Computer Mediated Communication

Varietà dell'italiano

by Massimo Cerruti

In: Gabriele Iannaccaro (ed.), "La linguistica italiana all’alba del terzo millennio (1997-2010)". SLI-Società di Linguistica Italiana, Bulzoni, Roma, in preparazione. [DRAFT VERSION]

A comparative discussion of computer mediate communication and face-to-face interpersonal communication

by sssaam matthews

2010

This comparative discussion address' how interpersonal communication is transmitted through computer mediated... more This comparative discussion address' how interpersonal communication is transmitted through computer mediated communication (CMC). The treatment will be focused on identifying the consequential effects of CMC on two relationship types: friendship and love.

Trusting Tweets: The Fukushima Disaster and Information Source Credibility on Twitter

by Robert Thomson

Proceedings of the 9th International ISCRAM Conference – Vancouver, Canada, April 2012, L. Rothkrantz, J. Ristvej and Z. Franco, eds.

This paper focuses on the micro-blogging service Twitter, looking at source credibility for information shared in... more This paper focuses on the micro-blogging service Twitter, looking at source credibility for information shared in relation to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. We look at the sources, credibility, and between-language differences in information shared in the month following the disaster. Messages were categorized by user, location, language, type, and credibility of information source. Tweets with reference to third-party information made up the bulk of messages sent, and it was also found that a majority of those sources were highly credible, including established institutions, traditional media outlets, and highly credible individuals. In general, profile anonymity proved to be correlated with a higher propensity to share information from low credibility sources. However, Japanese-language tweeters, while more likely to have anonymous profiles, referenced low-credibility sources less often than non-Japanese tweeters, suggesting proximity to the disaster mediating the degree of credibility of shared content.

The effect of relational mobility on SNS user behavior : A study of Japanese dual-users of Mixi and Facebook

by Robert Thomson

The Journal of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, 14 (2012): 3-22

Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users... more Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users interract with differing SNS platforms (see Barker and Ota, 2011; Fogg and Iizawa, 2008; Takahashi, 2010). In this study of 131 Japanese SNS users who use both Facebook and Mixi, self-disclosure, numbers of contacts, in-group numbers, and levels of perceived commitment on Mixi and Facebook were measured. The study found that such users showed a lower level of self disclosure, connected with fewer people and had fewer categories of contacts, and felt a higher degree of commitment on Mixi than on Facebook. It is suggested that these differences stem from differing responses to percieved relational mobility on each platform; Mixi being a socioecological environment which reflects low-relationally mobile Japanese society, and Facebook being a socioecological environment which reflects high relationally mobile North American social environments.

Estratégias de Comunicação Política Online: Uma Análise do Perfil de José Serra no Twitter / Political Campaigns and Online Strategies: The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections

by Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques

Co-authored with Fernando Wisse and Nina Matos. Published in Revista Contemporanea. vol.09 – n.03 – setembro-dezembro 2011.

Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in... more Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in Portuguese. Abstract in English: This article examines some of the main changes that Brazilian elections have faced thanks to the new media. More specifically, it studies how the candidate José Serra (PSDB, Brazilian Social Democracy Party) used Twitter over the 2010 presidential race. The text analyzes the new behaviors perceived once the digital media play an important role in getting votes. Are there new methods to run political campaigns? Or indeed one sees the continuity in the ways to reach voters? The study investigates the messages (tweets) posted by José Serra (@ joseserra_) during the 15 days before the 2nd round of presidential elections (17 to October 31, 2010). The empirical sample is based on the 221 messages posted by the candidate in the chosen period of time. On the one hand, we can say that the use of Twitter becomes important (a) to promote the public image of Serra; (b) to build a network with thousands of users willing to support him; and (c) to stimulate informal styles of interaction. On the other hand, it becomes evident that electoral strategies, even on Twitter, remain constrained by traditional conceptions of political marketing. KEYWORDS: Democracy. Elections. Internet. Online Campaigns. Twitter.

The Social Media Basis of Youth Protest Behavior: The Case of Chile

by Sebastián Valenzuela

Co-authored with Arturo Arriagada and Andrés Scherman; published in the 'Journal of Communication,' vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 299-314 (2012)

Protest activity has become a central means for political change in Chile. We examine the association between social... more Protest activity has become a central means for political change in Chile. We examine the association between social media use and youth protest, as well as mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relationship, using survey data collected in Chile in 2010. We found that Facebook use was associated significantly with protest activity, even after taking into account political grievances, material and psychological resources, values, and news media use. The link between overall Facebook use and protest activity was explained by using the social network for news and socializing rather than when it was used for
self-expression. Postmaterialist values and political ideologies were not found to moderate the association between Facebook use and protest.

The preservice teachers are watching: Framing and reframing the field experience

by Lisa Scherff

Content Analysis of MUSTHP-L's First Year (No graphics)

by Dirk Cushenbery

Refining the question: How can online instruction maximize opportunities for all students?

by Roy Schwartzman

Schwartzman, R. (2007). Refining the question: How can online instruction maximize opportunities for all students? Communication Education, 56, 113-117.

Is Hungarian "blown off its feet" by the English-dominated CMC channels? Self-regulative methods and the preservation of Hungarian

by Erika Darics

This is the draft of my paper. The final version has been published here:

Darics, E. and Christie, C. (2006). Is Hungarian "blown off its feet" by the English-dominated CMC channels? Self-regulative methods and the preservation of Hungarian.
In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC 2006), F. Sudweeks and C. Ess (Eds.), Tartu, Estonia, 667-680.

The multilingual nature of communication on the Internet raises a number of questions about the effect of this... more The multilingual nature of communication on the Internet raises a number of questions about the effect of this technology on individual languages. This article addresses some of those questions by considering different ways in which languages other than English can be affected by CMC: by the impact of the different communication genres CMC has generated; by the prevalent use of the English language in CMC; and by the constraints and opportunities that arise from the technology itself. The study focuses on the way in which one specific language - Hungarian - responds to the impact of CMC. It reviews the findings of recent Hungarian and international research, and concludes that although there is an acknowledgement that the technology has an effect on languages such as Hungarian, the specific effects have not yet been the subject of systematic research. In response, this paper presents the findings of some exploratory research on the use of special Hungarian characters with diacritics in ICT. In particular, it looks at the strategies employed by Hungarian speakers to avoid misunderstanding, and also considers the occurrences of intentional misunderstanding as a source of humour and language play.

Analysis of Computer-Mediated Discourse of Multicultural Virtual Teams

by Erika Darics

This is a draft of my paper. The final version has been published here:

Darics, E. (2008). Analysis of computer mediated discourse in multicultural virtual teams. Theoretical framework and methodology.
In: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC 2008), F. Sudweeks and C. Ess (Eds.), Nimes, France.

This article presents a research project on CMD in virtual teams and proposes a methodology synthesizing various... more This article presents a research project on CMD in virtual teams and proposes a methodology synthesizing various analytical frameworks. It introduces a multidisciplinary perspective that accounts for pragmatic, linguistic, sociolinguistic and cultural factors affecting CMD: the theoretical framework of communicative competencies functions as synthesizing framework for the linguistic system, discourse patterns and sociolinguistic rules. The CofP framework serves as an analytical tool to identify the group and define the relationship of the participants, the learning process, the shared repertoire and its effect on communication. The interactional sociolinguistic approach then helps to analyze how social-cultural knowledge shapes communication practices and gives a tool for description of linguistic and pragmatic cues functioning as contextualization cues.

Politeness In Computer-Mediated Discourse of a Virtual Team

by Erika Darics

This is a draft version of my paper. The final one is here:

Darics, E. (2010). Politeness in computer-mediated discourse of a virtual team.
In: Journal of Politeness Research. Language, Behaviour, Culture. Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 129–150.

Drawing on the newest findings of politeness research, this paper proposes an interactionally grounded approach to... more Drawing on the newest findings of politeness research, this paper proposes an interactionally grounded approach to computer-mediated discourse (CMD). Through the analysis of naturally occurring text-based synchronous interactions of a virtual team the paper illustrates that the interactional politeness approach can account for linguistic phenomena not yet fully explored in computer-mediated discourse analysis. Strategies used for compensating for the lack of audio-visual information in computer-mediated communication, strategies to compensate for the technological constraints of the medium, and strategies to aid interaction management are examined from an interactional politeness viewpoint and compared to the previous findings of CMD analysis. The conclusion of this preliminary research suggests that the endeavour to communicate along the lines of politeness norms in a work-based virtual environment contradicts some of the previous findings of CMD research (unconventional orthography, capitalization, economizing), and that other areas (such as emoticons, backchannel signals and turn-taking strategies) need to be revisited and re-examined from an interactional perspective to fully understand how language functions in this merely text-based environment.

Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams

by Erika Darics

This is the draft version of my book chapter. The details of the final version are below:

Darics, E. (2010). Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams.
In: Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction, Rotimi Taiwo (Ed.), 830-851.

Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional... more Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional sociolinguistic approach to computer-mediated language use could provide explanations for phenomena that previously could not be accounted for in computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). Drawing on the theoretical framework of relational work (Locher, 2006), the analysis focuses on non-task oriented talk and its function in forming and establishing communication norms in the team, as well as micro-level phenomena, such as hesitation, backchannel signals and emoticons. The conclusions of this preliminary research suggest that the linguistic strategies used for substituting audio-visual signals are strategically used in discursive functions and have an important role in relational work.

Computer Mediated Communication

by Robert Clougherty

Undergraduate students’ engagement in digitally-mediated communication and collaborative work

by Sue Timmis

Phd Thesis

Timmis, SE. Undergraduate students’ engagement in digitally-mediated communication and collaborative work, University of Bristol, 2009.

Students regularly communicate using digital tools, yet many studies report difficulties with their use for... more Students regularly communicate using digital tools, yet many studies report difficulties with their use for undergraduate collaborative work and a detailed understanding of how students employ these tools for study purposes is lacking. This dissertation takes the student perspective, and investigates different digitally-mediated communication tools students used for studying, the activities this involved and their contextual influences. A wide-ranging literature review brings together cultural-historical activity theory with concepts from collaborative learning and dialogic communication theories, in which communication and collaboration are understood as mediated, multi-level activities, through discourse, action and system. Third-year undergraduates, working in special interest groups using personal and institutional communication tools, were the focus of the empirical setting. A partnership design, involving students as researchers, allowed for the collection of authentic communications data and in-depth, reflective, accounts.
The findings show that although digital tools were part of the fabric of their lives and different tools were used, student communications in the groups were infrequent and lacked dialogic qualities. However, instant messaging conversations between existing friends frequently took place, involving mutual support and collaborative work. Communications were mediated by time, space and historical relations between participants, and required more or less collaborative effort. Tensions emerged as constraints on communications through task design, institutional regulations, ownership of tools, differences in purposes and the division of labour.
This study concludes that cultural practices, institutional, pedagogical and interactional elements all contribute to constraining or supporting student engagement in communication and collaboration. Developing successful collaborative work therefore requires an in-depth understanding of these elements. Bringing students’ existing digitally-mediated practices into university work involves cultural change, with students acting as educational designers. The study further demonstrates how institutional rules, practices and processes influence students’ work. Further investigation within institutions and at policy level are urgently needed in order to improve student engagement.

Comunicazione mediata dal computer e apprendimento linguistico

by Paola Leone

Published in Studi di Glottodidattica, 2009, v. 3 (1), pp. 54-74.
Studi di Glottodidattica è una rivista online ad accesso gratuito.

Il contributo esamina alcune funzioni della scrittura digitale durante scambi interattivi
bimodali tramite chat... more Il contributo esamina alcune funzioni della scrittura digitale durante scambi interattivi
bimodali tramite chat e videochiamata. Il contesto comunicativo in analisi è costituito da
alcune sessioni Teletandem finalizzate a promuovere l'apprendimento di una L2 tramite
l'interazione. Si analizzano alcuni estratti di dialogo tra una parlante anglofona ed una
italofona per individuare gli scambi che hanno una funzione comunicativa, didattica e
didattico-comunicativa. L'analisi dell'alternanza nell'impiego della chat e della
videochiamata, conferma la natura "ibrida" del tandem, già evidenziata in altri studi sulla
commutazione di codice negli incontri di tandem in presenza. L'avvicendamento nell'impiego
della scrittura e dell'oralità contribuisce, tra l'altro, a definire lo status sociolinguistico di
quest'evento virtuale, in cui ogni singolo partecipante conosce le regole del proprio ruolo di
apprendente o di locutore competente.
L'indagine compiuta ci porta a considerare valido un approccio integrato di studio in
cui le qualità didattiche dell'agire e del comunicare al computer vengono indagate tenendo
conto, da un lato delle caratteristiche delle forme note di dialogo, come lo scambio naturale,
dall'altro delle particolarità che emergono nei diversi formati di comunicazione messi in atto
grazie alla tecnologia digitale.

Ensayando el blog—Qué aporta tu post

by José Angel García Landa

Essaying the Blog - Your Post's Contribution
   
The first section of this paper explores an... more Essaying the Blog - Your Post's Contribution
   
The first section of this paper explores an analogy between the generic characteristics of essay-writing and those of blogging, as modes of tentative, processual textual practice. Blogs open up a new age for essay-writing, in a medium well suited to develop some characteristics of the genre. The second section of the paper puts forward some parameters to gauge a number of dimensions of originality and relevance in blog posts, some of them specific and some non-specific to the medium.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Keywords: Blogs, Essays, Process thought, Originality, Relevance, Networking

I can has language play: Construction of Language and Identity in LOLspeak

by Jill Vaughan

Co-authored with Lauren Gawne

LOLspeak is a complex and systematic reimagining of the English language. It is most often associated with the... more LOLspeak is a complex and systematic reimagining of the English language. It is most often associated with the popular, productive and long-lasting internet meme ‘LOLcats’. This style of English is characterised by the simultaneous playful manipulation of multiple levels of language in order to perform an authentic ‘cat’ voice, and serves both as an entertaining in-group practice and as a cultural index which is recruited in the construction of identity.
Using community-generated web content as a corpus, we analyse some of the common speech play strategies (Sherzer 2002) used in LOLspeak, which include morphological reanalysis, atypical sentence structure and lexical playfulness. The linguistic variety that emerges from these manipulations displays collaboratively constructed norms and tendencies providing a standard which may be meaningfully adhered to or subverted by users.
Building on this, we use Bucholtz and Hall’s (e.g. 2005) interactional and ethnographic approach to linguistic analysis to examine how the speech play strategies used by participants allow for the simultaneous construction of two identities: firstly the identities of the cats that they claim to be speaking for, and secondly their own identity as savvy members of an online community of practice (Jones & Schieffelin 2009).

La tecnologia cambia la lingua?

by Vera Gheno

La tecnologia cambia la lingua?, rubrica "Sulla punta della lingua", «PreTesti. Occasioni di letteratura digitale», novembre 2011, numero 2, anno I, pp. 30-32.

How Perception Gets Emotional Value Trough the Use of an Object

by Eva Deckers

Co-authors: Pikaart, M., Wanrooij van, G., Westerhoff, J., Overbeeke, C., Proceedings of DPPI conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces 2009

In this paper we explain and interpret theories on perception and indicate how they can inform design. The driving... more In this paper we explain and interpret theories on perception and indicate how they can inform design. The driving question is how to augment perceived emotional value in design. Based on these theories we state that subjects need similar perceptive bodies, i.e. perceive by the same senses, to be able to perceive the emotional content of reciprocal perception. A basic experiment shows this effect and gives insights on how to design an object that could restore this sharing and understanding between subjects perceiving a scene with different perceptual senses. These insights are used to analyze
different designs. In all these case studies the users are unable to naturally perceive reciprocal perception. The first case study is a direct implementation of the theory. User explorations with this prototype show the importance of embodiment in perception. We further investigated this issue in a second case study. This second design investigates the influence of embodiment on the perception of emotional value through direct haptic communication using a mediator. The third example also
explores a mediator for perception between users but focuses on auditory stimuli. Finally we show a novel application based on the theory.