The Internet has emerged as a prominent medium of communication. Today, it has become the focus of enormous debate and evaluation. The objective of this study is to examine the evolution of its impact on society. In this regard, various interpretations of its societal impact are provided. First, the debate on the information society exhibits the widespread belief that society is transforming and a new type of society is emerging. Second, a chronological description of the evolution and development of the Internet displays its burgeoning growth and current utility and capacities. Third, optimistic and pessimistic perspectives elucidate opposite views of the potential it can have on society and humankind. Lastly, a synchronic analysis of media coverage, using The Globe and Mail as an illustration, demonstrates the present reporting of its impact. These various interpretations provide an understanding of the Internet's increasing significance and position within society.

This study explores discussion forums within two autistic community websites in an attempt to gain intimate insights into the educational experiences and cultural identification of high functioning autistics (HFAs). Throughout this thesis I have referred to people with Autism as 'autistics' or HFAs in recognition of their self-referencing on the websites and to strike consistency with their identity politics. (ex: Autistic Pride Parade). The study maintains a narrative component from the perspective of a teacher-researcher as a means of facilitating the development of a grounded theory for educating high functioning autistics. The study begins with an examination of contemporary controversies within the field of autistic studies, with a particular focus on issues surrounding the classification of Asperger's Syndrome under the deficit model of mental disorders. Several tables are then presented from data collected from Aspiesforfreedom.com and Wrongplanet.net. The tables present high functioning autistic opinions, thoughts and experiences related to emerging autistic advocacy efforts, as well as retrospectives of their social and academic experiences over the course of their schooling. An Internet Culture Theory (ICT) develops which honors the existence of an authentic community of autistics online. ICT explores how this acknowledgment can help shape educational policies and practices related to improving the self-esteem, identity formation, academic success and social experiences of HFAs in both our schools and communities. The study contends that modifications should be implemented prior to grade 7 due to reports of emotional deterioration during this particular year of development. Existing programs operating in the spirit of ICT are discussed in order to provide some concrete examples of what certain modifications might look like.

No description available.

No description available.

Despite the exponential growth in internet usage for personal communication over the last 10 years (Madden & Zickuhr, 2011) little is known of the online interpersonal persuasion process. Whilst some psychological research has been undertaken in this area, the findings are somewhat contradictory (e.g. Di Blasio & Milani, 2008; Murphy, Long, Holleran, & Esterly, 2003). These studies also fail to give consideration to cues used in online persuasive interactions due to the absence of paralinguistic cues. Further, the extant research in this domain has not explicitly examined the persuasion process in terms of a theoretical model. This thesis aims to address these issues and provide a foundation from which future research can be based. This thesis comprises two studies. The first study examined participants’ reactions to anonymous persuasive requests. These requests were presented using three situational contexts, each of which elicited different self-interest motivations (i.e. social, learning, and political). It also compared participants’ reactions to these contexts across three different communication modes both online and offline (i.e. instant messaging, email, and face to face). Language cues (i.e. language power and emotion) contained in the messages presented were also manipulated. The findings from this study show that in anonymous interactions communication mode does not affect compliance decisions. Instead, individuals are sensitive to situational context in online interactions and they process information in accordance with their self-interest motivations. Further, it was also found that, despite the anonymity, individuals are able to engage in impression formation by using the available cues and utilise these impressions when making compliance decisions. In response to these findings, Study 2 examined the effect of prior information in online interpersonal persuasive interactions and found that this information influences message evaluations over and above those in anonymous interactions. This study also examined the persuasion process in terms of a theoretical model finding that individuals engage in hypothesis-testing utilising all the information they perceive to be relevant to a compliance decision. Thus, it was concluded that Kruglanski and Thompson’s (1999) unimodel of persuasion provides the best explanation for online interpersonal persuasion processes. The findings from this thesis provide a broad foundation from which to base future research. They demonstrate that context is important in online communication and affects compliance decisions. They also show that cues are attended to in online interactions and are used in the evaluation process as they provide relevant evidence from which to base a compliance decision. From the findings of this thesis a model of the interpersonal persuasion process is proposed.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Communication

No description available.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

This thesis examines the construction of social spaces in the interstices of the Internet by members of dispersed national societies. Red de Argentinos is explored as an example one of such spaces. Red emerged as an email based solidarity network of the Argentine diaspora and is now a community attached to multiple locales, for which cyberspace has a central articulatory role. These locales include the homeland but, as well, the variety of places in which individuals identifying themselves as Argentinian may be found. This project analyzes some of the factors that allow these types of virtual communities to develop. Special attention is placed on the elements that ensure bonds between members. Self-organization, solidarity, and positioning in relation to the Argentine social reality are seen here as factors that foster the development of a sense of citizenship that is constructed from below in this particular online social space. The need to include the Internet practices of diasporas as part of emerging online cultures in Latin America is finally suggested as an avenue for future exploration.

Online relationships are becoming increasingly popular due to the availability, accessibility, and affordability of online social networking and dating sites. Individuals are progressively moving from meeting romantic partners face to face to meeting and engaging with individuals online. There is ample evidence to support the view that individuals do initiate romantic relationships online and often these relationships progress offline. The primary focus of online research had been conducted by communication and linguistic scholars while very little research has been conducted into the psychological conceptualisation of online relationships. In addition, there is a lack of available research pertaining to the development of romantic relationships online and more so in South Africa. The current study utilised Sternberg’s Triangular model of love and the Johari window as a framework for understanding the concepts involved in online romantic relationships. The study specifically aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of individuals who engage in online dating. The parameters of the study included the elements that comprise the online relationship, the subjective meaning attached to the relationships, and the processes these relationships encompass. The study moreover aimed to explore the progression of the online relationship. The study used a qualitative, phenomenological approach using snowball sampling and semi structured interviews to collect data. Tesch’s model of content analysis was used during data analysis while incorporating the four major processes in phenomenological research, namely (1) epoche, (2) phenomenological reduction, (3) imaginative variation and, (4) synthesis. The findings of the study generated a greater understanding of the complexities of online dating. Themes including online relationship development, the dynamics of online relationships, how love, according to the triangular model of love, is perceived online and, self-disclosure online were identified through the participants narratives. These findings ultimately can be used for future research.