CWOnline 2006 Archives "Blogging Science: The Sociology and Rhetoric of Scientific Knowledge Production Online." Aimee Kendall Roundtree, Univ. of Houston--Downtown |
| -- Start log: Saturday, February 18, 2006 10:04:34 am English MOO time -- Barbara says, "Wecome, Aimee" Aimee says, "Thanks Barbara and thanks all for joining the presentation. Let's begin." Aimee displays slide #2 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/1.html>. Aimee displays slide #3 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/2.html>. Aimee says, "Please take some time to read the presentation slide and skim the link. I anxiously await your queries and answer to the discussion questions." JoelB arrives from Conference Center Lobby Kendall arrives from Conference Center Lobby JoelB leaves for Session Room 2 JoelB arrives from Session Room 2 Aimee displays slide #3 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/2.html>. doug_E arrives from Conference Center Lobby Lbaird says, "I skimmed the BLOG site. It seems the employees of LANL are registering their dismay over some of the administrative decisions about how the lab is to be run. The public display of such records alerts citizens who fund such projects about conditions that need to be more public." KevinJ arrives from Conference Center Lobby Aimee [to Lbaird]: Then the question becomes, what does a public display of discontent accomplish? The blog documents some of the administrative fall-out from blog postings--sometimes policies change, sometimes they don't. It's unclear that the blog made the difference, other than provide an outlet to vent anger. Barbara says, "it also exposes the inner workings of science, makes it more open and visible. but it may also lead to public distrust and reluctance to fund " Paula says, "It's interesting that several employees are writing in the blog together; may have a different impact then when a single employee vents about an employer online (like the dooce.com site" first_Guest arrives from Conference Center Lobby Aimee says, "In a space as public as a blog, there's no telling who might put the emotional displays to use--managers could point to it as proof that change is needed, politicians can point to it to prove waste of funds. But you'll notice that the blog purpose statement frames the blog as a vehicle for the 'little man' to air his/her voice. " Aimee displays slide #4 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/3.html>. Lbaird says, "It was interesting that the BLOG site registered an inconsistency between public records and the knowledge about conditions held by those who work at the lab." first_Guest has disconnected. The housekeeper arrives to remove first_Guest. Aimee [to Lbaird]: Good segue to the next slide. Paula says, "to Aimee Could you please explain how long this blog has been in existence? I'm wondering how long some of gthe "private missives" have been posted" Lbaird says, "The letter and email links aren't working for me, but I can imagine the impact such documents might have on the situation. I would imagine that private documents would constitute some sort of possible invasion of privacy consideration. For instance, what if one of the writers of an email or letter did not consent to a public posting of his/her letter?" Aimee [to Paula]: Sure. The blog has been around since late 2004. Some of the letters predate the blog; most don't. eleventh_Guest arrives from Conference Center Lobby Aimee says, "Anyone else having trouble opening the letter or email links? " KevinJ says, "Works for me." eleventh_Guest leaves for Conference Center Lobby Barbara says, "the letter is from a public official so it is public information. in general though, the question of authority is unclear. if correspondence is the intellectual property of the writer, then posting it without their permission is a violation of both copyright and their privacy" Barbara says, "but copyright, privacy have become blurred with the ease of posting information" KevinJ says, "Email has always been problematic for that as well, the BCC and CC functions blur the line between private and public communications." Lbaird says, "Yes. In fact, this very case raises the questions about the nature of online documents." Paula says, "Has anyone come forward to complain about the use of the documents online?" Stewart arrives from Conference Center Lobby Aimee [to Barbara]: To blur things more, many orgs and companies forewarn employees that they're emails can be archived and monitored by the administration/management. In this case, has the blog master broken the law by including these "LANL-owned" documents? Barbara [to Aimee]: good point. if writing for the organization as an employee then the email/etc belongs to the organization not the individual. so, legally, probably yes Aimee [to Paula]: I'm not done reading all of the years of archives, but--to the best of my knowledge--no one has filed a complaint. Lbaird says, "You mentioned stakeholders. Have you been able to establish the various groups of stakeholders and their various positions? I'm curious because it seems the younger crowd seems to be interested in their nest eggs while another faction seems to be interested in the inconsistencies of reporting. I would think these documents reveal certain power structures at work at the lab." Aimee displays slide #4 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/3.html>. Aimee displays slide #5 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/4.html>. KevinJ says, "Re complaints:Interesting, perhaps the very pseudo-private nature of looking at a computer screen keeps people from realizing just how public these systems are." Lbaird says, "to kevinj good point" Locke says, "it would seem to me that blogs could funtion in both directions -- just as gossip can both reinforce the political structure and undermine it. " Barbara says, "yes, and anonymity could work both ways as well--protecting oneself from fear of retribution or as a disgruntled employee spreading rumor and gossip/venting anger" Stewart leaves for Conference Center Lobby Aimee [to Lbaird]: If we go by the explicit purpose statement of teh blog, the immediate and only stakeholders are those who want to speak candidly (and anonymously) about the lab. But the blog also airs the administration's voice--vis-a-vis inserted memos, letters, etc. Locke says, "we've had a virtually identical issue here in our tenure and promotion procedures, where comments are anonymous and foster a tendency to be nasty -- but the former approach (real names) made the process weighted when full profs (and heavyweights) would vote. " doug_E leaves for Conference Center Lobby Aimee displays slide #5 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/4.html>. KevinJ says, "I agree that Admin/Mangement appears more as a ghost in the machine effect than a real presence. However like any online community eventually the society exerts itself independantly to them. " Lbaird says, "I think anonymity is an interesting power structure in a BLOG space or in email. It is at once intriguing and threatening. The anonymity of postings makes me aware of how much I look to the author's authority for making sense of a communique." KevinJ says, "The reason Management might worry about Blog/Email more than Water Cooler chat is it's permanence and the ability to PRINT and COPY it widely." Paula says, "So there is a parallel b/w online and face-to-face posts, in regard to anonymous comments being nastier and the use of real names being weighted heavier. " Paula says, "Is there evidence of this in how management has responded to any blog postings?" Aimee says, "I wonder, however, what real political change such anonymous postings can effect. After reading year upon year of multiple disgruntled complaints, a part of me began to suspect the truth of the postings. How do we know that this blog isn't the product of a few, very, very vocal malcontents? Something about naming yourself--taking credit for your words--boosts ethos." Aimee [to Paula]: Most of the postings are anonymous--so the complaints could be coming from administration itself. Locke [to Aimee]: I agree generally -- we should be mindful of the corrosive effect of gossip on culture, however. Lbaird says, "I guess we are using this case to map out the differences between official and unofficial communiques. When a group has no real power to effect changes in an official capacity, then they turn to unofficial channels. This feels a lot like tenure and promotion processes." Aimee [to Paula]: And re: one comment I found allegedly authored by someone from administration--blog contributors immediately questioned whether or not the person ACTUALLY wrote it. Aimee displays slide #6 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/5.html>. Locke nods Lisa on Aimee displays slide #6 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/5.html>. Paula says, "So Aimee it sounds like you are arguing that blogs don't level the playing field, since admin/those in power can use it to anonymously reinforce their position" Barbara [to Aimee]: what year was the Harter study done? Aimee [to Paula]: I'm not sure. I've begun my research with textual analysis, and in blogs and other emerging media, it's tough to track solid linguistic differences subte enough to distinguish administration from the hoy poloy. Aimee [to Paula]: I've made contact with the blog masters at both LANL and RealClimate. In order to answer your question more completely, I'd have to go inside--ethnographic research. Aimee says, "Can everyone skim the links alright?" Kendall says, "Certainly right now, some scholarly don't distrust e-journals. Two years ago my department had to make an elaborate case to get Texas State to count e-journal publications even peer-reviewed e-journal publications in the tenure and promotion process." KevinJ [to Kendall]: Was that because they are so changeable, ie not fixed on paper records? Kendall says, "Initially these same scholars didn't trust PDF versions of articles either. Now, they complain if they have to get hard-copies. Furthermore as more journals move to the e-journal format, the impact of e-journals will grow until it's indistinguishable from print journals. In fact, print and e-journal won't even be a distinction." Aimee [to Kendall]: True. Harter published his work five years ago and times have changed. However, I know of a few universities that accept e-journals (on record), but PREFER paper journals (off record). Lbaird says, "It's interesting that one comment said "You keep the posts you agree with and delete those you disagree with." The public nature of these sites seems to make them more malleable and more open to change. Perhaps that is why ejournals are considered to be a less reliable form?" Barbara says, "it takes time for journals to gain an audience and credibility, e-journals have not been around that long so it may just be taking scholars awhile to gain trust. Blogging in popular conceptions at least is often seen as journaling so scholars may be reluctant to trust it as reliable and credible" Aimee says, "There's the rub: e-media give us opportunities to slough off old print traditions. But--in science to be sure--scholars still make gestures toward old genre. There are differences, to be sure (one of which we'll discuss in the next slide." KevinJ says, "There does not seem to be the same feeling that ejournals etc are "records". Recording findings is one of the key elements of resarch is it not?" Kendall [to KevinJ]: I think it was just lack of knowledge. They simply didn't understand that the review process in e-journals was the same. Certainly they still don't think such journals carry as much weight just as they would suspect any new journal. Pete [to Aimee]: Re: question 1--I wonder if this what we'd see if we were to examine the first ten years of any journal's life span? How long does it take for a journal to begin showing up on a regular basis? Barbara [to KevinJ]: that's a good point, electronic media often is more difficult to archive; especially if it is a medium that is editable and changes quickly rather than fixed like a pdf Aimee [to Pete]: Great question--and not one I've seen answered yet. Perhaps an article in that for you, yes? Pete looks at his plate--pretty full. Paula says, "The question about filters is a good one. At my school we made the decision not to include filters on a blog because of the possible perception that we were acting as gatekeepers. " Aimee says, "Let's move to the next slide" Aimee displays slide #7 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/6.html>. Aimee says, "I'm going to skip this talking point--since we discussed politics earlier and we only have 10 minutes left." Aimee displays slide #8 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/7.html>. KevinJ says, "re Formal analyses: Do the posters revert to formality when making their key points?" Aimee says, "We only have five minutes left. I'm very curious to know some of your reactions/responses to the discussion questions." cball arrives from Conference Center Lobby cball leaves for Conference Center Lobby Lbaird says, "Your cases raise interesting questions about the nature of Rhetorical studies vis-a-vis the electronic medium of the computer." Pete says, "I like the second question: The way I read the headlines, blog is often used to indicate genre- or rhetorically-driven qualities, but its really just a technological term for a kind of content management system." Pete recognizes the rhetorical implications of content management system. Aimee [to KevinJ]: Not always. Not, for example, when in the middle of counterarguing a peer's postings. Lbaird says, "Is it relly possible to separate the kind of publishing mode and rhetorical effects?" Barbara says, "Aimee, I'm afraid we're almost out of time. Would you like to wrap up for us?" Shaun arrives from Conference Center Lobby KevinJ [to Aimee]: They are excellant questions and cover a few angles not usually disussed WRT Blogs. Aimee says, "Thanks everyone." Aimee displays slide #10 on blogweb: <http://home.houston.rr.com/roundtree/c&w/9.html>. Paula says, "You've made a good argument I think for the need for "more formal, linguistic analyses of blogs"" metaspencer arrives from Conference Center Lobby Lbaird says, "{to Aimee]Good discussion" Kendall says, "Yes, we need to understand exactly the things this presentation addresses: how do blogs contribute to the power structure through language. " KevinJ claps enthusiastically metaspencer leaves for Conference Center Lobby Barbara applauds Lbaird says, ":applauds" Paula says, "Thank you Aimee" Kendall knocks on desk loudly. JoelB leaves for Conference Center Lobby Barbara says, "thank you, Aimee, for a wonderful thought-provoking presenation" Aimee says, "Thanks for a great discussion, all." Pete applauds enthusiastically. >> The red light on blogrecorder goes out. The recorder in Session Room 1 has been turned off. << Barbara says, "and thank you all for coming! There'll be a 15 mins. break before the next session" -- End log: Saturday, February 18, 2006 11:01:51 am English MOO time -- |