It strikes me that if the boycotters are going to boycott Israel, they should go beyond that and boycott the AoIR conference and list. AoIR has been founded by Americans, is based in the US, and takes full advantage of American law and tax advantages. I know it has an Aussie as the next head, but we all know that the Australian government is an American ally. Whatever their personal politics, Americans (and Aussies) are complicit in the affairs of their government. So please boycott the AoIR list! And if you insist on being Middle Eastern focused, perhaps organize boycotts of Egypt (torture, sexism, lack of democracy), Saudi Arabia (ibid, with hyper-sexism), the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrein (unbridled capitalism), Jordan (didn't do nice to the Palestinians when they controlled the area and have never apologized); Syria (treatment of Lebanon, secret police, torture of Canadian); Iran (constraints on religious freedom and democracy; killed a Canadian); Iraq (endless list); Turkey (Kurds; Midnite Express); Kuwait (sexism; resisting the just occupation of Saddam Husein); Yemen (??). Most of these countries treat foreign workers very badly. Guess that leaves only Lebanon ok now. Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________
On 5/28/05, Barry Wellman <wellman@chass.utoronto.ca> wrote:
It strikes me that if the boycotters are going to boycott Israel, they should go beyond that and boycott the AoIR conference and list.
I have to admit (following some four months in Israel) that I'm not exactly a friend of Israel. But I don't think AoIR is the appropriate venue for boycotts, boycott discussions, debates over league tables of the worst tyrants in the world, or anything similar. There are other - far better - venues for such debates. Louise Ferguson
Has anyone done any research on the increase in inhumanity because of the rise of the computer? Suggesting as I do that every developed nation has torture how does IT fit this picture. Is there an increase in police brutality lately? Can domestic torture be linked to a so called information revolution? Video games that are violent are the only likely suspects I can think of. Peter Timusk B.Math Just trying to stay linear www.crystalcomputing.net >blog> http://logbook.crystalcomputing.net www.webpagex.org >blog> http://notebook.webpagex.org
Hi, Don't have a specific response to your question. Do you know Manuel Castells' work on THE RISE OF THE INFORMATION AGE? It was written a few years back but has many resources on uses of IT "for" and "against" human freedoms and expression. If there has been an increase in inhumanity (which I don't know), it would be important to also look at the ways in which there has been an increase in possibilities for humane outreach and activism of all sorts (from mobilizing of resources for those who have been through extreme natural disasters to charitable outlets that are available online). So, part of the question I would ask is not only has there been an increase in inhumanity, but how does the whole picture balance out when viewed in relation to inhumane and humane activities. Best, Zilia On 5/29/05, Peter T. <ptimusk@sympatico.ca> wrote:
Has anyone done any research on the increase in inhumanity because of the rise of the computer? Suggesting as I do that every developed nation has torture how does IT fit this picture. Is there an increase in police brutality lately? Can domestic torture be linked to a so called information revolution?
Video games that are violent are the only likely suspects I can think of.
Peter Timusk B.Math Just trying to stay linear www.crystalcomputing.net >blog> http://logbook.crystalcomputing.net www.webpagex.org >blog> http://notebook.webpagex.org
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-- Zilia C. Estrada Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology School of Library and Information Science Indiana University, Bloomington zestrada@indiana.edu
Why do the research? Sounds like you already have your conclusion. -----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Peter T. Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 1:41 PM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org; aoir list Subject: [Air-l] the developed world's torture Has anyone done any research on the increase in inhumanity because of the rise of the computer? Suggesting as I do that every developed nation has torture how does IT fit this picture. Is there an increase in police brutality lately? Can domestic torture be linked to a so called information revolution? Video games that are violent are the only likely suspects I can think of. Peter Timusk B.Math Just trying to stay linear www.crystalcomputing.net >blog> http://logbook.crystalcomputing.net www.webpagex.org >blog> http://notebook.webpagex.org _______________________________________________ The Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
Hi Peter, I don't know about research specific to your question, but the philosophers may offer a place to start. Heiddeger is certainly pertinent with specific references to technology (though the relevancy to digital technologies needs to be handled carefully). Marshal McLuhan discusses electronic media as an attack for which society must become prepared. On another track, Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard about the the place of images and their manipulation/decomposition by power factors (specifically, capitalism). They discuss effects of social-spiritual debilitation and degradation of reality and reality perception and meaning in general. Slavoj Zizek's The Cyberspace Real might be relevant for you: http://www.egs.edu/faculty/zizek/zizek-the-cyberspace-real.html. I'd join with the other responses here to note that suggesting a causal connection between computers and torture is problematic. It would probably serve you better to look at the larger picture of social and cultural trends to see in what way the development of technology interacts with - rather than causes - such phenomena. And further, to keep in mind that such effects are not going to be limited to destructive potential - although the means in which the positive comes through the negative can be complex and not at all obvious. Most contemporary media/technology philosophers are supremely pessimistic. But this may be changing. A nice quote from Heidegger in this respect: But where danger is, grows The saving power also. My personal interest is in the other side of the coin, and how the self has co-evolved with technology to become a structure that is capable of being traumatized. With respect to your question - the phenomena of dissociation that is fundamental to trauma is also fundamental to traumatizing. The ability of one human being to perpetrate horrors on another is not a natural given. Psychological research has been done on sexual perpetrators, for example, showing them to have significant levels of dissociation. Questions of development of self, society, culture and technology cannot ultimately be separated from each other. Heidegger, Martin. 1953. The Question Concerning Technology. In: The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays. Summary: http://www.beloit.edu/~philorel/faculty/davidvessey/Heidegger22702.html Some work based on Heidegger: http://www.webcom.com/~paf/hlinks/techlinks.html Debord, Guy. 1995/1967. The Society of the Spectacle, Zone Books. Jean Baudrillard: http://www.uta.edu/english/apt/collab/baudweb.html Slavoj Zizek: http://www.egs.edu/faculty/slavojzizek.html Good luck in staying linear ;) Heidi
-----Original Message----- From: Peter T. [mailto:ptimusk@sympatico.ca] Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 7:41 PM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org; aoir list Subject: [Air-l] the developed world's torture
Has anyone done any research on the increase in inhumanity because of the rise of the computer? Suggesting as I do that every developed nation has torture how does IT fit this picture. Is there an increase in police brutality lately? Can domestic torture be linked to a so called information revolution?
Video games that are violent are the only likely suspects I can think of.
Peter Timusk B.Math Just trying to stay linear www.crystalcomputing.net >blog> http://logbook.crystalcomputing.net www.webpagex.org >blog> http://notebook.webpagex.org
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Dear airlisters, I'd be grateful for any refs on good studies/articles on camera phones/mobile devices, and how they are being actually being used (including how digital images are being circulated across mobile and other networks). I'd be very interested too in any work that looks at mobile photography in wider context of digital photography. Thanks in advance. Gerard Goggin -- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Dr Gerard Goggin ARC Australian Research Fellow Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072 Qld Australia e: g.goggin@uq.edu.au m: 0428 66 88 24 www.gerardgoggin.net// www.cccs.uq.edu.au research blog: http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/~blogs/gerardgoggin/
participants (7)
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Barry Wellman -
Casey O'Donnell -
Gerard Goggin -
Heidi haLevi -
Louise Ferguson -
Peter T. -
Zilia C. Estrada