[social networking conference: wolverhampton uni]

Wolverhampton Internet and Technology Society (WITS) together with the Statistical Cybermetrics Research Group are hosting the 1^st Social Networking in Cyberspace conference in April, 2010. We welcome contributions from scholars in the social and behavioural sciences and media and information disciplines, regardless of theoretical orientation.

The conference, which is to be sponsored by the Research Centre in Applied Sciences (RCAS), will be a one-day event and will take place on Friday the 23^rd of April, 2010. The Venue for the conference will be the Lighthouse Media Centre in Wolverhampton (Please click here for Map).

Call for papers

We invite potential presenters to submit an abstract (no longer than 300 words) for peer-review. The deadline for submission of the abstract is October 30^th, 2009. A decision on this abstract will be made by November 20^th, 2009 and authors will be notified via email soon after.

Abstracts should be submitted to SNIC@wlv.ac.uk

Subsequently, all presenters will be invited to prepare a paper for publication. The International Journal of Internet Science will be publishing a peer-reviewed selection of the best papers from the conference.

Papers should be submitted to SNIC@wlv.ac.uk by the 28^th of May 2010.

Postgraduate poster competition

We will be running a postgraduate poster competition on the day of the conference. Prizes will be awarded for the best posters on the day (further information to follow). We invite postgraduate students to submit an abstract by October 30^th 2009 for consideration.

Keynote Speakers

The following have been confirmed as keynote speakers at the conference:

Professor Mike Thelwall: University of Wolverhampton – “Detecting and analysing emotion in social networking sites”

Doctor Monica Whitty: Nottingham Trent University.

Fees

£80 standard rate

Discount rate for presenters (£60)

Discount rate for students (£50)

The fee includes morning and afternoon coffee and lunch.

Registration

Conference registration opens in January 2010

Important dates

Abstract submission deadline: 30^th October 2009

Notice of acceptance deadline: 20^th November 2009

Conference date: 23^rd April 2010

Full papers deadline: 28^th May 2010

contact us

If you have any enquiries or would like to contact us regarding the suitability of your research for the conference, please email us on SNIC@wlv.ac.uk

[meg and sam come for mayday!]

Niece and nephew, Meg and Sam Pawley, came to visit us for Mayday celebrations in our village! Aside from the amazing procession and pub burgers we had lots of fun running around, climbing trees, playing Frisbee and climbing the stairs!

And yeah, I'll probably be one of *those* mums who takes pictures of everything....

[call for artists: £5.4m project for cultural olympiad]

Artists of all kinds from across the UK are being challenged to use the nation as a blank canvas for twelve inspirational commissions that will showcase our creativity to the world, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Artists of all kinds from across the UK are being challenged to use the nation as a blank canvas for twelve inspirational commissions that will showcase our creativity to the world, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

‘Artists taking the lead’ is the most ambitious and wide ranging art prize in the UK and is being developed by Arts Council England, in partnership with London 2012 and the arts councils of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

12 commissions of up to £500,000* will be awarded to create 12 new works of art across the country; one in each of the nine English regions, and in the nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. (*See Notes to Editors for the value of commissions offered in each Nation and Region)

‘Artists taking the lead’ is the first of ten major projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to be launched. It provides artists across the country with an unparalleled opportunity to create work that celebrates the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and reflects the rich cultural diversity of the UK.

Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London, said on behalf of the UK arts councils: “The London 2012 bid was always about more than England’s capital city and about more than sport. Artists taking the lead illustrates that bigger, bolder vision – of art inspiring people up and down the UK to celebrate the Olympic Games, of nurturing and developing our artistic talent, and of culture and creativity at the heart of our national life.

We’re excited to be laying down such a unique challenge to artists. We want them to look at their region and their connections with fresh eyes, to mark a moment in our histories in unexpected ways and places across the country, to surprise and delight the world with their extraordinary artistic vision.”

From today,19 March, until Friday 29 May 2009, artists can submit their ideas for the commissions online at www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk

Read more here: http://www.london2012.com/news/media-releases/2009-03/artists-take-the-lead-in-5-4m-project-for-cultural-olymp.php

[st. albans' farmers market]

why shop at a supermarket if you can go to a farmer's market?! I love this one in St. Albans:

[pavement art]

[may day 2008]

[spring blossoms]

[railcard renewal]

well...I tried to renew my railcard online this morning...seems the railcard people aren't quite digitally literate...

[are you posh?]

Well you know you're posh if you say loo/lavatory instead of toilet, sofa rather than settee, lunch not dinner, and napkin instead of serviette. This is according to BBC 2's Grumpy Guide to Class, a 30 min explanation of how language situates you as either lower or upper class. It was quite funny but I do wonder about the napkin/serviette distinction: should napkin only refer to those of the cloth variety while serviettes are only paper (but then there's that whole French/English divide)...

There was a very funny story about how to sound posh - talk about something not even mildly interesting (like a boiled potato) in excruciatingly effusive terms: that was the most fabulous boiled potato, utterly divine... But one must talk about grave events in mild tones: oh yes, he lost an arm.

Then there was a section on posh names. Posh people have long names: see this image: Hugo Ponsonby Fethergill, or Sebastien etc...Girls' names should end with the "e" sound as in Emily, Chloe, Emmy, Tilly, Ellie...


Hrm...important matters...

[10 reasons why i hate moving]

i have to pack

i have to pack loads

i have to hire a moving van

van hire places around here are only open week days and don't let me drop off the keys on a sunday...

i lose my internet connection (!!!)

i have to change all my addresses/details but interestingly places like banks won't take my new address unless i give them proof of my new address which i don't yet have seeing as i've *just* moved...

i have to unpack

i have to unpack loads

i lose my internet connection

it takes so much time.....and i lose my internet!!!!

[tube grammar]

Waiting at Leicester Square tube station, bracing ourselves for the sardine-like journey, I spied an ad. on the tube wall that creates its own grammar (can you spot the typo?):

[cctv lip-reads]

"'Read my lips...'" used to be a figurative saying. Now the British government is considering taking it literally by adding lip reading technology to some of the four million or so surveillance cameras in order identify terrorists and criminals by watching what everyone says. Perhaps the lip-reading cameras and the shouting cameras will find something to talk about."

From Slashdot

---

A List of Big Brother-type Gadgets from infowars.net

• Talking/Shouting cameras - In an incredibly Orwellian move, loudspeakers are being fitted to surveillance cameras throughout major cities, allowing CCTV operators to bark commands at people who drop litter, act in an aggressive manner or loiter. Some of these cameras will even use the voices of children who will be recruited from schools to take part in the scheme and will be shown round CCTV operating rooms on school trips, learning how wonderful the big brother state is and how forcing people to behave in a certain way in public is the essence of a free society.



• X-Ray firing cameras - Documents leaked from the Home Office have revealed that the government is looking into using X-ray technology cameras by concealing them in lamp posts to "trap terror suspects". The cameras allow operators to see through people's clothes and look for suspicious items.



• Eavesdropping cameras - London police and councils are considering monitoring our conversations in the street using high-powered microphones attached to CCTV cameras that can pick up "aggressive tones" on the basis of 12 factors, including decibel level, pitch and the speed at which words are spoken.



• Face scanning cameras - linked into a national database software will allow cameras to scan hundreds of faces a second in crowds of people.



• Behaviour monitoring cameras - These devices are programmed to sound an alarm when they spot suspicious behaviour, such as waiting somewhere for a prolonged period of time or just walking in a suspicious way. These have already been deployed in airports and train stations.

[hayling island]