“Degree and Reciprocity of Self-Disclosure in Online Forums”
Barak, Azy & Gluck-Ofri, Orit (2007). Degree and Reciprocity of Self-Disclosure in Online Forums. Vol.10. Cyberspace & Technology.
The article I chose to write a review on focuses on an area that I find to be quite relevant and real in today’s world. As Barak and Gluck-Ofri state, “Cyberspace has become a social environment in which people interact and operate in many ways.” Within this environment the question that many have, including the psychology world is how one interacts in a virtual world. Is self-disclosure easier to convey in an online environment than in a face-to-face interaction?
The study they conducted looked at two social environments, discussion forums and online support groups. Types of disclosures closely researched consisted of what types of information, thoughts and feelings were conveyed through first messages and responses received. The study group used included both a male and female gender, however were not age specific. Results indicated that of the participants more respondent’s self-disclosed information in an online support group than in discussion forms.
Online communication emerges in all facets of life. Psychologists understand that this is a market of great value as well as an opportunity of influence if more individuals move towards utilizing an online social environment.
Questions still remain however as to how well we know how individuals really self-disclose personal information in a virtual world. The authors agree that more thorough research needs to be conducted before determining that this environment will benefit from that type of forum. I could not agree further. We need to be extremely careful in making an assumption that online environments are safer for disclosure than in a face-to-face interaction.
Nicole
Who is watching your kids?
Technical means is on the fringe of the communications bubble, but I find it relevant in the sense of the capabilities it has to offer. The article I chose covers the wireless internet and the attachments that come with the data and it's placement on the web. One aspect of the article is to equip schools with wireless internet hubs in order to reach the students and provide access to the internet without running cable and hardwiring the schools with gear that will eventually have to be replaced.
The other points in the article have to deal with equipping students with smart card technology in order to, in a sense, track the students whereabouts. This is a double edged sword in the sense that not only will the administrators know the students whereabouts in time of emergency, but also if the neffarious little deviants are smoking in the parking lot.
There are some great issues that this article raises in the advantage for going wireless in the school. The ability to go mobile releases the constraint of having computer equipped rooms as opposed to rooms that have no access. As the times change, so does the class environment. This eliminates the need to restructure classrooms and allows for the ability for every classroom to be computer enhanced when the time comes.
Another plus for a wireless environment is the student population control. If each student is issued a smart card, than the access for each class room is controlled to the appropriate students and faculty that need to be there. In terms of security, there is a limited number of avenues for an intruder to cause havoc because if you deny them service to an area they are limited to where they can roam. Just look at the number of school shootings and we can see how the limitation of access could have prevented even one loss of life. On the flip side of this coin, in the event of a disaster, the location of students can be limited to the nearest work station as opposed to a full sweep of the environment. This cuts down time in reaction and also a certain level of confusion given the need for evacuation.
The disadvantages to this capability is the ability for an outside entity to exploit the capabilities. No matter how secure a network is, a broadcasted RF signal can be intercepted and depending on the dedication of those intercepting, any algorithm can be broken. This not only defeats the purpose of security, but also gives the intruder an advantage. Knowledge is power, but sometimes it is too much power. Any denial of service attack on an institution renders the intent of security null and void.
Secondly, students are not going to be perfect candidates for a "Big Brother" minded operation. Just because the smartcard is telling the administrator it is in class does not mean that the student is physically present. In order to enforce this concept, the traditional mindset of role and accountability needs to be altered to ensure the full number of components are in place. It would be simple to have one student hold on to a badge while another is out on the football field professing their love to another. Another downside to presenting wireless internet to schools has to do with location and construction of physical entities. If the school has one type of construction as opposed to another, the full ability to transmit might change based simply on concrete versus stick build. A school located in an urban environment might suffer interference as a school located in a highly dense RF surrounding might suffer dropouts on the transmission.
Budget also as a large say in the implementation of a wireless environment. A traditional landline capability might benefit any school more simply because the quality of service is relatively stable. Some districts just might not be able to afford a wireless environment, even with federal support. Overall, this is a great point to debate as technology becomes more and more present in our daily routine. Only time will tell as to where and what the future holds for schools and the never ending need to prepare the students of today with the abilities of tomorrow.
The other points in the article have to deal with equipping students with smart card technology in order to, in a sense, track the students whereabouts. This is a double edged sword in the sense that not only will the administrators know the students whereabouts in time of emergency, but also if the neffarious little deviants are smoking in the parking lot.
There are some great issues that this article raises in the advantage for going wireless in the school. The ability to go mobile releases the constraint of having computer equipped rooms as opposed to rooms that have no access. As the times change, so does the class environment. This eliminates the need to restructure classrooms and allows for the ability for every classroom to be computer enhanced when the time comes.
Another plus for a wireless environment is the student population control. If each student is issued a smart card, than the access for each class room is controlled to the appropriate students and faculty that need to be there. In terms of security, there is a limited number of avenues for an intruder to cause havoc because if you deny them service to an area they are limited to where they can roam. Just look at the number of school shootings and we can see how the limitation of access could have prevented even one loss of life. On the flip side of this coin, in the event of a disaster, the location of students can be limited to the nearest work station as opposed to a full sweep of the environment. This cuts down time in reaction and also a certain level of confusion given the need for evacuation.
The disadvantages to this capability is the ability for an outside entity to exploit the capabilities. No matter how secure a network is, a broadcasted RF signal can be intercepted and depending on the dedication of those intercepting, any algorithm can be broken. This not only defeats the purpose of security, but also gives the intruder an advantage. Knowledge is power, but sometimes it is too much power. Any denial of service attack on an institution renders the intent of security null and void.
Secondly, students are not going to be perfect candidates for a "Big Brother" minded operation. Just because the smartcard is telling the administrator it is in class does not mean that the student is physically present. In order to enforce this concept, the traditional mindset of role and accountability needs to be altered to ensure the full number of components are in place. It would be simple to have one student hold on to a badge while another is out on the football field professing their love to another. Another downside to presenting wireless internet to schools has to do with location and construction of physical entities. If the school has one type of construction as opposed to another, the full ability to transmit might change based simply on concrete versus stick build. A school located in an urban environment might suffer interference as a school located in a highly dense RF surrounding might suffer dropouts on the transmission.
Budget also as a large say in the implementation of a wireless environment. A traditional landline capability might benefit any school more simply because the quality of service is relatively stable. Some districts just might not be able to afford a wireless environment, even with federal support. Overall, this is a great point to debate as technology becomes more and more present in our daily routine. Only time will tell as to where and what the future holds for schools and the never ending need to prepare the students of today with the abilities of tomorrow.
The Cyberspace Deceivers
I chose the article, “Deception in Cyberspace: a comparison of text-only vs. avatar-supported medium."
Have you ever wondered if the person you are communicating with online is being honest or deceitful? This article studies the common tendencies of online liars, scam artists, and predators. It is not focused on the common email virus and phishing scams, but is centralized around a less expected form of deceptive cyberspace behavior. It focuses on the differences between their actions using text-only based communication, like a chat room or instant messenger, as well as avatar based communication, like a multiplayer game or an online world, such as Linden Labs’ Second Life (www.secondlife.com). An avatar is an online representation of a person, such as a character in a video game (3D avatar) or a graphical representation in an instant messenger (2D avatar). Since the internet is becoming a haven for scam artists and sexual predators, being able to spot these modern day deceivers could be very beneficial for the average cyberspace user.
The author conducts an experiment with a large group of undergraduates to determine several differences between deceptive personas and truthful personas across different online mediums. The results of the study conclude that a deceiving person will experience much higher anxiety levels when communicating via text-only platforms, and are extremely less anxious when communicating through an avatar. This proves that a deceptive person is much more comfortable deceiving someone from behind “a mask” and is also more likely to choose or design an avatar that looks less like them. The average user seems to be more likely to trust someone that is portrayed by a three-dimensional avatar such as in an online game, but their level of trust did not change between someone using no avatar, or using a two-dimensional avatar in an instant messenger. A common tactic used by a deceiving male would be to create a female avatar, which for many people can seem more trustworthy.
This article has brought several things into question. How can someone ever really trust a stranger online? Is the comfort level of a deceitful person using a three-dimensional avatar, such as those found in online video games, dangerous for our children? How can you tell the difference between someone that is being truthful and helpful, from someone that is being deceitful and attempting to scam you? I guess these are just some of the sacrifices we have to make to be able to have such personal freedom in cyberspace.
Galanxhi, H. & Fui-Hoon Nah, F. (2007). Deception in cyberspace: A comparison of text-only vs. avatar-supported medium. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 65, 9, 770-783.
-Christopher
"Culture in the Online Class: Using Message Analysis to Look Beyond Nationality-Based Frames of Reference" by Anne Hewling.
"Culture in the Online Class: Using Message Analysis to Look Beyond Nationality-Based Frames of Reference" by Anne Hewling.
in an online classroom, we are , in essence, able to combine our work and educational lives. Because of this, the typical student can vary in educational, cultural, national or even international backgrounds and circumstances resulting in a possible strain or confusion in the virtual classroom. The online classroom is an up and coming third culture and it typically seen as a “doing” culture. This culture is an on-going process and is normally judged on how much one contributes to the class. It is an ongoing and active process. It is measured by enactive work such as posting to forums, adding to discussions and editing our work in an acceptable manner to our classmates and instructor. Message analysis and the rules of engagement are thoroughly explored as it typically adds or deducts from the perception of the person writing the message. To properly analyze the message, researching the culture in the online classroom is paramount. Topics such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism verses collectivism should be explored if students and teachers seek to better understand one another in the online environment
There was a study done by and Australian university whereby two classes were based in an Australian university with face to face interaction in addition to a large number of distance students. Identical teaching materials and the same tutorial team was used. Some students were of Australian nationality and some were not. Other lived around the world. The results showed that online activity regarding postings seemed too much higher for non-Australians. With some variations, the non-local participation was consistently higher than local groups. The study suggests that students sharing a common nationality would also share some common communicative practices. discusses the need for a new approach for the transnational globally recruited online class and questions how culture in the classroom is understood and explored if we already have our own ideas of what that culture is. How fitting is it that we “played” our personas to better understand how culture plays a vital role in the learning environment. We are already on to that approach! I believe this article breaks down preconceived notions about online communication that we all carry, consciously or sub-consciously.
in an online classroom, we are , in essence, able to combine our work and educational lives. Because of this, the typical student can vary in educational, cultural, national or even international backgrounds and circumstances resulting in a possible strain or confusion in the virtual classroom. The online classroom is an up and coming third culture and it typically seen as a “doing” culture. This culture is an on-going process and is normally judged on how much one contributes to the class. It is an ongoing and active process. It is measured by enactive work such as posting to forums, adding to discussions and editing our work in an acceptable manner to our classmates and instructor. Message analysis and the rules of engagement are thoroughly explored as it typically adds or deducts from the perception of the person writing the message. To properly analyze the message, researching the culture in the online classroom is paramount. Topics such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism verses collectivism should be explored if students and teachers seek to better understand one another in the online environment
There was a study done by and Australian university whereby two classes were based in an Australian university with face to face interaction in addition to a large number of distance students. Identical teaching materials and the same tutorial team was used. Some students were of Australian nationality and some were not. Other lived around the world. The results showed that online activity regarding postings seemed too much higher for non-Australians. With some variations, the non-local participation was consistently higher than local groups. The study suggests that students sharing a common nationality would also share some common communicative practices. discusses the need for a new approach for the transnational globally recruited online class and questions how culture in the classroom is understood and explored if we already have our own ideas of what that culture is. How fitting is it that we “played” our personas to better understand how culture plays a vital role in the learning environment. We are already on to that approach! I believe this article breaks down preconceived notions about online communication that we all carry, consciously or sub-consciously.
Right To Remain Silent With A Keyboard?
Miranda Rights and Cyberspace Realities:
Risks the "Right to Remain Silent"
What constitutes the right to remain silent relative to cyberspace? This article focuses on person's rights in cyberspace and whether the World Wide Web carries the same legal rights as the US Constitution demands, persons rights under the Miranda Law to remain silent. Part of the controversy here is who owns the rights to the information when you are on the web. If you are practicing unethical or illegal behavior from your office, then technically your organization owns the right to anything you do or say in cyberspace. In other words, you don't always own the "evidence" that could be used against you in a legal matter.
Since the law provides that other means of communications must have a court order to monitor conversations and violate privacy for the protection of society, the question arises as to whether or not cyberspace communications should hold the same protocol. People using the Internet assume their conversations are private when in fact all Internet activity can be monitored.
Opinion: Our world as US citizens has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. In order to protect the majority of society our government has been forced to invade our privacy in many facets of our lives. Although I do believe that the FCC should enforce the laws surrounding Internet privacy, I also recognize the opportunity to catch predators, terrorists, and criminals in general. People who use the Internet for these purposes should be smart enough to know that just about anything is traceable on a computer.
Criminals give up the right to remain silent when using the Internet, it is just another form of speaking, using a keyboard.
Ann M Olney
Risks the "Right to Remain Silent"
What constitutes the right to remain silent relative to cyberspace? This article focuses on person's rights in cyberspace and whether the World Wide Web carries the same legal rights as the US Constitution demands, persons rights under the Miranda Law to remain silent. Part of the controversy here is who owns the rights to the information when you are on the web. If you are practicing unethical or illegal behavior from your office, then technically your organization owns the right to anything you do or say in cyberspace. In other words, you don't always own the "evidence" that could be used against you in a legal matter.
Since the law provides that other means of communications must have a court order to monitor conversations and violate privacy for the protection of society, the question arises as to whether or not cyberspace communications should hold the same protocol. People using the Internet assume their conversations are private when in fact all Internet activity can be monitored.
Opinion: Our world as US citizens has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. In order to protect the majority of society our government has been forced to invade our privacy in many facets of our lives. Although I do believe that the FCC should enforce the laws surrounding Internet privacy, I also recognize the opportunity to catch predators, terrorists, and criminals in general. People who use the Internet for these purposes should be smart enough to know that just about anything is traceable on a computer.
Criminals give up the right to remain silent when using the Internet, it is just another form of speaking, using a keyboard.
Ann M Olney
Cyber Therapy?
I chose to review “The Art of Blogging” by Kate Anthony, Counselling & Psychotherapy Journal, Nov 2004, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p38-39, 2p, 1c. The title of this article may lead one to believe it would include helpful information for potential new bloggers to hone their blogging skills. On the contrary, the article should be titled “The Art of Blogging in Counseling and Psychotherapy”, as the author aims “to demystify blogs, and show how important they may become for the profession and the future of therapy from theoretical, ethical and legal standpoints.” The author suggests that practitioners should use other avenues rather than the traditional face-to-face communication with their patients, such as the Blogoshere (the area in cyberspace used by bloggers). While the article provides an interesting and somewhat humorous insight into the prospect of using this form of counseling and psychotherapy, I can’t help to consider some disastrous effects.
First, my obvious reaction is that if a patient is unable to effectively communicate issues with their therapist, perhaps they should find a new one. But a much bigger concern is the type of feedback and advice users will receive. Another consideration would be a self-destructive personality my draw others into their world, or vise versa. The negative possibilities seem endless, but perhaps, if the therapist continually monitors the feedback and postings, this may be a viable alternative to traditional counseling session. However, the article provides little information on the research conducted to support the effectiveness of this form of therapy. Without additional trials and research on the concept, I would be cautious to have clients participate in this type of therapy.
Yvonne
First, my obvious reaction is that if a patient is unable to effectively communicate issues with their therapist, perhaps they should find a new one. But a much bigger concern is the type of feedback and advice users will receive. Another consideration would be a self-destructive personality my draw others into their world, or vise versa. The negative possibilities seem endless, but perhaps, if the therapist continually monitors the feedback and postings, this may be a viable alternative to traditional counseling session. However, the article provides little information on the research conducted to support the effectiveness of this form of therapy. Without additional trials and research on the concept, I would be cautious to have clients participate in this type of therapy.
Yvonne
Is this the real world or just cyberspace?
The article I choose was: How an Issue in Cyberspace Shifts to the Real World: Three-Stage Cyber-Issue Diffusion (CID) Model. Shin, Hochang. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 2005 Annual Meeting, New York, NY, p1-25.
This article is about a study conducted to show the characteristics of communication in cyberspace with the focus how an issue is formed, diffused, and amplified to the extent that is arouses collective action in the off-line world.
The study was to show that issues brought up in the offline world were fueled by mass media that set the tone of the issues that are influential or important to that society and collective action is taken on most of issues. In the online world Internet users bring up the issues in cyberspace and only a handful are amplified into real action. The article asks the question if it is possible that if cyberspace has a life cycle like one in the off line world.
The Three-Stage Cyber-Issue Diffusion (CID) Model was then created. The three stages are issue forming, diffusion, and action. In the forming stage, an issue is raised by an individual. The issues is not limited to anyone or anything. Diffusion, the issue is diffused to websites or freeboards, and then amplified by other mass media websites. Off line begins to take on the issue now for further amplification. To the mass media, the issue is taken as not important issues and may fade away. Action, issue is amplified that it facilitates real collective action in the off-line world. The issue is amplified because of active involvement and increased interaction between cyber-media and mass media. Therefore, to make the long story short, off-line mass media like the news or a newspaper are the most influential media type that affects the issue throughout the overall issue cycle.
My thoughts: The internet has a wealth of information.. But with the news being broadcast and the newspaper in front of you, it would be more difficult to tune those out. On the computer, just press close and you are done with it.
Janice
This article is about a study conducted to show the characteristics of communication in cyberspace with the focus how an issue is formed, diffused, and amplified to the extent that is arouses collective action in the off-line world.
The study was to show that issues brought up in the offline world were fueled by mass media that set the tone of the issues that are influential or important to that society and collective action is taken on most of issues. In the online world Internet users bring up the issues in cyberspace and only a handful are amplified into real action. The article asks the question if it is possible that if cyberspace has a life cycle like one in the off line world.
The Three-Stage Cyber-Issue Diffusion (CID) Model was then created. The three stages are issue forming, diffusion, and action. In the forming stage, an issue is raised by an individual. The issues is not limited to anyone or anything. Diffusion, the issue is diffused to websites or freeboards, and then amplified by other mass media websites. Off line begins to take on the issue now for further amplification. To the mass media, the issue is taken as not important issues and may fade away. Action, issue is amplified that it facilitates real collective action in the off-line world. The issue is amplified because of active involvement and increased interaction between cyber-media and mass media. Therefore, to make the long story short, off-line mass media like the news or a newspaper are the most influential media type that affects the issue throughout the overall issue cycle.
My thoughts: The internet has a wealth of information.. But with the news being broadcast and the newspaper in front of you, it would be more difficult to tune those out. On the computer, just press close and you are done with it.
Janice
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