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by csandvig＠uiuc.edu 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Dear AoIR colleagues, There are still a few spaces available for this but they are going fast. It would be great to fill up the vans so I am posting this to AoIR both because (1) it would be great to completely fill up the vans so that we will break even and (2) the title of this workshop was misprinted on the registration page -- the actual title may interest you if the misprinted title did not. Please feel free to forward. See you in Chicago, Christian -- http://www.niftyc.org/ ********************************************************** A Guided Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum in Chicago: Wireless Internet Mapping and Visualization 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 5th *** $40 materials fee to pay for vans/handouts *** A Preconference Workshop of the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). (Register: http://conferences.aoir.org/index.php?cf=3 ) Description: When Internet researchers study what people do with the Internet, they usually do so by asking questions (in a survey or interview), arranging to watch users (via observation or ethnography), or looking up aggregate statistics about use (e.g., from sales figures or representative surveys conducted by others). Recent wireless Internet technology (like 802.11a/b/g, a.k.a. "Wireless Fidelity" or "Wi-Fi") allows a very different approach. Rather than asking users questions about their use of wireless Internet, researchers can sample the electromagnetic spectrum directly, gathering data and producing visualizations of wireless Internet use. In terms of older technologies, this is like counting telephone poles instead of surveying telephone users. Visualizations are being produced by Internet diffusion researchers (such as the Public Internet Project in New York), professors who teach about the Internet (the University of Washington Wi-Fi map of Seattle), hobbyists (wifimaps.com) artists and provocateurs (Yury Gitman), and activists hoping to draw attention to both the "digital divide" (the Pioneer warwalking competition in Austria) and the commercialization of the Internet in public spaces (Newbury Open.Net’s WarCar). However, this area remains new enough that the published research about these techniques or the results from them is still scarce (e.g., Byers & Kormann, 2003; Sandvig, 2004). Data produced using these methods allow researchers to locate 802.11b/g wireless Internet connectivity and record characteristics of wireless Internet "access points" and devices connected to them. These methods can measure the number of users, amount of traffic, speed, signal strength, and security settings. Location data can then be linked to satellite imagery, street maps, Census data, land use databases, and other geographic data sources. Here is a simple example map from a common mapping program, kismet: http://pactlab.spcomm.uiuc.edu/sidney.png In the last four years, the technology required to produce complex maps of wireless Internet signals has become relatively inexpensive. This has led to widespread interest in the surveying, mapping and visualization of Internet access and data from the electromagnetic spectrum. In this workshop, we will explain how to obtain data about wireless Internet use by using handheld or portable computers to sample wireless signals. After an initial orientation, this workshop will board vans and "tour" the electromagnetic spectrum in selected neighborhoods of Chicago, actually producing maps of wireless Internet use. We then hope to initiate a thoughtful and interactive discussion of how researchers and activists can use these data in their projects. This will include discussion of the collection, analysis, visualization, ethics, limitations, costs, pedagogical value, and application of these methods. These methods may be useful for many different purposes, studying technology deployment, penetration and diffusion (Rogers, 1995) but advancing studies of diffusion by employing geographic methods (see Zhang, Fan, & Kai, 2002), and investigating the interaction of the Internet with space (Grubesic, 2002) and representing the Internet using maps (Dodge & Kitchin, 2000; 2001). It is here that these methods are likely to be the most revolutionary. Combining these methods with documentary photography (Hall & Sandvig, 2004) and/or ethnography, it is possible to add context to a research project using a more traditional method. Finally, these methods have been provocatively used to produce art and activism, where a great deal of effort has been spent developing compelling maps and visualizations. No technical knowledge is required to participate in this workshop, however, familiarity with (or a willingness to learn) Linux and advanced GIS software will be helpful. More advanced practitioners are also very welcome. We will demonstrate and discuss Netstumbler, Kismet, GeoDA, and ArcGIS. This workshop is based on a mapping project funded by the US National Science Foundation where researchers tested different mapping solutions and developed workarounds for sources of error and customizations to improve our geographic analyses and visualizations. This is a four and a half hour workshop that includes a substantial break. Schedule: 1. Orientation session and opening discussion. (60 minutes) 2. Off-site mapping expedition and spectrum tour using one or two 15-passenger university motor pool "Sprinter" vans equipped with antennas and on-board video screens to display laptop computer output. (45 minutes) 3. Vans stop for break at location convenient to mapping site. (30 minutes) 4. Off-site mapping expedition resumes. (45 minutes) 5. Closing discussion of applications, analyses, and other issues. (60 minutes) (Total time 4:00) All equipment will be provided. However, a materials fee is required to defray the cost of fuel, van rental, and color duplication of maps (for handouts). Participation is limited to ten (one van) or twenty participants (two vans), depending on interest. Presenters: Christian Sandvig (organizer) Department of Speech Communication University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dave Chan Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Elizabeth Lyon Department of Geography University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Siddhartha Raja Department of Speech Communication University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rajiv Shah Department of Communication University of Illinois, Chicago Questions? e-mail Christian Sandvig (csandvig(a)uiuc.edu)

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[bms-rc33] Meeting - Internet, International Relations & Political Science (14-16 Sep Zurich CH)
by Barry Wellman 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

social network and internet stuff, with a peek at Smiley's People. fyi Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 22:52:22 +0200 (CEST) From: bms(a)iresco.fr To: BMS RC33 <bms-rc33(a)services.cnrs.fr> Subject: [bms-rc33] Meeting - Internet, International Relations & Political Science (14-16 Sep Zurich CH) 15th Annual EINIRAS Conference The Evolution of the Internet and the Study of International Relations and Political Science 14-16 September 2005 Zurich, Switzerland ETH Main Building, Room HG GEP. PROGRAM Wednesday 14 September 2:00pm - Close EINIRAS Task Group Meetings Thursday 15 September 09:30 - 09:45 Welcome from Victor Mauer, Deputy Director of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) and Thomas Hodel, General Manager of the International Relations and Network (ISN) 09:45 - 10:45 From Lenin to Hedgehog Heavyweights and Foxy Artists: Social Network Analysis' Political Past and Scientific Future Dr. Karl M. van Meter, Member of the LASMAS and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, France 10:45 - 11:15 Coffee break 11:15 - 12:15 The Convergence of Information and Technology Uwe Sujata, Leader, Library System (NEBIS), ETH Bibliothek 12:15 - 13:15 The Semantic Web Dr. Erik Wilde, Computer Engineering and Networks Laboratory (TIK), ETH Zurich 13:15 - 14:30 Lunch at the ETH Dozentenfoyer 14:30 - 15:15 The ISN: Managing Information, Sharing Knowledge Chris Pallaris, ISN Chief Editor 15:15 - 15:30 Coffee Break 15:30 - 16:30 EINIRAS Task Group Reports 16:30 - 17:30 EINIRAS Member Institute Projects 19:30 Official Conference Dinner at the Restaurant Neumarkt, Neumarkt 5, 8001 Zürich Friday 16 September 09:30 - 10:30 Keynote Address: The Evolution of the Internet and the Study of IR and Political Science Steven Weber, Professor and Director of the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley 10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break 11:00 - 12:00 The Googlization of Everything: Electronic Text and the Sustainability of Electronic Resources Professor Siva Vaidyanathan, New York University 12:00 - 13:00 Interleaving Paper and Digital Documents Professor Moira Norrie, Head of the Institute of Information Systems, ETH Zurich 13:00 - 14:30 Lunch at the ETH Dozentenfoyer 14:30 - 15:30 [Title to be confirmed] Professor Richard Rogers, Director, govcom.org 15:30 - 16.00 Coffee break 16:00 - 17:00 Information Management in the Private Sector Albert Zaretskie, Senior Information Specialist, Swiss RE 17:00 Close of Conference *************************************************************************** *Karl M. van Meter BMS, Bulletin de Methodologie Sociologique * vanmeter(a)iresco.fr (Bulletin of Sociological Methodology) * tel/fax 33 (0)1 40 51 85 19 bms(a)iresco.fr * http://www.iresco.fr/revues/bms/Welcome.htm * distribution list bms-rc33(a)services.cnrs.fr * LASMAS-CNRS RC33, Research Committee Logic & * 59 rue Pouchet Methodology of the International * 75017 Paris, France Sociological Association (ISA) * rc33-isa(a)wanadoo.fr ***************************************************************************

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Fwd: Katrina -- one week after
by Jeremy Hunsinger 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Distribute as appropriate: Begin forwarded message: > From: Wesley Shrum <shrum(a)lsu.edu> > Date: September 6, 2005 12:52:05 PM EDT > To: 'jeremy hunsinger' <jhuns(a)vt.edu> > Subject: Katrina -- one week after > . > **** > > On Sept 5, one week after Katrina, a team of ten people conducted > qualitative interviews in the parking lot with approximately 50 > displaced > persons at a central Baton Rouge location. Afterwards, we met for > a couple > of hours, to abstract a consensus view of what we had learned. It is > important to keep in mind that we spoke with individuals with some > mobility > (own car, other’s car, bus) that had been displaced by Hurricane > Katrina and > we have not yet interviewed those living in collective shelters. > > --The vast majority are from the New Orleans metropolitan area > (including > Kenner, Metairie, Chalmette, but not the New Orleans North Shore or > Plaquemines). The vast majority of displaced persons are staying > in private > homes. > > --The further one goes away from hurricane areas, the more, the > better, and > the quicker is the assistance (people came back to Baton Rouge > because they > want to be closer to home, even in spite of reduced assistance). > > --Crime and fear of crime was universally unobserved or > insignificant, both > for early and late evacuees. > > --Blacks are more committed to returning home to New Orleans than > whites, > who express more reservations about returning (note, this does not > take into > account social class). > > --Displaced people have received assistance from (in order of > importance), > family, friends, and strangers. Churches have helped. Public > (government) > assistance was not just negligible—no member of the team recalled any > instance of government assistance reported by this group of > individuals (in > the rare cases where help was requested, it was not provided). > > --Most people consider themselves to be very lucky, doing well, or > doing > reasonably well given the circumstances. They are not requesting > assistance > (beyond that they are receiving, and some of the most fortunate > have their > own means). But the minority of persons who are not doing well > DESPERATELY > NEED HELP. > > --The main concerns are financial, for a place to stay, and > education for > their children. > > Put simply, depending on how long before they move back (if they > do), people > are worried that they will wear out their residential welcome. > > Summarized by W. Shrum, 5 September 2005 > http://worldsci.net World Summit event in Tunisia > http://worldsci.net/global Science & Development Project site > http://4sonline.net Society for Social Studies of Science > http://www.lsu.edu/sociology > > Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Association of Internet Researchers

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Gulf Coast Disaster
by Lois Ann Scheidt 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

I am curious those of you that are teaching this semester, are you using what is happening along the U.S. coastline in your teaching this week? If so how? Thanks for the information. Lois Ann Scheidt Doctoral Student - School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington IN USA Future Faculty Teaching Fellow (2005-2006) - School of Informatics, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis IN USA Webpage: http://www.loisscheidt.com Blog: http://www.professional-lurker.com

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Supporting AoIR's systems
by Jeremy Hunsinger 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

A few days ago our president elect Matt Allen posted a call for volunteers for AoIR to take over the jobs that Charlie and I have been performing for the last few years. I suggest that if you have any inclination in the arena of unix-based systems, web design, list management, etc. that you volunteer, it is a great way to get involved with AoIR and you will be appreciated for the work that you do. for me, working in this capacity in AoIR has been an enjoyable and rewarding professional and academic experience. It also should be said that as members of the executive committee, that both position have voting rights and can voice their opinions on a myriad of issues involving the future of AoIR. Matt's posting said: Dear Air-listers Having just elected a new executive, it is now time to seek expressions of interest from members (or people who will become members) to serve as the Systems Administrator and Systems Manager for AoIR. Formally, "the Systems Administrator is responsible for the association's technical systems on which its Web site, e-mail list and other means of Internet communication operate. The Systems Manager is responsible for the content and appearance of the association's Web site and other means of Internet communication (except its e-mail lists)." (by-laws). However the exact split in responsibilities will depend on who we appoint and what skills/ interests they have. Both of the current, wonderful people doing these jobs - Jeremy Hunsinger and Charlie Briendahl - are moving on to other things and we will miss them dearly for all the great work they have done for AoIR. However, it is also a new beginning, allowing others the chance to become involved. These two officers will be appointed by the executive and are full members of the executive. Here are the kind of skills we are looking for General Skills: Server maintenance; SSH and Unix command line; Ability to work with remote support; Current System Specific Skills: Dreamhost Panel and linux via ssh including: Mailman -Mailing Lists; SMTP/POP/IMAP Email System; jabber server; php/mysql WWW apps. Skills in managing email lists, dealing with interfaces such as that used for the AoiR website etc We use the following installed web systems Open Conference System; Mediawiki; Drupal; Forums Ability to: troubleshoot php/mysql; install and upgrade web applications; to read and troubleshoot SQL and database systems. For further information, and to express an interest in these two positions, please email m.allen(a)curtin.edu.au . Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.aoir.org The Association of Internet Researchers

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100 Billion Texts Sent in the UK
by Alla Genkina 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

Dear Aoir: I first spotted this: http://www.text.it/mediacentre/default.asp?intPageId=847 interesting report on the Smart Mobs blog, and thought it was relevent to the list and might be helpful to someone's research. Here is a small snipet, "July 2005 marks another major text messaging milestone. Just as we spend 100 billion annually on food, there are 100 billion neurons in the average human brain and 100 billion stars make up the Milky Way Galaxy, we have now sent more than 100 billion text messages in the UK." Sincerely, Alla Genkina

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Re: ssage: an Ess-ian Q: when does the personal becomes public?
by stuszyn＠bgnet.bgsu.edu 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

>Jeremy Hunsinger jhuns at vt.edu >Mon Sep 5 10:32:31 PDT 2005 >therefor, i think people should always tell people when things are >meant to be private or held in confidence, otherwise you have to >expect people to interpret the situation on their perceptions. So, in other words, none of us has any expectation of privacy whatsoever, unless we make a disclaimer at the start of a every single interaction? That seems like a fast way to break down all communication in a society. If I have to preface every single interaction, face to face or not, with "this is private so don't quote me or repeat this to anyone" people who I talk to are going to think I've become so paranoid as to be completely non-functional. A dinner table conversation is a private interaction between the people at the table. Yes, it's in a public space and there are (or can be) more than two people involved and yes, other people who are not supposed to be hearing the conversation can overhear it. But they know that's "eavesdropping" and not something they are intended to be hearing. Everyone in that restaurant knows that what they overhear from another table is a conversation they are not supposed to be hearing and aren't part of, and, one assumes, even if they repeated it later, they would be unable to repeat with names attached since they are outside of what was a private interaction. Apparently in this case someone at the actual dinner table in question missed the memo. To take the contents of that dinner conversation and put it in a blog is rather like going around not just to every table in that one restaurant but a whole bunch of restaurants advertising what was formerly a conversation between a limited number of people and giving their names out. It takes something confined to a specific sphere of interaction (with the requisite expectations of that sphere) and puts it on a stage, altering the expectations entirely. I've seen a number of issues lately on various blogs regarding linking to other blog discussions and what happens when a post that, while open to the public, is suddenly thrust into the spotlight by being linked and garners a lot of attention. When the author is completely unprepared for it, the results have in every case been not pretty. The authors have no apparent defense because they were speaking in public, but the fact that their expectation was different from the reality doesn't seem to justify for a lot of people their discomfort. In other words, this is an issue spreading far and wide beyond just academics worried that every conversation they have could suddenly become a matter of record. Stephanie Tuszynski ----- "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. It has no survival value. Rather, it is one of the things that give value to survival." --C.S. Lewis.

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Re: Comparision Web pages with blogs
by Kaye Trammell 06 Sep '05

06 Sep '05

For studies doing direct comparisons of Web pages & blogs, try also: Trammell, K.D., Williams, A.P., Postelnicu, M., & Landreville, K.D. (2005). ?Evolution of online campaigning: Increasing interactivity in candidate Web sites and blogs through text and technical features.? Mass Communication and Society, forthcoming. Williams, A.P., Trammell, K.D., Postelnicu, M., Landreville, K.D., & Martin, J.D. (2005). ?Blogging and hyperlinking: Use of the Web to enhance viability during 2004 U.S. campaigns.? Journalism Studies, 6 (2), 177 ? 186. Kaye ____________________________________ Kaye Trammell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Manship School of Mass Communication 212 Hodges Hall Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803-7202 trammell(a)lsu.edu Office 225/578-7380 Fax 225/578-2125

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an Ess-ian Q: when does the personal becomes public?
by Barry Wellman 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

Every once in a while, I Google recent and high page-ranking references to me. I was surprised when I did this recently to find my name mentioned in two blogs: -- A purported quotation from me from a dinner table conversation a few years ago. -- A side comment that I purportedly made to the blogger who claims to be sitting next to me at another conference. This has gotten me to thinking. 1. Is it ethical to publish private conversations without the speaker's approval? 2. Or has the nature of networked community become such that just as the public has become personal, the personal has become public? Secret police types would concurr: If you have nothing to hide, why worry? But I have had enough experiences in America, China, Russia and Bulgaria to know I don't want to live that way. And neither do my friends who have lived in these countries. Surely there is a matter of private discourse among friends and colleagues. Or has blogging by scholars merged with gossip columns? My own feeling is that my papers, lectures and perhaps even public conference utterances are publishable. My side comments over dinner and in informal groups are not -- unless I explicitly agree. Or am I just an old fuddy-duddy who doesn't understand the new world of blogs -- even those by scholars? Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________

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expectations at a conference
by Barry Wellman 05 Sep '05

05 Sep '05

I'm glad that I started such an interesting debate. But Jeremy, I don't believe you really think that every utterance at the AOIR should be treated as a public utterance, even if 1:1 over coffee or sitting next to each other at a session, or 1:dinner table at banquet. I know you and I have had chats that should remain just that: chats. Moreover, I don't believe that we should warn everyone when we speak informally that netiquette means that you can't publish what I said. I will not go around and get waivers at every coffee break, nor will I expect bloggers to wear cautionary yellow armbands. While I am at it: Note that the custom of archiving listservs has bifurcated email. There is private email -- which is tacky to pass around, altho almost all of us do some of this with discretion -- and there is publicly accessible email -- such as this archived list that is available to all on the web. While archiving is valuable to go bck and get some info on conferences and bon mots, I often wonder if: the potential for harm from indiscriminate comments is greater than the gain. archiving holds back some frank discussion. Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________

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