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Last call: E-Learning CFP on globally networked learning in highereducation (Jan 31)
by Doreen Starke-Meyerring, Dr. 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

Dear colleagues, just a friendly reminder that the deadline for the special issue of the Journal of E-Learning on globally networked learning across the disciplines in higher education is fast approaching (Jan 31—next weekend). I would be glad to talk, email, or skype about proposal ideas informally. Best regards, Doreen -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Doreen Starke-Meyerring, Dr. Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 2:19 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-L] E-Learning CFP on globally networked learning in highereducation (Jan 31) Dear colleagues, I hope you had a restorative break and the New Year has gotten off to a good start for you. This is just a brief reminder that the deadline for the special issue of E-Learning on globally networked learning in higher education is just around the corner (Jan 31). If you or your program are engaged in partnerships that use e-learning to link the students in your courses with peers, communities, NGOs, companies, and others across national boundaries or with local community partners to address issues of globalization in their courses or to provide a global perspective of their disciplines, this special issue is a great place to share your work. The goal of this special issue is to bring together contributors from different disciplines to explore what kind of disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning and knowledge making these partnered learning environments enable. So, if you know of colleagues in other disciplines engaged in this kind of work, please pass this CfP on to them. Naturally, it would be great to have proposals from internet studies colleagues, perhaps about networked courses that link students to study the implications of global intellectual property policies, internet regulation, or activism comparatively, etc.... I would be glad to talk, email, or skype about proposal ideas informally. Best regards, Doreen CALL FOR PAPERS: ****************************************************************************************** Special Issue of E-Learning on globally networked learning in higher education ****************************************************************************************** E-Learning, a peer-reviewed international journal directed towards the study of e-learning in its diverse aspects, invites submissions for a special issue on “Globalizing Higher Education Across the Disciplines: Innovative Partnerships, Policies, and Pedagogies for Globally Networked Learning Environments,” guest edited by Doreen Starke-Meyerring. Early national and global policy discourses around the role of the internet in higher education advanced utopian and dystopian understandings of the internet as a new global market for existing industrial-model, locally produced higher education courses and programs to be repackaged for global delivery and global trade online. As a result, hundreds of millions of public and private dollars have been spent on global internet-based higher education marketing consortia, many of which have since failed. As initial responses to digital technologies, these initiatives had largely tried to reproduce established institutionally bounded practices in digital environments, disregarding the networked nature and peer production potential of digital technologies, and therefore lacking pedagogical innovation to re-envision learning in a globally networked world. At the same time, however, many faculty across the disciplines in higher education have begun to develop alternative pedagogies and learning environments that take advantage of the globally networked nature of digital technologies. These globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) connect students with peers, instructors, professionals, experts, and communities from diverse contexts to help students develop new ways of knowledge making and learn how to build shared learning and knowledge cultures across traditional boundaries, especially with peers and communities that have been the most marginalized and disadvantaged in the emerging global social and economic order. However, such GNLEs are difficult to develop because they require robust partnerships, must negotiate a multitude of divergent national and institutional local policies, and as innovations, face challenges of institutional support infrastructures and policies designed around traditional local classrooms. The purpose of this special issue is to understand the current state of globally networked learning environments across disciplines in higher education and to advance insights into their development and sustainability. The special issue therefore invites both conceptual contributions that address larger questions surrounding GNLEs as well as research studies of GNLE development across disciplines, addressing questions such as these (among others): - What is the current state of globally networked learning in higher education? - How have GNLEs addressed issues of global and local social justice? - What kind of disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge making do GNLEs enable that would be difficult to achieve in traditional institutionally bounded classrooms? How? - What challenges do educators face in designing, implementing, and sustaining such partnered learning environments? How do they overcome them? - How do national and global policies regulating higher education as well as those regulating digital technologies (e.g. privacy, intellectual property, and censorship policies) enable or constrain the development of GNLEs? - How do local institutional policies, including policies regulating digital technologies, enable or constrain the development of GNLEs? - What institutional initiatives (e.g., task forces, innovator networks, centres for research and faculty support, integrated support networks) have emerged to support the work of faculty innovators? - What research is needed to advance globally networked learning environments in higher education? Schedule:  Proposals indicating the purpose, rationale, and possible approach of contributions (250-500 words): January 31, 2009  Submissions (full manuscripts): May 31, 2009  Accepted manuscripts revised for publication: September 1, 2009  Scheduled publication of issue: Winter 2010 Please direct inquiries and proposals to the guest editor: Doreen Starke-Meyerring doreen.starke-meyerring(a)mcgill.ca Please also contact the editor if you are interested in serving as a reviewer for this special issue. ****************************************************** Doreen Starke-Meyerring, Ph.D. Associate Director, Centre for the Study and Teaching of Writing Assistant Professor, Rhetoric and Writing Studies Department of Integrated Studies in Education McGill University 3700, rue McTavish Montréal, QC H3A 1Y2, Canada T: 514.398.1308 F: 514.398.4529 E: doreen.starke-meyerring @ mcgill.ca W: http://webpages.mcgill.ca/staff/group1/dstark1/web/starke-meyerring/ President, Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing/ Association candienne de rédactologie http://casdw-acr.mcgill.ca ******************************************************

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CFA: Facebook and Philosophy
by Dylan Wittkower 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

Although "philosophy" is in the title, we're looking for chapters from any theoretically-oriented disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective. Feb. 1st submission deadline. Thanks! -- Dylan Wittkower -------------------------------------------- Call for Abstracts Facebook & Philosophy Dylan Wittkower (ed.) d.e.wittkower(a)gmail.com Abstracts are sought for a new title in the Wiley-Blackwell series Philosophy for Everyone, under the general editorship of Fritz Allhoff. Never before has a single social forum played so central a role in so many people's lives. Facebook is quickly taking on roles previously served by telephones, town squares, televisions, student commons, board games, and much more besides. How does Facebook change our social existence, community activities, and self-identity? How does it add meaning to our lives? Transform us? And, for the better, or for the worse? Facebook is already an important part of our lives – but, even more significantly, it represents a kind of social media that will have an incredible impact on how we live. Facebook & Philosophy is an effort by philosophers, academics, and technology experts to make sense of what Facebook means for us; and to do so in an engaging and exciting way, reaching a broad audience. We solicit abstracts on the implications of Facebook from any philosophical perspective (analytic, continental, pragmatist, non-Western), or from theoretically-oriented interdisciplinary perspectives (especially but not only from Communications, Media Studies, STS, Sociology, Psychology, and Political Science). While any topic is welcome, we expect that primary topics of interest may be: Identity including authenticity online; race/ethnicity/gender issues; religious diversity and identity; relationship status; self-portraiture and profile pictures; and autobiography via mini-feed and microblogging. Friendship v. "Friending" including virtual/real splits, overlaps, and transitions; the effect of communications media on relationships; permanently online friends and the debatable importance of "actually" meeting people; the ethics of friending and unfriending; and the role of boredom and play in friendship. Community Formation including group identity; political affiliation; political debate; political organizing; causes and fundraising; the rise and meaning of a "notification society;" Facebook and the public sphere; and global friendship and cosmopolitanism. Facebook in Organizational Contexts including Facebook in education; Facebook as a resource for business; Facebook, employers, and privacy; Facebook as a business and free content/free access as a business model. Other elements of Facebook use that might be of interest include various applications (e.g. Scrabulous, PackRat, Pirates/Zombies, icanhascheezeburger); integration with mobile computing (inc. cellphones, twitter, iPhones, etc.); the effects of Facebook on our civil and moral rights (e.g. rights to privacy, property, speech, opportunity); and the role of Facebook in political campaigns, especially the 2008 election. Guidelines: The book is intended for a general readership. This does not mean that you can't say something serious or complicated; it does mean that you must be interesting, engaging, and lively. This is a great opportunity to contribute to an understanding of a new and emerging form of sociality, and the importance of this understanding goes far beyond academia. Please send abstracts (250-350 words) by Feb. 1, 2009. Notice of acceptance by March 23rd, 2009. Full chapters (4000-5000 words) due July 13th, 2009. Submit abstracts to facebook.and.philosophy(a)gmail.com To keep in touch with the volume, and for information about the book as it develops, join its Facebook fan page, here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Facebook-and-Philosophy/40232732873 For more information about Wiley-Blackwell's Philosophy for Everyone Series, or to propose a volume for the series, contact series editor Fritz Allhoff at fritz.allhoff(a)wmich.edu.

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New Positions at the Oxford Internet Institute
by William Dutton 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is advertising for 1-2 new Research Fellows to join the OII in October 2009. These positions could be filled by a recent post-doc or a more mid-career researcher. The position descriptions are posted at: <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/ people/newpositions.cfm> Any help in passing this information along to relevant colleagues would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Bill Dutton Professor William H. Dutton, Director Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford 1 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3JS United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1865 287 210/ 212 direct Fax: +44 (0)1865 287 211 Mobile-Cell: +44 (0)776 882 3906 Web: www.oii.ox.ac.uk http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/dutton/

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A typology of internet forums?
by Nils Löber 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

Dear list members, in the course of researching for my master's thesis on image board culture (think 4chan, LOLcats, Rickrolling etc.) I have been trying to find literature describing a typology of internet forums and forum- like precursors (BBSes/USENET/...) with respect to formal properties such as moderated vs. unmoderated, anonymous vs. pseudonymous vs. real names, distributed vs. centralized and so on. Even though I put quite some effort into finding literature, I couldn't find anything even closely approaching a comprehensive overview/typology. In fact, the wikipedia article on internet forums was as close as I came. Can anyone here help me out and point me to relevant sources? Many thanks in advance! Best regards Nils Loeber

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Job opportunity at Uni. of Otago (NZ) - Senior Lect/Assc. Prof. in communications
by Erika Pearson 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

For those interested in a position on the southern side of the world! Full information and application packs: http://www.otago.ac.nz/vacancies/vacancy.php?vacancy=768 . And in regards to conversation on list earlier this week, this is a comms studies department with a strong interest in the internet and digital culture. cheers erika ~ Department of Media, Film and Communication University of Otago New Zealand ~~~ The University of Otago invites applications for a Senior Lecturer or Associate Professor in the broad field of Communication Studies. This position will be a confirmation path post (equivalent to tenure track). The University is seeking a scholar with a broad understanding of communication studies, including communication processes and effects, and communication systems and institutions. The successful candidate will have a strong record of international research publications, and teaching experience in any area of communication and media studies. An ability to develop synergies between communication, media and screen studies and other relevant subjects, including Sociology and/or Cultural Studies, would be an advantage. As well as teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the appointee will be responsible for promoting, and participating in, a high quality research culture: through fostering postgraduate research at Masters and PhD level; and through mentoring junior staff in their research activities. The successful candidate may be invited to assume the role of Head of the Department at some point, and will be expected to contribute to policy-making in the wider University through committee work. To be appointed at the Associate Professor level, applicants will need to demonstrate an established and substantial record of international research publication and sustained excellence in teaching. Specific enquiries may be directed to Professor Geoffrey Kearsley, Head of Department, Department of Media, Film and Communication, Tel +64 3 479 8519, Email geoff.kearsley(a)otago.ac.nz. Email contact is preferred in the first instance. Applications quoting reference number A09/10 close on Friday 20 March 2009. The position will be available from 1 July 2009, or as soon as possible thereafter.

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Do We Need a New Internet
by Alaa Al-Din Al-Radhi 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

Apologies for Cross posting Do We Need a New Internet? "Bad enough that there is a growing belief among engineers and security experts that Internet security and privacy have become so maddeningly elusive that the only way to fix the problem is to start over." Do you think it is really that bad? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/weekinreview/15markoff.html?th&emc=th Thanks Alaa Al-Din ( Aladdin ) Al-Radhi Consultant Engineer and Researcher Bachelor Electrical Engineering / Masters: CINS (Computer Information Network Security) Passionate / Advocate of: Internet, Science, Technological Innovations, and New Frontiers alradhi2000(a)yahoo.ca , alaalradhi(a)hotmail.com __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.

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Re: [Air-L] WSU To Go Paperless
by 'Gail Taylor 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

In reading the posting Gerry made about Washington State University going paperless, I found myself thinking about people who work as cooks, housekeepers, groundskeepers, and at other positions where access to and use of information technologies is limited and/or restricted. It would be interesting to know how the University is going to ensure that this group of employees has access to both "need to know" as well as "might want to know" information that feeds into and also directly impacts their work experiences. I was relieved to hear that a University actually believes this approach is too radical, in the case of Gerry's employer. This reaction sent a signal to me that the administrators are thinking about change management issues at different levels of operation. As someone who has worked in the technology transfer area for a lot of years, my advice is to use this sort of reaction as a starting point to explore digital divide issues that exist at your own place of employment. Gail Gail Taylor, M.Ed. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Human Resource Education Ph.D. Candidate INFO 202 Social Aspects of IT Teaching Assistant >Message: 8 >Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:41:48 -0600 >From: "McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]" <gerrymck(a)iastate.edu> >Subject: [Air-L] WSU To Go Paperless || Social Networks For A Green >Colleagues/ > > > >Earlier this week, The Chronicle of Higher Education / Wired Campus >reported on a recent initiative at Washington State University: >> > >"Internal Communications at Washington State U. Go Paperless" / Steve >Kolowich / February 10, 2009 > > > >As noted in the story: "Washington State University has decided to go >paperless for all internal communications on its four campuses, moving >all memos, fliers, posters, and its weekly newspaper to cyberspace. >'Experts have been predicting a transition to a paperless society for >years,' wrote Elson S. Floyd, the university's president, in a statement >this afternoon. 'Meanwhile, it seems that the piles of papers that cross >our desks keep growing. We plan to reverse that trend.' > > > >The decision, made official last month, comes amid an effort to trim >$10-million from the university's budget by June, with further cuts >anticipated next year. [snip] > >In addition, the article reports that "[w]hile the budgetary impact of >going paperless might be largely symbolic, university officials note >that the switch also has environmental benefits."[snip] > >She also said that quitting paper cold turkey would encourage the >university to integrate Web 2.0 technologies-such as blogging and social >networking-into its internal communications. [snip] > >For More Details and Link See [ http://tinyurl.com/b7otw5 ] > >She further elaborated stating ... 'it is really exciting to deliver >the news in a new format," he added. "We have to learn to use the tools >of the Web and Web 2.0 effectively.' > >For More Details and Link See [ http://tinyurl.com/daf8ge ] > >BTW: During the breakout session at our Sustainability Symposium held >earlier this week, I had planned to suggest that various interlinked >university social networks be created to facilitate communication, >coordination, and cooperation amongst/between various individual, >departmental, and administrative efforts but thought that The Idea would >be considered Too Radical ... Little Did I Know That WSU Would See The >(Potential) Benefit of Social Networks For Its Green Initiatives [:-)] > >Enjoy! > >/Gerry > >Gerry McKiernan >Associate Professor >Science and Technology Librarian >Iowa State University Library >Ames IA 50011 > >gerrymck(a)iastate.edu > >There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has Come / Victor >Hugo >[ http://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ] > >Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind Blows > [ http://alternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/

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PhD dissertation on the Internet in Israel - www.sociothink.com
by Nik John 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

Dear Colleagues I was recently awarded a PhD for my dissertation on the arrival and diffusion of the Internet in Israel. It's online at www.sociothink.com I do not try to identify the variables that predict the speed of the Internet's diffusion in a new country, but rather, using the methodological and theoretical tools of Science and Technology Studies, I ask how the Internet got to Israel in the first place. How was the knowledge transferred? By whom? What micro processes were involved? What political, economic and cultural and regime was prevalent in Israel at the time the technology arrived there? And how did changes in that regime from the mid-80s to mid-90s impact on the way the Internet was institutionalized in a new country? And what does all this teach us about how globalization happens? It's a study about the social meanings of infrastructure and while it doesn't seem to belong in any obvious category of "Internet studies", it most definitely is a study of the Internet. I also ask what bringing the Internet to a new country meant to Israel's Internet pioneers, and compare this with the techno-utopianism that characterized press coverage of the Internet in its early years. And for those of you who sometimes use computers to write in non-Latin languages, there is a chapter on how the evolution of the way we present Hebrew letters on the Internet is not just a story about the technical superiority of Unicode, but actually involves the "browser wars" between Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, the shift from mainframe to personal computers, and the emergence of a relevant social group (computer programmers) that was able to devote resources to dealing with a problem that was becoming increasingly troublesome to it (namely, the customization of software). While the case study involves Hebrew, the findings apply to other non-Latin languages, and have implications for our understanding of the Internet as either a cause for cultural homogenization or a preserver of local languages. My own view is that a global solution (Unicode) might offer a lifeline for the representation of local cultures online. Comments of any kind will be received with interest. Best Dr. Nicholas John Research Fellow The Interdisciplinary Center for Technology Analysis and Forecasting Tel Aviv University http://ictaf.tau.ac.il Personal site: www.sociothink.com nikjohn(a)gmail.com Tel: +972 3 5781993 Mobile: +972 54 7906073

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Using ANT as ethos and method
by Tamara Paradis 15 Feb '09

15 Feb '09

Hi all I'm working on a graduate project that explores the controversies and understandings of MMO gaming as valid leisure. I'm curious what is it about MMO gaming that results in it being viewed as geeky, strange, "luser-ish", etc. I've been struck by the ways in which MMO gamers themselves, as well as everday non-gaming folks and mass media reportage (outside of financial reports!) seem to accept that MMO gaming is somehow a type of strange and suspect pursuit. I've long been intrigued with the work of Bruno Latour and others from SST and material culture studies who use an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach to studying the world and its phenomenon. I am drawn to the ethos of ANT which flattens the divide between researcher and the researched, and which advocates jettisoning old notions of society and "the social", and the old (artificial?) divides between micro/macro, structure/individual, power/domination etc. in the interests of letting the actions tell the story of the results. I'm equlally drawn but intimidated by the methods built into ANT -- the mapping of actors and connections and associations. I'm trying to convince a reluctant adviser that an ANT approach is a valid way of studying my research question. Given the digital focus and the desire to use ANT as ethos and method, as well as the ways in which ANT approaches study and fieldwork, I'm having a rough go of it. I'm wondering if any of you are using ANT or have used it in the past for qualitiative research purposes (e.g. virtual ethnography; findings reporting; etc.). If you have done so in the past, are in the midst of doing so now or are at least intrigued by the possibilities, I'd be interested in talking with you off-list. Thanks. Tamara Paradis tparadis(a)connect.carleton.ca tsparadis(a)gmail.com Carleton University - Sociology & Anthropology Ottawa, ON, Canada

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SU Library Spring Seminar: Not Just Facebook: Niche Social Network Sites
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

Friends/ Later this month. I will give the first presentation in our 2009 Spring Library Seminar series here at Iowa State University: Not Just Facebook: Niche Social Network Sites Gerry McKiernan, Associate Professor, Science & Technology Department, ISU Library Wednesday, February 25, 3:15-4:30, Parks Library 192 "While Facebook and MySpace are among the better-known general online social networks, there are an ever-increasing number of online networks that have emerged for and within a wide variety of groups. Among many others, these include networks for academe and education, people of color, boomers, businesses, LGBT groups, religious communities, and researchers and scholars. This presentation offers an overview of these on other niche online networks and examines the potential benefit they may offer to colleges and universities and their communities." [ http://www.lib.iastate.edu/class/worktutor/workshops.html ] In addition to the communities noted above, I am also greatly interested in learning of other communities (with a social network presence) that are or could be of particular interest to colleges or universities, e.g. alumni, along with specific examples. I am also interested in learning of specific niche communities that you find of significant professional value. Please post the names/sites of these Niche Communities and the particular professional benefits that you have gained (or believe can be gained) from membership in Any and All niche social networks as a Comment on the associated posting available at [ http://tinyurl.com/anj8zu ] BTW: This presentation will be an abridged and modified version of my Internet Librarian 2008 pre-conference workshop presentation _Not Just Facebook: Online Social Networks For Libraries_. [ http://nichesocialnetworksites.blogspot.com/2008/11/not-just-facebook-on line-social.html ] Thanks! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has Come / Victor Hugo [ http://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ] Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind Blows [ http://alternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/ ]

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