- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

request for colleague
by Nancy Baym 13 Dec '02

13 Dec '02

Our university has a webzine meant to publicize its research. The fellow who runs it wants to overhaul it and is seeking information about "how people look at the World Wide Web -- how they use it, where they linger and why, or whether they linger at all." He says he wants "to incorporate more flash -- and slideshows, video and all the rest -- in order to communicate university research and information -- so I need to know how people are using the web, whether their reading habits are different, whether prose is different on the web and so on." Rather a broad set of questions, I know, but if you have any good tips for him, could you please email them to him? His name is Roger Martin, rmartin(a)kucr.ku.edu The website in question is http://129.237.227.3/explore/v2n2/intro.html Thanks in advance, Nancy

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CFP China and the Internet conference
by Randolph Kluver (Assoc Prof) 12 Dec '02

12 Dec '02

Conference Announcement and Call for Papers > > CHINA AND THE INTERNET > Technology, Economy, and Society in Transition > > During the past decade, the Internet community in > China has grown exponentially. What was once foreign > to the Beijing literati has now become home to 46 > million Chinese. While worldwide Internet development > has slowed down due to the dot-com clash, the Internet > community in China continues to expand. > > To explore this interesting phenomenon, the conference > brings together scholars, researchers, policy > analysts, industry leaders, journalists, and legal > practitioners around the world. Among the issues > addressed are: Why can China sustain the Internet boom > despite the current adverse conditions? What is the > social, economic, and cultural impact of the Internet > on China? What roles do government authorities, > information technology firms, individual users, and > foreign businesses play in shaping the new technology > in China? How can China develop its information > society under a socialist market economy? > > The conference will be held at the University of > Southern California in Los Angeles on May 30-31, 2003. > It will be jointly sponsored by the Annenberg School > for Communication at the University of Southern > California, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at > Yeshiva University, Programme in Comparative Media Law > and Policy at the University of Oxford, and the School > of Journalism and Communication at Peking University. > > Papers presented at the conference will be selected > for publication in a journal or as a conference volume > (or both). We welcome submissions from all > disciplines. Partial or full travel grants will be > available to graduate students and international > attendants whose papers have been accepted for > presentation. > > If you are interested in submitting a proposal for > presentations or panels on any of the following > topics: > > - China's Internet policy and regulation > - usage patterns and social change > - regional network developments > - China's e-government initiatives > - e-commerce and the Internet market > - online journalism in China > - network security > - discourse of online citizen > > or if you have any further questions or suggestions > about the conference, please contact Prof. Peter Yu at > the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law > peter_yu(a)msn.com or Jack Qiu at the Annenberg School > for Communication (lqiu(a)usc.edu) > > All proposals will be peer reviewed and should consist > of at least 2 pages of single-lined text. To > facilitate the process, authorship and contact > information should be included on a separate sheet. > The deadline for submission is December 15, 2002.

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Digital Society Project
by Charlie Breindahl 11 Dec '02

11 Dec '02

Versión español al frente, versión portuguesa a continuación, versión inglesa al final. ________________________________________________________________ Comunicación científica a la comunidad de Internet y a la comunidad de la Sociedad de la Información. La Sociedad Digital www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org La presente comunicación tiene como objetivo informar a la comunidad de Internet y a la comunidad de la Sociedad de la Información las novedades de los últimos meses del Proyecto La Sociedad Digital. La Sociedad Digital es un proyecto abierto a la comunidad de Internet y de la Sociedad de la Información en el ámbito iberoamericano principalmente, pero no restringido exclusivamente a él. Se trata de la creación del primer espacio de convergencia para los especialistas de habla castellana y portuguesa, bajo la forma de un Portal de la Sociedad de la Información (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) La estructuración de este espacio comprende, en primer lugar, una subdivisión por áreas temáticas consideradas trascendentes para el desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información, tales como lengua, brecha digital, gobierno digital, estudios especiales, legislación, situación por países, etc. Una segunda subdivisión apunta a elementos de interactividad como noticias, proyectos, observatorios de información, etc. que apuntan a generar un espacio de intercambio y sinergia entre los especialistas de la región, en la búsqueda de modelos de aplicación y resultados de investigaciones, para que todos sus participantes puedan beneficiarse, construyendo, entre todos, el espacio de la Sociedad de la Información en su tránsito hacia la Sociedad del Conocimiento. Invitamos, en consecuencia, a todos, a visitar el Portal, integrarse, enviar sus aportes intelectuales y usar todos los recursos en él disponibles, los que son, por supuesto, de uso libre y gratuito. (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) Pueden comunicarse a info(a)sociedaddigital.org. Todos los comentarios, aportes y observaciones serán bienvenidos. Muy cordialmente, El Presidente del Consejo de Directores de La Sociedad Digital, Prof. Dr. Ricardo Petrissans de Aguilar ricardo(a)sociedaddigital.org La presente comunicación se realiza por única vez. Se trata de una comunicación científica destinada a los miembros de la Comunidad Científica Iberoamericana. En caso que este mensaje sea considerado por su receptor como carente de interés, rogamos se sirva deletear el mismo. Muchas gracias. _______________________________________________________________ Comunicação Científica à comunidade da Internet e à Comunidade da Sociedade da Informação. La Sociedad Digital comunica aos usuários da Internet e à comunidade da Sociedade da Informação La Sociedad Digital - www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org A presente comunicação tem como objetivo informar à comunidade da Internet e à Comunidade da Sociedade da Informação as novidades dos últimos meses do Projeto da Sociedade Digital. La Sociedad Digital é um projeto aberto à comunidade da Internet e à Sociedade da Informação no âmbito ibero-americano, principalmente, porém não restrito exclusivamente a ele. Trata-se da criação do primeiro espaço de convergência para os especialistas de idioma castelhano e português, sob a forma de um Portal da Sociedade da Informação (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) A estruturação deste espaço compreende, em primeiro lugar, uma subdivisão por áreas temáticas, consideradas transcendentes para o desenvolvimento da Sociedade da Informação, tais como idioma, brecha digital, governo digital, estudos especiais, legislação, situação por país, etc. Uma segunda subdivisão aponta para elementos de interatividade como notícias, projetos, observatórios de informação, etc., no sentido de gerar um espaço de intercâmbio e sinergia entre os especialistas da região, na busca de modelos de aplicação e resultados de investigações, para que todos seus participantes possam se beneficiar, construindo entre todos o espaço da Sociedade da Informação em seu trânsito até a Sociedade do Conhecimento. Convidamos, então, a todos para uma visita ao Portal, para se integrarem, enviar suas contribuições intelectuais e usar todos os recursos nele disponíveis, que são de uso livre e gratuito. (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) Para se comunicarem, utilizem info(a)sociedaddigital.org Todos os comentários, contribuições e observações serão bem-vindos. Cordialmente Prof. Dr. Ricardo Petrissans de Aguilar Presidente do Conselho de Diretores de La Sociedad Digital ricardo(a)sociedaddigital.org A presente comunicação se realiza uma única vez. Trata-se de comunicação científica destinada aos membros da Comunidade Científica Ibero-americana. Caso esta mensagem seja considerada pelo receptor como carente de interesse, pedimos que seja deletada. Muito obrigado. ________________________________________________________________ Scientific message to the Internet Community and to the Information Society Community. The Digital Society www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org This message has the objective of informing the Internet Community and the Information Society Community the latest news about The Digital Society Project. The Digital Society is a project open mainly to the Internet Community and the Information Society Community in Latin American, however without restrictions to any other countries or regions in the world. It is about the creation of the first forum to portuguese and spanish speaking specialists, under the structure of an internet gate (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) The structure of this space is divided, in its first level, into areas considered of extreme importance to the development of the Information Society, such as language, (brechas digitais), e-Government, special studies, legislation and country information. On a second level, there are interactive elements such as news, special projects and information centres designed to promote interchanges and synergy between regional specialists, always searching for new models, applications and research results, benefiting all users and paving the road between the Information Society and the Knowledge Society. Therefore, we invite everyone to visit the Internet site, integrate yourself in the community, contribute with your knowledge and use all free available resources. Our address : (www.sociedaddigital.org / www.asociedadedigital.org) Please send any queries and comments to info(a)sociedaddigital.org. All comments, queries and contributions are welcome. Cordially, President of the Digital Society Board of Directors Ricardo Petrissans de Aguilar, MSc, PhD. ricardo(a)sociedaddigital.org This message will only be sent once, since it is intended to be directed to the members of the Latin America Scientific Community. If it is not of your interest, please delete it. Thank you for your time and attention.

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asist coference Long Beach, CA Oct. 20-23, 2003
by jeremy hunsinger 10 Dec '02

10 Dec '02

> > > Call for Papers > > Humanizing Information Technology: > From Ideas to Bits and Back > > American Society for Information Science and Technology Annual > Conference Long Beach, CA Oct. 20-23, 2003 (click here for important > due dates) > > Papers, posters and presentations are solicited in a wide variety of > information and technology related areas, including: > > > • Information management, organization and access, including > classification and representation, metadata, taxonomies, indexing, > XML, information architecture, digital libraries. > > • Information seeking and use, including research on the role of > information in daily lives and in work and the professions, use of > various types of information technology, social contexts of > information seeking. > > • Information retrieval: information system performance, search > engines, natural language processing, data mining, intelligent > retrieval, multi- and cross-lingual retrieval. > > • Interactivity: user and usability studies, design of human-computer > interfaces, visualization, for all types of information technology. > > • Ethical, social, political, legal and economic issues related to the > role of information in society, such as privacy, copyright, > information policy, as well as the social role of information > technologies such as the Internet and the World Wide Web. > > • Information production, transfer, and delivery, electronic > publishing and dissemination. > > • Technologies for computing and networking: information > communication, collaboration, information security, e-commerce. > jeremy hunsinger jhuns(a)vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments

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Re: [Air-l] Internet History/Stages, was Internet in Everyday Life
by Lisa-Jane McGerty 09 Dec '02

09 Dec '02

Thanks to Steve for some thought-provoking comments. I've also recently grappled with the issue of Internet/internet though for slightly different reasons. In my PhD thesis (now almost completed) I abandoned early on the use of Internet with the capital 'I', preferring instead to use 'internet'. This was partly due to the fact that other media are not capitalised, as Steve points out, and also that using the capitalised version somehow implied that it is set apart from the everyday, that it should somehow stand out or is mysterious. As my thesis is looking at everyday domestic uses of the internet this seemed wrong. Also, using 'Internet' seemed somehow to reify all the biases inherent in the early history of the technology (the gender, class, and ethnic biases particularly) which I did not want to do. So I now always use 'internet', although I always try to pin this down by stating what I really mean by the term (i.e. am I just referring to the WWW, or to other aspects of the wider global internet, or to some historical interpretation of it, or whatever). I just wanted to throw this in as this is the first time I've seen this topic discussed anywhere! Lisa Lisa McGerty Applied Social Sciences University of Bradford, UK ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Jones <sjones(a)uic.edu> To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 12:32 AM Subject: Re: [Air-l] Internet History/Stages, was Internet in Everyday Life > Email overload, I'm finally picking up threads of conversations from > days ago.... > > In short, although my talk focused largely on issues related to > immersive virtual reality, it began by discussing networks, and I did > say that I thought it is time to abandon the notion of an "Internet" > and think about an "internet." (With due respect for citation, this > occurred to me after a lengthy phone conversation with Joe Turow in > which he noted that other media are not capitalized.) The former I > use to refer to the process, begun in the 1960s with U.S. government > funding, of connecting computers and standardizing communication > among them. The latter I use to refer to the networking of computers > that may or, more importantly, may not rely on that process. In this > latter category are included any type of networking project, from > home networking to wireless network to cellular networks to Internet2 > and so on. In other words, _the Internet_ is an internet (i.e., > internetwork) but _the internet_ is a medium akin to other media > (e.g., television, radio, etc.). > > The larger point was that use of the term "network" embedded in these > is itself important, whether we are discussing the actual, as in > hardware, software, etc., or more importantly when discussing the > symbolic, as in the relatively recent popular use of networks as > metaphors for everything from stock markets to relationships to > biology. That's what made me strongly consider _internet_, for I've > been reminded of the ways in which a signal point in the development > of media is when we begin to use it symbolically and metaphorically > to compare other aspects of life to it. > > I expect to develop this further when I get to taking the talk and > turning it into something publishable at some point, but in relation > to the discussion at hand that's what Ulla was referring to, and > while it doesn't really sort out the matter of "Internet eras," > perhaps it does provide still another way to think about the > development of the technology and its uses (symbolic and otherwise). > > Thanks, > Sj > > At 7:29 PM -0500 11/25/02, Ulla Bunz wrote: > >last week at the national communication association Steve Jones was > >featured in a keynote conversation. He talked about "internet" > >versus "Internet." > > > >Steve, are you willing to repeat the main thoughts here briefly? > > > >Ulla > > > > > >> > >> From: david silver <dsilver(a)u.washington.edu> > >> Date: 2002/11/25 Mon PM 07:12:30 EST > >> To: air-l(a)aoir.org > >> Subject: [Air-l] Internet History/Stages, was Internet in Everyday Life > >> > >> Hi Folks, > >> > >> i just returned after giving a class lecture which featured an abbreviated > >> history of the internet and found barry's post quite interesting. besides > >> information about his and caroline haythornthwaite's book, he included the > >> following excerpt from the introduction: > >> > >> *** > >> > >> Excerpts from the Editors' Introduction, > >> Barry Wellman and Caroline Haythornthwaite: > >> > >> _The Internet in Everyday Life_ is about the second age of the Internet as > >> it descends from the firmament and becomes embedded in everyday life. The > >> first age of the Internet was a bright light shining above everyday > >> concerns. In the euphoria, many analysts lost their perspective. The rapid > >> contraction of the dot.com economy has brought down to earth the > >> once-euphoric belief in the infinite possibility of Internet life. > >> > >> *** > >> > >> i'm curious about this notion of two stages of the internet. if i'm > >> reading the paragraph correctly, the authors suggest the net has had two > >> stages: before and after the dot.com crash. i'm interested in hearing > >> what others think about this concept of a two-staged internet history. > >> > >> in my own lecture this morning, i tracked a number of stages, all of which > >> contain, i believe, significant differences between them. for example > >> (and this is the abridged version): > >> > >> 1960s/early 1970s - ARPANET > >> > >> 1975 - a more social internet with lists like SF-Lovers > >> > >> 1979 - a more public internet (here i'm defining the internet more > > > expansively) with the introduction of usenet groups > >> > >> late 1980s/early 1990s - mass influx of users via prodigy/compuserve/aol > >> > >> 1991 - a more distributive (and later graphical) turn with berners-lee's > >> world wide web, followed by mosaic (1993), and netscape (1994) > >> > >> 1995 - netscape goes public, wall street goes crazy, dot.com daze begins > >> > >> etc etc etc. > >> > >> (like all historical stages, these are complex and reflect an interesting > >> intersection among social and cultural contexts, technological > >> developments, economic conditions, etc.) > >> > >> thoughts? > >> > >> david silver > >> http://faculty.washington.edu/dsilver/ > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Air-l mailing list > >> Air-l(a)aoir.org > >> http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l > >> > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Air-l mailing list > >Air-l(a)aoir.org > >http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l > > > _______________________________________________ > Air-l mailing list > Air-l(a)aoir.org > http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l >

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CFP: Digital Games & Society
by Jason Rutter 06 Dec '02

06 Dec '02

Apologies for any cross posting. Digital Games and Society A special edition of Information, Communication and Society CALL FOR PAPERS Academic research and debate around digital games, gaming industries and the associated practices has begun to rapidly expand and develop in recent years. New empirical and theoretical investigations have broadened previous concerns with text-based analysis and debate over violent content by exploring more broad social, economic and cultural questions. Recent technological developments in gaming platforms and network access have reshaped domestic leisure, social interaction and contemporary forms of consumption. Further, the growth of mobile gaming, the promise of always-on gaming connections, and experiments in mediated reality and pervasive/convergence games (such as EA's Majestic) have raised important questions about access, identity, privacy and the nature of public/private spaces which have yet to be fully explored. In response to these developments Information, Communication & Society (iCS) are planning to publish a special edition on digital gaming in December 2003 with Jason Rutter (CRIC, Manchester University) and Jo Bryce (University of Central Lancashire) as guest editors and hence invites the submissions of papers for consideration for inclusion. Given the international and interdisciplinary remit of iCS papers are being called for on, but not restricted to, the following computer, video and mobile game themes: * New and newly mediated forms of interaction and identity * User demand, consumption and production * Game cultures, communities and social organisation * Globalisation and localisation * Everyday experiences of digital gaming * Gender, exclusion and negotiated involvement * Digital gaming and education * Labour markets, ethical practices and international distribution Papers should not exceed 7000 words and include an abstract of up to 300 words along with a list of up to six key words. They must represent original, unpublished, work which is not under consideration for publication elsewhere Please send email submissions (preferably in as a Microsoft Word file) to Jason.Rutter(a)man.ac.uk The deadline for receipt of complete papers is 6th December 2002. More information on iCS, paper layout and references can be found at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1369118x.html. Authors are recommended to consult this and/or the journal itself before submitting a paper for consideration. Questions about the special edition should be directed to Jason.Rutter(a)man.ac.uk. -- Dr Jason Rutter (Research Fellow) ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC), The University of Manchester, Harold Hankins Building, Booth Street West, Manchester, M13 9QH PH: +44 (0) 161 275 6859 Fax: +44 (0) 161 275 7361 http://www.cric.ac.uk/cric/Jason_Rutter

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Can there be a social movement informatics?
by Walker, Steve [IES] 06 Dec '02

06 Dec '02

Call for Papers One day Workshop: Can there be a Social Movement Informatics? Over the last two decades, the rapid spread of low cost ICT, and most particularly of the Internet, has opened up a range of opportunities for a range of socially-oriented movements and organisations. For example, women's, human rights, community, labour and more recently anti-globalisation and global justice groups are all developing ways of using ICT to further social ends, as have others with less desirable ends such as US hate groups and a variety of cults. Over a similar period, research into the use of information and information systems has highlighted the importance of social and organisational context in influencing patterns of technology use and development. The purpose of this workshop is to examine the idea of a 'social movement informatics', and explore whether it constitutes a distinct area of study analogous with, for example, health informatics, community informatics or environmental informatics. We seek to address questions such as: Do the various contexts, values and ways of working of social movements have enough in common with each other, and distinctiveness from the business-oriented mainstream of much informatics research, to warrant specific study? What are the distinguishing features of a social movement informatics? What are the main current topics of interest in such a social movement informatics? We are inviting authors to submit papers or presentations for discussion. Suggested topics may include, but are not limited to: - Informatics and organisation of social movements - Social conflict and the net - Developing and evaluating informatics systems in social movement settings - Information systems ethics - Social movements and Internet governance - Transnational CMC in social movements - Informatics and learning in social movements - Digital divide and social movements - Case studies Abstracts of no more than 500 words for papers or presentations should be emailed to the organisers by 31st January 2003. Participants will be notified by Friday 14th Feb 2003. Completed presentations and/or papers should be emailed by 11th April, to allow for distribution at the event. The workshop is being organised by Steve Walker (s.walker(a)lmu.ac.uk) and Eddie Halpin (e.halpin(a)lmu.ac.uk) of the Social Movement Informatics Research Group - a nascent group of researchers, from the School of Information Management, Leeds Metropolitan University. Date: 10-4:30 April 29th 2003 Location: School of Information Management, Priestley Hall, Beckett Park Campus, LEEDS, UK Costs: £30 - please contact organisers for concessions.

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Re: Technology & Tolerance
by Walker, Steve [IES] 06 Dec '02

06 Dec '02

Gina, There was an intersting paper presented at the Euricom 'Political Economy of Convergence' colloquium in London in 1999 which looked at where prominent sites (mostly search engines, from memory) obtained their news tracing them back to feeds from the major news agencies. Unfortunately I don't have the reference, but perhaps someone on the list might have it. Steve >From: "Gina Neff" <ginasue(a)panix.com> >To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> >Subject: Re: [Air-l] Technology & Tolerance >Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 10:01:21 -0500 >Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org >On a related note, the role of the Internet on the political orientation >of news is being hotly debated among U.S. conservatives and liberals. In >part because the Federal Communications Commission is gearing up to >loosen ownership restrictions on mass media outlets, right and left have >been debating whether mass media still need to be as tigthly regulated >with the advent of the Internet. What's interesting to see in this >debate is the way the Internet is thought of as increasing access to the >political ideas of those making the argument. Yesterday's New York Times >ran an article that made an liberal McChesney-ite argument by saying <that the Internet challenges corporate media domination. This weekend >Edward Lynch made a similar argument from the right by saying that the >Internet challenges liberal domination of the media. IMHO, what's being >left out of this debate is the variable of who owns Internet news >outlets, the probibitive expense of constantly updated news, and the >effects of the Internet crash on news online. >links to both below... >best, >gina >Gina Neff >Department of Sociology >Columbia University

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UPDATED: NPO/NGO Media & Technology Calendar
by Art McGee 05 Dec '02

05 Dec '02

NPO/NGO Media & Technology Calendar: http://amcgee.freeshell.org/mtcalendar.html Art

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Internet Use and Social Network DIversity
by dca4＠georgetown.edu 05 Dec '02

05 Dec '02

Another resource with some very good studies and insights can be found is Community Informatics, Shaping Computer Mediated Social Relations, editors Leigh Keeble and Brian D. Loader. Dorine Andrews Research Professor - CCT Program Georgetown University 202-784-4338 410-366-0994 www.georgetown.edu/faculty/dca4

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