- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: [Air-L] What went wrong with Multiply?
by Andrew Schrock 22 Jul '11

22 Jul '11

> I would offer that in addition to the dynamics that danah mentioned, I personally believe it is the way in which those dynamics are presented to the user. Part HCI, part social construct ("dynamics"). A friend of mine once told me that a solutions often lay in how you view the problem - similarly, interactions often lay in how we view the environment. Not exactly prophetic, but almost too simplistic. Culture is still a disputed term and means quite different things to different disciplines. Software engineers might see features as simply fostering a desired culture, which is too simple - it's not just about features. I am pessimistic about the adage of "just give your customers what they want" recipe to grow membership. History is written by and about winners, who tend to view their product as successful because they were smart enough to recognize an opportunity when it came along. Nicholas' work could be very valuable, and suggests that there are "secret histories" of social networking sites that have evolved in another direction, failed, or have been mis-characterized - these stories must be out there. IMHO "social shaping" and "affordances" are an HCI-friendly way to think about both the way individuals have a role in creating community/actively selecting from resources via sensemaking. Then there is the impact of macro social forces (economic, social structure, etc.). Cultural sociologists would view culture as the first mover in situations like this, asking a version of the classic sociological question: what is the relationship of individuals to society? Not to speak for danah, but she has already presented a very nuanced perspective on how "class" relates to movements between social network sites. Maybe that's in part addressing Rasha's very appropriate question of where these dynamics come from, and what influence they have. A Andrew Schrock USC Annenberg Doctoral Student aschrock(a)usc.edu 714.330.6545

1 0

Need New Methods Text
by Ted Coopman 21 Jul '11

21 Jul '11

All, I am looking for a new (one) comprehensive text for an Internet Research Methods course, current title: Inquiry in Internet Communication. Here is the catalog description. "Examines the internet as both a site of and a tool of communication research. Special attention to legal and ethical concerns associated with internet communication research." This is an upper division 4 unit research methods course. I am currently using Hine's "Virtual Methods: Issues in Social Research on the Internet" which is fine but the research is a bit dated (ah, the hell of "everything is dated once it hits the page" for teaching internet/new media anything) and while I use workshops on specific research methods (interviewing, surveys, etc.) I am looking for something more textbook-like with a structured approach. It needs to include both qualitative and quantitative approaches. I get them out collecting and coding data for two projects per semester. Online resources, a convergence approach that includes other media, and a "tool box" theoretical/epistemological approach are a bonus. Lately I have noticed a few coming out, but wanted to tap the collective expertise of the list for some solid recommendations. Feel free to contact me off list, I will (as always) compile and post). Thanks, -TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies San Jose State University http://www.sjsu.edu/people/ted.coopman/

2 1

Re: [Air-L] Need New Methods Text
by Andrew Herman 21 Jul '11

21 Jul '11

I would actually like to see what people suggest here as I imagine others would as well, so please keep this on list! AH Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Associate Professor and Chairperson Department of Communication Studies Graduate Program in Cultural Analysis and Social Theory Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 CANADA 519 884-1970 x3693 >>> Ted Coopman <ted.coopman(a)gmail.com> 07/20/11 6:44 PM >>> All, I am looking for a new (one) comprehensive text for an Internet Research Methods course, current title: Inquiry in Internet Communication. Here is the catalog description. "Examines the internet as both a site of and a tool of communication research. Special attention to legal and ethical concerns associated with internet communication research." This is an upper division 4 unit research methods course. I am currently using Hine's "Virtual Methods: Issues in Social Research on the Internet" which is fine but the research is a bit dated (ah, the hell of "everything is dated once it hits the page" for teaching internet/new media anything) and while I use workshops on specific research methods (interviewing, surveys, etc.) I am looking for something more textbook-like with a structured approach. It needs to include both qualitative and quantitative approaches. I get them out collecting and coding data for two projects per semester. Online resources, a convergence approach that includes other media, and a "tool box" theoretical/epistemological approach are a bonus. Lately I have noticed a few coming out, but wanted to tap the collective expertise of the list for some solid recommendations. Feel free to contact me off list, I will (as always) compile and post). Thanks, -TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies San Jose State University http://www.sjsu.edu/people/ted.coopman/ _______________________________________________ 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/

2 1

FW: CfP: Marx is Back - The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today
by Charles Ess 21 Jul '11

21 Jul '11

Dear AoIRists, several of you will be interested in the following CFP - charles ess * * * Marx is Back: The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today Call for Papers for a Special Issue of tripleC - Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. Edited by Christian Fuchs and Vincent Mosco http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/CfP_Marx_tripleC.pdf For inquiries, please contact the two editors. In light of the global capitalist crisis, there is renewed interest in Karl Marx's works and in concepts like class, exploitation and surplus value. Slavoj Žižek argues that the antagonisms of contemporary capitalism in the context of the ecological crisis, the massive expansion of intellectual property, biogenetics, new forms of apartheid and growing world poverty show that we still need the Marxian notion of class. He concludes that there is an urgent need to renew Marxism and to defend its lost causes in order to render problematic capitalism as the only alternative (Žižek 2008, 6) and the new forms of a soft capitalism that promise, and in its rhetoric makes use of, ideals like participation, self-organization, and co-operation, without realizing them. Žižek (2010, chapter 3) argues that the global capitalistcrisis clearly demonstrates the need to return to the critique of political economy. Göran Therborn suggests that the "new constellations of power and new possibilities of resistance" in the 21st century require retaining the "Marxian idea that human emancipation from exploitation, oppression, discrimination and the inevitable linkage between privilege and misery can only come from struggle by the exploited and disadvantaged themselves" (Therborn 2008, 61). Eric Hobsbawm (2011, 12f) insists that for understanding the global dimension of contemporary capitalism, its contradictions and crises, and the persistence of socio-economic inequality, we "must ask Marx's questions" (13). This special issue will publish articles that address the importance of Karl Marx's works for Critical Media and Communication Studies, what it means to ask Marx's questions in 21st century informational capitalism, how Marxian theory can be used for critically analyzing and transforming media and communication today, and what the implications of the revival of the interest in Marx are for the field of Media and Communication Studies. Questions that can be explored in contributions include, but are not limited to: * What is Marxist Media and Communication Studies? Why is it needed today? What are the main assumptions, legacies, tasks, methods and categories of Marxist Media and Communication Studies and how do they relate to Karl Marx's theory? What are the different types of Marxist Media/Communication Studies, how do they differ, what are their commonalities? * What is the role of Karl Marx's theory in different fields, subfields and approaches of Media and Communication Studies? How have the role, status, and importance of Marx's theory for Media and Communication Studies evolved historically, especially since the 1960s? * In addition to his work as a theorist and activist, Marx was a practicing journalist throughout his career. What can we learn from his journalism about the practice of journalism today, about journalism theory, journalism education and alternative media? * What have been the structural conditions, limits and problems for conducting Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Research and for carrying out university teaching in the era of neoliberalism? What are actual or potential effects of the new capitalist crisis on these conditions? * What is the relevance of Marxian thinking in an age of capitalist crisis for analyzing the role of media and communication in society? * How can the Marxian notions of class, class struggle, surplus value, exploitation, commodity/commodification, alienation, globalization, labour, capitalism, militarism and war, ideology/ideology critique, fetishism, and communism best be used for analyzing, transforming and criticizing the role of media, knowledge production and communication in contemporary capitalism? * How are media, communication, and information addressed in Marx's work? * What are commonalities and differences between contemporary approaches in the interpretation of Marx's analyses of media, communication, knowledge, knowledge labour and technology? * What is the role of dialectical philosophy and dialectical analysis as epistemological and methodological tools for Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies? * What were central assumptions of Marx about media, communication, information, knowledge production, culture and how can these insights be used today for the critical analysis of capitalism? * What is the relevance of Marx's work for an understanding of social media? * Which of Marx's works can best be used today to theorize media and communication? Why and how? * Terry Eagleton (2011) demonstrates that the 10 most common held prejudices against Marx are wrong. What prejudices against Marx can be found in Media and Communication Studies today? What have been the consequences of such prejudices? How can they best be contested? Are there continuities and/or discontinuities of prejudices against Marx in light of the new capitalist crisis? All contributions shall genuinely deal with Karl Marx's original works and discuss their relevance for contemporary Critical Media/Communication Studies. Eagleton Terry. 2011. Why Marx was right. London: Yale University Press. Hobsbawm, Eric. 2011. How to change the world. Marx and Marxism 1840-2011. London: Little, Brown. Therborn, Göran. 2008. From Marxism to post-Marxism? London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2008. In defense of lost causes. London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2010. Living in the end times. London: Verso. Editors Christian Fuchs is chair professor for Media and Communication Studies at Uppsala University's Department of Informatics and Media. He is editor of the journal tripleC - Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. His areas of interest are: Critical Theory, Social Theory, Media & Society, Critical Political Economy of Media/Communication, Critical Information Society Studies, Critical Internet Studies. He is author of the books "Foundations of Critical Media and Information Studies" (Routledge 2011) and "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge 2008, paperback 2011). He is co-editor of the collected volume "The Internet and Surveillance. The Challenges of Web 2.0 and Social Media" (Routledge 2011, together with Kees Boersma, Anders Albrechtslund, Marisol Sandoval). He is currently writing a book presenting a critical theory of social media. http://fuchs.uti.at Vincent Mosco is professor emeritus of sociology at Queen's University and formerly Canada Research Chair in Communication and Society. Dr. Mosco is the author of numerous books on communication, technology, and society. His most recent include Getting the Message: Communications Workers and Global Value Chains (co-edited with Catherine McKercher and Ursula Huws, Merlin, 2010), The Political Economy of Communication, second edition (Sage, 2009), The Laboring of Communication: Will Knowledge Workers of the World Unite (co-authored with Catherine McKercher, Lexington Books, 2008), Knowledge Workers in the Information Society (co-edited with Catherine McKercher, Lexington Books, 2007), and The Digital Sublime: Myth, Power, and Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2004). He is currently writing a book on the relevance of Karl Marx for communication research today. Publication Schedule and Submission Structured Abstracts for potential contributions shall be submitted to both editors (christian.fuchs(a)im.uu.se, moscov(a)mac.com) per e-mail until September 30th, 2011 (submission deadline). The authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to write full papers that are due five months after the feedback from the editors. Full papers must then be submitted to tripleC. Please do not instantly submit full papers, but only structured abstracts to the editors. The abstracts should have a maximum of 1 200 words and should be structured by dealing separately with each of the following five dimensions: 1) Purpose and main questions of the paper 2) Description of the way taken for answering the posed questions 3) Relevance of the topic in relation to the CfP 4) Main expected outcomes and new insights of the paper 5) Contribution to the engagement with Marx's works and to Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies Journal tripleC (cognition, communication, co-operation): Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, http://www.triple-c.se Focus and Scope: Critical Media-/Information-/ Communication-/Internet-/Information Society-Studies tripleC provides a forum to discuss the challenges humanity is facing today. It publishes contributions that focus on critical studies of media, information, communication, culture, digital media, social media and the Internet in the information society. The journal's focus is especially on critical studies and it asks contributors to reflect about normative, political, ethical and critical implications of their research. Indexing: Scopus, EBSCOHost Communication and Mass Media Complete, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Open Access: tripleC is an open access journal that publishes articles online and does not charge authors or readers. It uses a Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License) that allows reproduction of published articles for non-commercial purposes (without changes of the content and only with naming the author). Creative Commons publishing poses a viable alternative to commercial academic publishing that is dominated by big corporate publishing houses.

1 0

CfP: Marx is Back - The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today
by Christian Fuchs 21 Jul '11

21 Jul '11

Marx is Back: The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today   Call for Papers for a Special Issue of tripleC – Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society.  Edited by Christian Fuchs and Vincent Mosco   http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/CfP_Marx_tripleC.pdf For inquiries, please contact the two editors. In light of the global capitalist crisis, there is renewed interest in Karl Marx’s works and in concepts like class, exploitation and surplus value. Slavoj Žižek argues that the antagonisms of contemporary capitalism in the context of the ecological crisis, the massive expansion of intellectual property, biogenetics, new forms of apartheid and growing world poverty show that we still need the Marxian notion of class. He concludes that there is an urgent need to renew Marxism and to defend its lost causes in order to render problematic capitalism as the only alternative (Žižek 2008, 6) and the new forms of a soft capitalism that promise, and in its rhetoric makes use of, ideals like participation, self-organization, and co-operation, without realizing them. Žižek (2010, chapter 3) argues that the global capitalistcrisis clearly demonstrates the need to return to the critique of political economy. Göran Therborn suggests that the “new constellations of power and new possibilities of resistance” in the 21st century require retaining the “Marxian idea that human emancipation from exploitation, oppression, discrimination and the inevitable linkage between privilege and misery can only come from struggle by the exploited and disadvantaged themselves” (Therborn 2008, 61). Eric Hobsbawm (2011, 12f) insists that for understanding the global dimension of contemporary capitalism, its contradictions and crises, and the persistence of socio-economic inequality, we “must ask Marx’s questions” (13).    This special issue will publish articles that address the importance of Karl Marx’s works for Critical Media and Communication Studies, what it means to ask Marx’s questions in 21st century informational capitalism, how Marxian theory can be used for critically analyzing and transforming media and communication today, and what the implications of the revival of the interest in Marx are for the field of Media and Communication Studies.   Questions that can be explored in contributions include, but are not limited to:   * What is Marxist Media and Communication Studies? Why is it needed today? What are the main assumptions, legacies, tasks, methods and categories of Marxist Media and Communication Studies and how do they relate to Karl Marx’s theory? What are the different types of Marxist Media/Communication Studies, how do they differ, what are their commonalities?  * What is the role of Karl Marx’s theory in different fields, subfields and approaches of Media and Communication Studies? How have the role, status, and importance of Marx’s theory for Media and Communication Studies evolved historically, especially since the 1960s? * In addition to his work as a theorist and activist, Marx was a practicing journalist throughout his career. What can we learn from his journalism about the practice of journalism today, about journalism theory, journalism education and alternative media? * What have been the structural conditions, limits and problems for conducting Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Research and for carrying out university teaching in the era of neoliberalism? What are actual or potential effects of the new capitalist crisis on these conditions?  * What is the relevance of Marxian thinking in an age of capitalist crisis for analyzing the role of media and communication in society?  * How can the Marxian notions of class, class struggle, surplus value, exploitation, commodity/commodification, alienation, globalization, labour, capitalism, militarism and war, ideology/ideology critique, fetishism, and communism best be used for analyzing, transforming and criticizing the role of media, knowledge production and communication in contemporary capitalism?  * How are media, communication, and information addressed in Marx’s work? * What are commonalities and differences between contemporary approaches in the interpretation of Marx’s analyses of media, communication, knowledge, knowledge labour and technology?  * What is the role of dialectical philosophy and dialectical analysis as epistemological and methodological tools for Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies?  * What were central assumptions of Marx about media, communication, information, knowledge production, culture and how can these insights be used today for the critical analysis of capitalism? * What is the relevance of Marx’s work for an understanding of social media?  * Which of Marx’s works can best be used today to theorize media and communication? Why and how?  * Terry Eagleton (2011) demonstrates that the 10 most common held prejudices against Marx are wrong. What prejudices against Marx can be found in Media and Communication Studies today? What have been the consequences of such prejudices? How can they best be contested? Are there continuities and/or discontinuities of prejudices against Marx in light of the new capitalist crisis?  All contributions shall genuinely deal with Karl Marx’s original works and discuss their relevance for contemporary Critical Media/Communication Studies.  Eagleton Terry. 2011. Why Marx was right. London: Yale University Press. Hobsbawm, Eric. 2011. How to change the world. Marx and Marxism 1840-2011. London: Little, Brown. Therborn, Göran. 2008. From Marxism to post-Marxism? London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2008. In defense of lost causes. London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2010. Living in the end times. London: Verso.   Editors   Christian Fuchs is chair professor for Media and Communication Studies at Uppsala University’s Department of Informatics and Media. He is editor of the journal tripleC – Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. His areas of interest are: Critical Theory, Social Theory, Media & Society, Critical Political Economy of Media/Communication, Critical Information Society Studies, Critical Internet Studies. He is author of the books “Foundations of Critical Media and Information Studies” (Routledge 2011) and “Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age” (Routledge 2008, paperback 2011). He is co-editor of the collected volume “The Internet and Surveillance. The Challenges of Web 2.0 and Social Media” (Routledge 2011, together with Kees Boersma, Anders Albrechtslund, Marisol Sandoval). He is currently writing a book presenting a critical theory of social media. http://fuchs.uti.at    Vincent Mosco is professor emeritus of sociology at Queen's University and formerly Canada Research Chair in Communication and Society. Dr. Mosco is the author of numerous books on communication, technology, and society. His most recent include Getting the Message: Communications Workers and Global Value Chains (co-edited with Catherine McKercher and Ursula Huws, Merlin, 2010), The Political Economy of Communication, second edition (Sage, 2009), The Laboring of Communication: Will Knowledge Workers of the World Unite (co-authored with Catherine McKercher, Lexington Books, 2008), Knowledge Workers in the Information Society (co-edited with Catherine McKercher, Lexington Books, 2007), and The Digital Sublime: Myth, Power, and Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2004). He is currently writing a book on the relevance of Karl Marx for communication research today.   Publication Schedule and Submission   Structured Abstracts for potential contributions shall be submitted to both editors (christian.fuchs(a)im.uu.se, moscov(a)mac.com) per e-mail until September 30th, 2011 (submission deadline). The authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to write full papers that are due five months after the feedback from the editors. Full papers must then be submitted to tripleC. Please do not instantly submit full papers, but only structured abstracts to the editors. The abstracts should have a maximum of 1 200 words and should be structured by dealing separately with each of the following five dimensions:   1) Purpose and main questions of the paper  2) Description of the way taken for answering the posed questions  3) Relevance of the topic in relation to the CfP  4) Main expected outcomes and new insights of the paper  5) Contribution to the engagement with Marx’s works and to Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies   Journal   tripleC (cognition, communication, co-operation): Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, http://www.triple-c.se    Focus and Scope: Critical Media-/Information-/ Communication-/Internet-/Information Society-Studies  tripleC provides a forum to discuss the challenges humanity is facing today. It publishes contributions that focus on critical studies of media, information, communication, culture, digital media, social media and the Internet in the information society. The journal’s focus is especially on critical studies and it asks contributors to reflect about normative, political, ethical and critical implications of their research.   Indexing: Scopus, EBSCOHost Communication and Mass Media Complete, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)   Open Access: tripleC is an open access journal that publishes articles online and does not charge authors or readers. It uses a Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License) that allows reproduction of published articles for non-commercial purposes (without changes of the content and only with naming the author). Creative Commons publishing poses a viable alternative to commercial academic publishing that is dominated by big corporate publishing houses. -- Prof. Christian Fuchs Chair in Media and Communication Studies Department of Informatics and Media Uppsala University Kyrkogårdsgatan 10 Box 513 751 20 Uppsala Sweden christian.fuchs(a)im.uu.se Tel +46 (0) 18 471 1019 http://fuchs.uti.at http://www.im.uu.se NetPolitics Blog: http://fuchs.uti.at/blog Editor of tripleC: http://www.triple-c.se Book "Foundations of Critical Media and Information Studies" (Routledge 2011) Book "Internet and Society" (Paperback, Routledge 2010)

1 0

Position Available
by LeeAnne French 19 Jul '11

19 Jul '11

Connected Viewing Initiative Project Lead (Job # CFTM 1110) UC Santa Barbara's Carsey-Wolf Center (CWC) seeks a Project Lead to implement a new initiative of its Media Industries Project (MIP) on “connected viewing” and online media consumption. The Initiative is a collaborative venture with Warner Bros. that will investigate emerging trends in distribution and audience engagement with media products in an era of digitization and social networking. Working under the direction of MIP’s Principal Investigators and the CWC Executive Director, the Project Lead will supervise a team of researchers and conduct his/her own research. The initiative aims to deliver a variety of outcomes (e.g., publications, reports, online materials) by the end of the first year. The Connected Viewing Initiative will be a major focus for MIP’s upcoming year. MIP is a multidisciplinary project that examines major trends reshaping the media industries and their consequences for producers, distributors and consumers. Our research agenda focuses on digitization, globalization, and creative labor. Collaborators include media studies and communication scholars, as well as industry experts in related fields (http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/mip) We are looking for an individual with a scholarly background in media industries with a focus on digital media – ideally as it relates to practices of connected viewing. Applicants should have the ability to oversee and manage a dynamic, multi-dimensional, large-scale research project with multiple teams while conducting a dedicated project of his/her own. Applicants should have expertise with issues related to the convergence of traditional and new media industries, including familiarity with relevant technologies, industry trends, professional practices, policy concerns, and social issues. Applicants should have excellent communication and writing skills, and be comfortable interacting with high-level media professionals, scholars, and the public. A Ph.D. in media studies, communication, or a related field is required, and candidates should be published in her/his field of expertise and currently engaged in a relevant program of scholarly research. The position is an Academic Coordinator II, Step 3 at 100% time for 12 months, which is renewable based on satisfactory performance reviews and available funding to continue the project. Full health and disability benefits are included. Specific duties include: • Manage and direct all development of the Connected Viewing Initiative research projects, publications, and communication • Work closely with Warner Bros. personnel to identify key areas of shared interest and important resources for research teams • Lead a dedicated research team and coordinate external teams • Provide oversight of graduate student research assistants on the Initiative • Serve as the point person for communications between Warner Bros. personnel and MIP • Organize and convene two research summits to discuss progress and engage in collaborative consultation with team members, MIP and CWC staff, and Warner Bros. executives • Coordinate final presentation of research to Warner Bros. at the end of the first year • Collaborate with university development staff to continue fundraising efforts related to the Connected Viewing Initiative The Center is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service. University of California is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. To Apply Please submit application letter, CV and contact information for at least 3 references via email to lfrench(a)carseywolf.ucsb.edu: Academic Coordinator Position (Job # CFTM1110) University of California, Santa Barbara Carsey-Wolf Center Attn: LeeAnne French 4431 SS&MS Building Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4010 Apply by 8/3/11. Open until filled.

1 0

CFP: Panel on Media Festivals and Urban Spaces
by Peaslee, Robert 19 Jul '11

19 Jul '11

[with the usual apologies for cross-posting] Colleagues, Please consider the following call for abstracts: Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Boston, MA, March 21-25, 2012 Panel proposal: The "Host City": Media Festivals and Urban Spaces This panel invites papers on relationships between film and media industry festivals and the urban, sub-urban or rural communities that claim them. As film and media festivals of all stripe proliferate around the world, a variety of stakeholders jockey for position and advantage in the geographical and cultural contexts chosen to host them. Many of these events are well-established and have assumed a defensive position aimed at maintaining brand identity and prestige. Others are ascendant, still others nascent at best. Each of these communities, however, have a unique relationship to their event(s), and each of these relationships provides fertile ground for investigating the role of media festivals in promoting discourses of community identity, establishing infrastructural networks, reifying the importance of being mediated, utilizing the "local" to speak "globally", and a variety of other processes. Case studies on particular events/locations, comparative analyses, and attempts to theorize the event-location relationship are welcome, among other approaches. Questions addressed might include: - how do local communities create and grow a successful media festival? - how do established festivals deal politically, economically, structurally with host communities? - what benefits or challenges accrue for host communities? - what is the role of the festival in supporting both the community and the industry of which it is a part, and are these imperatives always in a state of cooperation? - what does it mean to be a "host city"? - what is the nature of the mediation occurring around festivals (as opposed to that deriving from other events)? -- how do we approach theoretically and epistemologically the festival/community relationship? -- how do historical/archival approaches to yesterday's festivals help us understand today's? Submissions are welcome on these and related questions, and international foci are encouraged. Please send abstracts of 250 words plus a short bio to robert.peaslee(a)ttu.edu by August 15, 2011. Contact: Robert Peaslee robert.peaslee(a)ttu.edu Deadline: August 15, 2011 Cheers, r -- Robert Moses Peaslee, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Electronic Media & Communication Texas Tech University Research Chair, AEJMC Visual Communications Division Editorial Board, American Communication Journal College of Mass Communications, TTU Box 43082 Lubbock, TX 79409, USA e: robert.peaslee(a)ttu.edu p: 806.742.6500, x. 283 f: 806.742.1085 Chain of many mirrors, the cinema is at once a weak and a robust mechanism: like the human body, like a precision tool, like a social institution. And the fact is that it is really all of these at the same time. - Christian Metz

1 0

HASTAC V: Digital Scholarly Communication CFP
by Sheryl Grant 19 Jul '11

19 Jul '11

The University of Michigan will be hosting the 2011 annual HASTAC Conference (face-to-face!) on its Ann Arbor campus December 2 and 3. We invite proposals for presentations on the general theme of Digital Scholarly Communication. Deadline for submission is *September 15, 2011*. Proposals can be submitted here: http://tinyurl.com/HASTAC2011-Proposal We seek topics which may range over but need not be restricted to, the role of digital technologies in: * Reformulating scholarly projects and products. (This might include questions of narration and argumentation, evidence and epistemology, interactivity, and/or text/visual presentation.) * Re-mapping the routes through which scholarly products circulate. * Expanding the digital arts to include the humanities and vice versa. * Reshaping the global system of knowledge production in the humanities in terms of access, circulation, exchange and equity within the global north and between the global north and south. * Generating new kinds of research and teaching partnerships. Topics may also include: * Copyright challenges and strategies for digital scholarly communication. * Web design and digitization of archives for multiple and different constituencies (local communities, global peers). * New forms of research, digitally based, in the humanities. The middle part of the day on both December 2 and 3 will be given over to concurrent sessions. People may present in any of three formats: * An individual five-minute “lightening” talk or ten-minute lecture-style presentation, with or without technology (e.g., PPT, Prezi) * A panel on a common theme with short presentations to allow for discussion time, with or without technology * A poster project or demo for conversation in a digital display area (e.g., YouTube or other presentation format uploaded to conference website; laptop-based video on a continuous loop, slidecast, interactive website; print poster board) Presenters will have the option of pre-circulating materials on the website before and during the conference. (Information on an Unconference event for December 1 forthcoming). Deadline for submission is *September 15, 2011*. Proposals can be submitted here: http://tinyurl.com/HASTAC2011-Proposal Sheryl Grant Director, Social Networking HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media & Learning Competition <http://www.dmlcompetition.net/> <http://www.youtube.com/user/video4hastac#g/p>

1 0

Crowdsourcing the latest social media research
by Finlayson, Amalie 18 Jul '11

18 Jul '11

Dear Air-L members I am just beginning a new research project looking at social media and the academy, and am hoping to crowdsource some of the latest journal papers/books/articles in this area in order to put together a current literature review. Below is the brief title abstract of the research proposal for the project. I am conducting my own searches of course too, but any leads or recommendations anyone could pass on would be most heartily appreciated! Conceptualising social media for theory and practice: The role of the academy in formulating contemporary media and communication social media curricula Social media is aligned with exponential technological growth (Wayt Gibbs, 1997) in communication technology, and is subject to such swift and unpredictable change, that there is currently a limited understanding of what the term ‘social media’ actually means (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Academic discourse around the theory and practice of social media, and specifically understanding how ‘social media’ is conceptualised, researched and taught within the academy, is also somewhat restricted. My research project intends to examine how the academy conceptualises and teaches social media in order to “train students to go out into the world with both general and specific skills [and] work with contemporary problems and render appropriate the discoveries and understanding that they generate” (Boulton & Lucas, 2008, p. 4). The study will focus on a delimited area, namely how Australian universities are currently conceptualising social media and utilising it as part of pedagogical best practice within media and communication schools. The first step in this research study, following on from my earlier research in the field, would involve an updated comprehensive literature review in this area in order to maintain theoretical currency in this rapidly developing field. The study would then extend to a triangulated methodological approach within the qualitative research paradigm, providing an analysis of a sample of current social media university subject syllabi offered in Australia. Semi-structured interviews with academics would serve to help understand how their theoretical underpinnings for social media inform the pedagogical models for this knowledge area. References Boulton, G., & Lucas, C. (2008). What are universities for? : League of European Research Universities. Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. Wayt Gibbs, W. (1997). Gordon E Moore, Part 2. The Scientific American. Regards, Dr Amalie Finlayson Lecturer in Journalism School of Communication & Creative Industries Charles Sturt University Panorama Avenue, Bathurst NSW 2795 P: 02 6338 4446 E: afinlayson(a)csu.edu.au Charles Sturt University | ALBURY-WODONGA | BATHURST | CANBERRA | DUBBO | GOULBURN | ONTARIO | ORANGE | SYDNEY | WAGGA WAGGA | Give Generously - Support Young Australians You can help young Australians to go to University and succeed in their studies by giving generously to the Charles Sturt University Foundation. To find out more or to make a donation go to the Foundation web site http://www.csu.edu.au/special/foundation. Australian donations are tax deductible. LEGAL NOTICE This email (and any attachment) is confidential and is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must not copy, distribute, take any action in reliance on it or disclose it to anyone. Any confidentiality is not waived or lost by reason of mistaken delivery. Email should be checked for viruses and defects before opening. Charles Sturt University (CSU) does not accept liability for viruses or any consequence which arise as a result of this email transmission. Email communications with CSU may be subject to automated email filtering, which could result in the delay or deletion of a legitimate email before it is read at CSU. The views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of CSU. Charles Sturt University in Australia http://www.csu.edu.au The Chancellery, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst NSW Australia 2795 ABN: 83 878 708 551; CRICOS Provider Numbers: 00005F (NSW), 01947G (VIC), 02960B (ACT) Charles Sturt University in Ontario http://www.charlessturt.ca 860 Harrington Court, Burlington Ontario Canada L7N 3N4 Registration: www.peqab.ca Consider the environment before printing this email.

1 0

Call for Papers: The 6th International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST-2011)!
by g.akmayeva＠icitst.org 18 Jul '11

18 Jul '11

Apologies for cross-postings! Kindly email this Call for Papers to your colleagues, faculty members and postgraduate students. CALL FOR PAPERS ************************************************************ The 6th International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST-2011), Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE UAE Computer Chapter December 11–14, 2011, Abu Dhabi, UAE (www.icitst.org) ************************************************************ The 6th International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST-2011) is Technical Co-sponsored by IEEE UAE Computer Chapter. The ICITST is an international refereed conference dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practical implementation of secured Internet transactions and to fostering discussions on information technology evolution. The ICITST aims to provide a highly professional and comparative academic research forum that promotes collaborative excellence between academia and industry. The topics in ICITST-2011 include but are not confined to the following areas: Internet Application and Technology: * Internet Architecture * Internet of things * Broadband Access Technologies * Application Agents * Boundary Issues of Internet Security * Database Management * Data Models for Production Systems and Services * Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems * IPSec Quality of Service * Knowledge Management * Embedded Systems * Defence Systems Ubi/Cloud Computing: * Authentication and Access Control for Data Protection in Ubi/Cloud Computing * Context-Awareness and its Data Mining for UbiCom * Data Grids * Distributed Information Systems * Human-Computer Interface and Interaction for UbiCom * Ubiquitous Systems * USN/RFID Service * Smart Homes and its Business Model for UbiCom Service * Security and its Data Management for UbiCom * Peer to Peer Data Management * New Novel Mechanism and Application for Ubi/Cloud Computing Information Security: * Trust, Privacy and Data Security * Network Security Issues and Protocols * Security Challenges and Content Authoring * Cryptography * Secure Communications * Authentication Techniques * Chaos-based Data Security * MANET Security * Wireless Sensor Network Security * Organization Considerations in Security Policy Formulation and Implementations * Digital Forensics and Crimes * Biometrics * Cyber Security Multimedia and Web Services: * Intelligent Multimedia and its Data Management * Multimedia Information Systems * Multimedia Security * Web Databases * Web Metrics and its Applications * Web Mining including Web Intelligence and Web 3.0. * Web Services * XML and other extensible languages * Semantic Web and Ontology Infonomics and e-Technology: * Infonomics * Information Visualization * Information Management * Information Quality * Technology-Enabled Information * e-Learning * e-Commerce * e-Business * e-Government * e-Society * System Design and Security for e-Services * Synchronizing e-Security IMPORTANT DATES Full Paper Submission Date: August 26, 2011 Extended Abstract (Work in Progress) Submission Date: July 31, 2011 Proposal for Workshops and Tutorials: May 31, 2011 Notification of Workshop and Tutorial Acceptance: June 05, 2011 Proposal for Industrial Presentation: April 30, 2011 Notification of Extended Abstract Acceptance/Rejection: August 15, 2011 Notification of Industrial Presentation Acceptance: May 10, 2011 Notification of Paper Acceptance/Rejection: September 30, 2011 Camera Ready Extended Abstract Due: August 31, 2011 Camera Ready Paper Due: October 14, 2011 Early Registration Deadline (Authors only): May 01 to October 14, 2011 Late Registration Deadline (Authors only): October 14 to November 15, 2011 Participants Registration: May 01 to December 14, 2011 Conference Dates: December 11-14, 2011 For more details, please contact info(a)icitst.org

1 0