[alt-media-res] [Imc-uk-network] ESRC funded research project on Indymedia UK

[devlishmay at aktivix.org]

We write as some of the participants in the alt-media-research project that has
been discussed on and off in uk imc networks.
This project has supported action research in independent media initiatives
relating to online video networking, ifiwatching networks, grassroots
Palestinian media, Canadian, Serbian and South American independent medias, and
also made a contribution to researching IMC London's history. The process has
mostly involved open ended interviews with individuals, facilitating
organisation and documentation of meetings, encouraging students to learn about
and engage with the open processes of independent media, and volunteering
within projects. 
We have tried to adopt an ethical research process with each subproject. This
aims to prioritise informed consent, and to ensure that nobody is named if they
choose not to be. Participants have the right to withdraw information given in
interviews at any stage of the research, and all the outcomes will be made
publically available. The address of our working wiki has been made widely
available: it is
http://alt-media-res.clearerchannel.org/public/index.php?title=Main_Page.
The initial research proposal has evolved into focusing on specific areas of alt
media production rather than focusing on the indymedia network as a whole. If
you have any questions or comments, please refer to the FAQs on the wiki, or
e-mail us, we look forward to hearing from you.
Zoe, Sian and Pennie.







Quoting phunkee at aktivix.org:

> Hi, 
> 
> We've just been discussing a funded research project on irc that includes
> some
> imcistas as well as academics. The project focuses on the history of global
> imc, it's micro-organisational workings and other things. As far as i know
> this
> hasn't been discussed openly on any of our lists.
> 
> I've included a log of some of the irc conversation we've had, in the hope
> that
> some of the people involved in the project, which i understand is coming to
> an
> end could possibly respond to some of the issues and concerns expressed.
> 
> phunkee
> 
> <phunkee>	Hey can anyone shed any light on an ESRC funded project that aims
> to
> research amongst other things the micro-organisation and working practices
> of
> indymedia?
> 	<phunkee>	just came across this link on the esrc site
>
	<phunkee>	http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/ViewAwardPage.aspx?data=%2fFrXHTl993r%2b%2batuUxVraBgZvVQg%2bjzpmGAca8L%2beRV6Y2ge9fW3BYQR4n6H8P5YifkfSS9YiXdBofmc%2bw7hLtlOP1ygkTN9tLE5w%2bMyYhFYPif97r0POPKgZZD%2fxC8kpVJ7JALGN1oo%2bA7308A4FjoCKN7Hmp70XoyWjWMShj83fLKNx5gUf4MMdcBh3Dql2oS85LeLMqRccDAqIzSWZstjZCu%2boBXocGLmVDdeFTAW%2fjQHNw0LKajzK2D3rHacXzWTG%2feWl7sgTFNQrBlbbuH4GLaDHQB93%2bXcELRPywMLydWUUBz6mEJJSDYxjpWtiMNWVDF1sLC4iclwstYGZOOWNt9oojre9Drytquqwse8qBYVGmo95Q%3d%3d&xu=&isAwardHolder=&isProfiled=&AwardHolderID=&Sector=
> 	<alandawson>	....it overflowed
> 	<phunkee>	oops
> 	<alandawson>	not surprised really!
> 	<shiar>	yes, that's the 'secret' research project some people invlolved
> with
> london imc and working on
> 	<shiar>	you can ask zoeyou
> 	<phunkee>	http://www.tiny.cc/alGaS
> 	<alandawson>	....well it would be good to read it when its finished :-)
> 	<phunkee>	is there anything about it on any imc lists?
> 	<shiar>	i doubt that ;)
> 	<shiar>	not really
> 	<shiar>	they haven't been very open about it
> 	<shiar>	but they do have a list that you can have a look at
> 	<shiar>	wait a sec
> 	<alandawson>	freedom of information request then? :-)
> 	<shiar>	https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/alt-media-res/
> 	<phunkee>	ah cheers
> 	<shiar>	np
> 	<alandawson>	is this the action research they were talking about :-)
> 	<shiar>	supposedly
> 	<phunkee>	i don't know about anyone else but this sounds problematic,
> particularly if they haven't been 'open' about it
> 	* shiar	nods
> 	<phunkee>	was it mentioned at the network meet
> 	<shiar>	dunno, i wasn't there
> 	<phunkee>	there are some big ethical issues here for us if we're being
> 'researched' by academics
> 	<shiar>	apart from the political questions (why would the gov fund such a
> research etc.), i have concerns about what kind of info they'll use (lists,
> irc
> logs etc.) without telling us
> 	<shiar>	yeah, you feel like being spied on :P
> 	<phunkee>	who are these academics? i'm assuming they're not imcistas
> 	<alandawson>	it looks like its come up before :
> https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/alt-media-res/2006-October/000078.html
> 	<shiar>	some are, funnily enough
> 	<shiar>	in an imc london meeting yes
> 	<shiar>	but noting more afaik
> 	<alandawson>	sorry, not trying to spam
> 	* shiar	notes that not many attend london meetings anymore ;)
> 	<shiar>	phunkee: if you look at the email addresses on that list you'll
> know
> who
> 	<phunkee>	http://alt-media-res.clearerchannel.org/public/index.php?title=FAQ
> 	<phunkee>	nods
> 	<scott>	some discussion in a london meeting. not much further. there is
> some
> internal dispute in the project at times as well
> 	<scott>	it is generally going ahead tho
> 	<scott>	bit like most things: forwards a little, backwards a little,
> generally
> making some progress
> 	<scott>	imc is only a little part of it, not all of it by any means
> 	<scott>	different individuals within the group have different aims, too
> 	* shiar	nods. but still...
> 	<phunkee>	hmmmm, why hasn't this been publicised if it involves us?
> 	<shiar>	they didn't want that afaik
> 	<shiar>	and like scott said, there has been some conflict re this
> 	<phunkee>	any particular reason?
> 	<shiar>	it's archived on their list
> 	<phunkee>	can anyone summarise it, i ain't got time to go through a whole
> list
> 	<shiar>	i heard a funny explanation once, "we are indymedia, we don't need
> to
> tell anyone"
> 	<scott>	hehe. that is about true, tho
> 	<phunkee>	woah
> 	<scott>	just because we communicate, doesn't mean we are good at
> communication
> ;-)
> 	<shiar>	see this email by ionnek for example
>
	<shiar>	https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/alt-media-res/2006-October/000078.html
> 	<phunkee>	that's very provocative
> 	<shiar>	the research is party about our communication mechanisms ;)
> 	<phunkee>	it's very contradictory
> 	<shiar>	would be nice if people involved could explain a bit (so we don't
> make
> any false accusations)
> 	<shiar>	but then they don't seem to be willing to do that
> 	<shiar>	zoeyou?
> 	<phunkee>	well their apparent lack of communication on this issue will fuel
> this
> 	<shiar>	sadly true
> 	<scott>	well, i think part of it is the project is now actually wrapping up
> soon
> 	|<--	alandawson has left irc.indymedia.org:994 (Quit: Chatzilla 0.9.77
> [Firefox
> 2.0.0.1/2006120814])
> 	<scott>	and also, the discussions were linked in a large way with finance,
> too,
> i think
> 	<phunkee>	scott: when were you aware of this 'poject'
> 	<phunkee>	project
> 	<scott>	also, london imc is quite informal at times (often)
> 	<scott>	i was aware in december 2005, i think
> 	<scott>	thru aktivix
> 	<scott>	rather than thru imc, that is
> 	<phunkee>	cos their list is hosted by aktivix?
> 	<shiar>	that's not very healthy is it?
> 	<scott>	what isn't very healthy?
>
	<scott>	https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/aktivix-discuss/2005-December/000878.html
> 	<shiar>	to hear about it thru other channels
> 	<shiar>	mostly by accident it seems
> 	<scott>	well, i didn't really hear about it as just an imc thing
> 	<shiar>	true
> 	<scott>	it was about media research and they had i think 5 different
> projects
> they wanted to work on
> 	<scott>	and imc was only one of them
> 	* chrisc	there were discussions about hosting it on aktivix also, some
> people
> pointed out that uk acadamic projects can get free lists on acadamic
> servers...
> 	<scott>	yeah, there was a lot of discussion ;-)
> 	<shiar>	wonder if this's true tho: "who want to use their work to funnel
> 	<shiar>	resources into projects like aktivix."
> 	* chrisc	perhaps we should ask how much money they have managed to fullel
> into
> which groups...
> 	<scott>	that bit was true
> 	<scott>	they tried to funnel a thousand quid (i think it was) into
> aktivix....
> not sure if things got completed on the aktivix end, tho
> 	<shiar>	they got some 44 grand i thinnk
> 	<shiar>	wow, that's noce
> 	<shiar>	nice
> 	<shiar>	i remeber someone saying they should have helped out indy at the g8
> 	<shiar>	as a criticism, that is
> 	<phunkee>	i'm not comfortable with all this
> 	* chrisc	bbl
> 	<phunkee>	i don't even think it fits the criteria of ethical social research
> if
> we're not even aware of it
> 	* scott	has to go as well
> 	<phunkee>	they must have known people would raise these issues
> 	<phunkee>	so why didn't they engage with all this straight away, when they
> put
> the proposal together?!
> 	<scott>	phunkee: yes, some of them did, as i said i think that there were
> differing opinions within the group
> 	<scott>	i don't know anything about the original proposal, tho.
> 	<scott>	see you all later
> 	<phunkee>	nods, i see marion was open about it
> 	<phunkee>	:)
> 	<phunkee>	bye
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