- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

New book: Seeing Ourselves Through Technology (open access)
by Jill Walker Rettberg 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

My new book is out, and it's open access (CC-BY) so you can download it for free in many formats right now, or wait a while and buy a print copy. Many thanks to everyone who helped me think about these issues - a lot of you are on this list. I would love to hear any responses. Jill http://jilltxt.net http://twitter.com/jilltxt ----- Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves. Palgrave, 2014. http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9781137476661 http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Ourselves-Through-Technology-Wearable-ebook/dp… Selfies, blogs and lifelogging devices have become important ways in which we understand ourselves. Jill Walker Rettberg analyses these and related genres as three intertwined modes of self-representation: visual, written and quantitative. Rettberg explores topics like the meaning of Instagram filters, smartphone apps that write your diary for you, and the ways in which governments and commercial entities create their own representations of us from the digital traces we leave behind as we go through our lives. “Rettberg fills an important gap in the existing literature with insightful analysis of a wide variety of very recent digital practices. Her writing presents an appealing voice of academic authority that is inflected with a personal experience strongly grounded in an ethos of embodied and situated knowledge. Rettberg explains what it means to be a participant observer who tracks her own movements, emotions, and interactions with ubiquitous technologies and many other means of self-surveillance. This is a timely and compact scholarly monograph that provides an extended critical interpretation of a contemporary topic. As an important feminist new media theorist, Rettberg is worth listening to.” – Elizabeth Losh, University of California, San Diego, USA “Jill Walker Rettberg challenges us to take seriously selfies and other forms of digital self-expression and understand them in the broader context of culture and power. In so doing, she connects important ideas and theories about aesthetics, privacy, art and data to explore and explain contemporary data-fication of the body and identity. I will never look at a selfie the same way again.” – Steve Jones, University of Illinois, USA “Rettberg’s incisive examination of contemporary tools and habits of self-documentation – blogs and Facebook updates, Fitbits and selfies – reveals the ways those practices relate to centuries-old patterns like autobiography and self-portraits. She also demonstrates that contemporary distaste for self-documentation is often motivated by a desire to discipline or silence the (non-elite) practitioners, a habit targeted with special ferocity at young women. Seeing Ourselves… is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the history and patterns of self-documentation.” – Clay Shirky, New York University, USA

1 0

PNAS opinion piece on the creepy Facebook study
by Pimple, Kenneth 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

"Learning as we go: Lessons from the publication of Facebook's social-computing research" by Jeffrey P. Kahn, Effy Vayena, and Anna C. Mastroianni. PNAS 111(38):13677-13679 (Sept. 23) doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416405111 http://www.pnas.org/content/111/38/13677.full Ken ===== Kenneth D. Pimple, Ph.D. Director of Teaching Research Ethics Programs Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions Indiana University 618 East Third Street Bloomington IN 47405-3602 (812) 856-4986 FAX 855-3315 pimple(a)indiana.edu http://poynter.indiana.edu/ http://mypage.iu.edu/~pimple/ Blog: http://nationalethicscenter.org/groups/trewde/blog Twitter: @TeachRCR - https://twitter.com/TeachRCR

1 0

UK Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy consultation
by Joly MacFie 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

As part of its charmingly named policy program 'Making it easier for the communications and telecoms industries to grow, while protecting the interests of citizens', on Aug 6 2014 the UK Govt. issued a RFC - *Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy consultation <https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/digital-communications-infrastr…>. * It is now closed, and the results are yet to be published. But even so, it provides a good rundown on the state of infrastructure play in merrie old, and has some nice graphics, such as Annex D <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3…> . j -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -

1 0

REMINDER - Streets to Screens: Mediating Conflict Through Digital Networks
by Holly Steel 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

Dear all, Colleagues may be interested in a symposium run by the Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Department of Sociology, University of York, on mediating conflict through digital networks. Apologies for cross-posting. *Streets to Screens: Mediating Conflict Through Digital Networks* *9.30-17.30* *7th November 2014* *Professor Stuart Hall Building, LG01* *Goldsmiths, University of London* >From Gaza to Ukraine, Afghanistan to Syria, social media is being used by people within conflict zones to organise, document and communicate their lives and struggles from the streets to our screens. As these pieces of content travel through time and space, they come into contact with various actors – from activists, to NGOs, news agencies, and global audiences – who attempt to claim purchase on the narrative of those events as they unfold. Over the course of the last decade, we have seen the emergence of forms of reportage that seek to navigate the diverse and fractured media ecology. These mediations are said to challenge the ways in which the mainstream media cover conflicts and global publics are invited to bear witness. This one-day symposium will explore a number of key issues in mediating conflicts today, and will address some of the following questions: - What role do networked eyewitnesses, activists and citizen journalists play in conflict communication today? - What are the challenges faced by those mediating conflict online? - In what ways are social media content produced within the zone of conflict shaping the coverage produced by news organisations? - What are the implications of these forms of reportage for eyewitnesses, activists, citizen journalists, perpetrators, NGOs, journalists, news media, audiences and global publics? *Confirmed speakers:* · Stuart Allan, *Cardiff University* · Kari Andén-Papadopolous, *Stockholm University* · Tamar Ashuri, *Tel-Aviv University* · Malachy Browne, *Storyful* · Lilie Chouliaraki,* LSE* · Sam Gregory, WITNESS · Andrew Hoskins, *University of Glasgow* · Sarah Maltby, *University of Sussex* · Mette Mortensen, University of Copenhagen · Ben O'Loughlin, *Royal Holloway* · Helen Thornham, *University of Leeds* · Einar Thorsen, Bournemouth University · Eugenia Siapera, *Dublin City University* · Liam Stack, *New York Times* · Katrin Voltmer,* University of Leeds* · Claire Wardle, *UNHCR* Tickets are FREE but registration is required. For more information please visit: http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/about/news-and-events/department/2014/stree… *For more information, please contact Holly Steel at has502(a)york.ac.uk <has502(a)york.ac.uk>* -- Holly Steel Doctoral Researcher Department of Sociology University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD Tel: 01904 323578

1 0

CFP: Stack Evolution in a Middlebox Internet (SEMI) in January 2015, in Zürich, Switzerland.
by Joly MacFie 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

http://www.internetsociety.org/blog/tech-matters/2014/10/overcoming-obstacl… One of the challenges faced by technologists interested in developing new and better ways of transferring data over the Internet is the large and growing number of devices in the network that cause connections to fail when they see something new or unexpected. These so-called ‘middleboxes’ also make it hard to add simple refinements to existing ways of delivering Internet application data. It’s as if the ‘information superhighway’ now has automated toll gates at all the major intersections and if they don’t find your registration plate where they expect to find it, then it doesn’t matter that you’re driving a car just like everyone else on the road, you aren’t going to be allowed through. In their revealing study of the problem <http://conferences.sigcomm.org/imc/2011/docs/p181.pdf>, Michio Honda and his co-authors found that, ‘at least 25% of paths interfered with [data] in some way beyond basic firewalling.’ In an effort to promote discussion of ways to detect and characterise the behaviour of these middleboxes, and to identify ways to work around the obstacles they present, the Internet Architecture Board is organising a workshop on *Stack Evolution in a Middlebox Internet (SEMI)* in January 2015, in Zürich, Switzerland. Attendance at the workshop is by invitation only. Prospective participants are invited to submit short position papers outlining their views on one or more topics related to the scope of the workshop - read the Call for Papers (PDF) <http://www.iab.org/wp-content/IAB-uploads/2014/09/stackevo-cfp.pdf>. Submissions can be submitted online here <https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=semi2015>. Position papers will be published on the IAB website <http://www.iab.org/activities/workshops/semi/>. *Important Dates:* Submission Deadline: 31 October 2014 Notification Deadline: 17 November 2014 Workshop Dates: 26-27 January 2015 The SEMI workshop is sponsored by the Internet Architecture Board, the Internet Society, and ETH Zürich. Mirja Kühlewind and Brian Trammell of ETH Zürich are co-chairs. -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -

1 0

#digcult14 - Making digital cultures of gender and sexuality with social media
by Ben Light 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION #DIGCULT14 - MAKING DIGITAL CULTURES OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA 28 October 2014 Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane. Organisers: Ben Light, Jean Burgess, Elija Cassidy, and Stefanie Duguay Bringing together leading and emerging scholars in the study of the digital, gender and sexuality, this symposium seeks to further interrogate questions of the contemporary making of digital cultures of gender and sexuality. Whilst difference-based approaches to understanding the gendered make up of social media users and audiences have been tackled, this symposium focuses more upon the ways in which gender and sexuality are constructed and circulated with and by this media. Additionally, it will seek to explore how sociotechnical elements of social media are being transferred to other digital cultures of gender and sexuality. The symposium will being with an introduction, by Ben Light and Elija Cassidy, to the Men, Masculinity and Digital Media (MMADM) project which is running out of QUT. See: http://www.mmadm.org Speakers include: * Kath Albury - University of New South Wales - Selfies, sexts and sneaky hats: young people’s understandings of gendered practices of self-representation * Jenine Beekhuyzen - Griffith University - Upending gender roles and stereotypes through an allegorical exploration of social issues that shape our digital cultures * Paul Byron – University of New South Wales - Young people using condoms and social media: gendered discourses of safety * Stefanie Duguay, Jean Burgess and Ben Light – Queensland University of Technology - Dating and hooking up with mobile media: a comparative study of Tinder, Mixxxer, Squirt and Dattch * Sharif Mowlabocus - University of Sussex - Nice pics, wanna fastest? gay men, app culture and sexual health promotion in the UK * Susanna Paasonen – University of Turku - Peer pornographies and the economies of desire * Kane Race – University of Sydney - When is sexual media social media?: gay men, apps and sexual sociability * Emily van der Nagel – Swinburne University of Technology - Anonymity on reddit gonewild: marking deviance, performing the ordinary The full programme, and the link to registration, is available at www.digcult.org Please note the symposium is free to attend, but places are limited. Cheers, Ben. Ben Light PhD MSc BA(Hons) Professor of Digital Media Studies Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Precinct Z1-515 Musk Avenue Kelvin Grove QLD 4059 Australia Phone: +61 7 3138 8280 Twitter: @doggyb QUT: http://www.staff.qut.edu.au/staff/lightb Open Access Publications: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Light,_Ben.html Personal Site: http://www.benlight.org<http://www.benlight.org/>

1 0

Communities and Technologies 2015 Call for Papers
by Charles Steinfield 02 Oct '14

02 Oct '14

------ Call for Papers 7th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2015) 27-30 June 2015, Limerick, Ireland In September 2003, the biannual conference series ‘Communities and Technologies (C&T)’ started with a meeting in Amsterdam attracting some 350 participants. Almost at the same time, the more policy, advocacy and practice-oriented Community Informatics (CI) series of conferences began in Prato, Italy in 2002, along with an online email network and the Journal of Community Informatics. It is time to cross fertilize these discussions and to identify convergences, overlaps, divergences and common paths, as well as challenges for future research, advocacy, policy and practice. We cordially invite submissions to the Seventh International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2015), hosted from 27 to 30 June by the University of Limerick, Ireland. This biennial meeting serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating research on the complex connections between communities - both physical and virtual - and information and communication technologies. This seventh edition of the conference will mark a stronger opening toward Community Informatics work. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Journal of Community Informatics (http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej) The goal is to revitalize the academic discussion with a new format in order to make the academic discourse more relevant for practice. The organisers hope to widen the base of relevant case studies, and at the same time, strengthen the reflection regarding these practice-based cases. C&T 2015 welcomes participation from researchers, designers, educators, industry, and students from the many disciplines and perspectives bearing on the interaction between community and technology, including architecture, arts, business, design, economics, education, engineering, ergonomics, information technology, geography, health, humanities, law, media and communication studies, and social sciences. The conference program will include competitively selected, peer-reviewed papers, as well as pre-conference workshops and tutorials, a doctoral consortium, and invited keynote speakers. We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting conference in Limerick, a vibrant university city on the west coast of Ireland! Gabriela Avram Conference Chair Organising Committee Programme Chairs: Fiorella de Cindio and Volkmar Pipek Workshop Chairs: Anne Light and Nemanja Memarovic Tutorial Chairs: Doug Schuler and Sabine Moebs Doctoral Consortium Chairs: Susanne Boedker and Volker Wulf Local Organisation Chair: Norah Power Student Volunteers Chair: Laura Maye Conference Themes C&T focuses on the notion of communities as social entities comprised of people who share something in common; this common element may be geography, needs, interests, practices, organizations, or other bases for social connection. Communities are considered to be a basic unit of social experience. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can support community formation and development by facilitating communication and coordination among members, as well as enable and empower communities to deal with challenges and threats. Topics appropriate for submission to this conference are manifold. Examples of some of the vibrant areas of communities and technology research include, but are not limited to: • Communities, technologies and government (learning/education, health, cultural heritage, crises and natural disasters) • Civic Activism, Community Engagement, Participatory Publics • Communities and innovation • Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, collective intelligence • Maker communities (makerspaces, Fablabs, crafters) and DIY • Online and offline communities • Urban and rural communities; urban technologies; urban informatics; urban interaction design • Smart communities in the context of smart cities • Sustainable communities • Communities, social media and social capital • Community-centred Design, Infrastructuring and Evaluation Methodologies • Ethnographic and case studies of communities • Communities, ICTs and Economic and Social Development. Submission categories, Formats We are calling for submission of full (research) papers, work-in-progress papers, tutorial and workshop proposals and applications to the doctoral consortium. Please submit all papers and abstracts in ACM SIGCHI two column layout (see http://www.sigchi.org/chipubform) Papers In order to allow for a diversity of contributions, the conference will accept full papers and work-in-progress papers. Full papers must be no longer than ten pages, including all additional material such as references, appendices, and figures. Work-in-progress papers must be no longer than four pages. The papers must include a title, sufficient space for the author name(s) to appear on the paper, abstract, keywords, body, and references. Papers submitted by the due date will undergo a double blind peer review process by an international panel and will be evaluated on the basis of their significance, innovation, academic rigour, and clarity of writing. Accepted full papers will be included in the published conference proceedings if at least one author of any accepted submission has registered and attends the conference. Accepted work-in-progress papers will be published in the adjunct proceedings, and the same rule applies: at least one of the authors will have to register and attend the conference. Papers will be submitted via an online submission system that will open in December 2014. Please send any questions to the Programme Chairs: PC_chairs(a)comtech.community . Workshops Workshops provide an opportunity to discuss and explore emerging areas of Communities & Technologies research with a group of like-minded researchers and practitioners. They run for a half or one full day and will take place on June 27th or June 28th. Workshops offer the opportunity to advance specific research areas. C&T workshops might address methodologies, emerging application areas, design innovations, organisational issues or education. Each workshop should generate ideas that give the C&T community a new, organised way of thinking about the topic, or ideas that suggest promising directions for future research. Some workshops result in edited books or special issues of journals; you may consider including this goal in your workshop proposal. Please send proposals to the Workshop Chairs: workshops(a)comtech.community Tutorials The purpose of the tutorials is to give the attendees the opportunity to acquire knowledge in new areas and add to their professional development. Topics can range from physical computing (Arduino, Raspberry Pi) to visualization, mapping applications, setting up a disaster coordination centre, and so on. We invite individuals or teams interested in presenting a tutorial to submit proposals. Tutorials will run for a half or one full day on June 27th. Please send proposals to the Tutorials Chairs: tutorials(a)comtech.community Workshop and tutorial proposals should be no longer than 4 pages and should include: the title of the workshop, the list of organizers and their backgrounds, and an abstract of no more than 150 words, as well as the workshop's theme, goals and activities, maximum number of participants, means of soliciting participation, and means of selecting participants. Doctoral Consortium The Doctoral Consortium is scheduled prior to the main conference programme, on Sunday 28 June 2015. The Doctoral Consortium (DC) offers research students a special forum where they can present, discuss and progress their research plans with peers and established senior researchers. Research students wishing to attend the doctoral consortium should submit up to 4 pages, using the ACM SIGCHI two column layout available at http://www.sigchi.org/chipubform, addressing the following: Introduction setting up your research area and specific research question(s)/goals(s) (including key related work); Overall research approach, methodology, and expected contributions; Work in progress (including findings to date and next steps); Questions and issues for discussion, and what you hope to gain from attending the DC; short bio. Please send proposals to the Doctoral Consortium Chairs: dc(a)comtech.community Student Volunteers C&T actively encourages students to volunteer at the conference. Being a student volunteer is a great way to support the research community, meet other students in the field, and attend an international ACM conference. You will help the conference organisers with the running of the conference and support the setting-up of presentations and workshops. You will see the latest in C&T research and development, and have fun while learning about running the conference. In return, you will get free registration. To apply, email us your contact details (email, phone, university), an abstract of your research project, a CV, and the reasons why you would like to be a student volunteer. Please send applications to the Student Volunteers Chair: volunteers(a)comtech.community Important Dates • 1 Feb 2015 Papers, Workshop and Tutorials Proposals due • 1 Mar 2015 Notification of acceptance (for Workshop &Tutorial Proposals) • 1 Apr 2015 Notification of acceptance (for Full Papers) • 1 May 2015 Camera Ready Papers • 1 May 2015 Workshop Papers, Work-in-Progress Papers, Doctoral Consortium Submissions and Student Volunteers Applications due • 1 June 2015 – Early bird registration ends • 27-28 Jun 2015 Workshops, Tutorials and Doctoral Consortium • 29-30 Jun 2015 C&T Conference More Information For updates, please check the conference website: http://comtech.community

1 0

CFP: "Technologies and Recording Industries" (Creative Industries Journal, Fall 2015)
by Eric Harvey 02 Oct '14

02 Oct '14

*Hi all, please circulate widely and direct any questions to myself or Kyle at the below emails. Thanks!* CFP: Technologies and Recording Industries Creative Industries Journal, Special Issue 8.2 (Fall 2015) *Deadline: March 6, 2015* The past 15 years have proven transformative for music recording industries around the world, as digital technologies from the ground up (mp3s) and the top down (streaming platforms) have helped transform the landscape of production, promotion, distribution, retail, and fandom. Yet while these transformations have recently upended assumptions about musical practice for artists, industry workers, fans, journalists, and researchers, a broader historical perspective situates them in a legacy more than a century long. Indeed, a history of recording industries told from a media and technology perspective is one of constant flux. The introduction of new media technologies has continually reorganized the practices, regimes of value, discourses, and power relationships of the recording business. This issue of the Creative Industries Journal seeks to address the constitutive roles of technologies in shaping recording industry practices. How have the introduction and adoption of new tools of production, distribution, promotion, or consumption facilitated changes in the creative and industrial practices surrounding popular music in a variety of global contexts? Following Williamson & Cloonan (2007) and Sterne (2014), we specify “recording industries” instead of “music industries” to focus attention on the myriad creative and industrial processes related to music (or, broadly, sound) recordings, and to evade the tendency to group a variety of disparate music and sound-related industries (licensing, instrument sales, live performance) under one heading. We use the plural to assert the multiplicity and variety of recording industries that have emerged over time, which may not have anything to do with the current corporate-owned, multinational recording industry. Possible topics for this issue include, but aren’t limited to: - Connections between technological formats and genres - Streaming services and music distribution - Discourses surrounding the vinyl record resurgence - Collectors and collecting practices - Record stores and the recording industries - New technologies and global/local regimes of representation - Music, technology, and identity - Industry practices of the digital music era - Trade papers and the recording industries - Media mobility vs. audio fidelity - Sound recordings and radio - Television and the recording industry - Failed or ephemeral formats - Re-issues and new formats - Record label histories - Technological experimentation - From cylinder to disk - Recordings as material culture - The history of personal recordings - Internationalization of recording technologies/industries - The recording industry and children’s media - Spoken-word phonography - Taste-making and technologies To be considered for publication, articles should be between 5000 and 6000 words, double-spaced in Harvard Style. For more information on style and formatting, please see Intellect’s style guide. All submissions in these categories will be blind reviewed. Queries regarding potential submissions also are welcome. Authors are responsible for acquiring related visual images and the associated copyrights. *For more information or to submit a query, please contact the issue’s editors Kyle Barnett (kbarnett(a)bellarmine.edu <kbarnett(a)bellarmine.edu>) or Eric Harvey (ericharvey(a)weber.edu <ericharvey(a)weber.edu>) All submissions are due via email by March 6, 2015.* Creative Industries Journal is a peer reviewed journal with a global scope, primarily aimed at those studying and practicing activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent, and which have a potential for wealth creation. These activities primarily take place in advertising, architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, design, fashion, film, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, television and radio. -- Eric Harvey, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Communication Weber State University 1395 Edvalson St. Ogden, UT 84408

1 0

Re: [Air-L] "Apologies for Cross-Posting" Research
by Charlie Balch 29 Sep '14

29 Sep '14

Is anyone aware of studies about posts that begin with "apologies for cross-posting"? Charles Balch PhD Faculty, Department of Business & Administration Northern Arizona University Office/cell: (928) 317-6455 / 287-3906 Skype: NAUCharlie Google+: cvb23(a)nau.edu -----Original Message----- From: Air-L [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of ryan burns Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 2:44 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-L] 2nd CFP: AAG 2015 - Critical Data/Tech Theory and Praxis (deadline extended) Apologies for cross-posting. *CFP: Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Theory* *CFP: Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Praxis* These paired sessions at the 2015 AAG national conference will explore critical approaches to data and technology in both theory and praxis. Please see the below call for details and instructions on where and when to send your abstracts. The AAG is the Association of American Geographers <http://www.aag.org/>. The annual meeting typically hosts over 6,000 attendees from around the world, and features broad, cross-disciplinary research. Best, Jim, Craig, and Ryan *Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Theory* Discussant: David O'Sullivan <http://geography.berkeley.edu/people/person_detail.php?person=486> In recent years, geographers and other social scientists have begun engaging new data infrastructures, representational technologies, and the resulting analyses as they have emerged in private industry, academic research, and government agencies. Moving beyond simple claims of the "end of theory" (Anderson 2008), it is no longer a question of if anyone thinks 'big data' calls for academic analysis. The challenge is now *how* to approach the complex epistemological and ontological issues raised by emerging data and technology writ large. In turn, the new forms of analyses and sources of data have spurred academic debates over the social and political implications of data analytics and technology (Crampton et al. 2014; Kitchin and Dodge 2011). Recently, researchers have proposed a series of prompts that indicate an incipient criticalapproach to data studies (boyd and Crawford 2011; Dalton and Thatcher 2014). However, in this field's nascence, more questions have been raised than answers. For example, geographers and social scientists have yet to address the ways a critical study of data might intersect with and draw from larger critiques of technology. In these paired sessions, we seek to explore and evaluate critical approaches to data, analytics, and new spatial technologies in a common forum. This session focuses on theorizations and conceptual approaches and the complex ontological and epistemological commitments entailed in them. Promising questions include: - How do we situate big data spatially and temporally? In what ways have these contexts impacted its particular development and adoption processes? - What is at stake in data and analytics today? What can/does data change? - Does big data pose challenges to current understandings of 'participation' and 'democracy'? - What relations of power emerge alongside big data? - What formations of surveillance, sousveillance, and privacy are developing? - Who are the subjects in play and how are they subjectified? Under what conditions and relationalities have these actors become subjects of big data? - What are users' experiences and perceptions of big data 'on the ground'? How does this impact the ways in which they leverage spatial big data technologies or produce data? Potential considerations include privacy, social networks, activism, and citizen science. - What lines of resonance or distinction may be drawn between the political economies of 'traditional' spatial technologies/data and spatial big data? How are we to understand the emergent political economic relations of big data specifically? - What new, alternative conceptions of data and knowledge do these processes open? What new systems of knowledge are produced as technologies seek to quantify and calculate ever-more of everyday life and experience? *Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Praxis* Discussant: Monica Stephens <http://www.floatingsheep.org/p/monica-stephens.html> Big data is currently engaged in diverse sectors, including academic research, civic engagement, urban administration, digital humanitarianism, international development, and public health. These diverse practices show potential for integrating principles and lessons from criticalscholarship, but much work needs to be done to build and maintain these connections. How can big data be practiced critically? In what ways is this work already being done? What can practitioners learn from applied studies of technology? How might big data become part of criticalpractice? How can critical scholars benefit from a greater understanding of existing praxis outside the walls of the academy? Recently, researchers have proposed a series of prompts that indicate an incipient critical approach to data studies (boyd and Crawford 2011; Dalton and Thatcher 2014). However, in this field's nascence, more questions have been raised than answers. For example, the very definition and utility of 'small data' remains contested. In these paired sessions, we seek to explore and evaluate critical approaches to data, analytics, and new spatial technologies in a common forum. In this session, we are interested in how practitioners are mobilizing data, technologies, and analytics in ways that resonate with 'critical data and technology studies'. We are interested both in existing practices and in potential connections between theory and praxis. Promising questions include: - How is big data being used right now in various sectors, and in what ways do these practices resonate with or challenge some of the ideas from critical data and technology studies? - How can big data be used to challenge social and political relations? For instance, how is big data utilized in activism, protests, social justice movements, and community organizing? Can researchers use data and technologies in their scholar-activism? - How can new approaches challenge the power effects existing relations of data, technology, and knowledge production? - What application areas are particularly amenable to lessons from critical data and technology studies? In what ways can these lessons translate into new practices? - How can scholars of critical data and technology studies distribute the results of our research to practitioners, in ways that affect positive changes? - How can we build and maintain bridges between researchers and practitioners? *If interested in participating in either session, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to Jim Thatcher (**jethatch(a)uw.edu <jethatch(a)uw.edu>**) on or before October 15th, 2014.* *Please indicate in the submission whether you are interested in participating in the Theory or Praxis session.* *Organizers*: Jim Thatcher, University of Washington - Tacoma; Craig Dalton, Bloomsburg University; Ryan Burns - University of Washington -- Ryan Burns Dept of Geography, University of Washington 859-582-9125 http://burnsr77.github.io _______________________________________________ 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/

1 0

2nd CFP: AAG 2015 - Critical Data/Tech Theory and Praxis (deadline extended)
by ryan burns 29 Sep '14

29 Sep '14

Apologies for cross-posting. *CFP: Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Theory* *CFP: Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Praxis* These paired sessions at the 2015 AAG national conference will explore critical approaches to data and technology in both theory and praxis. Please see the below call for details and instructions on where and when to send your abstracts. The AAG is the Association of American Geographers <http://www.aag.org/>. The annual meeting typically hosts over 6,000 attendees from around the world, and features broad, cross-disciplinary research. Best, Jim, Craig, and Ryan *Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Theory* Discussant: David O'Sullivan <http://geography.berkeley.edu/people/person_detail.php?person=486> In recent years, geographers and other social scientists have begun engaging new data infrastructures, representational technologies, and the resulting analyses as they have emerged in private industry, academic research, and government agencies. Moving beyond simple claims of the "end of theory" (Anderson 2008), it is no longer a question of if anyone thinks 'big data' calls for academic analysis. The challenge is now *how* to approach the complex epistemological and ontological issues raised by emerging data and technology writ large. In turn, the new forms of analyses and sources of data have spurred academic debates over the social and political implications of data analytics and technology (Crampton et al. 2014; Kitchin and Dodge 2011). Recently, researchers have proposed a series of prompts that indicate an incipient criticalapproach to data studies (boyd and Crawford 2011; Dalton and Thatcher 2014). However, in this field's nascence, more questions have been raised than answers. For example, geographers and social scientists have yet to address the ways a critical study of data might intersect with and draw from larger critiques of technology. In these paired sessions, we seek to explore and evaluate critical approaches to data, analytics, and new spatial technologies in a common forum. This session focuses on theorizations and conceptual approaches and the complex ontological and epistemological commitments entailed in them. Promising questions include: - How do we situate big data spatially and temporally? In what ways have these contexts impacted its particular development and adoption processes? - What is at stake in data and analytics today? What can/does data change? - Does big data pose challenges to current understandings of 'participation' and 'democracy'? - What relations of power emerge alongside big data? - What formations of surveillance, sousveillance, and privacy are developing? - Who are the subjects in play and how are they subjectified? Under what conditions and relationalities have these actors become subjects of big data? - What are users' experiences and perceptions of big data 'on the ground'? How does this impact the ways in which they leverage spatial big data technologies or produce data? Potential considerations include privacy, social networks, activism, and citizen science. - What lines of resonance or distinction may be drawn between the political economies of 'traditional' spatial technologies/data and spatial big data? How are we to understand the emergent political economic relations of big data specifically? - What new, alternative conceptions of data and knowledge do these processes open? What new systems of knowledge are produced as technologies seek to quantify and calculate ever-more of everyday life and experience? *Critical Data, Critical Technology: in Praxis* Discussant: Monica Stephens <http://www.floatingsheep.org/p/monica-stephens.html> Big data is currently engaged in diverse sectors, including academic research, civic engagement, urban administration, digital humanitarianism, international development, and public health. These diverse practices show potential for integrating principles and lessons from criticalscholarship, but much work needs to be done to build and maintain these connections. How can big data be practiced critically? In what ways is this work already being done? What can practitioners learn from applied studies of technology? How might big data become part of criticalpractice? How can critical scholars benefit from a greater understanding of existing praxis outside the walls of the academy? Recently, researchers have proposed a series of prompts that indicate an incipient critical approach to data studies (boyd and Crawford 2011; Dalton and Thatcher 2014). However, in this field's nascence, more questions have been raised than answers. For example, the very definition and utility of 'small data' remains contested. In these paired sessions, we seek to explore and evaluate critical approaches to data, analytics, and new spatial technologies in a common forum. In this session, we are interested in how practitioners are mobilizing data, technologies, and analytics in ways that resonate with 'critical data and technology studies'. We are interested both in existing practices and in potential connections between theory and praxis. Promising questions include: - How is big data being used right now in various sectors, and in what ways do these practices resonate with or challenge some of the ideas from critical data and technology studies? - How can big data be used to challenge social and political relations? For instance, how is big data utilized in activism, protests, social justice movements, and community organizing? Can researchers use data and technologies in their scholar-activism? - How can new approaches challenge the power effects existing relations of data, technology, and knowledge production? - What application areas are particularly amenable to lessons from critical data and technology studies? In what ways can these lessons translate into new practices? - How can scholars of critical data and technology studies distribute the results of our research to practitioners, in ways that affect positive changes? - How can we build and maintain bridges between researchers and practitioners? *If interested in participating in either session, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to Jim Thatcher (**jethatch(a)uw.edu <jethatch(a)uw.edu>**) on or before October 15th, 2014.* *Please indicate in the submission whether you are interested in participating in the Theory or Praxis session.* *Organizers*: Jim Thatcher, University of Washington - Tacoma; Craig Dalton, Bloomsburg University; Ryan Burns - University of Washington -- Ryan Burns Dept of Geography, University of Washington 859-582-9125 http://burnsr77.github.io

1 0