June 20, 2003 Report of the a(o).i.r. executive committee Prepared by Steve Jones AoIR Executive Committee President: Steve Jones Vice-President: Nancy Baym Secretary: Ulla Bunz Treasurer: Benjamin Bates Open Seats: David Silver and Barry Wellman Appointed Seats: Matthew Allen and Leslie Shade Student Seat: Lisbeth Klastrup Publications Officers: Jeremy Hunsinger and Charlie Breindahl 2003 Conference Chair: Liss Jeffrey 2003 Conference Program Co-Chairs: Matthew Allen and David Mitchell Ethics Working Group Chair: Charles Ess Elections Working Group Chair: Mia Consalvo Net Resources Working Group Chair: Charlie Breindahl 1. Introduction & General (Jones) Below is the monthly report from AoIR executive committee members. If you aren't reading this...well, you ought to be. I know it can get lengthy, and it can get detailed, but it's the single best way to know what AoIR is up to, and to find ways to get involved with it (in any number of ways from contacting the people who report to volunteering to work on something you see mentioned to making suggestions to...). 2. Executive Officers' Reports 2.1 President (Jones) 2.1.1 The election process for AoIR executive offices is now under way. I will post a longer, separate email message about it soon, but suffice here for me to remind you of the timeilne: 1. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Elapsed 2. END OF NOMINATION PERIOD: Elapsed 3. DISCUSSION PERIOD BEGINS: June 20, 2003 4. DISCUSSION PERIOD ENDS: July 11, 2003 3. VOTING PERIOD BEGINS: July 14, 2003 4. VOTING PERIOD ENDS: July 28, 2003 5. NEW COMMITTEE ASSUMES DUTIES: At the end of the General Meeting at the fourth annual AoIR conference, October 16 - 19, 2003. 2.1.2 As you will see below conference planning is well under way. I am delighted (and not just for reasons associated with our conference) that WHO announced last week that SARS appears to have been generally contained (today the announcement was that not only Toronto but Hong Kong, too, is free of SARS) and cases are on the decline. I will hope to see as many of you as can join us in Toronto in October. 2.1.3 If you have not yet registered for the conference or made a hotel reservation I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Early registration fees are only in effect for a couple or so more weeks, and our hotel space is held for a limited amount of time. Please mention that you are registering for AoIR when you book your room at the Toronto Hilton (or use our Block Code - ASSA110703). As I have stated other times/other places, as AoIR has grown we have had to search for larger and larger meetings spaces, precluding most prospective college/university venues. This year we are meeting at a hotel in an urban area, and we have to meet the minimum occupancy with which we are able to use its meeting rooms - if we don't meet that occupancy rate then we'll have to increase the registration fees, to cover additional cost of the meeting rooms. The AoIR rate may be a few dollars more than the most discounted rate that you could get on your own, but that few dollars is in support of the facilities at the Hilton that we are using. I appreciate everyone's support of the conference and of AoIR. 2.1.3 While on the topic of support, I would like to reiterate some of the quite tangible benefits of AoIR membership. As a paying member of the Association of Internet Reseachers, you are entitled to a number of discounted journal subscriptions and book discounts. Journal Discounts: *The Information Society: An International Journal *Information, Communication and Society *e-Service Journal *CyberPsychology and Behavior * New Media & Society Books: Routledge Cyberstudies catalog These are described in greater detail at http://aoir.org/benefits.html. 2.2 Vice President (Baym) 2.2.1 Participated in election planning and candidate encouraging. 2.3 Secretary (Bunz) 2.3.1 Counted votes, participated in discussions (below), and been waiting for warm weather. May 15 - June 15, 2003 This month on the executive list: - The AoIR election process has begun. Nominations were collected until June 13. Starting June 20, an online open discussion forum will be available for AoIR members and non-members to interact with nominees. Position statements and biographical information will be available online too. Details and URL= =92s will be posted to air-l within the next week. - Along those lines, the exec has been monitoring nominations and has been sharing public i