Paper presentations at the IAMCR Conference 2011 in Istanbul
I'll also be presenting on the following topics at the IAMCR conference 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey:
1) CULTURES OF CYBERSPACE: A PEDAGOGIC FRAMEWORK
It has taken the past decade to commonly acknowledge that cyberspace is tethered to real place. From euphoric conceptualizations of virtual space as novel, unprecedented and revolutionary an entity, the dust has settled, allowing for talk of boundaries and ties to real world settings. Metaphors have faithfully followed this scholarship; there is a clear mission to architect Net spaces, be it chatrooms, electronic frontiers, homepages, to information highways. This metaphorical approach allows for concretization and comprehension of Net spaces for policy regulation, private sector practice and pedagogic instruction. This paper focuses particularly on the pedagogic angle, providing a rubric of guidance for university professors to address the critical relationship of the real and virtual in new media studies programs. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of applying metaphors to systematize the connect between online and offline spaces. The design of spaces can be conceptualized into 5 typologies: utilitarian-driven, aesthetic-driven, context-driven, play-driven and value-driven, making explicit the diversity of online spaces and its innate characteristics. This framework applies lessons learnt from the architecting of real space to virtual space. In doing so, it spans the field of urban planning, architecture, and new media studies. Currently, there is little guidance for instructors in new media on how to teach this relationship of the real and virtual. Thereby, this pedagogic framework will allow professors and students to engage in the comprehension of cyberspace through a more sophisticated and interdisciplinary avenue.
II. WALLED GARDENS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRIVATE-PUBLIC NATURE OF ONLINE LEISURE
(Under the Program: Between Security and Privacy. Understanding the Balance be-tween Surveillance and Data Protection as
Local, Regional and Global Policy Issues)
In this Web 2.0 era, contemporary leisure is dominantly situated within the online sphere. It is now commonly believed that much of what users do online is of a social nature and if we are to understand their enactments, online spatial analysis of these cyberleisure spaces is a good starting point. This paper thereby proposes that if the Internet can be seen as a “digital city,” its online leisure spaces need to be seen as its virtual parks. Social network sites and parks share much rhetoric in common- they are both perceived as free, universal, democratic and non-utilitarian in nature. Yet, if we are to take on this metaphorical comparison through a historical and comparative analysis, we will discover the ongoing politics of keeping these leisure spaces “public.” For instance, the making of parks in the 19th century involved a significant struggle to shift from the State to the masses. Also, parks across nations and cultures, although one of the seemingly least regulated public spaces, is in fact bounded by social, cultural and economic constraints that shape its very nature. Furthermore, an interesting discussion can stem from the fact that contemporary leisure spaces are finding themselves more within “gated communities,” both online and offline, highlighting an interesting and important dimension of the semi-private nature of cyberleisure spaces. This paper leverages and re(situates) Habermas’s theory on the public sphere, essential for our understandings on notions of ownership, authority, regulation, class, inclusivity/exclusivity in relation to leisure. The tensions of the public and private can be revealed through this parallel as we delve into questions of current importance in relation to online leisure: can we equate “public” space with “free” space? What are the trade-offs involved in keeping a social space “free?” How do we understand the notion of access to these cyberleisure spaces in relation to its current socio-cultural and economic boundaries? How “open” are contemporary leisure spaces and what are its determining factors? Overall, an analysis of the public versus private nature of cyberleisure spaces, both online and offline can shed light on what regulates and shapes contemporary leisure.
1) CULTURES OF CYBERSPACE: A PEDAGOGIC FRAMEWORK
It has taken the past decade to commonly acknowledge that cyberspace is tethered to real place. From euphoric conceptualizations of virtual space as novel, unprecedented and revolutionary an entity, the dust has settled, allowing for talk of boundaries and ties to real world settings. Metaphors have faithfully followed this scholarship; there is a clear mission to architect Net spaces, be it chatrooms, electronic frontiers, homepages, to information highways. This metaphorical approach allows for concretization and comprehension of Net spaces for policy regulation, private sector practice and pedagogic instruction. This paper focuses particularly on the pedagogic angle, providing a rubric of guidance for university professors to address the critical relationship of the real and virtual in new media studies programs. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of applying metaphors to systematize the connect between online and offline spaces. The design of spaces can be conceptualized into 5 typologies: utilitarian-driven, aesthetic-driven, context-driven, play-driven and value-driven, making explicit the diversity of online spaces and its innate characteristics. This framework applies lessons learnt from the architecting of real space to virtual space. In doing so, it spans the field of urban planning, architecture, and new media studies. Currently, there is little guidance for instructors in new media on how to teach this relationship of the real and virtual. Thereby, this pedagogic framework will allow professors and students to engage in the comprehension of cyberspace through a more sophisticated and interdisciplinary avenue.
II. WALLED GARDENS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRIVATE-PUBLIC NATURE OF ONLINE LEISURE
(Under the Program: Between Security and Privacy. Understanding the Balance be-tween Surveillance and Data Protection as
Local, Regional and Global Policy Issues)
In this Web 2.0 era, contemporary leisure is dominantly situated within the online sphere. It is now commonly believed that much of what users do online is of a social nature and if we are to understand their enactments, online spatial analysis of these cyberleisure spaces is a good starting point. This paper thereby proposes that if the Internet can be seen as a “digital city,” its online leisure spaces need to be seen as its virtual parks. Social network sites and parks share much rhetoric in common- they are both perceived as free, universal, democratic and non-utilitarian in nature. Yet, if we are to take on this metaphorical comparison through a historical and comparative analysis, we will discover the ongoing politics of keeping these leisure spaces “public.” For instance, the making of parks in the 19th century involved a significant struggle to shift from the State to the masses. Also, parks across nations and cultures, although one of the seemingly least regulated public spaces, is in fact bounded by social, cultural and economic constraints that shape its very nature. Furthermore, an interesting discussion can stem from the fact that contemporary leisure spaces are finding themselves more within “gated communities,” both online and offline, highlighting an interesting and important dimension of the semi-private nature of cyberleisure spaces. This paper leverages and re(situates) Habermas’s theory on the public sphere, essential for our understandings on notions of ownership, authority, regulation, class, inclusivity/exclusivity in relation to leisure. The tensions of the public and private can be revealed through this parallel as we delve into questions of current importance in relation to online leisure: can we equate “public” space with “free” space? What are the trade-offs involved in keeping a social space “free?” How do we understand the notion of access to these cyberleisure spaces in relation to its current socio-cultural and economic boundaries? How “open” are contemporary leisure spaces and what are its determining factors? Overall, an analysis of the public versus private nature of cyberleisure spaces, both online and offline can shed light on what regulates and shapes contemporary leisure.
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