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Re: [Air-L] avatar research ethics
by Rhiannon Bury 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

Very interesting discussion! I see no difference in studying an AV in SL or a participant in a discussion forum. To me the issue in getting approval should be not whether it's a visual or textual identity but the site and purpose of the study. Yes, I know we've had long debates on what counts as "public" in cyberspace and people's perceptions that they are having "private" conversations. That's why LJ is good because it is set up so members can select comments to put "behind the cut" only accessible to those on their friend list. That said, anything said on a forum that does not require special permission or passwords to access is generally fair game in my books. I'd probably make an exception for more personal types of support groups where sensitive information, say about sexual abuse, is shared. As for the purpose and methodology, I agree completely with Jeremy. If one has any direct contact or interaction with participants, then such research involves human subjects and must be cleared. Rhiannon Rhiannon Bury, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Women's Studies Athabasca University, Canada rbury(a)athabascau.ca

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Re: [Air-L] TorontoStar: Facebook : The New Study Hall For TheWired Generation? Perhaps Not [:-(
by Marj Kibby 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

These types of stories piss me off. He isn't facing charges of academic misconduct for helping run an online chemistry study group via Facebook! He is facing expulsion because he facilitated the swapping of tips on homework questions that counted for 10 per cent of the final mark! He could have (and many do) run a Facebook study group that does not involve colluding on the answers and been applauded. Marj Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604 >>> Gerry Mckiernan <gerrymck(a)iastate.edu> 03/08/08 8:32 AM >>> ***Apologies for Receipt of Duplicate Postings*** Friends/ Disturbing, Very Disturbing ... [:-( /Gerry Student faces Facebook consequences Freshman hit with 147 academic charges for online study network at Ryerson University Ryerson student Chris Avenir is facing expulsion for taking part in a Facebook study group for one of his engineering courses.

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"SCELC-Net: A Model Online Social Consortial Network" - The PPT
by Gerry Mckiernan 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

***Apologies for Receipt of Duplicate Postings*** Friends/ On March 5 2008 I had the privilege to present at the SCELC Colloquium III held at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. SCLEC- The Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium - seeks to explore issues related to electronic and digital information and to promote the creation, access, use, management and maintenance of this information for the benefit of faculty and students in the member institutions. This year its Colloquium featured sessions on open source federated search and catalog solutions, social networking and libraries, and the future of cataloging. I was honored to be on the same program with Karen Coyle (Digital Library Consultant), Marsha Schnirring (Occidental College), Tracy Thompson (NELLCOP), Cindi Trainor (Eastern Kentucky University), and Jezmynne Westcott (Claremont College). Access to a self-archived a corrected and revised version of my presentation "SCELC-Net: A Model Online Social Consortial Network" at [ http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2008/03/scelc-net-model-online-soc… ] As they become available, I will profile and link to the presentations of my fellow SCELC Colloquium III colleagues. BTW: In my presentation I profile the planned My ALA online community shepherded by Jenny Levine of ALA. /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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Re: [Air-L] Online research ethics
by dddumitr＠ucalgary.ca 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

Together with a colleague of mine, we are doing an autoethnographic research project in SL. Ethics has been a major issue since the very beginning. We are not doing research of other people/avatars, but our own understanding of things and our reflexive processes are inevitably formed in an interactional manner. We have asked for the opinion of the ethics committee in our department/school, and they have argued that since this is autoethnographic, we actually need ethics applications in relation to each other (since our project is collaborative and we share our personal experiences). In my mind, the discussion about ethics in SL is no different from ethics in RL. For instance, would you ask for consent if you do an observation in a public place? Going to public places in SL (even if you require an account to come in) - how is it substantially different in ethical terms than doing an observation in RL? I think these issues are hard to answer and require a case-by-case decision. In environments such as SL, doing any type of research that takes as its subject other avatars and their behavior, requires ethics procedures, in my view. I feel ambivalent however in arguing that you need to ask for permission if you do a content analysis of the posters in SL, or of blog posts. Would you ask for permission if you want to do research on someone's personal correspondence or diary, but would you do the same if that correspondence would be published in a book? On the other side, do bloggers have an expectation that their stuff is 'public' (some do, some may not - so what do you do in such cases?). Delia Dumitrica PhD Candidate Faculty of Communication and Culture University of Calgary

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CODEWORK - Exploring relations between creative writing practices and
by Charles Baldwin 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

CODEWORK - Exploring relations between creative writing practices and software engineering A workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Held at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, April 3-6, 2008. Organized by the Center for Literary Computing. Contact Sandy Baldwin at clc(a)mail.wvu.edu for more information. **please publicize - apologies for cross-posting** Public events, free of charge, include: * Lecture by Ted Nelson, 113 Engineering Resource Building, 8pm April 3 * Demonstrations and Performances, 130 Colson Hall, 8pm April 4 * Demonstrations and Performances, Laura Mesaros Gallery / CAC, 8pm April 5 Participants include: * Sandy Baldwin, WVU * Jay Bolter, Georgia Tech * Philippe Bootz, University of Paris 8 * Mark Brazaitis, WVU * Helen Burgess, University of Maryland - Baltimore County * John Cayley, Brown University * Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Brown University * Maria Damon, University of Minnesota * Aden Evens, Dartmouth College * Chris Funkhouser, New Jersey Institute of Technology * Loss Pequeño Glazier, SUNY-Buffalo * Wolf Kittler, University of California - Santa Barbara * Marjorie Coverley Luesebrink, IVCC * Talan Memmott, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola (Sweden) * Tim Menzies, WVU * Nick Montfort, Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Ted Nelson, Xanadu Corp. * Andy Oram, O'Reilly Publishing * Rita Raley, University of California at Santa Barbara * Jim Rosenberg, Independent Artist/Writer * Mary Shaw, Carnegie Mellon University * Alan Sondheim, WVU * Stephanie Strickland, Independent Artist/Writer * Frances van Scoy, WVU * Laurie Taylor, University of Florida Contact Sandy Baldwin at clc(a)mail.wvu.edu for more information.

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Re: [Air-L] avatar research ethics
by Marj Kibby 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604 >>> Jeremy Hunsinger <jhuns(a)vt.edu> 03/08/08 4:26 AM >>> The question was.... "When I take pictures of any random person using a building in sl, am I doing human subjects research?' Our Review Board guidelines say that online identities must be afforded the same protection from harm as real world identities. They would see avatars as human subjects. Marj

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Re: [Air-L] avatar research ethics
by Marj Kibby 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

The argument given to me was that individuals have an online experience (they stopped short of saying they have a life) and my research could negatively impact upon that experience. For example if my analysis of a discussion forum said that the user calling themselves "bigpig" used very poor grammar and then quoted them directly, this might lead "bigpig" to post less, or less spontaneously even if there was never any link between the username and the individual. The specific research was a student project into Japanese schoolgirl prostitutes' use of an online forum for information and support - so it already had a red flag. We all agreed that it was important not to do anything that might affect the way they used the forum, which went beyond protecting their anonymity. One effect of web-based publishing is that our research subjects have increased access to what we have said about them. So yes, I think there may be avatar-specific harms that we should think through. Marj Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604 >>> Steve Jones <sjones(a)uic.edu> 03/08/08 11:04 AM >>> If I may ask: Why? Is it because the avatars somehow "represent" humans (or vice versa)? Can we be sure that the "harms" we may identify in the case of human subjects are ones that could also harm avatars? Might there be avatar-specific "harms" to which we should attend? What was behind the Review Board's decision? And how does it define "online identity?" Sj On Mar 7, 2008, at 3:22 PM, Marj Kibby wrote: > Dr Marjorie Kibby, > Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture > Faculty of Education and Arts > The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia > Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au > +61 2 49216604 >>>> Jeremy Hunsinger <jhuns(a)vt.edu> 03/08/08 4:26 AM >>> > The question was.... "When I take pictures of any random person using > a building in sl, am I doing human subjects research?' > > > Our Review Board guidelines say that online identities must be > afforded the same protection from harm as real world identities. > They would see avatars as human subjects. > > > Marj > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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TorontoStar: Facebook : The New Study Hall For The Wired Generation? Perhaps Not [:-(
by Gerry Mckiernan 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

***Apologies for Receipt of Duplicate Postings*** Friends/ Disturbing, Very Disturbing ... [:-( /Gerry Student faces Facebook consequences Freshman hit with 147 academic charges for online study network at Ryerson University Ryerson student Chris Avenir is facing expulsion for taking part in a Facebook study group for one of his engineering courses. Study groups may be a virtual trademark of the Ivory Tower - but a virtual study group has been slammed as cheating by Ryerson University. First-year student Chris Avenir is fighting charges of academic misconduct for helping run an online chemistry study group via Facebook last term, where 146 classmates swapped tips on homework questions that counted for 10 per cent of their mark. The computer engineering student has been charged with one count of academic misconduct for helping run the group - called Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions after the popular Ryerson basement study room engineering students dub The Dungeon - and another 146 counts, one for each classmate who used the site. [snip] The incident has sent shock waves through student ranks, says Kim Neale, 26, the student union's advocacy co-ordinator, who will represent Avenir at the hearing. "All these students are scared s---less now about using Facebook to talk about schoolwork, when actually it's no different than any study group working together on homework in a library," said Neale. "That's the worst part; it's creating this culture of fear, where if I post a question about physics homework on my friend's wall (a Facebook bulletin board) and ask if anyone has any ideas how to approach this - and my prof sees this, am I cheating?" said Neale, who has used Facebook study groups herself. [snip] Ryerson's academic misconduct policy, which is being updated, defines it as "any deliberate activity to gain academic advantage, including actions that have a negative effect on the integrity of the learning environment." Yet students argue Facebook groups are simply the new study hall for the wired generation. Avenir said he joined the Facebook group last fall to get help with some of the questions the professor would give students [MORE AT] [ http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2008/03/facebook-new-study-hall-fo… ] /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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Re: [Air-L] Online research ethics
by Marj Kibby 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

I looked at musician's myspace sites, and my ethics committee decided that if my research outcomes were like "82% of sites have sound files while only 46% have gig guides" then ethics clearance was not necessary - there was no intervention in the lives of the musicians. But if I wanted to say "Thirsty Merc says '....' on their MySpace site" then there was a potential for impact and I needed permissions and ethics clearance. I guess if Thirsty Merc got all wound up about what I said about them, I'd like the institution's backing when we got to court. Marj Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby(a)newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604

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Politics: Web 2.0, Royal Holloway, University of London LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER
by Chadwick Andrew 07 Mar '08

07 Mar '08

[Apologies for cross-posting. Final Reminder] Colleagues, The deadline for registration for this conference is only a few days away: MARCH 10. It features a large and diverse programme with well over 100 papers organised into more than 40 panels. The keynote speakers are: Robin Mansell, Professor of New Media, LSE: "The Light and the Dark Sides of Web 2.0." Helen Margetts, Professor of Internet and Society, University of Oxford: "Digital-era Governance: Peer production, Co-creation and the Future of Government." Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science, University of Manchester: "Trickle-up Politics?: the Impact of Web 2.0 Technologies on Citizen Participation." Micah Sifry, Personal Democracy Forum/TechPresident: "The Revolution Will Be Networked: How Open Source Politics is Emerging in America." Michael Turk, US National Cable & Telecommunications Association and e-campaign manager for Bush-Cheney 04: "Managed Chaos: Bringing Order to User-Generated Activism." Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds: (title to be confirmed). Registration for the conference and affordable accommodation is quick and easy via our website, where you may also download the full provisional programme: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/ The conference itself takes place April 17-18. Pre- and post-conference accommodation can be booked. If you have any queries, please contact Ms Lisa Dacunha, conference administrator at: lisa.dacunha(a)rhul.ac.uk With best wishes, Andy --------------------------------- Dr Andrew Chadwick, Head of Department (2006-2009), Department of Politics & International Relations, Director, New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London. ------------------------------------------------------ New Political Communication Unit: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk Associate Editor, Journal of Information Technology and Politics: http://www.jitp.net Latest Book Site: http://www.andrewchadwick.com Politics: Web 2.0: An International Conference, April 2008: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/politics-web-2-0-conference/

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