Technology that enhances without inhibiting learning

Technology supported information sharing could be argued to both enhance and inhibit learning. However, social and affective issues that motivate learners' technology interactions are often overlooked. Are learners avoiding valuable learning applications because of privacy fears and trust issues? Will inaccurate technology assumptions and awareness inhibit information sharing? Do learners need control over technology enhanced safe creative spaces or can they be motivated to overcome badly designed systems because sharing is 'valuable' or 'fun'. This presentation details a model of privacy and trust issues that can be used to enhance elearning. Several OU case-studies of multimedia, mobile and elearning applications (conducted within IET, KMI and the Open CETL) are evaluated using this model. The model helps to identify trade-offs that learners make for technology enhanced or inhibited learning. Theories of control, identity, information sensitivity and re-use are discussed within the context of these elearning examples

The Influence of Self-Esteem and Locus of Control on Perceived Email Overload

As email use becomes more ubiquitous in organisations, negative effects that stem from its use are becoming more prevalent. This study considers Email Overload as a negative product of email use. It explores the link between the personality traits of Self-esteem and Locus of Control and Email Overload. Furthermore it proposes a link between the level of perceived Email Overload and individual productivity in the work place. A sample of 239 respondents from an engineering organisation was collected for this study. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) results suggest a strong negative relationship between Email Overload and productivity, indicating that as perceived Email Overload increases, a person’s productivity decreases. Weaker links were formed with Self-esteem and Locus of Control to Email Overload

PENGARUH ADIKSI MEDIA SOSIAL TERHADAP KESEJAHTERAAN PSIKOLOGIS DIMEDIASI OLEH HARGA DIRI PADA EMERGING ADULTHOOD DI KOTA BANDUNG MASA PANDEMIK COVID-19

Penelitian ini memiliki tujuan untuk melihat pengaruh dari adiksi media sosial terhadap kesejahteraan psikologis yang dimediasi harga diri pada emerging adulthood masa pandemik covid-19 di kota Bandung. Partisipan (N= 390, usia 18-25 tahun; jenis kelamin laki-laki dan perempuan; berkuliah di kota Bandung; aktif menggunakan media sosial 3 jam perhari) mengisi kuesioner yang berisi instrumen adiksi media sosial untuk mengetahui tingkatan adiksi media sosial individu; The Self Esteem Scale (SSES) untuk mengukur tingkat harga diri individu, dan Six Dimensions of Psychological Wellbeing Scale untuk mengukur tingkat kesejahteraan psikologis yang dimiliki individu. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah Causal Analysis Mediation. Hasil yang diperoleh menunjukkan tingkat adiksi media sosial dapat memengaruhi tingkat kesejahteraan psikologis dengan kontribusi peningkatan sebesar 20.2% dan signifikansi sebesar <0,001. Harga diri ditemukan berfungsi sebagai mediator dengan kategori partial mediation yang artinya ketika ada variabel harga diri akan menurunkan koefisien regresi pengaruh adiksi media sosial terhadap kesejahteraan psikologis dibandingkan ketika hubungan langsung tanpa variabel harga diri. Sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa semakin kecenderungan akan adiksi media sosial pada masa pandemik covid19 maka akan berdampak negatif pada kesejahteraan psikologis dan harga diri pengguna. Oleh karena itu penelitian ini dapat di implikasikan untuk lebih bijak dalam menggunakan media sosial pada emerging adulthood agar tidak terindikasi adiksi media sosial pada masa pandemik covid19. Kata kunci: adiksi media sosial; kesejahteraan psikologis; harga diri; covid19. The aim of this study was to find out the effect of social media addiction on psychological wellbeing mediated by self-esteem on emerging adulthood during the covid-19 pandemic. Participants (N = 390, with emerging adulthood ages 18-25 years old; male and female; study in Bandung; using social media 3 hours a day) filled out a questionnaire that contained the instruments social media addiction scale to measure responden social media addiction levels; The Self Esteem Scale (SSES) to measure self-esteem levels, and Six Dimensions of Psychological Wellbeing Scale to measure the level of psychological wellbeing. Analyses using Causal Mediation Analysis revealed the results obtained indicate the level of social media addiction can affect the level of psychological wellbeing with an increase in contribution of 19.4% and significance of <0.001. Self-esteem was found to function as a mediator with the partial mediation category, which means that when there is a variable self-esteem will reduce the regression coefficient of the effect of social media addiction on psychological well-being compared to a direct relationship without self-esteem variables.The result can be concluded that social media users during the Covid19 pandemic will have negative effect on psychological wellbeing and self-esteem levels. Therfore thi research can be implied to be wiser in using social media on emerging adulthood so as not to indicate social media addiction during the covid19 pandemic. Keywords: social media addiction; psychological wellbeing; self-esteem; covid-19 pandemic

Rethinking social support in women\u27s midlife years: Women\u27s experiences of social support in online environments

The midlife years (45–55) often coincide with fundamental changes in women’s lives, as women experience transitions such as menopause, changes to family structure due to departure of children or divorce, and parents’ ageing and death. These circumstances tend to increase women’s reliance upon their social support networks. Evidence suggests that social support is critical in helping women manage transitions during the midlife period and develop a sense of self-efficacy; this article highlights that this support is being increasingly exchanged through mediated communication channels. The article presents a comparative investigation of mediated communication channels, primarily email and online chat, through which women give and receive social support, and addresses the factors underpinning women’s media choices. The findings indicate that in determining their media selection, women are judging their ‘audience’ and social context of their communication in order to select the most appropriate channel through which to exchange support

Costs of implementation: Bargaining costs versus allocative efficiency

A mechanism with low direct cost of use may be preferred to alternatives implementing more efficient allocations. We show this experimentally by giving pairs of subjects the option to agree on a single average price for a sequence of trades—in effect pooling several small bargains into a larger one. We make pooling costly by tying it to some inefficient trades, but subjects nevertheless reveal strong tendencies to pool, particularly when more bargains remain to be struck and when bargaining is face to face. The results suggest that implementation costs could play a significant role in the use of many common trading practices

Does recent research evidence support the hyperpersonal model of online impression management?

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Current Opinion in Psychology on 30 May 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.05.005 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The hyperpersonal model of communication was conceived in the 1990s and has driven much of the research into online impression management. Based on four principal tenets (increased control, asynchronicity of communication, increased physical distance and reallocation of cognitive resources) it has largely received empirical support, especially by research involving text-only communication. This review briefly summarises this research before identifying four areas in which it is not supported by findings: the wider context of online communication, the expanding nature of online platforms to include pictures and video, use of language in online environments, and online self-disclosure. We suggest that the model is modified and updated, or its limitations defined, with respect to this evidence.Published versio

“Virtual world anonymity and foreign language oral interaction”

AbstractIn recent years, a considerably high number of research studies have looked into the use of virtual worlds (VWs) for language learning. A number of authors have hypothesised about the effects of anonymity when foreign language interactions are conducted via VWs. This study addresses the effect that the anonymity experienced in VW interaction may have on participants that present different affective profiles. The participants are 18 students (five male, 13 female) aged between 19 and 20 years old and registered in a Spanish undergraduate degree at the University of Roehampton (London). They were involved in four tandem oral interaction activities in the VW Second Life with a group of native Spanish students from the Universidad de Cádiz (Spain). A mixed-methods research design with quantitative and qualitative data was applied. Data were collected about the participants’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) levels, self-efficacy beliefs, and psychological profile (introvert/extrovert). Participants were also asked to answer three open-ended questions about how they felt during the interaction in the VW. The results obtained reveal a strong relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and the anonymity effect experienced by students, although no correlation was found between the participants’ FLA levels or personality profiles and their experience of the anonymity afforded by the VW.</jats:p

Does recent research evidence support the hyperpersonal model of online impression management?

The hyperpersonal mode of communication was conceived in the 1990s and has driven much of the research into online impression management. It is based on four principal tenets (increased control, asynchronicity of communication, increased physical distance, increased cognitive resources) and has largely been supported, especially by research involving text-only communication. This review briefly summarises this research before identifying four areas in which it is not supported by findings: use of language in online environments, online self-disclosure, the expanding nature of online platforms to include pictures and video, and the wider context of online communication. We suggest that the model is modified and updated, or its limitations defined, with respect to this evidence