21.090 survey: how literary fiction affects ICT research and development culture

                Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 21, No. 90.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
  www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/cch/research/publications/humanist.html
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 06:17:05 +0100
         From: "Peter Ryan" <pryan_at_politics.ryerson.ca>
         Subject: Survey/Interview Requests: How literary fiction
affects ICT research and development culture

Dear Humanist List,

I just wanted to thank everyone on this list who filled out my
previous survey request. Your responses have definitely added to
this research.

This will be my last post concerning this research survey, because it
will be up until the end of August for those who might have some
extra time over the next few months to respond, especially if you
could not previously during the original release:

https://www.runner.ryerson.ca/PRSurvey/survey.cfm

I've reproduced the original call below for anyone new to the list,
if you would like more information on this project. I'll also be
attending the Digital Humanities Summer Institute in Victoria next
week, and I would appreciate setting up 15 minute interviews with
anyone on this list who is attending the institute and has interest
in the project. If you have time and interest, please e-mail me off
list at: pryan_at_ryerson.ca

Please accept my apologies for cross posting if you've seen this
survey elsewhere.

Thank you for your consideration of this message.

Sincerely,

Peter Ryan

-------------------------------------------------------
Peter Malachy Ryan, PhD Candidate
Rogers Fellow, Communication and Culture Programme
Instructor, Department of Politics and Public Administration
Ryerson University

*********

Original Survey Post:

I was previously referred to this list as a possible source for
survey respondents concerning the following topic: How literary
fiction affects ICT research and development culture.

The scope of this research concerns North America, but I encourage
people from around the globe to respond if they are interested in the
topic. The brief contact survey can be found at the following URL,
and it will take approximately 15 minutes of your time, depending on
your level of participation:

https://www.runner.ryerson.ca/PRSurvey/survey.cfm

I would appreciate your time in filling out the survey because this
is a part of my doctoral research project. If you would like more
background on my research, I also have a blog at the following URL:

http://prnetworks.blogspot.com

*Please take the time to fill the survey out, especially if you are
either 1) a published author of literary fiction, or 2) employed in
the information communication technology sector. The survey should
take about 15 minutes of your time, depending on your level of
involvement. I appreciate any and all comments and feedback. The
information recorded will help both quantitative and qualitative
research analysis in the long run.

*Importance of this Research*

I hope that you will take the time to help because of its importance
in the following listed areas of study. Specifically, this research
aims to develop:

1) a better understanding of how to improve the potential of
networked research via the use of computers. Computers have been called the
"imagination machine", but are we using our new abundance of
information effectively and imaginatively?

2) an interdisciplinary understanding of how the "two cultures"
of the Arts and the Sciences do in fact work together (if they do at all).

3) recommendations for economic policy that is being led by the
creative sector. In particular, funding for the Arts has been cut in recent
years, despite the huge economic impact that the cultural industries
have on local economies; however, the funding for ICT R&D continues
to increase without any apparent regard for the environmental
problems caused by the development of the infrastructure that is
required by a technological society -- how can these two policy arcs
be realigned in a focused and mutually beneficial way?

4) maps of ICT networks that emphasize and link these two
cultures. If we can visualize how research networks overlap with
artistic and literary capital, then perhaps improvements can be made
to the systems of communication between the agents of these two
cultures. Such an analysis can also be used as a valuable case study
for other communities.

Lastly, I would gladly ask that you forward on my e-mail address and
survey if you know of any other listservs or research networks that
might find this project of interest. At this point, I hope that the
survey will travel far and wide like a stolen garden gnome taken
around the world that will one day come back to its owner.

Thank you for your time and kind consideration of this message.

Sincerely,

Peter Ryan

-------------------------------------------------------
Peter Malachy Ryan, PhD Candidate
Rogers Fellow, Communication and Culture Programme
Instructor, Department of Politics and Public Administration
Ryerson University
Received on Mon Jun 11 2007 - 02:00:30 EDT