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Metrics at Work book event this Friday | LSE Digital Ethnography Collective//Rutgers Digital Ethnography Working Group
by Glatt,ZA (pgr) 10 Feb '21

10 Feb '21

Hello AoIRists! I wanted to let you know about a book event that is happening on zoom this Friday. The LSE Digital Ethnography Collective (LDEC) and Rutgers Digital Ethnography Working Group (DEWG) are excited to invite you to our co-hosted zoom conversation with Stanford ethnographer Angèle Christin on Friday 12th February (1-3pm EST/6-8pm GMT). We will be discussing her new book ‘Metrics at Work: Journalism and the Contested Meaning of Algorithms’ (Princeton University Press, 2020). Professor Christin will be interviewed by Jeffrey Lane (DEWG Co-Chair) and Zoë Glatt (LDEC Co-Founder) and the event will be chaired by Melissa Aronczyk (DEWG Co-Chair). They will discuss the book’s findings and how Christin adapted her fieldwork to study algorithms inside the newsroom, in addition to the new methods Christin has developed to study algorithmic labour ethnographically during social distancing. This will be followed by a Q&A with all event attendees. You can read more about the event and book a (free) ticket HERE: https://tan-kangaroo-307.eventbritestudio.com/136439168225 On a separate note, at the end of this month I will be leaving my post as AoIR Graduate Student Representative to go on maternity leave. I just wanted to take this opportunity to express what a pleasure it has been to serve on the Executive Committee for such an amazing association, and I look forward to seeing lots of you next year in Dublin (finally!!). All the best, Zoe ________________________ Zoë Glatt www.zoeglatt.com<http://www.zoeglatt.com/> ESRC PhD Researcher in Media & Communications London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Co-Founder: LSE Digital Ethnography Collective @DigEthnogLSE<https://twitter.com/DigEthnogLSE> Graduate Student Rep 2019-2021: Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Managing Editor 2018-2020: ICA journal Communication, Culture & Critique<https://academic.oup.com/ccc/pages/About> YouTube channel<https://www.youtube.com/user/Zedstergal> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/ZoeGlatt> | LSE bio<http://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/people/phd-researchers/zoe-gl…>

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CFP: Commodified Relationships: The Politics of Intimacy and Resistance (4S Open Panel)
by Yvonne Eadon 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

Dear AoIR colleagues, Please consider submitting an abstract to our 4S Open Panel, "Commodified Relationships: The Politics of Intimacy and Resistance." The conference will take place in Toronto, October 6-9, and there will be opportunities for remote participation as well. The call for papers is as follows: As a result of the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many newly under- and unemployed individuals have turned to Multi-Level Marketing companies (MLMs), which offer tempting rewards and the illusion of easy success. By forcing “independent contractors” to recruit friends and family, the MLM business model operates under an even more remorseless form of the “exploit or be exploited” capitalistic maxim, but these notorious ventures are only one example of the commodification of our social relationships. This panel will broadly address the ways personal relationships can be commodified, questioning the neoliberal economics and politics that promote the exploitation of our social lives. Some areas to consider include: hierarchies of friendship, often among women, within MLMs; recruitment and reward systems in cults and fundamentalist religious sects; social media and the quantification of friendship; the parasocial performance of intimacy within “influencer” culture; biotechnology companies gathering and selling genetic data; and other areas of study. When we have “good relations” with one another, how soon before those relations are mined for their commodity value? And how might awareness of this cycle allow individuals and communities to resist in creative, generative ways that foster even deeper connections? We welcome submissions that address topics from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including, but not limited to, social epistemology, feminist and queer STS, information studies, critical racial and economic justice, Indigenous ways of knowing, and disability studies. In bringing varied perspectives on commodified relationships into conversation with one another, this panel will support resistance through the formation of critical networks vigilantly aware of their potential for exploitation. Keywords: Multi-level marketing, commodification, human relationships, intimacy, political economy, resistance, economic justice. Warm regards, Yvonne M. Eadon, UCLA Carlin Soos, UCLA -- Yvonne M. Eadon, MLIS Information Studies Doctoral Candidate UCLA She/ her

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Fwd: [CfP] Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries: Data Infrastructure and Services - Deadline Feb 15, 2021 for Extended Abstract
by Min Jiang 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

Dear colleagues, Could you kindly share the following CfP reminder for a conference and a new book volume on "Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries: Data Infrastructure and Services" in your listserv's Call for Paper section? With thanks and kind regards, Min ________________________________________________________________ Min Jiang (Ph.D.) Professor of Communication Studies Affiliate Faculty, International Studies 5011 Colvard N., UNCC, 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223 704-687-0768 | Min.Jiang(a)uncc.edu | Web <http://clas-pages.uncc.edu/min-jiang/>site <http://clas-pages.uncc.edu/min-jiang/> | Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/mindyjiang> | LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/minjiang> Associate Editor, Sage journal *Communication and the Public * Secretariat Member, Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) CyberBRICS Visiting Professor, FGV Law School, Rio de Janeiro ________________________________________________________________ *Call for Papers* *Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries:* *Data, Infrastructure, and Services * CfP URL: https://cyberbrics.info/call-for-papers-cyber-sovereignty-in-the-brics-coun… *Background on the CyberBRICS Project:* The *CyberBRICS* <https://cyberbrics.info/> project has a triple aim: to map existing regulations; to identify best practices; and develop policy suggestions in the areas of cybersecurity governance, Internet access and digitalisation of public services in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The project is hosted by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School and developed in partnership with the Higher School of Economics, in Moscow, Russia; the Centre for Internet and Society, New Delhi, India; the Fudan University, Shanghai, and the Hong Kong University, China; and the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. The project stems from the consideration that the next billion users, together with the innovation and data they will produce and the policy they will need, will likely come from the BRICS. In light of this consideration, BRICS countries are increasing their information sharing and cooperation in the fields of science and technology and promoting synergies between member countries with regard to digital policies. While the first book produced by the CyberBRICS Project explored the “*Cybersecurity Regulations in the BRICS Countries* <https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030564049>” (an *open access non-edited version of the book is available here* <https://cyberbrics.info/cyberbrics-cybersecurity-regulations-in-the-brics-c…>), the next book project in the CyberBRICS research aims at exploring how the BRICS countries engage with the different facets of the Digital Sovereignty debate. *Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS:* While once imagined as an instrument for a borderless “global village,” the Internet is currently undergoing complex processes of re-nationalization (e.g. China, Russia, India) and regionalization (e.g. EU). BRICS countries, like many others around the world, are grappling with conflicting sets of realities and desires: individual privacy and national security, data localization and cross-border data flows, digital independence and international technological trade, often driven by concurrent national priorities, international commitments, and ambitions for global expansion and influence. The book volume aims at offering answers to such compelling questions, providing valuable – and so far, very limited – insights on digital policies of the BRICS grouping, with particular regard to evolving notion of Digital Sovereignty and its heterogeneous interpretations and practices. The publication wishes to gather contributions based on rigorously collected evidence that can be used by researchers, regulators, and businesses alike. Authors of selected contributions will be invited, with the help of a limited number of travel grants, to present their draft papers at the *BRICS Data Protection and Digital Sovereignty Conference* <https://cyberbrics.info/brics-data-protection-summit/>, organised as a side event of the Latin American edition of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference (*CPDP LatAm* <https://cpdp.lat/>), in July 2021, in Rio de Janeiro. *Call for Paper:* This publication aims at developing a ground-breaking interdisciplinary body of research on Digital Sovereignty by focusing on related discourses, legislations and regulations, and technological projects developed by BRICS countries to (re)assert their Digital Sovereignty. We welcome submissions from a wide range of disciplines such as communication, law, security studies, information science, political science, public administration, public policy, international relations, area studies, sociology, anthropology, etc. Suggested topics include analyses of, *inter alia*: ● The conceptualization of Digital Sovereignty in a specific member of the BRICS grouping or from a comparative perspective ● Taxonomies and categorizations of Digital Sovereignty ● Theoretical, empirical, or comparative analysis of data localization policies in BRICS countries ● Theoretical, empirical, or comparative analysis of cyber-industrial plans and strategies aimed at national self-reliance and independence in BRICS countries ● Analysis of infrastructural policies adopted by BRICS countries to interpret, implement and actualize sovereignty in cyberspace ● Tensions between national policies and international commitments, for instance, in international digital trade agreements, AI policies, and technological imports/exports ● Global South alliance and tensions among BRICS countries in their quest for alternatives to Silicon Valley-based development models ● BRICS countries’ resistance to data colonialism from the Global North and new forms of data colonialism emanating from new digital powers (e.g. China’s digital silk road initiative) ● Case studies analysing specific laws, regulations, or decisions of Digital Sovereignty (e.g. the Russian “Sovereign Internet Law”, the Indian prohibition of 57 Chinese apps, etc.) ● Case studies exploring the use of specific infrastructure-related programmes and initiatives to implement Digital Sovereignty (e.g. the Russian “Runet” or the “Great Firewall of China”) ● Case studies discussing how the digitalisation of specific public services contributes to the construction of a national Digital Sovereignty (e.g. the Indian “Aadhaar” Digital Identification system) *Submission Guidelines:* Draft papers will be considered for inclusion in the publication only if they have not been previously published. The length of the abstract submissions should be between 1500 and 2000 words. The length of the final submissions should be between 7000 and 10000 words. To facilitate the reviewing process, papers should not include author names or other information that would help identify the authors. All submissions shall be in English language. Citation should be in *APA 6 style* <http://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476096>, authors shall use footnotes rather than endnotes and submission should be in Microsoft Word or OpenDocument Text format. *Abstract* submissions are due on *15 February 2021*. They should include the following elements: ● Title ● Extended abstract (1500-2000 words) ● Author’s name, afﬁliation and short bibliographical note (in the body of the email) Authors will be notiﬁed within approximately 3 weeks of the abstract submission deadline as to the status of their contributions. All submitted papers will be subject to peer review. *PLEASE note that every author submitting a paper will be asked to peer review another submission,* which will be judged based on the novelty of the contribution, the theoretical soundness, and the quality of presentation. Authors of the selected submissions will be invited to submit the first drafts of their paper proposals (7000-10000 words) by *10 June 2021*. Authors will be given the opportunity to improve their contributions based on peer comments. To receive further comments and feedback, authors will also be invited to present their work in-progress at the *BRICS Data Protection and Digital Sovereignty Conference* <https://cyberbrics.info/brics-data-protection-summit/>, organised as a side event of the Latin American edition of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference (*CPDP LatAm* <https://cpdp.lat/>), in July 2021, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. at CPDP LatAm in Rio. Final drafts (7000-10000 words) are due on *10 September 2021*. All submissions shall be sent to Dr. Luca Belli (luca.belli(a)fgv.br*)* and Dr. Min Jiang (min.jiang(a)uncc.edu) with “*Submission BRICS Digital Sovereignty*” as your email subject.

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Climate Fiction: Special issue of Exchanges journal now live
by Johnson, Gareth 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

Hi Everyone, Delighted to announce that our latest volume of the Exchanges interdisciplinary journal, a special issue inspired by talks at the 20th International Conference of the Utopian Studies Society, is now live. https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v8i2 --- This is the seventeenth issue of Exchanges (ISSN: 2053-9665), published in February 2020. This special issue brings an assortment of articles, reflections and discussions to our interdisciplinary readership, this time deriving from or inspired by the 20th International Conference of the Utopian Studies Society, hosted in Prato, Italy. Articles in this issue tackle topics as varied as: critiquing the conference itself, ecotopianism, literary and movie depictions of anthropogenic climate change, activism, behavioural and societal changes, as well as speculations on the global legacy of the current epoch. The issue also highlights the work of the journal’s post-graduate researcher associate editors programme, and the currently open calls for contributions. --- My thanks to all the contributors, reviewers and editorial team who helped bring this issue together. Best wishes Gareth --- Dr Gareth (Gaz) J Johnson Managing Editor-in-Chief, Exchanges Journal Room C0.10, Institute of Advanced Study, Zeeman Building, University of Warwick https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/ias/ 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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Stephen Coleman: How People Talk About Politics | Media, Communication & Politics Seminar Series at the University of Liverpool
by Patricia Rossini 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

Dear colleagues, The Media, Communication and Politics Research Seminar Series, hosted by the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, is proud to host Prof. Stephen Coleman to talk about how people experience political discussions about contentious issues and how our society can begin to develop a more constructive culture of political talk. The talk is on February 18, at 4pm GMT (11am EST / 5pm CET) You can sign up for the link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-people-talk-about-politics-professor-steph… <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-people-talk-about-politics-professor-steph…> Summary: Stephen Coleman has been exploring how people experience political talk. How do people know political talk when they encounter it? What is it about political talk that so commonly evokes feelings of strangeness, anxiety and confusion? What goes on in people’s minds and bodies when they find themselves performing political talk? Upon which cultural sources do people draw when they come to formulate the words and sounds of political enunciation? How might contemporary democracies nurture skills of confident political expression? Bio: Stephen Coleman is Professor of Political Communication at the University of Leeds, His most recent books are How People Talk About Politics: Brexit and After (Bloomsbury, 2020), with Jim Brogden: Capturing the Mood of Democracy; the British General Election 2019 (Palgrave, 2020), Can the Internet Strengthen Democracy? (Polity Press, 2017) and How Voters Feel, (Cambridge University Press, 2013). I’m looking forward to seeing you there! Best wishes, Patrícia Dr Patrícia Rossini Derby Fellow Department of Communication and Media School of the Arts University of Liverpool @: patricia.rossini(a)liverpool.ac.uk <mailto:patricia.rossini@liverpool.ac.uk> W: patriciarossini.com <http://www.patriciarossini.com/>

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ACM WebSci'21 | CfP Abstracts deadline this Friday 12 February
by Weller, Katrin 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

***apologies if you receive this more than once*** WebSci'21 | 13th ACM Web Science Conference Globalisation, Inclusion and the Web in the Context of COVID 21-25 June 2021 Hosted by the University of Southampton, UK, delivered online https://websci21.webscience.org/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwebsci21.…> Important dates for Call for Papers Feb. 12, 2021 Abstract Submission Deadline Feb. 19, 2021 Paper submission deadline April 9, 2021 Notification May 10, 2021 Camera-ready versions due June 21-25 Conference dates Please note that all contributors are required to submit an abstract (max 400 words) followed by a full paper. Full details of the submission process are on the Call for Papers<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwebsci21.…> page on the conference website. Submission is via EasyChair https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=websci21<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Feasychair…> Best wishes _______________________________________________ Clare Hooper, Matthew Weber, Katrin Weller (Program Chairs) websci21(a)easychair.org<mailto:websci21@easychair.org>

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CfP: "Algorithmic Antagonisms: Resistance, Reconfiguration, and Renaissance for Computational Life"
by Luke H 09 Feb '21

09 Feb '21

Apologies for any cross-posting; please send abstracts to editors by 28th of February Algorithmic Antagonisms:  Resistance, Reconfiguration, and Renaissance for Computational Life Call for Papers for Special Issue – Media International Australia (Q1 Scimago) https://journals.sagepub.com/home/mia In August 2020, the UK government’s black-boxed algorithm for deciding students’ grades made headlines. It had allegedly lowered the results of 40% of students, most of which from lower-income schools, thus crushing many students’ hopes for entering prestigious universities. Students went out to the streets and protested, memorably chanting “Fuck the algorithm!”. This recent case is just one of many that highlight a clear need for critical and empirical attention on algorithms and the work that they do, given their increasing importance in shaping social and economic life. There has been important work through critical studies that catalogue the multifaceted domination of algorithmic life and points of liberatory design out of it (Eubanks 2018, Costanza-Chock 2020), while recognising epistemological cleavages between powers of critique and scientific practice (Moats and Seaver 2019) in the seemingly impenetrable nature of “black boxed” algorithmic life (Pasquale 2015). Much critical scholarship tied to algorithms focuses on the ills of algorithms, or the ways in which a normativity can be developed around an ethical, equitable or fair expression of computation via design (see ACM FAccT). Other responses include consideration of critical practices that advance data science in ways that identify and create social and organizational arrangements necessary for a more ethical data science (Neff et al. 2017) or move towards data justice (Dencik et al. 2019, Taylor 2017, Johnson 2014) to offer equity as design goals. Yet Critical Data Practices are also taking an antagonistic turn, focussing on ways to actively employ algorithms for everyday, social, and political agency, influence, or resistance. This turn adjusts to reframe algorithms from governing black boxes to deployed tools that ‘mediate emerging distributions of power often too nascent [or] disconcerting to directly acknowledge’ (Thomas et al. 2018: 1). It considers posthumanist assemblages of humans, code, and technological artefacts that shape reality (Kalpokas 2019), but also includes what is missing from previous theorisation of algorithms – namely moving past acknowledging various normative relations to enabling a tactical use (Raley 2009). That is to say, lessons from tactical media seem to be more applicable than ever in constantly shifting datalogical ground (Treré 2018; Velkova and Kaun 2019). To this end, this issue in part considers how critical histories of tactical media juxtapose structures of algorithmic life, and what might be done to leverage what was once dark towards antagonistic algorithmic light (Ochigame, 2020). Emergent examples reconfigure algorithms into networked media tools that act as vanguards against extant structures, with equity as a secondary concern. Algorithms are being deployed to radical and subversive action including automatically suing robocallers and contesting civil fines (DoNotPay); war crimes investigation via computer vision (VFrame, Forensic Architecture); gaming Google’s AdWords to point to sex-worker chat bots (Seattle Against Slavery); writing to MIDI all possible melodies and ‘releasing’ these through Creative Commons; or simply actively messing with Facebook’s feedback mechanisms to alter newsfeeds. Hence, this issue asks: what are the ways in which algorithms are being deployed tactically to provocative ends? And, just as importantly, are these sustainable as activist or political practice? This issue will consider these trends and surrounding issues in order to introduce new ways of thinking about algorithmic politics in tactical and discrete terms. It hopes to open critical data and algorithm studies in ways that might reconfigure how critical scholarship approaches the algorithm in tactical terms as networked media tools that are antagonistic. We ask for submissions that consider the design of algorithms not as finished solutions that structure the world, but as something troubling - in a meaningful and helpful way - that might better inform our understanding of the capacities and limits of algorithmic life. We are particularly looking forward to critical engagements with algorithmic practice, which may include feminist theory, de/post-colonial theory, critical race theory, queer theory, indigenous theory, perspectives from the Global South, and others. The issue looks to submissions including but not limited to... - Agonistic and antagonistic algorithm design - Algorithms as culture (and critical responses to algorithmic culture) - Algorithmic practice of the everyday; - Activist algorithmic science and practice - - Adversarial algorithmic externalities - - Standpoint data justice - Tactical algorithmic media - Forms of algorithmic resistance and antagonistic algorithm design in the Global South - Applied evolutionary computation - Feminist and antirracist algorithmic theory and practice (eg. BFTS) - Disaffected technologies and technologists - Artistic forms of response to algorithmic culture - Antagonism of digital, algorithmic, and tech labourers Timeline 28 February 2021: Abstracts (400-500 words) due for submission to guest editors 21 March 2021: Invitation to submit full papers sent to selected authors, with feedback on abstracts as applicable 31 July 2021: Full papers sent by authors for Peer Review 15 October 2021: Peer review returned to authors (Up to) 30 Jan 2021: Final papers due for those papers that have passed/responded to review. May 2022: Special Issue comes out on MIA Editors: Luke Heemsbergen (luke.h(a)deakin.edu.au <mailto:luke.h@deakin.edu.au>), Emiliano Treré (TrereE(a)cardiff.ac.uk) & Gabriel Pereira (gpereira(a)cc.au.dk <mailto:gpereira@cc.au.dk>) You can also view the CfP on the Media International Australia site Algorithmic Antagonisms: Resistance, Reconfiguration, and Renaissance for Computational Life <https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/Algorithmic%20Antagonisms%20CFP.pdf> CfP art by Gabriel Pereira, inspired by Willys de Castro’s “Pintura M-111” (1956), created with p5.js. References Costanza-Chock, Sasha. (2020) “Design justice”, MIT Press. Dencik, L., Hintz, A., Redden, J., & Treré, E. (2019). Exploring data justice. Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. St. Martin’s Press. Johnson, J. A. (2014). From open data to information justice. Ethics and Information Technology, 16(4), 263-274. Kalpokas I. (2019) Agency and the Posthuman Shape of Law. In: Algorithmic Governance. Palgrave Pivot, Cham Moats, D., & Seaver, N. (2019). “You Social Scientists Love Mind Games”: Experimenting in the “divide” between data science and critical algorithm studies. Big Data & Society, 6(1), 2053951719833404. Neff, G., Tanweer, A., Fiore-Gartland, B., & Osburn, L. (2017). Critique and contribute: A practice-based framework for improving critical data studies and data science. Big data, 5(2), 85-97. Ochigame, R. (2020). Informatics of the Oppressed. Logic, 11. Pasquale, F. (2015). The black box society. Harvard University Press. Raley, R. (2009). Tactical media. U of Minnesota Press. Thomas, S. L., Nafus, D., & Sherman, J. (2018). Algorithms as fetish: Faith and possibility in algorithmic work. Big Data & Society, 5(1). Taylor, L. (2017). What is data justice? The case for connecting digital rights and freedoms globally. Big Data & Society, 4(2). Treré, E. (2018). From digital activism to algorithmic resistance. In: Meikle, G. ed. The Routledge Companion to Media and Activism. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 367-375. Velkova, J., & Kaun, A. (2019). Algorithmic resistance: media practices and the politics of repair. Information, Communication & Society, 1-18

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the Obfuscation Workshop is back...
by Seda Guerses 08 Feb '21

08 Feb '21

Dear Airs, some of you will remember that we had to postpone the Obfuscation Workshop that was supposed to take place at TU Delft last spring. After thinking long and deep about obfuscation, covid and the troubles of going online using cloud services, we decided to explore other ways of gathering and building community. This is an experiment that we hope you will consider joining and thinking with. See details below and please consider distributing to others who may be interested. Warm regards, s. CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ========================================== 3rd Workshop on Obfuscation May 4 & 7, 2021. Online gathering http://www.obfuscationworkshop.org Cosponsored by TPM, TU Delft and DLI, Cornell Tech ========================================== In the Spring of 2020, as we were in full force preparing the 3rd Workshop on Obfuscation, COVID-19 was recognized by the World Health Organization as a pandemic, which led us to postpone indefinitely. Today we are pleased to announce that the 3rd Workshop on Obfuscation will finally take place online on May 4 and 7th, 2021. Everyone is welcome to participate, with or without submission. Please visit our website https://www.obfuscationworkshop.org <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.obfuscationworkshop…> to register and for other details! IMPORTANT DATES: ------------------------------- • Registration re-opens on: February 3, 2021 • Submissions due: March 15, 2021 • Notifications: April 1, 2021 • Workshop: May 7, 2021 • A vernissage will take place on May 4, 2021 • Study group meets on: April 30, May 6 and May 19, 2021 Overview and topics: ----------------------------- Obfuscation strategies represent creative ways to evade surveillance, protect privacy, improve security; as well as protest, contest, resist and sabotage technology. Obfuscation methods render data more ambiguous, difficult to exploit and interpret, less useful. They rely on the addition of gibberish, meaningless data; they pollute, add noise, randomize. Obfuscation invokes an intuitive form of protection: it distorts that which is visible to render it less (or in)visible. It hides the trees among the forest. The aim of the 3rd Workshop on Obfuscation is to foster interaction among diverse communities of research, concern and practice interested in obfuscation. We convene researchers, scientists, policy makers, developers, journalists, activists, artists and other interested parties to discuss obfuscation in environments and conditions of asymmetrical power and information. We welcome and value a broad range of approaches, including theories, tools, simulations and experimental methods from diverse disciplines and spheres of practice. The workshop constitutes a wide umbrella welcoming a diverse family of related topics and efforts, including adversarial machine learning, protective optimization technologies (POTs) and obfuscation in behavioral decision-making contexts by humans and artificial agents. We encourage participants to contribute with ideas about how obfuscation may (or may not) serve people in the current context of ever greater power imbalances between people, societal institutions and technology companies. Submission types: -------------------------- • A (short) position paper or extended abstract of your work (this can be work in progress). • A description of an interesting use case to be discussed (this may be an academic or policy/practice-based case). • A description of a demo or prototype (of applications, hardware or other artifacts), performance, artwork (in any media) or journalistic piece relevant to the topic of obfuscation. • A description of a hands-on workshop or other interactive format that engages with obfuscation. We welcome and encourage participants to organize their own session on a topic related to obfuscation. Please provide details on method and logistic needs. Note that we have allocated 1-hour slots for invited sessions; let us know if you need additional time so we can best accommodate your proposal. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by the Workshop’s Organizing Committee and accepted based on relevance and potential to contribute to workshop discussions and goals. The workshop will not publish formal (i.e. archival) proceedings. With authors' permission, accepted submissions will be included in the postscript we plan to release after the workshop. Participate in the 3rd Workshop on Obfuscation Study Group: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We invite junior researchers, artists, activists and other interested parties to join us in a study group that accompanies the Workshop on Obfuscation. Our goal is to provide an arena for deeper reflection and engagement, a more tight-knit and longer breathed space for collaboration for those interested in obfuscation. The study group will be mentored by leading researchers of obfuscation Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum, as well as other invited artists and researchers. We hope this will provide the basis to collectively engage beyond the ephemeral and rectangled formats of online events. Participation in the study group is preconditioned on a submission. A limited number of places will be allocated based on submission merit. For more details about what you can expect from the study group and a tentative schedule of activities, please visit the study group page on our website. Stipends: --------------- In keeping with the Workshop on Obfuscation tradition of supporting artists and independent researchers, we have a limited number of stipends available. If you are an artist or independent researcher, please make sure your submission includes a funds request (including project description and production budget). We hope to provide stipends for 4-6 projects, with new works receiving €800 max and previosuly-produced works receiving a fixed amount of €400. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: ----------------------------------------- Ero Balsa (Cornell Tech) Seda Gurses (Delft University of Technology) Helen Nissenbaum (Cornell Tech) Jara Rocha (Independent Researcher) For any questions, comments or requests, you can reach us at obfuscation(a)cornell.edu <mailto:obfuscation@cornell.edu>. Please feel encouraged to share this call in your circles. We are looking forward to receiving your submissions and seeing you at the workshop!

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Special Q&A Session with Mark Graham, Director @ Internet Archive | Feb 12th, 12 pm EST
by Ahmed Medien 08 Feb '21

08 Feb '21

Hi everyone, WikiCred Demo Hour is hosting a special Q&A Session with Mark Graham, Director at Internet Archive and the WayBack Machine on Feb 12th EST. This is everything you always wanted to ask about the Internet Archive, and the Wayback Machine, but were too afraid to ask. Mark Graham will give a quick overview of some of the Internet Archive's projects and priorities and engage with questions, suggestions, requests, and constructive criticism about the work of this nearly 25 year old non-profit. Mark is especially interested in learning about how the organization can evolve its services to be of most benefit to more people. In addition to Mark's Q&A, we will host a hands-on demo on how to query bibliographical data from WikiData and extract visual graphics for academic research by Wikipedia editor and WikiData expert Houcemeddine Turki. The call is open to the public, but we require that you sign up on this form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEpva_wwZA9xIjtTni7-y0tZ_VgXW8nzV…> in order to receive the Zoom link. Find our agenda here <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Blz4OAXypJe8yqMHFt4nQDufan2ZcmTWvHs5uXW…> . *About WikiCred Demo Hour* WikiCred Demo Hour is an initiative of the WikiCredibility Grant Initiative <http://wikicred.org/> which supports wikipedia and wikimedia projects with the goal of strengthening information reliability and credibility on the internet. It is a regular monthly online meetup that brings together members of the Wikimedian community, open-data and open-knowledge enthusiasts, academics, journalists, researchers, and professionals from the online credibility space. Best regards, Ahmed Medien hackshackers.com wikicred.org Partners <https://www.wikicred.org/#who-we-are> / Projects <http://wikicred.org/#projects> / WikiCred Demo Videos <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyA_FVf2mGM&list=PLQO0eq9qkTnNTtk4WIA1cx-5Y…>

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Intergenerational Locative Play: Augmenting Family
by Evans L. 08 Feb '21

08 Feb '21

Dear AoIR colleagues, We wanted to share some information about our new book. Intergenerational Locative Play: Augmenting Family is out today (Emerald Press) by Michael Saker and Leighton Evans and might interest colleagues. Intergenerational Locative Play: Augmenting Family examines the social, spatial and physical impact of the hybrid reality game (HRG) Pokémon Go on the relationship between parents and their children. This is a book that has emerged from our Pokémon Go project (City University and Swansea University) and engages with the role that digital technologies, such as video games, play in the social, cultural and family lives of children and how the intergenerational play of video games can strengthen familial connections by facilitating communication between adults and children, and allowing adolescents to experiment with a range of roles in that play. The longer description can be found on the website, with a free sample of the introduction chapter: https://bit.ly/3p015Yb If anyone is interested in reviewing the book, please contact me! Dr Leighton Evans Undergraduate Programme Director, Media Studies/Cyfarwyddwr Rhaglen Israddedigion, Astudiaethau Cyfryngau. Senior Lecturer | Uwch Ddarlithydd College of Arts & Humanities | Coleg y Celfyddydau a'r Dyniaethau Keir Hardie Building Room 421 | Adeilad Keir Hardie Swansea University | Prifysgol Abertawe SA2 8PP 01792 602843 New book: Intergenerational Locative Play: Augmenting Family<https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intergenerational-Locative-Play-Augmenting-Family/…> (2021) Rhowch wybod i ni os hoffech dderbyn eich gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg. Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi. Let us know if you would like to receive correspondence in Welsh. We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to a delay. [Go to Swansea University Media Site]<http://www.swansea.ac.uk/mediastudies/> [Go to Swansea University Media Site]<http://www.swansea.ac.uk/mediastudies/>

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