At the intersection September 18, 2008

In my last post I failed to mention that my AoIR paper presentation is part of an interesting panel called “At the Intersection: Public and Private, Global and Local, Design and Use, Virtual and Textual”, which features papers from some of my good friends and colleagues. In general, we all address some of the following issues:

If we regard the Internet as a place where the boundaries between online and offline identities and activities are increasingly blurred, we can also speak of that place as the space, where strands of otherwise relatively stable dichotomies meet and intersect. In this panel we offer critical perspectives on the above mentioned issues relating to the Internet as intersections and mixed spaces: How do we metaphorically and conceptually grasp mixed spaces? How do we study the mobility and intersecting of people, information and artifacts online? How do the various theoretical framings of mixed spaces influence Internet regulation and use? How can we reach an understanding of the users’ experience of their movements within these mixed spaces? When designing for mixed spaces, how can we integrate and involve the needs of intended users? These and other questions will be discussed, and we attempt to map future challenges in the field.

The presenters and papers are as follows:

• Thomas Ryberg, Aalborg University: “Privacy, Power, Place and Identity: The Dynamic Construction of Mixed Spaces in an Educational Context“
• Anders Albrechtslund, Aalborg University: “Surveillance in Mixed Spaces: Persuasion and Resistance”
• Rikke Frank Jørgensen, Roskilde University/Danish Institute for Human Rights: “Internet: Remixing Public and Private”
• Anne-Mette Albrechtslund, Aalborg University: “Gamers Telling Stories: Intersections of Games, Narratives and Lives“
• Malene Charlotte Larsen, Aalborg University: “Online Social Networking: From Local Experiences to Global Discourses“