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Re: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #863 - 3 msgs
by Michel J. Menou 26 Oct '03

26 Oct '03

Dear Colleagues Could you PLEASE refrain from sending messages in both text and html and stick to the basic rule, text or ascii, only unless there is no way to escape html! The size of the above quoted digest was roughly triplicated by html garbage brought by 2 messages. This is particularly "pleasant" when one travels and relies upon cibercafes or hotel access. Thank you in advance Best regards Michel Friday, October 17, 2003, 6:01:03 PM, you wrote: alrao> Send Air-l mailing list submissions to alrao> air-l(a)aoir.org alrao> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit alrao> http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l alrao> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to alrao> air-l-request(a)aoir.org alrao> You can reach the person managing the list at alrao> air-l-admin(a)aoir.org alrao> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific alrao> than "Re: Contents of Air-l digest..." alrao> Today's Topics: alrao> 1. Have a great conference ... research ideas for 2004 (Steven Clift) alrao> 2. Re: Web-based or paper questionnaires (Katja Lozar Manfreda) alrao> 3. CALL FOR PAPERS: Special issue on Web surveys. (Katja Lozar Manfreda) snip

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codes of online group communication
by Alexandru Leonties 25 Oct '03

25 Oct '03

Related somehow to e-mail communities... Did somebody know some research articles/books focusing on the signs and semiotic codes of online group communication. I mean: chat rooms, e-mail lists, forums, online communities as a whole.. Thank you, Sandi Leonties ===== Alexandru Leonties Assistant Lecturer Journalism Department A.I.Cuza University Iasi + 40 740 049 246 aleonties(a)yahoo.com, leonties(a)uaic.ro __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/

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REPORTER'S REQUEST: email community action
by david silver 25 Oct '03

25 Oct '03

please contact matt falloon if interested ... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- my name is matt falloon. i am a trainee journalist at city university, london, uk, currently researching the growth, background and characteristics of email community action groups. i recently came across a group in london who are of mixed demography and who have joined together in an email list to lobby local government on issues of planning and licensing as well as environmental issues and other things of community concern. although they meet up occasionally, most of the action is done by collective email. i wonder if you could point me to someone, or perhaps yourself, who could answer a couple of questions for an article i am trying to put together. 1) how common is this activity now? when did they really take off? 2) why do they work so well? 3) does the internet represent the forum for future mass political action? 4) is the internet allowing people to get into politics and voice their opinions once again and perhaps in a more proactive way then before? i hope you can help me, look forward to hearing from you, matt falloon.

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Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities
by jeremy hunsinger 25 Oct '03

25 Oct '03

this is an interesting statement on open access http://www.zim.mpg.de/openaccess-berlin/berlindeclaration.html Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

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minutes of the General Meeting, Oct 17, 2003
by Ulla Bunz 24 Oct '03

24 Oct '03

Association of Internet Researchers 4.0, Toronto, Canada, October 15-19, 2003 Minutes of the General Meeting, Friday, October 17, 2003 Member of the outgoing executive committee in attendance: President: Steve Jones Vice-President: Nancy Baym Secretary: Ulla Bunz Treasurer: Benjamin Bates Open Seat i: Barry Wellman Open Seat ii: David Silver Appointed Seat i: Leslie Shade Appointed Seat ii: Matthew Allen Publication Officer i: Jeremy Hunsinger Executive Offers absent: Graduate Student Seat: Lisbeth Klastrup Publication Officer ii: Charlie Breindahl 1. Welcome and Introduction Steve Jones expresses a welcome to everyone in attendance and his delight at seeing so many members at the General Meeting after a long day of presentations. 2. Executive Officers' Reports 2.a. President - Steve Jones states the fact that so many people are present at the meeting shows clearly that there is interest in the continued development of the association. He hopes this interest will continue and that many people will express their interest by volunteering for the association. - Over the past four years, a tremendous amount of work has been accomplished, largely due to people who stepped up and just did it. AoIR has experienced - in the most positive way - an overwhelming rate of growth. At times it was challenging to keep up with that, but now that an organizational infrastructure is in place, certain things will become easier. Steve mentions that he is looking forward to the change in leadership, as it truly means that we are now an association. Steve introduces Vice President Nancy Baym, who will become the President of the association during this General Meeting. 2.b. Vice President - Nancy Baym is excited about being the new President, and is optimistic about the association's future. She is confident that the good working relationship she has had with Steve for the past five years will continue, so she anticipates a smooth transition and no radical changes. - Nancy encourages suggestions and feedback from everyone so that the executive committee can facilitate what the association's members want. Nancy points out that making a suggestion is a great first step, but that "pitching in" to make things happen is crucial, especially in light of organizing next year's conference. 2.c. Secretary - Ulla Bunz is delighted to have been involved with AoIR right from the first conference, where she was a local graduate student volunteer. Her responsibilities as the secretary consist to a large part in keeping things organized, moving topics along on the executive Listserve, summarizing the exec list once a month for the monthly report, and, around conference time, create meeting agendas and transcripts, and organize awards. 2.d. Treasurer - Benjamin Bates reports that AoIR currently has approximately 400 members from 36 different countries. He is considering switching from individual renewals throughout the year to a one-date-a-year renewal of memberships for everyone, and encourages feedback about these two options. He reports that by Friday night, approximately 400 people had registered for the conference, with more expected on Saturday. - Overall, the cash flow of the association is in pretty good shape. The 2002 conference in Minnesota generated a slight profit. On the other hand, not enough people stayed in the conference hotel in Toronto, which means AoIR will have to pay a fee. The fee is not yet negotiated, but will probably be several thousand US dollars. This year, AoIR did conference registration and other financial matters on its own, and we've learned a great deal. However, there are some problems with the KAGI system for Europeans, who are charged taxes on membership fees, etc., so Ben encourages people with knowledge of European tax law to contact him. 2.e.i. Open Seat - Barry Wellman hopes to pass on his wisdom to future members of the executive committee. He jokes that one should never be on an executive committee if the conference is going to be in your city, as he has worked heavily for the conference on a local organizing level. Among many other things, Barry organized the local conference t-shirts, though general AoIR t-shirts and other items are available at http://www.cafepress.com/aoir. - Barry thanks his volunteers by name, and concludes that he has learned a lot. 2.e.ii Open Seat - David Silver is very excited about AoIR and has attended all four conferences. He jokes that he now assumes that all conferences are run the way AoIR is run. He continues that it is great to see so many disciplines represented at AoIR, and that working with Steve has been amazing, due to Steve's generosity, kindness, and gracious manner. He also believes that the executive members are great. - He urges AoIR to engage more directly with the world events around us. He mentioned that in our times we see imperialism, empire, war, terror (although David was quick to ask what is the difference between the two), and surveillance. He mentions that much but not all of this is played out in digital environments and gives two examples: the elevation of the network in contemporary warfare and the Patriot Act. He strongly believes that AoIR should work proactively to include these items, especially in the form of the Call for Papers. 2.f. i. Appointed Seat - Leslie Shade has also been involved with AoIR since the first conference, and was then program chair in Minneapolis, at the second conference. She jokes that she will miss all the emails on the executive list, and states that working with this executive committee was great. She thanks Steve for his generosity of spirit and sense of humor, and gives thanks to all for "bringing it on." 2.f. ii. Appointed Seat - Matthew Allen jokes how he is a perfect example for the Internet in time, as due to his location in Australia, he reads everything twelve hours after everyone else. His goal has been to create a space for the membership to contribute, and be believes that the association provides multiple overlapping spaces for voices finding expression. - As this year's program chair, he got to see many fantastic ideas. He is delighted to be the new Vice President, and states that he has had a fantastic experience at the conference. 2.g. i. Publication Officer Before Jeremy Hunsinger can speak up, Steve Jones states that without Jeremy, the association as we know it would not exist. None of the Internet related things that we take for granted would exist. Jeremy is tireless, takes on everything he is asked to do, and does it right away. Steve thanks Jeremy. - Jeremy Hunsinger states that without everyone else, he wouldn't be able to do all this work. He especially points out his friend and co-Publication Officer Charlie Breindahl. He points out that Charlie runs the website, and Jeremy does the backbone. He points out that there are places we can go with the website, but that this is up to membership involvement. He encourages everyone to contribute. Two new lists have been created, an ehealth list, and a grad student list. 3. Association Action Items 3.a. T-shirt Contest - Steve Jones announces Caroline Haythornthwaite as the designer for the chosen conference logo for the conference t-shirts. In gratitude and recognition, Steve presents Caroline with a t-shirt she has chosen from http://www.cafepress.com/aoir. 3.b. Transitions - Steve Jones announces that with this meeting the old members of the executive committee step down, and the new members are officially appointed. He acknowledges that the outgoing committee has provided tremendous contributions to the organization, and that they are to be commended for what they have done. - Steve gives thanks to his own department and various deans for seed funding. He thanks his wife Jodi for listening and supporting him. He then announces that it actually gives him pleasure to turn over the presidency because this transition and all that AoIR has done in the last four years now means that we truly are an association. Steve then turns over his presidency to new President Nancy Baym. - Nancy Baym introduces the new members of the executive committee (see below) and thanks Jennifer Stromer-Galley for counting the election votes. [Note: At the General Meeting, the Appointed Seats were not yet filled. Since then, the executive committee has nominated Monica Murero and Randy Kluver, who have both accepted their nominations. Their names are included here for the sake of completeness.] Members of the incoming executive committee: President: Nancy Baym Vice-President: Matthew Allen Secretary: Ulla Bunz Treasurer: Benjamin Bates Open Seat i: Annette Markham Open Seat ii: Radhika Gajjala Appointed Seat i: Randy Kluver Appointed Seat ii: Monica Murero Graduate Student Seat: Leslie Tkach Kawasaki Publication Officer i: Jeremy Hunsinger Publication Officer ii.: Charlie Breindahl 3.c. Reports of Work Committees 3.c. i. Ethics Working Group - Charles Ess reports that the ethics group has continued to move forward with their work. The ethics report, available at http://aoir.org, has been used several times already to pass people's Internet related research proposals through Internal Review Boards, and continues to be much inquired about. He encourages people to send inquiries, and also requests that people let him know if their proposal is approved so that we can collect a record similar to "case law." He states that talking to IRBs is frustrating, as they only listen on occasion, and encourages all to push forward the body of work on Internet ethics. He thanks the members of his ethics committee. Steve Jones adds that he is impressed with the quality of the ongoing work. 3.c. ii. Research Annual - Mia Consalvo, the main editor for the first AoIR Research Annual, covering the first three conferences, states that she was asked only last November to take responsibility for this annual. The annual is now in the publisher's hands and will be published within the next month as "Internet Research Annual, Volume 1." The annual has over 30 contributors and 26 chapters. She thanks the other editors and states she had fun putting it together. Work on the second volume, based on AoIR 4.0 in Toronto, begins immediately. Mia encourages all to submit their papers to Matthew Allen or her by October 30. 4. Conference Items 4.a. AoIR 5.0, in 2004 - Nancy Baym announces that next year's conference, AoIR 5.0, will be held at Sussex University in the UK. The conference chair will be Kate O'Riordan. Nancy hopes that everybody will be able to join us in Sussex. 5. Audience Feedback 5.a. Matthew Allen is congratulated as the new Vice President. 5.b. An audience members asks David Silver how he suggests that AoIR could weave poitics more into the association and what the consequences would be. David responds that he would like to see this in the Call for Papers more clearly. As the association grows, inclusion is important, and he wants to extend inclusion to the world outside of academia. He believes that most research agendas are difficult to distance from the world anyway, and that in that world, there is a return to military (funding for) technology. He suggests invited panels, or specific talks about grants from the military. He wants reflexive talk about the political economy of Internet Studies and the directions we can take. He simply wants more dialogue about these issues. Barry Wellman voices his disagreement with David's position. 5.c. An audience member asks for the theme of next year's conference. Nancy Baym responds that it is not set yet and will have to be discussed with Kate O'Riordan, but encourages to send suggestions to Nancy. She adds that the conference listserves allow people to get involved, for example through reviewing. She encourages everyone to share ideas with the executive committee. Matthew Allen adds that he is interested in hearing what "worked" at the conference, and what did not. 5.d. Mia Consalvo points out that the Birds of Feather meeting on Games was great, and that people interested in this topic can meet her for dinner afterwards. 5.e. An audience member thanks Matthew Allen for last year's email "postcards" from the conference and asks if there is something similar this year. It is pointed out that this year, there are numerous bloggers blogging the conference. A link is available from the conference website at http://aoir.org/2003. 5.f. An audience member inquires whether there will be an effort to market AoIR to disciplines other than communication. Nancy Baym responds that AoIR doesn't really actively market itself, but relies on personal networks and word of mouth, and that we invite everyone to join AoIR. Since the Internet goes across all disciplines and everyone has their own research ideas, people should tell people about the conference, and try to recruit on their own those people who they would like to see involved. Steve Jones adds that there have been subtle recruiting efforts by all members of the executive committee, but that we rely on word of mouth. AoIR continues to attract new people and ideas. He believes that our goal should be to present Internet Research at our institutions to establish AoIR as just as credible as disciplinary meetings. Nancy Baym adds that AoIR will provide resources for ideas and projects if members take charge of them. Public relations materials such as posters are available at http://aoir.org and AoIR merchandise is available at http://www.cafepress.com/aoir. 5.g. An audience member inquires how much profit AoIR makes off Cafepress merchandise. Benjamin Bates answers that we get approximately one to two dollars per piece sold. 6. Adjournment - Nancy Baym thanks Steve Jones as stellar leader and friend. She thanks all for attending the General Meeting and hopes to see all in Sussex next year. The meeting is adjourned. Submitted respectfully, Ulla Bunz, Secretary, October 22, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------- Ulla Bunz Assistant Professor Department of Communication Rutgers University 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Email: bunz(a)scils.rutgers.edu ----------------------------------------------------

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Faculty Position
by nwhitfield 24 Oct '03

24 Oct '03

Georgia Southern University is seeking applications and nominations for the positions listed at http://academics.gasou.edu/provost/searches/search.html. We encourage you to apply for employment with us and/or to nominate persons with the requisite skills for the advertised positions. A comprehensive institution committed to serving a diverse student body, Georgia Southern seeks to recruit individuals who are committed to working in diverse academic and professional communities. Located in Statesboro, an hour from historic Savannah and beach resorts, and approximately 200 miles from Atlanta, Georgia Southern approaches its 2006 centennial with a strategic plan to advance the University to the top tier of national rankings in its class. Georgia Southern, a member institution of the University System of Georgia, is a Master's I university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Georgia Southern offers 130 academic majors in a comprehensive array of baccalaureate degrees and selected master's and doctoral programs. The University has earned national accreditation in 79 program areas from 20 accrediting bodies. Academic programs are organized in seven Colleges: Business Administration, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Information Technology, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology, and the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies. The University awarded 2,340 degrees in 2002-03. A residential university with a projected Fall 2003 enrollment of over 15,600 students, Georgia Southern is the largest university in the southern half of Georgia and, apart from the four research universities, the most comprehensive center of public higher education in the state. One of the top choices in Georgia for new freshmen, including HOPE Scholars, Georgia Southern enrolls an increasingly selective student body representing all of Georgia, 48 states, and more than 75 nations. Nine out of 10 undergraduates are full-time students. The University is enhancing its academic profile through higher admission standards, an expanded Honors Program, and scholarships for academically-talented students. More information about the institution is available through the Georgia Southern University Web Page at <http://www.GeorgiaSouthern.edu> or through <http://chronicle.com/jobs/profiles/911.htm>. Nancy A. Whitfield Office of Institutional Compliance PO Box 8035 Statesboro, GA 30460 Telephone: 681-5136 Fax: 681-0197

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Panel Announcement: 'Women's Voices, Religion and ICTs' for IAHR 2005 Tokyo Congress'
by Anastasia Karaflogka 24 Oct '03

24 Oct '03

Dear AOIR I am writing to you because I am in the process of putting together a panel proposal on 'Women's Voices on/in Religious Discourses and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs)' for the 19th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, March 24 - 30, 2005. My area of expertise is religious discourse and ICTs. Currently I am completing my PhD thesis at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Study of Religions Department, University of London. My research addresses issues related to web theory and methodology for studying existing and emerging religious phenomena on the Web. I hold the position of part-time lecturer at SOAS for which I have designed and will be teaching a new course titled 'Religious Encounters in Cyberspace'. Additionally I am in the process of contracting with a publisher for my thesis.

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AoIR ethical guidelines
by Nina Bambina 24 Oct '03

24 Oct '03

http://www.aoir.org From: "Charles Ess @ ITU" <chess(a)itu.dk> To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:22:52 +0200 Subject: [Air-l] Help with information gathering - AoIR ethical guidelines Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org Dear Sister and Fellow AoIR-ists: One of the great delights over the past year is to learn from the occasional conversation that yes, indeed, the AoIR guidelines are "out there" and making a difference (positive, so far as I know). E.g., * a young researcher approached her IRB to begin the process of applying for approval - and was told, without prompting, that she should be sure to look at the AoIR guidelines since her research involved online venues. (Yes, her project was approved.) * an Australian university (which shall remain nameless until I receive appropriate documentation and permission) likewise has included the AoIR guidelines in its resource database on matters ethical. And...??? (For this philosopher, two data points are good starting points towards a generalization... smile) Here's where you come in (I hope). If you're aware of the guidelines being used in some way at your institution, by a colleague you know, etc. - and if you're at liberty to say, would you mind sending me a note to that effect? My notion is to collect these sorts of listings and include them in a webpage affiliated with the ethics document. Presuming there are a good number of them, this will help other researchers who may want to use the guidelines in arguing for their particular research project's design for appropriate ethical requirements and protections - i.e., if said researcher can point out that other institutions are using the guidelines as well, it will add credibility to them and thus to his/her argument. So - if you're aware of uses of this sort and you and/or your institution are happy to have these publicly noted on a website affiliated with the document, please let me know. In the meantime, thanks - and thanks again to all the folk who made AoIR 4.0 such a delicious feast of new ideas, interesting research, and some of the most enjoyable folks I have the pleasure and honor of knowing. Cheers and all best wishes, Charles Ess Visiting Professor (fall, '03) Department of Digital Aesthetics and Communication (DIAC) The IT University of Copenhagen Glentevej 67 DK-2400 Copenhagen NV Telephone: +45 38 16 89 63 Mobile: +45 22 46 06 35 Fascimile: +45 38 16 88 99 Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Springfield, MO 65802 USA voice: 417-873-7230 fax: 417-873-7435 homepage: <www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html> http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

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aoir Toronto: missing floppy drive
by Rhiannon Bury 23 Oct '03

23 Oct '03

Hi folks: This message is directed at anyone who attended the conference in Toronto and presented in the Jackson on Thursday or Friday. Our AV supplier, Gary Krantz, removed the floppy drive from his laptop so someone could use it to play a CD. Now, he cannot find the floppy drive. It was wrapped in bubble wrap. Did anyone in that room accidently pick it up? Or see it lying around in that Jackson? If so, Gary would much appreciate hearing from you. psav6410(a)ps-av.ca Rhiannon

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Re: [Air-l] Post-conference thank you
by Liss Jeffrey 23 Oct '03

23 Oct '03

Thanks Steve, and thanks to all of those in Aoir Toronto 2003 who worked hard since the summer of 2002 to make this all happen. Thanks to the many participants who often came from far away to share ideas and projects, and to take time to comment on the work of others. Let me add just a few names to Steve's credits list: Lisa Morgan, MA from Communications and Culture at York /Ryerson University in Toronto. As conference coordinator, she did a great job and helped us make sure that we broadened the band by including French translation. Peter West, masters student in University of Western Ontario Media Information Technology Department (and student of McLuhan), Christie Hurrell, Jackie Reid masters candidates at York Ryerson, thanks for all that hard work. Thanks Lisa, Peter, Christie, Jackie, and thanks to all. Liss Jeffrey, PhD Conference Chair, Toronto 2003. (Hey thanks Charlie for putting me back on this list :) At 10:04 AM 22/10/2003 -0500, Steve Jones wrote: >It was a pleasure seeing many familiar faces, many new ones, and many who >have posted to air-l (and who will hopefully post to it in the future) at >last week's AoIR conference in Toronto. >[snip]

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