Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Fully Embodied Conversational Avatars:Making Communicative Behaviors Autonomous
Fully Embodied Conversational Avatars:Making Communicative Behaviors
Autonomous, by J. CASSELL AND H. VILHJÁLMSSON
More recently, the creators of multi-user environments have realized that avatars need to be animated in order to bring them to life, but their approach has not taken into account the number and kind of different communicative functions of the body during an encounter. They provide menus where users can select from a set of animation sequences or switch between different emotional representations. The largest problem with this approach is that the user has to explicitly control every change in the avatar’s state. In reality however, many of the visual cues important to conversation are spontaneous and even involuntary, making it impossible for the user to explicitly select them from a menu. Furthermore, the users are often busy
producing the content of their conversation, so that simultaneous behavior control
becomes a burden" (2)
Autonomous, by J. CASSELL AND H. VILHJÁLMSSON
More recently, the creators of multi-user environments have realized that avatars need to be animated in order to bring them to life, but their approach has not taken into account the number and kind of different communicative functions of the body during an encounter. They provide menus where users can select from a set of animation sequences or switch between different emotional representations. The largest problem with this approach is that the user has to explicitly control every change in the avatar’s state. In reality however, many of the visual cues important to conversation are spontaneous and even involuntary, making it impossible for the user to explicitly select them from a menu. Furthermore, the users are often busy
producing the content of their conversation, so that simultaneous behavior control
becomes a burden" (2)
The Unbearable Likeness of Being Digital:The Persistence of Nonverbal Social Norms in Online Virtual Environments
The Unbearable Likeness of Being Digital:The Persistence of Nonverbal Social Norms in
Online Virtual Environments
NICK YEE, JEREMY N. BAILENSON, MARK URBANEK, FRANCIS CHANG and DAN MERGET. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOR, Volume 10, Number 1, 2007
Data collection
"A triggered script was used to collect information from avatars in the world. When triggered by a designated key press, the script would collect the name, Cartesian coordinates (x, y), and yaw of the 16 avatars closest to the user within a virtual 200-meter radius. The script would also track whether the avatars were talking at that given moment. The script would then store the information as a text file.
Six research assistants, paid at an hourly rate for 10 h a week, collected data within Second Life over a period of 7 weeks. There were 688 zones (discrete
locations) in Second Life, and undergraduates were each assigned to 115 zones. These research assistants were instructed to systematically explore the zones and trigger the script near locations where a group of at least two people were interacting.
Several types of locations were excluded from the data collection because of activity-specific positional configurations. These were (1) dance clubs,
(2) sex clubs, (3) classrooms, (4) casinos and parlor games, and (5) similar locations where physical architecture constrained position and orientation
(such as movie theatres)" 3
Discussion
"Our findings supported many of our hypotheses.IPD was significantly larger in male-male dyads than in female-female dyads. The data also supported the Equilibrium Theory. Within the social distance of 3.66 m, mutual gaze was inversely
correlated with IPD. The closer that two people were, the less likely they were looking at each other. We also saw support for the hypothesis that eye gaze regulates conversational flow. The more that two avatars were talking, the more
likely they were looking at each other. Moreover, we replicated the gender difference in mutual gaze. Male-male dyads were less likely to maintain mutual gaze than female-female dyads and mixed dyads. Finally, these gender differences in mutual gaze were influenced by location. Malemale dyads were significantly less likely to look
at each other in indoor locations as compared with all other gender composition and location combinations. This interaction between gender and location makes sense, given that male-male dyads prefer less intimacy, and large IPDs are not allowable in many indoor contexts due to size of the room. Overall, our findings support our hypothesis that our social interactions in online virtual environments,
such as Second Life, are governed by the same social norms as social interactions in the physical world. This finding has significant implications for using virtual worlds to study human social interaction. If people behave according to the
same social rules in both physical and virtual worlds even though the mode of movement and navigation is entirely different (i.e., using keyboard and mouse as opposed to bodies and legs), then this means it is possible to study social interaction in virtual environments and generalize them to social interaction in the real world" (5)
Online Virtual Environments
NICK YEE, JEREMY N. BAILENSON, MARK URBANEK, FRANCIS CHANG and DAN MERGET. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOR, Volume 10, Number 1, 2007
Data collection
"A triggered script was used to collect information from avatars in the world. When triggered by a designated key press, the script would collect the name, Cartesian coordinates (x, y), and yaw of the 16 avatars closest to the user within a virtual 200-meter radius. The script would also track whether the avatars were talking at that given moment. The script would then store the information as a text file.
Six research assistants, paid at an hourly rate for 10 h a week, collected data within Second Life over a period of 7 weeks. There were 688 zones (discrete
locations) in Second Life, and undergraduates were each assigned to 115 zones. These research assistants were instructed to systematically explore the zones and trigger the script near locations where a group of at least two people were interacting.
Several types of locations were excluded from the data collection because of activity-specific positional configurations. These were (1) dance clubs,
(2) sex clubs, (3) classrooms, (4) casinos and parlor games, and (5) similar locations where physical architecture constrained position and orientation
(such as movie theatres)" 3
Discussion
"Our findings supported many of our hypotheses.IPD was significantly larger in male-male dyads than in female-female dyads. The data also supported the Equilibrium Theory. Within the social distance of 3.66 m, mutual gaze was inversely
correlated with IPD. The closer that two people were, the less likely they were looking at each other. We also saw support for the hypothesis that eye gaze regulates conversational flow. The more that two avatars were talking, the more
likely they were looking at each other. Moreover, we replicated the gender difference in mutual gaze. Male-male dyads were less likely to maintain mutual gaze than female-female dyads and mixed dyads. Finally, these gender differences in mutual gaze were influenced by location. Malemale dyads were significantly less likely to look
at each other in indoor locations as compared with all other gender composition and location combinations. This interaction between gender and location makes sense, given that male-male dyads prefer less intimacy, and large IPDs are not allowable in many indoor contexts due to size of the room. Overall, our findings support our hypothesis that our social interactions in online virtual environments,
such as Second Life, are governed by the same social norms as social interactions in the physical world. This finding has significant implications for using virtual worlds to study human social interaction. If people behave according to the
same social rules in both physical and virtual worlds even though the mode of movement and navigation is entirely different (i.e., using keyboard and mouse as opposed to bodies and legs), then this means it is possible to study social interaction in virtual environments and generalize them to social interaction in the real world" (5)
Mediated Interpersonal Communication
Mediated Interpersonal Communication (2008). Edited by Elly A. Konijn, Sonja Utz, Martin Tanis and Susan B.Barnes
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Marshall McLuhan, "Classroom Without Walls," Explorations in Communication (Boston: Beacon Press, 1960)
Marshall McLuhan, "Classroom Without Walls", Explorations, #7, May, 1957
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A Faceted Classification Scheme for Computer-Mediated Discourse, by Susan C. Herring
A Faceted Classification Scheme for Computer-Mediated Discourse, by Susan C. Herring
"The approach to the classification of computer-mediated discourse proposed in this article is based on multiple categories or “facets”. These categories cut across the boundaries of socio-technical modes, and combine to allow for the identification of a more nuanced set of computer-mediated discourse types, while avoiding the imprecision associated with the concept of genre. Since the classification scheme does not rely on pre-existing modes, it can also be applied to discourse mediated by emergent and experimental CMC systems. The scheme is intended primarily as a faceted lens through which to view CMD data in order to facilitate linguistic analysis, especially research conducted in the discourse analysis, conversation analysis, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics traditions. [3] It is intended to complement genre or mode-based analyses, which can provide a convenient shorthand for categorizing CMD types, but are less precise and flexible"
"Discourse analysts have traditionally classified discourse into types according to various criteria. These include modality, number of discourse participants, text type or discourse type, and genre or register (table 1). While the definitions and boundaries of these distinctions have been much debated, they can be understood as being in a generally non-exclusive and hierarchical relationship to one another (e.g., casual chat is a type of conversation, typically a dialogue and typically produced via speech). As noted above, however, genre can be analyzed on multiple levels of generality, and thus all of the types in table 1 have also been characterized as “genres”. [5] Further, Biber (1988) has challenged the validity of the spoken/written language distinction, proposing that discourse types be situated instead along multiple continua".
"Faceted classification is an approach to the organization of information with origins in the field of library and information science. First systematized as a science by Ranganathan (1933) to classify books in libraries, it was later developed by the U.K. Research on Classification Group (Vickery 1960) for the organization of document collections in scientific fields, where it proved effective in the storage and retrieval of compound and complex subjects. More recently, faceted classification has been implemented to assist automated search and retrieval of information (Prieto-Diaz 1991), including on the Web (Broughton & Lane 2000), and has been extended to other fields and knowledge domains (e.g., art and architecture; Tudhope et al. 2002"
"Facets are categories or concepts of the same inherent type. A faceted scheme has several facets and each facet may have several terms, or possible values, e.g., a faceted classification scheme for wine might include the facets (and terms) “grape varietal” (riesling, cabernet sauvignon, etc.), “region” (Napa Valley, Rhine, Bordeaux, etc.), and “year” (2001, 2002, etc.). Ranganathan (1933) described the faceted classification method as analytico-synthetic: A subject domain is first analyzed into component facets, and relevant facets are then synthesized into combinations to characterize items of interest. Thus many facets may be applied to the description of wine, but only a subset of them – such as varietal and region – may be relevant to classifying wines for the purpose of marketing them to casual consumers. The flexibility of faceted classification lies in its ability to describe a large number of items within the subject domain, including novel items, on the basis of a relatively economical, pre-defined set of facets and terms. The facets need not be ordered, nor be of the same type, although they should be clearly defined and mutually exclusive".
"The classification approach to CMD presented here is organized at the highest level by the assumption that computer-mediated discourse is subject to two basic types of influence: medium (technological) and situation (social). These are presented in an unordered, non-hierarchical relationship, on the further assumption that one cannot be assigned theoretical precedence over the other for CMD as a whole; rather, the relative strength of social and technical influences must be discovered for different contexts of CMD through empirical analysis.
"Under each influence type, a number of categories (facets) are posited, along with several possible realizations (terms) for each. The categories were arrived at in an inductive manner on the basis of empirical evidence from the CMD research literature in answer to the question: What factors condition variation in computer-mediated language use? The proposed scheme is a preliminary attempt to aggregate and classify this body of knowledge".
"The approach to the classification of computer-mediated discourse proposed in this article is based on multiple categories or “facets”. These categories cut across the boundaries of socio-technical modes, and combine to allow for the identification of a more nuanced set of computer-mediated discourse types, while avoiding the imprecision associated with the concept of genre. Since the classification scheme does not rely on pre-existing modes, it can also be applied to discourse mediated by emergent and experimental CMC systems. The scheme is intended primarily as a faceted lens through which to view CMD data in order to facilitate linguistic analysis, especially research conducted in the discourse analysis, conversation analysis, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics traditions. [3] It is intended to complement genre or mode-based analyses, which can provide a convenient shorthand for categorizing CMD types, but are less precise and flexible"
"Discourse analysts have traditionally classified discourse into types according to various criteria. These include modality, number of discourse participants, text type or discourse type, and genre or register (table 1). While the definitions and boundaries of these distinctions have been much debated, they can be understood as being in a generally non-exclusive and hierarchical relationship to one another (e.g., casual chat is a type of conversation, typically a dialogue and typically produced via speech). As noted above, however, genre can be analyzed on multiple levels of generality, and thus all of the types in table 1 have also been characterized as “genres”. [5] Further, Biber (1988) has challenged the validity of the spoken/written language distinction, proposing that discourse types be situated instead along multiple continua".
"Faceted classification is an approach to the organization of information with origins in the field of library and information science. First systematized as a science by Ranganathan (1933) to classify books in libraries, it was later developed by the U.K. Research on Classification Group (Vickery 1960) for the organization of document collections in scientific fields, where it proved effective in the storage and retrieval of compound and complex subjects. More recently, faceted classification has been implemented to assist automated search and retrieval of information (Prieto-Diaz 1991), including on the Web (Broughton & Lane 2000), and has been extended to other fields and knowledge domains (e.g., art and architecture; Tudhope et al. 2002"
"Facets are categories or concepts of the same inherent type. A faceted scheme has several facets and each facet may have several terms, or possible values, e.g., a faceted classification scheme for wine might include the facets (and terms) “grape varietal” (riesling, cabernet sauvignon, etc.), “region” (Napa Valley, Rhine, Bordeaux, etc.), and “year” (2001, 2002, etc.). Ranganathan (1933) described the faceted classification method as analytico-synthetic: A subject domain is first analyzed into component facets, and relevant facets are then synthesized into combinations to characterize items of interest. Thus many facets may be applied to the description of wine, but only a subset of them – such as varietal and region – may be relevant to classifying wines for the purpose of marketing them to casual consumers. The flexibility of faceted classification lies in its ability to describe a large number of items within the subject domain, including novel items, on the basis of a relatively economical, pre-defined set of facets and terms. The facets need not be ordered, nor be of the same type, although they should be clearly defined and mutually exclusive".
"The classification approach to CMD presented here is organized at the highest level by the assumption that computer-mediated discourse is subject to two basic types of influence: medium (technological) and situation (social). These are presented in an unordered, non-hierarchical relationship, on the further assumption that one cannot be assigned theoretical precedence over the other for CMD as a whole; rather, the relative strength of social and technical influences must be discovered for different contexts of CMD through empirical analysis.
"Under each influence type, a number of categories (facets) are posited, along with several possible realizations (terms) for each. The categories were arrived at in an inductive manner on the basis of empirical evidence from the CMD research literature in answer to the question: What factors condition variation in computer-mediated language use? The proposed scheme is a preliminary attempt to aggregate and classify this body of knowledge".
The International Handbook of Internet Research
The International Handbook of Internet Research, 2010, Edited by Jeremy Hunsinger, Lisbeth Klastrup and Matthew Allen
Forward: The New Media, the New Meanwhile and the Same Old Stories
Steve Jones
Introduction
Chapter 1: Are Instant Messages Speech?, Naomi S. Baron
Chapter 2: From MUDs to MMORPGs: The History of Virtual Worlds, Dr. Richard A. Bartle
Chapter 3: Visual Iconic Patterns of IM, Hillary Bays
Chapter 4: Research in e-Science and Open Access to Data and Information, Matthijs den Besten Paul A. David Ralph Schroeder
Towards Information Infrastructure Studies: Ways of Knowing in a Networked Environment, Geoffrey C. Bowker, Karen Baker, Florence Millerand, David Ribes
Chapter 5: From Reader to Writer: Citizen Journalism as News Produceage, Axel Bruns
Chapter 6: The Mereology of Digital Copyright, Dan L. Burk
Chapter 7: Traversing urban social spaces: How online research helps unveil offline practice, Julie-Anne Carroll, Marcus Foth, Barbara Adkins
Chapter 8: Internet aesthetics, Sean Cubitt
Chapter 9: After Convergence: YouTube and Remix Culture, Anders Fagerjord
Chapter 10: The Internet in Latin America, Suely Fragoso, Alberto Efendy Maldonado
Chapter 11: Web Content Analysis: Expanding the Paradigm, Susan C. Herring
Chapter 12: The Regulatory Framework for Privacy and Security, Janine S. Hiller
Chapter 13: Toward Nomadological Cyberinfrastructures, Jeremy Hunsinger
Chapter 14:Toward a Virtual Town Square in the Era of Web 2.0, Andrea Kavanaugh, Manuel Perez, John Tedesco, William Sanders
Chapter 15: "The Legal Bit’s in Russian": Making Sense of Downloaded Music, Marjorie D. Kibby
Chapter 16:Understanding online (game)worlds, Lisbeth Klastrup
Chapter 17:Strategy and Structure for Online News Production – Case Studies of CNN and NRK, Arne H. Krumsvik
Chapter 18: Political Economy, the Internet and FL/OSS Development, Robin Mansell, Professor Evangelia Berdou
Chapter 19: Intercreativity: Mapping Online Activism, Graham Meikle
Chapter 20: Strangers and Friends: Collaborative Play in World of Warcraft, Bonnie Nardi Justin Harris
Chapter 21: Trouble with the Commercial: Internets Theorized and Used, Susanna Paasonen
Chapter 22: (Dis)Connected: Deleuze’s Superject and the Internet, David Savat
Chapter 23: Internet Reagency: The Implications of a Global Science for Collaboration, Productivity, and Gender Inequity in Less Developed, Areas B. Paige Miller ,Ricardo Duque, Meredith Anderson, Marcus Ynalvez, Antony Palackal, Dan-Bright Dzorgbo, Paul Mbatia, Wesley Shrum
Chapter 24: Language deterioration revisited: The extent and function of English content in a Swedish chat room, Malin Sveningsson Elm
Chapter 25: Visual Communication in Web Design-analysing visual communication in web design, Lisbeth Thorlacius
Chapter 26: Feral Hypertext: When Hypertext Literature Escapes Control, Jill Walker Rettberg
Chapter 27: Campaigning in a Changing Information Environment: the Anti-War and Peace Movement in Britain*, Kevin Gillan, Jenny Pickerill and Frank Webster
Chapter 28: The possibilities of network sociality, Michele Willson
Chapter 29: Web Search Studies: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Web Search Engines, Michael Zimmer
Appendix A: Degree Programs in Internet Research compiled by Rochelle Mazar
Appendix B: Research Centers relating to Internet Research compiled by Rochelle Mazar
Forward: The New Media, the New Meanwhile and the Same Old Stories
Steve Jones
Introduction
Chapter 1: Are Instant Messages Speech?, Naomi S. Baron
Chapter 2: From MUDs to MMORPGs: The History of Virtual Worlds, Dr. Richard A. Bartle
Chapter 3: Visual Iconic Patterns of IM, Hillary Bays
Chapter 4: Research in e-Science and Open Access to Data and Information, Matthijs den Besten Paul A. David Ralph Schroeder
Towards Information Infrastructure Studies: Ways of Knowing in a Networked Environment, Geoffrey C. Bowker, Karen Baker, Florence Millerand, David Ribes
Chapter 5: From Reader to Writer: Citizen Journalism as News Produceage, Axel Bruns
Chapter 6: The Mereology of Digital Copyright, Dan L. Burk
Chapter 7: Traversing urban social spaces: How online research helps unveil offline practice, Julie-Anne Carroll, Marcus Foth, Barbara Adkins
Chapter 8: Internet aesthetics, Sean Cubitt
Chapter 9: After Convergence: YouTube and Remix Culture, Anders Fagerjord
Chapter 10: The Internet in Latin America, Suely Fragoso, Alberto Efendy Maldonado
Chapter 11: Web Content Analysis: Expanding the Paradigm, Susan C. Herring
Chapter 12: The Regulatory Framework for Privacy and Security, Janine S. Hiller
Chapter 13: Toward Nomadological Cyberinfrastructures, Jeremy Hunsinger
Chapter 14:Toward a Virtual Town Square in the Era of Web 2.0, Andrea Kavanaugh, Manuel Perez, John Tedesco, William Sanders
Chapter 15: "The Legal Bit’s in Russian": Making Sense of Downloaded Music, Marjorie D. Kibby
Chapter 16:Understanding online (game)worlds, Lisbeth Klastrup
Chapter 17:Strategy and Structure for Online News Production – Case Studies of CNN and NRK, Arne H. Krumsvik
Chapter 18: Political Economy, the Internet and FL/OSS Development, Robin Mansell, Professor Evangelia Berdou
Chapter 19: Intercreativity: Mapping Online Activism, Graham Meikle
Chapter 20: Strangers and Friends: Collaborative Play in World of Warcraft, Bonnie Nardi Justin Harris
Chapter 21: Trouble with the Commercial: Internets Theorized and Used, Susanna Paasonen
Chapter 22: (Dis)Connected: Deleuze’s Superject and the Internet, David Savat
Chapter 23: Internet Reagency: The Implications of a Global Science for Collaboration, Productivity, and Gender Inequity in Less Developed, Areas B. Paige Miller ,Ricardo Duque, Meredith Anderson, Marcus Ynalvez, Antony Palackal, Dan-Bright Dzorgbo, Paul Mbatia, Wesley Shrum
Chapter 24: Language deterioration revisited: The extent and function of English content in a Swedish chat room, Malin Sveningsson Elm
Chapter 25: Visual Communication in Web Design-analysing visual communication in web design, Lisbeth Thorlacius
Chapter 26: Feral Hypertext: When Hypertext Literature Escapes Control, Jill Walker Rettberg
Chapter 27: Campaigning in a Changing Information Environment: the Anti-War and Peace Movement in Britain*, Kevin Gillan, Jenny Pickerill and Frank Webster
Chapter 28: The possibilities of network sociality, Michele Willson
Chapter 29: Web Search Studies: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Web Search Engines, Michael Zimmer
Appendix A: Degree Programs in Internet Research compiled by Rochelle Mazar
Appendix B: Research Centers relating to Internet Research compiled by Rochelle Mazar
Monday, July 19, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Toward an Integrative Theoretical Perspective on Organizational Membership Negotiations: Socialization, Assimilation, and the Duality of Structure
Toward an Integrative Theoretical Perspective on Organizational Membership Negotiations: Socialization, Assimilation, and the Duality of Structure, by Clifton Scott and Karen Myers. Communication Theory 20 (2010) 79–105 © 2010 International Communication Association
Monday, July 12, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Concept of e-Service from a Social Interaction Perspective Göran Hultgren and Owen Eriksson
The Concept of e-Service from a Social Interaction Perspective, by Göran Hultgren and Owen Eriksson
"Today we can see the convergence of computers, telephones and
media with the Internet, and how IS is developed to support e.g. transport and travel
activities and the everyday lives of people. The focus on the use of IS in offices and
factories is, due to this convergence, replaced by the need to focus on the use of IS in society and in the market (ibid.). According to Dahlbom (ibid.) service thinking is
focused upon individuals, actions, results and support. This implies a shift of context
from the use of IS in order to improve the efficiency of routines and work processes
of the organisation, to a focus on customers acting in a market using occasional
services to be bought, used and consumed in a flexible way"
"An area which could be helpful in order to discuss the concept of e-service is
Service Marketing Theory (SMT). According to this theory a service is produced and
delivered in the interaction (i.e. in the service encounter) between a service provider and a customer (e.g. Gönroos, 1998) in order to fulfil customer needs. Fundamental for services according to SMT is that they are produced and delivered in a social interaction between the customer and the service provider. In the Social Sciences discipline social interaction is defined as “the process that takes place when people act in relation to each other” (Johnsson, 1995)."
When the use of IS is discussed as SST the customer-to-service provider relationship is discussed as a Göran Hultgren and Owen Eriksson Proceedings of ALOIS*2005, Limerick, Ireland, 15–16 March 2005 5 person-to-technology relationship. Gutek and Welsh (2000) for example, regard the relationship between the service provider and the customer as a pseudo-relation. The meaning of a pseudo-relation is that there is no need for face-to-face interaction between the service provider and the customer, which implies that they primarily describe the relationship as a technical one. We claim that if we want to understand, and design, e-services it is important that we realise that the relationship is social to its character" (page 5)
2.3 The Notion of IS according to the IS Actability Theory (ISAT)
One reason for choosing ISAT in discussing the concept of e-service is that the use of IS in ISAT is considered as situated social interaction. In Ågerfalk (2003) ISAT is presented based on the idea that IS is action systems used in a social action context, which include actors, relationships, norms, values and beliefs, and the existence of social and material facts. The social context is what makes the actions performed at the user interface meaningful and is a basis for understanding the use of IS as a whole (Ågerfalk and Eriksson, 2003).
The definition of ISAT is (Ågerfalk, 2003):
“An information system’s ability to perform actions and to permit, promote and
facilitate users to perform their actions both through the system and based on
messages from the system, in some business context”.
From the discussion of SMT above we could see that in order to understand the
concept of e-service it is important to understand how IS can be used in a social interaction context" (5)
"Today we can see the convergence of computers, telephones and
media with the Internet, and how IS is developed to support e.g. transport and travel
activities and the everyday lives of people. The focus on the use of IS in offices and
factories is, due to this convergence, replaced by the need to focus on the use of IS in society and in the market (ibid.). According to Dahlbom (ibid.) service thinking is
focused upon individuals, actions, results and support. This implies a shift of context
from the use of IS in order to improve the efficiency of routines and work processes
of the organisation, to a focus on customers acting in a market using occasional
services to be bought, used and consumed in a flexible way"
"An area which could be helpful in order to discuss the concept of e-service is
Service Marketing Theory (SMT). According to this theory a service is produced and
delivered in the interaction (i.e. in the service encounter) between a service provider and a customer (e.g. Gönroos, 1998) in order to fulfil customer needs. Fundamental for services according to SMT is that they are produced and delivered in a social interaction between the customer and the service provider. In the Social Sciences discipline social interaction is defined as “the process that takes place when people act in relation to each other” (Johnsson, 1995)."
When the use of IS is discussed as SST the customer-to-service provider relationship is discussed as a Göran Hultgren and Owen Eriksson Proceedings of ALOIS*2005, Limerick, Ireland, 15–16 March 2005 5 person-to-technology relationship. Gutek and Welsh (2000) for example, regard the relationship between the service provider and the customer as a pseudo-relation. The meaning of a pseudo-relation is that there is no need for face-to-face interaction between the service provider and the customer, which implies that they primarily describe the relationship as a technical one. We claim that if we want to understand, and design, e-services it is important that we realise that the relationship is social to its character" (page 5)
2.3 The Notion of IS according to the IS Actability Theory (ISAT)
One reason for choosing ISAT in discussing the concept of e-service is that the use of IS in ISAT is considered as situated social interaction. In Ågerfalk (2003) ISAT is presented based on the idea that IS is action systems used in a social action context, which include actors, relationships, norms, values and beliefs, and the existence of social and material facts. The social context is what makes the actions performed at the user interface meaningful and is a basis for understanding the use of IS as a whole (Ågerfalk and Eriksson, 2003).
The definition of ISAT is (Ågerfalk, 2003):
“An information system’s ability to perform actions and to permit, promote and
facilitate users to perform their actions both through the system and based on
messages from the system, in some business context”.
From the discussion of SMT above we could see that in order to understand the
concept of e-service it is important to understand how IS can be used in a social interaction context" (5)
Four Tools for teaching and learning languages in Second Life (created and explained by Draceina Pinion)
DRACY CROSSWORD making panel
Dracy puzzle data maker
Dracy clues combine
DRACY CROSSWORD type 5
Draceina Pinion´s blog
Dracy puzzle data maker
Dracy clues combine
DRACY CROSSWORD type 5
Draceina Pinion´s blog
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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