Hi Folks,
I hope you all had a good summer break.
Please forward any information that you would like to circulate to the Cyber Society Live list.
Best wishes.
Joanne.
-----Original Message-----
From: OII Newsletter [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 12 September 2008 14:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OII News [2008.09.12]: Events for September and October
Dear friends and colleagues,
This is mainly an events reminder. If you are interested in: law, technology and popular culture, or blogging, or activism, or virtual worlds, or YouTube, or the state of academic publishing, or human-computer conversation, or meeting, dating, marriage and the Internet (or the upcoming OneWebDay), then there is probably the event you are looking for below [Note: the Vint Cerf and Manuel Castells lectures are being booked up fast: register now if you would like a place].
We hope to see you at the OII,
Best wishes: Ida Persson, OII Events Officer
1. Events Diary: September / October
2. Dr Jenny Pickerill on: New Media and Protest 3. Student Diary: OneWebDay comes to Oxford!
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1. Events Diary: September / October
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Wed 17 Sept:
Anti-war activism: New Media and Protest Dr Jenny Pickerill [see interview below]
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=205
Mon 22 Sept:
OneWebDay [see Student Diary below]
http://onewebday.org/base/index.php/Oxford
Tues 23 Sept:
Tracking the Internet into the 21st Century with Vint Cerf
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=215
Wed 24 - Thurs 25 September:
GikIII Workshop
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=199
Thurs 2 Oct:
You've Got Mail: Meeting, Dating, Marriage and the Internet (Symposium)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=211
Fri 3 Oct:
Meeting, Dating, Marriage and the Internet (Forum)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=212
Mon 6 - Tues 7 Oct:
Fourth International Workshop on Human-Computer Conversation http://www.companions-project.org/events/200810_bellagio.cfm
Mon 13 Oct:
The Virtual World Exploratorium Project with Dmitri Williams
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=214
Mon 20 Oct:
Making Sense of YouTube with Jean Burgess
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=217
Thurs 23 Oct:
Lecture by Professor Manuel Castells
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=209
Thurs 30 Oct:
Addressing Your Email Productivity Paradox: A Master Class Dr Monica Seeley
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=208
Fri 21 Nov:
The Transformation of Academic Publishing in the Digital Era Dr Frances Pinter
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=216
All the Events:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/
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2. Dr Jenny Pickerill on: New Media and Protest
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Jenny Pickerill is a lecturer in Human Geography at Leicester University, UK. An OII Visitor, she will be discussing 'Anti-war activism: New Media and Protest' on Wednesday at the OII. We started off by asking whether online anti-war activism is ever particularly 'transnational':
Ed: So does being online actually 'transcend borders, nationality etc' in terms of online activism? Or does activity tend to remain local?
JP: In our study of anti-war activism in the UK, USA and Australia we found a large number of interlinkages between activism sites, but very few collaborative campaigns emerging directly from them. So while there is strong evidence of transnational linkages, the implications and meanings of these linkages remain unclear: most campaigns I have looked at (especially anti-war activism) retain a strong national or local focus. The same cannot be said for some International NGOs eg Greenpeace, but they are not the norm.
Ed: So how do you go about measuring 'transnationality' of online activism?
JP: We have the traditional measures of diaspora, ie links between immigrants and their traditional homes which are extended online and through activism; or activists might show solidarity with distant campaigns (eg the old example of pro-Zapatista campaigns) .. and ideas and strategies might be copied from other countries: techniques of protest, or icons and logos. However, collaborative actions tend to retain need for face-to-face communication and strong trust links to work. Most transnational actions are formed through existing offline networks.
Ed: But bringing activism activity online presumably encourages more people to join in?
JP: Websites have greatly increased the ability of people to find out about campaigns and take virtual action. But few websites actively seek to convert the uninitiated: most tend to contain only confirmatory material - they assume a person who visits their site is already convinced of the campaign's political righteousness. So these sites might not trigger mobilisation on their own, although they might facilitate someone who has already been motivated to take the final step.
Ed: And what about creating feelings of identity, or solidarity with a cause or group?
JP: This is important especially for activists in remoter areas who can feel marginalised: Australian activists talked of the need to 'feel part of something bigger'. The growth of Muslim anti-war activism in Britain is pertinent here, with numerous Muslim anti-war websites and groups emerging, all helping to build a notion of a 'British Muslim' political identity. This has helped younger Muslims, especially, feel more assertively about their politics and for them to take action. But they have taken action through face-to-face contacts and local groups - with many Muslim networks emerging from specific Mosques and local community centres, rather than spontaneously coalescing online.
Ed: And so, with all this activity, all these groups: are online activists particularly aware of being specifically 'online'?
JP: Activists rarely question why they are using Internet technologies or to what ends. Most of the responses to our questions on why and how they used the Internet were rather bland or banal .. few knew who their audiences were, or indeed who they wanted them to be. Of course activists are aware that they 'ought to be online', but not necessarily of what they are intending to achieve when they are there.
Ed: So how do you go about studying someone's use of something they may not even think about? How do you get activists to critically discuss their use of technologies?
JP: Coming from a social science background I have, in the main, used qualitative research methods, especially participant observation and interviews, to create space for research participants to reflect upon their use in an open-ended manner. But activists can rarely spare the time required by researchers. Which means ultimately that as academics we have to at times infer why we think activists have done certain things and not others, leaving many questions unanswered.
Ed: Thank you!
Jenny has been working on a two-year ESRC-funded project on anti-war internet activism (http://www.antiwarresearch.info) with Frank Webster and Kevin Gillan. Their book 'Anti-war activism: New Media and Protest in Information Age' (Palgrave Macmillan) is due out on 3 October.
Jenny at the OII:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/visitors.cfm?id=136
Event: Anti-war activism: New Media and Protest (Wed 17 Sept)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=205
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3. Student Diary: OneWebDay comes to Oxford!
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On Monday 22 September it will be time again for OneWebDay - the Earth Day for the Internet. All around the globe, people will gather for self-organized events to focus attention on local Internet concerns. Oxford will join this growing international community.
At the OII, led by a team of students and staff members, everyone is invited to join us to celebrate OneWebDay 2008 with two free and open events: a photography exhibition and a blogging tutorial.
Date: Monday 22 September 2008 (OII, 1 St Giles, Oxford)
Time: Exhibition: 12:00-16:00; Blogging tutorial: 16:00-18:00 Register for the blogging tutorial by emailing Alejandro Ribo-Labastida at mailto:[log in to unmask] [Space is limited, so sign up early!] http://onewebday.org/base/index.php/Oxford
1. Photography Exhibition:
Showcasing the work of two young Iranian artists, Arash Ashoorinia and Amir M. Javadi, this exhibition draws on the artists' current project 'Accessomania' and portrays Iranian bloggers, who struggle with censorship and Internet filtering in their country.
Arash Ashoorinia is a leading photo blogger whose blog, Kosoof, won the Reporters without Borders prize in the 'Best of the Blogs' competition of the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Amir M. Javadi studied medicine and graphic design in Tehran and works as a graphic designer and photographer. His work has been featured in places such as the Tehran Modern Arts Gallery and the 10th Photography Biennale in Iran.
The exhibition opens at noon with a brief introduction. Students and faculty will be available to discuss the exhibition and answer questions about global Internet filtering and censorship.
2. Blogging Tutorial:
For anyone who wants to start a blog - or is thinking about it. Community organizers, local activists, business people, schoolchildren, students and anyone else curious about blogging are invited to this hands-on session that will help participants get started with their own blogs, and explore what it takes to engage in online conversations using their blog.
Participants will learn basic technical skills and discuss the many issues that novice bloggers face, such as developing a focus, finding a voice, and reaching an audience. Concerns about privacy and security will also be addressed.
About OneWebDay:
OneWebDay is an Earth Day for the Internet. Each year OneWebDay focuses attention on a key internet value: this year the theme is online participation in democracy. The aim of OneWebDay is to highlight local internet concerns to create a global constituency that cares about protecting and defending the Internet.
OneWebDay was founded by Internet lawyer and professor Susan Crawford in 2006 and is held on September 22 every year.
OneWebDay: http://www.onewebday.org/
[Editor: David Sutcliffe]
Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
1 St Giles Oxford OX1 3JS
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 287210
Fax: +44 (0)1865 287211
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk
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