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Masters of Media student blog from Amsterdam
by geert lovink 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Masters of Media http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/ The Masters of Media (MofM) blog is a collaborative initiative from the New Media Master students of the University of Amsterdam (NL). The blog was set up in September 2006 as part of the new media practices course, given by Geert Lovink. MofM strives to become a recognized authority on what’s going on in the wide world of the web. We observe, review, criticize and co-create on multiple levels in new media. The New Media M.A. is one of the masters of the Media and Culture study, which is part of the Faculty of Humanity. The programme is divided into two different formats, i.e. a one year programme and a two year research variant. First topics discussed were pro-ana sites, experiences with Writely (as we speak taken over by Google), defining 'shockblogs', what is commonism, free cooperation, Wikipedia debates and so on. The masterclass is a course in how media, particularly new media, address people, culture and society with a special focus on diverse forms of engagement. Course participants develop an understanding for this and have an opportunity to examine new media developments and how they can be placed in a cultural context. Exploring theories and practices in new media not only help us develop a broader understanding of advancements in technology, it also provides an in-depth perspective of shifts in our culture. The first students to build and use Masters of Media are Twan Eikelenboom, Eva Kol, Heleen van der Klink, Anne Helmond, Pepijn Uitterhoeve, Roman Tol, Tom Roes and Jeffrey van Schie. Courses of Jan Simons and Richard Rogers are also using the blog. One of the new media matters we study is the occurring rise of the blogging phenomenon. The way we use the web is shifting in a fundamental way. Instead of being passive consumers of information, more and more internet users are becoming active participants. This is why blogging and other forms of unfettered expression on the web are often referred to as the rise of the participant economy. Besides providing academic insight, this blog aims to be a testing ground for commercializing itself. Our objective is to reach a wide international audience and by doing so generating financial gain. By the end of this academic year (July 2007) we expect to have accumulated enough capital to pay for a three course dinner at one of Amsterdam’s hotspots. By checking this blog regularly, you will learn from our gains and mistakes in the process of commercializing our site. In return we provide a critical view of the global conversation of the web, helping you to tune into what’s interesting, topical, entertaining, and just plain fun. For questions, comments and everything else you can reach us at these adresses Email mastersofmedia at gmail.com Snailmail Masters of Media Lokaal 0.13 Turfdraagsterpad 9 1012 XT Amsterdam The Netherlands

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Organisational differences?
by 'Gail Taylor 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Sounds as though the software engineers are displaying behaviors of technology determinists. Have you taken a look at the literature that is available in organization sciences that explores socio-technical systems in organizations? If not, this is a good starting point for exploration of the engineers behaviors. You might also want to take a look at the growing body of literature relating to knowledge management and organizational learning in business organizations. I've included several citations that might be of interest to you. My academic interests revolve around organization behaviors associated with the adoption of ICT in support of organizational learning. Feel free to contact me off list via email if you want to explore some ideas. /Gail Appelbaum, S.H. (1997). Socio-technical systems theory: An intervention strategy for organizational development. Management Decision, 35(6), 452-463. Bhatt, G. D. (2001). Knowledge management in organizations: Examining the interaction between technologies, techniques, and people. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5(1), p. 68 Cooper, R.B. (1994). The inertial impact of culture on IT implementation. Information & Management, 27, 17-34. Kling, R., & Lamb, R. (1999, September). IT and organizational change in digital economies: A socio-technical approach. Computers and society, 17-25. Mumford, E. (2000). A socio-technical approach to systems design. Requirements Engineering, 5, 125-133. Pasmore, W.A. (1995). Social science transformed: The socio- technical perspective. Human Relations, 48(1), 1-21. ***************************** Gail D. Taylor, M.Ed. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Human Resource Education Ph.D. Student Educational Psychology Teaching Assistant "We can't just have mainstream behavior on television in a free society. We have to make sure we see the whole panorama of human behavior." -- Jerry Springer

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Assistant/Associate Professor - SILS - Knowledge Organization
by Jeremy Hunsinger 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Apologies for crossposting. Below is a position in the department where I work, we have several degrees, the MLIS, a certificate in Archives and a focused MLIS in Museum Libraries. We also have in development a Center for Cultural Informatics and several exciting international collaborations (and we are always looking for more). The future looks excellent. -Jeremy Closing Date: 02/15/2007 Position Summary: This is a full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the assistant/ associate professor rank, available Fall 2007. Job Responsibilities: - Teach three courses per semester including Knowledge Organization. - Develop courses and help build programs in area of specialization; contribute to curriculum development. - Conduct research in knowledge organization, publish in peer- reviewed journals, and present at professional conferences. - Serve as an advisor to SILS students. - Serve on School and Institute committees and participate in Institute-wide initiatives; contribute to the life of the school. - Perform all other related activities as required. Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience. Qualifications: We require a Ph.D. in library and information science or a related field. Applicants must have a specialization in knowledge organization defined broadly to include access and retrieval for database systems and networks, search engines and digital libraries. Demonstrated ability to help build programs and courses in the knowledge organization field defined broadly to include areas such as cataloging, metadata, indexing, taxonomy and thesauri. Candidates should have some college level teaching experience, preferably in an LIS graduate program; some professional experience related to knowledge organization; and related research and publications. Must be active in professional organizations and have excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills. To Apply: Please submit a letter of application, c.v., and the names and contact information for three professional references to: Assistant to the Dean School of Information and Library Science Position Code APKO Pratt Institute 144 West 14th Street 6th Floor New York, NY 10011 Email: vthomas(a)pratt.edu Fax: 212-367-2492 Jeremy Hunsinger School of Library and Information Science Pratt Institute () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Association of Internet Researchers http://www.stswiki.org/ stswiki http://cfp.learning-inquiry.info/ LI-the journal http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series

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zotero technology evangelist job
by Jeremy Hunsinger 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

apologies for crossposting > \ > Technology Evangelist (Technology Outreach Coordinator): The Center > for History & New Media at George Mason University is seeking a > technology evangelist for Zotero (www.zotero.org) an open source > bibliographic management and note-taking tool for the Firefox web > browser. The technology evangelist will be responsible for building > alliances with scholarly organizations and libraries, encouraging > scholars to try Zotero, developing and maintaining user > documentation, and building awareness of this next-generation > research tool. > http://chnm.gmu.edu/news/archives/job_openings_at_chnm_ou.php > \ jeremy hunsinger Assistant Professor Pratt Institute www.cddc.vt.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

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ICT's Timeline: final post
by Jeremy Depauw 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Hello everybody, As final feedback about the discussion of ICT's Timeline, here is a link to the next step: http://dev.ulb.ac.be/~jdepauw/Timeline/index.html.<http://dev.ulb.ac.be/%7Ejdepauw/Timeline/index.html> I used SIMILE <http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/> which is a great tool and the only really efficient I found to create timelines. Just in case it helps some of you. Thanks again for the help I got here ! Jeremy -- Jeremy Depauw The Power of Knoweldge Sharing and Skills Synegism Journal de recherche: http://dev.ulb.ac.be/~jdepauw/dotclear/index.php

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Latour, ANT, and Internet Research
by Christian Fuchs 17 Oct '06

17 Oct '06

Dear colleagues, I am curious to find out if there are scholars who have used Latour's Actor Network Theory for describing the internet as a network of human and non-human (technical) actors. I think that such an approach were fundamentally flawed, but would like to know if anyone has already attempted and published such a description? Christian _____________________________ Univ.Ass. Dr. Christian Fuchs ICT&S Center - Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies & Society http://www.icts.uni-salzburg.at University of Salzburg Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18 5020 Salzburg Austria christian.fuchs(a)sbg.ac.at Phone +43 662 8044 4823 Fax +43 662 6389 4800 Information-Society-Technology: http://cartoon.iguw.tuwien.ac.at/christian/ Managing Editor of tripleC - open access online journal for the foundations of information science: http://triplec.uti.at

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revised deadline CFP - Contextual Technologies [for Cultural Studies Association (US)]
by radhika gajjala 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Go to http://www.csaus.pitt.edu for information on CSA (US) conference . This call is for a section of the Technology division. The deadline has now been extended to October 21st, 2006. Email me - radhika(a)cyberdiva.org - if you have ideas but not fully formed abstracts yet as well. Title: Contextual technologies: Spaces of Disruption At what point in time-space do researchers examine the use of technology. How does this shape the definition of what a technology is and how it is implemented. "Technologies" are most often examined in relation to binaries such as urban/rural, modern/primitive, male/female, mainstream/alternative, elite/mass thus giving rise to frames for the study of such environments. As a result researchers (even cultural and critical researchers) are unable to engage immersively and contextually with the assumptions embedded within these technological environments. What approaches, methodologies and practices of research and technology use might disrupt these binaries. In other words, what's at stake in maintaining these binaries and who truly benefits. For instance studies that examine empowerment of rural third-world women through technologies such as computers, pdas and cell-phones reproduce binaries of modern and primitive. While there is no doubt that in such instances the individual woman is often empowered, the ways in which this empowerment disciplines her into being a productive member of an overall status quo that in actuality might be disempowering to her, need to be examined. Therefore this call is not asking for submissions that claim to examine practices of dissent, represented by positioning primitive vs modern or female vs male, but is seeking submissions that examine specific ways in which these binaries might be disrupted. Cultural studies frameworks offer possible ways in which to examine such contextual practices. This call for papers is seeking historical and contextual examinations of technology (defined in the broadest of senses) and its use with specific attention to practices of use and proliferation. These battles are currently visible in relation to various technologies situated within contexts of agriculture, new media, energy and ecology among others. Therefore this call encourages submitters to engage these topics. Send abstracts to Radhika Gajjala <radhika(a)cyberdiva.org> April 19 - 21, 2007 The Annual Meeting of the CSA provides a forum for scholars, students, and other persons interested in Cultural Studies in all its diverse manifestations to exchange their work and ideas across disciplinary lines and institutional locations. This year's conference will be held in downtown Portland, Oregon at University Place, a conference site managed by Portland State University. -- Radhika Gajjala Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator School of Communication Studies 302 West Hall Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43402 http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik/index2.html For queries about BGSU's School of Communication Studies Grad program, email comsgrad(a)bgsu.edu For info on the Theory Research cluster at SCS - see http://scs.bgsu.edu/Research/ResearchClusters/theory.php

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Re: [Air-l] Organisational differences?
by Lyn Jeffery 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Check out Ellen Ullman's 1997 novel "Close to the Machine" for a great peek into the software engineer's mind, at least at that time. A good read, too! Lyn ________________________ Lyn Jeffery, Ph.D. Research Director Institute for the Future www.iftf.org phone: 650-233-9577 blog: www.virtual-china.org 124 University Ave. 2/F, Palo Alto, CA 94301 main phone: 650-854-6322 ________________________ On 16 Oct 2006, at 09:34, Elizabeth Van Couvering wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I wonder if anyone can lend some literature to the impression I have > from interviewing a series of software engineers that their work in > technology organisations is more valuable that the work of other > parts of the organisation - e.g., "management", marketing, > facilities, etc. > > Thanks a bunch, > > Elizabeth > > Elizabeth Van Couvering > PhD Student > Department of Media & Communications > London School of Economics and Political Science > http://personal.lse.ac.uk/vancouve/ > e.j.van-couvering(a)lse.ac.uk >

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Re: [Air-l] Organisational differences?
by Julian Hopkins 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Hello Elizabeth, Not directly relevant as it's more to do with open source, but I found an article by Christopher Kelty very thought-provoking - particularly the concept of the 'recursive public': a concept which he derives from Charles Taylor and Michael Warner. He defines it as: "a particular form of social imaginary through which this group [i.e. 'geeks': "hackers, lawyers, activists, and IT entrepreneurs"] imagines in common the means of their own association, the material forms this imagination takes, and what place it has in the contemporary development of the Internet." Kelty, Christopher. "Geeks, Social Imaginaries, and Recursive Publics." Cultural Anthropology May 2005. 20.2:185-215. 29 Jun. 2005 <http://www.proquest.com> What it says to me is that IT people are aware of the constitutive (limited in various ways though) effect of software/hardware on how organisations are develop and change; and they are also aware that they have more control, in a practical/prosaic sense, over this process than others. On a different level though, I have yet to meet many people who don't think that their own job is more difficult and important than other's jobs... Also, I've often thought of IT personnel as acting like some doctors - believing that the 'patient' cannot understand the details and just telling them what to do without explaining and considering that they may have some useful input too. Regards, Julian ++++++++++ Julian Hopkins Senior Lecturer HELP University College - ADP Kuala Lumpur tel: +60 3 2095 8791 x2913 email: julianh(a)help.edu.my web: http://www.help.edu.my ******************************************* Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:34:14 +0100 From: Elizabeth Van Couvering <e.j.van-couvering(a)lse.ac.uk> Subject: [Air-l] Organisational differences? To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Message-ID: <2E83E986-AAD1-4915-93EB-8B43CC57ADD0(a)lse.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Hi everyone, I wonder if anyone can lend some literature to the impression I have from interviewing a series of software engineers that their work in technology organisations is more valuable that the work of other parts of the organisation - e.g., "management", marketing, facilities, etc. Thanks a bunch, Elizabeth Elizabeth Van Couvering PhD Student Department of Media & Communications London School of Economics and Political Science http://personal.lse.ac.uk/vancouve/ e.j.van-couvering(a)lse.ac.uk

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Re: [Air-l] Latour, ANT, and Internet Research
by Kevin Leander 16 Oct '06

16 Oct '06

Hi Christian, Not a description of the entire internet, by a longshot, but you might be interested in this piece: Leander, K. M. & Lovvorn, J. (2006). Literacy networks: Following the circulation of texts, bodies, and objects in the schooling and online gaming of one youth. Cognition & Instruction 24(3), 291-340. Kevin >Dear colleagues, > >I am curious to find out if there are scholars who have used Latour's >Actor Network Theory for describing the internet as a network of human >and non-human (technical) actors. > >I think that such an approach were fundamentally flawed, but would like >to know if anyone has already attempted and published such a description? > >Christian > >_____________________________ -- Kevin Leander, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Teaching and Learning NCTEAR Midwinter Conference, Feb. 23-25, 2007 Proposal Deadline: November 1, 2006 http://education.umn.edu/NCTEAR/default.html

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