- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: [Air-L] Sentiment analysis tool for Facebook comments
by Benj. N. Sugar 08 Nov '16

08 Nov '16

For those working in a pythonic domain: VADER: A Parsimonious Rule based Model for Sentiment Analysis of Social Media Text http://comp.social.gatech.edu/papers/icwsm14.vader.hutto.pdf https://github.com/cjhutto/vaderSentiment

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CfP: ICA 2017 Preconference: Digital Inequalities and Discrimination in the Big Data Era
by Jenifer Sunrise Winter 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Dear AoIR Friends and Colleagues, I believe our ICA preconference session may be of interest to many on the list. *DIGITAL INEQUALITIES AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE BIG DATA ERA* *Preconference of the International Communication Association '17* May 25, 2017, San Diego Hilton Bayfront, San Diego, California (USA) Co-sponsored by the Pacific ICTD Collaborative, the School of Communications (University of Hawaii at Manoa), and the Institute for Information Policy (Penn State University) *Abstracts due: February 10, 2017 * *CALL FOR PAPERS* A growing number of ordinary objects are being redesigned to include digital sensors, computing power, and communication capabilities – and new objects, and processes, are becoming part of the Internet. This emerging Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem – networks of physical objects embedded with the ability to sense, and sometimes act upon, their environment, as well as related communication, applications, and data analysis, enables data to be collected from billions of everyday objects. The emerging datasphere made possible by these developments offers immense potential to serve the public good by fostering government transparency, energy conservation, participatory governance, and substantial advances in medical research and care. On the other hand, a growing body of research addresses emerging privacy and civil liberties concerns related to big data, including unjust discrimination and unequal access to data and the tools needed to make use of it. For example, big data analytics may reveal patterns that were previously not detectable. Data about a variety of daily tasks that seem trivial is increasingly being federated and used to reveal associations or behaviors, and these analyses and the decisions made based on them pose potential harms to individuals or groups. Many transactions that seemed innocuous can now be used to discriminate – one’s movement throughout the day, items purchased at the store, television programs watched, “friends” added or looked at on social networks, or individuals communicated with or who were in close proximity to the subject at various times, can all be used to make judgements that affect an individual and his or her life chances. With the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we are increasingly moving to a world where many decisions around us are shaped by these calculations rather than traditional human judgement. For example, sensitive personal information or behaviors (e.g., political or health-related) may be used to discriminate when individuals seek housing, immigration eligibility, medical care, education, bank loans or other financial services, insurance, or employment. At the same time, individuals, groups, or regions may also be disadvantaged due to a lack of access to data (or related skills and tools) to make use of big data in ways that benefit their lives and communities. This preconference session seeks to advance understanding of digital inequalities and discrimination related to big data and big data analytics. *Papers between 5,000-8,000 words and position papers between 1,000-2,000 words are welcomed. * *TOPICS OF INTEREST* We welcome scholarly and applied research on, but not limited to, the following: • Social, economic, and ethical implications of big data analytics in a variety of contexts (e.g., access to housing, immigration, medical care, education, bank loans or other financial services, insurance, or employment). • Perspectives on big data from scholars from emerging economies or traditionally marginalized groups. • Predictive analytics, algorithmic discrimination, and artificial-intelligence-based decision making. • Digital inequalities, such as unequal access to big data sets, skills, or tools. • Emerging data literacies. • Use of big data to counter social and economic inequality (e.g., promoting civil rights and social justice). • Disclosure of algorithms, algorithmic transparency, and the public good. • Big data, security and encryption (potential for hacking, theft, third-party abuse). • Government and corporate surveillance. • Big data brokers and sale of personal data (is privacy a commodity or a right?) • International norms and standards for big data. • Policy/legal analysis related to big data and the preconference theme (e.g., standards of liability for injury and defective work products (algorithms/burden of proof), the challenge of Notice and Consent, liability for bad or false or slanted or insufficient data collection, government regimes for supervision of big data policies). • Consumer bill of rights for big data. • Big data and anonymity, re-identification of anonymous data. • Big data vs. privacy as an essential condition for safeguarding free speech, intellectual property (i.e., how IP laws impact big data), or Constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and association. Papers may include empirical research as well as policy analyses, new methodological approaches, or position papers addressing the preconference theme. Submissions by graduate students working in this area are welcomed. *The costs of the workshop are heavily subsidized by the participating Institutes, to keep fees for participants at a nominal level.* *IMPORTANT DATES* *Abstracts due*: February 10, 2017 *Notifications to submitters*: February 27, 2017 *Full papers due*: May 12, 2017 *SUBMISSION GUIDELINES* Abstracts of up to 500 words and a short bio of the author(s) should be emailed to pictdc(a)hawaii.edu by February 10, 2017. Please include “Digital Inequalities ICA 2017” in the subject line. Full papers accepted for presentation at the preconference will, with the consent of the authors, be submitted to the Journal of Information Policy( http://www.psupress.org/Journals/jnls_JIP.html/) for consideration for a Special Issue curated by guest editors from the field. The papers will be blind peer-reviewed, to assure their academic value to both authors (for academic credit) and readers. ---- Regards, Jenifer Jenifer Sunrise Winter, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Graduate Chair, School of Communications Co-director, Pacific ICTD Collaborative University of Hawaii at Manoa 2550 Campus Road, Crawford Hall 325, Honolulu, HI 96822 ph: 808.956.3784

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Why the Future of the Internet Needs Social Justice Movements
by Becky Lentz 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Dear Aoir colleagues, This may be of interest to some researching internet freedom and/or digital rights from a social justice perspective. Also, if anyone is interested in joining an emerging conversation about a working group focused on research for/with the ISF, please feel free to email me off list. http://internetsocialforum.net/isf/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ISF-Working-P aper-27-October-2016.pdf Best, B. Lentz, McGill

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Best hashtags? Crowd-sourced links to deep election night buzz
by Steven Clift 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Join me in this Google Sheet: http://po.st/electionhashtags Let's gather the - BEST - hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, etc. to soak in the election night results and chatter. I have one sheet for US national political/election hashtags and one for states. Add the ones for your state now! I have a proposal, if you are talking about results from a state, add a hashtag like: #VoteOH for Ohio, etc. This way we can easily tune into reports from the field ... Also, how about promoting #letmevote with Facebook Live for people to record/broadcast that they are having troubles voting. Add #VoteOH (etc.) and you'd be more visible locally. Like #votingselfie (and #ballotselfie ) is being used, but a bit more news worthy. You can search for Facebook Live videos by dropping the # people the hashtag text. Examples: https://www.facebook.com/search/str/election2016/videos-live https://www.facebook.com/search/str/trump/videos-live https://www.facebook.com/search/str/clinton/videos-live The map of "live" Facebook Live broadcasts is here: https://www.facebook.com/livemap

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Funded PhD Opportunities & Online Info Session at the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
by Diesner, Jana 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Hi all, The School of Information Sciences, the iSchool at Illinois, is actively recruiting outstanding doctoral students who are interested in becoming partners in our world-renowned research and scholarship program. We encourage applications from students from all disciplinary backgrounds. Admitted candidates in good standing are offered four years of funding in the form of research, teaching, and service assistantships, including tuition waivers and stipends. The School's flexible program ensures that each student receives the intellectual guidance and experiences necessary to prepare them for vibrant research careers in a wide range of academic, business, and government settings. We study how: · Information literacy enables participation in the knowledge society, · Data science opens new windows to knowledge, · History informs our identity and guides our information future, · Systems serve people, · Information is a vital human resource, · Libraries shape what we know and who we are. For more on our vision: http://ischool.illinois.edu/research/vision For additional information about: · The PhD program: http://ischool.illinois.edu/academics/degrees/phd or by contacting ischool-apply(a)illinois.edu · The iSchool faculty: http://ischool.illinois.edu/people/faculty Students from historically underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply. Deadline for PhD applications is December 15. Information Session: On Monday, November 14, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. CST, we will host an online information session about our PhD degree in library and information science. During the session, iSchool faculty and staff will answer questions and provide information about our School and programs. Login instructions are below. ONLINE: http://go.ischool.illinois.edu/meet Login Instructions: http://groups.lis.illinois.edu/itdweb/bbcollaborate/bbcmeetingrooms.php If you are away from your computer or without a microphone, you may dial in to the session as follows: Meeting Room Number: +1-571-392-7703, PIN: 746 676 595 353. If you have questions or problems with regard to participation, please contact our Help Desk: help(a)support.ischool.illinois.edu, +1-217-244-4903 or +1-800-377-1892. For additional information about the online information session: http://ischool.illinois.edu/events/2016/11/14/phd-online-information-session Regards, Jana Jana Diesner, PhD Assistant Professor Dori J. Maynard Senior Fellow School of Information Sciences/ The iSchool at Illinois University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Phone: 412 519 7576 Web: http://people.ischool.illinois.edu/~jdiesner/

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CfP #ICA17: How to Quantify the Unquantifiable: The Methodology of Gender and Intersecting Dimensions of Identity
by K Eckert 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Call for Papers: Pre-Conference ICA 2017, San Diego How to Quantify the Unquantifiable The Methodology of Gender and Intersecting Dimensions of Identity Feminist Scholarship Division, LGBTQ Studies IG, Mass Communication Division In the field of media and communication studies the methods we apply are informed by the theoretical paradigms of our investigations. Mass communication research on media users in long-running national surveys or media effects experiments are often tasked with reducing complex theoretical constructs to quantifiable categories. Similarly, research on representations in media applies categorical systematics to assess how gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, class, age, and other dimensions of identity are depicted across media outlets. On the one hand, research applying standardized methods usually falls short in acknowledging the social construction and blurring boundaries of these categories. On the other hand, scholarship informed by deconstructivist theories has aimed to identify examples and patterns of media realities, but are sometimes criticized for including far-reaching conclusions without generalizable evidence. Our keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Susanne Kinnebrock (University of Augsburg, Germany) will open the pre-conference with an overview of how the concepts of gender and sex have historically evolved within our research traditions and how closely related our methodological approaches to these developments have been. This will set the stage to elaborate and think about ways to critically appraise gender and its intersecting dimensions within the quantitative paradigm. Overall, the pre-conference aims to bring together scholars with different approaches to the same issues with the intention of informing as well as inspiring collaborative approaches across disciplines and paradigms. We invite innovative thinking on what methodologies are open to us, both when we ask questions concerning large populations or when we seek to quantify complex ideas. What methodological approaches can we productively employ while assessing matters of gender, sex, race, ethnicity, and class in a thoughtful manner? We invite three types of submissions: 1. Research reports that share findings of systematic research projects that use, challenge, or subvert constructions of gender and other dimensions of identity. Please submit an abstract (approx. 500 words). 2. Position papers that discuss methodological issues in a current project, general conceptual issues, or possible questions to contribute during our roundtables on the advancement of investigating gender and other intersecting dimensions. Please submit an abstract (approx. 500 words). 3. Workshop proposals that suggest a workshop concept with activities, discussion questions, and other materials. A possible approach to the workshop can include a focus on examining specific concepts of identity dimensions in research traditions, paradigms, or historical periods of communication studies as a discipline. Other topics fitting the theme of the pre-conference are welcome (approx. 500 words + materials). Please email all submissions and questions to sabine.reich(a)ijk.hmtm-hannover.de<mailto:sabine.reich@ijk.hmtm-hannover.de>. Submissions are due by December 15, 2016, 11:59 EST. Please clearly mark the submission type before the title and in your e-mail. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by February 20, 2017. Full call: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5w_mQFvlgy4V1Q5akV1bk8zcWc/view Stine Eckert, Ph.D. Vice-Chair Feminist Scholarship Division, ICA Assistant Professor Department of Communication 571 Manoogian Hall Wayne State University Detroit, MI 48201 @stineeckert http://stineeckert.com/ https://wikidgrrls.wordpress.com/

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21st European Conference on Advances in Databases and Information Systems (ADBIS 2017): Second Call for Papers
by Announce Announcements 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

*** Second Call for Papers *** 21st European Conference on Advances in Databases and Information Systems ADBIS 2017 Hilton Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus 24 - 27 September, 2017 http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… The main objective of the ADBIS series of conferences is to provide a forum for the dissemination of research accomplishments and to promote interaction and collaboration between the database and information system research communities from European countries and the rest of the world. The ADBIS conferences provide an international platform for the presentation of research on database theory, development of advanced DBMS technologies, and their advanced applications. The conference will consist of regular sessions with technical contributions (regular papers, short papers) reviewed and selected by an international program committee, as well as of invited talks and tutorials presented by leading scientists. The official language of the conference will be English. A Doctoral Consortium and different Workshops will be held in line with the main conference. TOPICS We invite original papers describing results that broadly belong to both theory and practice of databases and information systems. The list of specific topics of interest follows, with a note that it is not exhaustive and we welcome novel results addressing topics not included in the list. · Data intensive sciences and databases · Theoretical foundations of databases · Management of large scale data systems · Data models and query languages · Database monitoring and (self-)tuning · Data curation, annotation, and provenance · Data warehousing, OLAP, and ETL tools · Indexing, query processing and optimization · Data mining and knowledge discovery · Big data storage, replication, and consistency · Modeling, mining and querying user generated content · Data quality and data cleansing · Web, XML and semi-structured databases · Sensor databases and mobile data management · Text databases and information retrieval · Probabilistic databases, uncertainty and approximate querying · Temporal and spatial databases · Graph databases · Databases on emerging hardware architectures · Distributed data platforms, including Cloud data systems, key-value stores, and Big Data systems · Information extraction and integration · Streaming data analysis · Scalable data analysis and analytics · Data and information visualization; and user interfaces · Information quality and usability · Information system architectures and networking · Business process modeling and optimization · Data and information flow engineering and management · Context-aware and adaptive information systems · Data and information intensive services · Requirements engineering for databases and information systems · Artificial intelligence in databases and information systems · Data, information, and information systems security · Innovative platforms for data and information handling · Innovative approaches for database and information systems engineering · Novel database and information systems applications PAPER PUBLISHING ADBIS accepted research papers will be published in a Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science volume. Papers must not exceed 14 pages in the LNCS format. For camera-ready papers use Latex or Word style (find here http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi… 0-164-2-793332-0&changeHeader). The program committee may decide to accept a submission as a short paper if it reports interesting results but does not justify publication of a full paper. ADBIS short research papers must not exceed 8 pages. The best paper authored solely by students will receive an award. Best papers of the main conference will be invited for submission in special issues of the ISI-indexed journals Information Systems (http://www.journals.elsevier.com/information-systems/) and Informatica (http://www.informatica.si/) SUBMISSION GUIDELINES · Papers must be written in English. · Papers must contain previously unpublished work and not be submitted concurrently to another conference. · Papers are submitted using an electronic submissions system, as detailed below. · An Author of an accepted paper must register to ADBIS 2017 in order to have the paper published. · Accepted papers must be presented at the conference by one of the authors. · ADBIS papers must be submitted via the EasyChair system: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/lm/lm.php?tk=YWlyLUwJCQlhaXItTEBsaXN0c2Vydi…. · Papers must be submitted as a single PDF document · Authors of accepted papers must submit along with the camera-ready version of their paper a copyright form filled (http://www.cyprusconferences.org/adbis2017/files/springerform.pdf) and signed. Please note that only authors employed by the EU (as an institution) tick the relevant box. Authors who simply reside or work in an EU country should not tick this box. IMPORTANT DATES · Full and Short Papers: March 30, 2017 · Notification of Acceptance: May 25, 2017 · Camera-ready Submission: June 15, 2017 COMMITTEES Steering Committee Chair · Leonid Kalinichenko, Russian Academy of Science, Russia General Chair · George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Program Chairs · Marite Kirikova, Riga Technical University, Latvia · Kjetil Norvag, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway Proceedings Chair · Christos Mettouris, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Workshops Chairs · Johann Gamper, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy · Robert Wrembel, Poznan University of Technology, Poland Doctoral Consortium Chairs · Jerome Darmont, Universite Lyon 2, France · Stefano Rizzi, University of Bologna, Italy

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CfP: Journalism Studies PhD Colloquium - ICA 2017 Preconference
by Raul Ferrer Conill 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Call for Papers: ICA 2017 Preconference Journalism Studies Graduate Student Colloquium Date: 25 May 2017 Time: 9am - 5pm Location: San Diego City College, San Diego, US Submission deadline for abstracts: 16 December 2016 The Journalism Studies Graduate Student Colloquium brings together PhD candidates working in journalism studies with experienced scholars in the field. The Colloquium is part of the Journalism Studies Division's commitment to academic mentorship and will be held as preconference in conjunction with the 2017 Annual Conference of the International Communication Association in San Diego, USA. Its goal is to contribute actively to the professional development of young scholars by giving them an opportunity to present and discuss their research in a constructive and international atmosphere. Participating graduate students will receive project-specific feedback from recognized experts in the field, as well as general career development advice. The Colloquium will thus provide the opportunity to meet experts as well as fellow PhD candidates from different backgrounds working on related topics. The Colloquium will be based on thesis-related work submitted by the participant PhD candidates. During the Colloquium, students will be invited to present their work, following which they will receive feedback from their fellow students and senior experts. Each participating graduate student will have an experienced scholar responding to her or his paper. In addition, the Colloquium will feature topics related to professional development such as publishing in international journals and career strategies. The Colloquium is open to PhD candidates working on topics concerned with theory, research, and professional education in journalism. The organizers encourage submission of scholarly work that advances our understanding of how journalism works within individual regions or comparatively across regions. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, the functions of journalism in society, the structural and cultural influences on journalism, the attitudes and characteristics of journalists, features of news content and their effects on consumers. Of interest are the relationships between journalism and power, democratic standards, economic pressures, technological change, and (academic) critique. Students should submit an abstract of 500 words that outlines the topic, rationale, theoretical approach and, if applicable, empirical application. Every abstract should include the name, affiliation, and expected graduation date of the PhD candidate. Questions and submissions should be sent via email to Raul Ferrer Conill (raul.ferrer(a)kau.se) no later than 16 December 2016. Notifications of acceptance will be sent 20 January 2017. If accepted, student participants will need to submit a full paper of up to 8000 words by 10 April 2017. The colloquium will be held on 25 May 2017 from 9 am to 4 pm, with a coffee break and light snack. The fee for graduate student participants will be US$ 50.

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New Book: Data Ethics - The New Competitive Advantage. by Gry Hasselbalch and Pernille Tranberg:
by francesco 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

*This might be of interest to some of you* *About the book: Data Ethics - The New Competitive Advantage by Gry Hasselbalch and Pernille Tranberg:* Respect for privacy and the right to control one’s own data are becoming key parameters to gain a competitive edge in today’s business world. Companies, organisations and authorities which view data ethics as a social responsibility, giving it the same importance as environmental awareness and respect for human rights, are tomorrow’s winners. The book combines broad trend analyses with more than 50 cases of companies which use data ethics to varying degrees. The authors make the case that citizens and consumers are no longer just concerned about a lack of control over their data, but they also have begun to act, they describe alternative business models, advances in technology and new regulations, all of which combine to foster a growing market for data-ethical products and services. *Get the Book Directly From the Authors <http://dataethics.eu/en/buydirectly/>(pdf, e-pub or print)* *or on Amazon **& iBooks* *More about the book: www.dataethics.eu/book <http://www.dataethics.eu/book>* -- Francesco Lapenta PhD https://beingdigital.org/whois-2/ <http://www.beingdigital.org/whois-2/> latest books The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.

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Call for Papers: ICA 2017 Preconference
by Anna Litvinenko 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Call for Papers: ICA 2017 Preconference The Consequences of the Internet for Authoritarian Politics: Comparative Perspectives Time & Venue Date: May 25, 2017 Time: 9 am - 5 pm Location: San Diego Hilton Bayfront (onsite, conference hotel of the ICA annual conference 2017) Rationale Over the past decade, a vibrant body of academic literature has emerged on the political consequences of the Internet for non-democratic politics. However, the majority of extant studies have focused on phenomena of political communication in one authoritarian regime only. By contrast, very few studies have aimed at comparing empirical findings from across different authoritarian contexts. Against this backdrop, this preconference explicitly aims at providing a forum for scholars from across the globe to discuss, and develop, comparative perspectives on the consequences of the Internet for authoritarian politics. In order to pursue this goal, we have invited a number of well-respected scholars in the field to contribute to the event. Invited speakers include Muzammil Hussain (University of Michigan, USA), Paolo Mancini (University of Perugia, Italy), Sarah Oates (University of Maryland, USA), and Katrin Voltmer (University of Leeds). In order to supplement the preconference program, we would like to invite at least three types of additional submissions. Firstly, we explicitly welcome submissions that compare empirical data across different authoritarian contexts. Secondly, we are also interested in papers that present empirical findings from only one country, but that, at the theoretical level, explicitly aim at embedding them into a wider regional or global context. Such theoretically informed comparisons can be achieved, for instance, by referring to the lively recent debates around new types of responsive and competitive authoritarianism, or to the literature on authoritarian institutions. As a third type of submission, we also invite purely theoretical contributions. Moreover, as a number of scholars have recently lamented, extant research on the conference topic has largely focused on either how oppositional activists leverage new digital tools to challenge authoritarian rule or how authoritarian elites suppress and censor online dissent. Against this backdrop, we are particularly keen to also discuss questions around how authoritarian elites pro-actively deploy the Internet to expand their communicative power. Why, how, and with what consequences, for instance, do authoritarian leaders across the globe reach out to their citizens via social networks? Why do they open up virtual participatory spaces that host, for example, online polls, online petitions, or virtual deliberative forums? The topic of the preconference is situated at the intersection of two divisions of the ICA, the Political Communication and the Global Communication & Social Change divisions, which are cosponsoring the event. At a more abstract level, a key goal of the preconference is thus also to bring together scholars from these two communities, encouraging intellectual exchange across manifold disciplinary and methodological borders. Participants who would not like to contribute but would still like to attend the event are welcome to sign up on the ICA registration website as audience members. The participation fee, which is being charged to cover the two coffee breaks, is 50 USD. The conference is organized by the Emmy Noether research group "Mediating (Semi-)Authoritarianism: The Power of the Internet in the Post-Soviet World," of Freie Universitaet Berlin. All news regarding the conference, including its finalized program, will be published on the research group's website, <http://www.mediating-authoritarianism.net/ica-2017-pre-conference/> http://www.mediating-authoritarianism.net/ica-2017-pre-conference/. For additional information, please contact Anna Litvinenko ( <mailto:anna.litvinenko@fu-berlin.de> anna.litvinenko(a)fu-berlin.de) or Florian Toepfl ( <mailto:f.toepfl@fu-berlin.de> f.toepfl(a)fu-berlin.de) Please email submissions - which can be of any format, from extended abstracts (800 words) to full papers (up to 10,000 words in length) - to our student assistant Daria Kravets ( <mailto:daria.kravets@fu-berlin.de)> daria.kravets(a)fu-berlin.de) The deadline for submission is December 11, 2016. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out before January 1, 2017.

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