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This study is an examination of issues affecting the use of a shared graphic space (SGS). A working definition for an SGS is a virtual, computer-mediated blackboard that allows the simultaneous presentation and editing of visual information by two or more participants. The issues affecting the use of an SGS involve how people communicate with it. The addition of any technology into an already complicated situation like distance learning should be examined from multiple angles. In order to examine an SGS as a channel for communications, this study framed the SGS in terms of the nature of the feedback and noise that are present when we examine interactions in this space. This study examined 16 dyads interacting with whiteboard software to communicate solutions to 6 tangram puzzles. In all problem sets, participants used the text inherent in the whiteboard software as well as graphics to communicate potential solutions with each other in dyads. The participants also had access to audio for communications during either the first 4 or final 2 problem sets. Analysis of the results of this study show that the use of graphics for communication is dependent on accompanying communication channels. The addition of an audio channel for communications inhibited the use of text for communications. Graphics were used concurrently with audio as a dynamic enhancement to verbal communications. Graphics were not used concurrently with text. Graphics either occurred before or after text and were used as static illustrations or were used independent of text. The feedback mechanisms for the SGS were largely through the text or audio modes of communication. The graphic capabilities inherent to the SGS were an affordance to present and manipulate visual information. The SGS encourages new ways to interact and unique patterns of interactions between users. The manner in which graphics were used by each dyad was determined by the dyad and did not conform across the dyads. The unstructured nature of the SGS was a contributing factor in causing differentiation of the inter-dyad communication from intra-dyad communication. This lack of structure in the SGS was a source of noise in, as well as a source of freedom for, interactions in the SGS. The development of an etiquette for interacting in this unstructured space was developed dynamically and pragmatically and should be a source of future study. Shared space, that can be used for simultaneous, real time communications with graphics, changes the manner in which teachers and students can collaborate and construct new learning environments. / Ph. D.

The Internet represents an abundant source material for linguistic research, which continues to pose new challenges and opportunities on how language is used by its speakers. Its personal naming system, for example, has remained largely unexplored. Of the many facets of names on the Internet awaiting closer scrutiny, the phenomenon of usernames is perhaps the most fundamental. This thesis investigates the role they play in online life, the most suitable methods to approach them, and how they compare with the names used offline and where their place is in onomastics in general. With people’s names inevitably connected with one or another aspect of identity, this work focuses on the relationship between usernames and online identities. The data has been gathered from a forum on the Russian-speaking sector of the Internet (RuNet) and comprises all registered usernames (676 at the time of collection) as well as an extensive and methodically selected sample of users’ conversations. As a general analytical framework, it utilises Garfinkel’s (1967) ethnomethodology, which conceptualises identity as a result of the ongoing interaction that people negotiate and achieve in everyday life rather than a set of inherent inner qualities. More specifically, the following methodological tools devised by Sacks (e.g. 1995, 1984a, 1984b) have been used to perform the analysis: Membership Categorisation Analysis (MCA) to categorise the usernames of the forum participants, and Conversation Analysis (CA), to observe how usernames contribute to the construction of individual identities. Finally, the concept of Stance, as presented by Du Bois (2007), has been used as a lens to identify relevant evidence in the conversation samples. The analysis has demonstrated the need for a systematic categorisation of usernames. The way in which they associate sets of attributes, facilitates the allocation of named entities as members of certain categories of persons. Both linguistic and typographic elements of usernames contribute to how they are perceived and what impression they create. It is also argued that usernames have an important role to play in the active and ongoing construction of individual identities. The study concludes that CMC participants operate their usernames as meaningful linguistic devices to construct and co-construct each other’s identities. CA and MCD are confirmed to be relevant methods to analyse onomastic data. This study has generated a reliable body of evidence for the assertion that usernames are far from meaningless, and demonstrates, moreover, how their meanings are established. In so doing, it constitutes an important contribution to onomastic theory with the potential to shed new light on personal naming in general.

Instant messaging with Internet-based software is a ubiquitous form of communication in industrialized nations. In fact, many educators are observing that students engage with instant messaging while simultaneously engaged in academic activity. Though this type of multitasking is pervasive, educational researchers have not examined how the practice of instant messaging impacts learning outcomes. This dissertation describes the background, empirical and theoretical foundations, methods and results of a study examining the impact of instant messaging activity on learning, where instant messaging and learning are simultaneous activities. The question posed is grounded in the related areas of instant messaging practices, the Generation M profile, Cognitive Load Theory, and integration of instant messaging in K-16 classrooms. This work presents empirical evidence pointing out the necessity of conducting empirical study regarding how instant messaging activity might impact learning. Quantitative methods used to conduct the study are presented including data collection instruments. The results of the study are discussed in broad terms related to Generation M and Cognitive Load Theory. Methodological limitations related to practice opportunities for the research sample as well as the performance measure used are detailed. In addition, implications of the results in relationship to those teaching members of Generation M in K-16 classrooms as well as those designing instruction for this population are discussed. The discussion concludes with recommendations for further research in this area.

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Mixed richness communications occur when a participant in a conversation receives a different media or combination of media than they transmit. Mixed richness communications occur in the workplace when technical, physiological or practical limitations prevent the use of the same media on both ends of a conversation. Prior research in CMC has focused on same-richness communications, and the design guidelines that are available for same-richness communications may not be applicable to mixed-richness communications. This study attempts to establish a basis for understanding mixed-richness communications by evaluating same-richness communications using concepts and measures previously applied to mixed-richness communications Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984, 1986) defines the richness of a communication medium in terms of its ability to reduce uncertainty and equivocality. According to Daft and Lengel's task-media fit hypothesis, communications are most effective and satisfying when the media richness matches the level of uncertainty and equivocality in a task. Social presence is the perceived ability of a medium to transmit the social cues that lead to a sense that the medium is "warm, personal, sensitive, and sociable" (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976). Social presence has been suggested to be a predictor of user satisfaction for computer-mediated communications (CMC), and has been used as measure of media richness in previous studies (Rice, 1993; Yoo & Alavi, 2001). This study examined the effects of communication medium and task equivocality on task performance, communication effectiveness and sense of social presence. Pairs of participants were required to complete high and low equivocality collaborative tasks while communicating with each other using CMC. The communication media varied between participants. During some sessions, participants received and transmitted the same media (video-only or text-only). In other cases, participants transmitted text and received video or vice-versa. From the recorded transcripts of each user session was extracted task performance in terms of task time-to-complete and communication effectiveness in terms of the frequency of communication breakdowns. Based on the task-media fit hypothesis, it was expected that task performance and communication effectiveness would be affected by the interaction between communication medium and task equivocality. For the most part, task-media fitness was not confirmed. Only one of the four hypotheses supporting task-media fitness was confirmed for time-to-complete, and none of the four hypotheses supporting task-media-fitness was confirmed for communication breakdown frequency. In the overall analysis of time to complete, Medium was found to have had a significant effect. Sending and receiving text was significantly slower than all other tested media. Sending and receiving video was significantly faster than all other tested media combinations. After completing each task, participants completed a short questionnaire designed to measure the sense of social presence using the original scales developed by Short and Christie. The sense of social presence reported in video communications was significantly higher for all scales than the sense of social presence reported in mixed-richness environments. The sense of social presence reported in text communications was only significantly lower than mixed-richness environments for one scale, with no significant difference for all other scales. / Master of Science

This paper explores value co-creation and value co-destruction with a focus on the social practices embedded in the online brand community “My Starbucks Idea (MSI).” The objectives of the research are accomplished through a detailed explanation of the study’s stages, starting with the Research design/Planning, and followed by the Community Entry (Entrée), Data collection, Limitations, and Ethical implications. Since the study is exploratory in character, the qualitative research strategy was used. As Bryman and Bell (2011) note, qualitative research gives particular attention to words rather than numbers in the gathering and interpretation of data. This study applied a modified ‘netnographic’ approach, a new qualitative method devised specifically to investigate consumer behaviour vis-à-vis cultures and communities present on the Internet (Kozinets 1998). This study identifies three elements of practice: stalking, gossip, and exhibitionism. It also supports the idea stated by Echeverri & Skålén (2011) that there is no positive without a negative in interactive value formation. Although those authors’ work was focused on the provider-customer interface, the idea proves applicable to the online brand community (OBC) used for illustration in this study. The present study also draws attention to a vital characteristic of practice often forgotten: ‘Language’ as an enabler of all other elements (Whittington 2006). The paper contributes to the knowledge in the practice theory domain, and thus consumer culture, especially relating to OBCs. When using OBCs as a marketing tool, considerable ingenuity must be employed by business managers to gain strategic information and feedback from online forum discussions. Such information can help in the company’s strategic decision making. By building relationships and gaining new customers through the process of collaboration, managers can become more like brand storytellers. Also, such communication can be channelled as a means to create greater awareness, both of the brand and the users’ experiences, along with aiding in the development of better services and products to meet customers’ needs. In the current study, consent was an ethical concern that limited the scope and path taken by the paper. The ten-week research period was another limiting factor in properly covering all of the contextualized consumption activities and gaining sufficient experience within the MSI community.

In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity. Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method of forming teams, while such challenge is exacerbated in digital environments. Despite the difficulties, the digital environment has made successful team development all the more challenging. The variation in people's skills makes the formation of teams even more difficult. This is why organizations cannot determine in advance if a virtual team will be a success. To evaluate the success of team formation in a virtual setting, this research study assessed the role of different computer-mediated communications (CMC) levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the success of team formation measured by the level of task performance (TP), team cohesiveness (TC), computer skills (CS) and social bond (SB), while assessing the differences on such relationships when controlled for demographic information such as gender, age, education level, academic major, as well as academic year. Empirical data was collected from students at the Medical Sciences Campus in the University of Puerto Rico with 140 usable records. Using three teams and 140 participants, the results indicated that there is a statistically significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the level of perception of CS in team formation. Significant differences were also found in the role of CMC levels employed on the levels of TP, when controlled for gender. In addition, there is a significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the levels of CS, when controlled for education, academic major and academic year. The outcomes of the study contributed to the body of knowledge for both practice and research, to help organizations identify ways to support effective team formations in virtual environments.

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