Understanding the Effectiveness of Cross-Cultural Video-Mediated Communication

People are increasingly using advanced communication technologies such as videoconferencing to collaborate across geographical boundaries and time zones. This presents problems because cultural values, attitudes, and behaviours influence how a given group of people perceives, understands, communicates and interprets information and knowledge. This study explores how various factors including technology and cultural differences of participants affect their perceptions of the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication in videoconferences. The study identifies factors that most influence the effectiveness of cross-cultural video-mediated communication. It will help practitioners to: 1) make efficient use of resources while designing and facilitating videoconferences; and 2) incorporate cultural factors in assessing the effectiveness of cross-cultural distance learning events. The study is situated in the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) which spans the world with more than 120 distance learning centres and facilitates communication for development through videoconferencing technology. A multiple-case cross-cultural study has been carried out in GDLN affiliates located in four countries: Australia, Mongolia, New Zealand and Russia. Evidence for this case study comes from observations during videoconferences, semi-structured interviews with participants, documents and video recordings. This exploratory study contributes to the body of knowledge in three research domains: development communication through the videoconferencing channel; cross-cultural factors in video-mediated communication; and perceived effectiveness of videoconferencing

The Ethical Implications of Telemedicine and the Internet for Home Healthcare

Information and communication technologies, such as the Internet, are transforming our business, education, and leisure practices. The healthcare industry is no exception to this trend and the burgeoning field of home-based telemedicine is evidence of this. As with many technological innovations in healthcare, assessments of homebased telemedicine and correlative policies are being driven by economic and technological criteria that emphasize cost reduction and technologic efficiency. These are important considerations, but these assessments neither identify the ethical values involved in home-based telemedicine nor address its possible ethical implications. Since the economic and technologic viability of home-based telemedicine is not identical with its ethical appropriateness and justification, this is a serious oversight. Hence, the use of telemedicine and the Internet in home healthcare invite a discussion about their ethical implications for the traditional goals and moral ideals of healthcare practice. The purpose of this study is to argue that the ethical implications of telemedicine and the Internet for home healthcare should be better understood and incorporated into future home-based telemedicine research and policy development. To this end, this study reviews the home-based telemedicine literature and examines the normative connections between home-based telemedicine and the following: (1) provider-patient relationships, (2) healthcare privacy and confidentiality, (3) distributive and family justice, and (4) informed consent. This study concludes that given the traditional values and goals of healthcare, information and communication technologies present both possible harms and benefits for home healthcare recipients and providers, but that on balance the benefits are more likely to outweigh the harms. However, because the exact benefits and harms of homebased telemedicine are unknown at this time, additional empirical research and outcome studies are needed. Finally, as part of a general technology assessment of home-based telemedicine, future research should include an ethical evaluation of all information and communication technologies that will be employed. If this is not done, home-based telemedicine policies will be inadequately informed and many of the possible harms of home-based telemedicine that could be prevented will not be prevented

Rethinking presence : a grounded theory of nurses and teleconsultation

[Introduction]: Ensuring the provision of equitable, high quality care is becoming progressively more challenging in a context of an ageing population, increased prevalence of long term conditions and a prolonged period of public spending austerity. In response to these challenges, commissioners and providers have explored and piloted a range of innovative approaches to service delivery, including those that involve the utilisation of information technologies.One such modality – teleconsultation – is the utilisation of video to facilitate real-time, remote consultation between healthcare practitioners and patients. Though teleconsultation has been used as an approach to care since the 1970s, it has grown in prevalence of late, due to reduced costs, improved connectivity and greater social acceptance of video-mediated interaction. Teleconsultation is used within the acute sector (e.g. to expedite specialist stroke or burns care) and to support people living with long term conditions within the community. However, despite evidence of feasibility, clinical benefit and patient acceptance, there is little understanding of how the use of video impacts on the role of those nurses who are involved in teleconsultation

Representing place and situation in an online social environment

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-66).This thesis presents work focused on the creation of a sociable space for communication online. Sociable communication requires the ability to converse with others using simple and meaningful mechanisms, supporting flexibility and expressiveness. Equally important is the ability for people to read the space they inhabit and make sense of it in socially significant ways, such as people watching to observe others' interests and interaction styles. A third key to sociable communication is emphasis on identity and embodiment, giving participants a strong sense of themselves and others through their online representations. These issues are approached through research in areas ranging from sociology to urban architecture, directed at finding bases for the design of capabilities that are useful and engaging in the context of computer support for distributed multiparty communication. The result of this research is Talking in Circles, a graphical audio conferencing environment that employs abstract graphics for representation and provides lightweight access to multiple expressive modes. This thesis discusses foundations for work towards sociable communication online as well as the design and implementation processes involved in the creation of the Talking in Circles system. User experiences with the system, lessons learned and directions for further research into sociable communication are then detailed.by Roy Alexis Rodenstein Kartofel.S.M

Investigation into the feasibilty of providing intelligent support for computer mediation decision making groups

This thesis investigated the claim that the adaptation to the keyboard interface of a computer-mediated (CM) decision making group leads to differences in the style of communication when compared to that of a face-to-face (FTF) group. More importantly it examined the possibility that changes in satisfaction with the process and the decision outcome are determined not by the mode of communication, but rather the style of communication the decision makers employed in response to the keyboard interface. The decision processes of CM and FTF groups were examined using a simulated panel of enquiry presented via computer databases and containing inconsistent and incomplete shared information that could only be resolved through collaboration between the group members. An analysis of the communication styles employed in real-time CM and FTF groups (Experiment 1) revealed a tendency of CM discussions to exhibit a preference for a normative style of communication exchanging a proportionally high number of value statements and indications of preference, and for. FTF groups to rely proportionally more heavily upon factual and inferential statements. A paradigm for enabling intervention into the decision making process through the monitoring and coding of all group communication was developed (Chapter 2) which permitted the real-time analysis of the differences in communication style and aimed to reduce the differences in communication style. Using this paradigm and the norms for communication of the two forms of group (CM and FTF) established in Experiment 1, a series of studies examining the communication process were undertaken. Experiment 2 explored the possibility of intervening into the communication process using e-mail based support messages that conveyed the discrepancies between a CM groups communication style and the style a group might be expected to employ where it communicating FTF. Two configurations of support messages that each attempted to shape the communication style of CM decision panels to resemble those of FTF panels were considered. It was found that alerting users to their communication style and instructing them to increase or decrease certain styles of communication enabled them to more closely resemble the communication process and satisfaction levels of FTF groups. Experiment 3 considered the possibility that the presence of a monitoring system, rather than the content of the support messages provided, was the key issue in securing changes in the communication style of CM groups. Having established that it was indeed the content of the support messages that enabled CM groups to operate as if communicating FTF, attention turned to effects of the support. By easing the interpretation of the feedback through two configurations of visual feedback, Experiment 4 attempted to increase decision makers adherence to the content of the support messages. This study suggested that visual feedback alone was not sufficient to elicit the desired changes in communication style and that the text-based communication was required. Moreover, Experiment 4 considered the impact of support messages themselves, considering whether the support acted as continual assistance to the users or whether it merely trained the users to communicate in the desired way Conclusions from this study were slightly inconclusive, however, given that changes in communication styles had been achieved a further analysis of the content of the messages was undertaken. This final analysis (Chapter 7) revealed effects of confirmation bias within the communication and intervention steps that can on occasionally overcame such biases. The possibilities for the development of real-time intervention into these processes are considered and the findings interpreted in the light of existing theories of CM communication and recent developments in computer-based communication

Complexity Science in Human Change

This reprint encompasses fourteen contributions that offer avenues towards a better understanding of complex systems in human behavior. The phenomena studied here are generally pattern formation processes that originate in social interaction and psychotherapy. Several accounts are also given of the coordination in body movements and in physiological, neuronal and linguistic processes. A common denominator of such pattern formation is that complexity and entropy of the respective systems become reduced spontaneously, which is the hallmark of self-organization. The various methodological approaches of how to model such processes are presented in some detail. Results from the various methods are systematically compared and discussed. Among these approaches are algorithms for the quantification of synchrony by cross-correlational statistics, surrogate control procedures, recurrence mapping and network models.This volume offers an informative and sophisticated resource for scholars of human change, and as well for students at advanced levels, from graduate to post-doctoral. The reprint is multidisciplinary in nature, binding together the fields of medicine, psychology, physics, and neuroscience

Engaging students with real-world experience in the Web 2.0 era: an exploration of web video mediated learning in the university classroom

In the age of Web 2.0 dominance universities are under increasing pressure to investigate the educational applications of user-created content within the traditional culture of knowledge. There is a growing realization in the literature that the incorporation of user-created web video into the curriculum provides a number of pedagogical opportunities for active forms of learning and student-centred teaching practices due to its affordability, accessibility, semantic searchability, flexibility, and versatility. Predicated on the precepts of constructivism and participatory culture, this study aims to explore empirically the pedagogical application of the proposed web video mediated learning strategy in a graduate-level university classroom. Operating in a mixed-method paradigm, the researcher conducted a series of surveys, interviews, and collected learning artefacts in order to complement the survey data with subjective reflections on web video from a student's perspective. Data were collected from a non-randomized convenience sample of 17 master's students in education at a regional university in Alabama, United States. Analysis of data included descriptive and inferential test statistics, coupled with data derived from qualitative analysis. Evidence suggests that participants gained knowledge of web video, and felt more competent in digital media use and production as a result of the research treatment. Such attributes of web video as multimodality, entertainment, diversity of video content, instant gratification, and possibility for customization received an overwhelming positive response from participants. Students also voiced their concerns about the credibility of video producers and the accuracy of video content available on the Web. Further, students indicated their support for web video mediated learning activities - the critical appropriation of web video and the creative production of one's own web video. In particular, participants noted that video-enhanced blogging gave them opportunity to relate new concepts and ideas acquired from the assigned readings to self-selected user-created web video. This study led the researcher expand our understanding of web video as a culturally new form of knowledge representation, and to conclude that the proposed learning architecture was critical to student's success by creating conditions for them to properly balance user-created web video with scholarly knowledge and to become active participants who are accountable for their learning