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ambassadorial — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:55:22 CDT

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Anthropology, Teaching & Technology

ambassadorial — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:20:06 CDT

There is an Internet-based movement working towards advancing the discipline of anthropology through information and communication technologies (ICTs) infused with a common understanding that anthropological knowledge should be freely accessible to all in a legal and ethical manner. The blog entries below attempt to explore these issues within the discipline as well as how ICTs are shaping cultures worldwide with a keen eye towards poverty alleviation, economic development, social networks and the betterment of our livelihood.

Universal Computing - Sunday, April 6, 2008
One of the more interesting articles I have read about the power of technological altruism:

{The distributed computing program they use is called malariacontrol.net, part of Africa@home, which uses a screensaver that taps the processing power of volunteer's personal computers to crunch the numbers.
"Obviously, we are very grateful to all the volunteers who are covering the cost of the computer hardware that we're using," said Professor Tom Smith of the Institute.
"We don't need to invest as much ... in keeping the computers running as we would have to if we had some in-house supercomputing."
The research is paying off. Results show that a vaccine might not always be the best solution in all circumstances.}
Read the article here.

National Association of Student Anthropologists Welcomes Yours Ideas - Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Attention grad and undergrad anthro students: Please consider submitting an article to the new anthropology e-
journal sponsored by the National Assoc. of Student Anthropologists (NASA). The call for papers (pasted below) is organized around the theme for the AAA 2008 Annual Meetings. Completed manuscripts of 1000 words should be submitted by April 21, 2008 to nasaejournal AT gmail.com.

See below for more information…The National Association of Student Anthropologists (NASA)
will launch its first online publication, The NASA e-Journal, under the banner of the 2008 American

Anthropological Association conference theme: “Inclusion, Collaboration, and Engagement.” We seek scholarly submissions from undergraduate and graduate students worldwide about the application of anthropological theories and methods outside of academia or across disciplines for the purpose of exploring, problematizing, or addressing social problems. Have you worked in an internship, co-op or another job as a student anthropologist and wish to reflect on how you relied on your anthropological training? Perhaps you collaborated with students from other disciplines at a volunteer organization and seek to describe the value you added from an
anthropological perspective? Is there a paper you submitted for a service-learning class where you addressed a social problem using anthropological methods? Have you done fieldwork in a community where you sought to create positive social change in the process of gathering data? Tell us about it! Scholarly articles should be 1,000 words in length and will be subject to a double blind review process.

We also welcome innovative commentary submissions to the e-Journal. Commentaries are opinion or avant-garde pieces of work which are the original work of the authors. These submissions are to express the next generation of anthropologists’ ideas, goals and beliefs of the direction our discipline should head, be it locally, nationally or globally. We seek a plurality of voices on this issue and intend to raise awareness among fellow students as well as more established anthropologists about the direction our discipline is heading. Commentary submissions might include such mediums as written pieces (1,000 words in length), photo stories (10 photos + 1,000 words of commentary in length) and videos/YouTubeC clips (10-minute maximum in duration + 1,000 words of commentary in length)

Submission Guidelines:
Please submit a full 1,000 word manuscript for consideration by midnight EST on April 21, 2008 along with any
accompanying materials.Authors should complete their submissions according to the AAA style guide (http://aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm). Submissions should be saved in Microsoft Word “.doc”
format with the file title being the first author’s last name and first initial. (example: HebertM.doc). We invite authors to provide drawings, graphs and maps to enhance the visual component of each article. These should be included as separate attachments in the email. Graphics should be saved as “.jpg” format. The file name should be the first authors last name, first initial and then the number of the photo. (example: HebertM1.jpg) Please also include reference in your text where graphics should be placed by inserting the above identifier in the text. Videos should be provided as a link (if located on a site such as YouTube) or included as a graphics file in a readily viewable format such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player. Please send submissions to the e-Journal editorial team with the subject heading “NASA Manuscripts - Vol. 1″ at nasaejournal AT gmail.com.

Authors will be notified regardless if their work has been selected for publication or not. We look forward to
publishing submissions for Volume 1 of the NASA e-Journal in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009.

Teacher Evaluations Published Online - Saturday, December 8, 2007
A recent article in the University of South Florida's campus newspaper discusses a student government initiative to have all instructors' course evaluations placed online in perpetuity. I think it is a great idea but there should be some provisions preventing all evaluations to be simply scanned and uploaded online. I recall conversations with professors about the comments they have received over the years. There is a difference between constructive criticism to help teachers improve, and then there are sexist, racist and other hurtful comments that can end upon teacher evaluations. What about offering teachers the ability to respond back to students' comments? I never understood the feeling of a teacher not being able to address her/his class after a teaching evaluation until it happened to me. Thankfully I give several anonymous self-evaluations throughout the semester, which prepares me for the last evaluation of the semester. Most importantly, ongoing, anonymous evaluations by students allow me to improve their learning and classroom experience during the semester. I alsoinvitestudents to speak with me individually so that I can work with them to better their learning. A couple of them have taken me up on my offer and their class attendance usually goes up. These actions to assist students should accompany the online evaluations. I agree with disclosing teaching evaluations, be they positive and negative. I disagree publishing hateful descriptions or accusations of instructors online.

Student Feedback - Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Wesch video seemed to generate some discussion among my studnets, but it was difficult to read because the quality did not seem clear and the camera moved too quickly from one person to another. I am uncertain if it should be used for next semester's class.

"Information R/evolution" - Thursday, Ocotber 19, 2007
From the creator (anthropology professor Dr. Michael Wesch) of the engaging Web 2.0 video on YouTube earlier this year comes two new videos. The first looks at information and how we organize and understand it. The second explores U.S. students in the college classroom. I like both, but I am partial towards the second one since I am teaching an undergraduate anthropology class. I intend to show my students the video today.

Four Stone Hearth - Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Four Stone Hearth is a dynamic way for anthropologists and other enthusiasts of anthropology to debut their thoughts and writings through a blog carnival, which hosts different websites each month. This months' proposed topic dealt with “Anthropology 2.0,” which P. Kerim Friendman described in a SavageMinds.org blog dated March 13, 2006. Friedman is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, who uses the term Anthropology 2.0 when referring to

the collaborative use of ICTs in contributing towards anthropological knowledge as a whole and
the importance of a providing anthropological treatments of ICTs via more timely publishing venues than paper journals, which can take too long to publish, rendering new scholarship of ICTs outdated

I wanted to explore further the ideas raised by Friedman in this blog carnival (though all anthropological topics were welcome). I also suggested this topic because I submitted a request to present a poster at the upcoming American Anthropological Association’s conference. The poster is about anthropology blogs and I thought it would be interesting to include a section of how various anthropologists who blog treat the issue of the impact ICTs (computers, cell phones, the Internet and radio) are having on the theories, methods and practice of the discipline of anthropology. If you are not a member of Four Stone Hearth (FSH) and are interested in joining, then please visit its website. Thank you to all who provided me with submissions, to co-administrator of FSH Martin Rundkvist for keeping it going, and to Kambiz Kamrani, the other co-admin. of FSH, for all he has done in promoting anthropology on the Internet.

From Jason Simms of http://h2anthro.org/
First, technology has and will continue to change fieldwork. Technologies such as blogs, cameras that instantly post images online with full GPS info, live streaming video, and so forth empower scholars
to record and report in so many new and exciting ways that are far cries from "record fieldnotes, type them up, write a paper" methodologies. Similarly, because anthropologists are "on the ground" in some of earth's "worst" places for genocide, famine, poverty, power differentials, etc., these technologies allow us to "get the word out" in powerful and timely ways that we impossible even five years ago. In that way, we can act as "first responders" who alert the international and media communities to situations that may not attract as much attention as they should...

From Tim Jones of
http://remotecentral.blogspot.com/2007/05/bruniquel-cave-beginning-or-end-of-era.htmlBruniquel Cave - Beginning And End Of An Era: Having previously discussed Fumane Cave, which contains what might be the earliest evidence of cave art at around 35,000 bp, I next want to travel back in time another 12,600 years to Bruniquel Cave, in the Lot region of south-western France, in which traces of what might be Neanderthal ritual or symbolic activities have occurred...

From Martin Rundkvist of
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2007/05/book_review_cambridge_history.php
Book Review: Cambridge History of Scandinavia
Archaeology consists of a myriad of weakly interconnected regional and temporal sub-disciplines. My work in Östergötland is largely irrelevant to a scholar in Lapland and entirely so to one in Tokyo. Larger interregional syntheses are rare and tend to be read mainly by undergraduates who have yet to select a specialty...

From Afarensis of
http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/2007/04/30/the_first_fossil_hunters_paleo/
Book Review: The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times
In his introduction to The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times., paleontologist Peter Dodson writes:

As a child I greatly enjoyed Greek mythology (always in preference to its more derivative Roman counterpart). I might also mention that my father, a biologist, majored in ancient Greek in college. I devoured Edith Hamilton and Bulfinch and D'Aulaire.

I could say something similar about myself. I have always been fascinated by ancient Greece, even taking ancient Greek in college (rather than German like most of the rest of my anthropological peers). I have read Hamilton and Herodotus, Dodds, Euripides and Harrison, and so on ad infinitum . So when I first first heard of a book that combined my two interests of old bones and ancient Greece I was immediately interested...

From Alun Salt who thoughtfully organized the following:
Digging Digitally - WOW! News from the AIA (Archaeological Institute of America)
http://www.alexandriaarchive.org/blog/?p=58
While the AAA drags its feet the AIA are pushing ahead with their plans to improve Open Access to publications.

FieldNotes: for the Anthropology of British Columbia
Googling During Lectures and
More Thoughts on Laptops in the Classroom
http://www.anthroblog.tadmcilwraith.com/2007/04/13/googling-during-lectures/
http://www.anthroblog.tadmcilwraith.com/2007/05/02/more-thoughts-on-laptops-in-the-classroom/
Two posts considering the problems of teaching in the 21st century when students have other ideas about what constitutes attention.

GIS for Archaeology and CRM - Archaeology and 3D Model of Areca Mill, Valley Forge, PA.
http://www.gisarch.com/2007/04/13/archaeology-and-3d-model-of-areca-mill-valley-forge-pa/
Reconstructions have become a bit more viable thanks to Google Earth and SketchUp.

Past Thinking - Realtime Photorealistic 3D Environments
http://www.pastthinking.com/blog/2007/04/18/realtime-photorealistic-3d-environments/
The graphics engine for new game Crysis suggest that VR could be about to become a lot more R.

Clioaudio - Confused by Shadows
When plans don't have a north indicator it's time to turn to Google. Are any of these plans the wrong way round?
http://clioaudio.com/2007/05/05/confused-by-shadows/

Archaeolog (Krysta Ryzewski) - Creative Documentation and Archaeological Practice: Surveying Archaeologists on Film
http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/archaeolog/2007/04/creative_documentation_and_arc.html
Thoughts on archaeologists watching a film featuring archaeologists. How do archaeologists view themselves?

Back Garden Archaeology - Test Pit 2
http://bwarchaeology.blogspot.com/2007/04/ive-started-on-test-pit-2-photo-above.html
Part of a fascinating series of posts about an investigation by an amateur archaeologist with a great photo of a test pit.

Bad Archaeology - Interpreting DNA Evidence
http://badarchaeology.blogspot.com/2007/04/interpreting-dna-evidence.html
The problems of reading ancestry as a departure from a static point.

John Hawks - Biocultural breakdown
http://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/meta/biocultural_breakdown_harvard_2007.html
The decline of four field anthropology. We will soon be meeting round a three stone hearth?

Samarkeolog - Estonia: cultural heritage; political violence
http://samarkeolog.blogspot.com/2007/04/estonia-cultural-heritage-political.html
Violence over the removal of WWII memorials. Communist symbols remain extremely potent in the Baltic republic.

Testimony of the Spade
Some notes on Iron Age Dolmens in Sweden
More thoughts about Iron Age Dolmens
http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/some-notes-on-iron-age-dolmen-or-froboketype-froboketyp-grave/
http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2007/05/03/more-thoughts-about-iron-age-dolmens/
What makes a dolmen a dolmen? Is an open dolmen significantly different from a closed dolmen?

The Central Archaeology Group - The Archaeological Process in Ontario
http://centralarchaeology.blogspot.com/2007/04/archaeological-process-in-ontario.html
The Archaeological process varies immensely from place to place, this is how it works in Ontario.

The Assemblage - Museum bodies
http://politicalarchaeology.wordpress.com/2007/04/28/museum-bodies/
How should human remains be treated. Is it sensible to relocate them halfway round the word? Does it make a difference if the bones are being returned?

Can Technology Change What It Feels Like to Be An Anthropologist? - Tuesday, May 8, 2007
The Society for Applied Anthropology sent me an electronic invitation on Sunday to join their virtual community that is run by Ning.com. I was so enthusiastic at the prospect of "liazing" with other applied anthropologists that I signed up right away. A couple dozen others had already joined and I knew two of them....which is surprising since I am a relative new comer to the field. I checked it tonight and over 100 people have signed up.

My initial reaction was feeling jazzed at the prospect of collaborating with other anthropologists with whom I otherwise would not meet. Then I found myself asking a bunch of people I already know to become my virtual friend. Why was a I doing that when I can just email or call them to find out what is new with them or if they want to work on a paper or other project together? Perhaps the initial allure of wanting virtual friends was leading me to click away on their picture or name, asking them to include me in their social network. Will the social networking sites hosted by professional anthropological associations change how anthropologists carry themselves and what it feels like to be an anthropologist?

I ask this because of a book I am reading by Heather Horst and Daniel Miller titled The Cell Phone: An Anthropology of Communication. The authors explore the cell phone in Jamaica from the perspective of development anthropologists. In the introduction, they describe one of chapters that will "provide readers with a sense of how Jamaicans carry themselves in relation to the phone, and the ways in which the phone changes how it feels to be Jamaican" (2006:4). I have not finished the book so I don't know what the authors conclude, but I welcome your thoughts by clicking at the end of this page in the comments section.

Human Rights & Google Earth - Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tom Spring of PC World wrote an article about the power of Google Earth in bringing depth to understanding human rights atrocities through three-dimensional mapping. I have discussed in other posts the uses of technology in raising awareness about human rights abuses, specifically the work of Witness.org. Google's use of geographic information systems (GIS) highlights the importance that GIS can play in ethnographic research by considering the role of measurable space when situating anthropological research questions. GIS can also provide new methods for social network analysis.

A quote from the article follows:

"Google Earth has added a Global Awareness layer to its maps program that lets you learn about the crisis in Darfur. By selecting the Global Awareness layer (in the lower left-hand corner of Google Earth) you can fly over enhanced satellite images of the war-torn region. Sprinkled over the map are icons that link to photographs, data, videos, and narratives of eyewitnesses to the genocide.

Using Google Earth I not only learned something about the 1600 villages destroyed in fighting between government militias and rebels, I was also able to learn about the conflict from the ground level via video clips, compelling photographs, and narrative text. Each Google Earth placemarker includes a "How Can I Help" link with links to relief organizations and government Web sites."

SfAA Annual Conference Updates - Thursday, March 29, 2007
Yesterday was the first day of the annual conference for the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) in Tampa, Florida. My friends (classmates at USF) and I led a panel discussion about communicating anthropology to a greater public. The audience members were really receptive to our talk and some of them expressed their own frustration in trying to inform others that they do more than “bones, stones and Indiana Jones”. One person said how she choreographs modern dance and informs those who watch her work that she is an anthropologist and her work inspires her dance.

Students from Wayne State University delivered a strong presentation on virtual research methods and the relationship between journalism and anthropology. One of the audience members discussed perceptions of intergenerational understanding for ICTs. She said that for many people who are younger (> 30s) ICTs are their primary language, where as people who are older acquire an understanding of ICTs as a secondary language.

I spoke to students from the University of North Texas, which is the first U.S. institution to offer online Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees in applied anthropology. One of the students, Jen Cardew, is using SfAApodcasts.net to broadcast some of the presentations online. They students I spoke with are articulate and passionate about advancing the application of anthropological theories and methods.

The Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs had an excellent session where presenters and audience members sat together in a circle and after each presenter spoke we (the audience) shared our comments and concerns. We discussed some of the following things:
1) There is an important need to include globalization theory and discussions of globalization in general within our courses. A student said the same thing about economics as he felt this subject constantly arises in class but there is no substantive conversation about it from either professors or students.
2) One professor discussed the importance of assigning undergraduate students the task for writing a resume. The idea is for them to reflect on what they have/are learning in their anthropology courses and the skill-set they are building. The assignment also encourages them to focus on what they seek to do after graduation.
3) A student from Sonoma State University in California said how he and other students have a self-directed course where they meet to share ideas about their respective disciplines and how each are approaching common problems or are integrating similar methods or ideas across their disciplines. He is learning a lot from the course.
4) The same student also mentioned a very creative approach for course evaluation. He and other students engage in anonymous focus groups, providing important feedback about their learning experiences that allot greater details beyond what many professors receive from standardized bubble sheets asking students to rank their class.

Lastly, the issue of marketing the discipline of anthropology arose. There seemed to be mixed feelings in the room about either the use of the word "marketing" as opposed to "branding" or "image problem" or the idea of marketing anthropological research in general. A senior member from the American Anthropological Association (AAA) was there and said that AAA has marketed anthropology in the past, but had no success from this effort. I would like to learn more about AAA’s work in this regard. I shared with the audience some of the things we discussed in the panel discussion my classmates and I provided earlier that day.

I posted below the gist of what I said in that panel:
A strategic marketing campaign coordinated among three groups of anthropologists and their respective organizations who work together to publicize the work of anthropologists and their discipline: practicing anthropologists (would be supported by the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology or NAPA), applied anthropologists (backed by the SfAA) and academic anthropologists (assisted by AAA).

The idea would be for anthropologists supported by these respective institutions to market the discipline collectively to a greater public. College campuses would be among the first places to see this unfold with anthropology professors holding various activities to attract undergrad and grad students to the discipline. AAA supported public relations kits that highlight the relevant and myriad work of anthropologists could be used for such presentations. The AAA’s current initiative on www.understandingrace.org would be exhibited as well as other initiatives that include the four fields of anthropology as well as applications of anthropological knowledge outside of the discipline.

SfAA would support applied anthropologists in engaging media, non-profit, business and government organizations by publicizing meaningful work of our discipline that can be used outside of academia. SfAA would also help anthropologists by supplying templates and training for writing press releases of their research findings and help in disseminating this information via non-anthropological publications and websites, including YouTube clips. Applied anthropologists would encourage their non-applied and practicing colleagues to consider publicizing their work for non-anthropological and non-academic audiences.

NAPA would provide public relations kits to practicing anthropologists for approaching their employer’s respective human resource officers. The purpose would be to make the human resources officers aware of the broader training of anthropologists. This would also include initiatives to start internships for anthropology students. Practicing anthropologists could partner with their academic colleagues to speak with university and high school students about exploring careers as anthropologists and share with them resources for further information via the NAPA, SfAA and AAA websites.

Anthropology 2.0

ambassadorial — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:37:38 CST

Marc K. Hebert - January 21, 2007 (revised December 8, 2007)

Many months have passed since first writing about Anthropology 2.0 and now terms like Web 3.0 and Globalization 3.0 are becoming more popular. It will be only a matter of time until Anthropology 3.0 arises, leading me to pull the plug on using such terms to describe this website.I kept the term in the article below to convey an idea of how anthropologists are using Internet technologies and cell phones in creative ways. Insert your own phrase as your read it and feel free to leave your comments below.

Anthropology 2.0 may refer to the current stage in the evolution of anthropology, as a discipline being impacted by information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as cell phones, computers and the Internet. Similar to computer software upgrades from the original version often identified as 1.0 to the new and improved 2.0 version, the current stage of the Internet’s evolution is popularly called Web 2.0. The term Web 2.0 also implies that creating, collaborating and disseminating information is easier and more widespread than before.

The democratizing force of the Web 2.0 movement is the idea behind Anthropology 2.0: anthropologists who perceive ICTs, as a means of advancing how anthropologists have traditionally conceived of the discipline with particular emphasis given to communicating anthropology to greater publics. One of the first uses of the term “Anthropology 2.0” can be found in the SavageMinds.org blog entry of P. Kerim Friedman dated March 13, 2006. Friedman is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, who uses the term Anthropology 2.0 when referring to

the collaborative use of ICTs in contributing towards anthropological knowledge as a whole and
the importance of a providing anthropological treatments of ICTs via more timely publishing venues than paper journals, which can take too long to publish, rendering new scholarship of ICTs outdated.

Friedman's ideas appear rooted in his October 2004 article published in Anthropology News, vol. 45, no. 7, title "Open Source Anthropology."

The link between faculty, tenure and promotion (FTP) requirements for professors and the importance of publishing in journals is one key area that the Anthropology 2.0 movement seeks to reform. Currently, many anthropology professors write in peer-reviewed, paper journals using vocabulary and a language often unknown to the informants about whom they write or to policymakers, businesses, NGOs and others that could potentially benefit from this information. Anthropology 2.0 seeks to reform FTP regulations by having professors receive credit for publishing online and to popularize anthropology and its publications among non-anthropologists.

Anthropology 2.0 may encourage anthropologists to have their work translated online in dozens of language and sent via email to informants and others in various disciplines and positions of power who could benefit from an anthropological perspective. The abstracts of anthropology journals could be written clearly and concisely, and sent to informants’ cell phones worldwide via text message, email or left as a voicemail, allowing the literate and illiterate to learn what researchers are writing about them. Informants are no longer bound by distance or language, which traditionally placed them at the lower end of an information imbalance with researchers.

Anthropology 2.0 allows for anthropologists to share information collaboratively through blogs that question university policies or policymakers who do not understand their constituents’ culture or lived experiences. Anthropology 2.0 can be found through blogs by anthropologists who (1) critique what they see, as outdated anthropological methods and theories in academia, (2) clarify anthropological concepts and terms for students and enthusiasts of the discipline, and (3) promote the perspectives of non-Western and other underrepresented anthropologists. Graduate anthropology students use blogs to write their field notes, solicit feedback for crafting their thesis or express their opinions about an anthropology conference while panels are still in session. Anthropology blogs are perpetuating the Anthropology 2.0 movement by popularizing ideas and commenting on current events outside of academia as well. The once elusive understanding of how anthropology can contribute to the efforts of policymakers, journalists, NGOs and corporations are now being addressed through anthropological websites, which speak to these audiences in an easily accessible format.

About

ambassadorial — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:53:06 CDT

I thought for sometime about what to say here...a mix of professional and personal information...so let's begin with the professional: I am exploring the relationships between (1) culture, (2) information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as cell phones, the Internet and computers, and (3) the economic development / empowerment of communities and individuals. I think participatory action research (PAR) is important so I joined a PAR graduate student group at the University of South Florida, where I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology. I am also interested in micro-finance, alleviating poverty, and efforts to address disparities in access to ICTs for people here and everywhere else.

Here is Tampa, Florida USA and since it is mostly sunny, I have troubling finding excuses not to play football (soccer) with friends, but I keep coming up with "I have to study," but they don't seem to be buying it. Thank you for stopping by and do leave your comments about Anthropology 2.0, the discipline of anthropology in general or a witticism that inspires those around you. We can all use a little inspiration from time to time. Lastly, I am searching for a dynamic Spanish language program for the summer 2008. If you know of a good place (that's affordable) domestically or internationally, then please post a comment below. Thank you.

~Marc K. Hebert (p.s. If you have not seen the new Anthropology 2.0 t-shirts to fund Open Access Anthropology, then check them out! I ordered one and they come a size small or perhaps I am gaining weight?)

Online Journals

ambassadorial — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:48:10 CDT

http://www.anthropologymatters.com/journal/index.html
"Anthropology Matters encourages the sharing of experiences and ideas at a level beyond departmental settings. Specifically, the journal addresses issues of relevance to the learning and teaching of anthropology, as well as work in progress. Via the associated discussion forum, the journal seeks to promote active debate of epistemological, political and pragmatic aspects of postgraduate training, research and anthropological writing. Two issues a year will be published and submissions to the journal are welcomed."

http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/TfC
"Transforming Cultures eJournal. A journal for the study of cultural and social transformations. All writings in this Journal classified as Articles are peer reviewed. Those classified as Reflections are articles the editors considered both worthwhile and of interest, but they have not been submitted for review."

http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/index
"Community Informatics (CI) is the study and the practice of enabling communities with Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). CI seeks to work with communities towards the effective use of ICTs to improve their processes, achieve their objectives, overcome the "digital divides" that exist both within and between communities, and empower communities and citizens in the range of areas of ICT application including for health, cultural production, civic management, e-governance among others. The Journal of Community Informatics brings together a global range of academics, CI practitioners and national and multi-lateral policy makers. Each issue of the Journal of Community Informatics will contain double blind peer-reviewed research articles as well as commentaries by leading CI practitioners and policy makers."

http://pelicanweb.org/solisust.html
"Violence is the main obstacle to human development. There is an intrinsic link between violence and religion, patriarchal gender violence being the most pervasive expression of religious violence. Mitigating violence therefore requires overcoming the patriarchal mindset, especially in religious institutions. The mission of this independent newsletter is to provide a digest on current research and emerging issues related to human solidarity, ecological sustainability, and both religious and secular non-violence. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals are used as a point of reference."

http://www.cjc-online.ca/
"The objective of the Canadian Journal of Communication is to publish Canadian research and scholarship in the field of communication. In pursuing this objective, particular attention is paid to research that has a distinctive Canadian flavour by virtue of choice of topic or by drawing on the legacy of Canadian theory and research. The purview of the journal is the entire field of communication studies as practiced in Canada or with relevance to Canada.

The Canadian Journal of Communication is a print and online quarterly. Back issues are accessible online without restriction. Access to the most recent year's issues, including the current issue, requires a subscription. Subscribers now have access to all issues online from Volume 1, Issue 1 to Volume 32, Issue 1."

http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc
"The International Journal of Communication is an online, multi-media, academic journal that adheres to the highest standards of peer review and engages established and emerging scholars from anywhere in the world. The International Journal of Communication is an interdisciplinary journal that, while centered in communication, is open and welcoming to contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that meet at the crossroads that is communication study."

http://pkp.sfu.ca/node/4
"The Public Knowledge Project is a federally funded research initiative at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University on the west coast of Canada. It seeks to improve the scholarly and public quality of academic research through the development of innovative online environments. PKP has developed free, open source software for the management, publishing, and indexing of journals and conferences. Open Journal Systems Open Conference Systems increase access to knowledge, improve management, and reduce publishing costs. See Software & Services for demos, downloads, and information about these systems."

http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/itandsociety/
"IT&Society (ISSN d0000080) is a web-based scholarly journal devoted to the scientific analysis of the social impact of information technology on society, with special emphasis on quantitative survey analysis.
The intended audience for this research quarterly includes the community of scholars interested in the social impact of new technologies, as well as policy makers, media analysts, computer professionals and interested members of the general public.
Issues are made available free online, with the expectation that readers will contribute to the journal by offering constructive commentary, volunteering services, bringing the journal to the attention of those who don't know about it, making suggestions for improving research and increasing the volume of useful dialogue about the role of information technology on society.
IT&Society is published in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat to view the papers. Click here to download. Alternatively, use this site to convert PDF to HTML.
The articles in IT&Society may be copied for use by non-profit educational institutions for scholarly or instructional purposes only, provided that both the author and the journal are identified and a proper copyright notice appears. For all other uses, permission must be secured from both Stanford University and the author."

Anthropology Blogs

ambassadorial — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:01:42 CDT

http://blog.openaccessanthropology.org
"This is the blog for Open Access Anthropology, an organization of volunteers interested in creating open access alternatives to anthropological publications." Be sure to visit the blog's accompanying wiki that includes an open letter to the sections of the American Anthropological Association, which you can sign, requesting support for "freely available, peer reviewed research."

http://keywords.oxus.net/
This blog is “better than yelling at your television,” says P. Kerim Friedman, assistant professor of indigenous studies at National Dong Hwa University in Hualian, Taiwan. He actively promotes Open Access Anthropology.

http://anthropology.net
Anthropology.net's “mission statement is to expand understanding and appreciation of humanity by way of creating a cohesive online community of individuals interested in anthropology. This website intends to lead the anthropological community by primarily promoting and facilitating discussion, reviewing research, stewardship of resources, public and professional education, and the dissemination of knowledge for free.” It is very visually pleasing and contains blog and wiki (collaborative) functions as well as a personal user account for members to join and participate more actively.

http://savageminds.org/
A collective web log devoted to both bringing anthropology to a wider audience as well as providing an online forum for discussing the latest developments in the field. They are “a group of Ph.D. students and professors teaching and studying anthropology and are excited to share it.” It is well laid out and not jumbled with information.

http://dori3.typepad.com/my_weblog/
"Intellectual explorations in design, decision-making, anthropology, and governmentality."

http://www.matteroutofplace.org/
Anthropological insights from students at the Institute of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark who write about methods, theory and the occasional personal life of an anthropology student seeking to make the world a better place. The red and black colors make this blog appealing and stylish with just the right amount of information not to stress one’s eyes.

www.Antropologi.info/blog/anthropology/
Lorenz Khazaleh is a European-based anthropologist who works as a journalist. This blog provides social and cultural anthropology news from around the world. Khazaleh highlights the most interesting bits of information on the website that makes it easy for readers to scan for pertinent information.

http://www.antropologi.info/feeds/anthropology/
Lorenz Khazaleh provides an impressive collection of Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds or direct links to separate anthropology blogs that are updated the moment a new blog is posted. It is among the best aggregators of anthropology blogs on the Internet.

http://fourstonehearth.net/
The Fourth Stone Hearth is a blog carnival that specializes in anthropology. Anthropology is the study of humankind, throughout all times and places. This discourse focuses primarily on four lines of research:

socio-cultural anthropology
bio-physical anthropology
archaeology
linguistic anthropology

Each one of these subfields represent a stone in our hearth, a blog carnival aims to publish content from all aspects of the blogosphere.

http://frazer.rice.edu/~erkan/blog/
"Erkan's field diary: This is a blog to register Erkan Saka's fieldwork days for his dissertation thesis project on Turkish journalism and the European Union (EU). He is a Ph.D candidate at the Anthropology Department of Rice University and a teaching assistant at the Media and Communication Systems Department of Istanbul Bilgi University."

http://ryanlanham.wordpress.com/

"Indentity Unknown: Ecologies, cultures, societies and individuals coping with identity in an Age of Unintended Consequences."

http://northstatescience.blogspot.com/
This is a blog by an anthropology professor at California State University, Chico who is working in zooarchaeology.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/
John Hawks is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who blogs about paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution.

http://www.telecomtally.com/blog/
“Abnormal Interests” is the title of this blog by a semi-retired product marketing manager with eclectic tastes, including archaeology and linguistics.

http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/
Anthropology, evolution and science are discussed here by “Afarensis” who blogs mainly to explore a deep interest for anthropology.

http://boas.wordpress.com/
Boas Blog documents observations by Aries Dela Cruz who is an undergraduate at Columbia University interested in anthropology among other disciplines.

http://www.anthroblogs.org/nomadicthoughts/
Nomadic Thoughts is by William Klinger a University of South Florida graduate anthropology student.

http://hotcupofjoe.blogspot.com/
Carl Feagans is a fourth year undergraduate anthropology student focusing on archaeology who expresses anthropological news and views.

http://saltosobrius.blogspot.com/
The blog is by Martin Rundkvist, an archaeologist in Stockholm, Sweden who writes about professional and personal interests.

http://archaeoblog.blogspot.com/
ArchaeoBlog says it has been “serving old news since A.D. 2004.” It contains mostly archaeologically related material with an occasional tie-in to James Bond.

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/
Dienekes’ Anthropology blog has loads of genetic information, plus numerous resources for anything related to physical anthropology.

http://alex.golub.name/log/
Alex Golub is a professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai’i Manoa. He writes about his courses and contemporary use of anthropology.

www.sonner.antville.org
Claims to be “the finest stuff from ethnology, social/cultural anthropology and cyberanthropology.” It is managed primarily by the students and staff of the Institut für Ethnologie and Afrikanistik in München/Germany.

www.antropologi.info/blog/cicilie/
Cicilie Fagerlid’s blog from her fieldwork in Paris. She is a Ph.D. fellow at the University of Oslo.

http://archaeoastronomy.wordpress.com/
Alun Salt is a Ph.D. student in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at Leicester University who is interested in the cross-over between science and humanities, in particular with work on Archaeoastronomy.

http://sinanthropus.blogspot.com/
Dennis Etler teaches anthropology at Gavilan College and Cabrillo College, and his website provides news and views on paleontology and paleoanthropology of China, the natural history of China and other topics

http://sblumenthal.blogspot.com/
“Bipedal Locomotion” is the name of this website that I assume is maintained by a physical anthropologist as the content mirrors the website’s name. Unfortunately, the “About me” area is so well hidden that I cannot find any information about the author.

www.smartmobs.com
Berkeley School of Communication Professor Howard Rheingold’s blog where people from around the world post examples of smartmobs: people using cell phones, computers and the internet to organize or empower themselves and others.

http://www.cultureby.com/
Combination of anthropology and economics with a heavy slant towards marketing.

http://becomingananthropologist.blogspot.com/
"i'm a finnish anthropologist living in chicago, working on candomble in brazil"

http://www.photosleavehome.blogspot.com/
"I am a research fellow at the University of Surrey, working in the INCITE research group within the Department of Sociology, and now a PhD student in the Art History department at the University of Chicago. My interests tend to nest around the social life of images and image-making, with a particular interest (of late) in technological image-making. This blog is a document of my current research."

http://www.ideasbazaar.com/blog/
A team of social scientists doing ethnography for corporations.

http://www.convergenceculture.org/
“The Convergence Culture Consortium at MIT (C3) is a partnership between thinkers and researchers affiliated with the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT, and companies with a keen interest in deciphering convergence culture and the implications it can have for their business.”

http://www.henryjenkins.org/
"Henry Jenkins is the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. He is the author and/or editor of nine books on various aspects of media and popular culture, including Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture and From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. His newest books include Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture."

http://www.designobserver.com/
Several writers contribute to this blog on the relationship between design and culture.

http://blog.aristides.net/
Bleeps, Blops and Blogs: Essays on Technology and Communication is by Aristides Emmanuel Pereira, M.A. Int. Cultural Studies who is earning a PhD in the Department of Multi-Cultural Societies at Tohoku University in Japan. Aristides' research interests are IT, Social Engineering and human interaction/networking over Internet and other communication devices.His actual research work is about Publicity and Marketing in Personal and Corporate Blogs, analyzing how they use this medium to build an identification process with their readers (clients) to increase sales, publicize their persona or products as well as a sub-direct marketing tool to new products. He will be graduating in the very beginning of 2008 and at the moment is open to future work proposals.

http://www.journalism.wisc.edu/blog-club/Site/Home.html
"Blog Club is a student-faculty research collaborative focused on the study of the political blogosphere, yet broadly concerned with the implications of the Internet for Democracy. This working group seeks to examine the connection between digital media and civic and political life. We take a variety of approaches to explore these issues. In Fall 2006, we collected multi-level survey data from a cross-section of the top political bloggers and thousands of visitors to these blogs. This nested data will allow us to explore the interplay between the authors and audience of political blogs and examine the consequences of these interactions. In Spring 2007, we plan to conduct online survey experiments concerning formal features of political blogs to better understand how their structure and ideology influences political perceptions and judgments."

Online Publishers

ambassadorial — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:32:19 CDT

http://www.sensepublishers.com/
"Sense Publishers is a new international academic publishing house, founded in November 2004, with headquarters in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We publish books in the field of educational research and we aim to offer the highest level of service to our authors, readers and clients, on a global scale. Sense has a new view on academic publishing:

Our prices are low so that apart from libraries and individual scholars, students will be able to purchase our books
Our books are accessible on our Website, in PDF format at a reasonable rate
Customers in developing countries are entitled to receive our e-books free of charge - click here for more info
Production time of our books is usually less than 6 weeks"