- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Toronto restaurants and MORE
by Liss Jeffrey 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

Thanks Alex: Hope everyone is ready to come to Toronto for our "Broadening the Band" conference. Thanks to the creative volunteers who are making this event possible, we will have a helpful restaurant guide ready for our visiting Aoir-ites. Go here for a look at the Aoir Toronto 2003 HILTON ZONE http://www.ecommons.net/aoir/toronto.phtml - soon we will be featuring some of the spots that are highly recommended. The GALA runs from 7 to 11 (so we call it the 7-11 gala) and will present an arts performance, open mic mini-speeches, and a DJ. You can sign up to sit with others at a table (birds of a feather encouraged), or go visit someone whose name you know but whom you have not yet met, by following our unique table URL system. Register now online or by email to lmorgan(a)ecommons.net. Only $50 U.S. Last call for suggested chairs for panels. Matt and his Program committee have done an outstanding job and the final final program will be ready and online early next week. I will be in touch with all chairs to confirm their participation later this week. We are still taking small ads ($250 or $500) to offset costs of the Program, so if you or your department can help please contact ljeffrey(a)mcluhan.org . Deadline for ads is Friday, October 3rd. So many thanks to Rhiannon Bury (hotel and tech support coordination), Catherine Middleton (budget chief), and Olivia Robertson (volunteers and gala) who helped Lisa Morgan, Jackie Reid, Christie Hurrell and Fraser McAninch hold the conference fort while I was away unexpectedly in Geneva (fighting the good fight at the prep meeting for the World summit on the information society - WATCH FOR OUR BIRDS OF A FEATHER MEETING). We are all looking forward to greeting you in Toronto the convivial. Regular updates will appear on our web site and in this list. Queries are welcome. Liss Jeffrey, PhD conference chair Aoir Toronto 2003. www.ecommons.net/aoir >From: "Alex Kuskis" <akuskis(a)ican.net> >To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> >Subject: Re: [Air-l] Toronto Restaurants >Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 12:32:47 -0400 >Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org > > > >For Toronto restaurants, click on http://www.menupalace.com/home.htm . >Then click on "Entertainment District", and you will find a listing of >restaurants >within walking distance of the Hilton. Toronto is incredibly well served by >restaurants of all kinds. For restaurant reviews, see >http://www.whynotdine.com/Canadian_Restaurants/Toronto_Restaurant_Reviews/ >...........Alex >=

2 1

fAf Oct 03: Made Men, Richard Bell in cyberTribe
by linda carroli 30 Sep '03

30 Sep '03

fineArt forum October 2003 fineArt forum = art + technology netnews http://www.fineartforum.org -or- http://www.cdes.qut.edu.au/Fineart_Online This month's issue: :: Made Men, Richard Bell in cyberTribe :: MelbourneDAC in fAf :: In focus: The Year of Living Digitally, Singapore; GENEVA-03, WSIS; NICA, Yangon; The Radii Ezine, Australia :: fAf_15: 15th anniversary cdrom :: Made Men, new work by Richard Bell in cyberTribe Curator, Jenny Fraser presents a new cyberTribe exhibition of work by Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award winner, Richard Bell whose recent works were presented at Metro Arts in Brisbane. Bell won the award with his painting titled, 'Aboriginal Art - it's a White Thing.' The accompanying essay for Made Men, states: "We could note the patently incendiary - yet also cryptic and sometimes literally encrypted - phrases like 'Kill Mabo' and 'Hide Ya Kidz' that Bell comes up with in some of his paintings. Or, in a rather different vein, we could think of one part of the four-part work called Worth Exploring? (2002): a blown-up version of a carefully composed statutory declaration in which Bell points out the illegality of the white occupation of Australia, taking this illegality as the premise for the claim that everything subsequent to this occupation is ultra vires (illegal, outside the law), and drawing the consequence that all non-Aboriginal Australians must be counted as criminals and all Aboriginal people recognised as the victims of crime. We could also think of a new series of paintings, where Bell quotes from the comic-strip-style paintings of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein to comment on attitudes to black-white sexual relationships, broaching what is a taboo or no-go area even now." http://www.fineartforum.org/Gallery/cybertribe/bell/index.htm :: DAC in fAf The papers from MelbourneDAC continue in fAfTEXT until November with more than 60 papers from DAC (Digital Arts and Culture) Conference held in Melbourne in May. MelbourneDAC +streaming wor(l)ds+ was the first major academic conference on streaming media, computer games and game culture, hypertext and interactive film in Australia. It provided a platform for critical discussion on the implications technological and creative innovations are having on us as globally networked communities, MelbourneDAC brought together producers, theorists, critics, designers, new media artists, educators, filmmakers, curators, researchers and students who share a passionate interest in digital arts and culture. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n10/reviews/reviews_i… :: In focus Upfront: The Year of Living Digitally - Singapore's first new media and digital arts festival. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n10/upfront_index.html Events: GENEVA-03, WSIS - an open, loose and temporary association of groups and individuals who are currently preparing a series of events around the WSIS. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n10/events_index.html Opportunities: Networking and Initiatives for Culture and the Arts, Yangon - a newly established art center aimed at contributing to development in the fields of culture and the arts. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n10/opps_index.html Stuff: The Radii Ezine, Australia - new issue now online http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n10/stuff_index.html PLUS more news, announcements and calls ... :: fAf_15: 15th anniversary cdrom Don't forget that fAf_15, our commemorative 15th anniversary cdrom is still available and free. On fAf_15, we present the magazine's entire archive as well as specially commissioned and collated new material. fAf_15 is an invaluable resource for researchers, artists, writers and activists in the new media, science and technology fields. It will be particularly useful to those living and working in areas where internet access is difficult and unreliable. We are distributing the cdrom to screen resource centres, arts and artist groups, new media events and libraries worldwide to enhance access in those hard to reach areas. To obtain a copy, email fAf at l2.carroli(a)qut.edu.au with your name and postal address. http://www.fineartforum.org/aboutus/highlights_index.html . . . . .

1 0

Re: e-science, the grid, and supercomputers
by Ulf Reips 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

At 10:05 Uhr +0100 29.9.2003, Christine Hine wrote: >... >the job done. The aim is to have some kind of map of what is going on, >in order to explore what I'm thinking of as the shaping of cyberscience. > >The developments that I'm seeing in systematics are not grid computing >but do fit within some people's definitions of e-science...... I'm >certainly seeing that none of these terms are being used innocently and >it's important not to buy into these terms uncritically. I'd be really >interested to hear from anyone who has thoughts on the birth and growth >of e-science, grid science etc at the policy level. Hi Christine, you might be interested in what a few colleagues and I call "Internet Science" (or i-science). The community of people (mostly from German-speaking countries) who call themselves Internet scientists all have one or several of the following four aims in doing their research: 1. Use the Internet as a tool for doing research (Web experiments; online surveys; non-reactive methods) 2. Study Internet-specific ("online") behavior 3. Study techniques for and characteristics of online methods (often in comparison with "offline" methods, identifying factors that may lead to different results) 4. Study offline methods using online studies Some of us have published in English as well, see for example "Dimensions of Internet Science" (http://www.genpsy.unizh.ch/reips/dis/) if you would like to read further. Best wishes, --ur

1 0

turn left for eats
by Barry Wellman 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

Folks have been asking me what to do for lunch and dinner in Toronto. I don't have the time for individual replies (and dunno if the local committee has a restaurant guide), but the rough answer is easy. Go out the Hilton door, and turn left, walking west on Queen St. As soon as you cross University Avenue (almost instantly), you will be in a funky strip with lotsa fun and (lowish cost) restaurants. The further west you walk, the funkier the strip gets (that's because the real estate prices are lower as you walk west.) Also fun clothing shops. And for the mall-deprived, turn right at the Hilton, walk east down Queen St, and at Bay Street you will see the Eatons Centre. Pretty good for a mall. And glance across Queen St from the hotel. You'll see our old and new city hall, with a nice Henry Moore piece in the courtyard of the new City Hall. C ya soon, 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 _____________________________________________________________________

2 1

October on -Empyre- Anamorph/Semiomorph:Playspace/Playlife
by magesm＠mesanetworks.net 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

Anamorphosis. from Greek, from anamorphoun to transform, from morphe form, shape] a an image or drawing distorted in such a way that it becomes recognizable only when viewed in a specified manner or through a special device b the process by which such images or drawings are produced 2 the evolution of one type of organism from another by a series of gradual changes Two artists play through the possibilities in the next discussion on Empyre. Please join Eugenie Shinkle (CA/UK) and Troy Innocent (AU) [ http://www.subtle.net/empyre ] beginning October 1 Empyre is pleased to host Eugenie and Troy in connection with Plaything Symposium, Sydney, October 10-12, 2003 http://www.dlux.org.au/ presented in partnership with, Sydney College of the Arts and the Media and Communications Faculty at the University of Sydney. Eugenie ponders affect and anamorphic in the rave-like world of touch based computer games where Cartesian space loses ground to special devices of touch and vision; and imagines an entranced VR that takes on the materiality of the technology of vision, and the affectivity of looking.' Troy explores 'semiotic morphism, a "systematic translation between sign systems" in which signified messages can be mapped onto various signifiers, multiplying and mutating instances of semiosis. The term captures the shape-shifting plasticity of relationships between sound, image, text, and users in virtual worlds; the interactions through which meaning is made, transformed and remade dynamically and synaesthetically in real time.' Troy Innocent has been exploring new aesthetics enabled by computers since 1989. Trained as a designer and practising as an artist,Innocent is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Multimedia & Digital Arts at Monash University, Melbourne. He is currently producing lifeSigns, an eco-system of signs and symbols. Other recent works include Semiomorph (ISEA02, Nagoya, Japan) and Iconica; trans'forms (Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia) Eugenie Shinkle, PhD lectures on in photographic theory and criticism in the School of Media, Arts and Design at Westminster University, London, UK. A former civil engineer, Eugenie worked as a waterflow control systems designer before dedicating herself to art practice and scholarship in photography and video a photographer and video artist since 1991. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n08/reviews/reviews_i… -- -empyre- is a soft space dedicated to an open, ongoing conversation on media arts and culture. Subscribe to -empyre- at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre --

1 0

final call who blogs
by jeremy hunsinger 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

this is my last call for bloggers related to AoIR, if you want to be included in the list send your url to me at cddc(a)vt.edu thanks, Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

1 0

The Communication Review - New Issue Alert
by david silver 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

Volume 6 Number 3/2003 of The Communication Review is now available on the Taylor & Francis web site at http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=JA0VP8TJHPBD> . This issue contains: Introduction <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=2M8QVM4KB635EJP5> to the Special Issue: Policy, Politics, and the Local Internet p. 179 CHRISTIAN SANDVIG The <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=YHJ6G1A8T90P6JYX> Aesthetics of the Internet in St. Petersburg: Why Metaphor Matters p. 185 DAWN NAFUS Digitizing <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=29H7NP2XF9XDP9E0> the Social Contract: Producing American Political Culture in the Age of New Media p. 213 PHILIP N. HOWARD The <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?id=TPXFDF0XWT8MTPJE> Internet and the Narrow Tailoring Dilemma for "Asian" Democracies p. 247 CHERIAN GEORGE

1 0

Re: [Air-l] arcade games as a political weapon
by ren＠aldermangroup.com 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

Fank Thomas wrote: >But is there anything special to the Internet in these games? As with most things Internet, costs of distribution will be low, reach to target audience could be high, and production costs could be low (I say could as America's Army is reputed to have a huge budget). So I’d say were are talking scale effects. Not sure with propaganda whether there are any key audience metrics e.g. you might be able to reach 60%+ of your target group through the net, are there tilt points due to, say, network effects which make the adoption of messages that much more efficient ? On games as conveyers of messages. I’ve asked around about whether averages score higher on standard advertising metrics for reception of brand message etc – however I have not come across any empirical studies and can think of theoretical arguments either way. Ren www.renreynolds.com ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 13:35:18 +0200 >From: Frank Thomas <frank.thomasftr(a)free.fr> >Subject: [Air-l] arcade games as a political weapon >To: air-l(a)aoir.org > >Today the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel writes about the deliberate >conception and use of arcade killer games in the Near and Middle East >conflicts and provides some links to the relevant websites: >a Syrian game: http://www.underash.net/emessage.htm >a game produced by (or for) the Hisbollah: >http://www.specialforce.net/english/indexeng.htm >the chase for Talibans as a screen leisure : >http://www.novalogic.com/games.asp?GameKey=DFTFD >the most recent US military "acts of patriotism and bravery" as a civic >education play : http://www.kumagames.com/kumawar.html >The author also mentions a pro-Israeli war game "Israeli Air Force" >without giving a link. > >But is there anything special to the Internet in these games? I 'd say >these are only the most recent developments within a long tradition. I >remember tin or plum soldiers in the play boxes of my friends decades >ago which had survived the war. They were conceived in the 1930s to >mentally prepare the German youth for war. And I guess, there were also >glorious British and French tin soldiers refighting past victories in >the same era. Today's generation of plays to mentally prepare the war of >the cultures is just a more recent version. Nothing special to the >Internet, I guess, besides the increased incitives to identify with the >Good. > >Die Hisbollah shootert zurück > >Von Christian Stöcker <mailto:dr_stoecker@web.de> > >Dass das Pentagon Spielefirmen sponsert, um jungen PC-Fans das Militär >schmackhaft zu machen, und gar Ego-Shooter für das Training nutzt, regt >kaum mehr jemanden auf. Mit Ausnahme der Hisbollah, die dieser >US-Propaganda nicht länger zusehen will: In ihren Computerspielen >fliegen die Kugeln in die andere Richtung.l > >http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzkultur/0,1518,267090,00.ht ml > > >Cheers >Frank > > > > >_______________________________________________ >Air-l mailing list >Air-l(a)aoir.org >http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

1 0

CFP: After Social Construction: Technology, Knowledge and Society
by Jonathan Sterne 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

[CFP -- please distribute widely; apologies for cross-posting] AFTER SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION: TECHNOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIETY A Special Issue of _Social Epistemology_ 500 word proposals due: 1 December 2003 Submission Deadline: 1 March 2004 Issue Editors Jonathan Sterne and Joan Leach Formatted .html and .pdf calls available at http://www.pitt.edu/~jsterne/asc.html. As promoted by Bruno Latour, Wiebe Bijker, Trevor Pinch, and many others, social construction of technology (SCOT) approaches have been a major force in technology studies. They have offered vital alternatives to positivistic and deterministic conceptions of technology; rich notions of human and technological agency; and new objects and approaches for the cultural, historical and philosophical approaches to technology. At the same time, critics have charged that SCOT does nothing more than repeatedly discover that it objects are "socially constructed." As the approach becomes more established in technology studies, and as authors like Ian Hacking challenge the limits of the SCOT paradigm, we want to know what comes next. Is this a moment to find the next step after social construction? Or is this a moment where we can build a new social epistemology of technology that presupposes a constructionist paradigm? For our special issue of _Social Epistemology_, the editors seek two kinds of submissions: ***full length essays (approximately 9000 words) that challenge, extend, rethink or pose robust alternatives to the SCOT approach ***short position papers of no more than 1000 words for a forum on the SCOT paradigm and the future of technology studies. Visit the _Social Epistemology_ page at Routledge for full style guidelines: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/sepauth.html Email submissions are preferred, though snail mail is acceptable. Send all submissions and queries to: Jonathan Sterne Department of Communication University of Pittsburgh 1117 Cathedral of Learning Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA Email MS Word or .rtf encoded attachments to: jsterne(a)pitt.edu

2 1

Re: e-science, the grid, and supercomputers
by Christine Hine 29 Sep '03

29 Sep '03

Since we're all declaring interests in e-science (and I too was at the Oxford symposium).... I've been studying the use of information and communication technologies in scientific research for some time now. I'm interested in the detail of how these technologies get integrated into working practices, and also how they get designed - in the past I combined ethnographic work with developers of computer systems for geneticists, with ethnography in a laboratory where these systems were used. But, getting to the point of e-science, I'm very interested in how high profile initiatives like grid computing cut across the existing work in the field, bringing some kinds of (often technology-driven) problems to the fore and marginalising others. Funny how when the interesting, novel and high tech stuff comes to the foreground, the ongoing mundane and routine computing work starts to get taken for granted, as if it always works perfectly! Currently I'm looking at the field of biological systematics (or taxonomy), looking at both the policy-level pronouncements which focus on particular uses of ICTs and at the working practices on the ground that use ICTs, whether in high profile initiatives or in more mundane work of simply getting the job done. The aim is to have some kind of map of what is going on, in order to explore what I'm thinking of as the shaping of cyberscience. The developments that I'm seeing in systematics are not grid computing but do fit within some people's definitions of e-science...... I'm certainly seeing that none of these terms are being used innocently and it's important not to buy into these terms uncritically. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who has thoughts on the birth and growth of e-science, grid science etc at the policy level. Christine Christine Hine Department of Sociology University of Surrey Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/christine_hine.htm

1 0