1st Digital Culture: New Forms of Living and Organizing?
16-17 June, 2008
Informatics Research Institute, University of Salford, U.K.
Call for Participation
Organizers
Ben Light, University of Salford.
Steve Sawyer, Pennsylvania State University and University of Salford.
Confirmed Speakers
William H. Dutton
Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, Professor of Internet Studies, University of Oxford.
Sue Hessey, Prinicipal Research Professional, BT Group CTO
Michael D. Myers, Professor of Information Systems, University of Auckland Business School/University of Salford.
Kathleen Richardson, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge.
While access to digital technologies remains variable, it is clear their presence and uses are increasingly important features of contemporary life. Where historically, one might argue that digital technologies have had more influence in work organizations it appears that in recent times we are witnessing a change to this. That is, the uptake of digital technology into our domestic lives is shaping our experiences at work. Moreover, the list of these digital technologies grows longer and more varied. Therefore, beyond the massive levels of interest, as manifested in the number of people using these digital technologies, lie questions of their roles in supporting new forms of organizing and their effects upon our everyday experiences. Such experiences, of course, happen within the world of work and more generally in society – we can see this as ‘digital culture’.
More broadly, digital technologies are merging into physical infrastructures – at home, in transport, at work and school, and even walking ‘alone’ while texting. This suggests that these technologies are playing an ever-more important role in helping us construct and carry our identity and engage with places in an evolving society. Given this, there is a need to attend to the potential reshaping of the boundaries and structures of existing social organization, and the altering of the ways in which people learn to experience life. Digital technologies raise issues related to:
· shaping and supporting collaboration through sites such as MySpace;
· collective action as evident in blogging activities;
· decision-making in spaces such as World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs;
· expertise location using sites such as Twitter;
· managing work/domestic boundaries, using mobile phones and texting for example;
· the locus and nature of social engagements such as those enacted in Second Life;
· the translucence among work, community and private life that applications like Facebook have the capacity to generate;
· the nature of organizing that all these examples have the potential to exemplify.
Describing forms, uses and effects of digital technology challenges current conceptualizations of what it means to be ‘doing computing’. For example, is Facebook a development environment (there are more than 8300 applications available for use)? Is Amazon a library? Put simply, the convergence of media, technology, applications, development mechanisms, and social engagements challenge the notion of systems just as it invites us to question our notions of organizing.
Conceptualizing our lives in digital culture terms demonstrates the vibrancy of the scope of information and communications technologies, organizations and society. Doing this destabilises common notions that portray the field of computing as struggling and, in particular, that information technology’s uses in organizations is about managerial control or industrial age models of economic production. Scholars of computing, IT, media, organization, and society are each able to contribute to this burgeoning socio-technical transformation – bringing complimentary skills, perspectives and insights.
We see this workshop having three purposes. First, we seek to give voice and structure to existing ICT related research which may not readily sit within conventionally accepted areas. Second, we seek to draw in research on new forms of digital technology, ICT, computing, organization and society to contribute. Third, we seek to continue discussions regarding potential futures for ICT related research which combine research as related to work organizations and society.
Important Dates
We would be grateful if people would register for the workshop by 10 June if possible. If you wish to register after that date, please could you contact Nathalie Audren-Howarth at: n.audren@salford.ac.uk in order that we can make sure we have space for you.
Workshop Arrangements
The fee for presentation/attendance at the workshop is £40 for non-Salford academic staff and other external organizations. This will cover refreshments and meals throughout the workshop and a workshop dinner to be held on the evening of the 16th of June.
There is no fee for PhD students, however they still need to register for the workshop. PhD student registration includes refreshments during the workshop but excludes attendance at the workshop dinner (This is subject to a £15 fee, payable upon registration).
- External partners and academic staff can now register for the workshop at: https://www.shop.salford.ac.uk
- Salford staff and internal/external PhD students should register with Nathalie Audren-Howarth.
Location of the workshop
The workshop will be held at CUBE.
CUBE (Centre for the Urban Built Environment) is an architecture centre and a member of the Architecture Centre Network. Located in the city centre of Manchester on Portland Street, it occupies a 500m2 gallery and seminar space. The remit of CUBE is to create and promote understanding of the built environment through activities including exhibitions, events, debates, educational projects and publications.
Accommodation
Delegates should arrange their own accommodation with their preferred hotel. Please see call for participation for details of hotels nearby.