Once again, thanks to the generous donation of Microsoft Research, the Communications and Information Technologies section of the American Sociological Association are able to offer to STUDENTS (enrolled as undergrads or graduates) FREE SECTION MEMBERSHIP.

Here’s the deal:

1. You MUST be a PAID-UP current Student member of the ASA itself for 2005.

2. Then, you write an e-note to Prof. James Witte, our Chair-Elect and Membership Chair, requesting free student membership. Tell Jim what school you are enrolled at.
His e-address is jwitte@clemson.edu

3. Jim will then arrange with the ASA for your free student section membership to be awarded.

4. FAQS:
a) If you have paid already, you cannot get a refund. Instead, I will buy you a drink at our gala reception on Section Day at the ASA,

b) You can join the ASA at the same time as you request this section membership. Go to www.asanet.org and follow the bouncing ball with your mouse.

However, DO NOT join the section by that route – you’d have to pay the normal $5 that way. Instead, send Jim a note, as per #2 above.

I have compiled the results of the informal survey about CITASA members' experiences with publishing comm and info tech related articles. Detailed information is available in this MS Word document. We got 33 responses. People seem to publish CIT-related articles in a wide-variety of journals. At the end of the document you can also read people’s open-ended comments about the idea of a CITASA-sponsored journal. Needless to say, it’s impossible to know how representative these views are of CITASA member views in general.

The School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) at the University of California, Berkeley has a tenure track faculty position open. SIMS is a multi-disciplinary department that incorporates different methods and theories, including those from sociology.

Hi everyone:

Here is the call for papers announcement for next year’s (2005) CIT session, entitled:

“Hansel’s Pebbles: Theory as Wayfinding in Communication and Information Technology Research”

This is an open session. It will highlight the importance of sociological theory in exemplary, path-breaking scholarship on communication and information technology, especially focusing on general-level social theories or theories from other substantive areas of sociological research. Papers that 1) demonstrate the importance of a strong theoretical agenda in defining a research problem and/or 2) provide rich, high-level theoretical insights of interest and importance to the discipline in general are very welcome.

Like the fairy tale hero’s pebbles (not the makeshift breadcrumbs that get him into trouble later on) this session will explore the following proposition: a clever and robust use of theory not only provides the conditions for autonomy, leadership, and emotional comfort during our journeys into the forest of CIT behaviors, but it also leads us out again, providing a triumphant and sometimes surprising return to our disciplinary home.

Please send submissions to the ASA by January 15, 2005 following the ASA online submission process.

My contact info, should you need it:

Christena Nippert-Eng
Dept. of Social Sciences
Illinois Institute of Technology
3301 S. Dearborn
Siegel Hall, Suite 116
Chicago, IL 60616

312-567-6812 (office)
312-567-8612 (fax)
nippert@iit.edu

If you know anyone who may be interested, please pass this job ad along to them.
Thanks.
Shelia


Survey Research Center Director

The Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR) of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) seeks a director for its new survey research center (SRC). This is a non-tenure track faculty position at a rank of either Assistant or Associate Research Scientist. The SRC is a start-up, and one of the principal responsibilities of the director will be to establish it and initiate its operation. The ideal candidate will have an appropriate terminal graduate degree (Ph.D. preferred) and substantial experience in all aspects of survey research including survey research management. For further information and complete instructions about applying, go to www.umbc.edu/mipar and click on “Survey Research Center Director Search.”

UMBC is an AA/EO Employer