Dear AoIR list, I just wanted to thank everyone on this list who filled out my previous survey request. Your responses have definitely added to this research. This will be my last post concerning the research survey, which will be up until the end of August for those who might have some extra time this summer to respond, if you could not during the original release: https://www.runner.ryerson.ca/PRSurvey/survey.cfm I’ve reproduced the original call below for anyone new to the list, if you would like more information on this project. Please accept my apologies for cross posting! Sincerely, Peter Ryan ------------------------------------------------------- Peter Malachy Ryan, PhD Candidate Rogers Fellow, Communication and Culture Programme Instructor, Department of Politics and Public Administration Ryerson University ********* Original Survey Post: I was previously referred to this list as a possible source for survey respondents concerning the following topic: How literary fiction affects ICT research and development culture. The scope of this research concerns North America, but I encourage people from around the globe to respond if they are interested in the topic. The brief contact survey can be found at the following URL, and it will take approximately 15 minutes of your time, depending on your level of participation: https://www.runner.ryerson.ca/PRSurvey/survey.cfm I would appreciate your time in filling out the survey because this is a part of my doctoral research project. If you would like more background on my research, I also have a blog at the following URL: http://prnetworks.blogspot.com *Please take the time to fill the survey out, especially if you are either 1) a published author of literary fiction, or 2) employed in the information communication technology sector. The survey should take about 15 minutes of your time, depending on your level of involvement. I appreciate any and all comments and feedback. The information recorded will help both quantitative and qualitative research analysis in the long run. *Importance of this Research* I hope that you will take the time to help because of its importance in the following listed areas of study. Specifically, this research aims to develop: 1) a better understanding of how to improve the potential of networked research via the use of computers. Computers have been called the "imagination machine", but are we using our new abundance of information effectively and imaginatively? 2) an interdisciplinary understanding of how the "two cultures" of the Arts and the Sciences do in fact work together (if they do at all). 3) recommendations for economic policy that is being led by the creative sector. In particular, funding for the Arts has been cut in recent years, despite the huge economic impact that the cultural industries have on local economies; however, the funding for ICT R&D continues to increase without any apparent regard for the environmental problems caused by the development of the infrastructure that is required by a technological society -- how can these two policy arcs be realigned in a focused and mutually beneficial way? 4) maps of ICT networks that emphasize and link these two cultures. If we can visualize how research networks overlap with artistic and literary capital, then perhaps improvements can be made to the systems of communication between the agents of these two cultures. Such an analysis can also be used as a valuable case study for other communities. Lastly, I would gladly ask that you forward on my e-mail address and survey if you know of any other listservs or research networks that might find this project of interest. At this point, I hope that the survey will travel far and wide like a stolen garden gnome taken around the world that will one day come back to its owner. Thank you for your time and kind consideration of this message. Sincerely, Peter Ryan ------------------------------------------------------- Peter Malachy Ryan, PhD Candidate Rogers Fellow, Communication and Culture Programme Instructor, Department of Politics and Public Administration Ryerson University