What
We Seek
Copyright
C. Aitken-Palmer
Introduction: Underpinning Ideas Framework of the book The theme of this book: there are many paradoxes of human communication on the Internet The book is a mixture of theory, speculation, research findings, and interaction with the reader The book is about communication--communication on the Internet Purpose The book is written by teachers who are trying to interact with the reader, the student You are invited to interact with the material, the Internet and with your course web site or the book’s website
Interactivity You are invited to explore the Internet and to write to the course (or book) website, look at each chapter’s Concepts for Analysis Case for Discussion Internet Investigation Be a participant/observer as you use the Internet and share your observations with your classmates
How we see ourselves We are users of this technology, not technical experts We want to explore how the Internet influences our communication lives You are living this experience and so you have valuable insights to offer
Some concepts the book explores Paradox Global Village Cultural Homogenization Interpersonal Communication Meaning-making Intensity Play Convergence Intrapersonal Communication
Some Questions Considered What happens to our communication because of the Internet? Why is looking at human communication on the Internet important, or is it? What do we mean when we say that communication on the Internet is paradoxical? What is the framework we adopt for looking at communication on the Internet? How does Communication on the Internet work? Concepts considered Metamorphosis Technological determinism (Cyber)literacy The interactive nature of communication What sort of medium is the Internet? Mass medium Interpersonal medium Personal medium
Information and Communication Information— an idea of communication represented in linear models of communication Communication— an idea of communication represented in transactional models of communication Our focus Computer-Mediated Communication Examples, reading e-mail, looking at web sites, discussion on electronic groups, reading online journals CMC A human activity Interpersonal communication over the Internet Much like having a conversation Effects and associations Context Contexts and Media Distinctions Levels of communication (intrapersonal, interpersonal, mass communication) and media distinctions (such as television and radio) do not make good sense on the Internet Simultaneity of levels of communication Why study human communication on the Internet? Open to new understandings To maximize performance To understand who we are, what we strive for, and how we evolve as communicators Communication Media Examining the dimensions of communication that are enhanced or diminished or even hidden by a medium Communication on the Internet incorporates: Language writing
Language and Writing Language: Represents ideas For thinking For expressing Writing: Records ideas To preserve To transport To distribute E-mail as a Medium No need to be present at the same time We can edit what we say We can take our time in expressing our selves We can take our time in thinking about the other’s message to us We are not seen nor do we see the other Our message is preserved
E-mail as an Interpersonal Device We can communicate to satisfy our social needs for: Pleasure Affection Inclusion Escape Relaxation Control
The Internet Intensifies The Internet Intensifies: Mental aspects of communication Speed Connection Change Concentration Play Interactivity
Modern Communication is Developing Along Two Fronts Globalization of Personal Communications Centralization of Mass Communication
Consider this information about http://www.facebook.com/ from Tom Krieglestein 93% of college students have a Facebook account and 63% log in everyday.
Globalization A positive, good thing Democratic potential Direct participation in decision-making A negative, bad thing Problems caused by free access to information Destroys individual cultures Cyberspace Cyberspace to refer to the Internet Cyberspace as a metaphor for a imagined environment, a psychological experience Cyberspace as a contradictory pull between the real and the unreal Theoretical Roots Theories of long-standing tensions in communication help us understand the Internet: Connectedness-Separateness Certainty-Uncertainty Openness-Closedness Conflicting needs of Intimacy and Independence The Inner-Outer Dichotomy Humanist vs. Behavioralist The humanist examines how the individual makes sense of the world: Meaning Transformational Grammar Discourse Analysis Ethnomethodology The behavioralist examines communication rooted in observable behavior operationalization Adoption & Diffusion Diffusion of innovation occurs as a process of social change People are using the Internet more and more The Internet intensifies playful interaction between people. The textbook authors proposed these explanations of Internet play. 1. Internet play is for the self. It serves internal goals. 2. Internet play co-exists inside and outside the scope of ordinary life. 3. Internet play operates without fixed boundaries of time and space, although the play may operate within Internet rules. 4. Internet play is pliable. The Internet can completely absorb the player so as to integrate with "ordinary life" or take on a life of its own Do you agree? Are there more items we should add to the list? Experience, which includes your work on the blog, relationship space (e.g., MySpace), Listservs, and webpage.
"My blog is the most important marketing and PR tool I have as a marketing and PR speaker, writer, and consultant. My blog allows me to push ideas into the marketplace as I think of them, generating instant feedback. Some posts have had truly phenomenal results, quite literally changing my business in the process.
Thanks to the power of search engines, my blog is also the most vital and effective way for people to find me. Every word of every post is indexed by Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines, so when people look for information on the topics I write about, they frighten me.
The bad news is that this information about blogs is difficult to quantify with any degree of certainty." Blogs, blogging, and bloggers.
An easy and efficient way to get personal or organizational viewpoints out into the market is the weblog or blog. In many PR people are monitoring what's being said about their company, products, and executives on this new medium of the blog. With a blog, there is never been an easier way to find out what the marketplace is thinking about you, your company, and your products!
A blog is just a web sight. But it is a special kind of site that is created and maintained by a person who is passionate about the subject. The blogger wants to tell the world about his or her area of expertise. A blog is almost always written by one person who has a fire in the belly and wants to communicate with the world. There are also group blogs written by several people and even corporate blogs. Blogs produced by a department or entire company without individual personalities at all, but these are less common. The most popular form by far is the individual blog. A blog is written using software that puts the most recent update, or post, at the top of the site, in reverse chronological order. I often suggest that small companies and individual entrepreneurs create a blog rather than a standard website because a blog is easier to create for someone who lacks technical skills.
Many blogs allow readers to leave comments. But bloggers often reserve the right to remove inappropriate comments. Most bloggers tolerate negative comments on their blogs and don't remove them. I actually like some controversy on my blog because it can spark debate.
Understanding blogs in the world of the Web. Blogs are independent, Web based journals containing opinions about anything and everything. However, blogs are often misunderstood by people who do not read them. Blogging provides experts and people who want to be experts with an easy way to make their voices heard on the Web at-based marketplace of ideas. Organizations that don't have their own authentic and human blog voices are increasingly seen as suspect.
Bloggers never claim to be real journalists. The metaphor of the Web as a newspaper is it accurate on many levels. It is better to think of the Web as a huge city teeming with individuals, and blogs as the sounds of independent voices, just like those of the street corner. Soap box preacher or that friend of yours who always recommends the best books.
Craig's list is like the bulletin board at the entrance of the corner store. Amazon is a bookstore replete with patrons anxious to give you their book tips. Consider the source don't trust strangers, and find out if the information comes from the government, a newspaper, a big corporation, or someone with an agenda. Take blogs with a grain of salt, but ignore them at your peril.
The three uses of blogs for PR. 1. To easily monitor what millions of people are saying about you, the market you sell into, your organization, and its products. 2. To participate in those conversations by commenting on other people's blogs. 3. To begin into shape those conversations, by creating and writing your own blog.
There are good reasons for jumping into the blog world. By monitoring what people are saying about the marketplace you sell your company and products, you get a sense of the important bloggers, their online voices, and blog etiquette. If you have monitored blogs and know what they are, you will know what a dozen influential bloggers writing about your space. Those blogs have thousands of loyal readers. You can show this information to a PR person and show the importance of simply monitoring blogs.
Monitor blogs: Your organization's reputation depends on it. Organizations use blogs to measure what's concerning their stakeholders and to understand corporate reputation. Know what bloggers say comparing your products or services to your competitors. Become an expert in what is being said about your organization on blogs. Do you allow employers to send e-mail? How about letting them blog? You need to decide what to blog about and how to find your voice. The legal eagles are worried about secrets, she revealed by their employees well creating content or commenting on blogs. Some organizations take a creative approach to blogging it by saying that all blogs are personal and the opinions expressed are of the blogger, not the organization that seems like a good attitude. Freely published blogs are an important part of business and should be encouraged by foreword thinking organizations.
The power of blogs: It is remarkable what a smart individual with passion can do with a blog. You are what you publish. It is better to have a reputation than no reputation. Publishers and Goldstein uses the blog to tell his constituents things really quickly and informally. It's fascinating that there are so few bloggers in the publishing industry, perhaps because publishers are cautious about giving content away for free, or maybe because large publishers feel threatened by blogs. There is no doubt that every organization should be monitoring blogs to find out what people are saying about them. I find it fascinating that most of the time when I mention a company or product on my blog, I do not get any sort of response from that organization. However, about 20% of the time, I will get a comment on my blog from someone at that company or a personal e-mail. These are the 20% of companies monitor the blogs, and we to what is being said.
Audiences consume advertising with skepticism and consider pronouncements by CEOs to be out of touch with reality. most first time bloggers try to cover too much. You need to be very targeted. Some organizations have created formal guidelines for employee loggers.
Here are issues you need to pay attention to.
What you need to get started.
Blogging software usually allows you to turn on comments feature. So your visitors can respond to your posts. Most blogs also have a feature to allow trackbacks, which our message is that another blogger sense to you when she has posted something on her blog that references the post you wrote first.
Pay close attention to the categories you choose for your blog, and add social media tags for services like Technorati, Digg, Delicious to each post. RSS also called us really simple syndication is a standard delivery format many of your readers. Make certain that your new blog has RSS capability.
Banks in a include an about page that includes your photo, biography, affiliations, and information about your blog.
Encourage people to contact you, make it easy for them to reach you online and be sure to follow up personally on your fan mail.
Create an interesting looking blog. Show the bloggers personality. On the right and left columns of Scott's blog, he links to Amazon from the cover images of his books.
One of the downsides of a blog is that the reverse chronological aspect, most recent post at the top, means that much of your blog stuff, which may have been written last month or last year, is hidden away. Thus, Scott also includes easy navigation links on the blog so people can quickly find the good stuff.
It takes time to build an audience for your blog. Blogs that are regularly updated generate high search engine rankings, but the algorithms that are used by Google, Yahoo, Angie other search engines reward sites, and blogs, that update frequently. It is likely that you will get significant search engine traffic once you've been consistently blogging for a while.
Commenting on other people's blogs, and including a link to your blog, is a good way to build an audience. If you comment, and TrackBack Tzu, blogs in the same space is yours, and you might be surprised at how quickly you will get visitors to your new blog. A curious thing about blogging etiquette is that bloggers who are competitive for business off-line are usually very cooperative online, with links back and forth from their blogs. It is a bit like all the auto dealers in town congregating on the same street, proximity is good for everyone, so people work together.
What this Chapter is About How people communicate scholarly information on the Internet The value of research you can do on the Internet How can you effectively search for information online How to evaluate scholarly sources Some paradoxes of informatics Informatics Informatics is the ability to communicate information through technology The Internet has made it much easier for information acquisition Scholarly research is a systematic investigation that employs rigor, research methods, replication of findings, statistical analysis, review of the literature, and more. Critical Reading The need for critical reading of Internet information is increasingly important There is both non-scholarly and scholarly information on the Internet This chapter is focusing on scholarly information
Scholarly Communication Divided into Three Functions: Gathering scholarly information Contributing scholarly information Communicating and collaborating Scholarly Communication We rarely hear of the rich scholarly information available online Let’s not confuse the medium with its contents Both high and low quality information is available online: We need to be able to determine the difference Evaluating Quality in Readings Refereed journals Critical reading Principles of good research Quality, Primary Sources Primary source Research Principles: Research design procedures Online Databases A database refers to a collection of information, typically electronic journals Databases are typically organized by subject field and journal types See the book’s web site (Blackboard or Course Compass) for a listing of databases Skill Section See the book (section 4.7) for an exercise in using online databases: Select a database Enter key words for your search Narrow the hits Examine the hits Acquire the article Read it critically Refine your search Paradoxes of Informatics Both high quality and low quality resources are available online Ease of access and ease of placing materials online are counterbalanced by ease of making invalid information available online
a. What are the values of being able to find the answers to your own questions? b. How will you learn the resources available on your campus? c. What standards will you use to judge the validity of Internet sources?
A STARTING POINT The Internet can magnify, elaborate, and enhance certain elements of human communication Play is one of those elements Play applies to all functions of the Internet, from entertainment to news, instruction and persuasion The Internet and Our Minds The Web encourages us to think, use our imaginations New technology, the Web high on that list, facilitates our imaginative and playful thinking The Internet facilitates our pretending How the Internet can Intensify Communication (Inter)Play Interplay is used to mean an interaction, which can be transformative, entertaining, interesting, or light-hearted Interplay is used to include play, to include the idea of feelings of pleasure as a motivator
Postulates of Play on the Internet Internet play is for itself. It serves internal goals Internet play co-exists inside and outside the scope of ordinary life Internet play operates without fixed boundaries of time and space, although the play may operate within Internet rules Internet play is pliable. The Internet play can completely absorb the player or take on a life of its own Play and Identity Turkle (1995) writes about play as integral to the construction of identity on the Internet Play can have real effects on people in their real lives
How Does Play Function on the Internet Seven types of play in Internet communication: Imaginative play like a child Identity role-playing Interplay with the self or other Play like actors in a play Games for destruction Playful work The fun of something new Imaginative play like a child Circulating humor, jokes, having fun, playing games Identity role-playing Experimentation with the self, pretending, extending Interplay with the self or other Internet users approach their communication activity with a sense of playfulness Users seek ways to use the Internet that are pleasureable Play like theater Creation of an imaginary space in which people can pretend Games for destruction Destructive activities on the Internet, such as gossip, transmission of viruses, stalking, violent videogames and terrorism
Playful work The Internet intensifies the juxtaposition of play and work Teachers use popular culture to make serious academic points The fun of something new Computer users experience a mix of frustration and fun Perhaps overcoming the frustration is what is so satisfying Play vs. Lying Lying Intending to communicate claims and the belief that the sender believes in what he/she is saying Playing Intending for the receiver to believe that the sender does not believe in the claims he/she is making, that in fact they want the receiver to understand what is implied by this falsehood Play of Computer Games The effect of playing computer video games: Results are mixed People are playing many types of games online: Casino games, fantasy football, trivia, solitaire, and others Playful Metaphors Discussion groups use metaphors to refer to activities they prefer not to state explicitly or activities they imagine The Internet itself is characterized in metaphorical terms, e.g., the information superhighway Metaphor, along with other elements of language, intensifies imagination and creativity, adding to the characteristic of play on the Internet
Internet and Communication Principles Internet communication is a process Adapting to the Internet will increase communication effectiveness Communication is irreversible Internet meanings are in people No one can experience totally effective communication on the Internet
Common Ground or Intense Differences? Does Internet communication enable people to find common ground or intensify differences, polarization? Does the Internet increase democratization or create a digital divide? Polarization By polarize, we mean that the Internet encourages groups of people to emphasize their differences with others Intensification of Polarization The way people connect with others to increase polarization of people You find people scattered geographically who think in ways similar to the way you think In other words, the Internet can bring together people who think alike On the Other Hand: New Communities The Internet can also bring people together in new communities and identities, creating new boundaries as it breaks down old ones The utopian image pictures a new and more liberated way of being The Internet is a communication medium of paradoxes The Dark Side of Communication on the Internet Digital divide or technical together? Papert (1981) theorized that with the computer would come a greater division of classes Lopsided computer skills Unequal access, use, knowledge, speed and quality of connections, and ability to evaluate information The advantaged would have and use the Internet effectively People in developing countries may have limited access
Democratization Some scholars argue that the Internet reduces communication and status differences The Internet moves us farther in the direction of collapsing the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow Cognitive Dissonance According to cognitive dissonance theory, our beliefs (or cognitions) can be related either by: their consistency their contradiction or their irrelevance
We tend to seek information that is consistent with our beliefs (consonant) We tend to avoid or refuse to believe information that is inconsistent with our beliefs (dissonant) The number and importance of consonant and dissonant elements within a cognitive set determines the amount of dissonance we feel When We Experience Significant Dissonance We have to reorganize our beliefs Or, somehow dismiss the significance of the source of dissonance
WHY INTERNET COMMUNICATION PRODUCES DISSONANCE On the Internet, people come into contact with people and ideas they would never (or rarely) encounter face-to-face In an online discussion, inconsistencies in our ideas are more likely to be brought to our attention than offline The public nature of the Internet can intensify reactions Many group participants are seeking confirmation of beliefs they already hold, and when they find conflicting ideas, they experience polarization
HOW DO INTERNET VIDEOGAMES INTENSIFY THE POLARIZATION OF PEOPLE? Children have been known to act out scenes from a videogame The interactive nature of playing videogames may have an effect on the person Playing violent games may influence the perception that the world is a dangerous place Privacy Information may be collected by you through your Internet activity Identity thieves are at work on the Internet Yet many people feel a sense of anonymity on the Internet A sense of anonymity may give people the idea that they cannot be held responsible for what they say and do Increased Freedom of Access with Decreased Privacy There has been increased information collection about personal information At the same time, there is privacy protection through court decisions, legislation, and self-regulation
Hoaxes, Rumors, and Myths Internet Hoax: A practical joke communicated over the Internet Emails go out to many people with the hope that they will believe the lies and spread them These hoaxes, rumors, and myths can be serious, because they can upset people or do real harm to individuals Internet Addiction Internet addiction is the idea that a person cannot control their behavior, so that the Internet interferes with normal activities Some argue there is no such thing as Internet addiction and others take it seriously We think the Internet is not the problem where there is excessive or extreme use Hostile Metaphors A metaphor is a word used to represent something that it is not, an analogy or a comparison Many of the online metaphors used appear sexist or violent
Hostile Metaphors Blow away Brute force Locked and loaded Search and destroy Webmaster Logic bomb Flaming Flaming is when people exchange hostile or insulting remarks What Stimulates Flaming? Computer distance may encourage flaming There are fewer consequences to being rude online in contrast to face-to-face interaction Perhaps flaming is simply an outlet for expression Flaming may be used by pranksters or to control the discussion Flames may be the expression of hate What Stimulates Flaming? Some think that flaming is due to computer users who are overly controlled and nonassertive normally, and unleash their aggression on the Internet Another explanation is that flaming is a way of making interactants feel more intensity in a medium that lacks the direct interplay of human senses
Personal Fear Some Internet users may think the world is a dangerous place and that is why they prefer to use the Internet to communicate From the safety of their home they express hostility toward a world they see as hostile Violence on the Internet may seem surreal—with stalking emails and harassing websites Hate Speech There are thousands of hate sites on the Internet Hate sites are designed with the intent to hate, hurt, or murder other people Never before has there been such an intensive way for disenfranchised people to gather to reinforce their prejudices and hatred Fear of Terrorism The objective of terrorism is to commit unexpected acts of violence against innocents, which makes other people feel afraid and vulnerable It is believed (known) that terrorists have used the Internet to communicate with one another, to organize and direct terrorism There is the threat of terrorist attacks on Internet’s infrastructure or individual businesses Facing Fears The Internet also enables people to face their fears The Internet is a powerful source of connection and information
Intrapersonal Communication Mental processes associated with meaning, a mental dialogue Assigning meaning to stimuli and producing meaningful stimuli, verbal or nonverbal Cognitive Collaboration Jointly constructed ideas, dialogue with another about meaning Model of Intrapersonal Communication The Intrapersonal Model Think of the model as representing you Picture stimuli coming into your receptors (e.g., hearing, sight) from the Internet: Picture the stimuli you send as expressed through your effectors (hands, speech) and mediated by the computer: Information, Meaning, & Communication Information as one level or type of meaning, akin to literal meaning Additional levels of meaning include social meaning, implied meaning, inferred meaning, and more Communication includes all levels of meaning
The Computer as an Intensifier Communication on the computer intensifies the intrapersonal aspects of communication It facilitates making us more aware of our mental processing of stimuli We need to put greater effort into thinking about what something means and hence we become more aware of our processing We begin to recognize that our inner world and our outer world are closely tied together
Inner/Outer Speech Inner speech is communication to yourself, internal Outer speech is communication with another, external Without face-to-face cues, you are required to work harder to think about the communication event You are driven further inside to inner speech Hence, email on the Internet is an intensified cognitive event, engaging the outside and the inside The communication model adopted here is highly interactive (slide 3) In spite of an intrapersonal model, the event remains focused on social action Communication on the Internet is a mediated symbolic process Essential Features of Communication on the Internet Mediation or negotiation between people which relies on cognitive representation of common ground Communication or reaching common understanding through interplay Cultural mediational artifacts or the cultural information that helps in interpretation Context or the situation, environment, situated meaning, with physical context reduced in Internet communication Mind or the cognitive processing of stimuli, which, again, is intensified in Internet communication
The Self and the Internet The computer as a source of identity Mediated-intrapersonal communication Writing to the self The computer as the second self Role-Playing Identity People engage in high levels of self disclosure on the Internet Knowing the identity of others is central to communication, yet on the Internet identity is ambiguous The relationship of the self (including the body), identity, and online interaction is complicated
Age We hear many warnings about the dangers of the Internet for children There are also benefits of the Internet for children: to access information, talk to people, play, and collaborate The Internet as a refuge The Internet is an important tool for older adults It provides mental stimulation, connection to others, valuable information A way to feel apart of the times
Gender Though women have not been associated with technology, things are different with the Internet Some research suggests that women use email more than men and have less stereotypical attitudes toward the Internet than men Both women and men are using the Internet to communicate, though they may display different roles in online discussion
How does the Internet affect interpersonal relationships? Creating interpersonal relationships online Feeling part of a community online Interpersonal Dynamics Online Speed the time it takes to send and receive messages Anonymity refers to identities created online, claiming to be someone you are not Interactivity the ability of online participants to not only receive messages, but to react to them Regard to be acknowledged as an individual Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication is one-to-one communication Interpersonal communication face-to-face or online Computer-mediated communication is closest to interpersonal communication Within the Perspective of Interpersonal Communication Personal contexts Individual purposes Flaming Identity Story-telling Online relationships Relational stages
Community Online Community online is the ability of people to come together, to have a sense of sharing and commonality in an online environment Will Online Interpersonal Communication Enhance or Attenuate Human Relationships? Online relationships often include fantasy, stereotypical, idealized images Will time online substitute for other forms of communication? Enhancement or Attenuation Another study finds that use of the Internet is influenced by local culture and power relations (Wheeler, 2001)
Social Uses of the Internet To meet people and create relationships To enhance relationships with family and friends To maintain long-distance relationships
Some Effects of Interpersonal Communication Online Computer-mediated communication is similar to face-to-face communication, and may even affect how people communicate face-to-face There is often a casual sense of play in Internet communication There are often paradoxes associated with Internet communication Certain aspects of communication are intensified by Internet use
Internet communication strongly engages intrapersonal communication The process of attaching meaning to the message is evident in online communication Effects of Speed, Reach, Anonymity, Regard and Interactivity We expect our communication technologies to be fast We are becoming obsessed with efficiency In spite of all the speed in communication technologies, many people feel they are running on a tread mill and cannot keep up with all that is coming at them Reach In addition to your ability to reach others, reach also means that you can be reached just about anytime, anywhere Some speculate that the sense of constant connectedness, the speed of our messages, and the difficulty of keeping up with all the information reaching us, causes people to feel nervous and frustrated—to feel rage at times Flaming Flaming refers to harsh language directed at an individual online Scholars have speculated about the lack of social cues online due to the fact that generally we cannot see one another online, as contributing to flaming With reduced feedback, it is speculated, we can project our own hopes and fears Some believe that the reduction in social cues accounts for a tendency to be more disinhibited online, both in self disclosure and in aggression (the "disinhibition effect")
Interactivity Interactivity refers to the ability to respond to messages so as to give feedback, e.g., flaming may be seen as expressing anger in speaking back Anonymity Not being identified as your self, or believing you are not identified as your self Some speculate that anonymity enhances the chances of expressing anger online—e.g., flaming Influence on Family Families are affected by the Internet and the way they communicate on the Internet The computer appears to affect different family members differently Family members use the computer for entertainment, escape, habit, and to pass time Some ways Family Members can Use the Computer To provide communication content To increase human interplay To improve individual’s self-esteem To enable new opportunities for interpersonal relationships Online Relationships Cultural differences are likely to affect perceptions of online communication According to one study, the Japanese were far more skeptical about the value of the Internet in human communication than the Americans or the Koreans Computer-Literacy Theory One researcher suggests that the cultural differences actually may be due to practical differences Computer-literacy theory points to differences between cultures that are differences in the ease of inputting the language into the computer, cost of online time, and the cost of competing technologies
Online Dating and Relationships One study found that both men and women lied online, but for different reasons Women lied to protect themselves from men and men lied to protect their true identity so they could take greater risks with emotions online. friendsbeyondthewall.com - inmate.com - LadiesofThePen - Meet-An-Inmake.com - WomanDoingTime - womenbehindbars In online relationships, a person may think they know the other well, due to limited information Much of the relationship is created in the mind, to fill in for missing information
Control of Information about the Self Some research suggests that the typical pattern of development of online relationships advances through more and more personal ways of communicating, with less and less control over the information revealed about the self
Groups and the Internet By a group, Communication scholars mean 3 to 30 people On the Internet, a group can mean connecting large numbers of people, hundreds or thousands or more The Internet seems to be accomplishing McLuhan’s idea of a global village, community Functions of Internet Groups Internet groups connect people who have needed information or resources Internet groups empower the self, through information and self expression Internet groups improve the quality of life (of course, with exceptions) What Goes On In Groups Story-telling in groups The Internet is a story-telling medium People share their real and imaginary stories online People in electronic discussion groups often have a common bond of some kind, a shared interest in a subject Electronic Discussion Groups and Identity Most lists (listservs) require a name attached to the user Some groups allow the name ‘anonymous’ Many people believe they are anonymous this way Electronic Discussion Groups and Identity In communication, knowing the identity of your interlocutor is essential for understanding and evaluating interaction Yet in the disembodied world of virtual reality, identity is ambiguous Internet discussion groups allow individuals to play with identity Online, identity is a cognitive creation--we create our identity and we imagine the other’s identity
Developing Community through Groups Many online discussion groups provide members with a sense of support, belonging, and connection Through online interaction, people communicate with each other as they establish community By community we mean the ability of people to come together, to have a sense of sharing and commonality, to feel a sense of oneness
Characteristics of Online Groups "Real" vs. "Virtual": Online groups have a reality people sometimes fail to achieve face-to-face Online groups tend to contain much self disclosure or telling of personal information Successful participation can enhance self-acceptance and skills for other communication contexts Characteristics of Online Group Discussion Motivations for online discussion align closely with those of interpersonal communication: Affection Control Escape Inclusion Pleasure Relaxation Behaviors of Users of Online Discussion Self-absorption Unique Language Ignoring Lurking Conversation lulls Participation in multiple lists Experimentation with identity Conflict Lack of nonverbals
Behaviors of Users of Online Discussion Unique Language Some groups develop their own language conventions The unique language may involve capitalization, combining words, abbreviations, and other devices Accuracy of Information For every site with valid scientific information, you can find others with false information Some people seeking a cure for a medical problem turn to the Internet instead of the medical community Talking to Others Of special interest is the ways in which talking to others online differs from talking face-to-face In both contexts, online and face-to-face, talk and social variables influence one another But the differences in the two contexts do seem to influence talk For instance, in online talk people may care less about what the moderator thinks of them and hence are more willing to share potentially embarrassing information Online we can tailor talk to the individual in a group We may be inclined to react to messages without knowing or processing who sent them: deindividuation Online, we do not have the nonverbals to guide us with feedback Online, we do not have the built in connection between a body and identity and talk Online, we do not (typically) hear our interlocutor’s voice Online, we are likely to use our imaginations more intensely than in face-to-face groups
Perspectives of Understanding Organizational Communication Functional Perspective: The functionalist is concerned about an organization that functions efficiently Critical Perspective: Concerned with power and control Interpretive Perspective: Organizations seen through human subjectivity
Revising Traditional Theories About the Workplace Bureaucracy: The Internet flies in the face of existing bureaucracy because the new communication interactions often have no written rules, roles are flexible, and certain individuals may have expertise outside their traditional roles
Scientific Management: Concerned about the standardization and systems of an organization Classical Management: The role of managers has become less authoritarian than earlier on, budgeting, coordinating, directing, organizing, planning, reporting, and staffing Human Relations: Interpersonal communication--management who could communicate with their employees--became an essential element in creating effective organizations Theory X and Theory Y: Theory X believes that people are motivated by material rewards and require threats Theory Y believes that people are motivated by having meaningful and enjoyable work
Participative Decision-Making: A concern for people and production The most effective managers demonstrate supportive relationships
Symbolic Relationship between People and Organizations: The individual and the organization need each other, yet there is a fundamental tension between the two--a tension between expressing oneself and being suppressed by the organization
Symbolic Relationship between People and Organizations: This theory fits well with Shedletsky and Aitken’s conceptualization of the Internet--individuals and organizations can use computer communication to reduce tensions Contingency Theories: Adaptive--prepared to adapt to problems due to: Environmental uncertainty, unrest, evasiveness Technological systems Nature and clarity of the task Interpersonal relationships within the organization Conflict
Business Communication on the Internet A powerful influence of the Internet on the workplace is its ability to act as a change agent The boundaries of the workplace are changed Who can access whom, interdependence, speed, access to information HARVARD BUSINESSLeadership & Managing People bloggers
Communication Patterns Internet (computer) communication leads to flat organization Messages tend to be brief Employees can be overloaded with messages It can be difficult to differentiate between essential and non-essential messages Normal, interpersonal cues are absent
Roles & Boundaries Online communication can confuse the usual roles of people in organizations The hierarchical lines of organization are often violated by Internet communication Access to information can diffuse power and control Meaning is blurred because roles are blurred Meaning is blurred because traditional boundaries are blurred Boundaries between work and play are blurred Boundaries between business and personal are blurred Tensions Paradoxes abound regarding the Internet and organizations Stock market and online business Connected workers and feelings of isolation Changes versus no change Culture and Climate A culture is the mores or traditions, a persistent, lasting structure and a pervasive influence on all elements of the organization Culture influences the way people communicate, organizational structure, message behavior, the modes of acceptable communication, and who communicates with whom
The Culture of a workplace Includes Cultural network Heroes Rites and rituals Values Work environment Internet and Organizational Climate Consider how network monitoring might affect organizational climate The construct of climate is that an organization has an ongoing social environment Monitoring can create a climate of fear Consider these factors of organizational climate that may be affected by communication on the Internet: Structure and constraint Individual responsibility Warmth and support Reward and punishment Conflict and tolerance Internet and Organizational Climate Performance standards and expectations Identity and group loyalty Risk E-business E-business refers to commerce conducted via the Internet Since no central authority manages the Internet, e-businesses have great flexibility Work groups can easily come and go Many companies are outsourcing jobs Business can send out targeted e-mails Companies can provide customer services and human resources online Internet videoconferencing offers a viable alternative to flying to face-to-face meetings Online Business Interaction Consumer communication Online businesses collect extensive data in an effort to analyze who you are, what you want, and what will make you buy Interpersonal communication (1-to-1) The quality of work completed through CMC can be as good or better than when people work face-to-face Online Business Interaction Online communication can be used to replace and enhance other forms of communication People using email in work contexts need to be particularly careful regarding the clarity, appropriateness, and security of messages Online Business Interaction Collaborative communication One advantage of online collaboration is the reshaping of time and space Groupthink: When getting along and going along with others is more important to the group than debate Individual vs. team One finding in CMC is that the individual may be less important than the team Online Business Interaction Communication overload One of the serious problems with business communication is the sheer volume of information exchanged Risky communication There is always the potential for risk in communication CMC creates a new type of risk in business contexts When employees and customers depend on uninterrupted access to critical data, the consequences of downtime is magnified
Design, color, navigation, and appropriate technology are all important aspects to a good website. Often the only person allowed to work on the website is your organization's webmaster. The best sites focus primarily on content to pull together their various publics, markets, media, and products in 1 Comprehensive Place where content is not only team, but the president and pope as well's. Widgets are small applications found on websites and blogs. The focus of successful websites is content. What really matters is content, how the content is organized, and how it drives action from publics. "We work with the businesses to showcase interesting things, and we try to have fresh content on this site and updated with new weekly stories." I realize that many important factors usually come together when creator of the site cares a great deal and wants her passion to shine through. I'm convinced that the key is to understand publics--or those who may donate, subscribe, joining, or vote--and build content especially for them.
Online Networking : Bebo - Digg - eHarmony - Facebook - Match.com - Meez - MySpace - Secondlife - SquidooOnline Money-Making Opportunities: AllPosters - Amazon Associates - Blingo - eBay - Surveys Services: Delicious - StumbleUpon - Google API Number - Google Maps Feature - Ping - Sitemap - Online Business Networking - Internet Marketing
Online Thought Leadership Home
(Scott)
http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/
GOOGLE ADDITIONS
Add your site to Google:
http://www.google.com/addurl/
Add a custom search to your website:
http://www.google.com/coop/cse/
Online sales are continuing to explode and could reach more than $300 billion is the United States alone by 2010. The Internet has significantly reduced costs and even eliminated many of the risks of starting your own business. The arrival of e-business has changed the rules of business so dramatically that now is the best time in history for you to take charge of your life and start his own business.
Think about how the Internet has contained the continues to grow, improve, and penetrate your daily life in the years since the dot's bottom crash. Hasn't it made shopping more efficient, teaching in touch with friends easier through e-mail and instant messaging, and probably improve the productivity of the business where you work too?
Many sophisticated technical, marketing, and merchandise services is now available purely on a pay as you go basis.
The Fox book is about empowering you to take control of your life. Properly designed and marketed e-business takes less time than a traditional job, allows you flex time to work when and where you want, and allows you to be your own boss.
The focus of this book is to share with you specific, practical secrets to creating a technical, idea driven e-business, which the average person like you can still replica replicate today.
Chapter 1. The Internet and business revolution.
Starting your own business on the Internet is by far the number one business opportunity currently available to entrepreneurs. In the online world, for the first time ever, the little guy like you actually has advantages over the big companies.
If you can reach enough potential customers with a profitable business offer, you can make serious money even if only a very small percentage of them purchased it.
Transaction processing software, drop shipping services. Come on and online advertising had become so effective that distributor middlemen with the local warehouses full of inventory and advertising agency middlemen are often no longer necessary.
Every year it has gotten easier for newcomers to use.
There are thousands of software companies, web design firms, e-commerce companies, web hosting facilities, and other belated corporations competing with each of their to offer easy to use software services designed specifically to help small business owners work online. They make it easy for you to access all the services and technology that you need.
Chapter 2. Starting your own e-business. Can you afford not to?
It's worldwide reach, instant 24/7 communications capability, ease of updating, and low-cost have all converge to create a vast new market opportunities. Online retail sales will reach $329,000,000,000 by 2010.
Developments include quicker shipping, a faster credit card transaction processing, 24/7 customer service, easier to use software, higher-quality online video, and much more.
The end result of spending just $25 can be a fully functional and professional looking website, complete with credit card transaction processing, technical support, and maintenance, that can reach the entire global Internet audience for your goods and services. It's all the technology is outsourced, you have zero maintenance or technology issues.
e-businesses have evolved in three waves:
Introduction eBay is the world's greatest marketplace, electronic or otherwise. More than 18 million people in the United States alone have bought or sold items on eBay, and worldwide use has surpassed 180 million people in 27 markets. Over one million people list an item for sale on eBay every day, 600,000 of these are professional, full-time sellers. In 2006, eBay estimates gross merchandise sales could top $48 billion. Yet eBay in itself sells nothing but access to its platform.
When you launch an eBay business, you are opening a store in a city of 180 million people. Except you have no rant, no employees, and costly advertising, and very little overhead.
http://www.nyugat.hu/tanczos/jezus/kep/ebay.jpg
It is somewhat complicated selling on eBay, but not overly so. Over 10 million people have sold items on eBay. This book is designed to take you through the process, step-by-step in a logical manner, so you understand and master each step. We are talking about achieving success on eBay, not just making a few quick sales.
Setting up and organizing your business, be searching and finding the right products, and putting in place the automated systems and services to save you time will take the average person about three weeks.
How you define success on eBay depends on your personal goals and how he fits into your life. It is just a matter of time, work, and learning the ropes.
McGrath, frequently seize items being auctioned on eBay by veteran sellers who are still making rookie mistakes. Clearly, they did not set up their business for success right from the start.
Take the time to set up and organize your business correctly before you start launching your first auctions. Do the research and select the products you will sell. Then write your goals and write your success plan.
See www.skipmcgrath.com/3_weeks for the various websites and products discussed in the book. Below are links from McGrath's webpage.
An effective online and content strategy, artfully executed, drives action. Organizations that use online content well have a clearly defined goal, sell products, generate leads, secure contributions, get people to join, or deploy a content strategy that directly contributes to reaching that goal. When using a blog, podcast, white paper, e-book, e-mail newsletter, webinar, your organization can exercise thought leadership rather than simple advertising and product promotion. A well-crafted white paper, e-book, or webinar contributes to an organization's positive reputation by setting it apart in the marketplace of ideas. The first thing you need to do is put away your company hat for a moment and think like one of your buyer personas. Thought leadership content is crucial. For purposes of public-relations, provide Web content. An e-book is a PDF, formatted document that identifies a problem and supplies an answer to the problem. Scott recommends that e-books be presented in a landscape format, rather than the white papers portrait format. Well executed e-books have lots of white space, interesting graphics and images, and copy that is typically written in a lighter style than the denser white paper. In Scott's view e-books as marketing tools should be free, and Scott strongly suggests that there be no registration requirement.
E-mail newsletters are way to deliver a regular series of thought leadership content.
Webinars are online seminars that may include audio, video, or graphic images, typically in the form of PowerPoint slides, and are often used by technology companies as a tool about a specific problem that technology can solve. Wikis are started by an organization as thought leadership content because it wants to be seen as an important player in a distinct new marketplace. You can use a wiki to allow your users to add their own frequently asked questions, and other people can supply answers, which helps everyone. People love being a part of the community, and they really like that a wiki gives them a way to discuss their interests. Research and survey reports are used by many companies that conduct research projects or surveys and publish the results for free. This can be an effective approach if the research or survey is real and statistically significant and the results are interesting to your publics. A blog is a personal website written by someone who is passionate about his subject and wants the world to know about it. Writing a blog is the easiest and simplest way to get your thought leadership ideas out and into the market. Podcasts are an ongoing series of audio downloads available by subscription that are very popular as thought leadership content. Video content, podcasts, and vlogs are regularly updated the videos that offer a powerful opportunity to demonstrate your thought leadership. What should you write? Do not write about your company and your products. Thought leadership content is designed to solve by your problems or answer questions and to show that you and your organization are smart and worth doing business with. This PR technique is not a brochure or sales pitch. Thought leadership is not advertising. Define your organizational goals first. Based on your goals, decide whether you want to provide the content for free and without any registration. Without registration, you will get many more people to use the content, but you won't know who they are--or you want to include some kind of registration mechanism. This will cause much lower response rates, but you build the contact list. Think like a publisher by understanding your audience. Consider what market problems your personas are faced with and develop topics that appealed to them.
Write for your audience. Use examples and stories. Make it interesting. Choose a great title that grabs attention use subtitles to describe what the content will deliver. Promote the efforts like crazy. Offer the content on your site with easy to find links. Add a link to the employees e-mail signatures, and get partners to offer links as well. To drive the viral marketing effects, alert appropriate reporters, bloggers, and analysts that the content is available and send them a doubt the download link. The Web and the blogosphere requires a different kind of thinking on the part of marketers. It is about being insightful. Participate in the discussions going on, not just try to shout your message over everyone else. Done well, Web content that delivers authentic thought leadership also brands and organization as one to do business with.
How Does the Internet Shape Learning? And is learning intensified on the Internet? What paradoxes about education are associated with the Internet? Does the Internet enhance collaborative communication in education? Does the Internet add value to education? The Internet in Education The Internet is used in education in a variety of ways, from: classroom support (e.g., web pages, email) to distance education (e.g., fully on the Internet, using a course environment)
Intensified Learning Research has typically found no significant difference in learning outcomes between distance education online and the classroom At the same time, faculty are bothered by the lack of nonverbal feedback in online teaching But can we trust the research—much of it is flawed Learning Online Students were asked about learning in an online course and many spoke about the convenience And many worried about the loss of social learning as compared to what was assumed to go on in the classroom
A Paradox One obvious paradox is the tension between (a) a lack of hard evidence for the learning value of online education and (b) the growth in online education in higher education Repeatedly, we find treating online pedagogy as special and, at the same time, as a threat to education Intensification of Effort How does the Internet intensify effort? Online instruction is essentially a writing medium Students comment on how much work they need to do in the electronic discussion The teacher is accessible all the time Students responding to discussion questions online require greater teacher involvement Teachers struggle to keep up with technological change Teachers need to adjust instructional patterns, prepare new materials, and invent new ways of being effective Educational Policy and Internet Communication Policy decisions concerning Web-based academic offerings seem to suffer from the same sort of equivocality as decisions about the value of online academic work The university is not sure how to announce online courses How to charge for them How to pay teachers Most importantly, the university is not sure about the amount of investment warranted
Academic Collaboration E-mail can provide an excellent means of collaboration among students For students, electronic discussion groups make up an important part of online collaboration Academic colleagues, who used to meet only at conferences, can be in frequent contact over the Internet Undergraduates can contribute scholarship via the Internet Why are there Internet Paradoxes in Education? The pioneer status of the online academician may play a role The pioneer may play a double edged role The pioneer may expand boundaries The pioneer may contribute to a clearer view of our selves The paradoxes may be due to a poorly developed theory of online teaching The Internet is a tool: it allows for both good and bad uses
When All is Said and Done The core of the educational process does not change simply because the material is online We still need to read critically and write well
Introductory Comments In the early days of the Internet, there was a great deal of access to information and discussion With the commercialization of the Internet, we see a striking move in the direction of controlling the flow of information and discussion This has created a tension Tension The tension between an open Internet and a controlled Internet could lead to leaving people out--or not The ideology of the early days of the Internet has been described as collectivist—content not determined by the corporate world Just how this tension will be played out is important to us all
What We Do Think Computers and the Internet will become more capable Computers and the Internet will become more pervasive Technological advances should include Increased capacity More convergence Smaller size Greater mobility Increased flexibility Lower cost
Convergence Convergence is the integration of various media Internet users vs. nonusers is an over simplistic approach to analyzing Internet effects We live at the beginning of the age of convergence Is this term already out-of-date? The Future We recognize the great danger in suggesting possible future scenarios Media history has left a long and quite evident trail of mistaken prophecies Erroneous predictions date back to at least the advent of writing Change in communication technology goes quickly and slowly ("Paul Saffo and the 30-Year Rule") Our focus is on a communication perspective, and certain facts get our attention: The great increase in Internet traffic The amount of communication behavior of Internet users Time spent online is increasing Wireless technology to access the Internet The size of the Internet is expanding rapidly The public’s (positive) attitude toward the Internet
Recognizing that our predictions are likely to be wrong, we speculate that: The Internet will encourage a casual style of writing That this will carry over into non-Internet writing Writing will mimic the spoken, conversational form
We speculate that: Collaboration over the Internet will grow The Internet will be transformative in our thinking It engages our imagination with the idea of a ‘space’ for multiple purposes A space accessed from multiple locations In more and more ways In multiple times One that expands and integrates far flung functions One that blurs boundaries and creates new categories
A New Space The generative idea we are proposing here is at once: private and public Intrapersonal and transpersonal Breaks old communication boundaries and creates new ones
Some Final Thoughts In spite of the dangers of predicting the communication future, we offer a few thoughts to guide our observations: (1) computers and the Internet will become more capable (2) computers and the Internet will become more pervasive (3) the capabilities of the Internet and human desire will determine the future of communication on the Internet
Course closure, presentations, and final exam. No new readings.
Week 1
1. What is
the purpose of this book? 6. How might the Internet affect relationship development, maintenance, and termination? 7. In what ways is the Internet a form of interpersonal communication? 8. Is the Internet interpersonal communication or a channel for interpersonal communication? 9. In what ways is the Internet a facilitator of interpersonal communication, public, or mass communication? 10. Do you see the Internet as primarily a vehicle of one type of communication? 11. What are example online communities that serve a interpersonal groups? 12. Do you know anyone who has successfully built a relationship strictly online? 13. Questions to stimulate your inquiry: Do you agree with the ideas as the textbook authors presented them? 14. What other points of view should be considered? 15. What more do scholars need to know about these topics?
1. Explain the concept of globalization as it relates to the Internet. 2. How do you envision cyberspace? 3. Does the user of the Internet feel a trust that is absent with other mass media? 4. In what ways is communication on the Internet more conversing than informing? 5. What is the process of adoption and diffusion of technology? 6. How do dialectical tensions relate to Internet paradoxes? 7. What are theoretical differences between the behavioralist and the humanist that could shape your understand of communication? Week 2
1. What is informatics? 11. What role can informatics play in interpersonal relationship development? 12. How does being able to Google a person you know affect your interpersonal communication?
1. What is the play of Internet interplay? 6. What is the role of play in interpersonal relationships? 7. How can the Internet make interpersonal communication playful? The Internet intensifies playful interaction between people. The textbook authors proposed these explanations of Internet play. 1. Internet play is for the self. It serves internal goals. 2. Internet play co-exists inside and outside the scope of ordinary life. 3. Internet play operates without fixed boundaries of time and space, although the play may operate within Internet rules. 4. Internet play is pliable. The Internet can completely absorb the player so as to integrate with "ordinary life" or take on a life of its own Do you agree? Are there more items we should add to the list?
1. How does the
Internet increase polarization? 16. What does polarization do to interpersonal communication, relationships, and respect for diversity?
1. How does
cognitive collaboration resolve the inner/outer dichotomy?
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Chapter 8
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1. What is the relationship between interpersonal communication and the Internet?
2. How does the Internet shape family communication?
3. How does the Internet shape the self?
4. In what ways is the Internet a means of creating interpersonal relationships?
5. What are some of the paradoxes of interpersonal communication on the Internet?
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Chapter 9 |
1. What is
the relationship between interpersonal communication and the Internet?
2.
How does the Internet shape family communication?
3. How does the
Internet shape the self?
4. In what ways is the Internet a means of
creating interpersonal relationships?
5. What are some of the paradoxes
of interpersonal communication on the Internet?
6. How is interpersonal communication changing because of new media?
7. In what ways might new media enhance interpersonal relationships?
8. In what ways might new media adversely affect interpersonal relationships?
Week 5
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Chapter 10 |
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1. What is the nature of business communication
on the Internet?
2. What is the nature of e-business communication?
3.
What are some research findings about business in the Internet context?
4. What paradoxes operate in the context of business communication?
5. How does the Internet affect interpersonal communication in organizational contexts?
Week 6
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Chapter 11
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.
1. Is learning intensified through
the Internet?
2. Can the Internet be used to allow anyone to learn
anything, anytime, anywhere?
3. How does the Internet intensify effort?
4. What policy controversies are prompted by the Internet?
5. How does
the Internet enhance collaborative communication in education?
6. What
are the paradoxes of Internet communication in education?
7. How does the Internet affect interpersonal communication in educational contexts?
Week 7
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Chapter 12 |
1. What is convergence?
2. What innovations
are in the works?
3. What is a communication perspective of the Internet?
4. What are some of the implications of human communication on the Internet?
5. What are some of the paradoxes of human communication on the Internet?
6. What does the future hold regarding influences of Internet on interpersonal communication?
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EXAMPLE ASSIGNMENT Weightings Your professor will determine the assignments and their weight for this course, so remember the items below are simply examples. Talk to your professor or see "Gradebook" tab at top of screen.
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Discussion Circle and Application Assignments. 40% total or 5% per week (e.g., Wiki, Widget, Facebook, Squidoo, Listserv). None week 8.
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Action Research Proposal, Results, and Discussion 30% (Core Assessment). Formal paper--15-25 pages--following American Psychological Association (APA) style for a research report (25%). Oral/sound presentation with PowerPoint (5%). Design a communication research study, in which you systematically study 1-3 online communities. The focus must be clearly on systematic human communication research; don't get distracted from the research focus. Design a survey. If you receive IRB approval, conduct the survey. Write the "Results" and "Discussion" sections based on your Action Research. If you do not receive IRB approval, then write a reflective analysis based on the review of literature and what you noticed about the online communities you observed. Formal paper following APA style for a research report (25%). See http://onlineacademics.org/APA.html Oral/sound presentation with PowerPoint (5%).
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Blog with widget and survey link. 10%
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Webpage. 10% Webpage. The webpage needs to be about human communication Internet as interpersonal communication or your planned thesis or project topic.
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Final Exam. 10% Final exam. You will be given 4 hours to complete the exam. Typically, this exam is not proctored.
Alternative Viewpoints Welcome! If you have an alternative assignment you'd like to do in this course, just make arrangements with your professor by week two. If a student plans a thesis or project about human communication on the Internet, the student can prepare the thesis/project proposal for that project. If you select this option, work out the details with your professor. You are welcome to use the project as a pilot study for your MA Project Action Research, click here.
Are you a holistic thinker? Excellent, then approach the assignments from your perspective and feel free to be creative. Because your professor uses mastery learning, if there's a problem with an assignment, you'll simply need to revise the assignment to meet learning objectives.
Are you a linear thinker? Excellent, there are step-by-step guidelines you can follow for each assignment. Let your professor know if you have questions.
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Circle Discussion Online
Each week in the "Circle," we will gather around to talk about your learning as if we arranged our seats in a discussion circle in the classroom. Here you will talk about the video(s), web exploration, readings, and assignments for this week. Answer multiple threads based on your reading and investigation. Remember, interact with other students each week.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you use the drop-down menu to select a topic, then click "Go," and respond to each thread. Remember to interact in conversation with other students. The due dates are guidelines. Because some students start the course late or have trouble obtaining books or getting used to the online format, you have two weeks to complete week one assignments. Example threads are as follows:
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Core Assessment is an Action Research Project Submit beginning of class, week 6. http://onlineacademics.org/Guidelines.html#Course_Assessment_Due_Date
Action Research Proposal, Results, and Discussion Example Weight 30% (Core Assessment). Formal paper--15-25 pages--following APA style for a research report (25%). See http://onlineacademics.org/APA.html Oral/sound presentation with PowerPoint (5%).
Design a communication research study, in which you systematically study 1-3 online communities. The focus must be human communication research; don't get distracted from the research focus. Design a survey. If you receive IRB approval, conduct the survey. Write the standard proposal element, then after your research, write the "Results" and "Discussion" sections based on your Action Research. If you do not receive IRB approval, then write a reflective analysis just based on the review of literature and what you noticed about the online communities you observed.
IMPORTANT! Your action research must be about human communication on the Internet. By way of example, you can analyze language, communication style, frequency of communication, formality of communication, online dating communication, using interpersonal communication to create a sense of community, or a similar topic about human communication on the Internet. Join at least one online community designed as a space for developing interpersonal relationships. Analyze and reflect on the nature of the communication in that community (e.g., meez, myspace, eharmony). The focus must be clearly on communication research; don't get distracted from the research focus.
Please complete the research on human subjects certification and submit your proposal to the IRB by week 3.
Complete an action research project. Research participants do not sign a consent form, but in you need an informational script to explain the exact purpose of the research. Please read this example, http://www.irb.pitt.edu/Exempt/Forms/script.pdf Steps in the Action Research Process Design and conduct an action research project in which you observe three online community (social, educational, or business). You are welcome to use core assessment as the proposal or pilot study for your MA Project, click here. The professor may provide requirements different from these general guidelines:
1. Find an online group or groups of interest. Analyze substantive content (e.g., 50 group postings). 2. Submit a IRB proposal to conduct research. Protect the group's privacy and safety. Preference is for a group with archives, that you not retain/use any names, emails, or other personal information. 3. Conduct a review of literature that goes beyond course materials, in order to provide background for your action research. 4. Complete a content analysis of communication in which you demonstrate mastery of multiple course outcomes. 5. Write a paper of a quality appropriate to submit for a research workshop or conference presentation. 6. Present your study and lead collaborative discussion.
This action research is similar to the MA Project proposal. For this course, you don't need a review of peer-reviewed research literature and this paper can be quite brief. The guidelines are open to a flexible approach. If you have questions, just ask your professor.
Assignment First, prepare an action research proposal. Second, submit the proposal to IRB. Go here, login, and complete form. https://piratenet.park.edu/ics/Offices/Institutional_Review_Board/IRB_Application.jnz Third, conduct the research. Fourth, write up the analysis. Your task is to formulate a research question relevant to interpersonal communication on the Internet. Answer the question through systematic study, which leads you to create a theory about interpersonal communication on the Internet. Your task is to conduct action research, where you develop a theory of interpersonal communication on the Internet. Your theory should summarize your observations in a way that explains and predicts. In writing, use your spell and grammar check. Number pages in upper right, with a brief heading. Double-space everything. Remember to refer to yourself as “the author” instead of using “I.” Continue for a formal writing style.
Topic and Research Question Each student needs a different research project, although students are welcome to work together to help each other investigate related topics. For example, one student might be examining an online support group for people addicted to drugs and another student might be examining an online support group for people addicted to alcohol. Thus, the two students could work together in their library research and survey design, but the actual data collection would be different. Here are some example questions: · In what ways can people use Facebook to enhance their interpersonal communication? · How can employees improve collaborative communication through collaboration software, such as wikis? · How do people attach meaning to language and abbreviations in online arguments? · What factors prompt interpersonal attraction when people first meet each other through online communication? · What are gender differences in the communication on Facebook? · What are developmental stages of relationship development between people who meet online? · How can understanding dialectical tensions improve interpersonal communication on the Internet? · What happens when people fail to understand online norms that influence interpersonal communication? · How do people in different cultures communicate on the Internet?
Research Strategies for Using Scholarly Databases Use five peer-reviewed, scholarly research articles in communication in this project and the final exam. Go beyond trial and error to find your research. Find 20-30 articles that look relevant, then narrow. If too narrow, broaden your research to include research on relevant—but not exact—topics. If too broad, narrow your topic if there is too much research. Find one good article on your topic, and then look at the following: · Key words used. Then use those key words to find more. · Reference list. See what references the authors used and look those up. · Click on “Find More Like This” link to find similar articles.
Organization of Proposal or Project (Use the underlined words as headings)
Title Page Use a running head and page number in upper right corner. Doublespace everything.
Abstract
Introduction This is the background to the problem. A. Research question. 1. A brief history of your interest in the area. 2. Specify unresolved issues, theoretical questions, and/or social concerns. 3. Rationale for the study. B. Review of Literature. For our purposes, this can be quite brief. You can use the same five peer-reviewed journal articles you use for the final exam. You can also use the textbook. C. Problem Statement -- 1. Identify variables (independent or cause and dependent or effect variables). 2. Delineate the research problem to explain the relationships expected among variables (research questions or hypotheses).
Method 1. Description of Method a. Describe why the research method is used (e.g., content analysis and observation of online community). b. Description of the groups studied and how studied. 2. SurveyMonkey Instrument a. Operational definitions in your own words (e.g., online community, social networking, Facebook, interpersonal communication). b. Exact wording for email sent out. c. Instrument – rationale for the measure used. 3. Participants and procedures a. Selection of subjects (i.e., who and how to get them -- sampling procedure). b. Explain how materials were distributed. c. Describe how data was collected. d. Describe how data was analyzed.
Results Information about the 1-3 online communities you studied. Data or tables from the survey. Only facts. No opinions.
Discussion Make inferential leaps. The material you would have put in the analysis papers or reflections should be integrated here. What do the results mean? What are the limitations of your study? What further research is needed?
References (APA style. Everything cited in the paper needs to be in reference list and everything in reference list needs to be cited. Include 5 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Appendix Appendices may include the survey measure, printout of survey results, screenshot of the webpage of groups studied, or other material that supports your action research project report. You may keep the webpage confidential. If not, cite webpage studied this way with as much of the information as possible: Author (Year). Title. City: Organization. Retrieved month day, year, from http://
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Insert this screen shot info as a separate link under assignments.
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Screen Shot of A Webpage In your final paper, you may want to use a screen shot of your survey or the survey results. A screen shot of the webpage of the community group may be very interesting to put in your action research project.
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Please come to our class interaction prepared.
Research on Human Subjects Tutorial (Dr. Joan E. Aitken, Park University)
Under federal law, each student who conducts research on human subjects must have approval of his or her Institutional Research Board (IRB). Even if you are conducting benign interviews, leading a focus group, or sending out a survey, you need IRB approval. You must be careful about complying with federal law, so take this task seriously.
If you have any questions, contact Dr. Aitken.
Step 1: Begin by completing the Protecting Human Research Participants Certification (will take about 3 hours). No exceptions. A passing grade on the four tests is required by US federal law. Click here.
Step 2: Complete the IRB application. You need your class project proposal completed first so you know what you are planning to do, then the application will take about 2 hours. Delineate your method in the proposal draft, then cut and paste into the form. Please create and save a draft, IRB_Application.pdf or Application.doc. Submit your draft to your professor BEFORE completing the application. If you are disapproved, you will have to start the whole process over, so make sure you have a file of everything you put in the online form. To go to the IRB application tutorial below, which was created for this course click here.
You may find
this university website helpful:
Pitt.edu.
RESEARCH is any systematic investigation, including research
development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to
generalizable knowledge. According to the NIH Primer: Research and
Privacy NIH has clarified the meaning of the term "Generalizable
Knowledge is knowledge related to health that can be applied to populations
outside the population served by the covered entity." That is, outside of
Park University. HUMAN SUBJECTS refers to living individuals about
whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research
obtains:
1) Data through INTERVENTION or INTERACTION with the individual, OR
2) IDENTIFIABLE PRIVATE INFORMATION.
If you only involve people at Park University, then your work is not considered research. If you have no interaction with anyone and collect no identification information, you are not doing research on human subjects.
For an 8-week graduate course, you must move swiftly. Obtaining IRB approval can take WEEKS, so plan accordingly.
For my students and advisees, your topic must be about human communication, and you canNOT use a sensitive topic (e.g., sensitive topics include drug use, sexual practices, aggressive behavior, criminal activity).
Be careful if you "save and exit" the IRB application IMMEDIATELY after starting. Save the login and password information in a safe place so you can use it again. If you go to the final page of the application because the system will lock you out of your application. Note, there are several problems with this approach. First, you will be locked out and cannot log back in without a password, which some students have reported takes as much as a day. Second, the system has totally locked users out of everything except the last page, and there is no way to go back. So, you may have to start all over again.
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Protecting Human Research Participants (PHRP) Certification Tutorial
The Park University IRB requires that all investigators complete the National Institute of Health (NIH) training program before submitting an application. There are four tests and the tutorial will take you three hours. This can be found at our IRB website, or by clicking the link below: http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/humanparticipant-protections
When you register, select BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH.
Select "Protecting Human Research Participants (PHRP)," then register. SAVE your login and password in a safe place, with backup. This tutorial is long, and you won't want to have to start over.
Register.
This program will take about 3 hours to complete. Read the directions carefully. Then settle in and proceed. You have four tests to pass!
You need to work through the program on your own without my help. Make sure you GET THE CERTIFICATE and save the verification/certification information in a safe place. YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE THE CERTIFICATE INFORMATION TO THE IRB.
Below are questions and answers about the certification from their website.
The main menu looks like this:
Technical SupportIf you experience technical problems which the above FAQs do not cover, please fill out their Technical Support Form or contact the webmaster at support@nihtraining.com
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Please come to our class interaction prepared.
Tutorial on Institutional Research Board (IRB) Using Human Subjects
Obtaining IRB approval can take WEEKS, so plan accordingly. Be careful about the "save and exit" the IRB application BEFORE you go to the final page of the application because the system will lock you out of your application and it may take a day before you receive an email so you can get back in. In addition, the back function does NOT work from the last page.
By law, everyone must have permission to do research on human subjects: Absolutely everyone, no matter what kind of research. By law, you must have permission in advance of doing any research on humans. The same goes for animals, but we don't conduct research on animals in the field of communication and leadership. You need your class project, MA project, or MA thesis proposal completed first, then the application will take about 2 hours. Delineate your method in the proposal, then cut and paste into the form. Please create and save a draft, IRB_Application.pdf or Application.doc, then submit that to your professor for approval BEFORE submitting to the IRB. Remember, you must comply with federal law and cannot begin reviewing public records or collecting data until approved by the University IRB.
Go to the IRB webpage. Using public records is typically exempt, but no one other than the University Research Board can decide a study is "exempt." You must answer each and every question as completely and honestly as you can.
Your project should be exempt if it is about nonsensitive topics and in no way identifies any participant or collects any personal information about any individual.
Your project must be clearly related to human communication and not a project for a business or psychology major. Go to http://park.edu/irb/
Select Forms on the left.
You may be "exempt," but you won't actually know that until the IRB declares it exempt. Go to https://piratenet.park.edu/ics/Offices/Institutional_Review_Board/IRB_Application.jnz You will need to login to PirateNet. The login is in the dark space near the top.
After you login, under "offices," select the correct link.
Fill out the form with the most accurate information you can give. Note, my example is for my research, so the content of the form is a model you will need to adapt to your particular project.
If you are doing the research for a course, select "Class Project."
Complete each page carefully. Under federal law, you must disclose all information about your research. The purpose is to protect potential subjects from unethical research. This will take some time. Spend time doing it carefully and professionally.
You must observe public behavior or existing data, documents, or records. The location is online, so there is no performance site, although you can say you are working through the Parkville campus of Park University. Unless there is a good reason to protect the privacy of the site's name, list the website(s) url as the performance site(s). Please explain that you are observing . No other university or site is involved.
Fill out the form as completely and accurately as you can.
Keep this simple: Write out the information in the Word document, use the speller ,and make sure everything is absolutely correct. Then copy and paste into the form.
If you use a survey, write out the exact questions you plan to ask in the questionnaire. Please narrow to no more than five questions. Do NOT collect demographic information of any kind (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) unless you have cleared it with your professor. Ethically, you should not collect any information you don't need. Include or attach the exact questions to your IRB application.
For this IRB, if you make changes to your study after the application is improved, you have to start over and submit a new application. Thus, you canNOT make changes once you submit.
Describe your work something like the following. Adapt the content to your particular study.
I will analyze the archives of an online community via Internet webpages or listserv services. I will subscribe to the community to observe. Data collection will be conducted through content analysis of those public archives. In addition, I will provide an anonymous survey through surveymonkey.com for other students in my course. Approximately 50 postings will be analyzed. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze the survey results.
The purpose of this project is to analyze the nature of human communication on the Internet. The question to be answered is: What are characteristics of online communication in groups? (Please construct a question that clearly fits your particular study.)
First, I will conduct an analysis of public archives of an online community. I will observe, but not participate in the community. There will be no interaction with community members. Second, a convenience sample--students enrolled in this class--will be asked to complete an anonymous survey through SurveyMonkey.com. The professor will ask one student to create fictitious answers and one student not to answer my questions. That way, I will not know exactly who completes the survey or whether information is accurate. Nothing will be published from the survey results because the information is collected as an academic exercise to learn procedures. No identification data of any kind will be collected.
The questions to be asked on SurveyMonkey.com are included/attached.
You have to adapt that information to what you plan to do for your project. You cannot list N/A, except when the question is clearly not applicable, such as in the section about using special populations. Provide information for every question. Be clear, precise, and professional.
Continue answering questions.
Your answer may look something like the following.
The class is based on the Parkville campus of Park University, although data collection will actually happen online. The Internet will be used to access the online community. The survey will be on SurveyMonkey.com.
Say no international research. Because of the nature of online communities and Park University, participants may be located in other countries. Do NOT use any protected groups. Describe exactly how you will recruit participants. You may write something like the following.
At least six participants to the survey will be sought from the class. No demographic data will be collected because that information is irrelevant to the study. I will send an email to members of the class inviting participation.
If you can think of a benefit for the participant, list that. "The participant will be thanked at the end of the survey. The participant may feel a sense of satisfaction for helping a graduate student in the Communication and Leadership program at Park University."
If not, say "There are no known benefits for the participants."
Ethically, you canNOT ask any questions on a survey that might upset anyone or cause them harm in any way. Think about the implications of your questions. Say something like the following.
There do not appear to be any known or anticipated risks.
You must have a person's permission to collect data on them, which is consent. Informed consent is the process of telling them exactly why you are collecting data and receiving their permission to participate in the survey. Typically, a researcher knows who will be in a study and asks them to sign an informed consent form giving saying they agree to be in the study.
For this class, to be ethical, make sure you have an introduction telling respondents exactly why you are collecting data. In this case, you will not know who completes the survey. Tell them that their responses are anonymous and you have no way of identifying who entered the data.
You cannot obtain informed consent because that would require you to find out who is in your study. This survey must be anonymous, and you canNOT collect any names.
You have to give the IRB the exact information that you will be providing in the email soliciting people to answer the survey, which you can put in a box or upload. That email should read something like the following:
"I am asking people to participate in a survey for a Communication and Leadership Program course I am taking at Park University. The purpose of the survey is ___________ You are eligible to participate only if you are 18 years or older and a member of this class. This survey is available online, and it takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. Because no personally identifying information is asked in this survey and no cookie or computer information is collected, your participation will be completely anonymous. If you agree to participate, please go online to the following web address ____________ and read the introduction. If you want to continue, do so. If you decide that you do not want to participate or if you start and want to discontinue to participate, close your web browser. If you do not want to answer a particular question, just skip that question. If you decide not to complete the survey, know that I appreciate any responses you entered. Thank you, Your name, Park University student in the Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Program"
On the first page of your survey, you may write something like the following. "Thank you for your interest. This survey is designed to collect information about ______________. I am collecting this information for a course I am taking at Park University, where we are studying ______________. There are __ questions, which include objective and open-ended style questions. No identification information or computer information will be collected, so your answers are anonymous. Your participation is voluntary, and you are welcome to stop at any time once you begin. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me: ____Your Name_________ , Park University student in the Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Program ___youremail@park.edu___."
On the last page of your survey, you may write something like the following.
"Thank you for your participation in this survey about _______________ Your name, Park University student in the Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Program" ____
Ethically, you canNOT ask questions of anyone not legally competent.
Ethically, you cannot collect any information unless it is crucial for your research. Do NOT collect demographic data for this project, such age, gender, education. Do NOT collect any names or other identifying information.
Ethically, you should NOT deceive anyone, so you canNOT use any deception in this project.
No financial gain allowed.
Complete the training, click here, and give the date on the IRB form.
Read this information and make sure you agree. Remember, you are completing this information under federal law.
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Instructions
You will have ONE ACCESS to the final exam so make sure you have a 2-4 hour block of time, adequate Internet access, and materials you need. No proctor. You can use any help you want to complete the test, which includes collaborating with another student. You can search the Park library database to obtain
Your exam will contain 5 essay questions. To write an effective essay, please use an introductory paragraph, which ends with your these statement or question. Conclude with a summarizing paragraph, which ends with a strong statement. You will have two hours to complete the exam.
You need to cite and reference at least one peer-reviewed journal article for each question. So, to prepare, find five scholarly articles about human communication on the Internet, read them, and have them with you for the exam.
The exam is due at the end of the final class meeting (onground section) or by Friday (online section) of week 8. Each answer should be about two-four pages double-spaced or the equivalent 500-1000 words.
ARTICLES Find articles through the Park University database, click here. Some example articles are available for download here: http://onlineacademics.org/CAInternet/HandoutsArticles/
Anderson, T., & Emmers-Sommer, T. (2006, June). Predictors of relationship satisfaction in online romantic relationships. Communication Studies, 57(2), 153-172. Baym, N. K. (2004). Social interactions across media. New Media & Society, 6(3), 299-318. Bortree, D. (2005, March). Presentation of self on the Web: An ethnographic study of teenage girls’ weblogs. Education, Communication & Information, 5(1), 25-39. Bunz, U., & Campbell, S. (2004, Winter). Politeness accommodation in electronic mail. Communication Research Reports, 21(1), 11-25. Carter, D. (2005, June). Living in virtual communities: An ethnography of human relationships in cyberspace. Information, Communication & Society, 8(2), 148-167. Casaló, L., Flavián, C., & Guinalíu, M. (2008, March). Promoting consumer's participation in virtual brand communities: A new paradigm in branding strategy. Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(1), 19-36. Couper, M., Conrad, F., & Tourangeau, T. (2007, Winter). Visual context effects in web surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 71(4), 623-634. Docan-Morgan, T., & Docan, C. (2007, August). internet infidelity: Double standards and the differing views of women and men. Communication Quarterly, 55(3), 317-342. Duran, R., Kelly, L., & Keaten, J. (2005, May). College faculty use and perceptions of electronic mail to communicate with students. Communication Quarterly, 53(2), 159-176. Freiermuth, M., & Jarrell, D. (2006, July). Willingness to communicate: can online chat help?. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16(2), 189-212. Gennaro, C., & Dutton, W. (2007, October). Reconfiguring friendships: Social relationships and the Internet. Information, Communication & Society, 10(5), 591-618. Gerrand, P. (2007, July). Estimating linguistic diversity on the internet: A taxonomy to avoid pitfalls and paradoxes. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1298-1321. Guadagno, R., Blascovich, J., Bailenson, J., & Mccall, C. (2007). Virtual humans and persuasion: The effects of agency and behavioral realism. Media Psychology, 10(1), 1-22. H., S. (2007, October). Blogs & urls. Strategic Communication Management, 11(6), 3-3. H., S. (2007, October). Fun intranets can attract employees. Strategic Communication Management, 11(6), 9-9. Hardey, M. (2004, June). Mediated relationships. Information, Communication & Society, 7(2), 207-222. Harwood, J. (2004, Summer). Relational, role, and social identity as expressed in grandparents' personal web sites. Communication Studies, 55(2), 300-318. Haythornthwaite, C. (2005, June). Social networks and Internet connectivity effects. Information, Communication & Society, 8(2), 125-147. Hellsten, I., Leydesdorff, L., & Wouters, P. (2006, December). Multiple presents: how search engines rewrite the past. New Media & Society, 8(6), 901-924. Jinqiu, Z., Xiaoming, H., & Banerjee, I. (2006, August). The diffusion of the internet and rural development. Convergence. The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 12(3), 293-305. Johnson, T., Kaye, B., Bichard, S., & Wong, W. (2007, November). Every blog has its day: Politically-interested internet users’ perceptions of blog credibility. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 100-122. Jones, M., Pentecost, R., & Requena, G. (2005, August). Memory for advertising and information content: Comparing the printed page to the computer screen. Psychology & Marketing, 22(8), 623-648. Livingstone, S., Bober, M., & Helsper, E. (2005, September). Active participation or just more information?. Information, Communication & Society, 8(3), 287-314. |
