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International Conference VARE 2011 "Virtual Reality in Education"
by agnese.karaseva＠va.lv 18 Feb '11

18 Feb '11

**************************************************************** Annual International Conference on „VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY IN EDUCATION” (VARE 2011), Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, 18 March 2011, Valmiera, Latvia (in cooperation with EEA and Norwegien Finansial Instruments project practical conference "VR/AR Applications in Training”) SEE MORE…… http://www.va.lv/vare2011 Conference Aim VARE 2011 is organized by the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with EEA and Norwegien Finansial Instruments project. VARE 2011 conference concentrates on applications of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) for e-learning and training. The audience of the conference includes users, vendors and scientists operating in different fields of economy. The aim of VARE 2011 is set up an international network of different partners interested in international cooperation combining theoretical and practical aspects of VR/AR application in education and training. SEE MORE…… http://www.va.lv/vare2011 Key speakers: " Virtual Reality based technology platforms for development, testing and training". Dr. Eberhard Bluemel, Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation Virtual Development and Training Centre VDTC, Germany "Intellectual e-learning systems" Prof.Abdel-Badeeh Salem Head of Medical Informatics and Knowledge Engineering Research Unit,Faculty of Computer and Information sciences Ain Shams University, Egypt Conference topics include, but are not limited to: * Virtual (VR), augmented (AR) and mixed (MR) reality environments development and use * Immersive gaming and edutainment * 3D objects recognition and processing (geometric modeling, methods for modeling and rendering complex geometry, structure and behaviors) * VR systems hardware and software * Computer graphics and objects techniques (information and objects visualization and animation) * Advanced display and immersive projection technology * Multi-user and distributed VR systems * Human-Computer Interaction (haptics, audio, and other visual and non-visual interfaces) * Tracking & Sensing * Modeling and simulation related to VR * Presence and cognition technologies * New century e-learning applications SEE MORE…… http://www.va.lv/vare2011 Conference Language will be English. On behalf of VARE 2011 Organizing Committee Prof. Egils Ginters Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences ********************************************************************* SEE MORE…… http://www.va.lv/vare2011 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. Agnese Karaseva Project manager in Department of Investments and Finances/ Investīciju un finanšu departamenta vecākā projektu vadības speciāliste Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences/ Vidzemes Augstskola Mob.phone: +371 26603344 Phone: +371 64207225 e-mail: agnese.karaseva(a)va.lv skype: agnese.karaseva www.va.lv Cēsu Str. 4, Valmiera, LV 4201 Latvia -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Australian research fellowships: call for expressions of interest
by Jean Burgess 18 Feb '11

18 Feb '11

Hello AoIR, Forwarding this through on behalf of colleagues here at QUT. More at Axel’s and my research blog: http://www.mappingonlinepublics.net/2011/02/18/decras/ Best Jean -- Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards: Call for Expressions of Interest In 2011, the Australian Research Council is introducing a new funding scheme for early career researchers, the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), for funding commencing in 2012 (http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/decra.htm) We hereby call for expressions of interest from eligible researchers wishing to conduct their DECRA research at QUT in the communication, media, cultural studies and journalism disciplines. We are the leading media research institution in Australia, having been awarded a ranking of 5 out of 5 (well above world standard) in the Language, Communication and Culture code overall, including a ranking of 5 in the sub-field Communications and Media Studies (one of only two), and a 4 (above world standard) in the Cultural Studies field, in the recent ERA assessment conducted by the Australian Government. QUT is the headquarters of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI - http://cci.edu.au/) the only nationally-funded centre in the media and communication field, with strong ties to law, economics, business, and education, thus allowing for multiple cross-disciplinary options for research. Successful DECRA applicants will benefit from the vibrant scholarly environment at QUT, and work closely with world leaders in media, communication, cultural and journalism studies. For more information on how to develop a DECRA application for research in these discipline areas at QUT, contact: Distinguished Professor Stuart Cunningham, s.cunningham(a)qut.edu.au Professor Terry Flew, t.flew(a)qut.edu.au Professor Brian McNair, b.mcnair(a)qut.edu.au

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CFP: Workshop on Cultures in Game/worlds
by jeremy hunsinger 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

CFP: Workshop on Cultures in Game/worlds Call for Participation at the Cultural Studies Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois Location: Building S, Room 1306 RSVP March 5, 2011 We call the virtual environments that constitute the topic of this workshop "game/worlds." Game/worlds are 3d virtual environments developed for play and other entertainment, social interaction, cultural exploration, and virtual design/exchange. These worlds have captured the attention of researchers from around the world from a variety of disciplines. This workshop aims to improve the understanding of game/worlds as environments for cultural studies and cultural analyses. It will bring researchers together to collaborate and discuss diverse topics related to the unique problems of researching in game/worlds. We will pursue a schedule integrating workshop participants where they will discuss their work and interests related to four different topics: research methods for game/worlds, histories of game/worlds, cultures of game/worlds, and ethics of research in game/worlds. Some questions for consideration include: How can we better enable cultural studies in this sphere? How can we better enable research? How do we engage these arenas as ethical researchers? We will encourage researchers to submit papers in progress or related research, and short biographies to jeremy(a)tmttlt.com, which will be selected and distributed amongst participants before the workshop. First invitations will be offered to those who provide full papers for consideration. These papers have two purposes: first, to provide a common platform for understanding our research; second, submitted papers may be considered for publication in an edited volume being produced in relation to the workshop or possibly in a peer reviewed publication derived from the workshop (these are currently under discussion). Subsequent invitation will be made based upon research and biography. If you are interested in participating, please send an email containing your information to jeremy(a)tmttlt.com This workshop is organized by Jeremy Hunsinger, Center for Digital Discourse and Culture - Virginia Tech and Adrienne Massanari, School of Communication - Loyola University Chicago, with the help of Mark Chen, Institute for Science and Math Education - University of Washington (not attending). jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Association of Internet Researchers http://www.stswiki.org/ stswiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

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Calendar of social media and social networking conferences
by Derek Hansen 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

Colleagues, We've created a Google calendar [1] to augment the information page [2] that we maintain on conferences and publication venues related to social media and social networking conferences (i.e., topics of interest to the Center for the Advanced Study of Communities and Information). The calendar includes conference deadlines and conference dates. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list and is a bit US centric, but it's a good starting point for some of the high quality conferences occurring in this space. Thanks to Ben Shneiderman and Darcy Lewis for helping this come to fruition. Feel free to spread around the links. Feel free to email me with any blaring omissions. [1] http://bit.ly/casci_conferences_calendar [2] https://casci.umd.edu/Publication_Venues Derek Hansen Assistant Professor College of Information Studies CASCI Director University of Maryland

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University of Sussex Scholarships in Media, Film and Music
by Kathleen O'Riordan 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

Please circulate: Scholarships available for postgraduate students in the School of Media, Film and Music at the University of Sussex. For doctoral Students http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/mfmresearch For MA Students http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/mfm and http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/funding/pgukeudigitaldocumentary We also have some AHRC awards. Information on those is here http://www.sussex.ac.uk/mfm/prospectivestudents/funding

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CFP: Summer Research Institute for the Science of Socio-Technical Systems
by Andrea Tapia 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

Call for Participation 2011 Summer Research Institute for the Science of Socio-Technical Systems 5-9 June, 2011 South Seas Island Resort, Captiva Island, FL, USA www.sociotech.net Application: Screening begins 28 February, 2011 Eligibility: Advanced doctoral students, post-doctoral scholars and pre-tenure faculty at US-based institutions Notification: Late March, 2011 Cost: Reasonable expenses will be covered for all accepted participants Background A science of socio-technical systems is emerging from research in the fields of CSCW, social computing, social informatics, the sociology of computing, HCI, information systems and other related intellectual communities. The Consortium for the Science of Socio-Technical Systems (CSST, see www.sociotech.net) is an organization devoted to advancing research on socio-technical systems. Building on the success of the three previous Summer Research Institutes, the CSST will, with generous support by the National Science Foundation, again be hosting a summer research institute for advanced doctoral students, post-doctoral scholars, and pre-tenure faculty. A primary goal of the institute is to build a new cohort of faculty and graduate students who are interested in research on the design and interplay of the social and technical that spans levels of individuals, groups, organizations, and larger communities. Examples of this kind of work include research on: new forms of organizing (e.g., virtual organizations, massive online activities) social computing (e.g., online communities, online social networks); distributed work (e.g., collaboratories, virtual teams); emerging technologies (e.g., recommender systems, prediction markets); novel forms of production (e.g., open source software, Wikipedia); new forms of expression and entertainment (e.g., blogs, wikis, massively multiplayer online role-playing games); information and communication technologies for developing regions (e.g., cell phone-based applications to assist economic development, infrastructure development for local economic action). Institute mentors The institute has assembled a faculty of distinguished scholars in the domain of socio-technical systems to serve as mentors. This includes the following leading scholars, in addition to others from both industry and government: Wayne Lutters, UMBC, Director Andrea Tapia, Pennsylvania State University, Assistant Director Mark Ackerman, University of Michigan J.P. Allen, University of San Francisco Cecilia Aragon, University of Washington Andrea Forte, Drexel University Caroline Haythornthwaite, University of British Columbia Chris Hoadley, New York University Bonnie Kaplan, Yale University Tony Salvador, Intel Steve Sawyer, Syracuse University Phoebe Sengers, Cornell University Charles Steinfield, Michigan State University Institute goals The goals of the institute are to: Expand on and strengthen connections among the cohort of researchers in this area, and build on the network of relations formed through the prior Summer Research Institutes. Guide the work of the new researchers by interacting with experts in socio-technical systems science. Provide encouragement and support for the selection of socio-technical systems research topics. Illustrate the interrelationship and diversity of the field of socio-technical systems research. How the institute will be conducted The institute will be conducted as a residential program at the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida (www.southseas.com) with a combination of small group sessions devoted to providing feedback on participant¹s research and larger group sessions consisting of panels and presentations led by the Institute¹s mentors. These sessions will cover research topics such as core principles and viable research methods and also career development, how to obtain funding, and publication strategies. Time each afternoon will be reserved for informal recreational activities. All reasonable, pre-paid costs of participation, including travel, lodging, and meals are covered by support from NSF. How to apply The application process requires three parts: 1. A 350 word response to the question: How will your research contribute to advancing our scientific understanding of socio-technical systems? A few core citations may be helpful in framing your answer, especially if they are not to your own work. (The accompanying reference list does not apply toward your word count.) 2. Your current curriculum vitae. 3. Your demographic data including: your name, your current U.S.-based institution and affiliation, your preferred email address, and your status (PhD candidate, post-doctoral scholar, pre-tenure faculty, or an explanation of some other status). Please email your application materials as attachments using PDF or a common word processing format to CSST_2011(a)umbc.edu with ³CSST 2011² in the subject line. Please also note that participation in this institute will be restricted to doctoral candidates who have advanced to candidacy by the time of submission up through pre-tenure faculty who are at US institutions. This includes post-doctoral scholars who are not in tenure-track positions if they are less than five years from having completed their doctorate. Selection and notification All applications will be reviewed by the institute director, associate director, and all mentors. Selection will reflect the following criteria: Clear articulation of the research contribution to socio-technical systems (theory, practice or design); Clear development of socio-technical concepts and principles relative to your research interests; A career point where participation in the institution would be of greatest practical value; Contribution to a balanced and diverse group of participants. Additional information For further information please visit www.sociotech.net, e-mail CSST_2011(a)umbc.edu, or speak with prior Institute participants at CSST workshops or on our Facebook group -- ³Researchers of the Socio-Technical.²

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Assessing Arab Social Media
by John Paul Laprise 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

Here are some initial thoughts that I have assembled with the help and insight of some of my students here in Doha regarding the ongoing political turmoil First it was Tunisia and then Egypt. The view from Doha, Qatar is instructive. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the problems of other Arab nations often sound remote and even alien. Poverty, corruption and brutality resonate distantly here. However, many Arabs make Qatar their home and their voices offer some surprising insights about the nature of the changes now engulfing the region. Social networking technologies are important, but not always for the obvious reasons. It is certainly true that these technologies enable individuals to communicate and coordinate action with others and this facilitates group action. They also provide support to commonly held beliefs that are not so confidently held. In Tunisia, Wikileaks's revelations of the low US diplomatic opinions of the Ben Ali government assuaged the concerns of the people who were worried that the US government might not share their opinions of Ben Ali. Knowing that diplomats were all too well aware of the corruption in Tunisia strengthened the resolve of the demonstrators. In Egypt, the government took a different approach and tried to shut down technologically aided social networking by switching off mobile networks and the Internet. This course of action while not unprecedented was surprising. There are significant costs to a country that disconnects itself. Only the most repressive of countries like North Korea choose this option. Notably, even they allow some highly supervised access. The government's choice to disconnect Egypt from the Internet had a series of unforeseen and largely detrimental side effects, from the government's point of view. First, some demonstrators took the technology embargo as a sign of weakness on the part of the government. Such an extreme move, they reasoned could only indicate that the government felt legitimately threatened by the demonstrations. This encouraged them to continue to take to the streets. The Internet disconnection and shutdown of the mobile phone network also ironically pushed people into the streets, protestor and non-protestor alike. Turning off these technologies activated an older and more established social networking technology: the Arab Street. Egyptians are avid consumers of information. More than 16 million Egyptians use the Internet and over 53 million use mobile phones. When the government shutdown these communications networks, Egyptians hungry for information left their homes to seek out information from their neighbors, providing protestors and activists the opportunity to persuade and encourage the participation of citizens in face to face conversation. In the days that followed, a series of "low tech" solutions emerged to work around the information blackout. Modems were hauled out of storage to take advantage of free dial up service offered to Egyptians by sympathizing ISPs in other countries such as France. In a telegraphic inversion, "retweeting" services sprang up allowing Egyptians to call individuals outside of Egypt and have them tweet on their behalf. "High tech" solutions soon followed. The Speak2Tweet application was quickly made available by Google, Twitter, and SayNow enabling users to tweet by voice directly. The TOR Project which produces software that facilitates online anonymity saw a large spike in download requests from Egypt. Governments and citizens have joined battle over modern communications technology leading to an accelerated pace of innovation. Unfortunately for authoritarian governments, geeks tend to side with citizens and are likely to continue to innovate on behalf of the repressed. Shutting down the Internet was also a transparent effort to control damaging images. Since the demonstrations began in Egypt, Al Jazeera has been providing live footage of the demonstrations. Al Jazeera reporters located in Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria-three of Egypt's largest cities reported on peaceful anti-government demonstrations and violent pro-government reactions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that citizen journalists reporting from other cities captured even more striking imagery reflecting the desperation of demonstrators and government forces in these smaller and more remote locales. For those 53 million mobile users, however, capturing those moments on mobile phone cameras for future uploading would be natural and probably was. The ongoing Internet blackout may well be an attempt to stem what might be a flood of damning images from all across Egypt. With the collapse of the internal security forces, this might include graphic images taken in abandoned prisons and police stations. Taken to an extreme, this might lead to the Hague Tribunal opening up investigations on various members of the government. Finally, outside of Egypt various governments have taken a variety of positions on the demonstrations in Egypt. Many commentators have noted how the crises in Tunisia and Egypt have shaken the thinking of authoritarian governments around the world. This is a good thing. Perhaps the most telling reaction is the addition of "Egypt" to the list of banned search terms in China. China, too, is dealing with growing economic inequality, poverty, unemployment and police brutality. At present, popular unrest in China has largely been directed at corrupt individuals and local government. Tunisia and Egypt are instructive cases on the consequences of allowing the concerns of citizens to fester unaddressed in the Information Age. Addendum: The ongoing political turmoil erupting in the MENA region continues to afflict more states. At last glance only Oman, the UAE, Palestine and Qatar have escaped. All other MENA countries have begun coping with popular protests in one form or another. Oman does not rely on an extraction economy and has been comparatively responsive to citizen needs. The UAE and Qatar are both blessed with small populations and enormous wealth. The state offers citizens an array of benefits that redefines the idea of welfare state while avoiding the callous brutality that characterized Egypt and Tunisia. As for the Palestinian Territories, I suspect that it is only a matter of time before Israelis find peaceful mobs of Palestinians at checkpoints and border crossings heading to rally in Jerusalem at Al Aqsa. Just as in Egypt, security forces will be offered the stark choice to either shoot or be bypassed. As long as the demonstrators take their cue from previous protests, what is the Israeli government going to do? Shoot them? Images of Israeli troops shooting unarmed peaceful protestors would inflame anti-Israeli feeling globally. This is the domino of all dominos. As a post-script, I would like to add that I am open to research inquiries. Best regards, John Laprise Visiting Assistant Professor in the Communication Program Northwestern University in Qatar

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Internet Governance Call for Proposals: DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL FEB. 25
by Nanette Levinson 17 Feb '11

17 Feb '11

Call for Papers- DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL FEBRUARY 25, 2011 Global Internet Governance: Research and Public Policy Challenges for the Next Decade May 5 and 6, 2011 American University, School of International Service, Washington, DC Fifth Regional Workshop of the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) [1]http://giga-net.org/ Internet Governance is an emerging international field of scholarship, public interest advocacy, diplomacy, governmental and corporate policy-making, and philanthropic investment. The problem of how or whether we should control or regulate a communication medium that is decentralized and global is critically important to anyone who relies on the Internet to communicate, mobilize political action, run online businesses, purchase products and services or access critical information services. GigaNet is a scholarly community initiated in spring 2006 in conjunction with the UN Internet Governance Forum. Its four principal objectives are to: (1) support the establishment of a global network of scholars specializing in Internet governance issues; (2) promote the development of Internet governance as a recognized, interdisciplinary field of study, (3) advance theoretical and applied research on Internet governance, broadly defined: and; (4) facilitate informed dialogue on policy issues and related matters between scholars and Internet governance stakeholders (governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society). Building on the success of its first four regional workshops in Paris, France (2008), Brussels, Belgium (2009), Seoul, So. Korea (2009) and Montreal, Canada (2010), the purpose of the Washington, DC regional GigaNet workshop is twofold: May 5. The first day is dedicated to outreach sessions exploring issues in global Internet governance among policy makers, academics and civil society at large. The goal of the sessions on this day is to facilitate informed dialogue on policy issues and related matters between scholars and Internet governance stakeholders (governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and funders). Issues being considered include but are not limited to governance of critical Internet resources, surveillance and privacy, Wikileaks, copyright protection laws such as the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act" (COICA), network transparency and net neutrality. Presenters in these sessions will be invited by the program committee. To propose speakers or ideas, contact any member of the Program Committee listed below.May 6. The second day features presentations of scholarly research based on a rigorous peer reviewed selection process. The goal of the second day is to support scholarship and advance theoretical and applied research on Internet governance. Scholars are invited to submit 2-page abstracts describing recently completed research or work in progress on any aspect of Internet Governance. In order to provide a survey of current academic activities in the field, share ideas and forge possible collaborations, presentations will focus on problematics, research designs, preliminary empirical results and conclusions in the aim of stimulating reflection and discussion amongst the audience. Any theme or topic relevant to global Internet governance is welcome. Deadline for abstract submissions is NOW February 25, 2011. Submissions can be made through the Easy Chair web site: [2]https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=giganetdc2011 Decisions will be made by March 15, 2011 Manuscripts expected by April 18, 2011. Program Committee members include: � Derrick Cogburn, American University and Syracuse University, Chair � Milton Mueller, Syracuse University, Vice-chair � Leo van Audenhove, Free University of Brussels � Laura DeNardis, Yale University � Nanette Levinson, American University � J.P. Singh, Georgetown U Nanette S. Levinson Director International Communication Program School of International Service American University Washington, DC 20016-8071 [3]www.american.edu/SIS/levinson [4]www.american.edu/sis/ic Nanette S. Levinson Director International Communication Program School of International Service American University Washington, DC 20016-8071 [5]www.american.edu/sis/levinson [6]www.american.edu/sis/ic References 1. http://giga-net.org/ 2. https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=giganetdc2011 3. http://www.american.edu/SIS/levinson 4. http://www.american.edu/sis/ic 5. http://www.american.edu/levinson 6. http://www.american.edu/sis/ic

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Expert participation in Wikipedia
by Mathias Klang 16 Feb '11

16 Feb '11

Hi, Wikimedia is collecting data for a survey on (the lack of) expert participation in Wikipedia at http://survey.nitens.org/?sid=21693 ? They are especially in need of (female) experts not already on social media, and working outside the US/UK. For background on the survey, see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research_Committee/Areas_of_interest/Expert_… Mathias -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mathias Klang, LL.M., Ph.D. University of Göteborg University of Borås Phone: +46 (0) 31 786 55 63 Mobile: +46 705 43 22 13 http://twitter.com/klang67 http://digital-rights.net http://techrisk.se http://creativecommons.se ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Facebook Data of 1.2 Million Users from 2005 Released
by Michael Zimmer 16 Feb '11

16 Feb '11

Dear AoIR-ers: Some might be interested in this Facebook dataset release, and the issues I raise regarding its "anonymization". -mz Facebook Data of 1.2 Million Users from 2005 Released: Limited Exposure, but Very Problematic http://michaelzimmer.org/2011/02/15/facebook-data-of-1-2-million-users-from… Recently, a Facebook dataset was released consisting of the complete set of users from the Facebook networks at 100 American institutions, and all of the in-network “friendship” links between those users as they existed at a single moment of time in September 2005. Surprisingly, it initially included each users unique Facebook ID, meaning the presumed “anonymous” dataset could be easily re-identified, potentially putting the personal information of 1.2 million Facebook users at risk. -- Michael Zimmer, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies Co-Director, Center for Information Policy Research University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee e: zimmerm(a)uwm.edu w: www.michaelzimmer.org

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