An embarrassment of riches

Now that it's back to school time, "So, how was your summer?" is the question to which I find myself spluttering short and unsatisfactory answers. In actuality though, lots of things have been chugging away in the background here at Constructing Amusement.

My summer included dissecting and writing up the data that I collected during my last field sojourn in Asia (Korea, Singapore, India, UAE, and Japan), a mini-burnout, and fleeing the city in search of wine and peaches. I'm only half-joking. With September and the school year underway though, it now feels appropriate to talk about my plans for the Fall. I feel like the dam has finally burst.

I am absolutely tickled to announce that I will be spending the next 6 months in Europe to do a, "Pre-Post-Doc," (as my supervisor playfully calls it). I have been awarded two separate and wonderful opportunities, ultimately courtesy of the European Commission and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMWF).

First, I will head to TU Delft in the Netherlands where I have been appointed as an Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar for 3 months. Second, I will spend the 3 months following that in Graz, Austria at the IAS-STS as one of their Research Fellows, with additional support from an Ernst Mach Grant (Worldwide). The plan is to look at European contexts of games and play through my dissertation research focus of culture, social structure, and infrastructure (which has been my shtick for a while). The variety of perspectives and input I will gain at these institutions during this final stage of my dissertation writing will be invaluable, and will allow me to check my current assertions while examining the implications for future research contributions.

And, being in the area anyway, I will be presenting a paper on the ethics of informed consent at IR11 in Gothenburg, Sweden. So you should say hi if you're going to be there too, or if you want to find out more about that paper.

It's a busy time, and a crazy time preparing to head out. But who in their right mind would complain.

In Guadalajara

It's been a busy while preparing for this latest stint of fieldwork...

I'm currently at the Universidad de Guadalajara, CUCEA, where I'll be affiliated as a researcher for the next two weeks. With my compadres from the institute here, along with the concurrent SFU field school, I'll be looking at the online gaming culture/Internet cafe scene in the Mexican context through my involvement in the VERUS project.

First impressions, I'm in awe of the sheer amount of collective public space and its influence on the communication ecologies here.

With amazing timing, I witnessed a large scale act of civil disobedience--a rally in support of same-sex marriage (right now it's only legal in Mexico City). We were in the state quarter, with government affiliates who were against the rally ringing cathedral bells (shown above) to drown out the protest. It felt very powerful to be in the middle of it all.

The tip of the iceberg, for now.

Rickets linked to excessive gaming

While blaming games for all imaginable ills in society is not a new phenomenon, this one is quite the leap: According to this article, researchers in the UK are focusing on the rise of British kids afflicted with rickets, correlated with excessive gaming indoors.

But Florence, correlation does not causation imply, you say?

What we know, thanks to research, is that lack of sunlight (vitamin D) and diet, and exercise is common trait amongst those with rickets.
I would agree that:
1) staying indoors all the time (regardless of what one is doing) would deprive someone of sunlight
2) Poor diet (and exercise) would also cause a general malaise, leaving one susceptible to all sorts of afflictions, amongst them rickets.

This does not, however, mean videogames are specifically the 'root cause.' I also doubt that the research article itself would make such a claim (rather, a quote, possibly taken out of context). A cheap strategy, but hey it got our attention, right?

I am continually in awe of the strength these biomedically aligned arguments against games have. Lack of good diet, sunlight, and exercise are always good things to encourage in people. But why the hate on videogames specifically? Because it's sexy? So, should I go play my DS on the beach then?

Genome BC Launches New Online Newsletter for Social Scientists and Humanists

Some often mused that while hyper-specialization leads to some very interesting discoveries, the divorcing of ethics, morality, or culture from the study of 'real science' is ultimately not for the greater good. William Leiss' work comes to mind.

All the more reason it's nice to see initiatives like this come to fruition.

New from Genome BC:
This is a resource for social science and humanities researchers interested in the societal issues associated with genomics science and technology, and features articles on BC researchers and projects of interest as well as providing details of funding ...opportunities, upcoming conferences and events, both nationally and internationally, and much more.
Each issue will relate to a different theme.

This (first!) issue is on the environment. Access the pdf here>>

Canada Research Chair in Games Study and Design at Concordia

-=zomg=- :).
A fantastic opportunity for a mid-career or senior scholar in games study or games design at Concordia in Montreal. Great to see positions like these developing in the academe, and they're very welcoming of those who have a competitive industry background as well.
Just announced, details below:

Canada Research Chair in Digital Game Studies and Design*

Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, invites applications for a Senior (Tier I) Canada Research Chair (CRC) in the field of Game Studies, Game Design and/or Games and Learning as a joint appointment in the Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Fine Arts. The goal of the CRC program (http://chairs.gc.ca/) is to ensure that Canadian universities "achieve the highest levels of research excellence to become world-class research centres in the global, knowledge-based economy.”

Concordia’s academic culture celebrates leading-edge research, creativity, and the transfer of knowledge for today’s innovation driven society. The Chair in Digital Game Studies and Design will build on Concordia’s leadership in the fields of creative expression, communication and culture, and information and communication technologies as described in our Strategic Research Plan (2008-12) http://oor.concordia.ca/formsandreferencedocuments/strategicresearchplan/. Concordia is located in one of North America’s most diverse, creative and livable cities. Many leading games companies have chosen to locate in Montreal where strategic government initiatives also support the research sector and industry.

Applicants for this position may come from any disciplinary background but must have a superior record of publication and/or research/creation in the fields of game studies and game design. The successful candidate is expected to have an outstanding and innovative research program, as well as demonstrated abilities to foster the development of broad based interdisciplinary initiatives, attract excellent graduate students and secure external funding. The successful candidate will be expected to take a leadership role in the development of the newly founded Centre for Technology, Art and Games (TAG). The TAG initiative is leading interdisciplinary, cross-Faculty research in games studies and design at Concordia. TAG operates under the umbrella of the Hexagram Institute for Research/Creation in Media Arts and Technologies, which is the largest and most productive new media lab in Canada. For additional information on TAG and Hexagram, see http://www.tag.hexagram.ca and http://www.hexagram.org

The successful candidate for the CRC position in the field of Game Studies, Game Design and/or Games and Learning will be appointed (with tenure) at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. The candidate will work with the Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Fine Arts to prepare the formal CRC nomination according to the CRC program guidelines. The university will nominate the successful candidate to the CRC Secretariat at the earliest opportunity according to the guidelines of the CRC program.

Applications should consist of a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, copies of recent publications, a statement of teaching philosophy/interests, a statement of research achievements, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. Candidates must also arrange to have three letters of reference sent directly to:

Chair, Game Studies and Design CRC Search Committee
Concordia University
c/o Faculty of Fine Arts
1455, De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, EV 2.781
Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8 Canada

This position, linked to the CRC appointment, will begin July 1, 2010. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. All applications should reach the Chair of the Hiring Committee no later than November 2, 2009. All inquiries about the position should be directed to crcgames@alcor.concordia.ca Concordia University is committed to employment equity.

Korea: a list

The time has come that I must bid adieu to the Land of the Morning Calm and head back to Vancouver to finish writing this dissertation. With all this yummy field data that I will digest in the months to come, it looks kind of like this Korean pancake, with the panchan (side dishes) kind of orbiting the savory chaotic mass. Researchers out there, I'm sure you feel my pain.

My term as a Visiting Researcher at Seoul National University has wrapped up, along with my research scholarship with the National Institute for International Education (NIIED). It's been a very productive term chock-full of new people, places, and experiences.

At this point in time, my departure is quite bittersweet. While I am happy to be going back home to move onto this next chapter of the process (and therefore life in general), I leave a whole other life that I have built and learned to fully function within. (cue the Littlest Hobo theme). To give y'all just a glimpse of quirky Korea, I've compiled a little list of things I will miss about living here.

Things I will miss about living in Seoul (in no particular order):

• The view of the Han river from both sides of line 4 between Dongjak and Ichon, day or night. I look whenever I can and it never gets old.
  
• Delivery of almost anything, and in reusable containers they come back to retrieve.
• Low property crime.
• Open attitudes towards technologically enhanced lifestyles (for better or worse mind you)
  
• Korea Post. It's a wonderful thing. Seriously.
  
• Food that is actually cheaper on campuses, instead of taking advantage of captive students like some other campuses back home...(ahem)
  
• Preferred seating at movie theatres. Makes lining up and saving seats at theatres seem downright barbaric.
• Convenience stores that are actually convenient and not overpriced
  
• 24hr city
• Street Vendors who make life a little easier all around.
  
• Customary no tipping and 'service buttons'
• Short waits (e.g. prescription glasses in less than 30 minutes)
  
• Made in Korea. Clothes, electronics, a whole heck of a lot. Almost always a domestic equivalent to imported (luxury) things.
• Nights out with friends that don't break the bank
• Not needing a car: The fabulous public transit system and plentiful taxis
• The dry cold weather
• Radiant heating
• Last but most of all, my friends here and abroad who have been supportive, wonderful, and fun. It really is a Hub of Asia, and meeting so many different types of people staying in, or going through Seoul was great.

I could really go on. A lot of what I mentioned is a function of having so many people available (and trained in particular skills) in a densely packed environment. There are some good things about living with lots of people however, and I try to remember that when I'm living the sardine-life on Line 2 ;)

I fly out tomorrow. I look forward to seeing everyone again, including my ever-so-patient-and-supportive-through-all-of-this husband! It'll be interesting to find out what he's been doing lately too...heh.

Repatriation anxiety. I feel somewhat like a creature from the abyss that one must not take to the surface too quickly lest it explode from the trauma of changing environments. Be kind. I might bow instead of shake your hand for the next little while.

Almost there: Pre-fieldwork particulars

It's been a hectic little while...

In less than 3 weeks, I'll be heading to South Korea for 6 months of ethnographic fieldwork on the intergenerational use of information communication technologies (games, wireless, etc), and the changing social dynamics in the nation amidst the impacts of transnationality.

The Department of Communication at Seoul National University has invited me to commence a stay with them as a Visiting Researcher during that time. I'll be working with Professor Myungkoo Kang, who is a leading authority on the concept of East Asian Modernity and the study of media and culture.

In addition to the scholastic rigours that come with such an endeavour, I've also been distracted (to put it mildly) with the bureaucratic rigours as well. More than usual. It wouldn't be a blog entry without some inanity, so the laundry list of the last 3 weeks includes:

• Phone calls with governmental organizations, with paperwork follow-up
• Health exams: chest x-rays, vaccinations, blood, (and yes everything else!). I'm in "excellent" health, by the way--the paper says so now.
• Administration: ordering documentation, booking flights, accomodation, registration, scanning, emailing... unsubscribing to this, subscribing to that, it's all stuff that needs to be done.
• Purchasing research materials--books, equipment, favourite face cream. (ok, that's not research... or is it...:)

The problem, as many know... is that many of these things rely upon the schedule of others. So if there's not enough time to crank the wheels, there's simply nothing one can do. Wait in the cue. Have a good book. Get really practiced at saying, "it's alright" to people at the counter just doing their jobs.

Fieldwork is a full-bodied effort. It's the virtue and vice of being an ethnographer. You have to be 'there,' and take everything that comes with getting there, being there, and leaving there. In addition to that, there's the administration that comes with being here, leaving here, and coming back here..... nevermind securing the funding and support to carry those plans out.

So, I've been yammering about this trip for four years since my last fieldwork stint in Korea four years ago, applying for this and that grant, asking for reference letters, signatures, coffee talk, sanity checks. The time has finally come, and I bet everyone else is relieved along with me. Fortunately, I've encountered very helpful, kind, and positive people who are on my side when it comes to getting these things done (in all stages of the aforementioned tasks). There has also been some great news regarding getting this research funded, for which I'm just waiting on the official announcement of before letting the cat out of the bag here.

Conference April-Mayhem

I am calling the last two weeks my Conference April-Mayhem of 2007. Between Research Assistantship duties and my own dissertation research to-do's, it's been an extremely stimulating (and exhausting) time. Given the three conferences that I briefly talk about in this entry, it's hard not to be 'thinking of the world.'

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Conference International Conference and Trade Show Vancouver

Wearing my RA hat from April 29-May 1st, I combed the trade show floor and interviewed international delegates. Primarily, I was in charge of talking to the companies from Denmark. The Danish government, as part of their CanDan initiative, sent a 25+ person delegation in order to make connections and foster deeper relationships with research institutions and industry here, as well as with delegates from around the world.

Of interest was the re-announcement of what the provincial government calls the Hydrogen Highway. Premier Gordon Campbell is working with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to make a hydrogen-friendly path from "BC to BC" (British Columbia to Baja California). During the conference I learned what people were working on in terms of hydrogen vehicles (like bicycles, cars, trucks, buses) and the challenges of implementing those technologies.

Innovation Systems Research Network ISRN 2007 Conference in Vancouver

Directly related to my participation in the H2FC conference the days before, from May 2-5th, I was a graduate research assistant for the ISRN conference, where we discussed the local contexts of innovation (like Fuel Cells). The network is at the very beginning of a very ambitious data collection endeavour that spans the country.

The Innovations Systems Research Network (ISRN) is a network of researchers examining innovation in various cities and regions across Canada. The members of the network are loosely associated with four sub-networks: in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and Western Canada. The ISRN's goal is to better understand how economic, social, and political conditions influence innovation and hence economic development at the local, regional, and national level. The knowledge resulting from this research is intended to assist policy-makers at all three levels of government to better understand innovation dynamics and craft more effective policy.

Online Game Development Conference, Seattle

This past week I was shaking things up in Seattle at the OGDC 2007 conference. It was an information-packed two days, which included prominent speakers in the game industry and exhibitions. I felt very privileged to be there, as it gave me a chance to learn about the most current and specific struggles of people involved in the production of games. I found myself drawing tiny crowds during lunch and break times when those around me heard that I conduct research on Korean online game communities. After all, people were curious who this gal with the VIP badge was! The intimacy of the conference allowed for the making of friends, with the approach of quality versus quantity. Way cool.

After the conference, Lisa Galarneau and I hung out (she and her Microsoft Games Studio User Research panel got some press coverage). Being kindred spirits as well as ethnographers interested in games research, we had lots to talk about. She was kind enough to give me a tour of her workplace at the MGS Millennium campus, along with showing me the not so touristy areas of I-5 Microsoft land. Btw, I'm way better at MMOGs than driving games :P

So that was the coles notes of what went on... And now I'm back in Vancouver, defragging, working on papers, getting my shiat together for comprehensive exams so life can move on...
Photos of the conference April-Mayhem can be found in order of activity on my flickr set.

User experience research and such

Last week at Nokia, I presented some findings on the user experience research we did through mobilemuse.ca using N80 mobile devices and the Metrocode application for the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale cell phone tour. The audience was very N-Gage-ing (sorry, couldn't resist), were a great bunch, and asked a number of really good and interesting questions.
Some that I'd like to share here were oldies but goodies that qualitative researchers like myself often encounter in quantitative-oriented audiences on a regular basis, like:

1. How is this research representative, given such a small sample size (like, say n=30 versus 1000)? Short answer: Qualitative research often doesn't claim to be representative. Rather, the objectives of this type of research are to spur inquiry, inspire, and give examples of 'exceptions to the rules.' Example: wheelchair ramps, though made for a 'select' group, are ultimately good for everybody so designing for that is a good thing. Besides, if random large samples and their quantitative analyses were the be all and end all, wouldn't we know everything we need to know by now? Ultimately, in this type of research, randomness, generalizability, and largeness of sample size would not have helped.
   
2. Isn't this research biased? Short answer: glad you asked. The cheeky answer would be to say that all research is inherently biased and qualitative researchers just acknowledge those biases more...? Um... the not so cheeky answer is yes, research absolutely needs to be evaluated and considered amidst its funders and standpoint epistemologies of all participants, especially the researchers. In this research, I personally know that I designed the project with certain 'controls'. For example, instead of using just Nokia products, we had some focus groups that used their own mobile phones.
   
3. Vancouver is a specific test-case, as are your general participant demographic of twenty-somethings. Isn't this too specific? Short answer: This is a similar concern to #2, and #1. The plain truth of the matter is that we're not after generalized data in this type of research. The types of insights generated by focusing on very specific cases is to be able to better observe and articulate contingencies in product/service design plans that might not have been accounted for (which happens all too often). Why is Vancouver different from Seoul? SHOULD we design technologies geared at a generalized average or disregard one 'fringe' group altogether? Probably not.

I think that once these differences in types of research are generally understood for their respective strengths, they are used in amazing ways to improve things. Grant McCracken writes about just such strategies used by Nokia here. I'm optimistic.
My blog on the Biennale's latest appearance in the news, including links to related discussions on the research by team members is here.

Publication in Internet Research Annual

More lovely surprises in the mail, my own copy of the latest AOIR Internet Research Annual. It contains selected papers from the Association of Internet Researchers Conference from 2005 that got flagged for the publication and underwent subsequent revisions. The final product looks great. The editors did a fabulous job keeping everything going and making the process as painless as possible!

New this year from Peter Lang Publishers, is the Internet Research Annual Volume 4, edited by Mia Consalvo and Caroline Haythornthwaite. It is #33 in the Digital Formations series.

My contribution: Florence Chee/Richard K. Smith: Online Gamers and the Ambiguity of Community: Korean Definitions of Togetherness for a New Generation.

Specs:
Year of Publication: 2007
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2007. VI, 213 pp.
ISBN 978-0-8204-7857-9 pb.

For more info, book synopsis, contents, and ordering, go here.