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The Conference
Please send to:
CASA-Conference Services,
School of Science and Technology,
University of Sussex,
Falmer,
Brighton, BN1 9QH
UK.
Fax: +44 (0) 1273 671320
You will need Adobe Acrobat to read this
The internet seems to be at once everywhere and invisible but simultaneously it structures only a fraction of the communications of the total global community. It can facilitate greater interaction, understanding and political activism; being used at the same time to exclude, destroy and exploit. The much cited ubiquity of the internet needs to be examined in both the contexts in which it is accepted and those in which it is contested.
The theme of ‘ubiquity?’ addresses the following questions: Is the internet everywhere? How and where does the internet appear and act in technical, social, political, or cultural contexts? What does it mean to have access and who does and doesn’t have it? How does the presence of the internet affect individuals, communities, families, governments, societies and nation-states? What are the implications of ‘internet everywhere’? Submissions addressing these and other questions regarding the internet are welcome.
Internet Research 5.0 will feature a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on the Internet. Examining and challenging the visibility and prevalence of the Internet and Internet discourses, the conference will bring together a wide range of researchers, practitioners and scholars for the exchange of formal and informal ideas. As with previous AoIR conferences, the aim is to promote a deep, coherent and situated understanding of the internet and connected networks.
Birds of a Feather Forum
Use our forum to organize a birds of a feather group, or to join one
that interests you. These groups are great for networking, learning,
and socializing.
Pre-Conference Workshops
There are 6 pre-conference workshops and it is possible to participate
in up to two:
1 – Cultures of Programming: Hackers, crackers and openness
2 - Measuring the information society: what, how, for whom and what?
4– Qualitative Research Methods
Sunday 19th of September
5 - The web as a mirror of scientific and technical achievements: issues in access and measurement
Saturday 18th September 2004: Afternoon sessions
1 - Cultures of Programming: Hackers, crackers and openness
Organizers:
Daniel Pargman, Ph.D., Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden pargman@kth.se
Matt Ratto, Ph.D., Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands matt.ratto@niwi.knaw.nl
This workshop will provide space for its participants to examine different aspects of hacker and cracker cultures, with an eye towards understanding how the history of computing, the identity and narratives of the hacker/cracker, and the material practices associated with them help to constitute current developments.
A better understanding of the various identities and practices associated with the idea of “the hacker” can help us address how cultures of computing are formulated and maintained. Understanding hacker cultures – their history, motivation, and material practices – can help us gain insights not only to the history of computing, but also a better understanding of what is happening right now and what will happen on the Internet and in computing in the near future.
With the emergence of free and open source software – most notably the Linux operating system – hackers and hacker culture has during the last decade gained a renewed prominence in the eyes of the business world and of the larger public. But the notion of the computer hacker stretches back to the early days of general-purpose computing and has in the subsequent decades morphed and changed in different directions. There have been both positive and negative evaluations of hackers and of hacking; some have understood hacking to be a productive blend of the roles of technology producer and user, while others have focused on how hacking skills are used to break the copy protection of software, to invade computer systems and to commit crimes. The latter activity, cracking, is often differentiated from the more mainstream (and positive) notion of hacking although it shares many of the same practices.
The concept of “ubiquity” – the theme of this year’s AoIR conference – is in many ways connected to the ideal of “openness”. The development of technical standards and the construction of large-scale computing infrastructures – necessary to achieving the dream of ubiquitous computing – involve many of the ideals and practices from open source and free software. The very idea of ubiquitous computing is in many ways like previous dreams of computing, where the fabric of human life becomes interwoven with the technologies of “on-demand” computational power. Key to many of these dreams is the identity and the culture of the ultimate user – the computer hacker. Equally, ubiquitous computing is also given the nightmare of the computer criminal, the cracker; an unscrupulous individual able to manipulate and use computing infrastructures for his own benefit.
Participants should send a one-page application and a 2-5 pages position
paper to the workshop organizers before the workshop. The application
should contain:
- Contact information (both mail and postal)
- Experience/interest in the subject
- How the workshop theme is connected to own research
The position papers of the workshop participants should contain a statement that in some way relates to cultures of programming (hackers, crackers, open soure).
Workshop participants will be chosen on the basis of their applications should we need to limit attendance to the workshop.
Time: 1pm – 6pm
Workshop list
2. Measuring the information society : what, how, for whom and what ?
Co-Sponsored by the European Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology – ASIS&T/EC
Organizers:
Dr. Michel J. Menou, Information and Knowledge Management consultant, France & International liaison officer, ASIS&T
Dr. John Daly, Science an technology consultant, USA
Dr. Philippe Vidal, Coordinator E-Atlas project, GRESOC, University of Toulouse 2, France
Scope and objectives:
As public, private and civil society organizations are increasingly trying to promote and/or take advantage of the information society, or else the networked economy, the need for statistical data and indicators that reflect initial situations, change and its consequences is generating a variety of initiatives. Networked Readiness Index, Digital Access Index, Information Intelligence Quotient, INESXSK, Community Connectivity Indicators, to name a few, have flourished over the years.
This workshop will provide an opportunity for a critical review and unconstrained discussion of:
- existing instruments and the frameworks upon which they are based
- data sources, gathering and calculation methods
- intended audiences, usability and reliability
- requirements for improved measures serving all categories of stakeholders
It is hoped that as a result of the workshop, participants will be equipped with a renewed broad overview of information society measures and a vision of the main directions for future research and development in this area.
Process:
Those interested to participate should submit by June 26, 2004 to M.Menou ( Michel.Menou@wanadoo.fr ) an outline in English (500 to 750 words maximum) of a position paper dealing with any aspect of the above topic. Several aspects my be touched in the same paper, or alternatively several papers be submitted. Outlines should highlight in practical terms what the issue is, what is going right, what is going wrong, why in both case, and what is required to improve the situation. Outlines will be refereed. The number of participants will be limited with a view to secure the best possible conditions for interaction and also for practical reasons.
Authors of an accepted contribution will be notified by July 31, 2004. They will be invited to provide an expanded outline or short position paper (2500 words maximum) by August 31, 2004 at the latest. They will also be requested to register for the workshop and hopefully the AoIR conference by the same date.
Upon acceptance outlines, expanded abstracts or short papers will be posted on an electronic list and web site with a view to allow for an advance discussion among participants and other interested parties. The list will be moderated in order to avoid inappropriate postings. The listserv can be found at http://www.developmentgateway.com/evaluation ; go to the link at the top of the right hand column and find all information in the FAQ section. We hope the postings and discussions could start by mid June.
At the workshop the discussion will be arranged around 3 main topics: what to measure, how to measure, users and use of the measures. For each of them participants will be invited to very briefly summarize their positions before a general discussion takes place. There will be no formal presentation of papers. It is assumed that all those present will have read beforehand the contributions circulated through the list.
If participants so desire a summary of the discussions and conclusions will be posted on the discussion list and/or web site, anonymity of contributions being secured if and when appropriate.
Time: 2pm – 6pm
Workshop list
3 - “You’ve got the whole wide world in your hand – what u wanna do now?”: Relevant socio-cultural and HCI issues in future scenarios of mobile Internet
Organisers:
Dr. Anxo Cereijo Roibás, a.c.roibas@brighton.ac.uk
Gitte Stald, stald@hum.ku.dk
The workshop will explore and analyse crucial socio-cultural implications and related HCI issues in the design of scenarios of ubiquitous interactive communication.
Recent developments in communication technologies will strongly extend communication possibilities in ubiquitous contexts. Thus convergent media is becoming one of the main relevant HCI issues. Companies will be able to provide their services holistically across different channels and this will imply a strong integration between all the platforms and interfaces involved (i-TV, PCs, handhelds, etc.). In the users’ side, this will imply a seamless and pervasive connection possibility to the Internet and to all its applications and services in the different spheres (leisure and gaming, communications, health, learning, business or their combination as busitainment, edutainment, etc.). Telecomunication companies (network operators, handset manufacturers, service providers, etc.) are investing now in technologies for transmission of multimedia files across mobile phones. But, will users need these applications, if yes, why, when and how will they use them? In order to be able to prospect realistic and relevant future scenarios for this technological -landscape, it is required a strong research in socio-cultural trends. This kind of studies for example, would allow foresights on the unexpected boom of SMS in Europe as well as the moblogging phenomenon.
Objectives of this workshop are: to develop a socio-cultural trends research agenda for this specific issue, to identify and extend the research community in this topic. Moreover, to sensitise designers, sociologists, psychologists, marketers to the particular socio-cultural and interaction-design issues in these kind of communication scenarios.
Participants should submit, to the organisers, a brief position paper of 1-2 pages, or a reference to a socio-cultural issue related to a mobile product or application in which they have been involved. Participants will be selected on the basis of their interest in and familiarity with the topic. No particular skills or knowledge of socio-cultural trends or HCI are required.
Time 2pm-5pm
Workshop list
4 - Qualitative Research Methods
This Pre-Conference workshop is designed to enable participants to work through common yet complex issues related to the qualitative study of Internet-related phenomena. At the workshop, five highly qualified but very different experts in the broad field of Internet Studies will lead discussion sessions. The topics of these sessions will be derived from the participants themselves, who will submit their questions a few weeks in advance of the workshop (see below for details). Broadly speaking, the focus of this workshop is the study of the Internet or ICT (rather than how to use internet-related technologies to facilitate traditional research).
Workshop Facilitators
Nancy Baym, Ph. D., University of Kansas, USA
http://www.people.ku.edu/~nbaym/
Annette Markham, Ph. D., University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
http://ascend.comm.uic.edu/~amarkham/
Christine Hine, Ph. D., University of Surrey, UK
http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/christine_hine.htm
Lori Kendall, Ph. D., SUNY, Purchase College
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9474.html
Shani Orgad, Ph. D., London School of Economics, UK
http://www.lse.ac.uk/people/s.s.orgad@lse.ac.uk/
How to Participate
Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested participants should register for this workshop as they register for the AOIR conference in general.
Rationale
Although many of us use the label "qualitative" to describe our methods, our choices and practices vary considerably due to differences in disciplinary training, experiences, theoretical frameworks and worldviews, the research questions we are asking, and the type of phenomena we're studying.
any disciplines and universities offer only limited, if any, training in qualitative research, particularly related to internet research. As a result, many Internet researchers remain unsure how to conduct or evaluate quality research in this area. The diverse scholars brought together for this pre-conference workshop will encourage a broader understanding of qualitative inquiry that may offer a fuller range of methodological choices for participants.
Submitting Questions
Each registered participant should submit one question he or she would like to have addressed during the workshop, accompanied by a brief explanation of the context within which his or her question is situated.
Questions should be submitted by email no later than September 1, 2004
to either Nancy Baym (nbaym@ku.edu) or Annette Markham
(amarkham@gmail.com).
Workshop leaders will use these questions to build workshopsessions.During the workshop, participants and workshop facilitators will address the practical, theoretical, political, and/or ethical issues involved in answering the question. Dialogue about these issues within the workshop is intended to illustrate the complexity of methodological decision making during the course of rigorous
qualitative study.
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Annette or
Nancy.
Time 2-5pm
Workshop list
Sunday 19th September: Morning Sessions
5 - The web as a mirror of scientific and technical achievements: issues in access and measurement
Organisers:
Mike Thelwall (University of Wolverhampton, UK), m.thelwall@wlv.ac.uk
Andrea Scharnhorst (Nerdi/NIWI, The Netherlands)
Irene Berkowitz (Temple University, USA)
Lennart Björneborn (Royal School of Library and Information Science, Denmark)
Christine Hine (University of Surrey, UK)
Michael Nentwich (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Technology Assessment)
Steve Schneider (SUNY Institute of Technology, USA)
Henry Small (Chief Scientist of Thomson ISI, USA)
Liwen Vaughan (University of Western Ontario, Canada)
Michel J. Menou (ASIS&T international liaison officer)
Co-sponsored by:
The European Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology - ASIS&T/EC (www.asis.org/Chapters/europe/)
The European Union funded project WISER - Web Indicators for Science, Technology & Innovation Research (www.webindicators.org)
The Communication and Information Technology section of the American Sociological AssociationThe academic journals Cybermetrics and Online Information Review
Scope and objectives:
The web has changed the way in which many researchers conduct research, communicate their findings and share data. In some research fields, such as high-energy physics, online posting of preprints is standard practice. In others, such as astronomy, the maintenance of large shared online data banks is common, fundamentally changing the way in which scientists operate. Other changes are less dramatic, but more universal, such as the widespread creation of public home pages for individual researchers and research groups. There is a need for assessing the impact of the myriad web uses and for the identification of the potential and actual impact of the web.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss quantitative and quantitative approaches to studying academic web use. The themes of the conference will be:
* Scientific collaboration and communication on the Web: new opportunities, new social organisation.
* Measuring science on the web: new techniques.
* Publishing research online: adaptation and innovation.
* Disciplinary differences in web use.
* Individual case studies.
* Large scale analyses.
Process:
The structure of the workshop is different from the usual format. The aim is to create a lively discussion about relevant topics rather than to be based around a few speakers giving presentations. The following procedure is therefore proposed. Those interested in participating should submit to Mike Thelwall m.thelwall@wlv.ac.uk by June 26, 2004 an abstract (750 words maximum) of a position paper dealing with any aspect of the above topics. Abstracts will be refereed. Authors of accepted contributions will be notified by July 31, 2004. They will be invited to provide an expanded abstract or short paper (2500 words maximum) and to register for the workshop on the conference web site by August 31, 2004.
Expanded abstracts and short papers will be circulated among workshop participants (and possibly posted on the ASIS&T/EC web site) with a view to allow for an advance discussion that will take place on the ASIS&T/EC listserv. At the workshop the discussion will be arranged around 3 main topics: scientific collaboration and communication, measuring science on the web, and publishing research online. For each one, participants will be invited to very briefly summarize their positions before a general discussion takes place. We anticipate that most participants will have the opportunity to present.
Participants wishing to distribute their position statements as handouts or posters are welcome to do so. Summaries of the sessions will be published in Cybermetrics and Online Information Review.
Time: 9am-12pm
Workshop list
Organiser: Peter Day, P.Day@brighton.ac.uk
The scope of the workshop focuses on a fairly interactive and participatory
consideration of community informatics related issues. Our idea is that
participants should draw from their own knowledge and experiences to
consider a particular community networking scenario (specifics being
worked
on at the moment). Working in groups, participants will identify a number
of
significant issues and relationships that emerge from the use of ICT
in
community networking activities. It is our hope that the workshop will
provide some interesting insights into the range of commonalities and
differences of community ICT practice and that participants will utilise
their creativity to consider this diversity in a way that is beneficial
to
all.
Time 9am-12pm
Workshop list
Costs:
1 workshop for attendees of the AoIR conference = £20
2 workshops for attendees of the AoIR conference = £30
1 workshop only (without attendance at AoIR conference) = £40
2 workshops only (without attendance at AoIR conference) = £70
Separate registration for AoIR conference. All participants in the workshops and/or conference must pay the fees. AoIR is not subsidized and operates on volunteer work.
Note: Please contact the individual workshop organisers before registering for the workshop on the registration page! Numbers may be limited and abstracts and position papers are required in some cases.
last updated: August 25, 2004