Although a substantial body of research exists on gender differences in Computer Mediated Communication, relatively little empirical attention has been directed toward the special case of CMC - Instant Messenger (IM) and the area of self-disclosure. This study analyzes gender differences and relationships in self-disclosure in the away message of MSN of 329 male and female Taiwanese university students. Applying the five subscales of self-disclosure by Wheeless and Grotz (Wheeless, 1978; Wheeless & Grotz, 1976) and the six topic areas of self-disclosure by Jourard and Lasakow (1958) revealed the following results: Findings show that males and females often do not show the gender differences anymore, which were previously found in face-to-face communication on certain aspects of self-disclosure e.g. frequency, depth, breadth, honesty or accuracy and valence of self-disclosure. However, findings pointing out the different motives and the use of self-disclosure on IM are similar to face-to-face communication, such as females prefer discussing their “personality” while male MSN users prefer “work or studies” especially the more buddies they have. Also males disclose with awareness and intention suggesting the make use of selective self-presentation (Walther, 1996) for rather males than females. Female MSN users write more impulsively in their away message, however they are found to be more selective than males in to whom they chose to disclose or not by blocking buddies. The number of buddies on the buddy list seems to have hardly any effect on males’ and females’ self-disclosure. The gender of buddies on the buddy list as a moderating factor showed that males feel more comfortable (honest and less understated) when disclosing to females. Extra findings include that for both gender self-disclosures on IM is not less honest and not exaggerated, rather understated. Previous findings in face-to-face communication on preferred topics of self-disclosure of both genders of Asian background were confirmed on IM. On IM, self-disclosure by males and females seem to be free of the importance of the degree of social distance within Chinese society as hardly any primary groups and secondary groups but almost only mixed groups of buddies on buddy lists were found.

The current report reviews the recent literature on online social networking (Facebook and MySpace) and its psychological impact on students. Both the negative and positive effects of online social networking are explored. According to the literature, cyberbullying and sexting have the greatest negative impact on students. However, students greatly benefit from the social capital and friendship maintenance that online social networking provides. Intervention and prevention strategies for the negative consequences of online social networking are included. Finally, this report provides suggestions for counselors and teachers to help students safely use technology. / text

Background: The virtuality of teams has increased due to the emergence computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools in the last decades. The push of instant messengers (IM) in private life has also lead to a stronger influx in the professional context. Theories such as media-synchronicity theory or the computer-mediated communication interaction model have described the capabilities of CMC tools and indicated their usage in teamwork related contexts. In this realm, the transmission of social cues has always been a potentially important matter of discussion. Purpose: Relating to studies from Asia and research conducted at the beginning of the century, the impact of the use of IM as communication tools on knowledge sharing and teamwork performance in Germany shall be assessed. Method: A partial least square-structural equation model is developed and tested using a survey distributed via a snowball approach among professionals in Germany. Conclusion: The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between the use of IM and knowledge sharing, respectively teamwork performance through its influence on communication quality. However, there is also a negative impact on interactivity which negatively affects knowledge sharing. It is also indicated that interruptions do not seem to have a negative impact on teamwork performance as it was discussed and rejected in several previous studies. Emoticons as a transmitter of social cues have not demonstrated to be of significant importance for communication in a professional context as of now. IM use leads to a positive impact on the perception of communication quality. Overall, IM are on the way to become an important communication channel in teamwork tasks, but will mostly serve as a complementary means of communication.

[pt] Dados do Ibope e do Indicador de Analfabetismo Funcional (Inaf) de 2012 revelam que, no Brasil, existem aproximadamente 14 milhões de analfabetos absolutos e um pouco mais de 35 milhões de analfabetos funcionais. Segundo estatísticas, o Brasil é o terceiro país do mundo em tempo gasto na internet, sendo mais da metade em mídias sociais. Nesse contexto, as atividades diárias se direcionam a comunicações baseadas em texto, e a falta de capacidade de leitura e escrita torna-se obstáculo ainda mais significativo para os adultos que apresentam nenhum ou baixos níveis de letramento. Dessa forma, esta pesquisa procurou responder à seguinte indagação: como se configura a experiência de uso e consumo das redes sociais e comunicadores instantâneos por indivíduos com baixo letramento? Para tal, realizou-se um estudo qualitativo exploratório, baseado em entrevistas pessoais com 22 adultos com Ensino Fundamental incompleto. Por meio dos resultados obtidos, foi possível perceber a estigmatização sofrida por esses indivíduos devido às suas limitações, assim como as estratégias de combate adotadas por eles, como a preferência por postagem de fotos e mensagens de voz. Pode-se sugerir que as novas formas de comunicação instantânea promovem uma certa liberdade para se cometer erros de gramática ou de pontuação que, muitas vezes, são atribuídos ao corretor automático dos dispositivos móveis. Outra evidência do baixo letramento é a preguiça de ler e escrever nas redes e nos comunicadores; o que os usuários chamam de textos grandes são, na verdade, considerados curtos segundo estudiosos de analfabetismo funcional no Brasil. / [en] Data from IBOPE and INAF 2012 reveals that, in Brazil, there are approximately 14 million full illiterate adults and a little more than 35 million functional illiterate individuals. According to statistics, Brazil is the third country in the world where users spend the most time online, which more than half of this time is spent on social media. Within this framework, as more daily functions move toward text-based electronic communication, reading literacy becomes even more important for adults who are illiterate or for those with low-literacy levels. Therefore, this research sought out to answer the following question: What kind of experience low-literacy individuals have with the social media and instant messengers usage and consumption? To this end, a qualitative exploratory study was created based on individual interviews with 22 adults with incomplete elementary education. Among the results, it was possible to notice the stigmatization suffered by these individuals due to their reading limitations as well as to some of their strategies to overcome the issue, such as sending audio instead of written messages or posting photos instead of texts on social media. It can be suggested that the new forms of instant communication promote freedom to make mistakes in grammar or punctuation that are often attributed to auto correctors of mobile devices. Another evidence of low-literacy is the laziness to read and write on social media and communicators - what users believe to be big reading are actually considered short reading according to specialists on Functional Illiteracy in Brazil.

寬頻網路發展的日趨成熟，讓即時通訊成為許多網路族開機後必使用之軟體，本研究乃運用「使用與滿足」理論，探討即時通訊使用者的使用動機、使用行為、使用滿足，以及三者之間的關係。 經由資料分析發現，使用者在使用即時通訊上，有三大使用動機因素，分別為「同儕交流動機」、「新奇娛樂動機」、「生活便利動機」；有三大使用活動因素，分別為「影音導向活動」、「訊息導向活動」、「文件導向活動」；有三大使用滿足因素，分別為「情緒管理滿足」、「關係維繫滿足」、「問題解決滿足」。本研究以使用動機因素為基礎，將樣本資料進行集群分析，結果獲得三大使用族群：「無的導向群」、「交際導向群」、「功能導向群」，再以統計檢定三大族群在「人口變項」、「使用行為」、「使用選擇」及「使用滿足」上的特徵差異描述。本研究亦發現即時通訊的兩大主流為MSN、Yahoo，兩者之使用人數即佔了有效樣本98.7%。 本研究的結果發現，三大族群在「使用動機」、「使用行為」上均有顯著的差異，但在「使用選擇」上則無顯示出特別的選擇偏好；三大族群的「使用動機」、「使用行為」與其「使用滿足」均有正向的關係，亦即是使用動機、使用行為表現得愈強烈，其所獲得之使用滿足也就愈強烈；另外，三大族群中選擇使用MSN、Yahoo的使用者，在「使用滿足」上亦呈現出不同的滿足情形。

由於許多企業對於LINE在號召年輕族群的能力寄與厚望，為了釐清目前企業對於評估LINE與操作LINE的策略是否合乎年輕族群的需求，本研究將聚焦於討論最早採用LINE的企業期待透過LINE進行品牌年輕化的歷程，以企業的實戰經驗切入，剖析早期採用LINE的企業進行品牌年輕化歷程與操作策略，同時透過釐清年輕族群對於使用LINE的經驗與需求兩相對照，試圖釐清目前企業使用LINE進行品牌年輕化的做法是否正確？是否有迷思存在的可能性？若因迷思存在而造成經營策略上的偏差，企業未來該如何修正與優化？ 由於意會本質上是人們對事務的主觀認知，並且是一個持續性的流程，是一種複雜且動態的觀念，因此將採用深度訪談法針對企業的相關部門成員進行歷程的研究。為呈現企業內部與外在社會環境相關的完整脈絡，本研究也會輔以消費者訪談、文獻資料法與二手資料法作為資訊搜集與驗證成效的方式。研究結果發現，個案對於透過LINE推動品牌年輕化的歷程上，確實存有許多囿於過往經驗或組織文化所形成的主觀認知，導致其對於新科技的理解與其目標族群的需求有所落差。研究結果也顯示，LINE確實能為企業接觸到年輕族群，但需要提供他們所需要的服務和資訊，才能爭取他們對品牌的認同和好感，同時與年輕族群的互動形式，相較於過往的單向式傳播，也必須因應LINE的科技特質有所調整。 / As many enterprises place great expectations in LINE’s ability to call out the youth, in order to find out whether the enterprises’ strategies in assessment and operation on LINE meeting the demand of the youth, this research looks into the experience of the first runner enterprises that promote brand rejuvenation with LINE. By introducing the real-world experience of the enterprise, this research analyzes the journey and operation strategies of rejuvenating brands by using LINE in early years. Meanwhile, by comparing the experiences and demand of using LINE among the youth, this research aims at whether the methods of rejuvenating brands by using LINE are satisfying. Does the myth really exist? If the myth does exist and bring diversified business strategies, how can the enterprises revise and improve their strategies in the future? Since sense making is people’s subjective perception of affairs by nature and it is both a persistent process and a complicated and dynamic concept, this research focuses on the experience from members of relevant departments of the enterprise by in-depth interview. To present the context of the internal and external environment of the enterprise, this research also utilizes consumer interview, documents, and literature as the main data sourses and effectiveness verification. The research results show that cases do have many subject perceptions generated from previous confined experience or organizational culture in the course of LINE’s promotion of brand rejuvenation, which gives rise to difference between the understanding of new technology and the demand of target groups. The research results also show that LINE really enables the enterprise to access to the young people, but provision of their necessary service and information is required to get their recognition and good impression of the brand. Meanwhile, the means of interaction with the youth must be adjusted according to LINE’s technological nature comparing with previous single-direction dissemination.

The purpose of this project is to use Java technology to create an instant messenger application that could be used by any person who has the basic knowledge of working with a graphical user interface. The goal here is to develop an application that provides communication to users running different operating systems.

I hope this can be used for a greater good than pure study. / This study used a novel combination of interview methodologies, made possible through the nature of instant messaging, and ethnographic methods in order to determine the value of the autistic community on Tumblr.com to its members. Ethnographic study yielded insights about the dialectic quality of any community on Tumblr, autistic community included, as well as the sense of autonomy users have on the site that is different if not greater than what they may practice in the physical world. Interview data suggest a neutral to positive view of the community and its culture overall, though further research with a greater sample of participants is required in order to confirm these findings. Information can be shared quickly between members, and this information provides greater insight into a given user’s autism, be it diagnosed or otherwise, or insight into navigating the neurotypical world. Autism positivity and neurodiversity advocacy is common among participants and the blogs they subscribe to, popularising the idea thereof in the mainstream while validating the identity of autistic people online and offline. This ethos makes its way into more casual site discussions, with memes and other entertainment being shaped by these experiences. The autistic community on Tumblr is an excellent example of a modern biosocial community online, and serves as Hacking’s engine of normalisation both on the site outside of the autistic community and in the physical world through real life events and adoption of site terminology and discourse. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / Using a purpose-built blog to learn about site culture and a series of online interviews to discover participant experiences, this study explores the culture of the autistic community on Tumblr and its impact on its members. The autistic community on Tumblr is a place that its members have more freedom to act and express themselves (through art, videos, shared stories etc.) than in the physical world. Through being a way to vent difficult experiences, get information, and enjoy site content made by and for them (in addition to broader appeal media), site users report a neutral to positive effect on their overall quality of life because of the site. Further research is required to confirm any of the patterns in the work.