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Second Life Research Ethics
by Åsa Rosenberg 06 May '07

06 May '07

Hello, I am a PhD student at the Department of Sociology at Göteborg university, Sweden. I am planning an empirical exploratory study on ethics in online research using Second Life as my case (several case studies in SL on other topics will follow). I would very much appreciate any help I can get with the following questions. 1) Has any research like mine been conducted? I am looking for studies that focus particularly on research ethics and Second Life, i.e. studies performed in SL where ethics are the main object of study. I am well aware of the multitude of publications in more general ethics in online research. 2) Is there an online bibliography of research in Second Life besides the Annotated Bibliography of Second Life Educational Online Resources at <http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mpepper/slbib> http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mpepper/slbib? I am looking for some place that collects all published research on Second Life. (Not sure if that is the purpose of the Annotated Bibilography). Apologies for any cross-postings and thanks in advance, Åsa Rosenberg (SL: Kid Kuhn) Åsa Rosenberg Department of Sociology, Göteborg University asa.rosenberg[at]sociology.gu.se <http://www.cyberkid.se/> http://www.cyberkid.se

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Grants
by James Whyte 06 May '07

06 May '07

I have, for several years, received the announcements of federal grants from http://grants.gov . When I first atarted in 2004 those announcements appeared in my inbox every day and sometimes twice a day. Today I received a posting that contained one announcement. This was the first posting in over a week. My point is that in 2 years the funding for research has almost disappeared. New funding that effects this community seems to have become non-existant. Is this true in the private sector? I have not found any single source that reports this sector. James --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.

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Re: [Air-l] on journals ... | direction of internet research as a discipline
by Paul DiPerna 04 May '07

04 May '07

I see a lot of parallels between political science and the development of the internet research field. Though my perspective is slanted since my roots are in poli sci. Political Science, organized formally within APSA, has been around since the days of Woodrow Wilson (specifically 1903). Yet while I was in grad school, it struck me how much the field still struggles with self-identity. Students and even some professors would periodically raise questions asking what makes Political Science different from Sociology? In terms of theory, some would say the former is a natural extension of the latter... generating middle-range theories and defined largely by the wealth and types of observable data and subject matter. Ellis mentioned this kind of disciplinary definition/parameter in her previous message (below). For those who like historical contexts, you might be interested in this presidential keynote speech given in 1904, at the first APSA conference: http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/190405AddrGOODNOW.pdf APSA aside, I'm pretty sure the "political science" field (at least in the U.S.) has been around for almost 150 years.. and there are still some discipline identity issues. On a separate tangent, it will be interesting to see the progression of the Berners-Lee/ Web Science Research Initiative (http://www.webscience.org/) and how it grows with respect to the already established internet research field. Do folks here see "Web Science" becoming a part of AoIR? do you see WSRI as bringing added value to a larger field of internet research? or do you see this movement as reinventing the wheel? - Paul > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [Air-l] on journals ... Ellis Godard wrote: I'm curious how many others think/believe/expect this. Disciplines can be defined by their subject matter, methods, or perspectives (typically some combination), but AOIR is diverse in all three of these regards - and intentionally (perhaps even increasingly) so. Even if those fascinated with "inter-/trans-"/boundary-crossing focus their career attention within AOIR, and those of us with disciplinary inclinations depart, to what extent can unbounded diversity provide a foundation for a home anything, much less a home discipline?

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FW: Eduserv Symposium: Virtual worlds, real learning: Second Life streaming
by Rowin Young 04 May '07

04 May '07

Apologies for duplications; I thought this might be of interest to some. Dear Colleagues, The Eduserv Foundation has previously sent a message to this list about our third annual symposium "Virtual worlds, real learning" which we will be holding on Thursday 10th May at the Congress Centre in London. The event will attempt to look past the hype surrounding virtual worlds such as Second Life and evaluate whether they offer real opportunities for learners at UK educational institutions. (For more information see the Eduserv Website) The event has attracted much interest so although there are no places available we will be streaming all the presentations live into Second Life and on the Web. There will be at least three Virtual venues in Second Life at which the steams can be viewed, including: -The Virtual Congress Centre on Eduserv Island. -The auditorium on Cybrary City. - The outdoor teaching space on NMC's Teaching 2 Island. We are grateful to Alan Levine at NMC and Lori Bell at the Alliance Library System for the use of their venues for the virtual symposium. Note that the Symposium starts at 2.00am PDT (Second Life Time) To attend, you must be registered with Second Life, have installed the Second Life client, and have a working version of the Quicktime viewer. It is recommended that you check that you can view the video stream at the following Second Life location prior to the event. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduserv%20Island/176/31/32. Instructions about viewing video streams can be accessed from the Eduserv Website. To help us plan the number of virtual venues, please register your interest in attending part or all of the event using the registration form. Please also join the 'Eduserv Symposium' group in Second Life. This group will be used for announcements prior to the day. Alternatively if you would like to view the stream directly using the web then the URL will be posted on the Eduserv Website on Wed 9th of May. In order to ensure that Eduserv staff can get access to Edsuerv Island during the day, we want to limit access to that venue. We will therefore be inviting people to that venue, based on the order in which people applied for the Real Life event. If you require further details about this event, please do not hesitate to contact me. Regards, Ed Barker, Eduserv Foundation Edward.Barker(a)eduserv.org.uk +44 (0) 1225 474328

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wikipedia becomes a reference in French presidential elections
by Frank Thomas 04 May '07

04 May '07

In France we are now J-2 to the final round of the presidential elections. On 2 May a debate on TV during prime time between the two last candidates, Segolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, draw more than 20 million spectators out of 64 million inhabitants. One of the controversial issues was about nuclear energy, with a fight whether the European Pressurized Reactor //was considered 3rd or 4th generation. The interest of this fight was to show that one of the candidates was not up to date when it comes to technology and research. According to French radio the reaction of the wikipedia scene was instant: in the next couple of hours the article was changed 50 times. I don't see some 50 changes but the citation war starts at 2nd May, 22h34, just during the TV show. http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=R%C3%A9acteur_pressuris%C3%A9_eur… Now the article on the EPR has been partially protected: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9acteur_pressuris%C3%A9_europ%C3%A9en I doubt that changing the content in the authoritative Internet encyclopedia will change the course of French history, but at least it shows the perceived impact of wikipedia on the public opinion of French Internet users. - Frank Thomas -- .......................................... Dr. Frank Thomas FTR Internet Research 93110 Rosny-sous-Bois France

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RIAA and freedom to copy
by Alex Randall 04 May '07

04 May '07

Is anyone aware of the effort by RIAA to force college students to pay huge cash settlements of supposed copyright infringement? They are going to the student's IP source, and getting IP addresses of students who have used P2P tools. They send threatening letters - telling them they are illegally copying music using P2P technology then proposing to settle the infringement for large sums. There is no actual law suit, just the threat of a suit and a proposed settlement. Does anyone know the legal precedent for such threats? Is file sharing really copyright infringement? Dr. Alexander Randall Professor of Communication University of the Virgin Islands

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video of police riot in LA's macarthur park
by Jeremy Hunsinger 04 May '07

04 May '07

this may be of interest. Begin forwarded message: > From: Sasha Costanza-Chock <costanza(a)usc.edu> > Date: May 3, 2007 8:50:41 PM EDT > > > This may be slightly offtopic, but I stayed up late last night cutting > this video together so I'm sending it out to the world as part of > my own > catharsis and attempt to shake the creepy feeling that always comes > over > me after I watch armor clad police use batons on fleeing > defenseless people. > > If you are not in LA, the story is that LAPD brutally attacked > thousands > of families celebrating international workers' day in downtown > macarthur > park, using rubber bullets, batons, motorcycles and chemical spray. > They > even attacked several members of the media, including Fox News and > Telemundo correspondents! It was so ludicrous that they are no longer > even attempting to spin it in the standard way (ie, 'we used > controlled > nonlethal force against a few troublemakers). They have abandoned that > line and even the chief (bratton) has admitted that it got out of > hand. > > I was there to support the event and to play music with my band > fosforo. > We were literally on the soundstage playing when the police attacked > without clear warning. I happened to have a cam and hid behind a > speaker > stack to record everything. > > For you non-spanish speakers, the music is a cover of Bob Marley's > 'War,' itself an interpretation of a speech by Haile Selassie I. > > The band is my band Fósforo, the footage is a mix of stuff shot by me, > some shot by Larry Gross (!), and some pulled from la.indymedia.org > and > from YouTube at 2am. > > enjoy the (riot) porn. > > download at 43.5 megs > http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/05/fosforo_mayday_rough_cops.mp4 > > or watch on myspace (lower quality): > http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm? > fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2026799363 > > or if you must, youtube (still lower.): > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfkoULiI8N0 > > For good firsthand accounts of what happened, check > http://la.indymedia.org > > peace > sasha > > 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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FW: Information on Yahoo! Fellow in Residence, Georgetown University
by Katy E. Pearce 03 May '07

03 May '07

Greetings, Mr. Michael Samway, Yahoo! Inc. suggested that we send an announcement of a new Yahoo! Fellow in Residence at Georgetown University. Georgetown University is initiating a multi-year project on International Values, Communications Technology & the Global Internet. As part of that project, we seek the appointment of a Yahoo! Fellow in Residence who would conduct research and participate in related educational activities during the 2007-2008 academic year. The position is described in the attached Call for Applications. A recent press release on the overall project can be found at http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=24375. Information on applications are provided in the attached pdf file. You were suggested to us as someone who might know appropriate individuals with an interest in this area. The timeframe is short for selecting someone who could begin an appointment in the coming Fall term, particularly for potential international candidates, so we would appreciate your help in circulating this announcement. We anticipate similar annual appointments in the future and would be happy to inform you of such opportunities if you so desire. Thank you for any assistance you might provide in this matter. With best wishes, Charles Dolgas -- Charles Dolgas Director of Administration and Publications Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Tel 202-965-5735, ext. 204 Fax 202-965-5811

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Digg user 'riot' going on now
by Dr.Cameron Adams 03 May '07

03 May '07

Hi, Of course the question of posting hacks publicly brings up another issue: If the hacks are public, everyone knows about them and the "security" provider improves security. If the hacks are kept secret, on the other hand, only the hackers know them, the providers never improve security and increased theft can then ensue. Which is worse? Bruce Schnier says this all a ton better than I do, and with some authority. Feel free to look him up and/or check out his cryptogram newsletter if you are interested in these issues. Cheers, Cameron (an anthropologist, not a security expert)

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Digg user 'riot' going on now
by Ellie Wix 03 May '07

03 May '07

I found this story on gizmodo.com this morning and thought I might share for anyone who might be interested. Apparently someone found an HD-DVD key code that would allow users to bypass copy protection. This was posted onto Digg but was then removed for obvious reasons. Out of anger the users are now (is diggbombing a word?) flooding the site with the code in retaliation to it being removed. Even now I'm looking at a few of my friends who have the code as their away messages. http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/geeks-will-not-be-silenced/breaking-digg-riot-in… And thanks to the entire list. I posted a question and req for lit a few months back and it helped tremendously, even changed the course of my project. -Ellie

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