- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Seminar series announcement - Online Learning
by Rebekah Willett 30 Mar '05

30 Mar '05

An exciting seminar series entitled ONLINE LEARNING: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES will be held in May and June at the Institute of Education, University of London. The series is organised by The Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media. Tuesday 3rd May 5.30-7.00, Room 639 Active participation or just more information? Young people's civic uses of the internet Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics Tuesday 17th May 5.30-7.00, Room 639 “Hello newbie! **big welcome hugs** hope u like it here as much as i do!” An exploration of teenagers’ informal on-line learning communities Julia Davies, Sheffield University Tuesday 7th June 5.30-7.00, Room 639 Online/Off-course: Exploring the political and economic construction of the digital curriculum Neil Selwyn, University of Cardiff All seminars are free and open to the public. For more information contact Rebekah Willett (r.willett(a)ioe.ac.uk) For directions to the Institute of Education, see www.ioe.ac.uk There is a map on the home page in the lower left hand corner.

1 0

virtual rape?
by Kathy Mancuso 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

AoIRers, Who writes about virtual rape and sexual harassment other than Julian Dibbell (or people arguing online about the mr bungle case who get their facts from dibbell)? Thanks, Kathy Mancuso University of South Carolina Department of Anthropology -- "Sometimes, I get so sick of fighting. I have to slay the dragons of the myth of heterosexual European [able-bodied] male society in my dreams, then get up in the morning and be an activist . . . What if there really was a level playing field? I would love to see how far I could actually go. What if all I had to show off was my mad skills? Wouldn't I really be able to fly then?" --Margaret Cho Websites for my projects: Anthropologists and labor unions allied: http://AAAUnite.blogspot.com Orphan Films (22-26 March 2006, CFP): http://www.sc.edu/filmsymposium Social software/blogging research (ask for CFP): http://del.icio.us/museumfreak SC Student Anth Conf (CFP): http://www.cas.sc.edu/Anth/events/scconference.htm USC does Britten's War Requiem: April 19, 7:30, Koger Center

5 5

book announcement
by Ulla Bunz 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

Upon request I'm forwarding the following. Ulla CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTERS Submission Deadline: April 30, 2005 User-Centered Evaluation and Online Communities A book edited by: Niki Lambropoulos, Intelligenesis Consultancy, London, UK Dr. Panayiotis Zaphiris, Centre for HCI Design, City University, London, UK http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~zaphiri/Announcements/communities-book.html -- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901

1 0

PhD course announcement at IT University of Copenhagen
by T.L. Taylor 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

Hi folks. I will be hosting a PhD course at the IT University of Copenhagen on June 2-4 entitled "Mundane Technologies: The Structures and Practice of Everyday Use". The guest lecturers for it will be Lucy Suchman and Nina Wakeford. The course will explore the intersections between the structures of use embedded in technologies (be it physical configurations or software and architectures) and the actual practices that circulate through them. Rather than taking technological artifacts at face value, this course will examine 1) the embedded values, social & political configurations, and use-orientations within a technology (normative orientations) and 2) the intervening ways actual use is constructed, contested, and negotiated. The course will take up the notion of the "imagined user" and draw on work that seeks to understand the (at times messy) co-construction of technology and everyday users. Additionally, consideration will be given to methodological orientations that foster research exploring this relationship. The course will include students from a variety of fields, including those doing work on computer gaming, CSCW, Ubicomp, and internet studies to name a few. Students will focus on exploring - through the readings and reflections on their own research - the intersections between systems, values, and practices. Despite divergent objects of study (across several research departments), the goal of the course is to create a venue for some shared inquiry into the normative aspects of systems and the intervening everyday use of technological artifacts. Space is limited and applications are required. Check out http://www1.itu.dk/sw29224.asp for more details (ECTS will likely be 5 if a paper is submitted and a lesser amount if not). TL -- ___________________________________ T.L. Taylor, Associate Professor Center for Computer Games Research Dept. of Digital Aesthetics and Communication IT University of Copenhagen Rued Langgaards Vej 7, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark +45 7218 5035 (tele) / +45 7218 5001 (fax) tltaylor(a)itu.dk / http://www.itu.dk/~tltaylor/

1 0

universal ethics?
by Charles Ess 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

Hi all, Radhika wrote in response to Peter T. PT >> If there are universal ethics we can prove these on the Internet. > > RG> whose ethics will be universalised do you suppose? and what kinds of > intolerances might that validate/legitimize? > Exactly the right questions - thank you, Radhika! And I would gently reply: I think we can propose an ethics that begins in part with the universal value implicit in the suggestion here that "universal" claims have all too often in the past served as excuses for colonialism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression and violence - namely, that tolerance for Others (those whose identities, views, and practices may differ radically from our own) and affiliated presumptions of human equality should be endorsed exactly as the bases for criticizing claims to universality that instead led to colonialism, etc. I would add: this tolerance is not unlimited. Rather, I think it's quite possible to endorse tolerance as a universal value - but not thereby be committed to tolerating, say, fascist regimes and violent repression of women and minorities. On the contrary, by proposing that rights to integrity, autonomy, cultural identity, and so forth are, at the very least, strong candidates for universal rights (and their attendant obligations) - such universal rights and values provide precisely the grounds for criticizing earlier "universal" claims affiliated with colonialism, etc., as well as for criticizing contemporary expressions of violence and intolerance of "the Other". My (admittedly characteristic mid-Western [North American]) optimism on this point is fueled in part precisely by the success of the AoIR ethical guidelines. Admittedly, while our ethics working committee included members from Malaysia and Thailand, the background for the guidelines were largely derived from "Western" countries such as the U.S., the E.U., Scandinavia, and the U.K. Nonetheless, the guidelines are reported to us as being used in apparently effective ways in an increasing range of cultural venues. Moreover, my more recent work (with the help, I must hasten to add, of many, many colleagues in these domains) on Information Ethics and Internet Research Ethics in countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea also offer grounds for optimism. For example, two recent examples of Internet research in Japan demonstrate more or less perfect consonance with the AoIR guidelines recommendations regarding informed consent, protection of confidentiality, anonymity, and personal data, etc. Indeed, emerging conceptions of privacy and data privacy protection law in these countries - while clearly retaining distinctive cultural shape in their conception and application - are nonetheless recognizable cousins of "Western" conceptions and laws. This suggests that even across the considerable cultural differences, say, between the U.S. and Germany, on the one hand, and China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, and Hong Kong, on the other - there may be agreement on basic (universal?) values such as privacy, while at the same time recognizing the validity of clearly different implementations and understandings of what data privacy protection means in practice in each country, as shaped by very different cultural backgrounds, histories, and traditions. This is not to say that all cultural differences and resulting conflicts can be deftly side-stepped through such pluralism (I have examples of these as well). But I do think that universal values may be discerned - in part, through an on-going dialogue that works to critically assess any such putative values, precisely with a critical eye towards how any such values might in fact work in oppressive rather than liberating ways. Indeed, I think we make more progress towards some sort of shared, humane value system_s_ and ethics through such dialogues, rather than giving up the effort, however much previous failures and disasters might tempt us to do so. I _dont_ take Radhikas point to encourage such temptation but wanted to offer these comments. Hope this helps in some way. All the best in the meantime, Charles Ess Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA voice: (1) 417-873-7230 fax: (1) 417-873-7435 homepage: www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html "The world can provide for everyone's needs - but not for everyone's greed." - Gandhi

4 6

jesse jackson -- digital divide
by Barry Wellman 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

He sure didn't invent the term, digital divide, but Jesse Jackson did much to popularize it in the mid-late 1990s. 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 _____________________________________________________________________

1 0

FW: Announcing EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative
by Richard Forno 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

Lauren is one of the few voices of reason on issues related to DRM and content control.....and privacy, and injecting sanity into the technology debate, etc, etc, etc. Highly recommend checking this site out. -rick Infowarrior.org ------- Original message ------- From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren(a)vortex.com> Sent: 25/3/'05, 12:02 I'm pleased to announce "EEPI" ( http://www.eepi.org ), a new initiative aimed at fostering cooperation in the areas of electronic entertainment and its many associated issues, problems, and impacts. I've teamed with 30+ year recording industry veteran Thane Tierney in this effort to find cooperative solutions to technical, legal, policy, and other issues relating to the vast and growing range of electronic technologies that are crucial to the entertainment industry, but that also impact other industries, interest groups, individuals, and society in major ways. There are many interested parties, including record labels, film studios, the RIAA, the MPAA, artists, consumers, intellectual freedom advocates, broadcasters, manufacturers, legislators, regulators, and a multitude of others. The issues cover an enormous gamut from DVDs, CDs, and piracy issues to multimedia cell phones, from digital video recorders to Internet file sharing/P2P, from digital TV and the "broadcast flag" to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and "fair use" controversies. By working together, rather than fighting each other, perhaps we can all find some broadly acceptable paths that will be of benefit to everyone. For more information, please see the EEPI Web site at: http://www.eepi.org A moderated public discussion list and an EEPI announcement list are now available at the site. Public participation is cordially invited. Thank you very much. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren(a)pfir.org or lauren(a)vortex.com or lauren(a)eepi.org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com ------ End of Forwarded Message

4 3

Re: Inventor of the term "Digital Divide"?
by M. Deanya Lattimore 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

Hi Laurent! > Anyone got an idea who was the original inventor of the term "Digital > Divide"? Access Denied at http://www1.soc.american.edu/students/ij/co_3/digitaldivide/history.htm says that the origins of the term remain "shrouded in mystery" and suggests via Benjamin Companie's new book that Lloyd Morrisset might have created it, but again, there is dispute. As you point out, they report that Irving says that "I am certain I stole the term, but I am not certain who I stole it from." :-) Deanya http://www.deanya.com/ On Saturday, March 26, 2005, at 03:09 PM, air-l-aoir.org-request(a)listserv.aoir.org wrote: > Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 03:21:54 +0100 > From: Laurent Straskraba <laurent(a)straskraba.net> > Subject: [Air-l] Inventor of the term "Digital Divide"? > To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org > Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20050326032047.02025168(a)mail.straskraba.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > Hi, > > I read about the first time using the term "Digital Divide" it was in > NTIA > documents of 1994. Here is a reference: > http://www.tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/pinkett.html > > Morino Institute says it was Larry Irving (3rd paragraph): > http://www.morino.org/divides/bio_irving.htm > > BUT Larry Irving said it was not him who invented the term, he just > used it > a lot in high-level policy circles. So he was credited for > popularizing it > with politicians, but he did not invent it. He said he has no idea > where it > came from. > > Anyone got an idea who was the original inventor of the term "Digital > Divide"? > > --- > Mag. Laurent Straskraba > Information Society Researcher > > post: Ontlstrasse 3, A - 4040 Linz, Austria / Europe > mobile: +43.650.7711861 (GMT +1) > e-mail: laurent(a)straskraba.net > web: http://www.straskraba.net > ---

2 1

Jonathan Zittrain appointed to new professorship at the Oxford Internet Institute
by William Dutton 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

On behalf of my colleagues at the Oxford Internet Institute, I am pleased to announce the election of Jonathan Zittrain to Oxford University's new Professorship of Internet Governance and Regulation. For more information, see: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news/releases/OIIPress_Zittrain_20050316.pdf Professor William H. Dutton, Director Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford 1 St. Giles' Oxford OX1 3JS United Kingdom http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk

1 0

RE: Air-l-aoir.org Digest, Vol 8, Issue 35
by Axel Bruns 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

G'day ! Lee Jeng Hoon wrote: > I am looking for some academic literature that analyzes blogging or > bloggers. As many claim, bloggers show significant social impacts. > Especially, recent journalistic functions generate much concerns and > interests. Apologies in advance for the shameless self-promotion, but my forthcoming book Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production covers the field of news-related blogging in some detail. It's currently in proofreading, but should be out on Peter Lang later this year (in time for the AoIR conference in Chicago, I would hope :-). There's some preview information about the book on my Website at http://snurb.info/index.php?q=node/28. Also, my colleague Joanne Jacobs and I have just begun work on a book project which will cover a broad range of current key uses for blogs. That one should be out by 2006. Again, some preview information is up at http://snurb.info/index.php?q=node/158. -- 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

1 0