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Mixing Metaphors: Sociological And Psychological Perspectives On Virtual Communities, Kevin Wang
Mixing Metaphors: Sociological And Psychological Perspectives On Virtual Communities, Kevin Wang
Kevin Wang
This chapter explores the theoretical and conceptual assumptions underlying the notion of virtual community. Drawing from relevant literature, the author first examines the fundamental properties of the Internet as both technological and cultural artifact and argues that the Internet can embody different technological, functional, and symbolic meanings that will have direct implications for how communities are formed and experienced. Building on that framework, the second part of the chapter focuses on the sociological and psychological bases of community and explores how such conceptions change with the emergence of the Internet. The author concludes that studies of virtual communities must be …
Uprising: The Internet's Unintended Consequences, Marcus Breen
Uprising: The Internet's Unintended Consequences, Marcus Breen
Marcus Breen
The Internet has transformed the social relations that were once managed by the powers that be. As a rapidly maturing communications technology, the Internet has brought people together even while it has reinforced privatism. The desktop computer, the laptop, the cellular and mobile phone, the Global Positoning System, the pilotless drone aircraft, video games and government documents courtesy of Wikileaks, all are connected on the network of networks. Together these converged elements of a global socio-technical system offer wonderful possibilities for human emancipation, even while those ideas collide with established ideas of civility and decency. Utilizing a transdisciplinary approach, Uprising …
Internet Pornography: Another Step Towards Proletarianization, Marcus Breen
Internet Pornography: Another Step Towards Proletarianization, Marcus Breen
Marcus Breen
Within the current period of shifting international trade, sexuality has been “globalized” in new ways. Rather than working with the generalization that characterizes globalization in line with the somewhat predictable binaries of the WTO/US market opening hegemonic model versus the anti-hegemonic opponents of this same capitalist enterprise, sex as presented in pornography on the World Wide Web offers a counterintuitive way of thinking about globalization. Internet pornography presents a system of unintended consequences. That is, it offers a site where the full investigations of human ambition, desire and degradation are represented and played out, offering the voiceless and the powerless …
Quality Control, Jane Singer
Quality Control, Jane Singer
Jane B. Singer
This study of local British newspaper journalists focuses on three aspects of entrenched newsroom culture—news values and norms, work routines and outputs, and occupational roles—to explore the boundaries that journalists see as distinguishing them from outside contributors. Findings suggest they view user-generated content (UGC) from a traditional professional perspective and weigh its benefits in terms of its contribution to the journalism they produce. While most are open to its inclusion on newspaper websites, particularly as a traffic builder and supplemental source of hyperlocal information, they believe UGC can undermine journalistic norms and values unless carefully monitored—a gatekeeping task they fear …
Caution, The Use Of Humor May Lead To Confusion: Evaluation Of A Video Podcast Of The Midwest Teen Sex Show, Michelle Campo, Natoshia Askelson
Caution, The Use Of Humor May Lead To Confusion: Evaluation Of A Video Podcast Of The Midwest Teen Sex Show, Michelle Campo, Natoshia Askelson
Michelle L. Campo
Web sites about sexual health lack the interactivity, humor, and “viral” nature required to attract young adults. The Midwest Teen Sex Show (www.midwestteensexshow.com) is an interactive, humor-based Web site that provides sexual health information to young adults. One episode from the Web site was shown to six focus groups of young women, ages 18–30. Women found it funny, but some were offended or confused. Women were unable to differentiate between facts and humor; however, women could identify the key messages. Most women reported they would think about it later, visit the Web site, and share it with friends. Web-based interventions …