From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
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Annabel Johnson 16:27, 28 Jul 2004 (EST)
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VIRTUAL CULTURES
Virtual Communities and the Digital Divide
- Axelsson, A., Abelin, A., and Schroeder, R. (2003) "Anyone Speak Spanish?Language encounters in multi-user virtual environments and the influence of technology," New Media and Society vol. 5 no. 4, pp. 475-498, ISSN 1461-4448.
- This article discusses how people using different languages interact and communicate in internet-based virtual environments. It focuses on situations in which a new language is introduced into a conversation held in another language. The article also examines how different national languages meet and interact in a virtual environment that allows interaction between users in a 3-D computer generated virtual environment. Furthermore, it examines the influence of the medium on such different language encounters. The authors provide an overview of issues in language in computer-mediated communication (CMC), such as English as the dominant language in virtual environments. In recent years interest in interaction and communication in internet-based virtual environments has increased due to the fact that these systems attract a large number of people who spend a lot of time in such environments. The environments themselves partly resemble ordinary offline life, yet they differ significantly in terms of social conventions, communication patterns and interactional patterns.
- Benton Foundation (2004) Retrieved August 2, 2004, from www.benton.org/.
- The Benton Foundation is one of the leading organisations analysing digital divide issues. This website also provides a general overview of new media. The Benton Foundation’s mission is to ‘articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.’ The organisation’s current priorities include: promoting a vision and policy alternatives for the digital age in which the benefit to the public is paramount; raising awareness among funders and nonprofits on their stake in critical policy issues; enabling communities and nonprofits to produce diverse and locally responsive media content. The website provides current communication-related news as well as information on current projects aimed at achieving its mission of demonstrating the value of communications for solving social problems. The web site also has a ‘press room’ section from which users acess the foundation’s recent announcements; as well as a virtual library. The site also hosts three email lists to which users can subscribe: Communications-related Headlines, the Digital Divide Discussion List and Sound Partners Weekly Digest.
- Fernback, J. (2003) "Legends on the net: an examination of computer-mediated communication as a locus of oral culture," New Media and Society vol. 5 no. 1, pp. 29-45, ISSN 1461-4448.
- This article builds upon other works that suggests an oral cultural dimension to cyberspace within real-time chat modes. The author supports this view, examining the traditional oral folklore, as it exists within the textual context of an online environment. The author analyses online discussion groups devoted to the analysis of urban legends as well as the cultural significance of their existence in online environments. The article covers issues related to the increasing rate at which mediated human communication becomes more non-linear, decentralized and rooted in multi-media. It also looks at how the distinction between orality and literacy is becoming less evident and less important. The proliferation of urban legends online exemplifies the way in which cyberspace can serve as a locus for a primary oral culture and its attendant humanity and sociability in a simultaneously textual environment.
- Leung, L. (2001) "College student motives for chatting on ICQ," New Media and Society vol. 3 no. 4, pp. 483-500, ISSN 1461-4448.
- This article is based on a sample of 576 students from a large university in Hong Kong in 1999, which showed that relaxation; entertainment and fashion were instrumental motives for ICQ (‘I Seek You’) use. Intrinsic motives included inclusion, affection, sociability and escape. The study showed that heavy users were motivated by the desire for affection and sociability whereas fashion interests motivated light users. The article examines the use of emails and the ownership of cellular phones as significant predictors of ICQ use. The article reveals trends related to ICQ usage and gender. The study found that female ICQ users tend to chat longer and more frequently for reasons of sociability, whereas males spend less time on each session for entertainment and relaxation. These findings suggest that ICQ is a technology that facilitates social relations and is a major source of entertainment for college students.
- Nip, J. (2004)"The relationship between online an doffline communities: the case of the Queer Sisters," Media Culture & Society vol.26 iss.3, pp. 409-428, ISSN 0163-4437.
- The key concepts covered in this article are bulletin boards, the Internet, medium theory and technology. The popularity of Internet communities raises the question of how they relate to offline communities. However research on this issue is limited. This article examines the relationship between online and offline communities through a case study of a community formed on a bulletin board on the world wide web and a women’s group in Hong Kong, the Queer Sisters, who created the board. The study found that the community formed on the bulletin board was largely autonomous in relation to offline groups. This article highlights the social potential of the Internet in forming communities, with reference to ‘medium theory’. The article also argues that contingent conditions have an important influence on whether online communities are autonomous in relation to offline communities.
- O'Sullivan, P., and Flanagin, A. (2003) "Reconceptualizing 'flaming' and other problematic messages," New Media and Society vol. 5 no. 1, pp. 69-94, ISSN 1461-4448.
- This article deals with problems and issues related to flaming (hostile and aggressive interactions via text-based computer –mediated communication. The article examines proposed theoretical frameworks to explain possible causes of this problem. However, it is difficult to establish a precise and operational definition for this concept, which has implications for fully understanding this phenomenon. The authors of this article propose an interactional-normative framework that focuses on interpretations of messages from multiple perspectives. This framework incorporates intentionality and the individual’s strategic choices in language use as well as channel selection. The article also discusses the implications of this framework for research on flaming and other problematic interactions.
- Papacharissi, Z. (2002) "The Virtual Sphere: the Internet as a public sphere," New Media and Society vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 9-27, ISSN 1461-4448.
- This article examines how the Internet and its surrounding technologies promise a revival of the public sphere while several aspects of these new technologies simultaneously limit and expand that potential. It outlines 3 important issues. Firstly, data storage and retrieval capabilities of Internet-based technologies introduce political discussion with information that would otherwise be unavailable. However, at the same time, information access inequalities and new media literacy compromise the representativeness of the virtual sphere. Secondly, Internet-based technologies enable discussion between people on opposite sides of the world, but also often fragment political discourse. Finally, the article examines the possibility of Internet-based technologies adapting themselves to current political culture, rather than creating a new one. This article argues that the Internet and its related technologies have created a new public space for politically oriented conversation and whether this public space transcends to a public sphere will not be determined by the technology itself.
- Viseu, A., Clement, A., and Aspinall, J. (2004) "Situating privacy online: complex perceptions an deveryday practices," Information Communication & Society vol. 7 no. 1, pp. 92-114, ISSN 1468-4462.
- The key concepts covered in this article are privacy and the Internet in relation to online environments. The issue of privacy is key to understanding online behaviour and experiences. It is well known within privacy advocacy circles that ‘privacy’ is a loosely defined concept encompassing a variety of meanings. This article views privacy as mediating between individuals and their online activities – not as standing above and being constantly redefined in actual practice. This article examines what individuals react to when asked about online privacy and how it affects their online experience. It is based on data generated in an Everyday Internet study (a neighbourhood-based, ethnographic project conducted in Toronto, Canada) and investigates how people integrate online services into their daily lives. The authors propose that there are three organising ‘moments’ of online privacy: the moment of sitting in front of the computer, the moment of interaction with it and the moment after the data has been released.
- Welink (2004) Retrieved August 5, 2004, from www.bus.qut.edu.au/rwp/Welink.htm/.
- This site is an electronic discussion group that aims to provide networks and resources for women in rural Queensland. The site describes itself as ‘a friendly place for women to chat electronically.’ The forum is part of a research project which aims to enhance rural women's access to interactive communication technologies such as the Internet, including electronic mail and the World Wide Web. The project focuses on the ways in which women's access to such technologies can increase the success of community development activities and small business. The site aims to:
- provide rural women with an electronic venue to explore the many ways in which communicating electronically may be of interest to them
- establish links between rural women and urban women (and some men) with an interest in rural women and communication issues
- provide the research team with data on how, when and why rural women use interactive communication; inform government and industry policy on issues affecting rural women and interactive communication technologies
- and through these activities, to contribute to ensuring that the voices of rural women and their communities are heard, and that future policies will better address their needs.
Users can use this site in several ways to:
- meet other women with similar needs, interests or experiences
- share information of all kinds;
- get ideas and advice from others with more experience, if you are new to this kind of electronic discussion;
- find out about recent developments affecting rural communities;
- just chat
Members of the research team participate in welink at all times. This includes providing assistance including advice about taking advantage of electronic communication and about other electronic sites that users may be interested in.
Annabel Johnson 08:53, 13 Aug 2004 (EST)
