One factor I know to be a work is that a fair number of "old timers"
have withdrawn from participation, often expressing either straight
fatigue after several years or the sense that the topics they most
care about have come around often enough to be no longer of interest,
or some allied concern.... like being very busy with other matters.
My own low level of participation has been a compound of two factors.
First, we have had some key faculty on leave and I have had extra work
to do, associated with that fact (extra teaching) and the political
situation in my university which I am trying to deal with by getting
our afterschool activities linking students and communities instituted
on all campuses. Well, my colleagues are staying on leave AND UC has
taken up the challenge of introducing the 5thDimension onto all
campuses, so the busyness is not likely to go away.
Second, I have been hoping for a long time to get away from a situation
where it is expected on xmca that someone else will carry the ball in
initiating and supporting discussions of topics. Which makes me reluctant
to take on that role at other than rare intervals.
In the coming weeks I will take a couple of initiatives to promote
discussions that I hope will be of interest beyond my own skin. First,
I will re-initiate the practice of posting the abstrafts from MCA for
discussion. A WONDERFUL set of abstracts from the work of Ueno, Beach,
and colleagues in Nepal posted a while back went entirely without
discussion. Maybe it wasn't wonderful work? Maybe there was nothing to
discuss? Or maybe I have failed to foster the practice of cross-discussion.
Second, I am about to post a passage on smiling for those interested.
Third, I'll try to enter the discussion about tools and affordances, since
it seems not unrelated to the question about gibson and cultural historical
activity theory I myself raised.
I hope that others will take their own initiatives. There were no
reports back from the Chicago meeting, which seems by rumour to have
been interesting. Why don't folks post short descriptions of interesting
talks they hear?
And, with AERA upcoming, and me staying here to teach, I would love to
hear what I missed and I figure I am not alone.
And Hi Judy back there in the cold east! I spent a few days on family
business in the new york area las week and wow was I happy to get home!
Greetings to all
mike