Informal Interactions Research Articles

Attitude dative (dativus ethicus) as an interpersonal pragmatic marker in Latvian

Abstract Among varied syntactic and semantic functions of the dative case in Latvian, the attitude dative or dativus ethicus is a less studied one. As an optional pronominal clitic, it serves two broad functions: first, it expresses the speaker’s authority and affectedness of the speaker or the addressee in a speech-act situation, and second, it expresses the speaker’s stance towards the contents of the utterance. In terms of register, the attitude dative normally occurs in informal interaction. The current study examines three basic types of attitude datives in Latvian and their functions in different syntactic constructions and speech acts. The examples are extracted from corpora as well as Latvian fiction and everyday speech. It follows from the examples that the attitude dative has different meanings in certain speech acts and syntactic constructions. The attitude dative is used in giving orders, expressing prohibition and threats, as well as showing disagreement, disappointment, and regret. The study suggests that the attitude dative tends to be used in lexicalized syntactic constructions (set expressions) including specific lexemes and grammatical forms, and its functions are emphasized with particles.

Changes and continuities in second person address pronoun usage in Bogotá Spanish

Abstract In this article, we provide further evidence that Bogotá Spanish is transitioning from being an extensively usted-using variety into one in which tú is preferred in informal interaction by analyzing survey data through a quantitative approach, and metalinguistic commentary through a qualitative approach. Our data show that tú is mainly thought of as a productive way to convey proximity. At the same time, our data show that, despite this change in second person preference, usted and sumercé persist in familiar address, albeit at rates considerably lower than tú. Usted is particularly frequent among males in same-gender dyads because it allows them to avoid the possible connotations of effeminacy that tú may have in that specific context. Sumercé is frequently selected in addressing older relatives and individuals from the countryside because it is seen as being capable of conveying respect and affection simultaneously. Moreover, sumercé is seen as a sign of local identity capable of distinguishing Bogotá Spanish from other national varieties with vos, which is marginal in our data. Our findings are best seen through the proposal that address forms may gain specific meanings within their particular context of use, despite having more conventional meanings attached to them.

Role of Story Telling in the Development of the Child’s Lexical Richness: A Case Study

As soon as children enter school, they are expected to use a relatively new and unfamiliar language to display knowledge. Literature has demonstrated that children’s early exposure to academic language at home can have a huge impact on the development of their lexical richness. This study explores the extent to which lexical richness, including lexical density and diversity are present in the production of two mothers and their children from different social and educational backgrounds during an informal storytelling interaction. The study addresses two research questions related to (i) the degree of lexical richness of the mothers’ input and their children’s output and (ii) how a mother’s social and educational background can influence the child’s lexical richness. Data analysis revealed that the use of lexical features varied considerably among the two mothers and their children. Compared to the low social and educational background mother, the affluent and well-educated mother provided her child with far more varied and denser lexical input, besides the use of interactive literacy strategies which have proven to influence the child’s output at home. The findings unveiled a strong correlation between the children’s early exposure to academic lexical input through storytelling and their academic language development.

Seeing (or perceiving) difference in multiracial Singapore: Habits of looking in a raciolinguistic image economy

AbstractThis article examines the habits of looking that mediate perception in the self‐consciously multiracial Southeast Asian island city‐state of Singapore. I propose looking as a concept for understanding how perceivers work to transform ambiguous, ambivalent encounters with difference into determinate, visibly self‐evident encounters with race. I argue that, in Singapore, habits of looking get materialized via a visual epistemology of race: as efforts to know others by knowing their race through multimodal assemblages of signs, with vision located at the apex of hierarchies of perceptual modalities. I examine informal interactions, state‐produced media, and online commentary to show how language, race, and perception get co‐naturalized (Rosa and Flores, 2017) in an asymmetrically power‐laden image economy (Halliday, 2018; Poole, 1997). I show how looking enables perceivers to see through the eyes of authoritative others and track how hierarchies among perceivers get continually reproduced and revalorized despite continual failures on their own terms.

Affordances and Actions: Requests for Confirmation as Devices for Implementing Challenging and Other Disagreement- Implicative Actions

Abstract This article examines how requests for confirmation (RfCs) can be used as devices for challenging or disagreeing with another participant, their talk, or their action(s) in informal interaction. Based on their defining pragmatic characteristics, we identify two generic interactional affordances RfCs offer their speakers: (1) a capacity to do questioning and (2) a capacity to forward propositional content. While these two affordances are generally utilized together, one or the other may be mobilized more strongly when bringing off challenging or disagreement-implicative actions. Drawing on interactional data in (Peninsular) Spanish and (American) English, and using conversation analytic methods, we illustrate how participants may differentially draw on these two basic affordances with respect to two major classes of “challengeables”: (1) a co-participant’s claims and assertions (or the stances with which they are delivered), and (2) a co-participant’s plans or decisions. We end with a discussion of the usefulness of an affordance-based approach.

Local peer communities and future academic success of Ph.D. candidates

Compared to senior scientists, early-career scientists have largely been neglected in the literature on academic success. This study aims to identify the effects of local peer communities of Ph.D. candidates on their future careers. We argue that local communities of Ph.D. candidates may offer both supportive and competitive environments depending on the nature of the relationships between its members. While Ph.D. candidates generally learn from and support each other in their local peer communities, they may also compete for their mentor's attention and future academic positions. We analyse such complex peer effects for 90,264 Ph.D. candidates in the field of mathematics in a genealogical way, by measuring a candidate's academic career success by the number of next-generation Ph.D. candidates supervised later on. To capture both the supportive and competitive peer effects, we distinguish between local peers who share mentors (co-mentees) and other local peers. Our result suggests that competition exists primarily among peers who share mentors, and only at the start of one's career. We also find supportive effects among peers who do not share mentors, particularly those from the same cohort. Our results highlight the importance of universities supporting informal interactions among Ph.D. candidates.

Creative Performance of Indonesian Game Developers: An Empirical Study of Mediation Models of Creative Self-Efficacy and Creative Process Engagement

Prior empirical research focused on creative performance was restricted to companies in the fashion industry and manufacturing industries. However, research on creative performance in the game industry is still lacking. Millennials and gen Z are the largest generational cohort in most companies. Previous studies show that both generations will work better in a non-formal environment. This study investigates the connection between creative performance and leader-member exchange in the context of game developers in Indonesia. Also examined were the relationship’s mediation effects of creative self-efficacy and engagement in the creative process. The study sample included 253 Indonesian game development companies respondents, and the data was analyzed using SMART-PLS. The findings showed that the relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate positively connected to creative performance and that creative self-efficacy and participation in the creative process mediated this positive association. This study recommends that managers and staff members establish informal interactions outside of work. Both sides must understand that creating such partnerships can lead to several advantageous results, including an increase in creativity.

Purity and dangers: Market making, structural uncertainty, and circuits of exchange in the cryptoeconomy

Market making is a crucial activity in financial markets, expected to reduce uncertainties related to price and liquidity information, and to enable strategic interactions among traders. Sociologists of finance have recently emphasized the role of automation and calculative devices such as algorithms in market making, highlighting the transition from informal human interactions on the trading floor to multilayered, formalized interactions involving both algorithms and human actors. In this process, social relationships become infrastructural to calculative devices. Less understood is what happens when uncertainties cannot be mitigated by the use of calculative devices and by the relationships infrastructural to them. We argue that in such situations market participants resort to circuits of exchange as arrangements that allow them to continue their activities in a legitimate manner. We ground the argument in an ethnographic investigation of market making in crypto markets, where traders are confronted with uncertainties that cannot be solved only by using algorithms. We show that market makers resort to horizontal and vertical circuits in order to address uncertainties and legitimize their activities. We make a double contribution: theoretical, by arguing that circuits and market transactions are not mutually exclusive; empirical, by showing that market makers harness circuits in order to endow their activities with legitimacy.

‘It’s communication between people who are going through the same thing’: experiences of informal interactions in hospital cancer treatment settings

PurposeIn hospital settings, patients, visitors, and staff engage in many interactions outside formal clinical encounters. Whilst many of these may be inconsequential, others contribute significantly to how patients and their carers experience cancer and its treatment. This article aims to explore the experiences and significance of interactions that occur outside formal clinical encounters in hospital cancer treatment settings.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with cancer patients, carers, and staff recruited from two hospital sites and cancer support groups. Hermeneutic phenomenology informed lines of questioning and data analysis.ResultsThirty-one people participated in the study: 18 cancer patients, four carers, and nine staff members. The experiences of informal interactions were grouped into three themes: connecting, making sense, and enacting care. The participants described how these encounters allowed connection with others in the hospital spaces, facilitating a sense of belonging, normality, and self-worth. Through these interactions, individuals participated in making sense of their experiences, to better anticipate the decisions and challenges that might lie ahead. By connecting with other individuals, they cared for others and felt cared for themselves, and were able to learn from, teach, and support each other.ConclusionsOutside the confines of the clinical discourses participants negotiate terms of engagement, sharing of information, expertise, and their own personal stories that they may employ to contribute to the individuals around them. These interactions occur within a loose and evolving framework of social interactions, an ‘informal community’, in which cancer patients, carers, and staff members play active and meaningful roles.

Are International PhD Courses an Important Part of PhD Education in Sport and Exercise Psychology?

Abstract: PhD courses aim to improve PhD candidates’ research skills and, by that, to support their development process during their PhD studies. To investigate this objective, former PhD candidates ( N = 88, 51 % female, response rate 49 %), who participated in international PhD-courses in Sport and Exercise Psychology, were asked to complete an online survey to evaluate course elements of international PhD-courses hosted at Copenhagen and Leipzig University between 2009 and 2018. Networking opportunities, intercultural skill development, communicating in English, and acquisition of knowledge about Sport and Exercise Psychology-specific topics are reported as the most valuable aspects of international PhD-courses. Additionally, participants evaluated PhD-project presentations, workshops focusing on academic skills (e. g., publishing) and opportunities for social interaction as most profitable. Independent of participants’ PhD-phase, the majority of students reported sustainable benefits from their participation (e. g., co-publications). Academic funding (e. g., scholarships) seems to be an important factor for course participation. Recommendations for the implementation of international PhD-courses in Sport and Exercise Psychology include creating networking opportunities, offering workshops on academic skills, allowing time for informal interactions, and focusing on inclusion of PhD candidates from across the globe.

Who chooses whom for professional interaction? A sociometric inquiry into teacher leadership

ABSTRACTGiven the dyadic and multi-layered nature of professional relations, informal teacher learning mostly goes through complex, non-linear, and context-dependent professional interactions. Advice-seeking relationships (ASRs) are the most common form of informal interactions between teachers. However, due mostly to analytical constraints, little is known about the factors influencing ASRs in school settings. The paper aims to provide an empirical base for understanding the informal leadership exercised through between-teacher ASRs around technological and pedagogical expertise. To that end, inferential social network analysis (SNA) techniques are employed. Results showed teacher perception of positive school culture promotes pedagogical ASRs. Administrative leadership is significant in one-way advice flows from administrators to subordinates. Interpersonal similarities by gender and teaching experience are influential in peer selection for ASRs. Hybrid-expertise teachers, being equally headed for technological and pedagogical advice, occupy more central position in advice-networks. Regardless of school culture, technology-savvy teachers are more preferred for ASRs. The more teachers provide colleagues with technological advice, the more they assume a leading position for pedagogical advice, but not vice versa. Overall, the present SNA study sheds light on relational complexities of teacher leadership for professional learning that otherwise might not be salient when investigated using linear models on individual metrics.

Marketing research in the activity of a scientific organization

The main activity of a scientific organization is to conduct research and obtain new knowledge. The next area of work is to bring to the target audience up-to-date information about the topics of ongoing research and the achieved scientific results. The purpose of this work is to describe the operational marketing concepts and approaches that are in force in the scientific community, and the possible application of modern and promising working marketing tools in the activities of scientific organizations, as well as other objects to which their marketing efforts are directed. For researchers, unlike representatives of commercial organizations, marketing of relationships with representatives of the target audience is close. Therefore, informal interaction between scientists and potential consumers of the results of their research can become a starting point for the transfer and distribution of scientific products free of charge, on the basis of mutual interest, or on a reimbursable basis. Operational theory is used as a methodological tool in the study, the following concepts are introduced: the goals of implementing the marketing concept, the target audience, the object, the toolkit and the societal environment of the concept. It is shown that when implementing the marketing activities of a scientific organization, a combination of four types of considered marketing concepts can be used, in which the objects of application of marketing efforts can be: a scientific organization, a personal brand of a scientist, a branch of science, the results of fundamental or applied scientific research. Basic research may require long-term funding. It is formulated that in some cases it may be appropriate to form a special unit for the organization of applied marketing activities at universities, as well as at academic institutions.

Pola Adaptasi Sosial dan Komunikasi Pendatang Dengan Masyarakat Lokal

Adaptation is a way that is done by each individual or group to get to know and be able to survive in their environment, this can be done with social interaction where one of the requirements of social interaction is communication. In this study the authors used a descriptive-qualitative method in which the researcher wanted to describe the social adaptations carried out by migrants and local communities in Bumijaya Village. Data collection techniques used are observation, interviews, and documentation. As for the results of the research that the authors did, namely: 1) Adaptation carried out by newcomers in the form of social interaction including through acculturation stages followed by assimilation, associative social interactions also occur, as well as formal and informal interactions which in interacting use primary communication processes. 2) Forms of communication used between migrants and local communities are verbal and nonverbal communication. Where in verbal communication there is a uniqueness in the use of the Javanese language which is similar between Jaa Serang and Central Java or East Java by immigrants from Central Java and East Java.

Феномен доверия в социальном управлении: теоретический аспект

The paper examines the approaches and interpretations of the theoretical provisions of the category ‘trust’ in social management. On the basis of statistical data, an analysis of the problem of trust in Russian society is carried out, and the mechanisms of its formation at the institutional (macro) level are proposed. The research emphasizes the logic of the development of this definition within the framework of various paradigms: from the classical one, which assumes following formal signs of trust within the hierarchy and functionality of the social management system itself, to the formation of trust in postclassical paradigms, where it arises due to subject-subject nonlinear and informal interaction regulating elements of the management system. The mechanisms of trust formation are social-technological procedures of public interactions, including network communications between various subjects, regardless of their authority and hierarchy in the subordination system.

HyWay

We present HyWay, short for "Hybrid Hallway", to enable mingling and informal interactions among physical and virtual users, in casual spaces and settings, such as office water cooler areas, conference hallways, trade show floors, and more. We call out how the hybrid and unstructured (or semi-structured) nature of such settings set these apart from the all-virtual and/or structured settings considered in prior work. Key to the design of HyWay is bridging the awareness gap between physical and virtual users, and providing the virtual users the same agency as physical users. To this end, we have designed HyWay to incorporate reciprocity (users can see and hear others only if they can be seen and heard), porosity (conversations in physical space are porous and not within airtight compartments), and agency (the ability for users to seamlessly move between conversations). We present our implementation of HyWay and the user survey findings from multiple deployments in unstructured settings (e.g., social gatherings), and semi-structured ones (e.g., a poster event). Results from these deployments show that HyWay enables effective mingling between physical and virtual users.

Well-Being as an Effective Aspect in the Perception of Vital In-between Spaces within Art and Architecture Faculties

In recent years, well-being has become an increasingly important consideration integrated with functional aspects in the design of educational spaces due to its significant impact on the built environment. Although the features of educational spaces have been explored in a myriad of studies, the potential of in-between spaces has not been well explored. This paper reveals the significance of in-between spaces in educational buildings beyond their functional use as the fundamental circulation within a building, indicating that they also play a dynamic role through their design as elastic gathering spaces that encourage informal interactions and link users psychologically and visually, which affects their well-being. However, the potential of these spaces is often overlooked compared to the main educational spaces. Additionally, during the design process, there seems to be a tendency to reduce these spaces to a bare minimum, in favor of exploiting larger spaces, which shows that they are regarded as merely connecting points or transitional spaces. The research problem addressed here is the lack of a clear, adequate understanding of the effect of designing in-between spaces on the productivity and well-being of users, as there are no criteria regarding in-between space designs to enhance well-being. The current paper aims to evaluate the reality of the in-between space design within the art and architecture faculties of Jordanian universities according to the perception of faculty members and students based on well-being requirements. Accordingly, a survey was designed to address the 11 key criteria identified in the literature, including (1) physical features and visual appearance; (2) size and design of in-between spaces; (3) circulation and movement space zoning; (4) ergonomics and furnishing; (5) lighting; (6) colors and finishing; (7) acoustics; (8) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; (9) visual communication and instructional tools; (10) social and cultural spaces; and (11) accessories. The paper utilizes a mixed approach through survey and observation, where the findings are analyzed from three case studies to reveal the dimensions that need to be taken into account and developed to meet the needs of users. The results of the study demonstrate that the specific dimensions of circulation and movement, ergonomics and furnishings, colors and finishing, and accessories must be taken into account to create an interactive environment that advances the educational process and therefore enhances productivity.

Entrepreneurial founder's social ties, institutions, and firm's productivity: Evidences from China's newly listed firms

Social ties, as informal institutions, contribute to firms’ performance in emerging economies. Formal market-supporting institutions in emerging economies are in general less developed, social ties cultivated by entrepreneurs thus serve as substitutes for formal institutional support. However, the role of social ties as informal institutions and interactions between social ties and market-supporting institutions are yet to be fully explored. Using the sample of 428 newly listed firms on the Growth Enterprise Market of Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China between 2009 and 2016, this paper examines the interplays among the entrepreneurial founder's political ties and managerial ties, marketization, and firm's productivity, measured by firm-level total factor productivity. Our findings indicate that the entrepreneurial founder's managerial ties enhance firm productivity whilst political ties reduce productivity. We also find that marketization positively moderates the effects of the entrepreneurial founder's political and managerial ties on productivity. Our findings demonstrate the strategic importance of the informal institutions and contribute to an improved understanding of the complementary effects between social ties and marketization in an important emerging economy.

Underground urbanism in Africa: Splintered subterranean space in Lagos, Nigeria

Africa is rapidly urbanising and is likely to home to some of the most populous cities within the next decade. Such rapid growth has made the prevention of urban sprawl a Sisyphean Quest in many African cities, as rural fringes are rapidly being transformed into urbanised space. A strategy proposed around the world to address some of the urban challenges is the increasing adoption of a volumetric lens to planning the city. Specifically, to use the urban underground as a strategic site to place infrastructure and free-up superficial urban surface space, in turn potentially helping to create more sustainable, liveable, equitable and just urban environments. Yet, so far, little attention has been paid to the urban underground in Africa cities. In this paper, mobilising Lagos, Nigeria as a case study, we start addressing this lacuna. We provide a critical long-term analysis – spanning the colonial and since independence eras – of how the urban underground has been used in Lagos, focussing on utility (energy, telecommunications, water) and transport infrastructure. We follow this with an analysis of how political economies have shaped underground use and access, with a particular consideration on informal interactions, and how they shape underground use and access. We conclude by offering an assessment of the possibilities and challenges that the urban underground presents for the future of Lagos and other African cities, with a critical consideration of the dynamism of localised volumes and the practices around them.

Like an Elephant in the room: the emergence of informal interactions in the workplace

ABSTRACT Research concerning employees’ informal interactions in organizational life has shown many positive impacts for the company and the employees. However, there is reduced research concerning how a place for informal interactions emerges within organizations. To fulfill this objective, we relied on Lefebvre’s [1991 [1974]. The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell] philosophical approach and undertook a longitudinal single case study within the headquarters of a large bank. Despite all the managerial efforts to conceive and promote a space dedicated to informal interactions, another space that did not have any function in the original architectural project, emerged as a lived space in the sense of Lefebvre. From our study, we highlight two contributions. First, we show how a lived space emerges within an organization, through a mix of social practice, of everyday life rhythms, and of shared symbols. Second, we unveil a concrete manifestation of a counter-space in an organization, in the sense of Lefebvre’s theory.

IT-Enabled Interactions and Interfirm Trust: The Moderating Role of Relationship Duration

The importance of information-technology (IT)-enabled interactions in promoting interfirm trust has been documented in literature. However, the currently available findings are limited because the role of IT-enabled informal interactions has been overlooked and the categorization of trust is unclear. To obtain detailed knowledge about the relation between IT-enabled interactions and trust, this study categorizes not only the IT-enabled interactions into formal and informal types but also trust into goodwill and competence trust. Moreover, this study explores the moderating role of relationship duration on the aforementioned relationships. Through a survey of 240 firms in China, this study made the following observations: (1) IT-enabled formal and informal interactions can promote both competence and goodwill trust; (2) compared with IT-enabled informal interactions, IT-enabled formal interactions promote competence trust, and a comparable extent of goodwill trust; (3) relationship duration strengthens the positive link between IT-enabled formal interactions and competence trust; however, it has no moderating impact on the link between IT-enabled formal interactions and goodwill trust; (4) relationship duration weakens the impact of IT-enabled informal interactions on goodwill trust; however, it has no significant moderating role on the relation between IT-enabled informal interactions and competence trust. Overall, this study enriches the knowledge regarding the relationship between IT-enabled interactions and interfirm trust.