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New book - Engines of Order (open access)
by Bernhard Rieder 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Dear colleagues, My apologies for the shameless self-promotion, but I am very happy to announce that after way too many years of work, my book Engines of Order: A Mechanology of Algorithmic Techniques has been published by Amsterdam University Press in the Recursions series edited by Jussi Parikka, Anna Tuschling, and Geoffrey Winthrop-Young. The first half of the book is my attempt to formulate a theory of software, building on the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon and the cultural techniques tradition. The second part then applies that framework to the historical analysis of a number of “algorithmic techniques” from the field of information ordering. The book has a heavier theoretical side to it, but the second part in particular can also be read as a somewhat gentle and historically embedded introduction to how contemporary ranking, recommendation, and classification actually works. A longer blurb is below. Engines of Order is available in print directly from AUP, with 40% off until August 15 with the discount code "VIRTUALNECS": http://bit.ly/eoo-print You can also download the Open Access PDF from here: http://bit.ly/eoo-oa Cheers and stay safe, Bernhard Engines of Order A Mechanology of Algorithmic Techniques Software has become a key component of contemporary life and algorithms that rank, classify, or recommend are everywhere. Building on the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon and the cultural techniques tradition, this book examines the constructive and cumulative character of software and retraces the historical trajectories of a series of algorithmic techniques that have become the building blocks for contemporary practices of ordering. Developed in opposition to centuries of library tradition, these techniques instantiate dynamic, perspectivist, and interested forms of knowing. Embedded in technical infrastructures and economic logics, they have become engines of order that transform how we arrange information, ideas, and people. --- Bernhard Rieder | Associate Professor | New Media and Digital Culture University of Amsterdam | Turfdraagsterpad 9 | 1012 XT Amsterdam | The Netherlands http://thepoliticsofsystems.net | http://labs.polsys.net | https://www.digitalmethods.net | @RiederB

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CFP ACM GROUP Conference
by Jessica Pater 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Good Morning! I'm sharing the ACM GROUP Conference's call for participation. Deadline: 8/7 (abstracts) + 8/14 (full papers) Full papers, including design fictions and notes (which are sub-categories of submission), will be published in an issue of PACM in 2021. Also see the CFP for a description of efforts to make participation accessible regardless of what the state of the world is in January 2022. https://group.acm.org/conferences/group22/ For over 25 years, the ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work (GROUP) has been a premier venue for research on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Human Computer Interaction, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, and Socio-Technical Studies. The conference integrates work in social science, computer science, engineering, design, values, and other diverse topics related to group work, more broadly conceptualized. Group 2022 continues the tradition of being truly international and interdisciplinary in both organizational structure as well as participants. Jessica Pater, Communications Chair, GROUP 2022

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CfA: Post-Doc and 3 PhD students wanted for AI & Society Lab in Berlin
by Juliane Henn 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Dear list members, At the beginning of next year, a new research group with a special focus on the promotion of junior researchers in the field of AI will be launched at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (https://www.hiig.de/en/) here in Berlin. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is located in the AI & Society Lab (https://www.hiig.de/en/research/ai-and-society-lab/) at our institute in Berlin Mitte. For this research group, we are looking for: *** a *postdoctoral researcher on October 1* (https://www.hiig.de/en/postdoctoral-researcher-m-f-d-with-technical-experti…) and *** *two doctoral students on January 1, 2021* (https://www.hiig.de/en/phd-candidates-with-technical-expertise-and-experien…) with technical expertise in the fields of computer science, applied statistics, data science, especially NLP and computer vision, who would like to deal with not only technical but also societal aspects and consequences of AI. We are also looking for a *PhD student with a design/UX background* (https://www.hiig.de/en/phd-candidate-m-f-d-with-design-ux-expertise-and-exp…) Business-fluent German and English language skills are mandatory. Please forward these calls to eligible candidates and of course, don't hesitate to contact me if you have further questions! Best from Berlin Juliane -- Juliane Henn -- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß

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Applications open - Ph.D. in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research, University of Milan-Turin
by Alessandro Gandini 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

The SOMET (Sociology and Methodology of Social Research) PhD, jointly run by the University of Milan and the University of Turin, is now accepting applications for the 36th cycle of studies, starting in the fall of 2020. Applicants will be admitted ONLY with a scholarship. There are 6 scholarships available for the upcoming cycle. SOMET is one of the leading sociological PhD Programmes in Italy. Entirely held in English, its courses, seminars and research activities are organised jointly by the University of Milan and the University of Turin. Its Faculty also includes sociologists from other Italian and international universities. The Ph.D. programme in Sociology has a longstanding tradition of excellence in Italy. It was one of the first to be established after the 1980 university reform and has provided a large number of outstanding academic sociologists who have gone on to make significant contributions to teaching and research in Italy and abroad. The aim of the programme is to provide structured and advanced training in theoretically-guided empirical research across a wide range of sociological fields and to introduce students to current international issues in both qualitative and quantitative social research. The course consists of a three-year programme made of 60 credits per year. The first year is devoted to basic training, in conjunction with the activities of the Faculty's interdisciplinary Graduate School in Social and Political Sciences. The second year is partly spent in a relevant university department abroad and is devoted to the initial drafting of the thesis. The third year is entirely spent completing the thesis. Since 2014-2015, the PhD programme in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research (SOMET) has being offering PhD positions for joint degrees with two LERU partner universities – *University of Amsterdam* and *Lund University*. From 2019-2020 a new partnership will be activated with *Vrije Universiteit Brussel*. Several joint-degrees are currently active also with several French Universities, among which the *Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales* (EHESS) in Paris. Graduates will be able to compete successfully for positions as researchers (in public and private universities and research centers), skilled professionals and consultants in sociology to public agencies and international organizations and institutions in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The research areas covered by the PhD Programme in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research (Universities of Milan and Turin) comprise: **Culture and consumption **Digital society and the media **Gender and sexuality **Migration studies, multicultural societies and citizenship **Science, technology, environment and urban studies **Social inequalities and socio-economic stratification **Social movements, collective action and civil society **Sociology of family **Sociology of health **Sociology of politics, public opinion and voting **Work and organizations* The Call for Applications is available here: https://www.unimi.it/en/education/postgraduate-programmes/doctoral-programm… -- Dr Alessandro Gandini University of Milan, Department of Social and Political Sciences via Conservatorio 7, 20122 Milan @afrontiercity

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"COVID-19 from the margins" seeks (paid) authors
by Stefania Milan 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Dear AoiRists the thematic, multilingual blog "COVID-19 from the margins" [0] advertised earlier in this list is going strong, with over thirty contributions published so far. We are happy to announce that we have secured another small pot of money to be able to pay a tiny contributor fee to authors of accepted entries who are in need (e.g., Global South, casual workers, students, practitioners, etcetera). Consider submitting your blog post to covid19blog(a)data-activism.net. In preparing your text, do not forget to review carefully the instructions, including the scope of the blog (human-centric stories from invisibilized communities during the first pandemic of the datafied society). [1] Since a few weeks, we are also on Twitter: follow @BigDataSur to keep abreast of the latest entries! The best contributions to the blog will appear in an open-access volume published in the fall/winter in the awesome Theory on Demand series of the Amsterdam-based Institute of Network Cultures. [2] We look forward to your contributions! Stefania for the editorial team [0] Visit https://data-activism.net/blog-covid-19-from-the-margins/ [1] https://data-activism.net/2020/05/how-to-contribute-to-covid-19-from-the-ma… (English) and https://data-activism.net/2020/05/como-colaborar-en-covid-19-from-the-margi… (Spanish). [2] https://networkcultures.org/blog/tag/theory-on-demand/

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How many enrolled in Informatics programs?
by Nic DePaula 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Greetings, At Wayne State University, School of Information Sciences, we are looking to begin an undergraduate Informatics Minor. We were wondering for our internal proposal: how many students, approximately, are enrolled in your "Minor in Informatics" (or closely related program)? Numbers on the major would also be useful if available. Thanks so much for your assistance!! Nic -- Nic DePaula Instructor School of Information Sciences Wayne State University ndepaula(a)wayne.edu<mailto:ndepaula@wayne.edu>

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#AoIR2020 Life (Online)
by Lynn Schofield Clark 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

The AoIR Executive Board and #AoIR2020 Host Committee is pleased to share with you details about the upcoming #AoIR2020 conference. As you may know, AoIR has decided that the conference that was scheduled to take place in Dublin will now be hosted as a virtual event to take place 26-31 October 2020. All #AoIR2020 virtual events will be open only to members of the Association, so it is important that you renew your membership<https://members.aoir.org/> (https://members.aoir.org/) by 1 September if you wish to participate in October (Standard membership: USD$45; Student membership: USD$30; Living in non-OECD: USD$10). All events will be free to members! We’re also pleased to announce that Kate Crawford of the AI Now Institute will provide the conference keynote! At the conference, you’ll be able to: * Watch pre-recorded lightning talks of accepted AoIR panels, papers, roundtables, and fishbowls on YouTube * Leave Q & As with AoIR authors on YouTube * Attend a fireside chat (an informal talk show-style keynote with opportunities for Q & A) with Dr. Kate Crawford, co-founder and Director of Research, AI Now Institute via Zoom * Attend a live plenary session on AoIR Life with Prof. Helen Kennedy, Prof. Rob Kitchin, and Assoc. Prof Seeta Pena Gangadharan via Zoom * Participate in live moderated and themed discussions with AoIR colleagues via Zoom * Interact one-on-one with publishers &/or attend a workshop on publishing via Zoom * Have fun, play games, & make new friends with AoIR via Zoom, Online Town & other locations * Take part in other live events scheduled by AoIR participants via Zoom * Read the extended abstracts in Selected Papers of Internet Research (SPIR), the open access online collection of accepted conference papers published annually * Attend the Association’s Annual General Meeting More information and links to events are available on the aoir.org page. Once you log in as a member, click on AoIR2020 How to Participate. Be sure to renew your membership<https://members.aoir.org/> (https://members.aoir.org/) by 1 September to participate! (Standard membership: USD$45; Student membership: USD$30; Living in non-OECD: USD$10). All events will be free to members! We look forward to seeing you in October! Your AoIR2020 Host Team Members of the AoIR Executive Committee: Lynn Schofield Clark, President Tama Leaver, Vice President Axel Bruns, immediate Past President Kelly Quinn, Treasurer Kat Tiidenberg, Secretary Zoe Glatt, Grad Student Representative Crystal Abidin, Open Seat Fabio Giglietto, Open Seat Erika Pearson, Open Seat And Kylie Jarrett, Head of Conference Host Committee Michelle Gardner, Association Coordinator

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The journal Global Media and China published the latest issue!
by Xiao Han 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Dear All, We are pleased to announce that our journal Global Media and China has just published its latest issue(Volume 5, Issue 2, June 2020). And also we sincerely welcome your contribution to our journals. If you are interested and have the time, it is a great honour for us to receive your submission. Here is the submission portal: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/gmac <https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/gmac>. For more information about Global Media and China, please go to gch.sagepub.com <http://gch.sagepub.com/>, you can also find detailed submission guidelines there. You can freely read this new issue at: http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/gch/current <http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/gch/current> Volume 5, Issue 2, June 2020 Research Articles Yiu-Wai Chu Introduction: Mediating borders: New boundaries for Hong Kong studies Yiu-Wai Chu Hong Kong (in China) studies: Hong Kong popular culture as example Matthew Ming-tak Chew Discovering the digital Stephen Chow: The transborder influence of Chow’s films on the Chinese Internet in the 2010s Helena Wu Sports as a lens: The contours of local and national belonging in post-handover Hong Kong Weng Kit Chan Beyond nationhood: Border and coming of age in Hong Kong cinema Original Articles Chen Yang How China’s image affects Chinese products in a partisan-motivated US market Xianwen Kuang, Hui Wang Framing international news in China: An analysis of trans-edited news in Chinese newspapers Book Reviews Min Jiang Book Review: Robert Hinck, Skye Cooley, & Randolph Kluver, Global Media and Strategic Narratives of Contested Democracy: Chinese, Russian, and Arabic Media Narratives of the US Presidential Election Saba Bebawi Book Review: Haiyan Wang, The Transformation of Investigative Journalism in China: From Journalists to Activists Yuan Ping Book Review: X Zhang, H Wasserman & W Mano (Eds.), China’s Media and Soft Power in Africa: Promotion and Perceptions and K Batchelor & X Zhang (Eds.), China-Africa Relations: Building Images Through Cultural Cooperation, Media Representation and Communication Dr HAN Xiao Research Assistant, Social Media Centre, Communication University of China (CUC) Commissioning Editor, Global Media and China http://journals.sagepub.com/home/gch <http://gch.sagepub.com/>

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hiring lecturer & assistants in Design / Digital Media - Amsterdam
by Gabriele Ferri 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

For the Master Digital Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, I have opened 3 positions: 1) a lecturer (equiv. asst. prof.) in Design Research (0.7fte, 3,5 days/week) https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1107273/Lecturer-in-Design-Research-(0,7-fte) ATTENTION: this lecturer must hold a PhD at the time of hiring. No remote working, unfortunately 2) a lab assistant with a Master's degree, who is well-versed in creative technologies and isn't afraid of diving head-first into experimental projects (0.2fte, 1 day/week) https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1113962/Lab-Assistant-(0,2-fte) No remote working, unfortunately 3) a studio assistant with a Master's degree, who is an empathetic "people-person" and can coach students in their design processes & team dynamics (0.4fte, 2 days/week) https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1107320/Studio-Assistant-(0,4-fte) No remote working, unfortunately --- --- --- POSITION 1: lecturer (equiv. asst. prof.) in Design Research (0.7fte, 3,5 days/week) We are seeking a Lecturer for the “Design Research” course. We look for an enthusiastic colleague who is comfortable with the research methods commonly used by creative industries, and with more open methodologies such as critical making or action research. At the end of the course, students should be ready to conduct design research / testing / validation in professional settings, and should also be aware of other critical, exploratory, and art-inspired methodologies for research through design. The candidate will also be responsible for pitching projects that students & lecturers of the M.Sc. Digital Design might conduct with researchers from the various research units (lectoraten) of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and/or other institutions. Currently, the M.Sc. Digital Design already employs an Industry Liaison officer who is responsible for developing projects together with private partners, and we envision that the Lecturer in Design Research will have a similar task but targeted to research entities. We are seeking a colleague with a Ph.D. degree in a field related to design (HCI, Digital Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, UX…) and an affinity to research methodologies applied to the design process. Due to the complexity of this position, we require candidates to have obtained their Ph.D. at the time of hiring. The selected candidate must be able to start at the beginning of Semester 2 (Feb. 1, 2021), but an earlier start date can be arranged if requested. DEADLINE: 15 August see the full ad: https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1107273/Lecturer-in-Design-Research-(0,7-fte) --- --- --- POSITION 2: lab assistant (0.2fte, 1 day/week) We are seeking a competent and proactive Lab Assistant to support our Lab Manager and lecturers in the activities taking place in the MDD Lab. The Lab Assistant that we are seeking is at ease with a variety of physical and digital creative technologies – including internet-of-things devices, web prototyping tools and javascript frameworks (e.g., Node Js, Angular, React). The Lab Assistant has an affinity for working with students (e.g., running teaching activities in the lab, under the Lab Manager’s guidance), and can judge their work. This position could be combined with other opportunities in our institution. DEADLINE: 17 August see the full ad: https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1113962/Lab-Assistant-(0,2-fte) --- --- --- POSITION 3: studio assistant (0.4fte, 2 days/week) We are seeking an enthusiastic Studio Assistant for the Master’s programme in Digital Design (MDD). The MDD is a studio-based education programme where students regularly work and learn in a shared space, the MDD studio. The Studio Assistant supports lecturers and students in their daily activities in the studio. S/he recently graduated from a Master’s programme in design and can create a positive, productive and creative environment in a design studio. S/he has a strong affinity for digital design, and s/he can facilitate group work in an international and multicultural setting. This position could be combined with other opportunities in our institution. DEADLINE: 15 August see the full ad: https://www.hva.nl/vacatures/1107320/Studio-Assistant-(0,4-fte) --- --- --- Contact Gabriele Ferri g.ferri AT hva.nl for further information Gabriele Ferri, Ph.D. Head of program, Master Digital Design Senior researcher, Play & Civic Media Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences www.gabrieleferri.com

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CfP 'Political Theory of the Digital Constellation' (ZPol)
by Daniel Staemmler 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Dear all, a special issue devoted to the relationship between politics and digitization from a theoretical perspective of the Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft <https://www.springer.com/journal/41358> (ZPol) will be published in autumn 2021 under the title "Political Theory of the Digital Constellation". The contributions will critically examine the relationship between political theory and digitalization in diachronic reconstruction, synchronous analysis and normative perspective, reflect on existing normative positions and integrate the findings of other disciplines – such as Science & Technology Studies or the philosophy of technology – into political science research in order to contribute to a Political Theory of the digital constellation. The detailed Call for Papers can be found here in German <https://digidem.weizenbaum-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ZPol-Digi…> or English <https://digidem.weizenbaum-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ZPol-Digi…>. For the special issue we are asking for contribution proposals in the form of extended abstracts of max. 800 words by 30 September 2020 (in German or English). Following a first selection within four weeks, the complete contributions are to be submitted by 30 January 2021. The contributions will then be subject to a double-blind peer review and in case of a successful review will be published online first in 2021. Please send your contribution proposals to zpol.digitheo(a)wzb.eu <mailto:zpol.digitheo@wzb.eu>. Best regards, Daniel Staemmler (FU Berlin), Sebastian Berg (JWI/WZB), Thorsten Thiel (JWI/WZB)

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