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AMIS Volume on E-Government (Call for Chapters/Call for Reviewers)
by Jochen Scholl 27 Sep '06

27 Sep '06

Call for Volume Chapters and Reviewers (Submission Deadline September 30, 2007) Electronic Government: Information, Technology, and Transformation (Volume Title) To appear as a volume within the Advances in Management Information Systems (AMIS) series published by ME Sharpe, Armonk, NY. AMIS is a series of research monographs devoted to the principal aspects of information systems with Dr. Vladimir Zwass as the series editor. AMIS is intended to become a lasting record of both the knowledge about organizational information systems and of research methods for creating new knowledge. For more information about the AMIS monograph series, please visit http://www.mesharpe.com/amis.htm. As the volume editor, I would also like to invite you to join the reviewer team, which will meet the highest standards of academic peer reviewing. Please send contact information and a short statement of interest regarding either one or both (submission and reviewer team membership) to me (jscholl(a)u.washington.edu) Thank you! For further details please see http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/CfP_AMIS_e_Gov.html Since EG is a relatively new domain of study, the first contribution of this volume is to serve as a springboard and a steward for developing and demonstrating principles, accepted standards, and exemplars of disciplinary (e.g., IS), multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and perhaps transdisciplinary EG. The second envisioned contribution of this volume would aim at sharpening and accentuating the various topical orientations within EG through review and representation of unique and exemplary research contributions. The third (and implicit) contribution of this volume would lie in furthering the development of a worldwide academic scholarship in EG. For this volume theoretical, empirical, quantitative, or qualitative research contributions are sought. Inquiries are welcome regarding any submission- or review-related question. Please send your inquiries and submissions electronically to Dr. Hans J Scholl AMIS EG Volume Editor University of Washington jscholl(a)u.washington.edu The deadline for submitting a manuscript to the AMIS volume on EG is September 30, 2007. However, we encourage you to submit your manuscript earlier and will send it out for review immediately upon receipt. Again, please find further details under http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/CfP_AMIS_e_Gov.html AMIS Volume on E-Government (Call for Chapters/Call for Reviewers)

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Internet access in Colombia
by Hernando Rojas 27 Sep '06

27 Sep '06

Dear all Partnering with a Colombian University I have just finished fielding a survey (July) that looks broadly at communication and political participation in the Colombian context. The raw data will be made available to interested researchers early next year, but for now I thought I would post some descriptor of Internet access and use. This face to face survey used random sampling techniques, and resulted in 1009 completed responses that represent the URBAN population of Colombia (75% of the Colombian population). Have Internet access: 35% Digital divide: Small now in terms of gender (55% males), but very big in terms of income and formal education. Most frequent use: Email (83%) Other uses: News (53%) Commenting news online (22%) Responding to blogs (4%) Online discussion forums (11%) Seeking political info in the past presidential election (17%) If you are interested in the data send me email (to me not to the list) and when it becomes available I will send it to you. Best, Hernando _____________________________________ Hernando Rojas Assistant Professor Department of Life Sciences Communication University of Wisconsin - Madison 440 Henry Mall Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Phone: 608 262 7791

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Dissertation Fellowship Program 2007-2008
by David M Silver 27 Sep '06

27 Sep '06

The University of San Francisco invites applications from underrepresented ethnic minority scholars for the USF Dissertation Fellowship Program for academic year 2007-2008. Program: Scholars complete the dissertation and initiate an ongoing program of scholarly or creative work, and become familiar with the usual service responsibilities of a university faculty member. Scholars teach one course in the discipline each semester and serve the University in various capacities. The Program provides a stipend of $32,000 and limited support for relocation and research-related expenses. Additional support includes office space, computer and library privileges. Qualifications: Scholars are members of one of the following groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, or American Indians and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Candidates must have completed all course work leading to the doctorate by summer 2007 and must be considering a career in college teaching. We are searching in the following field: College of Arts and Sciences: Media Studies. Applicants should submit a letter of application (indicating area of expertise), curriculum vitae, transcripts, dissertation prospectus, brief description of research plans, evidence of teaching ability (including student evaluations), and three letters of recommendation to: Gerardo Marín, Ph.D., Associate Provost Dissertation Scholars Search University of San Francisco 2130 Fulton Street, LM Rossi 4th floor San Francisco, CA 94117-1080 Complete applications must be received by January 15, 2007 to ensure full consideration. The University of San Francisco is a Jesuit Catholic university founded in 1855 to educate leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to work in a culturally diverse environment and to contribute to the mission of the University. USF is an Equal Opportunity Employer dedicated to affirmative action and to excellence through diversity. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities upon request. david silver department of media studies university of san francisco http://silverinsf.blogspot.com

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Call for Chapter Proposal: Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication
by Rosanna Tarsiero 27 Sep '06

27 Sep '06

<<BEGIN CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS>> Call for Chapters for the Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication Editors: Sigrid Kelsey, Louisiana State University and Kirk St.Amant, Texas Tech University Introduction: Technology has changed communication drastically in recent years. Podcasts, Email, the World Wide Web, Blackberries, cell phones, text messaging, wireless connections, and other forms of computer mediated communication (CMC) have transformed communication in numerous ways, not only facilitating the speed and sometimes ease of communicating, but redefining and shaping today's communication norms. The Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication will provide comprehensive coverage of the most important current issues, trends, and technologies related to professional computer mediated communication. Topics and Purpose: The Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication will feature chapters (5000- 7000 words) of a scholarly nature, written by experts offering in-depth descriptions of concepts, issues, and trends in various areas of CMC. The purpose of this handbook is to provide academic articles, each focusing on a specific topic, rather than a general treatment of CMC, keeping in mind a readership with a varied background. This book will explore various forms of CMC chapter by chapter and discuss the broad implications that each medium is having on communication. Recommended topics include, but are not limited to: - Email - Web Sites, web pages - Blackberries - Podcasts, RSS - Chatrooms - Instant messaging - Text messaging - Cell phones - Corporate blogging (may mention implications of personal blogging in the workplace) - Digital divide - File sharing, peer to peer networking - Online forums - Computer mediated collaboration - Wikis - Historical aspects of CMC - Effects of CMC on research participation - Web Design and visual CMC Submission Procedure: Individuals interested in submitting chapters should submit a chapter proposal of one single-spaced page on or before September 30, 2006 to Sigrid Kelsey at sigridkelsey(a)gmail.com (Rich Text Format or Microsoft Word is acceptable). The proposal should include the purpose and content of the proposed chapter and how the proposed chapter relates to the overall objectives of the book. Upon acceptance of their proposals, authors will have until December 31, 2006, to prepare their chapters of 5000-7000 words. Guidelines for preparing chapters will be sent upon acceptance of proposals. This book is tentatively scheduled for publishing by Idea Group Reference (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.), www.ideagroup-ref.com, in 2008. <<END CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS>> |\ _,,,---,,_ /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ |,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-' '---''(_/--' `-'\_)

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Pew Internet Evolution Survey II
by Richard Forno 27 Sep '06

27 Sep '06

FYI, was just released.... The Future of the Internet II 9/24/2006 http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/188/report_display.asp

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Wikipedia project meeting
by Alex Halavais 26 Sep '06

26 Sep '06

It appears I managed to double-book the short Thursday lunch; I was already promised to another group for a meeting. However, I do hope that if you have an interest in being part of the peer-review panel, you grab me in person and/or drop me an email. Post conference, we'll get moving on the details of the process. Thanks for all of the interest--and the criticism--so far. For those of you here in Brisbane, here's to another great conference, and for those who couldn't make it this year, I look forward to "seeing" you on AIR-L and at next year's conference. Best, Alex -- -- // // This email is // [X] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais // Social Architect // http://alex.halavais.net //

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Re: [Air-l] groups, intentions and conventions
by William Bain 26 Sep '06

26 Sep '06

Michele Sohn wrote No set agenda - it's water cooler conversation for knowledge workers. And I wonder if this and much of the discourse in the previous thread doesn't address the distinction that's been made on this listserve several times between community and network. The main purpose of any group with set organizing principles or statutes may not be to discuss those principles but inevitably it seems to me they'll sometimes do so. this obviously happens at certain given times (e.g., when they're dividing into subgroups, working groups, merging, breaking up...). It seems to me that there is always a kind of meta-narrative in any group. Is that tribal? Does tribal mean level of technological sophistication? Best regards, William William Bain PhD Student Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Philology Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail.

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FW: Creative Commons workshop - Wednesday 27 September
by Axel Bruns 26 Sep '06

26 Sep '06

G'day ! Dear colleagues, I'm forwarding this on behalf of Nic Suzor, one of the organisers of the Creative Commons pre-conference workshop tomorrow (Wednesday). If you're interested in joining this workshop (or the Humanities Online or Mobile Learning workshops, for which some spaces are also still available), you can register on-site at the Hilton or Creative Industries Precinct registration desk from 8 a.m. on Wednesday. Registration costs US$35/A$50, and is payable by cheque or cash. Please remember that all workshops take place in building Z2, mostly on level 3 of the QUT Creative Industries Precinct at Kelvin Grove (corner of Kelvin Grove Rd and Musk Ave): . Doctoral Colloquium: 9am - 4pm. Z2 - 304, Z2 - 305, Z2 - 310 . Mobile Learning: 9am - 12pm. Z2 - 232 . Humanities Online: 9am - 12pm. Z2 - 307 . Creative Commons: 1pm - 4pm. Z2 - 307 . Internationalising Internet Studies: 9am - 4pm. Z2 - 315 . Koala Tour - Meet 9am at the Hilton registration desk The conference reception is in the Glasshouse, on level 4 of Z2. Buses will travel from the Brisbane Hilton to the CI Precinct at 8.30 a.m., 12 noon, and 4 p.m. Looking forward to seeing you all at the conference very soon! > -----Original Message----- > From: nic.suzor(a)gmail.com [mailto:nic.suzor@gmail.com] On > Behalf Of Nic Suzor > Sent: Tuesday, 26 September 2006 14:54 > To: Axel Bruns > Subject: Creative Commons workshop - Wednesday 27 September > > Hi everyone, > > Just a reminder about our Creative Commons pre-conference > workshop we're holding Tomorrow afternoon (1pm, level 3, > building Z2, on the CI Precinct at Kelvin Grove). There are > still some spaces available, and I encourage anyone with an > interest in open access licensing or culture to come along > and participate. You can register on the day if you haven't already. > > Jessica Coates and Nic Suzor from Creative Commons Australia > will be holding a practical and theoretical discussion group, > and are very interested in hearing everyone's ideas and comments. > > Some things we'll be discussing: > * a quick introduction to Creative Commons, the underlying > principles, and its history and rationale > * a quick introduction to the licences, licence generator, > formats, and metadata > * CC and online communities - how CC-licensing changes the > way people interact (spotlight on Flickr and Second Life) > * CC and public institutions - the trend towards open access > in government, education, and public organisations (spotlight > on National Library of Australia and Open Courseware) > * Researchers and open access - the motivations behind and > difficulties with open access licensing research results and data > * Business models - making money from free content > * Problems with open access licensing > > ------------- > > -- > Nic Suzor > nic(a)suzor.com > http://nic.suzor.com/ > 2B5F 5A21 7F3A D38E 99C0 > 7BC4 A2BA 7B79 B7E1 0D1C -- Dr Axel Bruns a.bruns(a)qut.edu.au - http://snurb.info/ Media & Communication Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove, Qld. 4059, Australia Creative Industries Faculty Z2-202, CIP - (07) 3864 5548 Queensland University of Technology CRICOS No.: 00213J

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Re: [Air-l] groups
by Dr. Steve Eskow 25 Sep '06

25 Sep '06

Edward, Your message suggests to me that somewhere in the literature there are attempts to distinguish between a "group," a "team," a "society," an "organization," and so on. Or are these terms used imprecisely in the literature? Another hunch: most of the research and writing on "groups" assumes that "groups" will be meeting in real time and face-to-face for most of their "groupness." Thus the possibibility that much of the research does not fit well or easily such new creations as online assemblages of people such as this one where time and space are used in novel ways. Steve Eskow -----Original Message----- From: Lamoureux, Edward [mailto:ell@bumail.bradley.edu] Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 8:45 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org; drseskow(a)cox.net Subject: groups I don't want to either overstate the obvious or to sound offensive or condescending in any way. It is certainly the case that merely because a topic of study has gotten a lot of attention does not guarantee that the findings there are helpful to everyone in every circumstance. My comments also don't directly refer to whether or not a particular approach or concepts (like Tuckman's work) cross apply/generalize to other (such as online) research contexts. But in general, I'm sort of responding to Steve's question as to the usefulness of the term "group." There are established literatures about group behavior in (just to name a few) psychology, sociology, and communication studies. Each set (and others) have taught us a lot about how groups function. There are a lot of definitions of the term "group," just as there are a lot of definitions of terms such as "communication" or "peace." But I don't take the plethera of definitions, or the interest that they reflect, as evidence in favor of dropping the terms. Most certainly one (or other) definition will be better suited to the particular phenomena at hand for study. But I don't think one gets very far by trying to drop a key taxonomical item. -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org on behalf of Dr. Steve Eskow Sent: Sat 9/23/2006 4:51 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Listserv research Perhaps the term "group" has become too large and vague for any research findings to be useful. Are four men who meet one a month to play poker a "group"? Are the students in the freshman class of the local community college a "group"? Is the Women's Auxiliary of the local Episcopal Church a "group"? Is each chapter of Rotary a "group"? If a taxonomy of "groups" exist, it would be helpful to know about it. If not, such a taxonomy seems needed. Steve Eskow -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Alexander Kuskis Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 4:23 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Listserv research Yet, the reasons for it would be inappropriate to apply Tuckman to a group of online learners are as much as an assumption as it is to say Tuckman would be appropriate. Are the differences between therapy groups and groups of online learners proved? And in which ways? Furthermore, if differences do exists, are they relevant to the aspect(s) that is/are being studied? ------>I make no assumption either way. Tuckman's stages of group formation might or might not be appropriate to online groups. (My own experience and action research indicates that it is not). But before stating that they are, the research needs to be done to prove it. You don't just adopt a F2F group dynamic and apply it to online groups and willy-nilly state that they're the same. Palloff & Pratt (1999) make no claims for having based any of their assertions on research. By the time they write 'Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom' (2001), they state that Tuckman's stages exist for online groups, but not in the order in which Tuckman placed them. And in 'The Virtual Student' (2003) they drop the matter of group formation entirely. But, if you want a model of online group development that is specific to online courses and is based on action research, I suggest the model of Dr. Gilly Salmon: http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/salmonmodel/index.htm . At some point, I will publish my own research on this matter. ................................[snip].................................. ................................. So to get back to the issue, what specifically do you think is the problem in applying Tuckman to groups of online learners? Does it have something to do with the unconventional models they adopt at Fielding? What specifically do you think is the problem in framing group life in terms of cycles/stages? Have you ever thought that the discomfort with models of groups lies into the cultural bias we Westerners have against group and in favor of individualism? Rosanna Tarsiero --------->The problem is that the research needs to be done before making claims of applicability to the online context. Tuckman has been adopted uncritically for both F2F group formation, as well as online. The words "forming, norming, storming, performing" have become a mantra in all kinds of group dynamics literature (just plug them into Google, and you'll see what I mean). But, whatever warrant there is for it F2F, there is none online. I have no idea what models Palloff & Pratt adopt at Fielding. And having taught university courses entirely online for more than 5 years, employing collaborative and learning community strategies, I have no discomfort whatsoever with group learning models. I think that most online instructors recognize that the bias of online learning is towards collaborative and group work, rather than the individualism of classroom learning.........Alex Kuskis _______________________________________________ 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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CFP: World Building: Space and Community: UF Games and Digital Media Conference
by Zach Whalen 24 Sep '06

24 Sep '06

(my apologies for any cross-posting) CFP: World Building: Space and Community: UF Games and Digital Media Conference The University of Florida's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of English are pleased to announce the 2007 UF Conference on Games and Digital Media: "World Building: Space and Community," which will be held in Gainesville, Florida, on March 1-2, 2007, in conjunction with the annual Conference on Comics, which will be March 3-4. This third annual conference on games will focus on the construction of digital worlds, with particular emphasis on the various spatialities of games and other digital media. We are especially interested in spatiality as it is employed in the construction of virtual worlds both in terms of the graphemic representation of game objects, as well as the dual role these spaces perform as both narrative structures and sites of play. We are also interested in spatiality as it relates to the development of social space (including online spaces like World of Warcraft and gaming message boards) as well as the relationship of real-world locations like arcades and game cafes to the play experience. Confirmed speakers include Scott Jennings, senior designer for NCSoft and writer for The Rantings of Lum The Mad and Broken Toys, ARG designer Dave Szulborski, and Nick Montfort, author of Twisty Little Passages and co-editor of the New Media Reader. Possible topics include but are not limited to: · Classic roleplaying games, and their construction of narrative and social spaces. · Narrative eccentricity of gaming worlds (Extra lives, continues, linear level design, etc) · Single-screen games (Pong, Tetris, Popcap's web-based games, etc) · The spaces beyond the screen (Pits, the sky, halls of mirrors, etc) · Constraints of gaming (Forced scrolling, immovable objects, level timers, etc) · Play as narrative advancement (The restriction of game plots to plots that involve frequent breaks for violence) · Human opponents, monsters, and bots · Hints and Advice (Informal social networks and professional help) · Playing together (MMOG clans, hanging out in the basement, and family gaming) · Games as performance (DDR, party games, and speedruns) · Alternative reality games (As social spaces and as worlds "layered" on the real world) · Artificial socities and virtual pets (The Sims, Civilization, and Tamagochi) · Spaces of play (Arcades and gaming cafes) · Representations of three-dimensional spaces on the screen (Old side-scrollers, the fake-3D of Doom, and "true" 3D gaming) · The many failures of virtual reality · Stories in/about gaming (Roleplaying stories, official fiction, historical reenactment) · Competitiveness in gaming (High score lists, tournaments, and professional gaming) · Games on television (Captain Power, the Super Mario Super Show, and G4) · Digital reworkings (Photoshopping, machinima, and fanvids) · Gaming and "geek" culture (Penny Arcade, gaming conventions, the legacy of E3) · Interfaces and the mediation of mediality We also encourage submissions that cross over with the Comics conference, on the topic of "World Building: Seriality and History," particularly those that consider the role of time and space across multiple media. We will also consider two-part submissions on related topics to be presented across the two conferences, and other proposals that push the formal constraints of a conference presentation. Abstract submissions should be approximately 250-500 words in length. Presentations will be 15 minutes with 5 minutes of question and answer. The deadline for abstract submissions is January 1st, 2007. Abstracts should be submitted via the conference website at http://www.english.ufl.edu/worlds . Please direct all questions to sandifer(a)english.ufl.edu.

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