Communication // Current

The Current's Flow

The recent string of layoffs have me wondering what exactly is the master plan here,... more

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Although often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's self-representation, or avatar, in a virtual environment can affect the user's thoughts, according to research by a University of Texas at Austin communication professor.

In the first study to use avatars to prime negative responses in a desktop virtual setting, Jorge Peña, assistant professor in the College of Communication, demonstrated that the subtext of an avatar's appearance can simultaneously prime negative (or anti-social) thoughts and inhibit positive (or pro-social) thoughts inconsistent with the avatar's appearance. All of this while study participants remained unaware they had been primed. The study, co-written with Cornell University Professor Jeffrey T. Hancock and University of Texas at Austin graduate student Nicholas A. Merola, appears in the December 2009 issue of Communication Research.

In two separate experiments, research participants were randomly assigned a dark- or white-cloaked avatar, or to avatars wearing physician or Ku Klux Klan-like uniforms or a transparent avatar. The participants were assigned tasks including writing a story about a picture, or playing a video game on a virtual team and then coming to consensus on how to deal with infractions.

Consistently, participants represented by an avatar in a dark cloak or a KKK-like uniform demonstrated negative or anti-social behavior in team situations and in individual writing assignments.

Previous studies have demonstrated these uniform types to have negative effects on people's behaviors in face-to-face interactions. For example, Cornell researchers Mark Frank and Tom Gilovich showed that dark uniforms influence professional sports teams to play more aggressively on the playing field and in the laboratory. Peña's research demonstrates how these effects operate in desktop-based video games, and sheds light on the automatic cognitive processes that explain this effect.

"When you step into a virtual environment, you can potentially become 'Mario' or whatever other character you are portraying," said Peña, who studies how humans think, behave and feel online. "Oftentimes, the connotations of our own virtual character will subtly remind us of common stereotypes, such as 'bad guys wear black or dress up in hooded robes.' This association may surreptitiously steer users to think and behave more antisocially, but also inhibit more pro-social thoughts and responses in a virtual environment."

According to Peña, these findings can be particularly useful to video game and combat simulation developers.

"By manipulating the appearance of the avatar, you can augment the probability of people thinking and behaving in predictable ways without raising suspicion," said Peña. "Thus, you can automatically make a virtual encounter more competitive or cooperative by simply changing the connotations of one's avatar."

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110211037.htmAlthough often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's... more

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What promising new communication experiments have you seen?

I think it's kind of sad that it takes people, or organizations, to donate their money... more

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balancing the holiday mayhem with class!

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Beck Wins..... Anita Dunn...... Done!

White House Communications Director Anita Dunn will step down by the end of November... more

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The Greatest Generation (of Networkers)

A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr. Gallagher noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap.

He was texting while being reprimanded for texting.

"It was a subconscious act," says Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away. "Young people today are connected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It's compulsive."

Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in this constant whir of socializing—accessible to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites—there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can "hyper-socializing" students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook?

Some argue they can accomplish a great deal: This generation has a gift for multitasking, and because they've integrated technology into their lives, their ability to remain connected to each other will serve them and their employers well. Others contend that these hyper-socializers are serial time-wasters, that the bonds between them are shallow, and that their face-to-face interpersonal skills are poor.

"The unspoken attitude is, 'I don't need you. I have the Internet,'" says P.M. Forni, the 58-year-old director of the Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, which studies politeness and manners. "The Net provides an opportunity to play hide-and-seek, to say and not say, to be truthful and to pretend. There is a lot of communication going on that is futile and trivial."

That's far too harsh an assessment, says Ben Bajarin, 32, a technology analyst at Creative Strategies, a consulting firm in Campbell, Calif. He argues that because young people are so adept at multimedia socializing, their social skills are actually strengthened. They're good at "managing conversations" and getting to the pithy essence of an issue, he says, which will help them in the workplace.

While their older colleagues waste time holding meetings or engaging in long phone conversations, young people have an ability to sum things up in one-sentence text messages, Mr. Bajarin says. "They know how to optimize and prioritize. They will call or set up a meeting if it's needed. If not, they text." And given their vast network of online acquaintances, they discover people who can become true friends or valued business colleagues—people they wouldn't have been able to find in the pre-Internet era.

It's hard to quantify whether the abbreviated interchanges of text messaging are beneficial in the workplace, but this much is known: Young workers spend more time than older workers socializing via their devices or entertaining themselves online. In a 2008 survey for Salary.com, 53% of those under age 24 said this was their primary "time wasting" activity while at work, compared to just 34% for those between ages 41 and 65.

More schools are now allowing students to use their cellphones between classes, or even as a learning tool in the classroom. Some teachers are having students text their friends during classes to share feedback on what's being taught. The mantra among educators who try to be enlightened: It's no longer about attention span. It's about attention scope—being able to concentrate on many things at once.

(Much more to the article, I shortened it a bit.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704746304574505643153518708.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_lifestyleA 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the... more

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The Prince of Wales - The Prince's Charities

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How to lose your job on Facebook

Poor, poor, dumb girl ...

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The App Store Effect: Are iPhone Apps Headed for Oblivion

Mankind and it's endless obsession with apps

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The S Contest - Vote for the Winner from 5 Inspiring Finalists!

Thank you for your interest in the S Contest, where you'll select one lucky winner to... more

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Whatever: the most annoying word

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Google is truthful, say children

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Send a Telegram to Someone

This is really sweet and cool Give it a try OLDSCHOOL

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Twitter to launch curated lists feature

The idea is to allow people to curate lists of Twitter accounts. For example, you... more

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Twatif? [video]

Twatif? This amusing video asks the simple question: what would happen if workplace... more

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Oil exploration may hamper blue whale breeding

The ability of endangered blue whales to gather and breed may be being put at risk by... more

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Priests Embracing Islam ( Free Book & Movies )

********** Priests Embracing Islam ********** Exciting Stories of the Researchers... more

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Verizon Wireless - Supporting a Controversial, Climate-change Denying Labor Day Event

Groups Ask That Verizon Wireless Withdraw Support of Controversial,
Climate-change Denying Labor Day Event

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.— Today a coalition of groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter to Verizon Wireless asking the corporation to withdraw its sponsorship of a Labor Day rally being held in West Virginia to support mountaintop removal coal mining and oppose climate legislation. The groups represent millions of members and include Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace USA, Friends of the Earth, Appalachian Voices, Christians Caring for Creation, and many others.

“Verizon Wireless may say they’re an environmentally friendly company http://aboutus.vzw.com/Green_Initiative/overview.html but their mouth isn’t where their money is. Verizon Wireless is now aware that they paid money to sponsor an event that celebrates mountaintop removal coal mining, and they have not withdrawn their sponsorship. They can keep saying they’re a friend to the environment until they’re green in the face, but there’s just no environmentally friendly way to blow up mountains and dump them into streams,” said Tierra Curry, a biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity.

More groups are expected to sign on to the letter, which will be updated on Monday. As of Friday morning, nearly 80,000 concerned citizens had submitted letters to Verizon Wireless through CREDO Action and the Center asking the company to withdraw its sponsorship of the event. Other groups have also launched action alerts to their membership.

As current customers of Verizon Wireless, several of the groups have expressed their concern to the company about its support for the mountaintop removal rally, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, and intend to reevaluate their relationship with Verizon Wireless.

More information:
Activists pressure Verizon Wireless to hang up on bad coal connection. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/verizon-09-02-2009.html
Verizon Wireless faces boycott for supporting mountaintop removal.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/verizon-09-01-2009.htmlGroups Ask That Verizon Wireless Withdraw Support of Controversial, Climate-change... more

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Activists Pressure Verizon Wireless to Hang Up on Bad Coal Connection

Activists Pressure Verizon Wireless to Hang Up on Bad Coal Connection FLAGSTAFF,... more

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tagged w/ Communication

The Current's Flow

http://www.stady.fr/

About your avatar

What promising new communication experiments have you seen?

balancing the holiday mayhem with class!

Beck Wins..... Anita Dunn...... Done!

The Greatest Generation (of Networkers)

The Prince of Wales - The Prince's Charities

How to lose your job on Facebook

The App Store Effect: Are iPhone Apps Headed for Oblivion

The S Contest - Vote for the Winner from 5 Inspiring Finalists!

Whatever: the most annoying word

Google is truthful, say children

Send a Telegram to Someone

Twitter to launch curated lists feature

Twatif? [video]

Oil exploration may hamper blue whale breeding

Priests Embracing Islam ( Free Book & Movies )

Verizon Wireless - Supporting a Controversial, Climate-change Denying Labor Day Event

Activists Pressure Verizon Wireless to Hang Up on Bad Coal Connection

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