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Marconi Society Digital Inclusion Leadership Certificate
by Joly MacFie 09 Aug '22

09 Aug '22

The Marconi Society is partnering with Arizona State University to create the first professional accreditation for digital inclusion leadership. This program will shape the field of digital inclusion and establish a workforce development pipeline. In order to qualify for federal broadband infrastructure funding, cities, counties, and states must develop comprehensive broadband plans. These plans require interdisciplinary expertise most government staff do not have, so governments will need to skill up existing staff, hire consultants, or create new digital inclusion roles and fill them. While many national and local organizations are working on the ground to improve digital inclusion, the field has no established workforce development program. The Marconi Society is partnering with Arizona State University (ASU) to create this online certificate, which is designed to build a digital inclusion workforce that can meet the interdisciplinary challenges of this young field. Leading experts in technology, policy, and digital inclusion present a compelling and cross-disciplinary curriculum. The program will provide a professional certification as well as access to ongoing affinity working groups, webinars, a resource library, peer networking opportunities, and other relevant published information. The program will launch with a pilot cohort in the fall of 2022. The full certificate is expected to be available in the fall of 2023. Join the waitlist! https://www.marconisociety.org/programs-services/digital-inclusion-leadersh…

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Special Issue: The Lonely Nerd: Cultural representations of nerds around the world
by Johnson, Gareth 09 Aug '22

09 Aug '22

Dear all, We're delighted to announce the publication the latest special issue of Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal, this time in collaboration with Scholars at Oxford and SOAS. The issue is a celebration and exploration of 'the lonely nerd' trope from around the world in various media and cultural settings. Direct access and table of contents below. Best wishes Gareth Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal Volume 9 No 3 (2022) – Special Issue Lonely Nerd https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3 Table of Contents Gareth J Johnson. Going Where My Heart Will Take Me: Editorial, Volume 9, Part 3. pp. i-xii. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.1186. Filippo Cervelli & Benjamin Schaper. Socially Inept?: The perceived loneliness of nerds. pp. 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.946. Benjamin Schaper. Conquering the Meatspace: The lonely nerd in David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010) and Baran bo Odar’s Who Am I (2014). pp. 11-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.866. Janée Burkhalter. ‘Gus, don’t be the comma in Earth, Wind & Fire’: Understanding Psych’s (sometimes) lonely blerd Burton Guster. pp. 30-45. https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.869. Alena Cicholewski: ‘A place where everybody is a legendary hero… and a total dork’: Representing the American nerd community as an antidote to loneliness in G. Willow Wilson’s Ms. Marvel Comics (2014-2019). pp. 46-61. https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.861. Sharon Coleclough. So Many Ways to be an Outsider: ‘Nerdism’ and ethnicity as signifiers of otherness. pp. 62-83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.859. Rebecca Lewis. The Simultaneity of Loneliness and Popularity in Dear Evan Hansen. pp. 84-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.864. Daniele Durante. From Misfit to Guide: Toward a corrective depiction of Otaku and Hikikomori in Japanese videogame Persona 5. pp. 104-123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.854. Natalia Rumak. Sherlock and Shārokku: ‘Nerdy’ detectives in the West and in the East. pp. 124-144. https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.860. Kwasu David Tembo. Social and Spatial Representations of the Nerd in Donnie Darko. pp. 145-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.917. Carolin Fleischer-Heininger. Loneliness as the New Human Condition in Murakami Ryū's In za miso sūpu: Otaku-ness, space, violence and sexuality. pp. 162-184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.893. Christopher Smith: Consumable Bodies, Consumable Self: The queer potential of otaku subjectivity in Kio Shimoku’s Genshiken. pp. 185-202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.855. Filippo Cervelli. Saved by the Nerd: Otaku and the space of family in Summer Wars. pp. 203-225. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v9i3.887. --- Dr Gareth (Gaz) J Johnson Managing Editor-in-Chief, Exchanges Journal Room C0.10, Institute of Advanced Study, Zeeman Building, University of Warwick https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/ T: 024 765 7443 (extn 74423) E: gareth.johnson(a)warwick.ac.uk<mailto:gareth.johnson@warwick.ac.uk> B: https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/exchangesias/ Tw:@ExchangesIAS<https://twitter.com/ExchangesIAS> P: https://anchor.fm/exchangesias

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Against Catastrophe: Ukraine Dispatch (Website Launch)
by Sudipto Basu 09 Aug '22

09 Aug '22

*Project Launch for AGAINST CATASTROPHE**: UKRAINE DISPATCH* Hi everyone, Hope you all had a pleasant summer break. We are happy to launch the website for our multimodal research project, ‘Against Catastrophe’ <https://againstcatastrophe.net/>, with the *Ukraine Dispatch*. Our project challenges the normalization of catastrophic thinking and necropolitical designs in the contemporary world. It does so through the histories of science and technology, infrastructure studies, environmental criticism, research-based art and speculative design. The project outputs <https://againstcatastrophe.net/about> will include an edited volume, offline and online art/design exhibitions, and a series of online publications. As we were conceptualizing the project, Russia invaded Ukraine. Faced with the resulting humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, we felt a need to respond to the unfolding tragedy. With ‘Dispatches’ – a short-form, multimedia, online publishing format – we hope to move past the news cycle-based temporality of contemporary catastrophism, but faster than traditional academic publishing, to shed light on the longer-term structural causes and implications of catastrophes. In the first dispatch, on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, our intention is not to offer a single response to the immediate human tragedy, but to explore the war in and beyond the multiple catastrophes it has wrought. The six collected dispatches here – by Asia Bazdyrieva <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/of-brushwood-reeds-and-foil>, Anna Engelhardt <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/adversarial-infrastructures>, Krolikowski Art <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/start-over>, Katarzyna Nowak <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/mourning-a-forest-road>, Oleksiy Radynski <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/nord-stream-studies>, and Jonathon Turnbull et al. <https://againstcatastrophe.net/dispatch-1/the-dogs-that-survived> – examine the infrastructural and environmental antecedents and impacts of the war. You can read the full editorial statement here: https://againstcatastrophe.net/editorial ‘Against Catastrophe’ is led by Dr. Orit Halpern, Lighthouse Professor and Chair of Digital Cultures and Societal Change at Technische Universität Dresden. The core project team <https://againstcatastrophe.net/ac-team> is based out of Concordia University (Montreal), MIT, and TU-Dresden. ‘Against Catastrophe’ is funded by Fonds de recherche du Québec and the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is part of the larger Governing Through Design research cluster. [Our apologies for crossposting] Regards, Sudipto Basu and Jan Dutkiewicz, on behalf of the 'Against Catastrophe' team Sudipto Basu PhD student, Film and Moving Image Studies, Concordia (Montreal / Kolkata) https://concordia.academia.edu/SudiptoBasu

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Online Survey on Media Consumption Behavior
by ALEXANDER WASDAHL 08 Aug '22

08 Aug '22

Hello everyone, I am conducting an (extremely brief) online survey on media consumption behavior as part of my dissertation project on automated journalism. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete and I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to fill it out. Thanks! Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M7CS2BR Best regards, Alex Wasdahl -- Alex Wasdahl PhD Candidate, Information Studies Graduate School of Education & Information Studies University of California, Los Angeles alexwasdahl(a)g.ucla.edu | alexwasdahl16(a)gmail.com

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Robert Gehl and Sean Lawson, Social Engineering
by Ilana Gershon 08 Aug '22

08 Aug '22

Dear Colleagues, Emma Briant asks Robert Gehl and Sean Lawson questions about their book, Social Engineering on the CaMP anthropology blog today. https://campanthropology.org Best, Ilana Press blurb: The United States is awash in manipulated information about everything from election results to the effectiveness of medical treatments. Corporate social media is an especially good channel for manipulative communication, with Facebook a particularly willing vehicle for it. In *Social Engineering*, Robert Gehl and Sean Lawson show that online misinformation has its roots in earlier techniques: mass social engineering of the early twentieth century and interpersonal hacker social engineering of the 1970s, converging today into what they call “masspersonal social engineering.” As Gehl and Lawson trace contemporary manipulative communication back to earlier forms of social engineering, possibilities for amelioration become clearer. The authors show how specific manipulative communication practices are a mixture of information gathering, deception, and truth-indifferent statements, all with the instrumental goal of getting people to take actions the social engineer wants them to. Yet the term “fake news,” they claim, reduces everything to a true/false binary that fails to encompass the complexity of manipulative communication or to map onto many of its practices. They pay special attention to concepts and terms used by hacker social engineers, including the hacker concept of “bullshitting,” which the authors describe as a truth-indifferent mix of deception, accuracy, and sociability. They conclude with recommendations for how society can undermine masspersonal social engineering and move toward healthier democratic deliberation.

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Postdoc: 1-year position studying social media posts
by Raymond Drainville 08 Aug '22

08 Aug '22

Located at the University of Waterloo, Canada, Project Figleaf is looking for an experienced social media researcher to join us as a postdoc starting 1 October 2022. The postdoc will help collect and filter social media data regarding racist and conspiracist discourse. The position lasts for one year and comes with a salary of CAD$70,000, money for conference travel, and hardware/software purchases. What is Project Figleaf? What is a Figleaf? The Project is an interdisciplinary venture between philosophy and social media studies. It focuses on "figleaves"—a snippet of communication (textual or visual) that serves to mitigate the violation of social norms when relaying racist or conspiracist content, making the content more palatable to undecided readers. The Project aims to identify common figleaf terms in both racist and conspiracist discourse, the venues/forums where they are used, and the comparative success of figleaves to spread racist or conspiracist content. More Information More information about the position, its requirements, and how to apply may be found here: https://projectfigleaf.org/postdoctoral-position-with-project-figleaf/. For more about the Project and figleaves, please see the main page: https://projectfigleaf.org/. Questions about the postdoc may be forwarded to Ray Drainville (ray.drainville(a)uwaterloo.ca) but please send applications as per the instructions on the application page above.

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[Call for participants] Workshop on Platform Ambivalence
by Jelke Bosma 08 Aug '22

08 Aug '22

Dear all, We are inviting applications for an early career workshop on Platform Ambivalence, hosted by Eva Mos and Jelke Bosma, PhD candidates of the Platform Labor project at the University of Amsterdam. With the concept of platform ambivalence, we aim to center ambivalence and discuss it as an inherent and core feature of platforms, highlighting platformization’s contested and conflicted nature in organizations and everyday life. The workshop takes place in Amsterdam on October 21st 2022 and we have space for 10 participants. The deadline for applications is Monday August 22. The full Call for Participants and more detailed information is attached to this email as a pdf and available through our website: https://platformlabor.net/announcements/workshop-platform-ambivalence. Best regards, Jelke Bosma — PhD Researcher Platform Labor<https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fplatforml…> University of Amsterdam Department of Media Studies Centre for Urban Studies UvA-profile<https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fuva.nl%2Fp…>

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Fulltime Lecturer Post in Journalism, Media and Communication (University of Strathclyde)
by chamil rathnayake 07 Aug '22

07 Aug '22

Dear Colleagues, University of Strathclyde, School of Humanities seeks to appoint a full time lecturer (equivalent to assistant professor in the US system) in Journalism, Media and Communication. Strathclyde is an excellent university, and our degrees are among top ranked programmes in the UK. The following are the details of the post. I would appreciate if you could help spread the word. https://strathvacancies.engageats.co.uk/ViewVacancyV2.aspx?enc=mEgrBL4XQK0+… Best wishes, Chamil Chamil Rathnayake PhD Lecturer in Media and Communication University of Strathclyde

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UMD Tenure-Track Faculty Position, Dept of Government and Politics (GVPT) & College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) and the College of Information Studies (iSchool)
by Naielia Akela Allen 06 Aug '22

06 Aug '22

The Department of Government and Politics (GVPT) at the University of Maryland: With more than 30 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 1,000 undergraduate majors, and 100 graduate students, we are one of the largest departments in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS). Our faculty teach and conduct research in all of the major fields in our discipline, including American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, political economy, and formal theory and methods. Realizing that many of the key problems we face have a significant political component, our faculty and students study a variety of issues with real-world policy implications ranging from civil wars and ethnic conflict to environmental politics, partisan polarization, and inequality. College of Information Studies (iSchool): With a commitment to advancing social justice, the iSchool envisions a world where information and technology break down barriers and create new possibilities for individuals, communities, and organizations to achieve their full potential. Our faculty and students are a multidisciplinary and generative community of approximately 40 tenured and tenure track faculty, 40 professional track faculty, and 90 doctoral students. Our College enrolls over 1,700 diverse students in nine degree programs: Ph.D. in Information Studies, Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), Master of Information Management (MIM), Master of Science in Human Computer Interaction (HCIM), Master of Professional Studies in Game, Entertainment, and Media Analytics (GEM), Master of Professional Studies in Data Journalism, Bachelor of Science in Social Data Science, Bachelor of Arts in Technology and Information Design (InfoDesign), and Bachelor of Science in Information Science (InfoSci), which is the fourth largest major at UMD. The Social Data Science (SoDa) Center is a joint effort between the iSchool and BSOS that leverages UMD’s substantial strengths in survey methods, measurement, information management, visualization, and analytics to conduct research, provide education, and work with partners to advance social data science and measurement. The Department of Government and Politics (GVPT) in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) and the College of Information Studies (iSchool) at the University of Maryland, College Park, invite applications for two tenure-track positions at the assistant professor level. These positions are open to applicants from any fields within political and information sciences that apply data science concepts and methods in their work. GVPT and the iSchool particularly seek candidates whose scholarship and teaching interests address important social science problems in the fields of American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, and Political Methodology that intersect with Information Science. We encourage candidates to demonstrate how their research contributes toward social justice and equity, diversity and inclusion, or ethical access to information. Both faculty members will have joint appointments at GVPT and iSchool - one with a tenure home at GVPT and the other at the iSchool. Tenure home will be negotiated at the time of hire. The successful candidates will be expected to contribute to the newly formed undergraduate Major in Social Data Science, which is a BSOS-iSchool joint program. We seek a candidate who will build upon our record of educating political and information scientists committed to leadership, service, research, and innovative practice and impact. The successful candidates will be expected to have a high-impact research agenda and to seek external funding for research. They will also teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels, provide research advising to students at all levels, and engage in service to the profession and shared governance within the university. In particular candidates whose scholarship speaks to the following broad substantive topics are encouraged to apply: ● Social media politics ● Information disorder (misinformation, disinformation, etc.) ● Online political and civic participation ● Political power in information systems While these areas of expertise are of particular interest, candidates with expertise and interest in other relevant topics that apply data science methods are encouraged to apply. Candidates whose work recognizes the information norms and assets of marginalized communities particularly relating to the topics above and other relevant topics, are especially encouraged to apply. This is a tenure-track appointment. Tenure-track Assistant Professors are hired for 3 years, with potential renewal for three more years and tenure review. Salary and benefits are competitive based upon qualifications and experience. Tenure-track and tenured faculty have 9-month appointments, with opportunities for grant-funded research and university-funded teaching in summers. For this position, the successful candidate will be involved in: ● Developing and conducting research projects and disseminating research results ● Designing and developing curricula related to information science ● Crafting exceptional educational experiences for students ● Participating in shared governance ● Contributing to relevant professional communities. *Minimum Qualifications* ● A Ph.D degree at the time of appointment ● Demonstrated research excellence, including a record of peer-reviewed research in one or more areas described in the position summary above, or related areas and potential to attract external support ● Interest in developing effective and innovative courses. *To apply you will need to provide:* ● A letter of interest that clearly describes your background and expertise in the area and the unique contributions you would make to the GVPT, iSchool and the University of Maryland. ● Your CV ● A list of 3 professional references. For each reference include the person’s title, institution, contact information (including phone number and email address), the capacity in which you know this person, and how long you have known this person. ● A statement of your research interests and accomplishments ● A statement of your teaching philosophy For best consideration, applications should be submitted by *September 23, 2022.* To apply please use the UMD ejobs link: https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/98270

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2022 Research Workshop on Studying Anti-Social Behaviour Online (Thursday, Aug 25, 2022)
by Anatoliy Gruzd 05 Aug '22

05 Aug '22

Hello AoIR friends! Join us for the *2022 Research Workshop on Studying Anti-Social Behaviour Online *(in-person in Victoria, BC at Royal Roads University or online via Zoom) on Thursday, Aug 25, 2022. Registration for this event is free, but space is limited. RSVP your spot today: https://socialmedialab.ca/events/2022-research-workshop-on-studying-anti-so… The research workshop will (1) examine the factors influencing the manifestation and propagation of online anti-social behaviour, (2) synthesize a multidisciplinary approach to study this phenomenon, and (3) develop a road map and a research agenda for future work in combating this dangerous trend. The programme features presentations from the organizing team and guest talks by Drs. Caroline Haythornthwaite (Syracuse University), K. Hazel Kwon, Arizona State University and George Veletsianos, Royal Roads University. *About the event* The rising tide of online anti-social behaviour has elevated public concern and skepticism over the perceived benefits and promise of social media in society. A dark side of social media has emerged and remains evident today, with various countries, governing bodies, and citizens grappling with the impending normalization of aggressive behaviour, hostility, and negative discourse in online spaces. At the individual level, anti-social behaviour on social media has real-life psychological and emotional consequences for everyday people that demand more precise attention and interventions from researchers, practitioners, social media platforms, and policymakers. At the community and organizational level, anti-social behaviour can impact work performance and relationships, community ties, and lead to stress and burnout. At the societal level, there is also a concern that some forms of anti-social behaviour, such as hate speech, may galvanize xenophobic behaviour offline. Hope you can join us on the 25th (either online or in-person)! --- Organizing Committee *Jaigris Hodson * *Philip Mai* *Anatoliy Gruzd* *Jenna Jacobson* *Felipe Bonow Soares*

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