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SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF YOUNG SCHOLARS
by Boris Kragelj 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

Hi, We are planning to have nice little conference covering various aspects of communication science in Ljubljana next Autumn. Contributions from the area of internet & new ICT and their impacts on society & culture are especially welcome! You are all very welcome, and please, can you distribute this invitation further to the young scholars that could be also interested to participate... Thank you, Best regards, Boris ------------------------------------------------------ SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF YOUNG SCHOLARS Communication in the Global World, 12-14 November 2004 (Ljubljana, Slovenia). CALL FOR PAPERS The Slovenian Communication Association (SCA) announces an international conference for young scholars on theoretical and empirical research of communication in the era of globalization. Young scholars - graduate students, doctoral candidates and recent PhDs - are invited to present their recent work in an environment that is hospitable to a diverse cultural experience. The first conference, held in May 2001, helped construct a bridge between young scholars from Central Europe and the two Americas. The conference allows for a broad range of issues and concerns to be addressed by the participants with no preferred theoretical or methodological perspective. Reports on work in progress, such as M.A. theses or Ph.D. dissertations, are also invited. About 30 papers will be selected for presentation, and prizes will be awarded by a panel of expert scholars for outstanding papers. The special panel includes Hanno Hardt (founding editor of Journal of Communication Inquiry, Faculty of Social Sciences, Univ. Ljubljana), Slavko Splichal (editor of Javnost/the Public, Faculty of Social Sciences, Univ. Ljubljana), and Breda Luthar (Chair of Dept. of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, Univ. Ljubljana) Abstracts - with brief biographies of authors and their contact addresses - should be sent by March 1, 2004 (andrej.pinter(a)guest.arnes.si, vesna.dolnicar(a)uni-lj.si) Invited presenters will be notified by April 5, 2004, and final papers must be received by October 25, 2004. Also consult the conference web-page for more information: http://rcul.uni-lj.si/~fd_kom/CGWconference/call_cgw2004.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ Boris Kragelj _________________________________ University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences Kardeljeva ploscad 5 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Phone: +386 1 5805 138 Fax: +386 1 5805 102 ----------------------------- RIS - Research on Internet in Slovenia (http://www.sisplet.org/engris/) SIBIS+ Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information society (www.sibis-eu.org)

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Sunbelt Social Network Conference
by Gregor Petric 04 Jan '04

04 Jan '04

Dear Colleagues, You might be interested to participate at the XXIV International Sunbelt Social Network Conference, sponsored by the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA). It will be held in beautiful Portoroz, Slovenia on 12 - 16 May , 2004. The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for social scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists and all others interested in social networks. It also presents a great opportunity for internet researchers, using social network analysis to share ideas and explore common interests. Paper Submission To submit a paper for the conference, send an abstract of no more than 300 words by e-mail (ASCII or (La)TeX or Word) to the address below by January 15, 2004. Abstracts will be published and distributed at the conference. Each participant may give only one paper as the first author. Include in your abstract the following details: Title of the paper First Author's name, affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail Second and other author's names, affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail Main topics of your paper Abstracts should be sent to: INSNA(a)uni-lj.si A full call for papers and submissions guidelines can be found on the conference website at http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/info/sunbelt24/ Regards, Gregor Petric, member of Organizing Committee #-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-# Gregor Petric Assistant Professor Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana Slovenia e-mail: gregor.petric(a)uni-lj.si

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January on -empyre- : Nova Media Storia: Histories and Characters
by Michael Arnold Mages 01 Jan '04

01 Jan '04

.......................... January on -empyre- : Nova Media Storia: Histories and Characters With Jill Scott, Nick Montfort and Noah Wardrip-Fruin Is new media a field? Does it have a history? What history? And, how does it matter? The new year brings us the pleasure of hosting three lively minds from the interdisciplinary worlds of new media science, art and humanities. Noah Wardrip-Fruin (US) and Nick Montfort (US) will explore the genesis and critical issues that have lead to the publication of The New Media Reader (MIT Press 2003), a compendium of intertextually annotated readings from the last century. To the double helix of art and computation in new media, Nick and Noah hope to interweave empyrean comments in the coming month. With Noah and Nick, we are honored to share time and thoughts with a distinguished new media artist, Jill Scott, whose new book, "Coded Characters" (Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2003), explores the mediation and role of the audience, as well as the mythical representation of the human body on both stage and screen, are constantly questioned. Jill's nomadic hegira, from the Bay Area to Australia and to Europe, bears witness to a consistent development of new media art as a series of cyberphysical metaphors--analog figures, digital beings, and mediated nomads. Please join Jill, Nick and Noah this coming month on -empyre- soft-skinned space. Subscribe at: <http://www.subtle.net/empyre> ......................................... Nick Montfort writes on interactive fiction, the literary uses of artificial intelligence and machine learning, game studies, and analogies between new media, narrative and poetry. At the University of Pennsylvania, where he is a PhD candidate in computer science, Nick researches computational aspects of behavioral game theory. Recent publications include "Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction" (MIT Press, 2003), regarding such "text adventures" as Adventure and Zork from literary and computational perspectives. <http://nickm.com> <http://newmediareader.com> ----------------------------------------------- Jill Scott and her oeuvre have contributed to a new concept of the human body with respect to its functionality as an interface and as a player in the rapidly developing technological spaces and in physical reality. Since 1975, her work has evolved from making surveillance-performance events, to video art, and onto new computer art and interactive cinema. <http://www.jillscott.org> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Noah Wardrip-Fruin is a new media scholar and artist. He has recently edited two books, both from MIT Press - The New Media Reader (with Nick Montfort, 2003) and First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (with Pat Harrigan, forthcoming). As an artist his work focuses on new media text, including The Impermanence Agent (a storytelling web agent that "customizes" based on reader browsing habits) and Screen (an immersive VR text that interacts with the reader's body). His work has been presented by the Whitney and Guggenheim museums, as well as discussed in reference books such as Information Arts (MIT Press) and Digital Art (Thames and Hudson). <http://hyperfiction.org/>

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online thesis
by Monika Merkes 01 Jan '04

01 Jan '04

A happy new year to all! My PhD thesis on the topic "A longer working life for Australian women of the baby boom generation? - Women's voices and the social policy implications of an ageing female workforce" is now online at http://member.melbpc.org.au/~monika/research.html Summary With an increasing proportion of older people in the Australian population and increasing health and longevity, paid work after the age of 65 years may become an option or a necessity in the future. The focus of this research is on Australian women of the baby boom generation, their working futures, and the work-retirement decision. This is explored both from the viewpoint of women and from a social policy perspective. The research draws on Considine's model of public policy, futures studies, and Beck's concept of risk society. The research comprises three studies. Using focus group research, Study 1 explored the views of Australian women of the baby boom generation on work after the age of 65 years. Study 2 aimed to explore current thinking on the research topic in Australia and overseas. Computer-mediated communication involving an Internet website and four scenarios for the year 2020 were used for this study. Study 3 consists of the analysis of quantitative data from the Healthy Retirement Project, focusing on attitudes towards retirement, retirement plans, and the preferred and expected age of retirement. The importance of choice and a work - life balance emerged throughout the research. Women in high-status occupations were found to be more likely to be open to the option of continuing paid work beyond age 65 than women in low-status jobs. However, the women were equally likely to embrace future volunteering. The research findings suggest that policies for an ageing female workforce should be based on the values of inclusiveness, fairness, self-determination, and social justice, and address issues of workplace flexibility, equality in the workplace, recognition for unpaid community and caring work, opportunities for life-long learning, complexity and inequities of the superannuation system, and planning for retirement. Further, providing a guaranteed minimum income for all Australians should be explored as a viable alternative to the current social security system. Regards Monika Merkes http://member.melbpc.org.au/~monika

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Fwd: Software art gathering/conference
by Steve Jones 31 Dec '03

31 Dec '03

Begin forwarded message: > From: chip(a)wasbecause.com > Date: December 31, 2003 8:45:50 AM CST > Subject: Software art gathering/conference > > Run_me Getaway for Software Artists > > Software art presses the notion that all the materials of today's > society, for example word processors and email clients, are open to > critique and analysis and are subject to experimentation. Besides > addressing utilitarian tools, software artists also develop > astonishing formalist projects using code. If you want to get involved > with this important cultural field, consider attending Read_Me 2004 -- > a 'Software Art and Cultures Conference' which will be held in late > August, 2004 in Aarhus, Denmark. The festival will host seminars and > panels so that those researching and practicing in the fields of > programming, design and art can share findings. Software enthusiasts > and users are also welcome, and all participants are likely to enjoy > the city-wide Dorkbot camp that will follow the formal conference. > Until March 1, 2004, organizers are accepting abstracts so if you want > to present at Read_me, it's time to start working on your script. -- > Rachel Greene > http://www.runme.org/news/read/+14/

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Available Chat/IM Tools?
by MSJANEW＠aol.com 30 Dec '03

30 Dec '03

Dear Colleagues: I am setting up an Illinois standards-based sports safety/science TV show and website for K-12 students. I would like to include chat and instant messaging as a component. The concept I have in mind is to use a website as an "after the show" vehicle for kids, teachers, parents, etc., to converse with afterwards. Does anyone on this list have info as to good tools that are available for low/no cost? Thanks, Matthew Newman Executive Editor Sports Smarts msjanew(a)aol.com

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" The changing of way to generate alienation"
by Paolo Manzelli 30 Dec '03

30 Dec '03

Dear Devorah Kalekin for coming at the congress on the session Alienation Theory and Research: New Directions of the congress that will be held in July 7-11 in Beijing, organized in collaboration with the International Institute of Sociology. I need of an official letter of invitation. I would like to speak about the following issue " The changing of way to generate alienation in the transformation between industrial society in the world wide incoming knowledge society." See for example my recent paper on Job Insecurity and Continuous Training. see in : http://www.chim1.unifi.it/group/education/pin/tasti3/progetto_forco.htm see also in : http://www.edscuola.it/lre.html My bedst regards and having a good succesful and happy new 2004. Paolo Manzelli -- PAOLO MANZELLI Director of LRE/EGO-CreaNet – University of Florence Via Maragliano 77 – 50144 Firenze – Italy Phone: +39/055332549 Mobile: +39/335-6760004 E-mail: LRE(a)unifi.it ; manzelli(a)invisibilmente.it http://www.chim1.unifi.it/group/education/index.html

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Alienation Conference-China-July
by Lauren Langman 29 Dec '03

29 Dec '03

Call for papers: RC 36-Alienation Theory and Research Dear Colleague, our research committee of the International Sociological Association had planned to have its biannual meeting last summer, July 7-11 in Beijing, sharing some space with the International Institute of Sociology. There may yet be some room for a few more papers if anyone else would like to join us. As of now, it looks like we will have 4 sessions. If you would like to join with us, please send an abstract to the appropriate organizer of the session, (CC me). It is looking like an exciting meeting so I do hope you can join us. Lauren Langman President RC 36-Alienation Theory and Research Session 66 Alienation Theory and Research: New Directions Alienation, while central to Hegel's theory of history, and in turn Marx's critique of capital, has been used for almost 200 years. However, in face of the changes in capital, from a system of mercantile trade, to industrial production, to the current globalized system based on information, we must continue to rethink and research the concept for the present age. Thus alienation has been used to understand the emotional labor of service work, religious/political or life style extremism etc. This session will explore some of the ways alienation is being theorized and researched. Organizer: Devorah Kalekin, dkalekin(a)construct.haifa.ac.il Session 67 Globalization, Alienation and Resistance Alienation, for Marx, a consequence of wage labor, dehumanized, rendered powerless and fragmented the social was an essential moment of domination by capital. But for a number reasons, the concept has become more widely used and today, in a globalized world, alienation suggests a broader range of phenomena. But at the same time, throughout the world, there have emerged a number of local and global struggles and strategies of resistance to overcome contemporary forms of alienation. This has taken such radically different forms from progressive political mobilizations, to struggles of indigenous peoples against forces of alienation. This has been not only greater opposition to the adverse moments of globalization, but academic interests have reflected this concern, as is evident in our need for two sessions to cover this moment. Organizer, Llang944(a)aol.com Session 68 Alienated popular culture: the non-reflection of reality in culture Popular culture, systematically produced by global conglomerates, provides a variety of pre packaged desires, goals and images to publics who increasingly construct their identities on the basis of popular culture. This is especially true as adolescence, a socially constructed stage in the life cycle marking the transition between childhood and adulthood, has generally been a time of sturm und drang, a stressful period characterized by alienation from the dominant culture. But what has become interesting is the extent to which various alienated groups such as adolescent and youth cultures have become the targets of a number of mass mediated cultural styles, hip hop, grunge, fandom based communities, 'reality' TV, video games, movies and lifestyles of consumption. This session will examine some of the ways popular culture reflects and perhaps indeed fosters alienation. Organizer: James O'Connor, james.connor(a)anu.edu.au Session 69: Democratization in the Global Word: Divergent Perspectives and Strategies

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a member passes
by jeremy hunsinger 29 Dec '03

29 Dec '03

Mike Two Horses, a recently joined member of air-l passed away over the holidays. he was working on a project about American Indian Identity and the Internet and posted a few times to the list. Jeremy

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RE: [Air-l] IM and Databases
by Kris Gowen 29 Dec '03

29 Dec '03

What was the age of the children you are targeting? Check out the boards at www.alloy.com <http://www.alloy.com/> - they can be pretty active. L. Kris Gowen, Ph.D. Senior Research Associate FACCT -- Foundation for Accountability www.facct.org <http://www.facct.org/> www.compareyourcare.org -----Original Message----- From: MSJANEW(a)aol.com [mailto:MSJANEW@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2003 5:43 AM To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] IM and Databases Questions: 1. In your experience, do kids really use discussion boards? IM seems to be the tool of choice from what I can see in the middle school world. The primary audience for sportssmarts is kids--although teachers and parents would be interested in the discussion board, I am sure, as well as some kids. 2. Is a database a must for a content rich site? I am scoping the development costs and it seems this an important determination to make. Thanks.

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