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The Internet way of Dying
by Pearse Stokes 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

The Internet way of Dying article is up here: http://cyberanthropology.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/the-internet-way-of-dying/ I hope people find it interesting and let me know what they think (you must all be sick of hearing this!)

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SSCR special issue on Mobile Surveys
by Katja Lozar Manfreda 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

Dear all: The Call for Papers for the Social Science Computer Review (SSCR) special issue on mobile surveys has been released. See http://www.mobileresearch09.com/index.php/page/journal-coverage for more information. Papers can be submitted by participants of the MRC (Mobile research) conference (http://www.mobileresearch09.com/) and also by others. Best regards, Katja Lozar Manfreda MRC conference programme committee member University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences Kardeljeva pl. 5, 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

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Looking for Online Research Platforms or Virtual Research Environments
by Tanya Notley 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

Hello all, My apologies if this has been asked many times before; I could not find anything in the archives. I am wondering if anyone knows if any free or cheap closed (secure) research platforms have yet been created for research collaborations. Specifically, I'm looking for an appropriate platform that can be used and customised by Third Sector Organisations. It should include a range of research tools that can be sent out to participants such as surveys and polls and a provide a place where research training manuals and other documents can be stored but also provide a secure place where research data can be uploaded, discussed and analysed. I have worked with teams who have custom built platforms like this (using phpBB, Moodle & Sakai), but I'd have thought by now that ready-made off-the-shelf and open source options would exist that don't require additional programming and allow you to turn features on and off with ease. ?? I see that Microsoft, in collaboration with the British Library, are in the process of developing the Research Information Centre, a virtual research environment (VRE) which sounds like it may suffice, though is not developed for original research data and analysis per se (http://research.microsoft.com/conferences/facsum2008/scholarly_fs.aspx? 0sr=a). They will apparently release the code for this soon, but it is not complete and not quite what we need. Does anyone know of any other options? Much appreciated! Tanya Notley Research Consultant

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E-Learning CFP on globally networked learning in higher education
by Doreen Starke-Meyerring, Dr. 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Dear colleagues, before you head off for the winter break, please consider submitting a proposal for the special issue of the peer-reviewed journal E-Learning (http://www.wwwords.co.uk/elea/) on Globally Networked Learning Environments in Higher Education (please see the call for proposals below) by January 31, 2009 (new deadline). 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 Starke-Meyerring 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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Asst Prof Position at Temple U.
by Matthew Lombard 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Assistant Professor Position Temple University Philadelphia, PA USA The department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media (BTMM) at Temple University invites applications for an Assistant Professor beginning fall 2009. This is a tenure-track faculty position in a department of approximately 700 majors who study audio, video and electronic media production; management of media institutions; and social and psychological functions, processes and effects of media. Qualifications A Ph.D. is required. We seek a scholar whose work addresses the challenges and opportunities in contemporary media environments. Candidates should be qualified to teach core undergraduate and graduate courses in media theory, analysis, and/or issues, as well as courses related to the candidate's specialty. Evidence of excellence in teaching and a promising record of scholarship are necessary. This position was previously advertised at the rank of Associate Professor. Department and University The department offers a master's degree and contributes to an inter-departmental doctoral program in Mass Media and Communication. BTMM is one of six departments in a large, diverse and dynamic School of Communications and Theater. Temple University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourth largest media market in the nation. The University community at large includes more than 34,000 students in the region and at several international campuses; the School of Communications and Theater includes 3,900 undergraduate and graduate students. For more information about the department, school, and Temple University, please visit: Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media www.temple.edu/sct/btmm School of Communications and Theater www.temple.edu/sct Temple University www.temple.edu Application Procedures To apply, please send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, the names of three references, and other support materials to: Search Committee Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media Temple University Annenberg Hall (011-00) 2020 North 13th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 Email: lombard(a)temple.edu Application deadline is February 1, 2009. Temple University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and educator where diversity is an essential source of vitality and strength -- Matthew Lombard, Ph.D. Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (215) 204-7182 lombard(a)temple.edu http://matthewlombard.com

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Call for book reviewers
by Antonova, Slavka 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Dear colleagues, As Book Review Editor and Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Communications Law and Policy (http://www.ijclp.net/index.html) , I would like to invite you to become a book reviewer for the journal. There are a number of exciting titles published in the last years in the field of Communications Law and Policy, and you will have the opportunity to apply your expertise to critically assess those monographs and essay collections. The journal is looking for scholars to write book reviews, but PhD candidates are strongly encouraged to express interest as well, Please, reply to this message if you'd like to become a book reviewer. Best regards, Slavka Dr. Slavka Antonova Senior Lecturer Dept. of Management & Int. Business Massey University Auckland Ph.: 064 (0)9 414-0800 ext. 9240 Fax: 064 (0)9 441-8109 s.antonova(a)massey.ac.nz<mailto:s.antonova@massey.ac.nz>

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Re: [Air-L] Call for book reviewers
by dlaurent＠selu.edu 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Dear Slavka, I am interested in becoming a book reviewer for the International Journal of Communications Law and Policy. Please let me know what the next step in the process will be in order to be considered. Regards, Dianna Dianna Laurent, Ph.D. Assistant to the Department Head English Department Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond, Louisiana 70402 USA

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Updated CFP: Playful Experiences Seminar
by Olli Sotamaa 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Call for Papers: Playful Experiences Seminar, Tampere 2.-3. April, 2009 * UPDATE: the seminar commentators will be Aki Järvinen (ITU Copenhagen) and Oskar Juhlin (Interactive Institute). What does it involve to enter the state of play? How games and other playful phenomena stand out among other everyday experiences, and can playful experiences be designed? Is there a way we can learn to understand games better by looking at phenomena that are not games, but where playful behaviours are common? How are play and function intertwined in Facebook, iPhone, Habbo Hotel and the other topical interactive products and services? As, on the one hand, so-called gamer generations are spreading understanding of play and games literacy into society, and, on the other, digital information and communication technologies are having an impact on various use contexts and in different social processes, there will be increasing needs for understanding playfulness that is not restricted to games in the classic sense. Play as an attitude and mode of engagement is appearing in social Internet services, and also working life is becoming increasingly open towards playful and creative modes of thought and activity. ‘Playful Experiences’ seminar invites presentations from multiple points of view, promoting wider interdisciplinary dialogue around player studies and games research, and in related fields. The co-organisers, University of Tampere Games Research Lab and Nokia Research Center invite both theoretical as well as empirically based studies into ‘playfulness’. Particular fields of study include, but are not limited to: - theories and methods for understanding play experiences; - the social and cultural construction of play experiences; - the nature of playful phenomena and playful attitude; - the social character of games and playful experiences; - the role of technology for playful experiences, e.g. play in mobile user contexts; - user interface and usability issues related to playful interaction; - play experiences beyond games. The seminar is fifth in the annual series of game studies working paper seminars organised by the Games Research Lab in the University of Tampere, this time co-organised with Nokia Research Center. Due to the work-in-progress emphasis, we strongly encourage submitting late breaking results, working papers and/or submissions from graduate students. Early considerations from projects currently in progress are most welcome, as the purpose of the seminar is to have peer-to-peer discussions and thereby provide support in refining and improving research work in this area. After the seminar, separate consideration will be given to various options of publishing the seminar papers. The papers to be presented will be chosen based on extended abstract review. Full papers are distributed prior the event to all participants, in order to facilitate discussion. The two-day event consists of themed sessions that aim to introduce current research projects and discuss ongoing work in studies of games, play and their relation to surrounding phenomena. The seminar will be chaired by professor Frans Mäyrä (Hypermedia Laboratory, University of Tampere). There will be two invited paper commentators: assistant professor Aki Järvinen (ITU Copenhagen) and studio director Oskar Juhlin (Mobility Studio, Interactive Institute). The seminar will be held in Tampere, Finland and will be free of charge; the number of participants will be restricted. Important Dates - Abstract Deadline: January 15, 2009 - Notification of Acceptance: January 30, 2009 - Full Paper deadline: March 6, 2009 - Seminar dates: April 2-3, 2009 Submission Guidelines The extended abstract submissions should be between 500-1000 words (excluding references). Abstracts should be sent to <playfulexp{at}gmail.com> as plain text only (no attachments). Guidelines for submitting a full seminar paper will be provided with the notification of acceptance. Our aim is that everyone participating has been able to read materials submitted to the seminar, therefore the maximum length for a full paper is set to 6000 words (excluding references). Note also that the presentations held at the seminar should also encourage discussion, instead of only repeating the information presented in the papers. Tentatively, every paper will be presented for 10 minutes and discussed for 20 minutes. Seminar web site: http://playfulexperiences.wordpress.com/ Co-organised by: http://gamelab.uta.fi & http://research.nokia.com/ University of Tampere / Hypermedia Laboratory / Games Research Lab Nokia Research Center / Media Laboratory / Human Practices and Design

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Invitation to Participate in AOM 2009 Symposium "Crowdsourcing Innovation" (Call for Papers)
by Sarah M. G. Otner 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

Dear Colleagues, Motivated by Chesbrough's call for a more open approach to innovation, scholars increasingly have investigated how organizations look outside their boundaries in order either to gain insight for their innovations. However, thus far solutions have been contained to the "usual suspects" for collaboration – through joint ventures, alliances, and licensing arrangements. Primarily, these avenues of collaboration have ignored the core of what it means to be "open": not knowing who will provide the input for the next radical innovation. The advent of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) has led to a break with the 'same-place, same-time' restrictions on groups; whereas organizations traditionally have relied heavily on small, co-located teams in order to generate innovations, currently, we see large groups of individuals beginning to collaborate on the Internet with the explicit goal of leveraging their potential for innovation-related tasks. These groups either join or develop a community and exploit their crowd wisdom in order to solve R&D challenges – a phenomenon known as "crowdsourcing". In some crowdsourcing communities, individuals' contributions are neither marginal nor restricted to the project, but actually have inherent value. Therefore, a primary research interest is how organizations can strengthen their innovative capabilities through realizing the full potential of large online communities. We believe that this research area should benefit from the phenomenon it studies. To this end, we would like to apply crowd wisdom to this area of research!* We invite scholars and practitioner colleagues to participate in our symposium "Crowdsourcing Innovation" at the AOM 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago*. We welcome papers on related topics, which may or may not address the following research questions: (a) How motivations to contribute to an innovative task are influenced by (i) the design choices of an online community, such as level of interaction between individuals and sense of community created, (ii) reputation and reward systems, and (iii) the assignment of property rights. (b) Which group processes are active in large groups above and beyond those that are active in small groups? Which characteristics influence the performance of large online groups above and beyond those that are of influence in small groups? (c) What motivates individuals to sacrifice their potential intellectual property and reputation amplification for the chance of financial rewards? Furthermore, what mechanisms of accountability operate to ensure solution quality and also fair use? (d) What are the processes within innovation communities that drive their performance and success? (e) What are individuals' motivations for joining, for contributing to, and for remaining active in these communities? (f) What can these communities do? What *can't* they do (i.e., what are the limits to their potential?)? (g) What is the role of community among these solution groups? (h) Should open innovation be open to all potential contributors? Or, should organizations gate-keep innovation groups' membership? (i) How does the contextual situation and the project characteristics (e.g. collaborative, competitive, or co-opetitive task design) influence the performance of online innovative groups? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each task design for solution quality? (j) Collectives v. Groups v. Teams v. Communities: which is the best level of formality? Or, which degree of structure is most applicable to which context? (k) What is the potential for crowdsourcing as a business model? That is, can this approach to innovation be employed otherwise to the organization's advantage? We hope that you will join us for this event, and we look forward to connecting with you this summer in Chicago! Best regards, Sarah M. G. Otner (London School of Economics) Mark Boons (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University)

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CfP: Next Generation Experience Design, Special issue of NRHM
by Cunliffe D J (AT) 16 Dec '08

16 Dec '08

Next Generation Experience Design Call for Papers New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia 2009 (2) Special Issue Guest Editors Mark Blythe, University of York Marc Hassenzahl, Folkwang University, Essen Effie Law, University of Leicester "In the old days and by the old days I mean two years ago..." Eddie Izzard Youtube, Facebook, Second Life, Wikipedia, Google Earth and even Google itself are all less than a decade old and yet for many they are as taken for granted and indispensable as books or pens and paper. It is not only the pace of technological change which is unprecedented but also the speed of distribution and acceptance. These technologies affect every aspect of our lives: work, play, sex, politics and religion. Small wonder then that studies of human computer interaction (HCI) have adopted a term as wide as "user experience" to address their impact. HCI has begun to consider such areas as: fun, enjoyment, beauty, aesthetics and affect. As users become more concerned with the social and environmental impact of their technologies "user experience" is being conceived in still wider terms to include such topics as: ethics, politics and sustainability. "User experience" has become the default label for almost every study in HCI. It appears to have replaced usability as a focus for interaction design in both academia and industry. Courses in User Experience Design are offered at many universities and job titles such as "User Experience Engineer" are commonplace. Yet there are a very wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches to user experience some of which are radically opposed to one another. A variety of methods and techniques have been developed from social science disciplines such as psychology, which tend to break user experience into component elements in search for general models and rules. Others employ more holistic and situated approaches, taking contextual factors into consideration. These two types of approaches have their advantages and disadvantages - together they provide new opportunities to transform HCI into the practice and science of experience with technology. This special issue will reflect the diversity of approaches to user experience and explore the limits of current methods. We encourage submissions of both empirical and theoretical work. Possible topics include but are not limited to - Fun, enjoyment and affect Beauty and Aesthetics Ethics and Religion Human Computer Sexual Interaction Green HCI and sustainability Approaches from Cultural and Critical Theory The deadline for submissions is the 20th of February. Submissions may take the form of research papers or shorter technical notes and should be submitted electronically at the Journal's Manuscript Central site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tham Important Dates: Paper submission 20th February 2009 Notification of Acceptance 3rd April 2009 Final papers due 28th April 2009. Informal enquiries may be sent to: mblythe(a)cs.york.ac.uk For instructions for authors etc. see: http://www.informaworld.com/nrhm

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