Usuarios de nuevos medios, Comunicación e interacción social

El artículo plantea que los nuevos medios promueven la satisfacción de las crecientes necesidades de comunicación de la sociedad contemporánea, realizándose una breve descripción de las modalidades de interacción que suponen para los usuarios. Se formula un modelo de la interacción de los individuos en los medios sociales

The Problems and Prospects of New Public Sphere for Global Civil Society

Information and communication technologies (ICTS) have revolutionized almost every aspect of life particularly it has created a new global public sphere by providing endless list of tools for global communication thereby establishing a new global society with novel norms and mundane issues. This paper is an effort to review the state of affairs in new public sphere with a focus on the digital tools under use, their role in creating the global society and the threats and opportunities available for the international citizens for behaving effectively to utilize the opportunities and manage threats to the maximum. The paper explores interlinks between the digital gadgets, emerging global public sphere and the mundane issues emanating from this situation. The paper ends with a theoretical model constructed out of the themes floating across the review and analysis

Exploring Adult Learners Usage of Information Communication Technology during a Virtual Peer Coaching Experience

The purpose of this study was to explore how post-graduate students in a fully online business course used information communication technology during a virtual peer coaching experience. In this exploration of technology use it was found students required additional guidance in the use of technologies such as email, telephone calling, and more media rich tools such as Skype and Blackboard Collaborate during a virtual peer coaching session. They did not fully understand how to use these different mediums to guide and structure the coaching experience. They were frustrated by the lack of media richness when using tools with low levels of audio-visual connectivity. The findings suggest that the increasing use of technology in education does not necessarily mean that students will use it appropriately, even if they are adept at learning online or use the technology in their daily lives. Therefore, instructors cannot make assumptions about students’ technological literacy even though these same students may appear to have a high level of competency learning online. Guidelines for using ICT in virtual peer coaching are provided as a result of this exploration

Typology of Web 2.0 spheres: Understanding the cultural dimensions of social media spaces

It has taken the past decade to commonly acknowledge that online space is tethered to real place. From euphoric conceptualizations of social media spaces as a novel, unprecedented and revolutionary entity, the dust has settled, allowing for talk of boundaries and ties to real-world settings. Metaphors have been instrumental in this pursuit, shaping perceptions and affecting actions within this extended structural realm. Specifically, they have been harnessed to architect Web 2.0 spaces, be it chatrooms, electronic frontiers, homepages, or information highways for policy and practice. While metaphors are pervasive in addressing and

Power, Metaphor, and the Closing of a Social Networking Site

This project expands root-metaphor analysis by examining the closure of a once popular social networking site, advancing critical interrogation of ownership vs. the idea of online spaces as “communities.” Yahoo! 360° participants used private sphere root-metaphors of home, family, and community constituting a space of intimacy, camaraderie, and care. The closing exposed previously unseen power differentials between participants and Yahoo! Participants reacted by using the metaphor of war and violence to frame the actions of Yahoo

Power, Metaphor, and the Closing of a Social Networking Site

This project expands root-metaphor analysis by examining the closure of a once popular social networking site, advancing critical interrogation of ownership vs. the idea of online spaces as “communities.” Yahoo! 360° participants used private sphere root-metaphors of home, family, and community constituting a space of intimacy, camaraderie, and care. The closing exposed previously unseen power differentials between participants and Yahoo! Participants reacted by using the metaphor of war and violence to frame the actions of Yahoo

Computer-Mediated Communication in the Age of Communication Visibility

This article argues that a distinctive aspect of computer-mediated communication (CMC) is the way it can make communication visible to others in ways that were previously impractical. We propose a theory of communication visibility that recognizes its multidimensional nature: resulting from activities that make communication visible, efforts by actors to see communication, and a sociomaterial context that influences possibilities for visibility. The different dimensions of communication visibility are explored as they relate to possibilities for action with CMC, and the ability of third-parties to view communication between others. Centering communication visibility in the study of CMC compels scholars to ask new questions regarding the interdependence of active, strategic efforts to make communication more or less visible to others, and the ways in which communication is assessed by observers. To facilitate ongoing research we offer an agenda for incorporating communication visibility into the study of contemporary and future forms of CMC

Hybride Erfahrungsräume im Tourismus. Neue Formen der Steuerung, Regulierung und Kontrolle von Partizipation

Die fortschreitende Digitalisierung und die damit einhergehende Zunahme von internetbasierten Dienstleistungen hat auch den Tourismus erreicht. Online-Plattformen versprechen ihren Usern und Userinnen nicht nur das Eintauchen in die lokale Kultur der besuchten Stadt oder Region, sondern werben auch mit dem Zugang zu temporären Gemeinschaftserfahrungen. Sie prägen damit einen Tourismus, bei dem Organisation und Planung maßgeblich auf dem Internet beruhen – den Tourismus 2.0. Dieser zeichnet sich unter anderem durch die Entstehung hybrider Erfahrungsräume aus, in denen die Grenzen zwischen online und offline verschwimmen. Die Vernetzung angemeldeter Nutzer und Nutzerinnen ermöglicht Reisenden auf eine bequeme und unkomplizierte Weise eine Übernachtung bei einer Privatperson zu arrangieren.Ein wesentliches Motiv der klassischen Tourismusforschung, die Sehnsucht nach dem Echten, Authentischen soll in dieser Art des Tourismus über den Zugang zu einem fremden Zuhause befriedigt werden. Jedoch ist die Nutzung dieser Plattformen an eine Reihe von Sicherheits- und Kontrolltechniken gebunden. Diese Bestimmungen und Zugangsbeschränkungen geben Einblick in die soziotechnischen Öffnungs- und Schließungsprozesse des Tourismus 2.0.Der Beitrag stellt zwei Momente der Steuerung, Regulierung und Kontrolle von Partizipation exemplarisch vor, um die Machtstrukturen offenzulegen, die onlinebasierte Teilhabe stets implizit oder explizit durchwirken. Zunächst werden die theoretischen Grundannahmen dargelegt, die den Tourismus 2.0 kennzeichnen. Daran schließt eine Beschreibung des Fallbeispiels Airbnb sowie einige Erläuterungen zum empirischen Material an, mit dessen Hilfe die Teilhabe an der Community im Spannungsfeld zwischen Partizipation und Kontrolle verortet wird. Den Hauptteil des Beitrags bildet die Analyse der beiden Momente: (a) der Prozess der Registrierung und Verifizierung und (b) das Design und die Architektur des Review-Systems. Abschließend erfolgt die Zusammenfassung der zentralen Ergebnisse sowie eine Empfehlung für zukünftige Forschungen zum Tourismus 2.0

“PMA Sounds Fun”: Negotiating Drug Discourses Online

In 2007, a young woman, Annabel Catt, died after consuming a capsule sold as “ecstasy” that contained para-methoxyamphetamine. In this paper, we describe how this death was depicted in online drug-user communities and illustrate how the meanings of drug use are negotiated in online settings. News articles, public online discussions, and online fieldwork formed the data. This paper demonstrates how dominant drug discourses may be resisted by drug users, drawing on theories of health resistance and Kane Race’s concept of counter public health. Online environments may offer ways of engaging people who use drugs that acknowledge both pleasure and safety. The study’s limitations are noted