Proud of your Ignite presentation? Submit it to the Digital Salon!

CALL for SUBMISSIONS -- DIGITAL SALON 2014

Fall deadline: Friday, December 11, 2013.

Submission form: go.wisc.edu/digitalsalon

The UW-Madison Libraries and DesignLab will host the fifth annual Digital Salon, a one-week exhibition of digital media projects by UW undergraduate and graduate students from Sunday, April 6 through Saturday, April 12, 2014.  This exhibition of new media projects showcases artistic and research-based projects that take digital form or rely heavily on information technology in the production process. Work might include podcasts, experimental videos, animations, graphic essays, websites, blogs, multimedia installations, posters, etc.  

• Digital Salon projects will be curated by a committee of UW-Madison faculty and staff 
• Projects will be exhibited in College Library's Open Book Café and online
• The Curation Committee will recognize best projects in several categories. 

Work from previous exhibitions can be visited online: uwdigitalsalon.blogspot.com

This year, there will be two rounds of submissions, one in the Fall and another in the Spring.  The Fall deadline is Wednesday, December 11, 2013 and students will be contacted around January 21, 2014 to let them know whether their project has been selected for inclusion in the Digital Salon exhibition.  The Spring deadline of March 12, 2014 is intended to increase participation from students in spring courses.  Both Fall and Spring submissions will be included in the April 6-12, 2014 exhibition. 

For more information visit the Digital Salon website at go.wisc.edu/digitalsalon or contact digitalsalon-l@library.wisc.edu.

Looking for a Spring 2014 course?

Here is a suggestion for students now registering for Spring 2014 courses.

LIS 351: Introduction to Digital Information
TuTh 8:50AM - 9:40AM plus computer lab
Professor Eschenfelder

Description: A three credit service learning course developed for Digital Studies certificate students and non-computing majors where students will learn to create websites and understand how they work across computers, phones and other digital devices, understand and build databases, learn how search engines work behind the scenes, and work with a real client to learn project management and build communication skills.

Who should take this course?
    People interested in learning about information technologies to solve problems and help people.  (No prior technological expertise required!)
    People who are interested in solving information overload and information access problems.
    Digital Studies Certificate students looking to fulfill their "Digital Information Structures (I) or "Digital Media Practice  (P) requirement for the Digital Studies certificate.
Priority registration for Digital Studies certificate students
Learn more at www.digitalstudies.wisc.edu.

CHANGE IN EXAM SCHEDULE

LIS 201 students: 

You've been working hard all semester and I appreciate it.  Today after lecture your wise TAs convinced me that a small reward might be in order.  So ...

LECTURE IS CANCELLED ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26, meaning

THE SECOND MIDTERM WILL BE POSTPONED UNTIL TUESDAY DECEMBER 03

Of course, now you have to study for the exam over the Thanksgiving holiday, though!

P.S. As a small concession, I will NOT be releasing the exam terms this Friday, but will release them next Tuesday at the latest.  

Have a safe and happy holiday next week,

GREG

This week in LIS 201 (week 12)

Week 12: Sustainable information infrastructure

LECTURE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

• We'll consider the global environmental impact of the information society.

READINGS BEFORE DISCUSSION

• Chris Carroll, "High-tech trash," National Geographic Magazine (2008-01).
• David Owen, "The efficiency dilemma," The New Yorker(December 20, 2010).

HOMEWORK BEFORE DISCUSSION

• Post your five-minute slideshow presentation to your personal wiki page. This must be a working presentation; in other words, once your TA downloads it and clicks on it, it should open up and play with both images and narration.

DISCUSSION MEETING

• You will begin to screen the slideshow presentations and talk about them.
• Your TA will save some time at the end of class to discuss the upcoming second midterm.

ONLINE OVER THE WEEKEND

This week you will review and revise your previous blog postings to think about the online "voice" that you have developed over the course of this semester, and how that differs from the voice you construct for yourself through written and print materials.

• Go back through your discussion section blog and copy out every single entry you have posted for these weekly online assignments all semester long, pasting them all into a single word processing document, one by one, with the title and date indicated for each entry.  (You don't have to include the comments you left on other students' blog posts -- just your own main blog posts.) 
• Then go through and proofread this big compendium of blog posts.  Check all of your spelling and grammar.  Make sure you have written in complete sentences all the way through.  Add paragraph breaks if appropriate.  And make sure you have correctly spelled/identified any authors' names you have reference. Your goal is ZERO MISTAKES.
• Format this blog post compendium document as a regular writing assignment -- with 12-point Times or Times Roman font, one-inch margins, and double spacing -- and print it out so you can hand it in to your TA at the next discussion section.  You will want to read over it one more time in printed form, because you will probably catch some last-minute typos if you do. 
• Finally, write a NEW blog post back on your discussion section blog discussing how you have presented yourself through your online writing in the class so far, and whether that is the same way that you present yourself in other aspects of your scholarly career in LIS 201 (eg. in person in discussion section, through your formal written assignments, and/or through your work on exams).  Which of your self-presentations is the most "true" or the most effective?  Which showcases your talents the best? 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Leslie A. Byster and Ted Smith, "The electronics production life cycle: From toxics to sustainability," in Ted Smith et al., eds.,Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry (2006).
• Richard Maxwell and Toby Miller, "Ecological ethics and media technology," International Journal of Communication 2 (2008). 
• Matthew Power, "The solution: Bolivia's lithium dreams," Virginia Quarterly Review (2011).
• Tom Vanderbilt, "Data center overload," New York Times (14 June 2009). 
• UW-Madison Green IT resources
• Wisconsin electronics recycling law

Audio Issues?

For the Ignite presentation, I was not able to get my audio to play once I uploaded my presentation to the Wiki.  I don't know if anyone else had this issue as well, but if you did…

I found that if you

1) save the slide show as a movie

2) import this movie into iMovie

...then you can add songs from iTunes and record the narration on top of the powerpoint video using iMovie.  (This should also work with Windows Movie Maker.)  

I'm not sure if there is an easier way to get the audio to work when it is downloaded from the Wiki, but I just thought I would share!

This week in LIS 201 (week 11)

Week 11: Games, simulations, and avatars

LECTURE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12

• Video games

READINGS BEFORE DISCUSSION

• Stephen Kline et al., "Electronic frontiers: Branding the 'Nintendo Generation' 1985-1990," Digital Play: The Interaction of Technology, Culture, and Marketing (2003).
• Roger Stahl, "Have you played the War on Terror?" Critical Studies in Media Communication (2006).

HOMEWORK BEFORE DISCUSSION

• If it's your turn to write a 500-word article critique, you must post this to your section blog before your section meets.
• If it's your week to give a speech, prepare and practice!  Otherwise, prepare for a possible extemporaneous speech response.
• Upload a working "skeleton file" of your slideshow presentation to your discussion section wiki, and make a link to your personal wiki page. This should be a PowerPoint file that has all the timings correct for the Ignite presentation, with 15-second auto-advance of the slides.

DISCUSSION MEETING

• First five minutes: Pop quiz? Maybe!
• Two student presentations (# 17 and #18) on the readings (and two student extemporaneous responses).  These should be the last article speeches of the semester.
• Discuss this week's lecture and required readings.
• Discuss your book slideshow project.

ONLINE OVER THE WEEKEND

This weekend you'll explore the phenomenon of creating online characters representing human identity through textual or graphical means, called "avatars."

• Read this short selection from Neal Stephenson's early-1990s book Snow Crash in which the main character, Hiro Protagonist (get it?) visits an online world called the "Metaverse."
• Now visit the Second Life web site and download the necessary software to create an avatar of your own. Or if you're a member of another online community or online game (like "World of Warcraft") you may use an avatar from that system. (Or you may want to simply create a rather cartoonish avatar like the ones available on the Nintendo Wii system, which you can do here.)
• Read through this photoessay on people and their cyberspace avatars from the New York Times and think about the different ways that people choose to represent themselves online.
• Post a screen capture image of your Second Life, WoW, Wii, or other avatar to your discussion section blog, and write a bit about the process of creating this avatar. Did you try to represent yourself, or split from your real life persona? Was it easy to create an avatar, or did you feel limited by the range of options? How are race and gender and ethnicity and other markers of "difference" present or not present in your avatar?
• Take a look at the other avatars your fellow students have posted, and comment on at least one of them. 
• You must finish this online activity before next week's lecture.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Sam Anderson, "Just one more game ..." New York Times (April 4, 2012).
• Edward Castronova, "Daily life on a synthetic earth," in Synthetic worlds: The business and culture of online games (2005). 
• Julian Dibbell, "A rape in cyberspace," The Village Voice (1993).
• James Gee, "Good video games, the human mind, and good learning," in Good video games + good learning (2007). 
• Brad King and John Borland, "Gamers, interrupted," in Dungeons and Dreamers: The rise of computer game culture from geek to chic (2003). 
• Stephen Kline et al., "Sim Capital," Digital play: The interaction of technology, culture, and marketing (2003).  
• Stephen Kline et al., "Origins of an industry: Cold warriors, hackers, and suits, 1960-1984," Digital play: The interaction of technology, culture, and marketing (2003).
• Peter Ludlow and Mark Wallace, "The Death of Urizenus," in The Second Life Herald: The virtual tabloid that witnessed the dawn of the metaverse (2007). 
• Kurt Squire, "Open-ended video games: A model for developing learning for the interactive age," in Katie Salen, ed., The ecology of games: Connecting youth, games, and learning (2008). 

Military Gamification

Leaving lecture on Tuesday, we were left to think about the video shown at the end of class that depicted a "gamified" military. I (and I'm sure many of you) was left with many thoughts and opinions about this video and its message, which we unfortunately did not have time to discuss.

One particularly striking image was the action figure that resembled one of the soldiers. My first reaction was that this was trivializing our military—turning it into something young children can play ‘pretend’ at in their living rooms. However, upon further thought, it struck me that maybe it’s better to have our society’s children playing with figures that represent real American heroes—rather than the fictional super ones they play with now.

While these action figures represent ‘play’, the video game created by the US Army (called "American Army") better reflects the virtual gamification we talked about in class. Again, I was struck by how this seems to trivialize the actions of our military—as if anyone can just pick up a controller and be just as skilled as a trained soldier. However, I began to think how this game might compare to other “military” games that are not actually sponsored by the military (COD, Arma III, etc.) If the military is in effect ALREADY being turned into a game, maybe it’s best for the actual Army to get into this market (though they sell the games for free) and provide a more accurate depiction.

I’m curious how others of you responded to this video. What is the proper balance that allows the average American to be informed about the workings of the Military, without trivializing it, and how does technology fit into this balance?  

In case you're interested, here is the link to the official website of the video game: http://www.americasarmy.com/

Thoughts about Foxcunn Suicides

In the lecture this week, professor Downey talked about the controversy of one of Apple’s biggest suppliers Foxconn. He also mentioned the Foxconn suicides occurred 3 years ago when several employees jumped off the dorms. I happened to follow the news in 2010, and by reviewing the tragedy now, I find it still worth of studying under the topic of information society.

Who is responsible for these people?

Apple’s Perspective:

Although Apple has its Supplier Responsibility clearly stated “Ending excessive work hours”, it seems that overworking is quite common in Apple’s suppliers’ factories. Although as a profitable company, Apple could claim it is the supplier's fault, but as said in class, it is possible for Apple to enforce its protocol. However, who wants to cut off the profit?!

Foxcunn’s Perspective:

As a major manufacturer for Apple and other digital device companies, there is little doubt that Foxcunn also aims at profit. Placing its major factories in developing countries like China, it gains the freedom of overwork its employees without being confronted by the labor union. The flexibility of Foxcunn is what makes it truly valuable to Apple, and what makes it a “labor camp”.

Employees’ Perspective:

Many people who work at Foxcunn are from the rural area, who may not have the chance to go to college and receive higher education. The working condition in Foxcunn may not be the best, but it does offer them opportunities to stay in big cities. What makes them desperate is possibly not the living condition, but the monotonous way of working (which requires the employees to do the same kind of simple task for hours everyday), the lack of social connection (since they spend over 10 hours a day at the assembly line) as well as the disillusion of city dream (in which everything should be glamorous and surreal).

Customers’ Perspective:

To be realistic, as an Apple customer myself, I don’t think I ever thought about the labor process behind the digital devices when I got them. However, it is not an excuse to overlook the problem and hold blind trust in technology and its innocence. In the information and network society, technology greatly improves communication between people, but the improvement is not coming without a price. I think that while enjoying the convenience brought by high-tech revolution today, it is crucial to hold back sometimes and ponder over what might go wrong.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

http://www.scmp.com/article/727143/foxconn-factories-are-labour-camps-report

http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/

Women and the Workplace

After reading this week’s article “Foot in the Door, Mouse in Hand: Low Income Women, Short Term Job Training Programs and IT Careers,” I got to thinking, what is the current status of women in the workplace? Outside of just the IT industry, are women increasingly permeating job boundaries to once highly guarded sectors? The newly popular yet controversial book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg explores why women have failed to achieve a majority of C-level leadership positions in top corporations. Sandberg provides perspective on building an accomplished career while balancing a fulfilling personal life. Sandberg reasons that women subconsciously feel the need to “lean out” and question their ability to perform in the boardroom as an equal to their male colleagues. However, through personal stories and data, she provides an inspiring call to action for women universally to take back control and become leaders. She encourages readers to ask themselves, “How can I do better? What am I doing that I don’t know? What am I not doing that I don’t see? Done is better than perfect” (NY Times). One prominent critique of the book is that Sandberg is coming from a highly privileged and successful background. She is currently the chief operating officer of Facebook with previous jobs at Google and the U.S. Treasury. Not to mention she’s married to David Goldberg, CEO of Survey Monkey. As Sheryl Sandberg has initiated a completely new discourse regarding women in the workplace and truly having it all, you have to wonder, how realistic is this? How far do women across America and the world have to lean in to achieve this reality? How far would you lean in?

Check out this video of Sheryl Sandberg’s own talk on the book here…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8gezSdMeA

This week in LIS 201 (week 10)

Week 10: Information labor and digital divides

LECTURE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 05 

• Apple, Foxconn, and controversy over different meanings of work and the varying conditions for different information workers across the globe. 

READINGS BEFORE DISCUSSION

• Karen Chapple, "Foot in the door, mouse in hand: Low-income women, short-term job training programs, and IT careers," in J. McGrath Cohoon and William Aspray, eds., Women and Information Technology: Research on Underrepresentation (2006).
• Greg Downey, "Making media work: Time, Space, Identity, and Labor in the Analysis of Information and Communication Infrastructures," in Tarleton Gillespie, Pablo Boczkowski, and Kirsten Foot, eds., Media Technologies (forthcoming, 2014).

HOMEWORK BEFORE DISCUSSION

• If it's your turn to write a 500-word article critique, you must post this to your section blog before your section meets.
• If it's your week to give a speech, prepare and practice!  Otherwise, prepare for a possible extemporaneous speech response.
• Finish your final draft of paper #2!

DISCUSSION MEETING

• First five minutes: Pop quiz? Maybe!
• Two student presentations (#15 and #16) on the readings (and two student extemporaneous responses).
• Discuss this week's lecture and required readings.
• Turn in printed final version of paper #2.
• Discuss your final multimedia project ("skeleton" file for Ignite presentation due on wiki next week)

ONLINE OVER THE WEEKEND

This weekend you will explore the presence of casualized labor on the Interent -- and in real communities.

• Manpower Inc. is the world's largest temporary employment firm: "Manpower's worldwide network of 4,500 offices in 80 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations." Explore their web site a bit to get a sense of what this firm does. (They even have a branch on Second Life ...)
• Now go to the US site for Manpower and do a job search in three different areas: (1) Madison, WI; (2) your hometown (or the city closest to your hometown); (2) a town or city you might like to someday live in.
• (Hint: Leave the "Keyword(s)" field on the search page empty, but choose a specific state from the drop-down menu, click on a specific town in the "locations" list, and then click the ">" button to move that town into the search box. Finally, click "Search.")
• What kind of technology skills do these jobs demand? How many temporary vs. permanent jobs are listed? Do these look like good jobs to you?
• Write up a report of your findings, comparing the three places you investigated, for your discussion section blog.
• Comment on at least one other student's posting.
• You must finish this online activity before next week's lecture.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Mark Deuze, "Creative industries, convergence culture, and media work," Media Work (2007).
• Charles Duhigg and David Barboza, "Human costs are built into an iPad," New York Times (January 25, 2012). 
• Virginia Eubanks, "Drowning in the sink or swim economy," Digital Dead End: Fighting for Social Justice in the Information Age(2011). 
• Thomas Haigh, "Remembering the office of the future: The origins of word processing and office automation," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing (2006). 
• Karen Hossfeld, "'Their logic against them': Contradictions in sex, race, and class in Silicon Valley" (1990), in A. Nelson et al eds.,Technicolor: Race, technology, and everyday life (2001).
• Amitava Kumar, "Temporary access: The Indian H-1B worker in the United States" (2001), in A. Nelson et al eds., Technicolor: Race, technology, and everyday life (2001). 
• Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane, "How computers change work and play," in The new division of labor: How computers are creating the next job market (2004). 
• Andrew Marantz, "My summer at an Indian call center," Mother Jones (2011-07).
• Hanna Rosin, "The end of men," The Atlantic (2010). 
• Janet W. Salaff, "Where home is the office: The new form of flexible work," in Barry Wellman and Caroline Haythornthwaite, eds., The internet in everyday life (2002). 

Global Digital Outlaws

Here's a talk by a visiting faculty member that LIS 201 students might find interesting!

Professor Carolyn Nordstrom of Notre Dame will be giving a University Lecture this week, Thursday, November 7 at 4 p.m. in 5208 Social Science.  

Author of the widely read Global Outlaws, she will be drawing in her UW lecture on her new book in progress, Global Digital Outlaws: 
 
"Vast "cyber-scapes" of digital activities are taking place globally that appear to be largely invisible to general populaces. Cyberwars, sophisticated transnational criminal enterprises, new forms of economic dominion and crisis, billion dollar businesses in behavioral-pattern theft and "stealing reality": all are actively redefining value, power, threat, and self/identity in emergent, post-geographical - and, if "stealing reality" is left unchecked - post-self/identity ways."