Internet Research 2.0: INTERconnections
05/10/2001
October 10-14, 2001
University of Minnesota
McNamara Alumni Center and The Radisson Hotel Metrodome
Minneapolis-St.Paul Minnesota, USA
The Conference is Proceeding as Scheduled!
A MESSAGE FROM STEVE JONES:
Fellow members of the Association of Internet Researchers and air-l subscribers:
These are trying times, to greatly understate things. We will all struggle in one way or another to re-imagine the world now that everything has changed. The attacks in the U.S. this week were in part directed squarely at the U.S., But they were also directed in part at the world. The destruction of the World Trade Center towers killed and hurt many people from all walks of life, from all beliefs, races, countries. AoIR is an international organization, and each of us feels some sense of loss. Our thoughts go out particularly to those who have lost friends, family and acquaintances.
We have been asked by several people whether the 2001 conference in Minneapolis will be cancelled. The executive committee, the conference organizers at the University of Minnesota and I have decided that the conference will not be cancelled.
None of us associated with AoIR will ask anyone to do something with which they are uncomfortable. Were I to have to fly within the next week I would certainly think twice, although I think I would go ahead with it. I would be apprehensive about it, and will be for quite some time, and I will not be very happy at the prospect, and I will be ever so glad to land. However, the alternative is to cease travelling by air and therefore cease meeting indefinitely (except online, of course, or at short distances), and to lose all confidence in the variety of human systems on which the world is, and must, be based. I do not choose that alternative. Your choice, however, should, and will be, respected. We will, of course, keep abreast of events.
Do not hesitate to e-mail me at sjones@uic.edu with any questions and concerns. I will look forward to seeing some of you in Minneapolis, and others of you at other places and times in the future.
Steve Jones, President of the Association of Internet Researchers
The Internet's ever-increasing points of connection to almost every element of 21st century life have prompted strong interest in understanding the social aspects of cyberspace. The popular press offers wave after wave of speculation and vague forecasts, but what is really needed to help us understand how to live in our wired world is research: research that is collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary.
In September 2000, over 300 people attended the first international Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) at the University of Kansas. This Conference built connections among Internet researchers from across a range disciplines and from around the globe. In October of 2001, Internet Research 2.0: INTERconnections will offer an opportunity to reinforce and extend these connections. IR 2.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students from many disciplines and fields for a program of keynote addresses, paper presentations, workshops,formal discussions, and informal exchanges.
IR 2.0 will be held on the campus of the University of Minnesota, one of the world's most technologically innovative campuses. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in Internet development, and take in the sights and sounds of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
