track Datum: 20. Dezember 2016 um 11:31:14 MEZ An: Bram <A.J.Klievink(a)tudelft.nl<mailto:A.J.Klievink@tudelft.nl>>, "robert.krimmer(a)ttu.ee<mailto:robert.krimmer@ttu.ee>" <robert.krimmer(a)ttu.ee<mailto:robert.krimmer@ttu.ee>> *************** *** 16th IFIP International Conference on eGovernment (IFIP EGOV 2017) and 9th IFIP International Conference on eParticipation (IFIP ePart 2017) *** 4 -7 September 2017, St. Petersburg, Russia Call for Papers: Open Government & Open and Big Data Track http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/ifip.working.group.8.5/website/confer… The Open Government & Open and Big Data Track focuses on practices and methods of open government data, public big data sharing and use, data for improving public value and data analytics. The explosive growth in data, the opening of data, large-scale data exchange platforms, data provided by the Internet of Things and increasing computational power creates new opportunities for innovating government. These developments have resulted in a repertoire of instruments and tools to gather, process, analyse, visualize and make use of the huge amount of data. These developments also bring with them new challenges and risks. The track also invites researchers interested in the underlying assumptions behind, and consequences of, opening up and sharing big data, focusing on issues such as transparency, accountability, and other social and societal issues that are related to this topic. Areas of focus and interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics: * The role of big and open data in public sector innovation * Governance of open and big data * Impact on society and/or public administration * The role of public, private and societal stakeholders in data sharing and use * Reasons for, and consequences of, opening up and sharing government data * Drivers and barriers for/to adoption of open (and big) data as well as open government as a whole * Critical studies on open government and open (and big) data * Methods for sharing and using big data, such as data processing, analysing and visualization * Data and information quality * Data-driven public service delivery * Predictive and pattern modelling on big and open linked data * Software as service (SaaS), utility computing, shared services * Service-oriented architectures, orchestration and composition * Cloud computing in government * Metadata, ontologies and semantic approaches * Infrastructure and enterprise architecture planning * Transparency and accountability issues related to open and big data * Value of applications based on government big data * The Internet of Things from a big-data perspective * Smart Big data apps and dashboards for decision making Submission types • Completed research papers (up to 12 pages, published in LCNS Springer). Papers in this category deal with completed research. They will be peer reviewed for rigour, relevance, originality and clarity of presentation. • Ongoing research and innovative projects papers (up to 8 pages, published by IOS Press). These papers can describe novel concepts, works-in-progress, or other ideas and issues that are not currently suitable for a completed research paper. They will also be peer reviewed but the emphasis is on relevance more than scientific rigor. • Workshops and panels on pertinent issues (2 pages, published by IOS Press). Proposals for workshops and panels should include rationale, objectives, expected outcomes and approach to audience participation. • Poster proposals (2 pages, published by IOS Press). Authors of accepted submissions are expected to bring their posters which will be displayed to the conference audience. Posters proposals will not be blind reviewed. • PhD colloquium submissions (up to 8 pages, published by IOS Press). A PhD student colloquium will be held prior to the conference. Papers of accepted submissions will be included in the proceedings. Proceedings All accepted completed research papers will be published by Springer Verlag (LNCS). Accepted submissions in all other categories will be published by IOS Press. Important Dates • 15 February 2017: Submission of papers • 15 March 2017: Submission of workshop/panel/poster/PhD colloquium contributions • 1 April 2017: Notification of decisions for papers/workshops/panels/posters/PhD colloquium contributions • 20 May 2017: Camera-ready papers of accepted completed research/ongoing research/workshop/panel/poster/PhD colloquium contributions Track chairs: Ida Lindgren (lead), Linköping University, Sweden Bram Klievink, Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands Robert Krimmer, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

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Job Opening - Research Analyst, Data & Society
by Robyn Caplan 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Hi All, We’re searching for a full-time Research Analyst at Data & Society in the area of algorithmic platforms and media history/policy. Ideal candidates would have experience publishing articles in 'public-facing' outlets (i.e. not just journal articles, but blogs, websites, newspapers, etc.) and/or have project management or managing editor experience. Looking ideally for candidates with some post-graduate study in the area of media studies, information science, or communications. Candidates working towards a PhD in a relevant field will also be considered. Please see the job opening here <https://datasociety.net/blog/jobs/research-analyst-accountability/> and forward to anyone you think would be a good fit! We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA community and persons with disabilities. This is a full-time position. Link again: https://datasociety.net/blog/jobs/research-analyst-accountability/ <https://datasociety.net/blog/jobs/research-analyst-accountability/> Thank you! Robyn Caplan Researcher (347) 622-1671 robyn(a)datasociety.net

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Queering Social Media Research - ICWSM Workshop
by Myles, David 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

***CALL FOR PARTICIPATION*** In occasion of the International Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM), we invite position papers and statements of interest for the workshop QUEERING SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH – ENGAGING WITH SEXUAL, GENDER, AND RELATIONAL DIVERSITY. This full-day workshop will take place on May 15, 2017 in Montreal, Canada. The deadline for application is March 4, 2017. For more information, please visit the workshop webpage: http://queeringsocialmediaresearch.blogspot.ca/2016/12/workshop-queering-so… Please send papers and questions at this address: qsmr2017(a)gmail.com For more information about the ICWSM, please visit: http://www.icwsm.org/2017/index.php We hope to see you in Montreal this Spring! The organizing committee: Mélanie Millette, Université du Québec à Montréal David Myles, Université de Montréal Anna Lauren Hoffmann, University of California, Berkeley

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new research tool for searching two million hours of television news
by kalev leetaru 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Apologies for cross-posting. I thought many of you might find of great interest my latest collaboration with the Internet Archive - this time to create a new research visualization tool that allows you to visualize two million hours of television news programming spanning the last 7 years. In particular, there are all kinds of fascinating questions that can be explored here re how a topic is being discussed online versus on MSM television news. You can specify any keyword and/or context keywords (allowing you to run a "near" search like "clinton NEAR email) and create a timeline charting by day how it has appeared in American television news over time and what networks focus the most on it. Unlike the Archive's primary Television News interface, which returns results at the level of an hour or half-hour "show," the interface here reaches inside of those six years of programming and breaks the more than one million shows into individual sentences and counts how many of those sentences contain the given keyword. Thus, instead of reporting that CNN had 24 hour-long shows yesterday that mentioned Donald Trump one or more times, this tool counts how many sentences uttered on CNN yesterday mentioned his name - a vastly more accurate metric for assessing media attention. CSV and JSON output are also available to make it easy to import the timeline into the analytic package of your choice like R or simply Excel for further analysis. More features will be coming over the next few months. http://blog.archive.org/2016/12/20/new-research-tool-for-visualizing-two-mi… http://television.gdeltproject.org/cgi-bin/iatv_ftxtsearch/iatv_ftxtsearch Kalev http://kalevleetaru.com/ http://blog.gdeltproject.org/

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Human-Machine Communication Pre-Conference at ICA
by Andrea Guzman 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Hello everyone, Please see below for information regarding a Human-Machine Preconference as part of ICA 2017 in San Diego. Also, in case you have not heard, we have a Human-Machine Communication listserv: https://listserv.temple.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=HMC-SCHOLARS Communicating with Machines: Interventions with Digital Agents Date & Time: Thursday, 25 May 2017; 8:30 - 16:00 Venue: San Diego Hilton Bayfront **ON-SITE** Organizers: Autumn Edwards, Western Michigan U; Chad Edwards, Western Michigan U; Andrea L. Guzman, Northern Illinois U; David J. Gunkel, Northern Illinois U; Steve Jones, U of Illinois at Chicago; U; Austin Lee, Northern Kentucky U; Seth C. Lewis, University of Oregon; Jake Liang, Chapman U; Patric Spence, U of Kentucky Cost of Registration & Attendance: Faculty $75 USD/ Student $50 USD Sponsors: Northern Illinois U, Department of Communication Northern Kentucky U, College of Informatics U of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Communication U of Kentucky, College of Communication & Information, School of Information Science U of Oregon, Shirley Papé Chair In Electronic Media, School of Journalism and Communication Western Michigan U, Communication and Social Robotics Lab Deadline for submissions: 31 January 2017 Digital interlocutors are increasingly standing in for humans in communication contexts. This pre-conference focuses on communication with and between humans and digital interlocutors that has the potential to engage, alter, and disrupt “normal” events, practices, and phenomena. We invite scholars from across ICA’s divisions and a variety of epistemological and methodological backgrounds to discuss their work related to Human-Machine Communication (HMC) interventions, which encompasses Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Robot Interaction, and Human-Agent Interaction, in this full-day pre-conference. We seek to raise awareness of and further develop HMC research and the scholarly community surrounding it. Notification of acceptance: 15 February 2017 Participant Acknowledgment: Accepted participants will be listed along with the titles of their presentations in both the ICA Conference and the HMC Preconference programs. Preconference Focus: As artificial intelligence, robotics, and ICTs continue to develop and merge, we are increasingly interacting with digital interlocutors such as voice-based agents, robots, and social bots. We also are sending and receiving messages to and from wearable devices. We directly interact with the technologies surrounding us, and digital entities have been and continue to stand in for humans in everyday communication contexts. The recent surge of digital interlocutors into quotidian routines has been accompanied with questions – voiced by leading scientists as well as the average person – regarding the ramifications of these technologies and our interactions with them. In concert with the conference theme of "Intervention," our pre-conference focuses on communication with and between humans and digital interlocutors that has the potential to engage, alter, and disrupt “normal” events, practices, and phenomena. We invite scholars from across ICA’s divisions and a variety of epistemological and methodological backgrounds to discuss their work related to HMC interventions, which encompasses Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Robot Interaction, and Human-Agent Interaction, in this full-day pre-conference. We will focus on the individual, cultural, and philosophical implications of the various ways in which we interact with machines. Possible topic areas for participant presentations include, but are not limited to, communicative practices between humans and digital interlocutors, the integration of artificial entities into private, professional, and political spaces, the incorporation of AI into journalism and other media industries, cultural discourse surrounding these technologies, relationship dynamics between humans and machines, reinterpretations and representations of humans as digital entities, and intercultural aspects of HMC. We invite scholars from ICA’s many divisions to discuss their work regarding the individual, cultural, and philosophical implications of machine/digital interventions. We seek to raise awareness of and further develop HMC research and the scholarly community surrounding it. We hope to continue the conversation from last year’s post-conference in Japan. Preconference format: Our goal is to provide a space for participants to present their research and engage in conversation with one another. We have adopted a two-tiered format in which some scholars will be invited to deliver a paper presentation while others will be invited to take part in a poster session. More details are forthcoming. Papers: (750-1,000 words excluding references). Papers should detail what the scholar plans to present and how it relates to the overall focus of the preconference on human-machine communication. We are interested in all forms of scholarship (theoretical, empirical, etc). Papers should be submitted as an attachment to Autumn Edwards: autumn.edwards(a)wmich.edu _____ Andrea L. Guzman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Dept. of Communication Northern Illinois University alguzman(a)niu.edu

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New book (again): The Age of Sharing by Nicholas John
by Nicholas John 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Hello AoIR I know I did this already, but that was the before the book was published in the US. It has now been published in the US, so I’m doing it again… I’m delighted to announce the publication of my book, The Age of Sharing. Culture Digitally has put up an excerpt: http://culturedigitally.org/2016/11/the-age-of-sharing-by-nicholas-john-an-… <http://culturedigitally.org/2016/11/the-age-of-sharing-by-nicholas-john-an-…> And there’s also a dialogue piece in which some of your favourite internet researchers respond to that excerpt: http://culturedigitally.org/2016/12/dialogue_nikjohn/ <http://culturedigitally.org/2016/12/dialogue_nikjohn/> Polity also has a short blog post: http://politybooks.com/the-age-of-sharing/ <http://politybooks.com/the-age-of-sharing/> If you order it from polity, you can use the code PY794 to get a 20% discount, or order an examination copy. Or there’s always Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Age-Sharing-Nicholas-John/dp/074566251X <https://www.amazon.com/Age-Sharing-Nicholas-John/dp/074566251X> (though how they’re offering 2nd hand copies already is beyond me…) The blurb on the back says: Sharing is central to how we live today: it is what we do online; it is a model of economic behavior; and it is also a type of therapeutic talk. Sharing always comes with a warm glow around it, embodying positive values such as empathy, communication, fairness, openness and equality. The Age of Sharing shows how and when sharing became caring, and explains how its meanings have changed in the digital age. Sharing, though, is also a word used to camouflage commercial or even exploitive relations, leading many to bemoan that ‘It isn’t really sharing’. Websites say they share data with advertisers, though actually they sell it, while parts of the sharing economy look much like rental services. But The Age of Sharing ultimately argues that practices described as sharing and critiques of those practices have common roots. Consequently, the powerful metaphor of sharing now constructs significant swathes of our social practices and provides the grounds for critiquing them; it is a mode of participation in the capitalist order and a way of resisting it. Taking in nineteenth century literature, Alcoholics Anonymous, the American counterculture, reality TV, hackers, Airbnb, Facebook and more, The Age of Sharing offers a rich account of a complex contemporary keyword. Nancy Baym said this: “The word ‘sharing’ has become so ubiquitous that we rarely stop to inquire into its meanings, let alone the ideological work it does in the diverse contexts of its use. John’s engaging historical analysis of ‘sharing’ across three domains is essential reading, offering deep insight into the implicit values that shape our interactions and economies.” And Russell Belk, groundbreaking scholar of consumption, said: “The Age of Sharing is an insightful and careful excavation of the concept and practice of sharing both material and immaterial things. It broadly interrogates primates and early humans to the latest social media and “sharing” apps, for clues about our basic human nature.” Consider giving yourself this book as a gift! Enjoy, Nik Nicholas John Department of Communication The Hebrew University of Jerusalem T +972 54 7906073 @nicholasajohn <http://www.twitter.com/nicholasajohn> nicholasjohn.huji.ac.il <http://nicholasjohn.huji.ac.il/> Check out my new book,The Age of Sharing, at Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/Age-Sharing-Nicholas-John/dp/074566251X> or directly from Polity <http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9780745662503> Read an excerpt at Culture Digitally <http://culturedigitally.org/2016/11/the-age-of-sharing-by-nicholas-john-an-…>.

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Call for Papers - ECPR General Conference Oslo (6-9 Sept. 2017) "Political Sciences and the Big Data Challenge From Big Data in Politics to the Politics of Big Data"
by Elena Pavan 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

*** Apologies for cross-posting.. and Merry Christmas!!*** In occasion of the next ECPR General Conference (Oslo 6-9 September 2017) we invite papers for any of the panels in the section "Political Sciences and the Big Data Challenge From Big Data in Politics to the Politics of Big Data". More detailed info on panels and the overall section can be found below. Please submit paper proposals to elena.pavan(a)sns.it <mailto:elena.pavan@sns.it> and alice.mattoni(a)sns.it <mailto:alice.mattoni@sns.it> by *January the 15^th 2017* including the following info: - papers titles and abstracts (no more than 500 words) - institutional affliliation - institutional email address We will then arrange the selected papers in panels and submit them to the ECPR via their electronic platform. Please note that paper authors must be registered in the ECPR electronic platform with the email address they will include in the paper proposals. All the best Alice Mattoni and Elena Pavan *** *CALL FOR PAPERS* *ECPR General Conference – 6-9 September 2017, Oslo* ** *Section title* * * *Political Sciences and the Big Data Challenge From Big Data in Politics to the Politics of Big Data* * * *Section organizers* Chair: Elena Pavan, Scuola Normale Superiore Co-chair: Alice Mattoni, Scuola Normale Superiore * * *Section outline and themes* This section aims to open a much-needed space for developing within the ECPR context a critical and informed reflection on the multi-faceted nexus between Big Data and political science. It understands Big Data not solely in terms of large-scale datasets of textual or digital data that require us to tune our research practices. More radically, it starts from a conceptualization of Big Data as a complex set of cultural, political and scientific knowledge practices that challenge the traditional modes in which research questions are posed and framed, analyses are performed, as well as the ways in which results are communicated to the public and thus affect public discourse and debates. Consistently, the section comprises a set of panels that aim to investigate two interrelated aspects. On the one hand, panels will engage with how Big Data are leveraging our understanding of political dynamics within complex societies. In this respect, the section will consider applications of Big Data in connection to public opinion and institutional politics (party dynamics, political communications, etc.) as well as in relation to the study of contemporary forms of collective action and unconventional political participation (social movements, digital activism and the like). On the other, panels will develop a specific take on Big Data, considering how they become a contested research and political terrain, and thus inviting critical reflections on methodological and epistemological implications but also on the power dynamics that entwine with the increased datification of our societies. In this sense, this Section offers a unique occasion to foster the convergence of scholars and researchers currently working on the value of Big Data for studying politics but also on the politics of Big Data themselves. With this aim in mind, the panels in this Section will welcome papers employing different theoretical, empirical and methodological approaches on Big Data, with a single-case or a comparative multinational and/or multiplatform perspective. More specifically, the Section will welcome papers on the following topics. * * *Big data, public opinion and institutional politics* Digital social behaviors and, particularly, social media communications and interactions are increasingly considered a fundamental component of electoral campaigns, governmental and legislative dynamics as well as of the relationships and the interactions between party members and political leaders with their constituencies. Thus, it is in the online public discourse unravelling on social media platforms that politicians and policy-makers lean to an increasing extent to have the pulse of ongoing and ever evolving political trends and public opinions. This panel invites papers that apply Big Data to the study of contemporary political institutional and/or public opinion dynamics with national or comparative perspectives thus providing a space to inquiry about how this type of data and related methodological and analytical practices can leverage our understanding of traditional political science topics. * * *Big data and unconventional political participations* The rapid diffusion and increased use of social media platforms in grassroots politics has relevant consequences for the organization of social movements and their forms of protest. While more traditional forms of collective actions still exist, grassroots politics often follows a logic of connective action according to which collective actors are less central than in the past for the success of mobilizations. Moreover, activists lean increasingly on web-based platforms and internet services that produce Big Data flows worldwide. This panel invites papers that investigate to what extent Big Data are changing the way in which activists organize and protest with national or comparative perspectives thus providing a space to inquiry about how this type of data and related methodological and analytical practices can leverage our understanding of grassroots political participation today. * * *A paradigm shift for political science? Discussing Big Data epistemology and its implication for political studies* Recent events, such as the last USA Presidential elections, have clearly shown the potentials and, perhaps, even to a larger extent, the criticalities of predictive analytical practices in the study of political dynamics. The time seems more than ripe to begin re-addressing the methodological practices that underpin our understanding of sociopolitical dynamics – in particular in relation to our extensive use of large-scale digital and textual datasets which are deemed to be “representative” of citizens’ political preferences, desires, and priorities. Consistently, this panel invites papers that address, theoretically or empirically, the potentialities and the criticalities of Big Data as a new epistemological practice for producing valid and socially relevant scientific knowledge in the field of political science. * * *Big data as a political terrain: deconstructing and approaching critically datification* Big Data are not a neutral field of practice and knowledge, in particular when it comes to politics. Political actors, economic actors and media actors understand in different ways the concept of big data. More precisely, when political parties and social movements engage with Big Data, they often evoke specific, and contrasting, understanding of what datification processes means in and for politics. This panel invites papers that deconstruct and approach critically processes of datification in contemporary politics by looking at the intersections between different political cultures and (big) data cultures, focusing on the discourses and imaginaries that political actors develop around Big Data, and investigating the media practices related to the construction, manipulation and subversion of Big Data within the political realm. * * *How to submit a paper* Please submit paper proposals to elena.pavan(a)sns.it <mailto:elena.pavan@sns.it> and alice.mattoni(a)sns.it <mailto:alice.mattoni@sns.it> by January the 15^th 2017 including the following info: - papers titles and abstracts (no more than 500 words) - institutional affliliation - institutional email address We will then arrange the selected papers in panels and submit them to the ECPR via their electronic platform. Please note that paper authors must be registered in the ECPR electronic platform with the email address they will include in the paper proposals. -- Elena Pavan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Istituto di Scienze Umane e Sociali Scuola Normale Superiore Palazzo Strozzi - Piazza degli Strozzi, 1 50123 Firenze email: elena.pavan(a)sns.it telephone: +39 055 2673330 Adjunct Professor Dipartimento Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale Università di Trento via Verdi 26 38122 Trento email: elena.pavan(a)unitn.it telephone: +39 (0)461 28 1378 --- Questa e-mail è stata controllata per individuare virus con Avast antivirus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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New book: Socialbots and Their Friends
by Robert W. Gehl 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Dear AoIR Friends, Maria Bakardjieva and I are pleased to announce that our edited collection, Socialbots and Their Friends: Digital Media and the Automation of Sociality, is available: https://www.routledge.com/Socialbots-Digital-Media-and-the-Automation-of-So… Here's the back of the cover description: "Many users of the Internet are aware of bots: automated programs that work behind the scenes to come up with search suggestions, check the weather, filter emails, or clean up Wikipedia entries. More recently, a new software robot has been making its presence felt in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter – the socialbot. However, unlike other bots, socialbots are built to appear human. While a weatherbot will tell you if it's sunny and a spambot will incessantly peddle Viagra, socialbots will ask you questions, have conversations, like your posts, retweet you, and become your friend. All the while, if they're well-programmed, you won't know that you're tweeting and friending with a robot. Who benefits from the use of software robots? Who loses? Does a bot deserve rights? Who pulls the strings of these bots? Who has the right to know what about them? What does it mean to be intelligent? What does it mean to be a friend? Socialbots and Their Friends: Digital Media and the Automation of Sociality is one of the first academic collections to critically consider the socialbot and tackle these pressing questions." The book features essays by Peggy Weil, Guillaume Latzko-Toth, Andrea L. Guzman, Florian Muhle, Adrienne Massanari, Keiko Nishimura, Grant Bollmer, Chris Rodley, Stefano DePaoli, Leslie Ball, Natalie Coull, John Isaacs, Angus MacDonald, Jonathan Letham, Tim Graham, Robert Ackland, and David Gunkel -- all of whom make the collection awesome. Maria and I pitch in, too. So, no matter if you for one welcome our new robot overlords, or if you grab your decompiler to wage war on the newest software agents, you're going to want to buy this book! - Rob -- Robert W. Gehl Associate Professor, Department of Communication Affiliated Faculty, Department of Writing & Rhetoric The University of Utah www.robertwgehl.org | @robertwgehl www.socialmediaalternatives.org Sent from our OS on our Internet Reverse Engineering Social Media (Temple U P 2014) http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2275_reg.html Winner of the 2015 Association of Internet Researchers Nancy Baym Book Award Socialbots and Their Friends (Routledge 2016) https://www.routledge.com/Socialbots-Digital-Media-and-the-Automation-of-So…

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