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archiving virtual worlds for social science research
by Scott MacLeod 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

How would an organization like webarchive.org or someone archive all of Second Life, in the aggregate in real time, as well as the rest of the virtual worlds. Might one be able to create a record of all emerging virtual worlds from day 1? Is there a way to retrieve an online SL conversation with actions from years ago? Some virtual world web-page centric archives exist, but do other kinds of archives exist? Scott -- http://scottmacleod.com This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of this email message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and destroy/delete all copies of the transmittal. Thank you.

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CALL FOR PAPERS: 27th Annual Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference
by Guido Lang 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

Please note the following Call for Papers of the 27th Annual Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference, which will be held May 1-2, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The theme of the conference is Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior. Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message. cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + cfp + CALL FOR PAPERS 27th Annual Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior The 27th annual Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference will be held May 1-2, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conference is sponsored by the Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP) The theme of the conference is Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior. We encourage participation from a broad range of academic researchers and practitioners in such fields as marketing and consumer psychology, computer science, sociology, economics, and communications. The creation and expression of identity (or of multiple identities) in immersive environments is rapidly transforming consumer behavior – even though at this point in time many mainstream consumers have not even heard of this phenomenon! The largest social networking, Second Life, currently has over 6 million registered users worldwide, while the gaming-oriented site World of Warcraft has close to 9 million users. Consumers enter CME’s in digital form, as avatars. A user can design his or her avatar by choosing facial features, body types, clothing styles – and even nonhuman forms. These digital representations are socializing with one another in real time, taking virtual university courses, participating in corporate training programs, sharing reactions to new products, and of course shopping. To date more than 40 RL (real life) companies including GM, Dell, Sony, IBM and Wells Fargo are staking their claim to online real estate in computer-mediated environments (CME’s) such as Second Life, There.com and Entropia Universe. In April 2007 alone, residents of the online “world” Second Life spent approximately $10 million (in real money) on virtual land, products and services. Corporate America’s transition to the virtual world is an attempt to reach and entice the growing flood of consumers occupying these virtual worlds. Clearly this expanding space will be pivotal in fueling new consumer trends over the next decade. In addition, the parallel growth in spending on advergaming continues to transfigure the online C2C world. Forecasts suggest that sales of branded messages embedded in videogames will reach $733 million by 2010. Eventually, these CME forums may rival traditional, marketer-sponsored E-commerce sites in terms of their influence on consumer decision-making and product adoption. Despite this huge potential, we know very little about the best way to talk to consumers in these online environments. How will well- established research findings from the offline world transfer to CMEs? For example, can we be sure that our received wisdom regarding the impact of source credibility upon persuasion will readily apply to a situation where a “source” espousing adoption of a new product takes the form of an animated supermodel with exaggerated “attributes” or a bright green demon with fearsome horns? These new online platforms generate many fascinating research questions for the advertising and consumer psychology community. Here are some: Avatars, the Self, and Attitude Change • What does the consumer’s choice of his or her own avatar tell us about self-concept and role identity – especially since visitors often create multiple avatars to “experiment” with different identities? • How important is it for visitors to be able to customize the avatars they encounter in advertising so that they control the image that speaks to them about its products? • How effective are avatars as sources of marketing communications? • What physical dimensions influence the consumer decision-making process when shoppers encounter avatars that represent RL organizations? Should a company’s “spokes-avatar” be modeled after a real person (perhaps the viewer herself)? A celebrity? A fantasy figure? • How will the explosion in consumer-generated marketing communications now being posted in CMEs (including YouTube, Second Life and elsewhere) influence the process of attitude change and strategic communications decisions? • How does the phenomenon of “presence” (the term communications researchers use to refer to the level of immersion in a virtual social environment) relate to flow states and high involvement situations documented in consumer research? Virtual Influence and Decision Making • What are the implications for information diffusion as consumers increasingly turn to CMEs for information about new products or to read other consumers’ reviews of these products? • Can consumer researchers construct and populate virtual laboratories that will allow them to simulate RL decision-making contexts and better understand how heuristics, contextual cues, information displays and other variables will impact consumer behavior both offline and online? • Can avatars’ conversations with one another, either in pairs or in groups, be a valuable starting point for buzz-building and word-of- mouth marketing campaigns? • How will the growth in CME participation affect social interaction patterns such as dating? • To what extent do consumers in CMEs participate in risk-taking behavior, and what implications does this have for RL? • What are the implications for adolescent socialization, or for the ability of children to distinguish reality-based cues from fantasy? • What are the ethical implications of the increasingly common practice of misrepresentation whereby companies pay individuals to promote their products on websites while masquerading as “ordinary” surfers? Virtual Culture and Economies • What is the potential of online prediction markets (like The Hollywood Stock Exchange) to improve researchers’ and practitioners’ ability to forecast consumer trends? • How will norms regarding social etiquette, cheating, and gift- giving transfer to CMEs? • What are the implications for cross-cultural consumer behavior as CME residents increasingly are able to interact with fellow avatars (and companies) from around the world? • How will the integration of avatars on other internet platforms influence consumer behavior on e-commerce websites? Submissions Submissions may be in one of two categories: 1) complete papers or 2) abstracts. Preference for acceptance will be given to papers that provide extensive integration of existing work and/or provide details of a relevant program of research that takes a psychological perspective. Authors of the best papers will be invited to prepare a manuscript for a book to be published by the Society for Consumer Psychology. Complete papers that will be published in the book must be submitted in camera-ready format within 30 days of presentation at the conference. Publication of full papers based upon submitted abstracts is contingent upon satisfactory review of the full paper. Submissions must be received by December 15, 2007. Papers should be sent to Natalie Wood (nwood(a)sju.edu) electronically as an attached Word file. All papers will be blind-reviewed, so please submit your manuscript with authors’ names and contact information on a separate cover page. Please limit the manuscript to 30 pages double-spaced (excluding Exhibits) with 1” margins. Hotel Information The conference will be held at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia (www.loewshotels.com) Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, the Loews Hotel is steps away from the historic district (Liberty Bell, National Constitution Center), shopping, restaurants and sports arenas. To make reservations, contact the Loews Philadelphia and identify yourself as an attendee of the Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference to receive the conference hotel rate of $189 per night. Reservations must be made by April 1st, 2008 to receive the conference rate. For more information about The Society for Consumer Psychology or the Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference, please see our website at http://www.consumerpsych.org or contact one of the conference chairs: Michael R. Solomon, Ph.D. Department of Marketing Haub School of Business Saint Joseph’s University 5600 City Avenue Philadelphia PA 19131 Tel: 610-660-3411 Fax: 610-660-3239 msolom01(a)sju.edu Natalie T. Wood, Ph.D. Department of Marketing Haub School of Business Saint Joseph’s University 5600 City Avenue Philadelphia PA 19131 Tel: 610-660-3452 Fax: 610-660-3239 nwood(a)sju.edu

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Second Life
by CHUNG Wai Keung 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

Wonder if anyone has come across any theoretical/sociological study on Second Life? I would very much appreciate if someone can point to me the relevant literature. Many thanks! ********************************** Dr. Chung Wai-keung Assistant Professor of Sociology School of Social Sciences Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903 Tel: (65) 6828 0871 Fax: (65) 6828 0833

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Job Announcement: New Media Position Comm. Dept. University of Utah
by Hector Postigo 29 Aug '07

29 Aug '07

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEW MEDIA STUDIES The Department of Communication at the University of Utah invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor of new media studies, effective July 1, 2008. Strong candidates will have research and teaching interests in one or more of the following areas: digital animation; internet/web studies; critical approaches to information structures; mobile communication technologies; online communities and networks; new media arts including e-games. Highly qualified applicants will have a completed, or nearly completed, Ph.D. in communication or a closely related discipline or interdisciplinary program; appropriate technical knowledge; a record of or demonstrated potential for teaching excellence; and the promise or early evidence of a productive research or creative scholarship program. Qualified candidates will be able to teach relevant undergraduate and graduate courses and supervise graduate students. The University of Utah recognizes that a diverse faculty benefits and enriches the educational experiences of the entire campus and greater community. To this end, the Department of Communication is committed to removing barriers that have been traditionally encountered by individuals from underrepresented groups; strives to recruit faculty who will further enrich our campus diversity; and makes every attempt to support their academic, professional and personal success while they are here. The Department of Communication is an intellectual community that is committed to diversity, features a broad array of interests, and pursues a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary projects. Strong candidates will be able to make connections to our wide-ranging and vibrant scholarly community. The University of Utah features a collegial academic environment, contributes to a culturally rich metropolitan area, and enjoys an extraordinarily beautiful natural setting. Review of applications begins November 1, 2007 and continues until the position is filled. Applicants must submit an application letter, vita, three letters of recommendation, samples of scholarly and/or creative activity, a complete graduate transcript, and evidence of teaching excellence to: Professor Hector Postigo, New Media Studies Search Committee Chair, Department of Communication, 255 S. Central Campus Drive, LNCO 2400, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0491. The University of Utah is fully committed to policies of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity and vigorously pursues affirmative action in all programs, activities, and employment with regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, and status as a person with a disability. Religion, sexual orientation, and status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era also are protected under nondiscrimination and equal opportunity employment policies. The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer which provides reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities of applicants and employees. ________________ Dr. Hector Postigo Assistant Professor Department of Communication University of Utah 255 South Central Campus Dr RM 2400 Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 801-585-9898 http://home.utah.edu/~u0521227 <http://home.utah.edu/%7Eu0521227> res publica non dominetur

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Convergence, Citizen Journalism & Social Change: Building Capacity
by Jeremy Hunsinger 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

> > Call for Papers: > > > > Convergence, Citizen Journalism & Social Change: Building Capacity > > University of Queensland, BRISBANE > > March 25-27, 2008 > > > > CALL FOR PAPERS see http://www.uq.edu.au/sjc/docs/amisjc.pdf > > > > > > > > Much thanks for your help. > > Lincoln > > > > > > > > Lincoln Dahlberg > > School of Journalism & Communication > > The University of Queensland 4072 > > Australia > > > > Telephone: +61 7 336 51793 > > Fax: +61 7 336 51377 > > Email: l.dahlberg(a)uq.edu.au > > Web: http://www.uq.edu.au/journ-comm/index.html?page=49730&pid=8537 > > > > > Jeremy Hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) Words are things; and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. --Byron

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Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations
by Paul DiPerna 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

In terms of who is the politically (or market) connected charismatic operator in this story, I see Barrett as at least the equal of Negroponte, if not more so. The report was suggesting Intel's market power and Barrett's political power were preventing a new product (One Laptop) to be distributed in developing countries, and even introduced here in the United States. Negroponte was exerting power through discussions with foreign governments. Barrett/Intel seemed to be doing it both ways - through government channels and business channels. I don't necessarily see one approach more or less subversive than the other. Both kinds of activities need to be publicly and intuitively transparent, so consumers or public officials can base their best decisions whichever way. And for whatever it's worth, I think Barrett and Intel have done a lot of good the last 5-10 years when it comes to promoting competitiveness and the need for systemic education reform here in the states. He is a catalyst. In any case, all of my blather above is moot. In July, Barrett got a seat on One Laptop's board, further concentrating power on how laptop technology will probably flow in developing countries. And maybe this is a good thing for now.. I don't know. While a market matures in it's early stages, innovation could benefit from this kind of arrangement. But my gut tells me this is not a good thing for an indefinite amount of time. - Paul ----- Original Message ---- From: Jimmy Wales <jwales(a)wikia.com> To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:25:19 AM Subject: Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations Paul DiPerna wrote: > The business/political dynamics at play between the One Laptop > Project and Craig Barrett/Intel are interesting. The CBS report > implicitly raises some profound questions about how oligopolies (here > in the US. for example) can actually stifle technological progress > and the diffusion of an innovation to the masses. I'm not a business > analyst by any stretch of the imagination, but that was one of my > takeaways. My takeaway is the exact opposite: a politically connected charismatic operator can hijack the governmental developmental agenda to achieve unfair advantage, destroying emerging markets with an inferior and frankly absurd product that no one wants or needs... in the name of charity. --Jimbo _______________________________________________ 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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Graduate Program, MFA, recommendation please
by Ed Lamoureux 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

I have a friend who would like recommendations for MFA program in digital arts. He is an accomplished artist in both RL and in Second Life, who wants to be able to use his SL work as the focus of his degree. DanCoyote in SL is the artist DC Spensley; his work is among THE most prominent in SL. He is a very motivated adult student and just graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a 3.8 average. If you have recommendations for MFA program to which he should apply, please respond to him at <spensley(a)pacbell.net> Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D. Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Department of Communication Co-Director, New Media Center 1501 W. Bradley Bradley University Peoria IL 61625 309-677-2378 <http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/index.html> <http://gcc.bradley.edu/mm/> AIM/IM & skype: dredleelam Second Life: Professor Beliveau

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Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations
by Paul DiPerna 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

This past Sunday 60 Minutes ran a feature on Negroponte and the One Laptop Per Child initiative. It was an update on a story they first reported in May. Link to the video: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2830221n Transcript text: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/20/60minutes/main2830058.shtml The business/political dynamics at play between the One Laptop Project and Craig Barrett/Intel are interesting. The CBS report implicitly raises some profound questions about how oligopolies (here in the US. for example) can actually stifle technological progress and the diffusion of an innovation to the masses. I'm not a business analyst by any stretch of the imagination, but that was one of my takeaways. - Paul Paul DiPerna Blau Exchange http://www.blauexchange.org online ID: http://claimid.com/pdiperna ----- Original Message ---- From: Scott MacLeod <helianth(a)gmail.com> To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 9:28:28 PM Subject: Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations Hi, Here's the keynote address by MIT Media Lab's Nicholas Negroponte about the One Laptop per Child or XO-1 initiative at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society this year on May 31 - http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediaberkman/2007/06/17/nicholas-negroponte-ke…. In it , he tells how the initiative is proceeding, that this laptop will cost about $130, that it is basically ready, that they are targeting about 8 countries, and that one company built a new factory for them due to the scale of the project. It is primarily an educational endeavor. They'll use a mesh network that will work in remote locations. I'm not sure how they'll approach the language and literacy questions, from a partly engineering orientation. All of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society's media at Media Berkman is a rich resource. The scale and implementation of this project is impressive. Scott MacLeod See also wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_laptop_per_child On 8/27/07, nativebuddha <nativebuddha(a)gmail.com> wrote: > This student is looking for help. Any suggestions? > > -robert > > ----------------------------------------------- > > Hello, > > I am Alok Kotecha, a Computer Science major at the College of > Charleston. I am working on a paper for my English 102 class that is > based mainly on donating computers to the developing nations of > Africa, mostly Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique & Zambia. > > My main argument is that developed nations donate technology such as > computers to these counties with the aim of technologically advancing > the nations, however they do not consider the fact that donating > computers is not the main thing to be done at this stage. > > Below are some other arguments that I address in my paper: > > 1. Lack of infrastructure e.g. very few people have telephone lines > and this will stop them from connecting to the internet. (Wireless > connections are out of question in most places due to the high set up > costs and regular maintenance required.) > > 2. Security would be a concern - High crime rates might mean that > high security would be needed in order to protect computers from > theft. > > 3. Language would be a concern as well - Operating a computer that > interacts in English my be a problem for many people. > > 4. Health Care - Many people die everyday form malaria and other > diseases. In these cases it is always a good idea to save lives first > by providing better health care and medical services rather then > donating computers. > > Currently I have based my paper on statistics from UNDP and NYT > articles, but because this is a very recent issue I am currently > having problems finding more scholarly articles and I would > appreciate any suggestions you can provide. > > Thank you, > > Alok Kotecha > _______________________________________________ > 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/ > -- http://scottmacleod.com This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of this email message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and destroy/delete all copies of the transmittal. Thank you. _______________________________________________ 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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Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations
by David Brake 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

Charles Kenny has some provocative things to say about the likely utility of computers for developing countries as well. Quite a bit of it is freely available online through his blog, and he writes quite clearly, so this might be a good place for a skeptical African to start: http://charleskenny.blogs.com/weblog/icts/index.html He's put out a book recently as well - Overselling the Web?: Development And the Internet --- David Brake, Doctoral Student in Media and Communications, London School of Economics & Political Science <http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/media@lse/study/ mPhilPhDMediaAndCommunications.htm> Also see http://davidbrake.org/ (home page), http://blog.org/ (personal weblog) and http://get.to/lseblog (academic groupblog) Author of Dealing With E-Mail - <http://davidbrake.org/ dealingwithemail/> callto://DavidBrake (Skype.com's Instant Messenger and net phone) Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic communications disclaimer: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/secretariat/legal/disclaimer.htm

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Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations
by nsenga＠mediom.qc.ca 28 Aug '07

28 Aug '07

Right on, Charles! The name of the game is just...MARKETING! Preferably worldwide, through all those "insidious" "aid" things. Nothing else but modern Trojan horses mantled in "charity" sentiments, whose main and true aim is just to conquer new markets. Never mind local creativity, indigenous and endogenous development hampered by all those subtle but ruthless impositions! Francois Nsenga Teacher and Researcher in Industrial Design, Ergonpomics and Sociology Montreal, CANADA P.S. Thanks for the bibliography list! Original Message: ----------------- From: Charles Ess cmess(a)drury.edu Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:35:56 +0200 To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-L] help on africa and computer donations In my view, this student is on the right track - but still short of a series of additional questions that I believe need to be taken into consideration. As briefly as I can: because these technologies embed and foster the cultural values and communicative preferences of their designers - whatever the good intentions of such projects, they run the very real risk of serving as a form of computer-mediated colonization. This colonization is all the more insidious because it is more subtle than gunboats or even smallpox-infected blankets - but the format is the same: a form of cultural imperialism towards "the Other" issuing from a naïve ethnocentrism that presumes that "our" ways of doing things, including communicating and the technologies that support communication, are universal. Those who do things differently are simply wrong, primitive, etc., and must simply learn to do things our way. Worst-case scenario: "wiring the world" in the name of democracy, freedom of expression, economic development, etc. becomes simply a high-tech way of obliterating the differences that define individual and cultural identity. The literature affiliated with the CATaC (Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication) conferences is chock-full of case-studies from around the world that demonstrate (a) many such projects fail - and sometimes fail disastrously - because designers and sponsors, to put it bluntly, are clueless about the cultural dimensions of what they're up to. This happens in spectacular ways with projects oriented towards indigenous peoples, for example (the South African Learning Centres are a primary example) - but similar results often crop up when crossing into Confucian-shaped societies in particular and more communitarian-oriented societies in general. (Crudely, ICTs have a built-in bias towards the individual - a bias that can foster behavior contrary to the prevailing cultural norms in such societies.) (b) such projects can succeed marvelously - but only by taking into account the cultural and communicative dimensions at work "from the ground up," i.e., by design and implementation processes that start with the clearest possible understanding of the cultural values and communicative preferences of the peoples, organizations, etc., to be involved. The literature here is extensive - much of it online, e.g. in special issues of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, as well as in more traditional print-based journals and a few books: Emma Rooksby & John Weckert (eds.) 2007. Information Technology and Social Justice. Hershey, PA: Idea Publishing Sri Kurniawan & Panayiotis Zaphiris (eds.). 2007. Advances in Universal Web Design and Evaluation Laurel Evelyn Dyson, Max Hendriks & Stephen Grant (eds.) 2007. Information Technology and Indigenous People. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. C. Ess, Akira Kawabata, and Hiroyuki Kurosaki (eds.), "Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Religion and Computer-Mediated Communication," Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (3), April, 2007. <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/ess.html> C. Ess. 2006. Du colonialisme informatique à un usage culturellement informé des TIC. In J. Aden (ed.), De Babel à la mondialisation: apport des sciences sociales à la didactique des langues. Dijon : CNDP - CRDP de Bourgogne, p. 47-61. C. Ess and F. Sudweeks (eds.), Culture and CMC: Toward New Understandings - special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 11 (1) (October 2005) <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/> C. Ess and F. Sudweeks (eds.), Technology of Despair and Hope: CMC in the Middle East - a special issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (November 2003) <http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol8/issue2/> Jonathan Zhu, Fay Sudweeks, and C Ess (eds.), Internet Adoption in the Asia-Pacific Region, special issue of Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 7: 2 (January, 2002). <http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol7/issue2/> C. Ess (ed.). 2001. Culture, Technology, Communication: Towards an Intercultural Global Village. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. On the South African Learning Centres: Postma, L. (2001). A theoretical argumentation and evaluation of South African learners¹ orientation towards and perceptions of the empowering use of information. New Media and Society, 3(3: September), 315-28. Snyman, M., & Hulbert, D. (2004). Implementing ICT Centres for Development in South Africa: Can cultural differences be overcome?² In F. Sudweeks & C. Ess (Eds.), Proceedings Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication (pp. 626-630). Murdoch, Western Australia: Murdoch University Hope that helps! - charles ess > ----------------------------------------------- > > Hello, > > I am Alok Kotecha, a Computer Science major at the College of > Charleston. I am working on a paper for my English 102 class that is > based mainly on donating computers to the developing nations of > Africa, mostly Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique & Zambia. > > My main argument is that developed nations donate technology such as > computers to these counties with the aim of technologically advancing > the nations, however they do not consider the fact that donating > computers is not the main thing to be done at this stage. > > Below are some other arguments that I address in my paper: > > 1. Lack of infrastructure e.g. very few people have telephone lines > and this will stop them from connecting to the internet. (Wireless > connections are out of question in most places due to the high set up > costs and regular maintenance required.) > > 2. Security would be a concern - High crime rates might mean that > high security would be needed in order to protect computers from > theft. > > 3. Language would be a concern as well - Operating a computer that > interacts in English my be a problem for many people. > > 4. Health Care - Many people die everyday form malaria and other > diseases. In these cases it is always a good idea to save lives first > by providing better health care and medical services rather then > donating computers. > > Currently I have based my paper on statistics from UNDP and NYT > articles, but because this is a very recent issue I am currently > having problems finding more scholarly articles and I would > appreciate any suggestions you can provide. > > Thank you, > > Alok Kotecha -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://link.mail2web.com/mail2web

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