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Previous studies on web-based collaborative writing have shown that task modality impacts peer interaction patterns and attention to form. However, these studies have primarily focused on contrasting a face-to-face oral condition with a text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) environment. Few studies have compared peer interaction patterns and attention to form between text-based SCMC and text-based asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC), the two common modes of computer-mediated communication. This study aimed at filling this research gap. Participants were 22 EFL learners who worked in self-selected pairs to complete two L2 collaborative writing tasks, one through text-based SCMC and the other text-based ACMC, using Google Docs. Patterns of interaction for each pair within each task mode were identified. Attention to form was measured through language-related episodes (LREs). Quality of attention to form was assessed via learners' LRE engagement levels. The results show that task modality affected the occurrence but it did not affect the focus and outcome of LREs. Task modality, however, impacted peer interaction patterns and quality of attention to form, with more collaborative pair dynamics and elaborate LRE engagement being generated in text-based SCMC tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality online dialogues help sustain democracy. Deliberative theory, which predates the internet, provides the primary model for assessing the quality of online dialogues. It conceptualizes high-quality online dialogue as civil, rational, constructive, equal, interactive, and for the common good. More recently, advances in computation have driven an upsurge of empirical studies using automated methods for operationalizing online dialogue and measuring its quality. While related in their aims, deliberative theory and the wider empirical literature generally operate independently. To bridge the gap between the two literatures, we introduce Textual Indicators of Deliberative Dialogue (TIDDs). TIDDs are defined as text-based measures of online dialogue quality under a deliberative model (e.g., disagreement, incivility, and justifications). In this study, we identified 123 TIDDs by systematically reviewing 67 empirical studies of online dialogue. We found them to have mid-low reliability, low criterion validity, and high construct validity for measuring two deliberative dimensions (civility and rationality). Our results highlight the limitations of deliberative theory for conceptualizing the variety of ways online dialogues can be operationalized. We report the most promising TIDDs for measuring the quality of online dialogue and suggest deliberative theory would benefit from altering its models in line with the broader empirical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge building occurs when students work together and participate in idea-centred discussions where they share information and create knowledge collectively. This research explores whether knowledge building in knowledge forums using English as the lingua franca can facilitate in foreign language learning. An analysis was done on how Catalan students in secondary schools worked together on collaborative writing tasks in such forums using appropriate scaffolding to organize their thoughts and facilitate the discussion. The students were participating in the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP), which is based on the concept that students can learn while working together in computer-assisted learning environments. This study applied methods using data triangulation and method triangulation where the students were observed throughout the knowledge building process, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed for evidence of foreign language learning. The quantitative data was collected through a pre-test and a post-test, while the qualitative data was collected through observation and a digital questionnaire. The results show an increase overall in the performance of the foreign language. In particular, the analysis determined that the comprehension of the subject matter and writing abilities in the L2 showed an increase at high confidence levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many states in the U.S. implemented physical distancing policies to limit the spread of COVID-19. These policies disrupted communication for many people. One method to maintain communication, despite physical distancing policies, is computer mediated communication (CMC). However, younger generations tend to adopt technology at a higher rate than older generations, thus age could play a role in whether people use CMC in response to physical distancing policies. Because COVID-19 is unique in temporal context and scope, there is limited research examining the effects of physical distancing and age on communication. To understand how communication practices changed in response to physical distancing policies and whether these practices differed by age, we interviewed 20 participants. Findings suggested most participants increased CMC in response to physical distancing policies, although older participants were less likely to do so. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution analyses the conceptional variation in Twitter communication based on the parameters described in Koch and Oesterreicher's model ([1990] 2007). After outlining the foundations of variational linguistics and the position of conceptional variation within the chain of varieties, and after reviewing the presence of this model in studies of computer-mediated communication, the conceptional characteristics of Twitter communication are presented. The analysis focuses especially on the parameters of public/private communication, emotionality, referentiality and dialogicity, in which it is necessary to specify the distinctive characteristics of communication in social networks as opposed to prototypically immediate communication such as oral conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catfish refer to people who use a false online persona to engage in one or more romantic relationships. The present study was guided by the Couple and Family Technology Framework to conduct a triangulation mixed-methods design. Data were collected from catfish perpetrators (n = 156) and targets (n = 826) via a web-based survey. Perpetration was positively associated with being a man, having a high education level, high religiosity, and negatively with being heterosexual and Hispanic/Latin American. Perpetration was predicted by impression management and narcissism and negatively by mate value and conscientiousness. Compared to face-to-face relationships, catfish unions were characterized by low levels of satisfaction and passionate love. The most common communication methods used in these relationships included text and instant messaging, and targets reported significantly greater self-disclosure than perpetrators. The top reasons for perpetrators' identity selection included emulating an ideal self and enhancing mate value. Among perpetrators, a majority (55%) did not feel guilty about their identity misrepresentation but those who did primarily reported guilt resulting from the betrayal and keeping the relationship secret from other people. Clinical implications are provided for therapists working with clients who experience catfishing as a target and/or perpetrator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An axiom of Per Aage Brandt's approach to conceptual blending, known colloquially as the "Aarhus model", is that semiosis only makes sense when grounded in communicative interaction. Here we adopt that approach in relation to the reality of current, daily communication which is increasingly mediated by digital audio-visual technology platforms. We pursue this goal via a small set of case studies that explore how this technology changes and challenges social interaction and how participants exploit and adapt cognitive, embodied, technological, and semiotic resources in creating meaningful, collective, virtual spaces of joint social activity. In so doing, we expand the horizon of inquiry and contribute insights that have relevance for the new media ecology. This application of cognitive semiotic analyses of video meetings confronts the nature of "mediation" and its accomplishment, the status of "virtual spaces", and "social presence." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology and society are deeply interconnected, as technology emerges from the existent cultural framework and consequently shapes society on the micro level of human interaction and the larger scale of social structure and system. This paper tackles the digital transformation present in Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0. We analyse disruptive digital technologies by focusing on the social or cultural context of their creation, their core philosophy, and the impact they seem to have or how society may be shaped by their extended implementation and adoption. As technology is basically not neutral in its purpose, serving different personal and organizational interests, we use a multiple point-of-view approach to our study in order to elaborate an encompassing representation of the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the attention funnelled towards cinematic representations of suicide, there is a dearth of writings on filmic depictions of cybersuicide, especially those relating to adolescents and young adults. Using cultural discourse theory's five radiants of meaning, this article examines metacultural commentaries surrounding digital media and youth suicide that are embedded in Jan Komasa's fiction film, Suicide Room. The film suggests that while digital communication can facilitate more authentic expressions of self, the internet's technical affordances can also undermine the gravity of self-destruction by rendering private pain trivial or spectacular. Suicide Room taps into concerns about within-group purification by showing members of the virtual community engage in ritualistic behaviours that glorify collective fascination with and desire for death – behaviours that are typically found in what scholars have called 'online negative enabling support groups'. The film has a strong anti-suicide message, showing death by suicide to be excruciatingly painful. Though it reiterates popular tropes about youth, media, and mental health, it avoids the deterministic view so common in entertainment media that locates blame in technology, instead highlighting digital media's inextricable connections to place-based systems and relational networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript reports an experiment in which undergraduate confederates interacted with naïve participants. At 5-min into a 7-min interaction, the confederate manipulated their cell phone: (1) phone rings, confederate ignores; (2) phone rings, confederate picks up; or (3) confederate proactively checks cell phone. Both the participants and the confederates were video recorded for the entire 7 min. In addition, participants filled out a questionnaire at the end of the interaction. The videos were coded and analyzed to determine what behavioral reactions, if any, were related to responses on the questionnaire. The data indicated that participants who looked away from the confederate after phone manipulation had significantly more negative perceptions of the confederate than those who emitted other behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends previous research studying students' listening and speaking behaviors in online discussions with a particular focus on processes of self-regulated learning and task type as an external facilitator of regulation. 105 undergraduate students participated in a week-long small-group online discussion to address real-world business challenges. Groups were given either two contrasting alternative solutions to debate (negotiative task); or asked to come up with their own possible solutions (generative task). Students' regulation of their listening was assessed based on click-stream data; speaking was assessed by manually coding post content for argumentation. Data streams were aligned at the student-week level. Mixed models showed that the generative task led to positive effects on regulation of listening (percent of real reads and the average time of reviews). In addition, several relationships between listening and speaking were found; notably greater depth of listening to others predicted more positive positions taken in one's own posts and informed breadth of listening predicted more support provided for the positions taken. • Generative discussion task facilitated greater self-regulation of listening. • Greater depth of listening predicted more positive positions taken in one's posts. • Informed breadth of listening predicted more support provided for positions taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Facebook offers a new learning environment, and is used for online academic discussions between distance learners; however, students lack the primary skills to use it academically due to its popular social use. This issue requires investigation into the drivers that affect undergraduate intentions and behaviour when using Facebook as students of private universities in Malaysia. The technology acceptance model (TAM) is adopted to demonstrate student perceptions of using Facebook for learning. Perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy are also integrated into the research framework to offer a deep understanding about the acceptance and use of new technologies. The determinants analysed are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy. Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) is used to analyse the data. The results show that all determinants have significant positive relationships with intention and behaviour to use, except for perceived usefulness. The research findings offer valuable and helpful implications that will contribute to universities, educational developers and academics regarding the effective use of Facebook for learning. This research successfully developed an extended TAM model and verified its applicability for learning in Facebook. Highlights • Most of the students perceive that Facebook is not useful for learning with no intention to use Facebook for learning. • TAM model has been extended with perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy and confirmed its applicability. • Facebook can also be used as an educational tool if its perceived usefulness is improved among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to create and describe profiles of public university professors in Argentina based on their use of ICTs in pedagogical practices. The study used an online questionnaire that measures personal and academic characteristics, experiences, training and mediated forms of communication with students. Descriptive, multivariate and content analyses were performed. The results show three profiles with differential positions in technopedagogical aspects determined by the use of Facebook, WhatsApp and Virtual Platform. In the narratives, differential critical positions were observed according to each profile. The interpretation and discussion of results were contextualized ina scenario that is not favorable towards the use of ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Online communication is essential to modern life, but its features may also afford socially anxious individuals the ability to conceal themselves, or parts of themselves, from evaluation by others. In this way, Internet-based social interaction may function as a form of safety behavior for socially anxious people seeking to avoid face-to-face encounters. To enhance our understanding of how social anxiety manifests online and examine the nature and impact of safety behaviors within online social contexts, we developed the Seeking Online Safety Questionnaire (SOSQ). The SOSQ measures the degree to which specific features of online communication contribute to the perception of interpersonal safety in online contexts. We explored the measure's factor structure and psychometric properties in a sample of 374 participants who completed the online survey through Mechanical Turk. Exploratory factor analysis suggested two correlated factors: control over self-presentation, and control over personal information. The SOSQ showed good convergent validity, such that as each of the SOSQ factors and total score increased, so too did participants' trait social anxiety, concerns about self-attribute flaws, fear of negative evaluation, and use of offline safety behaviors. Regression analyses demonstrated that control over online self-presentation explained unique variance in social anxiety symptoms and fear of negative evaluation over and above control over personal information. Results expand our understanding of social anxiety-driven safety behaviors in online contexts, which have important implications for conceptualizing the nature and treatment of social anxiety. Highlights • Socially anxious people are motivated to prevent others from evaluating them negatively. • Examined how social anxiety manifests within the context of Internet-based communication. • Developed a new questionnaire to assess safety seeking during online social interaction. • Examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the new measure. • Socially anxious people are likely to select online communication tools that afford greater control over self-presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop a coding scheme rooted in the Knowledge Building model, named Conversational Functions for Knowledge Building (CF4KB), to analyze students’ interactions in an online undergraduate course. In order to develop the coding scheme, we analyzed students discourse and identified the kinds of “Conversational Functions” students performed. Connecting these identified functions with Knowledge Building Model principles, we developed the coding scheme to analyze knowledge building [In the present article, we used “Knowledge Building” to indicate the theoretical model and “knowledge building” to refer to the activity of the community members.] activity. Applying the resulting coding scheme, two independent judges coded 186 messages posted into Knowledge Forum by 26 students (5 men and 21 women) attending the online course of Educational Psychology at University of Valle d’Aosta to develop the coding scheme. The inter-coder agreements obtained were 77.3 and 78.0%, with Cohen’s K = 0.68 and 0.66, respectively for Specific and Global Conversational Functions level. The theoretical implications and possible uses in different contexts for future inquiry of this instrument are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effect of CMC interaction on Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary improvement. The study was carried out on the basis of a comparative design and tried to compare CMC with face to-face interactions in the Iranian EFL learners in order to see whether the learners' lexical knowledge improved by the CMC interaction. Participants of the study were advanced learners studying in a language institute. The Oxford placement test was used to determine the Iranian EFL learners' proficiency level and ensure a homogeneous sample. Then, the participants were randomly assigned to one control group (face-to-face interaction) and one experimental group (CMC interaction) in order to compare the effect of CMC on the learners' vocabulary improvement. The learners took a pre-test to select 12 target lexical items, treatment activity to perform information-gap task, and two immediate and delayed post-tests for assessing the acquisition of new lexical items. Yahoo Messenger was used to provide the chat communication. The research provided evidence that there was a significant relationship between the use of CMC interaction and face-to-face interaction with regard to improvement in the learners' vocabulary learning. The result indicated that the learners' vocabulary learning improved more in CMC interaction in comparison to face-to-face interaction. In addition, there was a significant difference in negotiating the meaning of new lexical items through CMC interaction in comparison to face-to-face interaction. Moreover, the results indicated that in terms of signal, the CMC interaction outperformed face-to-face group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines topic management in the task-based interactions of German learners of English and their Irish English speaking partners. Specifically, the paper explores the resources employed by speakers to maintain cohesion in talk while transitioning topics via announcement turns. Two resources for maintaining cohesion are explored in detail: co-class membership relations and contrast relations. The quantitative results suggest that learners employ similar resources to the NS. The qualitative results reveal areas on the level of linguistic realisation of topic transitioning turns where learners exhibit some difficulty in alignment and in the use of discourse connectives. Data for the present study is drawn from Language LINC, a corpus of telecollaborative eTandem interactions. Methodologically, the present paper applies tools from conversation analysis (CA) in a sequentially sensitive analysis of the collection of announcements. In addition to a careful qualitative analysis of each case, a quantitative analysis is presented in order to uncover variation in the methods employed by the learners as opposed to the expert speakers. This mixed method approach is considered with respect to its place in the CA research tradition (Stivers, 2015) and its fit for analyses of authentic, consequential interactions in the interlanguage pragmatic tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to describe some characteristics of the use of NOMINAL ADDRESS FORMS (NAF) in contexts of interaction in digital discourse, specifically in the section Timeline of the virtual social network Facebook. From the observation of the NAF that occur in the collected corpus, their specific characteristics are commented in relation to the medium in which they are inserted. In this way, we point to some of the ways in which users of the social network Facebook use these resources to meet their communicative goals, either of negotiation and identity construction or expressiveness, speed and clarity in messages in digital discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored Canadian adolescents', emergent adults', and adults' understandings of deception in computer mediated communication (CMC) compared to face to face (FtF). Participants between 13 and 50 years read vignettes of different types of questionable behaviour that occurred online or in real life, and were asked to judge whether deception was involved, and the acceptability of the behaviour. Age groups evaluated deception similarly; however, adolescents held slightly different views from adults about what constitutes deception, suggesting that the understanding of deception continues to develop into adulthood. Furthermore, CMC behaviour was rated as more deceptive than FtF in general, and participants scoring higher on compassion perceived vignettes to be more deceptive. This study is a step towards better understanding the relationships between perceptions of deception across adolescence into adulthood, mode of communication, and compassion, and may have implications for how adults communicate with youth about deception in CMC and FtF contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The aim of this study is to explore how computer mediated communication has been used by a variety of healthcare,professionals to support their patients and discuss the implication that this may have for future practice. Design A systematized review of the literature. Data sources A review of empirical studies within the literature was carried out in April 2016 in CINAHL, MEDLINE, ASSIA, BNI, Psychinfo, and Web of Science databases. Review methods The databases searched produced 2930 titles, of which 190 publications were considered relevant to the objectives. Titles and abstracts were then reviewed and duplicates removed producing 67 publications. Exclusion and inclusion criteria were applied. The inclusion criteria were (1) interventions that facilitate two-way communication between any healthcare professional and their patients via a computer; (2) Interventions aimed at providing any type of support e.g. emotional, tangible, informational, or esteem support; (3) English language; (4) Primary empirical studies. Data quality was assessed and thematic analysis applied. Results Thirty-one publications were included in this study. Intervention types included Email (n = 8), Videoconferencing (n = 7), Online Social Support Groups (n = 9) and multifaceted interventions (n = 7). Three themes emerged from the data including increasing access to healthcare, adding value to healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes. Twenty-five (81%) of the studies found that computer mediated communication could produce positive effects. Conclusions Computer mediated communication could be both what patients want and a way of delivering support to patients in a resource tight environment. This has implications for a range of health support needs and professionals including nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals. Reviewing the lessons learnt will ensure future interventions are tailored to the support needs of the patients, carefully planned and mindful of the risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to fill existing gaps in the literature about the lives of rurally-situated men who have sex with men (MSM). Much work in this field grapples with identity construction and the unique contexts faced by queer, gay, or MSM in rural areas. This study explores the ways in which this population utilizes Craigslist as a means to articulate and perform rural masculinity. Findings suggest that MSM located within rural topographies often deploy culturally contingent masculine traits specific to rural cultural and geographic locations. The relationship that rural MSM have with the Internet is complex and dialectical in nature. The present study leads the author to conceptualize rural MSM’s relationship to both rurality and same-sex sexual behavior in two primary ways: (1) to queer or fetishize the rural, and similarly, (2) to ‘ruralize’ the queer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual therapy in the online space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents a longitudinal, qualitative and ethnographic investigation of language use and change within an informal Japanese alumni network. It utilises the author's corpus of past email correspondence among a social network of Japanese men between 2006 and 2009, and a subsequent interview in 2012. The study illuminates a struggle over the interpretation of the use of honorifics as a semiotic tool which could affect interpersonal relationships. More specifically, it illustrates the increasing use of honorifics by a member in enacting a social event organiser (幹事 Kanji ) role in this community and its multiple interpretations by other members reflecting various vantage points. Theoretically, it aims to demonstrate the multiple indexical meanings of Japanese honorifics by exploring the use of honorifics indexing neither deference nor social distance (the traditional interpretations of honorific use) but rather the functional enactment of a recognized social role and its associated register. This use of honorific language as ‘functional rather than relational’ has not been previously emphasised in the literature on Japanese honorific use. It also demonstrates the fundamental indeterminacy of indexical meanings in relation to various interpretive vantage points and evaluative moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While communication is essential to effective clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, training programs that employ synchronous feedback systems are time consuming. This investigation employs the development and use of a secure blog as an asynchronous alternative for enhancing physician communication skills. Residents who participated in the communication training program for 2 years (N = 7) posted 63 responses to a blog hosting 13 doctor and patient interactions with an average post size of 322 words. Transcripts of the blog were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Themes were identified as they were associated with research questions. Residents’ concerns involved balancing information exchange and patient relationship development, with themes identified as lack of time, management of information, identification of an effective communication style, and managing distractions. The topics introduced in the blog involved strategies for addressing the narrative of the visit, the inclusion of patient concerns, communication style, and management of the EMR system. Finally, themes emerging from the discussion of patients included the patient as a distraction, the connection between rapport and compliance, and the patient as an obstacle to health maintenance. The blog is an innovative mechanism for resident feedback. The blog allows opportunity for learning through self-examination, reflection and it provides an opportunity for vicarious learning through peer modeling. The blog allows feedback between residents to be somewhat standardized in structure and occurrence and promotes interaction and the impetus to examine and critique each other outside the constraints of a real time feedback system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The integration of computer systems into the field of Education is not a new situation. However, the inclusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) represents a theoretical, methodological and practical challenge to conventional notions about education, media and their use. The study of this situation has been approached from two fundamental perspectives with different approaches: (i) communication theories through the concept of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and ii) different technoeducational models based on psychological theories. This article analyzes the proposals and their logic of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an experimental study investigating alternative communication modes to English as a Lingua Franca. The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of different modes of communication and to gain insight in communication strategies used by interlocutors to solve referential conflicts. Findings show that ELF may not necessarily be the most effective mode of communication for speakers who do not share a native language. In the context of multinational corporations, RM may be regarded as a viable alternative to English for negotiating mutual understanding, particularly for speakers with (linguistically) closely related mother tongues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study investigates the main and indirect effects of shame experiences and perceived benefits of computer-mediated communication (CMC) compared with face-to-face communication, on Problematic Social Networking Sites Use (PSNSU). In particular, a model in which perceived benefits of CMC (i.e. escapism, control over self-presentation, and approval/acceptance) mediate the association between shame and PSNSU was tested. Method: A sample of 590 undergraduate students (mean age = 22.29 + 2.079; females = 53.2%) completed measures of shame experiences, perceived benefits of CMC and PSNSU. Results: The assessed structural model produced adequate fit to the data (χ2= 352.99; df = 92; p <.001; RMSEA [90% CI] =.07 [.06-.08]; CFI = .97; SRMR = .06). Variables accounted for 50% of the variance in PSNSU. A partial mediation model in which shame predicted PSNSU levels through the perceived benefits of CMC was found. A direct relationship between shame and PSNSU was also detected. Conclusions: The current study highlights how feelings of shame can contribute to problematic use of SNS and emphasizes the necessity of taking into account the perceived benefits of CMC when exploring psychological risk factors for PSNSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research problem: Organizations continue to rely upon virtual teams, yet knowing how, and for how long, individual members' computer-mediated communication (CMC) anxiety affects virtual team interactions and performance outcomes is not well-known. Research questions: (1) What is the relationship between CMC anxiety and virtual team participation? (2) How does this relationship influence the perceptions of individual performance? (3) Does this relationship persist over time? Literature review: A literature review including communication and media structures, input-mediator-output team effectiveness, and individual CMC anxiety elements indicate researchable negative effects upon virtual team interaction and participation in CMC environments. Higher levels of individual CMC anxiety could dampen participation quantity, participation type (task versus social), participation quality, and perceptions of individual performance. Further, the initial negative interactions and behaviors could persist over time. Methodology: This quantitative quasiexperimental study involved surveying, observing, and coding the interactions of 22 virtual project teams (consisting of a total of 110 individuals) over a span of four months. The teams used a CMC tool with shared file space and discussion boards to coordinate database design and implementation work. Data were collected from questionnaire surveys, individual message postings, and team project scores. Individual message postings were coded to measure participation quality (task focus and topic introductions) and participation quantity (message count and words per message). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures multivariate analyses along with follow-up univariate statistical testing. Results and conclusions: The results indicate that individuals with higher levels of CMC anxiety participated less, sent fewer task-oriented messages, introduced fewer novel topics, and were rated more poorly by team members on their performance compared to individuals with lower levels of CMC anxiety. The results also show that CMC-anxious individuals do send relatively more social-oriented messages, perhaps to compensate for typical apprehensive communication behaviors in a virtual team environment. In addition, participation quality and quantity and perceptions of performance by CMC-anxious team members do not significantly improve, even with repeated interactions over CMC. Although study participants evidenced high engagement with the project tasks, the study is limited by its use of student subjects. The study suggests the importance of team leaders and role definitions for virtual teams, to counteract potential unintended effects of CMC technology use masking actual participation and contribution of virtual team members. Future research could investigate the efficacy of interventions for reducing the negative impacts of CMC anxiety in virtual team performance, as well as the influence of individual structures such as CMC anxiety in the use of CMC and team structures in the virtual team environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an exploratory study that investigated the effect of extensive speaking practice on the development of L2 speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency in voice blogging. The participants were 30 college EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in Taiwan. As a supplement to the insufficient speaking practice in class, each week over a semester, the participants were required to speak on a topic, record their speaking, and post it onto a class blog outside of class. In addition, they were required to listen to and provide comments on at least one other student's voice blog post every week. Blog posts from the first two and last two weeks were analyzed and compared for complexity (mean number of clauses per AS-unit, mean length of AS-unit, mean length of clause, modified type-token ratio), accuracy (percentage of error-free AS-units, percentage of error-free clauses, percentage of accurate use of grammatical verb forms), and fluency (number of syllables per minute, number of meaningful syllables per minute). Results showed that the participants made an improvement in their speaking complexity (greater mean length of AS-unit and clause) although no such improvement was made in their speaking accuracy and fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Under the theoretical framework constructed for Computer Mediated Communication, by documentary research, various contributions on YouTube were reviewed in order to spot the educational opportunities offered by it. The result distinguishes it as an asynchronously, transmissive and interactive communication media; classified to share videos and create communities around shared resources. Educational studies collected in this review describes it as teacher's tool for content management and community's creator; and for promoting the development of learners seeking skills, selection and evaluation of audiovisual representations of own or strange authorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online discussions offer exciting potential for educational dialogue, but too often result in disjointed conversations with low levels of interactivity. One contributing cause is the traditional text-based interface, which presents posts in a long list, leaving students overwhelmed and without useful navigational cues. To address this problem, we used information visualization techniques to design a graphical discussion forum interface. Starburst presents discussion posts as a dynamic hyperbolic tree: higher-level posts initially appear as larger and more central nodes, with each level of replies appearing smaller and more towards the periphery. To evaluate the new interface, students' discussion participation using Starburst was compared to their activity interacting with the same discussion content in a traditional text-based linear forum. Results showed that students were more purposeful in selecting which discussion threads to read when using Starburst and read new posts in a more connected fashion. Implications for the future design, use, and research of online discussions are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, low and high-income young people currently have unequal access to information about higher education. Low-income prospective college students, for example, are less likely to have informational resources in their immediate families, requiring that they rely on information from other sources. We report on interview data collected in two high schools, one in a rural/suburban school district ( N = 43), the other in an urban district ( N = 25), which offer insight into how high school students from low-income communities use the Internet to learn about college. We observe that students are capable of accessing a great diversity of information about college online, but run into challenges when trying to interpret of that information. We introduce the term “knowledgeable translators” to capture the important role played by contacts with specialized knowledge about post-secondary institutions who help students evaluate and contextualize college information via online and offline channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the differences between chat-based and face-to-face interventions, which are mainly caused by differences in the degree of signal reduction. Students suffering from symptoms of procrastination were randomized and received either face-to-face ( n = 26) or chat-based ( n = 25) counseling, while we accounted for the impact of perceived counselor's characteristics and self-disclosure in both conditions. Both conditions resulted in a comparable decrease in procrastination, fear and insecurity, and aversion to study. Compared to face-to-face, counselors in chat-based communication were perceived as stricter and less attractive. Perceived trustworthiness of the counselor in the chat condition was more strongly associated with treatment outcome than in face-to-face. Clients assigned to the chat condition showed more self-disclosure reflected by their choice of words but not by self-reports. Both kinds of self-disclosure, but particularly self-reported self-disclosure, were associated with better treatment outcome in the chat condition, but not in face-to-face. The data indicated the importance of clients' processing in chat-based counseling: Interventions may be especially beneficial if clients perceive their counselor as being trustworthy and if they self-disclose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the burgeoning phenomenon of Facebook memorial pages and how this research about online social networking environments can contribute to the existing literature related to Klass, Silverman, and Nickman (1996) continuing bonds thesis. I argue that memorial pages constitute a new ritualized and public space for maintaining these continued bonds and that individuals exhibit several types of bonding interactions with the deceased. I conducted a content analysis on a purposively selected sample of 12 public Facebook “pages” where I coded 1,270 individual Wall postings. Analyses demonstrated that many individuals routinely used these Walls to continue their relationships with the deceased. Findings revealed several Wall posting categories, “guidance from beyond and reunion with the deceased,” “messages and visitations from the deceased,” and “conversations with the deceased,” which I then combined under a central thematic heading of “paranormal copresence.” There were 267 Wall postings coded under “guidance and reunion,” 26 for “messages and visitations,” and 340 for “conversations,” with the total of 633 Wall postings under the central thematic heading of paranormal copresence. This research highlights how individuals have transcended the limitations of time and physical space in relation to traditional bereavement behavior and rituals and how data found on public websites, such as Facebook, can be used to further theorize bereavement and to demonstrate continue bonds between the living and the dead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet can play a critical role in improving intergroup relations. The current field experiment investigated how emotions expressed by participants in intergroup contact sessions—in the form of a synchronous online chat program—predicted a reduction in intergroup bias. Here 102 Muslim and 103 Christian high-school students spent eight Internet sessions in either a Dual Identity Electronic(E)-Contact (DIEC) program integrating interfaith information and intergroup contact, or a Control program involving within-faith information and ingroup contact. Participants also completed pre- and post-program measures of intergroup bias. Using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), a computerised text analysis program, we objectively analysed data from across the eight Internet sessions, and found that groups in the two conditions expressed emotions differently. That is, the DIEC chat groups used more affect and positive emotion words, and less anger and sadness words than the Control chat groups. Mediation analyses showed that anger and sadness mediated the intervention effect on T2, T3 and T4 intergroup bias. In other words, DIEC chat groups’ reduced expressions of anger and sadness were related to reduced short- and long-term intergroup bias. These findings highlight the significant role that structured Internet interactions can play in creating positive and long-lasting intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and thirty-six child welfare workers completed an online survey examining their experiences regarding the impact that electronic communication and social media use has had on their practice with youth and families. Workers reported e-mail and text message use have made work with youth easier, yet distinct difficulties have emerged for practitioners in relation to electronic communication and social media use. New elements have also emerged including issues with harassment and the ethics related to monitoring clients' online activities. Comparisons with a previous study conducted by Finn indicate that the use of technology within social work practice has evolved over time. Implications for social work practice and future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on problematic Internet use have focused almost exclusively on the fact that presence of negative functioning, such as social anxiety, depressive symptoms, or loneliness, represents a risk factor for unhealthy use of the web. For this reason the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between psychological well-being dimensions and problematic use of Internet communicative services. In the current study 495 undergraduate students were recruited. The Italian adaptations of the Psychological Well-being Scales and the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) were used to assess psychological well-being dimensions and generalized problematic Internet use, respectively. Psychological well-being dimensions explained a significant portion of variance for the GPIUS2 total score levels, after controlling for sex, age, and occupational status. The levels of Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, and Positive Relations with Others acted as significant negative predictors of the tendency to use the web for regulating negative feelings, compulsive use of the web, and the negative outcomes that can arise as a result. The overall findings of the present study provide preliminary evidence that low psychological well-being is associated with problematic use of Internet communicative services. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined how operating elderly or young avatars affected shoppers’ product perceptions and purchasing behaviors. It also investigated how virtual shopping experiences translated into prosocial behavior regarding a nonprofit organization supporting the elderly. Operating elderly avatars influenced shoppers’ product choice and walking speed while shopping compared to operating younger avatars. In addition, operating elderly avatars positively affected participants’ attitudes and willingness to donate to and volunteer for a nonprofit organization supporting the elderly. Statistical interactions between avatar age and a shopper’s ageism on behavioral and persuasion outcomes were also confirmed, and these findings implied an assimilation/contrast effect influenced by a shopper’s preexisting prejudices toward the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study had the dual purpose of identifying consequences associated with perfectionistic self-presentation (PSP) and evaluating these factors as mediator of the proposed link between PSP and Problematic use of Internet communicative services (GPIU). The present study hypothesized that a self-presentation style characterized by the need to avoid displaying imperfections is associated with GPIU because communicating online rather than in person affords greater control through the reduction of non-verbal cues and the greater temporal flexibility. A sample of 200 university student participants completed measures assessing PSP, GPIU, and perceived controllable aspects of behaviors associated with relying on computer mediated communications (i.e. managing nonverbal displays and buying more time before having to respond). Structural equation modeling confirmed that those who systematically try to avoid revealing their supposed “less than perfect” behaviors or performance place great emphasis on the reduction of nonverbal cues and the temporal flexibility offered by the computer mediated interactions, which, in turn predicts GPIU levels. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for GPIU and for the perfectionism social disconnection model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research problem: This study investigates the difference in perceptions within the family-owned businesses of messages received from family members and outsiders to assess the role that relational familiarity (the amount of prior experience two people share communicating with each other) plays in internal business communication in these settings. Previous research has shown that this relational familiarity–along with experience with the communicative medium, the message topic, and the business context—lead to channel expansion (the ability to reduce uncertainty from a message with limited communicative cues) for business communicators. But the impact of relational familiarity on communication competence and personal biases between family members—which could impact the ability of relational familiarity to achieve its intended goals—has yet to be fully explored. Research questions: (1) Does increased relational familiarity between communicators lead to increased perceptions of message effectiveness and appropriateness in lean media settings? (2) In family business settings where familial biases may be prevalent, is increased relational familiarity linked to perceptions of increased sender likeability and lowered message negativity? Literature review: Channel Expansion Theory, which proposes that communicators can overcome the limitations of a medium by using their personal experience, guides this study. Previous research found that with personal experience with the communicator sending the message, a message receiver can enhance the limited capacity of a medium to convey cues that aid in understanding the message. Four perceptual variables—message effectiveness, message appropriateness, message negativity, sender likeability—result in benefits accrued from channel expansion and relational familiarity, such as reduced uncertainty and equivocality about the message topic. Methodology: A quasiexperimental setting was designed to elicit messages from business co-workers using email. Message senders were instructed to describe the same business problem in order for the recipient to understand the problem and decide how to proceed. Eighty-three family business owners, managers, and employees received one message from a family member belonging to the same business and one message assigned at random from a nonfamily member working elsewhere (a stranger). The 83 message receivers were asked to complete instruments measuring their perceptions of the messages. Results and conclusions: Results suggested that the relational familiarity between communicators played a significant role in improving message effectiveness and message appropriateness. Sender likeability was also enhanced when family members correctly identified the source of the message. The findings suggest that family members can benefit from channel expansion, though not as many members as expected, and that complex problem and task descriptions were communicated using lean media (communication channels that inhibit sending messages infused with communicative cues) and are perceived as most effective when described by familiar others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although survey results suggest that socially anxious individuals may use computer mediated communication (CMC) differently from others and feel differently about CMC relative to face to face (FTF) communication, little is known about their actual experience during CMC. Using an experimental interaction task, we assessed ( N = 73) high and low social anxiety participants during CMC and FTF. In addition to self-reported social anxiety, arousal, and perception of success and control, we assessed heart rate and skin conductance, which are physiological indices of arousal. Both CMC and FTF interaction tasks were associated with significant increases in physiological arousal compared to baseline. Although subjective anxiety and arousal were higher in FTF compared to CMC, physiological arousal showed no significant differences across conditions. An interaction effect was found for perceived success such that those high in social anxiety perceived greater success in CMC than in FTF while those low in social anxiety showed no differences across conditions. Further experimental study of subjective and objective indices of anxiety will help elucidate the unique experience of CMC for those with high social anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use is a major source of morbidity and mortality globally. Numerous adverse health outcomes have been linked to alcohol use, including liver disease, road injuries, violence, cancer, cardiovascular disease, suicide, domestic violence and family breakdown. Alcohol use is responsible for approximately three million deaths per year across the globe. Different paradigms have been employed in the treatment of alcohol use disorder, including abstinence-based and harm-reduction models. Radical acceptance, which has been successfully applied elsewhere in mental health treatment, has not gained purchase in the treatment of addictions. We used a set of corpus linguistics techniques to analyze a dataset of approximately 10,000 posts in an online forum for self-identified severe alcoholics. The forum we studied explicitly claims a radical acceptance approach to alcohol use disorder. The forum is "for people who accept their lifestyle choice and don't want to be interrupted . . ." We combined quantitative methods (keyword and collocation analysis) and qualitative methods (concordancing) to conduct a discourse analysis of the linguistic and rhetorical practices employed in the forum. We found that although the forum purports to embrace acceptance and eschew change, in fact, the discursive practices in the forum reveal a highly ambivalent relation with both acceptance and change. We found that acceptance and change are in dialectical tension that mirrors the structure agency dialectic described in critical realism. We suggest there may be merit in considering employing a radical acceptance paradigm in addictions treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer mediated communication has marked differences from the face-to-face context. One major difference is that, in the online context, we often have explicit access to others' opinions and these opinions are often the only informational cues available. We investigate if awareness of opinion congruence, in the absence of any other reference categories, may be sufficient to foster social identification. In a pre-registered experiment (N = 681), we manipulated exposure to opinions, and measured levels of ingroup identification, opinion-based identification and their social influence on activism intentions. Our results demonstrate exposure to others' opinions in an otherwise anonymous context fosters ingroup and opinion-based identification. There was no effect on opinion-based group activism intentions. We conclude that computer mediated contexts have consequences for identification – opinion (in)congruence is becoming more relevant as a source of social categorization. While we did not find this identification had a social influence on activism, we discuss avenues for future research to disentangle the features of opinion-based groups necessary to foster activism. [Display omitted] • In the online context we often have explicit access to people's opinions. • Online, opinions are often the only available cues to inform in and out-groups. • Opinions can serve as category cues from which people deduce opinion-based identities. • Online contexts characterised by opposing opinions can facilitate group identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in technology, including the use of synchronous telecollaborative tools, promise to address the challenge of providing opportunities for interaction in the foreign language classroom. The present study investigates how learners and native speakers (NS) of English co-construct small talk in the opening phase of a voice-based Skype telecollaboration. Specifically, learner and NS self-oriented and other-oriented topic shifts, topic replies and verbal listenership behaviour are analysed. The focus is on the English interactions of two learner-NS dyads, each made up of a German NS and an Irish English NS. One dyad includes a learner who exhibits a high level of interactional competence while in the other dyad the learner shows no active participation. Specifically, she reveals a low use of topic shifts, a high use of equivocal short-form topic replies, few long-form replies and a very limited use of backchannels/backchannel forms, leaving the interactional burden on the Irish English NS. The analysis illuminates small talk construction in the voice-based telecollaborative context and highlights the possibilities it offers for developing interactive competencies. It also sheds light on the roles played by NS and learners in topic management and adds to our understanding of individual differences in small talk construction in the foreign language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer mediated communication is a new kind of communication that has become in one of the main characteristic of our society. Millions of people around the world use social networks to improve their opportunities to satisfy their communicational needs, especially adolescence and young people. The increase of this kind of communication has modified people interests and how they spend their free time. Computer mediated communication and traditional communication has too many characteristics in common, but it is important to say that there are other ones that are different too, for example emoticons use. This study intends to do a comprehensive study about the use and function of emoticons that people from different ages do in Computer Mediated Communication. For this reason, a sample of messages extracted of six different asynchronous forums has been analyzed with an interpretative-descriptive methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality perception accuracy after instant messenger communication and relation of content of messages to self- and stranger-perceived personality were examined in two cultures. Czech and Chinese subjects were paired into couples with a stranger and spoke with him or her through Windows Live Messenger (in the Czech Republic) or QQ (in China). After 30-40 minutes conversation they filled out Big Five questionnaires about their partner's personality and about themselves. In the Czech study, there was a correlation 0.39 between self perceived and partner perceived extraversion. In the Chinese study, correlations between self-perception and partnerperception of a subject's personality were 0.49 for neuroticism, 0.38 for extraversion, 0.35 for openness to experience, and 0.28 for agreeableness. Possible reasons for Chinese higher personality perception accuracy can be higher proneness to "dialectical thinking" or higher experience with using online communication for social sharing and perceiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the effect of written corrective feedback (WCF) in a second language in the last fifteen years. Even though early studies show contradictory and controversial results, a growing body of research has recently demonstrated the efficacy of written corrective feedback in the acquisition of some linguistic features. However, still for many L2 researchers and teachers of writing, this approach is not very practical and even far from a real educational context. In addition, an emerging body of studies has researched how computer mediated communication can impact new forms of corrective feedback in the near future. Consequently, in this paper we introduce a research design for error correction in L2 writing, which is based on the robust methodology of the SLA studies, the relevance of the educational context of the studies of L2 writing and the role of technology in corrective feedback delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularization of computer-mediated communication has enabled the emergence of new forms of production meaning in the network. Based on the computer mediated discourses analysis - CDMA, this article analyzes the publication of a meme by Senate News Facebook page. Taken as a legitimation of the humor discourse as own discursive practice of the medium. For this analysis are considered aspects such as structure, meaning, interaction, social behavior and multimodality. We observed a practice recognition process, not only due to the meme use by an official website of the government, but also by users which legitimized the publication through likes, comments and shares. These results demonstrate not only the popularity, but the legitimacy of the use of humor as a way to communicating in the social network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]