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New Book: Digital Fandom: New Media Studies
by Paul Booth 18 Dec '10

18 Dec '10

Hi all, Apologies for the self promotion, but I wanted to announce the publication of my Digital Fandom: New Media Studies, in Peter Lang's Digital Formations series (edited by Steve Jones). Here's the blurb from the back of the book: "This book re-evaluates the way we examine todays digital media environment. By looking at how popular culture uses different digital technologies, Digital Fandom bolsters contemporary media theory by introducing new methods of analysis. Using the exemplars of alternate reality gaming and fan studies, this book takes into account a particular philosophy of playfulness in todays media in order to establish a new media studies. Digital Fandom augments traditional studies of popular media fandom with descriptions of the contemporary fan in a converged media environment. The book shows how changes in the study of fandom can be applied in a larger scale to the study of new media in general, and formulates new conceptions of traditional media theories." Specifically, the book examines Alternate Reality Gaming, blogs, wikis, and social network sites through the lens of fandom, and would be useful for classes in media studies, fandom, and issues of convergence and transmediation. For more information, you can check out a blog interview Henry Jenkins ran with me, here: http://henryjenkins.org/2010/08/args_fandom_and_the_digi-grati. "From blogs to ARGS, wikis to social networking sites, Paul Booth provides to digital in-depth tour of how fans straddle and traverse the boundary between television and media. With a theoretically rich analytic eye, 'Digital Fandom' breaks new ground for the next generation of media scholarship. "(Jason Mittell, Middlebury College, Author of 'Television & American Culture') "In this Web 2.0 world, where content is king and not community, the fan marks a new form of interactive subjectivity that deconstructs the usual categories of consumer and producer. Paul Booth's' Digital Fandom 'breaks new ground in the investigation of this subject, demonstrating how it reorganize and reorient the field of new media studies. "(David J. Gunkel, Presidential Teaching Professor, Northern Illinois University, Author of' Hacking Cyberspace and Thinking Otherwise ') Feel free to write with any questions, Cheers, Paul Booth Paul Booth Assistant Professor College of Communication DePaul University 1 E. Jackson Chicago, IL 60604 312-362-7753

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Nexus: New Intersections In Internet Research
by Tessa Houghton 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Distribute as appropriate. Apologies for cross-postings. -------------------------------// *Peter Lang just published the volume "Nexus: New Intersections in Internet Research<http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseite…> " *(edited by Daniel Araya, Yana Breindl and Tessa J. Houghton). It's the legacy project coming out of OII SDP09, QUT, Brisbane, Australia. The collection examines the current ways that mass collaboration intersects with sociocultural, technosocial and political changes in varied contexts, and questions their impact on established institutions and modes of production. The growing presence of digital technologies and the dramatic impact of networked collaboration pose a challenge, not only to the dominant economic paradigm, but also to a broad range of received social science thinking. This collection interrogates established theories and concepts in the light of recent developments and builds upon emergent research and original empirical findings. "*This book is a rich and varied exploration of current and emerging themes in Internet research, and a testament to the strength and diversity of the field.*" (Axel Bruns, Associate Professor, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology) "*This book reveals significant trends in Internet research and provides well-grounded insights into contemporary phenomena surrounding the Internet*." (Jeremy Hunsinger, Virginia Tech) "*The talented young scholars behind this collection break new ground in examining emerging collaborative uses of the Internet and the impact of such use across a range of settings. Well-written and thematically coherent, this volume takes us deeper into the social implications of ICTs, while at the same time ably demonstrating the multidisciplinary and transnational character of the developing field of Internet studies*." (Peter Dahlgren, Professor Emeritus, Media and Communication Studies, Lund University, Sweden) *Contents**:* Foreword - Ralph Schroeder Introduction: Collective Intelligence- Daniel Araya *Section 1: Sociocultural Intersections* Women and Technology: «Five Acts of Digital Agency» - Anitza Geneve/Carla Ganito Snap, Post, Share: Understanding the Online Social Life of Personal Photography - Eric Cook/Cristina Garduño Freeman Geo-linguistic Analysis of the World Wide Web: The Use of Cartograms and Network Analysis to Understand Linguistic Development in Wikipedia - Thomas Petzold/Hanteng Liao Mapping the Future of News in a Digital World: US and Australian Perspectives - Lucy Morieson/Nikki Usher: *Section 2: Technosocial Intersections* Media Literacy in the Facebook Age: Designing Online and Face to Face Learning Environments - Andrés Monroy-Hernándes/Michael Dezuanni/Kai Kuikkaniemi eHealth: Bridging the Divide between Current Performance and Legitimate Expectations in Health Care Delivery - Luca Camerini/Yujung Nam Fielding Networked Marketing: Technology and Authenticity in the Monetization of Malaysian Blogs - Julian Hopkins/Neal Thomas Cyberinfrastructure Inside Out: Definition and Influences Shaping Ist Emergence, Development, and Implementation in the Early 21st Century - Kerk Kee/Lucy Cradduck/Bridget Blodgett/Rami Olwan *Section 3: Political Intersections* Leetocracy: Networked Political Activism or the Continuation of Elitism in Competitive Democracy - Yana Breindl/Nils Gustafsson The People's Republic of Hacktivism: A Public Sphere Theoretical Interpretation of Online Independence Movements and the People's Republic of China - Tessa J. Houghton Cybercrime: A New Challenge for Legislation and International Negotiation - Yao-Chung Chang ICTs and the Green Economy: US and Chinese Policy in the 21st Century - Daniel Araya/Jin Shang/Jingfang Liu An Afterchat by Jean Burgess/Marcus Foth ----------------------------- Tessa J. Houghton PhD Student Media and Communication School of Social and Political Science University of Canterbury New Zealand "If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of creation, it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles." - J.B.S. Haldane

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The state of Internet Law
by Thomas Jones 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

In the US there are only a handful of law schools teaching Law, Science, and Technology tracks - otherwise known as Internet or Cyber Law. Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, and a few others have such a program or similar thereto. Most other law schools only offer a class or two in what is a young and vibrant area of law, especially in light of the recent Wikileaks escapade. Do any of you have any insight into other Law Schools that have, or are planning to have a Law, Science, and Technology Law track within their Law School? (Yes, Im looking for candidate law schools to apply to as well) :-) Do you think this is an area that is being ignored or dismissed as a legitimate niche? Please discuss! -- Thomas Jones http://www.TheOtherTomJones.com http://twitter.com/OtherTomJones http://www.linkedin.com/in/TheOtherTomJones One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life. The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community. -- Albert Einstein, On Education -- Sent with Sparrow

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Book Announcement "Nexus: New Intersections in Internet Research"
by Yana Breindl 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Distribute as appropriate. Apologies for cross-postings. Peter Lang just published the volume "Nexus: New Intersections in Internet Research" (edited by Daniel Araya, Yana Breindl and Tessa J. Houghton). The collection examines the current ways that mass collaboration intersects with sociocultural, technosocial and political changes in varied contexts, and questions their impact on established institutions and modes of production. The growing presence of digital technologies and the dramatic impact of networked collaboration pose a challenge, not only to the dominant economic paradigm, but also to a broad range of received social science thinking. This collection interrogates established theories and concepts in the light of recent developments and builds upon emergent research and original empirical findings. "This book is a rich and varied exploration of current and emerging themes in Internet research, and a testament to the strength and diversity of the field." (Axel Bruns, Associate Professor, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology) "This book reveals significant trends in Internet research and provides well-grounded insights into contemporary phenomena surrounding the Internet." (Jeremy Hunsinger, Virginia Tech) "The talented young scholars behind this collection break new ground in examining emerging collaborative uses of the Internet and the impact of such use across a range of settings. Well-written and thematically coherent, this volume takes us deeper into the social implications of ICTs, while at the same time ably demonstrating the multidisciplinary and transnational character of the developing field of Internet studies." (Peter Dahlgren, Professor Emeritus, Media and Communication Studies, Lund University, Sweden) ---------------------- Yana BREINDL PhD Candidate Department of Information and Communication Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), BELGIUM Tél.: + 32 (0)2 650 44 46 Fax : +32 (0)2 650 39 21 E-mail: ybreindl(a)ulb.ac.be http://www.breindl.eu/

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Full Time PhD position on social media & privacy, Free University of Brussels
by Jo Pierson 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Vacancy: Full Time PhD position, Free University of Brussels (ref. IBBT/SMIT/Privacy) The research centre IBBT-SMIT at the Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) offers a full time PhD position in the field of Social Sciences, more in particular of Media and Communication Studies. The vacancy is open for a research position of 4 years, in order to realize a PhD on the use of social media and social networks sites, the reconfiguration of privacy practices and the social and technological consequences thereof. The position starts in January 2011, and is supervised by Prof. Jo Pierson. Candidates are expected to show strong affinity with and interest in the domain of audience and user studies, social media technologies and media sociology, and are holder of a Masters degree in Social Sciences (Communication Studies, Sociology, ...). Applications are to be sent electronically as soon as possible (at the latest by 14th January 2011) to Hans De Canck (Hans.De.Canck(a)vub.ac.be) and Prof. Jo Pierson (jo.pierson(a)vub.ac.be ). When applying, a motivation and an elaborated vision on the theme under concern are expected to be included with the CV. Contact information: Hans De Canck IBBT-SMIT Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Pleinlaan 9 B-1050 Brusssels E-mail: Hans.De.Canck(a)vub.ac.be Tel.: +32-(0)2-6291628 Prof. dr. J. Pierson Dept. of Media and Communication Studies Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Pleinlaan 2 B-1050 Brusssels E-mail: jo.pierson(a)vub.ac.be Tel.: +32-(0)2-6292412 Description of research theme: We are witnessing the rapid growth of a new generation of participatory and collaborative network technologies that provide individuals with a platform for sophisticated online social interaction. Social networks today have hundreds of millions of users and are transforming our social and professional interactions and to some extent are shaping society itself. Gradually, society is discerning that this development not only brings strong beneﬁts to the social and economic fabric, but also introduces new risks related to privacy violations. At this stage, these issues are often perceived as isolated incidents that most organizations do not take accountability for. Yet, the implications of social networking environments for individual users, communities, organizations and society at large will become much more evident and most likely more substantial if necessary precautions are not taken. Especially alarming is the massive responsibility that individuals incur with respect to managing privacy and security risks arising from the information collected and shared about their everyday life on social networking sites. This phenomenon is has been coined as the responsibilisation of individuals. The main objective of the overall research project is to mitigate the responsibilisation of individuals who use or are aﬀected by social networking services by making the underlying social networking infrastructures and the organizations that run them more accountable. In order to achieve this objective ﬁrst an understanding of the target audience is required as well as forms of responsibilisation. This target audience includes users, communities and organizations in Flanders (Belgium). The plan is to develop solutions that facilitate better decision making with respect to the target groups’ privacy and security concerns, and that mitigate the risks, threats and concerns that currently are manifest in this domain. The PhD research position at IBBT-SMIT (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) is part of this larger four-year interdisciplinary research project on security and privacy in online social networks, involving different Belgian universities and one American university. More in particular the doctoral research has a twofold perspective. On the one hand it wants to understand the practices and needs of users with regard to privacy issues within social network sites, mainly based on the use of qualitative and ethnographic methods. On the other hand it will focus on the critical design variables and tools for social software. For the latter a translation needs to be made from the user research findings to possible guidelines and requirements for future media en technological solutions. Requirements: A Master degree in Social Sciences, (Communication Studies, Sociology, ...) Good knowledge of Dutch (and English) Strong affinity and/or interest in the domain of audience and user studies, social media technologies and media sociology Good knowledge of user research methods Good writing skills To be flexible and to be able to cope with deadlines Team player with strong social skills Research experience is a plus. We offer: An interesting PhD research position (4 years) in a stimulating work environment Enthusiastic and young co-workers and a pleasant environment Day to day support and project guidance based on high quality standards A place for personal involvement and input Flexible working hours Multiple social benefits Salary in accordance with the job market.

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e-petitions
by Wright Scott Dr (PSI) 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Hi everyone, I am writing a few articles about the Downing Street E-petitions service, and as part of this, I am collecting broader stats on e-petitions to give it some context alongside analysis of paper petitions in the UK. Initially, I was interested in national level cases but from what I can find they are relatively limited in number (less than 10, but it depends how you define national). From past experience, these things can be hidden away though! So, I would be interested to know if anyone knows of any national cases (and is doing any research on them too). It would be interesting to know more about regional cases too. If people want to write to me directly, I will produce a list and post it to the group to save us from a deluge :-) Cheers, Scott Dr Scott Wright Director of Graduate Research School of Political, Social and International Studies University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ http://www.uea.ac.uk/psi/People/Academic/Scott+Wright

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Conference for e-Democracy and Open Government: cfp extended until 16.01.2010
by Noella Edelmann 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

*************[apologies for cross-posting]**************** EXTENDED CALL FOR PAPERS, 16 January 2011 Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government 5-6 May 2011 Krems, Austria www.donau-uni.ac.at/cedem Tracks * E-Participation * Open Data and Open Access * E-Voting * Open Government Keynotes * Axel Bruns (Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane; Chief Investigator ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation; Senior Researcher Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre, AUS) * Caroline Haythornthwaite (Director, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia, CAN) * Doug Schuler (Program Director for the Public Sphere Project; Member of the faculty at The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, USA) * Elke Löffler (CEO, Governance International, Birmingham; UK) * Stefan Gehrke (CEO, Politik-Digital, Berlin, DE) Submissions * Extended deadline: 16 January 2011 * 12 pages maximum * Double-blind peer review Conference Proceedings * Print version and * OA online version (eBook). * Best papers will be published with www.jedem.org Detailed Information * www.donau-uni.ac.at/cedem I look forward to seeing you there, and wish you a merry festive season! Noella Noella Edelmann BA, MSc, MAS Researcher CeDEM11 Conference for E-democracy, E-participation and E-voting www.donau-uni.ac.at/cedem JeDEM eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government www.jedem.org Digital Government Blog http://digitalgovernment.wordpress.com/ Centre for E-Government Danube University Krems Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse 30 3500 Krems Austria Tel.: ++43 2732 893 2303 www.donau-uni.ac.at/egov noella.edelmann(a)donau-uni.ac.at

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Suggestions for New Research Scholar Opportunities
by Umar Ruhi 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Dear AoIR colleagues, I am a relatively new research scholar with a recently completed doctorate, and I am currently exploring opportunities that can help me network and collaborate with others who share similar or complementary research interests to mine. As such, I am interested in short-term research and/or teaching fellowships or visiting scholar opportunities which would allow me to develop a collaborative research program with researchers from the host or sponsor institution. I am asking for your help in identifying such opportunities if you are aware of any. The primary domain of my research is social informatics, and specifically, my current research areas include web and enterprise social computing (including social media), online communities, web analytics, knowledge management practices, and the adoption of business intelligence technologies. More information on my current and past research projects is available at http://www.umar.biz. I appreciate any help that you can provide in identifying new scholar opportunities in the research areas highlighted above. Also, any suggestions or advice for a new scholar are welcome. Sincerely, Umar Ruhi --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umar Ruhi, MBA, PhD, FCIM Assistant Professor, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Television 2.0 Online Survey
by Rhiannon Bury 16 Dec '10

16 Dec '10

Dear Air-listers This fall I launched an online survey to learn more about the ways in which people view television programming and the ways in which fans engage with their favourite shows in the Web 2.0 era. With downloading, streaming and timeshifting technologies, watching television is no longer tied to the broadcast schedule and may not even involve a television set. Moreover, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter create multiple entry points into fandom and create new spaces of engagement with other fans. If you haven't done so already, I invite you to take my survey. Depending on your level of engagement with media fandom, the survey takes between 10 and 30 minutes to complete. There are prizes to win as well! TheTelevision 2.0 project has been reviewed by the Research Ethics Board at Athabasca University. Follow the link below to take the survey and/or to get more information, including a preview of the questions. http://tinyurl.com/tv2-0-survey Please spread the word far and wide! I have over 260 complete responses and am aiming for 400-500. Rhiannon Rhiannon Bury, PhD Assistant Professor, Women's and Gender Studies Athabasca University, Canada's Open University rbury(a)athabascau.ca www.rhiannonbury.com Follow me on twitter: @television2pt0

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Remix Cinema Workshop (Oxford Internet Institute): call for abstracts
by Daniel Villar Onrubia 16 Dec '10

16 Dec '10

Deadline for abstracts: January 7, 2011. Apologies for cross-posting. *Remix Cinema Workshop March 24-25th 2011; Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford, UK).* The Remix Cinema workshop is organised by the Oxford Internet Institute, (University of Oxford, UK) in collaboration with UNIA Prácticas y Culturas Digitales (Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, ES), and is funded by the UK's Art and Humanities Research Council's (AHRC) Beyond Text programme. Website: www.remixcinema.org Context In August 2010, the remix movie *Star Wars Uncut<http://www.starwarsuncut.com/> * was the first user-generated production to win an Emmy Award. Other online platforms such as Wreckamovie.com <http://wreckamovie.com/> enable online communities to form for independent and open source film making, harnessing distributed forms of collaborative co-creation rather than relying on traditional organisational structures. Cloud-based editing suites have begun appearing: Stroome.com <http://www.stroome.com/> was launched in April 2010 by USC Annenberg with the tag-line “mix it up. mash it out”. Digitalised photos, videos, and sound, easily accessible through popular websites, constitute a diverse online repository of content that is being used for artistic remix purposes. Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation won a court case <http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26> giving exemptions from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anticircumvention provisions to amateur remix video artists sharing their works on e.g. YouTube. VJ’s and live cinema artists (e.g. Dj Spooky<http://www.djspooky.com/>, Eclectic Method <http://www.eclecticmethod.net/> or SOLU<http://www.solu.org/>) have permeated multiple cultural settings, ranging from mainstream contexts of entertainment to museums and other spaces devoted to the institutionalisation of art practices. The examples outlined are just a few fitting under the umbrella term of “Remix Cinema”, and point to ways in which networked devices and resources are facilitating new artistic audiovisual practices and cultures. The concept of ‘remix’ describes a broad set of social and cultural practices centred around the fragmentation and re-ordering of already existing and new content, whether text, sound or images. This 2-day multi-disciplinary workshop focuses on these diverse creative practices, particularly in the context of the contemporary socio-technical media environment. It brings together people interested in understanding and shaping remix cinema: doctoral students, established scholars, practising artists, and anyone else interested in addressing themes related to questions including: - How is the contemporary media-scape influencing artistic audio-visual creation? - What can we learn from the changing practices in remix cinema? - How are new models of economic support (e.g. crowdfunding) changing productions of cultural objects? - What methodological and theoretical challenges arise in empirical studies on remix cinema, and how do we overcome these? Call for presentations & papers The workshop committee welcomes proposals on any social, critical, cultural, aesthetic, political, technical, economic or legal aspects of remix cinema practices, cultures and works. We particularly welcome contributions that report on empirical studies and adopt innovative methodological approaches. Each presentation should last for a maximum of 15 minutes. Participants may present finished studies or works-in-progress, as the workshop also serves as a forum for gaining valuable feedback and exchanging ideas. All proposals will be peer reviewed by at least two members of the workshop’s academic committee (Oxford Internet Institute faculty). Presenters are invited to submit full papers which will be eligible for review and possible inclusion in a subsequent ISBN publication on remix cinema. Deadlines - Abstract deadline: *January 7*, 2011; 500 words to be submitted *here<http://www.practicasdigitales.unia.es/ocs/index.php/remixcinema/2011/author…> * (new window). - Notification of acceptance of abstracts: January 28, 2011. - Registration deadline: *February 4*, 2011. - Full papers (optional) submission deadline: March 7, 2011 (4000-6000 words). - Presentation materials submission deadline: March 15, 2011. --- Daniel Villar Onrubia Doctoral Student at Oxford Internet Institute. University of Oxford daniel.villaronrubia(a)oii.ox.ac.uk | http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk Board Member at Espacio-Red de Prácticas y Culturas Digitales. Universidad Internacional de Andalucía d.villar(a)pcd.unia.es | http://pcd.unia.es

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