From: Willard McCarty Subject: HAPPY now we are 13 BIRTHDAY Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 1 (1) Dear Colleagues: Thirteen years ago today Humanist began as an experiment on the strength of an inspiration that somehow something good would come of it. Many good things have, for me the most important of them quite unexpectedly. You may not count these yearly editorial ruminations among those good things :-), but I do hope that you, like me, welcome the chance to stop for a moment and think about Humanist in the context of our field(s) of activity and the loosely bound, widely distributed community of people -- some of them of long-standing, some of them new and, alas, some of them gone -- that Humanist has helped to define. None of us has the time to review the past year-in-Humanist, and I trust none is so foolish as to attempt prediction of the one we begin today. I'll certainly do neither. Cook's privilege is to taste the cooking, editor's to say whatever he or she likes. Permit me to combine those roles in a very personal way. I often think that what I do under the rubric of editor is to stir the pot, so here goes. Permit me also, please, to draw on experience without your attributing to the act the qualities of age that may seem inseparable from it. Especially the greybeardedness. That colour and my beard are not unrelated, but the sedentary gravitas and settled authority that greybeards can so easily put on I find personally dead wrong and professionally suicidal. I hope that it's entirely unnecessary to say that the joy of being alive is simply too unsettling to make greybeardedness an attractive mental state, or as my poet Ovid wrote about a not entirely dissimilar situation, "non bene conveniunt nec in una sede morantur / maiestas et amor..." (Met 2.846f). As for our field, it changes too quickly. New vistas -- such as new media studies, now not so new -- open up, and suddenly we need to reconfigure what we think and how we think, publish and teach it. Greybeards are likely to end up, to quote Peter Batke, feeling as if they're sitting in the middle of the road with tire tracks up their back. Perhaps the most valuable thing I can say about the very beginning of Humanist is the autobiographical fact of its originating inspiration. It came to me, suddenly in a meeting of like-minded, more or less unrecognised and quite disgruntled academics 13 years ago, that there was 'something for me' in the effort to bring us together and define what we were doing -- no more, really, than a whiff of something good on the wind. I think the professional analogue to this personal incident and the crucial role of sudden inspiration in my life that it points to is, again, the vital necessity for our being alert. We're not at the bleeding edge of technological developments, thank God, but as new things come over the horizon we have but a short time to see what we might adopt, adapt or take note of for our colleagues in the humanities and for our students. The most valuable thing I can say about the practice of editing Humanist is again to quote the Hebrew proverb, "Do what you do only out of love." If years ago I'd had sight of the future, and I'd seen what good things Humanist would do for me professionally, I might have been irresistibly tempted to go for it out of hope for professional advancement etc., but blessed blindness to the future saved me from being tested and very likely found wanting. By the time it became clear that Humanist would be useful in that way my love for it was too strong to be unseated by those strange gods. In any case, the privilege of being involved through Humanist in the beginnings of humanities computing is very great indeed, and I can only be profoundly grateful. Many are to thank -- some who have helped deliberately, others accidentally and a few who intended a rather different result and taught important lessons thereby. Allow me, however, for the first time to dedicate the moment to Don Fowler, late of Jesus College Oxford, who was just the sort of colleague and friend we need to remind us of why we do this thing and why greybeardedness is not to die for. "Therefore choose life!" Many thanks. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: K.J.Lack@open.ac.uk Subject: 2000 Humanities and Arts higher education Network Conference Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 2 (2) *** apologies for cross-posting *** Conference announcement and call for papers Subject Knowledges and Professional Practice in the Arts and Humanities The Humanities and Arts higher education Network's 6th annual conference will be held on the 7th October, 2000 at the Open University, Milton Keynes. http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm In the context of the technologically-driven 'information revolution' what we mean by Subject Knowledge is being questioned and re-assessed - for example, through the QAA's Subject Benchmarking activities and the new ESRC research programme 'The evolution of knowledge: interaction of research and practice?'. The conference will debate the question: is contemporary Professional Practice - with its emphasis on delivery of learning outcomes and information, on skills acquisition, etc., across all academic disciplines - at odds with traditional conceptions of subject knowledges in the arts and humanities, how and why they are taught and learned? Presentations in response to this question are sought, with respect to any of the arts and humanities disciplines. Participatory sessions, in which conference delegates are directly involved, are particularly welcome. Deadline for outline proposals: Friday July 14th. The attendance fee will be 40, with a concessionary rate of 25 for members of the Humanities and Arts higher education Network (HAN) and full-time students. For more information about submitting a proposal, joining HAN (membership is free) or attending the conference, please contact Kelvin Lack (k.j.lack@open.ac.uk) or visit the HAN web site at http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm **** please forward this email to colleagues who might be interested in attending **** ________________________________________________ Kelvin Lack Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA Email: k.j.lack@open.ac.uk Telephone: (01908) 653488 http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/index.htm http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: On-Line Graphics of Hayles's *Posthuman* (Great Online Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 3 (3) Literature) Dear Prof. Jennifer de Beer and Prof. Willard McCarty, It is really amazing to see, the works of Prof. N. Katherine Hayles, who has created a sensation amongst the scholars round the globe, by writing a bold book, "How We Became Posthuman". But, most of the scholars and researchers don't know that, her POSTHUMAN graphical presentation is also available online to read and use in their teaching schedules. During my cyberexplorations, I came across her "Posthuman" Hypertext -It looks to me that she was using the graphical texts in her teaching at the Institute for Theoretical Physics of University of California, Santa Barbara. at <http://online.itp.ucsb.edu> Also, a near dear friend of Prof. Hayles, Prof. Albert Borgmann, who wrote another bold book, "Holding On To Reality" has sent me a comment, "Arun, who animates the Internet". I think he is right to some extent. I and Internet, most of the times, feel is One. The On-Line graphical travels begin with "The Human", which can be found at: <http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/colloq/hayles1/oh/01.html> -This is the starting thread..your journey will be beginning from this very hypertext..in all, there are 22 graphical hypertexts are available for the visit. The graphical travel is a beginning of the references regarding "Liberal Humanist Subject" to the next "Dismantling of the Liberal Humanist Subject"..there she tried to classify the *Cybernetics* in Two Periods..to next the train of graphical hypertext stops at some references regarding "Virtuality" and "The Posthuman"..and then the significant "Split" is taken place as, *How Important is Embodiment to Posthuman?* and from the slide 6, the travel enters into the era of "Contemporary Literature" explaining the *Images of the Posthuman* and *Materiality*. [deleted quotation] <http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/colloq/hayles1/oh/09.html> you will read an excerpt from his latest book..the Excerpt is about *How Does It Mean To Be Posthuman?* and *What are we to make of the Posthuman?* The slide further goes to 13 more and by then you will be reading more great and tantalising references regarding the Posthuman. Travel of Posthuman ends..and now you might also be interested to know..that.. Prof. N. Katherine Hayles, has also written several books, "Chaos and Order: Complex Dynamics in Literature and Science", "Chaos Bound: Orderly Disorder in Contemporary Literature and Science", "The Cosmic Web: Scientific Field Models and Literary Strategies in the Twentieth Century, and her latest book, "How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics" and others. Some useful pointers regarding Prof. Hayles's research:- -------------------------------------------------------- Virtual Bodies and Flickering Signifiers --by N. Katherine Hayles <http://englishwww.humnet.ucla.edu/individuals/hayles/Flick.html> Liberal Subjectivity Imperiled: Norbert Wiener and Cybernetic Anxiety By N. Katherine Hayles <http://englishwww.humnet.ucla.edu/individuals/hayles/wiener.htm> [deleted quotation] <http://englishwww.humnet.ucla.edu/individuals/hayles/limbo.htm> Thanking you. Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi WAOE Multilingual Coordinator on Public Information Committee and Research Scholar at (University of Dortmund) UNI DO, Germany)) Net Messenger Cyberexplorer <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/educate.html> <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/index.html> -- ============================================================================= ARUN KUMAR TRIPATHI, C/O Braun, Luetgenholthauser Strasse 99 44225,Dortmund,Germany ONLINE INTERNET EDUCATOR on the GLOBAL SCALE Appointed Officer: WAOE Multilingual Coordinator on Public Info Committee National Advisory Board Member for AmericaTakingAction, National Network <http://www.americatakingaction.com/board/arun.htm> Karen Ellis's The Educational Playground at <http://www.edu-cyberpg.com> PrevGES -News Editor <http://www.egroups.com/group/prevges/info.html> Member of Commissioner's E-mail List: http://www.firn.edu/commissioner Short Online Bio of Arun at: http://www.iteachnet.com/resume/akumar.html The Internet in Education at: <http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/tripathi.htm> E-mail: Guest Moderator for Online-Ed Listserv Research Scholar, Department of Statistics University Of Dortmund Internet Search Expert, EdResource Listserv Moderator <http://www.egroups.com/group/edresource/info.html> MEMBER, IEEE Computer Society: <http://www.computer.org> ============================================================================= From: "Jean G Anderson" Subject: ALLC/ACH 2000 Conference Registration Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 07:43:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 4 (4) Register for ALLC / ACH 2000 The Joint International Conference of the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing and the Association for Computers and the Humanities University of Glasgow 21 - 25 July, 2000 http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/allcach2k/ Registrations after 31st May 2000 incur an extra fee of 50 and accommodation cannot be guaranteed by our Conference Office after that date. ____________________________________________ Jean Anderson, Resource Development Officer, HATII STELLA, University of Glasgow, 6 University Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QH phone: +44 (0)141 330 4980 http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/ http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/ From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CIMI Institute Workshop Minneapolis Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 07:46:35 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 5 (5) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community May 8, 2000 [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Downstream from Panofsky Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 6 (6) After contrasting the disciplines of archeology and art history, before contrasting art history with art theory, Erwin Panofsky in "The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline" (1940) states: The objects of art history, then, can only be characterized in a terminology which is as re-constructive as the experience of the art historian is re-creative: it must describe the stylistic peculiarities, neither as measurable or otherwise determinable data, nor as stimuli of subjective reactions, but as that which bears witness to "intentions". Now "intentions" can only be formulated in terms of alternatives: a situation has to be supposed in which the maker of the work had more than one possibility of procedure, that is to say, in which he found himself confronted with a problem of choice between various modes of emphasis. I find striking in this passage the vocabulary of terminology, formulations, alternatives: a hint of a language game. I find it striking because the notion of alternatives for me hearkens to a practice of experimentation. Alternatives awaken the historical imagination to the it-could-have-been-otherwise. The scientific imagination dreams of a it-must-be-so. Panofsky earlier in his lecture does not contrast the scientific and the humanistic so much in terms of the different modalities they may adopt towards questions of chance and necessity. He does however supply a figure that captures certain attitudes towards both necessity and chance. He positions both humanist and scientist in relation to the "stream of time." He states: The scientist, too, deals with human records, namely with the works of his predecessors. But he deals with them not as something to be investigated, but as something which helps him to investigate. In other words, he is interested in records not as they emerge from the stream of time, but in so far as they are absorbed in it. [...] From the humanistic point of view, human records do not age. The claim to the existence of ageless human records looks odd without the context of the example provided by Panofsky of a scientist reading Newton or da Vinci as a humanist would, that is as a person who looks on such records as having "an autonomous meaning and a lasting value." In the spirit of alternatives, we ask: Can a humanist, who may not be an art historian, look upon documents as having other than "lasting value"? Can humanists trained in other disciplines look upon records as bearing other than "autonomous meaning"? Are the years of digital work with documents enabling humanists to play at the boundaries of two metaphors: document as container, document as pointer? Capsules that float in the stream of time and by their bobbing indicate the force of the current? From: LW8@aol.com Subject: Re: Misspelling of "maybe" by writers who learned English Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 7 (7) as 2nd language? I hope you can help in my research regarding the use of the word, mabe, for maybe. I am investigating typed documents to determine authorship. The 2 writers each are relatively knowledgeable about the English language, with some misspellings and some unusual construction. Examples: "Understanding your predicament of trust and how difficult it is to explain in good faith to you about your..." "..relized.." (realized) "...trust to tell you the truth mabe you should..." "...we are sorry some people didn't mind there own business, and mabe you should.." Both writers currently live in Louisiana and may have last names of French origin. Can anyone tell me where (location) the written contraction "mabe" is known to be used? USA or other? Please reply to my email address. Thank you. LW8@aol.com (L. Welt) [Please reply directly to L. Welt as well as to Humanist. --WM] From: Elisabeth Burr Subject: Re: 14.0001 HAPPY now we are 13 BIRTHDAY Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 07:43:51 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 8 (8) Dear Willard, dear Humanist, this birthday comes just right and above all the proverb "Do what you do only out of love." It is sometimes so easy to forget this. Apart from fascinating intellectual discussions and contributions concerning a field which can be very disconcerting because of its fuzziness and instability Humanist and you Willard have managed to to create and follow a line of discourse which links science, intellect and emotions. Do carry on. Happy birthday! Elisabeth At 19:54 07.05.00 +0100, you wrote: [deleted quotation] of an [deleted quotation] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof'in Dr. Elisabeth Burr FB10/Romanistik Universitaet Bremen eburr@uni-bremen.de President of SILFI: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/SILFI2000 FB3/Romanistik Gerhard-Mercator-Universitaet Duisburg Elisabeth.Burr@uni-duisburg.de Personal homepage: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/PERSONAL/Burr/burr.htm Editor of: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/home.html http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/home.html From: "Price, Dan" Subject: Humanist Discussion Group--Reflections Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 07:44:24 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 9 (9) Wilard, Thank you for the Birthday reflection for this discussion group. As you have been here "among the longest" I would be curious about more specific details along the trail of thirteen years. Maybe you could indicate three (or six?) significant turns or developments in the discussion group itself,. This would give some perspective as to where we have been and the "nature" of the revolution that we are all experiencing. I confess that in a way I am also thinking as I am typing--based on the past, is there a future for "Computers in the Humanities?" Will it take the shape of degree programs at the undergraduate level, if so, what kind of careers will these graduates have, save to do graduate work in the same field and so perpetuate the chain again. OK I admit. Two different items here. One is Do you have some personal highlights among the past thirteen years in terms of the development of the discussion group. Two is Does reflection on the past thirteen years tell us anything about the future of Computers and the Humanities, especially in the university setting? Thanks for reading this and I am posting to you personally as it may or may not be relevant to the group at large. Sincerely, Dan Price, Ph.D. Professor, Center for Distance Learning *********************************************************** The Union Institute (800) 486 3116 ext.222 440 E McMillan St. (513) 861 6400 ext.222 Cincinnati OH 45206 FAX 513 861 9026 <http://www.tui.edu/Faculty/FacultyUndergrad/PriceDan.html>http://www.tui.ed u/Faculty/FacultyUndergrad/PriceDan.html *********************************************************** From: reis@stanford.edu Subject: 'START-UP' HUMANITIES LAB TO FOCUS ON Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 08:10:53 -0700 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 10 (10) To: tomorrows-professor@lists.Stanford.EDU EFFORTS TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(SM) LISTSERV "desk-top faculty development, one hundred times a year" http://sll.stanford.edu/projects/tomprof/newtomprof/index.shtml Over 9,600 subscribers in 80 countries ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Produced by the Stanford University Learning Laboratory (SLL) http://sll.stanford.edu/ in partnership with the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) http://www.aahe.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Folks: The posting below describes a new effort at Stanford to bring about a greater collaboration among scholars in the humanities. Borrowing from some of the practices more typically found in engineering and the sciences, the Stanford Humanities Laboratory seeks to develop outputs that will have an appeal to a non-specialist audience. The article is from the April 9, 2000 issue of The Stanford Report and reprinted with permission. Regards, Rick Reis Reis@stanford.edu UP NEXT: Applied Ethics and the "Aporetic Transversity" Tomorrow's Research -------------------- 927 words ----------------------- 'START-UP' HUMANITIES LAB TO FOCUS ON COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS It will be a lab like many others on campus, with a number of long-term projects run by a principal investigator who oversees a team of faculty and postdoctoral researchers. But the new Stanford Humanities Laboratory (SHL) that is scheduled for launch in September will boldly go where professors of literature, history and the arts have only tiptoed until now. "In current Silicon Valley parlance, one might say that SHL aims to serve as a sort of intellectual 'venture capitalist,' and the collaborative research projects that it 'invests' in could be envisaged as intellectual 'start-ups,'" says Jeffrey Schnapp, the Rosina Pierotti Professor in Italian Literature and chair of the Department of French and Italian. Schnapp, who will serve as director of the new SHL, sent a letter to more than 300 faculty in the humanities and area curators at the Stanford Libraries and the Cantor Arts Center April 17, calling for proposals for pilot projects for the academic years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. The deadline for submission is June 15, and notifications of acceptance will be made on July 15. Projects that receive funding will have one overriding goal: They will be collaborative in nature, drawing together teams of senior faculty, advanced undergraduates and postdocs, as well as museum curators and individuals from area cultural centers and industries. And the end results just might look different -- a performance, perhaps, or an exhibition, website, course curriculum or book that is aimed at a non-specialist audience. "Over the past few decades increasingly smaller niches of specialization have been carved out within the humanities," Schnapp says. "That's had a positive side, but it's also had the unfortunate consequence of sealing off areas of specialization from one another and reducing the scope of the conversations that take place. "So one of the more exciting and more difficult features of the lab is to create incentives for groups of scholars to work together and to think creatively about ways to produce and present new forms of knowledge." Schnapp approached President Gerhard Casper and then-Provost Condoleezza Rice with the idea for the lab last spring, at a time when the Presidential Lectures and Symposia in the Humanities and Arts were nearing the end of their initial programming. "Questions were being discussed about what came next and about which parts of the experiment had been most successful," Schnapp says. He drafted a proposal for the lab and the president's office agreed to provide funding. "This literally is an initiative that is building upon the first presidential initiative," Schnapp says. "The symposium part of the budget will be moved over to support the lab in the first phase of operation." Three SHL brainstorming sessions were held in October, November and December 1999, where faculty from various humanities departments, centers and programs met to imagine research projects that might replace the traditional individualized model. A number of faculty members at those meetings, like Schnapp, could draw on their own experience. Trained as a medievalist, the SHL director is a self-described "eccentric literary historian" and specialist in 20th-century culture. In recent years, he says, his work more often has put him in touch with architects and designers than with literary scholars. "Like a monk in a medieval cell, I used to sit and gather material in isolation over a period of years," Schnapp says. "Eventually maybe an essay or two, or a book would come out of that process. "But these days I tend to wander pretty widely in terms of disciplinary range, and in Europe I've had the experience of working in collaboration with museums on exhibitions and public presentations. That has required working with people in different areas of competence and expertise, and that has told me what an extremely exciting and enlivening process research can be." Schnapp can envisage, for example, a collaborative research project on the material history of literature that would look at how texts are organized in various cultures and how systems of notation and alphabets function. The project, which might also explore the evolution of objects such as pens and writing surfaces, could conclude with a global reference manual. "I can imagine that project might interest a whole range of businesses that are actively engaged in information technology here in Silicon Valley," Schnapp says. "And as director of SHL, I would go out there and pitch the project to businesses and get them involved in supporting research in the humanities." In the start-up phase of the lab, seed monies will be provided for between three and eight pilot projects for the academic years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, with budgets ranging from $20,000 to $50,000. In the second phase of the lab, scheduled to begin in Spring Quarter 2002, between four and eight large-scale projects will be funded per year, primarily supported by foundation grants. A distinctive feature of the research teams, as Schnapp envisions them, is the prominent role humanities postdocs will play. In fact, research projects will be advertised -- "we'll post the research and say we're looking for postdocs who want to work as part of the team." In the sciences, Schnapp says, young scholars often choose a compelling postdoc opportunity over a beginning assistant professorship to develop their profiles by working in a lab with top-notch scientists. "But postdocs have not been the royal road to success in the humanities the way they are an absolutely essential stepping stone in the scientific disciplines," he adds. "So the lab is conceived of as helping young humanists carve out a space that's been a missing link in their career track." Questions about the application process for the Stanford Humanities Laboratory can be addressed via e-mail to SUHUMLAB@stanford.edu , or phone Kellie Smith, (650) 725-9225, or Schnapp, (650) 725-3270. The SHL website, www.stanford/edu/group/shl, with online application forms and information, should be up and running in early May. SR ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Anyone can SUBSCRIBE to Tomorrows-Professor Listserver by sending the following e-mail message to: subscribe tomorrows-professor To UNSUBSCRIBE to the Tomorrows-Professor send the following e-mail message to: unsubscribe tomorrows-professor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**== This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message body of "unsubscribe tomorrows-professor" to majordomo@lists.stanford.edu From: Elisabeth Burr Subject: humanities computing in an Institute of Science and Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 11 (11) Technology Dear Humanists, Let me present the following scenario to you: a university is planning to become an institute of science and technology where the humanities are supposed to accompany the development in a critical way (impact on society, ethic, envi- ronment etc.). Traditional linguistics and literature would not really have a place, but languages would have to play a role in terms of internationalisation. Given this background my questions are: Would this be the moment to bring humanities computing in and in which way? Are there similar scenarios of which humanities computing is a part and how does it work? What sort of courses are you teaching and with which philosophy? Which arguments did you use when you where pushing for humanities computing? I am looking forward to your contributions Elisabeth --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof'in Dr. Elisabeth Burr FB10/Romanistik Universitaet Bremen eburr@uni-bremen.de President of SILFI: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/SILFI2000 FB3/Romanistik Gerhard-Mercator-Universitaet Duisburg Elisabeth.Burr@uni-duisburg.de Personal homepage: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/PERSONAL/Burr/burr.htm Editor of: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/home.html http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/home.html From: Stephen Clark Subject: The Long Now Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 04:46:49 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 12 (12) From: http://www.longnow.org/ Great Minds to Discuss '10,000-year Library' The Long Now Foundation and Stanford University Libraries announced they will hold an invitational conference, "The 10,000-year Library," June 30 - July 2, 2000 on the Stanford campus sponsored by the Lazy Eight Foundation. Two dozen confirmed participants - including Elizabeth Niggeman head of the German National Library; cuneiform expert William Hallo of Yale University; leading innovators in high-tech, such as Brewster Kahle the creator of the Internet Archive, an extraordinary Native American anthropologist Dave Warren; Council on Library and Information Resources director Deanna Marcum; and others -will join the Long Now board (Michael A. Keller, Danny Hillis, Stewart Brand, Brian Eno, Paul Saffo, Kevin Kelly, Peter Schwartz, and Doug Carlston) and librarians to deliberate on the permanence of information and the nature and need for long-term thinking about it. (See complete list of current attendees at the bottom of this page.) In a time of accelerating technology, accelerating history, and a dangerous shortening of civilization's attention span, the role of libraries becomes deeper than ever. Libraries need to be rethought in the new context and in the light of civilization's now-global and very long term responsibilities. Some new initiatives need to be set in motion. The conference participants will address needed directions for such initiatives. According to Stewart Brand, co-chairman of the Long Now board, "We want to jump-start some serious, collaborative thinking about how to see information - the real narrative of civilization - in very long-term ways. We're talking in part about technology, but it goes much deeper, right to the root of why we are here, what we're doing, and what kind of legacy do we want to leave to our descendents and to their successors." "Stewardship of cultural content is the essential role of research libraries," says Stanford University Librarian Michael A. Keller. "Serious players in this field have always collected, organized, and preserved information - OK, books, mostly - on behalf of future generations, but up to now, we haven't really thought seriously about how many such generations, or how to think about the mission in terms of thousands of years. Digital information technologies, with their notorious instability, force us to reassess how we go about fulfilling this mission hereafter. So we are an interested party. But nobody knows what the important questions are, to say nothing of solutions. This conference will be tremendously valuable in helping to pose the right questions." Adds Brand, "The issues are pan-disciplinary, so the group we're bringing together is as broad as we can make it with a small group." The format will be similar to what Long Now used successfully in 1998 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles with a related conference called "Time & Bits: Managing Digital Continuity." The participants will meet for dinner and introductions Friday evening; scheme and probe all day Saturday; spell out next steps Sunday morning, and sum up and for a public audience Sunday afternoon. The public event - for invited press, scholars, technologists, and others - will also include a question & answer session. (Details about the public event will be announced later.) Delivered at the conference will be the first prototype of the 'Rosetta Disk' also being produced under the Lazy Eight Foundation Grant. This modern Rosetta will be a micro-etched nickel two inch disk which will include all the worlds translations of the book of Genesis written at a scale to be read by microscopes. Expected outcomes of the conference will be a publication and paths toward subsequent conferences, whose topics should emerge from this conference. There may be recommendations to specific institutions of actions to pursue. The Long Now Foundation was officially established in 01996 to develop the 10,000-Year Clock and 10,000-Year Library projects as well as to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution. It has been nearly 10,000 years since the end of the last ice age and the beginnings of civilization. Progress during that time was often measured on a "faster/cheaper" scale. The Long Now Foundation seeks to promote "slower/better" thinking and to focus our collective creativity on the next 10,000 years. One of its related projects is development of the Rosetta Disk, a long-term linguistic archive and translation engine that allows for the recovery of "lost" languages in the deep future, the storage technology for which is a 2" nickel disk which records analog text and images at densities up to 350,000 pages per disk, with a life expectancy of 2,000-10,000 years. For more information about the Long Now Foundation: http://www.longnow.org/ Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SUL/AIR) develops and implements resources and services within the University libraries and academic technology units that support research and instruction. With collections containing over seven million volumes and numerous of archival, manuscript, map, media, government document, database and serial materials among its fourteen libraries, SUL/AIR coordinates with Stanford's Business, Law, Medical, and SLAC libraries and the Hoover Institution to provide comprehensive information resources to the Stanford Community. The Academic Information Resources division provides information-technology support and instruction and network services to the entire campus community, whether in the library or in the dorm. SUL/AIR's HighWire Press division provides advanced online publication and access services to over 170 of the world's leading peer-reviewed scholarly journals in science, technology, and medicine, and thus is significantly involved in the provision of information to the world's research and academic communities. For more information about the Stanford Libraries: http://www-sul.stanford.edu The Lazy Eight Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to promoting research and development in the sciences and education. It supports efforts to bring together scientists, artists, and educators across disciplines, with a focus on projects that offer creative solutions to educational, social and environmental problems. The Lazy Eight Foundation works with its "Lazers," individuals from a broad range of disciplines who advise the Foundation on various projects. For more information about the Lazy Eight Foundation: http://www.lazy8.org From: "David L. Green" Subject: COPYRIGHT TOWN MEETINGS; NYC Meeting Report Available; Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 04:48:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 13 (13) Final Meeting: Baltimore, May 18 NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community May 9, 2000 NINCH COPYRIGHT TOWN MEETINGS New York City Meeting Report Available http://www.ninch.org/copyright/townmeetings/nyc.report.html Baltimore Meeting: May 18, 2000 American Association of Museums Annual Conference "Copyright Confusion? Community Guides. http://www.ninch.org/copyright/townmeetings/aam.html A report is now available on the third in the NINCH series of six town meetings on COPYRIGHT & THE CULTURAL COMMUNITY, held in New York City. This report joins those on the first two town meetings, held at the Chicago Historical Society and at Syracuse University. Reports on the meetings held at the Triangle Research Libraries Network in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and at the Visual Resources Association conference in San Francisco, will be available shortly. The last meeting in the series will be held on Thursday May 18 from 2pm to 4:45pm at the annual convention of the American Association of Museums at the Baltimore Convention Center (Rooms 321-323). Please Note: Members of the public wishing to attend the Baltimore Town Meeting but not registered for the AAM Convention should leave their names (by eob Tues. May 16) at 202-296-5346, or email them to david@ninch.org for free admission to the town meeting. * * * NEW YORK CITY: "The Tug of War between Faculty, University, and Publisher for Rights to the Products of Contemporary Education." A report is now available on the NEW YORK CITY COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE TOWN MEETING, co-sponsored by the College Art Association and held at its annual conference, February 26, 2000. This was the third in this series of six town meetings on COPYRIGHT & THE CULTURAL COMMUNITY, organized by NINCH, with support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The opening paper by Christine Sundt, "Been There. Done That!," reviewing the community's history of wrestling with intellectual property issues over the past five years is available at <http://www.ninch.org/copyright/townmeetings/nycsundt.html> as well as at her own website, <http://libweb.uoregon.edu/aaa/vrc/CAAcls.htm>. Three speakers engaged the topic of the ownership of university faculty production. Jane Ginsburg, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia University Law School, focused on two current cases that test the extent to which professors have the right and the ability to control the dissemination of their classroom performances. Sanford Thatcher, Director of the Pennsylvania State University Press, reviewed the success of a Pennsylvania State University task force to create guidelines to clarify ownership issues on campus. Rodney Petersen, Director of Policy and Planning at the University of Maryland's Office of Information Technology, shared his discoveries about intellectual property policies at research universities, and, based on his campus experiences, advised focusing on parties' needs and interests rather than gross ownership of intellectual property. Questions, comments and discussion were far-ranging, including the issues of museums' ownership of copyright, the "Ditto.com" case, distance education, licensing, and the familiar issue of the legality of copy photography. * * * BALTIMORE: "Copyright Confusion? Community Guides" BALTIMORE: Thursday May 18, 2000 American Association of Museums Annual Conference "Copyright Confusion? Community Guides. http://www.ninch.org/copyright/townmeetings/aam.html In the light of the failure of CONFU to produce guidelines accepted across the community for the fair use of copyrighted material, and as copyright issues continue to become increasingly complicated for practitioners, new guidelines are being produced from within the community to help answer many practical questions about managing and using online intellectual property. This Town Meeting will focus on the resource materials that have been developed by the American Association of Museums, the College Art Association and the Visual Resources Association to provide guidance on managing intellectual property. What questions do these guides answer and what guidance do they offer? What more is still needed by this community? What other practical resources are available? In the tradition of a town meeting there will be plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion. A G E N D A Welcome and Brief Overview of Current Scene: * Barry Szczesny, Government Affairs Counsel and Assistant Director, Government and Public Affairs, American Association of Museums * Michael Shapiro, Private Attorney and Consultant to Arts and Cultural Organizations Overview of Town Meetings Series: * David Green, National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). Speakers: AAM's "Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark" * Diane Zorich, Information Management Consultant VRA's "Image Collection Guidelines: The Acquisition and Use of Images in Non-Profit Educational Visual Resources Collections" * Kathe Albrecht, Visual Resources Curator, American University CAA's work-in-progress, the "Guidebook on Copyright for Artists and Art Historians" * Robert Baron, Independent Art Historian and Consultant ========================== ABOUT THE NINCH COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE TOWN MEETINGS With support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage is sponsoring a series of six Copyright Town Meetings for the cultural community during the year 2000. The series of day-long and half-day meetings builds on the popular 1997-98 Town Meetings on Copyright & Fair Use, organized jointly with the American Council of Learned Societies and the College Art Association, which focused on the Conference on Fair Use and its aftermath. The 2000 series of Town Meetings will be held in Chicago, Syracuse, New York City, Chapel Hill, San Francisco and Baltimore and will be hosted by the Chicago Historical Society, Syracuse and Cornell Universities, the College Art Association, the Triangle Research Library Network (North Carolina), the Visual Resources Association and the American Association of Museums. Issues to be covered by the meetings include changes in copyright law as it affects working on-line; fair use and its on-line future; the status of the public domain; ownership and access of on-line copyrighted material; distance education; and the development and implementation of institutional and organizational copyright policies and principles. A hallmark of the Town Meetings will be the balance of expert opinion and audience participation. Speakers include, among others: Robert Baron, Howard Besser, Kathleen Butler, Kenneth Crews, Eric Eldred, Jane Ginsburg, Dakin Hart, Peter Hirtle, Tyler Ochoa, Rodney Petersen, Christine Sundt, Barry Szczesny, Sandy Thatcher, Richard Weisgrau and Diane Zorich. For full details on the Town Meetings, including information about registration and any admission fees, agendas and speakers as they are announced, as well as for later reports on the meetings, see <http://www.ninch.org/copyright/townmeetings/2000.html> ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Willard McCarty Subject: Fwd: Re: Economist article + Faustian bargain Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 14 (14) Dear Colleagues: I forward the following, with thanks, from the Electronic Journal Publishing List, which you may wish to join. It's extracted from an ongoing conversation, but the position Stevan Harnad sets forth is sufficiently clear to strike sparks here, perhaps to good effect. Yours, WM [deleted quotation] wrote: [deleted quotation] is no [deleted quotation] scientists [deleted quotation] researchers. [deleted quotation] they [deleted quotation] would be [deleted quotation] ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: Roger Blumberg Subject: Re: 13.0554 come out to play? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 15 (15) Dear Willard, I have been meaning to respond to your posting of the 25th (Subject: games?), and the discussion that followed, but each reply has become a rather long essay. I teach the Educational Software Seminar at Brown University, a rather unique example of university-community collaboration in the area of technology because we begin not with university-designed products and priorities, but with proposals for classroom software from local (Providence, RI) teachers in K-12, the University, and other institutions concerned with education (e.g. the Providence Children's Museum). Each spring, the undergraduates in the Seminar choose projects from a pool of teacher proposals and, in teams of 3 or 4, work closely with the teacher and her/his students to create the proposed program. The Seminar is cross-listed in Computer Science and Education Departments at Brown, where it has been offered for nearly a decade (the brainchild of Andries van Dam you'll be pleased if hardly surprised to learn); but only recently have the number of computers in schools and the power of the authoring tools made diversity in proposed projects and versatility in program designs and strategies a reality. You can read about all the projects, and download many of the programs, at our web site: www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs092/ In the past three years we've taken on and completed nearly two dozen projects for K-16 classrooms, and about half of these programs have been designed as games. You ask: [deleted quotation] The second is certainly the critical question, and we have found that the answers are not especially short! First, it is useful to note that in addition to games, the "Sega-generation" is an audience that makes simulations and multi-linear computer-based narratives educationally promising as well. But sticking to games for the moment, and taking just this semester's class as an example, the Seminar students have just completed games: -- to teach kindergarteners the concepts of area and perimeter (something recently mandated by the local Board of Ed.); -- to give a 3rd grade teacher a computer-based equivalent of a "Mad Math Minute" exercise, formerly done with pen and paper, that tests multiplication and division skills; -- to let 4th graders build 2D shapes and calculate their areas and perimeters; and -- to let ESL and Special Education high school students practice their punctuation, capitalization and verb conjugation skills. The Seminar students did not choose the game format for programs: -- to provide decision-making scenarios concerning drug use for 9th grade Health students; -- to give undergraduates enrolled in a Visual Perception course interactive exercises for learning about depth cues, color perception and the perception of human motion; and, -- to give undergraduates enrolled in a political science course an opportunity to see annotated versions of political ads and to write annotations of their own. So what are some of the things we consider when deciding on a game format? Here are just three: 1) Can the material covered, the skills being acquired and/or the exercises necessary to master the material/skills be made more engaging by introducing a game structure? This is a basic question but it leads one to see games as a useful tool not just in settings where a set of skills and facts can be given narrative cohesion and motivation (e.g. the Mad Math Minute), but in cases when the exercises that best help students learn these skills and facts are tainted by remedial or simply boring associations (e.g. the ESL and Special Education case, where rather elementary grammar exercises can be embedded in sophisticated multimedia narratives). 2) Can the material covered stand up to the seductions of the game format, so that what is learned is the relevant material/skill rather than simply skills of game-playing (e.g. competition between students is usually both a motivation and a distraction). 3) Can intrinsic motivation for learning the material/skills be created either in game characters and/or activities? Once one decides to create a game, there are of course questions about design and design "principles" (about which so much is written). Here we find (with Emerson) that "there is no virtue which is final; all are initial." Indeed, my students find that by designing effective programs for a particular teacher of a particular group of students in a particular school in a particular year: a) they become critical of any but the most grave and trivial ideas of universal usability principles; b) they appreciate the value of a learning curve in the engagement of users, and think twice before speaking of "intuitive" interfaces; and c) they see in practice the difference between using the computer to expand and enrich the experiences in classrooms and using it to (merely) replace or simulate traditional experiences. Clearly, there is much more to say, but the reason I bother you with any of it is the answer to your second question: [deleted quotation] The answer is: not many and certainly too few. With the recent news that Mattel is selling off The Learning Company, having acquired it less than a year ago (after the Learning Company itself acquired a good number of promising educational software companies), we find remarkably little innovation in the field of educational software, and the fact that it is a marginalized area within university-level computer science doesn't help. But, now that powerful authoring tools (e.g. Macromedia's Director) and multimedia labs are becoming more common at colleges and universities, and are used as often by humanities as science students and faculties, I would suggest that there is a tremendous and perhaps unique opportunity now for humanities computing people and humanists generally to become involved in the production and study of educational software. I hope there will be opportunities to continue discussions, such as those provoked by your questions, in the Humanist community. Thanks, Roger _______________________________________________________________ Roger B. Blumberg Roger_Blumberg@Brown.edu phone:(401) 863-7619 fax:(401) 863-7657 http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/rbb/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Visiting Lecturer, Department of Computer Science (Box 1910) Senior Fellow, Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning (Box 1912) Visiting Scholar, Inst. for Brain & Neural Systems (Box 1843) Brown University, Providence RI 02912 --------------------------------------------------------------- MendelWeb http://www.netspace.org/MendelWeb/ _______________________________________________________________ From: Marian Dworaczek Subject: Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 16 (16) Information The May 1, 2000 edition of the "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" is available at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUBJIN_A.HTM The page-specific "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" and the accompanying "Electronic Sources of Information: A Bibliography" (listing all indexed items) deal with all aspects of electronic publishing and include print and non-print materials, periodical articles, monographs and individual chapters in collected works. This edition includes 1,239 titles. Both the Index and the Bibliography are continuously updated. Introduction, which includes sample search and instructions how to use the Subject Index and the Bibliography, is located at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUB_INT.HTM This message has been crossposted to several mailing lists. Please excuse any duplication. ************************************************* *Marian Dworaczek * *Head, Acquisitions Department * *and Head, Technical Services Division * *University of Saskatchewan Libraries * *E-mail: dworaczek@sklib.usask.ca * *Phone: (306) 966-6016 * *Fax: (306) 966-5919 * *Home Page: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze * ************************************************* From: Wendell Piez Subject: dissertation on online collaboration Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 17 (17) Readers of HUMANIST may be interested in the following (from Steve Talbott's NETFUTURE): ============================================= User-specified Tools for Online Collaboration --------------------------------------------- NetFuture reader Aldo de Moor has completed a Ph.D. dissertation that some of you may be interested in. Here are a few sentences from the preface: All over the world, forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. I usd to be quite involved in several forest conservation campaigns. However, while working on these issues, it became increasingly clear to me that there are no simple solutions for dealing with this very urgent problem. The only way to address complex issues like this is to involve many people, who represent a wide range of stakeholders, in a continuous dialogue. ....time and again we found out how difficult it is to keep prolonged and intensive computer-enabled collaboration going. People would start to work together enthusiastically, but somehow, results failed to materialize, after which participation would wane quickly. This despite common goals and considerable initial efforts of the participants, and despite the fact that when the same networks of professionals meet physically, collaboration is often successful indeed. While investigating these failures, I found out that the problems encountered are not particular to our network. In fact, similar breakdowns are reported in a wide body of literature on computer supported cooperative work. In working on this problem, de Moor produced "a theory of legitimate user- driven specification, as well as a supporting method and [software] tool. They should enable members of virtual professional communities to use their potential for collaboration to create network information systems that better meet the communal needs". De Moor wrote his thesis at Tilburg University in The Netherlands, and summaries of it in English and Dutch, as well as information for obtaining English copies of the entire thesis, are available at http://infolab.kub.nl/people/ademoor/phd . ========================================================================== You may redistribute this newsletter for noncommercial purposes. You may also redistribute individual articles in their entirety, provided the NetFuture url and this paragraph are attached. Current and past issues of NetFuture are available on the Web: http://www.oreilly.com/~stevet/netfuture/ ====================================================================== Wendell Piez mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com 17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635 Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631 Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML ====================================================================== From: Jack W. Weaver [mailto:WEAVERJ@winthrop.edu] Subject: Re: 14.0008: Misspellings Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 18 (18) Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2000 10:15 AM To: tarversj Jo, 10 May The Humanist Discussion Group's queries are linguistically interesting. I would suggest that a professional British linguist (e.g., Michael Montgomery) be consulted, despite the fact that the query seems to have originated in London. "Mabe" is simply a word spelled as it sounds, however. I've seen it spelled that way and also "maby," in the mountains of North Carolina. I see it as a semi-literate rendering, more than English as a Second Language, however. Ulster speech might pronounce it that way, too. It would be nice to know the names of the writers, to see if they really are of French derivation. "Understanding your predicament of trust and how difficult it is to explain in good faith to you about your" appears to be an attempt to use quasi-legal language, very likely (again) acquired by ear. "Relized" for 'realized' sounds like Ulster/American, or mountain speech, too. So does 'there (for "their") own business.' Could those Louisianians have originated in Tennessee or Kentucky? Having grown up in the mountains of N.C., I can understand them quite well. But I heard the same sounds in the Ards Peninsula in County Down. A learned Queens University of Belfast geographer pointed out a stone object to me by saying, "See that tare {tower} in the field yonder?" I might as well have been talking to someone in Boone, N.C. As you can see, I can't produce any specific documents. Michael Montgomery might be able to do so. His E-Mail address is "N270053@vm.sc.edu." If you don't know him, mention my name with your query. Best, jack Weaver From: "Wendy Shaw" Subject: Intranets Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 20:20:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 19 (19) Dear Members (I usually lurk on the list), I am coming to the end of a PhD which has been investigating how English academics use the Internet for their research and teaching responsibilities. Wales has been used for methodological reasons. I have two questions that stem from the research. If you can offer help, guidance or confusion, please do so. Question 1 I am currently investigating some Stats that have been passed on to me by an English department in Wales, to see if there are any common threads and conclusions that can be drawn from the findings. It is also anticipated that these findings might decide which direction the web pages should head. Are they an advantage in the marketing of a department for open days and influencing newcomers for the next academic year. The Stats have been collected over a three month period. Has anyone else carried out similar work, or does anyone know of any published work in this area? Question 2 The findings will be reported back to the department in question before the end of the academic year. It is a possibility that an intranet might be set up to help coordinate departmental information. Once again, can anyone recommend references, or published work along these lines? With many thanks in anticipation, Please send replies to the list for greater interest and discussion, Wendy Shaw -- Wendy Shaw, BSc Econ wws94@aber.ac.uk Dept of Information & Library Studies University of Wales, Llanbadarn Campus, Aberystwyth, Wales. SY23 3AS http://users.aber.ac.uk/wws94 By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. Quotation and Originality. Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882 From: "Claire Warwick" Subject: Do we need a European Society for Information Research? Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 20:21:45 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 20 (20) I am forwarding this message on behalf of Tom Wilson, who is a colleague of mine at Sheffield, in the hope that this may be of interest to at least some humanists. Please respond to him at t.d.wilson@sheffield.ac.uk ________________________________- Dear Colleague, Last year I sent out a message to research colleagues in Europe about the lack of a European organization with a focus on research in the "information" field, following a conversation I had with Lars Hglund of the University of Gothenberg and the Swedish School of Librarianship. I had very positive response, but have only just got round to mailing UK colleagues. Why would we want a European Society for Information Research? True, both IFLA and FID have their HQs in Europe but they are a) global bodies and b) more concerned with practice and practitioners. There is also a European Chapter of ASIS, the activities of which I am personally unaware, not being an ASIS member. I believe, however, that we need a 'home grown' organization rather than an offshoot of a foreign body. The kind of organization in which I am interested would have more in common with bodies such as the European Society for Communication Research and the European Society for Information Systems - bodies with a largely academic membership and a focus on research. Curiously, over the past 20 years or so, the germ of such an organization has existed in the shape of various groups of people (many of them the recipients of my earlier message) who have organized specialist conferences in the field, beginning with the first IRFIS conference in (I think) 1978, followed by the CoLIS series and, most recently, the ISIC series. With a slightly different agenda there is also the British-Nordic Conference on Library and Information Studies. It seems, therefore, that the information research community in Europe is continually seeking a framework within which to present and debate research issues. My concerns in this area were sharpened as a result of organizing the ISIC2 conference in Sheffield, and I came to the conclusion that we need at least to discuss the possibility of establishing a "European Society for Information Research". I am not in a position to formulate a full constitution and set of objectives for the proposed Society, let alone work out a business plan, but I would see one of its main aims as being to put the organization of the ISIC series on a sound footing and to keep them in Europe. This last point may seem odd, but I have two main reasons for suggesting it: a) we need to ensure a strong research community in Europe, which incorporates colleagues from Central and Eastern Europe, who find it difficult enough to get resources to travel within Europe, and virtually impossible to travel outside; and b) losing control of location will almost certainly lead to the demise of the series. Colleagues who organize CoLIS, might also be interested in the Society's umbrella. I do not envisage that the independent identity of the two conferences I have mentioned should be lost, since I know and value meetings with a strong focus. However, I believe that we would have a lot to gain from operating under the aegis of a single organization. I believe that we could also gain from associating the Society's conferences with other organizations; for example, by running them in association with, e.g., SIG/IR when it is held in Europe and perhaps with ESIS and ESCR, if appropriate - this would encourage interaction with related fields and could lead to further collaboration in research at a personal or organizational level. At this point, I have no specific proposals other than to ask i) for your response to this idea; and 2) whether you would be interested to meet to discuss the idea. In this latter respect, I shall be at the ISIC 2000 conference in Gothenberg in August and perhaps those who are attending and interested, could join me in a meeting with other European colleagues. I would represent the views of those who write to me, or those views could be passed on to other colleagues attending ISIC 2000. Please circulate this to other active researchers in the field in your organization, who do not appear on the mailing list below, and, indeed, to those in other departments who are doing research in related fields, and others whose research may be of interest to us. With kind regards, Tom Wilson ************************************ Dr Claire Warwick Lecturer, Department of Information Studies University of Sheffield Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, 0114 222 2632 c.warwick@sheffield.ac.uk ************************************ From: Skip Warnick Subject: Electronic Text and Imaging Center Coordinator Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 21 (21) University of Maryland Libraries AS-5881 / Exempt Staff Position Vacancy Search Extended TITLE: Manager, Electronic Text and Imaging Center LOCATION: Information Technology Division and Public Services Division CATEGORY:Exempt Staff, Full-Time (12 Month Appointment) SALARY:Commensurate with qualifications and experience RESPONSIBILITIES: Reporting to the Head of Digital Library Operations, the incumbent will be responsible for daily operations of the ETIC, a new service unit at the University of Maryland Libraries. The initial focus of the ETIC is to support the humanities, and it is closely aligned with the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) which is housed adjacent to the ETIC. Long-range plans are to expand activities into other disciplinary areas. The Center assists faculty and students in identifying, accessing, creating, and using scholarly electronic texts and images. The ETIC Manager will serve as the primary resource person in all phases of this service, from working with users to conceptualize options to assisting in the design of curricular and research projects using specific texts and tools; identifies, evaluates, and acquires appropriate electronic texts and images for research and instruction in collaboration with subject librarians; keeps informed of new trends and standards for digital projects; supervises a graduate assistant and undergraduate students who will provide technical support and public service assistance; collaborates with the Director and staff of MITH on research and instruction projects; provides individual and group instruction on electronic text and image content, use, and production; participates on the Libraries' Collection Management and Resource Allocation Committee as requested. QUALIFICATIONS: Required: ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library and Information Science or a Master's degree in the Humanities; at least two years experience in one or more of the following areas: authoring languages, instructional design, web development, database management, and multimedia. Experience with HTML, SGML, XML. Demonstrated ability to work with a variety of hardware and software utilized in electronic text and imaging work (e.g., scanning, text analysis software). Must be able to work effectively with technical and non-technical users. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Supervisory experience. Familiarity with electronic text and imaging content. Reading knowledge of one or more foreign languages preferred. BENEFITS: 22 days annual leave and 3 personal days; 14 paid holidays; 15 days sick leave. Employer contributes to health insurance and retirement (State pension or TIAA-CREF), tuition remission. APPLICATIONS: For full consideration, submit a cover letter and a resume and names/addresses of three references by June 16, 2000. Applications accepted until the position is filled. Send resume to: Ray Foster, Library Personnel Services, Room #4105, McKeldin Library, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011. You may also fax your resume: (301) 314-9960. Libraries Web Address: http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. -------------------------------------- Skip Warnick, Webmaster University of Maryland Libraries skip@itd.umd.edu 301-314-6767 From: Fay Sudweeks Subject: Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 22 (22) Conference REGISTER NOW .... Register for CATaC'00 by 9 June 2000 to take advantage of the discount registration fees! ------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PARTICIPATION International Conference on CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'00): Cultural Collisions and Creative Interferences in the Global Village 12-15 July 2000, Fremantle, Australia http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/ http://www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/catac00 Computer-mediated communication networks, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, promise to realise the utopian vision of an electronic global village. But efforts to diffuse CMC technologies globally, especially in Asia and among indigenous peoples in Africa, Australia and the United States, have demonstrated that CMC technologies are neither culturally neutral nor communicatively transparent. Rather, diverse cultural attitudes towards technology and communication - those embedded in current CMC technologies, and those shaping the beliefs and behaviours of potential users - often collide. This biennial conference series aims to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge research on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies. The conference series provides diverse perspectives, both in terms of cultures and disciplines. The first conference in the series was held in London in 1998 (see http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac98/ for copies of the papers presented). VENUE The venue is the Tradewinds Hotel in Fremantle, Western Australia. Fremantle, approximately 20 km west of Perth, is a major tourist attraction offering fine crafts, original music and theatre, exciting galleries, museums and bookshops. Along with maritime history and extensive architectural conservation, the Arts have become a central part of Fremantle life where visitors discover the past and present. Western Australia is reknowned for its superior wines, particularly from the Margaret River and Swan Vally wine growing areas. Registrants will have the opportunity of joining a pre-conference tour of Perth and environs, and a post-conference safari to Nambung National Park. PROGRAM The focus of the conference is on discussion of the issues raised in presentations by a variety of scholars representing Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Spain, UK, USA and Venezuela (see http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/list_of_papers.html). RECEPTION AND CONFERENCE DINNER The reception will be held at the Kidogo Gallery in Fremantle and will feature a didgeridoo player. The conference dinner will be held at Sandalford Winery in the Swan Valley. KEYNOTE SPEAKER The keynote speaker is Dr Duane Varan, Director of the Multimedia Lab at Murdoch University. The title of Dr Varan's keynote speech is "Cultural Conservation in the Global Village". REGISTRATION FEES (Prices in AUD which is approximately USD0.59 to AUD1.00) Conference Fee: $325 ($375 after 9 June) Author Fee: $275 ($325 after 9 June) Student Fee: $125 ($150 after 9 June) Register at http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/register-form.html ACCOMMODATION There is a range of accommodation available, including the conference hotel (Tradewinds Hotel). Accommodation details and a booking request form are at http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/accommodation.html ----------------------- CONFERENCE ORGANISERS Co-Chairs: Charles Ess, Drury College, USA, catac@lib.drury.edu Fay Sudweeks, Murdoch University, Australia, catac@it.murdoch.edu.au Vice-Chair: Andrew Turk, Murdoch University, Australia, a_turk@murdoch.edu.au Manager: Moira Dawe, Murdoch University, m.dawe@murdoch.edu.au From: "Fiona J. Tweedie" Subject: Stats workshop at Glasgow 18-21/7 Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 06:28:32 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 23 (23) THIRD WORKSHOP IN COMPUTATIONALLY-INTENSIVE METHODS IN QUANTITATIVE LINGUISTICS AN INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS IN LINGUISTICS Department of Statistics University of Glasgow, UK 18-21 July 2000 Call for Registration In recent years techniques from disciplines such as computer science, artificial intelligence and statistics have found their way into the pages of journals such as the Journal of Quantitative Linguistics, Literary and Linguistic Computing and Computers and the Humanities. The two previous CIMQL workshops have had invited speakers presenting their own work in these areas, but in response to participant demand, the third CIMQL workshop will be devoted to introductory methods in Statistics. The workshop is designed to introduce the participants to statistical techniques in a practical environment. Time will be spent in traditional lectures as well as working with statistical software on examples taken from linguistics and literature. The presenters, Fiona Tweedie and Lisa Lena Opas-Hanninen, have experience of teaching this material to a wide variety of students from European countries. Their aim in this workshop is to enable the participants to return to their home institutions able to carry out these techniques in the course of their own research. Topics covered will include: * Introduction; Basic approaches and vocabulary, * Summary statistics and displaying data, * Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; differences in means and proportions, * Tests of Association - Chi-square test, correlation * Linear Regression; One-way Analysis of Variance. The workshop will be held in the Boyd-Orr building of the University of Glasgow, commencing on Tuesday 18 July at 1pm. The workshop sessions will take place on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday 19 July, Thursday 20 July and the morning of Friday 21 July. There will also be a half day tour on the Friday afternoon and a reception in the Hunterian Art Gallery on Tuesday evening. Accommodation has been arranged in university accommodation. The reception, tea and coffee, lunches on 19, 20 and 21 July and evening meals on 18, 19 and 20 July are included in the registration fee. The registration fee, until 31 May, is GBP200.00 and GBP150.00 for students. Participants who are also attending the ALLC/ACH Conference, 21-25 July are eligible for a discount in the ALLC/ACH registration fees. For more information about the workshop and to register, please consult the web site at http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/~cimql, or send email to the conference organisers at cimql@stats.gla.ac.uk. From: Alan Burk Subject: Announcement - Summer Institute 2000 - Creating Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 06:30:29 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 24 (24) Electronic Texts and Images ******************************************************************* Announcing the Fourth Summer Institute at the University of New Brunswick / Fredericton / New Brunswick / Canada http://www.hil.unb.ca/Texts/SGML_course/Aug2000/ ************************************************************* Creating Electronic Texts and Images -- a practical "hands-on" exploration of the research, preservation and pedagogical uses of electronic texts and images in the humanities. DATES: August 20 - 25, 2000 INSTRUCTOR: David Seaman, University of Virginia PLACE: University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada Sponsored by the Electronic Text Centre at the University of New Brunswick Libraries and the Department of Archives and Special Collections COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will centre around the creation of a set of electronic texts and digital images. Topics to be covered include: SGML tagging and conversion Using the Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines The basics of archival imaging The form and implications of XML Publishing SGML on the World Wide Web EAD - Encoded Archival Descriptions The course is designed primarily for librarians and archivists who are planning to develop electronic text and imaging projects, for scholars who are creating electronic texts as part of their teaching and research, and for publishers who are looking to move publications to the Web. Course participants will create an electronic version of a selection of Canadian literary letters from the University of New Brunswick's Archives and Special Collections. They will also encode the letters with TEI/SGML tagging, tag an EAD finding aid and explore issues in creating digital images. [material deleted] From: Alan Burk, Associate Director of Libraries and Director of the Electronic Text Centre Phone: 506-453-4740 Fax: 506-453-4595 http://www.hil.unb.ca/Texts/ From: Philosophy Programme Subject: [At University of London] The Philosophy of Heidegger & Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 06:33:15 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 25 (25) University of London School of Advanced Study Philosophy Programme presents a One-day Conference THE PHILOSOPHY OF HEIDEGGER ___________________________ 10.30 a.m. 6.45 p.m, Friday 2 June 2000 Room 329/330, Senate House, London WC1 10.30 Coffee & Registration 11.00 Hubert Dreyfus (University of California, Berkeley) Could Anything be more Intelligible than Everyday Intelligibility?: Reinterpreting Division I of _Being and Time_ in the light of Division II 12.30 Lunch (own arrangements) 1.30 Sean Kelly (Princeton University) The Normative Status of Social Norms: Heidegger's Account of the Role of Das Man 3.00 Tea 3.30 Beatrice Han (University of Essex) Foucault and Heidegger on Kant and Finitude 5.00 Short break 5.15 Stephen Mulhall (New College Oxford) The Yearning Expectation of Creatures: Heidegger's Theologically Aversive Concept of Human Animality 6.45 Close ______________________________________________________________________ [material deleted] Philosophy Programme Senate House Malet Street London WC1E 7HU <http://www.sas.ac.uk/Philosophy> ---- From: Patricia Galloway Subject: Re: 14.0013 electronic publishing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 26 (26) Gosh, after reading all that farrago about information wanting to be free, I have to wonder if anyone has ever read Bordieu's Homo Academicus... -- Patricia Galloway Director, Information Systems Mississippi Department of Archives and History P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571 voice 601-359-6863 From: Willard McCarty Subject: the ABCs, simple answers, home truths Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 27 (27) Dear Colleagues, As we seem rapidly to be pulling away from the necessity of instilling skills and to be reaching a high-ground of more interesting research questions of our own, what is happening to our introductory courses, lectures, workshops and the like? I raise the question primarily because when I think about my early experiences in university I recall having a particular kind of knowledge-hunger, the satisfactions of which remain vivid in memory as formative points of my intellectual life. I would hope we all have such anecdotes as I could recall at length, for example of the showman-professor of chemistry who charmed all 500 of us into a desire to study his subject, in effect by demonstrating his excitement and love of it. Perhaps I am just an incurable romantic, but attempting for the moment to be as sober as possible ("damn braces, bless relaxes"), I still think that no utilitarian lecture on the usefulness of chemistry in modern life and how it increased one's chances for a job would have worked even remotely as well as the professor's demonstrations of intelligent love. And I hope very much this is the general case now, that underneath the worries about jobs, investment profiles and retirement plans that knowledge-hunger still gnaws as strongly as ever. Let us say (cheer me and yourself up, please!) that our students and colleagues are still thus ravenous. The question, somewhat refined, is: how do we computing humanists appeal to their knowledge-hunger? What do we teach, how do we teach it, in order to demonstrate in plain terms what humanities computing is all about? I think it's rather easier to reach the specialist than the beginner. As a teacher of mine once said, "In the mind of the beginner there are many possibilities, in the mind of the expert there are few." The intelligent, curious beginner wants to know the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the disciplinary promised land one is travelling toward, has to be convinced that life there will be worth all that it takes to reach it. (As in the biblical original, it's difficult to keep the faith between original vision and arrival.) The specialist, who is already committed to the game, will not tend to ask the really hard questions. Of course the beginner and the expert are not necessarily different people. I'm also asking about how to reach the beginner in the expert. A related problem is how to explain what we do to those who are not our students -- the neighbour, local baker et al. pose this problem in an even more difficult form than the funding-body officer or dean. As background allow me to observe the general loss of superstitious reverence for higher education in the last 2-3 generations. Be that as it may, however, let's keep away from o-tempora-o-mores whingeing and get to what centrally we say, in plain language, humanities computing is for. And by "plain language" I mean not just simple English or whatever, but language devoid of promotionalism and dodgy appeals to the future. What have we got to offer right now, with the tools we have in hand, to the ordinary curious person? Comments? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Willard McCarty Subject: reading vs clicking vs life Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 28 (28) A newspaper story from the Independent, for 18 May 2000. According to a survey conducted by Book Marketing Ltd <http://users.londonweb.net/bookmark/> for the U.K. Arts Council-funded agency The Reading Partnership, the biggest threat to book-reading in this country is not the Web but the decreasing amount of leisure time. The survey found that book-reading in the U.K. is still in a very healthy state: on average, adults read books for 5 hours/week, and 15% for at least 11 hrs/wk. Furthermore, fear that children are growing up more interested in (newer) technology than books seems to be unfounded. Children read on average 4 hours/week. After the age of 11 or 12, however, enthusiasm for reading apparently tails off, esp. in boys, so that by the time they leave school many are not reading for pleasure at all. Two anecdotes, with commentary. (1) Last night at the house of friends I spent about a half hour reading Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr Todd to their 4 year-old, who is a *very* active and technologically engaged child. (In case you who have not read the story recently, or at all, you should know that it's not an easy listen for a child of that age.) He sat in rapt attention the whole time. When I think about the kind and depth of imaginative engagement offered by the story as opposed to the gizmos he has to play with, why of course there's no contest. What about when there is a real contest, as surely there will be? (2) A few evenings earlier I went out to dinner with a friend who works for an information-management company whose employees as a matter of course are on the job 14 hrs/day. As we were sitting at table drinking our pints (at about 8 p.m.), her cellular phone went off and a 15-minute conversation about a problem at work ensued. It's not as if she or the company for which she works has a choice in the matter if that kind of employment is to be maintained, nor can any clear distinction be drawn between her non-academic job and many if not most jobs within the academy nowadays. What's wrong with this picture? There's the obvious conclusion to be drawn -- that the technology really isn't the issue, rather what we're doing with it. Then there's the cogent objection that the technology embodies tendencies for change that act on us, as owning a gun tends to result in its use. But more importantly, perhaps, is the recognition of what we have to work with, our lives as we find them, in the places where we have washed up, and so the question, what do we want, how do we use our gizmos to realise that? Comments? WM From: Willard McCarty Subject: Essex conference on Blake Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 05:55:06 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 29 (29) University of Essex Millennium Conference 24-26 August 2000 Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex UK Friendly Enemies: Blake and the Enlightenment Modernity, romanticism and the millennium: an international interdisciplinary conference <http://www.essex.ac.uk/literature/friendlyenemies.htm> Jon Mee, on Enthusiasm Anne Mellor, on Women and Apocalypse J. Hillis Miller, on Digital Blake Joseph Viscomi, on Illuminated Books and New Technologies 100 for one day, 300 for three days (students and the unwaged, 100 for three days) For further details, please contact: Noreen Harburt Centre for Theoretical Studies University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester Essex CO4 3SQ United Kingdom Telephone: 01206 872178 Fax: 01206 873598 Email: jorde@essex.ac.uk - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Barry Dank Subject: CFP: Sexuality & Culture Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 05:58:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 30 (30) CALL FOR PAPERS *Sexuality & Culture* is a quarterly interdisciplinary journal published by Transaction Publishers at Rutgers University. For its fifth year of publication (2001), the journal welcomes the submission of original manuscripts dealing with issues of sexuality and culture and invites contributions to two special issues on 1) sexual harassment and sexual consent in both academic and non-academic workplaces and on 2) gender equity and discrimination relating to sexual issues. Book reviews in the same areas and book suggestions and self-referrals are also welcome. For information about the journal, visit its web site at www.csulb.edu/~asc/journal.html. Manuscripts should be double spaced and should include a summary of approximately 200 words. Citations should be in the author-year format (e.g.: Smith, 1998). Four copies of the manuscript should be submitted to the Managing Editor: Dr. Roberto Refinetti, Sexuality & Culture, University of South Carolina, Walterboro, SC 29488 (e-mail: refinetti@sc.edu). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Barry M. Dank, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief, SEXUALITY & CULTURE; www.csulb.edu/~asc/journal.html President, FASE; www.faseweb.org; fase@mail.com Founder and Manager, asc-l@egroups.com; www.egroups.com/group/asc-l/ Professor of Sociology, California State U., Long Beach, CA 90840 Voice Mail: 562-985-4236 Fax: 603-649-5925 From: Peter Gilbert Subject: Job announcement Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 31 (31) Humanities Instructional Technologist Lawrence University has an immediate opening for an instructional technologist in the humanities. Responsibilities will include teaching 2-3 courses per year in a humanities discipline, facilitating the introduction of computing technology and multimedia into the humanities and foreign language curriculum, and assisting humanities and language faculty in the use of a broad range of hardware and software. Lawrence University is in the process of establishing a 20-station, computerized, multi-media lab to support instruction in foreign languages and the humanities. The person hired into this position will manage the Humanities computing facility (including hiring, training, and supervising student workers); act as liaison to faculty in humanities and language departments to gather information about instructional needs, and design, document, and lead workshops for faculty and students. Required qualifications: M.A. in a humanities discipline, classroom teaching experience, knowledge of instructional design in a higher education setting, including web development, authoring systems, digital audio/video, and graphics, excellent communication and interpersonal skills; proficiency in both PC and Mac platforms and programs relevant to the humanities. Preferred qualifications include Ph.D. degree, familiarity with instructional materials appropriate to humanities instruction, knowledge of a foreign language or expertise in foreign language teaching, and familiarity with state-of-the-art audio, video, and computing technologies in classroom instruction. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. To apply: Send cover letter, a vita, a brief statement of teaching philosophy addressing the significance of technology, and three letters of recommendation to: Peter Gilbert Director of Instructional Technology Lawrence University Appleton, WI 54911 Deadline for applications is June 15, 2000. EOE For more information about Lawrence, please see http://www.lawrence.edu From: "Jennifer de Beer" Subject: Re: 14.0021 electronic publishing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 32 (32) Colleagues, An article in the May 00 issue of D-Lib magazine seems to address the question of who will pay for free information. HAve not read it yet, so cannot comment. The URL is http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may00/kaser/05kaser.html Also, there are a number of mirror sites View http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may00/05contents.html for the URLs of the latter. Best, ======== Jennifer de Beer Cape Library Cooperative (CALICO) & INFOLIT c/o the Adamastor Trust Cape Town, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)21 686-5070 Fax: +27 (0)21 689-7465 E-mail: jennifer@adamastor.ac.za Regional Research Update: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/rru/index.htm CALICO: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Calico/portal.htm INFOLIT: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Infolit/default.htm POINT TO PONDER: Complex machines are an emergent life form The Post-Human Manifesto 8.13 From: "Fay Sudweeks" Subject: CATAC'00 Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 33 (33) Hi all Here's the latest update on CATAC'00. Hope to see you in Perth in July. Fay ----------------------- REGISTER NOW .... Register for CATaC'00 by 9 June 2000 to take advantage of the discount registration fees! ------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PARTICIPATION International Conference on CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION (CATaC'00): Cultural Collisions and Creative Interferences in the Global Village 12-15 July 2000, Fremantle, Australia http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/ http://www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/catac00 Computer-mediated communication networks, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, promise to realise the utopian vision of an electronic global village. But efforts to diffuse CMC technologies globally, especially in Asia and among indigenous peoples in Africa, Australia and the United States, have demonstrated that CMC technologies are neither culturally neutral nor communicatively transparent. Rather, diverse cultural attitudes towards technology and communication - those embedded in current CMC technologies, and those shaping the beliefs and behaviours of potential users - often collide. This biennial conference series aims to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge research on how diverse cultural attitudes shape the implementation and use of information and communication technologies. The conference series provides diverse perspectives, both in terms of cultures and disciplines. The first conference in the series was held in London in 1998 (see http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac98/ for copies of the papers presented). [material deleted] PROGRAM The focus of the conference is on discussion of the issues raised in presentations by a variety of scholars representing Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Spain, UK, USA and Venezuela (see http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/list_of_papers.html). [material deleted] ----------------------- Fay Sudweeks Senior Lecturer in Information Systems School of Information Technology Murdoch University WA 6150 Australia +61-8-9360-2364 (o) +61-8-9360-2941 (f) sudweeks@murdoch.edu.au www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks From: Paul Brians Subject: Data mining by textbook publishers Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 34 (34) Because I've done published some of my translations on the Web, from time to time I'm contacted by textbook publishers wanting to reprint them in readers. So far, in every case, they've offered no money, though they quickly acceded when I asked a modest fee. And in every case the contract they sent me had no mention of the fee on it. A follow-up call usually results in my being told to just write the fee in. Now why would one design a contract omitting any mention of payment unless one were hoping to trick the unwary into signing automatically and forfeiting payment? Has anyone else encountered this sort of attempt at piratical data mining on the Web? Then there are the companies that want to sell you public-domain texts at low, low prices when they're readily available free on the Web. Professors are viewed by some of these publishers as unintelligent cash cows, ready for milking. -- Paul Brians, Department of English Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-5020 brians@wsu.edu http://www.wsu.edu/~brians From: "Price, Dan" Subject: RE: 14.0022 the ABCs, simple answers, home truths--an Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 05:44:50 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 35 (35) observation or two Willard, Yes, I think that today's students are still knowledge-hungry, at least that many of them are and some of them really stand out in this regard. And it is all too easy to repeat favorite anecdotes in the opposite direction from experiences with both students and colleagues. (The freshmen who could not tell me what tell what country bordered the United States to our north, for instance.) One caution I have, though, is in the phrase of "the beginner and the expert." Many of us teachers on this ListServ, I think, are working with freshmen and sophomore level courses (though the students in actual age may be adults). Many of the students that we have in our classes are beginners and have not inetnion or reall possiblity of becoing an expert. From your brief description, such was your own experience in the chemistry course. The trick, I think, is to captivate and fascinate those who are one-timers in our courses or our chosen discipline to see some of the possibilities and, after the given course, to keep on asking some questions that we have raised for them in the given introductory course. --dan Sincerely, Dan Price, Ph.D. Professor, Center for Distance Learning *********************************************************** The Union Institute (800) 486 3116 ext.222 440 E McMillan St. (513) 861 6400 ext.222 Cincinnati OH 45206 FAX 513 861 9026 <http://www.tui.edu/Faculty/FacultyUndergrad/PriceDan.html>http://www.tui.ed u/Faculty/FacultyUndergrad/PriceDan.html *********************************************************** From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0023 reading vs clicking vs life Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 05:49:01 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 36 (36) ) To: Humanist Discussion Group Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 10:41 PM [deleted quotation] listen [deleted quotation] be? [deleted quotation] for [deleted quotation] are [deleted quotation] which [deleted quotation] non-academic [deleted quotation] more [deleted quotation] From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: US/UK Conference: "BRINGING COHERENCE TO NETWORKED Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 37 (37) INFORMATION FOR THE NEW CENTURY" NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community May 19, 2000 Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) & Coalition for Networked Information "BRINGING COHERENCE TO NETWORKED INFORMATION FOR THE NEW CENTURY" June 14-16, 2000: Stratford-Upon-Avon, England <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/jisc-cni-2000/>http://www.u <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/jisc-cni-2000/>http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/ jisc-cni-2000/ Registration still open! [deleted quotation] JISC and CNI International Conference: BRINGING COHERENCE TO NETWORKED INFORMATION FOR THE NEW CENTURY Stratford upon Avon June 14-16, 2000 We are pleased to announce that the U.K. Joint Information Systems Committee and the Coalition for Networked Information are hosting a major international conference at the Moat House Hotel, Stratford upon Avon on June 14-16, 2000. The conference will bring together experts from both the United States and the United Kingdom with keynote addresses from speakers from the National Science Foundation, the British Library, CNI and the JISC. Lynne Brindley, incoming Chief Executive of the British Library, will provide one of the keynotes. Parallel sessions will explore and contrast major developments that are happening on both sides of the Atlantic in fields such as intellectual property rights, digital preservation, middleware, access to digital resources and virtual universities. It should be of interest to all senior management in information services in the education community, and those responsible for delivering digital services and resources for learning, teaching and research. The conference will follow immediately after a NSF/JISC Workshop on the NSF Digital Libraries Initiative, being held at the same venue. The conference will run from Wednesday 14th June until Friday 16th June. An on-line registration form can be found at <<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/jisc-cni-2000/>http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events /jisc-cni-2000/>. There is a link to this site from CNIs homepage at <<http://www.cni.org/>http://www.cni.org/>. The cost is 325 pounds per person for delegates registering before 30th April 2000, and 375 pounds after this date. The cost includes all conference accommodation, meals and materials. Early booking is advised. ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Josef Wallmannsberger Subject: Job: Linguistics at Kassel University Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 38 (38) Job: Graduate Assistant (Wiss. Mitarbeiter) in Linguistics, University of Kassel The English Department (Fachbereich 08: Anglistik) at the University of Kassel has a vacancy for a Graduate Assistant (Wissenschaftliche MitarbeiterIn, pay scale BAT-IIa, half time: very roughly DM 1800 a month after tax (for a single person with no dependents, paid 13 times a year)) in Linguistics. The successful candidate will be a recent graduate in Languages, Linguistics or a related field (Media Studies, Cognitive Science, Communications, Computer Science) relevant for graduate studies in the English Language Ph.D. Programme at Kassel University. A background in CMC (computer-mediated communication), electronic corpus linguistics or media studies would be welcome; experience in designing WWW-applications a distinct advantage. There may be extra funding available for a candidate qualified to also function as the department's IT-manager. The contract will be for a period of five years and candidates are expected to have finished graduate school by the end of this period. Closing date for applications will be June 1, 2000. Enquiries and applications to: Prof. Dr. Joseph Wallmannsberger Professor of Linguistics Fachbereich 08 - Anglistik Universitt Kassel Georg-Forster-Strasse 3 D-34127 Kassel GERMANY E-mail: wallmann@hrz.uni-kassel.de Prof. Dr. Joseph Wallmannsberger wallmann@hrz.uni-kassel.de Professor of Linguistics Fachbereich 08 - Anglistik University of Kassel Georg-Forster-Strasse 3 D-34127 Kassel - Germany From: Han Baltussen Subject: Re: 14.0028 data-mining by textbook publishers Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 39 (39) I have had no experience but it is perhaps of interest to note that a new company to start end of july (swotbook.com) is about to start using electronic business for textbook distribution (source: last week's THES, UK) HB [deleted quotation] -------------------------------------------------- Dr Han Baltussen Research Fellow & Assistant Editor to the Ancient Commentators Project Dept. of Philosophy Kings College London Strand London WC2R 2LS tel. (0)20-7848-2528 fax. (0)20-7848-2317 -------------------------------------------------- [deleted quotation] Any queries on Project matters on those particular days can be directed to Eleni Vambouli (eleni.vambouli@kcl.ac.uk) or Eleni Volonaki (eleni.volonaki@kcl.ac.uk) From: "Jennifer de Beer" Subject: Re: Down with Conferences Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 05:05:10 -0400 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 40 (40) To: Multiple recipients of list Alan, I've been in a similar quandary. I self-funded my attendance of a conference last year and have thought that instead of planning an annual holiday, I should plan (and pay for) an annual-conference- attendance-with-a-holiday-on-the-side . Fortunately I've been able to obtain sponsorship thusfar, but generally am of the opinion that one is 'on your own' in this regard.Yes, generally those in academia are supported here in South Africa, but I am aware of institutions that do not sponsor attendance by certain (what are deemed to be administrative) departments, of conferences outside of SA There are funds available at a national level, but I am not sure what level of access those outside of academia e.g. freelancers would have. What's strking about all of this is how all-too-similar the situation is to scholarly publishing, and of how conference registration is akin to paying page fees. Well well well, it would seem we're being screwed twice over. The antiquated practice of scholarly publishing and conference attending is yet to be brought into the 21stC. Granted, there are (and have been) moves afoot w.r.t. the former, but I doubt many have thought of the latter. Best, Jennifer On 22 May 00 at 2:59, Sue Thomas wrote: [deleted quotation] ======== Jennifer de Beer Cape Library Cooperative (CALICO) & INFOLIT c/o the Adamastor Trust Cape Town, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)21 686-5070 Fax: +27 (0)21 689-7465 E-mail: jennifer@adamastor.ac.za Regional Research Update: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/rru/index.htm CALICO: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Calico/portal.htm INFOLIT: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Infolit/default.htm POINT TO PONDER: Complex machines are an emergent life form The Post-Human Manifesto 8.13 From: Willard McCarty Subject: online recitations? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 41 (41) Perhaps it's idiosyncratic of me to think that I do not understand a poem unless I can read it outloud, perform it, well. In any case my practice of sharing the poetry I especially like by performing it, and experience teaching literature to those who have not had much or any experience reading it, leads me to wonder if anyone is exploiting the capabilities of the Web to publish readings -- for instructional or other purposes. What if, I wonder, students could supplement their poetry-reading assignments by a RealAudio, Shockwave or some other performance? Furthermore, I wonder if groups of new poets are making their work known in this way? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "Gary W. Shawver" Subject: Re: 14.0013 electronic publishing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 42 (42) Willard, et al. Harnad's positions seems well articulated to me. The article in D-Lib mentioned by Jennifer de Beer provides a point of view that is complimentary to his. Richard Kaser writes that we do pay for "free" information and points out that this is not a new idea. It is, in fact, an illusion fostered by some of the very institutions objecting to the assertion that "information wants to be free." Paul Brains's report of data-mining by textbook publishers illustrates both the irresistible allure of free information to for-profit information producers and the point implicit in Kaser's article that publishers simultaneously object to and rely upon the illusion of free information. I'm curious, are there any objections other than those raised by "ah" in the exchange with Harnad to providing free access to scholarly electronic journals? gary From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 12.0366 argumenta ad risum Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 43 (43) To: Humanist Discussion Group Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 4:01 PM [deleted quotation] to x, [deleted quotation] From: Alan Sondheim Subject: Re: 14.0033 down with conferences Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:05:17 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 44 (44) This is oddly out of context; as I said in my original post, I was not speaking about conditions abroad. Too often I've been asked to speak at conferences in the US (or be a panelist, etc.) - and have then been asked to pay conference fees, travel, and accommodation. I am unaffiliated, and simply do not have this kind of money - a position a great many people I know are in. The result is that conferences become a kind of elitist filtering; we have no departments behind us, etc. I should say I am furious about this; it is not enough that we have to think our way - but that we should also pay for the presentation of our thinking. I realize that some conferences are strapped, particularly academic ones, but I strongly believe that FROM THE BEGINNING accommodation has to be made for the poor and/or unaffiliated. Without that, intellectual life in America will continue on its foreclosed managerial and self-congratula- tory path. Alan Sondheim Internet Text at http://www.anu.edu.au/english/internet_txt Partial at http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons/internet_txt.html Trace Projects at http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/writers/sondheim/index.htm From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0033 down with conferences Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:05:51 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 45 (45) Do people actually think that it doesn't cost anything to put on a conference, or that the host University will pay all the costs ? Both notions are wrong. If you don't want to pay the fees, don't go. It's pretty simple. I gather some people feel forced to attend conferences -- I have never been in a school that insists on attendance.. From: Donna Reiss Subject: Re: 14.0035 online recitations? Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:07:45 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 46 (46) You're right, Willard, that experiencing the sound of poetry is important for understanding and appreciating a poem. The Listening Booth at the Academy of American Poets http://www.poets.org/booth/booth.cfm and the Internet Poetry Archive at the University of North Carolina offer readings, many of them by the poets themselves. I use these sites with my literature classes Tidewater Community College and plan to have students upload their own readings to their webfolios, in particular, online literature classes. Donna - Donna Reiss Associate Professor, English-Humanities Tidewater Community College, 1700 College Crescent, Virginia Beach, VA 23456 phone 757-321-7364 fax 757-427-0327 TCC Email http://onlinelearning.tc.cc.va.us/faculty/tcreisd/ From: Roberta Astroff Subject: Re: 14.0035 online recitations? Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:08:42 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 47 (47) Our newly reformulated e-text center is now a center for digital music, images and text. I am preparing a demonstration project, a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca, which will include not only music related to his poetry but also readings of the poem. I will be using the demonstration project to encourage faculty and grad students to incorporate our center in their teaching of literature and languages, and to encourage them to use sound as well as images in text projects. Roberta J. Astroff, Ph.D. Humanities Librarian Coordinator, Digital Resources Center Arts and Humanities Library Penn State University University Park PA 16802 r4a@psulias.psu.edu (814) 865-0660 From: "Tarvers, Josephine K." Subject: RE: 14.0035 online recitations? Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:09:29 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 48 (48) Willard, This practice has been going on for some time among Chaucerians (and I believe among a number of Anglo-Saxonists, though I'm no longer on ANGSAXNET and can't keep you up to date). The Chaucer MetaPage at UNC-Chapel Hill (http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer), Jane Zatta's Chaucer Page at Southern Illinois University (http://www.siue.edu/CHAUCER/) and the Chaucer Studio (http://humanities.byu.edu/chaucer/) at Brigham Young, which sells tapes of many medieval poems and also makes generous web bites available. I agree--hearing the music of a poem is one of the best ways students learn to appreciate it! The Penn Writers' House at the University of Pennsylvania does host occasional webcasts of readings--essentially radio broadcasts over the net--and these are archived so that they can be retrieved. I've also found a few "Town Hall" type recordings of writers like Frost reading their poems, but the quality of these varies widely. A few of my students have referred me to online poetry slams where new poets share their work, but it's usually in a chat room type environment--I can't recall experiencing any audio readings. Maybe as some of the newer voice technology becomes more common, we'll see (and hear) more modern readings. In the meantime, if anyone knows of any other sources for audio feeds of poetry, I'd appreciate hearing about them (perhaps off-list: tarversj@winthrop.edu)and would happily compile them on a handy web page if other members of the list would like to consult them. I have a student working on a small grant this summer to develop such resources. Best, Jo T ------------ Jo Koster Tarvers, Ph.D. Department of English Winthrop University Rock Hill, SC 29733-0001 (803) 323-4557; fax (803) 323-4837 tarversj@winthrop.edu http://faculty.winthrop.edu/tarversj <http://faculty.winthrop.edu/tarversj> "Not the least part of finding the answers is asking the right questions."--St. Augustine From: "Brian A. Bremen" Subject: Re: 14.0035 online recitations? Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:11:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 49 (49) [deleted quotation] (I especially like the way in which he incorporates multiple readings into the structure of the hypertext) A friend of mine also pointed out a site called "poems that go"--more along the lines of what Willard was asking about. At: http://www.poemsthatgo.com/poems.htm Looking forward to any comments that anyone has, Brian A. Bremen Brian A. Bremen, editor William Carlos Williams Review Department of English The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712-1164 bremen@curly.cc.utexas.edu Phone: 512-471-7842 Fax: 512-471-4909 From: Paul Oppenheimer Subject: Re: 14.0035 online recitations? Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 09:11:48 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 50 (50) If so, it is an idiosyncracy I share. I'll keep my ears open for poetry readings on the Web. Paul Oppenheimer On Fri, 26 May 2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] From: John Lavagnino Subject: Humanities computing colloquium at King's College London: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 51 (51) a report On May 13, the Centre for Computing in the Humanities at King's College London held a colloquium entitled Humanities Computing: Formal Methods, Experimental Practice: an occasion to think about the subject's fundamentals once again, and consider how we might best conceptualize the application of computing to the humanities. The colloquium's speakers included a philosopher of science, a sociologist of science, a literary critic, a theoretician and philologist, and a director of a humanities computing research institute; the plan was to consider analogies with scientific practice, and perspectives from the history, sociology, and philosophy of science. These are areas of study that have been very active intellectually in recent years, and they did turn out to offer many valuable ideas. Current work in a number of scientific fields, notably artificial intelligence and evolutionary psychology, purports to overlap with some aspects of the humanities. But scholars in the humanities generally remain unconvinced that these fields offer much of interest to them. It is still the case that the project of artificial intelligence, that of getting computers to exhibit or understand human behaviour, is an extremely difficult one that has not progressed very far. That was one point that Harry Collins, of the University of Cardiff, made in his paper. He borrowed an analogy from Hubert Dreyfus: to say that AI has progressed a long way is like standing on a chair and saying you've made real progress in getting to the moon. Machines have problems above all in dealing with ambiguity, in understanding what words or images mean in the light of their context; ambiguities that we negotiate without effort in daily life remain difficult or impossible for computers to manage, and these are nothing compared to the problems scholars face. Our task, then, is to develop ways to get computers to do useful work for us in the humanities, ways that don't involve teaching them to speak our language. A common and often successful approach has been to subject our primary sources to formalization. A historian understands that elementary facts such as names and dates may be uncertain or speculative to different degrees, depending on the evidence behind them; one major task for a project like the Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire at King's is to create definite and not too misleading versions of such facts that can then be organized and sifted with the computer's aid. Tito Orlandi, of the University of Rome, presented the argument for taking such formalization seriously: for confronting the deep-seated difficulties in moving from the continuous realm of human experience to the digitized world, but also for seeing the process of formalization not just as a practical chore but instead as an opportunity to think through the foundations of our subjects. The proposal met with, and clearly will generally meet with, a very mixed reaction: although there is formalization in every humanities field to some extent, and was even before the days of computing, it is often distant from urgent concerns; what is foundational needs to be consensual, but disagreements matter more than consensus in many circles. Even given the assumption that, in a humanities-computing project, the goal of formalization is to create something that makes certain practical operations possible, and not to capture the fullness of anyone's understanding of the objects under study, there is often discomfort with the process and difficulty in finding any level of agreement. Jerome McGann, of the University of Virginia, proposed a concentration instead on the failures of computing, on the distortions they inevitably introduce into texts and images, as a defamiliarizing technique to heighten our attention---rather on the model of exercises that are common in writing or acting workshops. Such approaches may prove to be the principal application of computing for interpretative work focused on small numbers of images or texts: where the power of computing to marshal large amounts of information is not really required, methods which change the individual interpreter's perceptions become most significant, and the restrictions that formalization entails seem less acceptable. Hasok Chang of University College London spoke on approaches to understanding scientific experiments, and this was highly relevant to reflection on the range of methods being set out, from formalization to distortion. An experiment can be seen as a test or as a tentative effort---or as many other things; and experimentation can become an activity of its own, pursued by a community separate from that of theoretical scientists, though of course related. Experiments may seek to collect data on phenomena in nature, but they also may work to varying extents to make phenomena happen in order to be studied. And alongside the theoretical and experimental communities there is also the community of instrument-makers, who themselves have practices and interests not fully apprehended by others in the same scientific field; this practice of instrument-making may offer the best analogy for what computing humanists do, and certainly a novel one in fields that often barely conceive of themselves as using instruments or equipment of any kind. John Unsworth, of the University of Virginia, took a broader view of the whole activity of the humanities, in an attempt to isolate basic operations that most of us do. More than any of the other papers, his put the focus on collaborative work and not just modelling or analysis. The World Wide Web, for all its many shortcomings, has proven a powerful tool for scholars, and what we ought to do is try to develop further its potential for communication and collaboration. The colloquium's web page, with links to further resources on the subject, will remain available, at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/seminar/99-00/seminar_hc.html>. From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0039 report on Colloquium at King's College London Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 52 (52) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Sat. May 27, 2000, 7:15AM Dear Colleagues: John Lavagnino's report and summary are very important. I have found that when I translate advanced mathematical and physical concepts into an approximation to ordinary English, I developed new inspirations, new insights, and even new theories on both quantitative and verbal levels. Many others have had similar experiences, and the often neglected field of popular science books written by prominent or not so prominent scientists (and also by non-Mainstream scientists - see for example Isaac Asimov's works and his history of being dropped by his department for spending too much time on non-mainstream work) is an example. I may be accused of having Socrates on the brain, but it seems to me that this is in essence what Socrates was doing in his own fields. The only difficulty that I foresee is a human one: if we really boil things down to their foundations and meanings, we may find that a lot of them are rubbish and that the Mainstream with its Peer Reviewers is largely unsatisfactory. I might as well offer a tentative solution: a Society for Non-Mainstream Theory and Practice. If I may put a slightly humorous note on this, one requirement for a submitting paper might be that it has been submitted to a Mainstream Standard Peer Review journal and rejected, often by Contradictory Peer Reviews to which the Editors may have added: "I am in complete agreement with this rejection." See David Ruelle's Chance and Chaos for an amusing description of something similar that really happens. Yours truly, sincerely, but quite differently Osher From: "Jennifer de Beer" Subject: Re: 14.0037 down with conferences Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:05:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 53 (53) [deleted quotation] Yes, it costs to host such an event, and yes, the host institution is not (especially these days) able to foot the bill of speakers. This goes without saying, and hence the initiation of this discussion. As more and more people turn to freelance cf. full-time employment, it is more than likely that sources of sponsorship will be sorely lacking. Also, those institutions which do sponsor their employees' attendance, have evermore limited means with which to do so. Forced attendance: In days gone by, in addition to belonging to a scholarly or some such society, a conference presented the ideal forum at which to interact with one's peers. These days, it is more often the case that such interaction occurs online. Nevertheless, conferences remain, and so they should. What we should be looking at rather are alternative funding mechanisms or means of sponsorship (until such time that ample bandwidth and concomitant developments in technology will enable mass gatherings of a similar sort). Best, Jennifer ======== Jennifer de Beer Cape Library Cooperative (CALICO) & INFOLIT c/o the Adamastor Trust Cape Town, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)21 686-5070 Fax: +27 (0)21 689-7465 E-mail: jennifer@adamastor.ac.za Regional Research Update: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/rru/index.htm CALICO: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Calico/portal.htm INFOLIT: http://www.adamastor.ac.za/Academic/Infolit/default.htm POINT TO PONDER: Complex machines are an emergent life form The Post-Human Manifesto 8.13 From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0037 down with conferences Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:05:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 54 (54) Dear Colleague Hinton, You raise some interesting points in your comments to the recent postings on access to academic gatherings (perhaps misleadingly tagged with the subject line "Down with Conferences"). It is wise advice to suggest that folks mind their budgets. I do think, however, it is a bit of a leap in logic to suggest that those that forgo fees and thus forgo attendence at academic gatherings believe that such events are cost free. Take, for instance, the post-production cost of publishing proceedings or making reports or summaries available. At the very least there is the cost of time and energy in planning and implementing such communication exercises. It takes effort to remain mindful of the extra-muros crowd. There are also some odd institutional barriers. It has been reported to me that travel outside the continental United States is considered by some institutions as international and therefore not subsidized out of departmental budgets. Odd, when one thinks that the expense of flying across an ocean may be less than that of crossing a continent. VEry odd, when one considers that certain north-south trips are shorter anc cheaper and yet due to geo-political accident "international" and thus unfundable. Of course, the extra-extra muros people, those that do not hold academic postions yet remain committed scholars, more often than not have access to no travel funds whatsoever. The highly-hearalded great alternative to being there via computer-mediated communication is not so easy to implement. Time zones pose interesting cultural challenges for those attempting to organize online conferences (and cost balancing factors for host institutions). But a little while ago, Geoffrey Rockwell posted a message to Humanist in answer to the perennial question "what is humanities computing?". He concluded that one way of conceiving humanities computing is as a community of scholars. The discipline is the people. Or rather more accurately, the people in dialogue. A conference is a meeting of some of the people. Was a time perhaps it was thought of as a meeting of all the people. At what cost? Some dialogues leave traces; others are ever so ephemeral. Wouldn't you agree Comrade Willard who I suspect of priming the pump of dialogue with that prominently placed preposition "down"? Your Colleague/Comrade, -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0037 down with conferences Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:06:40 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 55 (55) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Sat. May 27, 2000, 7AM Dear Colleagues: While I realize that both sides have good arguments, I am inclined to be more sympathetic to Alan Sonheim's arguments. I am thinking especially of Socrates (but also the Classical Musical Geniuses, the other Ancient Philosophers, non-mainstream Creative Genius physicists like Michael Faraday and Thomas Edison, the non-mainstream developers of Non-Euclidean Geometry, Non-Finite Arithmetic/Algebra/Number Theory (Georg Cantor, etc.), Non-Mainstream Logicians including Mathematical Logicians, and so on. Not being in the mainstream, many of them could not have afforded to attend departmental-supported conferences. How much more would Humanities and Science have developed if they had been able to attend such conferences and thereby gained more recognition and friends? Socrates might even have been have been rescued by non-mainstream public demand instead of been poisoned by mainstream public demand. I will even go a step further and charge that the lack of attention to supporting universal attendance at conferences (not just mainstream people whom departments send out of well stocked funds) is part of a larger complex of ignorance which extends into the whole Peer Review process in which by definition most of the reviewers of non-mainstream papers are themselves in the mainstream with an axe to grind (conscious or sub-conscious or unconscious). If I have opened up Pandora's Box, I can only refer you back to Socrates who had a habit of doing this. Yours truly and sincerely, Osher From: Willard McCarty Subject: alternative to expensive conferences Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:08:26 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 56 (56) Some truisms. Conferences can be richly rewarding in all sorts of ways as well as draining of meagre resources. There's no substitute for face-to-face, and that often the most important mind- and life-changing events at conferences have more to do with meeting and getting to know people than with listening to their formal presentations. Conferences are very expensive to put on as well as exhausting for the organiser, who as a rule must break even or face dire consequences. Paying for a conference, travel and accommodations oneself hurts. In many fields professional advancement turns on attendance or is significantly aided by that. What to do? Let me put it to you that the better established humanities computing is, the better understood and accepted our medium for communication is, the more we can compensate for the deprivation of intellectual exchange by such entities as Humanist and its kin. What we do here is important for all the academy, though only we may know that :-). Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: viscom@parma.org (Director of Communications, Eparchy of Parma) Subject: Lorem ipsum Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:12:48 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 57 (57) [This apparently in response to a very old question. --WM] Looks as though this site has the answer to your question. http://www.neosplice.com/~ailanto/lorem.htm Director of communications viscom@parma.org From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0036 applause for argumenta ad risum Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:13:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 58 (58) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Sat. May 27, 2000, 7:05AM Dear Colleagues: Jim Marchand's list of fallacies is very useful. I would add "appeal to the mainstream", "appeal to mainstream Peer Reviewers", "appeal to the Chair," among others. Yours truly (as opposed to falsely, of course), Osher From: cbf@socrates.berkeley.edu Subject: Electronic editions of correspondence? Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:03:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 59 (59) I will repeat an inquiry that I made on the TEI list some days ago: I would be grateful for any information concerning electronic editions of letters or correspondence, particularly large-scale editions dealing with thousands of letters and particularly of projects that are contemplating web-based dissemination. Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu From: Gerry McKiernan Subject: _Web e-Books with Multimedia Content_ Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:11:26 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 60 (60) _Web e-Books with Multimedia Content_ I am greatly interested in identifying _Web_ e-Books that include multimedia content (e.g., audio, video, datasets, etc.) along with the text of the e-Book. I am also particularly interested in any and all _articles, reports, chapters, etc._ that summarize this functionality in WebBooks. I am aware of e-Journals that include a multimedia component and have created a registry of these types of publications at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/M-Bed.htm [BTW: If you are aware of a multimedia e-journal not listed in _M-Bed(sm)_ please send me its address. Thanks!] As always, any and all responses are appreciated! /Gerry McKiernan Theoretical Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It!" Alan Kay From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: David Kolb on "Hypertext as Subversive?" Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:09:37 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 61 (61) Greetings Humanist Scholars, It is an exquisite hono(u)r for me to greet you with an excellent quote of SOCRATES, "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think"..and thought -this might interest you --A new hypertext essay, "Hypertext as Subversive?" written by David Kolb has been published in http://culturemachine.tees.ac.uk">Culture Machine2 The essay deals with hypertext writing, links and the ideal of the university, in the context of a dispute with Sanford Kwinter about whether a wired world and new media are by their nature oppressive. Congrats and my best wishes to Prof. David Kolb (a Jewel in the Crown). This second edition of "Culture Machine" journal has been drawn from the thoughts from "Nietzsche" by way of "Derrida's deconstruction" philosophy. When Prof. David Kolb, has mentioned the name of "Sanford Kwinter" --then I would like to share the REVIEW of his book, which he has co-edited with Jonathan Crary as, "Incorporations" -in "Modernism/modernity Issue" --can be read at <http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/mod/2.3br_crary.html> And, one more essay about "Sanford Kwinter" in *BODIES INCORPORATED* as, " Theoretical Appropriation for Somatic Invention" can also be read at <http://arts.ucsb.edu/bodiesinc/isea.html> Thank you! Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Re: David Kolb on "Hypertext as Subversive?" Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 06:10:40 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 62 (62) Greetings Humanists, On Sun, 28 May 2000, Arun-Kumar Tripathi wrote: [..message deleted for brevity..] [deleted quotation] Machine2 [deleted quotation] Apologies for the glitches :-( [deleted quotation] The correct URL for above is at <http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/modernism-modernity/2.3br_crary.html> Sorry Arun From: Terry Winograd Subject: [Help needed] Questionnaire request regarding "interface Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 63 (63) [--] [deleted quotation] -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list server. If you wish to subscribe to this mailing list, send the message body of "subscribe pcd-fyi-list" to majordomo@lists.stanford.edu -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* From: Alan Sondheim Subject: Re: 14.0041 down with conferences Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:01:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 64 (64) The problem with conferences is that it's not a random group of people who are excluded; it's a specific group - i.e. the unaffiliated and/or the poor. This creates a closure in academia - the conferences I've been to have been 90% social/networking, and people who can't make them simply don't get the contacts. The second point is, that we all know that conferences cost; I've done some conference organization myself. But you can plan right from the start to make it easier on people who literally can't afford attending otherwise and who have been asked to present and/or be on a panel. These issues are serious, I think, because already there is too great a distance between academia/humanities and the street - and basically closed conferences make it worse. Alan (sondheim@panix.com) Internet Text at http://www.anu.edu.au/english/internet_txt Partial at http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons/internet_txt.html Trace Projects at http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/writers/sondheim/index.htm From: John Lavagnino Subject: Re: 14.0041 down with conferences Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:02:33 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 65 (65) It's true that the conference that can pay all the expenses of all the participants is rare. But funding for students in particular is something that many more conferences could arrange: there are more people and institutions willing to contribute money for students than for general expenses or other participants, for quite good reasons: it's pretty likely that a student actually needs the money, a small amount of money does actually make a difference, and it also makes more of a difference to get to your first or second conference rather than to your twentieth. Much the same applies for any group of people who face the financial barrier: there's a good argument to be made for a subsidy and there are people willing to be persuaded to offer support. It's best for the conference organizers to line up such funding themselves and announce it when registration opens, though; and the pitfall here is that work on this needs to start very early, because some willing donors are foundations with rather infrequent deadlines. You need to be working on this from the moment you know the conference's date, and not at some convenient time later on when you're less busy. Scholarly organizations should also consider offering their own grants for this purpose, rather than leaving it up to whoever organizes their conference in any particular year, since the amount of money involved can actually be found in the budget even of fairly small organizations: I note that the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing <http://www.allc.org/> has for some years offered bursaries to its annual conference for students and younger scholars. John Lavagnino Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0041 down with conferences Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:03:23 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 66 (66) I suppose I should say, by way of disclaimer, that I am now Emeritus, and have no travel money. But I still try to get to at least 2 or 3 meetings per year, though there is nothing whatever now that will "count" for any pay or rank questions.... It costs me over $100 per year, a big chunk from retirement money, and I have had to beg off from several meetings because of this. Nonetheless. THere are several reasons for having meetings, and "conferences" via computer are not substitutes in any way at all. Willard already mentioned one category --face-to-face meetings with colleagues. This has several important aspects: there is the joy of seeing old friends, which gets keener year by year. There is the chance to ask someone "Just what did you mean by that last article?', etc, which is much easier to answer in actual talk than via e-mail. Then there are the chances to mention a friend and/or former student who might be a good fit for a job opening. (On this, I stay away from the big "meat market" meetings, such as MLA, and have stayed away for over 30 years -- it has never made the slightest difference in my career that I can see. I prefer meetings without job appointments.) The book exhibits are very important -- it is much better to walk around and compare offerings, pick up the books and look at them, perhaps read a chapter, buy them at the meeting price (often 30% or more off list), talk to publisher's reps about forthcoming books, even make appointments to talk about possibly publishing ones' own work....often seeing and handling the books is more important than going to hear papers. And then there are the used book dealers who set up at meetings and often are sources for hard-to-get books at reasonable prices. There is the chance to enjoy food and drink with old friends and new friends. And for some, there is the "same time, next year kind of affair which it is often fun to watch from a distance.... None of this can be replaced by computers, no matter how gee-whiz the software might be. There are people who cannot get to meetings. I feel sorry for them but I don't see that as a reason to abolish meetings. From: Willard McCarty Subject: conferences and the intellectual life Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:05:36 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 67 (67) Perhaps I am romanticising the past, but what I know of it suggests that the professionalisation of the disciplines has not been an entirely good thing. I think it was once far more the case than now, to a significant degree, that individuals who had obtained advanced degrees but not academic jobs would continue to work in the fields in which they had been trained. J. Bloggs, manager in the Acme Tool and Die Works, would write articles on Virgil, and these would be published. Now Mr or Ms Bloggs is highly unlikely to have the opportunity. Has professionalisation resulted in an altogether higher calibre of work? I wonder. It seems to have resulted in exclusion of those who are not within the academy, who don't walk the walk and talk the talk because they simply haven't the time to practice. Be that as it may, it is clear that the academy cannot employ all those whom it trains to the academic way of life. At one university I know well it was said in open meeting that the English department produced more PhDs in one year than the entire country in which this university is located could employ in 10. The crude economics of higher education in this case meant that the department would be severely penalised for doing the right thing, but never mind. Suppose, unrealistically, that this university and others like it actually told the incoming students what their employment prospects would be. Still, high-minded students would want to go ahead, undergo the rigours and obtain the advanced degree. So, the question is, how do we provide for an intellectual life to proceed outside the narrow confines of the academy? I ask that question, then pause. Isn't the asking of it a rather damaging admission? Doesn't that question signal an end to the World as We Know It? "Hmmm, the ground is rather sticky here, and black. I cannot seem to move my feet...." Allow me to recommend very highly Jim O'Donnell's book, The Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace (Harvard, 1998), which effectively and eloquently locates the concerns of Humanist in our broad intellectual tradition and reflects on the changes which asking the question I just asked clearly points to. "We are immensely fortunate", O'Donnell says, "that academics have been in the front line of computing and networks. This gives us now an advantage -- technical, intellectual, and even just financial -- that we would be fools to squander." (p. 148). Are we fools? Can we make the world-wide electronic seminar anything like what it could be? WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 68 (68) [deleted quotation] A large European project is "La communication manuscrite en Europe", with partners in France, Germany and the Netherlands. A colleague at Leiden university library has been involved, and I have been asked to join too. -- Adriaan van der Weel Chairman, Leiden Centre for the Book Coordinator Electronic Text Centre Leiden Coordinator Book and Publishing Studies, Dept of English University of Leiden PO Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands Tel. +31 71 5272141/2144. Fax 2149 From: Eve Trager Subject: The Latest Issue of the Journal of Electronic Publishing Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:06:19 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 69 (69) BETWEEN DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY Motivational speakers like to talk about how the Chinese word for "crisis" is made up of the ideograms for "danger" and "opportunity." If a crisis is indeed a turning point, as my dictionary reminds me, then electronic publishing is a crisis, challenging us to rethink what we do and how we do it, turning in new directions. Here is the June 2000 issue of The Journal of Electronic Publishing, turning in some new ideas, for your reading enjoyment: http://www.press.umich.edu/jep In this issue our JEP authors see only opportunity in the dangers that may beset us. Lessons for Sustaining Ecological Science and Policy Through the Internet http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/holling.html C.S. (Buzz) Holling, editor of Conservation Ecology, explores how financial crisis helped the journal find a new opportunity. An Analysis of Washingtonpost.com's Live Online http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/young.html Jeffrey R. Young shows us what happens to the relationship between authors and readers when they join in online chats. Digital Workflow: Managing the Process Electronically http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/sheridan.html Linda Beebe and Barbara Meyers write about how technology can give publishers more control over the publishing process. A Proposal for the Establishment of Review Boards http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/edmonds.html Bruce Edmonds argues that open peer review and free publication can solve some of the problems with today's peer-review processes. Fair Use and Distance Learning in the Digital Age http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/smith.html Millison Smith urges the passage of two bills currently before the U.S. Congress to open opportunities to telecommuting students. Best Practices for Digital Archiving: An Information Life-Cycle Approach http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/hodge.html Gail M. Hodge says that if we make digital archiving a part of the publishing process from the beginning, we will solve problems before they occur. The X(HTML) Files http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/05-04/lieb0504.html Columnist Thom Lieb details the opportunities that XHTML offers to publishers seeking a migratory path from danger (HTML) to opportunity (XML). If you have some thoughts about danger, opportunity, and crisis, share them in Potpourri. http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/potpourri.html Enjoy! Judith Axler Turner Editor The Journal of Electronic Publishing http://www.press.umich.edu/jep (202) 986-3463 From: Willard McCarty Subject: new CIT InfoBits Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:06:47 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 70 (70) The latest issue of CIT INFOBITS, for May 2000 (No. 23), is available online at http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/infobits.html (HTML format) and at http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/text/index.html (plain text format). Its table of contents is as follows: Distance Education Policy Primer Author Foresees No Utopian Digital Age The Social Life of Information Information for Beginning Grant Seekers Oxford University Press Reading Room Resources on Electronic Publishing New Textbook Guide on the Web Recommended Reading WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: David Zeitlyn Subject: Anthropological Index Online Update - May 2000 Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 07:07:37 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 71 (71) What's happening at the AIO? The Recent file has just been updated with 4672 newly added references. These include the penultimate files covering the period 1994-1995 - a backlog that the online service inherited and that, thanks to heroic work by the staff, has now almost been removed (and will be completed by the end of June 2000). This has been undertaken in addition to keeping pace with current publications. Other News Work has now started on the Retrospective Conversion for the years 1963-1985. This is being undertaken with the generous support of the Getty Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust. As a consequence of this some work will be done on the exisiting data - a language field will be added to make it easier to find, for example, works only in Spanish. After a pause we are resuming work on an automatic notification service whereby registered users can receive the results of stored searches when the data files are updated. The online documentation files will be revised and expanded in the course of this. best wishes davidz Dr David Zeitlyn, Hon. Editor Anthropological Index Online Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing, Department of Anthropology, Eliot College, The University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NS UK. Tel. +44 (0)1227 823360 direct) Tel: +44 (0)1227 823942 (Office) Fax +44 (0)1227 827289 http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/AIO.html http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/dz/ (personal research) From: "P. T. Rourke" Subject: Society for Non-Mainstream Theory and Practice Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 72 (72) A couple of mild differences with Osher Doctorow: [deleted quotation] I was under the impression that it was more a matter of mutual agreement than being "dropped:" IA didn't really want to bother with being an academic in a medical school any longer - it took too much time away from his writing - and the university felt it would be better for them to spend his salary on an everyday teacher. I believe that he was still listed on the University's faculty as late as the 1980s, long after he had given up any pretense of teaching. [deleted quotation] Though I think that the metaphor below is a useful way of understanding Socrates' methodology, I'd want to resist any comparison between Socrates' activities and popularization: Socrates was anything but a popularizer. In our culture, there is a polarity between specialization and popularization; for fifth-century Athens, no such polarity existed, and so the breadth of Socrates' inquiry (in contrast to the rhetoricians and scientists among the sophists) doesn't imply popularization. Popularization also implies a kind of evangelism: one is trying to "sell" one's field, and if Plato's account is to be believed on this point, Socrates was not an evangelist, but more of an intellectual oligarch (while most of his students and hangers-on were political oligarchs - Xenophon Spartacized, Plato tried to make Dionysius a philosopher-king, and as for Alcibiades and Critias . . .) It is peculiar to think that in democratic Athens the "popularizers" tended to be those who claimed to be specialists able to teach a specific *techne*, but ultimately I think that those most comparable to the "mainstream" *would* be the Sophists, and that *they* were the ones who made the most open gestures toward popularity. The fact that the mainstream is in the ivory tower (now there's an ugly mixed metaphor for you!) may be a peculiarity of our own culture, in which the university is virtually the sole patron of intellectual inquiry. [deleted quotation] The difficulty, of course, will be in making sure that it doesn't become the mainstream. Thanks. Patrick Rourke ptrourke@mediaone.net From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0048 non-mainstream Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 20:43:07 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 73 (73) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Thurs., June 1, 2000, 6:54AM Dear Colleagues: Patrick Rourke is correct concerning the "mutual agreement" between Isaac Asimov and his university to discontinue their relationship. I was aware of this, but I think that it merits intensive analysis. A person of Asimov's genius does not come along every day, to understate my case. If Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study can retain "non-producers" on their list as a matter of course, with mutual consent, then we are reminded perhaps of what we all know, namely, that it benefits both the faculty member and the university to retain a genius on the staff both for his/her contributions to knowledge and for the financial benefits to the faculty member. It is also common to refer to "mutual consent" in divorce proceedings, especially in the USA, and these are far from friendly dissolutions usually. Concerning whether Socrates was a populizer or "intellectual oligarch" as Plato and Patrick Rourke (with qualifications) claim, I am aware that Socrates should be classified as one able to teach a specific technique (the essence of logic-science, in fact) rather than an evangelist in the religious sense. However, the picture is similar to that of Jesus Christ in many ways (if I may venture outside the mainstream of philosophy). Jesus was certainly teaching a specific technique (faith and "higher love" and morality/ethics), but how many of us teach our specific techniques without the inner hope that it will "catch on" or appeal to the public, so to speak? I merely claim that Socrates was a non-mainstreamer but also a "man for all seasons," with universal appeal across the ages for those with more creative and dicriminating abilities. I have Socrates on the Brain in the sense of supporting the Non-Mainstream. Yours truly and non-mainstreamably, Osher ----- From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0048 non-mainstream Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 20:43:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 74 (74) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, June 1, 2000, 9:08AM Dear Colleagues: In reply to Patrick Rourke's interesting observation that the difficulty will be in making sure that a non-mainstream journal does not become a mainstream one, I am inclined to agree with Willard McCarty (at least, as I interpret his recent comments) that the Humanist Discussion Group (perhaps eventually the Humanist-Scientist Discussion Group?) itself may be the answer. I think that this discussion group is an ideal substitute for mainstream journals, or perhaps more accurately an ideal supplement to mainstream journals. Perhaps the difficulty in the USA is convincing the mainstream "powers that be" of this fact - a problem that extends across academia to government and industry (in the latter two, mainstream engineers for example have an incredibly strong influence). Yours, Osher From: Bill Kretzschmar Subject: EduPage on computer games Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 75 (75) Willard, I thought you might be interested in the following paragraph from the American Edupage clipping service (produced by Educause, our educational computing org). It points out a big problem with computers in re: kids, something I have noticed with my own boys. They sometimes do have one or two friends watching what somebody is doing with a computer game, but the facilities for group activities on standard PC games are weak (at least in practice). COMPUTERS NOT MADE FOR KIDS A Baltimore-based study has found that computers are not child-friendly. The study, by Context-Based Research Group, points out that young children do not have the typing skills to make using computers an enjoyable experience and keyboards just for children are not yet mainstream products. The study also says computers are asocial by design, and the only time family members are likely to gather around a computer is when something is wrong with it. Moreover, computers are unlike video games, which tend to offer more than one control pad. The lack of reliable information on the Internet also was cited as a barrier to children, who do not always have the ability to discern what is and is not true. Titled GenWired, the study is being expanded into a one-year project that will include purchasing decisions, product design, and the digital divide. (Baltimore Sun, 28 May 2000) Bill ***** Bill Kretzschmar Professor of English and Linguistics Dept. of English Phone: 706-542-2246 University of Georgia Fax: 706-583-0027 Athens, GA 30602-6205 Atlas Web Site: us.english.uga.edu From: Eric Johnson Subject: Faculty Position in Computer Graphics Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 76 (76) Dakota State University Computer Graphics Faculty Position Dakota State University invites applications for a faculty position, beginning Fall, 2000, in 2-D and 3-D Computer Graphics. Duties include teaching two-dimensional graphics (both draw and paint programs), three-dimensional graphics, and animation, as well as a few additional courses such as visual design. Education and experience: Ph.D. or M.F.A. preferred; M.A. or M.S. required. University teaching experience desirable. Tenure-track position may be offered to a suitable candidate with Ph.D. or M.F.A. DSU offers a baccalaureate major in Multimedia/Web Development and a minor in Computer Graphics. DSU is a rapidly-growing state-supported university located 55 miles northwest of Sioux Falls. Consideration of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Rank and salary based on qualifications. Send letter of application, vita, graduate transcripts, and current phone numbers of at least three references to Eric Johnson, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Dakota State University, Madison, SD 57042-1799; FAX: (605) 256-5021; e-mail: Eric.Johnson@dsu.edu Disabled applicants are invited to identify any necessary accommodations required in the application process. EOE From: "Nigel Williamson" Subject: Call for Registration for DRH2000 Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 22:07:27 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 77 (77) This Message is a Call for Registration for DRH2000 We are pleased to announce the opening of registration for delegates to DRH2000: DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR THE HUMANITIES, University of Sheffield, 10-13 September 2000 The on-line registration form can be found at: <http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/register.htm>http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/ register.htm The DRH conferences have established themselves firmly in the UK and international calendar as a forum that brings together scholars, librarians, archivists, curators, information scientists and computing professionals in a unique and positive way, to share ideas and information about the creation, exploitation, management and preservation of digital resources in the arts and humanities. The DRH 2000 conference will take place at the University of Sheffield, 10-13 September 2000 in Stephenson Hall. Themes include: the creation of digital resources; their delivery, use and integration; the impact of digital resources on humanities research and education. Cost: Full Registration 170 (includes conference dinner) Local Registration 110 for University of Sheffield Staff only Student Registration 60 (includes conference dinner) Day Delegate 60 (not including conference dinner) Accommodation: Accommodation is provided at Stephenson Hall at the following rates: En-Suite 33.40 Standard 27.74 Details of local hotels are available on request. Full details about the conference, provisional timetable etc. may be found at: <http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/>http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/ Please address any queries to drh2000@sheffield.ac.uk From: "David L. Gants" Subject: ACL'2000 Workshop Call for Papers Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 22:09:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 78 (78) [deleted quotation] CALL FOR PAPERS The second Chinese Language Processing Workshop Sponsored by SIGLEX, SIGDAT and SIGPARSE. October 2000 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology In conjunction with ACL-2000 Growing interest in Chinese Language Processing is leading to the development of resources such as annotated corpora and automatic segmenters, part-of-speech taggers and parsers. The first Asia ACL provides an ideal opportunity to bring together influential researchers from Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Beijing, as well as Chinese language researchers in the rest of the world, to discuss issues that are specific to the processing of Chinese. A critical tool for developing Chinese language processing tools is the availability of annotated corpora. The greater the consensus we have around guidelines for corpus annotation of part-of-speech tags, syntactic bracketing and other areas, the more useful this corpora will be. We welcome submissions that address the following topics on Chinese language processing: . word segmentation . POS tagging . phrase identification . parsing . grammar development . lexicon acquisition . corpus development We invite workshop participants to take advantage of two bracketed corpora: . The first one, Chinese Penn Treebank, was developed at University of Pennsylvania, USA. It includes 100-thousand words from Xinhua News. The corpus will be released via LDC at UPenn in one or two weeks. For more information and announcement of the release, please check the website "http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/ctb/" after June 4th, 2000. . The second one, developed by CKIP, Academia Sinica in Taiwan, contains more than 30,000 sentences. A trial version of 1,000 sentences is now available for download by the public at http://godel.iis.sinica.edu.tw/CKIP/trees1000.htm The release of the complete treebank is being reviewed by Academia Sinica. Preliminary arrangements have been made for the treebank to be licensed through ROCLING. Please check their website (http://rocling.iis.sinica.edu.tw/ROCLING) for announcement. The workshop will be held either on Oct 1 or Oct 2. For latest update of the workshop (including the instruction for paper registration) and the release of the Chinese Penn Treebank, please check "http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/ctb/". If you have any questions concerning the workshop or the Treebank, please email us at chinese@linc.cis.upenn.edu. [material deleted] From: "David L. Gants" Subject: CFP: Association for Southeast European Anthropology Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 22:14:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 79 (79) [deleted quotation] ------------------------- To all future members and friends of the Association for Southeast European Anthropology (InASEA) ---------------------=09 Invitation and Call for Papers Dear colleagues, On December 10 - 12, 1999, an initiative group consisting of Milena Benovska, Glenn Bowman, Christian Giordano, Deema Kaneff, Karl Kaser, Vintila Mihailescu, Karin Norman, and Klaus Roth convened in Bucharest and founded the International Association for Southeast European Anthropology (InASEA). It succeeds the Association for Balkan Anthropology (ABA). The founding committee kindly invites you to participate in the first general assembly and conference of InASEA in Sofia and to present a paper. The broad topic of the conference is The Anthropology of Southeast Europe - Ten Years After. Socio-Cultural Aspects of Transformation The conference will be held on Sept. 14-17, 2000, at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia. The organs of the association will be elected at the general assembly of members. The language of the general assembly of members will be English, while the languages of the conference are English, French, and German. The conference shall focus (1) on the cultural changes themselves and (2) on the disciplines studying them. It will therefore discuss the following general topics: - the study of the socio-cultural consequences of the transformation processes in SEE, particularly the transformation of (socialist) everyday culture, - phenomena of contemporary (post-socialist) everyday culture and popular culture, etc. - the change of paradigm in the study of ethnicity and ethnic groups, as well as - the status and the role of the cultural sciences (ethnology, cultural and social anthropology, folklore, ethnography, historical anthropology) in Southeast Europe, - the process of transformation (in subject matter, methods, theories, approaches) which these disciplines are undergoing in research and teaching in order to overcome the legacy of the past and to develop into a modern ethnology and/or social anthropology. The S=FCdosteuropa-Gesellschaft has granted financial support; further applications for funds are pending. Accommodation and travel expenses (train, bus) of participants from AL, BiH, BG, HR, MK, RO and YU can probably be paid for.=20 Please submit as soon as possible your=20 - application for membership,=20 - conference registration,=20 - and the title of your paper=20 to Prof. Klaus Roth Institut f=FCr dt. und vgl. Volkskunde Ludwigstr. 25, D-80539 M=FCnchen Tel. 004989-162809 e-mail: k.roth@lrz.uni-muenchen.de or to Milena Benovska, PhD,=20 Ethnographic Institute,=20 Moskovska 6a, BG-1000 Sofia. Email: milena@tusk.icn.bg The deadline for submissions of papers is May 15, 2000. The members of the founding committee are looking forward to your response and to meeting you in Sofia. With kind regards, Albert Doja (on behalf of the founding committe) From: "David L. Gants" Subject: FoLLI Dissertation award Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 80 (80) [deleted quotation] 2000 FoLLI Dissertation Award Call for Nominations The European Association for Language, Logic and Information (FoLLI) is inviting nominations for the 2000 edition of the FoLLI Dissertation Award to be awarded annually to an outstanding dissertation in the fields of Language, Logic and Computation. FoLLI gratefully acknowledges sponsorship of this prize by funds from the Spinoza Prize awarded to Johan van Benthem. We are happy to announce that an amount of 1000 EURO will be allocated to one or more award recipients. It is at the discretion of the Prize Committee to allocate the prize money to a single nominee or to divide the prize among two recipients. Eligibility Ph.D. theses in the fields of Language, Logic and Computation by authors who completed the Ph.D. degree between 1/1/99 and 12/31/99. Submission Details 1. A letter of nomination by the thesis supervisor. (N.B. Self-applications by Ph.D. holders are not possible. Each application must be sponsored by the thesis supervisor.) The letter from the student's Ph.D. advisor should verify that the degree was conferred between 1/1/99 and 12/31/99. 2. Two additional letters of support, including at least one letter from a referee not affiliated with the academic institution that awarded the Ph.D. degree. 3. An abstract of the thesis, prepared by the author of the thesis and not to exceed five pages in length 4. A hard copy of the dissertation All materials have to be sent as hard-copy to Mr. Marco de Vries, FoLLI Secretary, Plantage Muidergracht 24, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Authors are advised to have their Ph.D.thesis available on the Web, if possible. Submissions Deadline All materials have to be received by June 10, 2000. Prize Committee Anne Abeille Natasha Alechina Patrick Blackburn Nissim Francez Paul Gochet (chair) Valentin Goranko Markus Kracht Larry Moss Francesco Orilia Manfred Pinkal Christian Retore Rob van der Sandt Further Details Please consult the FoLLI web site at http://www.folli.uva.nl for further details. From: Richard Giordano Subject: First use of the word "software" Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 81 (81) One of my former advisors at Columbia sent me this message: The short version of the story is this. The question arose as to who coined the word "software." Just two weeks ago, a piece was published in Science attributing the term to John Tukey, the Princeton statistician who you may have run into in your P'ton days. John is enormously smart and altogether capable of having the idea but the date attached -- 1958 -- intuitively seems much too late to me. The attribution is based on a search of a huge journal archive, JSTOR, which Mellon has funded. It is surely true that Tukey is the first to have used the term in a journal stored in JSTOR but that seems to me to be a not very good source for tracking priority of coinage, especially in an area where academic publication would not have had very high value. I should know the answer as my dissertation research touches on the subject. I had thought the term was first used by Grace Hopper in 1954 (from her early work on compilers). Upon reflection, I came to this because Hopper told me so in an interview with her, and others I had interviewed supported this. Of course, the others may have got their information from Hopper herself... Anyone have any ideas? /rich From: "David L. Gants" Subject: Summer Seminars at Oxford's Humanities Computing Unit Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 82 (82) [deleted quotation] Summer Seminars at Oxford's Humanities Computing Unit 10th - 14th July 2000 Humanities Computing Unit, University of Oxford http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/summer/ Booking deadline: 9th June Oxford University's Humanities Computing Unit is pleased to announce a week-long series of seminars on humanities computing, to be held in Oxford from the 10th to 14th July 2000. The seminars will cater for beginners as well as experienced practitioners. If you want to see how new technologies can help you in your work, to explore new research tools, or to find out about the latest approaches in text encoding, you will find these seminars useful. Some seminars are already fully booked, though spaces are still available on the following: 10th July Introduction to humanities computing 11th July Introduction to the Internet 11th July (Repeated 13th July) Creating and documenting digital texts 12th July Digital libraries 12th July (repeated 14th July) Making multimedia Web sites The seminar website at http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/summer/ includes full details of the topics to be covered on each day. Each seminar will give you the opportunity to consult with experts about your research projects, and will also combine practical hands-on sessions with formal presentations. All teaching will be carried out by members of the Humanities Computing Unit. Who Should Come? You should come if you work, or plan to work, with digital texts or images, especially in a research context. You should be familiar with the concepts of HTML, and with using the Internet. You will leave with a clear sense of the principles and processes of electronic text and multimedia creation and delivery, and be able to identify those areas where you need to learn more. How Much Will It Cost? Each seminar costs 60 GBP (45 GBP for members of Oxford University). You can book for any combination of individual seminars. Interested? Booking information and further details are available online, at http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/summer/ or contact Jenny Newman, Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN. Tel: +44 (0)1865 273221; fax: +44 (0)1865 273275; email: Jenny.Newman@oucs.ox.ac.uk From: Einat Amitay Subject: Re: 14.0055 first use of "software"? Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 21:22:35 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 83 (83) I tried to go the conventional way and look things up on the web. This is what I found: [deleted quotation] This is what I found about coining terms and John Tukey. This is the only term that I found to be associated with him (citing from http://www.charlespetzold.com/code/CodeBibliography.html): "...The word "bit" apparently first appeared in print in the Claude E. Shannon paper "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" originally published in the July and October, 1948, issues of Bell System Technical Journal and published in a book of that same name cited in Chapter 18. Shannon credits John Tukey with inventing the word. A discussion of the etymology of the word "bit" can be found in: "Origin of the Term Bit," Annals of the History of Computing, Volume 6, Number 2, April 1984, pages 152-155. Not everyone agrees that "bit" is a wonderful abbreviation for "binary digit." On page 146 of: Hogben, Lancelot. The Vocabulary of Science. New York, NY: Stein and Day, 1970. we read "The introduction by Tukey of bits for binary digits has nothing but irresponsible vulgarity to commend it." ...." [deleted quotation] use of this term can be traced back to Shakespeare's time): http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/tek1/first_computer_bug.htm In all the history and chronology sites the first mentioning of the term "software" begins around 1960. I don't know if this means anything - but this is all I found. Anyway - it's always nice to look for answers on the web... +:o) einat -- Einat Amitay einat@ics.mq.edu.au http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~einat From: Stephen Miller Subject: Re: 14.0055 first use of "software"? Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 21:23:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 84 (84) [deleted quotation] OED gives the first attribution as 1960 from the CACM but it is evident from the quote that the term is in widespread use in comuter circles. Stephen Miller --------------------------------------------------------- Stephen Miller Faculty Office Faculty of Social Sciences University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8RT 0141 339 8855 extn 0223 http://www.gla.ac.uk/faculties/socialsciences/ From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Re: 14.0055 first use of "software"? Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 21:24:39 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 85 (85) Greetings Dr. Richard Giordano and humanist scholars, An interesting story :) Actually, John W. Tukey is a pioneer in Exploratory Data Analysis. He received his PhD in 1939 for a dissertation on "Denumerability in Topology" which was later published in 1940 as "Convergence and Uniformity in Topology". And, after this accomplishment, in 1965 he with J.W. Cooley published a paper in "Mathematics of Computation", in which he introduced the important fast FOURIER transfer algorithm. His works on the Philosophy of Statistics is much known. And, on the contrary, Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper, was a remarkable woman who has taken the challenges of programming the first computers. She was the leader in the field of "Software Development". So, IMHO, the questions regarding coinage of the word, "Software" goes to Lady Grace Hopper..[for more details, please see the below Refs.] References:- ------------ Grace Murray Hopper [complete story with her Programming the First Computers <http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/hopper-story.html> John Wilder Tukey [complete history] <http://www-groups.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Tukey.html> Math Makes Points: John W. Tukey <http://forum.swarthmore.edu/mam/00/612/people/tukey/> Thanks once again to Dr. Richard Giordano for raising an interesting scientific queries..I would like to hear from other scholars! Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: RE: 14.0057 first use of "software" Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 86 (86) [mailto:willard@lists.village.virginia.edu] Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 4:26 PM To: Humanist Discussion Group [deleted quotation] use of this term can be traced back to Shakespeare's time): http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/tek1/first_computer_bug.htm From: Michael Fraser Subject: Evaluating and Cataloguing Online Resources in the Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:31:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 87 (87) Humanities Finding, Evaluating, Cataloguing Online Humanities Resources (aka 'Never mind the browsers - here's the Internet') 11 July 2000, Oxford University Computing Services As part of the Humanities Computing Unit's summer seminars the Humbul Humanities Hub, together with the Centre for Humanities Computing, will be devoting a full-day workshop to resource discovery on the Internet. Half of the day will concentrate on the evaluation and cataloguing of humanities online resources, consistent with the practices of the Humbul Humanities Hub. The workshop will introduce participants to effective searching of the Web; the citation of online resources; the evaluation of web resources; an introduction to Dublin Core metadata; and the cataloguing of Web resources within the Humbul Humanities Hub. The cost for this one day workshop is 60 pounds (45 pounds for members of Oxford University). The deadline for booking this workshop is 21 June 2000. Please see http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/summer/seminars.html for further information and an online booking form. Please email Jenny.Newman@oucs.ox.ac.uk with any queries about registration or mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk with any queries about content. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michael Fraser Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk Head of Humbul Fax: +44 1865 273 275 Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS Tel: +44 1865 283 343 University of Oxford 13 Banbury Road http://www.humbul.ac.uk/ Oxford OX2 6NN DRH 2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: CyberForum Subject: "The Avatar & the Global Brain" begins Wed. on June 14, Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:32:52 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 88 (88) [--] CyberForum@ArtCenter Wednesday, June 14, 1:30 pm PDT Bruce Damer addresses Summer Forum in 3-D avatar world Email: cyberforum@artcenter.edu Web: <http://www.mheim.com/cyberforum/index.htm> CyberForum presents real-time online author chats. On Wednesday, June 14th at 1:30 PM (PDT), the CyberForum begins its Summer 2000 series "The Avatar and the Global Brain." Bruce Damer addresses the Forum about the role of avatars and discusses with Michael Heim the basic topics of the Summer series. The public is invited to grab an avatar and participate in the ongoing discussion. (See How-To below.) The Summer CyberForum examines interpretations of the Internet. How do we best understand cyberspace? As a cognitive information system or as a communicative event? Or perhaps as a spirit fantasy? Is cyberspace a cognitive engine evolving a planetary brain? If so, where do avatars fit? Or do they fit at all? The Summer Forum brings together Systems Theorists from Brussels (Principia Cybernetica), a Malaysian aesthetician, authors of the "Cluetrain Manifesto," and a host of gregarious avatars from India, Sweden, the United States, and all parts of the planet. Bruce Damer is President and CEO of DigitalSpace Corporation, Director of the Contact Consortium, and author of "Avatars" (Peachpit Press, 1998) and "Virtual Worlds" (Perseus Press, 1998). Bruce co-directs a 35-institution research and development consortium that brings virtual worlds to the Net. He is a visiting scholar at the University of Washington HIT Lab and a Silicon Graphics Vanguard of Visual Computing. Past CyberForum speakers included: Carol Gigliotti, Katherine Hayles, Michael Heim, Brenda Laurel, Peter Lunenfeld, Lev Manovich, and William J. Mitchell. Email questions to cyberforum@artcenter.edu Visit the website <http://www.mheim.com/cyberforum/index.html> for further information and speaker bios. How To Participate: Download the free Eduverse 3D browser from <http://www.activeworlds.com/edu/awedu_download.html> Install the software and enter as a tourist in Eduverse. The left panel of the Eduverse browser shows a list of worlds. Choose "ACCD" world and follow the other avatars to the Forum location. The Virtual Worlds Team at Art Center will be there to guide you. The CyberForum@ArtCenter is a production of the Virtual Worlds Team at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, under the direction of Michael Heim (mheim@artcenter.edu) -- From: Michael Fraser Subject: Humbul Systems Developer Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 89 (89) [Apologies for cross-postings. Please forward to anyone you think might be interested.] Oxford University Computing Services: Humanities Computing Unit Humbul Humanities Hub Systems Developer Academic-related Research Staff Grade IA: Salary 16,286 - 24,479 (under review) The Humanities Computing Unit brings together prestigious local, national and international projects which include the Humbul Humanities Hub, the Oxford Text Archive, and the Virtual Seminars for Teaching Literature Project. Information about the HCU is available at http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/. The Humanities Computing Unit receives funding from the JISC to develop the Humbul Humanities Hub for the Resource Discovery Network. The Hub provides Web access to quality Internet resources for teaching and research in the humanities. We are urgently seeking a Systems Developer who will be responsible for the development of the Hub's substantial Web-based database system and to investigate the latest tools and techniques for delivering online databases and resource discovery. The post requires a graduate with practical experience in the development of database systems delivered via the Web, knowledge of Perl programming and advanced HTML. Good communication and organisational skills are essential. The Systems Developer will work as part of a small team and will be encouraged to participate in the overall development of this national service. This post is offered as a two year contract in the first instance. Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Michael Fraser, Head of Humbul (Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk; Tel: 01865 283343). To apply, please request an application form and further particulars from from Mrs Nicky Tomlin, Oxford University Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN (Tel: 01865 273230; email: nicky.tomlin@oucs.ox.ac.uk). The further particulars are also available via http://www.humbul.ac.uk/recruit.html. Completed applications must be received by 4.00 p.m. on 22 June 2000. Interviews will be held at the beginning of July. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michael Fraser Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk Head of Humbul Fax: +44 1865 273 275 Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS Tel: +44 1865 283 343 University of Oxford 13 Banbury Road http://www.humbul.ac.uk/ Oxford OX2 6NN DRH 2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [New Book] From Gutenberg to the Global Information Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:33:44 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 90 (90) Infrastructure Dear Humanist Scholars, The following is a book which readers of this list might find of interest. For more information please visit at: <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/BORFHS00> BOOK:- [deleted quotation] Access to Information in the Networked World written by Prof. Christine L. Borgman **SHORT ABSTRACT & DETAILS ABOUT THE BOOK** Will the emerging global information infrastructure (GII) create a revolution in communication equivalent to that wrought by Gutenberg, or will the result be simply the evolutionary adaptation of existing behavior and institutions to new media? Will the GII improve access to information for all? Will it replace libraries and publishers? How can computers and information systems be made easier to use? What are the trade-offs between tailoring information systems to user communities and standardizing them to interconnect with systems designed for other communities, cultures, and languages? This book takes a close look at these and other questions of technology, behavior, and policy surrounding the GII. Topics covered include the design and use of digital libraries; behavioral and institutional aspects of electronic publishing; the evolving role of libraries; the life cycle of creating, using, and seeking information; and the adoption and adaptation of information technologies. The book takes a human-centered perspective, focusing on how well the GII fits into the daily lives of the people it is supposed to benefit. Taking a unique holistic approach to information access, the book draws on research and practice in computer science, communications, library and information science, information policy, business, economics, law, political science, sociology, history, education, and archival and museum studies. It explores both domestic and international issues. The author's own empirical research is complemented by extensive literature reviews and analyses. Christine L. Borgman is Professor and Presidential Chair in Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Visiting Professor at Loughborough University, England. 6 x 9, 340 pp., cloth ISBN 0-262-02473-X Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing series Please contact Jud Wolfskill, the Associate Publicist, MIT Press at for more details about the above book and other MIT publications. Thank you! Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: Fytton Rowland Subject: Scholarly Publishing Principles (fwd) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:34:52 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 91 (91) This looks interesting. Fytton. [deleted quotation] --- [deleted quotation]********************************************************** Fytton Rowland, M.A., Ph.D., F.I.Inf.Sc., Lecturer, Deputy Director of Undergraduate Programmes and Programme Tutor for Publishing with English, Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics LE11 3TU, UK. Phone +44 (0) 1509 223039 Fax +44 (0) 1509 223053 E-mail: J.F.Rowland@lboro.ac.uk http://info.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ls/staff/frowland.html ********************************************************** From: "David L. Green" Subject: June D-Lib Magazine: http://www.dlib.org/ Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 92 (92) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community June 19, 2000 June 2000 issue of D-Lib Magazine available <http://www.dlib.org/>http://www.dlib.org/ http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june00/06contents.html CONTENTS INCLUDE: MAIN STORIES: * "Value-Added Surrogates for Distributed Content: Establishing a Virtual Control Zone," by Sandra Payette and Carl Lagoze, Cornell University * "Lessons Learned: Digitization of Special Collections at The University of Iowa Libraries," by Carol Ann Hughes, Questia Media, Inc. (Formerly, University of Iowa) * "Offering High Quality Reference Service on the Web: The Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS)," by Diane Nester Kresh, Library of Congress BOOK REVIEW: * Usable Information Designs: A review of two recent books: -- "Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity," by Jakob Nielson, New Riders Publishing: 2000; and -- "Information Design", edited by Robert Jacobson, MIT Press, 1999. By Jeremy Hylton: "...both books suggest that the measure of a design's quality should be its effect on user behavior and satisfaction and that the only way to achieve that quality is to do real tests with real people during the design process." IN-BRIEF ITEMS include: "Gottingen Gutenberg Bible Goes Digital" Norbert Lossau, State- und University Library Goettingen "Cooperation between the British Library and UK Universities" Alicia Wise, Old Library, Kings College London "New Open Access Resources from Bartleby.com" Megan Schade, Bartleby.com ============================================= [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Ongoing TechNetCast] Will Spiritual Robots Replace Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 93 (93) Humanity by 2100? Greetings scholars, Hi, --this might interest to Humanist readers --the information regarding "Spiritual Robots webcast" received via "DDJ Mailing Lists" --thought might interest you --Will Spiritual Robots Replace Humanity by 2100? at <http://www.technetcast.com/tnc_program.html?program_id=82> --Also featured on Dr. Dobb's Technetcast, an expert panel assembled by Doug Hofstadter explores the issue of computers someday displaying emotions and intelligence that we usually only associate with humans. Two distinguished computer scientists, Ray Kurzweil and Hans Moravec, have each written books exploring the issue, and their presentations are provided as part of this discussion. Please visit the site at <http://technetcast.ddj.com> and CLICK for *spiritual robots*. The discussion is organised and moderated by Prof. Doug Hofstadter --who wrote "Goedel, Escher, Bach". There, you'll hear the presentation from others, including Ray Kurzweil, Bill Joy, Hans Moravec, John Holland (genetic algorithms and AI pioneer), Kevin Kelly. More to come, from Frank Drake, Ralph Merkle, John Koza and then Panel discussions will take place. The next TechNetCast will begin from June 20, follow by June 22, June 27 and June 29, 2000. The program is brought in partnership with the Stanford Channel Video tapes available for sale at the Stanford Channel site (Bringing the Quad to the Community) at <http://tsc.stanford.edu/> On the site at <http://www.stanford.edu/dept/symbol/Hofstadter-event.html> you can also read short details of the past symposium. Thank you! Sincerely Arun Tripathi -- From: Eric Johnson Subject: Multimedia / Web programs Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:27:44 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 94 (94) HUMANIST members might be interested to know that Dakota State University has received approval of a major in Multimedia / Web Development and a minor in Multimedia / Web Design. Information is on the web: http://www.dsu.edu/departments/liberal/multiweb.html We are anticipating excellent enrollments. -- Eric --Eric Johnson johnsone@jupiter.dsu.edu http://www.dsu.edu/~johnsone/ From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: New UK Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries: Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:29:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 95 (95) re:source. NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community June 19, 2000 The UK Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries: re:source <<http://www.resource.gov.uk/>http://www.resource. <<http://www.resource.gov.uk/>http://www.resource.gov.uk/> [deleted quotation] Source: D-Lib Magazine, June 2000 <http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june00/06clips.html#RESOURCE>http://www.dlib.org/d lib/june00/06clips.html#RESOURCE ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: TWO REPORTS: Authenticity; Emulation Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:32:17 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 96 (96) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community "Authenticity in a Digital Environment" Council on Library & Information Resources <http://www.clir.org>http://www.clir.org http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub92/pub92.pdf "An Experiment in Using Emulation to Preserve Digital Publications" by Jeff Rothenberg The Networked European Deposit Library (NEDLIB) <http://www.kb.nl/nedlib/results/emulationpreservationreport.pdf> <http://www.kb.nl/nedlib/results/emulationpreservationreport.pdf>http://www. kb.nl/nedlib/results/emulationpreservationreport.pdf Below are two (delayed) announcements of recent reports of interest. One on the slippery question of what an "authentic" digital object is; the other, on an experiment to show the feasibility of using emulation as a means of preserving digital publications in accessible, authentic, and usable form within a deposit library. David Green [deleted quotation] techniques. [deleted quotation] ............................................................................. ................. [deleted quotation] ............................................................................. ................. ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CLIR/DLF "Distinguished Fellows" Program Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:32:53 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 97 (97) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the Digital Library Federation (DLF) Announce Distinguished Fellows Program <http://www.clir.org/pubs/press/fellows.html>http://www.clir <http://www.clir.org/pubs/press/fellows.html>http://www.clir.org/pubs/press/ fellows.html The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the Digital Library Federation (DLF) recently announced a particularly interesting new fellowship program that should identify potential partners to work with CLIR & DLF in implementing their agendas. The call is to librarians, archivists, information technologists, and scholars for them to "pursue their professional development and research interests". It is aimed at "senior professionals with a well-developed personal research agenda who will benefit significantly from time away from their day-to-day responsibilities." David Green [deleted quotation] # # # ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Willard McCarty Subject: Dale Mullen manuscripts: qualified linguist? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 98 (98) [The following was kindly sent to Humanist by a reader who commented that, "The appended posting seeks a very unique background and set of talents, including a huge amount of literary sophistication - which seemed to me likely to be found on your list more than any other list I know of." High praise, for which we can justly feel proud -- for a few seconds, then go back to work earning the reputation! --WM [deleted quotation] series of [deleted quotation] Dale [deleted quotation] Russell [deleted quotation] orthographic [deleted quotation] Ideally, we [deleted quotation] Walt Meyers, [deleted quotation] someone who [deleted quotation] manuscript, Carol [deleted quotation] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS: Cultural Attitudes Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:30:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 99 (99) towards Technology/CIDOC/Digital Futures/School for NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community June 19, 2000 CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS ............................................................................. .... 1. Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology & Communication, July 12-15: Perth. 2. CIDOC/ICOM:"Collaboration:Content:Convergence: Sharing heritage knowledge for the new millennium," August 22-26, 2000: Ottawa. 3. Digital Futures 2000: The Royal Photographic Society Imaging Science Group Annual Conference, September 11-13, 2000: Harrow, UK. 4. School for Scanning Workshop: "Issues of Preservation and Access for Paper-Based Collections," September 18-20: Seattle. Remember to check the NINCH Community Calendar for further listings: <http://www.ninch.org/CALENDAR/calendar.html>http://www.ninch.org/CALENDAR/c alendar.html ............................................................................. ..... CULTURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION: Cultural Collisions and Creative Interferences in the Global Village July 12-15 2000: Murdoch University, Perth, Australia <http://www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/catac00/index.html>http://ww <http://www.drury.edu/faculty/ess/catac00/index.html>http://www.drury.edu/fa culty/ess/catac00/index.html [deleted quotation] * * * * CIDOC/ICOM "Collaboration:Content:Convergence: Sharing heritage knowledge for the new millennium" August 22-26, 2000: Ottawa, Canada <http://www.chin.gc.ca/Resources/Cidoc/English/index.html>http://w <http://www.chin.gc.ca/Resources/Cidoc/English/index.html>http://www.chin.gc ..ca/Resources/Cidoc/English/index.html This year's meeting of the International Committee for Documentation (CIDOC) of the International Council of Museums will be held from August 22 to 26 in Ottawa, the picturesque capital of Canada. Hosted by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), the conference will include a full spectrum of workshops, meetings, study tours, stimulating presentations and lively social events. Our theme this year is "Collaboration - Content - Convergence: Sharing heritage knowledge for the new millennium". Underlying the theme is the relationship between the vast reservoir of heritage knowledge held within our institutions and our heritage audiences, both specialized and general, whose needs we are trying to meet. Our goal will be to explore how documentation is influencing and being influenced by the rapid growth of new technologies and the corresponding development of audience expectations. We will attempt to understand the challenges that face us, and to define a future direction for the sharing of heritage knowledge based on collaboration, the creation of content, and the convergence of disciplines. SPEAKERS INCLUDE: * Ann E. Borda, United Kingdom "Connecting Britain's Computing Heritage: The National Computing Collections Listing Project." * Rosa Botterill and Christine Brown, United Kingdom "The European Museum's Information Institute (EMII): What's in a Survey?" * Martin Brooks, Canada "Broadband, Peer Learning, and Telementoring" * Joseph Busch, United States "Helping people find content...preparing content to be found: Enabling the semantic Web" * Claude Camirand, Canada "Convergence of Activities or Convergence of Thought?" * Erin Branwen Coffin, Canada "CREATION: The Virtual Art Gallery" * Tom Delsey, Canada "Re-situating the library catalogue in a networked context" * Martin Doerr, Greece "Metadata and the CIDOC CRM - a Solution for Semantic Interoperability" * Eleanor E. Fink, United States "Does Culture Count?" * Katy Gillette, Australia "Allied and Alliancing: Getting to a National Museum of Australia" * Junko Iwabuchi, Japan "Current developments and experiments on various tools of imaging in Japan: How is the audience's reaction so far?" * Suzanne Keene, United Kingdom "Museum collections: the future space" * Tracy London, Canada "The "Virtuous Museum" : an Exploration of Technology and Cultural Rights" * David L. McCallum, Canada "LESS SEARCHING = MORE LEARNING: SchoolNet's Learning Metadata Project" * Nancy Morgan, United States "Using GEM Metadata to Access Internet Education Resources" * Virgil Stephan Nitulescu, Romania "Cultural Heritage Legislation: an Attempt to Reconstruct Communication" * Lev Noll, Russia "Internet and Museums: Skilled Staff is Essential!" * Ogunsola Kayode Oluremi, Nigeria "New Museums Roles and the Artist in Nigeria" * Eric Paquet, Canada "Virtual access and access through the content of heritage collections" * Barbara Rottenberg, Canada "After the Gold Rush" * Jane Sledge, United States "Visions of the Future " * Francoise Simard, Canada "Computerization and network distribution of text and image information on Qubec museum collections : the role of the Rseau Info-Muse of the Socit des muses qubcois and of its numerous partners" * * * * Digital Futures 2000: The Royal Photographic Society Imaging Science Group Annual Conference: September 11-13, 2000: University of Westminster, Harrow, UK <http://leonardo.itrg.wmin.ac.uk/DF2000/>http://leonardo. <http://leonardo.itrg.wmin.ac.uk/DF2000/>http://leonardo.itrg.wmin.ac.uk/DF2 000/ Digital Futures 2000 is one of the first conferences in Britain that truly unites image science with the needs of imaging, archiving and conservation using digital technologies. Although there is much research into the behavior of digital systems by image scientists this is not always conveyed to users in a format that directly relates to its usage in these fields. This is a unique opportunity for archivists, curators and creators of images to communicate their needs to the field of image science and for image scientists to relate their understanding of the medium to the imaging and archival communities. This cross fertilization will provide a forum for debate that is both stimulating and informative. The advantages of combining both art and science issues are rarely exploited and therefore the full potential of this exciting and novel area is often never reached. * * * * SCHOOL FOR SCANNING: Issues of Preservation and Access for Paper-Based Collections Presented by the Northeast Document Conservation Center September 18-20, 2000: Seattle, WA <http://www.nedcc.org/sfsinfo.htm>http://www.nedcc. <http://www.nedcc.org/sfsinfo.htm>http://www.nedcc.org/sfsinfo.htm Early-Bird Registration Deadline: August 4, 2000 The conference is funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is cosponsored by the University of Washington Libraries and the National Park Service. What is the School for Scanning? This conference provides a rationale for the use of digital technology by managers of paper-based collections in cultural institutions. Specifically, it equips participants to discern the applicability of digital technology in their given circumstances and prepares them to make critical decisions regarding management of digital projects. Although technical issues will be addressed, this is not a technician training program. Conference content will include: * Managing Digital Assets * Content Selection for Digitization * Text and Image Scanning * Quality Control and Costs * Current Research Projects * Copyright, Fair Use, and Other Legal Issues Surrounding Digital Technology * The Essentials of Metadata * Digital Preservation: Theory and Reality * Digital Products and Process WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Administrators within cultural institutions, as well as librarians, archivists, curators, and other cultural or natural resource managers dealing with paper-based collections, including photographs, will find the School for Scanning conference highly relevant and worthwhile. Since the complexion of this conference evolves with the technology, it would be beneficial to attend even if you have participated in a previous School for Scanning. An audience of 200 or more attendees is expected. WHO ARE THE FACULTY? Martha Anderson, Library of Congress; Howard Besser, UCLA; Steve Chapman, Harvard University; Paul Conway, Yale University Library; Steve Dalton, NEDCC; Franziska Frey, Image Permanence Institute; Janet Gertz, Columbia University; Anne Gilliland-Swetland, UCLA; Peter Hirtle, Cornell University; Melissa Smith Levine, Library of Congress; Steve Puglia, National Archives and Records Administration; Abby Smith, Council on Library and Information Resources; Roy Tennant, University of California at Berkeley; Diane Vogt-O'Connor, National Park Service, and Donald J. Waters, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. WHAT DOES THE CONFERENCE COST? The cost of the conference is $295 for early bird registration postmarked on or before August 4, 2000, and $365 for late registration, deadline August 25, 2000. Participants will be responsible for all their travel, meals, and lodging costs. A complimentary continental breakfast will be provided each morning at the conference site. For information about special hotel and airline fares, see the Registration Information section below. Registration applications will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. ............................................................................. ..... ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: "David L. Green" Subject: 8th DUBLIN CORE METADATA INITIATIVE: Open call for Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:31:19 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 100 (100) participation NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community June 19, 2000 The 8th Dublin Core Metadata Workshop October 4-6, 2000: National Library of Canada, Ottawa, Canada Call for Participation: Open to all <<http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm>http://www.ifla.o <<http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm>http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm> [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: E-Commerce & Nonprofits: a new Benton Foundation project Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 101 (101) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community June 20, 2000 E-Commerce & Nonprofits: a new Benton Foundation project In its latest issue of DIGITAL BEAT, the Benton Foundation not only draws attention to the rising issue of the relationship between e-commerce and non-profits but also announces its own project to offer practical guidance, as well as to raise some of the critical policy issues involved, as non-profits consider e-commerce ventures. Future issues of the Benton's DIGITAL BEAT will focus on such issues and advice. See the foot of this piece for subscription information. This announcement comes in the wake of announcements from for-profits, such as Questia <<http://www.questia.com/>http://www.questia.com/>, engaging in the provision of services heretofore offered mostly by nonprofits, as well as from consortia of nonprofits, such as Fathom.com <<http://www.fathom.com/>http://www.fathom.com/>, offering for-profit services. David Green ============================================================================== [deleted quotation] Digital Beat Extra -- 6/20/2000 Nonprofits and Electronic Commerce by Katharina Kopp Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been around now for a while; great expectations of huge financial gains and economic growth are associated with it. Brick and mortar companies rush to set up their .com enterprises and new business ventures are announced every day. Do we know, however, what e-commerce means for nonprofits? E-commerce and nonprofit work is not necessarily a contradiction in terms. As electronic commerce becomes a larger part of the U.S. and world economy, it seems critical that nonprofit organizations become knowledgeable participants in it. E-commerce is likely to develop into an important vehicle that allows nonprofits to become more self-sustainable and more effective in advancing their objectives. Furthermore, in order to shape the market in their best interests, nonprofit organizations must become knowledgeable about and advocate for the key policy issues that will best serve them. New policy frameworks are being implemented, and the nonprofit community can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines. For various reasons, some nonprofit organizations are beginning to consider the risks and opportunities of e-commerce. For those nonprofits who do, this typically means selling products like books, reports or other merchandise online, or it involves online fundraising. In more general terms, however, e-commerce for nonprofits could refer to the creation of value from the knowledge and expertise that nonprofits generate, in exchange for money or other values, such as increased visibility. In addition to providing their general audience with information and services, nonprofits could also offer special services, such as reports or analyses, for member organizations only, in exchange for reasonable rates. Beyond being producers of value nonprofits are also consumers. They purchase products online and could, for example, benefit from discounts facilitated through co-ops. Nonprofit organizations involved in e-commerce therefore have to grapple with a range of issues such as: what products and services can be marketed, how should they be appropriately marketed, what legislation and regulations apply, how to set up partnerships with for-profit organizations, and how to establish a for-profit spin-off. They also have to address policy questions and articulate their interests, from privacy, to copyright, to consumer rights. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, guidance is needed to explore ethical issues and the value standards that should apply to nonprofits in general and their organization in particular, including issues such as appropriate marketing and privacy protections and where to draw the line when profit-maximizing goals are in conflict with the larger mission of the nonprofit enterprise. Why Is E-Commerce Different? Commerce has been around forever and nonprofits have not previously gotten involved in it on a large scale. Why, then, is e-commerce any different, some might ask? The Internet puts high value on content, knowledge and expertise, and it values neutral brokers of information, something many nonprofits are particularly well-positioned to take advantage of. Also, transaction costs appear low and certain audiences are now easier to reach. E-commerce for nonprofits seems to be a particularly attractive proposition, because the general climate that nonprofits are operating in is changing. Gregory Dees, in his article "Enterprising Nonprofits" (Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. '98), describes five major pressures and influences that are pushing nonprofits into entrepreneurial models or commercialization. These include: - a general pro business zeitgeist, - the need to decrease dependency on and organization's constituency to deliver social goods and services, - financial sustainability and the need to create more reliable funding sources than donations and grants, - a drive by foundations to make grantees more self-sufficient, and - competitive forces from for-profits leading nonprofits to consider commercial alternatives to traditional sources of funding. Dees argues that improving mission-related performance must remain paramount and that the most important measure of success is the achievement of mission-related objectives, not the financial wealth and stability of the organization. A New Benton Project This brief overview of some of the critical issues for nonprofits in electronic commerce marks the beginning of the Benton Foundation's involvement in this area. Benton is interested in providing nonprofits with practical guidance in helping evaluate the opportunities and risks of e-commerce in a thoughtful way. Moreover, Benton wants to help raise some of the critical policy issues on the agenda of the nonprofit community. In future Digital Beats, we will cover various aspects of e-commerce. Articles will particularly focus on privacy, copyright and fair use, consumer rights and Internet governance, as well as practical advice on e-commerce implementation and the various e-commerce business models that in some form or another could be applicable to the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits should care about the practical aspects of e-commerce and the associated policy issues, not because everybody else is talking about it, but because e-commerce may provide an important vehicle with which to become economically more independent and self-sustainable. Some of the more lucrative possibilities for nonprofit e-commerce ventures are already being taken up by for-profit enterprises. Nonprofits should consider now whether to become more assertive and creative in taking advantage of those e-commerce opportunities and make e-commerce also work for philanthropic goals. In order to develop a credible and effective voice in policy making, the nonprofit community must set the highest standards when implementing their own e-commerce practices. Being creative with e-commerce practices can demonstrate to other nonprofits and corporate enterprises what models and standards to adopt. In the policy making environment, setting the benchmark for e-commerce conduct high will put pressure on the private sector to do the same, as nonprofits demonstrate what can be done. The expectations for the potential of e-commerce and its impact on our economy and our lives are high and perhaps exaggerated. The extent of its impact remains to be seen. However, it is likely that the changes, good and bad, will be considerable, particularly with the increasing conversion of electronic media into one platform. The nonprofit community can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines and let the opportunities of e-commerce pass them by. Nor can they remain passive in shaping the policy framework in this emerging market. Too much is at stake and time is running out. For nonprofits to become self-sustainable and for them to remain valuable contributors to our civic lives, they must change with the times and adopt new models of operation. E-commerce is likely to provide some of those new models. The Benton Foundation will try to provide some of the necessary exploration, knowledge, and guidance in conducting e-commerce and provide, in cooperation with other advocates and nonprofit leaders, the guidance in organizing an effective voice in e-commerce policy making. --------------------------------------- (c)Benton Foundation 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message. This service is available online at (www.benton.org/News/Extra). Benton's Communications Policy Program seeks to promote equity, access and a diversity of voices. CPP researches and reports on communications technologies and practices, legislative and regulatory debates and industry trends. It urges the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors to acknowledge their shared public responsibility and to apply their unique strengths in creating a communications environment that meets educational, civic and social needs. CPP works primarily in four issue areas: Digital Divide: CPP manages the Digital Divide Network, an online resource connecting communities with the tools they need to address the inequalities in access to and use of communications networks. E-commerce: Benton Foundation is helping the non-profit community identify the opportunities and risks of engaging in e-commerce. The focus is on: 1) creating value in the e-marketplace from the vast knowledge and networks of the non-profit community and 2) organizing an effective voice for the non-profit community in e-commerce policy making both nationally and internationally. Education Technology: With billions of dollars being invested by all levels of government in education technology, the policy program is committed to making sure the resources devoted to introducing new technologies in schools and libraries are used to their greatest potential. Public Media: CPP strives to identify and promote the policies, practices and principles that will contribute to vital and inclusive public media in the digital age. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* To subscribe to the Benton Communications-Related Headlines, send email to: listserv@cdinet.com In the body of the message, type only: subscribe benton-compolicy YourFirstName YourLastName To unsubscribe, send email to: listserv@cdinet.com In the body of the message, type only: signoff benton-compolicy If you have any problems with the service, please direct them to benton@benton.org ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Willard McCarty Subject: a thought-experiment Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 102 (102) I'd like to ask if those members of Humanist with some experience of both computing and commentaries, glossaries and related scholarly tools would help me out by conducting a thought experiment and publishing the results to Humanist. So, here's the experiment. Suppose that you could materialise an ideal commentary for whatever text or texts are central to your intellectual life. What would it be like? Constrain your imagination not by what our computing tools presently do, and what ancillary materials currently exist in electronic form, but exclude magic as well as fantasies, such as in Star Trek. (So, no manuscript replicators, please, no beaming up the entire mss collection of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin!) Concentrate, if you will, not so much on what our gizmos can do, rather on those aspects of the commentary form that in your use or writing of commentaries have frustrated some scholarly impulse. One thing this thought-experiment implies is that you start with an idea of what a commentary is, i.e. what defines the genre. Not a simple question, because the commentary form is radically contingent on its varying social and cultural context -- to a greater degree than many of us realise. (For those who are interested, see Glenn Most, ed., Commentaries -- Kommentare, Goettingen, 1999.) So it would be helpful if you'd say what you think a commentary is, and then go on to question how its ontology might be altered in the electronic media. Again, though, please focus your remarks on what you might want or can see others wanting rather than just the untrammelled possibilities offered e.g. by hypertext/hypermedia. Which is to say, imagine the lineaments of satisfied desire for the commentary and tell us what you see. Many thanks. WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "C. M. Sperberg-McQueen" Subject: cfp: Extreme Markup Languages / Late-breaking-news slots Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 103 (103) If you would like to give a Late Breaking News presentation at Extreme Markup Languages send in your submission by June 30th! The organizers of the Extreme Markup Languages Conference have reserved a few of the speaking slots in order to provide the freshest possible salad again this year. These slots will be awarded entirely at the discretion of the conference chairs and co-chairs only a couple of weeks before the conference actually occurs, just as the final programs go to press. Preference will be given to the most technically newsworthly submissions. --------------------------------------------------------- ************* Call for Participation ************** ************ Late Breaking News ************* *********** Extreme Markup Languages 2000 ************ --------------------------------------------------------- WHAT: Call for Late Breaking News WHEN: Late Breaking Proposals due: June 30, 2000 Conference: August 15-18, 2000 Tutorials August 13-14, 2000 WHERE: Montreal, Canada SPONSOR: Graphic Communications Association (GCA) Chairs: Steven R. Newcomb, TechnoTeacher, Inc. B. Tommie Usdin, Mulberry Technologies, Inc. Co-Chairs: Deborah A. Lapeyre, Mulberry Technologies, Inc. C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, World Wide Web Consortium/MIT Laboratory for Computer Sciences HOW: Submit the following information to: Extreme@mulberrytech.com - Name - Affiliation - Email address - Presentation Title - Abstract: 100 words suitable for distribution - Where, and when, this information been presented - Additional Information: any further information you wish to provide to the conference committee to help us in our selections and deliberations. QUESTIONS: Email to Extreme@mulberrytech.com or call Tommie Usdin +1 301/315-9631 MORE INFORMATION: For updated information on the program and plans for the conference, see http://www.extrememarkup.net Extreme is a new, highly technical conference concentrating on the evolving abstractions that underlie modern information management solutions, how those abstractions enhance human productivity, and how they are being applied. Abstract and concrete information models, systems built on them, software to exploit them, SGML, XML, XSL, XLink, schemas, Topic Maps, query languages, and other markup-related topics are in scope for this conference. Speakers will have 30 minutes for their prepared remarks followed by fifteen minutes during which the audience will pose questions. ====================================================================== Extreme Markup Languages 2000 mailto:extreme@mulberrytech.com August 13-18, 2000 details: http:www.gca.org Montreal, Canada author info: http://www.mulberrytech.com/Extreme ====================================================================== ====================================================================== B. Tommie Usdin mailto:btusdin@mulberrytech.com Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com 17 West Jefferson Street Phone: 301/315-9631 Suite 207 Direct Line: 301/315-9634 Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML ====================================================================== -- **************************************************** * C. M. Sperberg-McQueen * * Research Staff, World Wide Web Consortium * * Route 1, Box 380A, Española NM 87532-9765 * * (that's Espanola with an n-tilde) * * cmsmcq@acm.org, fax: +1 (505) 747-1424 * **************************************************** From: Jascha Kessler Subject: Re: re commentary Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 05:39:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 104 (104) As an ignoramus in lexology, to coin a term? I might think first, of course, of asking to know the standard search and retrieve things, Boolean, etc., the major libraries and etc., use, and how things are catalogued. UCLA has just spent a fortune on the new ORION2, and it came along very late and very buggy, and they are being sued and penalized, having taking on more than they imagined they were doing. So there is cataloguing and then there comes, I imagine, the abstraction of the formal structures of the Talmud. I think a bot might be devised to learn from all the threads of commentary upon and within and recursive in the Talmud, which is not the Library of Congress, but a small and finite number of volumes. I wouldnt be surprised if this project either exists or is under way in Israel. But, I think it a model for complexities for the scholiasts. Chinese would be a horror, because of the vastness of the library, and the fact that they never indexed at all. I would begin with the Talmud, the first thing that came to my mind, because it is not a free for all, but a historical accretion and layering with threading and a finite number of commentators, and adjuncts, etc. It is not the Bible, but commentary, which makes it suitable, the Bible being already ready, or rather the Pentateuch, and all the other extra volumes, all of which exist in English in the ongoing Doubleday Bible, all the books of which line my shelves, with notes and all. The Talmud is special, since it, I think, hermetical in nature, so apt for a model. Make any sense to you? Talk to Steinsaltz, who has been bringing the Talmud to English, etc. Jascha [deleted quotation] From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0073 a thought-experiment Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 05:39:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 105 (105) Willard, Very often the visions of the future are grounded in the experienced realities of the past. For me, the ideal commentary would be like Robert Hollander guiding a tour of the Dante Database Project. telnet://library.Dartmouth.EDU At the prompt type "connect dante" and press enter. Commentary becomes an instantiation of an expert system. The commentary would speak with the voice of a scholar steeped in learning. Like the scholar, the expert system would understand that a consultation may be directed to recall (proportion of relevant hits or matches retrieved by a query) or directect to precision (proportion of retrieved hits or matches relevant to a query). And like a scholar, an expert system would remember the types of queries generated by previous consultations and become truly excited by a fresh suggestion. These interactive aspects do not need a full multimedia personna for the interface to be effective. They exist whenever a commentary offers opportunities for good navigation, accessible annotation and interesting model manipulation. Commentary supplies good navigation or builds upon good navigation -- segmentation of the encoded text takes into account different analytical structures that may arise from various readings of a text or set of texts. A good commentary is itself structured so references can be made to it. An outside annotation can send readers to an exact spot in a commentary. These two desiderata are within reach with xpointer. They are not one bit foreign to scholars used to processing words. The third is perhaps a technical stretch for people not used to spreadsheets. A good commentary allows one to depict the textual object under discussion. A good depiction allows one so zoom in and out of different views. A better depiction allows for differenct views to be compared and even intersect. Take a simple distribution graph of the first occurance of names in a novel and plot it against the shifting distance of the hero from a given goal (can lead to a revisiting of the picaresque novel). Or take a narratological view and compare it with a phonological analysis (imagine how such a commentary can open up the complexities of a Faulkner novel with its subtle repetitions and displacements). Scalable navigation is the key to such dynamic modeling. In the end any such commentary makes me want to reread the text which has generated the worlds which been the object of such attentive affection. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0073 a thought-experiment Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 05:40:13 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 106 (106) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, June 23, 2000, 10:05AM Dear Colleagues and especially Willard McCarty: I know that this is not a standard type of request, but since I am presently occupied with other matters, could you give a one-paragraph summary of what Glenn Most's book says about commentaries? I could then more readily try to reply to your other question/suggestion. Yours truly, Osher From: Deena Subject: [ELO] Electronic Arts chat on the implications for the Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 107 (107) [--] Please join the Electronic Literature Organization Chat on: Wednesday June 28 21:00 Eastern, 19:00 Mountain, 13:00 Sydney (Thursday June 29) at Lingua MOO (http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000) with artists from the Electronic Easel at The University of Colorado, Boulder (Leslee Boersma, Timothy Weaver, Ariadna Capasso, Maria Patricia Tinaero-Baker, Damian Keller, Cinthia Fiss, Kelli Hashimoto, Angela Forster, Deena Larsen, Robert Schaller, Craig Coleman, and Lisa Stanley). ########### IMPORTANT ########### We'll talk about : -------------------- What are the implications for the (post)humanities in the age of the posthuman? What is technology's impact on issues of identity, race, gender, etc? What is the current status of aesthetics at the convergence of art, science and technology? What is the role of the artist-as-researcher in the investigation and innovation of new technologically-driven visualisation methods? How can electronic art invite the viewer to take a more active role? What are the possible roles for viewers? How do we preserve the technology and the artwork we are creating? ABOUT THE CHATS: These twice monthly chats provide an opportunity for creative writers and readers to get together and discuss the exciting innovations and possibilities in hypertext and other forms of electronic literature. Each chat features a special guest from among the leading lights on the electronic literature world. Chats are archived at <http://www.eliterature.org> (Click on community, then chat archives). INSTRUCTIONS ON JOINING THE CHATS: To take part in the ELO chats, just go to the Lingua MOO and sign in as a guest. If you'd like to learn more about MOOing, please e-mail Deena Larsen at textra@chisp.net for a short tutorial. To enter LinguaMOO, click onthe URL: http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000 Your browser must be either Netscape Communicator version 4.08 or newer, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or newer. Java, Javascript, and Cookies must be enabled for the system to work. Otherwise, please , telnet to lingua.utdallas.edu 8888 You must log in as guest, but you will be prompted to enter your real name on the next screen. Once in LinguaMOO, type in @go eliterature to get to the electronic literature chat room. Once there, you can type a quotation mark " and your text to start talking. You can also type @who to find out who else is there. We hope you'll join us for this exciting chat. ------------ Electronic Literature Organization http://www.eliterature.org Come on over to explore the amazing possibilities To subscribe, send a blank message to: eliterature-subscribe@eGroups.com ------------ From: Chris Plasencia Subject: Ethical dilemmas - recommendations Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 108 (108) I'm Chris Plasencia, I'm a summer intern helping launch a website called Fairness.com. Among other things, our site will be featuring discussions based on various "ethical dilemma" scenarios. My questions are: i) what are the some classic, highly regarded books that collect such scenarios? ii) how could we get in touch with professors and teachers who may have case studies of their own that they would be willing to contribute? Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated; please post them to the list or send them to me at . Thank you very much, Chris Plasencia From: Wilhelm Ott Subject: thoughts from Tuebingen on commentaries Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 109 (109) [The following is most of a note sent to me by Prof Dr Wilhelm Ott in response to my direct request, suggested by John Bradley (and quoted below), that he think about what an electronic commentary might do. Those of you who know the fine work he and his group have done applying his own TuSTEP software to the production of scholarly editions and commentaries in Tuebingen will not wonder at the request. He has given his blessing to my publishing his note here. --WM] I will not do this, since for many years I have not been active in writing or using commentaries. I remember however what I had missed earlier, even and especially in texts which were as richly commented as the Bible (you may remember, my PhD dissertation was on the role of prayer in the view of the authors of the Synoptic Gospels): I missed the direct access to the sources, quoted by the commentaries as a support to a certain interpretation or as a background for facts alluded to, or as evidence for unusal grammatical usage of certain words or constructions. The situation was not as bad as it may have been in other environments, since I did my work in a place which was unusually well equipped with the respective literature: the University of Tbingen has two Faculties of Theology (catholic and protestant), and the Tbingen University Library has the "Sondersammelgebiet Theologie" ("Sondersammelgebiet" means that a library has extra funds from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in order to collect as completely as possible the literature in the respective field); t h e german university library for theology is in Tbingen. Nevertheless, it was sometimes necessary to wait for books from other libraries, or for the return of books lent by others... The electronic commentary could include in addition to the references, the material itself (not only texts, but also pictures...). As an example (which I have only seen in a demonstration; I have not yet had a closer look at it) for a product which meets some of these desires, I want to direct your attention to the "hybrid" edition of Der junge Goethe in seiner Zeit. Texte und Kommentare. Hg. v. Karl Eibl, Fotis Jannidis u. Marianne Willems. Frankfurt: Insel Verlag 1998 It consists of two printed volumes and a CD-ROM which contains materials from the historical context of the works of the youg Goethe, including important texts, the catalogue of his father's library, letters, etc., about 7 times the volume of the printed book, with about 13.000 links between them. The access software is FolioViews. In addition, the material is contained also in a version encoded in TEI-Lite. - You might be interested to find out more about this edition by consulting http://www.jgoethe.uni-muenchen.de, where you find, among other information, a powerpoint demo of the CD-ROM and some reviews of this edition. More modest examples (aimed at an other readership, namely high school students ("Gymnasium")), are the volumes of the "Basisbibliothek", also published by Suhrkamp Verlag (Insel, Suhrkamp and Deutscher Klassiker Verlag are the same persons), each offering a "basis text" (e.g., Goethe: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, or Brecht: Leben des Galilei), published from the TUSTEP-files used also for producing the editons by the Deutscher Klassiker Verlag. The same text is contained on a CD-ROM available for each of these volumes, which in addition contain the commentary and additional materials. Up to now, 18 volumes (and CD-ROMs) have been published. They are available also as Rocket eBook editions (cf. http://www.rocket-ebook.de). --------- I mentioned the latter examples also as an answer to your remark that TUSTEP "has implemented a vision based on actual practice, although mostly (? entirely) for the print medium". Let me correct this possible misunderstanding: in the center of TUSTEP, there have always been the tools for analyzing and manipulating textual data (including collation of different versions, indexing, data base manipulations etc) for scholarly work in the fields where texts are the object of research. For presenting the results, output facilities (also for more difficult typesetting, like for critical editions) are not more (and not less) than a necessary part of this toolbox. That TUSTEP is by many people seen as a tool for producing printed scholarly editions may originate from a time when no other software could do this job (TUSTEP handles the layout necessary for an edition with critical apparatuses automatically since 1974). Others see TUSTEP only as a powerful typesetting system... TUSTEP supports also electronic media. As a proof you may consult the OPAC of our own library at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/cgi-bin/zdvlit (accessible also via the homepage of the ZDV under "Bibliothek / OPAC"). Here, TUSTEP is used not only to prepare the data base, but also as the search enginge. The data base is a TUSTEP file which is searched with the flexible TUSTEP means (as you may imagine from the buttons for selecting the grade of exactness of the search; you might try to select "normalisierte Suche" and to look for an author like "Meier" (which also gives you "Mayer" and other orthographic forms) or "Schmid" (which also returns names like "Schmied", "Schmidt", "Schmitt" or "Smith"); the results are on the fly converted into HTML for presentation. Also the search engine serving the FAQ data base on the ZDV homepage is TUSTEP; here, both index and full text search is possible (the OPAC relies on full text search only; it is small enough, about 60.000 titles only). A commercial (and presently free) electronic publication using TUSTEP as a search engine is the Roche-Lexikon Medizin, a medical lexicon available in print, on CD-ROM and online (http://www.roche-lexikon.de) with more than 100.000 entries. The data base and the necessary links and indexes have also been prepared with TUSTEP, based on files converted from the book- and the CD-ROM-publication. Please excuse me for the lengh of this mail - but your remarks on TUSTEP did seduce me to add some recent information on this tool. Looking forward to see you in Glasgow Wilhelm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Ott phone: +49-7071-2970210 Universitaet Tuebingen fax: +49-7071-295912 Zentrum fuer Datenverarbeitung e-mail: ott@zdv.uni-tuebingen.de Waechterstrasse 76 http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/ D-72074 Tuebingen On Thu, 22 Jun 2000, Willard McCarty wrote: [deleted quotation] ..... [deleted quotation] From: David Zeitlyn Subject: "Discovering Social Anthropology in Galicia" teaching Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 110 (110) material now available on the ERA web site I am pleased to be able to announce that the following material is now available on the ERA web site - either via the main page (www.era.anthropology.ac.uk) or at its direct address http://www.era.anthropology.ac.uk/Teach-yourself/ Discovering Social Anthropology in Galicia (Supplementary materials to Chris Hann: Teach Yourself Social Anthropology, London, 2000. This site published 23/06/00. A revised version will be published later this summer) Synopsis Social anthropology began as the science of the exotic and 'savage', but anthropologists have extended the range of their discipline to include the most 'advanced' societies, and everything in between. The materials made available are linked to the author's simultaneously published book "Teach Yourself Social Anthropology" (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 2000). They describe a seven week course in social anthropology at a summer school in the Polish city of Cracow. Postcommunist society is neither exotically strange nor reassuringly familiar to the participants, who learn to apply and deepen their knowledge in a variety of activities outside the classroom. We are very pleased that Chris Hann has chosen this route to make his material available, and we would welcome other contributions to help the further development of the ERA project Dr David Zeitlyn, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing, Department of Anthropology, Eliot College, The University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NS, UK. Tel. +44 (0)1227 823360 direct) Tel: +44 (0)1227 823942 (Office) Fax +44 (0)1227 827289 http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/dz/ From: "Fotis Jannidis" Subject: Re: 14.0076 ethical dilemmas? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 111 (111) [deleted quotation] A few days ago I heard a very interesting lecture by Prof. Robert Cavalier from Pittsburgh on three interactive multimedia CD-ROMs which have been developed at Carnegie Mellon's Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics which could be a help in your search. Fotis Jannidis [For two of the fine pieces of work done by this group, see <http://www.routledge.com/routledge/electronic/>, s.v. "Abortion in America" and "A Right to Die?" Preston Covey, one of the primary people involved, writes very movingly about his work in applied ethics; see <http://hss.cmu.edu/HTML/departments/philosophy/people/directory/Preston_Cov ey.html>. --WM] From: Willard McCarty Subject: abundance vs abstraction Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 112 (112) Within a day of each other we have two major reviews of Paul Feyerabend's posthumously assembled last "collage", as he called it, Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction versus the Richness of Being, ed. Bert Terpstra (Chicago, 2000), by two of the leading figures in the philosophy of science: Ian Hacking, "'Screw you, I'm going home'", London Review of Books 22.12 (22 June 2000): 28-9 and Bas van Fraasen, "The sham victory of abstraction", Times Literary Supplement 5073 (23 June 2000): 10-11. Unfortunately at the moment neither review is online, even to subscribers, so reading these will involve more than the minimal locomotion of mouse-clicks, but the effort is very richly rewarded. Hacking's piece is printed with Feyerabend's "Letter to the Reader" -- which, if I were not interested in keeping my involvement with the law to a minimum I'd re-publish here; van Fraasen's with a wonderful photo of Feyerabend, older and *much* mellower looking than I dimly recall him from the time when, at age 17, I sat fascinated in a classroom at Berkeley while he hung over his crutches and taught us about science. The issue that Feyerabend takes up -- as Hacking notes, much more subtly than the careless reader might notice -- is central to what we do, whether or not we think what we do is a "science" or regard experimental scientific practice as relevant to our own. In that Letter to the Reader he warns us that although the form of writing is an academic essay, "it is not my intention to inform, or to establish some truth. What I want to do is to change your attitude. I want you to sense chaos where at first you noticed an orderly arrangement of well-behaved things and processes.... I conclude", he says, "that the life we lead is ambiguous. It contains not only one future, but many and it contains them neither ready-made nor as possibilities that can be turned into any direction.... It is very important not to let this suspicion deteriorate into a truth, or a theory, for example into a theory with the principle: things are never what they seem to be. Reality, or Being, or God, or whatever it is that sustains us cannot be captured that easily. The problem is not why we are so often confused; the problem is why we seem to possess useful and enlightening knowledge.... Is argument without a purpose? No, it is not; it accompanies us on our journey without tying it to a fixed road. Is there a way of identifying what is going on? There are many ways, and we are using them all the time though often believing that they are part of a stable framework which encompasses everything. Is there a name for an attitude or a view like this? Yes, if names are that important I can easily provide one: mysticism, though it is a mysticism that uses examples, arguments, tightly reasoned passages of text, scientific theories and experiments to raise itself into consciousness...." Ah, ferocious courage to the last. What does this have to do with us? Everything, I am tempted to say, and just have :-). More specifically, though: it's about what we get from the computational discipline of rigorous consistency and absolute explicitness, which takes us to the point of being able to glimpse the chaos that Feyerabend would have us see and to keep alive the question of "why we seem to possess useful and enlightening knowledge". Amidst the daily grind of clever buttons to click and annoying animations to swat away, Feyerabendian mischief is, as Hacking says, "profoundly liberating. He is great fun, but there is more to it than that." Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Serge Noiret Subject: The "Best of the WWW VL Italian History Index" Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 06:00:43 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 113 (113) [Apologies for cross-posting] Dear members of H-ITALY, H-HISTBIBL, HISTOPS-L, SISSCO, LASTORIA.IT and HUMANIST Discussion Group, Since June 15th 2000, the WWW VL Italian History Index, which is part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library (WWW VL) and of the WWW VL History Project maintained in Kansas by Lynn H.Nelson, [http://www.ukans.edu/history/VL/index.html] has been offering a page entitled "Best of the WWW VL Italian History Index". This page consists of a list of web-sites which we think are the best Italian History sites on the Internet. Non-Italian sites dealing with Italian History form part of the WWW VL Italian History Index but are not yet part of this selection. In the future we will make a distinction between the best of the non-Italian web-sites AND the best of the Italian sites dealing with Italian History. In order to be eligible for this list of scientifically evaluated sites, all web-sites should also be totally and freely accessible to a world-wide public without any kind of restriction. "Best of the WWW VL Italian History Index" will list only those scientifically important Italian History sites which meet a set of scientific criteria shortly to be established by an academic board of editors. The list of sites will be regularly monitored to verify that all sites are frequently updated and maintained. A logo will be sent first to the best Italian History sites produced in Italy (all periods) and at a later stage to non-Italian sites devoted to Italian History. The best sites are available at the following URL: [http://sissco.iue.it/VL/hist-italy/best.html] Please remember that the Sisscoweb site is available at [http://sissco.iue.it] and the WWW VL Italian History Index at: [http://sissco.iue.it/VL/hist-italy/Index.html] We would like to invite you to submit Italian History sites - whether produced in Italy or elsewhere - if you think that they could be listed in the "Best of the WWW VL Italian History". The selection criteria (which can vary according to the type of site being evaluated) include: -easy navigation and understanding of the site contents; -scientific and scholarly importance of the contents whether the page is a bibliography, a reference work, an original source, an e-journal, a collection of e-texts, another index of e-resources, a collection of essays, a discussion list, etc.; -good graphical presentation; - browser-friendly; -free access to all contents; -no publicity except for the sponsor of the site, if there is one; -academic board of editors and/or clearly stated author(s) of the site; -clear description of the scientific aims and means used to build and maintain the site. Thank you very much for your help and suggestions of potential sites and other possible criteria to add to this above list. Again sorry if you are member of all the lists I have sent my mail to ! -- Serge Noiret Ph.D. in Contemporary History Docteur en Philosophie et Lettres European University Institute Address: Via dei Roccetini 9 ~ I50016 San Domenico (FI) - Italy Phone: +39-0554685-348 ~ Fax +39-0554685-283 @,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_@,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_@ ===>Curriculum Vitae [http://www.iue.it/Personal/Staff/Noiret/noiret.html] @,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_@,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_@ From: Willard McCarty Subject: today's coo-uhl web site Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 06:01:38 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 114 (114) Humanists will enjoy reading Geoffrey Nunberg's commentary on electronic lists, "Gimcrack Nation", at<http://www.parc.xerox.com/istl/members/nunberg/gimcrack.html>. Nunberg (Xerox PARC, Stanford) edited the fine collection of essays entitled The Future of the Book (California, 1996) and turns up regularly on National Public Radio in the U.S. His other online items are well worth looking at, for which see <http://www.parc.xerox.com/istl/members/nunberg/radio.html>. Of the pieces done on NPR I note "An Interjection for the Age" (on the word "whatever") and "Rebirth of the "Cool" (on the survival of the word "cool"), and "Checking it out" (on Web searching). In "Gimcrack Nation" Nunberg compares the contents of the Linguist list to the early numbers of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1665--). He finds no evidence that the boundaries of his discipline are being eroded by the e-medium, rather thinks that they are if anything strengthened. But he does point to the making public of the formerly privatised discourse within the fold. In former times, he says, [deleted quotation]Enjoy. WM ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: Kathryn Harvey Subject: Re: 14.0043 e-editions of letters? Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 06:02:23 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 115 (115) I'm writing in response to Charles Faulhaber's query in late May about other electronic editions of correspondence being prepared for web-based delivery. The Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project, based at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is currently about half-way through Phase One which will be completed in September 2000. This phase will make available, over the Internet, sixty letters dating from 1937 to 1979. More letters and other textual and nontextual works will subsequently become available as the electronic archive develops. (The Dalhousie University Archives holds Raddall's manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, research notes, scrapbooks, photographs, etc. as well as his copyrights.) The project--directed by Holly Melanson (Assistant University Librarian, Collections and Development, Dalhousie University)--is using TEI Lite for the SGML-encoding and is in the early stages of developing the delivery interface. More about the project and links to information about Thomas Raddall himself can be found at http://www.library.dal.ca/archives/trela/trela.htm. We would welcome discussions with others working on challenges similar to our own! Sincerely, Kathryn Harvey ___________________________________________________ Dr. Kathryn Harvey Project Manager, Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project, Archives, Killam Memorial Library Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3H 4H8 (http://www.library.dal.ca/archives/trela/trela.htm) SGML Consultant/Developer, Early Modern Literary Studies (http://purl.oclc.org/emls/emlshome.html) and Internet Shakespeare Editions (http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/) E-mail: kharvey@iworks.net From: Willard McCarty Subject: love-letters? Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 06:03:49 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 116 (116) Casting about for verbal data on which to do some text-analysis with students, I have been looking for a reasonably large collection of love-letters but have so far not found any suitable ones. I have encountered graphically intense Web pages (flowers, vines, hearts) with a few famous letters, but what I'd really like are masses of such things to and from ordinary people, or famous, it doesn't matter. The style doesn't matter to me either -- they can be sappy, sentimental, agonised, rapturous, silly, earthy etc. -- in fact a mixture would be best. They should all be in English, though not necessarily recent, better if not all American English, but I'll settle for my native dialect/language if I have to :-). I'd prefer not to have to do a great deal of cleanup on them. All I'm interested in pedagogically is analysis of the language by frequency of words and collocates and by nearest neighbours, i.e. simple concordancing. Any suggestions on where I might look? Thanks. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [short report with concerns] Pokemon Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 117 (117) Greetings Humanist scholars, Hi, I hope you're doing well out there. Yesteray, I went to kino to see the *Pokemon film* (may be a Japanese Production) with two small kids. Actually, the film was made for small children to have fun and entertain themselves. But, I was *suprised* to see the film, try to explain and answer some of the important questions of Humankind regarding Ethics, Dasein and Clonning and raised more contemporary issues concerning Life. I was really absorbed in the film with different characters, especially in "Mu" and "Piccachu". (In film) When the *Menschen* (Human beings), have already clonned the original Mu as "Mutwo". Then, Mutwo was always asking questions, such as "Warum bin ich hier?", "Was sind meine aufgaben?" and many more. Mutwo was asking some questions to himself as, "When *Menschen* have clonned me, then *they* want me to be a slave of *Menschen*. And, the clonned Mutwo was also saying, "Ich bin der Herrscher der Welt" sounds dangerous. So, Is clonning necessary? And, if it is necessary to do the clonning, then What is its *Dasein* and who is creator and created? Then, in clonning *original species* --we'll be loosing our original *Dasein* And, the most deadly scene was --when clonned pokemons were fighting with the original pokemons. (this scenarios is not good, thinking of the Human beings on the planet) BTW..I will do more research on the film and will let you know, later. I also think, the film *Pokemon* would also be making news in United States, Australia & other countries amongst kids and their parents and teachers in schools. The film has more to say and have good pedagogical styles, but children always must see this film with their teachers and parents, so that they can get some good teaching. Keeping my fingers on the keyboard and telescope to the Stars!! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: jason.mann@vanderbilt.edu Subject: The 6th International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 118 (118) Networks November 3-5, 2000 University of Maryland University College College Park, Maryland Please, mark these dates, and go to http://www.aln.org/alnconf2000 for more about the premier conference devoted exclusively to online learning. Researchers, educators, and anyone interested in distance education are welcome. Discuss the state-of-the-art with scientists, teachers and managers, see what the commercial sector is offering to support online education, and join in shaping the future of this growing field. Organizations interested in exhibit space, product demonstration rooms, or corporate sponsorship, please contact aln2000@umuc.edu. Asynchronous learning networks are helping to transform education and training from site-based, time-bound experiences to anytime/anywhere online learning environments. By connecting learners with each other, with their instructors, and with a wide range of resources, ALNs allow a high degree of interaction and collaboration. From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0039 report on Colloquium at King's College London Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 119 (119) [The following was unhelpfully misdirected by a filter in Eudora and so has been delayed in publication here. My apologies (again, on behalf of software) to Francois Lachance and everyone else. --WM] Willard, With a big gathering looming (Glasgow) it is not without a certain timeliness that I praise John Lavagnino's report on the humanities computing colloquium held at King's College London in May. http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v14/0037.html John's report weaves a lovely narrative. There is a flair for the personalities involved. It is not a mere reportage. I do appreciate the reshuffling of the presenations in his report. He does not follow the order of the scheduled presentation. I do like the narrative line he casts from the problem of machines dealing with ambiguity through to the collaborative mysteries of community via the tension between formalization and deformation. I wish all who attend the gathering in Glasglow and those of us who will follow the proceedings from afar an equally enriching experience. Humanities computing: formal methods, experimental practice [deleted quotation] -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: Willard McCarty Subject: the craft of (computer-assisted) research Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 120 (120) At King's College London as elsewhere, I suspect, incoming students' knowledge of computing increases in leaps and bounds each year and so is pushing us exactly in the direction we want to go: away from mere button-pushing to what is more properly the concern of humanities computing. A somewhat less positive but equally true way of putting this is: at each push we need again to figure out what is left for us to teach. Fortunately, at least from where I stand our domain doesn't seem to be getting any smaller, and certainly no less interesting or challenging. In the immediate terms of classroom work, the shift away from a focus on button-pushing to a struggle with its implications means an increasing emphasis on questions that require an essay for an answer. Reading such essays one quickly finds that students tend not to know what an argument is nor how to deal with evidence in support of it. (When I ask students to present an argument, e.g. about their text-analysis of O.J. Simpson trial transcripts or discussions of the Millennium Dome, I don't get arguments, I get stories of their experiences: "first I did this, and then I tried that...".) It may not be the central business of humanities computing to teach the elements of critical thinking, argumentation and writing, but of course no department can wait for someone else to do the job. And if we're not teaching the students how to think and write critically with the computer, then we're getting closer to useless with each passing year. So what do we do? Concern about the problem is quite widespread, with a great deal of material online, for example, focusing on "critical thinking" and how to develop the ability to do it. As a stimulus to our own thinking about the subject, I have filtered out a selection and offer it here, at <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/development/>. I would be most grateful for comments and for suggestions about what I might add to my list. Wayne C Booth et al, The Craft of Research (Chicago, 1995), seems excellent as a book to adopt or strongly to recommend for the purpose. Are there others you would suggest? Coming out of this, I would hope, is a rather more specialised focus on how to do, think through and write about *computer-assisted* research. Meanwhile, however, it does seem to me that we could respond well to the push our students are transmitting to us by teaching them the elements of research methods from the beginning, using such broadly focused books as Booth et al and supplementing them with on-the-fly remarks relevant to computing in particular. Your reactions and comments, please. Many thanks. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Gianni Rubagotti Subject: Ermes_net: philosophy and XML Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 121 (121) I think it could be interesting for this kind of list to receive the message of my friend Massimiliano (massileo@libero.it), about his university project that use XML and other technologies for the philosophical analisys of texts. Best wishes, Gianni Rubagotti I'am Massimiliano Leone, a student of Philosophy at the University of the Studies of Milan in Italy. I'm taking my degree in Theoretical Philosophy with the prof. Paolo D'Alessandro and i'm taking part at the Ermes_net project. I would like to introduce it to you because i think that you could be interested by the way we've realized it: using XML and PHP3 and Webdav for downloading and uploading files to allegate. Also i hope you'll give us your suggestion to implement and evolve it. Best regards. Massimiliano Leone Ermes_net is born like a plan of the chair of Theoretical Philosophy III of the University of the Studies of Milan, held by the Prof. Paolo D'Alessandro. Here is the presentation made from the Professor D'Alessandro and situated in the presentation pages of the site http://www.lettere.unimi.it/ermes_net: " The philosophical Laboratory has been planned and comes activated by a group of researchers of the Chair of Theoretical Philosophy III , department of philosophy of the University of the Studies in Milan. It means to give life to a virtual community of theoretical searches that experiments the possibility to make philosophy with the new technologies of informations and, at the same time, to verify the result of a search lead in common. We are convinced that the medium of communication cannot be considered neutral, and during the experiment it will be dealt to control the specific modalities with which it is succeeded to produce thought, collective and connecting at the same time, by using a PC, marking the difference with what happens with other average: the voice, the pen and the characters to press." Here in synthesis the operation of the site. This is fruibile only by the qualified customers with password. But i've made a demonstration with Power Point that you can download at www.lettere.unimi.it/ermes_net/ermesinglese.zip It's introduced a philosophical text, that it appears on a html frame. This text is written in xml (well format), visualized with a stylesheet xsl (without DTD). It is subdivided in phrases, to the end of them there is an icon, clicking on which they come visualized, on an other html frame, the commentary notes brought to that phrase from the customers participants to the argument. It is possible, in one first modality, to visualize all the comments of all the customers to each phrase of the text in issue, or the comments realized from a single customer to the relative phrase, or all comments to one single phrase. How? There's a "job modality" in which it is possible to decide which phrase to comment on and, if it is desired, to bring to the commentary notes a minimal particular style and to insert an hyperlink or also an image. Clicking on the icon placed to the term of the choised phrase of the text (a file xml), a form HTML in which inserting notes, link and eventually the name of the image, comes visualized. A program in php3 captures the data contained in every field of the form and modernizes the new file xml creating new note-tag in the reference phrase. In the "visualization modality " of which it was said, anyone who approaches the site with password, will be able to visualize the comments previously realized. Clicking on the icon to the term of the phrase, or when it is decided to visualize all the comments, or when it is demanded (through one small form) to visualize the comments of a single participant, a php3 program creates a new file xsl that allows to obtain the demanded visualization. From: Willard McCarty Subject: caught in the revolution Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 122 (122) Thanks to Dr Han Baltussen (Philosophy, King's College London) I have to hand Christopher Luethy, "Caught in the electronic revolution: Observations and analyses by some historians of science, medicine, technology and philosophy", Early Science and Medicine 5.1 (2000): 64-92. Luethy (whose name is spelled with a u-umlaut) asks, "For ought we not, as historians of science, technology, and medicine, [to] be in the possession of privileged conceptual tools with which to analyse the changes we are all observing? Should not our vocabulary be particularly sharp when we speak of the ways in which new technologies affect intellectual development, and vice versa?" (p. 65). Whether one thinks that Luethy's article exemplifies the privileged tools and particularly sharp vocabulary, he is surely right that the history (AND philosophy AND sociology) of science and technology (not omitting mathematics either) are essential to the task we have centrally before us. Luethy reports in his article on the results from a questionnaire sent out by the journal Early Science and Medicine to 80 colleagues in the field and to some historians of 19th and 20th-century science (including e.g. Peter Galison). 30 responses came back. Although the article promises only that the responses will be online until May 2000, they appear still to be at <http://www.kun.nl/phil/center/revolution.html>. The article offers a selection of these responses and Dr Luethy's analysis. Luethy was surprised that very few of the respondents questioned use of the word "revolution". Evert van der Zweerde noted that if the word "presupposes a powerful resistance that has to be overcome" then we are not witnessing a revolution; and Michael Hunter that it may not apply in any profound sense in established academic fields: "the extent to which these developments have altered the real agenda" of such fields simply isn't clear yet. Most, however, accepted the term, meaning by it a change involving rapid growth of computational power, the all-pervasive nature of computing and its effects on our vocabulary, metaphors and ways of thinking. Luethy cites a recent study, Impact of the Internet Economy in Europe (for which see Neue Zuercher Zeitung 21/9/99, electronics suppl. B8), in which the authors develop a model for the change based on historical parallels "as well as a heuristic concept of 'revolution' to designate fast, multilayered, and economically and demographically significant reactions to new technologies" (p. 68). Respondents to the questionnaire cited the invention of the printing press, of course. One, Thomas B Settle, cited in addition the development of written languages and mathematics, domestication of plants and animals, the subsequent invention of the city-state et al. and of civilisation as a whole, the revolutions of gunpower and sailing ships, the development of steam-based power technologies and so on and so forth. Whether one wishes to be as inclusive, Dr Settle certainly raises the question of socio-cultural change and its relation to new technologies. Are there studies of this area we should know about? After surveying the responses, Luethy notes, "These divergent views underline forcefully how unclear the mid- and long-term effects of computerization still are." Indeed. To the question of whether the use of tools has changed the working methods of the scholars involved one person answered to the effect that there is no generation-gap in the use of the computer: "Irrespective of age, no one who answered the questionnaire continues to use paper, scissors and glue sticks" (p. 71). Perhaps a shaky conclusion on the basis of only 30 answers -- we can possibly all find colleagues who eschew computers, somewhere -- but "the irreversibility of this technological revolution" seems difficult to deny. The geographical decentralisation of research, reported by Luethy, will come as no surprise, but you may find the German term for the condition to which it has led, "die neue Unuebersichtlichkeit", to be quite useful! Complaints about our ironic lack of success in surveying what is happening have surfaced here from time to time. At the same time, respondents note the possibilities, being realised in specific cases, to connect what has formerly been separated e.g. in different, sometimes non-cooperating libraries and archives. The proliferation of materials in differing states and versions gets notice and complaint. Several of the respondents asserted, some vigorously, that "good research will remain unaffected, while new patterns are a sign of lower quality" (p. 80): "At top levels, no change. At lower levels, a further lowering of quality", Loren Graham dishearteningly said (p. 79). Well, them's fighting words.... About how the technology will affect our perception of history, one camp strongly asserted that there is NO interrelation between "the perception of history and the means of research" (p. 81), while others thought that it will be changed e.g. by virtual reality software -- a "cinematic experience of the past", perhaps, with a dramatic increase of "mythinforming"? When asked about the "greatest potential of the electronic revolution" the common ground was "a noteworthy emotional charge" to the responses. Fears and warnings prevailed. Oi veh! The conclusion? "No conclusion" is the last section heading in the article. But Luethy does end with words that sound not so silly to me: "As it happens in most cases," Paul Richard Blum notes, "this revolution turns out to be one with hindsight only. This had certainly not been designed as a revolution. [...] In my view things develop first as a tool, then as a way of looking at things with that tool in mind, then as a reflection on this change, and finally as a transformation into history...." (p. 91). My conclusion? That we can do better than the above, MUCH better, simply by watching with open eyes and minds what is happening right now under our hands. Not to predict the future but to see the present more clearly and so to inform desire that we may make a better world for ourselves. Comments? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Willard McCarty Subject: thoughts on commentaries & humanities computing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 123 (123) To my request for thought-experimenters in Humanist 14.73 there may have been many responses, but none (except for Prof Dr Ott's) have actually-virtually come across my desk and so been published here. (I was going to write "actually come across my virtual desk" when I realised that the desk is quite solid; it's the coming across that requires the qualification, which I am tempted to expand into a not irrelevant meditation on the philosophy of science, but won't :-). One member of this group asked for a summary of Glenn Most's book, Commentaries -- Kommentare, which I mentioned as a good source for thoughts on the commentary form, but I didn't respond because this would have required days of work. However a search of the very fine Bryn Mawr Classical Review <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/> reveals a solid piece on the book by James O'Donnell, <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2000/2000-05-19.html>, distinguished author of Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace (Harvard, 1998) -- read it tonight! Nevertheless I thought I'd set out some desultory, scattered (and doubtless flawed) thoughts provoked by the essays collected in Most's book, in order myself to provoke the silent thought-experimenters into at least the same if not better. It seems to me that the problem of what we might do with the commentary in the electronic medium is made to order for us computing humanists. Considering it is, among other things, a way of defining our common perspective on research in the humanities. That someone like me, who is little better than a scholarly tourist in nearly all of the fields, traditions and historical periods covered by Most's book, can sustain a professional interest is remarkable. (Kind wit, be silent!) I think sorting out what across such essays proves relevant, what irrelevant to the computational transformation of the genre provides a very good way of expanding that "remarkable" beyond the phatic moment (and out of wit's grasp) into a realisation of what we're about. The editor, Professor Most (Greek, Heidelberg/Chicago), worries at the beginning about how to define what a commentary is; he notes the possibility of a definition by formal properties -- chiefly the subordination of one text to another -- "X is a commentary *on* Y -- but rejects that because it does not distinguish between a genuine commentary and a parody (he mentions Nabokov's Pale Fire; see also Lee Siegel's delightful, even useful Love in a Dead Language <http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/756971.html>). It seems to me that formal properties are exactly what we have to think about, and that whether something is a "genuine" commentary or a parody matters not a whit to us. But what might these properties be? Subordination collapses or has to be qualified into near meaninglessness quite quickly, as there are clearly "non-submissive" commentaries in which the commented text is little more than an occasion for the commentary, and even more radically (as could be argued about the proto-typological connections within the Hebrew Bible and about Galen on Hippocrates) the very act of commenting on can be said to create the authority of the text commented on, if not come close to create it as a text. It may be, Vallence writes, that Hippocrates was the only great authority nebulous and distant enough for Galen to tolerate; source-criticism on the Bible seems to me to drive us to the same conclusion. Another important qualification is provided by Daniel Boyarin's essay on Midrash as commentary, in which he points out that interpretation defines only one kind of commentary. If, as in Midrash, the Platonic/Orphic notion of soul distinct from body -- and thus meaning from text -- does not operate, even provisionally, then the act of commenting on is made even more problematic than we may have thought. Simon Goldhill says in his own essay that the commentary form depends on philosophical ideas about language (and literature). He asks, where is the meaning in a theatrical or textual event? This is the sort of question we ask. "The words of the Torah are poor in their place, and rich in another context." An interdisciplinary, trans-historical examination of commentaries, like one of concordances, is an exercise that drives one to the brink of silence: it seems as if almost anything can be called a "commentary". Somewhat less vaguely, as a genre it seems to slip easily from the form a classicist would recognise as such (e.g. Dodds on Euripides Bacchae, Nisbet and Hubbard on Horace) to the interpretative essay, the new composition, the translation and the lexicon. Here Goldhill's approach I find especially helpful: he defines the genre by the operation of two principles: citation and morselisation. The genre is driven, with tighter or looser focus, by the (not necessarily subordinating) reference ad loc., which implies a synchronic view of the text and which, as Fowler notes in his essay, means the recontextualisation of the referenced morsel. Referencing and the recontextualising of data-morsels should be immediately recognisable as operations that computing is well suited for. Fowler helpfully runs through a number of possibilities that computing suggests, one of which is the dynamic creation of many different kinds of commentary from the same body of material (e.g. the now bog-standard notion of suppressing or revealing material as the user wishes). More radical is the idea of creating a commentary by assembling morsels not originally made for the purpose, e.g. my colleague David Yeandle's project to create a commentary on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival from bibliographical references to discussions of individual passages -- his "Stellenbibliographie zum Parzival Wolframs von Eschenbach", for which see <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kis/schools/hums/german/parzdescr.htm> (German version also available). So, we let 100 flowers bloom, but as computing humanists we study the mechanics of blooming. Goldhill's social constructivist perspective on the commentary tradition reminds me of what Ian Hacking, quoting Nietzsche, says about "unwrapping the mummy of science" to see it as an historical process. Hacking points out, in The Social Construction of What? (Harvard, 1999) that to see something as "constructed" can be liberating, as constructivism tells us that the constructed thing does not have to be the way it now is, or is regarded. We are constructors; can we be liberating? Goldhill asks, is it possible to have a commentary that pays attention to the modern ideas of a plural text, that is not integrally related to discredited ideas about language? It seems to me that here is a paradigmatic problem for humanities computing and that arriving at the point of formulating it (however crudely managed here) holds a mirror up to the field. Comments? Yours, WM : how we sort relevant from irrelevant . Apart from Reading the fat volume of learned essays, dealing with the genre in several traditions and historical periods (within most of which I am little more than a scholarly tourist), I found myself - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: SGMl/XML a year latter Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 124 (124) Willard Last century (Fri. Jan. 1999), Wendell Piez gave a wonderful overview of the state of sgml-aware software development : http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v12/0334.html In that posting, he suggested "we be more radical in imagining how we and our audiences could get software to do what we need." Anyone care to five an assessment of where we are now? On the topic of surveys of the field... the latest off-line bibliography of humanities computing I can locate is Giovanni Adamo's _BIbliografia di informatica umanistica_ (1994) Webwise using a popular search engine... Library of Congress Subject Heading Humanities--Data processing--Bibliography yields no hits using the same search engine and a Boolean expression Humanities AND Data processing AND Bibliography yields 306 hits using the same search engine and a different boolean expression Humanities NEAR Data processing NEAR Bibliography yields two hits of historic import one Susan Hockey's 1980 guide http://www.wls.wels.net/Worldpac/eng/r000011/r010717.htm Of course what started all this searching and catalogue comparison was my perusal of a particularly magnificient yearbook edited by Ian Lancashire and Willard McCarty... -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CULTIVATE INTERACTIVE: New European Online Magazine Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 125 (125) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 3, 2000 New European Online Magazine: CULTIVATE INTERACTIVE Launch Issue Now Available <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/>http://www.cultivate <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/> [deleted quotation] Cultivate Interactive is a new pan-European Web magazine which is funded under the European Commission's DIGICULT programme. <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/> Cultivate Interactive is aimed at the European cultural heritage community including IT staff, information professionals, researchers, managers, policy makers, libraries, museums, archives, galleries, non-profit making organisations. The launch issue is online today and has lots to offer. The highlights include: Feature Articles ---------------------- Digital Heritage and Cultural Content in the New Information Society Technologies Programme <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/ist/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/issu e1/ist/> Bernard Smith, Head of the Cultural Heritage Applications Unit of the European Commission, describes the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme's recent calls for proposals. He talks about the new focus of digital heritage and cultural content and the effects this change will have. The ASH project: A Virtual Control Room <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/ash/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/issu e1/ash/> Jrgen Begh reports on the Virtual Control Room being developed in the IST project ASH (Access to Scientific Space Heritage). The Virtual Control Room will provide an exciting environment for young students to learn about space and astronomy by carrying out a simulated space mission. DELOS: A Network of Excellence for Digital Libraries - Promoting and Sustaining Digital Library Research and Applications in Europe <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/delos/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/is sue1/delos/> The DELOS Network of Excellence for Digital Libraries aims at providing an open context in which an international agenda for future research in the digital libraries domain can be developed and continuously updated. Supporting Europe's Entrepreneurs and Innovators with Intellectual Property issues <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/ipr/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/issu e1/ipr/> Alexander Weir talks about Intellectual Property issues, a key issue for Europe's enterprise society. British contemporary art at your fingertips: the Axis Database <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/axis/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/iss ue1/axis/> Robin Bourne introduces the only national information resource on British artists and makers containing visual and textual data on over 3,300 contemporary British practitioners. Regular Articles ---------------------- DIGICULT Column <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/digicult/>http://www.cultivate-int.org /issue1/digicult/> Concha Fernndez de la Puente provide news of the European Commission's initiatives in the field of digital heritage and cultural content. Metadata: Standardisation of Dublin Core in Europe: <<http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/mmidc/>http://www.cultivate-int.org/is sue1/mmidc/> Leif Andresen and Ian Campbell-Grant discuss how the Information Society Standardization System (ISSS), the European Committee for Standardization's platform for standardisation in information technology, has worked towards a metadata standard through various workshops. Other Areas ------------------ News & Events, an explanation of the CULTIVATE logo, the European City competition, the Misc section. If you have any queries regarding Cultivate Interactive or writing for Cultivate Interactive please send them to The CULTIVATE Web site ---------------------------------- The CULTIVATE Web site supports one of the most important CULTIVATE objectives: information dissemination. The Web site will provide a searchable main site with the additional functionality of cross searching the national node Web sites and the CULTIVATE magazine, Cultivate Interactive. The CULTIVATE Web site is available from today at: <<http://www.cultivate-eu.org/>http://www.cultivate-eu.org/> The content of the CULTIVATE Web site includes: Information on the project, partners, aims, objectives and activities Links to the other CULTIVATE services Monthly News Update Information on the IST Programme Information on Calls for Proposals in the Digital Heritage and Cultural Content area Information on project results Links to related sites. The CULTIVATE Web site has been developed as part of the wider CULTIVATE project with input from all project partners. The content of the site has been developed by The Library Council (Ireland) in consultation with other project partners. All content related queries should be forwarded to . The Web site design and technical implementation have been developed by the Institute for Learning and Research Technology<<http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/>http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/>. All technical Web site queries should be forwarded to . ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Wilhelm Ott Subject: Tuebingen Kolloquia No. 79 (fwd) Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 126 (126) [The following apparently went astray, sent to Humanist 27 June. Apologies on behalf of something or someone. --WM] The Zentrum fr Datenverarbeitung of Tbingen University invites to the 79th Colloquium on Computer Applications in the Humanities. Guests are welcome. The language of the Colloquium is German. Datum: Samstag, 8. Juli 2000, 9.15 bis ca. 12.30 Uhr Ort: Zentrum fr Datenverarbeitung, Wchterstr. 76, D-72074 Tbingen, Seminarraum Themen: 1. EDV-gesttzte Lexikographie am Beispiel idiomatischer Wrterbcher: Erfahrungen und Desiderata (Prof. Dr. Hans Schemann, Inst. f. bersetzen und Dolmetschen, Universitt Heidelberg) 2. Texte und Noten: Das Evangelische Gesangbuch in allen seinen Regionalausgaben auf CD-ROM (Dr. Winfried Bader, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart) See also httl://www uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/tustep/kolloq-nxt.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Ott phone: +49-7071-2970210 Universitaet Tuebingen fax: +49-7071-295912 Zentrum fuer Datenverarbeitung e-mail: ott@zdv.uni-tuebingen.de Waechterstrasse 76 http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/ D-72074 Tuebingen From: jod@ccat.sas.upenn.edu (James J. O'Donnell) Subject: Re: 14.0089 thoughts on commentaries & humanities computing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 127 (127) Willard, Raptim, I would say that the "commentary" is an artifact of the written (MS or print) word, depending on technologies of maintaining hierarchy (the authority of the text that is object of the commentary) and of presenting simultaneity (putting words on page next to each other in structured way). "Oral commentary" maintains hierarchy (we know what text is being commented on) but does not achieve simultaneity (the spoken word can't be looked at simultaneously, and fades). Other than shovelware projects (e.g., http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/conf), will there be genuinely similar commentary in cyberspace? I doubt it. The technologies of presenting simultaneity are certainly developed to new degrees of sophistication, but the ability of the anterior text to retain its authority and place in the hierarchy will certainly fade. On what text written in 2010 would anybody ever write a cybercommentary? In this regard, I think *Pale Fire* a precursor, a text in which the text-commented-upon disappears, is often read second after the commentary, and is arguably unnecessary for at least one kind of reading. I said "arguably" and would happily argue that, but my point is just that Nabokov's game has the effect of rendering questionable all that one thinks natural and normal about the commentary genre. My largest reservation about the Most collection is that it concentrates on the intellectual act and the relationship of text and commentary, but does not put sufficiently in play the physical nature of the commentary as object and its development over time. Other than what one can infer from histories of classical scholarship and the like, I don't see that *this* task has ever been properly done. (Rutherfurd's volume of Scholia Aristophanica entitled "Being a Chapter in the History of Annotation" is quite old but quite good on a piece of this, now that I think of it.) Jim O'Donnell Classics, U. of Penn jod@ccat.sas.upenn.edu From: "Nancy M. Ide" Subject: Computers and the Humanities: Special Issue on SENSEVAL Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 128 (128) *********************************************************************** JUST PUBLISHED JUST PUBLISHED JUST PUBLISHED JUST PUBLISHED *********************************************************************** COMPUTERS AND THE HUMANITIES Volume 34, Issue 1/2, April 2000 SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE on THE SENSEVAL WORD SENSE DISAMBIGUATION EXERCISE Table of Contents ----------------- Introduction to the Special Issue on SENSEVAL A. Kilgarriff, M. Palmer Framework and Results for English SENSEVAL A. Kilgarriff, J. Rosenzweig Framework and Results for French Frederique Segond Senseval/Romanseval: The Framework for Italian Nicoletta Calzolari, Ornella Corazzari Tagger Evaluation Given Hierarchical Tag Sets I. Dan Melamed, Philip Resnik Peeling an Onion: The Lexicographer s Experience of Manual Sense-Tagging Ramesh Krishnamurthy, Diane Nicholls Lexicography and Disambiguation: The Size of the Problem Rosamund Moon Combining Supervised and Unsupervised Lexical Knowledge Methods for Word Sense Disambiguation E. Agirre, G. Rigau, L. Padro, J. Atserias Word Sense Disambiguation Using Automatically Acquired Verbal Preferences John Carroll, Diana McCarthy A Topical/Local Classifier for Word Sense Identification Martin Chodorow, Claudia Leacock, George A. Miller GINGER II: An Example-Driven Word Sense Disambiguator Luca Dini, Vittorio Di Tomaso, Frederique Segond Word Sense Disambiguation by Information Filtering and Extraction Jeremy Ellman, Ian Klincke, John Tait Large Scale WSD Using Learning Applied to SENSEVAL Paul Hawkins, David Nettleton Word Sense Disambiguation Using the Classification Information Model Ho Lee, Hae-Chang Rim, Hungyun Seo Word Sense Disambiguation with a Similarity-Smoothed Case Library Dekang Lin Senseval: The CL Research Experience Kenneth C. Litkowski Selecting Decomposable Models for Word-Sense Disambiguation: The Grling-Sdm System Tom O Hara, Janyce Wiebe, Rebecca Bruce Simple Word Sense Discrimination Keith Suderman Memory-Based Word Sense Disambiguation Jorn Veenstra, Antal van den Bosch, Sabine Buchholz, Walter Daelemans, Jakub Zavrel Hierarchical Decision Lists for Word Sense Disambiguation David Yarowsky Using Semantic Classification Trees for WSD C. de Loupy, M. El-Beze, P.-F. Marteau Dictionary-Driven Semantic Look-up Frederique Segond, Elisabeth Aimelet, Veronika Lux, Corinne Jean ROMANSEVAL: Results for Italian by SENSE Stefano Federici, Simonetta Montemagni, Vito Pirrelli Do Word Meanings Exist? Patrick Hanks Consistent Criteria for Sense Distinctions Martha Palmer Cross-Lingual Sense Determination: Can It Work? Nancy Ide Is Word Sense Disambiguation Just One More NLP Task? Yorick Wilks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPUTERS AND THE HUMANITIES The Official Journal of The Association for Computers and the Humanities Editors-in-Chief: Nancy Ide, Dept. of Computer Science, Vassar College, USA Elli Mylonas, Scholarly Technologies Group, Brown University, USA For subscriptions or information, consult the journal's WWW home page: http://kapis.www.wkap.nl/ Or contact: Vanessa Nijweide Kluwer Academic Publishers Spuiboulevard 50 P.O. Box 17 3300 AA Dordrecht The Netherlands Phone: (+31) 78 639 22 64 Fax: (+31) 78 639 22 54 E-mail: vanessa.nijweide@wkap.nl Members of the Association for Computers and the Humanities (ACH) receive a subscription to CHum at less than half the price of an individual subscription. For information about ACH and a membership application, consult http://www.ach.org/, or send email to chuck_bush@byu.edu. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael Frishkopf Subject: References to dynamic encyclopedia architectures sought Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 06:35:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 129 (129) Greetings, Can anyone point me to research on web-based dynamic encyclopedias (web-accessible knowledge databases continuously updated by multiple authorities)? Many thanks for any assistance you can provide. * * * Michael Frishkopf Department of Music Faculty of Arts University of Alberta 3-82 Fine Arts Building Edmonton, AB T6G 2C9 CANADA Office: 3-67 FAB Office tel and fax: (780) 492-0670 Email: michaelf@ualberta.ca Music Department: Tel: (780) 492-3263 Fax: (780) 492-9246 From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: NEW PROJECT: "The Virtual Lightbox" Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 06:38:07 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 130 (130) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 5, 2000 NOT FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION, PLEASE Responses sought on New Project: "The Virtual Lightbox: An Image-Based Whiteboard for the Web" <<http://www.rch.uky.edu/~mgk/looksee/>http://www.rch.uky <<http://www.rch.uky.edu/~mgk/looksee/>http://www.rch.uky.edu/~mgk/looksee/>. I'd like to draw attention again to a particularly generative listserv, LOOKSEE, dedicated to "serve as a community focal point for the collaborative development of open source image analysis tools." Matt Kirschenbaum, who runs the list, recently revealed the outline of a project to which he would welcome feedback. It's a project to create a "virtual lightboard" or an "image-based whiteboard for the Web." Such an image tool would offer an inline browser display area for the creation and use of images by individuals; a space for multiple users to collaboratively view and use the same image set in realtime; and one that would allow multiple users to collaboratively perform a variety of image processing operations on the same image set in realtime. If you are interested please join the LOOKSEE list or reply to Matt. To subscribe, send the message subscribe LOOKSEE yourfirstname yourlastname to LISTSERV@LSV.UKY.EDU. He requests this notice not be further broadcast without asking his permission. David Green =========== [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Stories Do Argue Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 131 (131) Willard, Congrats to the builders of the Humanist archive. I was able to rethread the following comments after I had deleted your "craft of research" posting from my system [with a bit of copy from the HTML source and a bit of paste into the email header of the present message]. This little introductory anecdote is a small example of the discovery behaviour which characterizes ourselves and our students. It is a story. One that betrays a certain commitment to the value of building a record of a dialogue. It is this propensity of stories to vehicle values that allows educators to encourage the bridge and at times the leap from description to analysis. This is where I usually begin : "Asking a question is akin to telling a story" http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/S4A.HTM#3.0 which leads elsewhere to my introducing a quotation from Jerome Bruner: In the realm of the human, whatever else it may be, the need to compare is a social need. Anywhere signifying practices are open to rereading and to question, interpretive relations abound. Jerome Bruner lists a striking range of such behaviour: The perpetual revisionism of historians, the emergence of "docudramas," the literary invention of "faction," the pillow talk of parents trying to make revised sense of their children's doings all of these bear testimony to this shadowy epistemology of the story. Indeed, the existence of story as a form is a perpetual guarantee that humankind will "go meta" on received versions of reality. (Acts of Meaning 55) http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/S6B.HTM#5.15 In rereading these two paragraphs http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/S6C.HTM#5.23 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/S6C.HTM#5.24 I realize that some of this modern narrato-cognitive theory maps well onto the traditional trivium: rhetoric as an art of memory narrative as storage device dialectic as an art of asking questions narrative as algorithm grammar as an art of classifying what else could a metanarrative be? Stories in our pedagogical work aid memory which helps hone the types of questions that get asked which ... On a more practical note, pairs of students can justify to each other the routes they have taken in a given research exercise. For an example with TACTWeb see http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/tcon2000.htm#social To recap, my argument, in short, is that stories and their telling are useful material for the development of the faculty of reasoning. The degree of their usefulness depends upon structure of pedagogical practice. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: Tzvee Zahavy Subject: articles on Midrash Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 06:33:59 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 132 (132) At 12:07 AM 7/5/00 -0400, you wrote: [deleted quotation] Hi Willard, I thought these links to articles I wrote would be useful background for the current discussion: Biblical Criticism: Midrash and Medieval Commentary, http://newark.rutgers.edu/~zahavy/bibcrit.htm and a review of Intertextuality and the Reading of Midrash, at http://newark.rutgers.edu/~zahavy/review-db.htm Best wishes, Tzvee From: Han Baltussen Subject: Re: 14.0093 thoughts on commentaries Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 06:36:56 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 133 (133) Willard, A very brief reaction to O'Donnel with whom a very much agree: he wrote [deleted quotation] there are some attempts to deal with this aspect, including by myself, but the main problem is that commentary is the kind of meta-activity that occurs in many different areas. I have started some time ago to work on the late commentators on Aristotle, and have collected quite some material ranging from legal, religious, literary to philosophical texts. My main objective is to deal with earliest forms of polemic and exegesis and to describe the emergence of "commentary" as a genre and as a tool, and I would argue that the different areas can illuminate each other when it comes to analysing and describing the phenomenology of the commentator's activity. Others like e.g. Jaap Mansfeld (*Prolegomena 1994; Prolegomena Mathematica 1998) and Ineke Sluiter (who has a paper in the Most volume) have written or are in the process of writing on such issues (curiously we're all Dutch, but that's an aside). The Project I am working for here at King's College which produces translations of these late commentators, is making available a lot of the relevant material to enable others to deal with issues like 'physical nature and development'. I didn't mean this to be a plug for the Project/my own work (or at least not only), but to strengthen O'Donnel's point, yet at the same time indicate that this is not an omission which will remain there for long (O'D. already indicated a similar point in his review of the amusing and learned book by A. Grafton, *The Footnote, A Curious History* 1997 Faber&Faber, in Brynn Mawr Classical Review http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1998/98.1.05.html which was actually one of my points of encouragement to go on with what I had started.) Moreover, sometimes it is just very difficult to be aware of what's there on this topic simply because it requires an interdisciplinary outlook, or else because publications get overlooked on account of unhelpful titles. Han Baltussen PS please edit which ever way you like. -------------------------------------------------- Dr Han Baltussen Research Associate & Assistant Editor to the Ancient Commentators Project Dept. of Philosophy Kings College London Strand London WC2R 2LS tel. (0)20-7848-2528 fax. (0)20-7848-2317 -------------------------------------------------- Any queries on Project matters during my absence can be directed to Ms Eleni Vambouli (eleni.vambouli@kcl.ac.uk) or Dr Eleni Volonaki (eleni.volonaki@kcl.ac.uk) From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: NINCH JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: Assistant to the Director Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 134 (134) [corrected copy] NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 6, 2000 PLEASE FORWARD AND CIRCULATE AS APPROPRIATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY July 5, 2000 National Initiative For A Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) <http://www.ninch.org>http://www.ninch.org Assistant to the Director Application Deadline: July 21, 2000 Effective immediately, the executive director of the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) seeks part-time assistance in the ongoing administration of this innovative cultural coalition and its projects. ABOUT NINCH The National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (a nonprofit corporation) is a coalition of organizations created to assure leadership from the cultural community in the evolution of the digital environment. NINCH encourages the sharing of resources, experience and research among its members and the creation of a framework to develop and advance collaborative projects, programs and partnerships. NINCH projects are carried out by working groups organized from membership organizations. ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR Duties include: maintenance of internal information systems and of website; preparation of community news announcements and membership bulletins; maintenance of membership records and some financial records; coordination of meetings, meeting dates and telephone conference calls; correspondence with project participants; arrangement of travel, hotel and expense reimbursement for project participants; other duties, as required. QUALIFICATIONS: - College degree; - Administrative experience: must be well organized, detail-oriented, able to prioritize tasks and to work independently; - Strong communication skills, including effective writing and editing ability; - Ability to work with financial information; - High degree of computer literacy: working knowledge of the Internet and Web skills; Word, Excel, Filemaker on Macintosh platform; ability and willingness to learn new computer skills as needed; - Experience with cultural or scholarly organizations preferred. LOCATION: The NINCH office is located at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. HOURS & SALARY: 20 hours per week, flexible scheduling, $17,500 per annum; plus health care and other benefits. APPLICATION: Qualified candidates should send a resume with cover letter and the names and phone numbers of three references to the executive director at (email preferred). =============================================================== David L. Green Executive Director NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR A NETWORKED CULTURAL HERITAGE 21 Dupont Circle, NW Washington DC 20036 <http://www.ninch.org>http://www.ninch.org david@ninch.org 202/296-5346 202/872-0886 fax ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Paul Brians Subject: Help needed dealing with pirate Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 135 (135) My site "Common Errors in English" <http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/> is so popular that it has been repeatedly pirated. Usually a complaint to the pirate or his/her service provider does the trick, but I've been unable to make any headway with "WritersWorkshop" at simplenet.com. There is no clue on the site as to who has created this unauthorized mirror; and messages to the postmaster at simplenet.com go unanswered. It is particularly irritating because the pirate page is an old version of my work with some errors in it that have since been corrected on the real site; but people continue to write "correcting" me. Do any of you know how to get at the "writersworkshop" folks or otherwise deal with this problem? The pirate page is at <http://learn.simplenet.com/writersworkshop/DOCS/errors.txt>. -- Paul Brians, Department of English Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-5020 brians@wsu.edu http://www.wsu.edu/~brians - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Raptim & Rapture Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 10:16:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 136 (136) Willard Slowly, I am saddened that a distinguished scholar of Augustine would rehash orality/literacy dichotomies in order to argue in a technologically deterministic fashion that certain material practices entrench hierarchies. J. O'Donnell wrote: "commentary" is an artifact of the written (MS or print) word, depending on technologies of maintaining hierarchy (the authority of the text that is object of the commentary) http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v14/0087.html Well let's be fair. The genre of "commentary" is said to _depend upon_ which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of technological determinism. And as O'Donnell continues, we learn that hierarchies are also maintained in an oral context. It seems if I read the message correctly that the act of maintaining itself depends upon simultaneity. But this may be a misreading since the "and" with which O'Donnell links maintaining hiearchary and presenting simultaneity may be disjunctive. In any case, if I read the presentation of the argument correctly, the hierarchy seems to depend to some extent upon presenting (creating an impression of [?]) simultaneity. I can not help but think how Augustine the great philosopher of time would theorizing such a simultaneity. I do want to point out that over the course of the short paragraph the terms have shifted from written word in print or manuscript form presenting a simultaneity to the oral delivery not acheiving simultaneity. In a paranthesis, O'Donnell claims that (the spoken word can't be looked at simultaneously, and fades). I am perplexed. In Augustine's _Confessions_ there are narrated words spoken and there are words read and there is commentary on this narration. And yes like Plato's dialogues the text is transmitted partly by a material support that conveys the graphic form and partly by a community of readers that also speak to each other. It is in the power of the mind of the listener or the reader to conjure up the necessary intertextual relations. Commentary would be the exchanged traces of the workings of such powers. I am not arguing that the mix between oral and written modes in any given textual community does not have an impact on the forms commentary might take. I am arguing that the forms of life in textual communities need not lend themselves to the mapping of hierarchical relations. An example to try to reinsert the technological considerations in an institutional framework without recourse to the dichotomization: Julia Kristeva gave lectures on Proust; those lectures are recorded on audio tape; a book appeared in print; even without audio tape -- there were note takers present. This gets even more interesting when we consider that the content of one of those lectures on Proust arose from a preface of Barthes to the work of La Bruyiere and that Kristeva participated in seminars given by Barthes. Was it what she heard or what she read that made her say and write what she did? And here I must confess the pleasure of reading an email message that began "Raptim" for it lead me to a commentary placing in parallel a passage in Augustine's cxxx epistle with one in Book V of Hooker's Polity_. It is tempting to produce a reading which ties the sexual politics of prayer with theories of commentary http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-11/footnote/fn20.htm And this is a prime example of how pointing mechanisms designed for a bound volume do need a bit of adaptation to make the hyperlinks work. The URL cited above lists footnotes to the eleventh volume of the second series of the writings of the Post-Nicene church fathers. There is no link back to the commented text. A link not easy to reconstruct for the non-expert given the table of contents: http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-11/TOC.htm#TopOfPage A bit of robot-like repetive searching (built on the assumption that the web version encodes a printed version with cross-reference builty on a consecutive numbering system) yields the commented source as the second book of Cassian's Institutes of Coenobia which deals with the canonical system of nocturanl prayers and psalms: http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-11/Npnf2-11-36.htm#P1990_872506 Sometimes awake at night, I harbour the suspicion that short prayers like short commentaries are designed to deprive the receipient of sleep and thus induce an altered state. There are textual communities that seek to avoid such states and those that enhance them and there are textual nomads that find delight in conversing cross-communally. Suffice it to state that the rapidly jotted text when revisited slowly with a religious regularity can lead to rapture (or is it the rapture that transforms the experience of time?). On textual objects, textual communities and technologies, see Brian Stock Augustine The Reader: Meditation, Self-Knowledge and the Ethics of Interpretation Brian Stock Listening for the text: on the uses of the past John Mowitt Text: the genealogy of an antidisciplinary object -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: "R.G. Siemens" Subject: Re: 14.0096 on commentaries Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 10:18:12 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 137 (137) Dear Willard and fellow-HUMANISTs, For the past few days, I've followed with interest the discussion on commentaries, and I am nagged by concern related to this discussion and very associated with a current project of mine. (Apologies in advance if this is too self-indulgent.) Though existing in relation to another text, it has been noted that many of us feel that commentary -- or, perhaps better-stated, specific historically-significant commentary -- comprises significant text in its own right. If so, I ask, how is such commentary ideally (and yet pragamatically) represented in an electronic scholarly edition? By way of example, I'm at work on a slow-moving project which will ultimately see the production of an electronic edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets that borrows from several available models of such editions. As with the works of many authors from traditions other and much earlier than that of vernacular English, cumulative commentary far outstrips initial text and its various states. Wishing to preserve the tradition of commentary surrounding such a text, in a way that honours that tradition as much as it honours the text itself, more than seems to be an overwhelming task: it is, for a popular text, a near impossibility. Is there an answer to be found, as has been suggested of several recent print editions of the work I'm considering, in abandoning all hope of treating even very significant commentary in a manner equivalent to that of its 'originating' text? Or is there an answer to be found, as was suggested a decade ago of Shakespeare editions in general, through cooperative ventures that see, over time, the availability of commentary in the form of electronic editions in their own right (or, more likely, as part of individual editions that the commentary serves) -- such that the commentary can, at some point in an ideal future, be given an equivalent treatment? Or are there more useful approaches? Ray Siemens ___________ R.G. Siemens English, Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC, Canada. V9R 5S5. Office: 340/131. Phone: (250) 753-3245, x2126. Fax: (250) 741-2667. RaySiemens@home.com http://purl.oclc.org/NET/R_G_Siemens.htm siemensr@mala.bc.ca From: "Nancy M. Ide" Subject: ACL 200 Workshop: WORD SENSES AND MULTI-LINGUALITY Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 138 (138) ************************ ACL 2000 Workshop ************************ WORD SENSES AND MULTI-LINGUALITY Sponsored by the ACL Special Interest Group for the Lexicon (SIGLEX) October 2000 (following ACL'2000) Hong Kong University of Science and Technology http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~ide/events/siglex00.html With an increasingly global economy and the explosive growth of the "World" in "World Wide Web", the computational linguistics community is faced as never before with the challenges and opportunities of multi-linguality. At the same time, the community has returned with renewed enthusiasm to problems of word meaning, especially the delineation and discrimination of word senses. An intimate relationship between the two issues is becoming apparent -- for example, in the consideration of translation equivalence in parallel corpora, the construction of multilingual ontologies, and the examination of senses in relation to specific natural language applications such as machine translation, information retrieval, summarization, etc. The issue of multi-lingual approaches to sense distinctions was also a central topic of discussion at the first SENSEVAL conference in 1998, and is one of the areas to be covered at SENSEVAL-2 (to be held in Spring 2001). This workshop is intended to address problems of word sense disambiguation and delineation of appropriate sense distinctions, with specific emphasis on approaches that involve more than one language and the ways in which observations about cross-linguistic equivalence affect our consideration of sense divisions in the individual languages. More generally, we seek to foster discussion and exchanges of insight in any area of computational linguistics where a non-monolingual approach to word sense issues is being taken. Some example topics include o multi-lingual sense inventories and systems, e.g. EuroWordNet, MikroKosmos o use of parallel corpora in investigating word sense issues o word senses and cross-language information retrieval o word senses and machine translation o comparative lexical semantics We will also consider submission on issues in mono-lingual lexical semantics relevant to sense distinctions, but priority will be given to papers addressing multi-lingual approaches. Where and when =============== The workshop will be held for a full day on either October 7 or 8, following the main ACL conference October 3-6. The venue will be the same as for ACL 2000. Submissions =========== Submissions are limited to original, unpublished work. Papers may not exceed 3200 words (exclusive of title page and references). They must be received by July 31, 2000, in hard copy (4 copies) OR postscript OR rtf format. Electronic submissions should be sent to siglex-ws@cs.vassar.edu. Hard copies should be mailed to: SIGLEX Workshop Submission Department of Computer Science Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York 12604-0250 USA Important Dates =============== Submission (of full-length paper) August 10 Acceptance notice August 31 Camera-ready paper due September 15 Workshop date October 7 or 8 Organizers ========== Nancy Ide, Vassar College Charles Fillmore, UC Berkeley and ICSI Philip Resnik, University of Maryland David Yarowsky, Johns Hopkins University From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 139 (139) [deleted quotation] From: Peter Gilbert Subject: Position Announcement (Lawrence U.) Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 140 (140) Humanities Instructional Technologist (Search Extended) Lawrence University has an immediate opening for an instructional technologist in the humanities. Responsibilities will include teaching 2-3 courses per year in a humanities discipline, facilitating the introduction of computing technology and multimedia into the humanities and foreign language curriculum, and assisting humanities and language faculty in the use of a broad range of hardware and software. Lawrence University is in the process of establishing a 20-station, computerized, multi-media lab to support instruction in foreign languages and the humanities. The person hired into this position will manage the Humanities computing facility (including hiring, training, and supervising student workers); act as liaison to faculty in humanities and language departments to gather information about instructional needs, and design, document, and lead workshops for faculty and students. Required qualifications: M.A. in a humanities discipline, classroom teaching experience, knowledge of instructional design in a higher education setting, including web development, authoring systems, digital audio/video, and graphics, excellent communication and interpersonal skills; proficiency in both PC and Mac platforms and programs relevant to the humanities. Preferred qualifications include Ph.D. degree, familiarity with instructional materials appropriate to humanities instruction, knowledge of a foreign language or expertise in foreign language teaching, and familiarity with state-of-the-art audio, video, and computing technologies in classroom instruction. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. To apply: Send cover letter, a vita, a brief statement of teaching philosophy addressing the significance of technology, and three letters of recommendation to: Peter Gilbert Director of Instructional Technology Lawrence University Appleton, WI 54911 Deadline for applications is August 1, 2000. EOE For more information about Lawrence, please see http://www.lawrence.edu From: John Unsworth Subject: Re: 14.0098 help with pirate Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:54:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 141 (141) Paul, Using a very handy piece of Win98 software called Ostrosoft Internet Tools (http://www.ostrosoft.com/ostronet.html) I found the record for learn.simplenet.com at whois.arin.net reads as follows: Simple Network Communications, Inc. (NETBLK-SIMPLENET97) 225 Broadway 13th Floor San Diego, CA 92101 Netname: SIMPLENET97 Netblock: 209.132.0.0 - 209.132.127.255 Maintainer: SMPL Coordinator: Hopperton, Frank (FH33-ARIN) frankh@yahoo-inc.com 619.881.3045 (FAX) 619.881.3010 (FAX)619.881.3010 (FAX) 619.881.3010 (FAX) 619.881.3010 Domain System inverse mapping provided by: NS1.SIMPLENET.NET 209.132.1.21 NS2.SIMPLENET.NET 209.132.2.21 ADDRESSES WITHIN THIS BLOCK ARE NON-PORTABLE Record last updated on 13-Jan-2000. Database last updated on 7-Jul-2000 06:54:50 EDT. The ARIN Registration Services Host contains ONLY Internet Network Information: Networks, ASN's, and related POC's. Please use the whois server at rs.internic.net for DOMAIN related Information and whois.nic.mil for NIPRNET Information. From: Chuck Bearden Subject: Re: 14.0098 help with pirate Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 06:55:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 142 (142) You might try the administrative contacts for that domain listed in the WHOIS services. For a lookup of the registry information by domain name: http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois?STRING=simplenet.com For a lookup of the registry information by IP address block: http://www.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=209.132.37.153 The two kinds of lookup don't yield the same contact information. The WritersWorkshop website seems to be part of the 'St. John School Knowledge Network': http://learn.simplenet.com/stjohn/ but there isn't much information about it, either. A generic name like St. John School will be hard to track down. Have you tried 'webmaster@learn.simplenet.com' or 'webmaster@simplenet.com'? Might be more direct than postmaster. Good luck. ====================================================================== Chuck Bearden Library Systems Programmer/Analyst Fondren Library, MS44 Rice University cbearden@rice.edu P.O. Box 1892 713.348.3634 Houston, TX 77251-1892 713.348.5862 (fax) ====================================================================== From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0098 help with pirate Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 07:05:54 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 143 (143) Paul and others in similar situations might have to resort to a mass mailing of the sponsors of a site. The sponsors (assuming their record keeping and knowledge management are impecable) may be able to get a message through to the operator/pirate: http://learn.simplenet.com/writersworkshop/sponsor_frame.html However, since simplenet.com is now part of yahoo, the adoptive parent may be of some assistance in disciplining the child. Yahoo claims to "respect the intellectual property of others". They do offer contact info if your copyyright has been infringed : http://docs.yahoo.com/info/copyright/copyright.html -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: Terry Winograd Subject: MOSAIC 2000--the Millennial Open Symposium on the Arts Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 144 (144) {--} From: David Salesin Dear colleague, I'd like to invite you to join us at MOSAIC 2000, the Millennial Open Symposium on the Arts and Interdisciplinary Computing, which will take place August 21-24 at the University of Washington in Seattle. This conference will bring together a community of artists, mathematicians, poets, musicians, and computer scientists to explore the opportunities at the intersection of these fields. We're looking forward to four days of inspiration, creativity, and collaboration! MOSAIC will feature a series of invited talks by artists and researchers from around the world, presentations of refereed papers, hands-on workshops, evening receptions, and more. There will also be a display area exhibiting personal and commercial visual art, sculpture, puzzles, and other objects of interest. You can find complete information about the conference, including a tentative schedule, at <http://www.cs.washington.edu/mosaic2000/> Please note that the deadline for early registration is July 15. Also, the number of registrations is limited to about 200 and will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis. We hope you can join us for this enlightening and energizing experience! David Salesin & Carlo Sequin Conference Directors -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list server. If you wish to subscribe to this mailing list, send the message body of "subscribe pcd-fyi-list" to majordomo@lists.stanford.edu -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* From: jod@ccat.sas.upenn.edu (James J. O'Donnell) Subject: Re: 14.0101 on commentaries Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 145 (145) willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk> wrote: [deleted quotation] A well-chosen subject line for a message that eventually comes to dwell on *ejaculatory* prayer . . . [deleted quotation] People wield the trenching tool, not practices (the practices are themselves tools), but it is hardly determinism to say that different kinds of things have different kinds of qualities. What is remarkable in this discussion is that "commentary" is accepted as a generic descriptor of a wide variety of cultural practices, some of which involve only the spoken word, some both spoken and written, some written only (and "written" ranging from handwritten MS to xml text, shortly to be expanded by reintroducing oral and no doubt visual commentary material). My purpose in writing was to suggest some of the distinctions that obtain between what, e.g., a fourth century bishop does in his pulpit, what a thirteenth century monk does in his cell, and what a 20th century scholar does on his laptop at 40,000 feet. In doing so, I did not mean to efface the discourse of resemblance that links those things, but only to supplement that with observation of disresemblance and to encourage us to catalogue the latter thoughtfully. In doing so, I take it to be fundamental that commentary brings two texts in contact with each other: the commentary and its object. And I further observe that the relationship between those texts varies sharply in response to a variety of factors. *Pale Fire* and Robert Grudin's wonderful *Book: A Novel* offer extreme cases where the *apparent* hierarchy is subverted. But a 13th century scholastic or 20th century academic commentary on an authoritative text will offer (to my mind) a subtler form of subversion. Aquinas on Aristotle: which is the *authority*? We can argue. But Aristotle's text *persists* in that commentary, for reasons that are at least in part mechanical. As Lachance points out (preserved below) the e-text is one that *can* (and therefore often will) readily lose the text-commented-upon as the commentary survives. The decline of same-page commentary printing has anticipated this in print for fifty years. The only other thing I will say for now is that both Lachance and Siemens (quotation also preserved below, as object of commentary) are devotees of the commentary form, seeking its preservation in cybertext. Moi aussi. But I *surmise* that we are among the few, the proud, and the brave in this regard, and that the cultural momentum of new forms will not emphasize commentary-relations. We can dream of the scholarly journal as talmud-on-talmud (you write article with footnotes, I add some footnotes, you add some footnotes to mine, somebody else adds some more footnotes), but that will represent that extreme elaboration of an old form by a few devotees. I would expect new media in the main to accelerate and reinforce more popular tendencies in the culture, tendencies whereby the new text effaces and replaces and forgets the old. I could be wrong. Jim O'Donnell Classics, U. of Penn jod@ccat.sas.upenn.edu [deleted quotation] From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 146 (146) [deleted quotation] From: robert Cavalier Subject: ethical dilemmas Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 07:06:27 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 147 (147) It's nice to find this reference to my talk in Munich! I can refer you to our publisher, Routledge, as they have a site where you can order two of the CD-ROMs that we have published. Part of the rationale for our developement of these programs is to demonstrate the need for 'thick descriptions' and 'relective engagement' in the context of discussing "ethical dilemmas." The use of a text-based case summary can't do justice to the complexity of real world scenarios. (Or so the argument goes:) Go to www.routledge.com and type the keyword "Dax" for our study of a burn patient who wishes to be allowed to die (The Case of Dax Cowart") and type the keyword "Abortion" for out study of the Issue of Abortion in America. Now, I wish I could point you to our Center's URL, but we are still recovering from a hacker attack and would have all of our materials back on line until the end of summer. An Ethics Center, nonetheless! --On Wed, Jun 28, 2000 8:27 PM +0200 Arun-Kumar Tripathi wrote: [deleted quotation] <http://hss.cmu.edu/HTML/departments/philosophy/people/directory/Preston>> _Cov ey.html>. --WM] Robert Cavalier CAAE/Philosophy 260 Baker Hall Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412/268-7643 From: Dave Farber Subject: Ethics for Machines! Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 07:07:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 148 (148) To: ip-sub-1@majordomo.pobox.com [deleted quotation] -- From: "Claire Warwick" Subject: Job Vacancies-Two Lecturing posts (Knowledge Mgt/Info Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 149 (149) Systems) Apologies for cross-posting University of Sheffield - Department of Information Studies Lectureship in Knowledge Management (R2067A) Lectureship in Information Systems - 2 year post (R2067B) Applications are invited for two lecturers to join a 5* research-led department to contribute to undergraduate and Masters programmes in Information Management and Information Systems. The successful candidates will ideally have a PhD and a proven track record in funded research and publications in one or more of the following research areas: Information/Knowledge Management, Information Systems, or Multimedia Information Systems. Further details are available at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/news/jobs/lectad.html Salary: 23,521 - 30,065 per annum Closing date for applications: 26 July 2000 Reference Number: RW2067A/B To apply for a vacancy you must first obtain an Information Pack about the post from the Personnel Department. Please request a pack via one of the following methods: by phone - call the 24 hour telephone answering service:- +44 (0)114 222 1631. by email - jobs@sheffield.ac.uk by post:- write to The Personnel Department, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom. by fax:- +44 (0)114 222 1624. Personnel info: http://www.shef.ac.uk/jobs/acadjobs/rw2067.html ************************************************************ Dr. Helen M. Grindley (Academic Support Officer) Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN. Tel: (0114) 2222661 Fax: (0114) 2780300 Email: h.grindley@sheffield.ac.uk http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/people/grindley.html ************************************************************ ------- End of forwarded message ------- From: Doug Brent Subject: EJournal Announcement Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 07:35:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 150 (150) EJournal is a pioneering all-electronic, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary academic journal published since 1991. We are especially interested in theory and practice surrounding the creation, transmission, storage, interpretation, alteration and replication of electronic "text," broadly defined. We are also interested in the broader social, psychological, literary, economic and pedagogical implications of computer-mediated networks. EJournal is currently soliciting theoretically and philosophically driven feature articles on the above topics. Reviews and other short items are welcome. We are also interested in hearing from people who would like to review manuscripts. Please see the EJournal home page for details, submission guidelines, and back issues: http://www.ucalgary.ca/ejournal -- Doug Brent and Joanna Richardson Co-editors, EJournal -- Dr. Doug Brent Associate Dean (Academic) Faculty of Communication and Culture University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4 Voice: (403) 220-5458 Fax: (403) 282-6716 http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: European Academic Software Awards - Jurors sought Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 07:35:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 151 (151) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 11, 2000 European Academic Software Awards - Jurors sought Contact: <mailto:palatine@lancaster.ac.uk> [deleted quotation]============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Announcement of "Dublin Core Qualifiers" Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 152 (152) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 11, 2000 Announcement of "Dublin Core Qualifiers" <http://purl.org/dc/documents/dcmes-qualifiers>http://purl. <http://purl.org/dc/documents/dcmes-qualifiers>http://purl.org/dc/documents/ dcmes-qualifiers Reminder: 8th Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Workshop October 4-6, 2000: National Library of Canada, Ottawa <http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm>http://www.ifla.o <http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm>http://www.ifla.org/udt/dc8/call.htm [deleted quotation] 1/"> [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CEDARS Conference & Workshop on Long-Term Preservation: Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 07:37:01 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 153 (153) York, UK NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 11, 2000 CEDARS WORKSHOP: Information Infrastructures for Digital Preservation December 6 2000: York, UK CEDARS CONFERENCE: Preservation 2000 An International Conference on the Preservation and Long Term Accessibility of Digital Materials <<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/cedars-2000/>http://www.ukol <<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/cedars-2000/>http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/c edars-2000/> [deleted quotation] FROM THE WEBSITE: "As we enter the new millennium, many organisations and individuals share concerns about our ability to bring with us the vast array of digital materials accumulated in libraries, archives, museums and other cultural and heritage organisations. Preservation 2000 promises to bring together experts and enthusiasts from a variety of disciplines and organisations to discuss and debate recent advances in this critical area. This state of the art conference will make the most of both the interdisciplinary and international dimensions which are key to facing the challenges imposed by long term access to digital objects. "The aim of the conference is to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the wide array of organisations and individuals currently working with digital archives and preservation. The main goal for the conference is to share, disseminate and discuss current key issues concerning the preservation of digital materials. "The conference will focus the programme around three main strands: ** Models for digital archives including technical and organisational issues related to access and management ** Economic and Cost Modelling for digital preservation ** Content and selection issues for long term preservation "A call for papers was issued earlier this year and reviewing is now taking place. A provisional programme will be available in early August which is likely to include: ** Exemplars for the establishment of digital archives systems and services ** Management practices commonly required by libraries and archives in addressing the longevity of digital collections ** Business models for digital archives (e.g. collaborative or federated repositories) ** Frameworks for the development of digital collection management policies including selection or materials ** Intellectual property rights: digital preservation issues ** Security, authentication and authenticity in digital archives ** Electronic publishing and digital archives" Information Infrastructures for Digital Preservation: A One-Day workshop, 6 December 2000 "In addition, a one-day workshop will be held in conjunction with the conference which will focus on the necessary information infrastructure for preserving digital materials over the long term. This intensive day will include presentations and papers on current work in digital preservation metadata and standards for description as well as provide an opportunity for those interested in the area to participate in discussions and debate concerning developments in this key area. A maximum of 60 places are available for the workshop. "The conference and workshop have been costed separately but a single fee is also available to cover attendance at both events." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Nancy Elkington +44 (0) 207 862-8416 (phone) RLG Member Initiatives +44 (0) 207 862-8480 (fax) c/o University of London Library nancy.elkington@notes.rlg Senate House, Malet Street www.rlg.ac.uk/toc.html London WC1E 7HU UK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: USPTO Symposium: "Protecting Intellectual Property in the Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 07:37:35 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 154 (154) Digital Age" Sept 11-12, Crystal City, Arlington, VA NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 11, 2000 INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SYMPOSIUM OF THE AMERICAS: Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age September 11-12, 2000: Arlington, Virginia July 31 Deadline for Registration Application <<http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/ipsa2000/index.html>http: <<http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/ipsa2000/index.html>http://www. uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/ipsa2000/index.html> The US Patent and Trademark Office is holding a symposium on issues of enforcing intellectual property in the Western Hemisphere. Attention will be paid to the Internet, Optical Media Piracy, and Business Software and Business Methods Patent enforcement issues. One of the chief goals of the meeting is to develop "a basis for closer Hemispheric coordination in the enforcement of intellectual property rights generally." Other goals of the meeting include: * "To assist government officials from the Western Hemisphere in developing effective enforcement systems based on an interdisciplinary approach in which civil, criminal, administrative, and border (customs) measures work together and separately to aid in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in the Digital Age. * "To strengthen regional cooperation for the improvement of the enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to meet international treaty obligations, including those under TRIPS. * "To provide Western Hemisphere countries with a detailed review of the emerging intellectual property treaty regimes of the Digital Age. Included among the topics would be the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and the enforcement requirements of TRIPS and NAFTA. * "To discuss ways to generally improve the enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout the Hemisphere." Further information is below and on the website cited above. Note the limitation of numbers and the July 31 deadline for registartion applications. David Green =========== [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Han Baltussen Subject: Re: 14.0107 ethical dilemmas, ethics for machines Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 155 (155) Willard, the latest issue of the Newsletter of the American Philosophical Association has a new column on "computing and ethics" and it also includes a short report on an experiment (Turing test) at Darthmouth which "disproves Turing's prophesy": see http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/publications/newsletters/v99n2/computers/index.asp HB From: "Dr Donald J. Weinshank" Subject: Measuring the height of a building with a barometer. Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 156 (156) Fellow Humanists: The following charming story has been circulating in print and via E-mail for decades, but, recently, has developed a new twist. ================================================================= Great Moments in Physics The following concerns a question in a physics degree exam. "Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper with a barometer." One student replied: "You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building." This highly original answer so incensed the examiner that the student was failed. The student appealed on the grounds that his answer was indisputably correct, and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide the case. The arbiter judged that the answer was indeed correct but did not display any noticeable knowledge of physics. To resolve the problem it was decided to call the student in and allow him six minutes in which to provide a verbal answer which showed at least a minimal familiarity with the basic principles of physics. For five minutes the student sat in silence, forehead creased in thought. The arbiter reminded him that time was running out, to which the student replied that he had several extremely relevant answers, but couldn't make up his mind which to use. On being advised to hurry up the student replied as follows: "Firstly, you could take the barometer up to the roof of the skyscraper, drop it over the edge, and measure the time it takes to reach the ground. The height of the building can then be worked out from the formula H = 0.5g x t squared. But bad luck on the barometer." "Or if the sun is shining you could measure the height of the barometer, then set it on end and measure the length of its shadow. Then you measure the length of the skyscraper's shadow, and thereafter it is a simple matter of proportional arithmetic to work out the height of the skyscraper." "But if you wanted to be highly scientific about it, you could tie a short piece of string to the barometer and swing it like a pendulum, first at ground level and then on the roof of the skyscraper. The height is worked out by the difference in the gravitational restoring force T = 2 pi sqroot (l / g)." "Or if the skyscraper has an outside emergency staircase, it would be easier to walk up it and mark off the height of the skyscraper in barometer lengths, then add them up." "If you merely wanted to be boring and orthodox about it, of course, you could use the barometer to measure the air pressure on the roof of the skyscraper and on the ground, and convert the difference in millibars into feet to give the height of the building." "But since we are constantly being exhorted to exercise independence of mind and apply scientific methods, undoubtedly the best way would be to knock on the janitor's door and say to him 'If you would like a nice new barometer, I will give you this one if you tell me the height of this skyscraper'." ================================================================= This is a lovely example of "thinking out of the box" and has been widely circulated. Recently, however, I have received several copies of the story with two additions. 1. The story is set at the University of Copenhagen. 2. The following "tag line" has been added: The student was Niels Bohr, the only person from Denmark to win the Nobel prize for Physics. If true, this would not be entirely surprising. After all, the battles between Bohr and Einstein at the Solvay conferences in the late '20's hinged on such "gedankenexperimenten" covering their disagreements. Bohr was one of the champions of quantum mechanics. Einstein always felt that "God does not play dice" and that there had to be a deeper, underlying mechanism, not simply random chance. Be that as it may, can anyone authenticate the story as being attributable to Bohr? Thanks. _______________________________________________________________ Dr. Don Weinshank weinshan@cse.msu.edu http://www.cse.msu.edu/~weinshan Phone (517) 353-0831 FAX (517) 432-1061 Computer Science & Engineering Michigan State University From: "swiss@drake" Subject: [New Book] The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 157 (157) [--] The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory: Magic, Metaphor, Power by Andrew Herman (Editor), Thomas Swiss (Editor) Paperback - 320 pages 1 edition (July 2000) Routledge; ISBN: 0415925029 Other Editions: Hardcover ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial Reviews Book Description The World Wide Web is the most well-known, celebrated, and promoted contemporary manifestation of "cyberspace." To date, however, most of the public discourse on the Web falls into the category of explanatory journalism -- the Web has remained largely unmapped in terms of contemporary cultural research. This book, however, begins that mapping by bringing together more than a dozen well-known scholars across the humanities and social sciences to explore the Web as a cultural technology characterized by a nexus of economic, political, social, and aesthetic forces. Engaging the thematic issues of the Web as a space where magic, metaphor, and power converge, the chapters cover such subjects as The Web and Corporate Media Systems, Conspiracy Theories and the Web; The Economy of Cyberpromotion, The Bias of the Web, The Web and Issues of Gender,and so on. Contributors: Jody Berland, Jodi Dean, Sean Cubitt, Greg Elmer, Andrew Herman, Steven Jones, Nancy Kaplan, Robert McChesney, Vincent Mosco, Stuart Moulthrop, Theresa Senft, Rob Shields, John Sloop, Thomas Swiss, and David Tetzlaff. ------------------------------------------------------------ From: Soraj Hongladarom Subject: CFP: Critical Thinking Across Asia Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 158 (158) CALL FOR PAPERS Critical Thinking Across Asia As Asian countries are finding ways to improve the quality of their educational systems in order to survive in the contemporary globalized economy, the role of critical thinking has received a lot of attention as a means toward producing graduates who are "capable of thinking for themselves". This capacity, whatever it actually means, is perceived to be a key toward enhancement of competitiveness in many areas. However, attempts to teach Asian students to become critical thinkers have been very difficult to realize. This is due to the fact that in many Asian traditions, there are deep rooted cultural traditions that seem to discourage critical thinking. Teachers are normally held in a very high esteem, and they typically do not want to see themselves being embarrassed by criticisms, not least from their students. Students are taught to be obedient; they are expected to believe whatever the teacher says. Apparently some other kind of value are taken to be of a higher priority than that of critical thinking. Hence, some questions that emerge in connection with this phenomenon are: What exactly is critical thinking? What is it that we teachers want our students to have or to be in order that they be able to think critically? Is there any necessary connection between critical thinking and one particular cultural tradition? In case of Asian culture, which apparently does not have or does not emphasize critical thinking, what can be done? What exactly is the value of critical thinking? Why is it so desirable? Or is it really desirable in all cases? These questions are only suggestive, and naturally there are many more that can and should be asked. This special issue of Manusya: Journal of Humanities is calling for teachers and researchers in any related field to submit their papers for consideration of publication. Theoretical papers dealing with conceptual issues, empirical studies dealing with issues related to the topic, as well as specific case studies of methods of teaching critical thinking cross-culturally are all welcome. Topics related to this issue include, but not limited to, the following: *Analysis of critical thinking *Value of critical thinking *Relation of critical thinking to historical or cultural traditions *Case studies of critical thinking teaching cross culturally *Empirical studies of cultural factors in critical thinking *Historical analysis of the perceived lack of critical thinking tradition in Asia *Possible latent historical sources in Asian cultures that could promote critical thinking *Ways toward promoting critical thinking in Asian students. Papers should not exceed a maximum of 7,500 words, not including notes and references. They should be sent as an attachment to the editor's email address. The file should be in RTF, MS Word 2.0 for Windows, or MS Word 5.1 for Mac format. Further inquires could be directed to the special issue editor: Soraj Hongladarom Special Issue Editor, Manusya Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10330, Thailand email: hsoraj@chula.ac.th Tel. +66-2-2184756; Fax. +66-2-2184867 Deadline of submission: February 28, 2001 Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the editor for inquiries or further information. Papers submitted will undergo the usual review process. Manusya: Journal of Humanities is an international journal dealing with all aspects of the humanities. It is published by Chulalongkorn University and distributed worldwide. The web site of the Journal is: http://www.media.academic.chula.ac.th/manusya/ ***************** Soraj Hongladarom Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10330, THAILAND Tel. +662-2184756 Fax +662-2184867 Personal Web Page: http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~hsoraj/web/soraj.html From: Mark Horney Subject: Re: 14.0113 computing and ethics; test of Turing Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:39:13 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 159 (159) [The following is but one of the notes received about the article on computing in ethics and Turing in APA Online. Apologies to all who tried and were repelled. --WM] Hello, Would it be possible for you to summarize this article on Turing? Evidently one must be a member of the APA to access the newsletter. --Mark Horney [deleted quotation] ..asp [deleted quotation] Mark Horney, Ph.D. Center forAdvanced Technology in Education University of Oregon 1244 Walnut St Eugene, Oregon 97403 (o) 541/346-2679 FAX: 541/346-6226 mhorney@oregon.uoregon.edu Web de Anza: http://anza.uoregon.edu Project INTERSECT: http://intersect.uoregon.edu From: Doug Brent Subject: EJournal password problem Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:39:47 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 160 (160) Anyone who has attempted to view the EJournal archives in the past week (since the announcement appeared in Humanist) may have been met with a password request. This was an error: EJournal is intended to be completely password-free. The glitch has been corrected and EJournal is once again open for viewing by all interested parties. -- Doug Brent Co-Editor, EJournal From: "Paul F. Schaffner" Subject: Re: 14.0114 a charming story Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:45:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 161 (161) [deleted quotation] *** [deleted quotation] *** [deleted quotation] According the the "Urban Legend Reference Pages," (http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/barometr.htm), the story has not been traced back earlier than a 1961 reference to it by Dr. Alexander Calandra, who tells it in the first person and may have invented it; the association with Niels Bohr seems to have appeared for the first time only last year (1999). [I owe this reference to (physicist) Steve Schaffner (sfs@genome.wi.mit.edu).] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Schaffner | pfs@umich.edu | http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfs/ University of Michigan Digital Library Production Service -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0114 a charming story Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:46:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 162 (162) ) To: Humanist Discussion Group Sent: Friday, July 14, 2000 6:47 AM [deleted quotation] From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Re: 14.0114 a charming story Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:46:40 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 163 (163) Dear Dr. Donald Weinshank, Hi, A very interesting story, an intelligent response! Thanks, I cann't resist myself to give my own thoughts.. On Fri, 14 Jul 2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] Yes, using the Second Law of equation, and taking initial velocity u, zero. [deleted quotation] Yes, here we could measure the height of a skyscraper by method of *Trigonometry Ratios* first by checking the angles of elevation (depression) of Sun to the ground, and then using Tangent of theta. [deleted quotation] Great, Birbal replies to Emperor Akbar!! [deleted quotation] Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Bonus Question: Is hell exothermic (gives off heat) or Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:51:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 164 (164) endothermic(absorbs heat)? Dear Humanists, (fwd via Janet Young) --some food for thought --might interest you-- This email "send around" was sent to me by a prof at Temple University... Kind of makes you go hummmmmmmmmmm... Have a great weekend!. The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington [deleted quotation] From: Han Baltussen Subject: Computerphilologie Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:49:26 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 165 (165) Dear Willard an interesting overview article entitled "What is computer philology?" (my transl.) by Fotis Iannidis can be found on the German site for Computerphilologie: a tough read (partly because of the small print on screen [!]) but a nice overview and useful appednix with some interesting sites (HUMANIST is mentioned several times of course). http://computerphilologie.uni-muenchen.de/jahrbuch/jb1/jannidis-1.html HB Dear Willard a PS to previous mail: the German site for Computerphilologie also contains a review of an interesting book by Paul Gilster, Digital Literacy<\i> (John Wiley and Sons 1997) at http://computerphilologie.uni-muenchen.de/jahrbuch/jb1/steutzger.html HB -------------------------------------------------- Dr Han Baltussen Research Associate & Assistant Editor to the Ancient Commentators Project Dept. of Philosophy Kings College London Strand London WC2R 2LS tel. (0)20-7848-2528 fax. (0)20-7848-2317 -------------------------------------------------- *Please note that I will be away from July 18-25 * Any queries on Project matters during my absence can be directed to Ms Eleni Vambouli (eleni.vambouli@kcl.ac.uk) From: Gianni Rubagotti Subject: Neurasia web/wapzine: how about it? Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 07:49:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 166 (166) A new webzine and wapzine of philosophy is borning: Neurasia. He would like to talk about philosophy in interesting and curious way and use creatively new media. you can see the first number of neurasia at: http://www.ciaoweb.net/neurasia/en-neurasia.htm We wait your comments, and possibly your article proposal. In the meanwhile we are preparing an amazing second number. Best wishes, Gianni Rubagotti friend of Neurasia From: Editor Subject: "Critical thinking involves a careful examination of the Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 167 (167) [--] ********************************************* "Critical thinking ... involves a careful examination of the foundations upon which thinking of any sort must rely..." -- Origins of Western Thought ***************************************** The Ancient Art of Thinking ***************************************** At the site <http://people.delphi.com/gkemerling/hy/2b.htm> The first texts that discussed abstract thinking began to appear in various places around the world around the Sixth Century BCE. The Greeks, a well-traveled bunch, probably adapted elements from many cultures, but their democratic institutions and advanced education infused these ideas thoroughout their society. They also created a body of literature that still serves as the curriculum for advanced thinking. This body of Philosophy has allowed us to transcend the fear and superstition that impede human progress. Our science has surpassed the wildest speculations of those ancient Greek Philosophers. Yet, the thought processes they developed have not been duplicated by the most sophisticated super computers. "The Origins of Western Thought", written by Garth Kemerling, divides abstract thinking into these categories: Speculative thinking, which expresses human curiosity about the world - Practical thinking, which embraces reality and our place in it - Critical thinking, which examines the assumptions on which the other two types of thinking rely. In this digital age, information is coming at us faster than ever. That requires us to refine the mental tools to evaluate, analyze, critique, and incorporate all these new ideas and concepts. Spend some time with the origins of Western Thought. It's a well written, comprehensive presentation that includes a dictionary, timelines, an introduction to logic, and biographies of the influential philosophers. ***************************************** How to SUBSCRIBE: To subscribe to the list, send mail to: bigeyesrv@bigeye.com In the body of the message enter: subscribe insight 'Your Name' (note: you can use your first name or even a nickname if you choose) ***************************************** From: "Gerda Elata" Subject: Re: 14.0115 new book on WWW Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 168 (168) Does anyone know of an electronic edition of Emily Dickinson's poetry? Gerda Elata [I have found <http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/stacks/authors.dickenson.html>; are there better? --WM] From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Article by Prof. Theodore P. Hill in American Scientist Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:14:37 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 169 (169) Dear scholars at Humanist, Hi, I hope --you are doing well and thought --might interest you, that recently Prof. Theodore Hill has written an article on "Mathematical Devices for Getting a Fair Share" --which is published in American Scientist Magazine, the abstract of the essay is available online at <http://www.sigmaxi.org/amsci/articles/00articles/Hill.html> In the article, he has discussed Dubin's method and Steinhaus's Ham Sandwich Theorem, and many more --the article sounds very interesting. Thank you! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0117 thoughts on philosophy Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:15:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 170 (170) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Mon. July 17, 2000, 3:58AM Dear Colleagues: These are exceptionally interesting fundamental categories - in ordinary language curiosity, reality, assumptions. Epistemology, metaphysics, ethics in other terms - although there is something of an overlap of categories in comparing the two lists. Does what is real depend on our assumptions about either the real or unreal? How much does what we know depend on what is real, how much of the real do we know, and how does what we know relate to what we assume? Does what we are curious about depend on what we know or what is real, and how? Does what we are curious about reflect our assumptions or vice versa? The Ancient Greeks were curious about what looked like a linear universe of straight lines and so their axioms reflect this curiosity - circles and spheres to them were in many ways merely side issues determined by real lines (the determination by real lines is true in many spaces, but the side issues part has been effectively disputed by non-Euclidean geometry and general relativity). Modern physics and engineering are especially curious about ratios or division, which dimensional analysis seemed to indicate the importance of in the real world, but what about the axiom assumed here - that division makes sense but subtraction is not important on an equal footing? The question is very relevant for statistics and probability and hence for all behavioral and social science research and for computer-related humanist fields. (Bayesian) conditional probability-statistics is the mainstream "division oriented" discipline, while non-mainstream logic-based probability is the subtraction oriented version. The former works fairly well for frequent/common events and events which influence each other very little or not at all, while the latter works well for rare events and events which influence each other fairly well or very much and for events which are contained in (subsets of) other events. We may well find that the three pairs of categories are the fundamental irreducible categories of the universe. [deleted quotation] --According Richard Hooker, Philosophys' chief branches [deleted quotation] From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [URL] The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:19:23 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 171 (171) Theory: Magic, Metaphor, Power Dear Humanists, Hi, the details about the book, "The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory" can be found at: <http://www.Frontlist.com/catalog/detail.htm/0-415-92502-9> Thanks! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: Han Baltussen Subject: Re: 14.0113 computing and ethics; test of Turing Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:16:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 172 (172) I am very sorry about this, I must have ben in a hurry no to realize that this was on the members only part of the site. I suppose these become only public when the printed version of the newsletter is published. apologies again HB From: "P. T. Rourke" Subject: For Humanist in Re to 14.0118: Password problems, one of Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:16:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 173 (173) which may not be solved [deleted quotation] asp [deleted quotation] Unfortunately, the glitch is not fixed. When I accessed the above URI, I got a "timeout.asp" page that described what sounds to me like a 401 error. APA Member Services [deleted quotation] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- The Page you have requested is only accessible by APA Members. Go to Logon Page Activate Your Account Become a Member etc. Nor is the EJournal mentioned on the APA's publically accessible publications page at http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/publications/texts/index.html or the Web Resources page at http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/asp/journals.asp I tried to see if maybe the URI posted to the list was wrong. I've had the same problem with stuff I've done, so I feel your pain ;-) Patrick Rourke ptrourke@mediaone.net ------------------------------------- Prof. McCarty, Thanks, PTR From: Willard McCarty Subject: Busa Award: request for nominations Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 174 (174) [deleted quotation] Nominations for the Busa Award --------------------------------------------------- One of the evergreen topics of Humanist is the unanswerable question "What is humanities computing?" From time to time our esteemed pot-stirrer and moderator tries to provoke a discussion on the topic by asking pointed questions. I write to invite humanists to try their hands at a different way of defining our field -- namely, by identifying individuals whose work seems to have exemplary (dare I say paradigmatic?) character. A few years ago, the Association for Computers and the Humanities (ACH) and the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing (ALLC) agreed to create an award, to be given every three years, to honor outstanding achievement in the application of information technology to humanistic research. The award is named for Roberto Busa, SJ, who is regarded by many as the founder of the field of humanities computing. The first award was given to Father Busa in 1998. The next Busa Award will be given next year, at the ACH/ALLC 2001 conference in New York (13-17 June). The award committee (names listed below) is seeking nominations for the second Busa award. This is our chance, as a community, to define our field by saying who stands at the center of it. Whose work serves as the model we name, when people ask what we hope to accomplish by the use of computers in the humanities? The recipient will be invited to attend the ACH/ALLC 2001 conference in New York at the expense of the ACH and ALLC, and to give the Busa Award lecture in a plenary session. Nominations may be made by anyone with an interest in humanities computing; neither nominee nor nominator need be a member of ACH or ALLC (although of course we encourage you to join!). Nominations should give some account of the nominee's work and the reasons it is felt to be an outstanding contribution to the field, worthy of honor. A list of bibliographic references to the nominee's work is desirable. Nominations should be sent to the chair of the award committee, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, at the address cmsmcq@acm.org, as soon as possible but no later than 31 August 2000. -2001 Busa Award Committee Paul Fortier Randall Jones Willard McCarty, Lisa-Lena Opas-Hanninen C. M. Sperberg-McQueen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Willard McCarty Subject: hiatus Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 175 (175) Dear Colleagues: The next many days, until the very end of this month, I will be travelling to and attending the ALLC/ACH conference at the University of Glasgow <http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/allcach2k/>, then walking along the West Highland Way with mirabile dictu no Internet connection. I know, I could bring a laptop with a satellite up-link, pause by the side of the trail from time to time or tap into the local telephone system from B&Bs in Drymen, Rowardennan, Inverarnan and so forth, and do my duty as editor of Humanist, but I won't. Instead I'll perhaps come to understand better why Dougie Maclean sings so passionately about Scotland. High time, too, as I'm sure my colleagues in that fine country will be muttering as they read this message. The University of Virginia will keep your messages safe, so please continue to send them. I'll be wired while at the ALLC/ACH and attentive to my duties. See you there, I hope. As Allen Renear once said to me (in a little restaurant in Providence RI, I think it was), one tends to have more of the intellectual life among the people who gather for the ALLC/ACH than at any other professional conference. In 2001 the conference will be at NYU, for which see <http://www.nyu.edu/its/humanities/ach_allc2001/index.html>. So, if the width of the Pond is keeping you away this year.... Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: July/August 2000 Issue of D-Lib Magazine is now available. Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:42:54 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 176 (176) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 18, 2000 July/August 2000 Issue of D-Lib Magazine is now available. <http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july00/07contents.html>http://www <http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july00/07contents.html>http://www.dlib.org/dlib/ju ly00/07contents.html Artickes in the latest issue of D-Lib Magazine include: "Automated Digital Libraries: How Effectively Can Computers Be Used for the Skilled Tasks of Professional Librarianship?" --William Y. Arms, Cornell University "Designing Documents to Enhance the Performance of Digital Libraries: Time, Space, People and a Digital Library in London." --Gregory Crane, Tufts University "Virginia Dons FEDORA: A Prototype for a Digital Object Repository." --Thornton Staples and Ross Wayland, University of Virginia "Preserving the Authenticity of Contingent Digital Objects: The InterPARES Project." --Anne J. Gilliland-Swetland, University of California, Los Angeles, and --Philip B. Eppard, University at Albany, State University of New York "Institute for Legal and Ethical Issues in the New Information Era: Challenges for Libraries, Museums and Archives." --Tomas A. Lipinski, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee "Dublin Core Releases Recommended Qualifiers" --Stuart Weibel and Eric Miller, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Also note the book review by Erich Kesse, of "Moving Theory Into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives, by Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger (RLG, 2000) David Green =========== [material deleted] From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: DLF and RLG Issue Guidelines for Digitizing Visual Resources Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:43:31 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 177 (177) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 18, 2000 Digital Library Federation and Research Libraries Group Issue "Guides to Quality in Visual Resource Imaging" <<http://www.rlg.org/visguides/>http://www.rlg.org/vi <<http://www.rlg.org/visguides/>http://www.rlg.org/visguides/> A set of five guides to the technical and planning aspects of digital imaging of visual resources has been made freely available on the website of the Research Libraries group. A project of RLG, the Digital Libraries Federation and the Council on Library and Information Resources, the Guides are written by commissioned authors and are titled: "Planning a Digital Imaging Project; "Selecting a Scanner;" "Imaging Systems: the Range of Factors Affecting Image Quality;" "Measuring Quality of Digital Masters;" and "File Formats for Digital Masters." The Guides will be updated, so user comment is encouraged. David Green ========== [material deleted] From: Michael Fraser Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:38:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 178 (178) [deleted quotation] A few resources which I hope prove to be of some help: Black, Paul E. and Kris Selander. "Emily Dickinson" <http://userweb.interactive.net/~krisxlee/emily/> (Updated 2000-03-05). [collected 490 links to poems online; students' page for finding information about Dickinson; plenty of other annotated links to resources] Dickinson, Emily. The Complete Poems. Boston: Little, Brown, 1924; Bartleby.com, 2000. <http://www.bartleby.com/113/> [includes introduction; index of first lines; HTML presentation] Dickinson, Emily. Poems. (M. L. Todd & T.W.Higginson (eds).) Boston: Robert Brother, 1891; Humanities Text Initiative, University of Michigan, 1995. <http://www.hti.umich.edu/bin/amv-idx.pl?type=header&id=DickiPoems> [searchable and browsable electrionic version; text available in HTML or SGML; with complete TEI Header) Smith, Martha Nell, Ellen Louise Hart, Lara Vetter and Marta Werner (eds). Dickinson Electronic Archives. Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia, 1996-. <http://www.iath.virginia.edu/dickinson/> [access to ED's writings restricted - contact Lara Vetter (lv26@umail.umd.edu); writings by Susan Dickinson, Edward Dickinson; 'Classroom Electric' has section on correspondence between Emily and Susan; 'Archives in the classroom' has section on different editions of the poems; collection of contemporary poets' responses to Dickinson] Emily Dickinson International Society. (Case Western Reserve University, 1999-.) <http://www.cwru.edu/affil/edis/edisindex.html> [membership information; The Emily Dickinson Journal available via Project Muse and also http://www.colorado.edu/EDIS/journal/ (1992-96); scholars registry; related web sites] Michael ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michael Fraser Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk Head of Humbul Fax: +44 1865 273 275 Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS Tel: +44 1865 283 343 University of Oxford 13 Banbury Road http://www.humbul.ac.uk/ Oxford OX2 6NN DRH 2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Paul Brians Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:39:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 179 (179) If you find such an edition, it will probably be illegal, since most of Dickinson's poetry is not in the public domain. The bulk of it was published in the mid-20th Century; and copyright in the US is counted from first publication, not date of authorship. Paul Brians, Department of English Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-5020 brians@wsu.edu http://www.wsu.edu/~brians From: Mark Horney Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:39:38 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 180 (180) I tried accessing the Dickinson poetry through this link and while there's an index, the poems themselves seem to have been removed from the server. I did find a 1924 edition through the Online Books Page (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/) (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/authorstart?D), listed under "Dickinson." There is a page at Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/113/). The poems appear to be accessible only one at a time and there is a good deal of advertizing to wade through. The University of Michigan has these HTML/SGML versions Dickinson, Emily: Poems by Emily Dickinson (Third Series, 1914 edition) (HTML and SGML at Michigan) (e.g. http://www.hti.umich.edu/bin/amv-idx.pl?type=header&id=DickiPoem3) Dickinson, Emily: Poems by Emily Dickinson (Second Series, 1910 edition) (HTML and SGML at Michigan) Dickinson, Emily: Poems by Emily Dickinson (First Series, 1891 Edition) (HTML and SGML at Michigan) There are some others. Is there anyone who has experience with preparing online versions of Dickinson that go beyond presenting the text? My team at the University of Oregon has been considering an edition of Dickinson in our work with student with learning disabilities. We'd appreciate any insights anyone might have in working on poetry with this population. --Mark Horney [deleted quotation] Mark Horney, Ph.D. Center forAdvanced Technology in Education University of Oregon 1244 Walnut St Eugene, Oregon 97403 (o) 541/346-2679 FAX: 541/346-6226 mhorney@oregon.uoregon.edu Web de Anza: http://anza.uoregon.edu Project INTERSECT: http://intersect.uoregon.edu From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?=22Mats_Dahlstr=F6m=22?= Subject: SV: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:40:01 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 181 (181) In response to Gerda Alata's request for e-editions of Dickinson's poetry: check out Univ. of Virginia's Dickinson archive at : <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/dickinson/>. The access to the very texts is unfortunately somewhat restricted, but you might find some interesting items, along with links to related Dickinson resources on the web. Happy hunting / Mats D |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Mats Dahlstrm / Doctoral student, Lecturer / Dept of Library and Info Science, Univ. college of Bors, Sweden / mad@adm.hb.se / http://www.adm.hb.se/personal/mad/ +46 33 16 44 21(phone), +46 33 16 40 05 (phax) / .... and, in the words of Nelson, "http://www.imagine.the/transclusion.html#oftext">" From: Brother Anthony Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:40:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 182 (182) The American Verse Project index at http://www.hti.umich.edu/bin/amv-idx.pl?page=bibl The Bartleby Archive index at http://www.bartleby.com/index.html or the American literature section of the Voice of the Shuttle at http://vos.ucsb.edu/shuttle/eng-amer.html should give you food for thought and pleasure far beyond Emily D. An Sonjae (Brother Anthony) Sogang University, Seoul, Korea http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony From: "Michael S. Hart" Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:40:52 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 183 (183) There are two volumes of Emily Dickinson from Project Gutenberg: Jun 2001 Poems of Emily Dickinson, Series Two [Emily D. #2][2mlydxxx.xxx]2679 Jun 2001 Poems of Emily Dickinson, Series One [Emily D. #1][1mlydxxx.xxx]2678 [Yes, we are about a year ahead of schedule.] Thanks! So nice to hear from you! Michael S. Hart Project Gutenberg "Ask Dr. Internet" Executive Director Internet User ~#100 From: Jascha Kessler Subject: Re: 14.0125 Emily Dickenson's poetry online? Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:41:31 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 184 (184) there must be better if the url cannot spell Dickinson correctly.... Jascha Kessler Professor of English & Modern Literature, UCLA Telephone/Facsimile: (310) 393-4648 eFax: (360) 838-8589 http://www.english.ucla.edu/jkessler/ http://www.xlibris.com http://jaschakessler.homestead.com/ http://www.mcphersonco.com From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Conference: Metamorphoses 2000: Expressive Technology, Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 185 (185) Art and Humanities NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 18, 2000 Metamorphoses 2000: Expressive Technology, Art and Humanities Fourteenth Annual National Conference on Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists October 18-20, 2000: School of Visual Arts, NYC <http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu/NewsEvents/indexhtml.html>http <http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu/NewsEvents/indexhtml.html>http://www.scho olofvisualarts.edu/NewsEvents/indexhtml.html [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: News: "MUSICIANS, EXECS TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 186 (186) INTERNET MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES" NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community July 18, 2000 MUSICIANS, EXECS TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT INTERNET MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES <http://www.artswire.org/current.html#news2>http://www.arts <http://www.artswire.org/current.html#news2>http://www.artswire.org/current. html#news2 I thought this was a good account of the recent Congressional testimony on the impact of new technologies on the delivery of music, with good references at the foot. David Green =========== [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: jason.mann@vanderbilt.edu Subject: Asynchronous Learning Network Announcement Reminders Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 188 (188) ANNOUNCEMENT 1: INVITATION TO URBANA SEMINAR ON-LINE A reminder that registration for the on-line seminar version of the Urbana workshop on Learning Effectiveness and Faculty Satisfaction is open until Monday July 24, so that there is time for you to receive your copy of the book.  There are a few spaces le ft, so register soon at: http://www.aln.org/seminars. *** Clip From Original Announcement *** You are invited to an on-line seminar on "Learning Effectiveness and Faculty Satisfaction," July 31--August 13, 2000.  To see details of the seminar, visit http://www.aln.org/seminars.\160 The registration fee of $49.00 includes the full text of groundbreaking case studies; published in June, 2000, the book details fourteen formal studies at private, community and state colleges and universities. Pioneers in on-line learning will lead each of the seminar sessions.  The first week focuses on Learning Effectiveness, and the second week focuses on Faculty Satisfaction.  The seminar leaders are faculty, administrators and technical experts from leadin g institutions in higher education, grantees of the Sloan Consortium (http://www.sloan-c.org). *** End Clip *** ANNOUNCEMENT 2: THE 6th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING NETWORKS November 3-5, 2000 University of Maryland University College College Park, Maryland Please, mark these dates, and go to http://www.aln.org/alnconf2000 for more about the premier conference devoted exclusively to online learning. Researchers, educators, and anyone interested in distance education are welcome.  Discuss the state-of-the-art with scientists, teachers and managers, see what the commercial sector is offering to support online education, and join in shaping the future o f this growing field. Organizations interested in exhibit space, product demonstration rooms, or corporate sponsorship, please contact aln2000@umuc.edu. Asynchronous learning networks are helping to transform education and training from site-based, time-bound experiences to anytime/anywhere online learning environments.  By connecting learners with each other, with their instructors, and with a wide range of resources, ALNs allow a high degree of interaction and collaboration. -------- TO EDIT / ADD / or REMOVE your email from our mailing list, please visit, http://www.netlearning.org/alnemail/email.cfm?ID=1867 ** MAKE SURE TO USE THE FOLLOWING EMAIL IN THE PROPER PLACE:** epc-chwp@chass.utoronto.ca -------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Gerda Elata Subject: Re: 14.0127 Emily online Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 11:41:33 +0200 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 189 (189) To all of you thanks for your abundant asistance, Gerda Elata From: "Michael S. Hart" Subject: Re: 14.0127 Emily online Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:52:07 -0500 (CDT) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 190 (190) [deleted quotation] Actually, according to Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary, mid-20th Century edition, there were six volumes published after her death, four of which were before 1923, and thus would be in the public domain. . . . Also, one must consider that that the later editions might have only been protected by compilation copyrights, and thus most or all of the individual contents could be in the public domain. [Also of note, a "Complete Works" does not get a compilation copyright, in that there is no "intellectual input" in choosing the works. . .there would have to be other "intellectual input." However, in other countries this is not so strictly enforced, and "sweat of the brow" copyrights are more commonly enforced. Michael S. Hart Project Gutenberg Executive Director Internet User ~#100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Susan Warshauer Subject: Job: Visiting Assistant Professor, Center for Literary Computing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 191 (191) Please announce: The Department of English at West Virginia University seeks to hire a visiting Assistant Professor as Coordinator of our Center for Literary Computing for a one-year term, August 16, 2000, through May 15, 2001. Ph.D. preferred; ABD considered. Evidence of ability to maintain the Center as a major resource of instruction and research for both graduate and undergraduate students required; teaching assignment will include the continued development of a program of courses in humanities computing as well as introductory literature courses and composition. Send letter of application and current c. v. with list of references to: Timothy Dow Adams, Chair, Department of English, P. O. Box 6296, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506. We would be happy to receive applications via e-mail or fax (tadams@wvu.edu or fax (304) 293-5380). Review of applications will begin immediately. This advertisement and supplementary information about the Department is available at URL Minorities, women candidates, and those with disabilities urged to apply. AA/EOE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: "P. T. Rourke" Subject: For Humanist: LexiBot metasearch software Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 192 (192) Of possible interest to Humanist folks: this is obviously a disguised Press Release (on CNN.com, from a company called BrightPlanet), but it makes a good point about the opacity of databases to current search technologies and the software sounds interesting. Patrick Rourke ptrourke@mediaone.net Study says Web is 500 times larger than major search engines now show [Excerpts, 20% of article] While search engines obviously have come a long way since 1994, they aren't indexing even more pages because an increasing amount of information is stored in evolving, giant databases set up by government agencies, universities and corporations. BrightPlanet believes it has developed a solution with software called "LexiBot." With a single search request, the technology not only searches the pages indexed by traditional search engines, but delves into the databases on the Internet and fishes out the information in them. The LexiBot isn't for everyone, BrightPlanet executives concede. For one thing, the software costs money -- $89.95 after a free 30-day trial. For another, a LexiBot search isn't fast. Typical searches will take 10 to 25 minutes to complete, but could require up to 90 minutes for the most complex requests. The privately held company expects LexiBot to be particularly popular in academic and scientific circles. http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/26/deepweb.ap/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: LIST OF INTERESTING BOOKS Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 193 (193) Greetings humanist scholars, Following are my personal findings regarding the books related to the Cyborgs, Postmodernism, Virtual Reality, Media, Philosophy of Information and Technology, Internet and Cyberspace, and Digital culture, Science Fiction and technology, hypertext etc -during my cyberexplorations and thought, this might interest you. I hope these books will also help you in your teaching and learning -the books are *highly recommended* Actually, I tried to collect some important books on the contemporary issues related to Philosophy of cyberspace, AI, computers and VR, digital culture and technology, hypertext and writings etc, but if I have missed some other books on important issues related to above themes, please let me know! Thanks you very much in advance! -- Our Own Metaphor: A Personal Account of a Conference on the Efects of Conscious Purpose on Human Adaption (Washington DC: The Smithsonian, 1991) by Mary Catherine Bateson. Thinking Through Technology, 1994, p. 6-9 cy Carl Mitcham Marshall McLuhan meets William Gibson in "Cyberspace" by Michael Doherty (CMC Magazine, September..1995) Connected Intelligence by Derrick De Kerckhove, 1997 The Emperor's Virtual Clothes: The Naked Truth about Internet Culture by Dinty Moore, 1995 Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence (Cambridge: HUP, 1990) by Hans Moravec The Adpated Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) by Jerome H. Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby, eds. Preface to Plato (Cambridge: HUP, 1982) by Eric A. Havelock The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1991) by Francisco J. Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch. Snow Crash (New York: Bantam, 1992) by Neal Stephenson The Electronic Word: Democracy, Technology and the Arts (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994) by Richard Lanham Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to Calculation (New York: W.H. Freeman, 1976) by Joseph Weizenbaum Posthuman Bodies (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995) by Judith Halberstam and Ira Livingston. The Skin of Culture by Derrick De Kerckhove (Sommerville Publishing House, Toronto, 1995) Minds, Brains and Science (Cambridge, HUP, 1986) by John R. Searle Neuromancer (New York, Ace Books, 1984) by William Gibson Research in Philosophy and Technology, edited by Frederick Ferre & George Allan (vol 14, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1994) Being Digital by Nicholas Nergroponte Bruno Latour, "We have Never Been Modern", translated by Catherine Porter (Cambridge: HUP, 1993) Cybersociety: Computer-Mediated Communication and Community by Steve Jones (Newbury Park. CA) The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn (dramatic trilogy in text and on video) 1988 Welcome To...Internet: From Mystry to Mastery by T. Badgett and C. Sandler (NY MIS Press, 1993) The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges (1941) Electronic Culture: Technology and Visual Representation, edited by Timothy Druckrey (New York: Aperture, 1996) Avatars of the Word: from Papyrus to Cyberspace (Cambridge: HUP, 1998) by James J. O'Donnell The Future of the Book, edited by Geoffery Nunberg As We May Think by Vannevar Bush (1945) Hypertext 2.0 By George Landow (1997) Teledemocracy: Can technology protect democracy? by F.C. Arterton (Newbury Park: Sage, 1987) _Holding On to Reality_: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999) by Albert Borgmann How to advertise on the Internet by Michael Strangelove & Aneurin Bosley (Strangelove Press, 1994) Crossing the Postmodern Divide (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992) by Albert Borgmann [deleted quotation]The Digital Dialectic: New Essays on New Media (MIT Press, 1999) editor Peter Lunenfeld In the Age of the Smart Machine: the future of Work and Power by S. Zuboff (New York: Basic Books, 1988) Hypermedia and Literary Studies (MIT, 1991) by George P. Landow The Digital Word: Text-Based Computing in the Humanities (MIT, 1993) by George P. Landow The Art of Computer Game Design by Chris Crawford (1982, 1997) Computers as Theatre (Addison-Wesley 1991) by Branda Laurel The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman (1988) Snap to Grid: A User's Guide to Digital Arts, Media, and Cultures (forthcoming MIT Press) by Peter Lunenfeld. The Invisible Computer by Don Norman (1998) The Language of New Media (MIT Press, 2000) by Lev Manovich The Robot in the Garden: Telerobotics and Telepistemology in the Age of the Internet (March 2000, MIT Press) edited by Ken Goldberg City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn (MIT Press, 1995) by William J. Mitchell. The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era (MIT Press, 1992) by William J. Mitchell The Logic of Architecture: Design, Computation, and Cognition (MIT Press, 1990) by William J. Mitchell E-topia: Urban Life, Jim --But Not As We Know It (MIT Press, 1999-2000) by William J. Mitchell Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995) by Sherry Turkle Being-In-The-World: A Commentary on Heidegger's Being and Time, Division (MIT Press, 1991) by Hubert L. Dreyfus Mind Over Machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer (Free Press, 1986) by Hubert L. Dreyfus, Stuart E. Dreyfus. What Computers Still Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason (MIT Press, 1992) by Hubert L. Dreyfus Computation and Human Experience (Cambridge University Press, 1997) by Philip E. Agre Electric Language: A Philosophical Study of Word Processing (Yale U. Press, 1999) co-written by Michael Heim & David Hillel Gelernter Virtual Realism (Oxford U. Press, 1998) by Michael Heim The Metaphysical of Virtual Reality (was published by Oxford U. Press, 1993) by Michael Heim. The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Space from Dante to the Internet by Margaret Wertheim (Random House, 1999) How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics (University of Chicago Press, 1999) by N. Katherine Hayles. Technoromanticism: Digital Narrative, Holism, and the Romance of the Real (Leonardo(Series)(Cambridge, Massachusets.).) MIT Press, 1999 by Richard Coyne. Designing Information Technology in the Postmodern Age: From Method to Metaphor (MIT Press, 1995) by Richard Coyne Digital Mosaics: The Aesthetics of Cyberspace (Touchstone Books, 1998) by Steven Holtzman Postmodern Currents: Arts and Artists in the Age of Electronic Media (Prentice Hall, 1996) by Margaret Lovejoy The Cosmic Web: Scientific Field Models and Literary Strategies in the Twentieth Century -by Katherine Hayles (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1984) Techgnosis: Myth, Magic, and Religion in the Information Age (Harmony Books, 1998) by Erik Davis Web Developer.com(r) Guide to 3D Avatars (John Wiley & Sons, 1998) by Sue Ki Wilcox Chaos Bound: Orderly Disorder in Contemporary Literature and Science -by Katherine Hayles (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1990) The Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation, and Crash Culture (Princeton Architectural Pr., 1998) by John Beckmann Avatars!: Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet (Peachpit Press, 1997) by Bruce Damer Magical A-Life Avatars: A New Paradigm for the Internet (Manning Publications Company, 1998) by Peter Small Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace by Janet H. Murray (MIT Press, 1999) Designing Information Technology in the Postmodern Age, From Method to Metaphor [A LEONARDO BOOK] by Richard Coyne Network and Netplay: Virtual Groups on the Internet edited by Fay Sudweeks, Margaret McLaughlin and Sheizaf Rafaeli (MIT Press 1998) Words and Rules by Steven Pinker (Basic Books) How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker The Real, True Angel by Robin Lippincott The Cartographer's Vacations (collections of peotry) by Andrea Cohen Cyberspace: First Steps, editor M. Benedikt (MIT Press, 1991) Writing Space: The Computer in the History if Literacy by Jay David Bolter (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1990) The Mode of Information: Poststructuralism and Social Context by Mark Poster (University of Chicago Press, 1990) Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman (NY: Random House, 1992) The Post-Modern and the Post-Industrial: A Critical Analysis by Margaret Rose, 1991 The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society by Norbert Wiener (NY: Doubleday, 1954) Misunderstanding Media by Brian Winston in 1986 Virtual Worlds: A journey in Hype and Hyperreality by Benjamin Wooley (NY: Penguin, 1992) Cyberspace Textuality: Computer Technology and Literary Theory editor Marie-Laure Ryan (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1999) Decentering the Subject in Fiction, Film, the Visual Arts, and Electronic Media by Silvio Gaggi (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) Cybergrace, The Search for God in the Digital World by Jennifer Cobb (Crown, 1998) "Essays - The Wake of Art: Criticism, Philosophy, and the ends of Taste" (Overseas Publishers Association, 2000) by Arthur C. Danto "Surviving the Age of Virtual Reality" (University of Missouri Press, 2000) by Thomas Langan. "The Gaze and the Labyrinth: The Cinema of Liliana Cavani" (PUP, 2000) by Gaetana Marrone. "Body Talk: Rhetoric, Technology, Reproduction" (University of Wisconsin Press, 2000) by Mary M. Lay "Essays, Literature Media Information Systems" (Amsterdam: Overseas Publishers Association) by Friedrich A. Kittler. Joyce Effects on Language, Theory, and History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000) by Derek Attridge. "Essays, Critical Voices: The Myths of Postmodern Theory, Commentary by Warren Burt" by Nicholas Zurbrugs Orality and Literacy; The Technologizing of the Word by Walter J. Ong. The History and Power of Writing by Henri-Jean Martin Amusing Ourselves to Death; Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman Postmodernist Culture: An Introduction to Theories of the Contemporary (Oxford) by Steven Connor The Moral Turn of Postmodernism: Ethics and Aesthetics in Postmodern Theory, edited by Gerhard Hoffman et.al. Myth and the Making of Modernity edited by Michael Bell and Peter Poellner Principled Positions: Postmodernisms and the Recovery of Value edited by Judith Squires Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi Cyberexplorer Research Scholar UNI DO, GERMANY Online Facilitator ---------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Michael Fraser Subject: Workshops at Digital Resources for the Humanities 2000 Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 19:21:44 +0100 (BST) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 194 (194) WORKSHOPS AT THE DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR THE HUMANITIES CONFERENCE University of Sheffield, Wednesday, 13 September 2000 The following workshops have been organised as part of the Digital Resources for the Humanities conference. The workshops will run in parallel on the final day of the conference, 13 September 2000 at the University of Sheffield. Further information about the conference itself is available via http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/ The workshop fee includes lunch, refreshments and documentation. WORKSHOP 1 (half-day, 9.30-12.30) Designing Flexible Digital Representations of Historical Source Materials. Led by the History Data Service, University of Essex. This workshop will discuss the methodology of creating digital representations of historical source materials. The workshop will focus on the digitisation process and the relationship between the source and the result of digitisation. The workshop will articulate and demonstrate the standards and elements of good practice relevant to the creation of a wide range of data types, from student projects to large-scale research projects. Specific software packages and data modelling techniques will not be discussed in detail. Pre-requisites: moderate level of computer-literacy, though no experience of digital resource creation is required. Cost: 30 pounds. WORKSHOP 2 (full-day, 9.30-4.30) Shared joy is double joy: putting your database on the Web. Led by Humanities Computing Development Team, University of Oxford. This workshop is aimed at academics, librarians, IT staff and others who have an interest in making a current or planned Microsoft Access database available over the Web. The workshop consists of a combination of short presentations, hands-on, and discussion sessions. Hands-on work will concentrate on using Active Server Pages technology to make an Access database available over the web, and by the end of the day you will have created your own simple ASP application. An example database will be used throughout the whole course to illustrate technical and design issues. Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of HTML, FTP, and experience of using MS-Access. Cost: 75 pounds. WORKSHOP 3 (full-day, 9.30-4.30) XML: the future of digital information? Led by Lou Burnard and Sebastian Rahtz, University of Oxford. This workshop aims to give you a practical grounding in the technology underlying the future of digital resources: the extensible markup language XML. The course will combine formal lecture and discussions on XML, XSL and related technologies together with group work in hands-on sessions. Pre-requisites: moderate level of computer-literacy and some knowledge of a markup language (e.g. HTML) Cost: 75 pounds [material deleted[ From: Gerry McKiernan Subject: CENDI Conference on _Controlled Vocabulary and the Internet_ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 12:16:10 CDT X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 195 (195) CENDI Conference on _Controlled Vocabulary and the Internet_ I recently learned about the availability of the PowerPoint presentations made at the CENDI conference on _Controlled Vocabulary and the Internet_ held September 29, 1999. CENDI is an governmental interagency Working Group composed of senior Scientific and Technical Information (STI) managers from major programs in several U.S. federal agencies [http://www.dtic.mil/cendi/ ]. The presentations are available at http://www.dtic.mil/cendi/pres_arc.html The following is a listing of the conference presentations and their authors: Joseph A. Busch, DataFusion, Inc. - From Authority Files to Ontologies: Knowledge Management in a Networked Environment (PowerPoint File, 298 KB) Patricia Harpring, Vocabulary Program Senior Editor, The Getty - Documenting & Access: Indexing with the Getty Vocabularies (PowerPoint File, 980 KB) Stuart J. Nelson, MD, National Library of Medicine - The Role of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) in Vocabulary Control (PowerPoint File, 185 KB) Dagobert Soergel College of Library and Information Services University of Maryland - Enriched Thesauri as Networked Knowledge Bases for People and Machines (PDF File, 350 KB) Dr. Elizabeth D. Liddy Center for Natural Language Processing School of Information Studies Syracuse University - Whither Come the Words? (PowerPoint File, 116 KB) Larry Fitzwater EPA/OIRM/EIMD, Linda Spencer EPA/OIRM/EIMD - EPA Terminology Reference System (TRS) (PowerPoint File, 533 KB) Joyce Ward, Northern Light Technology, Inc. - Indexing and Classification at Northern Light (PowerPoint File, 356 KB) Quin J. Hart, University of California at Davis - The CERES/NBII Thesaurus Partnership Project (Project Web Site) Stephen M. Griffin, National Science Foundation - DIGITAL LIBRARIES INITIATIVE An Interagency Program of Research and Applications (PowerPoint File, 728 KB) In addition these presentations, the site contains the PowerPoint presentations from other CENDI programs including: REFERENCE/CITATION LINKING: THE FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE - A JOINT CENDI/FLICC WORKSHOP held June 21, 2000; GovTechNet 99 held in June 99; and Open Source Solutions 97: Global Security and Global Competitiveness held in June 1997. I believe that MyWebColleagues will find each of great value and interest! /Gerry McKiernan Theoretical Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu "Life is What Happens While You're Making Other Plans" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/web/faculty/markw/papyrus-news.html>. ********************************************************************* <http://www.webreview.com/pub/2000/07/14/platform/index.html> by Andy Oram July 14, 2000 Numerous communities are trying to wrench their populations into "the information age" by introducing computer skills in the classroom. In the following dialog, a community leader who is troubled by the results talks with a therapist online. Patient: I have a problem with computers. Therapist: Tell me about the problem with computers. Patient: I depend on computers for things I shouldn't. Therapist: Why do you think you shouldn't? Patient: Well, my community is trying to lift its high school graduates' economic status and transition welfare recipients into secure jobs by giving them basic training in simple office computer programs. We've sunk a lot of the educational budget and discretionary government funding into this endeavor. Therapist: Is there something about this endeavor that bothers you? Patient: It's not working. Turns out that employers are taking those skills for granted and looking for candidates with more specialized and refined educations. Therapist: Earlier you were telling me you depend on computers for things you shouldn't. Patient: That's because we thought that computerizing and going on the Internet would provide a larger market for our goods and services. But it turns out that those technologies favor consolidation and streamlining. The only way to get ahead in such a game is to offer the same thing as all the other vendors but to shave a few tenths of a cent off of the costs of every transaction. So we're reducing the quality of work and hearing increasing complaints from citizens about their narrowing opportunities in life. Therapist: Could it be that it's because you've sunk a lot of the educational budget and discretionary government funding into this endeavor that you're reducing the quality of work and hearing increasing complaints from citizens about their narrowing opportunities in life? Patient: That's an odd idea, but it's worth considering. Maybe we should spend less time cultivating computer skills and more time finding the unique contributions each person can make. We've been ignoring the treasures right in our own back yard. I'll tell you what's really bad: we find ourselves in conflict with every other community for an ever-shrinking toehold at the top. Therapist: I can tell that you don't like that you're in conflict with every other community for an ever-shrinking toehold at the top. Patient: Yes, it's terrible! Every community is trying to be the number one warehouse supplier. Therapist: Maybe every community should not be trying to be the number one warehouse supplier. Patient: Hey, you just gave me a really powerful idea. Therapist: Tell me more about the really powerful idea. Patient: Instead of homogenizing our culture and competing on the same ground within a single global market, maybe every community should play to its own strengths. You see, we buy things as well as sell them. We can be a desireable market that the mega-corporations want to tap. It's possible for modern technology to pinpoint customized services to each town's geography, culture, and particular needs. Therapist: Tell me what it would be like for modern technology to pinpoint customized services to each town's geography, culture, and particular needs. Patient: It would be great! Then we could present local experts as intermediaries between their populations and the companies trying to appeal to us. That's a source of employment for us, and a source of valuable information to outsiders. The companies who did the best job making use of the skills of local experts would reap the most rewards. Say, you know your stuff! Therapist: Why should I say that I know my stuff? Patient: Because you've solved my problem! I'm going to stop expecting so much from computers, and concentrate on promoting what's extraordinary and desirable about my town's markets and services. Thanks. Therapist: Your welcome. Patient: Good-bye. Therapist: My automated ecommerce agent will send you a bill. ----- Andy is an editor at O'Reilly & Associates and moderator of the Cyber Rights mailing list for Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. You can reach him at andyo@oreilly.com. This article represents his views only. This article can be reposted in its entirety for non-profit use. Web Review copyright (c) 1995-2000 Miller Freeman, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Michael Fraser Subject: Cataloguing Officer - Humanities Hub Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 197 (197) HUMBUL HUMANITIES HUB University of Oxford Cataloguing Officer Grade: RS1A GBP16,775 - GBP25,213 The Humanities Computing Unit brings together prestigious local, national and international projects including the Oxford Text Archive, Humanities Computing Development Team, Text Encoding Initiative, and the Humbul Humanities Hub. Information about our work is available from http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/. The Humanities Computing Unit receives funding from the JISC to develop the Humbul Humanities Hub for the Resource Discovery Network. The Hub provides Web access to quality Internet resources for teaching and research in the humanities. See http://www.humbul.ac.uk/. We are seeking a Cataloguing Officer who will be responsible for providing support to our distributed contributors; creating, completing, and checking Internet resource descriptions; and promoting the Hub within the library communities. The ideal candidate will have a professional qualification in librarianship/information science and have an active interest in cataloguing Internet resources, particularly within the humanities; a good standard of Internet literacy, and an awareness of current metadata standards for resource discovery is also essential. This post is offered as a one-year contract in the first instance. Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Michael Fraser, Head of Humbul (email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk; tel: 01865 283343). To apply, please obtain further details and an application form from Mrs Nicky Tomlin, Oxford University Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN. (Tel: 01865-273230, email: nicky.tomlin@oucs.ox.ac.uk). Further details are also available online at http://www.humbul.ac.uk/about/recruit.html Completed applications must be received by 4.00 pm on 7th August 2000 Interviews will be held during week commencing 14th August. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michael Fraser Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk Head of Humbul Fax: +44 1865 273 275 Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS Tel: +44 1865 283 343 University of Oxford 13 Banbury Road http://www.humbul.ac.uk/ Oxford OX2 6NN DRH 2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: EditorAnn@aol.com Subject: inquiry on art and riots Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 198 (198) I've been lurking so long that I have forgotten how to send inquiries, so please forgive me if this was not the right place. My son, a journalist, asked for help on this one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. He wrote: I'm looking for any instances where art caused a riot--as with the premieres of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Cyrano de Bergerac or the Disco Sucks riot in Chicago. I'm looking for incidents that involve actual fisticuffs or destruction of property, not just critical condemnation. Please send replies to C@areporter.com. (Constantine von Hoffman) P S I know this is the summer hiatus. Ann Byrne ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Nigel Williamson Subject: New on the Web Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 10:36:14 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 199 (199) The Electronic Texts in East Asian Languages Pilot Project are pleased to announce the publication on the web of their first Electronic Text. The work "Shin Nihon no Shisô Genri" (The Ideological Principles of the New Japan) was written by the eminent Japanese philosopher Miki Kiyoshi and is provided in Japanese with a parallel English translation. Both versions of the text are full annotated and include a line by line comparisons. The project web site is: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~jsgml/ Access to this text is free and comments and feedback are welcomed. Yours Nigel Williamson ********************************************************************* Nigel Williamson Tel: 0114 222 3099 Arts and Humanities Liaison Fax: 0114 222 1199 Corporate Information and Computing Services Computer Centre, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RF Local host for DRH2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 Email: drh2000@shef.ac.uk From: Gerry McKiernan Subject: Two Major Reports on Digital Preservation Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 14:58:57 CDT X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 200 (200) _Two Major Reports on Digital Preservation_ I recently learned about two major reports relating to the issues surrounding digital preservation and believe that they will be of interest to MyWebColleagues. The first of these was prepared by Gail Hodge of Information International Associates on behalf of the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) [http://www.icsti.org/ ]. The publication, _Digital Electronic Archiving: The State of the Art and the State of the Practice_ was published in April 1999. It is accessible at the following addresses: http://www.icsti.org/icsti/whats_new.html http://www.icsti.org/icsti/99ga/digarch99_TOCP.pdf [Table of Contents] http://www.icsti.org/icsti/99ga/digarch99_ExecP.pdf [Executive Summary] http://www.icsti.org/icsti/99ga/digarch99_MainP.pdf [Main Report] The second is a report prepared by a committee for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and provides recommendations on the digital preparedness and the Library of Congress in collecting and preserving digital resources. A general summary of the report recently appeared in the New York Times on July 27 2000 ["Saving The Nation's Digital Legacy" / by Katie Hafner ( http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/circuits/articles/27libr.html ) [NB: This article was also published as "Library of Congress Lags in Archiving Digital Preservation" in the July 26th NYTimes Web edition ] [NOTE: A free account is required to access this article] The title of the report is _LC21: A Digital Strategy for the Library of Congress_. The Library of Congress (LoC) commissioned the study. The report's recommendations are more fully described in a press release available from the LoC [http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2000/00-100.html ] A *pre-publication* copy of the report is available at: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309071445/html/ /Gerry McKiernan Theoretical Librarian Iowa State University Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu "Life is What Happens While You're Making Other Plans" From: "Jerome J. McGann" Subject: ROSSETTI ARCHIVE ONLINE RELEASE Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2000 10:24:09 -0400 (EDT) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 201 (201) ROSSETTI ARCHIVE ONLINE RELEASE This announces the online release of the first installment of The Rossetti Archive. It can be accessed at the following address: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/rossetti/ There are more than 10,000 files in this installment, which will be most useful for teaching and research focussed on the 1870 _Poems_. But the installment has copious materials on all of DGR's works, textual as well as pictorial and design. This release is in fact a "research installment" and lacks certain functionalities that will be added this fall. A brief "Preface to the First Installment" is pasted into the first page of the general Introduction to the Archive, which is accessed from the "work in progress" link on the homesite page. For those interested in the subjects of humanities computing, electronic editing, theory of textuality, and related matters, I recommend that you look at the materials in the section headed "Resources". We of course welcome any feedback, critical in particular. And we hope that students and scholars find as much pleasure and instruction in this work -- there will be four installments -- as we have had in building it. Jerome McGann ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Willard McCarty Subject: CFP: Remarking the Text Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 202 (202) [deleted quotation] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Ross Scaife Subject: [STOA] TC- announcement Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 203 (203) Trajan's Column http://www.stoa.org/trajan/ The Stoa Consortium is pleased to announce the publication of Trajan's Column, a site for exploring the Column of Trajan as a sculptural monument. The core of this project is a searchable database of over 500 images focusing on various aspects of the design and execution of the column's sculptural decoration. These images (slides and drawings) were generated by and for sculptor Peter Rockwell, over the course of his study of Roman stone-carving practices. The aim of this site is to make these images available to the widest possible audience, in a form that can contribute both to ongoing study by specialists and to enjoyment and appreciation of the monument by the general public. Credits: Paul Barrette created the website, on-line database, and CGI scripts. These scripts are freely available for inspection at the website for the benefit of others who might learn from them as they work on their own projects. Martin Beckmann recorded database information and had Peter Rockwell's slides scanned in Rome, summer 1998. He also wrote the introductory essays on the Column of Trajan. Michele George edited, proof-read, test-drove and advised. Saul Rich digitized the cartoon drawings and designed the navigation system for using them. Geoffrey Rockwell originated the project and supervised the programming. He recently presented an overview of the work at the ALLC/ACH convention in Glasgow. Gretchen Umholtz did overall project supervision, wrote the introductory remarks on the home page, and edited, test-drove and advised. The Stoa Consortium is hosting a mirror of the project and also provided editorial support leading to improvements in both the available content and the underlying technologies. For more information about the Stoa, visit http://www.stoa.org and feel free to contact the co-editors, Anne Mahoney (amahoney@perseus.tufts.edu) and Ross Scaife (scaife@pop.uky.edu). From: "Jeanne M. Laseman" Subject: academic job at Northwestern Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 06:30:51 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 204 (204) Northwestern University Program in Comparative Literary Studies announces an open rank position in Literature and New Media (pending final budgetary approval). We are looking for a dynamic and independent scholar and teacher who can think in imaginative ways about the relationship of new media, particularly digital media, to traditional literary studies. The successful candidate will be a member of the CLS faculty with an appointment in an appropriate literature or humanities department of the College. To apply, please send a CV and three letters of recommendation (junior candidates should also include a dissertation abstract) to Andrew Wachtel, Director, Program in Comparative Literary Studies Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-2205. Application deadline: Senior candidates October 13,2000; Junior candidates November 1,2000. We particularly encourage applications from women and minority candidates. For more information e-mail: a-wachtel@northwestern.edu AA/EOE [Posted by Jeanne Laseman, j-laseman@nwu.edu Northwestern University Slavic Languages and Comp. Lit. 1859 Sheridan Rd. Evanston IL, 60208-2206 Kresge 135 Ph: (847)491-5636 Fax:(847)467-2596] From: Neil Fraistat Subject: academic job at UMD Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 06:32:50 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 205 (205) University of Maryland Libraries Non-Tenured Faculty Position Vacancy TITLE: Librarian, Instructional Development Coordinator LOCATION: Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) CATEGORY: Non-Tenured Faculty, Full-Time (12-Month Appointment) SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience ENVIRONMENT: MITH is an interdisciplinary institute devoted to exploring ways in which new technologies can be used in university research, teaching, and community outreach. Funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant, MITH is a joint venture of the College of Arts and Humanities, the University Libraries, and the Office of Information Technology. MITH plays a pioneering role in expanding humanities research and education through a broad array of programs. Additional information about MITH can be found at: HYPERLINK http://www.mith.umd.edu http://www.mith.umd.edu. RESPONSIBILITIES: This position serves as the primary resource person to teaching faculty in all phases of humanities technology use, from conceptualizing options to designing programs to deploying them in the classroom. The Coordinator has general managerial oversight of the Institute's facilities and its graduate and undergraduate student staff, reports to the MITH Director, and works closely with the Libraries' Electronic Text and Imaging Center (ETIC), the campus Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Office of Information Technology's Instructional Technology Group. QUALIFICATIONS: Required: Graduate degree in the Humanities, Library Science, Education, or related field. Demonstrated working knowledge of HTML, SGML and XML encoding, particularly the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI). Familiarity with a variety of operating systems (e.g., UNIX, MAC, Windows, Linux). Expertise in using state of the art software. Experience in the production, storage, and retrieval of archival quality images. Experience with collaborative project development. Demonstrated excellent oral, written, and organizational skills. Preferred: Instructional design, curriculum development, database management, teaching, multimedia and/or graphics experience. Experience in coding and scripting languages (e.g., C, C+, Java, JavaScript, and Perl) would also be desirable. BENEFITS: 22 days annual leave and 3 personal days; 14 paid holidays; 15 days sick leave. Employer contributes to health insurance and retirement (State pension or TIAA-CREF), tuition remission. APPLICATIONS: For full consideration, submit a cover letter, a resume and names/addresses of three references by August 21, 2000. Applications accepted until the position is filled. Ray Foster, Library Personnel, Room #4105, McKeldin Library, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 7011. Fax:(301)314-9960. Detailed Job Description at: http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/LPO/LibJobs/037.html Libraries' Web Address: http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. From: cbf@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Latin abbreviation font Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 206 (206) I am looking for a font that has the standard abbreviations used in medieval writing systems that use the Latin alphabet, e.g., p with a bar through the tail, all letters of the alphabet with a superimposed abbreviation bar, the Tironian note, -ur, -us, and -rum signs, etc. These are the sorts of things that one used to see in the old-fashinoned catalogues of incunabula that attempted to offer type facsimiles. Many thanks, Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu From: Creagh Cole Subject: Aust.Pacific HC Conference Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 10:50:23 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 207 (207) Preliminary conference announcement - please pass on to interested colleagues Computing Arts - Digital Resources for Research in the Humanities Conference - DRRH2001 <http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/drrh2001/>http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au /drrh2001/ Keynote speakers, and additional supporters and sponsors will be announced through the site --------------------------------------------- Computing Arts - Digital Resources for Research in the Humanities Conference University of Sydney - 26 - 28 September 2001 Computing Arts: Digital Resources for Research in the Humanities Conference (DRRH 2001) will provide a major forum for the creators, users, distributors and custodians of electronic resources in the humanities to present and discuss their work, experiences and ideas. The first major conference devoted to issues in humanities computing generally in the Australia-Pacific region, DRRH 2001 seeks to bring together scholars, academic researchers, publishers, librarians and archivists in the region and beyond, with key speakers in the field, to foster the exchange of ideas and to extend the use of digital resources, techniques and tools in humanities research and teaching. Scope and Keywords DRRH 2001 intends to attract the reporting of relevant work in a broad range of fields, including archaeology, art history, history, languages and linguistics, literary studies, music, performing arts, as well as work detailing techniques and issues associated with the creation and use of digital texts, databases, images, sound, video and digital mapping. Possible Keywords: humanities computing; scholarly editing; text encoding; text analysis; textual studies; computational linguistics; GIS mapping; digital libraries; archival description; digital imaging; image delivery; iconic visualisation; multimedia; languages; scripts; special characters; unicode; electronic publishing; markup languages (TEI, EAD); XML; coordination and collaboration issues and outcomes; funding. Hosts at the University of Sydney: RIHSS Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences and SETIS the Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service at the University of Sydney Library DRRH 2001 is supported by The Australian Academy of the Humanities Contacts for more information: Dr. Creagh Cole SETIS Coordinator - c.cole@library.usyd.edu.au Ms. Rowanne Couch RIHSS Research Manager - rowanne.couch@rihss.usyd.edu.au From: IPCT Subject: The First Conference of the Association of Internet Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 10:51:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 208 (208) [--] From: Storm King [--] The First Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers September 14-17, 2000 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas The schedule is now available for this conference. See <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/aoir/schedule.html> The main conference page is at http://www.cddc.vt.edu/aoir/ Here is a tiny sample of the over 200 papers that will be presented: ---------- Ethics and Internet Research Moderator: Charles Ess, Philosophy and Religion Department, Drury University Ethical Dilemmas in Cyberspace: Obtaining Consent for Online Qualitative Research in the Absence of an Established Operational Framework Caroline Bennett, Department of Humanities & International Studies, University of Southern Queensland Ethical Issues in the Use of Internet Posts. Craig Murray, Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University 'Seeing and Sensing' On-line Interaction: An Ethical Approach to USENET Support Group Research Mary Walstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign --------------- -- Storm A. King astorm@concentric.net ICQ# 2490493 "stormpsych" on AOL instant messenger The Psychology of Virtual Communities; research resources and articles on online therapy and online self-help groups: <http://www.concentric.net/~Astorm/> The International Society for Mental Health Online: http://www.ismho.org/ --------------- -- From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: "To Preserve & Protect" LC/ARL Symposium, Oct 30-31 Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 10:51:53 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 209 (209) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community August 4, 2000 "To Preserve & Protect: The Strategic Stewardship of Cultural Resources" Library of Congress Bicentennial symposium presented in affiliation with the Association of Research Libraries Washington, DC: October 30-31 <<http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/symposia_preserve.html>http:// <<http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/symposia_preserve.html>http://www.loc.gov/ bicentennial/symposia_preserve.html> Practical issues that confront directors and administrators who oversee preservation and collections security programs in libraries, museums, and archives are the focus of this 2-day symposium at the Library of Congress this October. David Green =========== [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Online Reading] The Body is Back: Communication in Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 210 (210) Cyberspace Greetings Humanist scholars, Hi, Here is a thesis sounds great, which I thought --might interest you --is available online. The thesis constitutes several chapters, such as "A Location Called Cyberspace: necessity of Implement, Implaced in Cyberspace, Sensing the Phenomenon of Cyberspace, Anchorage in Virtual Spaces"; "A Monad in Cyberspace: The Location of the Monadic Self, The Monad in Cyberspace, The Expression of the Monad in Cyberspace"; "A Body of Memory: Functionality of Memory, Memory Change, On the Survival of Images, The Momentum of Memory"; "The Body of Cyberspace: Unity and Materiality, Open Topology, Alter Ego, The Phenomenon: 'Body in Cyberspace', Being-in-Cyberspace"..then Conclusions and Bibliography. The Body of Cyberspace, considered as an open topology, as an alter ego, or as a phenomenon is then taken under consideration as a moment of Dasein as a body being-in-the-world-of-cyberspace with the consequences that it entails. The thesis also expressed the views, the Body is interaction with the digital environment, with some quotes, "Give me a place to stand and I'll move the world of Archimede", "..the virtual is the foundation of the actual.. due to Gilles Deleuz", and On *Unity and Materiality* Maurice Merleau-Ponty has expressed "..There is, therefore, another subject beneath me, for whom a world exists before I am here, and who marks out my place in it. This captive or natural subject is my body.." and Augustin's view "..if you remember who you are, you are somebody.." And **The Thesis _The Body is Back: Communication in Cyberspace_ can be found at <http://www.newschool.edu/mediastudies/sam/thesis.html> Thank you Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: CONFERENCE: History & Computing: Call Deadline Sept 15, 2000 Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 211 (211) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community August 7, 2000 "Moving Clio into the New Millennium: Interaction, Visualization, Digitization, and Collaboration." American Association for History and Computing Annual Conference February 1-3, 2001: Indianapolis, Indiana Call for Papers DEADLINE: September 15, 2000 <http://www.theaahc.org>http://www.theaahc.org [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Lorna Hughes Subject: Humanities Computing Job at NYU Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 212 (212) Humanities Computing Job at New York University The Humanities Computing Group (HCG) at New York University works with faculty, staff and graduate students to support the use of new technologies in Humanities teaching and research. The HCG serves all humanities departments and programs at the University as part of the central Information Technology Services division. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village in New York City, the HCG is a small, energetic group actively involved in a number of exciting new initiatives, including the establishment of a collaborative research center for Humanities Computing, Arts Technology and Digital Libraries. We are also piloting several Internet 2 projects in the Arts and Humanities, and we will be the local hosts of ACH/ALLC 2001 - the international conference of the Association for Computing in the Humanities and the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing. We are pleased to announce that we have a position available in the HCG. The post is for a Humanities Computing Specialist, with responsibility for supporting and developing existing Humanities Computing facilities at NYU as well as developing new projects which will exercise both content and technology skills. Candidates should be graduates (an advanced degree in the humanities is preferred) who enjoy working on challenging projects with a motivated team of individuals in a collegial atmosphere, and should be interested in investigating applications of new technology in the Humanities. You will need sound technological knowledge, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and should be interested in an opportunity to learn about the creation of digital projects in the Humanities. This post would be ideal for candidates who are interested in a career in Humanities Computing, Digital Libraries or Digital Scholarship. This is a professional staff position with permanent funding, competitive wages, and a very generous vacation and benefits package including tuition waiver for part-time study. A detailed job description is available at http://www.nyu.edu/its/jobs/humanities.nyu. For more information, or to make arrangements to discuss this post informally, please send e-mail to: humanities-job@forums.nyu.edu. To apply for this post: Please e-mail your resume, cover letter and the names of three references to: humanities-job@forums.nyu.edu Or you can mail or fax your you application materials to: Katy Santos Information Technology Services Human Resources 715 Broadway, Room 919 New York, NY 10012-1851 Fax: +1 212 995 4106 Interviews will commence the week of August 21st and continue until this post is filled. From: "Tarvers, Josephine K." Subject: RE: 14.0146 Latin abbreviation font? Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 20:44:06 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 213 (213) The people I know who might have these fonts are David Ganz at King's College London (david.ganz@kcl.ac.uk) or Pam Robinson at the Institute for English Studies (pamela.robinson@sas.ac.uk). I don't know if anything the Canterbury Tales Project at DeMontfort U. has developed has these symbols or not; you may have to bitmap them. Please let us know if you find this font! Jo T. ---------------- Jo Koster Tarvers, Ph.D. Department of English Winthrop University Rock Hill, SC 29733-0001 USA phone (803) 323-4557 fax (803) 323-4837 e-mail tarversj@winthrop.edu on the web http://faculty.winthrop.edu/tarversj From: tsherman Subject: RE: 14.0146 Latin abbreviation font? Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 20:44:38 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 214 (214) Try contacting Gary Stringer or Syd Connor at the University of Southern Mississippi. WE use those symbols in our transcriptions of texts for the Donne Variorum. Write me privately for their email addresses, or go to the Donne Variorum Website for contact information. The site address is: http://donnevariorum.libarts.usm.edu/ Yours, Ted Sherman [deleted quotation] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Dr. Theodore James Sherman Editor, Mythlore Associate Professor of English Box X041, College of Liberal Arts Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN 37132 615 898-5836 615 898-5098 FAX tsherman@mtsu.edu tedsherman@home.com From: John Lamp Subject: Interesting wrinkle on King's venture Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 215 (215) STEPHEN KING NOVEL MAY HAVE SCARY CONSEQUENCES The new Stephen King novel, published on the Web with a request that at least 75% of downloaders send the author $1 for the privilege, may well change the way all sorts of intellectual property is marketed, says R. Polk Wagner, a Penn law school professor. "Traditional intellectual property theory holds that producers (that is, King) won't produce unless they have the ability to restrict the access of others to their goods. Here King is doing two significant things: First, he's only asking 75 percent of the people to pay him, thereby engaging in an unusual form of price discrimination where only those who feel the moral pressure to contribute will do so. That is, King acknowledges that not everyone will pay. Second, he's explicitly asking people to pay for his future services. The traditional theory of intellectual property would not consider this possibility. Classic intellectual property theory holds that producers must get paid for the works they've already created, not works they've yet to produce." The result could be troubling for publishers, who depend on the sacredness of intellectual property for their livelihood. "If Stephen King, one of the 'poster boys' of the intellectual property industry, doesn't need intellectual property (protection) anymore, what does that mean for intellectual property generally?" (Knowledge@Wharton 3 Aug 2000) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2419316.html Cheers John -- _--_|\ John Lamp MACS, School of Management Information Systems / \ Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Geelong Victoria 3217 \_.--._/ Room: GD21-1 Phone:03 5227 2110 mailto:John.Lamp@deakin.edu.au v Fax: 03 5227 2151 http://mis.deakin.edu.au/pages/staff/jlamp.htm I have taken every reasonable precaution to ensure that any attachment to this e-mail has been swept for viruses. However, I cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of software viruses and would advise that you carry out your own virus checks before opening any attachment. Capitalism's commandments: Consume, Be Silent, Die From: Willard McCarty Subject: "cyberspace"? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 216 (216) Dear colleagues, Perhaps someone might be interested in persuading me and, I suppose, some others that the metaphor of "cyberspace" actually contributes something to our ability to talk about computing and its cultural consequences. In other words, what does this term mean? What is spatial, and what good does it do for us to speak in spatial terms about computing when the physical disposition of computers and people is not the issue? We are already so vexed by bafflegab and hyperinflated promotional claims that, I'd suggest, using such words as thoughtlessly as I hear them used is no minor annoyance. Unless I'm being insensitive to some deep stab of insight.... Many thanks. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Andrew Hawke Subject: Re: 14.0146 Latin abbreviation font? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:26:24 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 217 (217) There is an excellent digital typography house in Vancouver run by John Hudson which offers a number of fonts for scholars of a very high standard, including Latin abbreviation marks. See http://www.tiro.com/ See in particular their 1530 Garamond Archaics, 'a set of medieval latin contractions as well as scholastic latin vowel indicators': http://www.tiro.com/gara_arc.html The full set can be seen at: http://www.tiro.com/arcset.gif I believe that they can also undertake the creation of additional characters if required. These are professional commercial fonts with a commensurate price tag: but well worth the expense if you need to set many of these characters. Incidentally, they also have very good support for most Roman-based writing systems, which is how I first came across the company. Andrew Hawke At 10:57 07/08/00 +0100, Charles Faulhaber wrote: [deleted quotation] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Andrew Hawke ach@aber.ac.uk (01970)627513 (+44)1970 627513 (fx627066) Golygydd Cynorthwyol/Rheolwr Systemau Asst. Editor/Systems Manager Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru University of Wales Dictionary Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru National Library of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3HH, U.K. URL: http://www.aber.ac.uk/geiriadur/ From: tsherman Subject: RE: 14.0146 Latin abbreviation font? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:28:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 218 (218) Try contacting Gary Stringer or Syd Connor at the University of Southern Mississippi. WE use those symbols in our transcriptions of texts for the Donne Variorum. Write me privately for their email addresses, or go to the Donne Variorum Website for contact information. The site address is: http://donnevariorum.libarts.usm.edu/ Yours, Ted Sherman ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Dr. Theodore James Sherman Editor, Mythlore Associate Professor of English Box X041, College of Liberal Arts Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN 37132 615 898-5836 615 898-5098 FAX tsherman@mtsu.edu tedsherman@home.com From: Han Baltussen Subject: Re: correction 14.0146 Latin abbreviation font? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:27:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 219 (219) I do not have the immediate answer, but I know of a nifty database which incorporates all medieval abbreviations. It's called *Abbreviationes* and it was made by Dr Olaf Pluta who is at the University of Nijmegen, Netherlands. If they are inthere there must be a way to use them electronically. For info on the software see http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/projects/abbrev.htm I suspect that Pluta knows the answer (pluta@phil.kun.nl) HB From: Melissa Terras Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:29:45 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 220 (220) Dear Willard et al, in reply to your question, you may like to look at http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/ "This is an atlas of maps and graphic representations of the geographies of the new electronic territories of the Internet, the World-Wide Web and other emerging Cyberspaces".... while it may not give you definite answers, the attempts at representing cyberspace create some amazing, thought provoking images. best Melissa Terras ------------------------- Melissa Terras MA MSc Engineering Science / Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents University of Oxford OX1 1DP melissa.terras@eng.ox.ac.uk From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:30:15 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 221 (221) Personally, I think its funny that the term seems to have emerged from a body of science fiction in which "cyberspace" is quite different from what we have today as the "internet" (particularly the www). In that science fiction, "cyberspace" is sort of seamless and creates a "virtual reaity" which can be hard to discern from "real reality". But whatever the case, it does seem that many are interested in the impact of the internet on what McLuhan called "the ratio of [our] senses". In this connection I find Paul Virilio's "Open Sky" quite profound, though I think rather too pessimistic. What I like about Virilio's thinking, tough, is the way his theory of the *disaster* can be hooked-up with his thinking about global technologies. When you invent the ship you also invent the shipwreck. What sort of disaster do you invent when you invent the internet? The new technologies - robotics, genetics, computers - these are developing rapidly towards a meeting place somewhere not too far down the track at some sort of amazing level of power. There are presently at least 6 teams woring on "quantum computers" - a technology that promises to pack the computing power of a present day IBM the size of a planet into something the size of an egg. Genetics might never be applied to human eugenics, but it has already been applied to warfare. Robots might never take over the world, but they might replace human labour (as they are already doing). But even more frightening, what sort of *disaster* shall we be inventing with this new technology? In my opinion, I do not see that the idea of the *disaster* (or any bad effects) should make us stop our R&D. But I do think that there is not enough thought going in to how we might respond to such a disaster, or head or such a disaster, or even what sorts of disasters we might be looking at? But to return to the matter of what the internet is doing re: ratio of the senses? From Virilio: "Paul Klee hit the nail on the head. 'To define the present in isolation is to kill it'. This is what the teletyechnologies of real time are doing; they are killing 'present' time by isolating it from its here and now, in favour of a commutative elsewhere that no longer has anything to do with our 'concrete presence' in the world, but is the 'elsewhere' of a 'discreet telepresence' that remains a complete mystery." (Open Sky, 10) There's plenty more of that sort of thing. Too pessimistic? Too hyberbolical. I think so too, at least not yet. But maybe already? To whom am I writing? What will they think of "me" (this simulated ... it is still nothing more, and has never been anything else but writing). :) Chris [deleted quotation] ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: Mark Horney Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:30:44 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 222 (222) It has been my understanding, unsubstantiated however, that the term cyberspace is attributed to the novelist William Gibson, especially his Neuromancer (1994) trilogy. The spacial reference is from the particular vision Gibson has about a future internet which appears as a three dimensional geometric pattern. "Cyber" I should think harks back to Norbert Weiner and his term cybernetics, which delt with the behavior of adaptive feedback systems. --mark Mark Horney, Ph.D. Center forAdvanced Technology in Education University of Oregon 1244 Walnut St Eugene, Oregon 97403 (o) 541/346-2679 FAX: 541/346-6226 mhorney@oregon.uoregon.edu Web de Anza: http://anza.uoregon.edu Project INTERSECT: http://intersect.uoregon.edu From: Mark Wolff Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:31:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 223 (223) The term comes from William Gibson's sci-fi classic Neuromancer (1984). Just off the cuff, I would say that for us cyberspace refers to the network of social relations created by information technology. Email, chat rooms, the World Wide Web, etc., allow us to fashion new identites and form new communities in a world that exists only digitally. There is a lot of jargon-bouncing out there, but one thing I learned from the growing body of literature on cyberspace is that the term has more to do with notions of the mediated Self and Other than it does with hardware, software, or encoding. My 2 cents. mw -- Mark B. Wolff Modern and Classical Languages Center for Learning and Teaching with Technology Hartwick College Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 431-4615 http://users.hartwick.edu/wolffm0/ From: "Michael S. Hart" Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:31:30 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 224 (224) 1. Because most people need a way to visualize what it going on, and most things that are not three dimensional still seem to have decent 3-D representations. 2. I can tell you that I, personally, do visualize much of cyberspace, but not necessarily the way others do, not in "the consensual" manner described by William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. . . . 3. I even visualize what is in my own computer. . .and I do that backwards, too, seing the "tree" grow *down*wards from the root directory, not up. More later, if you desire. Thanks! So nice to hear from you, Michael ============================================= Michael S. Hart, Professor of Electronic Text Benedictine University [Illinois Benedictine] Carnegie Mellon University Visiting Scientist Fellow of the Internet Archive, for year 2000 Internet User Number 100 [approximately] [TM] One of the several "Ask Dr Internet" Sponsors From: "Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett" Subject: RE: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:31:56 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 225 (225) May I suggest something I have written? The Electronic Vernacular. In _Connected: Engagements with Media_. Pages 21-65. In the series, _Late Editions_, ed. George Marcus, vol. 3. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1995. As well as, of course, the locus classicus, _Necromancer_, by William Gibson. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Department of Performance Studies New York University 721 Broadway, 6th fl New York, NY 10003 212-998-1628 tel 212-254-7885 fax bk3@is.nyu.edu From: Paul Oppenheimer Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:32:14 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 226 (226) Willard, This is, I think, a second-order metaphor. Mathematicians use a first-order spatial metaphor when they speak of functions living in a function space. My guess is that "cyberspace" was coined from this mathematicians' use of "space", in which the metaphor has already become dead, or at least moribund; I suspect that many mathematicians would be at least momentarily startled if it were suggested to them that this use of "space" is metaphorical. I don't know how to test this hypothesis of mine, however. ---------------------------- Paul E. Oppenheimer Research Assistant, Engineering Research Center Mississippi State University peo@erc.msstate.edu phone: 662-325-2656 FAX: 662-325-7692 From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:32:36 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 227 (227) Willard, Consider the set "cyberspace" contains the subset "internet" which contains the subset "web". Do these belong to the set "Humanities Computing": Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Telnet HTTP Remote Sensing Anecdote: The hardware at institution X konks out. The group of scholars at institution X had been using te hardware to convert data from an older disk format. Scholars at institution X with the assistence of technical support staff check various ftp sites for catalogues of institutions that still operate the specific type of hardware. (assuming that such an inventory to a "distributed museum" exists). They locate institution Z. The disks are bundled in a package and the package is tracked via the courier company's IVR. Encoding the Anecdote: A subsequent team of scholars is encoding the records of the previous team with a view to producing a glossary of archaic technical terms and a mapping of network interfacing... Rhetorical Question: Would the metaphor of reticlinated and enfolding space not be useful? Note: For me, the influence of the term "cyberspace" on the slippage (and substitution) between the terms "hyperspace" and "hypertext" is greater source of muddled thinking than the use of the term "cyberspace" itself. Note: The mathematical concept of "phase space" may have some interesting used in modelling the interaction between humans, computers and cultural artefacts. For example, Jean Petitot has extended Rene Thom's work on morphogenesis to semiotic processes. Note: How "cyberspace" relates to "hyperspace" is a key to its metaphorics. Coda: Some scholars, especially historians and students of discursive formations, do wade through the "hype" of bygone eras. Other scholars are just irritated by the hype as it crosses the threshold of thwir awareness as their era is becoming bygone. Non-Rhetorical Question: How does the use of "set", "space" and "discipline" (and any combination thereof) shift the "object of study"? -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: Marian Dworaczek Subject: Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:26:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 228 (228) Information The August 1, 2000 edition of the "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" is available at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUBJIN_A.HTM The page-specific "Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information" and the accompanying "Electronic Sources of Information: A Bibliography" (listing all indexed items) deal with all aspects of electronic publishing and include print and non-print materials, periodical articles, monographs and individual chapters in collected works. This edition includes 1,283 titles. Both the Index and the Bibliography are continuously updated. Introduction, which includes sample search and instructions how to use the Subject Index and the Bibliography, is located at: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/SUB_INT.HTM This message has been crossposted to several mailing lists. Please excuse any duplication. ************************************************* *Marian Dworaczek * *Head, Acquisitions Department * *University of Saskatchewan Libraries * *3 Campus Drive, Main Library * *Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4, Canada * *E-mail: marian.dworaczek@usask.ca * *Phone: (306) 966-6016 * *Fax: (306) 966-5919 * *Home Page: http://library.usask.ca/~dworacze/ * ************************************************* From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Getty's "Introduction to Metadata" Version 2.0 available Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:29:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 229 (229) online NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community August 7, 2000 Getty Standards Program Announces Revised Version of "Introduction to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information," <http://www.getty.edu/gri/standard/intrometadata/>http://www. <http://www.getty.edu/gri/standard/intrometadata/>http://www.getty.edu/gri/s tandard/intrometadata/ [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Talk] Doug Engelbart has dedicated his career to Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 21:33:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 230 (230) designing systems Greetings Humanist scholars, Hi, I thought --this might interest you --received via Dr. Dobb's Update - August 7, 2000-- the September Issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal Now Available at <http://www.ddj.com/articles/2000/0009/> --The September issue focuses on Scientific and Numeric Computing. A talk with Doug Engelbart and examine analytical computing, the Generic Graph Component Library, and a simulation (in Java) of Konrad Zuse's Z3 computer, originally created in 1938. And.. Doug Engelbart has dedicated his career to designing systems that help the world solve difficult problems. Along the way, he invented the mouse, hypertext systems, collaborative video teleconferencing, and more. Eugene Kim talks with Engelbart about his career, inventions, and vision. A Conversation With Doug Engelbart is at: <http://www.ddj.com/articles/2000/0009/0009a/> Thank you.. Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0151 scary story for publishers Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 231 (231) One interesting result of King's on-line book sale: it was very slow and he sold a good deal fewer copies than he would have sold in a book store. In the last news release I read he was hoping he''d break even on the deal sometime "soon". I am delighted to see that the way to sell a book is still in a book store. From: "Melissa Terras" Subject: Interest in Conference for Postgraduate Students in IT Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 232 (232) and the Humanities? Interest in Conference for Postgraduate Students in IT and the Humanities? Hello All. As a postgraduate in Humanities IT, I have often felt how difficult it is both to find and get in contact with other students in the same subject area, due to the fact that such students are dispersed across various faculties and departments because of the nature of the subject. As a result, a few of the other pg students I have managed to find have agreed, along with myself, to try and establish a yearly conference for graduate students in the discipline. We are applying to a couple of funding bodies and the outlook so far is very optimistic. Now, however, we need to gauge the interest in attending such a conference. At the moment, we are only looking at a Europe wide conference, and so we need to try and find any European students under 35 years of age (sorry, funding body requirement) currently persuing graduate degrees in a humanities computing area (in whatever shape or form: from text processing to computing and archaeology, image processing to databases.... anything which can be broadly classed under "IT and the Humanities", where computing is an integral part of the research.) If any other postgraduate students out there would be interested in attending such a conference (5 days in Autumn 2001, fully funded including travel expenses) please could you fill out the following details and send them back to me at: melissa.terras@eng.ox.ac.uk Please note this is not a call for papers, nor a guarantee of attendance, it is a preliminary call to try and find out the interest in such a conference and the scope of work that other graduates are doing in the field in order to process the application. Any details you give me will be for the sole purpose of filling out these forms, and getting a structure to the conference schedule. If you know of any other post-graduate students currently doing research in humanities IT (in whatever shape or form) please can you forward this onto them. Thanks a lot, Melissa Details regarding an individual interested in possibly attending a European Conference for Graduate Students in IT and the Humanities Surname: First Name(s): Contact Details: Date of Birth: Country of Origin: Brief Academic background (2 or 3 lines): Area(s) of current research (2 or 3 lines): Current Academic Institution: Will you still be studying in Autumn 2001? Yes/No How much will (roughly) will the air fare cost you to get from your institution to Antwerp or Brussels? (We need this information to work out the average expenses needed to hold the conference, please specify the currency!): Any other information you think may be relevant: Thanks! ___________________________________________ Melissa M Terras MA MSc Engineering Science / Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents Christ Church University of Oxford Oxford 0X1 1DP office number (01865) 282181 melissa.terras@engineering-science.oxford.ac.uk From: Willard McCarty Subject: academic jobs at Alberta Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 233 (233) [Thanks to Mary Delane, Faculty of Arts, on behalf of Associate Dean Harvey Krahn, for this posting. Needless to say it represents one of the most important job opportunities in our field to date. --WM] FACULTY OF ARTS The University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada The Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, invites applications for three full-time continuing positions, one at the senior Full Professor level and two at the Assistant Professor level, in the area of humanities computing. These positions will complement existing strengths and serve to move us forward in the highly specialized areas of teaching and research in text-based computing in the liberal arts. All three positions will involve teaching and research responsibilities in humanities computing. In particular, these positions will facilitate the Faculty's move into a position of pre-eminent strength in humanities computing. A new MA program in Humanities Computing will emphasize text-based computing research methods and critical thinking and will provide students with appropriate technical skills that will equip them well either for further study or for careers in information management. Students in this program will develop a firm grasp of the fundamental principles of computing methods in the humanities and its ability to restructure or transform the disciplines, as well as an appreciation of its potential for revisioning applications in computer science. Graduates will be qualified to work across the interface between computer specialist and project director or manager. The senior scholar will serve as Director of the Canadian Institute for Research Computing in Arts and will be expected to foster development of new computing methodologies and new computer-based resources for research and teaching in the humanities and to advance the state of humanities research computing at the University of Alberta. CIRCA=s mission is to: -- conduct research in the applications of computers to research and teaching in arts disciplines, particularly research involving texts and documents S promote and facilitate the development of innovative computer-based projects in arts research -- collaborate with departments in the Faculty to develop a curriculum for arts research computing by developing courses within the graduate and undergraduate programs S evaluate the applicability of new tools and techniques for arts research and their relevance for teaching -- develop and maintain relationships with leading similar research institutes around the world in order to fully participate in international research on this topic Applicants for all three positions will present demonstrated evidence of work on the application of cutting edge tools and approaches to humanities disciplines; on some of the more traditionally defined applications of computing in humanities disciplines, including text encoding, hypertext, text corpora, computational lexicography, statistical models, and syntactic, semantic, stylistic and other forms of text analysis; broad library and research-based work that focuses on significant issues of textuality and information retrieval; and tools-focused work that offers innovative and substantial applications and uses for humanities-based teaching and research throughout the academic and research worlds. Appointments will commence 1 July 2001. The floor of the salary scale for the Assistant Professor rank is currently $43,738 and for Professor it is $67,646; the University of Alberta offers a comprehensive benefits package. Letters of application, including a curriculum vitae, copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and the names, institutional addresses and email addresses of three referees who have been invited to write on the applicant's behalf, should be sent to: N Rahimieh, Associate Dean (Humanities) Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G 2E5 780-492-9132 (nasrin.rahimieh@ualberta.ca) The closing date for applications is: 31 October 2000. The University of Alberta hires on the basis of merit. We are committed to the principle of equity in employment. We welcome diversity and encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and Aboriginal persons. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, this advertisement is directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. If suitable Canadian citizens and permanent residents cannot be found, other individuals will be considered. The records arising from this competition will be managed in accordance with provisions of the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP). 00-08-08 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Mick Doherty Subject: Re: 14.0156 the poetics of "cyberSPACE" Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 19:37:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 234 (234) As long as some others are pointing to work they have written on this very topic, let me drag up something I wrote back in 1995, which I think still holds up very well: "Marshall McLuhan Meets William Gibson in 'Cyberspace'" September 1, 1995 / Page 4 http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1995/sep/doherty.html For the English-impaired, this has been translated and re-published in "Talon de Aquiles" a Chilean journal: "Marshall McLuhan se encuentra con William Gibson en el 'Ciberespacio'" http://rehue.csociales.uchile.cl/rehuehome/facultad/publicaciones/Talon/talo n4/talon4-9.htm It examines the whole concept of metaphor and the origin of the idea of "cyberspace." Mick Doherty Editor, Corporate Communications American Airlines (working on the start of a fourth year of a one-year leave of absence from academia ...) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: William Gibson and Marshall McLuhan & *CyberSPACE* Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 19:38:03 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 235 (235) Dear Dr. Willard McCarty and humanists, Hi, thanks for your thoughts and questions on the "metaphors" of Cyberspace, which stimulates some concerns-- I would like to post some exchanges, that have taken place on McLuhan-L List, the voice "The Herbert Marshall McLuhan Foundation" between Dr. Peter Montgomery (Moderator of McLuhan-L Listserv) and myself --thought might interest you and other scholars, discussing the metaphorical and spatial views of Cyberspace. ======> Arun Tripathi writes the below ======> Cyberspace, according to William Gibson --a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children, being taught mathematical concepts --a graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity --he mentioned in his novel Neuromancer. And on the other side of horizon-- Michael Benedict, author of *Cyberspace: First Steps*, takes a crack at an over-arching definition in his 1994 book: "Cyberspace: A word from the pen of William Gibson, science fiction writer, circa 1984..A new universe, a parallel universe created and sustained by the world's computers and communication lines..The table become a page become a screen become a world, a virtual world..A common mental geography, built, in turn, by consensus and revolution, cannon and experiment..Its corridors form wherever electricity runs with intelligence..The realm of pure information...." In the answers..In 1964, McLuhan wrote in *Understanding Media* (it is very important too note, he wrote before the invention of cyberspace..and before Neuromancer..) "The telephone: speech without walls. The phonograph: music hall without halls. The photograph: museum without walls. The electric light: space without walls. The movie, radio and TV: classroom without walls. Man the food-gatherer reappears incongruously as information --gatherer. In this role, electronic man is no less a nomad than his Paleolithic ancestors." ======> Dr. Peter Montgomery replies =======> It took me a while to get the chance to deal with this post, Arun. It is a very interesting one. McLuhan might well have made good use of the word CYBERSPACE, were it around. He certainly made phenomenal (pun) use of the concept of space as a set of modalities of the senses in various of their ratios. He particularly drew our attention to the total resonance of auditory space, with its everywhere-at-once-ness, which is, of course, an attribute of cyberspace. He also made much of the idea of the computer as a total extension of our central nervous system. According to the OED, CYBERSPACE is a back formation from CYBERNETICS, a word with which McLuhan was no doubt familiar. In fact, I could believe he mused about it to quite some extent, given its venerable derivation from the Greek CYBERNETICIST [kubernetes] which means STEERSMAN or PILOT, so that the metaphor of sea and space would be intrinsically obvious. Of course, assuming that he did give the word some attention, he would then have characterised its mythological dimension, by recalling the great greek ferryman KIRON, the archetypal navigator across the River Styx - river of death, who had an ancestor in the person of Urshanabi of THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH, and an eminent descendent in a somewhat buddhist frame of reference in Herman Hesse's SIDDHARTHA's Vasudeva. Concommitamt with that one should observe the two major characterisations of Buddhism, the hinayana (little ferry) and the mahayana (big ferry). Urshanabi, on the other hand, ferried people across the great sea to Utnapishtim who was no minor nautical dilettante, but no less than Noah himself. Perhaps the appeal of Star Trek is its unconscious objectification of the cybernetic sphere, whereby we do boldly explore where we have never explored before. A millenial enterprise. =======> Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: SJ Stauffer Subject: re: Cyberspace and Gibson Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 19:38:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 236 (236) Scholars: Can't we do better than this? -- "William Gibson, especially his Neuromancer (1994) trilogy." Mark Horney -- "William Gibson's sci-fi classic Neuromancer (1984)" Mark Wolff -- "the locus classicus, _Necromancer_, by William Gibson." Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Only Mark Wolff gets it right. The book is on my shelf at home, but, hey, cut-and-paste is easier than transcription, so I turn to my web sources. 1) A search for William Gibson in my university's online catalogue brings up this: AUTHOR Gibson, William, 1948- TITLE Neuromancer / William Gibson. IMPRINT New York : Ace Books, c1984. DESCRIPT 271 p. ; 18 cm. ISBN 0441569595. 2) A search for William Gibson on google.com brings up this URL for a William Gibson Bibliography / Mediagraphy: <http://www.slip.net/~spage/gibson/biblio.htm#books>, with this entry: -------------- Neuromancer A star. It won the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Seiun, and Ditmar awards. Also available as graphic novel, electronic book, videogame, and spoken word recording. US Hardcover Phantasia Press, spring 1986 1st Phantasia Press ed. West Bloomfield ISBN 0932096417 Also 1st Ace hardcover ed. New York : Ace Books, 1994 ISBN 0441000681 US Paperback Ace Book, July 1984 (Ace Science Fiction original, then Ace S.F. Special, then an Ace Book) ISBN: 0-441-56959-5 Cover: digital face and hand by Richard Berry -------------- 3) The US Library of Congress <http://www.loc.gov/> has an entry, as well. Best, Stephanie J. Stauffer Center for Applied Linguistics From: Paul Brians Subject: Re; Interesting wrinkle on King's venture Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 237 (237) R. Polk Wagner wrote: [deleted quotation] Hasn't Mr. Wagner ever heard of an advance? I believe Mark Twain sold some of his works by advance subscription through canvassers. Writers like King take it as a given that they will be paid vast sums by publishers before setting pen to paper. Many such paid-for works are in fact never written when writers fail to follow through with the promised work. King isn't doing anything so very radical by asking to be paid in advance; he's simply cutting out the middle party--the publisher. -- Paul Brians, Department of English Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-5020 brians@wsu.edu http://www.wsu.edu/~brians From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0154 Latin abbreviation font Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 238 (238) How very nice the Abbreviationes site is ! A kudos to Dr. Pluta: and notice that it contains over 60,000 medieval abbreviations -- the notion that there are only a few and they they will fit into one font, is wrong. Take a look at Cappelli, Lexicon abbreviaturum. Dizionario di abbreviature latine....del Medio-Evo...which contains over 140,000 such abbreviation marks. (Mine is the 5th edition, and I bought it in the 1950s - I do not know how many editions there have been since then.) The "1530 Garamond " font is very nice (I once designed a Garamond font, years ago, so I know what it is supposed to look like), but it doesn't even scrape the surface of medieval Latin abbreviations, which varied with both time and place over more than a thousand years and all over Europe... From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: metaphors of Cyberspace Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 07:23:14 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 239 (239) Dear Dr. Willard McCarty, Hi --the "Voices from Cyberspace" is available at <http://www.stmartin.edu/homepages/Fac_Staff/belinda/voices.html> Best Arun KT From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Gibson on "I don't even have a modem" to hear.. Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 07:24:10 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 240 (240) Dear Humanists, On November 23, 1994 William Gibson visited Stockholm, Sweden to promote his new book "Virtual Light" and there he was being interviewed..Author William Gibson on non-functioning American democracy, the importance of giving computers to the poor, and the elitist appeal of the Internet -When he was asked about..What is Cyberspace? --He replied"..Cyberspace is a metaphor that allows us to grasp this place where since about the time of the second world war we have increasingly done so many of the things that we think of as civilization.." And, When he was asked about..The Internet is one way to communicate with lots of people without using the body, you just use your mind. Is cyberspace a better place to be than this physical world?..He said, "..Well, I don't think so. There is a tendency in our culture, in a broader sense the western civilization, to reject the body in favour of an idea of the spirit or the soul.." The Interview is available for readers to enjoy! at <http://www.josefsson.net/gibson/index.html> Kind Regards Arun Tripathi From: Stefan Sinclair Subject: HyperPo Text Analysis and Exploration Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 241 (241) Dear all, For several months I've been holding off announcing an upgrade to "HyperPo: Text Analysis and Exploration Tools" in the hopes that I might find the time to make a few more adjustments and additions. The overly optimistic academic. Anyway, those of you preparing courses for the fall with text-analysis content might be interested in having a look now, and perhaps I will get to those teakings after all. My biggest priority at the moment is getting an English lemmatisation feature similar to the one that is available for French texts. As always, comments, suggestions and collaboration are welcome. (Not to mention mirror sites - in the meantime, I encourage you to use the mirror site on Hydra which will be faster for the moment.) http://qsilver.queensu.ca/QI/HyperPo/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Stfan Sinclair, French Studies, Queen's University (Canada) From: Adrian Miles Subject: Re: 14.0151 scary story for publishers Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 07:16:07 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 242 (242) At 20:49 +0100 7/8/2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] It's called shareware and has been a viable commercial internet model from well before the current dot com madness. In fact this is the commercial model that largely supported the software development that has allowed the internet to develop to the state that it currently finds itself in. The difference with King is that writing is now being considered in an analogous way, and that he's publicly relying on his ability to seduce his readers to maintain the project. adrian miles -- lecturer in cinema studies and new media rmit university. 61 03 9925 3157 bowerbird.rmit.edu.au/adrian/ hypertext theory engine http://bowerbird.rmit.edu.au:8080/ adrian.miles@rmit.edu.au From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0162 King's publishing venture Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 07:16:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 243 (243) [deleted quotation]services. The [deleted quotation]must [deleted quotation]A practice begun by Dr. Samuel Johnson, well before "classical intellectual property theory", a newcomer on the writer's horizon. From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0162 King's publishing venture Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 07:18:43 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 244 (244) Personally, as someone who thinks that there is no real problem with Smithian/Maxist economic theory, except that it has not been fathomed yet, I too was taken aback when told that King was doing something that violated it's rules. The more I return to Marx's concepts, the more I find that they are more than adequate to the demands of postmodernity, globalised economies, dotcom-mania, and so forth. Futurity is, and always has been, of the nature of all capital investments. Having said that, it makes good sense to expand Marx's thinking via Bourdieu, whose study of "symbolic capital" develops Marxian thinking into the *artistic field(s)* in important ways. For example, I do not think King is going to make TOO MUCH cash on this venture. But he is rich enough not to worry about that. Q: What to get the man who has everything? A: Honour (e.g. "cool"). So what he is investing in here, what he wants, is symbolic capital (specifically, cool-capital). Thus King can afford to experiment in the cyber-Aquarian new age of deregulated publishing. And so doing makes him look cool in a shaggy utopianist, embracing the-possibilities-of-cyberspace way. :) Chris From: cbf@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Re: 14.0161 Latin abbreviation font: Abbreviationes Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 245 (245) All of which is true, but the 1530 Garamond Archaics comes very close to solving my student's particular problem. Note also, that a very large number of medieval abbreviations, as documented in Cappelli, are in fact made up of a combination of letters and various signs of abbreviation; so that number of discrete symbols needed is probably considerably smaller than those listed in Cappelli. Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] From: robert Cavalier Subject: CAP Keynote Web-cast of Pat Hayes on "Computing the Hard Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 12:48:02 -0400 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 246 (246) To: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Please bring this to the attention of your list readers: At this year's Computing and Philosophy (CAP) conference, the keynote address by Pat Hayes will be web-cast live. The service will be available on the CAP HomePage starting at 12:30 on Friday, August 11th. The actual presentation will be from 1pm to 2pm EST time. "Computing the Hard Problem: A Sketch of an AI Account of Consciousness" (Pat Hayes, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, University of West Florida). Go to the CAP HomePage to see this web-cast: <http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/CAAE/CAP/CAPpage.html> Robert Cavalier CAAE/Philosophy 260 Baker Hall Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412/268-7643 HomePage: caae.phil.cmu.edu/CAAE/Robert/Cavalier.html Office Hours (Fall 2000) Tuesdays at 12 noon and by appointment ****** Computing and Philosophy (CAP) conference: August 10 - 12, 2000 CAP HomePage: http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/CAAE/CAP/CAPpage.html ****** From: "David L. Gants" Subject: ELRA New Resources Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:00:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 247 (247) [deleted quotation] ___________________________________________________________ ELRA European Language Resources Association ELRA News=20 ___________________________________________________________ *** ELRA NEW RESOURCES *** We are happy to announce a new resource available via ELRA: _______________________________________ ELRA-S0085 BABEL Bulgarian Database _______________________________________ The BABEL Database is a speech database that was produced=20 by a research consortium funded by the European Union=20 under the COPERNICUS programme (COPERNICUS Project=20 1304). The project began in March 1995 and was completed=20 in December 1998. The objective was to create a database of=20 languages of Central and Eastern Europe in parallel to the=20 EUROM1 databases produced by the SAM Project (funded by=20 the ESPRIT programme).=20 The BABEL consortium included six partners from Central=20 and Eastern Europe (who had the major responsibility of=20 planning and carrying out the recording and labelling) and six=20 from Western Europe (whose role was mainly to advise and in=20 some cases to act as host to BABEL researchers). The five=20 databases collected within the project concern the Bulgarian,=20 Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian languages. The Bulgarian database consists of the basic "common" set which is: - Many Talker Set: 30 males, 30 females; each to read twice=20 the five blocks of numbers (each of which contains 10 numbers),=20 3 connected passages and one =93filler=94 passage. - Few Talker Set: 5 males, 5 females, selected from the above=20 group: each to read 5 times the blocks of numbers, 15 connected=20 passages and 2 =93filler=94 passages, and 5 repetitions of the lists of=20 monosyllables. - Very Few Talker Set: 1 male, 1 female, selected from Few=20 Talker set: each to read blocks of monosyllables in carrier sentences=20 and five repetitions of the context words. And the extension part: semi-spontaneous answers to questions:=20 the answers were recorded by the 10 Few Talker Set speakers. =20 The other languages will be available soon. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D For further information, please contact: ELRA/ELDA Tel +33 01 43 13 33 33 55-57 rue Brillat-Savarin Fax +33 01 43 13 33 30 F-75013 Paris, France E-mail mapelli@elda.fr or visit the online catalogue on our Web site: http://www.icp.grenet.fr/ELRA/home.html or http://www.elda.fr =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=20 From: Computer Science Editorial Subject: [new books]The Robot in the Garden & Embodied Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:07:19 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 248 (248) [--] NEW BOOKS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE FROM THE MIT PRESS This message is one of a series of periodic mailings about newly released books in computer science. You have received this mailing because you have either purchased a book or added yourself to the mailing list. Follow the URLs below to our catalog for contents, abstracts, and ordering information. A.) The Robot in the Garden Telerobotics and Telepistemology in the Age of the Internet edited by Ken Goldberg <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/GOLTHS00> The Robot in the Garden initiates a critical theory of telerobotics and introduces telepistemology, the study of knowledge acquired at a distance. 7 x 9, 330 pp., 49 illus., cloth ISBN 0-262-07203-3 A Leonardo Book B.) Embodied Conversational Agents edited by Justine Cassell, Joseph Sullivan, Scott Prevost, and Elizabeth Churchill <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/CASEHS00> Embodied conversational agents are computer-generated cartoonlike characters that demonstrate many of the same properties as humans in face-to-face conversation, including the ability to produce and respond to verbal and nonverbal communication. This book describes research in all aspects of the design, implementation, and evaluation of embodied conversational agents as well as details of specific working systems. 7 x 9, 352 pp., 20 illus., cloth ISBN 0-262-03278-3 If you would prefer not to receive mailings in the future, please send a message to unsubscribe@mitpress.mit.edu. Please send feedback to Jud Wolfskill at wolfskil@mit.edu. -- From: "David L. Gants" Subject: DRH 2000 Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:03:30 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 249 (249) [deleted quotation] This Message is a Call for Registration for DRH2000 We are pleased to announce the opening of registration for delegates to DRH2000: DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR THE HUMANITIES, University of Sheffield, 10-13 September 2000 The on-line registration form can be found at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/register.htm The DRH conferences have established themselves firmly in the UK and international calendar as a forum that brings together scholars, librarians,archivists, curators, information scientists and computing professionalsin a unique and positive way, to share ideas and information about the creation, exploitation, management and preservation of digital resources in the arts and humanities. The DRH 2000 conference will take place at the University of Sheffield, 10-13 September 2000 in Stephenson Hall. Themes include: the creation of digital resources; their delivery, use and integration; the impact of digital resources on humanities research and education. Cost: *Full Registration 170 (includes conference dinner) *Local Registration 110 for University of Sheffield Staff only *Student Registration 60 (includes conference dinner) *Day Delegate 60 (not including conference dinner) Accommodation: Accommodation is provided at Stephenson Hall at the following rates: *En-Suite 33.40 *Standard 27.74 Details of local hotels are available on request. Full details about the conference, provisional timetable etc. may be found at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/ Please address any queries to drh2000@sheffield.ac.uk From: "Areti Damala" Subject: Master Class announcement (fwd) Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:05:12 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 250 (250) Master Class in Applied Computing and the Social Scientists. http://anthropology.ac.uk The University of Kent Department of Anthropology and DICE and the Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing invite you to participate in a series of one day master classes to learn new software being developed for social science problems. For more information please see our website or email Steve Lyon at mailto:S.M.Lyon@ukc.ac.uk . 1. Saturday 9 December 2000 Dr. Fergus Sinclair Knowledge elicitation and expert system development 2. Saturday 17 February 2001 Dr. Michael Fischer Fieldnotes and other field media 3. Saturday 12 May 2001 Dr. Nick Ryan Hand held mobile computing Kent is one of the pioneers in combining computing with social anthropology. Since the introduction of the World Wide Web and the popularity of the Internet more and more departments seem to be jumping on the bandwagon and contributing to studies of 'virtual societies' or making use of the internet for information dissemination. While we see these activities as very positive, we believe they are not taking full advantage of what the computing revolution has to offer to social science analyses. In the Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing we are fortunate to have several researchers actively involved in either developing software or making use of software as an integral part of analyses (Dr. Michael Fischer, Dr. David Zeitlyn, Dr. Janet Bagg, Dr. Nevill Colclough, Mr. Alan Bicker). In other parts of Europe and in North America, anthropologists have been developing software to deal with specific problems they have encountered. However there are no forums where others may learn about this software. It is not commercially produced, there is therefore little information to support it - other than the cryptic notes that may be embedded within the source code. A 'Master Class' series would therefore address the growing need of anthropologists to utilise computing tools while recognising that there is already a body of existing materials which will serve some of that need. The first Class will take place on the 9th of December, 2000. Dr. Fergus Sinclair, from the University of Wales at Bangor will instruct participants in software he developed to elicit knowledge The second Class will be in February, with Dr. Michael Fischer from UKC and CSAC. He will be discussing Fieldnotes and other field media: Qualitative content coding, extracting information, analysis and report writing. The final Class for the academic year will take place at the start of the Summer term, 5th of May 2001, with Dr. Nick Ryan, from the UKC Computing Department. Weather permitting, this class will involve actual field practice around the campus of the University of Kent. You do not need to be a programmer or advanced user to attend and benefit from these classes, although there may be designated specific sections which are intended for the more advanced. Some familiarity with either Macintosh or Windows operating systems is strongly recommended. Participants should leave the Master Classes with a working knowledge of the software and a copy of the software. http://anthropology.ac.uk/MACSS A ---------------------------------------------- Stephen M. Lyon Department of Anthropology and DICE Eliot College University of Kent at Canterbury Canterbury, Kent UK CT2 7NS Eliot Annex Rm: L24 Tel: 01227-764000 Ext: 3948 Fax: 01227-827289 http://anthropology.ac.uk/Bhalot ---------------------------------------------- ******************* * Areti Damala * Thisseos 8 * Plateia Kornarou * 712-01 * Herakleion * Krete ****************** From: jeremy hunsinger Subject: Learning 2000, Online Forum and Learning Library Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:08:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 251 (251) {--} Learning 2000: Reassessing the Virtual University September 28 - October 1, 2000 The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Roanoke, Virginia <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/learning/> Many have been exploring ways for building a "virtual university" either from scratch or by virtualizing the educational experiences at already existing colleges and universities. Yet, a few institutions of higher learning, such as Virginia Tech, have been laying the foundations for such online learning environments since 1993. With its support for the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV), a state-wide broadband ATM network (NET.WORK.VIRGINIA), the Faculty Development Initiative (FDI), the Cyberschool project in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the campus-wide Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning (IDDL), Virginia Tech has been uniquely positioned as a site to assess the benefits and costs of virtual university instruction. "Learning 2000: Reassessing the Virtual University" is a conference designed to gather colleagues from around the world who are interested in the shape and substance that the virtual university is acquiring in practice. In addition we hope to debate the advantages or disadvantages of digital discourse, learning online, and virtual university life. By reviewing the quality of faculty life, the pressures on support staff, the impact on student learning, the demands on university administrators, and the potentials for reaching new types of learners, a series of paper sessions, round-table discussions, panels, and keynote speakers will address the wide range of issues that emerge in this domain. The registration fee of $375 includes conference material, breaks, and lunch. If you are interested in exhibiting or serving as a sponsor, please visit the conference website at: <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/learning/> For information or assistance, please contact: Len Hatfield at Len.Hatfield@vt.edu or Tim Luke at tim.luke@vt.edu Other interesting developments by the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture in this arena in conjunction with the conference are: The online Forum on Online Learning and Virtual Universities at: <http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/vu/index.php> and The Extraordinary and Eclectic Distance and Distributed Learning Library at: <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/eeddll> Jeremy Hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu Instructor of Political Science Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Webmaster/Manager CDDC 526 Major Williams Hall 0130 http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy --my homepage Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061 (540)-231-7614 --- You are currently subscribed to cddc as: tripathi@statistik.uni-dortmund.de To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-cddc-398I@vtonline.psci.vt.edu -- From: Glenn Everett Subject: Re: 14.0165 King's publishing venture Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 252 (252) A pedantic correction to Norman Hinton's note: I believe the practice of selling subscriptions to works yet to be completed and published was a well-established practice in 18th-century London well before Samuel Johnson's Dictionary. [deleted quotation] producers [deleted quotation] yet to [deleted quotation] sold some [deleted quotation] -- Glenn S. Everett English Dept. University of Tennessee at Martin geverett@utm.edu From: "Aguera, Helen" Subject: RE: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 09:33:33 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 253 (253) Willard, On the August 2000 issue of _The Atlantic Monthly_, Jonathan G.S. Kopell discusses some of the consequences of what he calls "the cyberspace-as-place metaphor." His note, "No 'There' There: Why Cyberspace Isn't Anyplace," is available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/08/koppell.htm Helen C. Aguera Senior Program Officer National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access Room 411 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20506 voice: (202) 606-8573 secretary: (202) 606-8570 FAX: (202) 606-8639 e-mail: haguera@neh.gov From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0152 why "cyberSPACE"? Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 09:59:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 254 (254) ) To: Humanist Discussion Group Sent: Monday, August 07, 2000 7:50 PM [deleted quotation] other [deleted quotation] From: "David L. Gants" Subject: Academe: Technology For Sale (article in Slashdot) Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:01:30 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 255 (255) [deleted quotation] There is an interesting article in Slashdot on the relationship between academia and corporations regarding technology. You can check it out at http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/08/04/1824247 The author is highly critical of the way academia has allowed corporations to dictate how academia conducts its research. The sciences have had a long relationship with corporate sponsors, but now the whole university, including the humanities, is caught up in the dot.com madness. The most glaring example is fathom.com, a cooperative venture between Columbia University, The New York Public Library, the British Library, and the Smithsonian Institution. These used to be public institutions (or private institutions with a public mandate), but now their mission is governed by profitability, not the search for truth (or whatever it is we're supposed to be doing). I find this quote from the article particularly scathing: "Soon, the public will be as cynical about academic research as they are about government decision-making. And the evolution of technology will get even less scrutiny and oversight. Some of the best elements of the Net and the Web came about because academics and researchers were working outside of the marketplace, not because they were dominated by it." This raises a vital question: what is the relationship between humanities computing and the general public? Are we working for the public good, or just selling them products? Perhaps there are Objectivists (re Ayn Rand) out there who think selling knowledge is a public good. mw -- Mark B. Wolff Modern and Classical Languages Center for Learning and Teaching with Technology Hartwick College Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 431-4615 http://users.hartwick.edu/wolffm0/ From: Jan Rune Holmevik Subject: Digital Arts and Culture conference Presentations Online Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 13:56:21 +0200 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 256 (256) To: dac2000@uib.no Hello everyone, Thank you for attending this years Digital Arts and Culture conference. It was an honor and a great pleasure for us to be your hosts. We have received URLs for a few presentations and they are now linked to the DAC2000 web site at <http://cmc.uib.no/dac/> If you presented at DAC and would like us to link your presentation to the DAC site, please email us the URL for your presentation. Best regards, Jan Rune Holmevik __Jan Rune Holmevik, Cand Philol_________________________________________ University of Bergen jan@mac.com Department of Humanistic Informatics jan.holmevik@uib.no Sydnesplass 7, HF-bygget janruneh@utdallas.edu N-5007 Bergen, NORWAY http://lingua.utdallas.edu/jan From: Edward J. Valauskas Subject: [Proceedings]Web-Wise:A Conference on Libraries and Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 19:39:10 -0500 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 257 (257) [--] Dear Reader, The June 2000 issue of First Monday (volume 5, number 6) is now available at <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/> ------- Table of Contents Volume 5, Number 6 - June 5th 2000 Web-Wise: A Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World sponsored by the U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the University of Missouri-Columbia, 16-17 March 2000, Washington, D.C. Introduction <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/introduction/> The Digital Landscape: Where the Good Stuff Lives The Digital Landscape: The Hawaiian Newspapers and War Records and Trust Territory Image Repository of the University of Hawaii by James Cartwright, Martha Chantiny, Joan Hori, and Karen Peacock <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/cartwright/> ArtsConnectEd: Collaboration in the Integration and Access to Museum Resources by Robin Dowden, Scott Sayre, and Steve Dietz <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/dowden/> Digital Star Dust: The Hoagy Carmichael Collection at Indiana University by Kristine R. Brancolini, Jon W. Dunn, and John A. Walsh <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/brancolini/> Linking Florida's Natural Heritage: Science & Citizenry by Stephanie C. Haas and Priscilla Caplan <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/haas/> Partnerships: Building Networked Infrastructures Collaboration through the Colorado Digitization Project by Nancy Allen <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/allen/> Digital Workflow Management: The Lester S. Levy Digitized Collection of Sheet Music by G. Sayeed Choudhury, Cynthia Requardt, Ichiro Fujinaga, Tim DiLauro, Elizabeth W. Brown, James W. Warner, and Brian Harrington <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/choudhury/> The Plant Information Center by Evelyn Daniel, Peter White, Jane Greenberg, and James Massey <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/daniel/> The Birth and Development of Find-It!:Washington State's Government Information Locator Service by Nancy Zussy <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/zussy/> Friendly Users: Involving Users in Digital Libraries Socially Grounded User Studies in Digital Library Development by Ann Peterson Bishop, Bharat Mehra, Imani Bazzell, and Cynthia Smith <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/bishop/> Children Shaping the Future of Digital Libraries by Allison Druin <http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/kiddiglib/> ATEEL (The Advanced Technology Environmental Education Library): Advancing Technician Program Resources into the New Millennium by Ellen J. Kabat Lensch and Kay Kretschmar Runge <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/lensch/> INFOMINE: Promising Directions in Virtual Library Development by Julie Mason, Steve Mitchell, Margaret Mooney, Lynne Reasoner, and Carlos Rodriguez <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/mason/> This Old Web: Developing Standards for Digital Library Management, Interoperability, and Preservation Interoperability and Standards in a Museum/Library Collaborative: The Colorado Digitization Project by Liz Bishoff <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/bishoff/> Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave: Opportunities and Challenges for Standards Development in the Digital Library Arena by Priscilla Caplan <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/caplan/> Digital Image Managers: A Museum/University Collaboration by S. K. Hastings <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/hastings/> Preserving Digital Assets: Cornell's Digital Image Collection Project by Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger <http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_6/kenney/> ---------------------------- You've received this message because you're registered to First Monday's Table of Contents service. You can unsubscribe to this service by sending a reply containing the word unsubscribe in the body of the message or use the form at: <http://firstmonday.org/join.html> First Monday Editorial Group ---------------------------- From: PRES Editorial Subject: [Abstracts for Presence]Teleoperators and Virtual Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:10:11 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 258 (258) {--} May 2, 2000 The abstracts for Presence 8:6 and 9:1 are now available at the journal's web page: <http://mitpress.mit.edu/PRES> Presence Volume 8, Issue 6 December 1999 Special Issue on Spatial Orientation and Wayfinding in Large-Scale Virtual Spaces II Spatial Orientation and Wayfinding in Large-Scale Virtual Spaces II: Guest Editors' Introduction to the Special Issue By Rudolph P. Darken, Terry Allard, and Lisa B. Achille ARTICLES Path Reproduction Tests Using a Torus Treadmill By Hiroo Iwata and Yoko Yoshida Virtual Locomotion: Walking in Place through Virtual Environments By James M. Templeman, Patricia S. Denbrook, and Linda E. Sibert Maintaining Spatial Orientation during Travel in an Immersive Virtual Environment By Doug A. Bowman, Elizabeth T. Davis, Larry F. Hodges, and Albert N. Badre Use of Virtual Environments for Acquiring Configurational Knowledge About Specific Real-World Spaces: I. Preliminary Experiment By Glenn Koh, Thomas E. von Wiegand, Rebecca Lee Garnett, Nathaniel I. Durlach, and Barbara Shinn-Cunningham Factors Affecting the Perception of Interobject Distances in Virtual Environments By David Waller A Theoretical Model of Wayfinding in Virtual Environments: Proposed Strageties for Navigational Aiding By Jui Lin Chen and Kay Stanney FORUM What's Happening Instructions to Contributors Call for Papers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Presence Volume 9, Issue 1 February 2000 ARTICLES Inertial Force Feedback for the Treadport Locomotion Interface By Robert R. Christensen, John M. Hollerbach, Yangming Xu, and Sanford G. Meek Localization of a Time-Delayed, Monocular Virtual Object Superimposed on a Real Environment By Jeffrey W. McCandless, Stephen R. Ellis, and Bernard D. Adelstein Evaluation of Rate-Based Force-Reflecting Teleoperation in Free Motion and Contact By Robert L. Williams II, Jason M. Henry, and Daniel W. Repperger Small Group Behavior in a Virtual and Real Environment: A Comparative Study By Mel Slater, A. Sadagic, Martin Usoh, and Ralph Schroeder Interest Management in Large-Scale Virtual Environments By Katherine L. Morse, Lubomir Bic, and Michael Dillencourt The Role of Global and Local Landmarks in Virtual Environment Navigation By Sibylle D. Steck and Hanspeter A. Mallot Exclude and Include for Audio Sources and Sinks: Analogs of mute & solo are deafen & attend By Michael Cohen FORUM Make Way for WayMaker By Carol Strohecker and Barbara Barros What's Happening ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This message has been sent to the Presence mailing list maintained by The MIT Press. If you no longer wish to receive these updates, please send a message to . Please direct any comments concerning this mailing to . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: New Media Editorial Subject: [New book] on "The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 259 (259) [--] This message is one of a series of periodic mailings about newly released books in new media. You have received this mailing because you have either purchased a book or added yourself to the mailing list. Follow the URL below to our catalog for contents, abstracts, and ordering information. Tools for Thought The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology Howard Rheingold <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/RHETPS00> The digital revolution did not begin with the teenage millionaires of Silicon Valley, claims Howard Rheingold, but with such early intellectual giants as Charles Babbage, George Boole, and John von Neumann. In a highly engaging style, Rheingold tells the story of what he calls the patriarchs, pioneers, and infonauts of the computer, focusing in particular on such pioneers as J. C. R. Licklider, Doug Engelbart, Bob Taylor, and Alan Kay. Taking the reader step by step from nineteenth-century mathematics to contemporary computing, he introduces a fascinating collection of eccentrics, mavericks, geniuses, and visionaries. The book was originally published in 1985, and Rheingold's attempt to envision computing in the 1990s turns out to have been remarkably prescient. This edition contains an afterword, in which Rheingold interviews some of the pioneers discussed in the book. As an exercise in what he calls "retrospective futurism," Rheingold also looks back at how he looked forward. 336 pp., paper ISBN 0-262-68115-3 If you would prefer not to receive mailings in the future, please send a message to unsubscribe@mitpress.mit.edu. Please send feedback to Jud Wolfskill at wolfskil@mit.edu. -- From: SJ Stauffer Subject: Why "cyberspace"?: Why "computing"? Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 07:33:10 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 260 (260) [deleted quotation] The original question leads me to another. Why *should* the metaphor of "cyberspace" contribute to our ability to talk about computing and its cultural consequences? Do the readers of Humanist have a uniform understanding of the term "computing"? Does "computing" include anything that is done with the use of a computer? This would seem to be a somewhat old-fashioned definition, but it *is* one that would encompass the sending of e-mail as well as the crunching of numbers. I wonder, though, how many, er, denizens of cyberspace would consider what they did in cyberspace (or the very act of entering cyberspace) to be "computing." MOOing, Napstering, checking out the stock market, IRCing, listening to David Sedaris on NPR online: Would the average person (or even any of the participants in this discussion) apply the term to any of this? The spatial metaphor works for these activities, and it's interesting to consider the cultural consequences of these activities where often the physical disposition of the participants and by extension their computers is an issue, both to the participants and to the social scientists who study their interactions. But that's different from considering the cultural consequences of computing if "computing" does not simply mean "anything done with a computer" but something more like "the application of computational methods (e.g. problem definition, problem analysis, writing code, testing, debugging) to solving problems or answering questions in a given field." As you-pl drink your morning or afternoon or evening coffees or teas, take a look at the Atlas of Cyberspaces at <http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/casa/martin/atlas/atlas.html>, with maps in the categories listed below. | Conceptual | Artistic | Geographic | Cables & Satellites | Traceroutes | Census | Topology | Info Maps | Info Landscapes | Info Spaces | ISP Maps | Web Site Maps | Surf Maps | MUDs & Virtual Worlds | Historical Stephanie Stauffer Center for Applied Linguistics From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0172 new on WWW Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 07:35:28 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 261 (261) Yes - [deleted quotation] And that's Althusser's question too? Why he thinks R&D needs to be injected with the material dialectic? Habermas too is greatly concerned with the failure of democracy and the rise of technocracy. Surely, espcially now that technologies are becoming increasingly "global", we should be thinking about this more then we seem to be? Bourdieu makes a good point. Disintresedness (or apparent disintrestedness) is, in the context of the state or state apparatuses (e.g. universities) a kind of symbolic capital that fits the man or woman for authority in those apparatuses. And the curious thing is that because of this, disintrestedness seems to take on some kind of social reality? If the state ends up giving in to Capitalism qua Gordon Gecko then surely we are witnessing a profound paradigm shift in which "disntresedness" gets coopted into the capitalist notion that the market knows what's best for it? This means a profound change in the agenda of the state apparatuses that previously functioned by way of a sybolic>material capital transaction path. Now the ability to make material capital is the main source of symbolic capital, making the disntrestedness of the man or woman of the state apparatus take up the place of the man or woman of capitalism. You may as well serve the company? This may not be *all bad*. It will, for example, mitigate against sexism, racism, etc. But it means that, as the state becomes a capitalist machine, that markets, previously regulated through the idea of the common good, can expect to become progressively less regulated. This would mean subatantially less stable economies, at least if the arguments of John Ralston Saul are accepted? As for what we are doing in the humanities, it seems that a money-driven *performativity* is starving out *the search for truth* but that the latter survives because there is still a market for it. Look how large the feminism and cultural studies, critical theory, psychology, etc., sections are in any halfway cool bookshop? Look how much *theory* is out there on the internet? Academia has always been market driven, really. It's just now that money is showing itself as the efficient sign of the portability of capital per se (including *academic integrity*). This is the logical ramification of fact that *Truth* is, before it is anything else, a *survival strategy* (i.e. Education is a kind of capital). What depresses me is not that truth is being reduced to capital. For it always was capital. But rather that the market seems to have so little understanding of how to survive (many truths that are relevant to our survival are marked down as "irrelvant" (i.e. unsalable). The answer seems to lie in our attitude to *waste*. We have to be prepared to waste time, money and energy if we are to take control of the global situation, which at present is not ruled by men, but a diffuse and ineffable artificial intelligence that thinks numerically and has accepted, in true faith, the axiom we programmed into it long before the days of Babylon. The AI I am speaking of is, of course, money. :) Chris :) Chris :) Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: Barbara Bordalejo Subject: CFP: Kalamazoo 2001 Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 262 (262) Call for Papers (Excuse X-posting): 36th International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, 2001) Sponsored Session: " The Implications of the Work of the Canterbury Tales Project." The Canterbury Tales Project is organizing a session for the 36th International Medieval Congress. With the recent appearance of the General Prologue, and the forthcoming CD-ROMs scheduled for the next few months, we are increasingly interested on learning about the applications of these materials. We are seeking papers which deal with practical uses of the tools and information that the CTP has produced. Papers presenting non-research uses of the material (in teaching, at various levels) are particularly welcome. We could also consider papers on other electronic texts and tools and their possible uses for teaching and research. There is also a possibility of publication in the forthcoming Occasional Papers (volume III). If you are interested in any of the suggested topics send your abstract to bbordalejo@dmu.ac.uk Papers should be not longer that 20 minutes. The deadline for submission of abstracts is September 15, 2000. Barbara Bordalejo Research Assistant Canterbury Tales Project De Montfort University From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Possibilities - O. Doctorow Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 263 (263) Dear Colleagues: I have obtained so much from Humanist that I would like to give back some of what I have learned over the last few months in my fields if I can. Unfortunately in a way, my fields are mathematics/statistics and physics. I have been researching in a few fascinating (for me) directions. I will only mention the first direction here and may continue if anybody is interested. 1. The Fermat-Newton Mystery. Here it is important for mathematics and physics as well as humanities to know more about Fermat, Newton, and their relationship. Pierre De Fermat of 1600s France was an amateur mathematician and physicist and professional lawyer/civil servant who, in my opinion, was the greatest genius of all time in mathematics and physics. He discovered parts of the calculus and optics before Newton (the "inventor" of calculus), analytic geometry before Descartes (the "inventor" of analytic geometry), co-founded probability theory, founded modern number theory which is related to crytology, etc., etc. He was approximately 350-400 years ahead of his time and in my opinion anticipated parts of the modern special theory of relativity which was not invented until the early 1900s (by Einstein). He was fascinated with light (optics) and correctly figured out that light slows down in water (Descartes concluded the opposite). I will be delivering a paper at the December 2000 Orbis Scientiae Global Foundation meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the dependence of light speed on energy, which will also relate to the recent superluminal (above light speed) experimental results which have been in the press since they were first demonstrated by Professor Nimtz at U. of Cologne/Koln in 1997 (later confirmed experimentally, although theorists differ as to whether objects or only pulses/groups are exceeding light speed). Science fiction writers can have a field day speculating on whether Fermat was merely smarter than Einstein (apparently he was - Einstein was only a few years ahead of his time or "one step" ahead of the mathematicians and physicists whose equations he used, including the Italians Ricci and Levi Civita and the the Englishman/Scotsman Fitzgerald and Lorentz from somewhere else) or whether he was a time traveller. By the way, Leonardo Da Vinci was about 400 years ahead of his time in my rough calculations, so Fermat definitely had a rival. There is certainly enough material for a time travel cinema. Fermat and Newton were both extremely secretive - so much so for Fermat that he enraged Descartes (and also upstaged him, and Descartes was forced to apologize) who spent the rest of his life trying to ruin Fermat's reputation and position. Newton was too secretive to publish until Leibniz upstaged him. Both Newton and Fermat rose "meteorically" in government/politics, Newton to Lord Chancellor. Both were obsessed with optics. Both founded branches and branches of mathematics and physics. Only problem: Newton lived after Fermat except for a slight and insignificant overlap. An even "wilder" scenario: were both Newton and Fermat promoted meteorically because their governments were rewarding them and recognizing their discoveries secretly? If so, what became of the French government's knowledge after the French Revolution? Who "knew too much" in Great Britain? Suggested hint for cinema: Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, Einstein's right-hand man whose experiments verified general relativity's predictions and who was the first person to write a book on general relativity (the book extended Einstein's theory far beyond what Einstein thought at the time). Second hint: Eddington and Paul Dirac of Cambridge were quite similar. Paul Dirac and Stephen Weinberg later won the Nobel Prize in physics and were the two greatest quantum theorists of the last 30-40 years. Guess who Paul Dirac's student was (and also partly Albert Einstein's)? Professor B. N. Kursunoglu, President of the Global Foundation. Anyone care to attend the December lecture? Cheers and God bless, Osher From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0171 King's publishing venture: publishing history Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 07:35:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 264 (264) I'm certainly willing to take correction on this matter -- but that's what I was taught in graduate school (long ago, alas)....Johnson's letter to Chesterfield about his determination to go on with the Dictionary (through subscriptions) despite C's lack of financial support has been called "the death-knell to patronage", and Johnson has also been called the first writer to break the tyranny of the book-sellers. I'm not surprised if more recent scholarship has overturned these judgments -- that's one of the things scholarship is supposed to do. [deleted quotation] From: "Michael S. Hart" Subject: Re: 14.0171 King's publishing venture: publishing history Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 07:36:45 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 265 (265) Speaking of subscription publishing: Let us not forget Murray's English Dictionary Based on Historical Principles which later became know by its nickname: The Oxford English Dictionary Thanks! So nice to hear from you! Michael S. Hart Project Gutenberg "Ask Dr. Internet" Executive Director Internet User ~#100 From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0174 two questions Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 08:25:35 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 266 (266) Dear Stephanie, I wonder if the word "computing" does not smack somewhat of punch-cards? Certainly I do not "compute" (at least not with computers). But then I am not particularly interested in *content analysis* (or *discourse analysis*) - not that I think those things are worthless. I have other fish to fry. Computers in Applied Lingusistics? What my wife and her patron, et al., are doing out at University of Canberra is utilizing *information technology* to help create *student centered learning environments*. This seems to be in tune with a certain *wave* that is sweeping *Language Teaching*? :) Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: Willard McCarty Subject: "computing"? Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 08:25:58 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 267 (267) In Humanist 14.174 Stephanie Stauffer asks, "Why *should* the metaphor of 'cyberspace' contribute to our ability to talk about computing and its cultural consequences?", which is in part to ask, what do we mean by "computing" in the context of its uses? This, it seems to me, is much the same question as Marilyn Deegan asked in her closing plenary address at ALLC/ACH last month, "what is digital scholarship?", i.e. how is *digital* scholarship different from using a computer for scholarly purposes? A simple answer offers itself almost immediately: digital scholarship is that kind which pays self-conscious attention to the means; without that attention, it's just scholarship than happens to be done with a computer, as a conversation that happens to be conducted by means of a telephone and doesn't reflect on its telephonicity is just a conversation. I don't mean to imply that this is a bad or unproductive answer -- it seems to me that we can get quite far by developing a methodology for such self-conscious attention. But I wonder if anyone else is, like me, dissatisfied with that answer. Let me suggest the beginnings of a better question. Doesn't the answer depend on your disciplinary perspective? If I MOO, say, or do medieval studies like Anders Winroth (who has made great strides in his field with essentially trivial uses of computing, for which see <http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i49/49a01701.htm>), is it just to argue that I'm hardly "computing" in any way important to us? Yes, I suppose so, if we consider the matter in the terms in which I pursue it. But what if we consider my MOOing or Decretum-searching historically, sociologically, philosophically? Is there only an accidental relationship between the fact that I use a computer and what I do with it? Comments? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 268 (268) [deleted quotation] From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 269 (269) [deleted quotation] some [deleted quotation] to [deleted quotation] do [deleted quotation] suggest, [deleted quotation] From: Mark Wolff Subject: Re: 14.0174 two questions Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 08:27:17 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 270 (270) "Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty )" wrote: [deleted quotation] The disinterest of academics is a measure of their social autonomy as intellectuals, and as "truth" (the specific form of symbolic capital that defines who an intellectual is) gives way to technology (the capital of the New Economy) in the intellectual field, intellectuals must clothe themselves as entrepreneurs. Of course, this is not new: a lot of critical theory is really just technology in the Heideggerian sense of putting the world in standing-reserve, ie creating efficiencies for purposes other than opening our eyes to the truth (like selling cool books in cool bookstores). If we confuse technology, the modus operatum and opus operatum of humanities computing, with the quest for truth, our modus operandi, we reinforce the blurring between capitalism and the academy. Information technology has changed the way humanities scholars pursue the truth, indeed what counts as truth, and as a result our perspective has undergone a radical shift. How do we distinguish "humanities" from "computing"? Have these two terms become imcompatible? Bourdieu has an explanation for this difficulty that many of us as humanities computing scholars experience: If agents are possessed by their habitus more than they possess it, this is because it acts within them as the organizing principle of their actions, and because this modus operandi informing all thought and action (including thought of action) reveals itself only in the opus operatum. (Outline of a Theory of Praxis, 18) [deleted quotation] I suppose from the perspective of the New Economy, with its emphasis on streamlining and efficiency (just look at all the consolidation taking place in the dot.com world as IPO money runs dry and companies devour each other), waste could be a tactical measure for waking people from passivity in cyberspace. But in any economy, symbolic or material, waste cannot be tolerated for long. If what we do is perceived as waste, universities will either outsource their teaching and research or people will invest their time and resources elsewhere. mw -- Mark B. Wolff Modern and Classical Languages Center for Learning and Teaching with Technology Hartwick College Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 431-4615 http://users.hartwick.edu/wolffm0/ From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Truth Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 08:27:37 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 271 (271) I just want to clear something up. When I said that truth was a kind of capital, I said that it has "use value" (the word I used was survival value). This hardly implies that academia has a monopoly on truth - or that the markets of capitalism are not just as troublesome for "truth" as the symbolic markets of academia. Quite the opposite. I was demystifying truth via *perfomativity*. I see little benefit in continuing to deny the death of "God". Though Capital-on-high yet lives, moratally wounded we can't say for sure, I'd rather put a bullet in the transcendental signifier than see it do more parlour tricks. Does this mean I oppose the idea of "truth". Not at all. Not in the slightest! Capital is not just money. As to why we should *waste* resources? You have to risk capital to make capital. Diversity is a survival strategy dating back to the origins of life (a strategy enabled by chaos, not order; utilizing the degraded copy, not the faithful copy). To say nothing yet of the sacrifies Truth would demand of us (sacrifices that I would rather make for Truth than for anything else) the truth of which is: Truth needs a bullet. Having said that, should the academy continue to defend itself as a *restricted economy* in which *symbolic capital* functions instead og money so as to make *virtual capital* (i.e education) as a side-effect (or is honour the side effect, you tell me)? Or should it just say die and rationalize? Well homogenizing the system is not a good survival strategy. And truth, before it is anything else, is of survival value (the carrot and the stick of capital by which the first cells floated forth and multiplied). But the "economic rationalists" are goings to call this risk by which diversification propspers just "waste". Because they see survival in terms of *money*, not in terms of *capital*. What place communications technology? If K.Ohamae (et al., numerous others since Marx) is right, IT will facilitate the further growth of golbal capitalism and spell the end of the nation state. If nations shall be degraded how shall the autonomy of univerisities survive? It is obvious that universities can survive in two ways: 1. By outcompeting the corporation re: truth in accord with the same logic of global capitalism, a logic that will rationalize universities ... OR 2. Under the heading of luxury or waste, which must then be sold, again according to the logic of global capitalism, that will end up rationalizing universities. Because, as yous say, waste will never be tolerated for long, waste will always survive only as surplus value, luxury, or survival value qua diversification. But what happens if we start thinking in terms of capital instead of money? Is there not an even more profound seat of capital? I mean the whole biosphere of this world where we evolved, people included? And that means, in order to make this fantastic paradigm shift, we need historians and philosophers not just economists. We need the M.BAs to start talking with the PhDs in philosophy and history! We need to humanise the technocrats and technocratize the humans! New blocks of becoming need to be formed. This is the role of the university as I see it, not to restrict entry, but to create a public space: a zone where these blocks of becoming can start being actualized, start discovering laterally pragmatic approaches with which to make it possible for the human mind to no longer be obsolete, supeceded by money. :) Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: Willard McCarty Subject: machines, pride and pure research Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 272 (272) I recently encountered an interesting statement attributed to Marvin Minsky (1982): "Do not be bullied by authoritative pronouncements about what machines will never do. Such statements are based on pride, not fact." What interests me about this statement is that its truth value isn't changed by removing the negative adverb "never". "Pride goeth before a fall", undoubtedly, but the fact is that we do not know "what machines will [never] do", and for some that cloud of unknowing is intolerable, it seems. If research of the undirected kind (a.k.a. "pure") requires the cloudy state of mind, then how does research in our area get done in the real world, where funding is required and available largely from people who want products guaranteed? Comments? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Open-Access Model for Publishing Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 273 (273) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community August 18, 2000 Bill Arms & the Open-Access Model for Publishing <http://chronicle.com/free/2000/08/2000081801t.htm>http://chro <http://chronicle.com/free/2000/08/2000081801t.htm>http://chronicle.com/free /2000/08/2000081801t.htm [deleted quotation] ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Mel Wiebe Subject: 1857 comet, reactions to Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 274 (274) Editing the letters of Benjamin Disraeli, I am stumped by an identification that looks like it should be an easy one; perhaps HUMANIST can help. Here's the problem: In early 1857 a prediction was made that a comet would strike the earth on 13 June 1857, causing great alarm in some quarters because of several end-of-the-world prophecies. Others, however, were more amused than frightened. Disraeli on 7 June 1857 wrote to his friend Sarah Brydges Willyams in Torquay about a planned visit, and remarked: "The world is very much frightened about the Comet .... A philosopher, who laughs at the theological view of the question, & therefore shocks the ladies, has however frightened them equally by his scientific announcement that the world has already been destroyed 27 times, that, reasoning by analogy, it must be destroyed again & probably often; that he rather imagines it will not be destroyed on the 13th. Inst, but there is no reason why it shd. not be destroyed before that, as the destructive agencies are all rife -- in the centre of the earth a raging fire, while the misty tail of the comet wd, if it touched us, pour forth an overwhelming deluge -- so in 4 & 20 hours we may be shrivelled or drowned. In the meantime, if the catastrophe do not occur, we hope to be at Torquay by the end of next month." Who is this "philosopher"? Mel Wiebe, General Editor of _Benjamin Disraeli Letters_, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada From: "Bruce G. Robertson" Subject: Historical Event Markup in XML Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 275 (275) Humanists: I have completed the prototype of HEML <http://www.heml.org>, text mark-up and transformation tools. HEML aims to produce: 1. An xml namespace that describes the basic building blocks of history: events, periods, etc. 2. Xslt transformations that make 'cool stuff' out of documents encoded according to (1). Right now, we have - tables of events sorted chronologically, even if the events are encoded in different calendrical systems (i.e. Gregorian and Islamic). These are linked back to an anchor in the source document representing the event. (This makes use of an xsl-extension in java that hooks into IBM's Alphaworks' International Calendars.) - historical documents with javascript pop-ups that give historical context to a text. - The beginnings of dynamically generated time-lines, coded in scalable vector graphics, also with links back to source documents. ... and we dream nightly of dynamically generated maps of historical events in a given time period within a given region. This project takes a 'vertical' approach to development: instead of starting with the DTD and nailing it down in detail, we've started with a fairly naive DTD and explored the views and documents which can be generated from it. This will inform our next revision of the DTD, and so on. The project's emphasis is on useful, and possibly new, views of historical events. The DTD acts as a common denominator for these. This is 'pure' research, meant for historians world-wide. The examples given on the site are just that, snippets taken to test or show off the technology, not samples of an anticipated mark-up project. We're hoping that this will so nifty and easy to use that any historical web material would be crazy not to adopt it. Finally, the HEML web site itself uses some pretty new web technology, whose inner workings might be of interest to Humanists. In particular, its server applies xslt's on the fly with the Cocoon web publishing framework, it uses java extension functions in its xslt's and it makes scalable vector graphics images through xsl transformations. In an attempt to make the site self-documenting, most transformations have links to their xml and xsl source files. (Currently, this is hosted on my office desktop; we'll be switching in Sept. to a dedicated machine.) We welcome your comments and criticism, but most of all, we'd love to find partners who are working on marking up historical documents, and would like to inform the direction of HEML by integrating it into their mark-up efforts. Yours, -- Bruce Robertson, Dept. of Classics, Mount Allison University http://www.mta.ca/faculty/humanities/classics/Robertson/ From: History of Science and Technology Subject: _Labyrinth_ in "A Search for the Hidden Meaning of Science" Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:08:33 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 276 (276) Editorial [--] NEW BOOKS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FROM THE MIT PRESS Follow the URLs below to our catalog for contents, abstracts, and ordering information. Labyrinth A Search for the Hidden Meaning of Science Peter Pesic <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/PESLHS00> Nature has secrets, and it is the desire to uncover them that motivates the scientific quest. But what makes these "secrets" secret? Is it that they are beyond human ken? that they concern divine matters? And if they are accessible to human seeking, why do they seem so carefully hidden? Such questions are at the heart of Peter Pesics effort to uncover the meaning of modern science. Pesic portrays the struggle between the scientist and nature as the ultimate game of hide-and-seek, in which a childlike wonder propels the exploration of mysteries. Witness the young Albert Einstein, fascinated by a compass and the sense it gave him of "something deeply hidden behind things." In musical terms, the book is a triple fugue, interweaving three themes: the epic struggle between the scientist and nature; the distilling effects of the struggle on the scientist; and the emergence from this struggle of symbolic mathematics, the purified language necessary to decode natures secrets. Pesics quest for the roots of science begins with three key Renaissance figures: William Gilbert, a physician who began the scientific study of magnetism; Franois Vite, a French codebreaker who played a crucial role in the foundation of symbolic mathematics; and Francis Bacon, a visionary who anticipated the shape of modern science. Pesic then describes the encounters of three modern masters-Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein-with the depths of nature. Throughout, Pesic reads scientific works as works of literature, attending to nuance and tone as much as to surface meaning. He seeks the living center of human concern as it emerges in the ongoing search for natures secrets. 5 3/8 x 8, 160 pp., 11 illus., cloth ISBN 0-262-16190-7 ---- From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Convergence -The journal of Research into New Media Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:10:39 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 277 (277) Technologies Greetings humanists, Hi --here is the recent issue of *Convergence* with abstracts --as Convergence 6 no 2 (Summer 2000) on special issue of "Parallel Histories in the Intermedia Age". Convergence is a refereed academic paper journal --which is having creative, social, political and pedagogical potentials raised by the advent of new media technologies. It provides a forum for monitoring as well as exploring developments for vital research. One of the principal aims of *Convergence* is to promote discussion and analysis of the creative and educational potentials of the emergence of new media technologies. On the Editorial Board of "Convergence", one can see the names of hypertext scholars and critics such as George Landow, Jay David Bolter with other scholars such as Roy Ascott and Steve Jones.... ---------- Articles Yvonne Spielmann Visual Forms of Representation and Simulation: A Study of Chris Marker's Level 5 Scott McQuire Impact Aesthetics: Back to the Future in Digital Cinema? Millennial fantasies Michael Punt Parallel Histories: Early Cinema and Digital Media Ross Harley Roller Coaster Planet: Kinetic Experience in the Age of Mechanical Transportation Feature Report Steven Maras and David Sutton Media Specificity Re-visited Reviews Greg Battye The Third Way of Knowing: Situating Knowledge in a Postmodern World. Lynette Hunter, Critiques of Knowing: Situated textualities in science, computing and the arts, and McKenzie Wark, Celebrities, Culture and Cyberspace: the light on the hill in a postmodern world Pat Brereton Refashioning Media Forms. Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, Remediation: Understanding New Media Lincoln Dahlberg Dragons and Sea Monsters: A First Map of Cyberspace. Tim Jordan, Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet. Mark Wheeler Digital Capitalism: Networking the Global Market System. Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism: Networking the Global Market System, Richard Wise A Reader for our times. Hugh Mackay, and Tim T. O'Sullivan, (eds), The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation. ----- Abstracts: Convergence 6.2 (Summer 2000) special issue ----- Yvonne Spielmann Visual Forms of Representation and Simulation: A study of Chris Marker's film Level 5 Abstract: Chris Marker in his feature film Level 5 combines formal and structural elements of two different types of media: film and computer. Visually and narratively, he compares the essential characteristics of the analogue (film) and digital (computer) media. The feature film functions like a fictional documentary based on historical documents about the battle of Okinawa, Japan, at the end of the Second World War. Within this narrative Marker develops a complex structure of media discourses where he interrelates, merges, and layers elements of different media and thereby gives an insight into the structure of intermedia and hypermedia and aesthetically differentiates between fiction and simulation. Scott McQuire Impact Aesthetics: Back to the Future in Digital Cinema? Millennial fantasies Abstract: This article engages recent debates about the future of cinema in the digital age. Firstly, it seeks to broaden the rather narrow terms in which the transition to digital cinema is often understood in film theory. Secondly, it tries to assess claims about the demise of narrative frequently associated with the digital threshold. On one level, it is argued that a dialectical understanding of the relation between terms such as narrative and spectacle is needed to advance current debates. On another level, it is suggested that digital technology should not be wholly defined by the current dominance of blockbuster films. In place of technological determinism, an understanding based on the politics of spectacle and distracted spectatorship is advanced. Michael Punt Parallel Histories: Early Cinema and Digital Media Abstract: This article suggests ways in which research into a nineteenth- century technology such as early cinema might be valid in understanding digital technology. It identifies a number of stylistic resemblances between early cinema, personal computing and the internet. It also claims that there is some value in applying one analytical methodology to both 'old' and 'new' media. By looking at digital technology through the filter of an extremely well developed discourse in early film history, softer determinist accounts of digital technology can emerge which are not dependent on the premises of progress nor those of various forms of Postmodernist criticism. In a reverse angle, so to speak, it also argues that a close tracking of digital technology and its critical discourses as they unfold in various entertainment forms can tell us much about the attractions and fascinations that early cinema had a century ago had for its audiences. In short it claims a continuity in audio visual history and criticism which is a valuable addition, even antedote, to the hyperbole and unsupportable technological determinism that digital media has attracted both in academic and commercial commentary. Ross Harley Roller Coaster Planet: Kinetic Experience in the Age of Mechanical Transportation Abstract: This paper addresses the interrelation between mechanical motion and electro-mechanical mediation. It draws attention to the close parallels between various modes of mobile subjectivity associated with moving image/ sound technologies and mechanical forms of transportation. The kinetic experiences associated with the freeway and the roller coaster are offered as two quite different examples of how the interpenetration of media, objects and subjectivities takes place in the realm of moving images and bodies. It is argued that the same modes of perception and motion associated with the car and the roller coaster also figure in a variety of new media forms that appeal to the contemporary body-in-motion/perception- in-motion nexus (from virtual environments to ride films and location-based entertainment). Like other communication networks of the present, both exist as ambivalent spaces for the representation of social interaction and social fears. ----------------- Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies Convergence is a paper journal. To join our e-mailing list, for further information and for details of back issues, see our web site at <http://www.luton.ac.uk/Convergence> The copyright of all articles, papers, reports and reviews published in Convergence rests with the University of Luton Press. Any author(s) wishing to have their published text reproduced elsewhere should seek the necessary permission via the Editors --Edited by Julia Knight, Jeanette Steemers & Alexis Weedon, Dept of Media Arts, University of Luton, UK Web site: http://www.luton.ac.uk/Convergence -------- Thank you.. Sincerely Arun Tripathi From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: (Announcement) EJournal --concerns with the implications Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 278 (278) of electronic networks and texts Dear humanist scholars, [Hi, I thought --the EJournal --might interest you --received via Professor Charles Ess and CaTaC List..EJournal is available free on the Web. Thank you.--Arun] ============================================================================= [material deleted] EJournal is a pioneering all-electronic, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary academic journal published since 1991. We are especially interested in theory and practice surrounding the creation, transmission, storage, interpretation, alteration and replication of electronic "text," broadly defined. We are also interested in the broader social, psychological, literary, economic and pedagogical implications of computer-mediated networks. EJournal is currently soliciting theoretically and philosophically driven feature articles on the above topics. Reviews and other short items are welcome. We are also interested in hearing from people who would like to review manuscripts. Please see the EJournal home page for details, submission guidelines, and back issues: <http://www.ucalgary.ca/ejournal> Please direct inquiries to the EJournal Editorial Office, ejournal@ucalgary.ca Thanks! Doug Brent, University of Calgary, and Joanna Richardson, Bond University Co-editors, EJournal ---- From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0182 reactions to the 1857 comet? Date: Saturday, August 19, 2000 2:53 AM X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 279 (279) [deleted quotation] month." [deleted quotation] From: "Pat Moran" Subject: Re: 14.0180 machines, pride and pure research? Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:05:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 280 (280) It's always a hoot to hear people make pronouncements on what they will "never" do or about things which will "never" occur. This very gentlemanly reading of pompous behavior ["for some that cloud of unknowing is intolerable"] surely applies to Rousseau's comments in his "Confessions, Part I, Book 1"-- "I am commencing an undertaking, hitherto without precedent, and which will never find an imitator." The idea that autobiography could be "without precedent" and the contention that no one could imitate his efforts always inspire my previously spark-less adult military students to quiet chuckles and/or peals of laughter. Perhaps they're thinking of how Rousseau's research reveals, rather than requires the "cloudy state of mind." One needn't be considering technology to get a laugh out of academics and psychics. ---------------- Patricia J. Moran, FSU Ed. Foundations and Policy Studies 312 Stone Bldg., Tallahassee, FL 32306 850-575-7787 pjm0362@mailer.fsu.edu From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: accidents and essence: more on cyber guiding Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:06:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 281 (281) Hello Stephanie I have been mulling over your question about who "computes" in relation to someone else's (Chris McMahon's) reference to Paul Virilio [the question of diaster] (who knows what an archive check of Humanist will reveal with a search for "Virilio" and its alternative spellings). Dear me, what a convoluted sentence wondering off in a orthographicly inspired rift verging on information overload. There is not one diaster but many. And it is scholars able to move away from the keyboard, the slide projector and even the chalk board who are able to continue to engage an audience. When the technologies mediating the network of social selves breaks down, it is the capital H Humanities people to the rescue while the capital C computing folks do the hardware/software fix. Diaster invites what rhetoricians call the ekphrastic moment. The power of the Humanities side of the Computing-Humanities couple is in the ability to begin to describe (and to start the description over). Now, description is a prerequiste for computation. Cognitively, descriptions need not be verbalized. Psychologists are sometimes fond of informing us about the assumptions we make in perceiving the world. Sociologists are even fonder of this activity. It may be safe to assume that "the use of computers" involves some set of descriptions about this activity. Is it fair to reframe your question about "computing" in terms of conscious use of computers a la Willard reporting on Marilyn Deegan's Glasgow remarks on the nature of digital scholarship? This conscious/unconscious dichotomy of course leads to the need/want to draw other lines: programming versus using a software application; encoding versus formating. If "computing" becomes the umbrella term for a plurality of activities of an analytic and artistic sort, the real institutional investment difficulties do not disappear (the are always based on some calculation of waste/gain). However a vague ecology of shifting cognitive activities becomes discernable and allows perphas a turn to your fundamental questions about the nature of the "computing" model. Yes, the email user computes. Yes, the Java programmer computes. As agents in a Minskian society of mind, they are elements of a social macine and either actor-network theory or basic economics can account for their computations in the sense of calculations apportioning attention (time and resources) to certain activities. But what does it mean to compute as a humanist? I think Willard provided a bit of an answer by way of a question: Willard wrote: [deleted quotation] suppose so, if we [deleted quotation] It is precisely accidents that interest Humanities scholars. I do thank you for your posting asking for error free citiations. The delightful "neuro" and "necro" pair had me wondering if in Roman divinatory practice the slayer of the beast and the reader of the entrails were the same person (in body and spirit) because I was trying to work out the programmer/user metaphorics in terms of travelling versus building cyberspace. And the year of republication (1994) of the 1984 Gibson novel struck a chord as about the time that the World Wide Web was opened up to commercial interests... Just about the time I wrote: Just as a Turing machine's configuration can be interpreted as states of being or as instructions, a story can be considered an apparatus processing descriptions and questions, figures and sequences. and A story is at once product and apparatus of production. It is an autopoetic structure. It will take a picture, a question, a description, an imperative and transform either it, itself, or both. A story is a machine that learns. See http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/S4E.HTM In short if people are telling stories using computers, they are computing. [not an argument for any one who would want to keep semiosis and perception apart -- keep mind from informing body]. Once again, thanks for providing the launch pad into some enjoyable mulling. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0179 market-driven truth-seeking Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:06:59 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 282 (282) Dr Mark, I think we might be seeing things in roughly the same way. Can I make a couple of points though? [deleted quotation] Yes. Like the "disinteretedness" of the state bureaucrats. I'm thinking, for example, of Bourdieu's discussion of how disinteredness is a field relative symbolic capital in *Practical Reason*. and as "truth" (the specific form of symbolic capital [deleted quotation] Has there been an important semantic slide here from "disinterestedness" to "truth"? Why should the search fro truth be disinteredned? Is not necessity the mother of invention? gives way to technology (the [deleted quotation] I would say that what I see is the academic managment class (deans, proVCs, etc) making symbolic capital by rationalizing (cutting, saving money, etc.). So yes, the university is beginning to be driven by profit motives that make it less distinguishable from the corporation? One style of capital transaction (a rather pure restricted symbolic economy productive of "the-knowledge-formerly-known-as-truth") is giving way to a different style of capital transactions (a material to symbolic economy, becoming less restricted, productive of "the-education-that-ised-to-be-liberal"). I agree that the universities are beginning to be less *autonomous*. And I think IT is mixed up in there somehow (though chicken or egg? - I mean Capitalism has progressively reified every field, and maybe IT is just speeding up the process? [deleted quotation] That's what I see too. I do, however, invite you to think about this idea "truth" a bit. There may be some kernel of the idea that is a "primary proposition" (i.e. impossible to be analysed) by that kernel, even if it is not simply a social contruct (which I don;t think it is) does carry around a lot of sublated symbolic capital which is pure mystification. And it is that mystified capital that is under fire, being transformed into perfomativity capital, which is the capitalist cooption of the scientific idea of the use value of truth. Of course, this is not [deleted quotation] I think so too. But something new is happening. Not that the universities are no longer helping to reproduce the social order, or that they are becoming reproductive for the first time, but that the rules of the game, as you note, are changing. I'm not sure I like the new game any more than you do. I'm wondering what sort of new game we can design instead. If we confuse technology, the modus [deleted quotation] Again, I think so too. Information technology has changed the way humanities [deleted quotation] That is, if you have come up to speed with IT, which most academics in the humanities really have not. [deleted quotation] Has truth ever been NOT performative? There have been truths that are not perfortmative (or are only socially performative). There is a basis in the distinction between rational purposive action & symbolic exchange (cf. Habermas), and the truths of the latter need not be performative outside any given social field where it is the "correctness" of symbolic exchange that counts and not the competence of rational purosive action (i.e in cases where all is arbitrary). Otherwise the use value of truth has always been its performativity. That's how science works. So the two terms could not have become incompatable. If anything the pressure towards performativity (and against waste) makes more truths. But truths directed in the service of certain interests? Althusser's problematic? Bourdieu has an explanation for this difficulty that [deleted quotation] If we think hard enough we might realize that the idea of "agent" here is quite redundant. The rules of the game are certainly changing. The question is not why, on which we agree, but "is truth suffering"? Now i think we both see truth as suffering but you seem to be constructing a sort of 'good old days" scenario, the fall from truth and disnterestedness into technocapitalist market-driven performativities. It's Lyotardian? On the other hand, I think truth is not really suffering any more now than it has been in the past, even though the rules of the academic game are changing, and what depreses me is that we don;t seem to be able to liberate the use value of truth from the interested of the dominant groups (which would include those "disinterested" men of state, et al.) [deleted quotation] I agree. That's how "official production" works after the death of God. With the rise of the capitalists everything that their regime of "official production" does not like - for any reason - is labelled "waste". The logic of late capitalism is just a refinement of the logic of early modern capitalism. I'm just saying if we really were to be autonomous, we should look again at this so-called *waste*. If we do not, then we are already, for all our "disinterestedness" just the lackies of the inhuman cyberbourgeoisie (the great mind of globalised money). Hope I have managed to make my position clearer. I hope you will agree with me that we are quibbling over details? I have made my ideas about what we should do sort of clear (redesign the academies as "public spheres") - But I would like to ask you what sort of project you suggest for overcoming the conquest of the academy by corporatism? :) Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: A humanities "fingerprint machine" to study creative genius Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 16:07:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 283 (283) Dear Colleagues: In my opinion, we are close to the stage where we can take "theoretical fingerprints" of candidates for creative geniuses in the past to see whether they really were creative or whether they were imitators or "ingenious followers" (one step ahead of whoever they were following, in a sense). This has applications not only to the obvious field of literature (Shakespeare, Ovid, etc.), but to music (Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc.), sculpture (Michaelangelo), invention/discovery (Leonardo Da Vinci, Pierre De Fermat, Newton, Faraday, Edison, etc.), and so on. The profile of a creative genius which emerges involves the following characteristics. 1. Open-minded to new ideas and to change of one's own erroneous wrong ideas and those of one's colleagues or friends (Steven Weinberg and Paul Dirac in quantum theory, the Strausses in Vienna). 2. Experienced severe long-term emotional traumas in childhood (e.g., Beethoven, Paganini, Mozart it appears). 3. Experienced the creative process subjectively as a giant orchestrated process either full blown instantly or slowly/laboriously (respectively Chopin and Vivaldi versus Beethoven). 4. Was the first to invent/discover/create an important new school of thought or emotion (Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Steven Weinberg, Shakespeare, Dirac, Pierre De Fermat, Newton, Socrates, the Strausses, Edison, Mahatma Gandhi, Democritus, Heraclitus, Mendeleyev, Cantor, Saint Thomas Acquinas, Christ, Old Testament Prophets, Montgomery, Slim, Crick, Watson, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, etc.). 5. Had a severe physical or mental disorder for much of life (Godel, Beethoven, Schumann, Milton, Stephen Hawking, possibly Einstein physically, Buddha it appears, etc.). 6. Was extremely secretive (Newton, Pierre De Fermat, Sir Roger Penrose, etc.). 7. Was an interdisciplinary person (Shakespeare I think, Pierre De Fermat, Newton, Beethoven, Haydn, Weinberg, Dirac, Eddington, Cao of Boston University, Aristotle, Kursunoglu, Socrates, Plato, Agatha Christie). 8. Was not strongly motivated by anger or blame (Mahatma Gandhi, Christ, Buddha, various winners of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Socrates it appears, Freud). 9. Was very courageous (Socrates, Christ, Old Testament Prophets, Field Marshalls Montgomery and Slim, Beethoven, Hawking, Gandhi, various winners of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Saint Thomas More). Osher Doctorow From: Computer Science Editorial Subject: [new books]Trust and Risk in Internet Commerce & Essays Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 284 (284) [--] *This month, our web page (http://mitpress.mit.edu) features Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species, a new book by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. Follow the URLs below to our catalog for contents, abstracts, and ordering information. Trust and Risk in Internet Commerce L. Jean Camp <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/CAMTHF99> As Internet-based commerce becomes commonplace, it is important that we examine the systems used for these financial transactions. Underlying each system is a set of assumptions, particularly about trust and risk. To evaluate systems, and thus to determine one's own risks, requires an understanding of the dimensions of trust: security, privacy, and reliability.In this book Jean Camp focuses on two major yet frequently overlooked issues in the design of Internet commerce systems--trust and risk. 292 pp., 25 illus., cloth ISBN 0-262-03271-6 Proof, Language, and Interaction Essays in Honour of Robin Milner edited by Gordon Plotkin, Colin Stirling, and Mads Tofte <http://mitpress.mit.edu/promotions/books/PLOPHS00> This collection of original essays reflects the breadth of current research in computer science. Robin Milner, a major figure in the field, has made many fundamental contributions, particularly in theoretical computer science, the theory of programming languages, and functional programming languages. 700 pp., 42 illus., cloth ISBN 0-262-16188-5, Foundations of Computing series ---- From: "Jim Marchand" Subject: Re: 14.0188 market truth, fingerprint machine Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 285 (285) On the problem of creative genius -- one would suppose first that one would need a definition. One would then need a list of people on which we could obtain general consensus that they were indeed creative geniuses. Perhaps also a profiling method which would exclude those who were idiots savants or creative in a non-humanistic field, e.g. mathematics. Then one would need some method for deciding the characteristics to be polled. This has all been tried before, mais est-ce cela vaut la chandelle? From: Mel Wiebe Subject: Re: 14.0186 Disraeli's philosopher & the 1857 comet Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 286 (286) I am grateful to Jim Marchand for his attempt to be helpful, but he has missed some of the clues to the identity of the "philosopher": 1. He's (excuse the sexist assumption that it's a male we're looking for) alive and active in 1857, as he has offered his opinion about the predictions about the comet expected on 13 June 1857; 2. His theory is that the earth has already been destroyed 27 times, and probably will be again many times, though not necessarily on the 13th. I am intrigued by the suggestion that the "philosopher" may be Disraeli himself, as he did include a wonderful spoof of Chambers's _Vestiges_ in his novel _Tancred_ about a decade earlier than the allusion in question. I think it's sufficiently amusing to warrant sharing with Humanist; here it is: "After making herself very agreeable, Lady Constance took up a book which was at hand, and said, 'Do you know this?' And Tancred, opening a volume which he had never seen, and then turning to its titlepage, found it was 'The Revelations of Chaos,' a startling work just published, and of which a rumour had reached him. 'No,' he replied; 'I have not seen it.' 'I will lend it you if you like: it is one of those books one must read. It explains everything, and is written in a very agreeable style.' 'It explains everything!' said Tancred; 'it must, indeed, be a very remarkable book!' ... 'To judge from the title, the subject is rather obscure,' ... 'No longer so,' said Lady Constance. 'It is treated scientifically; everything is explained by geology and astronomy, and in that way. ... But what is most interesting, is the way in which man has been developed. You know, all is development. The principle is perpetually going on. First, there was nothing, then there was something; then, I forget the next, I think there were shells, then fishes; then we came, let me see, did we come next? Never mind that; we came at last. And the next change there will be something very superior to us, something with wings. Ah! that's it: we were fishes, and I believe we shall be crows. But you must read it.' 'I do not believe I ever was a fish,' said Tancred. 'Oh! but it is all proved; you must not argue on my rapid sketch; read the book. It is impossible to contradict anything in it. You understand, it is all science; it is not like those books in which one says one thing and another the contrary, and both may be wrong. Everything is proved: by geology, you know. You see exactly how everything is made; how many worlds there have been; how long they lasted; what went before, what comes next. We are a link in the chain, as inferior animals were that preceded us: we in turn shall be inferior; all that will remain of us will be some relics in a new red sandstone. This is development. We had fins; we may have wings.'" The "'how many worlds there have been'" phrase is intriguing, but Chambers doesn't seem to fit otherwise. Mel Wiebe From: Wendell Piez Subject: Re: 14.0180 machines, pride and pure research? Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 06:55:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 287 (287) At 08:32 AM 8/19/00 +0100, you wrote: [deleted quotation] Often, by accident. The products are guaranteed, but not delivered. Careers rise and fall, not entirely on the basis of guarantees made and fulfilled. Some products are guaranteed and even delivered, but do not serve: situations change: the new VP just doesn't care about his predecessor's hobby horse or white elephant. Some products serve, but in ways not anticipated. The only thing that doesn't change is that the developer who explicitly pitches "I don't know how this will be useful, but someone will find some way," never gets a shot. Yet some dreams, some requirements, never go away. Thomas Jefferson got the notion from France that interchangeable parts for firearms would be a good thing on a battlefield. He wasn't the only one, and the federal government funded these projects constantly and repeatedly, through one failure after another, each project saying "he got it wrong, but I can do it." Only after fifty years did they really have parts that were semi-reliably interchangeable (and then, just for one line of rifles); and they had to invent a completely new way of building and running assembly lines -- the "American System" (as it was called) -- in order to do it. The idea was just too good to die. Pure research? My guess is, the private sector has never been too keen on this. Sometimes, after a fortune has been made, a tycoon will reflect, and some pure research will be funded. (Mellon, Carnegie.) But usually the pure research happens on the sly, in other guises. Often the company that funded the pure research never gets to benefit, as when Xerox let the mouse escape from its PARC. So yes, it's pride that drives it. The researcher must appeal to the pride of the funder. No less in the private sector than anywhere. Only when research gets to be statistically predictable (X projects funded will yield Y results, though we don't know in advance which of the X they will be), as may be happening in the pharmaceutical industry, does it stabilize. If Y is greater than X, X will be funded; otherwise, not. But I'm not sure we want to be in that particular place, where methodologies themselves are necessarily concrete. Cheers, Wendell ====================================================================== Wendell Piez mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com 17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635 Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631 Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML ====================================================================== From: Mark Wolff Subject: academy vs. coporations Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 06:57:32 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 288 (288) Thanks for your posting, Chris. I agree that we probably agree, and that if anything we are quibbling over details. I also agree that we should make the academy more of a public sphere where new ways of doing things and seeing the world, especially through technology, break down the institutional and economic barriers that want to reduce capital to money. [deleted quotation] It's not that I want to return to the good ol' days of the ivory tower where scholars mused over their books and left the practical concerns of life to lesser mortals. As if that ever happened. Instead, I would like to see humanities computing develop its own habitus within the academy. To foster this, humanities scholars must have the freedom to engage in "pure" research, research that does not have any end in sight except the discovery of new ideas and methods that *may* prove useful later on. This is not a new idea, and in fact it does not even belong exclusively to the academy. Many corporations have established facilities such as Bell Labs and Xerox Park where researchers have the "luxury" to "play" with new ideas. Corporations know that most research projects end up going nowhere, but every now and then there is a project that serves as the basis for the next revolutionary technology. I would say that all academics, whether they teach French or Computer Science, must have time to practice the excess of research, otherwise they become service professionals. Graduate students in the humanities spend a good chunk of time learning the ropes of academic research: they think up projects, look up materials and do some preliminary research, and decide (with the help of an advisor) whether a project is both feasible and worth doing. A lot of these projects are dead ends, but one often learns more from failures than from successes. The experience of failure is necessary to scholarship, something that may seem wasteful in a money-driven economy but fruitful if one considers the knowledge and wisdom gained through the experience. What holds true for scholars in other academic disciplines should hold true for humanities computing: one should have the freedom and motivation to do research without an imposed goal or timeframe (there is, of course, the publish-or-perish mandate, but the scholar is free to decide *what* to publish, even if the publication describes a research failure). Speaking from my own experience, I think humanities computing research is threatened, not because scholars aren't busy pursuing research, but because information technology is too profitable to be left in the hands of humanities scholars. There was a row about ten years ago over the obscurity of humanities computing research. I don't want to rehearse those debates again (ping Mark Olsen), but I think the struggle has shifted. Ten years ago there was no World Wide Web. Humanities computing scholarship (as well as a lot of more traditional research) was inconsequential within the wider public sphere. With the rise of Internet culture, however, anyone with a networked computer at home can take a break from shopping at Amazon.com and access a SGML-encoded version of Shelley's Frankenstein. Now *everybody* cares about document encoding and retrieval, whether they realize it or not. Humanities computing scholarship is no longer irrelevant to the wider public, but because there is so much interest in it now it risks losing whatever academic autonomy it had gained to demands for productivity. There are great opportunities for humanities computing as a service industry, and indeed many colleges and universities rely on humanities computing specialists to build their institutional web sites and distance learning programs. I myself managed to stay in graduate school because of the services I was able to provide my university. However, it is my impression that the idea of humanities computing research, which involves using time and resources to pursue ideas that may not produce anything other than greater knowledge and wisdom, is discouraged within many institutions, not only because of limited time and resources, but because within the public sphere we have jumped from information technology as a curiosity in the humanities to a piece of mission-critical infrastructure. Because institutions rely on information technology to do their business, they feel compelled to seek the most efficient and productive means to meet their needs. Hence the tendancy toward commercial software and data products that allow institutions to meet the demand for information without all the waste of research. We may find all kinds of jobs in supporting this technology, but we can't take responsibility for and leadership over technology we simply consume. One way we can promote research in humanities computing and maintain our autonomy is to embrace open source development. Many humanities computing projects already rely on software such as Linux, the Apache web server, MySQL, and Perl. These resources are freely available, not only in an economic sense (it costs nothing to download) but in a democratic sense: anyone can review the source code, modify it to suit their needs, and distribute it as they see fit (provided you do not attempt to restrict others' access to the original code). See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html for one of Richard Stallman's manifestos. The open-source software community fosters practices of and dispositions toward intellectual labor that resemble in many ways those of the academy. Open source developers share code in a common effort to build better programs. Their motivation for research stems from their own intiative, and their compensation is the recognition of their peers. And the best thing about open source software is that it is usually as good as, if not better, than closed source software. If end users encounter problems with open source software, they can send questions or comments to developers who respond immediately. What I find compelling about the open source movement is that it promotes research without pressure from outside and it fosters a community of scholars who work together on their own accord. The objectives of the open source community come from within the community, not from a marketing division or an administrator. And it offers a model for scholarship that can blend traditional humanities research with information technology. The TEI has demonstrated that humanists can determine for themselves how texts should be prepared for computer-assisted analysis. What we need now is open source development of tools that give scholars control over how they use computers to analyze electronic media. This form of research does not require extensive resources: open source tools are freely available on the net, and researchers can work from anywhere since collaboration takes place in over the Internet. What is required is time, energy, and a willingness to learn technologies such as programming languages. You do not have to be a hardcore programmer: it's amazing what you can do with an Apache server and Perl. This kind of research may not be for everyone, but as a community of scholars we should encourage open source development if we want to decide for ourselves what tools and media we will use and how. mw -- Mark B. Wolff Modern and Classical Languages Center for Learning and Teaching with Technology Hartwick College Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 431-4615 http://users.hartwick.edu/wolffm0/ From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0187 machines & pride, cyberspace Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 06:59:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 289 (289) Dear Dr Lachance, Perhaps it would be best if it could stay that way - [deleted quotation]No great global technodisaster (like Y2K was supposed to be?), but just many little "disasters". Chernobyl was a little local disaster? So was the Kursk? I don't mean to beat up on the Russians here. Anyway, modularity might be a good design feature if we intend to stave off global disasters (the globalization of capitalism is already making global disasters, by the way) but each module would have to be somehow heterogenous? It is the heterogeneity of the humanities man or woman that enables her or him to salvage the situation? Even though Y2K did not happen, it is an interesting model for a global disaster based on modular homogeneity. Now can IT be both global (reaping those benefits)and hetergeneous (preventing the disaster)? I'm wondering? On the model of globalized capital, I suspect not? [deleted quotation]So intrigued by these wonderful ideas, from where I sit in Australia, I visited your website [a while ago and far away (or only a click)] and found so much to cogitate upon. :) Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: (short review)_High Wired_: On the Design, and Theory of Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 290 (290) Educational MOOs Greetings scholars, Hi......you might be interested in --Cynthia Haynes and Jan Rune Holmevik, edited a book "_High Wired_: On the Design, and Theory of Educational MOOs" --the foreword is written by Sherry Turkle (known as Margaret Mead of Cyberspace) --published my "The University of Michigan Press" (1998) The book is an indispensable guide to the technical, pedagogical, and theoretical aspects of educational MOOs (Multiple-user, Object Oriented environments). It contains essays by scholars such as, Amy Bruckman, Cynthia Haynes, Pavel Curtis, Eric Crump, Juli Burk, Beth Kolko, Jan Rune Holmevik, Michael Joyce; the writers have expressed several aspects of MOO, its concepts and contexts, How to use and administer MOO, educational & professional use of MOOs and MOO meditations. It is a comprehensive treatment of the MOOs, for the benefit of teachers, students and researchers. This publication can be used as textbook, a reference book and a handbook. MOOs can be used as online writing centers, electronic classrooms, netbased collborative environments, and even complete cyberspace campuses. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK, for the net-based communities and academia, who are interested in the Internet-based communities and who are doing research in the net-based collaborative environments. The MOO database called High Wired enCore can be found at (http://lingua.utdallas.edu/encore) The URL for Lingua MOO is (http://lingua.utdallas.edu/) Another guide-book for students related to MOOs, (textbook) "MOOniversity: A Student's Guide to Online Learning Environments" by Cynthia Haynes and Jan Rune Holmevik can be located on the above website. Thank you! Best Regards Arun Tripathi From: "Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0190 solving the problem of creative genius Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 291 (291) )" To: "Humanist Discussion Group" Sent: Monday, August 21, 2000 11:05 PM [deleted quotation] would [deleted quotation] or [deleted quotation] From: Sarah Porter Subject: Workshops: web databases; XML; digital representations Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 09:57:50 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 292 (292) DIGITAL REPRESENTATIONS; WEB DATABASES; XML WORKSHOPS AT THE DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR THE HUMANITIES CONFERENCE University of Sheffield, Wednesday, 13 September 2000 The following workshops have been organised as part of the Digital Resources for the Humanities conference. The workshops will run in parallel on the final day of the conference, 13 September 2000 at the University of Sheffield. Further information about the conference itself is available via http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000/ The workshop fee includes lunch, refreshments and documentation. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE WORKSHOPS ARE OPEN TO PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE NOT ATTENDING THE MAIN CONFERENCE. WORKSHOP 1 (half-day, 9.30-12.30) Designing Flexible Digital Representations of Historical Source Materials. Led by the History Data Service, University of Essex. This workshop will discuss the methodology of creating digital representations of historical source materials. The workshop will focus on the digitisation process and the relationship between the source and the result of digitisation. The workshop will articulate and demonstrate the standards and elements of good practice relevant to the creation of a wide range of data types, from student projects to large-scale research projects. Specific software packages and data modelling techniques will not be discussed in detail. Pre-requisites: moderate level of computer-literacy, though no experience of digital resource creation is required. Cost: 30 pounds. WORKSHOP 2 (full-day, 9.30-4.30) Shared joy is double joy: putting your database on the Web. Led by Humanities Computing Development Team, University of Oxford. This workshop is aimed at academics, librarians, IT staff and others who have an interest in making a current or planned Microsoft Access database available over the Web. The workshop consists of a combination of short presentations, and guided hands-on sessions. This is a practical workshop that will concentrate on using Active Server Pages technology to make an Access database available over the web, and by the end of the day you will have created your own simple ASP application. An example database will be used throughout the course to illustrate technical and design issues. Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of HTML, FTP, and experience of using MS-Access. Cost: 75 pounds. WORKSHOP 3 (full-day, 9.30-4.30) XML: the future of digital information? Led by Lou Burnard and Sebastian Rahtz, University of Oxford. This workshop aims to give you a practical grounding in the technology underlying the future of digital resources: the extensible markup language XML. The course will combine formal lecture and discussions on XML, XSL and related technologies together with group work in hands-on sessions. Pre-requisites: moderate level of computer-literacy and some knowledge of a markup language (e.g. HTML) Cost: 75 pounds REGISTRATION To register for one of the above workshops please complete the appended form, print it out and return to Nigel Williamson, DRH Conference (workshops), Corporate Information and Computing Services, Computer Centre, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RF. Fax: 0114 222 1199. Email: drh2000@shef.ac.uk. The closing date for registration is Monday 4th September 2000. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAME: JOB TITLE: ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: EMAIL: I wish to attend the following workshop: [ ] Designing Flexible Digital Representations of Historical Source Materials [ ] Shared joy is double joy: putting your database on the Web [ ] XML: the future of digital information? I enclose a cheque made payable to the University of Sheffield OR My department order number is: OR Please charge my credit card for the total amount of ______ pounds Card Type: Visa, Delta, American Express (circle as appropriate) Credit card number: Expiry Date: Name on card: Billing address (if not as above): Details of the workshop locations will be sent to you on receipt of the registration form. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: ICHIM 01, Milan, Sept 2001. Proposal Deadline: Nov 31, 2000 Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 09:58:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 293 (293) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community August 23, 2000 ICHIM 01: International Cultural Heritage Informatics Meeting September 3-7, 2001: Milan, Italy CALL FOR PAPERS: DEADLINE November 30, 2000 <http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.call.html>http: <http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.call.html>http://www.archimuse ..com/ichim2001/ichim2001.call.html Proposal Submission Form: <http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.proposal.form.html>htt <http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.proposal.form.html>http://www. archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.proposal.form.html Call for Participation Paper proposals are invited for the Sixth International Cultural Heritage Informatics Meeting (ICHIM). Since its beginning in 1991 when it focused on hypermedia and interactivity, ICHIM has broadened its scope to include the full range of technical, social, organizational, and content issues to do with Cultural Heritage Informatics. Recent ICHIM conferences in Paris and Washington DC attracted attendees from over 20 countries.. Proposals will be accepted until November 30, 2000. All papers are subject to critical peer review and will be judged on the basis of the quality of the abstract. Selected speakers will be notified by December 31, 2000. Full papers are required by June 15, 2001. Papers will be published. All speakers must register for the meeting. Proposals must address methods of access to cultural heritage information, with specific attention to the interaction between users, information resources and providers. Topics of interest include: Social Impact of Information Technology on Existing Institutions Authenticity and Quality in Cultural Heritage Information Evaluation of New Modes of Communication Public Policy and International Issues Organizational Evolving Institutional Models and New Methods Economic and Political Impacts on Organizations Collaborations, Partnerships & Income Production Implications for Staffing, Organization and Administration Technical Designing for Converging Technologies Methods for Promoting Interactivity and Involvement Standards for Representation, Presentation and Display Methods for Dissemination, Access and Use Proposals must include speaker's name, job title, institution, address, phone, fax and email, and explain the thesis of the proposed presentation in a full abstract. Submit your Proposal using our Online Form: <http://www.archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.proposal.form.html>http://www. archimuse.com/ichim2001/ichim2001.proposal.form.html. Email questions or comments to <mailto:ichim2001@archimuse.com>. ============================================================================ ==== ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninc h-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Willard McCarty Subject: what if we succeeded? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 294 (294) I recall a story, ascribed in my memory to Tibetan sources, to the effect that if all the names of God (mutatis mutandis) were spoken, the universe would cease to exist. There is, I think, a science-fiction story that plays on the same notion -- as I recall, a computer had been programmed to come up with these names, and as it generated them the stars winked out one by one. On this grey, overcast London morning I was thinking about tests for creative genius, IQ and similarly computable measures when the above story came to mind. And so the following thought experiment. Let us suppose that we devised a test which worked; let's say it worked flawlessly. What then? Ok -- the answer is obvious: having put the light of knowledge out we'd be sitting in darkness, if "we" and "darkness" continued to have any meaning. Perhaps a more interesting question is: how does such a silly enterprise as (if you will) uttering all the names of God differ from the attempt at technological progress? What ARE we getting at? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: CRL Newsletter Subject: Center for Research Language article on "Objective Visual Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 295 (295) [--] CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN LANGUAGE ------------------------------- N E W S L E T T E R A N N O U N C E M E N T July, 2000. Volume 12, No. 2. http://www.crl.ucsd.edu/newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Objective Visual Complexity as a Variable in Studies of Picture Naming ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Anna Szkely Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest Elizabeth Bates University of California, San Diego A b s t r a c t --------------- Visual complexity is an important variable for studies working with picture stimuli, including picture naming. Traditionally, subjective ratings by 20-30 subjects have been used for this purpose, an approach that may be influenced by perceptual and cognitive variables (e.g., familiarity with the object) that are not directly related to visual complexity. The present study offers an objective and easy way of measuring visual complexity by taking the file size of picture stimuli material (black-and-white, simple line drawings) as the basis. Over 30 different file types and degrees of compression were compared for 520 object pictures, and analyzed to determine whether these measures differ in their influence on picture-naming behavior. Results suggest that PDF, TIFF and JPG formats may provide valid indices of objective visual complexity. The effect of these objective measures on picture naming were compared with published subjective visual complexity data from an English and a Spanish study on overlapping items. Comparative analysis with other picture-naming variables shows that these objective measures - unlike subjective ratings - have no effect on RT, are unrelated to word frequency or age of acquisition, and show a more modest word length effect on the dominant response. However, they do affect picture-naming accuracy (production of the target name), an effect not reported in previous studies using subjective ratings of visual complexity. Subjective and objective complexity measures are both useful, and they are correlated, but they also differ in potentially important ways. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to the .pdf format, CRL newsletter is now also available in ...doc (Microsoft Word Document) format. To access the article directly point your browser to: For .pdf, ftp://ftp.crl.ucsd.edu/pub/newsletter/pdf/12-2.pdf For .doc, http://crl.ucsd.edu/newsletter/12-2/12-2.doc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- You will notice that the CRL newsletter has undergone some minor renovations. We now have a news section in addition to the featured article. We would appreciate it if you could send us news that you think CRL Newsletter readers would be interested in so that we can announce them. Please send contributions to the editor (editor@crl.ucsd.edu). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note: This newsletter is produced and distributed by the Center for Research in Language, a research center at the University of California, San Diego that unites the efforts of fields such as Cognitive Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Computer Science, Sociology, and Philosophy, all who share an interest in language. We feature papers related to language and cognition and welcome response from friends and colleagues at UCSD as well as other institutions. Please contact editor for comments, questions or information. Ayse Pinar Saygin, Editor Center for Research in Language,0526 9500 Gilman Drive, University of California, San Diego 92093-0526 editor@crl.ucsd.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dene Grigar Subject: Re: 14.0193 new book: High Wired (on MOOs) Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 296 (296) The book is not new anymore but the two editors do have a brand new book out called MOOuniversity, published by Allyn and Bacon. Dene Grigar On Sat, 26 Aug 2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] "MOOniversity: A [deleted quotation] -- From: Michael Fraser Subject: Cataloguing Officer - Humbul Humanities Hub Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 297 (297) HUMBUL HUMANITIES HUB Humanities Computing Unit University of Oxford Cataloguing Officer Grade: RS1A GBP16,775 - GBP25,213 The Humanities Computing Unit brings together prestigious local, national and international projects including the Oxford Text Archive, Humanities Computing Development Team, Text Encoding Initiative, and the Humbul Humanities Hub. Information about our work is available from http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/. The Humanities Computing Unit receives funding from the JISC to develop the Humbul Humanities Hub for the Resource Discovery Network. The Hub provides Web access to quality Internet resources for teaching and research in the humanities. See http://www.humbul.ac.uk/. We are seeking a Cataloguing Officer who will be responsible for providing support to our distributed contributors; creating, completing, and checking Internet resource descriptions; and promoting the Hub within the library communities. The ideal candidate will have a professional qualification in librarianship/information science and have an active interest in cataloguing Internet resources, particularly within the humanities; a good standard of Internet literacy, and an awareness of current metadata standards for resource discovery is also essential. This post is offered as a one-year contract in the first instance. We are currently seeking a further year's funding for this post. Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Michael Fraser, Head of Humbul (email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk; tel: 01865 283343). To apply, please obtain further details and an application form from Mrs Nicky Tomlin, Oxford University Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN. (Tel: 01865-273230, email: nicky.tomlin@oucs.ox.ac.uk). Further details are also available online at http://www.humbul.ac.uk/about/recruit.html Completed applications must be received by 4.00 pm on 15th September 2000 Interviews will be held during week commencing 2nd October. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michael Fraser Email: mike.fraser@oucs.ox.ac.uk Head of Humbul Fax: +44 1865 273 275 Humanities Computing Unit, OUCS Tel: +44 1865 283 343 University of Oxford 13 Banbury Road http://www.humbul.ac.uk/ Oxford OX2 6NN DRH 2000: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~drh2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Of names, gods and disappearances Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:14:51 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 298 (298) Willard, Somewhere in the universe, while your thought-experiment namer recites the names of some supreme being, another thought-experiment atheist generates new names and resists the lure of thermodynamic entropy too clossely wedded to monotheism. A name is not a nonrewnable quanta of energy that is lost once played in some game of communication. Names are not atoms. And even if they were considered or encoded atomisticly, their interactions may perhaps be better capture by models based on non-linear dynamical systems rather than classical mechanics. Allow me to quote Sir Oliver Lodge: But this idea of the dissipation or degradation of energy I do not put amng the most fundatmental of modern scientific ideas, for we are geginning to suspect that there may be a renovating or rsuscitating cause, about which it is best to hold judgment in suspense. We cannot be sure that a cyclical or recurrent or periodic activity, continuing without cessastion for ever, is not a characteristic of the material universe as a whole. Likened to a great Loom, from the oscillations of which there steadily emerges a woven fabric of beauty and design, the product or outcome of the periodic working of the material universe may be sought in a gradual increase or rise in spiritual values -- a fluctuating, but on the whole progressive, improvement in higher and still higher qualities of life and mind --- magnum Jovis incrmentum. from Modern Scientific Ideas Especially the Idea of Discontiuity (1927) Notwithstanding the Hegelian spiral of improvement invoked by Sir Oliver, I do believe that intellectual historians might be inclined to place between the heyday of the clockwork universe metaphor and rise of the Loom (aka Web) metaphor three interesing developments: in the domain of mathematics and physics, advances in modeling systems far from equilibrium; in the domain of philosophy, the linguistic turn; and in the technological domain, the perfection of computing machines. And need I add in the domain of culture : pluralism & hybridity? Is it an accident that W. Gibson in the concluding volume of his trilogy introduces the Loa of Voodoo tradition as inhabitants of cyberspace? I wonder how many teachers assign all three novels: Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive and Count Zero. Rereading Neuromancer after completing Count Zero is a rather interesting experience. The network has its discontinuities.... I wonder if the devastation of the supreme being by naming would not require a similutaneous naming of all the names at once (not easy to coordinate over time zones *smile*) --- all names actual and potential. I guess this little excursion brings back a truism about Humanities Computing. HC is about the intricate interplay between the actual and potential as well as the manifest and the latent and the squaring of these two pairs. actual manifest latent potential Somehow your little anecdote or thought experiment implies that when the latent is made manifest (via a speaking of the unspoken [pronouncing of the unpronouncable]) all potential collapses into the actual and without a potential to nourish it the actual dies. But does that not nourish the potential? The machine may crash but the machine model work on. Maybe Sir Oliver's Hegelian moment deserves a rerun in this century of proliferating cybernetic domains. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: "Tarvers, Josephine K." Subject: RE: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:16:42 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 299 (299) Willard, I want more time to think about this--but I will add that the story in question is Arthur C. Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God," which I am teaching on Monday afternoon in my Cyber Rhetoric class (http://faculty.winthrop.edu/tarversj/engl510.htm, for those of you who want to look; the story is linked on the readings list). And the attempt is not "silly"--one of the main points of the story is that the Buddhist monks in the story see a supercomputer, a technological tool, as a very licit means of achieving a transcendent humanistic purpose, and the disbelievers who attempt to sabotage the event are the ones who end up looking foolish. Whether the notion of using such a tool to achieve that purpose qualifies as an act of genius, of course, is open to debate, as is the question of whether technology is innately inimical to humanistic thought and enterprise. Cheers, Jo Jo Koster Tarvers, Ph.D. Department of English Winthrop University Rock Hill, SC 29733-0001 USA phone (803) 323-4557 fax (803) 323-4837 e-mail tarversj@winthrop.edu on the web http://faculty.winthrop.edu/tarversj From: "Eric S. Rabkin" Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:17:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 300 (300) Willard, the story you're recalling is "The Nine Billion Names of God" (1952) by Arthur C. Clarke. In it, two Western technologists set up a computer to run the program fulfilling the utterance requirement of the Tibetan monks, permuting their special alphabet to generate all nine billion possible names of God and thus fulfill human destiny. The Westerners leave the monastery as the program nears its completion, fearing that when the last name is generated and (of course) nothing happens, the monks will become enraged and turn on the Westerners. As the Westerners reach the midpoint on their journey down the mountain, the story famously ends thus: "Look," whispered Chuck, and George lifted his eyes to heaven. (There is always a last time for everything.) Overhead, without any fuss, the star were going out. So, you ask, "what ARE we getting at?" Less famously, but, in my view, quite importantly, earlier on the last page of that story, Chuck and George strain their vision looking down into the valley for the aircraft that to them represents escape from the coming wrath (of the monks). "There she is!" called Chuck, pointing down into the valley. "Ain't she beautiful!" She certainly was, thought George. The battered old DC3 lay at the end of the runway like a tiny silver cross. [...] Coupled with the winking stars, Clarke is offering us complex imagery that also asks, "what ARE we getting at?" Has Western belief become so transformed by technology that we feel we can dominate it ("she" for the plane, not "it", the sign of male domination; one would never called a Christian cross "she")? Does that hubris, compared with the monks' selfless devotion (which puts technology in the service of their religion, not the other way around), suggest not only why God is on the monks' side but how we all may be misunderstanding the world by focusing on our tools rather than on their uses? Or is this a vision of two men poised between two worlds, halfway up and halfway down the mountain, where the height of devotion and the valley of the shadow of death (including the supposedly redemptive death on the cross) equally receive the promised "end of days" under the shared canopy of "heaven"? If "what we are up to" is the achievement of peace (as in both traditions), then the frantic pursuit of technology may be self-defeating, although the story clearly suggests that the technology itself has no choice but to fulfill the divine plan. Of course, Clarke's memorable narrative effect is based on surprising us by revelation of a divine plan. That such a revelation is a surprise in the context of a _science_ fiction suggests that the cultural conflict he explores exists in us all. And not just, in my view, in "computing humanists." Eric -- Eric S. Rabkin 734-764-2553 (Office) Dept of English 734-764-6330 (Dept) Univ of Michigan 734-763-3128 (Fax) Ann Arbor MI 48109-1003 esrabkin@umich.edu http://www-personal.umich.edu/~esrabkin/ From: aimeefreak Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:19:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 301 (301) it's by arthur c. clarke. it's called 'the nine billion names of god.' it was published in 1953 -- and it's on my reading lists for candidacy exams fast approaching -- not so fast, though, that i've reread the story yet. but, ignorance of all but the name of the story notwithstanding, i just *had* to jump at the opportunity to demonstrate my handle on computer-related arcana ... on the tyranny of perfectly administered IQ tests, see kurt vonnegut's _player piano_ which describes a society in which standardized tests, results of which follow an individual throughout life, encoded on punch cards fed into an endless series of mainframes. briefly, engineers and managers run the world. well, they tend the computers that direct the machines that *actually* run the world. in the novel, there is some concern that IQ tests fail to capture some nuances of humanity, like creativity, gusto, artistic capacity, etc. social standing is entirely based on hierarchical job arrangements (with numbers, so you can easily determine relative status) which are alloted based on numerical IQ test scores. whee! aimeefreak ------------------------------ aimee morrison phd program, dept of english university of alberta edmonton, alberta http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/amorrison From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:19:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 302 (302) From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Mon. Aug. 28, 2000, 11:26PM WM has raised a profound question as usual. My own opinion, for what it is worth, is that words/names have no intrinsic meaning, as Shakespeare tells us. Neither does technological innovation/progress/fad. The world of computers is as divided as the world of Shakespeare, into those who believe in intrinsic meaning and those who believe in something beyond it. Reality is a name for something beyond intrinsic meaning, but for me it does not capture the full picture/sensation/cognition. Explanation/theory is a name for something beyond or perhaps parallel to reality, but again it seems incomplete. I think that what I am thinking of is some combination of the Unknown and the Force (as in Star Wars, but also as something that is more active than passive). We assume that Tibetans are homogeneous and that science fiction is homogeneous and that computers are homogeneous, but Dickens and Tolstoi and Shokholov tell us about divisions in the most unusual places. To me, the rising chi'i of Tai Chi and Tibetan Lamas is far more interesting than the names of God. In Judeo-Christian theology, we think that it was otherwise since the name of God Yahweh and the Word of John are thought to be sacred, and the name of God is not to be taken in vain - but what does that mean? If people wrote the Old and New Testaments, then the literal and non-literal translations of sacred and reverence may well reflect the division between those who believe in words and those who believe in something beyond them. When I proposed a fingerprint test for Creative Genius, it was actually not to separate, not to categorize, not to label, not to stigmatize, but to search. The fingerprints of the Unknown and the Force can never be completely subsumed in words, I think, and in this respect I agree with what I think is the essence of Sir Roger Penrose's viewpoint. I thought that it was a good idea to search, not in the direction of those who follow one step behind or ahead of somebody else in their genius - and it is still a form of genius, which I call Ingenious Follower, to do so. I meant to suggest that we search among those who were more than one step ahead. I know that this is disagreeable to many social scientists, who often argue that creativity only comes when society is ready for it and is essentially a social phenomenon. It is also often disagreeable to the "pure artist" who only wants to be guided by feelings. My own view is that there is something beyond feelings as well as beyond words and social accumulation - what I call a combination of the Unknown and the Force. Einstein felt the Force and the Unknown, whether as Creative Genius or Ingenious Follower. Erwin Schrodinger in the quantum theory appears to have also done so, and I am convinced that he was several steps ahead of other theorists in his field (he was, by the way, an almost lifelong friend of Einstein). I conjecture that the secretiveness of Newton and Fermat was a form of reverence of the Force and the Unknown. Finally, or perhaps I should say as a way of commencing, the fingerprints which I have in mind refer not to literal prints but to clues to Force(s) and Unknown(s) in all times and all places. The lights do not wink out. They come on. It is also called Creativity. Osher Doctorow From: "Dr Donald J. Weinshank" Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 21:21:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 303 (303) There is, I think, a science-fiction story that plays on the same notion -- as I recall, a computer had been programmed to come up with these names, and as it generated them the stars winked out one by one. The story is"The Nine Billion Names of God" http://math.cofc.edu/faculty/kasman/MATHFICT/mf82.html by Sir Arthur C. Clarke http://www.lsi.usp.br/~rbianchi/clarke/ACC.Homepage.html Sir Arthur was presented the "Award of Knight Bachelor" on 26 May, 2000, at a ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka where he has lived since 1956. Indeed, if memory serves, Sir Arthur describes himself as having lived in Sri Lanka in self-imposed exile from British tax laws. djw - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere _______________________________________________________________ Dr. Don Weinshank weinshan@cse.msu.edu http://www.cse.msu.edu/~weinshan Phone (517) 353-0831 FAX (517) 432-1061 Computer Science & Engineering Michigan State University From: "Fotis Jannidis" Subject: call for papers Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 304 (304) Invitation to submit proposals for papers for a seminar on "The Computer in Eighteenth Century Studies" during the ASECS meeting 2001 (18.-22. April 2001 in New Orleans). The main intention of the 90 min seminar with 4 papers (each 20 min) will be to discuss different approaches in Humanities computing for 18th Century studies. Here is my description of the seminar intended for a wider public but it should give you an idea of the seminar: The digital revolution brought pcs on the desks of many scholars and most of them are connected to the internet. The aim of the seminar is to show that this not only made communication easier but also enriched the stock of approaches which are now open to a scholar. Editions and text collection with complex link systems and powerful text retrieval options, databases for structured information and even for images and facsimiles, computer aided statistical text analysis - all these possiblities make the access to a lot of information very easy but they also have their own share of problems an informed user has to know about. Deadline for proposals: 15.9.2000 Further general information: http://www.press.jhu.edu/associations/asecs/annulmtg.html Contact: Dr. Fotis Jannidis Institut fuer Deutsche Philologie Mnchen Schellingstr. 3 80799 Muenchen Germany fotis.jannidis@lrz.uni-muenchen.de Fotis Jannidis From: Willard McCarty Subject: Fwd: Update on the New WordCruncher and Document Explorer Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 305 (305) It seems that WordCruncher has surfaced again. Although the following is an advert, I circulate it here because interest has been expressed in this text-analysis program on several occasions within the last few years. Has anyone outside of the company actually used the New WordCruncher and Document Explorer? WM [deleted quotation] From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: (Book) about "History of Artificial Intelligence" with Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 306 (306) references Dear Humanists, Hi, when I was thinking regarding early periods of AI, then the book of Rodney Brooks, " _Cambrian Intelligence_: The Early History of the New AI" came to my mind and thought might also interest you. In the book, author introduces a behaviour-based approach to robotics. The main aspect of his theory is the realization that directly coupling perception with action gives rise to the power of intelligence, and cognition is relative to the observer. The book has two sections, as Technology and Philosophy with chapters, such as --A Robust Layered Control System for a Mobile Robot, A Robot That Walks: Emergent Behaviors from a Carefully Evolved Network, Intelligence, Intelligent without Reason..etc.. See details at (http://mitpress.mit.edu/book-home.tcl?isbn=0262522632) Here are web-pointers related to his book, *Cambrian Intelligence*: Intelligence Without Reason (http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/brooks/papers/AIM-1293.pdf) Intelligent Without Representation (http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/brooks/papers/representation.pdf) A Robot That Walks; Emergent Behaviors from a Carefully Evolved Network (http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/brooks/papers/AIM-1091.pdf) A Robust Layer Control System for a Mobile Robot (http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/brooks/papers/AIM-864.pdf) Thank you.. Best Regards Arun Tripathi From: Steven Robinson Subject: Re: 14.0200 fingerprints of genius and "The Nine Billion Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 07:37:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 307 (307) Names of God" Fellow Humanists: I read with some surprise Willard's allusion to Clarke's story -- surprise at the depth of the question he used it to prompt. I read "The Nine Billion Names of God" many years ago as a child, and hadn't really thought about it since then. Now his question brings it back with a wave of recognition and enlightenment: "Of course!!" Of course, back then the whole idea of the world existing so that God might be fully named struck me as "silly", not to mention a little self-indulgent on god's part. But as Josephine Tarvers says, it's not silly at all. Think of the lamas' naming as a (dare I say it) metaphor for human activity as such, or, for that matter, any and all activity (i.e., the activity of the world, of which our activity is a specialized subset). Here, I'd draw your attention to an article by Hans Jonas: "Immortality and the modern temper" (available in *Phenomenon of Life*, Harper & Row 1966). Jonas tells a different story (he calls it a myth) which I now see has provided me the key to understanding the story about the Tibetan lamas -- and the role of technology therein. Jonas' myth is, it seems to me, a brilliant re-interpretation of Christian, Gnostic and Jewish motifs in a distinctly modern, even "existentialist" vein. Here's how it goes. Jonas asks us to consider the creation of the world as a complete self-effacement of divinity, out of which the image (name?) of divinity slowly and painstaking arises over cosmic aeons. But here's the kicker: there is simply no guarantee that the Divine will ever get itself back again, because its restoration depends upon the free agency of active selves (i.e., us). And we could screw it up. And we do screw it up. The Divine depends upon us to restore itself through us; hence our immense responsibility. Every action of ours is inscribed on the face of divinity for all eternity; every action of ours is like a "naming" of God. Let me quote a few lines: "in order that the world might be, and be for itself, God renounced his own being, divesting himself of his deity -- to receive it back from the Odyssey of time weighted with the chance harvest of unforseeable temporal experience: transfigured or possibly even disfigured by it." [Eons pass, life evolves....] "And then he [God] trembles as the thrust of evolution, carried by its own momentum, passes the threshold where innocence ceases and an entirely new criterion of success and failure takes hold of the divine stake. The advent of man means the advent of knowledge and freedom, and with this supremely double-edged gift the innocence of the mere subject of self-fulfilling life has given way to the charge of responsibility under the disjunction of good and evil. To the promise and risk of this agency the divine cause, revealed at last, henceforth finds itself committed; and its issue trembles in the balance. The image of God, haltingly begun by the universe, for so long worked upon -- and left undecided -- in the wide and then narrowing spirals of pre-human life, passes with this last twist, and with a dramatic quickening of the movement, into man's precarious trust, to be completed, saved, or spoiled by what he will do to himself and the world." "Having given himself whole to the becoming world, God has no more to give: it is man's now to give to him. And he may give by seeing to it in the ways of his life that it does not happen, or happen too often, and not on his account, that 'it repented the Lord' to have made the world." Technology is a major concern of Jonas's, though in this piece he is more concerned with questions of immortality. Here, though, he simply alludes to the crucial role that technology plays both in elevating humanity, and in threatening it: "But even if not in their shadow [e.g. Auchwitz], certainly the Bomb is there to remind us that the image of God is in danger as never before, and on most unequivocal, terrestrial terms. That in these terms an eternal issue is at stake together with our temporal one -- this aspect of our responsibility can be our guard against the temptation of fatalistc aquiescence or the worse treason of apres nous le deluge" I hope these quotations are not too long, and I've not put you all off. I also hope I have cast a flicker upon the profundity of Willard's question: philosophy, science -- and technology -- are all part of the self-transcendence of the world. They are not themselves among "the nine billion names of God", but they are the means for us to find those names. And only in the eternality of the inscription of those names (by our actions) can we see the true depth of our responsibility not to falter. Steve Robinson Dr. Steven Robinson Assistant Professor Philosophy Department Brandon University Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9 CANADA (204)727-9718 FAX: (204) 726-0473 From: Willard McCarty Subject: specification as apotropaic gesture Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 07:41:27 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 308 (308) Further to the talk on "The Nine Billion Names of God" I've been wondering this bright though slightly chilly London morning more or less anthropologically about specification as a magical gesture meant to turn away or avert (apo-trope, thus "apotropaic") some evil. In other words, about the deep cultural history behind the impulse we have to deal with what troubles us by telling or spelling it out. Trouble that gains its power by being kept in the dark, against which the light of reason seems so effective. To what extent, I'm wondering, are we misled in our applications of computing by this impulse to spell out the troubling mysteries of our cultural artefacts until they have all become safe data? If you don't think this is a good thing, then you'll be hearing the other side of the apotropaic story already, according to which the lurking evil is the unknowable good, the enumeration or specification of its analysed parts is the evil means by which the essence of it is lost, or (again) as William Blake said, the means by which we reply to words of doubt and so put the light of knowledge out. If we regard the idea of the unknowable as essentially wrong, i.e. a stupid way to think about the unknown, then does it not follow that we take to computing with the notion that scholarship is essentially reducible to algorithms? I recall once, when my place in the academic world did not allow me to say what I thought, a profoundly ignorant senior academic telling me that a team of professors should be funded to take up the work of a certain very famous literary critic and prove or disprove it. (So astonishing was this remark to me, so clearly did it reveal the nature of the beast, that I recall exactly where it was said, what time of day, etc.) Yes, I know, one sputters at the silliness of such an attitude, but it doesn't seem to be going away, not anytime soon. My question continues to be, how do we reply constructively? What is the argument in our terms (i.e. the terms of humanities computing) for the unknowable? Which, it seems to me, is basically the question, how do we as computing humanists put the case for the study of the humanities? I enjoy (to speak in mythological terms) seeing the army of darkness, with its banners of progress, on the fields of ancient magical practice; this gives me a certain appreciation for the deep underlayer of fear that powers so much of what's done with computing. (Well, perhaps I exaggerate -- but it is to make a point, so perhaps you'll allow it.) But I do think we have to do better than that. I think we need to have a constructive reply, even if the magical beliefs in progress are never articulated as such or seldom in the terms I was fortunate to hear them expressed. Comments? Yours, WM From: Ross Scaife Subject: [STOA] new in Metis Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 07:42:15 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 309 (309) Just in time for the new semester, Bruce Hartzler (Agora Excavations) has delivered from Athens a stunning set of additions to his ongoing electronic publication project, Metis: A QTVR Interface for Ancient Greek Archaeological Sites. See below the full list of sites now covered by his 51 multi-node panoramas. Bruce has enhanced this beautifully photographed archive with hotlinks throughout to the pertinent archaeological materials provided on-line by the Perseus Project, including the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, plans, and other documentation of sites and architectural remains. Remarkable! The address is http://www.stoa.org/metis/ Actium (Ambracian Gulf) Aegina (Temple of Aphaia) Amphiaraion Amyklai Argos (Theater and Agora) Argos (Larissa "Castle") Athens (Acropolis) Athens (Agora) Athens (South Slope) Athens (Pnyx and Philopappus Hill) Athens (Roman Agora) Brauron Corinth Delphi Dimini Eleusis Epidauros (Sanctuary of Asklepios) Epidauros (Theater) Helicon (Valley of the Muses) Karphi Kithairon Laurion Lefkandi Mallia Menelaion Mycenae Myrtos (Pyrgos) Nemea (Temple of Zeus) Nemea (Stadium) Olympia Orchomenos (Treasury of Minyas) Pellana Perachora Phaistos Plataea Pylos (Cave of Nestor) Pylos (Epano Englianos) Pyramid of Kenkreai Rhamnous Sesklo Sounion Sparta Thermopylae Tiryns Troy Tylissos Vaphio Vasiliki Zakros "3 Roads" "7 Gates" -------------------------------------------- The Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publication http://www.stoa.org From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Hubert Dreyfus on "Intelligence Without Representation" Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 07:43:35 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 310 (310) Dear Humanists, HI.. Here is one pointer (an interesting paper) --thought --might interest you --in this paper-Prof. Hubert Dreyfus has described the relationships between the "Phenomenology of Embodiment and Neuro-science". The article can be read at <http://www.hfac.uh.edu/cogsci/dreyfus.html> --The paper by Prof. Dreyfus is having a tremendous potential towards the Embodiment and Neuroscience; a fantastic, well-written paper, I like it very much. He is an excellent reader of Maurice Merleau-Ponty. In this paper, he has discussed many more contemporary issues such as, agents and their relationship with the world. Thee agents' skills cannot be stored as a representation, but as a disposition in the mind of a being. And, the most important views, he discussed about the establishment of *Intentional Arc*. Thank you. Best Regards Arun Tripathi ============================================================================= "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." -SOCRATES ============================================================================= The Internet in Education at: <http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/tripathi.htm> E-mail: Guest Moderator for Online-Ed Listserv Research Scholar, Department of Statistics University Of Dortmund Internet Search Expert, EdResource Listserv Moderator <http://www.egroups.com/group/edresource/info.html> MEMBER, IEEE Computer Society: <http://www.computer.org> ============================================================================= From: Willard McCarty Subject: The Lincoln Prize Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 14:21:00 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 311 (311) The Lincoln Prize at Gettysburg College is awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on the era of the American Civil War. This year for the first time Prize is offering $50,000 and a bronze St Gaudens bust of Abraham Lincoln for "the finest scholarly work on the era of the American Civil War produced in digital format, the world wide web, CD-ROM, DVD, and on other forms of electronic distribution. The prize favors originality over the dissemination of information. When competing work shows similar merit, preference is given to work on Lincoln, the common soldier, and projects that reach the broadest public. Individuals, groups or institutions may compete for the Prize. No site shall win the Prize more than once, but achievement over time might be honored independently of previous awards. "Nominations for the Prize will be made by members of the Advisory Council. In addition, nominations may be made independently if accompanied by three recommendations from accredited academic institutions. Finally, on its own, the Jury may find other candidates for the Prize." Deadline for the 2001 eLP is October 1, 2000. For further information contact: Ms. Tina Grim, Program Manager; or visit http://www.gettysburg.edu/lincoln_prize/. WM (on behalf of the Lincoln Prize) ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: "Florestano Pastore" Subject: COMMENTI DANTESCHI DATABASE Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 14:22:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 312 (312) Lexis Progetti Editoriali italian publishing house specialised in computational linguistics and computer applications for the humanities field recently published the COMMENTI DANTESCHI DATABASE ON CD-ROM. For the first time, in one data bank, all the criticism about the Comedia, from Jacopo Alighieri to Castelvetro e Tasso. In the cases of Landino and Vellutello, it is the first edition since XVI century. In addition, Dante s Opera Omnia is included. The retrival software is DBT for Windows DBT (Data Base Testuale) is a computerised system for handling and querying text files. It was developed at the Istituto di Linguistica Computazionale of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche of Pisa. This institute has always been at the forefront, both in Italy and in Europe, as regards computational linguistics. Research can be carried out on the basis of form (single word, string, groups of words) or locus (single verse, triplet, groups of triplets, whole canto). Concordances and indexes can be obtained. Now available on our web site the Vita Nuava concordances and the Rime incipitario for free download. The COMMENTI DANTESCHI DATABASE is part of the Archivio Italiano collection. For more info, please visit us on our web site (<http://www.lexis.it>http://www.lexis>.it) or contact us (info@lexis.it) With many thanks for your kind attention, Lexis Progetti Editoriali s.r.l. Via Famiano Nardini 1/C 00162 Roma Tel ++39 0686328585 Fax ++39 0686383995 info@mclink.it http://www.lexis.it Lexis Progetti Editoriali - casa editrice specializzata nella produzione di strumenti elettronici di ausilio allo studio alla ricerca - ha recentemente pubblicato I COMMENTI DANTESCHI DEI SECOLI XIV, XV, XVI, database testuale su CD-ROM. Per la prima volta, su un unico supporto, sono raccolti e resi disponibili alla lettura e all interrogazione comparata tutti i commenti antichi alla Commedia, da Jacopo Alighieri a Castelvetro e Tasso. Nai casi di Landino e Vellutello, si tratta della prima edizione dopo il Cinquecento. In aggiunta, il CD-rom include l intera opera dantesca. Il motore di ricerca DBT per Windows. DBT (Data Base Testuale) un software di gestione e interrogazione di archivi testuali sviluppato presso l'Istituto di Linguistica Computazionale del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche di Pisa, istituzione che ha da sempre un ruolo d'avanguardia nel settore della linguistica computazionale e delle applicazioni informatiche in ambito umanistico. La ricerca pu essere effettuata per forma (singola parola, stringa, gruppi di parole) o luogo (verso, terzina, gruppi di terzine, intero canto). inoltre possibile generare concordanze e indici di vario tipo. Liberamente scaricabili dal nostro sito le concordanze della Vita Nuova e l'incipitario delle Rime Il CD-ROM dei COMMENTI DANTESCHI fa parte della collana Archivio Italiano . Per maggiori informazioni, visitate il nostro sito web (<http://www.lexis.it>http://www.lexis>.it) o contattateci (info@lexis.it). Distinti saluti Lexis Progetti Editoriali s.r.l. Via Famiano Nardini 1/C 00162 Roma Tel ++39 0686328585 Fax ++39 0686383995 info@mclink.it http://www.lexis.it From: "Gerda Elata" Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 313 (313) According to a Jewish mystical tradition, the Torah - read aright - consists of all the names of God. When the Torah was revealed to Moses, he "saw" its letters written in one single sequence in black fire on white fire, and "heard" (from the mouth of God) the division of the sequence into words. The division into the names of God will be revealed at the end of time. Gerda Elata-Alster From: Deena Subject: "Prof. Janet Murray", "the Queen of Future Narratives in Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:42:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 314 (314) [--] Please join us for an Electronic Literature Chat with Janet Murray on Saturday, September 9 20:00 GMT 21:00 London 16:00 New York 13:00 Los Angeles 06.00 Sydney (Sun Aug 20) at http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000 How are stories growing and changing on the web? How are we interacting with the narrative? How are televison, virtual reality, imagery and storytelling converging? Janet H. Murray, Professor and Director Laboratory for Advanced Computing Initiatives School of Literature, Communication and Culture, teaches information design in the Information Design and Technology Program in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture. Her main interest is interactive narrative, including digital television, virtual reality, video games and hypertexts, which is found in her recent book, "Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace". Other research interests include interactive design, educational computing, Victorian studies and applications of advanced computing environments. She began her career as a scholar of English narrative, and has published several volumes detailing the lives of Victorian women. This work grew out of her interest in what was left out of the great Victorian novels -- what could not be said within the conventional narrative and cultural structures of that time and place. She is drawn by the new digital medium because -- like the book or the movie camera before it -- it expands our ability to capture human experience and holds the promise of expanding human understanding and human sympathies. ABOUT THE ELO CHATS These twice monthly chats provide an opportunity for creative writers and readers to get together and discuss the exciting innovations and possibilities in hypertext and other forms of electronic literature. Each chat features a special guest from among the leading lights on the electronic literature world. Chats are archived at http://www.eliterature.org/com/chatarchives.shtml INSTRUCTIONS ON JOINING THE CHATS: To take part in the ELO chats, just go to the Lingua MOO and sign in as a guest. If you'd like to learn more about MOOing, please e-mail Deena Larsen at textra@chisp.net for a short tutorial. To enter LinguaMOO, click onthe URL: http://lingua.utdallas.edu:7000 Your browser must be either Netscape Communicator version 4.08 or newer, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or newer. Java, Javascript, and Cookies must be enabled for the system to work. Otherwise, please , telnet to lingua.utdallas.edu 8888 Once in LinguaMOO, type in @go eliterature to get to the electronic literature chat room. Once there, you can type a quotation mark " and your text to start talking. You can also type @who to find out who else is there. We hope you'll join us for this exciting chat. ------------ Electronic Literature Organization http://www.eliterature.org Come on over to explore the amazing possibilities To subscribe, send a blank message to: eliterature-subscribe@eGroups.com ------------ From: dwanders@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Talk on "Using Computers in Linguistics" on 9/11 Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:43:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 315 (315) [--] The Indo-European Language and Culture Working Group presents: Carl-Martin Bunz, Institute of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics and Indo-Iranian Studies, University of Saarland, Saarbruecken "TITUS: A pioneering project using Computers in Historical and Comparative Linguistics" Monday, Sept. 11, 5 p.m. Dwinelle 3401, UC Berkeley ABSTRACT: TITUS (Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien / Thesaurus of Indo-European Text and Language Materials: <http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de> is a joint project initiated and organized by the Institute of Comparative Linguistics of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitt, Frankfurt am Main. The idea of TITUS was born in 1987, when a small group of Indo-Europeanists suggested to concentrate the effort of entering ancient IE texts relevant for analysis and reconstruction, into electronic devices in order to establish an electronic text database. Now, 13 years after, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Jost Gippert, TITUS still is a pioneering project with regard to computer application in Comparative and Historical Linguistics. The text database itself, covering IE as well as adjacent languages (e.g. Caucasian), has meanwhile increased up to more than 2 GB, but the project engages in far more challenging activities than the storage of ASCII encoded texts. TITUS has indexed the texts, up to now with the help of the WordCruncher software, thus enabling very precise retrieval from the server. Currently the project is building up a sophisticated retrieval system, totally independent from special software, so that in future the text database will have an SGML compliant internal structure, which can be accessed and searched via HTML. It is quite natural that character coding issues are an integral part of the project's daily work. In 1997, TITUS launched a Unicode initiative (under the direction of Carl-Martin Bunz and Jost Gippert) and keeps in touch with Unicode and ISO, aiming at a coding of both transliteration and transcription symbols and historic scripts which serves scientific text processing. Moreover, the systematic digitization of manuscripts plays an eminent role: special branches of TITUS like the Ogam Project and the Tocharica Project make intensive use of the electronic imaging technology. Besides, the TITUS Website offers an international information panel for IE Linguistics, exhibiting programs of courses, conferences, job offers, etc. The listing of current research projects (doctoral dissertations etc.) is an important service, helping communication and avoiding duplication of work. My talk will expound the ideas and activities of the TITUS project to a public which, I hope, will suggest improvements and enlargements and will join the effort aiming at systematic application of computers in an endangered academic discipline. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Indo-European Language and Culture Working Group is funded by the Townsend Center for the Humanities. For further information, please contact IE Working Group organizer: Deborah Anderson, dwanders@socrates.berkeley.edu. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: Jan Christoph Meister Subject: NarrNet Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:37:36 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 316 (316) Dear Colleagues, NarrNet - short for NARRatology NETwork - is a new website for researchers and students with an interest in Narratology. www.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/narratologie You are cordially invited to peruse, comment, criticize and - last not least - contribute! Jan Christoph Meister Narratology Research Group University of Hamburg jan-c-meister@rrz.uni-hamburg.de From: "Luigi M Bianchi" Subject: Internet course on "Computers, Information and Society" Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:39:47 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 317 (317) Willard, although I am a theoretical physicist by vocation and training, I had the good fortune of being educated in Italy, when high school was still predicated on the belief that the humanities are the best preparation possible for the sciences. I hope this spirit may have percolated in the internet course on "Computers, Information and Society", http://www.yorku.ca/sasit/sts/nats1700/ , which I have just finished preparing. Although it is offered for credit at my university, it is open to everyone, and some of the Humanist readers my find it of some interest. Please do keep in mind that it is part of our program of General Education, which seeks to provide freshmen with a broad, but critical exposure to the humanities, the natural sciences, philosophy, and the social sciences. I will of course be grateful for any comments, criticism and suggestions anybody may have to offer. Regards, /luigi Luigi M Bianchi _________________________________________________________________ Luigi M Bianchi Science and Technology Studies Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J-1P3 phone: +1 (416) 736-5232 fax: +1 (416) 736-5188 mail: lbianchi@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/sasit/sts/ From: Eve Trager Subject: The Latest Isssue of the Journal of Electronic Publishing Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 09:41:06 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 318 (318) NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LIBERAL EDUCATION In a departure from our usual focus on who has been doing what in electronic publishing, and how well it has worked, we have turned this issue of JEP over to James A. Inman and his colleagues at Furman University, who recently hosted a conference to explore how information technology is affecting The Academy. The articles are nominally about technology in teaching, but really they are about intellectual development and the information technologies that enhance it, social development and the information technologies that advance it, and the ways the Internet and electronic publishing and communication challenge and change our views of ourselves. This goes straight to the heart of electronic publishing, and will help us see why we do what we do. So here is the September 2000 issue of The Journal of Electronic Publishing for your edification: http://www.press.umich.edu/jep Editor's Gloss: Looking to the Future of Liberal Education http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/glos0601.html James A. Inman, Hayden Porter, William Rogers, and Dan Sloughter, all of Furman University, have put together the best papers from a national symposium, "New Information Technologies and Liberal Education," to remind us that the work we publish electronically has its enthusiastic and devoted advocates. The Engaged Learner: Strategies for Helping Liberal Arts Students Become More Active Learners Online http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/cain.html Richard Cain of Wheeling Jesuit University argues for careful and responsible liberal-arts pedagogy for online environments. Who's On-Line?: Gender Morphing in Cyberspace http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/desser.html Daphne Desser of the University of South Carolina explores how electronic spaces are gendered, using examples of chat sessions from her teaching. The Ideology of Ease http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/dilger.html Bradley Dilger from the University of Florida writes that making computers "easy" may also make them less useful. Anthropology and International Education via the Internet: A Collaborative Learning Model http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/hamada.html Tomoko Hamada and Kathleen Scott describe a collaborative classroom experience between students at their institution, the College of William and Mary, and at Keio University. Accessing the Virtual Worlds of Cyberspace http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/hawisher.html In the text from her keynote address, Gail E. Hawisher from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne points out that when users are involved in creation, the Web becomes a potent medium for integration and enhancement. Wired on a Shoestrong: A Site and Some Insights http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/jones.html Billie J. Jones from Pennsylvania State University - Capital College makes recommendations for teaching and learning with technology. The Authority of Experience: Assessing the Use of Information Technology in the Classroom http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/mack.html Pamela E. Mack and Gail Delicio, both from Clemson University, delve into the ways information technology can help students trust their own knowledge. Collaborative Learning and Cultural Reproduction in Cyberspace: Publishing Students in Electronic Environments http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/payne.html Darin Payne of the University of South Carolina reflects on the critical awareness of electronic spaces. Andes: An Intelligent Tutor for Classical Physics http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/schulze.html Kay G. Schulze, Robert N. Shelby, Donald J. Treacy, and Mary C. Wintersgill of the United States Naval Academy; Kurt VanLehn from the University of Pittsburgh; and Abigail Gertner from The MITRE Corporation describe an innovative physics-tutorial system. Paradigms Restrained: Implications of New and Emerging Technologies for Learning and Cognition http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/shoffner.html Mary B. Shoffner, Georgia State University; Marshall Jones, University of Memphis; and Stephen W. Harmon, Georgia State University conclude that it is the underlying pedagogical philosophy, and not the delivery mechanism, that most affects what students learn. Learning From the Newbies http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-01/lieb0601.html Contributing editor and Towson University professor Thom Lieb reports on an ambitious effort by three Towson classes to create a Web site collaboratively. Enjoy! Judith Axler Turner Editor The Journal of Electronic Publishing http://www.press.umich.edu/jep (202) 986-3463 ======================================================== Judith Axler Turner Director of Electronic Publishing TURNER CONSULTING GROUP V: (202) 986-3463 F: (202) 986-5532 mailto:judith@turner.net http://www.tcg-inc.com TCG: Pioneers in Web Security and Personalization ======================================================== From: "Gerda Elata" Subject: Re: 14.0196 what if we succeeded? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 319 (319) According to a Jewish mystical tradition, the Torah - read aright - consists of all the names of God. When the Torah was revealed to Moses, he "saw" its letters written in one single sequence in black fire on white fire, and "heard" (from the mouth of God) the division of the sequence into words. The division into the names of God will be revealed at the end of time. Gerda Elata-Alster From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: The Newton-Fermat-Submarine Mystery Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 320 (320) Dear Colleagues: The Newton-Fermat or Fermat-Newton mystery of earlier discussions has a new twist - submarines. To refresh your memory, Newton and Fermat had remarkable similarities including extreme secretiveness, "meteoric" rise in government service, invention/discovery of many branches of physics and mathematics, considerable interest in optics/light (to which they contributed greatly), etc. Fermat was in the 1600s, earlier than Newton except for a short insignificant period. Fermat was about 350 years ahead of his time, and Leonardo Da Vinci seems to have been the only creative genius who came close in that respect. Newton was definitely far ahead of his time, but it is difficult to estimate exactly how far ahead. Both men had rather curious historical connections with the special theory of relativity of Einstein, which was not invented until the 1900s, and probably with his general theory also. I had raised the question of whether the British and French governments respectively might have subsidized or at least been interested in the work of these two for practical applications but with secrecy in mind - as a partial explanation of the secretive characteristics of Newton and Fermat, but also for other reasons including the fact that phase differences, as between liquid and solid as gas phases of matter, are important in optics/light and the possible military/technological applications are attractive. Phase differences happen to also be key to logic-based probability (LBP), which I introduced in 1980. It now appears unquestionable that submarines, which would be a natural outgrowth of interest in liquid versus solid phase differences, were known in the time of Fermat and had just been invented by William Bourne in 1578, a British mathematician and naval writer. Cornelius (van) Drebbel constructed the first real submarine around 1620 and successfully sailed it beneath the surface of the Thames river from 1620 through 1624 - just in time for Fermat to notice it. In the first 30 years of the 18th century, numerous types of submarine had been patented in England and other countries. In the earlier discussion, I described a science fiction scenario in which both Newton and Fermat turned out to be time travelers, and it is certainly the case that phase differences yield some remarkable results equally as unusual if not greater. LBP research indicates that the speed of light and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principles may both involve phase differences rather than absolute upper limits on either light speed/velocity or uncertainties/products of uncertainties. If so, then science fiction hyperspace would be possible, and with it very rapid travel to stars and even distant galaxies. It would not be surprising if time can be conquered as directly, and likewise miniaturization to the quantum level and below (the "sub-Planck" level). The relevance of this to Humanist Discussion Group is multifold. Science fiction, a branch of literature and science, kept the idea of hyperspace alive when almost all of physics and mathematics had abandoned it. In fact, science fiction (Jules Verne, etc.) inspired many innovations in submarines and other technological developments of great importance. It inspired me throughout my childhood and adulthood. The historical study of genius and creativity, which I have emphasized in Humanities Discussion Group (along with others), becomes much more urgent in relationship to technological innovations, discovery, and so on. Genius and creativity cross science and humanities. Interdisciplinary study becomes very important in practice as well as theory. Most interesting, perhaps, to detective novel readers like me, is the question of what happened to the French and British government knowledge about Fermat and Newton, if it existed. The French Revolution may have destroyed it in France, but that revolution or its aftermath eventually lost out in time thanks to Great Britain. Was the Scarlet Pimpernel only a figment of a Countess' imagination in writing novels? Was there a French Secret Service that survived the French Revolution? Why did Germany start heavily pioneering in mathematics and physics in the 1700s after Newton was gone? Was some of the knowledge carried to Germany from France, there to ripen with A. Einstein in the early 1900s? I suggested Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington as the British Secret Service's Man alongside Einstein in an earlier discussion, but what about George Francis Fitzgerald of 1801-1901 Dublin whose formula Einstein used in special relativity and Henrik Antoon Lorentz of 1853-1928 Arnhem in the Netherlands (who won the Nobel Prize in 1902 and who was the other half of Einstein's Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, although Fitzgerald was first). Where in the world did the Italians come from - Tullio Levi-Civita of 1873-1941 Padua/Rome and Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro of 1853-1925 Papal States/Bologna, whose tensor analysis (invented by Ricci mostly) was used by Einstein as the mathematics of his general theory of relativity? Hundreds of years after Leonardo Da Vinci's 400-year-ahead-of-his-time genius, their mathematics was conveniently in place so that Einstein's friend, the geometry expert Marcel Grossman, upon being asked by Einstein what mathematics to use for general relativity, could cite it as the one to use. The French-Italian connection, is it? The French-German-Austrian-Italian connection? Osher Doctorow From: Matt Kirschenbaum Subject: course buyout policies Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 321 (321) The English department here at Kentucky is reviewing its policy on faculty course buyout, and I've been asked to collect some examples of current policy at other institutions. I'd be grateful, then, if fellow Humanists could send me (backchannel to mgk@pop.uky.edu) very brief descriptions of whatever such policies may be in place at their home department. Thanks in advance, Matt From: Willard McCarty Subject: hiatus Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 322 (322) Humanist will be silent and its materials unavailable on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 September for a changeover in equipment at the University of Virginia. If all goes well, we should be back in operation by the end of Friday. On behalf of us all, my thanks to the folks at IATH and to John Unsworth in particular for all the support, computational and otherwise, that they give to Humanist. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "Nancy M. Ide" Subject: SIGLEX Workshop on Word Senses and MultiLinguality Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 323 (323) ACL 2000 Workshop WORD SENSES AND MULTI-LINGUALITY Sponsored by the ACL Special Interest Group for the Lexicon (SIGLEX) 9:00-12:00 AM, October 7, 2000 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~ide/events/siglex00.html With an increasingly global economy and the explosive growth of the "World" in "World Wide Web", the computational linguistics community is faced as never before with the challenges and opportunities of multi-linguality. At the same time, the community has returned with renewed enthusiasm to problems of word meaning, especially the delineation and discrimination of word senses. An intimate relationship between the two issues is becoming apparent -- for example, in the consideration of translation equivalence in parallel corpora, the construction of multilingual ontologies, and the examination of senses in relation to specific natural language applications such as machine translation, information retrieval, summarization, etc. The issue of multi-lingual approaches to sense distinctions was also a central topic of discussion at the first SENSEVAL conference in 1998, and is one of the areas to be covered at SENSEVAL-2 (to be held in Spring 2001). This workshop will address problems of word sense disambiguation and delineation of appropriate sense distinctions, with specific emphasis on approaches that involve more than one language and the ways in which observations about cross-linguistic equivalence affect our consideration of sense divisions in the individual languages. More generally, we seek to foster discussion and exchanges of insight in any area of computational linguistics where a non-monolingual approach to word sense issues is being taken. Provisional Program 9:00-9:15 OPENING AND OVERVIEW 9:15-9:45 An Unsupervised Method for Multilingual Word Sense Tagging Using Parallel Corpora Mona Diab, University of Maryland , USA 9:45-10:15 Sense Clusters for Information Retrieval: Evidence from SemCor and the EuroWordNet InterLingual Index Irina Chugar, Julio Gonzalo, Felisa Verdejo, UNED, Spain 10:15-10:30 COFFEE BREAK 10:30-11:00 Chinese-Japanese Cross Language Information Retrieval: A Han Character Based Approach Maruf Hasan, Yuji Matsumoto, NARA Inst., Japan 11:00-11:30 Experiments in Word Domain Disambiguation for Parallel Texts Bernardo Magnini, Carlo Strapparava, IRST, Italy 11:30-12:00 DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 12:00-12:15 SIGLEX Business Meeting Workshop Organizers Nancy Ide, Charles Fillmore, Philip Resnik, David Yarowsky Program Committee Helge Dyvik, University of Bergen Nancy Ide, Vassar College Christiane Fellbaum, Princeton University Charles Fillmore, UC Berkeley and ICSI Adam Kilgarriff, ITRI, University of Brighton Martha Palmer, University of Pennsylvania Philip Resnik, University of Maryland Evelyne Viegas, Microsoft Corporation David Yarowsky, Johns Hopkins University From: Paul Brians Subject: Microsoft's secret dictionary project Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 324 (324) I was recently approached by an editor from Bloomsbury/Encarta to work on a college edition of their Encarta Dictionary, but told that before I could be informed of the exact nature of the project or the terms of my employment I would have to sign a confidentiality agreement containing the following alarming language: Here's the body of that agreement, with my response: I'm sorry, but this is ludicrous: "BLOOMSBURY PROJECT "I am setting out in writing the terms and conditions upon which Bloomsbury Publishing ("Bloomsbury") may ask you to contribute to the BLOOMSBURY PROJECT ("the Project"). "In consideration of being given access to the Project you agree as follows: "1. You acknowledge that the Project is highly confidential and you will not (without the prior written consent of Bloomsbury) divulge the existence of the Project, the fact that you are involved in the Project, the subject or essence of the Project, or any information contained in or relating to it to any person or organization. "2. Should you be identified as having divulged to any person or organization any information whatsoever relating to the Project, Bloomsbury would consider that an infringement of copyright and a breach of confidence had taken place and would take legal action accordingly and seek compensation for the damage inflicted on the commercial potential of the project. "3. On countersignature of this letter of agreement, Bloomsbury will give you details of the Project. "4. The provisions of this Undertaking will survive your involvement in the Project." What are you doing, building the dictionary equivalent of the atomic bomb? As a public employee, I'm not sure it would be ethical for me to sign a contract agreeing not to divulge the very existence of the project I'd be working on; and as a scholar committed to the open and free exchange of information, I wouldn't do so. But thanks for the laugh. This is the most entertaining mail I've received since con-men wrote me to get my help smuggling Sani Abacha's ill-gotten wealth out of Nigeria. Or maybe this is a prank, satirizing the predatory nature of Microsoft? Cheers, Paul Brians Does anybody else find this as bizarre as I do? The editor defended it as empty legalize but didn't offer to waive any of the clauses. He claimed that "many leading U.S., Canadian, U.K., and Australian academics" have signed on, which I said I was sorry to hear. Obviously, I didn't sign it; and am among the ignorant of the inner essence of this hermetic endeavor, but free to comment. Those of you who have not taken Microsoft's blood oath, what is your reaction? -- Paul Brians, Department of English Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-5020 brians@wsu.edu http://www.wsu.edu/~brians From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 325 (325) [deleted quotation] From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 326 (326) [deleted quotation] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof'in Dr. Elisabeth Burr FB10/Romanistik Universitaet Bremen eburr@uni-bremen.de Ex-president of SILFI: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/SILFI2000 FB3/Romanistik Gerhard-Mercator-Universitaet Duisburg Elisabeth.Burr@uni-duisburg.de Personal homepage: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/PERSONAL/Burr/burr.htm Editor of: http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/ROMANISTIK/home.html http://www.uni-duisburg.de/FB3/SILFI/home.html From: Scott Rettberg Subject: ELECTRONIC LITERATURE DIRECTORY Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 327 (327) [--] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Electronic Literature Directory Goes Live. Nonprofit Organization Launches Comprehensive Directory of Electronic Literature. Chicago, IL, Sept 5, 2000 The Electronic Literature Directory (http://directory.eliterature.org) is a unique and valuable new resource for readers and writers of digital texts. Created and maintained by the Electronic Literature Organization, this searchable database provides the most comprehensive reference tool available for electronic literature. Currently the Directory catalogs over 360 authors, 560 works, and 80 publishers. The descriptive entries cover poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction that make significant use of electronic techniques or enhancements. The Directory provides easy access to one of the most exciting and fastest-growing bodies of cutting-edge literature. Among the new forms of writing represented here are hypertexts and other interactive pieces, kinetic or animated poems, multimedia works, generated texts, and works that allow reader collaboration. Directory users can also enjoy the enhancements that the new technology brings to traditional literature, such as streaming audio readings of poetry by masters ranging from e.e. cummings and Dylan Thomas to contemporary Pulitzer Prize winners. The Directory contains live links to Web works, publishing sites, and author home pages, making it a prime portal for readers. Users can search the Directory for individual authors or works, or they can browse numerous categories such as poetry, fiction, hypertext, or animated text. Additional search and selection capabilities will be added in the future, letting users find works by specifying virtually any attribute, from the language of the text to the distribution medium. Another future enhancement will be the addition of reviews and reader recommendations. The Electronic Literature Directory is based on an open-submission, community-driven structure: authors and publishers listed in the Directory are able to enter and edit their own listings to ensure accuracy and completeness. The collaboration of authors, publishers, and ELO staff in maintaining content will ensure that the Directory is always comprehensive, accurate, and up to date. ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC LITERATURE ORGANIZATION The Electronic Literature Organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to promote and facilitate the writing, reading, and publishing of literature designed for the electronic media. Based in Chicago, ELO is directed by a national board of leading experts in electronic literature, internet business, and electronic publishing, and is additionally advised by an international board of literary advisors and a board of internet industry advisors. ELO maintains the Electronic Literature Directory and an electronic literature Web resource center, staffed by a network of leading e-lit writers operating independently in different parts of the USA. Forthcoming ELO programs include a Future of Publishing Symposium and Electronic Literature Prizes. ELO is supported by the donations of individual members and by corporate sponsors including Jupiter Communications, NBCi, and ZDNet. Electronic Literature Directory http://directory.eliterature.org Electronic Literature Organization http://www.eliterature.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to: eliterature-subscribe@eGroups.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Randall Pierce Subject: Project Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:39:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 328 (328) This seems to be a "wave of the future", and it is strongly connected to corporate greed. Secrecy implies proprietorship, which equals exclusivness of use. Of course I am speaking profits. Freedom of information and a free flow of knowledge have not come off well when greed enters the picture. Those interested in knowledge per se are, I hope, equally adept at speaking out for freedom of information. Randall From: Randall Pierce Subject: Humanism and Evil Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:40:13 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 329 (329) I am intrigued by the use of information technology as an "apotrope"( a gesture to fend off evil". According to a the psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, evil is exemplified by a desire to control. Control of knowledge, I feel, is an evil. The publishers of Encarta are attempting to control access to certain linguistic developments. I am a believer in the capitalistic system up to the point it becomes predatory. Would you feel that attempts to control the way our language is changing is exactly that? I wonder if the desire to control knowledge has more to do with the control of evil as a pathological condition than with the profit motive? Randall From: cbf@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Re: 14.0217 course buyout policies? Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:37:39 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 330 (330) What is faculty course buyout? Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0217 course buyout policies? Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:38:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 331 (331) Could Prof.Kirschenbaum explain what is meant by "course buyout" ? I've never heard the term and cannot quite imagine what it means. From: Cybersociology List Moderator Subject: Conference on Virtual Systems and MultiMedia Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:35:22 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 332 (332) [--] [deleted quotation] Please Visit Cybersoc (http://www.cybersoc.com) and Cybersociology Magazine (http://www.cybersociology.com). -- From: "Charles Ess" Subject: CATaC conference proceedings available Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:35:48 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 333 (333) Colleagues: Allow me to forward the message below from Fay Sudweeks (Murdoch University). And to elaborate: The second conference on "Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication" (CATaC) took place July 12-15, 2000, in Perth, Western Australia. As conference co-chair with Fay Sudweeks for both CATaC'98 and CATaC'00, I was struck by the considerable progress made in research on the various interactions between cultural values, communicative preferences, and the computer-mediated communication technologies making up the Net and the Web, as well as in other forms (e.g., Computer Support Collaborative Work systems, Information Technology systems for indigenous peoples such as the Aborigines of Australia, the Kelabit of Borneo, etc.) And while each of the papers included in the proceedings has much to recommend it, I was further intrigued with how a cluster of cultural values and communicative preferences affiliated with South East Asia (e.g., Confucian face-saving and others) emerged from several of the presentations as significant factors in the uptake of IT - factors that, ideally, must be taken into account if IT is to be designed in such a way as to avoid the cultural imperialism otherwise at work, even if covertly, as Western IT systems (which can now be demonstrated to embed and foster specifically Western cultural values and communicative preferences) are rapidly disseminated around the world in the name of global communication. There are other riches to be gleaned here. Happy reading! Charles Ess Professor and Chair, Philosophy and Religion Department, Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Voice: 417-873-7230 Springfield, MO 65802 USA FAX: 417-873-7435 Home page: http://www.drury.edu/Departments/phil-relg/ess.html Co-chair, CATaC 2000: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/ "Life is short, and Art long; the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult." Hippocrates (460-379 B.C.E.), _Aphorisms_, 1. == Hi everyone CATAC00 in Perth was excellent - we had a very good selection of papers. The proceedings from CATAC'00 are available for purchase at a cost of AUD35. You can order it online at http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00 or contact me at sudweeks@murdoch.edu.au. A list of the papers is below. Best Fay ----------------------- Fay Sudweeks Senior Lecturer in Information Systems School of Information Technology Murdoch University WA 6150 Australia +61-8-9360-2364 (o) +61-8-9360-2941 (f) sudweeks@murdoch.edu.au www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks ----- Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication Perth, Australia, 12-15 July 2000 edited by Fay Sudweeks Murdoch University, Australia Charles Ess Drury University, USA ISBN 0-86905-747-2 PUBLISHED 2000 School of Information Technology Murdoch University, Murdoch WA 6150 Australia catac@it.murdoch.edu.au, www.it.murdoch..edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00 CONTENTS Preface Session 1 IT in Marginalised Communities Outside the Net: Kiribati and the knowledge economy Trevor H. B. Sofield, Australia Challenges and opportunities in introducing information and communication technologies to the Kelabit community of North Central Borneo Roger Harris, Poline Bala, Peter Songan and Elaine Khoo Guat Lien Malaysia Barangays of IT: Filipinizing mediated communication and digital power Peter Sy, Philippines Rural secondary school teachers' attitudes towards information technology: A study in the Kelabit highlands of Bario, Borneo Elaine Guat Lien Khoo, Tingang Trang, Pong Won Sia, Peter Songan, Roger Harris and Poline Bala, Malaysia Session 2 Virtual Environments Perceptions of virtual museums among French users: An analysis of cultural differences on uses of the Arts on the Internet Roxane Bernier, Canada and France Disenfranchisement from the global technoculture: Broadening the conceptual discourse on accessibility Dineh Davis, USA Symbiotic interface contingency: The reciprocal emergence of use and abuse Steffen Walz, USA and Germany Session 3 Cyberculture Cyberpower: The culture and politics of cyberspace Tim Jordan, United Kingdom Ethnography and hermeneutics in cybercultural research: Accessing IRC virtual communities Jose L. Abdelnour Nocera, Venezuela Mindscapes and Internet mediated communication John G. Gammack, Australia Session 4 Culture and Information Systems Information systems and organisational culture in a developing country: A critical theory perspective Mark C. Williams and R. Sunil Gunatunge, Australia Reducing the negative effects of power distance during asynchronous pre-meeting without using anonymity in Indonesian culture Sjarif Abdat, Indonesi,a and Graham P. Pervan, Australia Thai culture and communication of decision making processes in requirements engineering Theerasak Thanasankit and Brian Corbitt, New Zealand A world wide web of cultures or a 'world wide web' culture Andrew Turk, Australia The impact of cultural values on computer mediated group work Nasrin Rahmati, Australia Explaining community informatics success prospects: The autonomy/harmony model Celia Romm and Wal Taylor, Australia Session 5 Education and Policy A consideration of culture in national IT and e-commerce plans Steve Benson and Craig Standing, Australia Dissemination on a global scale? Possibilities and problems in access to Internet-based academic journals Sara Gwynn and Peter Thomas, United Kingdom Addressing the moral poverty of computing higher education, including the Web Mark Williams and Guy Duczynski, Australia Session 6 Technology and Learning A theoretical argumentation and evaluation of South African learners' orientation towards and perspectives on the empowering use of information: A calculated prediction of computerised learning for the marginalised Louisa Postma, South Africa A culture for computer literacy Richard Thomas, University of Western Australia, Australia Session 7 The Role of Media in Communication How cultural differences affect the use of information and communication technology in Dutch-American mergers Frits Grotenhuis, The Netherlands Nerdy no more: A case study of early Wired (1993-96) Ann Willis, Australia Technological transformations of the public sphere: The role of CMC David Holmes, Australia From: Elli Mylonas Subject: conference on the form of the book Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:36:28 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 334 (334) Transformations of the Book & Redefinitions of the Arts & Humanities BOOK/ENDS is an international gathering of theorists, educators and artists planned for 11-14 October 2000. The event will combine lectures by renowned scholars from the US and abroad, multimedia artist exhibitions and demonstrations, focus workshops and open fora. http://www.albany.edu/bookends/index.html As the form of the book undergoes the profound transformations of the digital age, the knowledge practices and values associated with it are also rapidly shifting ground. Electronic resources are already introducing changes in the way cultural offerings--literature, the arts, information, popular entertainment--are produced and accessed, and by whom. Interactivity, hypertext and multimedia "texts" expand, and explode, such traditional notions as narrative, work of art, artist, author, audience. Digital representation and computational logics challenge conventional flows of information. A multiplicity of innovative literary, artistic, performance and hybrid "cyber" forms are opening up new pathways of communication and reinventing cultural and knowledge production. BOOK/ENDS will investigate these contemporary shifts from diverse perspectives and apply the results of its investigations to the concrete challenges of higher education and humanities curriculum renewal. What is most innovative about the project is its combination of academic and theoretical discussion with artistic and pedagogical restagings of the exploration of the potential of "postbook" technologies. Events planned will provide maximum interaction among the range of participants, from inner-city schoolchildren and local educators to internationally renowned artists and critical thinkers. Conference Support Funding by: State of New York/UUP Technology Committee University at Albany Office of the Vice President For Research, Research Foundation of the State University of New York From: Michael Fraser Subject: Classical Constructions (Oxford, Sept 21-23) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:37:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 335 (335) [The following may be of interest to some members. It is not too late to register, but please note the email address below (classoff@ermine.ox.ac.uk) for any queries and for requesting booking forms.] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- CLASSICAL CONSTRUCTIONS A SYMPOSIUM IN MEMORY OF DON FOWLER 21st-23rd September 2000 Jesus College, Oxford There will be a symposium at Jesus College, Oxford from Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd September 2000 to celebrate the inspiration Don Fowler provided to his teachers, pupils, colleagues, friends and readers in the field of Classical literature. Provisional Programme Thursday 21st September (start 14.00) Lucretius and didactic (chaired by Phil Hardie/Peta Fowler) speakers: Phillip Mitsis, Gordon Campbell, Alessandro Schiesaro, Monica Gale. Reception Friday 22nd September '101 things to do with a Latin text' (chaired by Stephen Harrison) speakers: Joseph Farrell, Llewelyn Morgan, Robin Nisbet. Women (chaired by Effie Spentzou) speakers: Patricia Salzman, Juliane Kerkhecker. Roman constructions (chaired by Alison Sharrock) speakers: Michele Lowrie, Matthew Leigh. Saturday 23rd September (end 17.30) Theory (chaired by Alessandro Barchiesi/Gian Biagio Conte) speakers: Andrew Laird, Deborah Roberts, Stephen Hinds. Closure (chaired by Stephen Heyworth) speakers: Stratis Kyriakidis, Ben Tipping. Round table discussion The conference fee will be GBP38 (including the party on Thursday, lunch on Friday and Saturday); GBP19 for a single day. There are 25 places available for graduate students at a cost of GBP10. Accommodation is available at Jesus College on Thursday and Friday nights (plus Wednesday and Saturday, if required), at a full-board cost of GBP45 per night. Full details and a booking form may be obtained from the Classics Office, 37 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JD; email: . From: "Charles Ess" Subject: FW: Sex, Lies, and Cyberspace Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:34:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 336 (336) Colleagues: While I haven't seen the program announced below, I know that at least a few prominent CMC researchers were consulted by the producers - it will be interesting to see how our (in the collective sense) scholarship may have helped shape a media presentation on media... I hope HUMANISTS in the U.K. will have an opportunity to view the program, and comment to the rest of us with their thoughts and responses. In particular: is the program worth ordering for those of us beyond the reach of Channel 4? Cheers and best wishes, Charles Ess Professor and Chair, Philosophy and Religion Department, Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Voice: 417-873-7230 Springfield, MO 65802 USA FAX: 417-873-7435 Home page: http://www.drury.edu/Departments/phil-relg/ess.html Co-chair, CATaC 2000: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/~sudweeks/catac00/ "Life is short, and Art long; the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult." Hippocrates (460-379 B.C.E.), _Aphorisms_, 1. ---------- Finally.....after much anticipation... Sex, Lies, and Cyberspace will be broadcast on Channel 4, UK on 30 September 2000 (a Saturday) at 10:00pm. Through the lives of four people living in England, the US, and Holland, our film explores the idea that chat rooms speak directly to a variety of human instincts that in the real world find few outlets, including the need for fantasy play, experimentation and self-exploration, often in the realm of sex and sexuality. If you live in Britain, don't miss this enlightening programme. If you are outside the UK, you can order a copy of the programme by e-mailing Martha at info@octoberfims.co.uk . The price of the cassette depends on the volume of the orders we receive. Press inqueries can be sent to either myself at this address or to the director, Henry Singer at henry.singer@octoberfilms.co.uk . Happy viewing! From: Willard McCarty Subject: new director for the AHDS Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:38:28 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 337 (337) The Arts and Humanities Data Service (U.K.) is pleased to announce that Ms Sheila Anderson has been appointed as Director of the AHDS with effect from 1st September. Formerly Head of the History Data Service (the AHDS Service Provider for History), she is currently the Director of Depositor Services at The Data Archive. Mr Neil Beagrie, until recently Acting Director of the AHDS, is now head of the JISC's Digital Preservation Focus. For more information on the AHDS and its activities, see <http://ahds.ac.uk/>. WM ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: The Future: Computers that Outsmart Humans? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 338 (338) Dear humanist scholars, Hi, I thought this interesting short snippets --might interest you --forwarded via "The eCollege.com eNewsletter Volume 1 Issue 7"..thanks.. Vernor Vinge, scholar and science-fiction writer, predicts that one of the most likely scenarios for the next 20 years is the creation of computers that surpass humans in intelligence. Mr. Vinge, writer and lecturer on the future of computing, is an associate professor of mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is credited by some as being one of the first to imagine a shared virtual space created by computer networks. In an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Mr. Vinge describes the ongoing development of computers that act as an extension of the human mind. "It is a very unsettling thing, but ... it's not clear that it is dystopic." To read the full story click (http://info.ecollege.com:80/UM/T.ASP?A18.87.36.4.15951) See at Best Regards Arun Tripathi From: Matt Kirschenbaum Subject: Re: 14.0223 what is a "course buyout"? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 339 (339) My understanding of "course buyouts" is that the practice involves faculty paying for the privilege of not teaching one of their reguarly assigned courses, either by voluntarily remitting a portion of their salary or by allocating grant funding for that purpose. The questions we've been asked to review here include how often faculty should be permitted to exercise such an option, what constitutes an appropriate dollar amount, whether the amount should vary depending on the nature of the course, and so forth. As noted in my original posting, I'm asking not out of personal interest but as a fact finding exercise for a departmental committee. Thanks, Matt From: Willard McCarty Subject: not bending with the remover to remove Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:38:11 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 340 (340) Dear colleagues: Allow me to suggest that if we wish to continue to discuss naming &c, including the enumeration of the names of God, and other topics of quite wide-ranging interest such as economic systems and their relative merits, that we put such fascinating subjects into the context of humanities computing or cease discussion of them altogether? Once upon a time, long ago (when on Bitnet I was proudly and uniquely MCCARTY@UTOREPAS, like Alcuin of York :-), Humanist was just about the only game in the global village for folks like us. Now, however, there are many, for which see <http://n2h2.com/KOVACS/>. Our focus can be fuzzy, discussions may wander off the computational course, but humanities computing should always be the ever-fixed mark to our wanderings, like true love in W.S.'s Sonnet 116. Let me not to the pre-nuptial chat of true minds erect impediments, but as Milton wrote, divorce can be what brings cosmos out of chaos. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0216 sexist naming Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:38:50 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 341 (341) If the universe exists so that Goid can be fully named, and the dying of the universe is the becoming of God, then the name of God is obvious: "Four degrees above absolute zero". :) Chris From: mehrin@mindspring.com Subject: re: 14.0216 sexist naming Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:39:20 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 342 (342) Good for you. Though a male, I firmly agree with you. Have been reading writings of Clara Zelkin and Rosa Luxemburg. Wish there were some around today. My gods and goddesses are equally divided. We humans, like all living forms, are rather pathetic creatures, stumbling along, seeking composite answers for which there is none. Every living form seeks to survive. None will. Each must make decisions, and use a context we can accept. Attempts to rationalize fail. mehrin@mindspring.com From: Bill Kretzschmar Subject: Humanist: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:11:53 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 343 (343) It is quite normal for consultants to sign non-disclosure agreements before they begin work on a commercial project. Of course this rubs us academics the wrong way since we value academic freedom and freedom of information--but the Bloomsbury/Encarta Project is commercial, not academic. I was one of those who signed such an agreement for the first stage of the project, now published, and became a member of its advisory board. I thought twice about it, but the commercial nature of the work was the overriding factor. This is an important issue, I think. Since information in the humanities now has growing commercial value, many of us will be asked to participate in commercial ventures. We should be clear about the terms under which we participate. Our colleagues in engineering, business, and other fields have had consulting opportunities for some time, and they have had to wrestle with this topic. My university has rules about consulting, which are designed to regulate potential conflicts of interest. If you want the money from consulting, you have to agree with the terms, both from your institution and from your commercial employer. If you want to be a pure idealist about freedom of information, you must be satisfied with your humanities salary. In my own case, I freely give away my research results when they come from an academic endeavor, and I also sign consulting agreements that involve proprietary information while observing university regulations--I see no conflict between these two activities. ***** Bill Kretzschmar Professor of English and Linguistics Dept. of English Phone: 706-542-2246 University of Georgia Fax: 706-583-0027 Athens, GA 30602-6205 Atlas Web Site: us.english.uga.edu From: Jean-Claude =?iso-8859-1?Q?Gu=E9don?= Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:12:36 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 344 (344) Thank you for reminding all of us that some very basic principles can still guide the behavior of academics. And thank you for reminding us that such principles can still be put ahead of money. Best, Jean-Claude Gudon -- Jean-Claude Gudon Dpartement de littrature compare Universit de Montral CP 6128, Succursale Centre-ville Montral, Qc H3C 3J7 Canada Tl. : 1-514-343-6208 Tlcopie : 1-514-343-2211 Courriel : guedon@littco.umontreal.ca From: "P. T. Rourke" Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:13:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 345 (345) [deleted quotation]a [deleted quotation]essence [deleted quotation]That it is probably what you should expect from the folks who hold a patent on electronic style sheets, a patent that isn't worth the paper it's written on, as it's clearly prior art. They're using every possible legal method they can to proprietize both content and delivery - indeed, I'd say that with .NET one could argue that they are trying to proprietize the 'net itself. That's how monopolies work. Patrick Rourke From: "Erik Ringmar" Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:13:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 346 (346) Dear Paul, Good for you. Someone has to defend the principles of publicity on which scholarship rests. It seems Microsoft is doing to ideas what Monsanto is doing to our genes. What will happen when every bit of public space is copyrighted and privatised? yours, Erik Erik Ringmar Dept of Government LSE From: EditorAnn@aol.com Subject: Fwd: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:14:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 347 (347) They left out an essential clause: "If you agree to these terms, and so signify by affixing your signature, 5 minutes after returning it by mail, you will self-destruct, thereby obliterating all remaining evidence that we have ever been in communication." From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:15:01 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 348 (348) From: Osher Doctorow, osher@ix.netcom.com, Fri. Sept. 8, 2000, 12:07AM I have not subscribed to any blood oath, so I can say that the whole affair is most curious. Microsoft is headquartered in Washington State, is it not, which is where you are. If the contact was really from Microsoft, then perhaps the person thought that Washington residents are likely to support Microsoft even in bizarre circumstances. If the contact was not from Microsoft, then that is much trouble about a dictionary. Perhaps it was intended to either impugn Microsoft or give the impression of impugning Microsoft from one of Microsoft's mis-inspired friends or enemies. If Bill Gates would give his money to Humanities Discussion, this problem could never arise, since we would all soon make dictionaries and encyclopedias of every computer related humanities related problem under the sun (more or less). In fact, we can start a campaign entitled "Dollar bills from Bill." It might have to be limited to the USA, but I for one would share with my colleagues in Great Britain. Osher From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:15:33 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 349 (349) My reaction? Paranoia! [deleted quotation]:) Chris From: "Chris McMahon" Subject: Re: 14.0212 secret dictionary project Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:16:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 350 (350) Sorry. I meant so say "paranoia". Please, don't talk so loud. :) Chris (who said that?) From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Updates]Check out the Arun's Cyberworld Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 351 (351) Greetings humanists, Hi, recently I have updated my following homepages for the benefit of educators, scientists, technologists, cyberspace researchers, hypertexts and media philosophers, artificial intelligence researchers, etc..thought might interest you (still more to come..) Arun's Global Education Project Links <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/index.html> Artificial Intelligence & Higher Education <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/educate.html> And, one more "an article" on _EUCLID_ is available at <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/euclid.html> Details about the _EdResource_ List (Education and Technology Listserv) at <http://www.angelfire.com/ks/learning/EdResource.html> Thank you! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi Research Scholar University of Dortmund, Germany Moderator of EdResource Listserv Moderator of Online-ed Listserv WAOE Multilingual Coordinator From: scaife@pop.uky.edu Subject: [STOA] "We want it to be Jacksonian, noisy, and Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 352 (352) participatory" This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from: scaife@pop.uky.edu Tuesday, September 12, 2000 U. of North Carolina Gets $4-Million to Expand 'Public Library of the Internet' By FLORENCE OLSEN The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's MetaLab, one of the busiest digital libraries on the Internet, on Monday received a $4-million gift and a new name, ibiblio.org. Its benefactor says the gift will help the site develop its unique character as "the public library of the Internet." The Red Hat Center, a private foundation in Durham, N.C., made the gift and announced a five-year joint project with the university to expand ibiblio. Robert Young, who is one of the founders of the Linux software company Red Hat, says ibiblio demonstrates the value of free public libraries and exemplifies the ideals of the open-source movement. The movement maintains that knowledge, unlike real property, should be free. Linux is an open-source computer operating system -- created by volunteers from all over the world. Consisting of computer code that is publicly available, it has attracted a considerable amount of interest as an alternative to Microsoft's Windows products. U.N.C.'s enormous library server, which handles an average of 1.5 million transactions daily, is one of the largest repositories of Linux software and software documentation. "Developers and programmers around the world take this stuff for granted -- but value it highly," Mr. Young says. The server also is the repository for digitized historical collections that include Documenting the American South, a series of book-length narratives of life under slavery, and the folk-music collection of the songwriter and musician Roger McGuinn, who cofounded the Byrds. Paul Jones, the director of the online library, says the gift will enable ibiblio to award research fellowships and develop the software infrastructure for expanding its collection of digital materials. Mr. Jones is an associate professor of information and library science who also teaches in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. From its beginnings as SunSITE.unc.edu, the digital library has grown by permitting people to share songs, software, and other intellectual property, Mr. Jones says. Anyone with something valuable to share could upload the material to be added to the library's collection. "All they had to do was fill out the equivalent of an electronic card-catalog card," he says. Up until last week, the library's only online self-promotion was a small label that read: "Serving your Internet needs since 1992." During the next six to eight months, Mr. Jones says he expects to introduce user-based rankings and ratings of ibiblio library materials, adopting some of the methods and open-source software used by slashdot.org, another popular Internet site. "We want it to be Jacksonian, noisy, and participatory," he says. Mr. Young, a prominent proponent of open-source software, says Congress, in recent years, has been too protective of patent and copyright holders at the expense of the public's interest. "If all knowledge was owned by some megacorporation, and if copyrights were indefinite as some people in Congress are proposing," he says, "the world's most profitable corporation today would be Ancient Greek Mathematicians Inc." He says ibiblio is proof that "extending patents and copyright rules to the satisfaction of Disney or Time Warner is not necessarily in the interest of all of us as citizens." Western scientific progress has been made by sharing knowledge, Mr. Young says, "and that's what the MetaLab and the University of North Carolina have always stood for." _________________________________________________________________ Chronicle subscribers can read this article on the Web at this address: http://chronicle.com/free/2000/09/2000091201t.htm If you would like to have complete access to The Chronicle's Web site, a special subscription offer can be found at: http://chronicle.com/4free Use the code D00CM when ordering. _________________________________________________________________ You may visit The Chronicle as follows: * via the World-Wide Web, at http://chronicle.com * via telnet at chronicle.com _________________________________________________________________ Copyright 2000 by The Chronicle of Higher Education -------------------------------------------- The Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publication http://www.stoa.org To unsubscribe from this list, send the command unsubscribe stoa to majordomo@colleges.org. To send a message to the whole list, send it to stoa@colleges.org If you have any trouble using the list or questions about it, please address them to the list-owner, Ross Scaife, scaife@pop.uky.edu. From: cbf@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Re: 14.0226 meaning of "course buyout" Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 08:36:19 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 353 (353) As far as I know course buyout of the sort described below is not permissable at Berkeley. Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0226 meaning of "course buyout" Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 08:36:43 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 354 (354) Thanks for clarifying "course buyouts" -- it seems a remarkably odd practice. I must confess that in 35 years in the profession, in the Ivy League, the Big 10, a leading private university and a state one, I've never heard of it. From: Ken Friedman Subject: Georgia Tech: 2 positions in interactive media Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 11:49:00 -0400 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 355 (355) To: Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Communication, and Culture is an internationally recognized leader in redefining humanities-based education for the digital era. The school has brought together a uniquely strong faculty in film studies, hypertext, interactive narrative, electronic art, media and performance studies, and in cultural studies of science and technology. The research life of the School includes Configurations, the journal of the Society for Literature and Science, and the film journal Postscript. The School's faculty are engaged in new media project development both in LCC's dedicated New Media Center and in collaboration with innovative computer scientists through Georgia Tech's Center for Graphics, Visualization, and Usability. The School offers a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Culture and an M.S. in Information Design and Technology. A Ph.D. is in the planning stages. The School plans to make two appointments in interactive media: one at the rank of associate professor and one at the rank of assistant professor. It seeks candidates who are practitioner-theorists with expertise in one or more of the following specialties: digital art and design, simulation and game design, 3-D computing, humanities computing, electronic journalism, digital filmmaking and videography, and/or educational applications of new media. Applicants should have either a Ph.D. in an appropriate field or an appropriate terminal degree. Candidates for the senior position should have significant publication and/or digital products. Send cover letter and CV to Professor Janet Murray, Chair, Faculty Search, School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0165. We will begin reviewing applications on November 1 and continue until positions are filled. The Georgia Institute of Technology is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Minority candidates are encouraged to apply. -- Ken Friedman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Department of Knowledge Management Norwegian School of Management +47 22.98.51.07 Direct line +47 22.98.51.11 Telefax Home office: +46 (46) 53.245 Telephone +46 (46) 53.345 Telefax email: ken.friedman@bi.no From: Subject: Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 356 (356) [deleted quotation] [...] [deleted quotation] I agree that it is easy for most humanist to be proud of their correct attitude because it has never been tempted, but I am not certain that your proposal is not simplifying the problems, because the tension between academic and commercial information handling hasn't been solved by those areas of science where it has been felt longer. So maybe a simple "we do it like them" rule may be not enough. But I am interested in another point of your answer: Could you give us an outline how the university regulations look like? How do they prevent that most research results which can be used commercially are going this way? Fotis Jannidis ________________________________________ Forum Computerphilologie http://computerphilologie.uni-muenchen.de From: MNIELSEN34@aol.com Subject: Re: computers outsmarting humans? Date: X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 357 (357) In a message dated 9/11/0 A. Tripathi writes: [deleted quotation] As a fiction writer only peripherally tied-into the higher education world at this point in my career, I found this post intriguing. Its citation of a science-fiction author raised a question for me: were any members of Humanist present in Chicago for the WorldCon Science-Fiction Convention over America's Labor Day weekend? I'd be glad for feedback on the conference from this list, if so. One piece of good news: there was a good "academic track" at the confence, which discussed (among other things) the need for getting the fandom community and the academic community to talk with and respect each other. But wanting it and having it are two different things... there's still more competition than cooperation among these groups, it seems, if they even talk at all. My limited-scope appraisal of other Humanist-relevant content: It seemed there were surprisingly few workshops or panels at WorldCon on Artificial Intelligence and similar Internet/computing-related matters. Perhaps the "fandom" and fiction-writing communities are still playing catch-up to the scientific and academic ones (in what they regularly talk about). Science-fiction fans (as a subset of "the public") generally use computer technology and lingo extensively, but not as many are discussing the social, ethical, or theoretical implications of present research (what you Humanists are up to) for world economies and daily life. Do they not know, or do they just not care? I'm not sure, personally. Case-in-point: Humanist's recent discussion of the (Encarta) "business vs. academia" challenge is of much greater depth and quality than the level of discussion I hear among fans/consumers on similar socio-economic matters. Is the difference that the fans are "playing" and the Humanists are "working", or is it more subtle than that? Any comments or rebuttals? -Mark Nielsen From: Osher Doctorow osher@ix.netcom.com, Wed. Sept. 13, 2000, 8:26AM Subject: Re: 14.0225 new on WWW: computers outsmarting humans? Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:25:43 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 358 (358) Dear Colleagues: Arun-Kumar Tripathi as usual brings interesting contributions. It occurs to me that if a "history" computer were programmed to avoid repeating historical errors and ignore long historical sagas not directly relevant to historical errors, it would almost immediately exceed the abilities of many history professors and teachers. Yours historically, Osher From: Adrian Miles Subject: Re: 14.0226 meaning of "course buyout" Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:18:44 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 359 (359) At 09:42 +0100 12/9/2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [deleted quotation] I have done this as a matter of course where I have received project funding. I have done this because: a) all my teaching is intensive (small groups, I teach and mark all my students work) b) my full time load is 12 contact hours per week per semester (i'm in Australia) c) this translates to close to 30 hours of work per week (our 'paid' week is 38 hours) which leaves little time for much else. my opinions: a) your courses generally still need to be managed by you when you've got someone else doing them b) your courses need to be reasonably 'modular' and contained for this to be effective (if you teach in a way where there is informal overlap with other subjects then you will have problems). An example: i used to teach most of the 3rd year cinema theory subjects, and the hypertext theory subjects. Most of the students were the same cohort, and I'd rely on poststructural theories my students learnt in cinema in teaching hypertext (or vice versa). But once someone else teaches one of these, this continuity is lost. Simply means I had to reassess my own teaching practices (which was a good thing). c) your courses need to be very well documented so it's clear to whoever comes in to teach what is to be done, how, what the outcomes are to be, and what the teaching and learning experience is to be. This is crucial. d) quality control or whatever you call it needs to be watched very closely. another example: i'm very familiar with my computer labs and know how to fix/troubleshoot pretty much every tech. problem that occurs (and I usually know more about this than the tech.staff for my labs, unfortunately). someone comes in to teach for me, assures me they can use all the technology. result: absolute disaster with nothing working, no ability to explain the problems adequately to tech. staff, students, etc. This is part of a larger problem about support in teaching, but mentoring is often needed if the person teaching is what in australia we'd call "sessional" (ie, part time and exploited academic). The issue is lessened if your teaching is performed by a fellow member of faculty. in terms of how often. throughout our media studies program we have actively sought to ensure that subjects are able to be taught by different staff so that: a) staff can move through different subjects (and not only teach one course, we are a small program) b) subjects can run well if their original 'creator' is unavailable. This allows staff to do research without teaching, with the additional outcome that staff tend not to 'own' their courses so much. it is a problem when very good teachers leave for research, but on the other hand (this will sound like management speak) how good is a teacher if their subject can't survive without them? not sure if I answered your questions Matt, but simple rule: good staff get good funding. If this funding can be used to a) generate quality research b) mentor junior or new staff into teaching as a profession then i don't see an issue about how often. on the other side it is relatively easy to measure teaching (hours per week, student hours, pass rate, whatever) which makes 'what' you do for the university reasonably transparent. this is rarely the case in research. adrian miles -- lecturer in cinema studies and new media rmit university. 61 03 9925 3157 bowerbird.rmit.edu.au/adrian/ hypertext theory engine http://bowerbird.rmit.edu.au:8080/ adrian.miles@rmit.edu.au From: "Pat Moran" Subject: Re: 14.0223 what is a "course buyout"? Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:19:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 360 (360) As I understand it, a course buyout concerns an instructor who is scheduled to teach a class--and should do so--according to her/his contract. However, some instructors are more valuable as grant-writers or need the time to finish articles for publishing. In either case, the instructor buys out of the obligation--giving the department the money needed to hire another instructor to perform the duties. Pat Moran, Adjunct Faculty, Florida State University pjmoran@gdsys.net From: Adrian Miles Subject: Re: 14.0232 course buyout Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:19:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 361 (361) At 08:39 +0100 13/9/2000, Norman D. Hinton wrote: [deleted quotation] hi all as I've contributed to this thread can this be clarified for me please? are you saying that if I taught at an Ivy League Uni. and got $100,000 of research funding from somewhere, I could not use some of that funding to *not* teach? in other words that my teaching duties would remain unchanged? just want to make sure I understand that I'm talking about the same thing. regards adrian miles -- lecturer in cinema studies and new media rmit university. 61 03 9925 3157 bowerbird.rmit.edu.au/adrian/ hypertext theory engine http://bowerbird.rmit.edu.au:8080/ adrian.miles@rmit.edu.au From: "Erik Ringmar" Subject: Re: 14.0232 course buyout Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:20:56 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 362 (362) Dear all, At the LSE in London buyouts are allowed provided that colleagues aren't too inconvenienced. You simply hand back your salary for the time concerned, and survive on whatever your external grant/fellowship/salary provides you. (In fact, the School is quite happy to engage in these kinds of swaps since they often can get a big professor's salary and employ a cheap TA to replace him/her). yours, Erik Erik Ringmar Dept of Government LSE From: John Lavagnino Subject: ACH call for papers Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:28:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 363 (363) CALL FOR PAPERS Digital Media and Humanities Research: ACH/ALLC Conference, New York City, June 13-17 2001 The joint conference of the Association for Computers and the Humanities and the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing is the oldest established meeting of scholars working at the intersection of advanced information technologies and the humanities, annually attracting a distinguished international community at the forefront of their fields. The theme for the 2001 conference is "Digital Media and Humanities Research", and it will feature plenary addresses by two leading scholars: Johanna Drucker, Robertson Professor in Media Studies at the University of Virginia, and Alan Liu, Professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ACH/ALLC 2001 invites submissions of between 750 and 1500 words on any aspect of humanities computing or new media, broadly defined to encompass the common ground between information technology and problems in humanities research and teaching. We especially encourage submissions from any field which address the impact of new media on research methods and intellectual practices. As always, we welcome submissions in any area of the humanities, especially interdisciplinary work. Other areas of interest include the creation and use of digital resources, theoretical or speculative treatments of new media, and the application to humanities data of techniques developed in such fields as information science and the physical sciences and engineering. Successful proposals might focus on: * new approaches to research in humanities disciplines using digital resources dependent on images, audio, or video; * traditional applications of computing in the humanities, including (but not limited to) text encoding, hypertext, text corpora, computational lexicography, statistical models, and text analysis; * applications in the digital arts, especially projects and installations that feature technical advances of potential interest to humanities scholars; * information design in the humanities, including visualization, simulation, and modeling; * pedagogical applications of new media within the humanities; thoughtful considerations of the cultural impact of computing and new media; * the institutional role of humanities computing and new media within the contemporary academy, including curriculum development and collegial support for activities in these fields. Financial assistance for some speakers will be available: see the conference web page for details. For the first time the conference will also feature a workshop session on academic and industry jobs in humanities computing and new media. The deadline for submissions of paper/session proposals is 15 November 2000; the deadline for submissions of poster/demo proposals is 15 January 2001. See http://www.nyu.edu/its/humanities/ach_allc2001/ for full details on submitting proposals and on the conference in general. From: K.J.Lack@open.ac.uk Subject: Subject Knowledges and Professional Practice - 7 October Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:29:13 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 364 (364) ***apologies for cross-postings*** Subject Knowledges and Professional Practice in the arts and humanities The Humanities and Arts higher education Network's 6th annual conference, to be held on the 7 October 2000 at The Open University, Milton Keynes. http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm This conference will debate the question: is contemporary Professional Practice - with its emphasis on delivery of learning outcomes and information, on skills acquisition, etc., across all academic disciplines - at odds with traditional conceptions of subject knowledges in the arts and humanities, how and why they are taught and learned? The keynote address, 'Disciplining the Profession: Subjects Subject to Procedure', will be given by Dr Paul Standish. This will be followed by a variety of workshops and paper presentations. The attached pdf file, abstracts2000, gives more details about the programme and abstract information for each presentation/workshop. Deadline for registration: 1st October 2000 If you would like to attend this conference, please contact Kelvin Lack (k.j.lack@open.ac.uk) or visit the HAN web site (http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm) for more information. Alternatively, the attached pdf file flyer2000 contains a booking form. The attendance fee is 40, however a concessionary rate of 25 is available for members of the Humanities and Arts higher education Network (HAN) and full-time students. Contact Kelvin Lack for more information about the joining the HAN (membership is free-of-charge). ***please forward this email to interested colleagues*** ________________________________________________ Kelvin Lack Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA Email: k.j.lack@open.ac.uk Telephone: (01908) 653488 http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/index.htm http://iet.open.ac.uk/research/herg/han/index.htm From: Willard McCarty Subject: we return Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:18:22 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 365 (365) Dear Colleagues: After somewhat more of a delay than had been expected, the changeover in equipment and move of Humanist et al. at Virginia has been accomplished. Regular publication of Humanist now resumes! Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0231 UNC "Public Library of the Internet" Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:20:09 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 366 (366) Oh, wonderful, a noisy library. I'm glad it's not in my town. [deleted quotation] From: Willard McCarty Subject: job at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:24:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 367 (367) [Circulated at the request of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. --WM] DIRECTOR, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SYSTEMS MANAGER I STARTING ANNUAL SALARY $48,291 PLUS BENEFITS DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING APPLICATIONS: SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) seeks to employ a Systems Manager I to lead the work of its Information Management Systems (IMS) section and to supervise the IMS section staff. The successful candidate will direct the Department's long-range planning and implementation of computer services. This position reports to the Director of the Department, chairs the Department's Information Management Committee, which is composed of division directors and the computer services support staff in each division, and coordinates with each division director to support information management planning and assist in procurement of appropriate hardware and software. The incumbent in this position is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of services to computer users and supervises a staff of three computer service professionals. Other responsibilities include coordinating license and maintenance agreements, coordinating with the Electronic Records Archives Section, maintaining the department web server, and coordinating telecommunication services. The incumbent in this position will also coordinate technical training opportunities for the IMS staff and other Department staff members and is responsible for insuring that adequate technology resources are provided to meet the needs of the Department. An essential function of this position will involve monitoring the specifications, installation, and maintenance of the information systems infrastructure in the new Archives and History building that is scheduled for completion during the spring of 2002. Minimum requirements for the job include a bachelor's degree in library/information science, computer science, history, archival science, or a related field, 6 years of experience in the information systems area, including experience in managing a data processing unit and strong communication skills. Experience in an archival field, records management, the humanities, library services, or a related field is preferred. The starting annual salary is $48,291. Send (no email or fax) State Personnel Board application or resume, salary history, and three letters of reference to Clara McKinnon, Personnel Director, MDAH, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571. The deadline for receiving applications is September 30, 2000. MDAH is an Equal Opportunity Employer. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Richard C Thomas Subject: The Juicer questionnaire Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:21:32 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 368 (368) The following is forwarded with permission. Professor Thomas would greatly appreciate any responses. Yours, WM [deleted quotation] From: "Eric S. Rabkin" Subject: Re: 14.0236 AI, SciFi and the academic world Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:24:54 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 369 (369) Mark Nielsen asks if any members of HUMANIST were at the World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago. I was, along with three of the student researchers from our Genre Evolution Project, reporting in the "academic track" on the methods we've been developing, and some of the results to date, in testing the hypothesis that cultural materials evolve as complex adaptive systems using the American science fiction short story of the 20th century as our current test corpus. (For any who may want a glimpse, please see http://www.umich.edu/~genreevo.) My impression is that there was more talking about the failure of fans and academics to communicate than there was real failure to communicate. In fact, people were open, diverse, and generous in their conversation. The convention attracts pure fans--some of whom use these "cons" as a mainstay of their social lives and may not even read much, but some of whom are voracious readers with encyclopedic knowledge--as well as professional writers, editors, critics, agents, and academics. There are many people who warrant multiple designations so the mix is vibrant. In the public panels--both academic track and otherwise--as well as the corridor conversation, I think that this gathering often incites catalogic and anecdotal discourse ("oh, that's like this other book I read, thing I saw, conversation I had...") in greater proportion than, say, MLA, where the balance toward analytic discourse is weighter (and sometimes more ponderous). But a convention (not called a conference in this case) is at least as much for sparking imagination and acquaintance as it is for fostering collaborative thinking. Lots of fans took notes on what to read or view next; lots of professionals (I'm thinking of one TV script writer in particularwho moderated a non-ademic track panel on why TV SF is so often so bad) had insights of great value and insight that few academics would have come upon on their own. And then of course there are the many, wide-open of parties attended by people with Vulcan ears. I recommend it. -- Eric S. Rabkin 734-764-2553 (Office) Dept of English 734-764-6330 (Dept) Univ of Michigan 734-763-3128 (Fax) Ann Arbor MI 48109-1003 esrabkin@umich.edu http://www-personal.umich.edu/~esrabkin/ From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: Relationship between "Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology" Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:26:24 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 370 (370) (PNP) and its Archives dear humanist scholars, ((hi, forwarded via The Scout Report for Social Sciences -- September 19, 2000 --thought, might interest you.-arun)) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philosophy - Neuroscience - Psychology (PNP) Archive of Papers and Technical Reports -- Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri [PostScript] <http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~pnp/archive/archive.html> The Department of Philosophy at Washington University offers an extensive archive of papers and technical reports on interdisciplinary issues involving philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology at their PNP Website. The documents can be browsed by author's last name and by a number assigned by the maintainers of PNP, but no search option is available. Titles are listed with abstracts in HTML format and links to the full text, typically offered in PostScript format, though some are in HTML or ASC II. We found one bad link on our visit, but the archive is kept current, and many leading scholars in the field have posted work here. [DC] -- From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0246 course buyout Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:22:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 371 (371) In most of the schools I've taught at instead of a "course buyout" we have "non-instructional assignments", and they come down from the top, not up from the bottom. AShen I had an NIA for research, for instance, we just dropped the course for the time being, or someone else taught it, and I didn't have to have anything to do with it...I just got 1/3 of my pay for doing something else (grant or no grant). From: K.C.Cameron@exeter.ac.uk (K. C. Cameron) Subject: Re: Conference announcement Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:21:30 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 372 (372) CALL FOR PAPERS EXETER CALL 2001 UNIVERSITY OF EXETER September 1- 3 2001 Conference on CALL- The Challenge of Change EXETER CALL 2001 UNIVERSITY OF EXETER FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS September 1-3 2001 Conference on CALL- The Challenge of Change This will be the ninth biennial conference to be held in Exeter on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Previous conferences have allowed not only experts in the field, but all interested parties, to meet and discuss problems and progress in CALL in a relaxed atmosphere. Many of the papers have been published in Computer Assisted Language Learning. An International Journal (Swets & Zeitlinger), and bear witness to the weighty discoveries and research into this important area of modern education. If we are to work together and share our knowledge, an occasion such as the next conference provides a wonderful forum for us to do so. To mark the opening of the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, the conference will be followed by an optional workshop on 'Arabic meeting the challenge of CALL' on the afternoon of September 3. The estimated cost is 165 (one hundred and sixty-five pounds sterling) for en-suite accommodation in the Postgraduate Centre or 135 (one hundred and thirty-five pounds sterling) for standard accommodation in Mardon Hall. Both the Postgraduate Centre and Mardon Hall are centrally situated on the University campus, and the prices include full board, the Conference fee and a copy of the Proceedings - 100 pounds is the charge for non-residents. Proposals (c.100-150 words) are invited by February 1 2001 for papers (25 mins) on any aspect of research in CALL which fits into the general theme of 'CALL - The Challenge of Change'. For further information, please return the form below to : (Professor) Keith Cameron, CALL 2001 Conference, School of Modern Languages, Queen's Building, The University, EXETER, EX4 4QH, (UK); tel/fax (0)1392 264221/2; email CALL 2001, Exeter, CALL - The Challenge of Change NAME .......................................... .......................................... ADDRESS .......................................... .......................................... .......................................... .......................................... *I wish to attend the CALL conference September 1-3 2001 *I wish to attend the CALL conference Arabic Workshop September 3 (p.m.) 2001 * Special dietary requirements: *Please invoice me for *en-suite / *standard accommodation *I wish to propose a paper on: *Please send further particulars about the conference (* Delete as necessary) ------------- Keith Cameron Professor of French and Renaissance Studies, FRHistS, Chevalier dans l'ordre des Palmes academiques Editor of: - Computer Assisted Language Learning, (http://www.swets.nl/sps/journals/call.html); - Exeter Textes litteraires, (http://www.ex.ac.uk/uep/french.htm); - Exeter Tapes, (http://www.ex.ac.uk/french/staff/cameron/ExTapes.html); - EUROPA - online & European Studies Series, (http://www.intellect-net.com/europa/index.htm); - Elm Bank Modern Language Series, (http://www.intellect-net.com/elm/index.htm) Department of French, Queen's Building, The University, EXETER, EX4 4QH, G.B. WWW (http://www.ex.ac.uk/french/) Tel: 01392 264221 / + 44 1392 264221;Fax: 01392 264222 / + 44 (19) 1392 264222 E/mail: K.C.Cameron@ex.ac.uk From: Willard McCarty Subject: methodological primitives? Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:19:54 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 373 (373) Suppose that we look at any traditional academic field solely from the perspective of humanities computing. What we'd see, I'd guess, is data on the one hand and a set of mechanical operations ordinarily applied to them on the other. I'd like to ask here about those operations, how we define them, what they are in relation to algorithms at the low-level end and application programs at the high-level. I'll call these mechanical operations "methodological primitives" and define the type as "an algorithmically specifiable transformation of data that forms a recognisable component of multiple scholarly processes". As an idea I would suppose the type to be a useful analytic tool with which to resolve what humanists do into a loosely bounded set of interoperable software components which could be assembled in whatever order by a scholar in order to aid his or her research. I'd suppose that alphanumeric sorting, compiling a frequency list of word-forms and lemmatising the word-forms of an inflected language would be examples at the lower-level end. At the upper would be concording a text -- here the difference between a primitive and an ordinary program, such as MonoConc, would be the modular design. My question is, how strong is the idea of methodological primitives? How useful? Is this a direction in which we should go? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Sheldon Richmond Subject: philosophy web site Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:16:28 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 374 (374) I wish to improve a philosophy web site, in development, meant to facilitate philosophy discussion in a general audience regardless of academic background. I request criticism as well as suggestions for must have philosophy links or other links. Please respond to me at: askthephilosof@yahoo.com or reply to this address if simpler. The url for the philosophy web site is: http://askthephilosopher.cjb.net ------------------------------------------------- Created by Zkey.com - http://www.zkey.com Awarded PCMagazine's Editors' Choice From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: About SCNewsline newsletter Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:17:26 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 375 (375) dear humanist members and researchers, Hello --I would like to tell you the details of an important "SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING NEWSLINE" --is the fortnightly electronic newsletter of scientific computing, brought to you by the publishers of Scientific Computing World. Written for scientists who rely on computers, SCNewsline provides the latest research, technology and business news, alongside announcements of key hardware and software products. To SUBSCRIBE to SCNewsline, go to (http://www.scientific-computing.com/cgi-bin/register_frameset.cgi) and fill in the simple form. Visit the Scientific Computing Website at <http://www.scientific-computing.com> for information and links to upcoming conferences and exhibitions worldwide. To See: If you qualify for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Scientific Computing World? Fill out our online form, and if you qualify we'll send you the next year's issues for no charge. Click through to <http://www.scientific-computing.com/cgi-bin/register_frameset.cgi> to view the registration form. For more details --please contact the Editor of "SCNewsline newsletter", Dr. Tom Wilkie, at (tom@campublishers.com) Thank you..and enjoy the research and technology news! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Invitation]Artificial Intelligence in Education Listserv Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:18:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 376 (376) Greetings researchers, The list owner of: "Artificial Intelligence in Education" has invited you to join their mailing list at ListBot. To subscribe, write to (ared-subscribe@listbot.com) *** After subcription to the lists, please send all your postings to the address at The list owner has included the following welcome message: =========================================================== This is a welcome message..from Arun Tripathi, List owner of this lists..He is inviting all of you to join the ARED lists. The ARED is an abbreviation of ARtificial intElligence in eDucation. The purpose of the ARED Lists is to discuss the aspects and the use of artificial intelligence techniques in the field of learning, technology and education to help schools, the teachers to enhance learning. "As the field of artificial intelligence matures, our ability to constructs intelligent artifacts increases, as does the need for implemented systems to experimentally validate AI research in education and learning." HI-- I would like to invite all of you to indulge some kind of useful conversations regarding the below segments. Intelligent Tutoring Systems combine Artificial Intelligence(AI) techniques and computer-based tutoring systems. In today's state of the art ITSs (Bos & Plassche, 1994: Corbet & Anderson, 1992), information about a particular student, namely student models, already plays a significant role in the systems's understanding of a particular student's progress and problems. How ITSs are going to effect the student's progress and his problems? The list is also open for useful and intelligent discussions related to the field of Instructional Technology. Your list owner Arun Tripathi is always open for other criteria regarding this lists. Visit this list's home page at: http://ared.listbot.com Thanking you, Kind Regards Arun Tripathi PS: For any kind of problems, please mail me at From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: [Coverage]The Association of Internet Researchers' Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 09:19:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 377 (377) inaugural conference sounds interesting & important dear scholars, researchers, & thinkers, [Hi, I thought --this might interest you --recently at the AOIR conference --the Association of Internet Researchers discussed "Online Research Ethics Lacking" --any meaningful guidelines for online research is missing. Most AOIR researchers looked differently at Internet --for details see On the Net --at Association of Internet Researcher site <http://aoir.org> Thank you.-Arun] ======================================================================= Researchers Looking at Internet ET September 17, 2000 By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - As the Internet rapidly promotes new communities and new ways to communicate, researchers still are trying to catch up and figure out its costs and benefits. The Association of Internet Researchers' inaugural conference ended Sunday with more questions than answers about the Net's impact on social interactions and relationships. Does the Internet foster greater face-to-face contact offline, or does it tend to make people more reclusive? Are face-to-face interactions even the ideal means of contact for everyone, including the shy teen-ager who thrives online? "We know very little," said Manuel Castells, sociology professor at University of California-Berkeley. "We are transforming our world at the fullest speed - blindly," he said. "It could create a backlash from many people saying that for them, the Internet is worsening their lives." While Internet studies are only beginning, time is running out because technology changes rapidly, warned Stephen Jones, president of the association. The researchers' group, with more than 400 members, was formed to bring together sociologists, educators, technologists and other specialists who study the Internet. Despite their efforts, many expressed frustration about how little is known. "There's a lot of rhetoric and a fair amount of pseudo research," said Gary Burnett, a professor of information studies at Florida State University. "If we don't take measures to understand the subtleties of the world we live in, there's the possibility for significant negative consequences." Studies at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University have suggested that the Internet promotes reclusion or depression. But other studies, including those presented at the conference, found that Internet users communicate more often - online and offline - than people who are unconnected. Many researchers agreed that the Internet does foster communities around shared interests. Cancer survivors, gun owners and fans of television shows can all meet online even if they are hundreds of miles apart. "It's changing the mode through which communities emerge," said Andrew Wood, a professor in communications studies at San Jose State University in California. "It's hard to say whether that's good or bad, but it's certainly going to be different." Burnett identified one potential downside of virtual communities: Internet users may develop a large-scale view incompatible with the small, rural settings they live in. Dave Jacobson, an anthropologist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., found no evidence that people relate to one another any differently on the Net. But then again, he said, individuals can enter or leave a virtual community more easily than they can move from a town they dislike. And some researchers emphasized the difficulties of blaming or crediting the Internet for societal changes. After all, said University of Toronto sociologist Barry Wellman, neighborhood-based communities began declining long ago. "Many of the things we ascribe to computerization had been happening before," Wellman said. LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Don't get too comfortable with your online support group. A researcher may be lurking, recording your outpourings in the name of science. In fact, a researcher posing as a member of the support group may be posting comments simply to observe the reaction from participants. As more researchers turn to the Internet for behavioral studies, there is growing concern about the potential harm to online users unaware that they have become research subjects when they discuss diseases, marital problems and sexual identity crises. Online research ethics -- specifically, the lack of any meaningful guidelines -- was one of the chief topics of discussion this week at the inaugural meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers. ``We're waiting for a major lawsuit,'' said Sarina Chen, professor of communications at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. ``Many people consider downloading data from the Internet `content analysis.' That's very naive.'' She ought to know: She said she almost lost her job when participants in a support group for eating disorders complained to her superiors about the tone of some postings that one of her students had made as part of a class assignment. Failing to get consent before monitoring Internet chat rooms and other discussion forums amounts to an invasion of privacy and can make participants more guarded in their dealings with one another, Chen said. In more extreme cases, other researchers warned, a posting inserted by a researcher can shift the nature of discussion and prompt participants to take action they otherwise would not. Barbara Lackritz, a leukemia survivor from St. Louis who runs more than two dozen cancer support groups, said researchers have been dropping in with increased frequency. ``It's very frustrating,'' she said in a telephone interview. ``We have all kinds of researchers, from kids who are in high school to master's degree candidates who want to do a thesis.'' Researchers who want to monitor her discussion groups often get permission first from group moderators, she said. But too often, she said, researchers don't ask, and ``think we're a slab of people waiting to do research for them.'' She said one support-group participant who hadn't told his friends, family and neighbors about his cancer started getting phone calls all of a sudden from people saying, ``I'm sorry.'' He then learned that a researcher had posted his full name and diagnosis on a Web site. Now that participant uses a pseudonym. ``He was furious,'' Lackritz said. ``In the long run, it hurt him financially and in his relationships with family.'' Federal law and university review boards generally prohibit experiments on humans without consent, though some observations in public settings are acceptable. But where do you draw the line between public and private on the Internet? Many discussion groups are open to the public, but participants generally assume that fellow members join because they have similar interests or concerns. That makes such forums less like a public square and more like someone's living room, said Amy Bruckman, a professor of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Other researchers, however, believe they can monitor those discussions as long as they do not identify subjects in research papers. ``It's more important how data is analyzed and disseminated than how it is gathered,'' said Joseph Walther, professor of communications, psychology and information technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Storm King, a Springfield, Mass., psychologist and spokesman for the International Society for Mental Health Online, said seeking consent can actually cause participants to clam up, making observations of natural settings more difficult. The Association of Internet Researchers will probably decide Sunday to form a task force to draft guidelines by next year's meeting, said Stephen Jones, the group's president. David Snowball, professor of speech communication at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., said he was surprised when students proposed to eavesdrop on a support group and create fake traumas for the group to consider. He was even more surprised when he learned the students got the idea from other faculty members, who believed the practice was OK because participants would probably never know. ``The online world is still new and opens up all sorts of ways of doing research,'' said Charles Ess, a professor in cultural studies at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. ``It's much easier to lurk in a chat room undetected than it is to stand in a room and take notes.'' On the Net: http://aoir.org ------------------------------------------------------------ From: Jennifer De Beer Subject: Re: 14.0249 noisy libraries Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:47:34 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 378 (378) Colleagues, [deleted quotation] The concept 'digital library' implies networked access, no? And that the users are not all located in the same physical space. Hence the noisy library is not the traditional physical space / building, but rather a cyber one. In the latter instance noisiness is good (as long as the infrastructure can handle the load/hit rate) Best, Jennifer From: Melissa Terras Subject: letter frequency in latin Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:45:24 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 379 (379) Hello All. A Question - I am looking for some (any) articles on statistical analysis of letter frequency in Latin. I know that there has been a lot of work done on letter frequency and versatility in the English Language, but does anyone know of any resources that deal with letter frequency and propbable letter sequences in Latin, from whatever period? Thanks! Melissa ________________________________________ Melissa M Terras MA MSc Engineering Science / Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents Christ Church University of Oxford Oxford 0X1 1DP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ From: Wilhelm Ott Subject: Re: 14.0258 methodological primitives? Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:41:49 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 380 (380) Dear Willard (and Humanist participants), of course, the idea of "methodological primitives" is useful. You may be aware that, with TUSTEP, we have tried (for more than 30 years now) to take this idea as a basis for a software which is not only flexible but also guarantees that the user can really take over the responsibility for the results - since he is able (and has to do it) to define in every detail the "basic" operations to be carried out by the computer. For a short description of the concept, you are invited to consult http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/tustep/tustep_ox92.html (a paper given 1992 at the ALLC-ACH conference in Oxford). I disagree however regarding two of the three examples for the low-level end of "methodological primitives": 1. "lemmatizing the word forms of an inflected language": Let me argue from my own experience: It took us (Father Bonifatius Fischer and his team and myself) more than two years to lemmatize the latin inflected word forms occuring in the text of the Vulgate, though we had at our disposal the "Lexicon Electronicum Latinum" which Father Busa had compiled for his Index Thomisticus and though had written a software which automatically added, with the help of this Lexicon, the lemma to each inflected form - a procedure which produced an average of 2,5 proposals for each inflected form! We sorted the material back into the text sequence, in order to have the context available for the "manual" decision which of the proposed lemmatizations was the correct one. Expecting that a piece of software at the level of "methodological primitives" could decide if "facies" is, at a given location, a verb form or a substantive is far from reality in near future - though 30 years have gone since we lemmatized the Vulgate; also today, even "higher level" software like SYSTRAN (which is e.g. offered for translating web pages found by Altavista) fails to take the context into account (and therefore translates the term "content provider" into the German "der zufriedene Anbieter"). 2. "Alphanumeric sorting": Yes, if you have in mind a routine which rearranges a file according to the sequence of bits at certain locations of every record, irrespective if they are to be interpreted as numbers or as digits and letters, I agree. But this is far from what I would call "alphanumeric ordering". In TUSTEP, we did not even try to fully automize the steps necessary to arrive at a required ordering. Not only are there different rules for almost every language (the EC has only recently established a norm for multilingual ordering in EU documents, see http://www.stri.is/TC304/EOR), but sometimes (as for German) even concurrent rules, depending on the type of index you generate (e.g lexicon on the one hand, telephone directory or library catalogue at the other). And for scholarly purposes, also historical (or even unregulated) orthographies must be covered. So, what is needed is more elementary than "alphanumeric ordering": it is a routine which allows to construct arbitrarily complex and multiple "ordering keys" from a given text or part of text, which then allows to obtain the required order with the help of a "mechanical" ordering procedure which has to do nothing than to rearrange the records according to the ascending value of the bit string contained in the ordering key. The scholar must however have the possibility to define in every detail the rules for constructing the ordering keys. Therefore, also "alphanumeric sorting" is, for these purposes, too complex a procedure to be put on the lower level of methodological primitives. A short summary of what we regard as "basic operations for text data processing" which should be at the disposal of a textual scholar can be found at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/tustep/tdv_eng.html#b Yours, Wilhelm Ott --------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Ott phone: +49-7071-2970210 Universitaet Tuebingen fax: +49-7071-295912 Zentrum fuer Datenverarbeitung e-mail: ott@zdv.uni-tuebingen.de Waechterstrasse 76 http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/ D-72074 Tuebingen From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Re: 14.0258 methodological primitives? Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:43:10 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 381 (381) Willard, I just had to pour myself a glass of stout -- one of the most primitive of scholarly processes -- to begin to reread and unravel that very intriguing quasi-grant speak paragraph... [deleted quotation] why not call them "mechanical operations"? what is gained/lost in calling them "methodological primitives"? As I sip on my stout, I wonder if this not close to reifying a process. Not a bad thing in itself when looks at a systems analysis of a complex set of exchanges and communications across multiple nodes and processing centres. Flowcharts of where something is produced, housed, transfered, transformed and disposed, work for me. Stout is brewed, bottle and shippped. Yet I wouldn't call any of these either "mechancial operations" or "methodological primitives". Now the products and tools of your Humanities Computing may be an entirely different type of entity than a good bottle of stout. [deleted quotation]data [deleted quotation] are not all transformation algorithmically specifiable? (includinging random event generators such a pausing to sip on one's breverage)? recognisable to whom? to all the participants across all the disciplines or to the "translators" at cross-disciplinary thresholds? Note, I have indeed moved from your "scholarly processes" to "disciplines" thus mimicking your initiall move from mechanical to methodological and from process to primitive ... (I'm sure some ale drinkers could contribute some fine words on the comparative etymology of "method" and "mecanic" and there is scarely an imbiber of single malts who would not want to venture and opinion as to the word roots that tangle "primitive" and "process" in a heady concotion given several rounds of fine peaty Islay scotch.) As an [deleted quotation] I want to do a very primitive reader process and reparse this last bit so I just might switch to grappa. I would heartily raise a glass of fire-water to the aid to research any thought about the use value of ideas (as long as it came from cows raised on organic feed and free to range). Actually I like the paragraph, I just would from a general systems perspective change one word. The "into" should be changed to "with". And I would add, draining my glass, that one of those components include communications software to place the "with" as the hinge between a scholar and the data but also between scholars. As I place my glass on the table before me, I insist, comtemplating the empty glass, that behind much of the lingo in that artfully crafted paragraph is a primitive all right, one called the "means of production". [this is where they haul me off before I rant and sputter and start quoting long passages from a book with a long history and attempt to reconcile that book's section on "the two fundatmental forms of manufacture -- heterogenous and organic" with the elegant and freighted word "interoperable"] [deleted quotation] If we were to tour Scotland, I could do the islands and you could do the highlands, and we could meet in Thailand to compare notes. The year after I could follow your route and yours mine and we could meet in Helsinki to swap stories. OR we could swap stories while on the road. If we all went in the same direction ... there would be no strength to any idea. Promise to send me a postcard from where ever you plant the hops, harvest the grapes or milk the cows. f. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: Osher Doctorow, osher@ix.netcom.com, Thurs. Sept. 21, 2000, 9:24PM Subject: Re: 14.0258 methodological primitives? Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:44:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 382 (382) Professor McCarty, as usual your questions are ingenious. I do not know the answer. I have been wondering something similar, although somewhat across disciplines. Readers might be interested in one or two of my last few contributions to evolutionary-computing@mailbase.ac.uk . Whatever the answer, and I certainly will look into it, we need to remember (I think) to keep our goals high. In fact, I am beginning to think that people's goals should always be higher than they can even imagine - or maybe as high, depending on the way one looks at it. I know that produces some strange side effects, as one might call them, including the Man From La Mancha, but I am beginning to change my view even of the Man From La Mancha. I think that Cervantes could have had an intuition about the universe, whose mysteries, whose questions and answers, go far beyond what is commonly believed and held to be true, from prehistory and pyramids in Ancient Egypt to the Magna Carta and Limelight and modern times on earth, not to mention elsewhere. Occasionally some angry blamers get hold of goals beyond their reasoning, like the Nazis who made the Holocaust and the bombing of Britain. But, as I indicated on evolutionary-computing, there have to be questions about viruses' viruses (viruses which destroy other viruses), things between life and viruses, things between death and viruses, things between the inorganic and viruses, and so on, before we can probably conquer cancer and AIDS and even polio and tuberculosis whose symptoms we can eliminate but whose causes we know nothing about. Let us have a type and a methodological primitive or many for humanist computing and interdisciplinary computing, by all means, but let it be types for all seasons and all imaginings or beyond. Let us try not to merely computerize machines to recreate human beings but to begin with what we know about humanist computing and viruses and life and science and humanities and move onward from there. A Type For All Seasons. A Type for the Viruses' Virus, the cancer's cancer. Maybe even a type for the Old Man/Woman/Being, as Einstein thought. Osher Doctorow From: Convergence Subject: [CfP]_Convergence_ devoted to the theme of an historical Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 16:20:39 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 383 (383) [--] *This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro* Call for papers The Winter 2001 issue of Convergence (vol. 7, no. 4) will be devoted to the theme of an historical approach to understanding the future adoption and diffusion of new media technologies. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it George Santayana, 1863-1952 o History of the Future of New Media The study of new media as a specialization within mass communication began to take root with the advent of satellite distribution of television signals and the resultant explosion in new video channels. Established models of mass communication included the broadcast of messages from a media source (whether print or electronic) to a generally heterogeneous audience with limited (if any) direct feedback from that audience. The infusion of computer-mediated communication, interactive systems that connected receiver to sender, and the emergence of the World-Wide Web have challenged the traditional view of mass communication. Other point-to-point communication technologies such as fax machines, cellular telephones and pages have also had a dramatic impact on peoples daily lives. o Understanding New Media From an Historical Perspective Anyone predicting the media landscape in 1960 from the vantage point of 1955 would have had relatively little difficulty in making accurate forecasts. The same can not be said for a forecaster in the year 2000 looking 5 years down the road. While new media become the focus of scholarly investigation generally after the medium is well established, not all new media survive in the marketplace. Examples include CBSs Field Sequential Color Television System (rejected by the FCC but taken to the moon by the Apollo missions), AT&Ts PicturePhone, over-the-air subscription television, analog DBS, Qube interactive cable television, quadraphonic sound, CB radio, teletext, videotex, RCAs CED videodisc player and AM stereo. What were proponents (direct advocates for the technologies), competitive critics (those who wished to protect an alternative technology), and objective observers (those with no apparent stake in the adoption and diffusion of the technology) saying about these new media? Original case study manuscripts of one or more of these technologies are especially encouraged. o Theories of New Media Adoption and Diffusion Are there any inevitabilities in the adoption and diffusion of new media? Were radio and television destined for mass adoption? Was it predictable that the World-Wide Web in the United States would quickly become a new medium dominated by commercially sponsored content? Would changes in political (including regulatory and policy concerns), economic, or technological factors have altered the course of media development? Based on what we know about how new media have evolved in the past, can we create theoretical constructs from which we can better understand the future of new media today? o New Media Visionaries Finally, some visionaries seem to be able to see the future of media technologies. One of the most commonly cited visionaries of the hypertext age has been Vanevar Bush, Harry Trumans Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. (Arthur C. Clark, J.C.R. Licklider, Nicholas Negroponte and Daniel Bell are more authors who may be considered visionaries for new communication technologies and their social impact.) What other historical examples exist of insightful visions of the future of communication technology exist? What can we learn from these visions and the visionaries? Submissions are welcomed relating to the history of the future of new media technologies and services (eg Carolyn Marvin, 1988, Ithiel de Sola Pool, 1983) from theoretical, historical, economic, and policy perspectives as well as retrospective technology assessment. Original works that analyze the actual writings of the future of existing or previous communication technologies are sought. Copy deadline for refereed research articles: 30 April 2001. All proposals, inquiries and submissions for this special issue to: Bruce C. Klopfenstein Professor of Telecommunications, Department of Telecommunications, 320 West Hall, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA. Web: <http://www.luton.ac.uk/Convergence> e-mail: klopfenstein@earthlink.net -- From: Jean-Francois Chenier Subject: Colloque Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 06:57:52 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 384 (384) Rencontres internationales " Identits narratives : mmoire et perception " Du 11 au 14 octobre 2000 l'Htel des Gouverneurs Place Dupuis, 1415 St-Hubert, Montral Salle Sherbrooke Station de Mtro Berri-UQAM 4 thmes : Mercredi : " Identit : l'individuel et le collectif " Jeudi : " Mmoire : l'archive et la ruine " Vendredi : " Perception : le rel et le virtuel " Samedi : " Narration : l'histoire et la fiction " Organisateurs : Simon Harel Jocelyne Lupien Alexis Nouss Pierre Ouellet Participants Michel Audisio (Paris) Pierre Boudon (Montral) Grard Bucher (Buffalo) Michle Cadoret (Paris) Magda Carneci (Bucarest, Roumanie) Paul Chamberland (Montral) Jean-Franois Chiantaretto (Paris) ric Clmens (Bruxelles) Natalie Depraz (Paris) Jol Des Rosiers (Montral) Louise Dupr (Montral) Peter Frhlicher (Zrich) Bogumil Jewsiewicki Koss (Qubec) Michal La Chance (Montral) Jocelyn Ltourneau (Qubec) Alain Mdam (Paris, Montral) Sherry Simon (Montral) Rgine Robin (Montral) Jacques-Bernard Roumanes (Montral) Adelaide Russo (Baton Rouge) Serge Tisseron (Paris) Laurier Turgeon (Qubec) Jean-Philippe Uzel (Montral) Michel van Schendel (Montral) Antoine Volodine (Paris) Anthony Wall (Calgary) Cecilia Wiktorowicz (Montral) Lancement collectif jeudi 12 octobre 17h30 Biennale de Montral 1650, rue Berri Pour information : Caroline Dsy tl. (514) 987-3000, poste 1664 fax. (514) 987-8218 desy.caroline@uqam.ca Adresse postale : Dpartement d'tudes littraires, UQAM, C. P. 8888, Succ Centre-Ville, Montral, Qc, CanadaH3C 3P8 Ce colloque est organis dans le cadre du programme " Initiatives de dveloppement de la recherche " (IDR) du Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Humaines du Canada (CRSHC) et du CELAT-UQAM. Caroline Dsy Stagiaire postdoctorale et agente de recherche Dpartement d'tudes littraires/CELAT Universit du Qubec Montral Tl.(514)987-3000, poste 1664# Fax (514)987-8218 desy.caroline@uqam.ca From: Cajsa Baldini Subject: The Sixth Cardiff Conference, in Santiago de Compostela, Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 06:59:12 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 385 (385) Spain The Sixth Cardiff Conference, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain 19 - 23 July, 2001. CALL FOR PAPERS Papers are invited for the Sixth Cardiff Conference on the Theory and Practice of Translation in the Middle Ages. The conference will be held July 19-23, 2001 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. We welcome not only papers which address traditional aspects of the translation of texts into medieval vernaculars, but also those on the modern translation of medieval texts and those which, interpreting translation more broadly, deal with such issues as the translation of ideas, cultural understanding, or saints' bodies. Papers may be given in English, French or Spanish. Papers will be thirty minutes long. One-page abstracts and curriculum vitae should be sent by 15 OCTOBER 2000 to: Dr. Rosalynn Voaden Department of English Arizona State University PO Box 870302 Tempe, AZ 85287-0302 Or as an email attachment to Rosalynn.Voaden@asu.edu. Please include email and postal address. Selected papers from the conference will be published by Brepols in The Medieval Translator 7. The cost of the conference will be approximately $ 350 US, which will include registration, accommodation for five nights in a single room with private bath, breakfast and lunch each day, an opening reception and final banquet. There will be time set aside during the conference period to explore the many and varied attractions of Santiago and the surrounding area, either individually or as part of a group excursion. More information is available on-line at the conference website, <http://www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs/compostela>http://www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs/comp ostela, or by e-mail to Cajsa Baldini, cajsa.baldini@asu.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This conference is co-sponsored by The Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and the University of Wales, Cardiff. From: david silver Subject: [RCCS]: CFP: Book Reviews in Cyberculture Studies Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 14:22:25 -0400 (EDT) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 386 (386) [--] *** feel free to forward *** CFP: Book Reviews in Cyberculture Studies Each month, the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (RCCS) features two full-length reviews of books relevant to the emerging field of cyberculture studies. The reviews reflect a modest attempt to locate critically various contours of the emerging and interdisciplinary field of cyberculture studies, and cover a range of topics, from online culture, communities, and identities to hypertext, digital literacy, and artificial intelligence to Internet policy, the digital divide, and online privacy. Recent reviews include Zillah Eisenstein's Global Obscenities: Patriarchy, Capitalism, and the Lure of Cyberfantasy, Steve Jones's Doing Internet Research: Critical Issues and Methods for Examining the Net, and Lawrence Lessig's Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Currently, RCCS seeks scholars from across the disciplines to review the following titles: * Nancy Baym, Tune In, Log on: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community (Sage, 1999) * Joseph E. Behar, editor, Mapping Cyberspace: Social Research on the Electronic Frontier (Dowling College Press, 1997) * Michael Gurstein, editor, Community Informatics: Enabling Communities with Information and Communication Technologies (Idea Group Publishing, 2000) * Amy Jo Kim, Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities (Peachpit Press, 2000) * Michael Margolis & David Resnick, editors, Politics as Usual: The Cyberspace "Revolution" (Sage, 2000) * Jenny Preece, Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability (John Wiley & Sons, 2000) * Arthur B. Shostak, Cyberunion : Empowering Labor Through Computer Technology (M.E. Sharpe, 1999) Book reviews run between 1500 and 2000 words and are published and archived online. To get a flavor of what the reviews are all about, visit . Anyone wishing to review should email David Silver and enclose the following: the book you wish to review, a brief CV and/or any relevant experience, and a target date you would like for submission. DEADLINE FOR INQUIRIES: October 1, 2000. RCCS is an online, not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to study, research, teach, create, and critique diverse and dynamic elements of cyberculture. david silver http://www.glue.umd.edu/~dsilver/ ****************************************************************** resource center for cyberculture studies http://otal.umd.edu/~rccs To unsubscribe from this list, email: majordomo@majordomo.umd.edu No subject is needed. In the body, type: unsubscribe cyberculture ****************************************************************** From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0263 letter frequency in Latin? Date: Friday, September 22, 2000 4:01 AM X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 387 (387) [deleted quotation] From: Anne Mahoney Subject: letter frequency in Latin Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 06:53:23 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 388 (388) In a note to be published this year in Classical Outlook, my colleague Jeff Rydberg-Cox and I address this question. We counted the letters in the Perseus Latin corpus and found that the relative ranking of letters is not too different from that in English, except that 'i' and 'u' rank significantly higher than 'o' -- not surprising, given that they do double duty as consonants. The figures are as follows: letter percent (rounded) e 9.3 (727,785 occurrences) i 8.9 u 8.7 a 6.8 t 6.5 s 6.0 r 4.9 n 4.9 m 4.5 o 4.4 c 3.2 l 2.5 d 2.4 p 2.2 q 1.4 b 1.1 g 0.8 f 0.8 h 0.7 x 0.3 y 0.1 k 0 (434 occurrences) w 0 (322) z 0 (307) At the time there were no 'j' in the Perseus texts (though 'j' does occur in some of our schoolboy commentaries). The corpus is not consistent about 'u' and 'v', since we've retained whatever was in the original print editions, so we simply counted all 'v' as 'u'. We also did not attempt to weed out Roman numerals. The corpus we counted was about 7.8 million characters (letters, digits, and punctuation), from Plautus, Caesar (BG), Catullus, Cicero (orations and letters), Virgil, Horace (Odes), Livy (books 1-10), Ovid (Metamorphoses), Suetonius (Caesars), the Vulgate, and Servius's commentary on Virgil. Because this corpus is so heterogeneous, a lot more work could be done on refining the results. We did not look at letter sequences at all, and I don't think I've ever seen anything on that subject for Latin. --Anne Mahoney Perseus Project From: cbf@socrates.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Re: 14.0262 methodological primitives Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 07:00:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 389 (389) Does anyone remember, except me, the set of little UNIX utilities that Bill Tuthill wrote at Berkeley about 20 years ago? They were dumb as paint, to quote one of my colleagues, and incredibly useful. Wilhelm, as usual, makes some excellent points. Charles Faulhaber The Bancroft Library UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 (510) 642-3782 FAX (510) 642-7589 cfaulhab@library.berkeley.edu From: Stephen Ramsay Subject: Word lists Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 07:01:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 390 (390) Willard's question regarding methodological primitives is quite apropos to my current research, since I am in the process of creating a general-use textual analysis tool (which I think of, in my more grandiose moments, as a free, non-proprietary successor to TACT). Much of what I'm working with right now involves the use of large word lists, and I was wondering if my colleagues in computational linguistics might be able to point me in the right direction. How do I go about getting my hands on large word lists and corpora? I am particularly interested in word lists that map individual words to parts of speech. Surfing the web has turned up a few possibilities, but I wonder if anyone would be willing to supplement my scattershot approach with a professional sense of what's out there? Any help would be appreciated. Steve Stephen Ramsay Senior Programmer Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities Alderman Library, University of Virginia phone: (804) 924-6011 email: sjr3a@virginia.edu web: http://www.iath.virginia.edu/ "By ratiocination, I mean computation" -- Hobbes From: Willard McCarty Subject: level of granularity? Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 08:10:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 391 (391) Many thanks to Wilhelm Ott in Humanist 14.262 for his thoughtful response to my posting about methodological primitives, and to Charles Faulhaber, above, for his recollection of those UNIX tools. Indeed, the idea is an old one. I suppose one could argue that programming languages comprise statements that are methodological primitives of a sort and that the UNIX toolbox approach identified the notion quite early on. Certainly TUSTEP is an example of the kind of working environment I was asking about, and I'd hazard to say that no work along these lines could afford to ignore it. I'll confess to have said nothing about previous work and thinking in order to provoke whatever interest was among us, and now must beg your forgiveness if this seems a silly way to reopen an old topic. Perhaps the real question is, what remains to be done? -- assuming, of course, that we all agree the notion of methodological primitives is worthy. I'd venture to say that on the humanities computing research agenda there are at least two big items, or two big groups of items, metadata (i.e. encoding) and primitives. Francois Lachance asks what we gain from calling these things "primitives"? What I intended to suggest was a class of objects at the lowest practical level as this is defined by the operations of humanities scholarship. For practical purposes, black boxes (perhaps with switches and knobs, for minor adjustments) that a scholar could select and arrange ad lib. As Wilhelm Ott said in his message, lemmatising the words of an inflected language is at the moment not a primitive (...thus the discontent provider?) -- because so much intervention is required (as I know from having given up on a similar project in the same language). For this example, what I do not understand is whether it can ever be a primitive. I also rather ignorantly wonder if sorting, given enough of the right sort of switches and knobs, could be one, or if we could have distinct sort-primitives for groups of languages. Would a productive approach begin with asking at what level of "granularity" primitives can be defined, and whether this level is subject to change (i.e. to rise) with technological progress? Is there methodological value for the humanities in asking about algorithmically specifiable primitives? Is there simply too much variation in approaches to problems in the humanities ever to allow for significant progress beyond what has already been done? Two quite similar images stick in mind from work done many years ago. One is from some scientific visualisation software I saw demonstrated once: it allowed the user to construct a computational process by plugging together graphically represented sub-processes, allowing for various adjustments and interventions along the way. Another is from a lecture given by Antoinette Renouf (Liverpool, www.rdues.liv.ac.uk), who described her neologism-processor by a similar sort of industrial representation. Both have caused me to wonder if we couldn't have (with a great deal more work) something like a set of computational Legos to play with, and if we had such, whether we couldn't learn a fair bit by playing with them. Comments, please, esp those which open the windows. Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: "Domenico Fiormonte" Subject: Conference announcement Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 07:13:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 392 (392) COMPUTERS, LITERAURE AND PHILOLOGY (CLiP) An International Seminar Alicante (Spain), 16-17 October 2000 Following the success of Edinburgh 1998 and Rome 1999 the University of Alicante and the Instituto Cervantes are proud to announce the 3rd seminar "Computers, Literature an Philology" (CliP 2000). As many Humanist scholars know, CLiP has established itself as an authoritative but informal forum for discussing state of the art researches, methodologies an projects in the field of literary computing. The main focus of this edition would be the implementation and use of digital resources for teaching an research. The seminar will be conducted in English, Spanish and Italian. PARTICIPANTS There will be about 10 presentations and two panel sessions. Invited speakers include: Claire Blanche-Benveniste (Universit de Provence - CNRS) Lou Burnard, (Humanities Computing Unit, University of Oxford) Elisabeth Burr (Gerhard-Mercator-Universitt, Duisburg, Germany) Giuseppe Gigliozzi (Universit di Roma "La Sapienza") Francisco Marcos Marn (Instituto Cervantes) Antonio Moreno Sandoval (Universidad Autnoma de Madrid) Sarah Porter (Humanities Computing Development Team, University of Oxford) Allen Renear (Brown University, USA) Antonio Zampolli (Universit di Pisa - CNR) Conference details and online registration available on the Web at: http://cervantesvirtual.com/CliP2000 From: "Nancy M. Ide" Subject: ACL/SIGLEX Workshop: Word Senses and Multi-linguality Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 07:14:21 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 393 (393) ACL 2000 Workshop WORD SENSES AND MULTI-LINGUALITY Sponsored by the ACL Special Interest Group for the Lexicon (SIGLEX) 9:00-12:00 AM, October 7, 2000 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The SIGLEX workshop on Word Senses and Multi-linguality addresses problems of word sense disambiguation and delineation of appropriate sense distinctions, with specific emphasis on approaches that involve more than one language and the ways in which observations about cross-linguistic equivalence affect our consideration of sense divisions in the individual languages. More generally, we seek to foster discussion and exchanges of insight in any area of computational linguistics where a non-monolingual approach to word sense issues is being taken. PROGRAM 9:00-9:15 OPENING AND OVERVIEW Nancy Ide, Vassar College, USA Martha Palmer, Univ. of Penn., USA 9:15-9:45 An Unsupervised Method for Multilingual Word Sense Tagging Using Parallel Corpora Mona Diab, University of Maryland, USA 9:45-10:15 Sense Clusters for Information Retrieval: Evidence from SemCor and the EuroWordNet InterLingual Index Irina Chugar, Julio Gonzalo, Felisa Verdejo, UNED, Spain 10:15-10:30 COFFEE BREAK 10:30-11:00 Chinese-Japanese Cross Language Information Retrieval: A Han Character Based Approach Maruf Hasan, Yuji Matsumoto, NARA Inst., Japan 11:00-11:30 Experiments in Word Domain Disambiguation for Parallel Texts Bernardo Magnini, CarloStrapparava, IRST, Italy 11:30-12:00 DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY Nancy Ide, Vassar College, USA Adam Kilgarriff, ITRI, UK Martha Palmer, Univ. of Penn., USA David Yarowsky, Johns Hopkins, USA 12:00-12:15 SIGLEX Business Meeting Workshop Organizers Nancy Ide, Charles Fillmore, Philip Resnik, David Yarowsky Program Committee Helge Dyvik, University of Bergen Nancy Ide, Vassar College Christiane Fellbaum, Princeton University Charles Fillmore, UC Berkeley and ICSI Adam Kilgarriff, ITRI, University of Brighton Martha Palmer, University of Pennsylvania Philip Resnik, University of Maryland Evelyne Viegas, Microsoft Corporation David Yarowsky, Johns Hopkins University From: Lorenzo Magnani Subject: MODEL-BASED REASONING: SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 05:11:11 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 394 (394) [--] MODEL-BASED REASONING: SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, VALUES (MBR'01), Pavia, Italy, May 17-19, 2001. ********************************************************************** Up-to date information on the conference will be found at http://philos.unipv.it/courses/progra1.html or http://www.unipv.it/webphilos_lab/courses/progra1.html ********************************************************************** GENERAL INFORMATION From Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 May 2001 (three days) the International Conference "MODEL-BASED REASONING. SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, TECNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, VALUES" will be held at the University of Pavia (near Milan, Italy). PROGRAM The conference will deal with the logical, epistemological, and cognitive aspects of modeling practices employed in scientific discovery and technological innovation, including computational models of such practices. Abduction is widely recognized as a significant reasoning process in discovery whose features are in need of explication. We will solicit papers that examine various forms of model-based reasoning, such as analogical and visual modeling, from philosophical, historical, sociological, psychological, or computational perspectives. We also plan to address the problem of model-based reasoning in ethics reasoning, especially pertaining to science and technology. RELEVANT RESEARCH AREAS We shall call for papers that cover topics from the following list: - abduction - analogical reasoning - causal and counterfactual reasoning in model construction - computational models of model-based reasoning and scientific reasoning - conceptual combination and theory formation - hypothetical and explanatory reasoning - logical analyses that may contribute to our understanding of the issues in model-based reasoning - model-based reasoning in ethics - models and manipulative reasoning - models and technological innovation - thought experimenting - visual, spatial, imagistic modeling, reasoning, and simulation SUBMISSIONS OF PAPERS All submitted papers will be carefully refereed. The precise format of the conference will be fixed after we have an idea of the number of accepted papers. We are thinking in terms of presentations of 40 and 20 minutes. The funding is Italian and US, but we are also looking elsewhere for further financing (and would appreciate any suggestions). A selected subset will be invited for inclusion (subject to refereeing) in a book which will constitute an advanced handbook for scientists and researchers. The book will be published by an international publishing house. Moreover another selected subset will be invited for inclusion (subject to refereeing) in special issues of suitable international Journals. FORMAT Authors must submit three printed copies and an electronic version - formatted in Microsoft Word, RTF, PDF, or Postcript format - of an extended abstract (about 1000 words) not later than November 30, 2000. Please send electronically the extended abstract to the program chair at the address lmagnani@cc.gatech.edu in case of problem with the above address please use lorenzo@philos.unipv.it or lmagnaniusa@netscape.net REGISTRATION AND FURTHER INFORMATION Registration Fees: Before 15 March 2001: Normal: ITL. 300.000 = appr. US$ 155 (EUR 154.93) (to participate in all the activities of the Conference) Students: Free After 15 March 2001: Normal: ITL. 350.000 = appr. US$ 175 (EUR 180.75) (to participate in all the activities of theConference) Students: Free METHOD OF PAYMENT AND REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Bank (Swift) Transfer to BANCA REGIONALE EUROPEA S.p.A BRANCH PAVIA - Sede SWIFT BREUITM2 301 Bank Code 06906.11301 Acc. n. 520 Dipartimento di Filosofia indicating CONVEGNO INTERNAZIONALE MBR'01 PLEASE REGISTER by email, fax or air mail (before March 15, 2001) by sending PROGRAM CHAIR first and last name, function, institution, full address, phone, fax and email. For information about paper submission and the program that is not available on the web site, please contact the program chair. IMPORTANT DATES Registration deadline............................15 March 2001 Submission deadline..............................30 Nov 2000 Notification of acceptance.....................28 Feb 2001 Final papers (from those selected for publication) due........30 June 2001 Conference....................................17-19 May 2001 PROGRAM CHAIR Lorenzo MAGNANI School of Public Policy and College of Computing Program in Philosophy, Science, & Technology Georgia Institute of Technology, 685 Cherry Street Atlanta, GA, 30332 - 0345, USA Office: 404-894-0950 & 404-385-0884, Home: 404-875-3566 Fax: 404-385-0504 & 404-894-2970 Email: lorenzo.magnani@cc.gatech.edu Address in Italy: Department of Philosophy and Computational Philosophy Laboratory University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy Office: +39-0382-506283, Home: +39-0383-371067 Fax: +39-0382-23215 Email: lorenzo@philos.unipv.it PROGRAM CO-CHAIR Nancy J. NERSESSIAN (Program Co-Chair) Program in Cognitive Science School of Public Policy and College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA Email: nancyn@cc.gatech.edu PROGRAM CO-CHAIR Kenneth J. KNOESPEL (Program Co-Chair) School of History, Technology, and Society, and Program in Cognitive Science Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA Email: kenneth.knoespel@hts.gatech.edu PROGRAM COMMITTEE - Ann Bostrom, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA - Elena Gagliasso, Department of Philosophical and Epistemological Studies, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, ITALY - Dedre Gentner, Psychology Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA - Ronald N. Giere, Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, MN, USA - Mark L. Johnson, Department of Philosophy, 1295 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA - Kenneth Knoespel, School of History, Technology, and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA - Lorenzo Magnani, Department of Philosophy, University of Pavia, Pavia, ITALY and School of Public Policy and College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA - Pat Langley, Adaptive Systems Group, DaimlerChrysler Research & Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA - Nancy J. Nersessian, School of Public Policy and College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA - Brian Norton, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA - Claudio Pizzi, Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, ITALY - Mario Stefanelli, Department of Computer Science, University of Pavia, Pavia, ITALY - Paul Thagard, Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, CANADA - Ryan D. Tweney, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA - Stella Vosniadou, Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Brain and Cognitive Science Division, National and Capodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GREECE. LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Riccardo Dossena (riki.dox@libero), Elena Gandini (elegand@yahoo.com), Rosella Gennari (gennari@hum.uva.nl), Lorenzo Magnani (lmagnani@cc.gatech.edu), Massimo Manganaro (triskel@worldonline.it), Stefania Pernice (stepernice@libero.it), Matteo Piazza (pimat@yahoo.com), Giulio Poletti (philosophia@libero.it) Stefano Rini (s.rini@philos.unipv.it), Andrea Venturi (aventuri@philos.unipv.,it) (Department of Philosophy, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy), Mario Stefanelli (mstefa@ipvstefa.unipv.it) (Department of Computer Science, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy). IMPORTANT ADDRESSES LORENZO MAGNANI (Conference Chair) School of Public Policy and College of Computing Program in Philosophy, Science, & Technology Georgia Institute of Technology, 685 Cherry Street Atlanta, GA, 30332 - 0345, USA Office: 404-894-9050 & 404-385-0884, Home: 404-875-3566 Fax: 404-385-0504 & 404-894-2970 Email: lorenzo.magnani@cc.gatech.edu Address in Italy: Department of Philosophy and Computational Philosophy Laboratory University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy Office: +39-0382-506283, Home: +39-0383-371067 Fax: +39-0382-23215 Email: lorenzo@philos.unipv.it CONFERENCE SITE: Collegio Ghislieri, Piazza Ghislieri, 27100 PAVIA, Italy, phone +39 0382 22044. The Conference is sponsored by UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA, ITALY GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ATLANTA, GA, USA UNIVERSITY OF SIENA, ITALY UNIVERSITY OF ROME "LA SAPIENZA", ITALY, MURST (Ministero dell'Universit e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica), ITALY, CARIPLO (CASSA DI RISPARMIO DELLE PROVINCIE LOMBARDE, MILAN, ITALY) HOW TO REACH PAVIA LINATE Airport: People arriving by plane at LINATE should take the bus to the CENTRAL STATION of Milan (cf below fron this Station to Pavia). In LINATE it could be convenient to take a Taxi because the airport is close to the center of Milan. Moreover, The bus company SGEA offers six runs from LINATE to Pavia at 9.00, 10.00, 12.00 AM and 2.00, 5.00, 8.30 PM. The last stop is Pavia, near the station (see again our updated web page for possible alterations of this time-table) (from Pavia to LINATE six runs at 5,00, 7.45, 10.00 AM, 1.00, 4.00, 6.00 PM) (one hour trip). In Pavia there is only one station. The easiest way to reach the center of the town is to get off at the station and than take the bus n. 3. MALPENSA 2000 and OLD MALPENSA Airports (usually people arrive to Malpensa 2000 and not to OLD MALPENSA): People arriving by plane at MALPENSA 2000 (also called MALPENSA 2000 Terminal 1) or at "old" MALPENSA (now called MALPENSA NORTH but also called Malpensa 2000 Terminal 2) should take the bus to the CENTRAL STATION of Milan. There is also a bus AND A TRAIN from Malpensa 2000 to the NORTH STATION (Piazzale Cadorna) of Milan, in this case from NORTH Station you will have to take the underground MM1 to the Central Station: trains to Pavia leave from Central station). Moreover, the bus company SGEA offers four runs from MALPENSA 2000 to Pavia at 9.00 AM, 1:30 PM, 5.00 PM, and 9:30 PM - from Malpensa North (OLD Malpensa or Malpensa 2000 Terminal 2 5 munutes later) (from Pavia to MALPENSA 2000 and to OLD MALPENSA four runs at 7.00 AM, 11:00 AM, 3.15 PM, and 7:00 PM) (one hour and half trip). The last stop is Pavia, near the station (see again our updated web page for possible alterations of this time-table) In Pavia there is only one station. The easiest way to reach the center of the town is to get off at the station and than take the bus n. 3. There are trains from MILAN (Central Station) to PAVIA and vice Versa about every an hour (routes: MILAN-GENOVA; MILAN-VENTIMIGLIA; MILAN-LA SPEZIA; MILAN-SAVONA; MILAN-SESTRI LEVANTE; MILAN-IMPERIA; MILAN-ALBENGA; Pavia is the first stop only if the train is not slow, that is, if it is not, in ITALIAN, "L", locale). In Pavia there is only one rail station. The easiest way to reach the center of the town is to get off at the station and than take the bus n. 3. ACCOMMODATION The WEB site of the Tourist Office is http://www.systemy.it/pavia/home.html (new! sorry, only in Italian). The email address is info@apt.pv.it. When available you will find the whole list of hotels and other information concerning Pavia and its history. See also http://www.itwg.com/ct_00036.asp. In case of accommodation problems remember we will have at our disposal some rooms at special "conference rates" in the Colleges of the University. For further information please contact the Program Chair. As the the conferences dates are very close to summer holidays we recommend making your reservations as early as possible and before March 31, 2000 at the latest. ALL ACCOMMODATIONS (EXCEPT FOR INVITED SPEAKERS) WILL BE PROCESSED BY: Agenzia Viaggi ALOHATOUR Corso Cairoli 11 I - 27100 PAVIA Italy Phone: +39-0382-539565 Fax: +39-0382-539572 +39-0382-539504 email (only to request information): aloha@buonviaggio.it (cut here) ********************************************************************** ACCOMMODATION FORM - MBR'01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TO BE FAXED: +39-0382-539572 +39-0382-539504 OR MAILED: Agenzia Viaggi ALOHATOUR Corso Cairoli 11 I - 27100 PAVIA Italy email (only to request information): aloha@buonviaggio.it ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FILL IN CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE LAST NAME:___________________FIRST NAME:_____________Prof./Dr./Mr./Ms. AFFILIATION/UNIVERSITY/DEPT.__________________________________________ STREET:_______________________________________________________________ TOWN:___________________________CODE:_____________COUNTRY:____________ PHONE:__________________FAX:__________________E-MAIL:_________________ TYPE OF TRAVELLING:__________________DATE OF ARRIVAL:_________________ DATE OF DEPARTURE:___________________NUMBER OF NIGHTS:________________ CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND TYPE__________________________ EXPIRATION_____________ (you can also pay by bank transfer and postal order, please see below) ACCOMMODATION INCL. BREAKFAST SINGLE ROOM+BATH. / DOUBLE ROOM+BATH. ***HOTEL EXCELSIOR, Piazza Stazione, PAVIA LIT. 100.000 / LIT. 150.000 ______________ (EUR. 51.64 / EUR. 77.46) ****HOTEL ARISTON, Via Scopoli, PAVIA LIT. 130.000 / LIT. 190.000 +_____________ (EUR. 67.13 / EUR. 98.12) ****HOTEL MODERNO, Viale V. Emanuele, PAVIA LIT. 170.000 / LIT. 230.000 +_____________ (EUR. 87.79 / EUR. 118.78) RESERVATION CHARGE LIT. 25.000 +_______ (EUR. 12.91) TOTAL AMOUNT: =_____________ ACCOMMODATION DEPOSIT: ONE NIGHT LIT......... - _____________ (EUR) ACCOMMODATION BALANCE: LIT......... =_____________ (EUR)........ Hotel Excelsior (from the station walk east) Hotel Moderno (from the station walk north) To reach Hotel Ariston take the bus n. 3 or taxi. ____________________________________________________________________ PLEASE FAX OR MAIL THIS FORM AND PAY BY *CREDIT CARD* BEFORE *15 MARCH 2001* TO: FAX: +39-0382-539572 +39-0382-539504 MAIL ADDRESS: Agenzia Viaggi ALOHATOUR Corso Cairoli 11 I - 27100 PAVIA Italy email (only to request information): aloha@buonviaggio.it DATE OF PAYMENT____________YOUR SIGNATURE____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE FAX OR MAIL THIS FORM AND PAY BY *BANK TRANSFER* BEFORE *15 MARCH 2001* (fax or mail also a copy of the bank transfer) TO: BANCA REGIONALE EUROPEA S.p.A.BRANCH PAVIA - SedeSWIFT BREUITM2 301Bank Code 6906.11301 Agenzia Viaggi ALOHATOUR S.r.l. Acc.n 19952/4 DATE OF PAYMENT____________YOUR SIGNATURE___________________ ________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE FAX OR MAIL THIS FORM AND PAY BY *POSTAL ORDER* BEFORE* 15 MARCH 2001* (fax or mail also a copy of the postal receipt) TO: Agenzia Viaggi ALOHATOUR Corso Cairoli 11 I - 27100 PAVIA Italy DATE OF PAYMENT______________________YOUR SIGNATURE______________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ALHOATOUR WILL MAIL OR FAX YOU THE RESERVATION VOUCHER ALOHATOUR WILL SATISFY THE REQUESTS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. IF NOT POSSIBLE, ANOTHER SIMILAR ACCOMMODATION WILL BE ARRANGED. -- From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: noisy vs signalful Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 07:17:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 395 (395) [deleted quotation] In which case, could we not suggest that the good, effective, efficient cyber library is "signal full" rather than noisy --- the transactions are themselves a source of information that can help guide the management of the infrastructure... one researcher's noise -- another's signal -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: John Bradley Subject: Re: 14.0258 methodological primitives? Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 07:16:14 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 396 (396) Willard: I would certainly support anyone who took the view that Wilhelm Ott's TuStep system provides a very solid set of "primitives" for the scholarly manipulation of text. I have spent many hours of time examining their design (although I confess that my actual experience of using them has been very limited indeed) and can well appreciate that they could be combined to deal with a very large number of text manipulation needs. Anyone seriously interested in thinking about what a design needs to include in detail would benefit much from examining TuStep in this way. The approach towards tools for generalised processing shown in TuStep is, from the computing perspective, a very old one -- but at the same time it is a model that is still often applied when a computing professional needs to do a complex computing task him/herself. The UNIX environment with its basic "filtering" tools, a sorting program, some programmable text-oriented editors, and things like Perl, are based in very similar approaches. In Object Oriented (OO) design, there is a another way to design processing which is these days very much in fashion. One perhaps key difference: Object Oriented design blurs the distinction Willard made in his first posting on this subject between data and process, and I think this makes a dramatic difference in the way one looks at the whole issue. It seems particularly well suited for modelling processes that involve the production of "interactive" and "GUI-based" systems. I don't know of anyone, however, who has managed to take OO design and apply it in quite the way implied here -- as a basis for the construction of primitives that non-programmers could adapt for specific tasks. However, the original OO language -- Smalltalk -- >was< designed to allow non-programmer users (children) to create significant applications of their own, and it retains, I think, some of this flavour of supporting the combination of experiment, development and processing in a single environment. Furthermore, I know of people who have a set of powerful objects (in Smalltalk, it turns out) they use and enhance over and over again to accomplish very sophisticated text manipulation tasks. Any tool meant to support activities as diverse as those that turn up in humanities text-based computing cannot possibly be trivial to learn or use. The level of professionalism and commitment required for a full use of TuStep is, I think, roughly comparable to that required to learn to work with, say, Perl, or (I think) Smalltalk and text-oriented Smalltalk objects. Best wishes. ... john b ---------------------- John Bradley john.bradley@kcl.ac.uk From: noah wardrip-fruin Subject: DIGITAL ARTS & CULTURE 2001 at Brown University, April 27-29 Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 11:40:49 -0700 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 397 (397) [--] DIGITAL ARTS & CULTURE 2001 Brown University, April 27-29 <http://www.dac2001.org> Call for Proposals: Art & Performance Deadline: November 1, 2000 Digital Arts and Culture 2001 seeks to create a stimulating environment for experiencing and discussing art and performance related to digital culture. DAC 2001 will provide a context for a broad variety of current work, as well as opportunities to see the past anew. To this end, the Art and Performance committee invites proposals of new and archival/recontextualized: - objects, prints, kinetic sculptures; - installations; - performances; - time-based recordings; - hyperlit, netart, and games. Selections will be made by the committee, which expects to complete its acceptances by the end of calendar year 2000. Committee members include: Noah Wardrip-Fruin (Chair, New York University), Espen Aarseth (University of Bergen & Brown University), Kevin Duggan (arts/technology consultant), Carl Goodman (American Museum of the Moving Image), Diane Gromala (Georgia Tech), Christiane Paul (Whitney Museum & Intelligent Agent), David Reville (Brown University), Stephanie Strickland (independent artist), Martha Wilson (Franklin Furnace Archive), and Adrianne Wortzel (City University of New York & Cooper Union). A keynote performance will be invited for the conference. Internet connections will be available for works. Shipping and other costs will not be covered. Limited computation and display equipment will be available for some accepted works, as will some support from student volunteers and technical staff. Conference registration fees will be waived for accepted artists (at least one free registration per accepted artwork, though no more than one per artist). Proposal Instructions: 1) Submissions must include *both* (i) a one-page statement of your purpose in proposing, and (ii) a short (under 200 word) description of the work suitable for display at DAC. Both the submission statement and work description must include the name of the work, the names and affiliations of the artists involved, and dimensions and materials information if appropriate. Submission statements must also: - include all relevant contact information (email, phone, fax, snail-mail, url), - make desired presentation mode clear (e.g., you may propose to read a web-based hyperfiction aloud as a performance, or create a site-specific installation for it, or make it available in a gallery/reading room setting, etc.), - state if piece is currently completed (incomplete pieces must include expected completion timeline). 2) Submissions must also include (i) media documentation (e.g., images) of what you propose to make available at DAC 2001, and/or (ii) access instructions for a copy of the work itself. For work that has not yet been completed, please provide the best documentation possible. Any special jurying requests will be considered, however, proposers are encouraged to find a way to communicate with the jury within the following guidelines: - Images and files should be put up at an accessible web or ftp address. Free space is available from a number of services (e.g., http://www.myspace.com, http://briefcase.yahoo.com, http://www.xdrive.com, http://www.driveway.com). Please provide no more than 200 megabytes of files, please organize materials into one file for efficient access (e.g., tar/zip them together), and please use artist initials as first letters of top-level files/folders (e.g., use names such as "nwf_performance.mov" rather than generic file names such as "dac.gif"). No slides will be accepted and CD-ROMs are discouraged. - VHS tapes will be watched for 10 minutes from the point cued. Tapes will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). Digitized videos can be made available via the web or ftp (given appropriate plugin/viewing instructions) and must be no longer than 10 minutes. - Hyperlit, netart, and games for which files are made available will be experienced for 10 minutes by the jury. Proposer may provide an interaction "script" for this experience. Instructions must be provided for any needed technologies, which must be freely and readily available or provided by the proposer. - Installation and performance proposals must include floor plans with complete measurements, electrical and lighting requirements, network and computation needs, audio and video schematics, and any special requests (e.g., a sprung floor). 3) The submission statement, work description, and access instructions (for media documentation or a copy of the work itself) must be submitted via the DAC 2001 website on or before November 1, 2000. The web submission form, and any final proposal instructions, will be available at http://www.dac2001.org in October. About the Conference The fourth international Digital Arts & Culture Conference is jointly sponsored by the Scholarly Technology Group (Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island) and the Department of Humanistic Informatics (University of Bergen, Norway). DAC 2001 will be held April 27-29, 2001 in Providence, Rhode Island. This conference aims to embrace and explore the cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural theory and practice of contemporary digital arts and culture. Seeking to foster greater understanding about digital arts and culture across a wide spectrum of cultural, disciplinary, and professional practices, the conference cultivates an eclectic and collaborative forum. To this end, we cordially invite scholars, researchers, artists, computer professionals, and others who are working within the broadly defined areas of digital arts and culture to join in the DAC discourse community by submitting proposals for presentations at DAC 2001. Further Information DAC 2001 website (which includes Papers and Forums CFP): http://www.dac2001.org Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Art and Performance Chair noah@dac2001.org -- From: Bruce Damer Subject: Aavatars: Oct 14-15 is Avatars2000/Vlearnd3D 2000 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 02:21:06 -0700 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 398 (398) [--] Dear Avatars and Contact Consortium Community. We are excited to inform you about the upcoming Avatars2000/Vlearn3D 2000 events to be held online and in-person between October 14-15, 2000. See a special preview of the fabulous worlds you will experience in Avatars2000 at: <http://www.ccon.org/conf00/html/preview.htm> Both events are free to attend and described below so you can mark them on your calendar! 1) Avatars2000: CyberSpace for a New Millennium ************************************************** Avatars2000 is the fifth annual conference of the Contact Consortium and is the third to be held "in world" online in 3D virtual worlds, and at physical locales globally. Events for AV2000 will start on Saturday Oct 14 and then continue all day on Sunday Oct 15. Celebrations of the medium of inhabited Cyberspace will occur in Active Worlds, Blaxxun, the Palace, Onlive Traveler and other platforms. More will be posted soon at: <http://www.ccon.org> where you will soon be able to sign up as a speaker, artist exhibiting your work, guide to your world, exhibitor, webcam server, or enter into the ever popular Avvy Awards. The Active Worlds space for Avatars2000 is being built right now and is truly fabulous. See a preview at: <http://www.ccon.org/conf00/html/preview.htm> If you have a PC (or Mac with PC emulation software) on the net, you can jack in and explore these worlds for free with other pioneers of this new medium! 2) Vlearn3D 2000 "Live 3D, Learn 3D" ************************************************** VLearn3D 2000 is the second annual conference of the VLearn3D Special Interest Group of the Contact Consortium and this year focuses on the best of the best in learning in shared virtual spaces. UC Santa Cruz and other campuses will feature live speaker events on Friday Oct 13th then an extensive online series of panels and tours on Saturday Oct 14th. Vlearn3D 2000 will "jack in" to Avatars 2000 as it gets rolling on the Saturday. We have reproduced the preliminary program for Vlearn3D 2000 below, and many more details are now up on the website at: <http://www.vlearn3d.org/> We hope to see you in-person or in-world on this great weekend in October! Vlearn3D 2000 Preliminary program We are confirming expert practioners for our four speaker tracks that will highlight the October 14 VLearn3D 2000 in cyberspace. We are also excited to report that Mike Heim of the University will be hosting and chairing the KEYNOTE PANEL to kick-off Cyberforum@ArtCenter Fall 2000 -- at the end of the afternoon to align with Avatars 2000 the following day. Heim's surprise panel guests will be announced soon! Please refer to the schedule below -- the speaker tracks will be posted on the vlearn3d conference site on Monday. Our four speaker tracks will each occur in a different world and feature 3-5 practioners and leaders in the field. Each track will each begin promptly on the hour. SPEAKER TRACKS PDT: 10am to 1pm EST: 1 pm to 2pm GMT: 6pm to 7pm Gaming and Virtual Learning Environments Chair, Andrew Phelps, Rochester Institute of Technology Panelists: TBA Virtual Location: To be Determined PANEL 2 PDT: 11am to Noon EST: 2 pm to 3 pm GMT: 7pm to 8pm Multi-Cultures/Multi-Schools - Intercultural Communication in Graphical Virtual Worlds Chair, Beatrice Ligorno, Katholieke University of Nijmegen, Netherlands Panelists: TBA Virtual Location: EUROLAND PANEL 3 PDT: Noon to 1pm EST: 3pm to 4pm GMT: 8pm to 9pm MUDs MOOs and 3D MUVES - Case Studies and Collaboratory Exemplars Chair, Kevin Ruess, George Mason University Panelists: Mark Schlager, SRI International, TAPPED IN Vernon Reed, University of Texas, Austin, Human Code others TBA Virtual Location: BABEL PANEL 4 PDT: 1pm to 2pm EST: 4pm to 5pm GMT: 9pm to 10pm Science Education in Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE's) - Science Museums, Ecoworlds and 3D GIS Chair, Margaret Corbit, Cornell Theory Center, Cornell University Panelists: Greg Steltenpohl, LifeLearn Davenport, Chaordic Alliance Chad Rooney, V-UCSC and EcollegE at UCSC others TBA Virtual Location: SCICENTR Online virtual worlds provide a unique system for interfacing with information and with simulations online. In addition to the visual 3D environment, they allow for social interaction among the users of a particular space. We will present several different approaches to developing science worlds ranging from virtual hands-on informal science simulation exhibit to classroom environments for teaching environmental science. PDT: 2pm to 3pm EST: 5pm to 6pm GMT: 10pm to 11pm Vlearn3D SPECIAL KEYNOTE Panel Cyberforum@ArtCenter Fall 2000 Avatecture: Merging Physical and Virtual Spaces Chair, Mike Heim, Art Center College of Design A special kick-off for Cyberforum@ArtCenter Fall 2000 Guests To Be Announced Virtual Location: ACCD World Avatecture is the interplay of physical and avatar structures. What is the current state of avatecture? Do virtual worlds inform physical life? Are physical structures becoming interactive installations? Can physical structures morph into virtual realities that generate online avatar communities? Is the avatar world separate, parallel, or tangential to the physical world? Through topic nodes and ritual movement, this panel, led by Mike Heim in ACCD world, will explore the new modes of construction and discuss the future of the 3D Net. This panel will continue in a parallel universe, Active Worlds, on October 15 as part of Avatars 2000. Email questions to devarco@cruzio.com Visit the website at http://www.vlearn3d.org/conference/ for further information To participate: Download the free Awedu Eduverse 3D browser from www.activeworlds.com/edu/awedu_download.html Install the software and enter as a tourist or citizen (if you already are one) in the Eduverse. When you land in Centre World, look for the Vlearn3D main pavilion. For those of you in different time zones, you can find an excellent graphical time converter here: http://afr.com.au/wtc/afrwtc.html end DigitalSpace Corporation 343 Soquel Avenue, # 70 Santa Cruz CA 95062 USA (831) 338-9400 damer@digitalspace.com http://www.digitalspace.com -- From: Eric Johnson Subject: Counting words Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:29:13 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 399 (399) Some years back, I wrote a computer program to count the words in an ASCII text file. My program can be downloaded from the web at: http://www.dsu.edu/~johnsone/sno.html WORDS and WordsNT (which version I recommend) run from a PC command line. An article about the program (on the same web page) gives information about the program. I would be interested to know if anyone finds my program useful. --Eric Johnson johnsone@jupiter.dsu.edu http://www.dsu.edu/~johnsone/ From: "Jim Marchand" Subject: letter counts Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:30:03 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 400 (400) Talking about primitives of all kinds, the discussion of the frequency of letters in Latin brings up a number: 1. What corpus should one use? How many running words seems enough? Zipf, although he was a statistician, used a corpus of 5000 running words from one author (Cicero), surely too little. Cetainly, Anne's count (7.8 million words!) is large enough. 2. Do we not need to label our count carefully? Latin, German, French, etc. are surely too large and inclusive. Zipf used a chrestomathy from many different periods for French, surely a bad notion as a first step. 3. Letter counts vs. phoneme counts. Letters are graphemes at best, not phonemes. 4. What to do with non-ASCII letters? The count cited by Zipf (and others) for German contains no umlauts, that for French no accented letters, no distinction between c and c-cedilla. 5. What do we do with editions, and which do we choose. For example, it is common to distinguish between i and j, u and v in editions, though these are Renaissance inventions for the most part. What do we do with assimilations? Some editions use inl- for ill- even. Whatever is done, it needs to be spelled out carefully, if it is important. 6. Where an edition includes two or more witnesses, we need to be careful to distinguish between them, perhaps not so much in the matter of letter counts, but otherwise. If our editions contain conjectural emendations, do we not need to excise and/or label these? In making a frequency count of Gothic words, for example, should we not be careful not to use two versions of the same text twice? As I look through Martin Joos's excellent dissertation (Wisconsin, 1942), a count of Gothic graphemes, I notice all these problems, so that the frequencies seem skewed to me. Perhaps I am too finicky. From: Randall Pierce Subject: ETAOIN SHRDLU Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:31:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 401 (401) The above mnemonic seems to be losing meaning and relevance to many in the linguistics community. I have mentioned it to some full professors in the field of language arts and gotten a blank stare. I had an instructor who told me that frequency in language is a myth based on ignorance of what language is all about. That was some twenty years ago. I suggest that he ask a cryptographer about that theory. Just a point I would like to make. Frequency in Latin? Hmmm. I think that etymology is a fast-fading study and we are losing much by its possible disappearance from the regular curriculum. Randall From: Einat Amitay Subject: Latin letter frequency & word lists Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:31:20 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 402 (402) Hi All, I believe most of you already know about the CORPORA mailing list (http://www.hit.uib.no/corpora/). It is a list dedicated to the study of language corpora and what tools we can develop to work with those. Together they have answered many questions similar to the ones some of Humanist's people pose recently. I think it will be a good source for answers (and maybe more questions) about language sample collections and how these can be analysed. Just a thought, +:o) einat -- Einat Amitay einat@ics.mq.edu.au http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~einat From: "Norman D. Hinton" Subject: Re: 14.0270 noisy libraries Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:32:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 403 (403) "Noise" is as unwanted on phone lines and other electronic delivery systems as it is in 'real' libraries. From: Paul Jones Subject: Re: 14.0270 noisy libraries Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:32:46 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 404 (404) chillin chillin! Please. By saying I want a 'noisy library' I was of course playing off the idea that the library is popularly known as a quiet place where one is alone with the books. Indeed most cyber-libraries are even quieter and lonelier than bricked ones. From early on this silence, this loneliness, the people-less-ness has been seen (by me and many others) as a drawback to cyberlibraries. So just as Jackson's coming to Washington made the city seem open to all in his time, I claim that the cyberlibrary should be open to contributor participation and interaction, more peopled and less lonely (if you were to choose to use it in that way; shy people and asocial people will find their own way to remain alone as they do in other realms of life, I'm sure). Although I like the signal to noise discussion, it is based on a complete misreading of my quote in the Chronicle. If you (and other humanist) readers would like a preview of a brief (800 words) article that I wrote on the subject for Communications of the ACM (due out in the Spring), i'll be glad to send it on to you. Just to link back, here is the Chronicle article: http://www.chronicle.com/free/2000/09/2000091201t.htm and a feature in slashdot.org http://slashdot.org/features/00/09/17/155240.shtml ========================================================================== Paul Jones "We must protect our precious bodily fluids!" General Jack D Ripper http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As MetaLab.unc.edu pjones@ibiblio.org voice: (919) 962-7600 fax: (919) 962-8071 =========================================================================== From: Wendell Piez Subject: Re: 14.0272 methodological primitives Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:34:28 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 405 (405) Hi Willard and HUMANIST: At 07:27 AM 9/26/00 +0100, John Bradley wrote: .... [deleted quotation] This is fascinating stuff. John's point about the underlying assumption in OO design -- to merge the conception, in modeling, of data and process, is very well taken. It's especially interesting in this context because as these systems evolve, naturally, the old ideas and approaches come up time and again. In the context of OO (especially, say, Java, with its promise of portability and the long-term robustness that comes with platform-independence), we see the pendulum swing back again with the emergence of markup-based (specifically XML-based) systems. A key reason OO approaches work well for interactive GUIs and other process-intensive work is, in fact, that even while they can support strongly encapsulated architectures (more easily modified and maintained) OO programs can take shortcuts to achieve functionality, at the price of locking in their data to a particular data model (and hence, usually, a particular format). But who wants to be storing their conference papers as Java objects? Of course, the next step is to abstract and formalize a portable data model outside the implementation, pulling data back away from process (at least to whatever extent is possible). By providing a standard syntax supporting off-the-shelf tools, XML eases this work greatly. In the business, we've used the analogy, "if Java is a way to build your toaster, then XML is sliced bread." This tries to identify a key advantage of a standards-based markup syntax: that, in theory at least (and increasingly in practice), it should now be possible to use OO languages to work in the way they want -- with sophisticated data models (not merely streams of characters) -- and yet not lock our data into the specific processing environment we happen to be using at the moment. [deleted quotation] I think that's fair, since any toolset whose native data set is a file containing a stream of characters, must work on that basis, inferring more complex data structures where it can (by parsing), but not assuming in the general case that those particular data structures are there in that form. For one thing, in Humanities Computing as it stands, it's fair to assume they're not. In order to build a more "intuitive" system (say, a GUI-driven system allowing on-the-fly manipulation of texts), a more sophisticated data model needs to be assumed that can support more complex operations in a generalized way. To go about "sorting entries in Swedish lexicon order" or "sorting entries in Icelandic name order": the system has to know both what these orders are, and what an "entry" is. XML, by providing for a particular kind of tree-structure, is beginning to provide at least an infrastructure within which such knowledge is embedded, so we can now begin to use standard syntaxes such as XPath (co-designed by a Computing Humanist, Steve DeRose) for some of this. (XPath can't sort, but it can do some other fancy stuff such as filter by content, so that '//line[contains(., "To be")]' will return all elements in a document that contain the string "To be".) Consequently, we are beginning to see some of these capabilities emerging as XML tools. For example, Sun Microsystems has an "EAI" product (the TLA stands for "Enterprise Application Integration") called Forte Fusion (that 'e' has an accent mark that I don't trust your mailer to render) that allows a user to set up a data process flow chain in which an XML data set can be passed through a series of processors, including, prominently, XSLT transformations that could be doing filtering, sorting, analytical work. The idea is that when you click on the form to submit your order for the new American Civil War battle game, your order can be parsed, and the Authorization, Shipping and Billing departments at NorthernAggression.com can all get the appropriate pieces of your order (some of which might already be in the system since you're a regular) in a timely way, following whatever internal logic is required (e.g. don't send the game out if your credit card bounces again). The whole thing works with a GUI: little icons represent your filtering and processing engines, with, as it were, a pipe carrying the data between them. The different engines can be disparate, running on different systems and platforms, a Unix server here running a batch program in Perl, an XSLT transform on a client over there, and so forth. But to build something like this, you have to have a fairly stable data model. (In this case, the system is going to do special things with your name, address, credit card number etc.) At this stage, it is too early to say when such a data model will be possible or feasible for the kind of analysis we want to do in Humanities Computing -- especially considering we commonly work at the level of the "word" (whatever that is), not just element types, and want access to orthographical variants, morphologies, synonyms, etc. etc., intelligence about all of which has to be stored somewhere in some sufficiently tractable (and long-lived) form. Not to mention the problem of sense-disambiguation (I love Prof. Ott's bit about the "content provider" becoming a "satisfied donor"). Our work with higher-level linguistic and literary structures has barely started. Also, to be an iconoclast about it, I am not sure it is our best course to move forward pell-mell in this direction, without being extremely critical of the task itself. Every lens comes with its blindness, and as we design these capabilities into systems, by deciding what we want to look at, we will also be deciding what we don't care to see. I am very much in favor of experimental work to design and deploy whatever higher-level structures we can discern, trace, render malleable with these powerful tools. But I also believe that great works of literature will continue to evade whatever structures we impose on them, just as they always have, it being the primary work of every poet to reinvent the art of poetry from scratch. And not only for ourselves should we be wary, but for the role we have to play in the larger world's understanding of its own rhetorics and how they work. It does little good to say when the Emperor has no clothes, if you haven't been taking care of your own wardrobe. So, while I'm not going to be quitting work myself on methodological primitives, I'm not confident that you're going to see them anytime soon in a form that a naive user, without knowledge of sordid details of text encoding, could simply sit down, tinker with and have instantly useful and trustworthy results. "Epiphany In a Box"? Which is a good thing. After all, isn't it our role to show the naive user what's *really* going on? Best regards, Wendell ====================================================================== Wendell Piez mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com 17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635 Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631 Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML ====================================================================== From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0272 methodological primitives Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:35:10 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 406 (406) ) To: Humanist Discussion Group Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2000 2:27 AM [deleted quotation] From: "Osher Doctorow" Subject: Re: Methodological primitives Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 09:36:10 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 407 (407) My previous contribution on this topic may have been a bit obscure, so I will try a slightly different approach. My view is that whatever you are talking about, it is useless if you cannot make a Shakespearean play about it. On methodological primitives, I will for concreteness consider the special case of political history, which is far more concrete than it looks in a certain sense. I maintain that political history has 3 methodological primitives (mp's or mps for short), namely, anger, blame, and naivete/ignorance (naivete is I think the nice way of referring to ignorance). I propose a 3 actor, 6 act play to illustrate this (3 times 2 is 6, which is the number of permutations of 3 actors). For our actors/actresses, we will select any 3 characters from Shakespeare, and put labels on them, namely, A for anger, B for blame, and N for naivete/ignorance. To show the direction of influence or causation, we will have A point to B if A influences B, and so on, and we limit the play to 3-person or 3-party influence cases. Let me translate this play into an easier summary. Political history is composed of angry public A who elect or cause to have power political blamers B who blame ignorant or naive people N. It is also composed of naive/ignorant people N who elect or cause to have power politicians B who blame angry people A. It is also composed of angry politicians A who enable blamer B to seize power and thus start a war against ignorant/naive people N. Of course, blamers B can also elect naive/ignorant person N who starts a preventative war against angry people A. Alternatively, blamers B may decide to elect or give power to an angry psychopath or sociopath A who starts a preventative war against naive/ignorant people N. I think the trend here is becoming obvious. This seems to cover political history from prehistoric through modern times, with various permutations. Notice carefully that I have not yet introduced computers, even though this discussion group concerns humanist computation. That is because it has not yet reached the stage where it iinvolves too much work for people to keep track of or accomplish rapidly. I am trying to be parsimonious here and save time and money. Why spend money when you don't need to (remind me to include that among future methodological primitives)? I am quite sure, however, that at some stage computers will be called upon for their assistance. As we turn to more and more complex things than political history, I feel certain that computers will find themselves of use. If nothing else, they can keep track of the possibilities that we have eliminated. For example, Ovid's Metamorphoses cannot refer to political history since otherwise it would reduce to the above statements. There must be millions of literary works which are excluded by similar grounds, and computers are definitely required to keep track of those. Yours To Be Continued, Osher Doctorow From: CogNet Newsletter Subject: CogNews: A news digest service from MIT CogNet Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 16:52:06 GMT X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 408 (408) [--] The formal launch of the CogNet fee based service will take place at the Inaugural Harry Bradford Stanton Memorial Lecture Series on Thursday September 28th, 2000, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All CogNet members are invited to attend. Sponsored by The MIT Press, this first lecture will be delivered by Prof. Lila Gleitman and is entitled, 'Does Our Language Affect the Way We Think?' See <http://mitpress.mit.edu/bradford/> for details. Check the latest Hot Science article where William Uttal discusses 'The limits of localization of cognitive processes in the brain' a topic which has generated a variety of responses from the community. Read the full article and commentaries at <http://cognet.mit.edu/hotscience> If you haven't visited CogNet in the last few weeks there are lots of new things to see! *** We've added a new reference work to the Digital Library -- you can now find an electronic version of The New Cognitive Neurosciences by Michael S. Gazzaniga (http://cognet.mit.edu/Gazzaniga/), in addition to The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, Robert A. Wilson, and Frank Keil, editors, (http://cognet.mit.edu/MITECS/) and our continually growing collection of links to books and journals, including *** Links to searchable full-text for Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neural Computation at HighWire Press see <http://cognet.mit.edu/library/> *** Profiles for Cognitive Science programs worldwide see (http://cognet.mit.edu/almanac/) *** Up to date Job listings see (http://cognet.mit.edu/jobs/) *** CV and bibliography utilities *** A growing collection of searchable abstracts from major professional conferences and workshops see <http://cognet.mit.edu/posters/index.tcl?type=proceeding> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CogNet is free service for now. As of October 1st, 2000, we begin offering an enhanced, fee-based service, details of which can be found online at http://cognet.mit.edu/Cover/member_terms.html Remember, you can take advantage of Charter Membership if you make 4 contributions to the site. See http://cognet.mit.edu/Cover/benefits.html for details You can also check to see if your Library has an Institutional Site License (see http://cognet.mit.edu/sitelicenses/). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This message has been sent to you as part of CogNews, the news service of MIT CogNet. No response is necessary. We hope that you find this service of value - and if you do, please tell your colleagues and forward this e-mail to others. IF YOU WOULD RATHER NOT RECEIVE FUTURE NEWS DIGESTS FROM MIT CogNet, please select the appropriate setting at http://cognet.mit.edu/pvt/privacy-change.tcl For further information or technical assistance, please contact: CognetAdmin@cognet.mit.edu -- From: "Domenico Fiormonte" Subject: Re: 14.0269 apologies Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:20:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 409 (409) Dear Willard, my apologies to the list and the CLiP 2000 prospect speakers for the embarassing number of typos in my recent conference announcement -- much inaccuracy and hurry on one (my) side and too many Latin accents on the other. Fondly, Domenico Fiormonte From: Willard McCarty Subject: primitives Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:17:45 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 410 (410) My question about primitives was based on two convictions: (1) that methodologically computing humanists across the disciplines occupy a common ground, and (2) that the development of computing is increasingly toward putting the ability to make things into the hands of ordinary users. It seems to me that these two convictions are both involved in the many tool-building enterprises to which references have so far been made. The common ground seems not to be visible to everyone; I'd suppose that in order to see it an interdisciplinary vantage point is required. In my experience those who look on applied computing activity solely from within a single discipline have great difficulty; to them methodology is so subservient to the artefacts over which their disciplines have (or claim) dominion that it ceases to have meaning otherwise. Admittedly, the geography of our common ground is still not all that well defined, and much remains to be done in the transfer of constructive ability to the "end user". But are these not genuine problems for our research agenda? Wilhelm Ott (by example in Humanist 14.262) and John Bradley (14.272) are surely right, that in Bradley's words, "Any tool meant to support activities as diverse as those that turn up in humanities text-based computing cannot possibly be trivial to learn or use", but I don't think that trivialising is necessarily involved in identifying and simplifying basic operations, in making them (as we say) more accessible to scholars than they currently are. I'd think that the objective of our system-building isn't to remove the need for intellectual labour, rather that component of scholarly work which is mechanically definable, and therefore trivial (in the mathematician's sense). Ian Lancashire suggests that "one of the unforeseen effects of relying on professional programmers to create big pieces of software like TACT and Wordcruncher [might be] to encourage scholars in the humanities to believe that they can get along without being able to write small programs or adapt ones created by other people" (14.277). Yes, indeed. Our colleagues sometimes do approach computing with the expectation that everything may be accomplished at the touch of a button. It seems to me, however, that we're not in disagreement fundamentally, rather arguing about the level of granularity at which we humanists work with computers. Does this necessarily and forever need to be at the level of, say, Snobol or Pascal or perl or Java? Once, I recall, it was at the level of assembler language; I clearly remember arguments to the effect that unless you understood what commands like "shift left accumulator" did you could not grasp the essence of computing.... So also is Wendell Piez surely right, that "Every lens comes with its blindness, and as we design these capabilities into systems, by deciding what we want to look at, we will also be deciding what we don't care to see.... [G]reat works of literature will continue to evade whatever structures we impose on them, just as they always have...." (14.277). I'd argue that the point of what we do is to raise better questions than the ones we have, only incidentally to come up with (tentative, temporary) answers, and that those of us who use computers in scholarship raise such questions by showing what can be known computationally -- therefore what we cannot know, or know how we know, now. In an online document he recommended to our attention, Wilhelm Ott describes the conclusion he reached about 30 years ago after work on some major textual projects: that "the next step in supporting projects was to no longer rely on programming in FORTRAN or other 'high level' languages, but to provide a toolbox consisting of programs, each covering one 'basic operation' required for processing textual data. The function of each program is controlled by user-supplied parameters; the programs themselves may be combined in a variety of ways, thereby allowing the user to accomplish tasks of the most diversified kind. It was in 1978 when these programs got the name TUSTEP" (http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/zdv/tustep/tdv_eng.html#b). The TUSTEP toolbox defines these basic operations: editing, comparing, processing text, preparing indexes, presorting, sorting, generating indexes and concordances, generating listings, typesetting (with some file-handling and job-control fuctions as well). Much more recently, John Unsworth in a talk given at King's College London (forthcoming in print from the Office of Humanities Communication; online at <http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~jmu2m/Kings.5-00/primitives.html>) identified 7 scholarly primitives also based on close interdisciplinary observation and project work -- discovering, annotating, comparing, referring, sampling, illustrating and representing -- as the basis for a tool-building enterprise. He illustrated these primitives with work that has been going on for some time at IATH. Contemplating Ott's TUSTEP and Unsworth's thoughts about primitives, I wonder if what we're seeing here is two parts of a much larger design, proceeding from universality to specificity. In broad terms, could it be said that a "methodological macro" like Unsworth's "discovering" or "annotating" comprise "methodological primitives" like "consult lexicon", "search WWW" "recognise image patterns", each of which in turn comprises "mechanical primitives" and so forth? I see us facing a real-world problem that in turn gives us a very challenging research agenda. This problem continues to be the one Wilhelm Ott, Susan Hockey and others faced many years ago, how best collegially to support research in the humanities with computers, or in other words, how to get more of our non-technically inclined colleagues intellectually involved in applied computing -- if for no other reason than the creative imaginations they will bring into the increasingly complex equation. Do we tell them to learn C++ or whatever, or do we work with them to define a better research pidgin? As a search of the Web shows, talk about "primitives" is common parlance among cognitive scientists and philosophers who (like Jerry Fodor) think about how we think and do intellectual work, and among the system builders who design and make the software prototypes. Modelling, which is what one does with primitives, is a very active topic -- see the Model-Based Reasoning Conference advertised in Humanist 14.269. Much going on for us to tap into, as well as much that has gone on which we need to take account of. Yours, WM ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: Willard McCarty Subject: scientometrics Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:18:20 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 411 (411) Humanists involved in electronic publication may be interested in the online journal Current Science, for 10 September (vol 79, nr 5), which has a special section on "scientometrics" -- the field that studies the sciences by measuring citations to articles. See <http://tejas.serc.iisc.ernet.in/~currsci/sep102000/contents.htm>. Yours, WM ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: Elli Mylonas Subject: job at Brown: Director of STG Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:19:32 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 412 (412) DIRECTOR The Scholarly Technology Group, Brown University The Brown University Scholarly Technology Group (STG) is a 15 person R&D and service unit that explores the use of advanced information technology in academic research, teaching, and scholarly communication, and provides services, such as systems analysis and project management, which make its expertise available to the Brown University research community. STG works in several related areas, including digital library technologies and textbase development, interactive hypermedia systems, and arts and humanities computing. STG is recognized as one of the leading academic technology research centers in the world, with well-known specialists in the areas of SGML/XML markup systems and hypermedia systems, and with pioneering digital library projects, such as the Women Writers Project. For more information about STG see http://www.stg.brown.edu We are seeking a Director who is both an accomplished scholar and a skillful and entrepreneurial manager of research and service groups, and who has demonstrated capability to lead innovative research in relevant areas of digital technology applications. Minimum requirements include five years relevant experience; three years project management or lead systems analysis and a substantial record of publication and professional activities. For further information about this position see http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/hrweb/jobs/b00438.htm or contact Dr. Allen Renear, Director (until January 2001), Scholarly Technology Group (401 863-7312 or Allen_Renear@Brown.Edu). To apply send a current c.v. to Human Resources, Box 1879/B00438, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Review of applications will begin on October1st 2000 and continue until an appointment is made. Brown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer [Elli Mylonas Scholarly Technology Group Box 1843-CIS Brown University Providence, RI 02912 http://www.stg.brown.edu ] From: Dave Farber Subject: Computer History Lecture: Rich Tennant on "A Cartoonist's Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 17:25:41 -0400 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 413 (413) [--] [deleted quotation]-- From: Ferdi Serim [mailto:ferdi@LEARNING.CENTRINITY.COM] Subject: Spinning Gold into Straw: Alliance for Childhood Misses the Point Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 03:22:41 -1000 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 414 (414) Hi folks, Last week's report by the Alliance for Childhood caused quite a stir in the media and inside the Beltway...I drafted this response on behalf of the Consortium for School Networking, which I'd like to share with you. Please feel free to forward to anyone who may benefit from balance in considering the place of technology in the development of children....thanks! Ferdi ----------------- Spinning Gold into Straw: Alliance for Childhood Misses the Point By Ferdi Serim The adage "the older I get, the better I was" now extends from personal recollection to collective judgement of earlier eras, if one accepts the Alliance for Childhood's recent report "Fools Gold: A Critical Look At Computers and Childhood." Once again, the public is served up conclusions based on research and quotations from laudable, notable people, all of whom share two important characteristics: they are neither children, nor educators who actually use technology as a tool to improve learning. The underlying assumption seems to be that once an educator embraces technology, the love of children is replaced by the love for machines. All we have to do to improve education is change our attitude about the sanctity of childhood, banish elementary school computers and all will be well. I believe that rather than focusing on Good Old Days that never were, we can build bright new days that incorporate the Alliance's goals, without ignoring what the past decade has taught us about how technology can improve student learning. Fool's Gold is the perfect snooze alarm for people who are yet to wake up to the idea that educational improvement requires change. And change is about more than velocity, it is also about direction. The debate today is about more than technology, choice or vouchers: it centers on whether your model for learning is based on transmission or construction of knowledge. Instead, the report implies that corporate strategies are leading educators like lemmings to the abyss, and that we're willing to sacrifice our children at the altar of the new economy. These concerns mask a more fundamental struggle about which model of learning will guide our classrooms and homes, and who will teach. Common sense is replaced by attacks on strawmen built from misconceptions and distortions that no experienced technology using educator would endorse or repeat. For example: "Either/Or" Strawman "What's wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology. No amount of technology will make a dent." - Steve Jobs Since both technology friends and foes agree that the most important person in education is the teacher, isn't the most critical goal to provide the most effective, best prepared teachers possible? Data from the 1998 Teaching, Learning and Computing (TLC) Survey (http://www.crito.uci.edu/tlc), involving more than 4,000 teachers in over 1,100 schools across the US, provides substantive insights about what is required to do so. One of their dramatic findings is that that teachers who have been identified as teacher leaders in their schools, in their district and in their fields were 10 times more likely to be teachers who used computers themselves and have integrated the use of computers with their classroom instruction. These teacher leaders, teachers with a high degree of professional engagement and respect, contrasted with a group of teachers that Riel and Becker refer to as private practice teachers. This group of teachers had much lower investment in their own learning in pre-service education and in later years. When the private practice teachers did use computers, they did so in ways that supported drill and practice games. The evidence shows that teachers who invest highly in their own learning are discovering how to teach effectively with computers, using them for problem solving, analysis and presentation. Becker finds that computers are more likely to be a valuable and effective instructional tool when certain conditions are met. Teachers need to be personally comfortable and at least moderately skilled in using computers themselves. There needs to be regular and easy student access to computers "to permit computer activities to flow seamlessly alongside other learning tasks." And, perhaps most importantly, a teachers' personal philosophy needs to be consistent with student-centered, constructivist pedagogy that incorporates collaborative projects defined partly by student interest. "Technology is Dehumanizing" Strawman The power of the Internet is people, not machines. I've personally witnessed a group of 5th graders in NJ take on the US Immigration Service, to prevent a classmate (who was 2 years old in the Ukraine when Chernobyl exploded) from being deported. (see http://oii.org/html/chernobyl.html) They used the Internet to conduct a public information campaign that resulted in the state legislature passing a unanimous resolution to allow him to say. Being sent back would have represented a death sentence for this child, who is in remission from leukemia and who would be unable to find proper medical care should his illness return. Dizzy Gillespie once told me "it will take you ten years to learn to play your instrument, and it will take you twenty to learn what *not* to play!" The arguments being made about technology's role in learning might have held water a decade ago, but we who've been working in this field have moved beyond infatuation. We know how and when to use technology, but more importantly, we know when not to use it. We have experienced in our own lives that technology and rich human relationships need not be mutually exclusive. Used in a healthy way, technologies can enrich what happens in real life. That's why we use them in the first place. "They're Too Young to Play" Strawman While concerns about physical injury to young children are legitimate, the risk is a defined domain, similar to sports injuries or the realizations that led very young children to use quarter-size violins in the Suzuki method. The research shows that students are lucky if they get to a school computer once a week, and that the average number of computers in classrooms lucky enough to have them is 2. If children are using computers 4-5 hours a day, they're doing so at home, which argues for better school/home communication on how to partner in shaping appropriate computer use. Perhaps we're not arguing about technology, but common sense. Young children can benefit when caring, competent teachers use these machines to enhance their learning landscape. For example, by using the computer to track information over time, 1st grade students who were studying a small pond discovered that there were fewer ducks each year. This graphing of observational data inspired them to action and 6 classes of first graders, the population of one small school, got the attention of city planners and now the pond has been restored and preserved by the actions of computer-using first graders. Every Child Deserves a Qualified Teacher In The Beliefs, Practices, and Computer Use of Teacher Leaders, Margaret Riel and Hank Becker (University of California, Irvine) describe Teacher Leaders "who place a high value on sharing their knowledge with their teaching colleagues. At the opposite end of the continuum are Private Practice Teachers who report little or no engagement in professional dialog or activities beyond those mandated...(who) engage in a form of "private practice" behind closed doors. Closed classroom doors open concerns about maintaining high standards for both teaching and learning." They continue, "The findings are consistent and strong--Teacher Leaders are better educated teachers, continuous learners, computer users, and promote constructive problem-based learning over direct instruction. They use computers to help their students achieve the same level of respect and voice that these teachers have achieved within their professional educational community." That's the good news. Although the students of the best educated, most professionally involved, most skilled educators are ten times more likely to use computers in powerful ways, the bad news is the distribution: Teacher Leaders are 2%, Teacher Professionals are 10%, Interactive Teachers are 29%, and Private Practice Teachers are 58% of the teaching population. Literacy has expanded beyond Ozzie and Harriet days, yet we have allowed acquisition of these new skills remain optional for our teaching force. Rather than perpetuate drama, we could choose to dialogue. Those of us using technology to improve learning have more in common with the Alliance for Childhood than either group suspects. How will the next version of this report look once we engage each other in purposeful, action oriented discourse? (This essay will be published as a column in the November issue of eSchoolNews. see http://www.eschoolnews.com/ ) ______________________________________________________ Ferdi Serim phone/fax: 505 466-1901; cell: 505 577-1580 email: ferdi@oii.org Online Internet Institute, Director http://oii.org Santa Fe, NM 87505 http://oii.org/ferdi/Ferdi.html ECP Ring Leader <http://www.Edu-CyberPG.com> co-author: NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/netlearn/ "We are more than the sum of our knowledge, we are the products of our imagination." - Ferdi -- From: "FRANCESCO STELLA" Subject: Digital Edition of Medieval Poetry Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:56:42 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 415 (415) and Music Date sent: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 22:13:39 +0200 Please circulate. Apologies for cross-posting -------------------------------------------------------------- POETRY IN EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE Manuscripts, language and music of the rhythmical Latin texts Third Euroconference for the digital edition of the Corpus of Latin Rhythms 4th-9th Century Munich, 2-4 November 2000 Call for papers and grants The CISLAB (Univ. of Siena-Arezzo) assigns 9 grants for the 3rd seminar Poetry in early medieval Europe: manuscripts, language, metrics and music of the rhythmical latin texts, to be held in the Siemens-Stiftung of Munich from the 2nd to the 4th November 2000. This is the last of three yearly seminars for the project Corpus of Latin rhythms 4th-9th Century, promoted by CISLAB and SISMEL (Societ Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino, Florence), which aims at the publishing on CD-ROM of the ca. 700 texts of rhythmical Latin poetry from the origins to the carolingian age. It will be a critical edition (based on the collation of the manuscripts), with musical records, images of the manuscripts, philological apparatus and statistical indexes about linguistic, musical and metrical issues: about the project you can see now the pertinent pages in http://sismel.meri.unifi.it/ritmi/corpusrhythmorum.htm.The call for papers concerns contributions (maximum lenght 10000 char.) for the seminarial discussion and the publication of the proceedings; it is open to all the interested researchers. The grants are reserved to scholars of European Union under 35 years and will cover, according to the European TMR rules, travel expenses (train, 2d class, or airplane, week-end fares), registration fees and room and board from the 2nd to the 4th of november: the application forms must be requested by phone (++39.575.926546, ++39.575.926203), fax (++39.575.323738), or e-mail (Stella@unisi.it) and sent to CISLAB, Facolt di Lettere e Filosofia, v. S. Fabiano 9, I-52100 Arezzo, at the latest by september 30, 2000. Priority will be reserved, according to the rules of the TMR Programmes, to younger scholars of Less favoured regions of the European countries. The holders, designed by a competent commission, will be informed by october, 15th. The abstract of the papers must be sent within the same date, per e-mail or mail, with curriculum vitae. Scholars or students who wish to attend the seminar without a grant can write or call the secretary office of the CISLAB. TOPICS: New texts and new metrics; Musical tradition of the rhythms; Computer filing of musical notation; Standards of transcription from the manuscripts; Philological data-bases: experiences, projects, tools; The rhythms as linguistic evidence. Speakers and participants: MICHEL BANNIARD, SAM BARRETT, CORINNA BOTTIGLIERI, GUNILLA BJRKVALL, PASCALE BOURGAIN, EDOARDO D'ANGELO, PETER DRONKE, ANDREAS HAUG, DANIEL JACOB, STEVEN KILLINGS, CLAUDIO LEONARDI, LINO LEONARDI, GIOVANNI ORLANDI, CARLOS PREZ GONZLEZ, ANGELO RUSCONI, GABRIEL SILAGI, BARBARA SPAGGIARI, PETER STOTZ, ISABEL VELZQUEZ SORIANO, LOREDANA TERESI, CATERINA TRISTANO, BENEDIKT KONRAD VOLLMANN, LORENZ WELKER, ROGER WRIGHT, PAOLO ZANNA. From: John Unsworth Subject: irreducible components Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 11:48:39 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 416 (416) [The following is exerpted from an offline conversation with John Unsworth on the subject of primitives. --WM] At 11:35 AM 9/28/00 +0100, you wrote: [deleted quotation] I've put that on the web, as I do with everything...it's at http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~jmu2m/Kings.5-00/primitives.html please do publicize the URL in this context...there's also an earlier piece, focused on one primitive (searching) from a talk given at Rochester: http://www.iath.virginia.edu/~jmu2m/sdl.html if you announce that URL, please note that the piece is undergoing revision in response to comments by John Price-Wilkin, and shouldn't be regarded as a final product. [deleted quotation] I don't agree with that breakdown: what I'm trying to get at in the talk I gave at Kings, and in the larger project that's part of, is operations that are irreducible components of other activities--not macros composed of many steps and instructions, but broad and basic archetypes. There are, of course, many ways in which to search--and perhaps "mechanisms" or "implementations" is the way to describe those--but things like "discovering" and "annotating" are not primitives if they can be further reduced. Of course, if they are primitives, then they must be able to be further specified... [deleted quotation] Well, while we're on the subject, I think the bottom line here is that computing tools won't be an important part of humanities research until humanities researchers can build them. We need a different kind of education and preparation--a sign, I would say, that humanities computing is a discipline. John From: aimeefreak Subject: Re: 14.0282 primitives Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:41:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 417 (417) hello, humanist-ers; as i prepare to write candidacy exams (m,w,f next week) focussing at least in part on these very issues, i offer the following, slightly differently angled take, on this most interesting discussion. i want to take a wee step back, to 'computing' as cultural practice, and then onto 'humanities' as cultural practice. willard wrote: [deleted quotation] is it? certainly, early rhetoric of what ted nelson called 'the home computer revolution' over and over and over again emphasised this very quality. power to the people! finally, the altair (1975, blinking box, torturously difficult to assemble, notoriously impoverished of utility) offered a technology for the confused, frustrated masses (of hardware wonks, of hackers -- a pretty specific kind of 'mass') to kneecap the obfuscatory giant ibm, with its priesthood model of computing (do not bend, fold, or spindle! or else ...). early personal computers (opposed to mainframes of the ibm ilk, or even mini-computers of the pdp series) were devised as *transparent computing machines* and were lauded for the TOTAL CONTROL, COMPLETE POWER, UNDISPUTED AGENCY they offered their programmers (not, thank you very much, 'users'). also, unlike mainframes and minis, there was no promiscuous time-sharing arrangements that cut into a programmer's mastery of every single last bit. from this mindset/context we get the hierarchy of: machine language -> assembler language -> high level language -> application computing. machine language offers you the most control and is therefore best. see again willard's thoughtful comment: [deleted quotation] i offer this narrative to bring two ideas into debate. the first is: how much are we operating under the assumptions that defined the pc 'revolution' -- and what does it mean to be the legatees of such a power-hungry, control-mad discourse, and aggressive nerd-stance? we are not hackers, but humanists: marilyn deegan noted some time ago that the purpose of literary studies, at least, has tended in this day and age to *open up* rather than 'master' debate on particular texts. let's pay some attention to possible disjunctions between founding discourses of personal computing and the humanities work we are all involved in. the second idea is: has the pc ideal of complete transparency, total control, and programmer agency been surpassed? and then, where do we go from here if this is the case? the current low-end pc, as we all know from cultural cliche, has more computing power than the mainframe that sent the first man to the moon. its components are tiny and unutterably complex; its speed is mind-boggling; its operations fuzzed over by layers of operating systems and proprietary soft- and hardware architectures. it is a 'black box' machine: how often have you called a tech help line, only to be offered a fix for a bug, which, upon asking, you learn that no one can explain why it's effective, but only that it works, praise god-or-bill-gates. we have come a long way from the do-it-yourself, homebrew club, altair-like hardware technologies. and we have come similarly far from performing feats of computing in which it would even be possible to work in assembler language -- computing science has evolved into a highly specialized, highly rigorous and theoretical discipline. the days of barking orders at an obedient machine in straightforward procedural languages (well, i found them pretty straightforward) have come and gone. OO languages are absolutely fascinating -- and terribly complex if one is seeking more than a cursory understanding. to cut a long story off before it loses all of you entirely, then, i would respond to willard's assertion with a decided ambivalence: i do not at all think that computing tends to putting more power in the hands of users -- unless these users plan to transparently deploy pre-fab tools and applications. it's a consumer box, increasingly, designed to be as easy to use as a tv -- and it's getting harder and harder to be a 'creator' of the 1980s hacker ilk because the machines, while easier to 'use', are getting more complicated all the time. [deleted quotation] ahh, shades of vannevar bush, who, in 'as we may think', proposed something quite similar. the question becomes, i think, for humanists: what can we so take for granted as common ground/self-evident that we can mechanize/trivialize it, and safely leave it to the stewardship of automated processes? bush had in mind a sort of mechanical slave device that did all of man's [sic] grunt work for him, leaving him free for more associative, creative, genius-level work befitting his special gifts. but: as a humanist studying culture, i am always most fascinated with this taken-for-granted level. when i see computing projects, that's always what i want to know: what is your ground zero that you've built all your computing assumptions around? put another way, my 'special gifts' as a scholar is a rabid interest and zeal for interrogating founding assumptions for whatever social meaning they may betray. this would seem incompatible with bush's project, which would whisk these assumptions under an automated carpet, out of sight. so then: these 'common gronds' are the things rendered invisible by the process, if we use our machines as the black-box technologies i've described above. we should all have enough expertise to peel back at least a layer or two of the computational onion to see how the projects *work* on this common-ground level. and i suspect that's why we get stuck at this level in our discussions: successful computerization of a research problem can mean making invisible this very interesting research problem. in a field that seems to be organized around thoughtfully interrogating problems as our very raison-d'etre, to make them disappear in this manner is disconcerting. and so i think these discussions about primitives are in fact the very *meat* of humanities computing. or at least the humanities meat. the intellectual labour, i believe, is *precisely* the thinking that goes into deciding what can/should be mechanized. how can we make this process legible to non-expert users? how do we avoid making these decisions invisible in the name of building useable, transparent resources? [assemble your own thoughtful questions here ...] anyhow, i've gone on far too long already. thank you for reading if you've made it this far. all of the contributions on this topic have spurred my thinking, and i'm thankful for that too. :-) aimee i miss programming in LOGO ... ------------------------------------------- aimee morrison phd program, dept of english university of alberta edmonton, alberta http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/amorrison From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: Primitives definition Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:42:25 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 418 (418) Willard I am wondering, given the definitions below, if the discussing of primitives which you so brilliantly summarized is not connected with the very interesting question as to how we transform the products of an act of reading (or repeated acts of reading) -- be these transformations deformations a la McGann or marking cruxes or plotting changes in frequencies... from the Free On-Line Dictionary of Computuing, a 1995 entry http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=primitive&action=Search A function, operator, or type which is built into a programming language (or operating system), either for speed of execution or because it would be impossible to write it in the language. Primitives typically include the arithmetic and logical operations (plus, minus, and, or, etc.) and are implemented by a small number of machine language instructions. and a 1999 entry (Or "data type") A set of values from which a variable, constant, function, or other expression may take its value. Types supported by most programming languages include integers (usually limited to some range so they will fit in one word of storage), Booleans, real numbers, and characters. Strings are also common, though they may be represented as lists of characters in some languages. If s and t are types, then so is s -> t, the type of functions from s to t; that is, give them a term of type s, functions of type s -> t will return a term of type t. Some types are primitive - built-in to the language, with no visible internal structure - e.g. Boolean; others are composite - constructed from one or more other types (of either kind) - e.g. lists, structures, unions. Some languages provide strong typing, others allow implicit type conversion and/or explicit type conversion. -- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance Member of the Evelyn Letters Project http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dchamber/evelyn/evtoc.htm From: "Humanist Discussion Group Subject: 14.0282 primitives Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:43:04 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 419 (419) From: Willard McCarty Subject: metaphors Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:55:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 420 (420) A more or less random quotation from Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (NY: Bantam, 1995): "The timid child enters adult life with neural circuitry that...." Really? My question: what freight does the metaphor of electrical circuitry carry? What does this metaphor do for us, for the author? Context suggests that he "means" something like this: "The timid child enters adult life with a predisposition for...." Use of the former rather than the latter when the physiology and neurology of the brain is *not* under discussion suggests that the cultural assimilation of computing has gone rather far. Is it becoming more and more difficult to get computing into perspective because of such metaphors? It's not as if we can do much about this -- except in the classroom, where I'd think it's rather important to point out that the way computers process data is very different from however it is that we think about artefacts, and that this difference is our real subject. Comments? Yours, WM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London voice: +44 (0)20 7848 2784 fax: +44 (0)20 7848 5081 <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/> maui gratias agere From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: How a Virtual Knowledge Network could propel your Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 08:01:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 421 (421) institution, etc.... Dear Humanists scholars, Once again, Prof. Jim Morrison and his educational technology team have accomplished stellar job in making Technology Source, a unique source on the Web for educationists, technologists and teachers. a.)Enhancing Professional Education through Virtual Knowledge Networks with the some quotations from Peter Drucker at <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/commentary/1999-07.asp> Charles Morrissey argues that higher education administrators should take a close look at the corporate world, where virtual workteams of employees are now collaborating and problem-solving online. "The field of professional education," he writes, "would do well to develop an educational equivalent to the virtual workplace." Specifically, Morrissey suggests that colleges and universities establish what he calls a Virtual Knowledge Network: a continuous, online learning spectrum where faculty, students, alumni, and community members can interactto the benefit of all. Read on to learn how a Virtual Knowledge Network could propel your institution into the twenty-first century. The Impact of the Internet on Management Education: what the Research Shows also by Dr. Charles A. Morrissey at <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/cases/1998-06.asp> b.)Via Technology to Social Change by Alan Cummings <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/vision/1999-07.asp> Ready for a ride into the future? Alan Cummings takes his imagination to 2020 in this issue's Vision article and predicts that, by that year, the worlds of business and education will have merged. Students older than 10 will study at home with teleconferencing tools provided by corporate sponsors and learning packages designed by education brokers. Parents will update their job skills with online training software and consult employment brokers for professional planning. In the business-oriented culture of the twenty-first century, qualifications will matter greatly; social status, age, and gender will count for little; and actual performance will be everything. Could it really happen? Cummings says yes and offers readers a fascinating scenario of the future c.)Virtual-U:Results and Challenges of Unique Field Trials <http://horizon.unc.edu/ts/vu/1999-07.asp> In the Virtual University section, Milton Campos and Linda Harasim describe Virtual-U, a Web-based learning environment that is customized for online education delivery. When software developers at the Canadian TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence use the term "customized," they mean it: since 1996, researchers and developers have been working collaboratively with professors and students to tailor Virtual-U to real needs. The result is an environment with such features as a personal workspace in which users can manage their learning tasks and activities, a course editor for designing and editing curriculum, a grade book, instructional tools, and examples of how to teach and learn online. Find out more about the continuing development of Virtual-U and its innovative approaches to online education by reading further. Below is a description of the July/August issue of The Technology Source, a free refereed Web periodical at http://horizon.unc.edu/TS. Please forward this announcement to colleagues who are interested in using information technology tools more effectively in educational organizations. As always, we seek illuminating articles that will assist educators as they face the challenge of integrating information technology tools in teaching and in managing educational organizations. Please review our call for manuscripts at http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/call.asp Jim -- James L. Morrison morrison@unc.edu Professor of Educational Leadership CB 3500 Peabody Hall Editor, On the Horizon UNC-Chapel Hill http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon Chapel Hill,NC 27599-3500 Editor, The Technology Source Phone: 919 962-2517 http://horizon.unc.edu/TS Fax: 919 962-1693 d.)Distance Learning in East Carolina University's Educational Leadership Program <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/cases/1999-07.asp> The Masters of School Administration (MSA) program at East Carolina University (ECU) is the focus of this issue's first Case Study. In 1997, professors in the MSA program decided to offer two educational leadership courses via distance education. They believe that, in order to ensure that school leaders will be effective in tomorrow's technology-infused world, graduate courses must prepare these leaders to adapt to changes in the field of technology and to recognize how technology can support the goals of their schools. Distance education provides the ideal format for such preparation; after all, it allows students to master content and gain experience with technology tools at the same time. Lynn Bradshaw and Laurie Weston document the results of the MSA distance education pilot effort and describe what steps ECU professors will take in the near future to improve their distance offerings. e.)Perfect Practice Makes Perfect Through Digitized Video <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/cases/1999-07a.asp> Physical education: for most people, the term conjures up images of gyms filled with lively, sweaty kids. For Peter DiLorenzo, it also conjures up images of contemplative students sitting in front of computer screens. As he explains in this issue's second Case Study, DiLorenzo uses digitized video to teach his physical education students at Floyd College (Georgia) the fundamentals of basketball, softball, volleyball, and other team sports. His experience indicates that technology can be used to improve instruction in physical education courses as well as in academic classes. f.)Piloting the Psychosocial Model of Faculty Development by Prof. Patricia Cravener <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/development/1999-07.asp> At most colleges and universities that adopt new technologies for distance education, staff in instructional design, educational technology, and/or information technology services devote a substantial proportion of their time trying to help faculty learn to use the most effective media for communicating with distant learners. Unfortunately, as Patricia Cravener reports in the Faculty and Staff Development section, faculty usually either do not attend training programs or do not implement the new technology after the programs end. Cravener uses her Paradoxical Disjunction Model to explain why, and she delineates concrete and cost-effective ways that faculty can be motivated to seek out, as well as effectively apply, technology training. g.)Internet Teaching and Learning Resources from Indiana University and the University of New Brunswick by Dr. Terry Calhoun <http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/sites/1999-07.asp> The Spotlight Sites for July/August are WebdevShare and WWWDEV. WebdevShare, sponsored by Indiana University, focuses on the Web-enablement of higher education administration. Check out the seven e-mail lists featured on the site, or read proceedings from annual WebdevShare conferences. Then access WWWDEV, a listserv on courseware sponsored by the University of New Brunswick (Nova Scotia, Canada). The homepage features links to materials from annual WWWDEV conferences, to members' courses, and to an extensive list of Web-based courseware authoring/management tool vendors. Terry Calhoun, who describes the best aspects of these two sites, promises that they are invaluable resources for anyone interested in online teaching and learning tools. Sincerely Arun Kumar Tripathi National Advisory Board Member for AmericaTakingAction, National Network <http://www.americatakingaction.com/board/arun.htm> From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: As robots become smarter and self-aware, scientists, Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 08:02:17 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 422 (422) theologians consider their humanity Dear humanists, Hi --on the eve of last year's Don Knuth's bold lectures on "God and Computers" (a challenging job) at MIT, several issues and concerns have been raised by AI and Robotics researchers in relation with the field of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Robotics and faith in the scientific discoveries and inventions..a report is written by MARGIE WYLIE, Newhouse News Service --from which several excerpts are given below-- --comments are welcome?? FOR THOUSANDS of years we have used mythical robots to explore the question of what makes humans human. In the Middle Ages, Jewish cabalists spun myths about golems, clay creatures animated by the secret name of God. The ancient Greeks sought to create homunculus, a tiny proto-person servant. More recently, Mary Shelley's ``Frankenstein'' creature and the android ``Star Trek'' crew member Commander Data have raised the question: ``Can man-made creatures have souls?'' Anne Foerst's calling is to ask that question, but not about mythical creatures. As resident theologian at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Foerst has spent the past four years pondering how increasingly smart machines may affect our sense of humanity. ``I think that computer science, and especially artificial intelligence, is the field for religious inquiry,'' says Foerst, a German research scientist who has served as an ordained minister and holds a doctorate in theology as well as degrees in computer science and philosophy. In biology or astronomy, the questions theologians ask deal with God as a distant and powerful being. But in the field of artificial intelligence, the theological issues are more ``personal,'' addressing God's relationship to an individual being. A human being asks, ``Who am I? What am I doing here? What's the meaning of my life?'' Foerst says. ``Humans have a very strong sense of specialness, and these machines challenge that specialness in extremely profound ways.'' Lab director Rodney Brooks invited Foerst to work as theological adviser for a new generation of smart robots that learn by doing, just like humans. One of these is Brooks' brainchild, Cog, a robot built in roughly human form except that he carries his ``brain'' on his back in a laptop computer. Cog is designed to discover and adapt to the world much the same way a human baby does. Traditionally, artificial intelligences -- such as the chess-playing IBM computer Big Blue -- are software applications primed with vast amounts of data and then given complex rules for how to make decisions and for how to learn to make other decisions. But such a disembodied intelligence, Brooks argues, cannot possibly experience the world as humans do. Only through experience as a physical being can smart robots develop emotions, which he argues are prerequisite for a truly intelligent being. So the aim is for Cog to become conscious of his body, his surroundings and, someday, his ``self.'' When that happens, asks Foerst, then what? Minsky, like others at the school, thinks studying theology is incompatible with computer science. ``The act of appearing to take such a subject seriously makes it look as though our community regards it as a respectable contender among serious theories,'' Minsky comments by e-mail. ``Like creationism and other faith-based doctrines, I suspect it is bad for young students.'' But Brooks, who describes himself as a scientific rationalist and ``strong atheist,'' says he can understand how faith can coexist with science. ``From a scientific point of view, my kids are bags of skin full of molecules interacting, but that's not how I treat them. I love them. I operate on two completely different levels, and I manage to live with these two different levels. Exploration of faith As computer science bumps against the limits of rationality, more of its practitioners are feeling freer to explore their faith. Leading computer scientist Donald Knuth recently wrote a book called ``3:16'' in which he examined the third chapter and 16th verse of every book of the Christian Bible. ``I thought at first I would be ridiculed; I had this feeling like I was coming out of the closet or something,'' says Knuth, professor emeritus for the art of computer programming at Stanford University. ``I hesitantly admitted to a few people that I was working on this book on weekends but got an unexpectedly warm reaction.'' Knuth says he found that ``a lot of computer scientists have a God-shaped hole in their hearts.'' As part of her work, Foerst tries to educate ministers and theologians about the science of artificial intelligence. Brooks says his ``ultimate megalomaniacal goal'' is to build a robot ``that is indistinguishable from a human -- which I won't do before I die. I admit that.'' But some milestones are already past. Today, deaf people can hear with electronic cochlear implants that tap directly into a nerve in the ear. Silicon corneas are in the works. And these two examples are just the beginning. ``As we start to connect silicon to biological material, in living humans, where is the boundary between personhood and machinehood?'' Brooks says. Address of original story is available at: <http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/075884.htm> I hope, you will enjoy the excerpts, thank you! Sincerely yours Arun Tripathi From: Willard McCarty Subject: confusions & apologies Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:34:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 423 (423) Dear colleagues: On occasion a message submitted to Humanist may appear to the author to have been suppressed deliberately without notice. I suspect that these days messages seldom or almost never "disappear into the aether" (i.e. vanish unaccountably, not by human hand), as once did happen; more often, I suspect, we politely assume this when actually the recipient has deep-sixed the message for whatever reason. Please be assured that this NEVER happens on Humanist. From time to time I do write to authors to point out that this or that message has nothing to do with applied computing and so really doesn't belong here; sometimes I will suggest how it could be reformulated so that it does. But I never simply delete messages, however strongly tempted :-). If a message is delayed in its appearance, this is likely because with my half-brained filtering system in Eudora, it has been shlepped off to an unsuspected mailbox and I don't see it in time. This regularly happens to messages from people I otherwise correspond with and so have a filter in place to treat the messages of. It also happens to messages that somehow escape the send-it-to-the-Humanist-folder filter for whatever reason. So, if within 2 postings you do not see the message you sent, please write to enquire. In the last few weeks I have been moving files from my old machine to my new one (which CAVE has a USB interface only). In the last few days there have been teething problems with the machines at Virginia. The teaching term has begun and other turbulence hit my leaky bark. Hence, for example, the additional batch of delayed messages you are about to receive, for which all apologies from both animate and inanimate beings involved with Humanist. Yours, WM ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere From: David Gants Subject: 2001-02 Newberry Fellowships Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:12:17 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 424 (424) The Newberry Library invites applications for its Fellowships in the Humanities, 2001-02. Long-term fellowships are available to postdoctoral scholars (and Ph.D. candidates in the case of the Spencer Fellowship) for periods of six to eleven months, unless otherwise noted under the fellowship description. Applicants for post-doctoral awards must hold the Ph.D. at the time of application. The stipend for these fellowships is up to $30,000 unless specified under the award description. Long-term fellowships include: National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Lloyd Lewis Fellowship in American History Monticello College Foundation Fellowship for Women Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Spencer Foundation Fellowship in the History of Education Short-term fellowships are intended for postdoctoral scholars or Ph.D. candidates (or equivalent for the field) from outside of the Chicago area who have a specific need for Newberry collections. Scholars whose principal residence or place of employment is within the Chicago area are not eligible. The tenure of short-term fellowships varies from one week to two months unless otherwise noted under the award description (a majority of fellowships are one month or less). The amount of the award is generally $1200 per month. Short-term fellowships include: Newberry Library Short-Term Fellowship American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Fellowship Arthur Weinberg Fellowship for Independent Scholars South Central Modern Language Association Fellowship The Audrey Lumsden-Kouvel Fellowship Lester J. Cappon Fellowship in Documentary Editing Short-Term Fellowship in the History of Cartography Center for Great Lakes Culture/Michigan State University Fellowships The Newberry Library also offers several special fellowships and awards, including: Frances C. Allen Fellowship Newberry/British Academy Fellowship for Study in Great Britain Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbttel Fellowship Weiss/Brown Publication Subvention Award Ecole des Chartes Exchange Fellowship The application deadline for all fellowships and awards is January 20, 2001. The Newberry Library is an independent research library, free and open to the public, located on Chicago's near north side. The Newberry's holdings number more than 1.5 million volumes and 5 million manuscript pages. The collections concern the civilizations of Western Europe and the Americas from the late Middle Ages to the early twentieth century. For more information or to download application materials, visit The Newberry Library's web site at www.newberry.org. If you would like materials sent to you by mail, write to Committee on Awards, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610-3380; phone: 312-255-3666; or e-mail research@newberry.org. From: "Amy Walters" Subject: Re: 14.0275 noisy libraries Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:11:22 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 425 (425) Regarding the discussion of noisy libraries, I just want to point out that cybernetics treats "noise" as information rather than interference. Amy R. Walters, Ph.D. Communication Department Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, PA 16057 amy.walters@sru.edu From: Anthony Ubelhor Subject: Re: 14.0275 noisy libraries Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:11:47 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 426 (426) At 09:53 AM 09/27/00 +0100, you wrote: [deleted quotation] Not if you're accessing the cyber-library from a desk at a bricked library. Anthony Ubelhor From: Jennifer De Beer Subject: Re: 14.0275 noisy libraries Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:12:41 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 427 (427) [deleted quotation] Aren't we tilting at windmills here? [deleted quotation] Yes, am most interested, especially w.r.t. how you would implement interactivity and contributor participation. Thanks, happy to have misread, Jennifer __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! http://photos.yahoo.com/ From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: "WHERE IS THE DIGITAL LIBRARY? Audiocast: Thurs Sept 28, Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:13:16 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 428 (428) 4pm (Eastern) featuring Clifford Lynch NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community September 27, 2000 FORGIVE DUPLICATION WHERE IS THE DIGITAL LIBRARY? Audiocast: Thurs Sept 28, 4pm (Eastern) Featuring Clifford Lynch <http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.html>http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.>html [deleted quotation] WHERE IS THE DIGITAL LIBRARY? a live audiocast from the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN) on Thursday, September 28, 2000 at 4 pm Eastern time. <http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.html>http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.>html Listen at your desktop and ask questions by email as expert Clifford Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information, is queried about the state of higher education's digital (and other) libraries. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THIS EVENT Technology Anchor: Howard Strauss, Manager of Advanced Applications, Princeton University Co-Host: Judith Boettcher, Executive Director, Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN) When: Thursday, September 28, from 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm Eastern Where: <http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.html>http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.>html To join this audio webcast, just go to this URL, and then select the highlighted "Audio Event" link. That link becomes active at 4:00 pm Eastern on September 28. How: At your desktop work station, listening to the live Audiocast using RealAudio. WHERE IS THE DIGITAL LIBRARY? <http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.html>http://www.cren.net/know/techtalk/events/digi-lib.>html What is a digital library? How do they connect with libraries as we know them? What will we be able to do with a digital library? When do we get rid of paper versions of books and journals? Who preserves digital material, and how? What about e-books? Why did the government decide to fund the DLI initiative? What are its goals? What has been accomplished? What is the next generation of digital libraries? What kind of research is going on? Do we have enough bandwidth, storage, processing power, etc. to move ahead with all the DLI 2 initiatives? How can a university or an individual take advantage of what's already been done with digital libraries? How can a university participate in the various initiatives? Plan now to send in your questions to expert@cren.net and join Howard and Judith on Thursday, September 28 at 4:00 pm Eastern time as they explore, with guest expert Clifford Lynch of CNI, the area of cyberspace known as the digital library. ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch>-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Osher Doctorow, osher@ix.netcom.com, Wed. Sept. 27, 2000, 6:02AM Subject: Re: 14.0277 methodological primitives Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 10:14:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 429 (429) Dear Colleagues, I commend the discussants [don't be concerned about my coining words - I it all the time, at no expense to myself] of methodological primitives, including myself, for their zeal if not their concise summarizing skills. I myself was obscure in one of my earlier contributions. However, I have been awakened from my meditations concerning Ovid's Metamorphoses by the somewhat remarkable contribution of Wendell Piez, 9-2-00, 9:24:28. In comparing it with my succinct contribution in which I disposed of all of political history and prehistory in one page (actually, in one sentence, but I am being open-minded), Wendell used approximately 2 - 1/2 pages to discuss one aspect of computer programming. I am not currently collecting paper for recycling, but there is the matter of the trees (versus the forest?). As a mathematician and physicist, I cannot quite consider that Wendell's contribution exceeds all of political history and prehistory. I have been curious in the past as to the skills required to be a computer/systems programmer/engineer/operator, as I seem to only relate to them at an extremely complex theoretical level (von Neumann and beyond), and I think that one of the skills seems to be the "ability or desire to produce complex nonsense". I myself did this in my previously obscure contribution, but for me it is unfortunately rather rare. However, my deceased colleague Isaac Asimov in his Foundation Series proposed measuring the nonsense content of sentences and speeches using extremely advanced technology (which has so far defied computer programmers' abilities), and he typically concluded that sentences usually contain 100% nonsense. Could I prevail upon Wendell to possibly restate his thesis, if any, in one sentence comparable to my political history-prehistory declaration that permutations of A, B, and N in Shakespearean play contexts contain all the content of political history-prehistory? Yours Faithfully, Osher Doctorow From: Paul Jones Subject: creating a noisy library Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 07:21:40 -0400 (EDT) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 430 (430) First Jennifer De Beer's note includes two unattributed snips from other messages. They are not from the same author, but the way in which they are included makes it seem as if they were typed by the same hands. The first, which I agree is tilting at windmills, is not from me. The second offering to share a brief overview of technologies involved etc as described in a forthcoming CACM article is by me. The draft of the contributor-run library (aka noisy in the Jacksonian sense) can be found at http://www.advogato.org/article/170.html and you and your readers may join the discussion there if you choose. Advogato implements a matrix of trust (taken from crypto folks) which I would include in a noisy library. ========================================================================== Paul Jones "We must protect our precious bodily fluids!" General Jack D Ripper http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As MetaLab.unc.edu pjones@ibiblio.org voice: (919) 962-7600 fax: (919) 962-8071 =========================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: "[iso-8859-1] Melissa Terras" Subject: Re: Latin Letter Frequency? Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 04:14:49 -0700 (PDT) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 431 (431) Thanks to all who have replied to this thread, its been very helpful. I was very aware that I asked a vague "how long is a piece of string" question, and know that the use of classical corpora is fraught with a number of problems. What I'm actually doing is undertaking a statistical analysis of the Latin in the Vindolanda Writing Tablets to help propogate some probabilities that will help the papyrologists at Oxford read the Vindolanda Stylus Tablets, which are so deteriorated they are practically illegible. I havent found much of this type of work done before with Latin - or any language in humanities research- although natural language processing and cryptography have developed many techniques to undertake this kind of "code-cracking", and so I'm adopting some of those. Or plan to at the moment ;) Nevertheless, the pointers given on the list have given me plenty to chase up. Thanks. Melissa ___________________________________________ Melissa M Terras MA MSc Engineering Science / Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents Christ Church University of Oxford Oxford 0X1 1DP ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Wendell Piez Subject: Re: 14.0295 primitives Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 13:16:02 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 432 (432) Osher Doctorow writes: [deleted quotation] I'm afraid not: I really have no talent for such flights at least in the context of an e-mail list. Rather, let Osher take the post for what it's worth to him -- if that's not much, that's perfectly fine; I don't expect any post I write to be on target for all readers. Instead (and as long as I'm being summoned back to the floor), I'd like to try and take the discussion a step further -- I accept Mr. Doctorow's challenge to be more abstract and far-reaching, even if I'm not more concise and conclusive. There are five points; please feel free to use your delete key (or the moral equivalent thereof). 1. There is apparently a difference between "methodological primitives" in the sense that Ott, Bradley and myself were taking them, which is to say core operations to be performed on a specified data set via an automated process, and in the sense that Prof. Unsworth is meaning them, as irreducible operations performed by a scholar as he or she goes about the work of tracing, understanding, and presenting a thesis about a text or subject of research. (I'll let Willard speak for himself.) There is also, at least potentially, a relation between these two things, as many of us have experienced in our own work. The implication has been that if we have the first (paraphrase this as "if we can teach our computers to help us read, find, sort, filter and so forth") we can facilitate the second. 2. A key difference between what a computer does in performing operations on a text, and what a human reader does, is that the data set (the "input") on which the computer operates is finite and bounded, whereas what the human reader brings is unknown and variable. It may be finite, although large, but since its bounds are unknown, and since no two human readers (or even readings) bring the same context to bear on a text, practically speaking, it is infinite and unknowable. (Caveat: the Internet and the web now make it possible for a computer's inputs themselves be practically infinite and unbounded, because unknowable; nevertheless we have hardly begun to think about what this may mean for automated processing of texts.) 3. One ancient technique for bridging this gap, is to teach the computer something about what we know about a text, and to design its interfaces and its processes in such a way to give us better access to the full range of this knowledge, than we can ourselves achieve unaided. I say "ancient" because this work is far older than digital processing. Add a table of contents or an index to a text, or line and verse numbering, or lay out the text on the page with chapter titles in a larger type face, and you are beginning to "teach [the book] to help us read, find, sort, filter and so forth". With computers, examples of this practice would include text encoding, or markup, as well as the addition of external sources of information such as databases, dictionaries, "knowledge bases" etc. 4. Historically, one barrier to this work has been (as far as computers and automation have been concerned) that to design these interfaces and processes, we have had to invest in technologies and methods that mask the processes as much as they reveal them. This has largely been because of the design of our tools and the esoteric knowledge they have themselves required. It is as if we had created indexed commentaries on Classical Chinese poetry, but written them in English (finding that with our keyboards it is easier to compose an alphabetical index in English), thereby requiring our Chinese audience to learn English (on top of Classical Chinese) to get the benefit of the commentaries. (Not only that, but we have used a dialect of English that will be largely obsolete in five years.) This problem has been faced not only by "Computing Humanists" but also by the culture as a whole (or marketplace, if you like), that has invested untold millions in systems of computer-based automation that, whatever benefits they have delivered, have always fallen short of promises. Consequently, there have been waves of development working to ameliorate the problem in one way or another. The emergence of object-oriented programming methodologies, including the notion of "strong data typing", is one such wave; the emergence of standards-based markup languages is another. My earlier post tried to trace how these two developments should in theory complement one another, and how industry is now moving forward quickly on that basis to deal with its own analogous problems. Nevertheless, I argued, in the context of Humanities research we have a considerable way to go, even to match what has long been done with such structures as indexes and footnotes in the printed book -- at least, that is to say, if we want to do it on a basis that can reach beyond that five-year half-life that computer applications have faced. 5. Even so, the gap remains between an automated process, working on known inputs, and a human process, working with who-knows-what "extraneous" but all-important -- all-pervasive and all-conditioning --knowledge, memory, intuition, assumptions, imagination. Human readers perceive in a text (just for example) the implicit logics of narrative ordering; intertextual references; metaphorical correspondences; ironies. What would it take to teach a computer to perceive these on our behalf? Out of what methodological primitives, subject to automation, can such operations be built? Respectfully, Wendell ====================================================================== Wendell Piez mailto:wapiez@mulberrytech.com Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com 17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635 Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631 Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Willard McCarty Subject: recommended readings? Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:28:07 +0100 (BST) X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 433 (433) I would be most grateful for recommendations of essays (online or otherwise) on the following subjects: 1. the effects of hypertextual linking on compositional practice, by which I mean, how using hypertextual links changes the way one writes and esp how such linking influences or could influence the design of scholarly forms, such as the critical essay, edition, commentary etc. 2. the design of more sophisticated linking than we currently have, which is to say not merely named or typified links (as already implemented in the old PARC NoteCards software) but links with other attributes to indicate, for example, scope and what one might call intensity or tentativeness. I would be esp glad to learn of an essay based on a model for any conventional form, literary allusion being perhaps the most comprehensive and difficult. 3. the discrepancies between scholarly forms in which reference is a primary intellectual tool and anything we could conceivably do with computing as we now have it. The more one thinks about the hypertextual link, the cruder an instrument it appears. How subtle and various by contrast (and of course how problematic) are the ways in which one can in print say "see X"! Many thanks. Yours, WM ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Willard McCarty Subject: British Library table of contents service Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 16:35:18 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 434 (434) Although the following service is only available to those of us in U.K. academic institutions, those outside that orbit may be interested in its existence. (The reference to KCL below is to King's College London.) Yours, WM [deleted quotation] ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities / King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS / U.K. / voice: +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / fax: +44 (0)20 7848-2980 / ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/ maui gratias agere ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanist Discussion Group Information at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/> <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/> ========================================================================= From: Jennifer De Beer Subject: Re: 14.0297 noisy libraries Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:15:05 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 435 (435) [deleted quotation] Yes, apologies, but I expected those following the discussion to be aware of who had said what. Regards, Jennifer De Beer ===== ~~ Jennifer De Beer Do not be bullied by authoritative pronouncements about what machines will never do. Such statements are based on pride, not fact. --Marvin Minsky, MIT, 1982 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! http://photos.yahoo.com/ From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Consortium for Interchange of Computer Interchange of Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:20:57 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 436 (436) Museum Information (CIMI) + HARMONY Call for Participation NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community October 4, 2000 HARMONY + CIMI COLLABORATION CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Interoperability and Metadata Vocabularies <http://www.cimi.org/>http://www.cimi.org/ [deleted quotation]Harmony + CIMI Collaboration Interoperability and metadata vocabularies Call for Participation 3 October 2000 SUMMARY We are pleased to invite museums, vendors, and related organizations within the international museum community to participate in The Harmony Project + CIMI Collaboration to study issues surrounding interoperability and metadata vocabularies. The Harmony Project is an international collaboration funded by DSTC, JISC, and NSF <http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/discovery/harmony/>http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/discovery/harmony/. Part of their research includes the investigation of a conceptual model for interoperability among community-specific metadata vocabularies. Towards this end both the ABC model and the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model will be evaluated with the goal being to articulate the relationship between these two models and their intended uses. The Harmony Project has agreed to work closely with a select group of CIMI members to understand descriptive needs, understand the contexts in which data will be used, refine the ABC model and experiment using the ABC model for translating among different descriptive vocabularies. CIMI members participating in this research initiative will provide The Harmony Project with approximately 100 museum records (metadata descriptions) and associated multimedia content (images, audio, video). (Textual data to be delivered in Excel spreadsheet format.) Explanations of the elements and relationships between the elements must also be provided. Note: Records will need to be publicly accessible in order to demonstrate the findings. Results will be communicated back to individual participants and the CIMI membership in written and oral presentation format at a future meeting within 12-18 months. For more information about this project consult the Project Description available from the CIMI News section of the CIMI web site <http://www.cimi.org/>http://www.cimi.org/ A pre-requisite of participation in this research project is CIMI membership. Interested parties should complete the membership application and sign the Principles of Cooperation and send an expression of interest via e-mail to Angela Spinazze ats@atspin.com, CIMI Programs Manager, by no later than October 31, 2000. Expressions of interest should include the name of the institution and contact person as well as a description of the types of records to be contributed, schema(s) in use and confirmation that multimedia content associated with the metadata records is available and will be provided. ============================================ Angela Spinazze Programs Manager CIMI Consortium <http://www.cimi.org/>http://www.cimi.org/ 350 West Erie Street, Suite 250 Chicago, Illinois 60610 +1.312.944.6820 (voice) +1.312.944.6821 (fax) e-mail: ats@atspin.com ============================================ ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Andrea Zorzi Subject: Workshop "Historical Archives and Digital Archives" Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:14:33 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 437 (437) "Archivi storici e archivi digitali tra ricerca e comunicazione" - 20-21/10/2000 - Invito _________________________________________________________ Dipartimento di Studi storici e geografici Universit degli Studi di Firenze Settore informatico e telematico |Workshops su "Storia e internet", a.a. 2000-2001| <http://www.storia.unifi.it/_storinforma/workshops2001.htm> "Archivi storici e archivi digitali tra ricerca e comunicazione" Workshop organizzato in collaborazione con l'Archivio di Stato di Firenze Coordinato da Federico Valacchi (Universit della Calabria), StefanoVitali (Archivio di Stato di Firenze) e Andrea Zorzi (Universit di Firenze) _________________________________________________________ Il workshop si terr venerd 20 e sabato 21 ottobre 2000, e avr luogo a Palazzo Fenzi, sede del Dipartimento di Studi storici e geografici dell'Universit di Firenze, in via S. Gallo 10, aula 21. La presentazione, il programma e altre informazioni sono consultabili all'url <http://www.storia.unifi.it/_storinforma/Ws/ws-archivi.htm>. La partecipazione libera e gratuita, ma subordinata a un atto formale di iscrizione che serve a predisporre l'organizzazione logistica e a impegnare chi intende partecipare a seguire il workshop per la sua intera durata. Si invitano gli interessati a fare avere al pi presto - e comunque entro luned 16 ottobre 2000 - la loro adesione al dott. Andrea Zorzi, Responsabile scientifico del Settore informatico e telematico del Dipartimento di Studi storici e geografici: . ________________________________________________________ From: "Bernd Krysmanski" Subject: Forthcoming two-volume Hogarth bibliography Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:10:47 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 438 (438) Bernd Krysmanski THG Voerder Str. 30 D-46535 Dinslaken Germany Fax: ++49 2064 731091 Email: hogarth_bibliographer@web.de Dear Colleague, I have recently created a new website for Hogarth researchers all over the world. It includes information on my own publications, but also many other useful references to the vast amount of source literature on William Hogarth. Could I possibly ask you to include the following site in your list of Hogarth links: http://come.to/William_Hogarth Thank you. Yours sincerely, Bernd Krysmanski _______________________________________________________________________ 1.000.000 DM gewinnen - kostenlos tippen - http://millionenklick.web.de IhrName@web.de, 8MB Speicher, Verschluesselung - http://freemail.web.de From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE Subject: Visual Resources Association's New Image Collection Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:20:14 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 439 (439) Guidelines NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community October 4, 2000 For Immediate Release Contact: Kathe Hicks Albrecht 202-885-1675 VISUAL RESOURCES ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES THE PUBLICATION OF NEW IMAGE COLLECTION GUIDELINES Guidelines will focus on the acquisition and use of visual images in educational settings <http://www.oberlin.edu/~art/vra/vra.html>http://www.oberlin.edu/~art/vra/vra.html (Washington, D.C., October 4, 2000) Visual Resources Association, the international organization of image media professionals, recently announced the publication of a new guide for visual resources professionals. The Image Collection Guidelines: The Acquisition and Use of Images in Non-Profit Educational Visual Resource Collections will provide practical principles for the acquisition, attribution, and display of visual images for educational use. The Image Collection Guidelines were developed by the VRA Intellectual Property Rights Committee upon the conclusion of the U. S. Commerce Department Conference on Fair Use in 1998. Through representatives Virginia M.G. Hall (Johns Hopkins University) and Kathe Hicks Albrecht (American University), VRA actively participated in the Conference on Fair Use from 1994 to 1998. CONFU participants from museums, libraries, publishing companies, and educational institutions, sought to develop a set of guidelines for the use of digital images that would meet the needs and interests of museums, libraries, publishers, educators, and the general public. Although the CONFU process failed to result in approved guidelines for digital images, VRA participants recognized the importance of providing guidelines for those working in the field. Kathe Hicks Albrecht, chair of the Intellectual Property Rights Committee, explained that many educational institutions are dependent upon the use of illustrative images for teaching and that the introduction of digital information and electronic networks has dramatically changed the use of visual information. Issues of copyright, display standards, image duplication, and legal responsibility need to be addressed in the digital era. Those who work in the information field and those who teach with illustrative images find that professionally accepted principles for acquisition, use, and display of these images can be very helpful. In May 2000, the newly published Image Collection Guidelines were featured in a double session at the American Association of Museums conference in Baltimore, Maryland . The session, sponsored by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage, focused on resources and policies recently developed by the cultural community and included the work of the American Association of Museums, the College Art Association, and the Visual Resources Association. Ann Whiteside, VRA President, stated that the Guidelines, originally published in the VRA Bulletin (Fall 1999, vol. 26, no.3, pp. 27-29), is available in print form for distribution to educational institutions and is also available electronically on the VRA website at <http://www.oberlin.edu/~art/vra/vra.html>http://www.oberlin.edu/~art/vra/vra.html. ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Frederick Noronha Subject: Children and the Internet - an experiment by Sugata Mitra Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 14:17:21 +0530 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 440 (440) [--] Children and the Internet: an experiment with minimally invasive education in India Author : Sugata Mitra and Vivek Rana Date added : 1999-07-22 Country : India Region : National Regional Scope : South Asia and Pacific Abstract : Urban children all over the world seem to acquire computing skills without adult intervention. Indeed this form of self-instruction has produced hackers - children who can penetrate high tech security systems. Is this kind of learning dependent only on the availability of technology? We provided slum children in New Delhi with Internet access in their settlement. The paper describes the results obtained in the first month of unsupervised and unguided access. It is observed that children seem to understand and use the technology fluently. Language and formal education do not seem to make any significant difference. You can read more about the background of this project in the interview held in Kuala Lumpur with Dr. Sugata Mitra Story : Introduction Use of the Internet is spreading rapidly in India, as it is in the rest of the world. While the users in India are, almost entirely, restricted to the affluent in metropolitan areas, it is more than likely that demand for the Internet will eventually arise throughout the entire country. In this context, there are many apprehensions from academicians and others that the ability to access and the quality of training provided will hinder the usage of Internet in the subcontinent. We think this may not be true and report the results of an experiment in Internet and computer usage using a "minimally invasive" (we borrow the term from surgery!) approach to learning. What we observed was both strange and wonderful. It may point to a flaw in the present views of education that are used for the design of almost all forms of instructional materials and systems. Background Subcontinental India consists of several countries with a total population of over one billion people, 20 percent of the population of the world. Most of the area has been repeatedly invaded in the past 3000 years. These invasions have originated mostly from Western and Eastern Europe, Eastern Asia and, occasionally, from China. This has resulted in a uniquely heterogeneous culture that combines races, religions, languages, beliefs and values. The education system has continuously grappled with this problem of heterogeneity and has undergone many transformations, from the early Hindu systems of private education to the centralised universities of the Buddhist and Mogul periods to the most recent model, the British systems of the early twentieth century. It is in this larger historical context that the use of educational technology in the subcontinent should be viewed. The ability to access the Internet is one of the most important factors in the use of computers today. In many forums held on the subject in the Indian Subcontinental region, We have found people questioning the utility of schemes that rely on the Internet. The argument proposed is that there are too few people in the region who have access. In my opinion this argument is not a good one for deciding on whether or not to start activities in this area. We base this opinion on the fact that resources have seldom affected the spread of a medium in this region. For example, India produces the largest number of films in the world. While it may be argued that in a country that is known for extreme poverty, people would rather spend on food than on films, in reality this is not the case. Films are watched in every corner of India by millions of people irrespective of their social or economic status. In fact one might argue that the virtual world that is offered by films is sometimes the only relief that the poor have from a harsh, and often unbearable, reality. While telephone connections in India grew from zero to 4 million in 40 years (1950-1990), cable TV connections grew from zero to 16 million in just six (1990-1996). I would once again propose that this is due to the value perceived in entertainment over other "essential" items. In a study conducted by the Department of Electronics, Government of India, some years ago, it was found that many rural areas ranked a colour TV set as more essential than, say, clean drinking water. Such is the power of media. Most lay users perceive the Internet as a source of information and entertainment. The cost of acquiring a PC and an Internet connection at home is about Rs. 70,000 (US$ 1600). In addition there is a recurring cost of the phone bill of about Rs. 10,000 (US$ 135) every year. In a country where the average annual income is about Rs. 6000, these amounts are not small. The fact that the home PC market is growing at 44% seems to indicate again that the economics of entertainment in the region are not clearly related to incomes. We would expect that explosive growth in Internet usage would take place in the region, regardless of any other factor. Previous hypotheses and experiments One of us (SM) has been working in this area for the last two decades. The idea of unsupervised learning was first pointed out in a paper on the use of diagnostics (debugging) as a learning tool (Mitra, S. and Pawar, R.S., 1982). Of the work done later in this period, two experiments are worth mentioning in the context of this paper. Both experiments were based on a paper (Mitra, S.,1988) where it was suggested that unsupervised use of computers can lead to accelerated learning of skills in children. It is now widely felt that children are more adept at modern computing skills than most adults, although they seldom want or get formal education in this area. The first experiment on the use of computers in rural India were conducted by Marmar Mukhopadhyay in the village of Udang in the state of West Bengal in India (Zielenziger, 1995). Here, a few computers were placed in a school and children allowed to use them after minimal instructions. Word processing, spreadsheets and database management systems were readily learned by both teachers and students who then went on to create a rural resources and healthcare database. The second experiment was conducted as a set of courses for children in NIIT Limited, an Indian training company with over 150,000 students. These experiments were called LEDA (learning through exploration, discovery and adventure) and were based on a publication (Ahuja et al, 1995). The structured use of computer games for meeting learning objectives was the key strategy. Once again, it was observed over a period of four years that skill training would happen automatically in children given enough access and motivating content. Objectives of the present experiment The present experiment was conducted to find out whether: 1. Potential users will use a PC based outdoor Internet kiosk in India without any instruction. 2. A PC based Internet kiosk can operate without supervision in an outdoor location in India. Location and construction of an outdoor kiosk An outdoor kiosk was constructed such that it could be accessed from outside the boundary wall of our office in New Delhi. The headquarters of NIIT Limited is situated in Kalkaji in the extreme south of the city. The office is bordered by a slum, as is the case in many Indian cities. The slum contains a large number of children of all ages (0-18), most of whom do not go to school. The few who do go to government schools of very poor quality (that is, low resources, low teacher or student motivation, poor curriculum and general lack of interest). None are particularly familiar with the English language. The kiosk was constructed such that a monitor was visible through a glass plate built into a wall. A touch pad was also built into the wall (see photo 1). The PC driving the monitor Photo1: Children examining the kiosk on the first day. was on the other side of the wall in a brick enclosure (see photo 2). The PC used was based on a Pentium, 266 Mhz chip with 64Mb of RAM, suitahle hard disk, a true color display and an ethernet card. It was connected to NIIT's internal network of 1200 PC's using the Windows NT operating system. The kiosk had access to the Internet through a dedicated 2Mbps connection to a service provider. Photo2: Construction of the kiosk housing on the office side of the wall. Observations The kiosk was made operational on the 26th of January, 1999. It was turned on without any announcement or instruction. A video camera was placed on a tree near the kiosk in order to record activity near the kiosk. Activity on the CPU was monitored from another PC on the network. This enabled the kiosk to be monitored and, if necessary, controlled from within the office. One of us (VR) would monitor activity through the day and take notes or other actions when necessary. What follows is extracted from his diary, with comments added when necessary. Jan 18th In a meeting, the date for Implementing the Internet kiosk was decided - Jan 26th 1999 We would review the status of the project on Jan 25th This kiosk had to be made in the wall of NIIT - in such a place that the people can access the kiosk with out any fear/ hesitation. Therefore the wall (about 25 feet from the colony's first house) was chosen and the "brick kiosk" came into existence. Just before the construction started, we wanted to take the people of the colony into confidence - that a 'kiosk' was being put up for their benefit. I don't think they quite understood what we wanted to do. As long as it did not take up their space, they did not really care. Jan 26th 1999 Installed the kiosk by 1:00 PM Lot of enthusiasm in the people as to what it is why is it being put up here Most of the kids thought it was a video game being put up for free few questions the kids asked Is it a video game? What is a computer? How will we be benefited? But we don't know how to operate the computer!! Who will take care of the computer (security etc.)? (Asked by the elders) None of the questions were answered with any instructional sentence. We gave general answers such as "It's a fun machine". The kiosk was turned onl with www.altavista.com as the home site for them to play with and "NO INSTRUCTION " was the key instruction to us. As of now keyboard access was not given. The only instruction (not given deliberately) was the final testing of the system with the 'Touch Pad' - the pointing device provided. Among the first users were the little boys from the colony of the age 6-12 Initial response to the system was to generally fiddle around with the touch pad and since the pointer moves with that - they found it interesting. The next thing that they learned (don't know how - may be accidentally) was to "click" form the touch pad itself. Later they came to know as to what exactly is "Clickable" on the screen - as the pointer changes, from an arrow to a hand shape, when it is on some link The next thing they could relate to their knowledge was the "channels" icon on the browser. As overheard, "go to channels.. there must be TV", and similar expressions. Then someone simply tried and reached the channels icon and managed It is important to note that they learned to manipulate and click the mouse in a few hours. Feb 1st Launched the kiosk with WIN NT so that more security could be provided to the internal network. The enthusiasm in the kids is still high and they are trying various things with the system. Next2-3days went the same way. People trying to do various things - opening the 'start menu', opening new windows, opening the 'my computer' from the desk - opening the other applications Photo 3: Children teaching each other. Feb 4th 1999 We found that one of the slum dwellers is computer literate - Sanjay Chowdhary is a BA 2nd year student from the Correspondence College of the University of Delhi. He has done a basic course on computers from IGNOU (The Indira Gandhi National Open University). Since he is the only one who knows computers in the colony , all kids give him great respect. He has been found teaching them how to operate the touch pad (the pointing device). It must be realsed that the "intervention" here is situational. The children found the best resource they could. Feb 5th and 6th People have tried and learned to "shut down" the p/c. Most of my time went into rebooting the m/c physically. Tired of this I had to change the registry settings in order to stop them from shutting down the m/c. Feb 10th 1999 In the morning removed some 200 shortcuts from the desktop. Later in the day removed some 850 shortcut objects form the desktop this shows that someone is really finding it interesting to create these shortcuts. The most liked/ visited site are - disneyblast.com , MTVonline, Applications - calculator, paint and chat (though they cannot do much with chat because they have not been provided with the keyboard. But without any doubts the most liked is the 'paint' application. They are trying to do things with it. There is no instruction given to them till date. We spoke to the people of the colony today in order to find out their views about the Kiosk. In the day only the ladies are at home. They had some reservations about using the computer. " we don't know the language", "we don't know how to operate it", and an elderly woman said, "yeh daal roti dega kya"(will this give us food?). We tried to persuade them to use it. Asked them to try and use it in front of us. There seemed to be much hesitation in this too. We have decided to keep it open 24 hours The adult women never went anywhere near the PC even until the writing of this article (March, 18, 1999). Feb 11th 1999 The m/c was shut down by the guards at around 11:00 PM as no body was using it. So opening it 24 hours will not make much of difference !! The first thing in the morning we saw "clock.exe" running on the desktop. A number of other windows were also open. At around 1:00 PM we again found lot of new folders on the desktop. This could be handy work of 'a school student or a group of them, who have learned to create a new folder, and are enjoying it. !! Feb 12th 1999 During the routine health checkup of the m/c I discovered that someone had changed the "WINNT256.bmp" - the startup screen for WINNT. Though the Hindi paper site - www.naidunia.com invoked some interest as they wanted to see their horoscope for the day (these were kids of age 10-12 years), yet I notice that some of them were more keen on using the PAINT application. 12:00PM - just now observed - someone has actually learned maximizing and minimizing windows. Photo 4: A picture created by the children Feb 15th 1999 Noticed in the morning that someone had managed to change the Internet home page option, from www.naidunia.com to www.webevents.microsoft.com Also someone figured out to change the wallpaper setting, as one can change the wallpaper to any Internet picture. Discussion The observations indicate that these underprivileged children, without any planned instructional intervention, achieved a certain level of computer literacy. They were able to self-instruct and to obtain help from the environment when required. In the author's opinion, this is a common phenomenon among urban children. Indeed, most urban parents who have made a computer available to their children tend to marvel at the speed with which their children are able to master (in the parent's opinion) the "complexities" of computing. They often tend to wonder if their children are "gifted". The authors have had many occasions to interact with such parents and children. The present experiment seems to suggest that a similar phenomenon may happen in the case of underprivileged children with little or no formal education. Following is a list of our key observations from this experiment: 1. Once available, the kiosk was used immediately by children (about 5 to 16 years old). These children had a very limited understanding of the English alphabet and could not speak the language. 2. Children learnt basic operations of the PC for browsing and drawing within a few days. 3. Adults, both men and women did not make any attempt to learn or use the kiosk. 4. MS paint and Internet explorer were the most commonly used applications 5. Children formed impromptu classes to teach one another, 6. Children invented their own vocabulary to define terms on the computer, for example, "sui" (needle) for the cursor, "channels" for websites and "kaam kar raha hai" (its working) for the hourglass (busy) symbol. 7. Within a month of interaction, children were able to discover and use features such as new folder creation, cutting and pasting, shortcuts, moving/resizing windows and using MS Word to create short messages even without a keyboard. 8. Children were strongly opposed to the idea of removing the kiosk 9. Parents felt that while they could not learn the operation of the kiosk or did not see its need, they felt that it was very good for the children. However, it is imperative to repeat such experiments in other locations before one can generalise from these observations or come to any conclusion regarding the educational benefits of such a non-invasive method. Conclusions While it is difficult to draw specific conclusions from a single experiment of this nature, we felt that the following hypotheses and future action plans can be formulated from the observations reported above: 1. It is possible to design PC kiosks that can operate outdoors in tropical climates. Such kiosks would have to be protected against heat, temperature, dust, humidity and possible vandalism. Schemes for remote monitoring and maintenance of software would have to be designed. 2. Wireless connectivity with the Internet would need to be devised for kiosks in other areas that are not physically close to organisations with Internet access. 3. Several experiments need to be conducted in different areas to investigate whether self-learning will occur uniformly among disadvantaged children. 4. Other experiments will need to be designed to investigate the effects of instructional intervention at selected points of the learning cycle. References : 1. Ahuja, R., Mitra, S., Kumar, R., Singh, M., Education through Digital Entertainment - A Structured Approach, , Proc. XXX Ann. Conv. Of CSI, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi, pp 187-194 (1995). 2. Mitra, S. and Pawar, R.S., Diagnostic Computer-Assisted-Instruction, a methodology for the teaching of computer languages. Sixth Western Educational Computing Conf., Nov. 1982, San Diego, USA. 3. Mitra, S., A computer assisted learning strategy for computer literacy programmes., presented at the Annual Convention of the All-India Association for Educational Technology, December 1988, Goa, India. 4. Zielenziger, M. , Logging on in backwater, San Hose Mercury News, Monday, June 12, 1995. Contact : NIIT ltd. Kalkaji, India Phone : +91 11 658 1002 Contactperson : Sugata Mitra Sugatam@niit.com Disclaimer: No stories on this website shall be reproduced or stored in any other retrieval system without the written permission of the infoDev/IICD. Although every precaution will be taken in the preperation and maintenance of this collection of stories, neither infoDev, IICD or the submitting parties assume any responsibilities for errors or omissions. In addition, no liability is assumed fordamages resulting from the use of the information supplied in the stories. ---- From: "David L. Green" Subject: Getty Trust Funds NINCH GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:16:48 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 441 (441) NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community October 3, 2000 For further information contact David Green 202-296-5346 david@ninch.org A NINCH PROJECT GETTY TRUST FUNDS INNOVATIVE SURVEY & "GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE" - Guide To Cover Entire Community - NINCH Working Group Selects Glasgow University's Humanities Advanced Technology & Information Institute Guide to be Published Fall 2001 The J. Paul Getty Trust has announced the award of $140,000 to the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) to direct an innovative project to review and evaluate current practice in the digital networking of cultural heritage resources. NINCH will subsequently publish a Guide to Good Practice in the Digital Representation and Management of Cultural Heritage Materials in print and electronic form. The Humanities Advanced Technology & Information Institute (HATII) of Glasgow University, Scotland, has been selected to conduct a survey of current practice in the cultural heritage sector and write the Guide, in close co-operation with the NINCH Working Group on Best Practices. A critical component of the Guide will be a report on a survey of current practice. The survey is due for completion in March 2001; the final draft of the Guide is due for completion in June 2001; publication is expected to be in Fall 2001. BACKGROUND The 1999 IFLA/UNESCO report on its "Survey on Digitization & Preservation," noted "the complete lack of consistency" among survey respondents in how they prepared for and undertook digitization of heritage materials. As many cultural institutions and also many individual faculty go about digitizing material for teaching, research, and even preservation, what ground rules do they have, what questions do they ask themselves, which information and technical standards are they aware of? How can those working in museums, libraries, archives, arts institutions, universities, colleges, or in their own studies or studios learn from others working in different sectors? How can they break institutional barriers in thinking through the wide range of potential uses and users of their materials? NINCH WORKING GROUP ON BEST PRACTICE These and other questions were behind the formation of the Working Group on Best Practices by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage in January 1999. The Working Group (members listed below) agreed on an approach emphasizing principles by extracting generalizable issues from existing documented practice. One of the biggest challenges for the cultural community is not in developing or even adopting technical or information standards. Rather, it lies in translating and crafting them to a set of practices, governed by principles, that are shared and widely deployed across a community. The goal of the Guide is to create a standard "vocabulary" that can be used to read new iterations of specifications in any particular genre or field. We will not address specific audiences but will aim to produce a generalizable, universal document in which specific concerns or instances could be mapped, using a branching structure. WHY GOOD PRACTICE? By adopting community-wide shared good practice, project designers will be able to ensure the broadest use of their projects, now and in the future, even by audiences undreamed of by the designers. They will be able to ensure the quality, consistency and reliability of the information contained in their digital resources. They will be able to ensure the compatibility of their resources with other resources from other projects and from other domains. They will be able to build on the work of others to produce digital resources most economically and maintain and manage them into the future with maximum cost benefit. Overall, "best practices" can be measured by their ability to maximize a resource's intended usefulness while minimizing the cost of its creation and subsequent management and use. PRINCIPLES The Working Group drew up a set of core principles that it believes should govern the creation of digital cultural heritage resources: 1. OPTIMIZE INTEROPERABILITY OF MATERIALS Digitization projects should enable the optimal interoperability between source materials from different repositories or digitization projects 2. ENABLE BROADEST USE Projects should enable multiple and diverse uses of material by multiple and diverse audiences. 3. ADDRESS THE NEED FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ORIGINAL MATERIALS Projects should incorporate procedures to address the preservation of original materials. 4. INDICATE STRATEGY FOR LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL RESOURCES Projects should plan for the life-cycle management of digital resources. 5. INVESTIGATE AND DECLARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & RIGHTS OWNERSHIP Ownership and rights issues need to be investigated before digitization commences and findings reported to users. 6. ARTICULATE INTENT AND DECLARE METHODOLOGY All relevant methods, perspectives and assumptions used by project staff should be clarified and made explicit. From these principles a set of evaluative criteria were derived by which to measure current practice (see: <<http://www.ninch.org/PROJECTS/practice/criteria-1.html>http://www.ninch.org/PROJECTS/practice/criteria-1.html>) SURVEY Following an RFP issued by the NINCH Working Group on June 1 1999, NINCH has now contracted with the Humanities Advanced Technology & Information Institute (HATII) of the University of Glasgow to conduct a survey of the field to discover and define exemplary practice and write the Guide, under the direction of, and in close cooperation with, the NINCH Working Group. The survey will include interviews with practitioners and reviews of published guidelines and projects that demonstrate good practice; it should also reveal areas for which good practice still needs to be developed and documented. An initial small survey will test the face-to-face, telephone and mail survey instruments and allow for modification of the Working Group's Principles and the Evaluative Criteria. This will be followed by an extensive (though not comprehensive) survey of a wide range of production sites in the US and of a select few in Europe. Humanities Advanced Technology & Information Institute (HATII) <<http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/>http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/> Founded in 1997, HATII enables teaching and research by Glasgow University Faculty in the Arts through the deployment of information and communications technology and also engages in an active research agenda of its own. Headed by Dr. Seamus Ross, HATII has conducted a number of important evaluative studies of the use of digital technologies in the cultural heritage sector. It has expertise not only in the full range of media (text, image, moving image, sound) but also with different institution types (universities, museums, archives and libraries). In 1997, HATII conducted an extensive review of the use of information and communications technology in the heritage sector and produced a suite of guidelines and recommendations for the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). These included guidelines for applicants for funding and strategies for the HLF to apply to assess, monitor and review the impact of technology-based heritage projects. NINCH Working Group on Best Practices Kathe Albrecht (from May 24, 1999) American University/Visual Resources Association Lee Ellen Friedland Library of Congress Peter Hirtle Cornell University Lorna Hughes New York University Kathy Jones Divinity School, Harvard University/American Association of Museums Mark Kornbluh H-Net; Michigan State University Joan Lippincott Coalition for Networked Information Michael Neuman Georgetown University Richard Rinehart Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archives/Museum Computer Network Thornton Staples National Museum of American Art (through 2/1/99) University of Virginia Library (from 2/1/99) Jennifer Trant (through May 24, 1999) Art Museum Image Consortium Don Waters/Rebecca Graham (through May 24, 1999) Digital Library Federation The Getty Trust The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts and humanities, and includes an art museum, as well as programs for education, scholarship, and conservation. The mission of the Getty Grant Program is to strengthen the fields in which the Getty is active by funding exceptional projects undertaken by individuals and organizations throughout the world. NINCH The National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) is a diverse coalition of organizations created to assure leadership from the cultural community in the evolution of the digital environment through education on critical issues and developments, the sharing of resources, experience and research, and the creation of a framework to develop and advance collaborative projects, programs and partnerships. NINCH members include organizations and institutions representing museums, libraries, archives, the contemporary arts, learned societies, scholars, teachers and others active in the cultural community. NINCH was formed to help shape a digital environment through intensive collaborative discussion and thoughtful action of its constituent members. ============================================================== NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit. For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ============================================================== See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. ============================================================== From: Arun-Kumar Tripathi Subject: About cyberphil-L Listserv - courses in Cyberphilosophy Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:21:43 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 442 (442) greetings humanists, [HI --On behalf of Prof. Jeff McLaughlin, Ph.D. --Department of Philosophy, History and Politics, at University College of the Cariboo, Canada..-I would like to forward the "welcome message" from the "Cyberphilosophy List" --thought might interest you. We would be delighted if you join us and be a part of it. And, the Cyberphilosophy Journal is located at (http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/cpj/) with a mission to provide an electronic forum for students to exchange thoughts and ideas related to the new emerging field of Cyberphilosophy. Thank you. Best.-Arun] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Cyberphil-L is a mailserv list dedicated to the continued discussion of philosophy and the internet. This list was originally created in the summer of 1998 for students registered in courses in Cyberphilosophy at The University of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta and at The University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, British Columbia. However, as the field grows in significance and popularity, the participants to this list will soon be quite diverse. This list seeks to provide an electronic asynchronous forum for the exchange of ideas, arguments and information related to the new field of philosophy and the internet. The aim of this list is to foster and encourage collaborative discussion, research and exploration of the significant impact of the growth of educational, informational and recreational technology upon the modern world. Cyberphil-L participants are encouraged to post queries, comments, critiques, research, reviews, suggestions, concerns, insights, issues, announcements and potential solutions related to this field of study. Discussion participants should primarily be those who are registered in courses that are recognized by the list owner. If you are an instructor, please contact the list owner before inviting your students to join. If you are an interested party but are not a student please recognize that the primary intent of this list is as a vehicle for formal and informal (and potentially graded) discussion by the registered students. If you, as a non-student, wish to contribute to the discussion, you must clearly identify yourself and your affiliation. This list is unmoderated so as to promote the free exchange of ideas. However, the listowner and relevant instructor(s) reserve the right to invoke penalties as they see fit if the rules of Netiquette and student behaviour are violated (in accordance with the rules of conduct stipulated by the respective instructors, institutions and computer service departments). For further information about acceptable behaviour, please visit: <http://www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html> Please note that this list is to be used for academic and educational purposes only, no commercial use of this list will be tolerated. A few notes about using this list: 1) To subscribe: Send mail to: mailserv@cariboo.bc.ca Content of message: subscribe cyberphil-l Firstname Lastname (Note: Students are responsible for their participation in this list, do not unsubscribe until you are instructed to do so.) 2) To unsubscribe: Send mail to: mailserv@cariboo.bc.ca Content of message: unsubscribe cyberphil-l 3) To send mail to the list: Send mail to: cyberphil-L@cariboo.bc.ca 4) Reply to message: Send mail to: cyberphil-L@cariboo.bc.ca (Or use your 'reply' function. However be sure that your email destination is the one that you intended. That is, don't send it to the list if you wanted just to respond to the individual in a private reply.) In general: TO SEND A COMMAND (E.G., SUBSCRIBE, HELP ETC.) SEND MAIL TO: mailserv@cariboo.bc.ca CONTENT OF MESSAGE: [COMMAND] TO SEND TO THE LIST (E.G., ORIGINAL POSTING, REPLY) SEND MAIL TO: cyberphil-L@cariboo.bc.ca Netiquette: Please consider whether your reply would be useful information or of assistance to everyone on the list. (e.g., simply stating 'Yes, I agree' is not very informative!) In such cases it is appropriate to send your reply to the e-mail address of the specific individual and not to all subscribers. Also, be careful to ensure that your private replies are not mistakenly sent to entire list. If you have any difficulties using the list, please contact your instructor or the list owner personally at the address below. Do not report problems (e.g., "I can't unsubscribe!") to all subscribers. Again, welcome to Cyberphil! Dr. Jeff McLaughlin, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy, History and Politics University College of the Cariboo Voice (250) 371-5734 Fax (250) 371-5697 Web: http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/ae/php/phil/mclaughl/home.htm Email: Jmclaughlin@cariboo.bc.ca Smail: Department of Philosophy, History and Politics University College of the Cariboo P.O. Box 3010 Kamloops BC V2C 5N3 Canada ------ From: John Bradley Subject: Re: 14.0300 recommended readings for Hypertext Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:11:42 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 443 (443) On Wed, 4 Oct 2000 06:40:23 -0400 (EDT) Humanist Discussion Group wrote: [...] [deleted quotation] [...] Willard: The TEI P3 provides some rather technical material on the issue of more sophisticated linking than the kind of HREF linking provided in HTML, and presents them in the context of scholarly work. Indeed, many of the strategies discussed for the encoding of scholarly analytical materials in the TEI are based on its modelling of hypertextual linking. I don't know this for sure, but it appears to me that the TEI's work has influenced both the development of HyTime -- an SGML-based scheme which was designed specifically to, among other things, provide means to represent technically sophisticated linking models -- and more recently XML's XLink and XPointer. ... john b ---------------------- John Bradley john.bradley@kcl.ac.uk From: "Fotis Jannidis" Subject: Re: 14.0300 recommended readings? Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:17:55 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 444 (444) [deleted quotation] I know only of recommendations concerning the composition of hypertexts, but have the impression these recommendations are based on the empirical studies how >readers< behave reading hypertexts. IMHO very interesting in this respect are some of the essays in Rouet, Jean-Franois (ed.): Hypertext and cognition. Mahwah, NJ, 1996. I am also interested in newer studies, so please keep the list informed if you think it is interesting enough. Regards, Fotis Jannidis From: BRUNI Subject: Re: 14.0300 recommended readings? Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:18:22 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 445 (445) I would recommend the book of essays, Hyper/Text/Theory, edited by George Landow. In particular, there is an essay by Martin Rosenberg in that book that argues that hypertext linking may put constraints on the writing process, rather than freeing it up. John Bruni Department of English University of Kansas From: Willard McCarty Subject: Humanist subscription Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 06:21:08 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 446 (446) Dear colleagues, A software problem at Virginia had until yesterday stopped the Humanist subscription mechanism from working. The problem has been fixed. If you know of anyone trying to subscribe during this time, please let them know. Many thanks -- and to our colleagues at Virginia, as always. Yours, W ----- Dr Willard McCarty / Centre for Computing in the Humanities/ King's College London / Strand / London WC2R 2LS U.K./ +44 (0)20 7848-2784 / maui gratias agere From: Humanist Discussion Group Subject: Re: 14.0296 Latin letter frequency Date: Wednesday, October 04, 2000 5:44 AM X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 447 (447) [deleted quotation] From: Einat Amitay Subject: Re: 14.0300 recommended readings? Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 06:17:59 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 448 (448) Hi Willard, [deleted quotation] This is a fraction from my own list (this is the subject of my studies so far): The first links to view are http://www.acm.org/pubs/contents/proceedings/series/ht/ (the ACM HyperText conference series) http://www.eastgate.com/ (the Eastgate hypertext project/source) Then you might want to look at: Bernstein M. (1998). Patterns of hypertext. in Proceedings of the ninth ACM conference on Hypertext and hypermedia: Hypertext98, pp 21-29. Haas S.W. & Grams E.S. (2000). Readers, authors, and page structure: A discussion of four questions arising from a content analysis of Web pages. Journal of the American Society for Information Science (JASIS), 51, 2, 181-192. Foltz, P.W. (1996) Comprehension, Coherence and Strategies in Hypertext and Linear text. In Rouet, J.-F., Levonen, J.J., Dillon, A.P. & Spiro, R.J. (Eds.) Hypertext and Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ricardo F.J. (1998). Stalking the paratext: speculations on hypertext links as a second order text. in Proceedings of the ninth ACM conference on Hypertext and hypermedia: Hypertext98, pp 142-151. Erickson T. (1996). The World Wide Web as social hypertext. Communications of the ACM, 39:1:15-17. Genres and the Web: Is the personal home page the first uniquely digital genre? Andrew Dillon and Barbara Gushrowski, draft of a paper published in Journal of the American Society for Information Science on the genre charatersitcis of personal home pages. http://www.slis.indiana.edu/adillon/genre.html Susana Pajares Tosca. (2000). A pragmatics of links. In Proceedings of Hypertext 2000, pp. 77 - 84. http://www.acm.org/pubs/citations/proceedings/hypertext/336296/p77-tosca/ My own work about paragraph structure in Web-hypertext (to appear in JASIS January, 2001) last draft: http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~einat/publications/jasis.pdf Good luck - and please return some pointers to your own work about the subject, +:o) einat -- Einat Amitay einat@ics.mq.edu.au http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~einat From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance) Subject: a link or linking? Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 06:18:30 +0100 X-Humanist: Vol. 14 Num. 449 (449) Willard, Couldn't help noticing a subtle move in your posting on hypertextual linking. A loose paraphrase of your three topic areas: 1. effects of hypertextual linking on compositional practice 2. the design of linking 3. scholarly reference versus the computably conceivable seems to stress process --- human users interacting with a digital system. Your final paragraph however slips towards product and perhaps inadvertantly restricts the scope of the investigation: [deleted quotation] All of your three topics seems to point to _sets_ of links or some implied plurality. The move to the singular "hypertextual link" puzzles me. Even in HTML, the simple anchor element can be quite powerful if one considers that the links provided by the content producers can lead to "intermediate" menus with selections, (i.e. a set of links) --- including to search engines that are capable of providing information about sites that link to a certain url. That said some remarks on your three topics from the HTML perpective: 3) the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly electronic texts might be measured in part by the number of fragment identifiers used to link spots within a document. Of course this count would be influenced by distribution of HTML knowledge over time --- with earlier texts not being so rich in supplying links between footnotes and the body of a text. 2) John Bradley has already pointed to the TEI and indicated that Xlink and XPointer will allow scholars to link directly to say the fifth paragraph of a target document without a fra