Role Of Computer-mediated Communication Research Articles

Network Society: Digital Empowerment or Disempowerment

New skills and avenues for participation and self-expression in a connected society are made possible by ICT. Digital empowerment refers to the multi-step process of gaining access to better networking, communication, and collaboration opportunities and boosting the competency of individuals and communities so that they can play an influential role in society as a result of these developments. in the modern age of information. The goal of this essay is to investigate the relationship between inequality of participation and the degree to which individuals are empowered or disempowered in network society governance systems. A qualitative critical secondary data analysis was performed, in which published data and communication theory were used. This analysis contends that questions of the relationship between democracy and democratization and the role of computer-mediated communication in political communication are at the heart of the Digital Divide. The current Digital Gap is anticipated to add to structural disparities in political involvement as the role of ICT systems in political communication expands. As much as this inequality works against democracy and the political empowerment of some, it also creates chances for greater political participation by others. That raises questions about the social strata best positioned to profit from the coming networked society's electronic administration.

Self Potential Development Through Computer Mediated Communication on Instagram Application

Communication technology and the internet have developed quite rapidly from time to time. The development of communication technology and the internet has changed the way human’s communication. Human interaction is no longer limited to face-to-face meetings, but has now shifted to interaction or communication using computer and internet media which are not limited to space and time. This mediated communication is known as Computer Mediated Communication (CMC). Communication through the CMC was developed by various application providers to facilitate internet users in communicating, one of which is through the Instagram application. Text, images and videos are included in the type of computer mediated communication (CMC) interaction. The CMC interaction is used by internet users from various circles, including millennial mothers. This research was conducted to find out how the role of CMC in developing self-potential among millennial mothers. This research is a qualitative research using semi-structured interviews as a data collection method. The findings in this study indicate that informants are selective in presenting themselves through the selection of images, videos and descriptions before uploading on the Instagram page so that they are able to display their potential.

Childless in an IVF-nation: online stigma-coping strategies in support groups for childless Israeli women

ABSTRACTDrawing from stigma theory, this study examines strategies for coping with stigma in online support forums for Israeli childless women. Quantitative content analysis of two online support forums and in-depth interviews with group members ‒ for voluntarily childless and for infertile Israeli women ‒ are used to address the study’s research questions. Childbearing is highly valued in Israeli society and women who do not become mothers end up to be widely and deeply stigmatized. Results indicate that the type of stigma and the social context play an important role in the use of online stigma-coping strategies. Posts discussing stigma dominate both forums. Members of both groups use group identification as a stigma-coping strategy and develop a sense of community to cope with stigma. Nevertheless, group identification is more common in the fertility group, while the stigma challenging occurs significantly more in the voluntarily childless group. Excerpts from interviews with group members shed light on the motivations and benefits of becoming forum members. By addressing the role of computer-mediated communication in coping with the Israeli childless stigma, this study contributes to the stigma and feminist literature by highlighting the ways local pronatalist norms influence the manifestation of different coping strategies in online environments.

Loafing in the digital age: The role of computer mediated communication in the relation between perceived loafing and group affective outcomes

Virtual work has become an increasingly central practice for the organization of the 21st century. While effective virtual workgroups can create synergies that boost innovation and performance, ineffective workgroups become a great burden for organizations. Empirical research has shown that some negative behaviors, such as social loafing, negatively influence a group’s affective outcomes, in both collocated (face-to-face) and virtual workgroups. In this study, we explore if working through low fidelity computer mediated communication (CMC) increases the negative impact of perceived loafing over cohesion and work satisfaction. On this rationale, we conducted a laboratory study with 44 groups of four members each, who worked on a project in four sessions over a one-month period, in either face-to-face or low fidelity CMC conditions. Results show that the communication media condition moderates the effect of perceived loafing in the expected direction, meaning that, in the low fidelity CMC condition perceived loafing had an increased negative effect on group cohesion and satisfaction with the work process and its results.

A blended practice-enterprise course for language learning in an international business community

This paper presents the experiences and results from the LLP-project PELLIC. The aim of the project was to make full use of the learning potential of practice enterprise methodology for communicative language learning by organizing and supporting virtual international business interaction within a blended learning scenario. “Practice enterprise” is a practical-oriented teaching method with a strong focus on authenticity, which is conceptually related to task-based learning approaches (e.g. Willis and Willis, 2008). Results are based on the project’s piloting phase during which learners in four European countries became “virtual entrepreneurs”. The target language of the course was English, the lingua franca of international business. Learners’ interactions were supported by a customized virtual learning environment (VLE), based on the open source course management system Moodle, enhanced and adapted to suit the pedagogic needs of the scenario by integrating additional collaboration tools (Google Applications, Skype, etc). Along with a range of openly accessible e-learning contents, focus activities and resources, e-learning tasks were developed as “blueprints” to guide educators in adapting, re-purposing and extending materials and methodology for their own teaching. The article highlights the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in creating opportunities for learner output, the teacher’s role as a facilitator of the learners' project work, and the function of re-usable e-learning contents and activity formats for authentic autonomous and collaborative language learning.

It's Only a Flaming Game: A Case Study of Arabic Computer-Mediated Communication

This article explores the online Arabic communication between partisan Algerians, Egyptians and Arabs of other nations during the recent soccer qualification matches for the 2010 World Cup. It assesses the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the online furore that developed in connection with those matches. It focuses mainly on the way YouTube (vlogging) and blogging are used, and explores the premise that most interpretations of ‘flaming’ (aggressive interactions online) do not take into sufficient account cultural factors that may influence the perspective of the sender, the recipient and the third party. This article also looks at the effects of ‘soccer nationalism’ and some of the political issues stirred up by the online debate.

The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication

The use of information technology to enhance classroom learning and deliver corporate training is the latest trend and focus of much research in the computer-mediated communication (CMC) and development industry. Technological advances continue to alter the various ways in which academic and organizational training is facilitated and conducted. This paper presents a review of the available literature and trends in CMC, specifically, CMC’s theoretical approaches, types/roles, benefits/disadvantages, and contributions to academic institutions and corporate organizations. The authors also provide a discussion of future trends and implications in this subject.

COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AND PROTEST

This case study analyzed quantitative and qualitative data to examine the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) during social movement activities in 2006 at a university for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing. We applied Garrett's framework and focussed on aspects of the mobilizing structures component of social activism, which involves the mechanism that enables people to organize and engage in collective action. Employing a snowball sampling method, we report the data provided by 540 CMC users who said they were in some way engaged in the university conflict. These findings reinforce the escalating role of CMC in activism with the respondents using, trusting, and depending most on CMC for information about the conflict. Moreover, blogging was at the forefront of the subjects’ communication activities. Subjects depended on blogs more than any other CMC activity to communicate about the conflict, and they said they trusted blogs more than any other source of information. Blogs and vlogs frequently were cited as contributing to a sense of collective identity throughout the conflict. Blogging also emerged as a communication tool important to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing subjects. The findings support the decline of traditional media in terms of use and trust for conflict information, although respondents reported that interpersonal communication was important to them as information about the conflict was being exchanged. This study suggests that private CMC is impinging on face-to-face interaction, and public CMC increasingly is encroaching on the public square.

The Problems and Potential of MySpace and Facebook Usage in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT How are college students using and communicating with online social networking? How can these technologies be utilized by libraries and librarians? A review of the literature provides current context of social networking sites, the usage and viability of related technologies in academic libraries, and the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in facilitating student learning. Data from a survey and focus group provide insight into how students are using MySpace and Facebook, two widely adopted social networking sites. Findings are discussed to consider appropriate implementations of MySpace/Facebook in a university library setting, specifically on the pedagogical and practical feasibility of integrating social software in library instruction, reference, and outreach.

THE ROLE OF SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED SHARED KNOWLEDGE IN LEARNING TO TEACH: COLLABORATION AND REFLECTION IN A COMPUTER-MEDIATED ENVIRONMENT

This research examined the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in a partnership that was formed between an educational psychology course for preservice teachers, eight professors from the university's teacher education program, and eight practicing teachers from diverse public schools from across two states. Participants communicated via chat rooms and threaded discussion lists. The use of computer-mediated communication as a viable means of supporting collaboration and reflection in teacher education is described. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses support the notion that CMC enhanced learning outcomes as measured by reflective capacity. Using the Developmental Model of Reflection as a Cognitive Outcome Scale (Crotty, 2001), results from an ANOVA indicate significant growth in the preservice teachers' reflective comments across the semester.

Role of Computer Mediated Communication in solving collaborative learning empowerment problems in higher education: a case study of Oman

AbstractThe concept of collaborative work is gaining rapid acceptance in almost all disciplines of numerous organizations in the world like financial institutions, educational institutions, and business organizations (Ancona, 1990; Bettenhausen, 1991; Gallucci, 1985). Switzer and Shriner (2000) were of the view that students are the most obvious party who benefit from collaborative group work among students, faculty members, and the community. According to them there are four overlapping types of benefits for students. These are: 1) immediate educational benefits, 2) immediate social benefits, 3) critical thinking benefits, and 4) long-term career benefits.Research suggests that Face to Face (FTF) interaction in collaborative learning does not solve the communication problems in Arabic culture due to religious and cultural factors. It is necessary to think of an alternative that would respect the general scope of collaborative work (in terms of its multisided but interactive effect) but favour women’s inv...

Transformations in the Mediation of Publicness: Communicative Interaction in the Network Society

Recent debates on the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in facilitating a democratisation of the public sphere are criticized for presenting inadequate accounts of the public sphere that is being transformed. Like broadcast communication, computer-mediated communication does not obey national borders. Because of this a number of questions are raised insofar as the traditional conception of the public sphere has invariably corresponded to the nation-state. The difference between embodied and electronic assemblies, between an homogenous public sphere and public ‘sphericules’ is introduced in order to clarify the political and communicative significance of contemporary CMC.

E–deliberation and local governance: The role of computer mediated communication in local democratic participation in the United Kingdom

This paper focuses on the use of local government Web sites in the United Kingdom to encourage and facilitate democratic deliberation. The question addressed is to what end, and on whose terms, citizens are being encouraged to engage local government via computer–mediated communication. After an initial investigation into the legislative framework of local e–democracy, this paper examines opportunities available for citizens to deliberate by examining 469 local government Web sites. This information is then reviewed in the context of empirical evidence on the practices and attitudes of those responsible for the management and upkeep of the specific sites under question. It appears that while interaction is being encouraged, it is limited and tends towards an individualistic liberal model.

Virtual Diaspora?: Imagining Croatia On-line

This article, concentrating on contemporary Croatia, explores the role of computer-mediated communication in new relationships between the homeland at war and diaspora. Computer mediated diasporic public spheres are discussed as forms of creative imaginings of a national space from diverse global sites. The text is critical of any suggestion that diasporic identifications are able to be read off, simplistically, from dominant forms of homeland nationalism. Through an exploration of the socio-historical bases of Croatian diaspora communities, and the complexities of callings from the homeland in the 1990s, a more nuanced picture of contestation emerges. A ‘netnography’ of the Soc/Culture/Croatia newsgroup reveals a dominant habitus of processes, forms and content, in particular, the construction of Croatian identity in relation to a, more or less, monolithic ‘Other’ but, also, emerging innovative currents. More work on diasporic affinities as complex, contingent, and fluid is clearly needed, with political as well as theoretical importance.

Communication, technology and less developed countries' economic development

ABSTRACT Thesignificant contribution of communication technology in the current global economic trend has been widely reported in the literature. However, the growth and realisation of potential benefits of communication technology, such as computer-mediated communication (CMC) have been limited for the less developed countries (LDCs). This article explores the role of CMC and the need for the technology in the economic development of LDCs. Specifically, the article examines the benefits of CMC in the area of telework, identifies challenges, and discusses techniques for implementing telework and CMC in LDCs along with the potential socio-cutural impact of implementing the necessary changes.

Constructing a Virtual Geography: Narratives of Space in a Text-Based Environment

This article explores the role a narrative of geography and space plays in the process of community in the Internet newsgroup, alt.cyberpunk and the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology in fostering a sense of virtual geography. It discusses the “naturalness” of the conceptual geography of Internet hierarchies, how this leads to the virtual geography of cyberspace, and how a textual mode of communication has been modified to accommodate this new communication environment. This article investigates the cooperative narrative developed by regular contributors to alt.cyberpunk, compares virtual and geographically based communities, and speculates on the role of space and narratives of geography in the process of community. The article concludes that symbolic resources may play a greater role in the process of community than the physical spaces communities occupy.