- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

global information society watch report 2007
by Jeremy Hunsinger 20 May '07

20 May '07

http://www.globaliswatch.org/download some of you may find that useful, it has some nice general information and some country reports. jeremy hunsinger Information Ethics Fellow, Center for Information Policy Research, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (www.cipr.uwm.edu) wiki.tmttlt.com www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://cfp.learning-inquiry.info/ Learning Inquiry-the journal http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

1 0

follow up to Toronto Facebook discussion
by Katy E. Pearce 20 May '07

20 May '07

Facebook posted a blog entry about Toronto and FB's popularity in Canada on Thursday. http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=2398302130

1 0

Even more.... Fwd: ICT-for-D books... sharable and otherwise
by Frederick Noronha 20 May '07

20 May '07

Share and share alike... when I passed around a list of books on ICT-for-Development (a couple even downloadable for free), Michel Bauwens < michelsub2004(a)gmail.com<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/post?postID=oEg3G2ot…>> of that amazing resource called the http://p2pfoundation.net in Bangkok [he also has an amazing set of bookmarks at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens ] sent me pointers to his list. Check below: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michel Bauwens < michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> Date: 19-May-2007 13:21 Subject: Re: ICT-for-D books... sharable and otherwise To: Frederick FN Noronha < fredericknoronha(a)gmail.com > Thanks for this useful list, Remember that my books are listed here at: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Category:Books A few items that might be of interest: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Wireless_Networking_in_the_Developing_World http://www.p2pfoundation.net/African_Digital_Commons http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Building_Sustainable_Communities http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Gaian_Democracies http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Human_Scale http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Video_for_Change http://www.p2pfoundation.net/You_Can_Hear_Me_Now This one is important for inspiring policy reforms: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Democratizing_Innovation Thanks so much, Michel. Was useful! --FN -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India

1 0

Research question: interviewing online subjects?
by Monica Barratt 20 May '07

20 May '07

This is a question I have also been considering over the last few weeks, prior to beginning my online interviews which should happen over the next month. Paul has stated this very well. For me, in researching activities relating to illicit drugs, I must make sure that participants under that: - what they tell me is confidential - the exception to this is if they disclose a serious and imminent threat to harm themselves or others - they are free to choose not to answer any particular questions. So the participant, if they were (for example) running a drug trafficking operation, can choose not to inform me of this, and surely wouldn't suddenly tell me such details! When we do ask questions about crime, we always have a preamble which stresses that we are not in any way interested in details, just general frequency levels of types of crime. This way we do not end up with the sort of information that would require us to breach confidentiality. Research materials in Australia are subject to legal subpoena; we can't apply for protection from this as I believe can be done in the USA. The issue I am faced with is that my consent form for online interviewing of drug users does not contain an exception clause at this point (and was passed by my ethics committee). My supervisor and I have been discussing including this exception clause. However we did both ask ourselves, what would we do if such information came out in an online interview, where we don't have concrete details of the person's identity? If they told me they were going to commit suicide and I wanted to inform someone to help them, how would I do this? I could certainly direct them to resources (online and face-to-face) but none of this breaks confidentiality. However we did conceive of situations where the confidentiality exception clause is necessary in the case where the participant disclosed details of their identity and a serious/imminent threat to themselves or others. We would then have enough information to get help for them. And they would be aware from the start that this would be the outcome should they disclose this sort of information. I agree that this should only be in regards to illegal (rather than 'immoral') acts. I also think it would be a bit strange to have this clause in all types of research - however, although it may seem unlikely, you just never know when you might find yourself in this ethically tricky situation. Best that participants know exactly where they stand from the outset. Let us know what you decide to do Erika! regards monica Monica Barratt PhD Student National Drug Research Institute http://db.ndri.curtin.edu.au/staff.asp?persid=650 http://www.linkedin.com/in/mbarratt On 19/05/07, Sam Ladner < samladner(a)gmail.com> wrote: > These are all important points -- I concur that the ethics board should be > respected insofar as they protect subjects. > > That said, however, I believe their approach does very little to actually > protect subjects. The informed consent letter I have for participants is 2 > pages long. It is very verbose and largely unintellible to the uninitiated > (this at the board's explicit direction). The net result is that the lived > experience of my participants varies greatly from the "official" experience > the board is attempting to engineer. > > Ethical obligations do not reside within rules or structures. Ethical > obligations must transcend such structures. There is no "letter of the law" > that ruled a very real ethical problem I encountered yesterday -- a person > who knew one of my participants mentioned that I had interviewed him. I > could not discuss this interview, or even the existence of such an > interview, in accordance with what i perceive to be my ethical obligation of > confidentiality. > > My ethics board says nothing about this specific case. I must infer the > spirit of the rules, which I prefer to do instead of following letter of the > law at the expense of its spirit. > > > > On 5/18/07, Justin Reedy <jsreedy(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > On 5/18/07, Sam Ladner <samladner(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > They also insisted I insert a paragraph that my university would not > > hold > > > anything against them based on their participation. I can only infer > > there > > > was a rash of disappointed undergraduate applicants that had > > participated > > > in > > > university-based research....none of my participants understood the > > reason > > > behind that phrase either. > > > > > > I have heard a lot of folks in the social sciences express frustration at > > IRBs and ethics boards, but I think it's very important to remember the > > basics of why they exist: to protect research subjects and represent their > > interests. > > > > Most researchers in all of the sciences (life sciences, social sciences, > > etc.) are very conscientious in their work, and would not willingly harm > > their subjects or expose them to suffering (in the case of animals used in > > life sciences research, for example). However, there have been far too > > many > > cases where scientists acted in ways that harmed (or could have harmed) > > subjects for the sake of their research. The IRB is an entity that is > > supposed to represent the interests of subjects, just as researchers > > represent their own interests. > > > > Some of the protections or informed-consent clauses may seem strange and > > inappropriate for your particular line of research, but IMO, when > > protecting > > a group that has in the not-so-distant past been left unrepresented in the > > process or study design and implementation (I'm speaking of research > > subjects here), it is far better to be safe than sorry. Also, some of > > those > > clauses can seem weird for your work, but upon further reflection, it's > > not > > too much of a stretch to see how someone could feel coerced into > > participating or doing something else they'd rather not do. A large state > > university, for instance, can be a powerful entity in a research subject's > > community and may seem intimidating to people. > > > > Just to reiterate my overarching point: I try to view an IRB as an entity > > representing the interests of subjects, who get no say in the design and > > implementation of a study otherwise. > > > > My two cents as a (lowly) graduate student, > > Justin Reedy > > University of Washington > > Department of Communication > > _______________________________________________ > > 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/ >

1 0

Re: [Air-l] Trolls. Lurking. And the "we" that should move on
by William Bain 20 May '07

20 May '07

Steve Eskow wrote: >"Is there, then, the need for a totalizing decision for "us" to "move on"? Steve, my view is that aoir is putting together its moving on in the ongoing discussions here. There is, obviously, an executive group, which consults the membership, probably more (just guessing) right here in the discussions than in f2f meetings. You're right that my post was generalizing my own perceptions and assuming a kind of monolithic organisational agreement on readers' part before really establishing a definite argument. From my side of the computer screen the air-l group assessment seems to be that no general (if that is what totalizing means in this case) decision on the part of aoir membership neaeds to be established as basic policy. Or the basic polciy already exists that malicious trolling is considered inappropriate & flaming if it gets out of hand will bring exec warnings and possibly exclusion from listserv. I think gettning any ore specific than that would be unwarranted totalizing,actually. My general and lurkerish dos centavos fwiw :) wrb William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona --------------------------------- You snooze, you lose. Get messages ASAP with AutoCheck in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.

2 1

Research on International Outsourcing/Offshoring
by Kirk St.Amant 19 May '07

19 May '07

Hi all, Does anyone know of any research (ideally, research reported in an academic journal or book) that has been done on the use or the efficacy of online media in relation to international outsourcing or offshoring practices? Thank you all in advance or your time and help with this question. Best, Kirk

1 0

Lurker and Participant Survey
by James Whyte 19 May '07

19 May '07

Indicated in earlier postings, I have created a survey to assess AIR-L Participant / Lurker behavior. Initially it was specifically directed towards "Lurking". I have change the approah to include all AIR-L registrants. It would be hepful and appreciated if all list registrants would take a few minutes and fill out the survey. It is hoped that the results will be generative of other studies, so, we will share the data for everyones benefit. It is a blind study and there are no questions that can be used to identify individuals. A single optional question ask for an email address, if you will allow yourself to be interviewed. click on this link to obtain the survey: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=706379 James --------------------------------- Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing.

2 2

CFP: Case Studies in Research: Knowledge and Inquiry
by Ken Friedman 19 May '07

19 May '07

Call for Papers: Design Research Quarterly announces a new series of articles: Case Studies in Research: Knowledge and Inquiry 'we want to hold a discussion on how research steers theory' Call for Papers: Designers use the term 'design' to cover a wide range of activities and types of problems, and we have many differing, often incommensurable and opposing models of design and its theoretical and methodological bases. As a result, we also have have a history of lively debates over specific theories. These debates have not been able to resolve differences. Many regions of design are not well defined, and in such situations, researchers can find that apparently straightforward problems can lead to fundamental questions about the nature of design, what kinds of philosophical and theoretical positions that can frame the research and ground the methods, and their implications with regard to knowledge: what kinds of knowledge are possible within the frames needed to do the research. In short, we want to hold a discussion on how research steers theory. Our idea is to look at research and theories in design not primarily as related to subfields per se, but to see theories as products of research problems themselves: the topics studied studied and the questions being researched. Rather than look at abstract problems of research and theory, we want to present actual problems as case studies. In this way, we can clarify design by mapping its terrain of activities and problem types with their fundamental theoretical and methodological requirements. Over the next two years, DRQ will collect and publish articles on these topics and replies to those articles, using its regular publication schedule to build a discussion. If you have an interest or idea for an article or other submission, please contact the editor, Peter Storkerson. -- Topics: We seek papers that explore issues including: - ontological and epistemological implications or require- ments of a research problem - status of knowledge, its bases and levels of certainty - conflicts between the knowledge that is possible in a given situation and the research goals. -how research fits into fundamental paradigms: scien- tific, humanist, phenomenological, pragmatic, etc., and how those approaches compare in their strengths and weaknesses - working across the boundaries of humanism and science: the extent to which a research problem requires use of more than one basic philosophical frame and how different frames can be reconciled Specifications: 3,ooo to 6,000 words APA guidelines For information or submissions: Peter Storkerson email: peter(a)drsq.org --

1 0

texting in noisy places
by Kathy Mancuso 19 May '07

19 May '07

Actually, Holly, while I'm not sure how much formal research has been done on it, texting while copresent is a common practice among the D/deaf/HOH community. People typically text each other during conferences while watching the interpreter instead of having sign conversations among themselves (of course, the rest of us do this too). Gallaudet students often walk along in groups texting with their Hiptops. This isn't my area of research, but you might ask on the DS-HUM or deaf academics listserv -- or I can forward your query. kathy Message: 6 Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 23:15:31 -0500 From: Holly Kruse <holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu> Subject: [Air-l] Observation, and texting in noisy places To: <air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org> Message-ID: <C2729293.9ECE%holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" As air-l list manager, although not really list content decision-maker, and mostly lurker (I am a proud lurker on a few lists, including a huge one that I founded almost 15 years ago and and on this one), I'd just like to say that I think it would be super-nifty if we could cease and desist, at least for a while, from all discussion of/comments about particular individuals and their flaws and strengths. I am very interested in the discussion of online research interviews, in the general discussion of the etymology and usage of terms like "lurker" and "troll," in the trends in landline vs. mobile telephone usage, and in other substantive discussions. With that in mind, I found very interesting an article in today's Washington Post about the growth of texting in noisy environments, like clubs, to communicate with those with whom one is physically co-present: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600 649.html I found myself thinking a bit about the use of texting in situations where it would be totally fine to chat aloud with the co-present friend (as opposed to in class or a meeting) but there may be environmental barriers. And it made me curious about the research being done -- and just the observations being made more generally -- on this phenomenon. Holly -- Holly Kruse Faculty of Communication The University of Tulsa 600 S. College Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-3845 holly-kruse(a)utulsa.edu http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~holly-kruse<http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/%7Eholly-kruse> -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Katherine Mancuso, scholar, artist, activist, web designer thoughts on disability dance, crip culture, and social technology: http://museumfreak.livejournal.com linkblogging the world of designing media for connecting people: http://del.icio.us/museumfreak Alternate Roots: working at the intersection of art & activism: http://www.alternateroots.org "Disability is an art, an ingenious way to live." --Neil Marcus ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 1

ICT-for-D books... sharable and otherwise
by Frederick Noronha 18 May '07

18 May '07

Maxigas of Green Spider in Hungary asked me about some ICT-for-D books mentioned recently. These books are (just sharing the same with some additional ones, in case any one is interested): *** Code: Collaborative Ownership and the Digital Commons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code:_Collaborative_Ownership_and_the_Digital_… *** Codev2 by Lawrence Lessig From the Preface: "This is a translation of an old book—indeed, in Internet time, it is a translation of an ancient text." That text is Lessig's "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace." The second version of that book is "Code v2." The aim of Code v2 is to update the earlier work, making its argument more relevant to the current internet. Download the book free: http://pdf.codev2.cc/Lessig-Codev2.pdf *** Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Communication_and_Society:_A_Global_Per… *** Another interesting book I came across (and shared some of my notes via the Wikipedia, please do too if you can, w.r.t. ICT-for-development books specially ) is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenging_The_Chip *** Then, take a look at Coding Cultures (Francesca da Rimini, ed): A Handbook for Coding Cultures provides a lasting companion to the inspiring projects and topical currents of thought explored in the Coding Cultures Symposium and Concept Lab. Six invited writers and groups from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, England, Italy and Hong Kong share their experiences of building imaginative digital tools, social networks, open labs and internet-based knowledge platforms for communication and creativity. Complementing these commissioned texts are contributions from our guest artists from Canada, England and Jamaica. Artist statements from Symposium speakers completes this snapshot of contemporary cultural practice. Keeping true to the traditions of the free circulation of knowledge and culture, the Coding Cultures Handbook is available free of charge. A limited print edition of the Handbook was launched at the Coding Cultures Symposium on 9 March 2007. The complete Handbook can be viewed or downloaded below. Alternatively, essays can also be downloaded individually (see List of Contents below) and where available, a link to the Author's online essay is also provided. You can download this book free. http://www.dlux.org.au/codingcultures/handbook.html *** Free As In Education: a 2003 Finnish study on Free Software/Open Source in the "developing" world. By Niranjan Rajani et al (sharable)... am still trying to get the chapters on Asia, Africa and Latin America, as the downloadable links seem broken. Write to me for a copy of the main report (minus the regional chapters) if interested. Please share any other interesting books if you come across these. Rgds, FN/Frederick Noronha-Goa, India -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India

1 0