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New MA programme in Digital Anthropology at University College London
by Lane DeNicola 17 May '09

17 May '09

Application deadline: 30 June 2009 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/digital-anthropology/ Digital technologies have become ubiquitous. From Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to PowerPoint, Google Earth and Second Life. Museum displays migrate to the internet, family communication in the Diaspora is dominated by new media, artists work with digital films and images. Anthropology and ethnographic research is fundamental to understanding the local consequences of these innovations, and to create theories that help us acknowledge, understand and engage with them. Today's students need to become proficient with digital technologies as research and communication tools. Through combining technical skills with appreciation of social effects, students will be trained for further research and involvement in this emergent world. This MA brings together three key components in the study of digital culture: 1. Skills training in digital technologies, including our own Digital Lab, from internet and digital film editing to e-curation and digital ethnography. 2. Anthropological theories of virtualism, materiality/immateriality and digitisation. 3. Understanding the consequences of digital culture through the ethnographic study of its social and regional impact. Bursaries There is a £5,000 annual bursary specifically for this and the MA in Material and Visual Culture, as well as 3 x £1,000 bursaries for all anthropology MA programmes. All those who have submitted an application by 30 June 2009 will automatically be considered and no additional application form is necessary. The Dept. of Anthropology at UCL is the world's leading centre for the study of Material and Visual Culture. We publish The Journal of Material Culture and several relevant book series. We have nine specialist staff in material and visual culture. We currently supervise nearly fifty PhD students specifically in this field, including many with topics in Digital Anthropology. The programme is suitable both for those with a prior degree in anthropology but also for those with degrees in neighbouring disciplines who wish to be trained in anthropological and related approaches to digital culture. There is scope for those with specialist interests to work closely with designers, curators, communication specialists as well as our own digital studio. In addition to its importance for careers such as media, design and museums, digital technology is also integral to development, theoretical and applied anthropology. For further information about this course contact d.miller(a)ucl.ac.uk For making an application, note that the UCL bureaucracy may take a while to catch up with what is a new course, so in order to ensure your application is received we recommend that you download the application form from: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/application-admiss… And send this directly to: Prof. Daniel Miller Department of Anthropology University College London 14 Taviton Street London WC1H OBW University College London has over 3,500 research staff and 17,000 students, ranking among the top three multi-faculty research and teaching universities in the UK. Located in the heart of Bloomsbury among the unique research resources of central London, which include excellent museum facilities as well as a dense network of specialist research and higher education institutions, the College provides an outstanding research base. The Department of Anthropology combines social and biological anthropology and material culture. Members of the Department carry out research in 49 countries, edit four international journals and run five research seminar series and specialist postgraduate research groups. There are over 140 postgraduate students funded by AHRC, ESRC, NERC, MRC, London University, British Academy, Institute of Zoology, Natural History Museum, Overseas Research Studentships, staff research programme awards, and various national governmental and international awards. UCL is thus one of the largest centres in the world for the training of PhD students in Anthropology. The Department encourages pure and theoretical research as well as providing strong links with applied and development projects. As well as holding top research standing, the Department has been rated excellent in successive teaching quality audits. There are 7 taught Masters courses and several undergraduate degrees (BSc Anthropology, BSc in Human Sciences, and Intercalated BScs in Medical Anthropology). The Department maintains a student-centred approach to teaching, with a full tutorial system for its 300-strong undergraduate population. The Material Culture section of the Department contains six members of staff and may be considered a world centre for such studies. Amongst other activities members of this group edit the Journal of Material Culture, the journal Home Cultures, and several book series and recently developed the weblog at materialworldblog.com. -- Lane DeNicola Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow College of Arts & Sciences Syracuse University http://web.syr.edu/~ladenico

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Re: [Air-L] Social network site nomenclature
by 'Gail Taylor 17 May '09

17 May '09

Danah's definitions for "online social network" and "online social networking" both suggest that online technologies are foundation to enabling and supporting network structures and networking practices and processes. What are online technologies? Based on the context of this particular conversation (who the participants are, what we know about the topics, personal digital fluency levels, etc.), it is possible to infer that the Internet is the platform that supports and also enables social interactions and also that Internet-based products and services, such as Facebook, are also part of the mix. Can we assume that this same meaning of online technologies will transfer to other settings where there are more diverse points of view as well as levels of digital literacy among members of conversations? My thinking is that the definitions should be more explicit to address transference issues. I'm also wondering whether the designations "social network sites" and "social networking sites" are redundant due to technological developments allowing users of social network services, such as Facebook, to build capabilities into the software program that allows users to map (visualize) their personal networks and those of other subscribers. Is it time to consider collapsing these two designations into one to account for this technological shift? I personally think the time is 'ripe' based on the pace of technological developments and also research that is being conducted to promote a stages of development perspective of the Internet (e.g. Web 1.0 --> Web 2.0 --> Web 3.0 --> . . . . ). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gail Taylor, Ph.D. (ABD) Human Resource Education University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science Graduate Instructor and Teaching Assistant (LIS 201 IT and Organizations, LIS 202 Social Aspects of IT) >Message: 6 >Date: Thu, 14 May 2009 22:51:16 -0400 >From: danah boyd <aoir.z3z(a)danah.org> >Subject: Re: [Air-L] Social network site nomenclature >To: Nicole Ellison <nellison(a)msu.edu> >Cc: Linda.Olsen(a)infomedia.uib.no, air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org >Message-ID: <7D0F58D5-81E3-447E-B00D-C5B81F714A50(a)danah.org> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > >Here's an uber short definition for how I think about these terms >(concurring with many of the previous respondents): > >- Social network: ties between people, regardless of mediating >infrastructure [think what sociologists study] > >- Online social network: ties between people that exist within or are >created because of online technologies > >- Social networking: the practice of building one's social network, >regardless of mediating infrastructure [think what business >professionals are interested in] > >- Online social networking: the practicing of building one's social >network using online technologies > >- Social network site: websites that support the articulation, >display, and utilization of social networks [see "Social Network >Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship for a proper definition] > >- Social networking site: websites that center on the practice of >social networking, whether for business or pleasure [many communities >of interest, business networking, and online dating sites fit into >this category] > > >In our JCMC special issue, Nicole and I explicitly wanted to pull out >the category of new sites exemplified by Facebook, MySpace, etc. While >they are a subset of online communities, they are both structurally >different than many of them and engender very different practices. We >wanted to use nomenclature that captured those differences. Of >course, plenty of folks continue to talk about them as social >networkING sites and academics, journalists, and marketers frequently >clump online dating sites and community sites into this new glittery >genre, but we were trying to explicitly avoid this. There is no doubt >that a whole lot of sites out there support networking, but that's not >what we were trying to highlight when we put together the JCMC special >issue. > >What this means is that I would call Facebook a social network site. >I would call Match.com a social networking site. And I would call >LinkedIn both a social network site and a social networking site >(depending on whether I was talking about the structure or the >practice). I would talk about all of them as CMC and social media. I >would say that all of them support online social networks (and social >networks more broadly). > >At the end of the day, the big thing to me that makes a social network >site a social network site is the articulation, display, and >utilization of one's social network. This requires a profile, but a >profile alone does not make a social network site. > >As for sites vs. services... Originally, I was conceiving of sites to >be those website-only environments and services to be a broader >category that would include mobile apps, downloadable apps, etc. But >these lines are increasingly blurry. Now that both FB and MS have >mobile apps and most mobile apps have a website as well, it's hard to >distinguish the two categories. So I'm a big agnostic about this. My >inclination these days is to call them all sites to highlight the >digitally mediated component of it (cuz services don't have the same >digital ring as sites), but I can be totally convinced otherwise. > >Anyhow, I hope that helps. I am totally welcome to critiques on how >I'm thinking about it but, in my head at least, there's some coherence >to these different categories. > >danah > > > > >------ > >"taken out of context, i must seem so strange" -- ani >http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/ >http://www.danah.org/ >@zephoria > > > > >

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visiting assistant professor position at IU
by Mary L. Gray 16 May '09

16 May '09

Hi all, Please circulate this ad far and wide. Best, Mary ______________________ Mary L. Gray Assistant Professor of Communication and Culture Affiliate Faculty of Gender Studies Adjunct Faculty, American Studies and Anthropology Indiana University 800 E. 3rd Street Bloomington, IN 47405 812-855-4379 mLg(a)indiana.edu www.indiana.edu/~qcentral ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University- Bloomington has been authorized to hire a Visiting Assistant Professor for the 2009-2010 academic year (August 2009-May 2010) to teach courses in digital media and television studies. We invite candidates from a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds and encourage applicants whose teaching and research interests are grounded in critical humanities scholarship concerning the cultural, political, and communicative aspects of digital game studies. Ph.D. and teaching experience required. Applications will be reviewed starting May 21, 2009. Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer. Send inquiries, CV, and names of three references to: Gregory A. Waller Chair, Department of Communication and Culture gwaller(a)indiana.edu

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Extended Deadline - Summer School on Virtual World Research from July 10-19 in Bremen, Germany
by Simone Heidbrink 16 May '09

16 May '09

Dear List-members, we have extended the deadline for application for this year's Summer School "How Virtual is reality?" (http://how-virtual-is-reality.eu/) held in Bremen (Germany) from July 10 to July 19. We will accept applications until June 7th from anyone interested in doing academic reseach in Internet phenomena / Virtual Worlds. The course is mainly addressed to undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students. As a cooperative effort of the University of Bremen, the University of Oldenburg and Jacobs-University (Bremen) the summer course will broach the issue of the relevance of new environments such as "Second Life" and "World of Warcraft" for contemporary culture and social life with a special focus on rituals and religions. Instructed by more than 10 international teachers, the participants in the Summer School will explore the interdisciplinary study of practical methods and theoretical approaches for the scientific handling of ritual and media. The media will not only objects of methodological, theoretical and practical research but will also serve as platform for academic discussion and teaching. Summer School participants will be able to design and perform research projects on religion both on and within virtual worlds. Please forward this information to everyone who might be interested in the course. A banner and a poster are available on the "Media" section of the website. Kerstin Radde-Antweiler and Simone Heidbrink, organizers -- Simone Heidbrink M.A. SFB 619 Ritualdynamik - Teilprojekt C2 Institut für Religionswissenschaft Universität Heidelberg Akademiestr. 4-8 D - 69117 Heidelberg Tel.: ++49-(0)6221-547482 Fax.: ++49-(0)6221-547624 E-Mail: simone.heidbrink(a)zegk.uni-heidelberg.de http://www.rituals-online.de

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Tying this one more time: Facebook Business Models
by Andrew Herman 16 May '09

16 May '09

I am looking for writing about the development of the Facebook business model and social networking platform business models more generally. The sources can be business/industry as well as academic. I am casting my net very widely at this point so don't hold back on anything that might even be tangential. Thanks so much. Andrew Herman Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Associate Professor Department of Communication Studies Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 CANADA 519 884-1970 x3693

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Inside barackobama.com? Community problem-solving online query
by Steven Clift 16 May '09

16 May '09

Has anyone published a detailed inside view of how the Obama campaign used technology? I am particularly interested in their use of tools like neighbor to neighbor and precinct captain tools that supported direct activity of volunteers and more or less organic organizing that fed into the overall structure/priorities of the campaign. I wonder how their lessons might be leveraged in a non-partisan inclusive way in local communities. I am working up a presentation for a foundation on community problem-solving and the Internet ... see - http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/4JDAY4mkP2qekyHTirGUlB - and I am looking for examples where online tools have helped move people beyond expression or online advocacy, to direct community action to meet a public/social challenge. This doesn't need to be just at the local level, but it seems to be at that level where "citizens" can do their own online assisted barn raising so to speak. Suggestions? Please also reply to: clift(a)e-democracy.org Thanks, Steven Clift E-Democracy.Org

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social networks connect more than people
by Barry Wellman 15 May '09

15 May '09

One expansion of danah's def. of social networks. She (and Nicole) talk about them as links between people. But as commonly used in the social network analysis literature, they can also be links between organizations (like Microsoft Research and Berkeley), states (like USA and Saudi Arabia), etc. In other words, the level doesn't have to be interpersonal, although most research is done at the interpersonal level. Barry Wellman Founder, International Network for Social Network Analysis (1977) _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 University of Toronto Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 twitter:barrywellman http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _______________________________________________________________________

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Third and Final Call for Papers - E-Government Track HICSS-43
by Hans J. Scholl 15 May '09

15 May '09

Dear Colleague, Only 31 days left until the deadline of June 15, 2009! Time to prepare your contribution! This is an invitation to submit a research paper to one of the minitracks of the E-Government Track at the 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-43). HICSS-43 (2010) will be held from January 5-8, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, Koloa, Kauai, HI/USA. The e-Government Track will host eight minitracks: * Development Methods for Electronic Government * Emerging Topics * E-Participation, e-Citizenship, and Digital Democracy * E-Policy, e-Governance, Ethics, and Law * E-Services and Information * Information Security * Infrastructure and Interoperability * Organization and Management Submission deadline: June 15, 2009 For details please see http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/hicss43/ Among e-Government scholars the HICSS e-Government Track has an excellent reputation. Several times it has been ranked the academically most rigorous research conference on e-Government in the world. Having a paper accepted at the e-Gov Track at HICSS means something. Best wishes, Jochen Scholl HICSS-43 E-Government Track

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AoIR in Second Life
by Jasmine Pues 15 May '09

15 May '09

Hello and good day, it's Jasmine Pues again. I was wondering if there are any AoIR researchers that use Second Life, and if so, would it be a good idea to have meetups there? It would be good to get input from other researchers, I think. Also, as a general question: when is it acceptable to refer to yourself as a 'scholar' or 'researcher'? (Semantics I know, but I'm studying language so the distinction is sort of important to me.) This list has been very helpful in my research and studies. Thank you all!

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Hearsay Culture radio show/podcast
by Dave Levine 15 May '09

15 May '09

I am a new subscriber to this wonderful list and thought I'd pass along the following that may be of interest. I host a radio show/podcast on KZSU-FM (Stanford University) called Hearsay Culture where I interview people regarding issues involving technology and/or intellectual property law. You can learn more about the show at http://www.hearsayculture.com/?page_id=2. For those interested, the upcoming schedule for Hearsay Culture can be found at http://www.hearsayculture.com/?page_id=10; all previous shows can be found at http://www.hearsayculture.com/?page_id=11. If you have any suggestions for future guests or feedback, I'd love to hear from you (off-list, of course). Thanks! Best, Dave -- David S. Levine +Assistant Professor Charlotte School of Law +Fellow Center for Internet and Society Stanford Law School E: dave(a)hearsayculture.com P: 704-971-9387 PODCAST/BLOG: hearsayculture.com SSRN: ssrn.com/author=620105

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