Center for Digital Discourse and Culture

The CDDC is pleased to note the release of the Fall 2007 issue of the New River journal of digital writing and art. With hosting and technical support provided by the CDDC, this leading-edge journal is edited and published by faculty and staff affiliated with Virginia Tech's Department of English and MFA Creative Writing program. Congratulations to Managing Editor Lauren Goldstein and Editor Ed Falco for an issue that features many fine examples of new media innovation and creativity from seven contributors.

The December 2007 issue of First Monday is out, and it includes a number of noteworthy articles. Roger Clarke's discussion of "The cost profiles of alternative approaches to journal publishing" is required reading for those interested in the economics of journal publishing. And a piece by Sue Thomas, et al., titled "Transliteracy: Crossing divides" will likely appeal to many educators and educational researchers.

Recently on a Slate, A Librarian's Worst Nightmare, appropriately subtitled "Yahoo! Answers, where 120 million users can be wrong." According to the article, Yahoo! Answers is now the second most visited online reference site, behind Wikipedia, and despite its spotty track record. Also includes mention of the failed Google Answers venture. Via: Slashdot

"Spontaneous Generations is a new online academic journal published by graduate students at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto. The journal aims to establish a platform for interdisciplinary discussion and debate about issues that concern the community of scholars in HPS and related fields. Apart from selecting peer reviewed articles, the journal encourages a direct dialogue among academics by means of short editorials and focused discussion papers which highlight central questions, new developments, and controversial matters affecting HPS."

All new report for 2007 released December 4: "This MediaWise Video Game Report Card is the twelfth issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family, an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The MediaWise Video Game Report Card provides a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry with a focus on issues related to the welfare of children and teens. The full Report Card is available at www.mediawise.org."

In a recent post on her Spellbound Blog, MLS graduate student Jeanne Kramer-Smyth writes about Memory Archive. This new MediaWiki-based site is intended as an "encyclopedia of memories," where anyone may contribute a memoir on any topic. Thanks to Jeanne for both bringing this project to our attention and mentioning our April 16 Archive in her discussion of memory sites based on the Omeka platform.

The CDDC is pleased to announce that it is hosting a mirror of Technologies of Play: Video Games and Gender, an online learning module written and produced in 2003 by Brent Jesiek and Donna Augustine at Virginia Tech.

"GlobalVote (www.theglobalvote.org) has been launched to contribute to the debate on decision-making processes within major international organizations such as the UN, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. This will be done by collecting the opinions of the international online community, and by disseminating these polling results to International Organizations, universities, the media, and national governments."

"The Cape Town Open Education Declaration arises from a small but lively meeting convened in Cape Town on 14-15 September 2007. The purpose of the meeting was to accelerate the international effort to promote open resources, technology and teaching practices in education. The participants represented many points of view, many disciplines and many nations.