- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

an ethical question or two
by Charles Ess 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

Dear AoIRists, I am editing a piece for a forthcoming journal issue; it includes two screenshots of tweets from Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and a screenshot of the Facebook page of a politician running for office in 2014, including their pictures and names. These are public figures very intentionally engaged in a public activity in a medium that functions as a de facto public sphere (or at least an approximation thereof). There is nothing in the screenshots that could be construed as potentially embarrassing, much less libelous, much less potentially warranting protection as private. I have gained the impression over the past few years that both in practice and in emerging guidelines codes, and law (specifically, based on what [little] I know of law surrounding freedom of speech and privacy issues in journalism in the U.S., the E.U., and Scandinavia), it is permissible to publish these without permission from the politicians in question. At most, if these were tweets and FB pages posted by U.S. politicians aimed at U.S. voters, we would have to note that the tweets and pictures were de facto copyright by their authors; to my knowledge, however, there is no parallel requirement on this side of the pond. Of course, it's usually when I think I know a good response to an ethical dilemma that I turn out to be missing something crucial - so: am I missing something crucial, or are we indeed on reasonably safe ground to publish the screenshots as is, no permissions required, no copyright notices included? Many thanks in advance, - charles ess Professor in Media Studies Department of Media and Communication University of Oslo P.O. Box 1093 Blindern NO-0317 Oslo Norway email: charles.ess(a)media.uio.no

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AAG 2015 CFP – From Online Sweat Shops to Silicon Savannahs: Geographies of Production in Digital Economies of Low-Income Countries
by Mark Graham 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

*From Online Sweat Shops to Silicon Savannahs: Geographies of Production in Digital Economies of Low-Income Countries* AAG Annual Meeting <http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting/call_for_papers>, Chicago, April 21-25, 2015 *Organizers:* Mark Graham <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=165>, Nicolas Friederici <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=332>, and Isis Hjorth <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=169> University of Oxford Throughout the early 21st century, Internet and mobile phone access in developing countries has skyrocketed, and today the majority of people on the planet are connected through information and communication technologies (ICTs). Yet, while basic ICT access is increasingly level across income groups and geographies, production in the global digital economy is still, and maybe increasingly, dominated by incumbent multinational technology corporations or fast-scaling web startups. These businesses tend to roll out their products (with some local adaptation) across the globe, but maintain their coordinating and creative activities in places like Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, or London, exploiting both agglomeration and dispersion economies in digital production (Malecki & Moriset, 2007; Moriset & Malecki, 2009). How does digital production in low-income countries fare in the face of this dominance? Policymakers and the private sector in several low-income countries (especially in Sub-Saharan Africa) have set out to transform their economies through ICTs, explicitly emphasizing local digital production. Two sectors that are often seen as promising are (1) low-skill/cost-competition, such as business process outsourcing and digital microwork, and (2) high-skill/entrepreneurial innovation, such as startups developing and commercializing mobile and online applications. However, what are the concrete and realistic potentials and possibilities for low-income countries to become important hubs for digital production? What are palpable economic outcomes of Kenya’s status as the “Silicon Savannah” or Lagos as the “Silicon Lagoon,” and who are the winners and losers of local ICT entrepreneurship and innovation? Do ICTs really deliver economic inclusion and employment to remote geographies and low-income groups, or are we witnessing the rise of online sweatshops that further enhance exploitation of vulnerable populations? This session will explore these themes, encouraging contributions from a variety of perspectives. We invite authors to consider digital production in low-income/developing countries through lenses such as: - Empirical or theoretical perspectives on digital production and its (uneven) geographies - Discourse around digital production and its promises and risks - Distributions of value creation and extraction across actor groups (winners/losers) - Tensions of scaling versus local adaptation in digital production, in application to geography and inclusion/exclusion effects - Uneven production geographies within countries, in particular, differences and divides between rural/peri-urban/urban clusters - Socio-demographic analyses of economic actors engaging in digital production - Case studies of low-skill/cost-competition digital production (e.g., business process outsourcing, microwork, etc.) - Case studies of high-skill/entrepreneurial innovation in digital production (e.g., mobile/online applications startups, technology innovation hubs) - Analyses and recommendations for local and international policy pertaining to digital production *Submission Procedure:* To be considered for the session, please send your abstract of 250 words or fewer, to: mark.graham(a)oii.ox.ac.uk, nicolas.friederici(a)oii.ox.ac.uk, and isis.hjorth(a)oii.ox.ac.uk The deadline for receipt of abstracts is October 1 2014. Notification of acceptance will be before October 7. All accepted papers will then need to register for the AAG conference at aag.org. Accepted papers will be considered for a special issue or edited volume edited by the organizers. Malecki, E. J., & Moriset, B. (2007). The paradox of a “double-edged” geography: local ecosystems of the digital economy. In The Digital Economy: Business Organization, Production Processes and Regional Developments (pp. 174–198). New York, NY: Routledge. Moriset, B., & Malecki, E. J. (2009). Organization versus Space: The Paradoxical Geographies of the Digital Economy. Geography Compass, 3(1), 256–274. ------------------------------------------ Dr Mark Graham Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford Research Fellow Green Templeton College University of Oxford Visiting Research Associate School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford oii.ox.ac.uk/people/graham <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/graham> | geospace.co.uk <http://www.geospace.co.uk> | Information Geographies <http://geography.oii.ox.ac.uk> | wikichains.org <http://www.wikichains.org> | @geoplace <http://twitter.com/geoplace> | zerogeography blog <http://www.zerogeography.net/> | Connectivity, Inclusion and Inequality Group <http://cii.oii.ox.ac.uk/> <http://twitter.com/geoplace>

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Researh Associate Opportunity
by Deller, Ruth A 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

With apologies for cross-posting (PS email Farida, not me, if interested!) **We're looking for an RA for our new ESRC Transformative Research grant!** Deadline: 11 August Interviews: 2 September Start date: 1 December (15 months at 0.8FTE) The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project Picturing the Social explores the social impact of the wide range of images now shared across different social media platforms and apps. The research involves an interdisciplinary team from four universities as well as industry. The project is led by Dr Farida Vis, who is based in the Information School at the University of Sheffield. The role will require the post holder to carry out a 12-month digital ethnography of social media users and their image sharing practices. You will be required to produce summary reports of ethnographic notes to share with the project team. You will also offer research assistance in identifying key literature, including material from industry, media commentary, and policy documents, and produce summaries of these. You will work closely with the whole project team and will assist in the organisation of project events as well as contribute to the Visual Social Media Lab. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in a relevant discipline (or equivalent experience) and have proven ability in using methods associated with the project such as digital ethnography. They will have excellent interpersonal skills and the experience in writing for publication and dissemination, and preferably knowledge or interest in visual culture and social media research. Full job advert: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AJD895/research-associate/ More info on the project: bit.ly/PtS_pressrelease<http://bit.ly/PtS_pressrelease> Project proposal: http://bit.ly/PicturingtheSocial_proposal -- Dr Farida Vis Faculty Research Fellow Information School | University of Sheffield E: f.vis(a)sheffield.ac.uk<mailto:f.vis@sheffield.ac.uk> T: @flygirltwo New ESRC Transformative Research grant: http://www.visualsocialmedialab.org

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"Changing Orders of Knowledge. Encyclopaedias in Transition". Thematic section/special issue of Culture Unbound.
by Jutta Haider 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

Dear colleagues! We are happy to announce the publication of the thematic section "Changing orders of Knowledge: Encyclopaedias in transition", part of Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research, Vol. 6, 2014. Please find the section here: http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/current-volume.html#block3 *Table of Contents: * Jutta Haider & Olof Sundin: Introduction: Changing Orders of Knowledge? Encyclopaedias in Transition. - Research Articles: Katharine Schopflin: What do we think an Encyclopaedia is? Seth Rudy: Knowledge and the Systematic Reader: The Past and Present of Encyclopedic Reading. Siv Frøydis Berg & Tore Rem: Knowledge for Sale: Norwegian Encyclopaedias in the Marketplace Vanessa Aliniaina Rasoamampianina: Reviewing Encyclopaedia Authority . Ulrike Spree: How readers Shape the Content of an Encyclopedia: A Case Study Comparing the German Meyers Konversationslexikon (1885-1890) with Wikipedia (2002-2013). Kim Osman: The Free Encyclopaedia that Anyone can Edit: The Shifting Values of Wikipedia Editors. Simon Lindgren: Crowdsourcing Knowledge: Interdiscursive Flows from Wikipedia into Scholarly Research. *Tales from the field:* Georg Kjøll and Anne Marit Godal: Store Norske Leksikon: Defining a New Role for an Edited Encyclopaedia. Lennart Guldbrandsson: Wikipedia. Molly Huber: Land of 10,000 Facts: Minnesota’s New Digital Encyclopedia. Michael Upshall: What future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? (Download as pdf: http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/v6/cul14v6_Changing_Orders_of_Knowledge… ) Kind regards, Jutta Haider and Olof Sundin --- Jutta Haider Assistant professor Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University Sweden E: jutta.haider(a)kultur.lu.se

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Online Communities and Networks workshop: registration and programme
by Mathieu.O'Neil 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

Registration is open for the Concepts and Methods workshop: Structural approaches to Online Communities and Networks The workshop is organised by the News & Media Research Centre (N&MRC), Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra Date: Wednesday 27th August 2014 Venue: Seminar Room 1, Ann Harding Conference Centre, Building 24, University of Canberra The workshop is divided in two parts. In the morning sessions, early-career researchers present their work and confirmed researchers provide feedback and suggest key arguments. The morning's discussions inform the afternoon sessions, which consist in a structured democratic dialogue process seeking to answer the following triggering question: "what are the most promising areas for future research into online communities and networks?". Registration is free, but please note that attendance at the afternoon session is limited to 20 people. For the full programme and registration information please go here: http://www.canberra.edu.au/faculties/arts-design/research/research-centres/… The workshop will be the inaugural event of the Canberra Networks Public and Organisations research group.

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2 Week Reminder - CFP: Alternate Reality Games
by Antero Garcia 04 Aug '14

04 Aug '14

*Hello everyone, just a quick, final note that chapter proposals for the CFP below are due on 8/15 - please get in touch if you have any questions.* *Call for Chapters: Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay* Series: Approaches to Digital Game Studies, Bloomsbury Editors: Antero Garcia, Colorado State University & Greg Niemeyer, University of California, Berkeley Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) challenge what players understand as “real.” Though prominent examples of ARGs have persisted over the past two decades, only recently have ARGs come to the prominence as a unique and highly visible digital game genre. Adopting many of the same strategies as online video games, ARGs blur the distinction between the “real” and the “virtual.” We seek chapter proposals for a proposed collection that explores and defines the possibilities of ARGs. With ARGs continuing to be an important and blurred space between digital and physical gameplay, this collection offers clear analysis of game design, implementation, and ramifications for game studies. Divided into three distinct sections (noted below), this collection emphasizes first hand accounts by leading ARG creators, scholarly analysis of the meaning behind ARGs from noted critics and researchers, and explication of emerging visualization and data collection methodologies. We are particularly interested in cultivating research from various disciplinary perspectives; by balancing the voices of designers, players, and researchers, this work highlights how the Alternate Reality Game genre is transforming the ways we play and interact today. We seek chapter proposals that fit within one of the following three book sections: *Section One – Development and Execution* Chapters in this section of the book detail the design and implementation of ARGs. Authors pay attention to specific fictions, audiences, and goals within these ARGs and offer a clear step-by-step behind the scenes look at how these game designers engineer new modes of play and participation. *Section Two – Alternating Reality – how ARGs are changing games and society* These chapters focus on analysis and critique of ARGs. While some chapters may focus on specific games, other chapters in this section invoke larger trends in ARGs. *Section Three – Data Visualization and Collection* As the ARG genre is dependent on responding to the ways participants interact with one another and with a story’s content, this section of the book looks at how we interpret and construct data. In particular, the genre of digital games is reinventing new data visualization methodologies and this section should illuminate ways games display information during play and as synopsis after a game concludes. This edited volume has received initial interest from the Digital Game Studies series editors and we are currently seeking additional chapters to share with the editors and secure a book contract. *The deadline for proposals of 300-500 words is August 15, 2014. Please email your abstract and a 100 word biography to anterobot(a)gmail.com <anterobot(a)gmail.com> (please indicate to which section of the book your proposal is directed). All authors will be notified of acceptance by September 2nd and full chapter manuscripts would be due in April, 2015. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at the above address.* -- Follow my exploits digitally at: www.theamericancrawl.com

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Re: [Air-L] Relationships between text and media objects
by Michele White 03 Aug '14

03 Aug '14

Hi Daniel, I have been teaching a course in the textual analysis of Internet and related technologies that addresses some of your research questions. We mainly build our analysis from humanities forms of close reading rather than web design or HCI texts. I have also been building arguments based on the reoccurring aspects of Internet sites in my previous and developing research and have an article on the use of textual analysis in Internet settings on my “to do” list. I have an outline of some Internet analysis methods that I could send to the listerv if there is any interest. Some of the following might be of use to you because they outline key textual and visual features of the web (and other aspects of the Internet and new media): Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Menon, Elizabeth K. “Virtual Realities, Technoaesthetics and Metafictions of Digital Culture,” In The State of the Real: Aesthetics in the Digital Age, ed. Damian Sutton, Susan Brind, and Ray McKenzie. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007: 151-161. Wakeford, Nina. “Developing Methodological Frameworks for Studying the World Wide Web,” In Web Studies, 2nd. ed., ed. David Gauntlett and Ross Horsley. London: Arnold, 2004: 34-50. Landow, George P. Hypertext 3.0: Critical Theory and New Media in an Era of Globalization. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. I think this key chapter on textual analysis might also be highly useful: Johnson, Barbara. “Teaching Deconstructively,” Writing and Reading Differently, ed. G.Douglas Atkins and M. L. Johnson (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1986), 140-48. Thanks, Michele Professor Michele White Department of Communication 219 Newcomb Hall Tulane University New Orleans, LA 70118 Author of: Producing Women in Internet Sites: Traditional Femininity, Queer Engagements, and Creative Practices (Routledge, 2015). Buy It Now: Lessons from eBay (Duke University Press, 2012) The Body and the Screen: Theories of Internet Spectatorship (MIT Press, 2006)

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CALL FOR PANELISTS - Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, Honolulu, January 10-13, 2015
by David Zemmels 02 Aug '14

02 Aug '14

CALL FOR PANELISTS ============================================================= Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, Honolulu, January 10-13, 2015 http://www.hichumanities.org/ IMPORTANT DATES Submission/Proposal Deadline: August 15th, 2014 Acceptance notifications: 2-3 weeks later FORMAT OF PRESENTATION Panel sessions will last 90 minutes and it is the presenters’ choice how that time is split between panelists. PANEL DESCRIPTION Identity and Play: Playing with Self in Digital Games and Social Media Play with self and personal identity can vary over time, across media, and as a consequence of psychological and social context. Our focus in this panel will be to investigate how digital media designs and services affect the construction and maintenance of self. The panel discussion will examine specific examples of self construction in virtual environments and how existing media designs -- including, prominently, digital game designs -- engage, facilitate, and, potentially, inhibit play with self. We are positioning this panel as a review of existing research. Questions we would like to address include: Is there a “networked” self? What is consistent and what is incongruous in the presentation of self across social media? Is the construction of self in game-based media designs more or less gratifying than the construction of self in other (non-game-based) media designs? What game design components are most critical to the construction of self? E. g.: Avatar personalization/customization? Use of “alts”? Anonymity? Guilds and/or other multiplayer components? How important are traditional “social presence” features to the construction of self? How have digital media design technologies influenced the self construction process? To what extent can the construction of self be algorithmized and automated? Are self construction “apps” feasible? We would like panel participants to address broad questions such as these with reference to existing media designs and services (though accompanying theoretical speculation will also be desired and valued). CONTACT If interested in participating in this panel session, please contact before Aug. 15: David Zemmels, PhD, MFA zemmels(a)loyno.edu +1 (504) 865-3632 School of Mass Communication Loyola University New Orleans 6363 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, LA 70118 ============================================================= ____________________________________ David Zemmels, PhD, MFA School of Mass Communication Loyola University New Orleans

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Final CFP: Revisiting Critical GIS - short meeting at Friday Habor
by Jim T 02 Aug '14

02 Aug '14

Hi all, Again, apologies for cross-posting. Also, to reiterate, this meeting is *very much* meant to appeal to a diverse set of scholars working on related topics in interesting ways. Please feel encouraged to apply or pass the CFP along to those who might be interested. Best, Jim Revisiting Critical GIS The rapid development and dissemination of digital geospatial technologies, datasets, and practices raise questions about how various arguments of 'critical GIS' remain as relevant as ever, require rejuvenation, or have run their course. Drawing in part on such developments, but also on enthusiasm for the digital humanities and on new materialist and even speculative realist currents of thought within social and cultural theory, the prospects for a renewed engagement between critical human and quantitative geographies appears more hopeful today than they have for some time (Barnes 2009). This forum provides a venue within which participants can think through these and other issues collaboratively, emerging with fresh ideas and perspectives to bring to research and teaching. To this end, the 2+ day format will blend pre-planned and collaboratively organized sessions. Four sessions have been organized around broad themes that touch upon recent discussions in the cognate literatures. Each participant will be associated with one of these planned sessions and will co-organize its content and format with others. Additionally, there are three periods scheduled for collaboratively formed sessions (collective or break-out) that emerge from the discussions at the conference. The event will be held from later on Friday, October 17th to the morning of Monday, October 20th at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island <https://depts.washington.edu/fhl/>. Day 0 (Friday) Afternoon / evening arrivals, welcome event Dinner Note: Ferry/flight schedules tend to be such that one needs to arrive at this time in order to be present for the critical first sessions in the morning. Day 1 (Saturday) Breakfast Session 1: Getting to know one another: who we are, why we’re here, and what we want to do Session 2: The story so far: critical GIS, GIScience, and 'not only... but also' Lunch Session 3: Hybrids: Critical Quantification and Digital Humanities Session 4: Collaborative session I (Collective or break-out) Dinner Collaboration and creativity Day 2 (Sunday) Breakfast Session 5: Corporatization of spatial information and our response Session 6: What tools? What theory? Lunch Session 7: Collaborative session II (Collective or break-out) Session 8: Collaborative session III (Collective or break-out) Dinner Collaboration and creativity Day 3 (Monday) Breakfast Session 9: Concluding Session: Paths Forward Departure Given the nature of this event, the number of participants will be limited to fewer than thirty, with a firm aim towards inclusivity (including, but not limited to academic seniority; students, early career faculty, and #alt-ac are strongly encouraged to participate). Would-be participants should submit a short prospectus (300 word maximum). The prospectus should address what the participant hopes to do at the gathering and muse about what s/he hopes might emerge in the time beyond--a forward-looking aspirational piece, rather than a description of previous works. Prospectuses are due August 1, 2014 and successful applicants will be informed by September 1, 2014. Please submit your prospectus via email to revisitingcritgis(a)gmail.com. The cost of attendance is estimated to be approximately $345 for faculty and $225 for students, meals and shared accommodations included. Confirmation of costs will be provided at time of acceptance. Limited support may be available to assist graduate student attendance. Please apply and we will try to make a solution work. Organizing Committee Luke Bergmann, University of Washington Jim Thatcher, University of Washington - Tacoma David O’Sullivan, University of California - Berkeley Jeremy Crampton, University of Kentucky Sarah Elwood, University of Washington Reuben Rose-Redwood, University of Victoria Nadine Schuurman, Simon Fraser Matt Wilson, University of Kentucky References Barnes TJ. 2009. Not Only... But Also: Critical and Quantitative Geography. The Professional Geographer 61, 1442-54.

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REGISTRATION OPEN: Fan Studies Network Conference 2014, London
by Bertha Chin 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

Dear all, We are delighted to announce that registration for the Fan Studies Network Conference 2014 is now open. The event will take place on 27-28 September at Regent's University, London. You can register on the conference webpage here: http://www.regents.ac.uk/events/the-fan-studies-network-conference.aspx There are very limited spaces for the event, so we urge you to register as soon as possible. Full information about prices and location can be found via the link above. The current draft schedule is available to view online here: https://fanstudies.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/fan-studies-network-conferen… Any questions, please email us at fsnconference(a)gmail.com We think this will be a very exciting conference - we hope to see you there! The FSN conference team -- Dr. Bertha Chin Independent Scholar <http://cardiff.academia.edu/BerthaChin> @bertha_c Board Member, Fan Studies Network (http://fanstudies.wordpress.com/)

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