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Lisa Messeri's new book, In the Land of the Unreal
by Ilana Gershon 08 Mar '24

08 Mar '24

Dear Colleagues, CaMP anthropology blog is so pleased to announce that Lisa Messeri's book has just been released. We are celebrating In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angeles with an interview conducted by Stefan Helmreich. You can find the interview here: campanthropology.org Best, Ilana Press blurb: In the mid-2010s, a passionate community of Los Angeles-based storytellers, media artists, and tech innovators formed around virtual reality (VR), believing that it could remedy society’s ills. Lisa Messeri offers an ethnographic exploration of this community, which conceptualized VR as an “empathy machine” that could provide glimpses into diverse social realities. She outlines how, in the aftermath of #MeToo, the backlash against Silicon Valley, and the turmoil of the Trump administration, it was imagined that VR—if led by women and other marginalized voices—could bring about a better world. Messeri delves into the fantasies that allowed this vision to flourish, exposing the paradox of attempting to use a singular VR experience to mend a fractured reality full of multiple, conflicting social truths. She theorizes this dynamic as unreal, noting how dreams of empathy collide with reality’s irreducibility to a “common” good. With *In the Land of the Unreal*, Messeri navigates the intersection of place, technology, and social change to show that technology alone cannot upend systemic forces attached to gender and race.

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WEBCAST MAR 8 – ISOC Alumni International Women’s Day Virtual Workshop – Pioneering Routes: Inspiring Stories of Women on the Internet
by Joly MacFie 08 Mar '24

08 Mar '24

Happy International Women's Day! REAL TIME TEXT https://bit.ly/3TsIkza [image: ISOC LIVE] <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=20a707e1e0e1cb386fc5eb4…> On *Friday March 8 2024* at *14:00 UTC* the *Internet Society Alumni Network <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=aa4153dfe64814705f24334…>* will celebrate *International Women's Day <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=d3eb8c26c7e268895baff69…>* with a Virtual Workshop "*Pioneering Routes: Inspiring Stories of Women on the Internet <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=221f96df5ad90d8f7e9a06a…>*" where *Internet Hall of Fame <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=6ff252600a0b1095079811c…>* inductees Elise Gerich, Yvonne Marie Andres, and Jean Armour Polly will seek to inspire and empower young women from the Alumni Network through their experiences as Internet pioneers, personal anecdotes that highlight their journey, challenges and successes in the Internet sector. *SPEAKERS* *Elise Gerich -* Director Of Business Development, NoviFlow Inc / Co-founder, NANOG *Yvonne Marie Andres* - Founding Executive Director, Global SchoolNet *Jean Armour Polly* - Net-mom *LIVESTREAM https://livestream.com/internetsociety/isoc-alumni-womens-day-2024 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=d425060d0bcc8a70701e9ec…>* *PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM https://bit.ly/48KBb1t <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=221f96df5ad90d8f7e9a06a…>* *REAL TIME TEXT https://bit.ly/3TsIkza <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e8c3fd46c5ff09ebee49674…>* *TWITTER #IWD2024 #ISOCAlumni <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=1a90cbb1e5340f8a31995cf…> #InspireInclusion @ISOC_Community @Internet_HOF* *MASTODON #ISOCAlumni <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=94d991d97c56ea628badf9d…>* *SIMULCASTS* *https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=80cc784ff3f24e92b3d5ac6…>* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=2773d9ad8ffd5cdf574679c…>* *https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/* <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=506d9326f1a8a3650a31946…> (AI Captions) *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/isoc-alumni-womens-day-2024 <http://isoc.live/?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=4ed8810ced76070d0e1e293…>* *ISOC Alumni Virtual Workshops* The Alumni Virtual workshops aim to provide an opportunity for attendees to network and connect with other professionals in the field, fostering collaboration and the sharing of ideas. Overall, the goal of the ISOC Alumni Network is to empower community with knowledge and resources to better understand and navigate the complex landscape of internet governance. Permalink https://isoc.live/17412 - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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CfP - The Failed Epistemologies of AI? Making Sense of AI Errors, Failures and their Impacts on Society
by Philip Di Salvo 08 Mar '24

08 Mar '24

Dear colleagues, I’m happy to share this CfP for a special issues in the Italian journal *Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. <https://www.annalsfondazioneluigieinaudi.it> *I believe it could be of interest for many Internet studies scholars. *CfP: The Failed Epistemologies of AI? Making Sense of AI Errors, Failures and their Impacts on Society – Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi* *Editors:* - Prof. *Veronica Barassi* (veronica.barassi(a)unisg.ch) - Dr. *Philip Di Salvo* (philip.disalvo(a)unisg.ch) School of Humanities and Social Sciences University of St. Gallen Generative artificial intelligence tools and large language models are gaining a prominent space in our society. Probably for the first time in history, humans have now to relate and interact with technological systems capable of producing and generating new content and knowledge mimicking humans’ imagination, speech, and behaviors in ways that was not possible before. This new state of things brings inevitably profound consequences and potential sea changes for numerous social, scientific, and cultural fields raising epistemological, ethical, political economical and philosophical questions about the epistemologies of AI and the processes of knowledge production of these systems. The race for AI innovation is being framed with reference to the ‘superintelligence’ of our machines, their processing power, their ability to learn and generate knowledge. In public debate, AI technologies are admired for their powers, and feared for their threats. Yet, *we are increasingly confronted with the fact that these machines make errors and mistakes, they are fallible and inaccurate, and they are often culturally biased*. From Generative AI technologies that ‘hallucinate’ and invent facts to predictive policing technologies that lead to wrongful arrests, our world is quickly coming to terms with the fact that the AI we are building is not only astonishing and incredibly powerful, but often unable to understand the complexity of our human experience and our cultural worlds. Research has shown that AI errors and their problematic outcomes can’t be considered as mere coding glitches, but as the direct expression of the structural inequalities of our societies and they confront us with critical questions about our supposed anthropocentric position as knowledge-creators. The aim of this special issue is to gather scholars coming from different fields of the social sciences and humanities to investigate *how artificial intelligence systems are challenging epistemological assumptions in various societal areas* and *how the failures of such systems are impacting on knowledge creation and diffusion in their areas of interest.* Overall, the special issue aims at overcoming dominant and hyped takes and narratives around AI and its supposed (super)powers, and critically reflect on how we can identify and learn how to coexist with the limitations of AI driven knowledge production. *Possible topics* include, but are not restricted to: - Impacts of AI Errors and Failures: Exploring the ways in which AI failures, inaccuracies and errors in AI impact human understanding, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships. - Cultural Limitations of AI Knowledge: Investigating how AI systems intersect with cultural norms, values, and belief systems, and assessing the limits to cultural diversity and inclusivity of these technologies. - Fake News and DeepFakes: Generative AI, democracy, disinformation, and the public sphere - Social Construction of AI Truth: Investigating how AI systems construct and perpetuate particular truths, shaping public perceptions and influencing social narratives. - Bias and Discrimination in AI: Analyzing how inherent biases in training data, algorithms, and decision-making processes contribute to perpetuating social inequalities and reinforcing existing power structures. *Submission procedure* - We invite interested scholars to submit an *abstract* (300 words, 3 to 5 keywords) by *24th of April*, 2024 to editors(a)annalsfondazioneluigieinaudi.it, veronica.barassi(a)unisg.ch; philip.disalvo(a)unisg.ch. - The issue’s editors will review the abstracts and send *notifications* of acceptance or rejection by the *8th of June*, 2024. - The special issue will include up to 8 contributions among those received through the call for papers. *Final papers* (about 8000 words) will be due on *8th of December* 2024. Please note that acceptance of abstracts does not necessarily imply acceptance of the paper for the special issue. For further information (including the aim and scope of the Journal), please refer to the Journal’s website. Best regards and thanks for your attention, -- *Philip Di Salvo, PhD* Researcher <https://mcm.unisg.ch/en/personenverzeichnis/9479a240-e20b-4b1e-aaa4-249f2ca…> | journalist <https://twitter.com/philipdisalvo> Zürich

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Job in Digital Culture, University of Bergen
by Jill Walker Rettberg 08 Mar '24

08 Mar '24

We are hiring an Associate Professor in Digital Culture at the University of Bergen and are looking for a person with research expertise in digital methods and ethnographic approaches for researching contemporary digital culture. We strongly encourage early and mid-career scholars to apply – you need a PhD and progress in publication and research beyond your PhD but when evaluating applications the emphasis will be on the last five years to make it more fair for early career scholars. Application deadline April 1st, 2024. More info here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/258621/associate-professor-i… Last year we launched the Center for Digital Narrative<http://uib.no/en/cdn> (CDN), a ten year Norwegian Centre of Research Excellence. This position is a permanent position with a balanced research/teaching load (46% of each and 8% admin), so the candidate doesn’t have to do research related to digital narrative, but will be invited to have an office in the CDN building and participate in all CDN events if their research interests intersect with the centre. In addition to lots of interesting colleagues CDN researchers will have extra support for developing research ideas and grant applications and so on. Please share this with anyone you think would be interested! Jill New book in print and open access! Machine Vision: How Algorithms are Changing the Way We See the World<https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=machine-vision-how-algorit…> Polity Press, 2023 Jill Walker Rettberg Professor, Co-Director Center for Digital Narrative<http://uib.no/en/cdn> Leader of Machine Vision in Everyday Life<https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision/> (ERC-CoG) University of Bergen https://www.uib.no/en/persons/Jill.Walker.Rettberg

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New Book: Podcasting in a Platform Age
by John Sullivan 07 Mar '24

07 Mar '24

Dear Colleagues, With apologies for cross-posting, I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book, “Podcasting in a Platform Age: From an Amateur to a Professional Medium” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024). The book is now available for order and you can use the code GLR AT5 for 20% off when purchasing directly from the publisher’s website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/podcasting-in-a-platform-age-9781501380693/ // Description // Podcasting in a Platform Age explores the transition underway in podcasting by considering how the influx of legacy and new media interest in the medium is injecting professional and corporate logics into what had been largely an amateur media form. Many of the most high-profile podcasts today, however, are produced by highly-skilled media professionals, some of whom are employees of media corporations. Legacy radio and new media platform giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Spotify are also making big (and expensive) moves in the medium by acquiring content producers and hosting platforms. This book focuses on three major aspects of this transformation: formalization, professionalization, and monetization. Through a close read of online and press discourse, analysis of podcasts themselves, participant observations at podcast trade shows and conventions, and interviews with industry professionals and individual podcasters, John Sullivan outlines how the efforts of industry players to transform podcasting into a profitable medium are beginning to challenge the very definition of podcasting itself. // Table of Contents // 1. Introduction: Podcasting in Transition 2. Podcasting as a 21st Century Cultural Industry 3. Institutional Formalization: Mapping a New Cultural Industry 4. Distribution and Exhibition Shifts: The Platformization of Podcasting 5. Professionalism and the Myth of Meritocracy 6. Podcast Production: Fostering Communities of Practice 7. Market Information Regimes in Podcasting: Formalization and Audience Metrics 8. "This Podcast Was Brought to you By...": Advertising and Brands in Podcasting 9. Podcast Conventions and the Entrepreneurial Dream 10. Conclusion: Platformization and Podcasting’s Third Decade // Reviews // “This is the book we need, but didn't deserve. 20 years after the invention of podcasting, John Sullivan provides one of the first comprehensive accounts of the changing digital structures that podcasting exists within. Clearly written and with great attention to details, it lays out the ever fascinating interplays between the cultural, social, and economic dynamics of podcasting in the age of platforms. This is an important book, and it is essential for everyone who wants to understand the third decade of podcasting.” - Aske Kammer, Associate Professor of Journalism Studies, Roskilde University, Denmark “Sullivan unravels the captivating journey of podcasting, from its grassroots origins evolving into dynamics of media and cultural industries. With keen insights, Sullivan navigates the core of its evolution, unveiling the tension between preserving podcasting’s open essence and the pull towards centralization driven by a platform-centered scenario. This book offers a concise yet enlightening exploration of podcasting's history, present, and future, revealing why podcasting becomes relevant in the current digital landscape.” - Toni Sellas, Course Leader Bachelor of Journalism, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Spain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. John L. Sullivan Professor & Interim Chair, Media & Communication Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew Street Allentown, PA 18104 USA 484/664-3481 (phone); 484/664-3993 (fax) Pronouns: He/Him/His NEW: Podcasting in a Platform Age <https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/podcasting-in-a-platform-age-9781501380679/> (Bloomsbury, 2024) Author of Media Audiences <https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/media-audiences/book258868>, 2nd edition (Sage, 2019) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CFP "10th Political Theory Graduate Conference at Sciences Po Paris"
by Charles CORVAL 07 Mar '24

07 Mar '24

Dear AoIR colleagues, The deadline for submitting a proposal for the 10th Political Theory Graduate Conference at Sciences Po Paris is extended until March 15th. All Ph.D. students and junior researchers working at the crossroads of political theory, political science, and new technologies, are invited to submit a proposal. The conferences will be delivered on May 22nd and 23rd in person. The topic this year is "Metamorphosis of the Self: Technology, Identity, and Power in Late Modernity". Harvard’s Professor Shoshana Zuboff is our honored guest this year. She will deliver an opening lecture and participate in the discussions with the Ph.D. students. We are accepting paper abstracts of 500-750 words until March 15th. Selected participants will be notified by March 25th at the latest. Lunch and dinner will be offered for the two days of the conference. Communications can be in French or in English. More information can be found in the call for proposal, available on the political theory website of Sciences Po : https://theoriespo.wordpress.com/graduate-confernece/sciences-po-paris-10th… Sincerely yours, Charles Corval, Georges Mercier & Guilhem Mevel Conference Co-Chairs.

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MusicID 2024 Digital Research Fellowship: Accepting submissions
by Dr Steven Gamble 07 Mar '24

07 Mar '24

Call for Proposals Deadline: April 26, 2024 (23:59 UTC) MusicID is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our sixth Digital Research Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded to a scholar from any discipline and at any career level with a strong vision to undertake music, cultural, and/or digital humanities research. MusicID is a platform that archives current and historical music industry data into a single, easy-to-use source. Incorporating more than 5,000 charts spanning 74 countries, MusicID provides access to a wealth of music chart data, including from Billboard and the Official Charts Company dating back to 1944, contemporary statistics such as Spotify and Apple Music streams, and Shazam searches. It also offers built-in visualization tools which allow users to create and export customizable tables and graphs. https://musicidhub.com/musicid-digital-research-fellowships The fellowship is designed to support research using data about music charts and streaming statistics. MusicID can be used to explore new topics, provide data-driven insights, and/or corroborate or challenge existing understandings. Proposed studies may adopt historical, cultural, or industry perspectives, for example, and possible research topics include trends in popular music, patterns of consumption, marketing practices, reception histories, or platform conventions. Fellows are encouraged to demonstrate how they will benefit from access to the MusicID platform. You can read former winning proposals here <https://musicidhub.com/musicid-digital-research-fellowships>. The recipient will receive $1,000 and access to the MusicID platform for one year. All other applicants will receive access to the platform for six months. The recipient will be asked to write a brief final report at the end of their fellowship year, describing the research they conducted and their findings. To apply, send an anonymous research plan as a PDF to fellowship(a)academicrightspress.com by 23:59 (UTC) April 26. Applications must be at most one A4 page in length, and written in English. Please include your name and any affiliation in your email, but not on the PDF. Submissions from academics in any kind of employment, independent scholars, and postgraduate students are all encouraged. Applicants from any country are welcome. The recipient will be chosen through a double-blind peer review process and notified in late May, followed shortly by a public announcement. Best regards, Dr. Steven Gamble <http://stevengamble.com/> (he/him) Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Department of Music, University of Bristol <http://www.bristol.ac.uk/music/> Recent publications: Networking Global Hip Hop Knowledges <https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/etm/article-abstract/67/3/430…>, Ethnomusicology 67(3) (journal article, 2023) It's Where You're @: Hip Hop and the Internet <https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/ghhs/2/2>, Global Hip Hop Studies 2(2) (special issue, 2023) Analyzing Hip-Hop Hacktivism and Automobility in Injury Reserve's (2019) “Jailbreak the Tesla” (Feat. Aminé) <https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089926-4> (book chapter, 2023) Winner, Outstanding Multi-Author Collection Award, Society for Music Theory

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PhD Vacancy - Digital Inclusion and Migration - University of Groningen
by Cigdem Bozdag 07 Mar '24

07 Mar '24

PhD position Digital Inclusion and Migration (1.0 FTE) Job description We are offering a 48-month PhD position (full time, 1.0 FTE) within the project “Migrant generations in the digital society: a multi-level study of socio-cultural factors influencing digital inclusion”. The DigiMig project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with a five-year Vidi grant (Principal Investigator: Dr Çigdem Bozdag, University of Groningen). The appointed candidate will develop an expertise in digital inclusion and digital migration research. The project aims to analyze the socio-cultural factors that influence patterns of digital inclusion in culturally diverse societies. DigiMig consists of three empirical sub-projects (SP) that will provide detailed answers focusing on users’ adoption of digital technologies (SP1), the development of public policies and initiatives (SP2), and educational practices (SP3). In addition to the Principal Investigator and the PhD position advertised in this vacancy, the DigiMig team will also feature a postdoc researcher (30 months, 2025-2027). The appointed PhD candidate will be responsible for DigiMig’s sub-project on the adoption of digital technologies (SP1). SP1 will analyse how a migration background influences digital inclusion, focusing on Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan families with a migration history. By adopting qualitative methods from ethnographic research, SP1 will examine different levels of digital media use including access, motivation, skills, engagement and outcomes, and explore how these are influenced by individual and socio-cultural factors. SP1 will also analyse the two-way influence in technology use between parents and children by interviewing a parent and child from each family. The fieldwork will take place in Rotterdam and Groningen. Tasks and responsibilities: • carrying out the sub-project described above (doing a scoping review, recruiting participants, conducting interviews and participatory observations, analysing data) • contributing to the successful advancement of DigiMig as a whole • presenting research results at workshops and conferences, and publishing academic articles • conducting a total of 0.4 FTE teaching during the second, third, and fourth year of their appointment • engaging in public outreach and knowledge utilization activities related to the project • participating in regular meetings with the other project team members • assisting the Principal Investigator in communication tasks (e.g. co-managing project website, writing social media/blog posts, organizing workshops/panels) Qualifications • (Research) MA degree in Media Studies, Communication Studies, Cultural Studies or another relevant discipline. • a demonstrable interest in digital inclusion and digital migration research • excellent research skills (as shown, for instance, by the candidate’s MA thesis) and demonstrable interest in conducting fieldwork • excellent command of Dutch and English; proficiency either in Turkish, Tamazight, Arabic or French is also highly desirable • a strong interest in collaborative research and interdisciplinary dialogue • the ability to work independently • enthusiasm for communicating academic research to non-academic audiences. The employment for this position will be full time for 4 years and will be under the Ph.D. conditions of the collective labour agreement (CAO) of Dutch Universities. Organisation Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 36.000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide. The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city of Groningen. It has more than 5.000 students and 700 staff members, who are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies. Conditions of employment In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you: ● A salary of € 2.770 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3.539 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position ● A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income ● An 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance ● A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether employment will be continued. ● The PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 fte teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of their appointment. ● Excellent work-life balance. ● Willingness to move and reside in the Netherlands. The appointment will commence on 01.09.2024 at the very latest. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications. You will be enrolled in the Graduate School for the Humanities (GSH) of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Groningen. The GSH offers the organizational infrastructure within which PhD candidates participate in advanced training and supervised research: https://www.rug.nl/research/gradschool-humanities/ You will be carrying out your research in the context of the Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG). The prospective starting date is 1 September 2024 Application You may apply for this position until 10 April 2024 11:59pm / Dutch local time (CET) by means of the application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement <https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/work-with-us/job-opportunities/?details=00347-0…>on the university website) Applications should include: 1. A letter of motivation (max. 1000 words), explaining why you are a suitable candidate for this PhD position. In your letter, please discuss why you find the topic of digital inclusion and migration interesting and how your previous experiences can help you to contribute to this project. More information about the research project can be provided upon request. 2. A curriculum vitae demonstrating your academic excellence, including a list of publications and presentations (if applicable) 3. A proof of writing, such as an academic paper or a chapter from your MA thesis 4. Certified copies of your BA and MA degrees 5. Contact information of two academic referees who are familiar with your work, and whom we may contact directly if we need more information. Applications have to be submitted electronically in PDF format by means of the application form (please merge all documents into one PDF file and upload it as your ‘Letter of motivation’, in the order in which they are listed above). Click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website. Applications that are incomplete or are otherwise faulty will not be taken into account. The selection interviews will take place in the third week of May 2024. The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage <https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/>. Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): .https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ <https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/> and the European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code <https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code> Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated. Information For information you can contact: ● Dr Çigdem Bozdag (for information on the position and the research project), c.bozdag(a)rug.nl <mailto:c.bozdag@rug.nl> ● Lisanne Coolen (for questions regarding the submission procedure), l.coolen(a)rug.nl <mailto:l.coolen@rug.nl> Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.

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CFP "Big Data Audiences" Special Issue of Convergence (Due: March 31)
by Jennifer Hessler 07 Mar '24

07 Mar '24

Deadline for Abstracts: 31st March 2024 Deadline for Full Papers: 31st July 2024 Expected date of publication: August 2025 *Big Data Audiences* *Special Issue of Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies <https://journals.sagepub.com/home/con>* Guest Editors: Jennifer Hessler (North Carolina State University, US) and Elliot Montpellier (Kwantlen Polytechnic University, CA) Media ecosystems increasingly use big data audience insights to shape their distribution models, content production and curation, and marketing strategies, even while these developments are happening at different paces and with varied cultural and political implications from country to country. Existing scholarship on audience datafication largely takes a media economics approach, focusing on how data is informed by and shapes the actions of media industry stakeholders. This often elides the cultural stakes of audience datafication. Crucially, this issue brings together analysis of institutional structures with insights from critical sociologies of data to grapple how the big datafication of audiences converges with issues of cultural identity and exchange. This issue contends with the way big audience data practices are changing entertainment media ecosystems. Proposals might engage with how the implications of audience datafication are playing out differently in state-run, public, and commercial television systems, or how the increasing reliance on big data audience insights impacts the distribution of capital among creatives. At the same time, the issue engages with how big data is changing the way audiences are imagined and attributed value. Media distributors often spin the addressability afforded by big data as an opportunity to personalize content more effectively for globally diverse viewers. However, proposals might engage with how big data can limit the audience experience, or how the vastly scaled and real-time-actioned ways of addressing audiences also reify the distortions via which racial, gendered, national, and other inequalities manifest. We are especially interested in proposals that focus on the global south, and those that ground data in specific uses or consider data across sites from political, industrial, ethnographic, STS, anticolonial, or other approaches. Possible topics could include, but are not limited to: • How relationships between industry stakeholders are reconfigured via new practices of audience datafication. • The way that policies or funding models shape how audience data is collected or used. • Theoretical treatments of data colonialism, surveillance, and platform capitalism in relation to big data audiences. • The computational methods that are being used to imagine audience communities, or the conceptual frameworks that can be used to understand how big data addresses audiences. • The impacts that big data audience analytics have on national, gendered, LGBTQ, ethnic, linguistic, religious, and other communities.Please send a 500-word abstract and a 100-word bio for each author to the guest editors at *bigdataaudiences.cnmt(a)gmail.com <bigdataaudiences.cnmt(a)gmail.com> by March 31st 2024.* Authors of accepted abstracts will be contacted by the guest editors and will be invited to submit full paper contributions (8000-9000 words) by 31st July 2024, with a target publication date of August 2025. Link to CFP here: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/con/Final_Big%20Data%20Au…

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WEBCAST MAR 6 – Mapping Humanitarian Tech: exposing protection gaps in digital transformation programmes
by Joly MacFie 06 Mar '24

06 Mar '24

This is under way. REAL TIME TEXT https://bit.ly/48Hhac7 ISOC Live posted: "On Wednesday March 6, 2024, at 11:00-12:00 EST (16:00-17:00 UTC) the Internet Society Washington DC Chapter (ISOC-DC) and the Internet Society New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) present a webinar on Access Now's new report 'Mapping Humanitarian Tech: exposing pro" [image: isoc live] <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=408150112a0107519127e65d…>On *Wednesday March 6, 2024*, at *11:00-12:00 EST* (16:00-17:00 UTC) the *Internet Society Washington DC Chapter <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e3b616c6b25cff28609e814c…>* (ISOC-DC) and the *Internet Society New York Chapter <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=8d90a4eeffb8d82a816d3581…>* (ISOC-NY) present *a webinar on Access Now's new report 'Mapping Humanitarian Tech: exposing protection gaps in digital transformation programmes <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e4541feabdee10354a53f0bf…>* '. People experiencing vulnerability as a consequence of conflict and violence often rely on a small group of humanitarian actors, trusted because of their claims of neutrality, impartiality, and independence from the warring parties. They rely on these humanitarian organisations and agencies for subsistence, protection, and access to basic services and information, in the darkest times in their lives. Yet these same actors can expose them to further harm. The report examines the partnerships between humanitarian actors and private corporations, how these often-opaque partnerships impact the digital rights of the affected communities, and offers recommendations for keeping people safe. *LIVESTREAM https://livestream.com/internetsociety/mapping-humanitarian-tech <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0974e4be74f6d78779be8ec8…>* *PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM https://bit.ly/3P3sXKW <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=5211d040fd4978036e193459…>* *REAL TIME TEXT* (see *ISOC.LIVE <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=408150112a0107519127e65d…>* ) *TWITTER #humanitariantech <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=10493451234a217f65a1443a…> #digitaltransformation @GiulioWolfe @accessnow @isocdc @isocny #techforgood* *MASTODON #humanitariantech <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=c0080c66b488a92cd6c37230…>* *SIMULCASTS* *https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=e7dd356118e0610c111e7373…>* *https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=0ada856ca8eef0ae1989e0b7…>* *https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/ <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=6f87affc16e38a89fb1c7abb…>* *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/mapping-humanitarian-tech <http://isoc.live?action=user_content_redirect&uuid=a3ae2dee992de2d14b9211be…>* - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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