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CfP: After Post-Photography 8 (June 1-3, 2023)
by Friedrich Tietjen 13 Mar '23

13 Mar '23

Dear SIGCIS, find below the call for papers for the After Post-Photography conference I'm happy to co-organize. If any of you does research on the history of digital cameras, scanners, AI-based image generation, photorealism in video-games or similar subjects we'd be delighted to receive your papers. And if you happen to know colleagues in that line of research, please fwd the CfP to them. Any questions, drop me a line. Many greetings Friedrich ---snip--- CFP: After Post-Photography 8 - Presence and Absence International conference on visual studies, history and theory of photography Deadline for submissions: 30 March 2023 Conference date: 1-3 June 2023, European University (St. Petersburg, Russia // online) Presence, as a category, is crucial for understanding photography. Since its early days, photography’s specificity as a medium and as a form of visual experience has been described in terms of presence. The first exuberant accounts of daguerreotype, aside from praising detailed and accurate representation, highlighted a peculiar viewer’s feeling of being present in the depicted space. Further on, viewing a stereophotograph was experienced as an almost physical immersion, a stereoscope and a pair of images being a “portal” into an imaginary world. The experience of presence associated with photography is at the intersection of the rational and the magical, the material and the visual. The mystical ideas related to pseudoscience: that of “grasping” physical emanations, shadows, invisible energies – stem from rationalistic understanding of photography as a tool for cognition, documentation of real world phenomena, and photographic images as directly connected with objects. The feeling of presence of people and objects depicted in the photograph is also mystical to an extent. The practice of wearing photographic portraits of loved ones in wallets, pendants, and, more recently, on the screensavers of mobile phones secures a symbolic presence and connection at a distance - not only through sight, but also through touch. The category of “presence” is productive in relation to the photographer's figure as well: especially in the mid-XX century documentary photography, physical presence in the vicinity of an event was regarded as a sort of confirmation of authenticity and authority, and to witness something in-person meant gaining stronger grounds in debates concerning ethics and social responsibility. As institutional and social histories develop, researchers question forms of visual agency: what are the conditions of becoming visible and gaining presence in the general picture of the world? Photographic presence and absence can happen in a lot of different ways. Photographic images can be applied to highlight, generate, select and obscure persons, objects, events and relations; they can render them special, ordinary, normal or boring. While society treats photographic image as a valid representative of someone or something absent, the notion of presence is of high social and political importance. And the practices of selection, composition, contextualizing and fragmenting performed by artists, curators or algorithms are far from neutral and directly impact our life. In light of the events of 2022-2023 it is most valid to interpret “presence” as a form of political pressure, an impact on the balance of power, and, on the other hand, as a bizarre form of participation-at-a-distance in the life of a family or community. Presence and absence can be understood both positively and negatively: presence could mean both representation and imposition of one's will, and absence can signify vital omissions, as well as indifference. We invite potential speakers to reflect on these and many other questions related to these two categories. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: • The image is the real thing: Photographic replacements • Skype and Zoom: Visual telepresence and other panoptical experiences • This can't be me: Non-representation through photography • Mobile presence: The smartphone as representation of the self • Photographic decay: What do faded photographs tell? • Technical blindness - what photography can't see or show • Photographic media and their audiences • You'll only see this once: Technical ephemerality • Photographs of what never has been: Retouching, rendering and other technologies of photo-realism As it was the case with previous conferences however, After Post-Photography is driven by a general curiosity in subjects of photography. Thus, there is only ground rule for submitting a paper to After Post-Photography: If you‘re doing Sociology, Nuclear Physics, Ethnology, Computer Sciences, Gender Studies, Meteorology, Law, Memory Studies, Criminology, Architecture, Archaeology, Botany, Mathematics, Numismatics, Astronomy, Game Studies, Oenology, Art History or any other discipline from science and humanities and your research involves photography in the broadest sense, we are happy to receive your paper. Please submit your application, including a short summary of your paper (250-400 words) only in English no later than March 30, 2023. Use the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=app8 ; do not send submissions per eMail. Note that you need to register at the Easychair website in order to submit your application. Should you like to get in touch with us prior to your submission, please write to app(a)mur.at. There is no participation fee for the conference, neither for speakers nor for guests; should you like to support the conference however, let us know. Within the current situation, traveling options are impossible to predict which is why we plan for a hybrid conference. The working languages of the conference are Russian and English, and during the conference, both papers and discussions will be translated. For programs of After Post-Photography conferences since 2015, please see www.after-post.photography We would sincerely appreciate it if you would circulate the call to your own networks and other mailing lists. Organizing committee After Post Photography 8: Maria Gourieva, Olga Davydova, Daria Panaiotti, Friedrich Tietjen

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History courses in CS departments
by Evan Koblentz 13 Mar '23

13 Mar '23

Hi everyone, I've been teaching a special topics course in computer history for three semesters here at NJIT. The university policy is three semesters maximum, then the course must be made permanent or cancelled. So I'm going through the process of trying to make it permanent. The department administration supports it, but it has to be voted on by the rank-and-file faculty, many of whom don't seem to understand the value of a history course -- or at least not of a history course in a technical department, rather than through our humanities college. It would help if I can show them other examples. Can anyone point me existing examples of history courses in CS, EE, or other technical departments at U.S. universities? -- Evan Koblentz New Jersey Institute of Technology - Senior Writer, Office of Strategic Communications - Adjunct Instructor, Ying Wu College of Computing - Faculty/Staff Advisor, NJIT Lego Club evank(a)njit.edu (973) 596-3065 https://web.njit.edu/~evank

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CfA Funding for Research Sabbaticals and Cooperations at CAIS
by Esther Laufer 13 Mar '23

13 Mar '23

The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) funds innovative projects that deal with the social opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation. We support individual researchers and groups. You want to spend a sabbatical in a vibrant interdisciplinary research community? Become a fellow at CAIS! A fellowship at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) releases you from your regular work obligations and opens up new perspectives. As a fellow, you can spend either six or three months in Bochum, Germany. During this period, we will finance your sabbatical leave from work through compensation (e.g. for a substitute). Alternatively, we will pay grants of up to 2.000 € per month. You can invite guests for collaboration and will receive financial support for research expenses. Individual offices and meeting rooms with modern facilities offer optimal working conditions. In addition, we will provide comfortable apartments free of charge. Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/fellowships/ You want to boost your collaboration? Bring your group together at CAIS! Working groups bring together experts from different locations to work on joint projects in an inspiring environment. We provide modern meeting facilities for working groups of up to twelve members. In addition, we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. You can spend up to three weeks in Bochum or get together for several shorter meetings. Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/working-groups/ Application The next deadline for applications is 30 April 2023. The earliest possible starting date for new fellowships is April 2024. The earliest possible starting date for new working groups is January 2024. You can also combine both programs. Please use the application forms provided on our website. The funding program is open to excellent scholars and practitioners, to all career stages, disciplines and areas of investigation, as well as to pure research and to projects that are more applied in orientation. Further questions? Please contact esther.laufer(a)cais-research.de mailto:esther.laufer@cais-research.de.

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Podcast review Cortada "Birth of Modern Facts"
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 12 Mar '23

12 Mar '23

I had a good chat with Jim Cortada about his latest book and ideas of the importance of information. Follow the link below to the podcasts. Best wishes Bernardo (Anahuac / Northumbria) https://overcast.fm/+QQk6sipk Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse my brevity.

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SHOT "Unconventional" session
by Ceruzzi, Paul 10 Mar '23

10 Mar '23

I got some encouragement from several members, and I will respond to them separately rather than clutter up the listserv. The SHOT description of the sessions is found here: https://www.historyoftechnology.org/annual-meeting/2023-shot-annual-meeting… [https://s0.wp.com/i/blank.jpg]<https://www.historyoftechnology.org/annual-meeting/2023-shot-annual-meeting…> 2023 SHOT Annual Meeting – Unconventional sessions<https://www.historyoftechnology.org/annual-meeting/2023-shot-annual-meeting…> Preparing and submitting an unconventional session proposal. Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Annual Meeting – Long Beach (California) www.historyoftechnology.org I see my contribution as what we used to call a "Poster Session." I don't have the desire to do a formal paper presentation. No guarantee that it would be accepted.. Best, Paul Ceruzzi

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SHOT 2023 Long Beach
by Ceruzzi, Paul 10 Mar '23

10 Mar '23

Hello: I wonder if any SIGCIS members (other than Scott Kushner) are planning to propose a session at SHOT in Long Beach. I have an idea for an "Unconventional Session" (see the SHOT web page), but it would be a long shot. Deadline is April 1. Best, Paul Ceruzzi

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Adjunct Instructors for Computer History Class at RIT
by Corinna Schlombs 07 Mar '23

07 Mar '23

Dear SIGCIS members, My department seeks adjunct instructors for computer history classes in the fall. Please feel free to circulate the ad (below and attached) to anyone interested; I am also happy to answer any questions. Best, and thanks so much, Corinna. Corinna Schlombs she/her/hers Associate Professor of History Rochester Institute of Technology The History Department at Rochester Institute of Technology seeks to hire one or two adjunct instructors for fall 2023-2024 to teach two double sections of HIST 180 Information Revolution (see course description below). The sections may be taught in person or online synchronous. A double section at RIT is capped at 80 students and counts for two classes. This means that adjunct instructors for double sections are paid twice the regular class rate per double section. Qualified candidates should at their earliest convenience send their CV to the History Department Chair Tamar Carroll (twcgsh(a)rit.edu<mailto:twcgsh@rit.edu>) and Corinna Schlombs (cxsgla(a)rit.edu<mailto:cxsgla@rit.edu>) and indicate whether they are available to teach one or two double sections. We are also happy to answer any questions regarding this opportunity. HIST 180 Information Revolution Course Description: Social media and smart technologies seem to have revolutionized our society, changing how we learn about new things, relate to each other, and understand ourselves. This course investigates the history of information and communication technologies to cast new light on these developments. We will ask how people formed political opinions, what moral concerns new information and communication technologies raised, and how technologies changed the lives of the people using them. This course helps you understand the social, cultural and ethical implications of “revolutionary” information and communication technologies. This course is a General Education Elective and it meets the requirements of the Ethical and Social Perspective Categories. It also serves as equivalent of DHSS 102 Industrial Origins of the Digital Age.

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HICSS-57 Big Data and Analytics Minitrack CFP
by STEPHEN KAISLER 05 Mar '23

05 Mar '23

Dear Members: Here is the CFP for our minitrack - on behalf of myself, Frank Arnour, Alberto Espinosa, and Derrick Cogburn. Call For Papers HICSS-57 Decision Analytics and Service Systems Minitrack http://www.hicss.org/. January 3-6, 2024 Hilton Hawaian Village, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai’i Title: Big Data and Analytics: Pathways to Maturity “The first and original Big Data minitrack at HICSS” Co-Chairs: Stephen H. Kaisler; Frank Armour; J. Alberto Espinosa; Derrick L. Cogburn NEWS!! Derrick Cogburn’s Text Analytics Minitrack has merged with the Big Data and Analytics Minitrack. This merger brings with it the opportunity for accepted papers to be considered for the HICSS Fast Track journal Data & Policy, published by Cambridge University Press. We have also added new topics of explainability and bias in analytics to our CFP. NEWS!! HICSS is the most cited conference for academic citations! NEWS!! Long-awaited return to the island of Oahu, Hawai’i. This minitrack focuses on the use of big data and analytics to enable businesses and organizations to optimize their operational practices, improve their decision-making, and better understand and provide more effective services to their customers and clients. We seek papers in all areas of big data and analytics, including storage, management, education, usage case studies, innovative applications, and enabling technology. Relevant papers on the development of strategy for deploying big data and analytics in distributed organizations, the effects of big data and analytics on organizational behavior, the governance and management of big data, the evaluation of Big Data’s contribution to business operations, the development of big data analytics are sought. Papers are sought on developing an analytic cadre, including curriculum concepts, skills and training, and metrics and measurement. In our book titled: “Obtaining Value from Big Data for Service Delivery, 2nd Edition” we presented a knowledge framework to serve as a basis for grounding Big Data and Business Analytics curricula. The framework is composed of key knowledge layers, including: basic foundations (e.g., mathematics, statistics, software programming, big data architectures); analytics/big data (e.g., descriptive, predictive, prescriptive and visual analytics); functional domain of analysis (e.g., marketing, healthcare, accounting forensics, etc.); and managerial, strategic and organizational aspects (e.g., data governance, security, privacy, human resource management, metrics for the business value of big data and analytics investments, etc.). To advance knowledge in big data and analytics, we must develop active research agendas in all four layers. We seek research papers on any of these four layers and also those that address the structure and evaluation of curriculum design, implementation and evaluation for big data and analytics. Papers are solicited in several areas, including, but not limited to the following: * Managerial, governance, lifecycle, strategic and organizational aspects of big data and analytics, big data repositories and projects, including data governance * Graph analytics – both syntactic and semantic – that play a big role in the exploitation of social media data * Advanced analytics emphasizing specific functional domains – business, scientific, and social science, visual analytics and non-numeric analysis models and their implementation * Advances in technology – processing, storage, analytics – for the Exabyte/ExaFLOP Age * Scalable semantic annotation and reasoning across big data stores * Metrics to assess the impact of big data in business, scientific, and government decision-making. * Educational and body of knowledge frameworks on big data, analytics and data science. * Enhanced explainability in analytics (particularly AI/ML) relative to results and the detection and mitigation of bias and variance in analytics. * Text analytics approaches in quantitative and qualitative techniques in natural language processing. * Supervised and Unsupervised machine learning approaches in text analytics. Papers presenting case studies, infrastructure and technology advances, theoretical perspectives and emerging concepts at the petascale and beyond, are also sought. A fast track publishing opportunity ahs been arranged with the Data and Policy journal. We are exploring other opportunities as well. An expanded CfP is available from Steve Kaisler. We especially encourage graduate students to submit papers as well. If you wish to discuss a paper concept before submitting a paper, please contact Steve Kaisler or Frank Armour. If you wish to discuss a paper concept on text analytics before submitting, please contact Derrick Cogburn. Text Analytics researchers may also wish to participate in the linked afternoon workshop on Advanced Text Analytics and HICSS Textathon. We will be happy to discuss your paper concept with you. Kindly, Minitrack Co-Chairs: Stephen H. Kaisler, D.Sc. (Skaisler1(a)comcast.net mailto:Skaisler1@comcast.net ), SHK & Associates (primary) Frank Armour, Ph.D. (farmour(a)american.edu mailto:farmour@american.edu ), Kogod School of Business, American University Alberto Espinosa, Ph.D. (alberto(a)american.edu mailto:alberto@american.edu ), Kogod School of Business, American University Derrick L. Cogburn, Ph.D. (dcogburn(a)american.edu mailto:dcogburn@american.edu ), School of International Service and Kogod School of Business, American University

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Call for papers: Critical and Ethical Studies of Digital and Social Media minitrack of HICSS 57
by Amelia Acker 05 Mar '23

05 Mar '23

Along with my colleagues Britt Paris and Nicholas Proferes, I invite you to submit to the HICSS 57 Digital Social Media minitrack panel on Critical and Ethical Studies of Digital and Social Media. https://hicss.hawaii.edu/tracks-57/digital-and-social-media/#critical-and-e… The minitrack focuses on two themes: a) research that critically interrogates how and when digital and social media reify or challenge existing power structures, and b) research that addresses applied ethical issues associated with doing research on digital and social media. The minitrack seeks both conceptual and empirical approaches to these two themes; early results and innovative methods are welcome. Potential paper topics could explore (but are not limited to) the following themes: ● studies of the values and worldviews embedded within specific hardware and software technologies; ● studies that explore the social responses to platforms from a critical or ethics-based perspective; ● studies that look at the political economies or labor conditions of digital content creation, digital work, and the consequences of sharing economy platforms; ● studies that explore the political community and civic participation in digital spaces; ● studies of the perpetuation of gender, race, ethno-nationalist, and faith-based hostility and bullying found in a range of online environments; ● studies that examine digital power relations between individuals, collectives, and societal institutions; ● case studies that grapple with the challenges and opportunities of unequal data access among actors, including users, researchers, and journalists; ● studies that explore the situated ethics of social media research in different organization contexts; ● studies of the environmental impact that digital and social media researchers have on the planet; ● studies that mobilize non-traditional or experimental research methods developed for the specificities of digital and social media; ● studies that explore issues around the intersections between ethics and privacy, such as quantitative, qualitative, and computational studies on digital and social media privacy ● studies that explore the privacy behavior of users and the mitigation of sensitive and private information on digital and social media platforms, or novel privacy solutions using explainable AI, transparent ML algorithms, or any interdisciplinary methods. We welcome all researchers to submit, and particularly encourage research contributions from graduate students, early career researchers, as well as collaborative teams. If you have questions about whether your research would be an acceptable contribution to this CFP, or to learn more about the HICSS conference, please reach out to Nicholas at nicholas.proferes(a)asu.edu Minitrack Co-Chairs: Nicholas Proferes Arizona State University nicholas.proferes(a)asu.edu Britt Paris Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey britt.paris(a)rutgers.edu Amelia Acker University of Texas at Austin aacker(a)ischool.utexas.edu -- Amelia Acker, Associate Professor Director, Critical Data Studies Lab Humanities Institute Faculty Fellow The University of Texas at Austin | School of Information http://www.ameliaacker.com/

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Good news! Re: History courses in CS departments
by Marc Weber 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

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