Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics

RKCSI NEWS

Announcement: Assistant Professor of IST Positions, The Pennsylvania State University (Review of Applications begins November 1)
October 12, 2011

The College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University is a college focused on multidisciplinary research and teaching for the 21st century. To learn more about our structure, vision, mission, goals, faculty and students, please go to http://ist.psu.edu. We are searching to fill multiple positions in our ranks for tenure track faculty members who will assist our college in attaining its goals in education, community, and research. We seek applicants who show clear evidence they will become premier teachers and leading scholars in their fields. Applications from those who seek to be a part of a vibrant, civil, and diverse academic community, pursue research, and teach in any areas of the information sciences are welcome.

The college has strengths in six key areas including: (1) computational informatics and science, (2) organizational informatics, (3) social policy, economics and informatics, (4) human-computer interaction, (5) cognition and networked intelligent systems and (6) security, privacy and informatics. Qualified candidates are invited to send their curriculum vitae, summary of research and teaching plans, as well as the contact information of four persons who will write letters of recommendation to http://recruit.ist.psu.edu.

For questions please contact: Dr. Lynette Kvasny, Faculty Search Committee Chair, 329C IST Bldg., College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-6823. Review of applications will begin on November 1 and continue until the positions are filled. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce.

Postdoc Research Position in Critical Studies of the Internet and the Information Society (Upsala University); October 31 deadline
September 13, 2011

Uppsala University hereby declares the following position to be open for application: Postdoc Research Position in Critical Studies of the Internet and the Information Society at the Department of Informatics and Media. The position is temporary (January 1st, 2012 - December 31st, 2013). The employment can be prolonged for one year.

Work Tasks:
* Research in th area of Internet privacy studies, Internet surveillance studies, information society studies.
* Research in externally funded research projects.
* Research administration.

Qualifications:
* Doctoral degree in social sciences.
* Research and publishing experience in all or some the following areas: Internet studies, information society studies, Internet privacy studies, Internet surveillance studies, Internet & society
* Background and experience in critical studies of digital media and society
* Solid foundation in qualitative and quantitative empirical social science research methods
* Solid foundation in social theory and philosophy of the information society and social theory and philosophy of digital media & society
* Interest to work in the field of Internet privacy- & Internet surveillance-studies
* Willingness to work in externally funded research projects
* Excellent command of written and spoken academic English

The application should include:
* a CV
* a scan/copy of the PhD degree
* a copy/scan of at least one recommendation letter
* electronic versions of the two most important published articles or book chapters (in the case of monographs, please select specific chapters)
* an application letter detailing answers to the following questions:
1. What are your academic goals and major research interests for the coming five years?
2. Why are you interested in this position?
3. What qualifies you for this position?
4. What are your expectations about this position and the work at the Department of Informatics and Media?
5. What have been the major results of your research and how do they connect to the announced position?
6. Describe shortly the topic of your dissertation and why you have chosen it.
7. How do you see the state of the art of Internet Studies in general and Internet privacy and surveillance studies in particular? How can the state of the art of the field be advanced and what could be your contribution?
8. Describe your knowledge of social science research methods and social theory.

Information about the employment, Professor for Media and Communication Studies: Christian Fuchs (christian.fuchs@im.uu.se): +46 18 471 1019; Head of the Department and Professor Mats Edenius: +46 18 471 11 76. Representatives from the Union are: Anders Grundstrom, Saco-radet, +46 18-471 53 80, Carin Soderhall, TCO/ST, +46 18-471 19 96 och Stefan Djurstrom, tel. +46 18-471 33 15.

You are welcome to submit your application no later than 31st October, 2011, UFV-PA 2011/2206. Use the link below to access the application form.
http://www.personalavd.uu.se/ledigaplatser/2206postDoc.html

CSCW Horizon, Demonstrations, Interactive Posters, Panels, Videos and Student Volunteers; September 9 deadline
August 18, 2011

The *ACM 2012 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work* (http://cscw2012.org) is a premier venue for presenting research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, and communities. CSCW encompasses both the technical and social challenges encountered when supporting collaboration. The development and application of new technologies continues to enable new ways of working together and coordinating activities. Although work is an area of focus, CSCW embraces research and technologies supporting a wide range of recreational and social activities using a diverse range of devices. The conference brings together top researchers and practitioners from academia and industry who are interested in both technical and social aspects of collaboration.

A record number of Papers & Notes were submitted to CSCW 2012 in June. The Papers & Notes track is now closed, and we want to encourage CSCW researchers and practitioners -- including those who submitted Papers & Notes -- to submit contributions to one or more of the following open tracks, all of which have an deadline of *September 9, 2011*, 5:00pm PDT: /CSCW Horizon/, /Demonstrations/, /Interactive Posters/, /Panels/, /Videos/ and /Student Volunteers/ ,(http://cscw2012.org/participation.php).

Call for Papers: MSD 2012
July 28, 2011

The Special Session on Management and Sustainable Development has a call for papers for the upcoming MSD 2012 conference in Shanghai, China on March 26-28, 2012

For more information about submissions and deadlines, visit www.appeecconf.org/2012/MSD2012.aspx

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of tripleC - Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society
July 21, 2011

Marx is Back: The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for Critical Communication Studies Today

In light of the global capitalist crisis, there is renewed interest in Karl Marx's works and in concepts like class, exploitation and surplus value. Slavoj Zizek argues that the antagonisms of contemporary capitalism in the context of the ecological crisis, the massive expansion of intellectual property, biogenetics, new forms of apartheid and growing world poverty show that we still need the Marxian notion of class. He concludes that there is an urgent need to renew Marxism and to defend its lost causes in order to render problematic capitalism as the only alternative (Zizek 2008, 6) and the new forms of a soft capitalism that promise, and in its rhetoric makes use of, ideals like participation, self-organization, and co-operation, without realizing them. Zizek (2010, chapter 3) argues that the global capitalistcrisis clearly demonstrates the need to return to the critique of political economy. Goran Therborn suggests that the "new constellations of power and new possibilities of resistance" in the 21st century require retaining the "Marxian idea that human emancipation from exploitation, oppression, discrimination and the inevitable linkage between privilege and misery can only come from struggle by the exploited and disadvantaged themselves" (Therborn 2008, 61). Eric Hobsbawm (2011, 12f) insists that for understanding the global dimension of contemporary capitalism, its contradictions and crises, and the persistence of socio-economic inequality, we "must ask Marx's questions" (13).

This special issue will publish articles that address the importance of Karl Marx's works for Critical Media and Communication Studies, what it means to ask Marx's questions in 21st century informational capitalism, how Marxian theory can be used for critically analyzing and transforming media and communication today, and what the implications of the revival of the interest in Marx are for the field of Media and Communication Studies.

For more information about submissions and deadlines, visit http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/CfP_Marx_tripleC.pdf. For inquiries, please contact the two editors: Christian Fuchs and Vincent Mosco

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS: Web 2.0 Technologies and Democratic Governance
July 11, 2011

Web 2.0 Technologies and Democratic Governance: Political, Policy and Management Implications

A book Edited by Christopher G. Reddick, The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA and Stephen K. Aikins, University of South Florida, USA

Prospective authors should email Stephen Aikins at saikins@usf.edu a copy of a 250 word proposed chapter abstract by August 1, 2011. Their chapter proposal should clearly outline the topic that the author(s) would like to examine and how the topic relates to the politics, policy, and management of Web 2.0 technologies and democratic governance. Author(s) of accepted chapter proposals will be notified by August 15, 2011. Full chapters are due by November 1, 2011. All chapters will go through a double blind peer review process. Results of the peer reviews will be announced to authors by January 15, 2012. The final copy of their chapter will be due by March 1, 2012.

Inquiries and submissions should be emailed to saikins@usf.edu

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: 2011 Pre-ICIS Workshop: Open Innovation in eGovernment Sponsored by AIS SIG eGovernment
July 9, 2011

You are invited to submit a paper for presentation and discussion at the 2011 pre-ICIS Special Interest Group (SIG) eGovernment workshop, to be held on Sunday, December 4, 2011, in Shanghai.

The general objective of SIG eGovernment is to promote quality and relevance in eGovernment research. As previous SIG eGovernment pre-ICIS workshops, this workshop is dedicated to open discussions about the most important issues today, theoretical streams and different possible ways forward. The focus of the workshop is informed discussion.

For additional information, please visit http://www.electronicgovernment.se/SIGeGOV/events.html

Submissions due: September 30, 2011
Acceptance of Notification: October 22, 2011.
Please submit your papers to: rm.caict@cbs.dk

Call for Papers from Advances in Internet of Things
July 5, 2011

The HICSS e-Government track has been a hotbed for groundbreaking studies and new ideas in this particular research domain. Many studies first presented here were developed further and then turned into publications at top journals. Ten minitracks cover the full spectrum of research avenues of electronic government including minitracks dedicated to emerging topics, open government, and social media and social networking, or, most recently, insider threats. The HICSS e-Government Track has assumed an excellent reputation among e-Government scholars. Several times it has been ranked the academically most rigorous research conference on e-Government in the world. The E-Government Track is in the top 2 of HICSS tracks with the lowest acceptance rate and the highest average per-session attendance.

For more information about submissions and deadlines, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/hicss45/

Call for Papers -- E-Government Track @ HICSS-45
June 6, 2011

The HICSS e-Government track has been a hotbed for groundbreaking studies and new ideas in this particular research domain. Many studies first presented here were developed further and then turned into publications at top journals. Ten minitracks cover the full spectrum of research avenues of electronic government including minitracks dedicated to emerging topics, open government, and social media and social networking, or, most recently, insider threats. The HICSS e-Government Track has assumed an excellent reputation among e-Government scholars. Several times it has been ranked the academically most rigorous research conference on e-Government in the world. The E-Government Track is in the top 2 of HICSS tracks with the lowest acceptance rate and the highest average per-session attendance.

For more information about submissions and deadlines, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/jscholl/hicss45/

iConference 2012 Call for Papers
May 9, 2011

iConference 2012 is an excellent venue to share your work and collaborate with others who share your passion and research interests. Papers and poster abstracts will be published in the ACM Digital Library. The iConference is sponsored by the iSchools organization; however, affiliation is not a prerequisite, and we encourage everyone to participate.

For more information about submission types and deadlines, visit http://www.ischools.org/iConference12/participation/

E-Government EndNote Reference Library Version 7.0 Available
March 15, 2011

The Digital Government Society makes available to members and non-members version 7.0 (March 15, 2011) of the E-Government Master Library in EndNote TM (Version X2) XML format or as a Package Version in ZIP format.

Version 7.0 of the e-Gov EndNote reference library now contains 4,284 references of predominantly English language, peer-reviewed work. The number of qualifying references in the library has increased by 594, or 16% over version 6.5 (May 2010).

The e-Gov EndNote reference library has developed into an indispensable tool for e-Gov scholars. In particular, reviewing paper submissions was reported to now heavily rely on this reference library.

In order to download the library, please register (or re-register, for repeat downloads) yourself and accept the GPL license agreement. We provide the reference in EndNote XML and as a zipped Package Lib, so that they can be imported by various EndNote versions. For the XML version, please use the EndNote IMPORT function (select EndNote XML document). Thank you for your interest!

For more information, visit https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/jscholl/22768

London School of Economics and Politcal Science Announces New MSc degree in MISI
February 2, 2011

MSc MISI studies organizational and IT innovations in business and government across the world. MISI integrates established knowledge on management and information systems with the critical study of emerging domains of innovation exploiting the internet, including cloud computing and social networking. Information systems drive modern business and public services and the internet is changing drastically how we form and share information, and knowledge in the networked society, challenging existing models of organizing business and government. MISI is an intellectually rigorous, innovative, inter-disciplinary degree that creates capabilities for future management and IS practitioners, advisers and researchers, in the ever changing arenas of technology and organizations.

MISI is a full-time 12 month course consisting of taught modules, seminars, and individual research.

Is MISI a new degree?
MISI has been developed from and replaces the well established MSc ADMIS, taking 30 years experience of teaching IS from a critical socio-technical perspective and placing it within an improved, streamlined programme structure. MISI reflects the globalization and management context in which IS and Internet developments now operate and dynamic innovation takes place. The new design updates content and places increased emphasis on management and innovation in order to address needs of current and future managers and IS professionals.

Career Prospects
MISI equips students with professional skills leading to positions in corporate and government management and analyst functions in IT departments, IT consultancies and IT supplier firms across the globe.

How to apply:
For information on application procedures, tuition fees, financial aid, accommodation and the current prospectus, go to the Graduate Admissions page at www.lse.ac.uk/collections/graduateadmissions or more information on MSc MISI visit the ISIG website: www.is.lse.ac.uk or if you have any general enquiries please contact us at ismscadmissions@lse.ac.uk

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