Value Of Email Research Articles

The perceived helpfulness of rendering emotional first aid via email

The present research examined the perceived helpfulness of an increasingly widespread mode of psychological assistance, namely, emotional first aid via email. The sample comprised 62 naturally occurring email interactions between distressful clients and trained volunteers operating within the framework of the Israeli Association for Emotional First Aid. Data were gathered by means of a structured questionnaire and open-ended questions so as to examine the clients' motivation to seek help via email and evaluate their satisfaction with the responses obtained. The results revealed a preference for written communication and the accessibility of assistance to be the most frequent reasons for clients to choose the medium of email. Most clients found the responses to be helpful in providing emotional support, enhancing cognitive change and suggesting practical ways of coping. Women perceived the assistance to be more helpful than men did. The results are discussed in terms of the unique value of email as an agent of mental health assistance.

The reflective colleague in e-mail cyberspace: A means for improving university instruction

Two university academics living in countries on different sides of the world captured their e-mail communications during a ten-week teaching course. The power of e-mail over face-to-face conversation was explored as Nora, living in Oregon, U.S.A., contemplated her struggle to teach a new subject and Anne, living in Queensland, Australia, responded to Nora's introspections. As the terms coach and mentor did not represent the reciprocal nature of the interactions, the term reflective colleague was used to explain the mirror-like role. The reflective colleague provided: supportive affirmation, belief clarifications, alternative perspectives, and future and global projections. The role of e-mail in the process of journalizing together was non-hierarchical and became symmetrical in a short space of time. Both colleagues found value in exploring together the teaching of a new course. Benefits to Nora were: being heard, feeling support when things were difficult, getting new ideas and alternative viewpoints, and transforming the experience to one focusing on her own learning. Benefits to Anne were strengthening her own understandings of data she had previously collected as well as applying strategies discussed to her own teaching. The value of e-mail over other types of media or interpersonal interactions involved two paradoxes: it was rapid, yet allowed time for deep reflection, and it was spontaneous, yet permitted an accurate and permanent record, one that could be reviewed again and again. E-mail as a medium for reflective dialogue has considerable potential for use in improving university instruction.

Electronic roundtables for medical ethics.

Electronic mail creates special opportunities and burdens for academicians and others. This article first describes e-mail and how it works in a university setting. It then presents the transcript of an electronic exchange of the issue of multiple or repeat abortion. The debate was inspired by a case presented during "ethics rounds" for students at a university medical center. The value of e-mail in this case is considered, and the electronic medium is found to be useful for sharing ideas and stimulating debate about issues in medical ethics, as well as for educational purposes.