The website of the ENHANCE project launched earlier this month. It is a vast collaborative network covering all aspects of enhancement technologies, funded through the European 6th Framework programme. Watch that space!
Call for Papers Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science November 2-4, 2006, Vancouver, B.C, Canada
The 2006 4S conference will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the society. The meeting will be co-located with the History of Science Society and Philosophy of Science Association, which will be in a hotel a few blocks away.
This year's theme is "Silence, Suffering and Survival", and it is designed to explore the overlooked spaces, boundaries, actors, networks, and artifacts of science and technology. We welcome papers and panels that address questions about the silences of silencing, unintended consequences, and persistence in science, technology and STS. The topic is meant to open up and stir discussion about theorizing in areas we may have overlooked such as the process of secrecy under which processes of silence are often conducted. Possible topics might include the science and technology of slavery, disability, survival, warfare, peace, and quantification. Discussions might address de-moralization and re-moralization within science, technology and STS, the sort of silence/noise created by technology/science, and how technology/science create and alleviate suffering and/or survival. This could include processes of survival that are often off the record, such as workarounds, "older ways of knowing", older (non-scientific) ways of knowing, and ...? Submission deadline is April 3. Find more information and submit abstracts and session proposals at http://www.4sonline.org/meeting.htm. For further information, please contact the Program Chair: Wenda Bauchspies
Locating Technoscience: the geographies of science, technology and politics Dear All,
We hope that people might be interested in news of a forthcoming ESRC seminar series 'Locating Technoscience: The geographies of science, technology and politics'. The series aims to build on dialogue about the spatiality of science, emerging from within human geography and science and technology studies, to share insights, foster new links between these disciplinary perspectives and generate new understandings on the project of tracing a geography of science. There is more information on the aims and format for the seminar series on the web site http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/locating-technoscience/
The series will be starting with a conference at UCL on Tuesday 11th April 2006 on the topic of 'Making space for Science', featuring presentations from Dr. Andrew Lakoff (University of California, San Diego), Professor David Livingstone (Queen's University Belfast), and Professor Sarah Whatmore (Oxford University) and structured discussions to develop intra and inter disciplinary discussion around the geographies of science. Future events will be a mix of smaller specialist workshops, and a closing conference scheduled for July 2007.
Spaces are filling up fast for the opening event, but we still have a few spaces left for those who are interested. If you 'd like to register your interest in this meeting, or any of the subsequent ones, please use the on-line form . As we have limited places left for many seminars, we'll get back in touch to confirm attendance.
with best wishes
Gail Davies
Dr. Gail Davies Lecturer in Human Geography Department of Geography University College London 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP
phone: 020 7679 5557 fax: 020 7679 7565
International Conference on CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'06)
Submission deadline extended to: 27 February 2006
28 June - 1 July 2006
University of Tartu, Estonia http://www.catacconference.org
Conference theme:
Neither Global Village nor Homogenizing Commodification: Diverse Cultural, Ethnic, Gender and Economic Environments
The biennial CATaC conference series continues to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of current research on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The conference series brings together scholars from around the globe who provide diverse perspectives, both in terms of the specific culture(s) they highlight in their presentations and discussions, and in terms of the discipline(s) through which they approach the conference theme.
The 1990s' hopes for an "electronic global village" have largely been shunted aside by the Internet's explosive diffusion. This diffusion was well described by Marx - all that is solid melts into air - and was predicted by postmodernists. The diffusion of CMC technologies quickly led to many and diverse internets. A single "Internet", whose identity and characteristics might be examined as a single unity, has not materialised. An initially culturally and gender homogenous Internet came more and more to resemble an urban metropolis. Along the way, in the commercialization of the Internet and the Web, "cultural diversity" gets watered down and exchanges strong diversity for a homogenous interchangeability. Such diversity thereby becomes commodified and serves a global capitalism that tends to foster cultural homogenization.
CATaC'06 continues our focus on the intersections of culture, technology, and communication, beginning with an emphasis on continued critique of the assumptions, categories, methodologies, and theories frequently used to analyse these. At the same time, CATaC'06 takes up our characteristic focus on ethics and justice in the design and deployment of CMC technologies. We particularly focus on developing countries facilitated by "on the ground" approaches in the work of NGOs, governmental agencies, etc., in ways that preserve and foster cultural identity and diversity. By simultaneously critiquing and perhaps complexifying our theories and assumptions, on the one hand, and featuring "best practices" approaches to CMC in development work, on the other hand, CATaC'06 aims towards a middle ground between a putative "global village" and homogenizing commodification. Such middle ground fosters cultural diversity, economic and social development, and more successful cross-cultural communication online.
Original full papers (especially those which connect theoretical frameworks with specific examples of cultural values, practices, etc.: 10-20 pages) and short papers (e.g. describing current research projects and preliminary results: 3-5 pages) are invited.
Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to:
- Culture isn't 'culture' anymore - The Internet isn't the 'Internet' anymore - Gender, culture, empowerment and CMC - CMC and cultural diversity - Ethics and justice - Free/Open technology and communication - Internet research ethics - Cultural diversity and e-learning
SUBMISSIONS
All submissions will be peer reviewed by an international panel of scholars and researchers and accepted papers will appear in the conference proceedings. Submission of a paper implies that it has not been submitted or published elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted paper is expected to present the paper at the conference.
Full papers (10-20 formatted pages) - 27 February 2006 Short papers (3-5 formatted pages) - 27 February 2006 Notification of acceptance - mid March 2006 Final formatted papers - 29 March 2006
There will be the opportunity for selected papers from this 2006 conference to appear in special issues of journals. Papers in previous conferences have appeared in journals (Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique de Communication, AI and Society, Javnost- The Public, and New Media and Society) and a book (Culture, Technology, Communication: towards an Intercultural Global Village, 2001, edited by Charles Ess with Fay Sudweeks, SUNY Press, New York). You may purchase the conference proceedings from the 2002 and 2004 conference from www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac.
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
Charles Ess, Drury University, USA, catac@it.murdoch.edu.au Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac@it.murdoch.edu.au
PROGRAM CHAIR
Herbert Hrachovec, University of Vienna, Austria, catac_submit@it.murdoch.edu.au
CONFERENCE CO-VICE-CHAIRS
Pille Runnel, Tartu University, Estonia Pille Vengerfeldt, Tartu University, Estonia
Workshop on Generating Collaborative Research in the Ethical Design of Surveillance Infrastructures June 8-11, 2006; Austin, Texas
Surveillance may be understood as a set of processes of identification, tracking, analysis and response which organize social knowledge, socialrelations, and social power. Surveillance mediates everyday life. For example, internet "cookies," shopping loyalty cards, and mobile phone numbers all individuate and identify us. These identifiers are used to index databases recording our web surfing activities, our purchases, and our movements. The databases are subjected to statistical analysis in order to produce knowledge of demographic categories, typical patterns, or suspect behavior. This knowledge is then applied back to individuals in the population in order to assign each to a particular niche market or risk group, and to act toward them accordingly. Thus, through surveillance, knowledge is created, categories and types are produced, individuals are assigned social identities, and actions are taken that articulate those identities within a larger social order.
These surveillance practices are themselves shaped by overlapping and intertwined technical systems, laws, institutional configurations, and cultural understandings. This "infrastructure" of surveillance supports patterns of access to the resources of knowledge production, social visibility, and social position.
In June 2006 a three-day workshop will be held in Austin, Texas. The purpose of the meeting is to generate collaborative research projects exploring further
- the social implications of surveillance practice,
- the technological, legal, economic, and cultural infrastructures that shape surveillance practice, and possible technological, legal, economic, or cultural interventions to reshape those infrastructures to desired ends.
The workshop will address this issue in the context of the following themes:
- If surveillance mediates the production of categories and types of people, how can surveillance infrastructures be shaped to permit individuals, and groups of individuals, to coalesce around a particular identity?
- How can surveillance infrastructures mediate the ability of groups and individuals to "perform" certain identities within certain contexts?
- How can surveillance infrastructures mediate the ability of subcultures to generate and sustain knowledge of and for themselves?
- How can surveillance resources be appropriately allocated to ensure that groups of many scales (the family, the subculture, the nation) are able to defend, protect, and nurture their own (perhaps conflicting) interests?
We seek participants whose interests and expertise complement and expand upon each other's work in social theory, information system design, business, and public policy, and who will be able to address issues such as:
- the application of legal paradigms other than privacy to practices of information collection. We are particularly interested explorations of legal theories of cultural rights and information commons.
- the application of novel information processing techniques, including, but not limited to, pseudonymity, digital rights management, and cluster analysis.
- the application of social theories of identity, including queer theory and performance studies.
- the intersection of market interests with ethical surveillance practice.
The workshop is intended to provide the initial venue for the production of fundable, collaborative, cross-disciplinary research proposals. Participants will be expected to prepare a position paper for distribution one month prior to the meeting. At the workshop itself, we will identify synergistic interactions of expertise, fruitful research directions, and possible sources of funding. After the workshop, participants will be eligible to apply for seed money grants to complete collaborative grant proposals to pursue those projects. Participants will also be invited to contribute to an edited volume. The project will provide meals and accommodation for workshop participants, and will reimburse reasonable travel costs. Please include a quote of lowest available airfare in your application. Participants from outside the U.S. are especially encouraged to apply. Potential participants should submit (to djp@mail.utexas.edu) proposals consisting of two parts: (1) a 750-1000 word abstract, describing your area of research, its relevance to the conference topic, and a proposed presentation. The abstract should directly address a collaborative element - a cross-disciplinary or cross-professional alignment that would further the presenter's research goal. (2) a one-page biography or curriculum vitae, listing your relevant publications and experience. The deadline for proposals is March 1, 2006. Participants will be selected by March 20, 2006. For more information, please contact David Phillips (djp@mail.utexas.edu), or visit http://communication.utexas.edu/ethicalsurveillance/
This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant #0551532 and by the University of Texas College of Communication and Department of Radio-Television-Film.
Chairs:William Dutton, Oxford Internet Institute; Craig Calhoun, President, Social Science Research Council.
Panelists to include: - Vera Franz, OSI, London - Alison Bernstein, Ford Foundation, New York - Sean O'Siochru, NEXUS, Dublin - Karen Banks, Association of Progressive Communication, London - Richard Allen, Cisco Systems
Date: 02 February 2006, 17:00 - 18:30 Location: Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS
Attendance: This panel discussion is open to the public, but places are strictly limited. If you are interested in attending please email your name and affiliation, if any, to events@oii.ox.ac.uk. As places are so limited they will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
This event will be webcast and available to view on our website at http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/ from Friday 3rd February 2006.
Abstract New media, such as the Internet and other convergent information and communication technologies (ICTs), are now widely used in ways that are reshaping political, economic, cultural, legal, scientific, and other activities. The interrelated outcomes in the public sphere of these diverse uses of the Internet and new media by communities, individuals, and private and public organizations are leading to wide-ranging societal transformations, both locally and globally. The pervasive nature of this growing digital mediation and governance of social life has stimulated rethinking of research practices, institutional arrangements, and policies needed to provide better accounts and understandings of such transformations.
Over the past decade, digital convergence has been accompanied by a partial realignment of research around the technologies themselves, most notably in the form of efforts to build better-integrated, more-fluid models of engagement across social and technical disciplinary boundaries. No established field, dominant paradigm or appropriate institutional restructuring has emerged to take advantage of the new multidisciplinary research opportunities. However, distinctive approaches and themes for research on the social dimensions of new media and related ICTs-such as the relationship between ICTs, public life, media, and governance-have been created within communication and media fields, information studies, social informatics, computer science, law, the humanities, and the core social sciences. Some of these new configurations have acquired stability within or between fields; in other cases, they are characterized mostly by isolated experiments.
This is an open session designed to stimulate and inform an invited workshop to be held on 3-4 February. Panelists in policy, practice and advocacy fields will provide brief perspectives on the intersection between research and more applied agendas. It is an opportunity to reflect on what constituencies outside the research field expect from information, communication and media studies. Can it meet these expectations? Under what conditions?
For further information on all OII events, please refer to our website
Kind regards The Events Team
Oxford Internet Institute 1 St Giles University of Oxford Oxford OX1 3JS
Tel: +44 (0)1865 287209 Fax: +44 (0)1865 287211
I have created a flickr photo set from the meeting.
Teresa (artist) was also at the conference banquet last night and it just so happened that she knew Glasgow like the back of her hand. She was there from 94-97, before the CCA initial conversion - which has now led to its demise, or so it would seem. We talked about the Tramway and the work it is doing and the King Street galleries, which really do need some kind of Gallery walk map! This also reminded me of the Radiance festival from last year, which really did change how people interacted with the space of the city. If only there were the funds to do more. We talked about the series of programmes that Channel 4 have been doing this week on Art, the Human Canvas and Bad Art, which have worked with wonderful scripts.
Tina is an artist on an AHRC/ACE fellowship at UCL. She is working in an institute of Cognitive Science, allied with people like Dan Glaser, whom I met last year at the Royal Institution of Great Britain meeting on 'The Future of Our Memories'. Tina is presenting just now in the JMI Tomorrow's People meeting, discussing her work related to science and the body. I caught up with Tina last night at the conference banquet. She had read my article from CTHEORY on Gunter von Hagens, from 3 years ago and mentions his BodyWorlds exhibit in her talk. Originally from Sydney, Tina was also talking about ideas that explore the emotional response to bodies in action and how, for example, sporting actions provoke such great contrasts of feelings for people. Tina describes that her work is about human vulnerability and intimacy.
James Hughes just told me about a new page written by Justice De Thezier on the emerging technosexual, the made-over transhuman. He told me this, as the page has a photo of me at the end of it! So, this makes me the first technosexual, doesnt it?Should I be pleased about that? If someone wikis this, please ensure my photo is included. Somebody should probably get some posters printed. [I have just seen that there is already a wikipedia entry!]
Anders has now moved to Oxford, working with Nick Bostrom and Julian Savulescu. He first entered my radar in Stockholm last year at the meeting on Sport, Medicine and Ethics. He has some great websites and is engaged with some very interesting work on cognitive enhancement.
Professor John Harris is now giving the final of his 3 Princeton University lectures at the JMI meeting, speaking on 'enhancement, justice and rights: immortality'. I met John around four years ago in Manchester, while I was there for a National Olympic Academy meeting and it is good to catch up with him again here.I think first I read his Wonderwoman and Superman many years ago and, since beginning the Master degree in Medical Law and Ethics at Glasgow University, have become more aware of his 'personna' within medical ethics. Always lucid, John's papers are for many controversial, since his strong Utilitarian stance is met with much criticism in a field where many people believe duties ought to guide our moral actions.
The title of this entry is the same as that used in the new UK inquiry from the Science and Technology Select Committee in the UK Government. It's off to a good start already, avoiding the pejorative terminology of 'doping'. I am optimistic that it will broaden the debate and it's good to see it on the agenda. A representative from the Committee also attended the JMI meeting and our sport session yesterday. I reproduce their press release below:
Select Committee on Science and Technology
No. 24 of Session 2005-06
1 March 2006
NEW INQUIRY
HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES IN SPORT
The Science and Technology Committee is to conduct an inquiry into the use of human enhancement technologies (HETs) in sport, with particular reference to technologies which are likely to impact on the 2012 Olympics.
The Committee is examining the opportunities and problems presented by the increasing availability of technologies capable of enhancing sporting performance and is inviting written evidence on:
The potential for different HETs, including drugs, genetic modification and technological devices, to be used legally or otherwise for enhancing sporting performance, now and in the future;
Steps that could be taken to minimise the use of illegal HETs at the 2012 Olympics;
The case, both scientific and ethical, for allowing the use of different HETs in sport and the role of the public, Government and Parliament in influencing the regulatory framework for the use of HETs in sport; and
The state of the UK research and skills base underpinning the development of new HETs, and technologies to facilitate their detection.
The Committee would welcome written evidence from interested organisations and individuals addressing these points. Evidence should be submitted by Monday 22 May 2006. Oral evidence sessions will begin in June.
Guidelines for the submission of evidence
Evidence should be submitted in Word format, and should be sent by e-mail to scitechcom@parliament.uk . The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.
Submissions should be as brief as possible, and certainly no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document should include a brief executive summary. Those submitting evidence are reminded that evidence should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted no public use should be made of it, but those wishing to publish their evidence before it is published by the Committee are invited to contact the Clerk of the Committee to obtain permission to do so. Guidance on the submission of evidence can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/witguide.htm
For further information please call Ana Ferreira, on 020 7219 2793. Previous press notices and publications are available on our website. www.parliament.uk/s&tcom
Notes to editors:
• Under the terms of Standing Order No. 152 the Science and Technology Committee is empowered to examine the “expenditure, policy and administration of the Office of Science and Technology and its associated public bodies”. The Committee was appointed on 19 July 2005.
Membership of the Committee
Mr Phil Willis (Lib Dem, Harrogate and Knaresborough)(Chairman) Adam Afriyie (Con, Windsor) Mr Robert Flello (Lab, Stoke-on-Trent South) Mr Jim Devine (Lab, Livingston) Dr Evan Harris (Lib Dem, Oxford West & Abingdon) Dr Brian Iddon (Lab, Bolton South East) Margaret Moran (Lab, Luton South) Mr Brooks Newmark (Con, Braintree) Anne Snelgrove (Lab/Co-op, South Swindon) Bob Spink (Con, Castle Point) Dr Desmond Turner (Lab, Brighton Kemptown)
Donald happens to be speaking as I type. He is talking in a plenary session in the Tomorrow's People meeting, where the topic is 'Happiness?'. It is chaired by Baroness Susan Greenfield and includes Lord Richard Layard, David Nutt and Nick Baylis. This session feels quite frustrating, a lot of anti-technology. I met Donald a few years ago in Scotland and saw him again last October in Lancaster for a meeting on mitochondrial DNA and its modification.He happens also to have mentioned that 'celebrity' is our guiding concern - the desire for immorality or connection with it perhaps (my interpretation).
I had the pleasure of meeting William (National Science Foundation, Washington) yesterday at the JMI meeting. He attended my 'rethinking enhancement in sport' session and asked a pertinent question about whether information and communications technologies are on the ethical radar within sport. We discussed the development of virtual reality systems and 'third eye' technologies, but today caught up again and talked about computer games. He described some work on the concept of 'cheating' and moral codes more generally related to games. We also talked about the prospect of game ergometers and integrated pervasive systsems, which are already available to some people. Yet another facet of the debate within sport - will be see sport in a virtual world some time soon (don't believe the detractors who will say that this is not 'reality'.) I believe I will see William again in Stanford Law School this May for the IEET meeting.
Writer and editor for the Washington Post is here in Oxford for the Tomorrow's People meeting. I caught up with Joel in the Blackwell's book show as he was looking at a copy of my book, Genetically Modified Athletes. He mentions some of the issues in his own new publication 'Radical Evolution: the Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies - and What it Means to be Human. One of the bigger questions we discussed was how wide an issue the sport one really represents, on the one hand a specific problem for sports organisers, but also a high political problem for various governments.
The morning session on 'Smarter?' is drawing to a close. Nick Bostrom, Danielle Turner and Robin Hanson have been the 3 speakers. I just found a link to an image from my session yesterday, here with Professor Julian Savulescu. More photos from the event are available through this site.
Here I am at the Oxford meeting, which is one of the most exciting and interesting I have attended. Major names are here from all kinds of disciplinary perspectives, philosophy, sociology, natural science. The sun is even shining here! The level of the debate is high and many issues exciting. I have already had conversations with Joel Garreu, James Hughes, Julian Savulescu, William Sims Bainbridge, Lee Silver and a representative from the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology. My session on 'rethinking enhancement in sport' was lively and I got the felt that these issues are just beginning for us all. There's a great deal left to be done.
I even signed a couple of copies of 'Genetically Modified Athletes', which happened to be in the Blackwell book stand!
Mary Douglas is now up to speak!
The conference is still undeway here and we are now in a session on credibility in science, a big issue for this meeting.The photo here is from my session yesterday, which I shared with Professor Julian Savulescu, from Oxford. Great meeting.
The BIOS Centre is organizing an international conference on 7-9 September 2006 at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The aims of the conference are to provide a comparative and global perspective on present forms of practice in the life sciences. The Organizing Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers which seek to make conceptually innovative contributions to the exploration of the character and genealogy of transformations in health, illness, vitality, and pathology. We are particularly (though not exclusively) seeking abstracts which relate to following themes:
Social science of regenerative medical technologies Papers which explore any area related to the science(s), technologies, regulation, implications and use of regenerative medical technologies such as stems cells, cell cultures, engineered tissues, or xenotransplantation. We welcome papers which explore the social and ethical implications of regenerative medical technologies as they relate to ideas and notions around identity, gender, disability, age, ethnicity, or social class. Papers that explore regenerative medical technologies in relation to concepts such as embodiment, personhood, responsibility, risk and capitalism are also welcomed.
Neuroscience and society Papers which explore any area related to the manufacture, governance and implications of new technologies in the neurosciences, such as recent developments surrounding behavioural genomics, psychopharmacology, neuroimaging, consciousness, and the political economy of neuroscience research. In particular, papers which engage with the question of how developments in the neurosciences may be reshaping distinctions between health and illness, treatment and enhancement, normality and pathology.
Bioeconomics and biocapital Papers which explore any area related to the regional, national and transnational economic and political implications of developments in genomics and biomedicine, including issues of biological surveillance; trade; the inequitable distribution of wealth and resources; the patenting of genes and living organisms; branding in biomedicine and biotechnology; and the political economy of intellectual property regimes. Papers which embrace terms such as “biocapital” and “bioeconomics” as effective conceptual heuristics to characterize new economic developments, or which critique the usefulness or the novelty of such terms, are equally welcome.
Please submit abstracts (250-300 words) by email to l.j.mcgoey [at] lse.ac.uk
Deadline for abstract submissions: 01 March 2006
Letters of acceptance will be sent by May 1. The conference fee will be £175 (this fee includes registration, lunches, and a conference dinner. It excludes travel and accommodation).
For any further details, please contact the BIOS Organizing Committee (Chaired by Dr. Carlos Novas) via Linsey McGoey: BIOS, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE
Email: l.j.mcgoey [at] lse.ac.uk Web: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/BIOS/vital_politicsII.htm