Just between us: Exclusive communications in online social networks

Social media websites such as Facebook are used for relationship development and maintenance often through self-disclosure and sharing of personal information. However, not all forms of social media communication may be equally suitable for this task. This paper explores users’ norms about the appropriateness of using private vs. public Facebook messages to communicate different kinds of personal information, and the effectiveness of these types of communication in building relationships. Study 1, a survey, revealed that users endorse conflicting expectations about preferences for receiving information publicly or privately. Study 2, a field experiment testing the effects of private versus public Facebook communications on actual relationship development using participants’ own Facebook pages, suggested that private messages lead to greater closeness.     

Using a virtual reality system to study balance and walking in a virtual outdoor environment: a pilot study.

Falls and fall-related injuries are a major problem for elderly persons. Most falls occur during walking and turning, and the risk of falling increases when attention is diverted to something besides walking. It is often difficult to standardize methods for testing balance and fall tendency in a clinically relevant setting. We describe the development of a system using a virtual environment (VE) to assess how attention demanding and unexpected events influence a person's capacity to control balance and movement. The hardware in the system consists of a head-mounted display (HMD), a magnetic tracker system, and two SGI computers. The software consists of the image generation of the VE and the management and visualization of motion tracking data. In a preliminary pilot study eight subjects (age 23-80) participated. Each subject walked on a normal floor and was visually presented a familiar outdoor environment in the HMD. They were exposed to different unexpected events, such as a virtual snowfall and tilting of the VE. Disturbances of balance and walking patterns such as changes in speed, stride length and balance reactions like slipping were observed. Two subjects experienced symptoms of cyber sickness with a SSQ score above 25 points. Walking with sensors only did not affect walking time, but in VE the subjects generally walked more slowly. Virtual tilting of the environment had an impact on balance performance during walking. This effect was not observed while the test subjects were walking in a virtual snowfall. The model needs further development but may hold a potential for clinical use.     

日、韩民族主义与地方政府间国际交流

本文追溯了日、韩两国民族主义问题之间的关系,特别聚焦于朝鲜海峡两岸地方政府的行为。日韩关系虽已迅速改善,但仍存有一些摩擦和紧张。对于两国来说,历史教科书问题和利扬库尔岩(日语为竹岛,韩语为独岛)问题被视为最大的难题。通过分析地方政府在历史教科书问题上的前后行为变化,本文阐述了地方政府在日韩关系中的重要作用。     

Interplay between physical and virtual settings for online interpersonal trust formation in knowledge-sharing practice

This qualitative study investigated online interpersonal trust formation in knowledge-sharing (KS) practice, with emphasis on the interplay between the physical and virtual social contexts. Data were collected during a 6-month period from phenomenological interviews of 49 elementary and junior high school teachers who used a Web-based knowledge management system (KMS) to share their knowledge. Interpretive analysis revealed three important facets of the interpersonal trust formation process in using Web-based KMS: (a) the social role of the teachers, (b) the rigid and tight professional community, and (c) the keys to breaking through. Results of this study can lead to a better understanding of how an individual's perception is shaped and to what extent social factors affect knowledge-sharing practice in virtual communities. In addition to the practical implications to those who intend to manage knowledge-intensive activities, our study demonstrates the relevance of phenomenology for trust in KS research and provides a new way of viewing knowledge management problems in terms of human consciousness.     

Visual control of posture in real and virtual environments

In two experiments, we investigated the stabilizing influence of vision on human upright posture in real and virtual environments. Visual stabilization was assessed by comparing eyes-open with eyes-closed conditions while subjects attempted to maintain balance in the presence of a stable visual scene. Visual stabilization in the virtual display w as reduced, as compared wit hreal-world viewing. Th is differencewas partially accountedfor by the reduced field of view in the virtual display. When the retinal flow inthe virtual display wasremoved by using dynamic random-dot stereograms with single-frame lifetimes (cyclopean stimuli), vision did notstabilize posture. There was also an overall larger stabilizing influence of vision when more unstable stances were adopted (e.g., one-foot, as compared with side-by-side, stance). Reducing the graphics latency of the virtual display by 63% did not increase visual stabilization in the virtual display. Other visual and psychological differences between real and virtual environments are discussed.     

Facebook as a virtual mosque: the online protest against Innocence of Muslims

When the short anti-Islam film the Innocence of Muslims was first posted on YouTube in English, no tangible reactions were seen in the Arab world. However, when the same producer dubbed it into Arabic and posted it on YouTube, street protests started around some parts of the Arab world. The study reported here examines a popular Facebook page identified as The global campaign to counter the hurtful film against the Prophet Muhammed that was created to protest against the Innocence of Muslims film. This study investigated all 6949 Facebook updates and comments that were available on this page by 15 October 2012 and found that a clear majority of posts were Pro-Islamic focusing on prayers for Muhammed and supplications to defend him. This study advances our theoretical understanding of the connection between online and offline religion by providing empirical evidence in relation to this controversial incident.     

Hostility in the real world and online: the effect of internet addiction, depression, and online activity

Hostility online has not been evaluated by an empirical investigation. This study aims to evaluate (a) the difference between hostility in the real world and that online and (b) whether the difference is associated with Internet addiction, depression, or online activities. A total of 2,348 college students (1,124 males and 1,224 females) were recruited and completed the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies' Depression Scale, and the questionnaire for online activity. Further, the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory-Chinese version-short form was utilized to evaluate hostility in both real and virtual worlds. The results demonstrated that the levels of all four dimensions of hostility were lower when getting online than those in the real world. Subjects with Internet addiction had higher hostility both in the real world and online as do subjects with depression. Further, college students with Internet addiction had increased expressive hostility behavior and those with depression had decreased hostility cognition, hostility affection, and suppressive hostility behavior when getting online. Lastly, the buffering effect of the Internet on hostility was attenuated among subjects paying the most online time in chatting, and those using the Internet mainly for online gaming had higher expressive hostility behavior not only in the real world but also online. These results suggest that attention should be paid to interventions concerning aggressive behavior among subjects with Internet addiction or online gaming and chatting. On the other hand, depressed college students would be less hostile after entering the Internet. It is suggested that the Internet would be one possible interactive media to provide intervention for depression.     

Shame and the virtual gaze: Supporting children's encounters in online worlds

As the virtual gaze of another becomes an increasingly prevalent feature in children's lives, this paper aims to explore some of the emotional complexities of the emerging physical/virtual landscape of children's experience. Based on an analysis of the emotion of shame, the paper explores the new challenges that children face both now and in the future in their virtual encounters and relations with others. It is argued that virtual spaces bring new dimensions to emotional experience, at times making it more difficult to realise the productive potential of shame. This is because the gaze or imagined gaze of another, as invoked through the experience of shame, occurs in conditions of uncertainty, has no boundaries and may arise at any time in the future. These insights are significant if we are to support children in building a capacity to restore the self and be resilient in these new spaces of social encounter.     

Counter-Cultural Egalitarianism: a comparative analysis of New Age and other 'alternative' communities

This paper makes a plea for examining New Religious Movements (NRMs), including the New Age Movement, in terms of contrasting modes of social organisation. NRMs share such contrasting modes with other societies well outside the Western industrial-capitalist world, notably hunting and gathering societies. This means that theoretical discussion relating to the social forms of hunter-gatherers can enlighten the social forms of NRMs. The paper demonstrates the ethnographic similarities between NRMS and hunter-gatherers in relation to the social dimensions of egalitarianism and hierarchy. Egalitarianism as a counter-cultural strategy of opposition is then explicated according to Boehm's idea of reverse dominance. Hierarchy, among NRMs organised quite differently from ‘mainstream’ hierarchy, is meanwhile explicated in terms of distinctive space-time circumstances of social aggregation where people are constricted on limited areas of territory. In counter-cultural strategies, it is concluded, egalitarianism amounts to a ‘witnessing’ opposition, while hierarchy amounts to a ‘symbolic’ opposition.     

Consumer response journey following a product-harm crisis: The role of online brand communities

Online brand communities can serve as a crucial information source about a product-harm crisis and allow consumers to seek information from others and share their opinions in a social dynamic environment. The role of an online brand community in shaping consumer responses following such a crisis nevertheless remains under-researched. Drawing from attribution theory, this research explores the dynamic and holistic consumer journey in online brand communities following a product-harm crisis, specifically examining consumer attribution as the key mechanism and consumers' decision to forgive the brand as the outcome response. This research includes two studies. First, a netnographic pilot study is conducted to provide real-world evidence for the research phenomenon and to explore consumer responses within the natural setting of an online brand community. Second, the main study uses an interpretivist epistemological approach to track the unfolding process and capture the evolution of consumer attribution and forgiveness. The results show the social nature of attribution as members engage with others in online brand communities, seeking and verifying information, sensemaking and forming opinions. The findings make theoretical contributions to the literature on attribution and product-harm crisis. The findings from the research also help brands make informed decisions on crisis management strategies.     

Nonmonetary and nonreciprocal freecycling: Motivations for participating in online alternative giving communities

This research examines consumers' participation in a nonmonetary, nonreciprocal form of online consumer exchange wherein consumers may decide to give only, receive only, or both give and receive. Given the lack of financial incentives or relational norms that would traditionally drive participation in this societally beneficial consumption activity for which we advance the term alternative giving, this research examines consumers' participation motivations. Are consumers, as prior research suggests, motivated to participate in alternative giving activities on the basis of prosocial motives or for other reasons? Through a content analysis of the online Freecycle Network, we found that participation is driven primarily by fundamental consumer needs and wants, though other prosocial, less materialistic factors are also drivers. Our findings also identify an inconsistency in product categories between what givers offer and what receivers seek, suggesting that supply–demand imbalances can emerge within alternative giving communities.     

The Rutgers Arm, a rehabilitation system in virtual reality: a pilot study.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Its prevalence calls for innovative rehabilitation methods. The Rutgers Arm is a novel upper extremity rehabilitation system consisting of a low-friction table, three-dimensional (3D) tracker, custom forearm support, PC workstation, library of Java 3D virtual reality (VR) exercises, clinical database module, and a tele-rehabilitation extension. The system was tested on a chronic stroke subject, under local and tele-rehabilitation conditions, over 5 weeks of training. Results show improvements in arm motor control and shoulder range of motion, corresponding to improved Fugl-Meyer test scores. Exercise duration, level of difficulty, and patient motivation were maintained under tele-rehabilitaion. A 1-week retention trial showed that gains were maintained.     

Managing information overload in virtual teams: Effects of a structured online team adaptation on cognition and performance

Information overload (IO) indicates the exchange of too much low-quality information in virtual teams. When being overloaded with information, teams need to adapt and to change communication behaviour. This study introduces and tests a structured online team adaptation (STROTA) procedure that enables virtual teams to reduce IO by improving their team mental model quality. STROTA, built from team adaptation models, is a moderated intervention consisting of three stages: (1) individual situation awareness, (2) team situation awareness, and (3) plan formulation. STROTA was tested in the context of an experimental problem-solving task. Participants (N = 363) worked in virtual teams of three and were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: no STROTA, incomplete STROTA (step 1, steps 1–2), and complete STROTA (steps 1–2–3). We found teams that followed a complete STROTA procedure experienced lessened IO over time. Teams with complete STROTA showed the largest development of TMM immediately after STROTA. Finally, multilevel mediation analyses showed that TMM are mediators that explain the influence of STROTA on IO.     

Personality differences between online game players and nonplayers in a student sample.

This study examines the differences in openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion between online game players and nonplayers using a student sample. The matched sample comprised 130 pairs of students, who are paired in gender and age. The results indicate that online game players reported higher scores in openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion than did nonplayers.