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Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference
by Haythornthwaite, Caroline 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

NB. Early registration closes February 15 2012. Register now to get the best rates. http://lak12.sites.olt.ubc.ca/ Please join us for the Second International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK12). This year’s conference will be located in Vancouver, Canada from 29th April to 2nd May 2012. For the world of higher education, learning analytics is gaining increasing momentum for its capacity to respond to and inform the dynamic and complex landscape that is 21st century education and learning. Learning analytics has a vast potential to address the many current concerns in higher education surrounding learning and the educational experience – such as lead indicators and predictive models for identifying students requiring additional learning support, reducing student attrition, measuring student graduate attributes, and developing scalable methods for enhancing teaching practice. Learning analytics capitalizes on the data intensive, technological base that supports contemporary formal and informal learning to extend capacity and understanding of learning processes in contemporary environments. It is of little surprise that the field of learning analytics is a rapidly expanding area of research and practice, drawing the attention of governments, foundations, and academics. Our conference provides the opportunity to consider these opportunities and challenges and the role learning analytics can play in both applied and theoretical contexts. LAK12 will bring together a diversity of researchers focused on the many inter-disciplinary fields associated with learning analytics. Who Should Attend? Learning Analytics and Knowledge 2012 is a multidisciplinary conference for: * learning scientists * (computer) scientists and data/knowledge engineers * researchers in education, sociology, psychology, information science * educators at all levels * Institutional/ Organizational data analysts * training and development professionals * educational and academic leaders * business leaders * course management system developers and leaders The Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference will explore the current state of learning analytics, knowledge modelling and representation, knowledge work and analytics, and plan for needed research, technologies, and processes to advance the field. Conference Chairs * Shane Dawson, University of British Columbia, Canada (sdawson @ exchange .ubc .ca) * Caroline Haythornthwaite, University of British Columbia, Canada (c. haythorn @ ubc .ca) Program Chairs * Dragan Gasevic, Athabasca University, Canada (dgasevic @ acm .org) * Simon Buckingham Shum, Open University, UK (s. buckingham. shum @ gmail .com) Workshops Chair * Rebecca Ferguson, Open University, UK (r. m. ferguson @ open.ac.uk<http://open.ac.uk>)

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Tool to Download Websites?
by Kathleen Stansberry 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

I¹m working on a project that involves conducting a cluster analysis (type of textual analysis based on Kenneth Burke¹s work) on the content of five different websites. I want to download the full content of these five sites so I have hard copies to work from during the rather arduous process of going through and categorizing the text. Can anyone recommend a good program to download full websites (to a page depth of at least 3)? I¹ve been using SiteSucker but am finding it a bit buggy. Thank you! Katie Kathleen Stansberry Ph.D. Candidate University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication http://katiestansberry.com kpontius(a)uoregon.edu (541) 228-5576

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Correction - CATaC'12
by Charles Ess 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Dear AoIRists, With apologies for the error - an astute AoIRist has pointed out that the link provided in the earlier note about CATaC'12 was incorrect: it should read <www.catacconference.org> The same colleague suggested it would be helpful to have some more information about the conference itself. Certainly - but without wanting to repeat earlier postings in their entirety, perhaps the following will serve as a good reminder / pointer: CATaC¹12 (Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication) Conference theme: Beyond the digital/cultural divide: in/visibility and new media. June 18-20, 2012, at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. A pre-conference field trip will help us explore local sites of historical and contemporary significance in the development and deployment of diverse communication technologies. The conference dinner will feature some of the best of new Scandinavian cuisine at Nordens Folkekøkken, Aarhus (<http://www.nordensfolkekokken.dk/>). Keynote speakers * Dr. Rasha Abdulla (Associate Professor and Chair of the Journalism & Mass Communication Department, The American University in Cairo). Provisional title: ³Lessons from Egypt: the roles and limits of social media in political activism and transformation.² * Dr. Randi Markussen (Associate Professor and Head of Group, ³Technologies in Practice,² IT University of Copenhagen). Provisional title: ³E-Voting and Public Control of Elections.² Additional information on thematic questions and topics of interest for potential papers and panels, along with other relevant conference information, can be found on the conference website, <www.catacconference.org> Many thanks for the helpful suggestions from our colleague! Cheers, - charles Professor MSO Media Studies Aarhus University Helsingforsgade 14 8200 Århus N. Denmark mail: <imvce(a)hum.au.dk> Professor, Philosophy and Religion Drury University, Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA Exemplary persons seek harmony, not sameness. -- Analects 13.23

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ESN-IAMCR CfP Deadline Extension: *February 28th, 2012*
by Francesca Musiani 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Dear colleagues, please note that the deadline for presenting your abstract to the ESN section of the 2012 IAMCR conference has been extended to *February 28th*. Apologies for cross-posting. Regards, Francesca ---- Announcement of Deadline Extension for IAMCR Durban 2012 The deadline for submissions of abstracts of papers and panel proposals for the IAMCR Durban 2012 Conference has been extended to February 28, 2012. This will permit applicants from all continents who could not make the earlier deadline to now submit their abstracts or panels for consideration for Durban. The conference is to be held from July 15-19, 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. The 2012 IAMCR conference will be held under the general theme, 'South-North Conversations'. The theme calls for balanced and empowering narratives between communications thinkers in developing countries, sometimes referred to as the 'global south' and those of the developed countries in the 'north'. It seeks to expose the interactive linkage of ideas and research initiatives within and across development and cultural regions. Participants in the conference will interrogate the compatibilities and disjunctures in media and communication concepts originating respectively from the ‘Global South’ and the 'Global North'. In choosing the theme ‘South-North Conversations’, the conference organisers acknowledge that the ‘South’ has something important to say to the ‘North’, and vice versa, and further that the ‘North’ has something to gain from its relationships with the ‘South’. The concept of 'conversations', indicates peer-to-peer dialogue, and a more interdependent vision of global conceptual engagements. The conference will also seek to explore the varied modalities and technologies of communication, new methods of media flows and of associated identity creation, image-making and perceptions globally. It will examine the diverse forms of technology transfers and literacies from differently-situated regions of the globe, and differently- situated communities within regions, countries or organisations. Contributions from both established researchers as well as from young and emerging scholars are equally encouraged. Selected Issues Some of the sub-themes that lend themselves to exploration across many of the IAMCR Sections and Working groups include: • Revisiting 20th century media and communication constructs • Critically evaluating communications research in the global south • Uneven access to technological, political and social capital • Varied access to information technologies • Alternative media literacies • Issues of the so-called ‘digital divide’ post WSIS • Asymmetrical news and information flows • Trend lines and origins of innovations, apps and new media • The spectre or reality of cultural imperialism: regional, global • Fighting back: empowerment of the local and regional • Local languages – a growth area or reversals in current global media eco-systems • Media development, democracy and ethics • Social media, challenge and advocacy • Users and service providers: north and south • Communication as a tool of empowerment of the marginalised and the stigmatized • Global media hegemony, regional hegemony and counter hegemony • Whose story?: competing historical narratives of communication from the north and south • Any other topic related to the general conference theme Submission of Abstracts Each Section and Working Group of the IAMCR has issued its own Call for Papers, based on the general thematic outline above. The list of Sections and Working Groups and links to their respective Calls may be found at the Conference website below. The deadline extension to February 28 applies to ALL IAMCR Section and Working Groups, and supersedes any prior deadline notations which may appear on some earlier announcements. Abstracts should be submitted only via the central Open Conference System (OCS) at http://iamcr-ocs.org/. Deadlines In light of the new abstracts deadline of February 28, 2012. The OCS system at http://iamcr-ocs.org/ will also close on February 28, 2012. Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be communicated to individual applicants by their Section or Working Group Heads no later than March 19, 2012. Conference registration will open as originally scheduled on March 12, 2012 for bookings by participants. For those whose abstracts are accepted, full conference papers are to be submitted via the IAMCR OCS by June 10, 2012. Guidelines for Abstracts Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words in length. http://www.iamcr-ocs.org/ www.iamcr-ocs.org On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 6:47 PM, Francesca Musiani <francesca.musiani(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Dear colleagues, > > just a reminder that the deadline for presenting your abstract > proposals for the Emerging Scholars Network section of the 2012 IAMCR > conference is two weeks away, *February 14th*. Apologies for > cross-posting. > > Best regards, > Francesca > > ---------------- > > International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) > > DURBAN 2012 > > EMERGING SCHOLARS NETWORK SECTION CALL FOR PAPERS > > > > The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) invites you to participate in the > 2012 International Congress of the IAMCR to be held on July 15-19, > 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal > (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. This year’s theme is South North > Conversations. We call for general academic papers in Communication > and Media Studies as well as papers addressing the concrete conference > theme. > > Diverging from traditional world systems implications, this theme > reflects the asymmetry of global communication flows, without > suggesting the negatives that usually accompany discussions of the > 'digital divide' within the context of the “global south.” The term > ‘global south’ refers to countries, territories and communities that > have been excluded from the mainstream of economic, social and > communication development. In much of the discourse around global > geo-politics, these countries and communities are still regarded as > the recipients of economic and technical largesse from more developed > sources. It is the theme of this conference to interrogate this > assumption, and to emphasize the communicative empowerment and the > positive potential of media and communication in and from the ‘Global > South’. For more information on this year’s conference theme please > see the general call for papers. > > The ESN is a section dedicated to the work and careers of emerging > scholars in the field of media and communication. Hence, we especially > look for works in progress from graduate students and new university > instructors/professors who are interested in substantial feedback and > comments intended to advance their projects. > > > > The ESN organizes emerging scholar panels and joint panels with other > sections. Our emerging scholar panels provide a comfortable > environment for the presentation of theses and works in progress, > where emerging scholars can receive feedback from colleagues also at > the beginning of their careers and from senior scholars who act as > respondents to individual papers. The joint panels with other sections > allow for the exchange of ideas with senior scholars in the field and > networking. Should there be enough submissions we are planning to > co-sponsor panels together with the following IAMCR Sections and > Working Groups: Law Section; Gender and Communication Section; Media > Education Section; Political Communication Section; Health, > Communication and Change Working Group; and the Task Force on Media > Policies. > > > > In line with the purpose of our section, the ESN also organizes panels > about issues affecting emerging scholars, such as: > > > > - Publishing research results; > > - Mentoring and the Student-mentor relationship; > > - Academic work and academic jobs; > > - Neoliberalism in the academy; > > - Language barriers in academia. > > > > Scholars who wish to organize or contribute to an issue-related panel > are welcome to contact Sara Bannerman at Sara.Bannerman [at] gmail.com > and Stefania Milan at stefania.milan [at] eui.eu. > > SUBMISSIONS > The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 14, 2012. Please > note that this deadline will not be extended. > The OCS system at http://iamcr-ocs.org will open on December 1, 2012, > and will close on February 14, 2012. > Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be communicated to > individual applicants by their Section or Working Group Head no later > than March 12, 2012. > On the same day, March 12, 2012, conference registration will open for > bookings by participants. > > For those whose abstracts are accepted, full conference papers are to > be submitted via the IAMCR OCS by June 10, 2012. > > - Questions may be addressed to the section co-chairs, > Stefania Milan stefania.milan(a)eui.eu and Sara Bannerman at > Sara.Bannerman(a)gmail.com. > > - Submissions must include author name(s), affiliation, > address, e-mail address, and paper title. > > - If you are submitting a work in progress, we welcome your > submission! Please state that it is a work in progress in your > abstract. > > - Abstracts should be 250-300 words. > > > > Please also take a look at our suggestions on how to write an > abstract: http://iamcr.org/component/docman/doc_download/315-2010-esn-how-to-write-an… > > > > New ! Special Call ESN in Spanish / ESN Hispanohablante > > > > El grupo de estudios ESN Hispanohablante y Comunicación > Latinoamericana abre una convocatoria para presentar trabajos en > idioma español en la Conferencia IAMCR 2012. Para el grupo ESN > Hispanohablante y Comunicación Latinoamericana es especialmente > pertinente el tema de la conferencia en Durban, “Conversaciones > Norte-Sur”, que vincula los problemas sociales, las propuestas de > desarrollo sostenible, y los contextos interculturales de América > Latina con varias perspectivas de comunicación ciudadana, estudios de > recepción, comunicación para el desarrollo y metodologías > participativas de la comunicación. > > > > Invitamos investigadores emergentes a presentar propuestas de ponencia > en idioma español y con un enfoque latinoamericano de la comunicación, > que pone énfasis en comunicaciones y contextos socioculturales > diferentes; reflexiona en lo intercultural e interdisciplinar, > adecuando epistemologías, definiciones y metodologías de la > comunicación a la realidad social. Los planteamientos de la > comunicación en América Latina incluyen la diversidad de sujetos > múltiples, negociando identidades y significados ante la modernidad y > procesos de urbanización, mestizaje sociocultural, nuevas narrativas, > medios, lugares y espacios de la comunicación. > > > > Para dudas o preguntas antes de enviar la propuesta, se puede > escribir a Franklin Cornejo (fcu_75(a)yahoo.com) coordinador de > ESN-Hispanohablante y Comunicación Latinoamericana y a la > coordinadora de comunicación de ESN Francesca Musiani > (francesca.musiani(a)gmail.com) > > > > MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES ABOUT THE ESN > > - Please take a look at our website ((http://iamcr.org/s-wg/cctmc/esn) > - Join the ESN Facebook group > (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44068562342) > - Or subscribe to the ESN listserv > (http://iamcr.org/mailman/listinfo/esn_iamcr.org) > > > > -- > Francesca Musiani > > Ingénieur de recherche ARMINES > Doctorante, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (associé au CNRS, UMR7185) > MINES ParisTech > 60, Boulevard Saint Michel > 75272 PARIS Cedex 06 France > > 33 (0)1 40 51 92 77 > 33 (0)6 45 31 90 53 > francesca.musiani(a)mines-paristech.fr > Site: www.csi.mines-paristech.fr/Perso/Musiani/ > Projet ADAM: adam.hypotheses.org > > Incoming Chair, Outreach & Partnerships Committee, Global Internet > Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) (http://giga-net.org/) > Communications coordinator, Emerging Scholars Network, IAMCR > (http://iamcr.org/s-wg/cctmc/esn) -- Francesca Musiani Ingénieur de recherche ARMINES Doctorante, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (associé au CNRS, UMR7185) MINES ParisTech 60, Boulevard Saint Michel 75272 PARIS Cedex 06 France 33 (0)1 40 51 92 77 33 (0)6 45 31 90 53 francesca.musiani(a)mines-paristech.fr Site: www.csi.mines-paristech.fr/Perso/Musiani/ Projet ADAM: adam.hypotheses.org Incoming Chair, Outreach & Partnerships Committee, Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) (http://giga-net.org/) Communications coordinator, Emerging Scholars Network, IAMCR (http://iamcr.org/s-wg/cctmc/esn)

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CATaC'12 - Aarhus - Submission deadline extended
by Charles Ess 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Dear AoIRists, In response to a number of requests, we are happy to announce a two-week extension to our original submission date, i.e., from Friday, Feb. 17, to Friday, 2. March, 2012. We continue to solicit either full papers (10-15 formatted pages), short papers (3-5 formatted pages), and/or panel proposals. To submit a paper and/or panel proposal, please find your way to <www.catacconfernce.org>, click on the Submissions tab, and then find the red-lettered "Click here to submit your papers and panel proposals" which will take you to the submission site. Please note that the deadlines for notification of acceptance and submission of final accepted papers will also shift. Further information regarding accommodation, travel, payment of registration fees, list of reviewers, etc. will also be available within the next two weeks. We look forward to receiving your proposals and to welcoming you to Aarhus - the happiest city in this happiest country in the world - in June. Charles Ess (IMV, Aarhus University, Denmark), Chair Fay Sudweeks (Professor Emerita, Murdoch University, Australia), honorary chair Herbert Hrachovec (University of Vienna, Austria) Leah Macfadyen (University of British Columbia, Canada) Jose Abdelnour Nocera (University of West London, UK) Kenneth Reeder (University of British Columbia, Canada) Ylva Hård af Segerstad (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden) Michele M. Strano (Bridgewater College, Virginia, USA) Andra Siibak (University of Tartu, Estonia) Maja van der Velden (University of Oslo)

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Extension deadline Feb 28 - CfP IAMCR CP&T Durban 2012
by Jo Pierson 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Dear all, With this the announcement of the extension of deadline to FEBRUARY 28th 2012 for submitting abstracts for the Communication Policy and Technology section of the 2012 IAMCR conference in Durban. See our call for proposals below. Best regards, Jo Pierson ----------------- International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference, July 15-19, 2012, Durban (South-Africa) 'South-North Conversations' http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za/ Communication Policy & Technology Section CALL FOR PAPERS The Communication Policy and Technology (CP&T) Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites submissions for the IAMCR 2012 conference to be held from July 15-19, 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban (South Africa). The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals has been extended to February 28, 2012. The conference will be held under the general theme, 'South-North Conversations'. While the theme points to the asymmetry of and divides in global communication flows, it expresses at the same time a need for Western countries to listen to and learn from experiences from the global South. The theme thus calls for balanced and empowering narratives that do not regard those in ‘the South’ primarily as victims in need of hand-outs from the more affluent. Rather, the conference wishes to emphasise the communicative empowerment and the positive potential of media and communication technologies in and from the ‘Global South’. The general conference theme is very relevant for the CP&T Section, which is oriented towards policy and practices with respect to (digital) communication technology. The role and meaning of ICT in the global South-North relationship also serves as a metaphor for issues of disempowerment-empowerment on national and local levels. The use of the notion of ‘empowerment’ is a long-standing tradition especially in the social welfare and radical education literature. When applying it in the analysis of the implications of communication technology, however, it is crucial to take into account Mansell’s (2002: 409) assertion that: ‘(...) the implications of the new media are contradictory. Once connected, there are no grounds for simply assuming that citizens will be empowered to conduct their social lives in meaningful ways. There is, therefore, a growing need to examine whether the deployment of new media is consistent with ensuring that the majority of citizens acquire the necessary capabilities for interpreting and acting upon a social world that is intensively mediated by the new media.’ Starting from this perspective, we observe a paradox: on the one hand, ICT instruments like social media are proliferating, reinforcing the potential for communicative empowerment; on the other hand, empirical evidence on what empowerment actually consists of is still limited. In addition, the risks and structural constraints associated with this potential for empowerment are often downplayed in techno-optimistic accounts of the impact of technology on society and politics. Understanding both the opportunities and risks involved in the co-evolution of media technologies and society is at the core of the section’s remit in the IAMCR 2012 conference. In addition to our open call for papers, the CP&T section invites paper and panel proposals addressing the following themes that are particularly relevant to the section, organised for presentational purposes by a thematic focus on policy, on practices, and on technology: 1 - Policy - Net-neutrality: a first amendment for the Internet? - Internet censorship and control mechanisms - Transparency of government, open data and whistleblowing in the post-Wikileaks age - DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) and Internet governance - Redefining Internet openness and power relations in the age of ‘platformisation’ - Civic/internet liberties in relation to hacktivism and peer-to-peer file sharing - A new civil society agenda and a new strategy for the next WSIS? - Social, economic and legal issues related to (new) regulatory initiatives worldwide on privacy and data protection (eg EU) 2 - Practices - User (dis)empowerment and the disappearance of media for people living ‘in’ media - Reconfiguring trust and identity in online/offline communities and user-generated content - Privacy and the commodification of personal data - Radical protest, (everyday) resistance and networks - Social and policy consequences of (behavioural) advertising - targeting, filtering, profiling and sorting - Mitigation of risks and responsibility in online environments for different audiences - OccupyWallStreet/ Indignados movement: how communication technologies and policies are used by and affected by those involved? - Tensions between content producers (including users and ‘produsers’) and content distributors 3 - Technology - Construction of technology: privacy-by-design versus surveillance-by-design - Political economy of social media - Changing policies, value networks and user practices in a digital audio-visual landscape - Role of mobile technologies and services in global South contexts - Hegemony and post-hegemony, and Internet technologies and algorithms - Creativity and control through ambient intelligence, and the Internet-of-Things (RFID) - Changing nature of digital divides and mass self-communication Submission information The CP&T section welcomes proposals for papers bearing on the above or related issues by submitting an abstract (300 – maximum 500 words). Abstracts should state the title, the methods or approach used, and briefly introduce the theoretical framework and empirical research on which the paper will be based. The scholarly presentation of accepted submissions can take place in several types of sessions: Paper presentation sessions (i.e. 4-5 presenters each with 12-15 minutes, requiring full paper submitted on time) and High intensity sessions (i.e. 6-8 presenters each with 5-7 minutes). While, IAMCR accepts presentations and papers in English, French and Spanish, it is requested that abstracts and panel proposals, if at all possible, be submitted in English to facilitate the reviewing process. Proposals for panels are also welcome. A proposal should have four to five papers and should provide: (1) a panel title, (2) a framing text and (3) short abstracts for all the papers with paper titles and authors. The framing text (maximum 500 words) should contain the overall idea and goal of the panel, how it responds to the CP&T section CfP. A panel chair and a discussant should also be proposed. The 500 word panel framing text and the individual paper abstracts need to be submitted separately. They will be reviewed and based on this review we will accept, accept with revisions, or decline the panel. Submission of abstracts, panel proposals and (once accepted) full papers can only be done online through IAMCR Open Conference System (OCS) using the link to be found on the official Durban conference website. The OCS system at <http://iamcr-ocs.org> will open on 1 December 2011 and close on 28 February 2012. Submissions via e-mail will not be reviewed. It is expected that, normally, only one abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than three abstracts bearing the name of the same proposer either individually or as part of any group of authors. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other IAMCR Sections or Working Groups for consideration, after an initial submission. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System (OCS), by the Head of the Section or by the Conference Programme Referee. Applicants submitting multiple abstracts for papers risk being removed entirely from the conference programme. The deadlines are: - February 28, 2012: Submission of abstracts via OCS (papers and panel proposals will be assessed by double blind review) - March 12, 2012: Start of conference registration - March 19, 2012: Announcement of acceptances - June 10, 2012: Full papers due via OCS (around 7,500 words, excluding notes and references). There is no second round of reviewing for acceptance. If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must also register for conference participation in order to be included in the final conference programme of the Section. A CP&T best paper award will be made to one of the paper presenters, based on the full papers submitted in time. Additional questions about the CP&T sessions (submission, themes, panels etc.) at the IAMCR 2012 conference can be addressed to Maria Michalis (m.michalis[AT]westminster.ac.uk) and Jo Pierson (jo.pierson[AT]vub.ac.be). For further information on the conference (registration, theme, location, etc.), please contact the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) or consult the Conference Organizers via the website at: <http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za> or by email at <IAMCR2012(a)ukzn.ac.za>. Section Chair: Jo Pierson / Vice-Chairs: Maria Michalis and Bart Cammaerts

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international confereence, technology and gerontology, invitation for submissions
by gene loeb 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

ISG*ISARC2012 June 26, 2012 – June 29, 2012 May we invite you to the biennial *World Conference* on technologies and technology use to serve the aging society* (Gerontechnology)*, in combination with the yearly ISARC conference dedicated to *Robotics* and * Automation* in *Construction*? ISG*ISARC2012 consists of *13 keynotes*, *25 symposia*, a maximum of both 36 *leading-edge technology events*, and 36 *chaired oral sessions*. In addition the *GeronTechnoPlatform* will have continuous video presentations and real-time virtual site visits. Under the theme “*Who is afraid of aging?*” issues pertaining to the aging society are addressed, such as quality of life with leisure and pleasure, home care, life-long working, retrofitting existing buildings and infrastructures, and the associated new technologies, such as ICT, automation, robotics and governance in the construction industry. We start from the *rights and needs of the aging person* living and working in built environments. *The event takes place in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) under the umbrella of the European Year for Active Aging 2012 .*

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Panel on Quantified Self?
by Alex Halavais 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Hi, All, Looking to assemble a panel for ir13 that looks broadly at the "Quantified Self" and allied ideas. In particular, I'm interested in the social effects of "analytics from below" but anything that looks at quantification at the individual level (and its aggregation) would be of interest. Please contact me off list... soon! Best, Alex -- // // This email is // [x] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais, ciberflâneur // http://alex.halavais.net //

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Interest in roundtable interrogating the "crazy bitch" online?
by Terri Senft 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Dear Super Friends of AoIR: I think I'd like to do a roundtable for the 2012 Conference called, "Technologies of the Crazy Bitch Online." The plan would be to use disability studies and critical feminist/race theory to think through what is gained and lost by limiting conversations about "internet public spheres" to those who are seen as rational, logical, or sexually appropriate. If you are interested in perhaps being part of this, or maybe doing a Birds of a Feather thing around mental health and the net--with a disability studies focus, please--give me a shout via email! Okay? Okay! Terri -- Dr. Theresa M. Senft Global Liberal Studies Program School of Arts & Sciences New York University 726 Broadway NY NY 10003 home: www.terrisenft.net (needs a serious updating) facebook: www.facebook.com/theresa.senft twitter: @terrisenft

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Calling all Cyborgs - NCA 2012 call for papers, projects, panelists, etc.
by MacDougall, Robert 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Cyborg Communities: symbionts, hosts, parasites and other oddities of the digital age. The human, like human being, is always in the process of becoming. It is a truism to say that the body is "plastic" or shapeable through diet and exercise. And now the "brain plasticity" thesis has finally moved beyond the realm of theory. With our special powers of reflexivity, we seem uniquely fitted to be able to decide what kinds of beings we can become -- not only in terms of the way we appear, but also with respect to the way we think about and perceive the world around us. In other words, beyond questions of content, we're finding that our media habits tend to foster certain kinds of minds. This concerns the way we consume and process information with and through different media forms, and how we bootstrap and append our attention, awareness and perceptual systems to myriad others -- both human and machine -- to get things done. While there are a host of traditional media worth considering in this regard (including real-time conversation, books and audio visual media of various sorts), the advent of digital computer technology complicates our efforts to keep track of what we know and how we know it. No doubt, the idea of the computer continues to hold the promise of streamlining and otherwise enhancing the efficiencies of time, space and information processing tasks. Ostensibly, digital computers can free us up from many of the drudgeries associated with repetitive work, record-keeping, computation, and clerical duties of various kinds. Today, of course, different species of digital machines function well in helping us accomplish much of this, and more. However, the steady evaporation of "down time" is something that also seems to accompany the diffusion of digital computer technology in our culture. We are now often left wanting, and wondering, with respect to finding the temporal and physical spaces (and places) that allow for mindfulness, reflection, imagination and rest. Clearly, all three take time, and tend to be facilitated by cleared spaces and places, two things our digitally-enabled "attention economy" (Davenport and Beck, 2001) does not afford us with its wide-ranging "panic architecture" that itself enables a nearly incessant kind of "ambient intimacy" (Case, 2010). RATIONALE The line drawn between the "biological" and the "technological" is now a tenuous line as best. Instead of drawing rigid lines that tend to essentialize both human and machine, it may be more productive to envision an ongoing process of mutual adaptation that began when the first proto-humans began devising tools of the simplest kinds. On this view tools, as interactive/communicative media, are environmental in their own right. They are bio-technical and socio-cognitive ecosystems that provide a context for interaction. Like any environment or ecology, media not only surround but also constitute and sustain the organisms "inhabiting" them. There is even mounting evidence in the neurosciences that the tools humans fashion and employ (everything from a rough-hewn spear to a 5th gen. iPhone) become incorporated into the body-mind schema of the user. This and other tools often reveal how individuals using such tools, and who are therefore connected to and embedded in the environments these tools represent, process and experience the world around them in particular ways. The contributors to this panel are urged to investigate the roles various media-as-tools play in building communities of information, knowledge, action, intention, time, space, and place. We are building intentional/functional/formative communities and environments with the media we deploy and employ. The question is, to what degree do these allow for productive and sustainable cognitive, social, political, and even natural worlds. Some issues and topics that might be addressed in part, in whole, or in combination might include but are limited to: -Drawing out an Eco-Logic of human/media use: articulating notions of sustainability, functionalism, and task-efficiency in human-human, human-technology, and technology-technology relationships and knowledge communities -While some problem is often "solved" with a new technology, what new problems emerge as the new technology diffuses into a population or community? -Sense and sense-ratios in the age of web cams, GPS, remote sensing, smartphones and DIY applications (the phenomenology of media use, embodiment, etc). -The disambiguation and delineation of Hosts, Parasites, Symbiants and Cyborgs today. If a lichen community is a sustainable arrangement between algae and fungi, what can we say about GPS'd pre-schoolers, iPad-clad highschoolers, WiFi'd college students, virtual soldiers, blogging politicians, Tweeting celebrities, or Blue-Toothed pedestrians and relational partners (to name a few combinations)? In order to allow the coherent organization of one or more panels related to the questions and issues described above, please send your abstracts, papers or presentation proposals to robert_macdougall(a)curry.edu by March 9th for full consideration.

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