The provision of online public goods: Examining social structure in an electronic network of practice

Electronic networks of practice are computer-mediated social spaces where individuals working on similar problems self-organize to help each other and share knowledge, advice, and perspectives about their occupational practice or common interests. These interactions occur through message postings to produce an on-line public good of knowledge, where all participants in the network can then access this knowledge, regardless of their active participation in the network. Using theories and concepts of collective action and public goods, five hypotheses are developed regarding the structural and social characteristics that support the online provision and maintenance of knowledge in an electronic network of practice. Using social network analysis, we examine the structure of message contributions that produce and sustain the public good. We then combine the results from network analysis with survey results to examine the underlying pattern of exchange, the role of the critical mass, the quality of the ties sustaining participation, the heterogeneity of resources and interests of participants, and changes in membership that impact the structural characteristics of the network. Our results suggest that the electronic network of practice chosen for this study is sustained through generalized exchange, is supported by a critical mass of active members, and that members develop strong ties with the community as a whole rather than develop interpersonal relationships. Knowledge contribution is significantly related to an individual's tenure in the occupation, expertise, availability of local resources and a desire to enhance one's reputation, and those in the critical mass are primarily responsible for creating and sustaining the public good of knowledge. Finally, we find that this structure of generalized exchange is stable over time although there is a high proportion of member churn in the network.     

Social interaction in online support groups: Preference for online social interaction over offline social interaction

The purpose of the current study was to identify potential factors leading to preference for social interaction in online support groups (OSGs) over offline interaction. By identifying such factors, the current study advances understanding of the way patients use the Internet as a supportive resource and integrate support from offline and online relationships. An online survey was conducted with current users of health-related OSGs (N = 158). Findings show that those who were dissatisfied with the support they received from their current offline contacts were more likely to prefer social interaction in OSGs. Such a preference was prominent among those who built deeper social relationships in OSGs. Results suggest that some people develop a preference for social interaction in OSGs over offline interaction and use computer-mediated relationships as a possible alternative to offline support networks. Healthcare professionals and users as well as designers of OSGs must acknowledge the limits of online support and caution against the possibility of developing excessive reliance on online support resources.     

The potential of synchronous communication to enhance participation in online discussions: A case study of two e-learning courses

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been adopted in most e-learning settings. However, few research studies have considered the effect of different CMC. This study examined how and why synchronous communication affected participation in online discussions. Two online classes that participated in two asynchronous and two synchronous online discussions were examined. Actual and perceived measures of participation indicated that synchronous communication induced personal participation, which could be regarded as a complement to cognitive participation. Personal participation involves more intense interaction better supported by synchronous communication while cognitive participation is a more reflective type of participation supported by asynchronous communication. In synchronous discussions, the e-learners felt that they worked together and were not restricted to only discuss course content. This was likely to induce arousal and motivation and increased convergence on meaning, especially in small groups.     

Meeting expectations: The effects of expectations on self-esteem following the construction of a dating profile

Online daters may be aware that online chat can extend their opportunities for making a desirable impression on potential dates in comparison to meeting a potential partner face-to-face. This anticipation of a subsequent interaction may already impact the impression individuals expect to make through an online profile initially, which in turn can impact self-esteem. We tested these hypotheses in an experiment. Ninety-two heterosexual women constructed a dating profile while anticipating that they would meet a date either face-to-face or through text-based chat. Participants who anticipated computer-mediated (as opposed to face-to-face) interaction expected that their profile would make a more desirable impression on a potential date. Furthermore, the anticipation of computer-mediated interaction increased romantic self-esteem through the increased expectation of making a desirable impression.     

The effects of product photographs and reputation systems on consumer behavior and product cost on eBay

For years, computer-mediated communication (CMC) research has explored and theorized about the effects of technology on the process of interpersonal impression formation. However, as the Internet has evolved to allow users to accomplish more and more day-to-day tasks (e. g., the buying and selling of goods and services) little research and theory development has explored how non-interpersonal impressions form on the internet. This work seeks to extend theoretical perspectives on online signaling (the warranting effect; Walther & Parks, 2002) to predict consumer behavior on the popular online auction website, eBay.com. A content analysis of 217 completed eBay auctions revealed that auctions that featured higher seller reputation scores and actual product photographs (vs. stock photographs) generated more bidding interest and resulted in higher final sales prices. These findings as well as future theoretical development in this area are discussed.     

“I Have AIDS”: Content analysis of postings in HIV/AIDS support group on a Chinese microblog

With the widespread growth and adoption of new technologies, online platforms such as social network sites (SNSs) have become a channel for health information. Online groups have been set up for communication and interaction, among which many are for people with chronic illnesses, including people with HIV/AIDS (PHA). In the study of online communication behavior, the Social Information Processing Theory (SIPT) predicted people will develop deeper interpersonal relationships in online groups over time (Walther, 1996). However, the author argued that CMC content should be examined more closely to get a dynamic picture of how people interaction and how groups develop over time. Thus this paper attempted to refine SIPT by enriching the framework with detailed components, and used directed content analysis to categorize messages posted on the PHA Support Group on Sina Weibo, a China-based microblog. The results showed that the percentage of socio-emotional messages saw an increase of almost 1/3 over time, taking over informational messages as the major content in all online postings. Medical related informational messages surpassed non-medical related informational messages as time went by. Intimacy relationship messages saw drastic increase in the two time periods. This study refined SIPT by providing increased granularity of its categorization scheme to examine group communication more closely.     

Social intelligence design in online chat communication: a psychological study on the effects of “congestion”

Social intelligence design (SID) is an essential concept for constructing electronic communities or computer-supported communication systems which effectively support various intelligent activities. This study is focused on one example of such systems, that is, online chat for real-time computer-mediated communication. We examined various dimensions of human information processing in online chat sessions from both the cognitive and social perspectives within psychology. A key variable which affects the process of a chat session is what we call communication congestion. We regard this quality as characterizing online chat sessions and are experimentally exploring its effects on chat performance and cognition processing by participants. Results of this experimental study suggest that medium-density congestion with a relevant topic might activate communication, particularly for experienced participants. Based on our findings, we discuss some suggestions regarding future innovations for chat systems.

Giving and receiving emotional support online: Communication competence as a moderator of psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer

This study examines the moderating role of emotional communication competence in the relationship between Computer-Mediated Social Support (CMSS) group participation, specifically giving and receiving emotional support, and psychological health outcomes. Data were collected as part of randomized clinical trials for women diagnosed with breast cancer within the last two months. Expression and reception of emotional support was assessed by tracking and coding the 18,064 messages that 236 patients posted and read in CMSS groups. The final data used in the analysis was created by merging (a) computer-aided content analysis of discussion posts, (b) action log data analysis of system usage, and (c) baseline and 6-month surveys collected to assess change. Results of this study demonstrate that emotional communication competence moderates the effects of expression and reception of emotional support on psychological quality of life and breast cancer-related concerns in both desired and undesired ways. Giving and receiving emotional support in CMSS groups has positive effects on emotional well-being for breast cancer patients with higher emotional communication, while the same exchanges have detrimental impacts on emotional well-being for those with lower emotional communication competence. The theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed.     

A social network as information: The effect of system generated reports of connectedness on credibility on Twitter

Social media have gained increased usage rapidly for a variety of reasons. News and information is one such reason. The current study examines how system-generated cues available in social media impact perceptions of a source’s credibility. Participants were asked to view one of six mock Twitter.com pages that varied both the number of followers and the ratio between followers and follows on the page and report their perceived source credibility. Data indicate that curvilinear effects for number of followers exist, such that having too many or too few connections results in lower judgments of expertise and trustworthiness. Having a narrow gap between the number of followers and follows also led to increased judgments of competence. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with limitations of the current study and directions for future research.     

Leader emergence in an Internet environment

With the progression of technology, particularly the Internet, it is becoming increasingly important for organizations, both business and academic, to effectively use the Internet for research and data collection. In this study, leaderless discussions conducted completely in an Internet environment were used to study how individuals emerged as leaders. The study assessed leaderless discussion variables as well as Internet process variables such as emoticons, web-based initializations, and technical speak as predictors of leader emergence. Traditional leaderless discussion variables were not predictive while many of the Internet process variables were found to have strong positive relationships with leader emergence.     

Video lecture format, student technological efficacy, and social presence in online courses

Online platforms are frequently used as an alternative environment for individuals to meet and engage in a variety of activities, like attending courses online. We examined the effect of adding social presence cues in online video lectures and technological efficacy on college students’ perceived learning, class social presence, and perception that the videos aided learning. Participants rated their technological efficacy and completed an online class with video lectures that either included the video (image) of the instructor or not. The interaction between technological efficacy and video manipulation predicted lower ratings of perceived learning, social presence, and video usefulness, particularly for students with lower technological efficacy. A mediated-moderation analysis showed that, the interaction between person (efficacy) and media (instructor image in video vs. no image) predicted greater perceived learning through the mediators of perceived usefulness of videos, class interactivity, and felt comfort in the class.     

Temporal transitions in participation flow in an asynchronous discussion forum

This study examined the overarching issue of how temporal transitions, specifically duration of message flow, affects momentum or wellness of discussion in an asynchronous forum. Quantitative data representing time indicators in discussion activity included posting patterns related to duration (density, intensity, latency, and response count), Day-In topic, day of week, and time of day. Qualitative analysis identified notable spikes or irregularities (i.e., peaks and valleys) in the content level of postings. Results revealed that for open-ended topics (i.e., no specific end date imposed by the instructor), the momentum of forum discussion may be short-term, between 21 and 28 days into the topic. Peaks and valleys subsequent to 31 days were not significant to discussion vitality. Students posted mainly early to mid-week. Time of day had no direct influence on the vitality of the discussion. Strategies for applying temporal transitions in an online forum to motivate and sustain student participation are discussed.     

The impact of transactional distance dialogic interactions on student learning outcomes in online and blended environments

This study measured how student interactions (as captured by Transactional Distance dialogue (Moore, 1993)) in online and blended learning environments impacted student learning outcomes, as measured by student satisfaction and student grades. Dialogue was measured as student interactions with other students (student–student interaction), the technologies used (student–technology interaction), the instructors (student–teacher interaction), and the course contents (student–content interaction). In addition, moderating effects of media and modality of interactions and individual differences on student learning outcomes were also measured. Data was obtained from 342 online and blended students between 2010 and 2013. Findings indicate that student–content interaction had a larger effect on student learning outcomes than other forms of dialogue. Implications for educational policies that require teacher-presence (student–teacher) and student–student interactions in distance learning environments are also discussed.     

Students’ linguistic behaviour in online discussion groups: Does gender matter?

This research examined students’ language use and interaction styles in text-based, computer-mediated discussion groups. The contributions of 197 introductory psychology students (149 females, 48 males) participating in asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) were collated. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, under the methodological framework of qualitative content analysis [Mayring, P. (2000). Qualitative Content Analysis. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [online] 1. http://qualitative-research.net/fqs-e/2-00halt-e.htm Accessed 10.06.2001]. A coding system, which incorporated the creation of ‘supercodes’, was developed using Atlas.ti 4.2 and used to code 699 student postings in total. The frequencies of coded categories were analysed using χ² statistics in SPSS 10. It was found that males and females were similar regarding use of individual linguistic variables, with the exception of intensifiers as more females used them than males. However, significant gender differences were found in use of many of the stylistic variables and the supercode analysis showed overall gender-related patterns in interaction styles. Males were more likely to use authoritative language and to respond negatively in interactions, than females. On the other hand, females were more likely to explicitly agree and support others and make more personal and emotional contributions, than males. The results suggest that gendered power differentials may carry over into online contexts, which has implications for the use of CMC in education.     

Notification pending: Online social support from close and nonclose relational ties via Facebook

Previous research has often assumed social support as a unique affordance of close relationships. Computer-mediated communication alters the availability of relationally nonclose others, and may to enable additional sources or social support through venues like social networking sites. Eighty-eight college students completed a questionnaire based on their most recent Facebook status updates and the comments those updates generated. Items queried participants’ perception of each response as well as the participants’ relationship closeness with the responder. Individuals perceived as relationally close provide significant social support via Facebook; however, individuals perceived to be relationally nonclose provided equal social support online. While SNSs has not eroded the importance of close relationships, results demonstrate the social media tools may allow for social support to be obtained from nonclose as well as close relationships, with access to a significant proportion of nonclose relationships.     

Forging friendship,soliciting support: A mixed-method examination of message boards for pregnant teens and teen mothers

Among pregnant youth, relationships with parents and romantic partners are correlated with overall wellbeing; however, this relationship does not exist with friends. Friends who have also experienced a pregnancy, however, may offer more effective support than friends who have not. One way that pregnant and mothering adolescents can connect is through online message boards. We hypothesized that adolescents would use these sites primarily to establish friendships and develop a supportive community, rather than simply to solicit pregnancy-related advice. We randomly selected 200 threads from four message boards for pregnant and mothering teens and performed a mixed-methods content analysis of the original posts and responses. Most original posts were categorized as “Community Oriented Posts,” rather than “Soliciting Pregnancy or Motherhood Advice.” Furthermore, qualitative analysis revealed frequent instances of emotional support, instrumental support, and informational support in both categories. In message board communities where pregnant teens and teen mothers were in the majority, messages were predominantly positive. In sharp contrast, in the one message board in which they were in the minority, as they are in the adolescent community at large, messages were significantly more negative. The dynamics of these message boards indicate the possibility that social support from other pregnant or mothering teens may enhance the wellbeing of pregnant teens and explain why peer “support” from teens who have not had this experience may often have a negative influence on wellbeing.     

Personal journal bloggers: Profiles of disclosiveness

Personal journal blogs, which are primarily about bloggers’ selves and inner states, are often characterized by high amounts of self-disclosure. This study employed the uses and gratifications perspective to reveal the characteristics of disclosive personal journal bloggers. Path analyses of data from an online survey revealed that the most disclosive bloggers were women who were generally disclosive in their offline lives as well. Disclosive bloggers were typically motivated to blog to archive and organize their thoughts, much as one would expect for an online diary. Target audience was a stronger predictor of disclosiveness than the potential audience. The theoretical and practical implications of study results are discussed, along with potential directions for future research.     

Identifying a transition period at the midpoint of an online collaborative activity: a study among adult learners

This case study describes the group development in an online learning group. Adult learners enrolled in a MBA partially delivered at a distance were observed during fifteen weeks to better understand the group development of an online learning group. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to capture the dynamic of social interactions within the group and some affective reactions of members. The results revealed a transition period at the midpoint of the collaborative activity showing a decline of task-oriented communications, motivation and positive mood from this period. Results were discussed through models of group development validated in face-to-face environments. Some implications were proposed to facilitate online activities in computer-supported learning groups.     

Bringing theory to research on computer-mediated comforting communication

The current paper sought to advance the literature on computer-mediated emotional support by outlining a candidate theory of online comforting communication. We present a model that explicates the discursive, cognitive, and affective processes that function to reduce emotional distress and help improve one’s psychosocial well-being. We identify unique attributes of online social interaction, as compared to face-to-face (FtF) interaction, that may be especially useful for facilitating empathic and adaptive comforting communication. Additionally, we explain how unique features of computer-mediated comforting communication may work to facilitate the cognitive and affective processes that result in alleviation of emotional distress. Final sections of the paper advance research questions and hypotheses to guide future empirical research examining the efficacy of online emotional support.