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Re: [Air-L] Social Engineering/Social Hacking anyone?
by Julia Pellicciaro 14 Jan '09

14 Jan '09

Viele Gruesse Dr. Humer: I'm not quite sure which angle you are coming from when you speak of social engineering, but I am a bit familiar with the (non-malicious) hacker scene and would say that it is definitely one worth investigating. I would start here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/09/berlin_hacker_spaces_1.html http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hacker_Spaces A good friend of mine is the co-principal of The Hacktory ( http://www.thehacktory.org) here in Philadelphia and orchestrated an international Hackerspaces call-in in November. I believe Chaos ( http://www.ccc.de/) in Berlin was one of the participating hacker spaces. You can view the blog entry about the call-in here: http://industrialsomething.org/?p=219 One social engineering (a.k.a. geek–?) phenomena from the 1980s that is being revived by the hacker scenes in Philadelphia and in New York is the live performance of chiptunes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiptunes) by means of hacked/repurposed Nintendo Gameboys. Without fail, these shows are always accompanied by 8-bit VJing (http://www.waitforvblank.com/ & http://www.no-carrier.com/) Philly's 8static crew (8static.com) were major players in the recent Blip Festival in New York ( http://blipfestival.org/2008/) This may not be the kind of thing you were looking for, but most of these people do work as some type of engineer by day and play hacker by night/weekend. It is a fascinating (and friendly!) scene, and I'm sure the hacker scene in Berlin has just as much to offer. Feel free to email me off-list if you would like more information. Alles gute, Julia Pellicciaro Philadelpia, PA -- tweet :: twitter.com/juropel blog :: telluricaesthetic.net <http://blog.telluricaesthetic.net> /* Passion. Purpose. Integrity. */ Only the curious will learn, only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The Quest Quotient has always excited me more than the Intelligence Quotient. —Eugene S. Wilson

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Fw: [cultstud-l] ethnography conference, University of Leeds
by Rhiannon Bury 14 Jan '09

14 Jan '09

Hey AOIR people I've been looking at this CFP from another list and was thinking it could be fun to team up with someone here who does ethnographic research on online communities and do a presentation virtual ethnography and study of living cultures. We've certainly raised some of the key issues on this list over the years: public vs private observation vs text analysis, etc, etc. It's a short time frame, so might suit s/o already based in the UK? Email me off list if you're interested. Rhiannon Bury rbury(a)athabascau.ca ----- Forwarded Message ---- The Institute of Communications Studies (ICS) and the Media Industries Research Centre (MIRC <https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://ics.leeds.ac.u…> ) at the University of Leeds invite papers for a 1½-day conference: Living Cultures - Contemporary Ethnographies of Culture Date: Monday March 30 (pm) 2009, Tuesday March 31 (full day) 2009 Location: The University of Leeds, UK Keynote speakers: Professor Les Back (Professor, Department of Sociology, Goldsmiths College, University of London), author of The Art of Listening (2007) and New Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racisms and Multiculture in Young Lives (1996) Professor Georgina Born (Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Music, University of Cambridge), author of Uncertain Vision: Birt, Dyke and the Reinvention of the BBC (2004) and Rationalizing Culture: IRCAM, Boulez, and the Institutionalization of the Musical Avant-Garde (1995) Conference theme: The ever-increasing importance of the cultural to the social brings with it a vital need to investigate the processes implicated in contemporary meaning making, symbolic consumption, production and mediation. Recent scholarship from across the social sciences has sought to take up this challenge by examining the multifariousness of cultural materials-in-use, continuities and ruptures in the production/consumption of culture, the expanded purview of cultural policy and the effects of an expanding 'cultural economy'. Through its careful attention to the irreducibility of human experience, ethnography has revealed an enduring ability to usefully intervene in debates within these arenas, making explorations into culture and cultural practice a quasi-specialism of ethnographic study. Yet how might 21st century ethnography better attune itself to the opportunities and challenges implied by attempts to understand contemporary culture and cultural experience 'from the inside'? Indeed, what limitations or boundaries are implied by efforts to study different cultural practices through ethnography and what might this mean for ethnography's contribution to social theory? Contributions are invited from ethnographers willing to reflect on such questions and to share the methodological, substantive and theoretical insights gleaned, as well as the problems encountered, in the course of their own ethnographies of culture. The conference should be of interest to scholars and particularly ethnographers from within sociology and social policy, media and communications studies, cultural studies, social/cultural anthropology and other allied disciplines. Proposal deadline: abstracts (250 words max) should be sent, by Tuesday 20th January 2009, to the organising committee at: email: ics-conferences(a)leeds.ac.uk <mailto:ics-conferences@leeds.ac.uk> or mail to: Dr Eleri Pound, Living Cultures Conference, Institute of Communications Studies, 16 Clarendon Place, The University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK Organising committee: Dr Mark Rimmer (convenor), Professor David Hesmondhalgh, Dr Chris Paterson, Dr Eleri Pound, Anna Zoellner, all of the Media Industries Research Centre, University of Leeds.

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Most popular news sites worldwide
by Elad Segev 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

Dear AIR-ers, I am currently designing a cross-national comparative study based on the most popular online news sources around the world. Does anyone know of a good source ranking the most popular news sites in different countries (other than Alexa)? Particularly, if you are from Japan, China, Germany, France, Spain, the UK, Iran or Egypt, I would be very interested to know what are the most popular news sites in your country. Many thanks! Elad Segev (e.segev(a)keele.ac.uk) _______________________________ Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice Keele University, Staffs ST5 5BG

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AoIR 11.0: Request for Site Proposals
by Mia Consalvo 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

++apologies for multiple posts++ hi all, Happy New Year! As you return to classes and work, please consider the following request, for hosting either AoIR 2010 or 2011. Please email me offlist (consalvo -at- ohio.edu) for more details on what would be needed for a proposal, and if you are considering submitting one. Best, Mia Request for Proposals The Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) invites proposals from individuals and institutions interested in serving as the host site for Internet Research 11.0 or 12.0, the AoIR annual conferences for 2010 and 2011 respectively. The AoIR Internet Research conferences are among the most important venues for bringing together current research and reflection from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives - with a marked accent on interdisciplinary approaches - on the multiple social and technological practices that depend upon and shape the Internet. IR 11.0 will mark the start of the second decade of AoIR conferences. We look forward to an intellectually stimulating conference, and one that, in keeping with the distinctive spirit and hospitality of AoIR, will also be a heck of a good time ... (Previous conference cities: Lawrence, Kansas (2000); Minneapolis, Minnesota (2001); Maastricht, the Netherlands (2002); Toronto, Canada (2003); Brighton, U.K. (2004); Chicago, Illinois (2005); Brisbane, Australia (2006); Vancouver, Canada (2007); Copenhagen, Denmark (2008); and upcoming, Milwaukee (2009)). We ask interested colleagues to review the following general proposal requirements. Colleagues and institutions who would like to pursue developing a proposal are encouraged to contact Mia Consalvo (consalvo(a)ohio.edu) and/or Charles Ess (cmess(a)drury.edu) to indicate your interest and raise any immediate questions, etc., that you may wish to discuss. We will also be happy to send you a far more detailed Conference Planning Guide for your review and use. We would ask that a proposal address the following elements: DATES. AoIR conferences typically take place in early-to-mid-October - but depending only local calendars and requirements, we can be somewhat flexible regarding conference timing (i.e., from late September to late October). The AoIR conference typically runs over four days, beginning with 1) an initial day for pre-conference workshops and possible excursions. 2) the program proper, which runs over 3 days. Each day has 6 programmed sessions which require space. Of the 6 each day, three are sessions for papers, panels and roundtables, which require 8 parallel rooms. The remaining three include times for keynote presentations, the AoIR general meeting, Birds of a Feather sessions, etc. (The IR 8.0 / 2007 Program may be downloaded for review: <http://www.sfu.ca/~smith/AOIR-Program-OCT16.pdf<http://www.sfu.ca/%7Esmith/AOIR-Program-OCT16.pdf> >) LOCATION / TRAVEL / VENUE. AoIR members and conference participants are a diverse, international community: conference venues should be easily accessible from international travel hubs. Travel possibilities from international arrival points to accommodations (see below) and conference venue should be convenient and inexpensive. AoIR conferences typically attract 250-400 participants. Hence, there is need for one large auditorium that can comfortably hold ca. 300 people (or more), plus at least 6 smaller rooms for parallel sessions - as well as for requisite infrastructure (AV, wireless, computers and data projectors,etc.) (These may be at a host University and/or in the area (e.g., conference centers, a hotel, etc.) for the conference itself.) ECOLOGY / SUSTAINABILITY We encourage proposals that take into account the ecological impacts of conference arrangements (e.g., preferences for sustainable choices re. conference materials, catering arrangements, distances and travel possibilities, etc.) BUDGET - a _rough_ estimate of local costs, using the outline provided in the planning document sent out upon request. An economically viable conference will also require some level of local / regional / national sponsorships. Suggestions regarding e.g., possible grants, in-kind contributions, potential corporate sponsors, etc. would be helpful. ACCOMMODATIONS and related infrastructure. This should include information about a proposed conference hotel, whether or not it will serve as a conference venue (e.g., in Vancouver, we did _not_ use a hotel as the venue) - as well as information about alternative possibilities, including modest to low-cost possibilities, so far as these are available. CATERING - coffee/tea breaks + conference banquet LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: the Committee and its Chair are responsible for these and other important details (e.g., local registration process, accounting and documenting expenses and credits in the conference budget, etc.) and ensuring that "everything is in place" prior to and through the conference itself. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - anything else that you think will enhance the conference experience. For example, host venues commonly organize one or more "getaways" that make local highlights easily accessible to conference participants. FOR OUR PART - AoIR will provide a great deal of assistance and direction, including registration and collection of conference fees through the AoIR website; recruiting a Program Chair who will take primary responsibility for soliciting papers and reviewers, oversee the reviewing and notification process, etc. (Organizationally, the Local Organizing Committee works with the Program Chair and AoIR Vice-President and President, who serve as liaisons with the AoIR Executive Committee.) We clearly recognize that hosting an AoIR IR conference is no small task. But as previous conference organizers and local committees will tell you - it is also a highly rewarding experience! Charles and I look forward to receiving your inquiries and proposals. -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. School of Media Arts & Studies (formerly the School of Telecommunications) Ohio University 9 South College Street Athens, Ohio 45701 USA 740.597.1521

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ESRC studentship available for DPhil at Oxford Internet Institute - deadline approaching
by Vicki Nash 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

UK or EU students are eligible to receive ESRC funding for the OII's DPhil in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences. The '+3' studentship, which provides funding for a total of three years of graduate study is designed for those who have already completed a research training qualification and intend to proceed directly with research leading to a DPhil. The award currently covers fees and maintenance for UK students, and fees-only for EU students. Students wishing to be considered for this funding must apply by the next deadline which is 23rd January. Further details of the studentship and information about how to apply are available at http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/teaching/dphil/ If you have any questions please contact teaching(a)oii.ox.ac.uk Dr Victoria Nash Director of Graduate Studies Oxford Internet Institute 01865 287231 www.oii.ox.ac.uk

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Re: [Air-L] Social Engineering/Social Hacking anyone?
by Juan Paulhiac 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

I'm not quite working on that issue, but i'm interested in social networks in general. I just found this on the net. Not very deep info, but it seems relevant. http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/what-your-socia… Juan Paulhiac 2009/1/13, Stephan Humer <stephan.humer(a)web.de>: > Hello everybody. > > Social Engineering is one of my research topics, but > unfortunately a neglected one. It would be great to > change this situation, so I´d love to get in touch with > people who are also working on Social Engineering/Social > Hacking issues. Are there any researchers out there > who´d like to connect? Are there any research projects > I can´t afford to miss? > > Thanks a lot in advance! > > Best > > -- > Dr. Stephan G. Humer > Research Director, Digital Class > University of the Arts Berlin > humer(a)udk-berlin.de - stephan(a)humer.de > Phone: +49 (0)176 6719 3413 - www.humer.de > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Social Engineering/Social Hacking anyone?
by Stephan Humer 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

Hello everybody. Social Engineering is one of my research topics, but unfortunately a neglected one. It would be great to change this situation, so I´d love to get in touch with people who are also working on Social Engineering/Social Hacking issues. Are there any researchers out there who´d like to connect? Are there any research projects I can´t afford to miss? Thanks a lot in advance! Best -- Dr. Stephan G. Humer Research Director, Digital Class University of the Arts Berlin humer(a)udk-berlin.de - stephan(a)humer.de Phone: +49 (0)176 6719 3413 - www.humer.de

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Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group starts again this week
by Greg Wadley 12 Jan '09

12 Jan '09

The Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group kicks off its weekly seminars for 2009 on Monday 19th Jan (Tuesday 20th in Australia/Pacific) with a presentation by Don Wen titled 'A study of Avatar Personalization Systems in Three Virtual Worlds'. This week's presenter Ming-Hui 'Don' Wen is a researcher at the National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan. During 2008 he visited PARC (Palo Alto Research Centre), California, where he worked with Nic Ducheneaut and Nick Yee to survey attitudes to avatar customization. Information about Don can be found at http://www.donwen.info . A paper about the research will be presented later this year at CHI, Boston (www.CHI2009.org) Abstract In virtual worlds, users project themselves into the environment via a virtual body (avatar) which they control and whose appearance is often customizable. However, considering the prevalence of this form of embodiment, there is a surprising lack of data about how and why users customize their avatar, as well as how easy and satisfying the existing avatar creation tools are. In this paper, we report on a study investigating these issues through a questionnaire administered to more than a hundred users of three virtual worlds offering widely different avatar creation and customization systems (Maple Story, World of Warcraft, and Second Life). We illustrate the often-surprising choices users make when creating their digital representation and discuss the impact of our findings for the design of future avatar creation systems. Date/time/place Seminars are held weekly at alternate locations - Monash Island 50/132/72 (slurl http://tinyurl.com/5ocz8a) and Meadowbrook 72/502/22. Dons meeting will take place at the Monash site. Meetings are usually on Monday at 2pm (Second Life time, west coast USA). This is Monday night in Europe and Tuesday morning in Australasia and the Pacific. A timezone converter can be found at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html About the VWRDG seminar series The Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group meets in Second Life to present and discuss research about virtual worlds. It is organized by Greg Wadley (Uni of Melbourne), Deb McCormick (Monash Uni) and, Sabine Lawless-Reljic (San Diego State). Usually we follow a seminar format: research presentation followed by audience discussion. However we sometimes vary this and are experimenting with how best to organize virtual seminars. The group welcomes all researchers and others interested in discussing virtual worlds. Information about the group, and past and future presentations, can be found on at http://vwresearchersgroup.pbwiki.com . We welcome enquiries from people interested in presenting to the group.

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Re: [Air-L] Ask Your Lawmaker
by Deborah Elizabeth Finn 12 Jan '09

12 Jan '09

Dear Murrary, Steve, Tom, and other AIR Colleagues, Thanks for your thought-provoking reflections! I do want to clarify a point: the "Ask Your Lawmaker" widget is not a tool that I developed and launched. Capitol News Connection is the nonprofit, nonpartisan news agency that is responsible for it, and Melinda Wittstock is the driving force behind it. Melinda Wittstock Bureau Chief / Founder / Executive Director Capitol New Connection Email: <mwittstock(a)cncnews.org> Phone: 202.546.8650 Fax: 202.546.0283 I'd like to encourage you to be in touch with her with your ideas. Best regards from Deborah Deborah Elizabeth Finn Cyber-Yenta Boston, Massachusetts, USA deborah_elizabeth_finn(a)post.harvard.edu www.cyber-yenta.org Skype: Deborah909 Twitter: Deborah909 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909 "Nothing softeneth the Arrogance of our Nature like a Mixture of some Frailties. It is by them that we are best told, that we must not strike too hard upon others....They pull our Rage by the sleeve and whisper Gentleness to us in our censures." -George Savile (1633 - 1695)

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ask your lawmaker
by Murray Turoff 12 Jan '09

12 Jan '09

Deborah, I applaud what you did and you might be interested there is a facebook users group based upon efforts to allow citizens to directly vote on budget allocations in local government that is receiving some experimental usage in Italy, it is titled something like participatory democracy. It does generate specific dialogues between citizens and elected official. One potential improvement is to have some sort of list of very specific topics of concern to the users and to encourage group discussions. The reverse application of allowing lawmakers to ask questions they need answers for is described below. Two reports on a system designed to allow state legislative lawmakers to ask questions of professionals in many different fields and among the state legislature science advisers, usually volunteers retired, or representatives of major scientific and engineering societies. It worked very well for about three years before they ran out of NSF funds. http://library.njit.edu/archives/cccc-materials/ RR#13 Guide to the topics system Jan. 1981 Peter Johnson-Lenz, Trudy Johnson Lenz RR#14 The evolution of a tailored communications structure : the topics system Jan. 1981 Peter Johnson-Lenz, Trudy Johnson Lenz There was a system set up in text for what you are doing for the Santa Monica city government in California. The citizens participated but many of the elective officials chose to ignore the system. It is referenced in the "network nation" book I believe along with related things like "community memory" in Berkely. > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:23:19 -0500 > From: "Deborah Elizabeth Finn" > <deborah_elizabeth_finn(a)post.harvard.edu> > Subject: [Air-L] Just launched: The "Ask Your Lawmaker" widget > To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > Message-ID: > <3228c2a50901111223s4f0951c5wf7a03cc721d6c59d(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Dear AIR Colleagues, > > Before I start bubbling over with enthusiasm, I need to make a full > disclosure: I serve as a paid consultant to Capitol News Connection > (CNC). Urging people to use the Ask Your Lawmaker widget > <http://askyourlawmaker.org/widget> is part of what I'm paid to do. > > That said, I thought that some of you would be interested in tracking > or studying this geeky yet populist approach to strengthening > participatory democracy. > > Capitol News Connection is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism > organization that is based in Washington, DC. Ask Your Lawmaker (AYL) > is one of their online initiatives; constituents from any district in > the U.S. can pose questions to their senators and representatives by > posting them to the web site, and then anyone who is interested in > legislation and policy can go to the site and vote for the questions > that he or she deems most crucial. The CNC reporters are conveniently > headquartered on Capitol Hill, and when a question garners enough > votes, they go out and ask the legislator(s) to which it is addressed. > The responses are recorded in broadcast-quality audio, and posted to > the web. They are also made available to local public radio stations, > which are often in need of quotes they can use back in the home > district when they report on national issues. > > Ask Your Lawmaker is now making a laudable move into Web 2.0 territory > by offering nonprofit advocacy groups and individual activists a free > widget that they can use on their own web sites or Facebook pages. > It's a way for advocates to voice their concerns, and to engage their > stakeholders in pressing legislators to address an issue, > > This widget is only the beginning. Capitol News Connection is working > on many more ideas for making national news coverage more > participatory and holding legislators more accountable to their > constituents. In a time when every community activist can also be a > citizen journalist, and RSS feeds are making it easy to syndicate news > selectively, Ask Your Lawmaker is poised to become a provider of > tailor-made news streams for any advocacy group. > > Best regards from Deborah > > P.S. This post to AIR-L is based on a blog article that I wrote. You > can see the article (and the AYL widget that I created for myself) at > <http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/8/4050172.html> > > Deborah Elizabeth Finn > Cyber-Yenta > Boston, Massachusetts, USA > deborah_elizabeth_finn(a)post.harvard.edu > www.cyber-yenta.org > Skype: Deborah909 > Twitter: Deborah909 > LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909 > > "Nothing softeneth the Arrogance of our Nature > like a Mixture of some Frailties. It is by them > that we are best told, that we must not strike > too hard upon others....They pull our Rage by > the sleeve and whisper Gentleness to us in our > censures." > -George Savile (1633 - 1695) > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > 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/ > > End of Air-L Digest, Vol 54, Issue 12 > ************************************* > -- Distinguished Professor Emeritus Information Systems, NJIT homepage: http://is.njit.edu/turoff

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