Telework, virtual work or telework

The research aimed to define competencies for telework through a systematic review of the literature, through a two-stage survey: (I) bibliographic survey in the Web of Science (WoS) database, and (II) selection of articles published between the years 2016 and 2020, after reading the abstracts, based on the criterion of adherence to the research theme, and further appreciation and presentation of the studies. As a result, the definitions of the competencies for telework are gathered around four macro-competencies, which situate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for the virtual context, which combine the separation of technical and support competencies with the words “Collaborative work”, “Problem-based learning”, “Team work” and Interculture. These are: (I) Technical-operational competencies for telework, (II) Technical-relational competencies for telework, (III) Support organizational-managerial competencies for telework, (IV) Leadership organizational competencies in supporting telework. Derived from the discussions, it is considered, in the context of “big crisis”, it is suggested analysis on mental health and on the values of openness (innovation and expression of creativity) associated with the challenges for the development of competencies for telework.

Embodied Cognition in Communication Science

Communication science is primarily based on traditional disembodied theories of cognition that inform much of the field's research endeavors. However, recent theories of embodied cognition that situate knowledge acquisition and attitude formation processes in our sensorimotor systems have challenged traditional amodal assumptions. While an embodied perspective is embraced in communication research related to virtual reality (VR), it has not been widely adopted in other areas of communication science. In this article, I (a) introduce and review relevant embodied cognition scholarship from various fields, (b) explicate embodiment in social interactions and language, (c) discuss embodied mental simulation, imagery, and visualization, (d) briefly present ways in which embodiment is currently being used to inform contemporary communication research related to VR, (e) explain how embodied mental simulation can be incorporated with traditional communication models, and (f) conclude with a call for nuanced theorizing and triangulated empirical support for communication theory with an embodied perspective.