Category: Technology

Call for Papers: Digital Labour: Workers, Authors, Citizens

by RoryLitwin

Call for Papers Digital Labour: Workers, Authors, Citizens. A conference hosted by the Digital Labour Group (DLG), Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario, October 16-18, 2009, London, Ontario, Canada. ‘Digital Labour: Workers, Authors, Citizens’ addresses the implications of digital labour as they are emerging in practice, politics, policy, and theoretical enquiry. … Read more Call for Papers: Digital Labour: Workers, Authors, Citizens

Wikipedia and what we mean by truth

by RoryLitwin

Simson Garfinkel has an article in the new issue of MIT’s Technology Review about Wikipedia, arguing that it is creating troubling implications for the way we view reality: Wikipedia and the Meaning of Truth: Why the online encyclopedia’s epistemology should worry those who care about traditional notions of accuracy. In a sense this article is … Read more Wikipedia and what we mean by truth

American Libraries (magazine) more accessible

by RoryLitwin

Two press releases in two days, this one from George Eberhart of ALA… Hello, Rory– I wanted to let you know about some important news about American Libraries. 1. Our weekly e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, is now available to anyone who wants to sign up for it, not just ALA members. The sign-up form, as … Read more American Libraries (magazine) more accessible

Rafael Capurro: Interpreting the Digital Human (video)

by RoryLitwin

Interpreting the Digital Human (video in Realplayer format) This is a video of a presentation by Rafael Capurro, head of the Interntational Center of Information Ethics. Capurro was the Senior Information Ethics Fellow in 2007-08 at Center for Information Policy Research (CIPR) at the School of Information Studies at UW Milwaukee. This video is of … Read more Rafael Capurro: Interpreting the Digital Human (video)

Interface agents and human control

by RoryLitwin

We hear a lot about Radical Trust, with the emphasis being on trusting users (of systems, websites, etc.) to guide organizations. I have tried to sound a skeptical note at times, pointing out that something called “groupthink” is the danger when you decide to trust the wisdom of crowds. I’ve always most admired people whose … Read more Interface agents and human control

Electronic journal access found to reduce breadth of citations

by RoryLitwin

Noting an article of interest: “Electronic Publication and the Narrowing of Science and Scholarship” Science 18 July 2008: Vol. 321. no. 5887, pp. 395 – 399 DOI: 10.1126/science.1150473 James Evans finds that scholars’ access to online journals tends to reduce the breadth of the citations to other articles in their work; that is, articles outside … Read more Electronic journal access found to reduce breadth of citations

Scattered thoughts post-conference

by RoryLitwin

Just some scattered thoughts post-Anaheim, potential essays that will for the moment remain seeds…. It is surprising that ALA, being what it is, doesn’t have better control of its own documents. Reports disappear… Council makes decisions that result in internal policies that are available only by request from the offices. It’s 2008 and only now … Read more Scattered thoughts post-conference

ISC Call for Papers

by RoryLitwin

INFORMATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE (ISC) ISSN 1364-694X (print) ISSN 1756-901X (online) CALL FOR PAPERS — The Summer 2009 issue of the journal Information for Social Change (ISC) will focus on the theme of SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FOR UTOPIAS. This issue of ISC aims to document 21st century science and technology initiatives designed for utopian societies. … Read more ISC Call for Papers

Thomas Mann’s Foreword to Responsible Librarianship

by RoryLitwin

Thomas Mann’s Foreword to David Bade’s Responsible Librarianship: Library Policies for Unreliable Systems: There is a kind of “code word” situation that has developed in the library profession in recent decades; it is manifested in an appeal to a set of beliefs that, while largely unarticulated, is nonetheless socially endorsed without a perceived need for … Read more Thomas Mann’s Foreword to Responsible Librarianship

David Bade on technology and librarianship

by RoryLitwin

The UIUC PLG chapter event I linked to yesterday was a part of a series. This past Monday the group hosted David Bade in a discussion event titled Technology Waits For No One: Thinking About Technology, Progress and Responsibility in Academic Librarianship. David has given me permission to post the transcript of his presentation here. … Read more David Bade on technology and librarianship

Get your medical records online, courtesy of Google and Microsoft

by RoryLitwin

Google and Microsoft have both been working on new services to provide access to medical records. Pretty exciting huh? Microsoft’s thing is HealthVault and Google’s is Google Health. I’m sure it’s all very secure and only accessible to Microsoft and Google employees for serious purposes, as governed by those always-changeable privacy policies. What I’m wondering … Read more Get your medical records online, courtesy of Google and Microsoft

First Monday Special Issue: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0

by RoryLitwin

Michael Zimmer is the guest editor for the just released special issue of the open access journal First Monday: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0. Here is the table of contents: Volume 13, Number 3 – 3 March 2008 Special issue: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0 edited by Michael Zimmer Preface: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0 … Read more First Monday Special Issue: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0

Habermas on Web 2.0

by RoryLitwin

The price we pay for the growth in egalitarianism offered by the Internet is the decentralised access to unedited stories. In this medium, contributions by intellectuals lose their power to create a focus. That’s Jürgen Habermas, originator of the concept of the public sphere, on Web 2.0, in his acceptance speech on winning the Bruno … Read more Habermas on Web 2.0