Research Conversation: 'Network Places' Speaker: Fred Johnson

ABSTRACT
What local media cultural institutions need to be adapted or evolved in order to create a democratic network society? In the context of the emergence of a networked society and media culture, local public, community and alternative media institutions are often portrayed in binary oppositional ways: either as early forerunners of the participatory, social network media -- resting on a continuum with the social web -- or as the moribund remnant of broadcasting, receding into the past along with the “old media” system. Like all media institutions, local public and community media are struggling to find their path into the networked future. But they are also vital institutions in our communities now, supporting democratic development through community collaboration, adopting and leveraging new media technologies to engage underserved populations, and undertaking community and economic development. Despite inconsistent government policies and regulations these media continue to grow and develop. Where? -- The question, “where are public and community media?”, is often answered in two ways: one, as a geographic “place”, a neighborhood, town, city, county, or, region, and the second, as a “virtual” community, a social network or community of common interest that is not particularly associated with a geographic place.


BIO
Fred Johnson is a communication policy activist and researcher, documentary maker, and teacher. He is a former Director of the Community Media program at UMass Boston. Much of his work has been focused on social issues, media politics and relationships of geography, constructed social space, communications and culture. Johnson's documentary work has been broadcast on the Learning and Discovery Channels, WNET- New York, Kentucky Educational Television, BBC 2 and BBC's World Service. He has been a practitioner of citizen engaged media and community media for over 30 years in numerous settings. As a recipient of a Television Arts Fellowship from the Fulbright Commission he produced and directed documentaries for the BBC in London in the 90s that were cutting-edge experiments in participatory media. As a researcher and writer Johnson has frequently explored the convergence of citizen media and networked communications. Notably with the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture’s Digital Directions project, a national planning process funded by the Ford Foundation exploring the impact of digital media on the world of non-commercial media arts; and with the Benton Foundation in a 2006 survey of US community media practices in the digital era, “What’s Going on in Community Media.” He is a co-founder of Media Working Group Inc.


Link to CV [it downloads immediately]
http://mwg.org/docstore/FJOHNSONP2CV09.pdf

Fall I3M Symposium - Agility in Times of Transition

Join top strategists from companies like Boeing, JPMorgan Chase and IBM and learn how to turn changes to organizational structure, processes, and strategies into solutions like those behind some of the greatest success stories in the field of information management. Hear hard-won lessons learned by industry leaders in the trenches.

What: Agility in Times of Transition – the Fall Symposium of the UW Institute for Innovation in Information Management
Where: University of Washington main campus, Kane Hall, Walker Ames Room
Date: November 11, 2009
Time: 8:30 am - 6 pm

The major research presentation examines key success factors for globally distributed technology teams (GDTTs). GDTTs have become a critical vehicle for organizations to leverage resources — with job cuts announced by U.S. employers jumping 31 percent in July 2009 to over 97,000, manpower resources continue to be held at a premium. Assistant Professors Kevin C. Desouza and Hazel Taylor and Ph.D. student Jill Woelfer, all of the UW Information School, will present their research on GDTTs, research that builds on I3M’s strength in the areas of innovation, collaboration and human capital management.

James Knight, Executive Vice President and Global CIO at Chubb & Son, will present the keynote, "Driving Agility through Leadership Development." In addition, Madeline Weiss and June E. Drewry from the Advanced Practices Council (APC) of the Society for Information Management (SIM) will present on "The CIO’s Role in Enabling Organizational Agility." SIM is a global association of senior IT executives, prominent academicians, selected consultants, and other IT thought leaders. APC is SIM's research-based program for CIOs.

"Being agile is not a luxury, it is a must for operating in today's environments," said Desouza, director of I3M. "Organizations need to be able to make changes in a time-sensitive and cost-effective manner. The key to organizational agility is sound information management. An organization that can’t leverage its information assets in an agile manner will likely underperform and eventually fail."

Richard T. Watson, the J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy at the University of Georgia and research director of the APC, will explain how the emerging area of Energy Informatics is re-defining information management in leading organizations. Energy Informatics represents a huge potential cost-savings to businesses — in one estimate, inefficient energy practices like the lack of server consolidation costs U.S. businesses more than $140 billion, with an equally negative effect on CO2 emissions.

The Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) at the UW Information School helps organizations harness the power of information management as a competitive tool. I3M partners with regional and international industry leaders to develop systems and practices that move partners forward: partners set the research agenda, and I3M staff develop highly-customized recommendations and solutions to challenges raised, usually in three to four months.

Registration to the I3M event is open to the public and potential partners of the Institute. Registration to the I3M event is open to the public and potential partners of the Institute. To register, visit https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/nataliem/84154.

The One Who Is Not Busy: Living and Working Calmly and Effectively in an Accelerating, Information-Saturated World

While the new information technologies are extraordinarily powerful tools for communication and for information access, it is increasingly evident that their use is also contributing to the rushed, fragmented, and distracted character of contemporary life. This evening symposium will provide an overview of some of the work now being done at the Information School to understand the causes of these conditions and to develop helpful responses and potential solutions.

David Levy will provide an overview of the work currently being done in the iSchool (in collaboration with Darlene Cohen, Al Kaszniak, and others) which is investigating how to restore "contemplative balance" to our overly rushed and busy days. Darlene Cohen, a Bay Area Zen teacher, will describe how training the attention through meditation can improve people’s ability to stay focused on task and thus remain "not busy" even while being productively engaged; she will also lead attendees in an attention-training exercise. Al Kaszniak will discuss some of the recent findings from neuroscience about the place of meditation and other contemplative practices.

To register, visit http://tiny.cc/fCUSp.

iSchool Preview Day

iSchool Preview Day: An overview of all of the Information School's graduate degree programs for interested prospective students; includes mock classes and current student/alumni panels.
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009
Time: 8:30am-12:00pm
Location: Mary Gates Hall
RSVP: https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/ioss/84357
*Parking is available in the Central Plaza Underground Parking Garage for a fee. For more help with parking, see UW Commuter Services

MSIM Information Session

Informatics Info Session

Learn about Informatics as a field of study and a career. We'll talk about admission and program requirements, and application procedures.

MSIM Web Chat

Inaugural UW iSchool Research Fair - iResearch Fair

The University of Washington Information School cordially invites you to attend the first in a series of annual research fairs. Come learn more about the research and scholarship of our faculty, researchers and students. Refreshments will be served.

We request your R.S.V.P. by November 9 using Catalyst.

The R.S.V.P. web site can be found at:
https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/mms2/86393

iYouth Book Club

Join iYouth's monthly bookclub meeting! All are welcome. This month's book are (YA) "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead and (Picturebook) "Chicken Little" by Ed and Rebecca Emberley.

sALA Books Arts Workshop

Take a study break to join sALA and Anne Bingham, librarian at University Prep, in a Books Arts Workshop! Learn to create simple books (great for holiday gifts!) Cookies, hot chocolate and tea will be provided!

How to Make the Most Out of a Career Fair

How do you prepare for a career fair? What do you bring with you? What do you wear? What do you say? All this and more will be discussed at this workshop, which also includes panelists from industry who will offer you direct advice on what they are looking for in prospective employees.

MLIS Online Web Chat Information Session

Live, synchronous discussion on the Online MLIS and Residential MLIS programs.

MLIS On-Campus Information Session

An overview of the Residential MLIS and Online MLIS programs.

securing organizational knowledge human intelligence operations

Based on his recent book, Managing Knowledge Security: Strategies for Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Assets (Kogan Page, 2007), Desouza will describe how human intelligence operations are conducted to ascertain competitive intelligence. (for more info, see website linked above)

iYouth Book Club

Join iYouth's monthly bookclub meeting! All are welcome. This month's book are (YA) "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, and (Picturebook) "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" by Mo Willems.