Anywhere, Anytime, and with Anyone—Virtual Workplace

How we work in an increasingly computer-mediated world requires new ways of understanding the construction of teams, their co-construction of tacit knowledge to make sense of the organization, and their use of emergent technologies. We posit an alternative research perspective –that of the communities of practice construct – allows a fuller understanding of the relationships of power and trust in team behaviors and processes. The communities-of-practice model provides an avenue to examine the intricate dance that trust and power perform in virtual environments, with people as the focal point. It is how people interact with each other, with in technology, to be or become successful virtually that is the focus of this chapter. We explore trust and power in virtual or blended work environments using a reflexive autoethnographic narrative, comprised of three case studies, grounded in the larger context of the organizational communication literature.

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Value, Visibility, Virtual Teamwork at Kairos

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch808 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2591-2599

Author(s):

Douglas Eyman

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Scholarly Journal ◽

Key Factors ◽

Technological Infrastructure ◽

Virtual Workplace ◽

Virtual Teamwork ◽

Technology Pedagogy

This chapter proposes an analytic for the assessment of sustainability and success of virtual workplaces. This analytic considers value, visibility, and infrastructure as key factors required for success, and suggests that an assessment of sustainability must include methods for evaluating current and possible mechanisms for securing or distributing social capital, exposing the degree to which the tasks and interactions of workers are made visible, and assessing the administrative and technological infrastructure with regard to support of communication, cooperation, and collaboration. This analytic is applied through a case study of the virtual workplace of the online scholarly journal Kairos: Rhetoric, Technology, Pedagogy.

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Using an Information Literacy Program to Prepare Nursing Students to Practice in a Virtual Workplace

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch425 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1482-1498

Author(s):

Mona Florea ◽

Lillian Rafeldt ◽

Susan Youngblood

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Information Literacy ◽

Working Environment ◽

Literacy Programs ◽

Literacy Program ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Virtual Workplace ◽

Other Information ◽

Three Rivers

The chapter presents healthcare examples of the current virtual working environment and introduces nursing skills necessary for evidence-based practice in a virtual workplace. The authors discuss how the Nursing Information Literacy Program was designed and implemented at Three Rivers Community College to assist nursing students in developing skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, technological literacy, information literacy, and collaborative and cooperative learning. The authors hope that this example will serve as a model for creating other information literacy programs that prepare students for working in a virtual workplace.

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Collaborative Writing Tools in the Virtual Workplace

E-Collaboration ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-652-5.ch102 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 1374-1388

Author(s):

Norman E. Youngblood ◽

Joel West

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Writing ◽

Effective Solution ◽

Virtual Workplace ◽

Industry Standards ◽

Writing Tools ◽

E Mail

Collaborative writing is an important element of the virtual workplace. While it is sometimes enough to e-mail a document back and forth between authors and editors, users frequently need a more effective solution. Users can choose from system-based or browser-based software and from synchronous and asynchronous editors. These products can vary from the simple to the sophisticated and from free to expensive. This chapter looks at research on the use of collaborative editors and tools currently on the market and provides guidance as how to evaluate the appropriateness of the tools, paying particular attention to collaborative features, industry standards, and security.

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Adoption of Wi-Fi Technologies and Creation of Virtual Workplaces

Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch028 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 395-407 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ran Wei

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Mass Media ◽

Media Use ◽

Internet Technology ◽

The Internet ◽

Future Trends ◽

Virtual Workplace ◽

Adoption Theory ◽

New Information ◽

A Chain

This chapter introduces adoption theory and applies it to examine the use of wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), which has the potential to expand virtual workplaces significantly. Research shows that the use of Wi-Fi to access the Internet is surprisingly low. As understanding users and their needs is a prerequisite for the success of any new information technology, this chapter identifies factors accounting for the low usage of Wi-Fi in organizations and seeks to build a model to increase Wi-Fi usage. Empirical research reported in this chapter shows that motivations of Wi-Fi use, mass media use, and technology cluster have impacted on the awareness of, interest in, and likelihood to use Wi-Fi. More important, a chain-effect process in the adoption of Wi-Fi was presented: the awareness of Wi-Fi, which was influenced mostly by reading newspapers, had a direct effect on interest in Wi-Fi, which directly affected the likelihood to use Wi-Fi. Thus, to increase Wi-Fi usage, the awareness of and interest in this newer Internet technology must be in place. The chapter also discusses future trends in Wi-Fi technology and how increased adoption of Wi-Fi enhances the virtual workplace.

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