CHRONEMIC ASPECTS OF CHAT, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO TRUST IN A VIRTUAL TEAM

How does user personality impact pauses in online synchronous chat, and how do these pauses correlate with the development of trust in online teams? An analysis of hundreds of short chat sessions which took place between 62 pairs of participants in the DayTrader social dilemma game reveals a link between chronemic (time-related) variables and personality traits. The three chronemic variables that were analyzed, interpost pause, switching pause, and personal rhythm, were shorter in players who rated higher on extraversion, and longer in players who rated higher on agreeableness. The relationship between extraversion and shorter pauses is comparable to similar findings in spoken communication, while the relationship with agreeableness is novel. Furthermore, an analysis of the relationships between the three chronemic variables and the establishment of trust in the virtual teams confirms the hypothesis that longer pauses are associated with decreased trust. Three non mutually exclusive explanations are offered for this association: 1) longer pauses cause the decrease in trust; 2) longer pauses are the result of increased cognitive load associated with deception creation; and, 3) longer pauses are the result of increased efforts related to the suspicion that deception is taking place

Group size and personalization’s effect on Facebook message response rates

Purpose The bystander effect is one of the most well researched and replicated phenomena in social psychology. It repeatedly shows that the presence of other people inhibits the impulse to help due to the concept of diffusion of responsibility. Recently, researchers have studied this phenomenon online in the context of e-mails, internet chat rooms, and discussion forums. The results provide evidence that the presence of “virtual” others decreases the likelihood of helping behavior. Personalization is another factor that strongly influences helping behavior. Referring to a person by name when soliciting help request increases the likelihood of receiving assistance. Yet, with the most popular activity on the internet now being social media, it would be beneficial to know if diffusion of responsibility and personalization also occurs in this part of the online world. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the validity of diffusion of responsibility as well as personalization in a social media context, 176 participants sent out one private Facebook message soliciting help in the form of an online survey to one, three, six, or nine of their Facebook friends. They greeted their friend(s) by name or just said “Hi” or “Hi all.” Findings Responses to the survey provided strong support for personalizing the greeting, but did not support the theory of diffusion of responsibility. Practical implications This study has many practical implications. For one, with social media being used not only by individuals but by businesses and industries, it is important to know the most effective way in eliciting help and responses from individuals. It is also beneficial for researchers as well who are increasingly using social media as a recruitment tool to find participants. This study suggests that personalizing salutations is an effective way of eliciting more responses and raises important research questions about the validity of diffusion of responsibility in online environments. Originality/value This study also has originality and value in that it provides a start for understanding helping behavior in a social media environment as well as applying relevant social psychological theories to online behavior. It highlights the similarities as well as differences between offline and online human behavior as well as highlights the importance of personalization in online requests. </jats:sec

Engagement in a newly launched online support community for complex regional pain syndrome: membership growth, header analysis and introductory messages

Several studies have investigated forum engagement, with a small but growing body of research focusing on the number of people using a forum (membership growth), how they use it (header analysis) and how they introduce themselves (introductory messages). Most studies use established forums and little is known about newly launched forums. This study examines engagement in a newly launched forum for complex regional pain syndrome. Results showed that membership growth occurred in bursts that were closely linked to promotional strategies. Header analysis showed the forum was used throughout the day, evening and night, with a focus on providing support as well as receiving it. Introductory messages took the form of disease stories with six themes: personal details, precipitating event, symptoms, treatment, living with CRPS, and reasons for joining. Implications and areas for future research are discussed

Revisiting the issue of safety in numbers: The likelihood of receiving help from a group

This article re-examine

The Investigation of Helping Behavior in the Virtual World

In the recent wake of media reports of peer victimization and its deleterious effects, this study sought to create a personality profile of the individual who is able to resist social, personal and group pressures in order to help a victim of bullying behavior. This research is based on findings from a study by Dr. Elizabeth Midlarsky on rescuers and bystanders during the Holocaust (Midlarsky, Fagin-Jones and Nemeroff, 2006). The present study examined the differences in personality variables of individuals who were either rescuers or bystanders in a peer bullying situation that occurred in the virtual medium of Second Life. Additionally, due to the novel nature of this experimental medium, this study also examined the utility of Second Life as a mechanism for creating realistic psychological experiences. Independent variables included the following personality variables: locus of control, social responsibility, altruism, morality, autonomy, tolerance, risk taking, and empathy, and the participant's experience in the virtual medium was assessed by: realism of the scenario, realism of the world and immersion. The dependent variable was whether or not the participant intervened in the animated scenario by helping the victim. This study featured a unique experimental design that utilized a virtual experimental space to examine a psychological question. After completing pre-test test measures of personality factors, participants were given a cover story that asked them to explore a virtual university campus. Immediately following the participant's response, post-test questions assessed knowledge of the bystander effect, peer victimization experiences, and the experience of the participant in the virtual world. Debriefing sessions also ascertained personal reactions of each participant. Findings indicated that people reporting more immersion in the Second Life scenarios were more likely to intervene on behalf of the bullied person. In accordance with Midlarsky, Fagin-Jones and Nemeroff (2006), the rescuers in this study exhibited higher levels of empathy when compared to bystanders. However, no significant differences were found for other personality correlates of altruism. Instead, relationships were found among participants who intervened in the animated scenario and those who reported finding the virtual scenario a realistic representation of a peer victimization incident. Several important differences between the Midlarsky, Fagin-Jones and Nemeroff (2006) studies and this study account for the differential results. Most notable is that this study is a one-time reaction to an event in a virtual world which presented only a possible emotional risk to the rescuers and victims. On the other hand, Holocaust rescuers typically risked their lives continually, over an extended time period. While the personality profiles of the bystanders and rescuers in a realistic, traumatizing incident was not ascertained, the significant effect of empathy accords with the existing body of altruism research

A practical guide to analysing online support forums

As the number of online support forums continues to grow and the amount of user-generated content increases, analysing forum messages can provide researchers and others working in health-related fields with important new insights into the needs, opinions and experiences of individuals who use them. There has been a lack of guidance regarding how to make the best use of user-generated content within forums as a data source in research studies, so this paper explains the practical, ethical and methodological issues associated with this type of research. It describes the benefits of forum research, the organisational structure of forums, how forums are selected for research, approaches to sampling, preparing data for analysis, and methods of analysis that can be used. The decisions that researchers need to make during each stage of the research process are explained, describing the options available and the ethical dilemmas that need to be considered to successfully develop, carry out and complete a research project

The non-contributive bystander: Extending the bystander effect to predict online information sharing

The rise of online information pools—or information repositories comprised of individual’s unique contributions—has sparked much research regarding individuals’ motivations to share information in these contexts. However, the effect of non-contributors on individuals’ motivation to share their own information has been understudied, in spite of the prevalence of non-contribution. Using the bystander effect as a theoretical lens, the present study explored the effect of others’ contributive behavior on individuals’ decision to share information on an online review site. In contrast to prior research, this study experimentally manipulated and measured the three psychological mechanisms underlying the bystander effect, allowing for a better understanding of the relationship among these mechanisms in the context of online information pools. A between-subjects 4 (bystander volume; 6, 49, 242, 831) x 2 (anonymity; anonymous, not anonymous) x 2 (contribution appropriateness; 4% contributing, 73% contributing) factorial design was used (N = 243). Although bystander volume is typically related to greater feelings of diffusion of responsibility, the present study found no significant between bystander volume and diffusion of responsibility; in fact, bystander volume was positively related to contribution amount, though this relationship was not linear. However, consistent with prior research, diffusion of responsibility was negatively related to contribution amount. Although prior research has found that individuals’ behavior is influenced by the observed behavior of others, individuals’ contribution amount and length in the current experiment was not affected by the social norms displayed in the information pool. Consistent with past research, individuals’ feelings of anonymity were significantly, negatively related to evaluation apprehension, though neither anonymity nor evaluation apprehension was significantly related to contribution amount. Together, the findings of the present study suggest that the bystander effect and its underlying mechanisms operate differently in the context of an online review site than they do in face-to-face contexts or more traditional mediated contexts, such as email. Possible explanations for these differences and suggestions for future research are presented

'Pro' social media : using key social psychological theories to increase prosocial engagement on social media sites

Prosocial Behaviour has a strong history rooted in Social Psychology. However, it has yet to be researched in the realm of social media. This line of research aims to better understand Prosocial Behaviour in social media environments and learn how to increase positive engagement online through the theoretical framework of Walther’s (1996) hyperpersonal model of computer-mediated communication. Four studies were conducted to obtain this goal. The first two studies explore what factors affect prosocial behaviour on social media sites. In particular, study one examines how gender, appearance, and number of social media friends affect whether or not individuals will give aid to their friends. The outcome suggested that the less social media friends a person had, the less likely the individual would help. Study two delves into whether the bystander effect and personalisation affect Prosocial Behaviour on social media sites. The bystander effect did not affect helping but personalising a message made it more than two times more likely that an individual would receive help. The third study looks at some barriers that prevent prosocial behaviour on social media sites. Three main barriers resulted including ‘Information Overload,’ ‘Can’t Live with It, Can’t Live without It,’ and ‘Privacy and Permanence of Information.’ The final study examines Prosocial Behaviour in a social media context through the means of two events where social media played an important role in helping behaviour. These events exemplified that social media is a powerful tool and can be used to effectively promote Prosocial Behaviour and also provided support for Walther’s hyperpersonal model. As the first to delve into helping behaviour on social media sites, this thesis advances the current body of knowledge on Prosocial Behaviour. In addition, the four studies provide vital knowledge on how to increase prosocial behaviour online using Walther’s (1996) hyperpersonal model on CMC. With the current Social Media Revolution and time spent online, it is vital to make social media engagement more positive and user friendly. The three main ways to increase positive online engagement gleaned from this thesis are 1) Make things personal, 2) Create a social media group with a hierarchical structure, and 3) Edit privacy settings and friend/follower settings on personal social media pages to fit one’s individual need

Product/Brand co-creation methodology crossing marketing, design thinking, creativity and management: ideas(r)evolution

This thesis introduce a new innovation methodology called IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION that was developed according to an on-going experimental research project started in 2007. This new approach to innovation has initial based on Design thinking for innovation theory and practice. The concept of design thinking for innovation has received much attention in recent years. This innovation approach has climbed from the design and designers knowledge field towards other knowledge areas, mainly business management and marketing. Human centered approach, radical collaboration, creativity and breakthrough thinking are the main founding principles of Design thinking that were adapted by those knowledge areas due to their assertively and fitness to the business context and market complexity evolution. Also Open innovation, User-centered innovation and later on Living Labs models emerge as answers to the market and consumers pressure and desire for new products, new services or new business models. Innovation became the principal business management focus and strategic orientation. All this changes had an impact also in the marketing theory. It is possible now to have better strategies, communications plans and continuous dialogue systems with the target audience, incorporating their insights and promoting them to the main dissemination ambassadors of our innovations in the market. Drawing upon data from five case studies, the empirical findings in this dissertation suggest that companies need to shift from Design thinking for innovation approach to an holistic, multidimensional and integrated innovation system. The innovation context it is complex, companies need deeper systems then the success formulas that “commercial “Design thinking for innovation “preaches”. They need to learn how to change their organization culture, how to empower their workforce and collaborators, how to incorporate external stakeholders in their innovation processes, hoe to measure and create key performance indicators throughout the innovation process to give them better decision making data, how to integrate meaning and purpose in their innovation philosophy. Finally they need to understand that the strategic innovation effort it is not a “one shot” story it is about creating a continuous flow of interaction and dialogue with their clients within a “value creation chain“ mindset; RESUMO: Metodologia de co-criação de um produto/marca cruzando Marketing, Design Thinking, Criativity and Management - IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION. Esta dissertação apresenta uma nova metodologia de inovação chamada IDEAS(R)EVOLUTION, que foi desenvolvida segundo um projecto de investigação experimental contínuo que teve o seu início em 2007. Esta nova abordagem baseou-se, inicialmente, na teoria e na práctica do Design thinking para a inovação. Actualmente o conceito do Design Thinking para a inovação “saiu” do dominio da area de conhecimento do Design e dos Designers, tendo despertado muito interesse noutras áreas como a Gestão e o Marketing. Uma abordagem centrada na Pessoa, a colaboração radical, a criatividade e o pensamento disruptivo são principios fundadores do movimento do Design thinking que têm sido adaptados por essas novas áreas de conhecimento devido assertividade e adaptabilidade ao contexto dos negócios e à evolução e complexidade do Mercado. Também os modelos de Inovação Aberta, a inovação centrada no utilizador e mais tarde os Living Labs, emergem como possiveis soluções para o Mercado e para a pressão e desejo dos consumidores para novos productos, serviços ou modelos de negócio. A inovação passou a ser o principal foco e orientação estratégica na Gestão. Todas estas mudanças também tiveram impacto na teoria do Marketing. Hoje é possivel criar melhores estratégias, planos de comunicação e sistemas continuos de diálogo com o público alvo, incorporando os seus insights e promovendo os consumidores como embaixadores na disseminação da inovação das empresas no Mercado Os resultados empiricos desta tese, construídos com a informação obtida nos cinco casos realizados, sugerem que as empresas precisam de se re-orientar do paradigma do Design thinking para a inovação, para um sistema de inovação mais holistico, multidimensional e integrado. O contexto da Inovação é complexo, por isso as empresas precisam de sistemas mais profundos e não apenas de “fórmulas comerciais” como o Design thinking para a inovação advoga. As Empresas precisam de aprender como mudar a sua cultura organizacional, como capacitar sua força de trabalho e colaboradores, como incorporar os públicos externos no processo de inovação, como medir o processo de inovação criando indicadores chave de performance e obter dados para um tomada de decisão mais informada, como integrar significado e propósito na sua filosofia de inovação. Por fim, precisam de perceber que uma estratégia de inovação não passa por ter “sucesso uma vez”, mas sim por criar um fluxo contínuo de interação e diálogo com os seus clientes com uma mentalidade de “cadeia de criação de valor

Cross-cultural realization of the speech act of requests: case study of Algerian Ph.D. students

The present study is concerned with probing how Algerian Ph.D. students formulate requests to their supervisors at a UK higher education institution; and how their supervisors respond to these. The data are derived from a case study focussing on a group of fifteen Algerian PhD students and six Supervisors at Manchester Metropolitan University (hereafter MMU). The thesis falls within third wave approach to politeness research, which advocates the integration of aspects from classical and discursive approaches (Bousfield, 2010; Leech, 2014; Haugh and Culpeper, 2018) into the analysis of politeness phenomenon. The current research, therefore, seeks to explores the speech event of requests as a fundamentally written interactional phenomenon. In other words, it considers this type of communication as a phenomenon that needs both interlocutors; those who produce requests and those who respond to these successively. More specifically, the study aims to examine how these participants (Algerian Ph.D. students) attempt, using strategically different politeness strategies (Brown and Levinson, 1987), to achieve their interactional goals in an asymmetrical powerrelations context. Further, and while looking at the supervisors’ response, the study also investigates how the receivers perceive those requests from the Algerian Ph.D. students. While studying the speech acts (Austin 1962) of requests and responses to these, the study also explores the socio-cultural factors influencing the use of politeness strategies use and responses to the requests. To meet the aims of the research project, a mixed method approach was used to elicit the performances and perceptions of the participants. On one hand, Interactionbased Discourse Completion Tasks (Hereafter, I-DCTs) were designed for the purpose of approaching a realistic performance of requests and responses to requests in email communication. On the other hand, followed-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants to investigate and understand how the socio-cultural factors map out and influence their use of politeness strategies. Moreover, the interviews also aim at discovering how the supervisors perceive the students’ email requests. While the methodological contribution in this research is an innovation in the study of politeness and pragmatics as an adaptation of Discourse Completion Tasks is implemented to take account of requests and responses to requests. The study is also a contribution to knowledge through the insights provided regarding the use of politeness strategies by an under researched Algerian population. The results of the current study, generating from a total of 21 I-DCTs (15 from students and 6 from supervisors) and a total of 21 semi-structured follow-up interviews with participants, show that the participants use mostly negative politeness strategies. The results also show that the Algerian Ph.D. students are perceived as polite by their supervisors. The study’s contribution, therefore, adds to the existing knowledge on the realization of the speech act of requests and politeness in an intercultural communication context