The Paradox of Computer-Mediated Communication and Identity

2011 ◽  
pp. 1559-1575
Author(s):  
Lynnette G. Leonard ◽  
Lesley A. Withers ◽  
John C. Sherblom
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Thematic Content ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Constant Comparative Method

Past research on the effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on identity has focused either on the inherent risks or opportunities it provides. The authors argue that the paradox within the nature of CMC has led to paradoxical predictions about the effects of CMC on identity. Rather than adopting a naïve perspective focusing on only one side of the paradox, the authors take a view of technological realism in which the paradox is embraced. Guided by these views, the authors analyze 59 students’ papers reflecting on their identity choices in the creation and development of a Second Life avatar. Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) in which users create avatars (called “residents”) to explore, interact with other residents, learn, recreate, and shop with the local currency (i.e., Linden Dollars; http://secondlife.com/whatis/). Using the constant comparative method for thematic content, themes supporting a paradox of CMC effects on identity are identified from the student papers. The implications of a view of technological realism are offered.

The Paradox of Computer-Mediated Communication and Identity

2010 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynnette G. Leonard ◽  
Lesley A. Withers ◽  
John C. Sherblom
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Thematic Content ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Constant Comparative Method

Past research on the effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on identity has focused either on the inherent risks or opportunities it provides. The authors argue that the paradox within the nature of CMC has led to paradoxical predictions about the effects of CMC on identity. Rather than adopting a naïve perspective focusing on only one side of the paradox, the authors take a view of technological realism in which the paradox is embraced. Guided by these views, the authors analyze 59 students’ papers reflecting on their identity choices in the creation and development of a Second Life avatar. Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) in which users create avatars (called “residents”) to explore, interact with other residents, learn, recreate, and shop with the local currency (i.e., Linden Dollars; http://secondlife.com/whatis/). Using the constant comparative method for thematic content, themes supporting a paradox of CMC effects on identity are identified from the student papers. The implications of a view of technological realism are offered.

Training Techniques for Developing Trust in Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 1659-1666
Author(s):  
Peggy M. Beranek ◽  
Ben Martz ◽  
Monique French
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Comparison Of The Results

Trust among team members is a major factor influencing the cohesiveness of the group, trust also has a direct impact on team performance, problem solving, organizational performance, and organizational communication. Virtual teams are teams in which members are distributed and communicate via computer-mediated communication systems (CMCS). Past research has indicated that the development of trust among team members requires face-to-face communication, thereby making it difficult for virtual teams to develop trust. Recent research has shown that it is possible to train virtual teams to exhibit higher levels of trust. This paper describes and discusses different methods of trust training for virtual teams. We offer a comprehensive comparison of the results and analysis of the training programs of these studies and offer advice on developing and conducting such programs.

Theatre in Second Life® Holds the VR Mirror up to Nature

2011 ◽  
pp. 376-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Schrum
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Creative People ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Definition Of

As creative people inhabit virtual worlds, they bring their ideas for art and performance with them into these brave new worlds. While at first glance, virtual performance may have the outward trappings of theatre, some believe they don’t adhere to the basic traditional definition of theatre: the interaction between an actor and an audience. Detractors suggest that physical presence is required for such an interaction to take place. However, studies have shown that computer mediated communication (CMC) can be as real as face-to-face communication, where emotional response is concerned. Armed with this information, the author can examine how performance in a virtual world such as Second Life may indeed be like “real” theatre, what the possibilities for future virtual performance are, and may require that we redefine theatre for online performance venues.

Deceptive Communication in E-Collaboration

2011 ◽  
pp. 297-307
Author(s):  
Joey George ◽  
Kent Marett
Keyword(s):  
Research Effort ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Current Effort ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Impact

Much research within the field of MIS has been devoted to the use of collaborative technology by decision makers and the impact computer-mediated communication (CMC) has on collaborative work. Yet, there may be some unintended consequences for users of CMC, if someone involved in the joint effort decides to take the opportunity to deceive the others involved. In this chapter, we posit that CMC offers would-be deceivers advantages that otherwise do not exist with more traditional, richer media, using past research and established theories to help explain why. We review some of the findings from our ongoing research effort in this area and explain how difficult it is for computer users to detect deception, when it occurs. Finally, we discuss how the art of deception in computer-mediated collaboration potentially can affect both the current effort and future efforts of those involved, and we offer our thoughts on some of the factors CMC practitioners should consider when trying to combat computer-mediated deception.

Deceptive Communication in E-Collaboration

2011 ◽  
pp. 290-304
Author(s):  
Joey F. George ◽  
Kent Marett
Keyword(s):  
Research Effort ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Current Effort ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Impact

Much research within the field of MIS has been devoted to the use of collaborative technology by decision makers and the impact computer-mediated communication (CMC) has on collaborative work. Yet, there may be some unintended consequences for users of CMC, if someone involved in the joint effort decides to take the opportunity to deceive the others involved. In this chapter, we posit that CMC offers would-be deceivers advantages that otherwise do not exist with more traditional, richer media, using past research and established theories to help explain why. We review some of the findings from our ongoing research effort in this area and explain how difficult it is for computer users to detect deception, when it occurs. Finally, we discuss how the art of deception in computer-mediated collaboration potentially can affect both the current effort and future efforts of those involved, and we offer our thoughts on some of the factors CMC practitioners should consider when trying to combat computer-mediated deception.

Assessment and Civility

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Cline
Keyword(s):  
Public Speaking ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Civil Discourse

Civility in computer-mediated communication, especially in the computer-mediated classroom, has been a topic of numerous inquiries. For this reason, teaching of the means and reasons for civil computer-mediated communication has become increasingly necessary. To accomplish this, the chapter will explore past research which indicates major sources of incivility that have emerged in computer-mediated culture. The chapter will then argue that civil discourse is also the most effective and useful form of discourse and show that needs to be communicated to students. This chapter then offers concrete means of teaching civility in computer-mediated communication by teaching civility as tied to the rhetorical concept of ethos already taught in the Public Speaking class.

Cybercultures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sverker Johansson ◽  
Ylva Lindberg
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Symbolic Representations ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Continuum

This chapter aims to describe how cultures have emerged in interactions among users of the multitude of online platforms that have become available over the past few decades. It discusses innovations regarding uses of representations to communicate identity, time, and space in social practices with technology, and how cybercultures are played out in theory and in practice. Cybercultures resemble cultures in the non-virtual world—but display significant differences regarding social rules, identity, and spatiotemporal issues. Case studies of three types of cybercultures in social media: information and knowledge building on Wikipedia, culture, and virtual world building on Second Life, and dating practices on online dating services, such as Tinder, will shed light on how cyberspace allows for developing both symbolic representations and social practices through computer-mediated communication (CMC), and how users are situated in the continuum virtual-real.

Navigating choppy discourses: A conceptual framework for understanding synchronous text-based computer-mediated communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-193
Author(s):  
Janaina Minelli de Oliveira ◽  
Vanessa Esteve-González
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Common View ◽  
Systemic Functional Grammar ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Information And Communication

AbstractThis paper presents an investigation into patterns of interaction in synchronous, text-based computer-mediated communication (SCMC) with a focus on participation. The data constitute a corpus of 3,785 words from a series of interactions between student teachers performing learning activities in a three-dimensional online environment. Drawing on a systemic functional grammar perspective of language, we aim to develop a conceptual framework for understanding participation as made up of interactional patterns in students’ linguistic exchanges while performing learning activities. Our findings show that verbal negotiation that creates a shared understanding of what the group should accomplish or a common view of how to perform the activity is more frequent than strict activity organization. We argue that there are features of CMC signaling higher levels of complexity than those ordinarily found in face to face or written communication. The three broad interactional features identified – blending, turn-taking collaboration and delay endurance – corroborate our claim. This paper presents evidence that participation in text-based SCMC with learning purposes demands a disposition for collaboration and solidarity, a capacity to endure delay, and the ability to manage a conglomerate of information and communication tools without instructions on how-to processes.

scholarly journals Computer-Mediated Communication Portal Implementation Framework: A Higher Education Institutional Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Dortey Tetteh ◽  
Zhiguang Qin ◽  
Benjamin Kwofie
Keyword(s):  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Implementation Framework ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Impossible Task

computer-mediated communication (CMC) portal services provision through in-formation technologies (IT) in higher educational institutions (HEIs) should not be an impossible task considering the growth in information systems (IS) and an upsurge of internet users. There have been numerous efforts aimed at implement-ing CMC portals by HEIs but just a few could be said to be successful. The aim of this research is to develop a framework that can help to provide a better understanding of how to manage the entire implementation process so as to bring the expected advantages to institutions implementing it. Results of past research had been studied to develop the conceptual framework utilizing significant theories in the field of information system implementation and institutional change. The framework addresses the adoption, implementation as well as institutionalization stages of CMC portal implementation, and a number of institutional contextual factors influencing implementation efforts within the stages

Transmedia Communication

2013 ◽  
pp. 15-32
Author(s):  
Sharon Stoerger
Keyword(s):  
Continuing Education ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Educational Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Text Chat ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Media ◽  
Education Courses

Virtual worlds have the potential to foster new forms of educational communication among students and their instructors. These digital exchanges in virtual worlds are facilitated by computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools such as text-based media and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This chapter will investigate the media that were used to support student-instructor interactions in three continuing education courses situated in Second Life (SL). Based on these observations, text chat was more effective than VoIP at supporting educational discussions during these class sessions.

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