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Have a great conference ... research ideas for 2004
by Steven Clift 16 Oct '03

16 Oct '03

It was great to meet so many of you when your conference came through Minneapolis in 2001. I'll have to scan your agenda and pretend that I am there. If you attend the "e-democracy: Localism" session <http://www.ecommons.net/aoir/aoir2003/index.php?p=114> on Sunday be sure to grill Jakob Jensen <http://www.jakoblinaa.blogspot.com/> on his paper about about "Minnesota E-Democracy - Online Participation And Political Effects" <http://www.ecommons.net/aoir/aoir2003/index.php?t=328>. :-) I think the questions that he asked our forum participants get at the important agenda-setting issues and provide a useful template for future comparisons with other forums. They also help one imagine the political impact of the online medium if such local public issue forums were successfully implemented in more cities. E-Democracy.Org does have a research section on our web site <http://www.e-democracy.org/research/> with the fresh content toward the bottom of the page. Some less know articles linked from here include: Bridging and Bonding Social Capital in an Online Public Sphere: the case of MN E-Democracy (Word), a Masters Thesis by Kimberly B. Kirn, 2001- Provided by E-Democracy with the permission of the author. Civic Engagement in the Cyberspace Era: A Study of a Local Cybergroup (PDF), A Ph.D by Gay Henry Lyons, 2002 - This is NOT focused on Minnesota E-Democracy specifically, but it does explore a similar forum like our own in Knoxville, Tennesse. As I indicated, E-Democracy.Org is interested in working with researchers ready to create vital knowledge about the application of information and communication technologies and strategies _with_ democratic intent. So as you get ready for AOIR in 2004, feel free to contact us. Steven Clift E-Democracy.Org http://www.e-democracy.org/about

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influencing digital policy
by Sandra Braman 16 Oct '03

16 Oct '03

Beginning in the 1970s, policy-makers in every branch of government began to admit that it was difficult to make laws and regulations dealing with digital technologies because they didn't really understand those technologies, how they were used, and the effects of those uses. Members of AOIR have answers to those questions, but like other academics find it difficult to get what they know into the heads and hands of policy-makers. Experiences of scholars of information, communication, and culture of the past who tried to bring the scholarly and policy communities closer together clarify just what those difficulties are and identify useful and effective responses or work-arounds. Those of you who hope that the results of your research might inform policy-making may be interested in a recently published book, COMMUNICATION RESEARCHERS AND POLICY-MAKING, that reviews the history of the experience of the field through the voices of those involved, and analyzes that history in light of today's deep need for more informed policy-making. Information about the book can be found at http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=B4469E64-5925-44A2-A5B…, and MIT Press will have the book in its display at the upcoming conference. Sandra Braman

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autism, children and computers
by catherine middleton 16 Oct '03

16 Oct '03

Posting on behalf of Wendy Keay-Bright and Derek Freeman, please reply to freeman(a)dircon.co.uk October is Autism Awareness month in Canada. Reactive Colours Creative Presentation, 830AM Friday October 17, Room 5, Hilton Toronto by Wendy Keay-Bright and Derek Freeman of Cardiff School of Art and Design, Wales, UK Documenting visually the introduction, and first reaction, of children on the autistic spectrum to computers, a creative presentation of Reactive Colours software will explore the implications of, and explain how design, utilizing open development and community participation, can create a neutral interface where communication, through play, can occur more easily than is usual with autistic children. Please come along or if you're unable to join us ,do contact Wendy and Derek through freeman(a)dircon.co.uk and we can arrange to meet.

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another dumb question
by Norman Clark 15 Oct '03

15 Oct '03

I tried to find this info on the website, but I couldn't, so here goes my dumb question: will we be receiving a paper copy of the conference program when we arrive at the conference, or should I go ahead and print out the PDF if I want something I can look at without having to turn on my laptop? ;-) Thanks, Norm Clark

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.pdf program
by Jonathan Sterne 15 Oct '03

15 Oct '03

Well done, and thanks for the many responses! --J

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Blogging at AoIR
by JASON NOLAN 15 Oct '03

15 Oct '03

Blogging and Updates at AoIR 2003 As part of the AoIR conference, we (Jason Nolan, Bernie Hogan and Michelle Levesque) been asked to set up a conference blog, as a nexus to bring together all the various blog posts that conference attendees may make. The site is up now at http://edublog.com/aoir. The blog will serve a variety of functions, but the main three are: to keep you up to date on last minute conference changes and information; bring together new feeds from all the other AoIR bloggers attending the conference; and to server as a bit of a meta-blog for the over-all conference. Our list of AoIR bloggers is based on Thomas Burg's http://randgaenge.net/outlines/AOIR_blogs.html that he created based on the names solicited by Jeremy Hunsinger from AoIR list members. If you would like to be included on this list, please contact Thomas <editor(a)randgaenge.net>. Note: bloggers with RSS feeds will be automagically added to our news feed. Those without feeds will be added manually, as we can get to them. Please check the http://edublog.com/aoir regularly for updates, information, and for a sense of what's going on in the sessions you missed. There will be ibooks in the Apple Cybercafe available at the conference, and we'll have a public blog available where folks without a blog can try things out. For any information on getting the AoIR aggregation, please contact Jason, Bernie and KAT at aoir(a)edublog.com -- ------ Jason Nolan, PhD Scholar in Residence, Knowledge Media Design Institute, UofT Senior Fellow, McLuhan, Program in Culture and Technology, UofT Lecturer, School of Early Childhood Education, RyersonU --- mailto:jason@jasonnolan.net http://jasonnolan.net/

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online gamine studies
by Laurie & Bill Henry 15 Oct '03

15 Oct '03

I see James Gee as the leader in the field of on-line gaming. He presented at the Multiliteracies conference in Belgium at the end of September. He had several of his doctoral students there with him. I would suggest getting in touch with him regarding IRB issues. Laurie Henry PhD Student Literacy and Technology University of Connecticut

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AoIR 4.0 Conference registration hours
by catherine middleton 15 Oct '03

15 Oct '03

We look forward to meeting you in Toronto this week for AoIR 4.0. The conference registration desk is located in the foyer on the convention level at the Toronto Hilton Hotel. The desk will be open Wednesday, October 15th 6 pm to 9 pm Thursday, October 16th and Friday, October 17th 8 am to 5:30 pm Saturday, October 18th 8 am to 2 pm If you are in town on Wednesday, you may want to participate in the lab open house, or the preconference workshops. See http://aoir.org/2003/conference.html#lab and http://aoir.org/2003/conference.html#pre for details. The book exhibit will be open during registration hours on Wednesday evening, and is located in the Johnston Room on the convention level at the Hilton. See you soon in Toronto. Rhiannon Bury Catherine Middleton Olivia Robertson

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dumb conference question
by Jonathan Sterne 14 Oct '03

14 Oct '03

I apologize for wasting the bandwidth on this one. When I go to http://aoir.org/2003/ and click on the schedule link, I can get a list of papers by author, and I can get a schedule that lists stuff by session title. This is all thanks to the hard work of Matthew Allen and the other organizers. Hats off to them. Unfortunately, I'm lazy and want to be able to look at it like a regular conference program where you see it organized by time, with session titles AND paper authors and titles listed as well. Does such a thing exist? Am I simply missing an obvious link? Thanks. --Jonathan

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Birds of a Feather meeting-- Gaming group
by Mia Consalvo 14 Oct '03

14 Oct '03

Hi all, Just a reminder (the forum for bof seems to have wiped our info out) that those interested in getting together and talking about digital games should plan to meet Friday morning, 8 a.m. at the Governor General's Suite, Second floor of the Hilton. I know that's painfully early-- perhaps we can drink lots of coffee and plan another outing at a better time and place. Thanks! Mia -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. 213 RTVC School of Telecommunications 9 South College Street Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 (740) 597-1521 consalvo(a)ohio.edu

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