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Superhuman Conference
by Marcus Foth 09 Dec '08

09 Dec '08

The Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) presents Super Human- Revolution of the Species Melbourne Australia 22-25 Nov 2009 An international event comprising a symposium, exhibition, masterclass and public talk investigating collaborative art and science practices and their relationship with the human body. Taking place over two days, the Super Human symposium will present an invigorating and inspiring mix of keynote speakers and collaborative research projects engaging with one or more of the symposium themes: Augmentation, Cognition and Nanoscale Interventions. Questions that the symposium will address include, but are not limited to: How do scientific and artistic bodies of knowledge intersect with human, social bodies? Does art serve simply as a representational tool for the sciences or is there more to the picture than that? Does research into bodies and their systems offer an insight into aesthetics, or is it confined to the purely functional? Abstracts are invited from either individual or team-based researchers, artists and scientists. Submitted abstracts will undergo a double-blind referee process, with successful applicants invited to submit their paper prior to final acceptance. Symposium proceedings will be published in Second Nature: the International Journal of Creative Media in March 2010. Second Nature is supported by RMIT University’s School of Creative Media. See secondnature.rmit.edu.au for more information. Please submit all abstracts (and any questions) to the Conference Convenor: as(a)anat.org.au -- Dr Stefan Greuter Lecturer Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphics Design) Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art) Bachelor of Arts (Animation and Interactive Media) School of Creative Media RMIT University Ph: 03 9925 9819 Email: stefan.greuter(a)rmit.edu.au Fax: 03 9925 4362 Location: Building 14, Level 11 Room 4 RMIT City Campus, Melbourne Postal Address: GPO Box 2476V Melbourne Victoria 3001 Australia Note: This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. It may also be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that you must not disseminate, copy or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this message in error please contact the addressee named above. -- Dr Marcus Foth Australian Postdoctoral Fellow Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation Queensland University of Technology (CRICOS No. 00213J) Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane QLD 4059, Australia Phone +61 7 313 x88772 - Fax x88195 - Office Z6-511 m.foth(a)qut.edu.au - http://www.vrolik.de/publications/

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Re: [Air-L] Social Presence Theory - latest studies?
by Andrew Herman 09 Dec '08

09 Dec '08

I am very interested in this thread but also find the subject a bit befuddling. Aren't almost all interpretive social theories of the 20th century (symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, , ethnomethdology, etc.) theories of social presence? There have been volumes upon volumes of work rooted in these traditions dealing with cmc sociality and identity. Or is the subject here a new and coherently distinctive kind of social theory that is specific to virtual environments? Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Associate Professor Department of Communication Studies Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 CANADA 519 884-1970 x3693 >>> Pam Brewer <brewerpe(a)appstate.edu> 12/08/08 9:05 AM >>> Jennie-- Here are a few of the sources I have found useful in my research on international virtual workplaces. Each addresses social presence theory in some aspect. Some of these are a bit dated but significant (e.g., Ma). I included Walther though you have probably already pulled his resources. Best, Pam Cho, H.-K., Treir, M., & Kim, E. (2005). The use of instant messaging in working relationship development: A case study [Electronic Version]. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10, from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue4/cho.html Ma, R. (1996). Computer-mediated conversations as a new dimension of intercultural communication between East Asian and North American college students. In S. C. Herring (Ed.), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives (pp. 173-185). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Nowak, K. L., Watt, J., Walther, J. B., & (2005). The influence of synchrony and sensory modality on the person perception process in computer-mediated groups [Electronic Version]. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10, 28. Retrieved July 11, 2006, from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue3/nowak.html Priest, H. A., Stagl, K. C., Klein, C., & Salas, E. (2006). Virtual teams: Creating context for distributed work. In C. A. Bowers, S. E & F. Jentsch (Eds.), Creating High-Tech Teams (pp. 185-212). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. Thompson, L. F., & Coovert, M. D. (2006). Understanding and developing virtual computer-supported teams. In C. Bowers, E. Salas & F. Jentsch (Eds.), Creating high-tech teams (pp. 213-241). Washington D.C: American Psychological Association. Utz, S. (2000). Social information processing in MUDs:The development of friendships in virtual worlds [Electronic Version]. Journal of Online Behavior, 1, 25. Retrieved March 10, 2006, from http://www.behavior.net/JOB/v1n1/utz.html Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23(3), 3-43. Pamela Estes Brewer Assistant Professor Department of English Appalachian State University phone 828-262-2351 fax 828-262-2133 email brewerpe(a)appstate.edu Jennie Hwang wrote: > Dear Colleagues, > > I am starting a literature review on social presence (esp. in relation > to new communication technologies, such as cell phones, text > messaging, chat programs, etc.). Hence, I am trying to find good > academic texts that present the history of research on this topic, > current trends, and suggestions for future research. Does anyone know > some good texts with which I can start? > > Please feel free to contact me if you have any interesting suggestions. > > Thank you, > jennie > > > | > jennie hwang, phd > assistant professor, communication studies > cal poly, san luis obispo > 805/756-2289 > | > > > _______________________________________________ > The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > http://www.aoir.org/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/

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new open-source, peer-reviewed journal: CfP on public dialogue
by Sam Ladner 09 Dec '08

09 Dec '08

Hi folks, A new open-source, peer-reviewed journal is launching and is looking for contributors: http://www.newsocialinquiry.org/ Its aim is to be both creative and rigorous. The first issue focuses on public dialogue. I see this kind of initiative as the next wave in scholarly publishing! -- ~~~~~ Sam Ladner, PhD Sociologist Toronto

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assigning wikipedia
by Jason Mittell 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

David (et. al.), I've assigned Wikipedia editing as part of my new media course, giving students the freedom to choose their area of expertise. I blogged about the results and students' impressions of the process at http://justtv.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/wiki-lessons . One of the problems with Wikipedia's own catalogue of academic assignments is that the guide to WP writing insists on objective neutrality, whereas reflecting on pedagogy & process is inherently subjective - thus the list of assignments offers no self-reflection on the process, making it difficult to discern whether the project was worthwhile or worth emulating. -Jason On Nov 11, 2008, at 11:02 AM, air-l-request(a)listserv.aoir.org wrote: > Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:44:14 -0800 > From: David M Silver <dmsilver(a)usfca.edu> > Subject: [Air-L] assigning students their college/university wikipedia > page > To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > Message-ID: <fe8cd435d694.d694fe8cd435(a)usfca.edu> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > aoir people, > > has anyone had any experience with assigning students the task of > altering, improving, and tweaking their university page on > wikipedia? in > other words, has anyone assigned their college/university wikipedia > page > as a site of construction for a class? if so, i'm curious to hear any > anecdotes, experiences, best-practices, relevant readings, and > anything > else you wish to share. > > david silver > http://silverinsf.blogspot.com -- Jason Mittell, Associate Professor of American Studies and Film & Media Culture Chair of Film & Media Culture Department Middlebury College 208 Axinn Center at Starr Library Middlebury, Vermont 05753 (802) 443-3435 / fax: (802) 443-2805 Homepage: http://seguecommunity.middlebury.edu/sites/jmittell Blog: http://justtv.wordpress.com

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REMINDER - [CFP] 9th International Conference of Sociocybernetics
by Fabio Giglietto 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SOCIOCYBERNETICS *'MODERNITY 2.0': EMERGING SOCIAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR IMPACTS* URBINO, ITALY 29 JUNE - 5 JULY 2009 CALL FOR PAPERS In recent years, the Internet and other information and communication technologies have had great impacts on almost all aspects of human life, locally and globally. The extant of these impacts can be seen in the ubiquity of the use of the prefix 'e-', as in e-commerce, e-business, e-government, e-democracy, e-science, e-learning, e-entertainment and so on. Thanks to the cheaper prices and ease of use of these technologies, more and more people are able to access digital contents, as part of a mass audience, and more and more people are able to create and publish content off their own initiative. The Web has moved from being a one-way communication channel extending traditional media, to a complex "peer-to-peer" communication space with a blurred author/audience distinction and new ways to create, share and use knowledge in a social way. This establishes new global fora, started by a few, and sustained by millions of local acts. This change of paradigm is currently profoundly transforming most areas of our lives: our interactions with other people, our relationships, ways of gathering, creating and disseminating information, ways of developing social norms, opinions, attitudes and even legal aspects as well as ways of working and doing business. It also raises a strong need for theoretical, empirical and applied studies related to how people may interact on the Web, how they actually do so and what new possibilities and challenges are emerging in the individual, business and technology dimensions. It is not the first time in the history of social media that a new technology becomes suddenly available to a wider group of people due to a specific social, economical and historical context. The last time something similar happened, the availability and diffusion of the printing press, according to many authors, the opportunities for the rise of modern society emerged. We are probably facing a similar new extraordinary change that we can barely describe today. According to the law of accelerated return identified by Ray Kurzweil, this change is taking place at a much faster speed than before. This is a major challenge for social science in a world where 'internet time' now runs at a clock speed several orders of magnitude faster than that of academic research. In order to explore these possibilities and tackle the challenges, a more interdisciplinary scientific approach is required. The visionary founding fathers of cybernetics and systems theory urged for this new vision of the sciences as soon as they started working on teleological machines interacting with human beings during the Second World War. Not surprisingly, today, Sir Tim Berners Lee (the inventor of the World Wide Web) is developing a vision for new field of interdisciplinary study called Web Science. The goal of this conference is therefore to bring researchers and practitioners together to explore within a sociocybernetic approach the issues and challenges related to social aspects of the new communication technologies and especially the Web. Possible topics should include, but are not limited to: - Local issues with respect to a particular geographical region, political entity or cultural or ethnic group; - Global issues affecting all mankind in the 21st century; - Emerging technologies and the link between the micro and macro levels of individual actors and social institutions, respectively; - Social systems and economic models of the web; - Y Generation and participation on the web (politics, business and entertainment); - Culture, knowledge and social impact of the Semantic web; - e-Social Science; - Cyberculture, knowledge and local communities; - Teaching the digital natives in networked space; - The public/private distinction on the Internet; - Cybernetics and Web Science; - Social capital in social network sites (SNSs). Papers with a strong sociocybernetic orientation addressing other topics (conceptual, methodological, practical) are also welcomed ABSTRACTS AND THE REVIEW PROCESS Please submit a 500 to 1000 word detailed abstract for the review process and for assignment to a particular session. In addition, 250 word regular abstracts are needed for the Conference Programme and Abstracts booklet and for publication on the RC51 website. All abstracts should be sent to the Chair of the Abstracts Committee, Michael Paetau via the online abstract submission form: http://larica-virtual.soc.uniurb.it/rc51/call/abstract-submission/. DEADLINES - February, 1 2009: 500-1000 word detailed abstracts - March, 1, 2009: Notification of acceptance - May, 3, 2009: 250 word regular abstracts - May, 24, 2009: Registration - June, 14, 2008: Full paper SESSION AND LANGUAGES The official language of the conference will be English. VENUE AND ACCOMMODATION The 9th International Conference of Sociocybernetics will take place in the Faculty of Sociology of University of Urbino "Carlo Bo". More info: http://larica-virtual.soc.uniurb.it/rc51/logistics/. CONTACTS AND INFORMATION Official conference website: http://larica-virtual.soc.uniurb.it/rc51/. For any further questions and information, please consult the RC51 website at http://www.unizar.es/sociocybernetics/. You may also directly contact any of the members of the International Organizing Committee or the Coordinator of the National Organizing Committee. Please forward the Call for Papers to your friends and colleagues who may be interested in attending the conference

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cc non-commercial survey
by jeremy hunsinger 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

from cc-au list CC has launched a survey<http://v2.decipherinc.com/survey/mds/mds08002?list=2 > to find out what non-commercial means - and it wants your input. The survey forms part of the larger study into the definition non- commercial<http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/9557> that CC announced a while ago. With the growing use of the 'non-commercial' term in online licences (and not just CC licences - it's even on the PM's website<http://www.pm.gov.au/copyright.cfm>), it's becoming more and more important to try to pin down a common understanding of exactly what it means. So CC is asking its community to help out by taking a few minutes to responding to this questionnaire<http://v2.decipherinc.com/survey/mds/mds08002?list=2 > on the topic. All responses are anonymous, and no personal data is collected. The questionnaire will stay up til 7 December. If you have any questions, you can email them to noncommercial at creativecommons.org. If you've always wanted to have your say on one of the hottest issues facing the free culture and web 2.0 communities, now's your chance. Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee http://wiki.tmttlt.com http://www.tmttlt.com Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student. -George Iles

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Re: [Air-L] Social Presence Theory - latest studies?
by James Watt 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

You might look at: Kang, S., Watt, J.H., Ala, S.K. (2008) Social copresence in anonymous social interactions using a mobile video telephone. Proceedings of CHI 2008. New York: ACM Press. This article is a summary of Sinhwa Kang's dissertation. It contains a good literature review on presence, social presence, and social copresence that might be useful, as well as the results of a very nice experiment that investigates the impact of behavioral realism and iconicity of avatars on social copresence, when they are presented on a simulated video mobile phone display. At 06:00 PM 12/7/2008, you wrote: >Dear Colleagues, > >I am starting a literature review on social presence (esp. in >relation to new communication technologies, such as cell phones, text >messaging, chat programs, etc.). Hence, I am trying to find good >academic texts that present the history of research on this topic, >current trends, and suggestions for future research. Does anyone know >some good texts with which I can start? > >Please feel free to contact me if you have any interesting suggestions. > >Thank you, >jennie > > >| >jennie hwang, phd >assistant professor, communication studies >cal poly, san luis obispo >805/756-2289 >| ======================================================== James H. Watt Professor of Communication Director, Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory (http://www.sbrl.rpi.edu) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 8th Street, Sage Lab 4518 Troy, NY 12180-3590 email: wattj(a)rpi.edu voice: (518) 276-4130 or 276-2784 fax: (518) 276-3740 SBRL Office: 3142 Winslow Building

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Fwd: [Sigdl-l] Internet Governance must ensure freedom of expression and universal access, UNESCO says
by jeremy hunsinger 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

Begin forwarded message: > From: Puna Das <puna_05(a)yahoo.co.in> > Date: December 5, 2008 10:36:35 PM EST > To: sigdl-l(a)asis.org, sigkm-l(a)asis.org > Subject: [Sigdl-l] Internet Governance must ensure freedom of > expression and universal access, UNESCO says > > Internet Governance must ensure freedom of expression and universal > access, UNESCO says > 04-12-2008 (Hyderabad) > > “The principles of freedom of expression and universal access must > be safeguarded on the Internet and, consequently, in Internet > Governance structures”, said Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO’s Assistant > Director-General for Communication and Information yesterday at the > Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Hyderabad, India. > > Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Forum, Abdul Waheed Khan > said that the Internet, as it is inherently democratic and > empowering, provides unparalleled opportunities to realize the dream > of a global free flow of ideas and universal access to information > and knowledge. > > “We need clear and globally applicable principles based on human > rights, and legal, ethical and technical standards to organize the > Internet,” stressed Khan. At the same time, “it is important to > ensure that the technical structure of the Internet allows provision > of access to content in all languages,” he added. > > During the three days of the IGF (3-6 December 2008), UNESCO > provides a variety of platforms for discussions on freedom of > expression and universal access. > > As part of UNESCO's advocacy for free flow of information and > freedom of expression in cyberspace, a workshop on Freedom of > Expression in Cyberspace: Internet Filtering and Censorship explores > the latest challenges to openness and freedom of expression on the > Internet and identifies the implications of governmental and other > Internet content regulation, particularly by direct implementation > of filtering and content censorship. > > A workshop on Access to Public Held Information with a Development > Perspective addresses the issue of access to public held > information, a core element of the right to freedom of information > as a fundamental human right, particularly in the context of > development. > > The Internet Governance Forum that meets for the third time is a > forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue to discuss public policy > issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to > foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and > development of the Internet. One of its main features is to > facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross- > cutting international public policies regarding the Internet. > > In the debates on Internet Governance over the last years, UNESCO > has consistently advocated the key values of freedom of expression, > cultural diversity and openness that must be safeguarded on the > Internet. > > Source: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27868&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECT… > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Anup Kumar Das > New Delhi, India > http://www.openaccess-unesco.blogspot.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India > Messenger._______________________________________________ > Sigdl-l mailing list > Sigdl-l(a)asis.org > http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/sigdl-l

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CFP: 3rd Workshop on Social Aspects of the Web (SAW 2009), LNBIP proceedings, deadline: Feb 1 2009
by Dominik Flejter 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

=========================================================================== CALL FOR PAPERS =========================================================================== 3rd Workshop on Social Aspects of the Web (SAW 2009) in conjunction with 12th International Conference on Business Information Systems (BIS 2009) Poznan, Poland April 27, 28 or 29, 2009 http://bis.kie.ae.poznan.pl/12th_bis/wscfp.php?i=34&ws=saw2009 =========================================================================== Deadline for submissions: February 1, 2009 =========================================================================== In recent years, the Web has moved from a simple one-way communication channel, extending traditional media, to a complex "peer-to-peer" communication space with a blurred author/audience distinction and new ways to create, share, and use knowledge in a social way. This change of paradigm is currently profoundly transforming most areas of our life: our interactions with other people, our relationships, ways of gathering information, ways of developing social norms, opinions, attitudes and even legal aspects, as well as ways of working and doing business. The change also raises a strong need for theoretical, empirical and applied studies related to how people may interact on the Web, how they actually do so, and what new possibilities and challenges are emerging in the social, business and technology dimensions. Following the two previous events, the goal of the 3rd Workshop is to bring researchers and practitioners together to explore the issues and challenges related to social aspects of the Web. TOPICS OF INTEREST * People on the social Web * Individuals on the Web (identity, privacy, incentives, activity models, trust and reputation, ...) * Communities on the Web (roles, leadership, social norms and conflicts, types of communities, ...) * Collaboration on the Web (content and data development and maintenance, decision taking ...) * On-line and off-line life (mixed interaction models, on-line vs. off-line communities, ... ) * Business activities in the social Web (sales, exchanges, word-of-mouth, recruiting, marketing, ...) * Data and content on the social Web * Social content organization (tagging, classification, recommendations, collaborative filtering, ...) * Content dynamics (content flow and evolution, mashups, comments, collaborative creation, ...) * Semantic social Web (standards, annotation of social content/data, ontology learning, ...) * Data and social network portability (standards, policies, technologies, licenses, ...) * Social software and services * Specific types of social software (social networks, blogs, wikis, resources sharing, ...) * Development (architectures, technologies, platforms, infrastructures, ...) * Adoption (critical mass problem, socio-technical gap, data and social network migration, ...) * Alternative user interaction models (games, mobile, mixed reality, ...) * Social software in the enterprise (knowledge management, CRM, collaborative software, ...) * Business models of social services (pricing, cost models, customer relation, content acquisition, ...) * Mining the social Web * Mining user-generated content (opinion, comments, rankings, forums, ...) * Mining the social graph (collaborative filtering, social network analysis, ...) * Mining activity patterns (access, used features, participation, interactions, ...) * Entity-centric content integration (on people, experts, objects, companies, locations, ...) * Social Web mining in business (for marketing, products design, customer support, ...) SUBMISSION * Long papers: max. 12 pages * Work-in-progress reports: max. 6 pages * Demo papers: max. 4 pages Papers must be submitted in PDF format according to Springer LNBIP template available from http://www.springer.com/east/home/computer/lncs?SGWID=5-164-7-487211-0. Submission system is available at http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=saw2009. Papers approved for presentation at SAW 2009 will be published in BIS 2009 workshop proceedings, as a volume in Springer's Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing (LNBIP) series. WORKSHOP FORMAT All authors of accepted papers as well as other participants will be asked to read accepted papers abstracts before the workshop (papers will be available on-line in advance) to facilitate discussion. Workshop participants will be also invited to take part in the BIS conference and other BIS workshops. IMPORTANT DATES * February 1, 2009 - submission deadline for papers * February 22, 2009 - notification of acceptance/rejection * March 15, 2009 - submission of final papers * April 27, 28 or 29, 2009 - the workshop ORGANIZERS * Poznan University of Economics, Department of Information Systems (http://kie.ae.poznan.pl/) CHAIRS * Dominik Flejter * Tomasz Kaczmarek * Marek Kowalkiewicz PROGRAM COMMITTEE * Krisztian Balog, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands * Simone Braun, FZI Karlsruhe, Germany * John Breslin, DERI, NUI Galway, Ireland * Tanguy Coenen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium * Sebastian Dietzold, University of Leipzig, Germany * Davide Eynard, Politecnico di Milano, Italy * Dominik Flejter, Poznan University of Economics, Poland * Adam Jatowt, Kyoto University, Japan * Tomasz Kaczmarek, Poznan University of Economics, Poland * Marek Kowalkiewicz, SAP Research Brisbane, Australia * Marcin Paprzycki, Polish Academy of Science, Poland * Katharina Siorpaes, STI, University of Innsbruck, Austria * Jie Tang, Tshingua University, China * Celine van Damme, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium * Valentin Zacharias, FZI Karlsruhe, Germany =========================================================================== -- Dominik Flejter < http://dominik.flejter.net/ > Poznan University of Economics Department of Information Systems < http://www.kie.ae.poznan.pl/ > SAW 2009 PC Chair

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Sad News: Death of Brenda Danet
by Naomi Susan Baron 06 Dec '08

06 Dec '08

Yesterday, the world of internet research lost a dear friend and colleague. Brenda Danet died in New Haven, CT, following a heroic (and most graceful) battle with leukemia. Despite her years of ups and downs with the disease, she continued to produce work that guides many of us and our students. Brenda was a pioneer -- intellectually and personally. She did her BA at Radcliffe and PhD (in Sociology) at the University of Chicago, but spent most of her professional life in Israel. She taught at Hebrew University, where she was appointed Danny Arnold Chair of Communications in 1998. Following her retirement in 2000, she migrated back to the US, where she became a Research Affiliate in Anthropology at Yale. Most of us know Brenda from her delightful book CyberPlay, and her more recent co-edited volume (with Susan Herring) on The Multilingual Internet. Those of us fortunate enough to have known Brenda in person cherish our memories of a strong, self-confident woman who inspired us to think, was full of wit, wore the most lovely scarves, and helped us laugh at ourselves. Brenda will be very sorely missed. Naomi Baron American University Washington, DC USA

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