Fay Sudweeks

Leading conversations: Communication behaviours of emergent leaders in virtual teams

Virtual teams and their leaders are key players in global organisations. Using teams of workers dispersed temporally and geographically has changed the way people work in groups and has redefined the nature of teamwork. Emergent leadership issues in computer-mediated communication are vital today because of the increasing prevalence of the virtual organisation, the flattening of organisational structures and the corresponding interest in managing virtual groups and teams. This paper examines the communication behaviours of participants in two different case studies to determine if number, length and content of messages are sufficient criteria to identify emergent leaders in asynchronous and synchronous environments. The methodology used can be embedded in collaborative virtual environments as technology for detecting potential leaders.

Advances in Formal Design Methods for CAD

This paper introduces a model for design exploration based on notions of evolution and demonstrates computational co-evolution using a modified genetic algorithm (GA). Evolution is extended to consider co-evolution where two systems evolve in response to each other. Co-evolution in design exploration supports the change, over time, of the design solution and the design requirements. The basic GA, which does not support our exploration model, evaluates individuals from a population of design solutions with an unchanged fitness function. This approach to evaluation implements search with a prefixed goal. Modifications to the basic GA, are required to support exploration. Two approaches to implement a co-evolving GA are: a combined gene approach and a separate spaces approach. The combined gene approach includes the representation of the requirements and the solution within the genotype. The separate spaces approach models the requirements and the solutions as separately evolving interacting populations of genotypes. The combined gene approach is developed further in this paper and used to demonstrate design exploration in the domain of braced frame design for buildings. The issues related to the coding of the genotype, mapping to a phenotype, and evaluation of the phenotype are addressed. Preliminary results of co-evolution are presented that show how exploration differs from search.

Clustering on the Net: Applying an autoassociative neural network to computer-mediated discussions

ProjectH, a research group of a hundred researchers, produced a huge amount of data from computer mediated discussions. The data classified several thousand postings from over 30 newsgroups into 46 categories. One approach to extract typical examples from this database is presented in this paper. An autoassociative neural network is trained on all 3000 coded messages and then used to construct typical messages under certain specified conditions. With this method the neural network can be used to create “typical” messages for several scenarios. This paper illustrates the architecture of the neural network that was used and explains the necessary modifications to the coding scheme. In addition several “typicality sets” produced by the neural net are shown and their generation is explained. In conclusion, the autoassociative neural network is used to explore threads and the types of messages that typically initiate or contribute longer lasting threads.

On the Edge: Cultural Barriers and Catalysts to IT Diffusion among Remote and Marginalized Communities

The articles collected here were chosen from papers presented at the second biannual conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication, held in Perth, Australia, 13–16 July 2000. Collectively, the articles explore the social, political and cultural contexts that inhibit and/or encourage the appropriation of IT among cultural groups very much at the edges of Western cultural influence and communication infrastructures.

Social Networks in Transnational and Virtual Communities

There has been extensive research on social networks but little is known about why some communities survive and some disintegrate. This paper provides a framework to explain similarities in many types of communities. In particular, a comparison of transnational communities and virtual communities highlights the efficacy of the framework in explaining how strong relationships within communities are dependent on social formation factors such as a sense of identity, social structures and social capital.

Who Needs the Internet? Computer-Mediated Communication in Design Firms

We examine how the introduction of computer-mediated communications technologies, such as the Internet, affect design firms. We interviewed a diverse sample of the small but growing number of practitioners from around the world who use the Internet in their day-to-day operations. The interviews were conducted using the Internet. We found that certain firms are redefining themselves in terms of their entrepreneurial endeavours, as processors of texts, as collaborators, and as players in the global arena. We discuss these phenomena in the light of the philosophical consideration of the way technologies disclose features of a firms practices. Disclosure displaces need as the means of understanding the relationship between technology and practice.

Learning Anywhere, Anytime: Student Motivators for M-learning

This paper documents the outcomes of a study that focused on identifying what motivates stu-dents to use mobile devices for learning and to engage in m-learning. An outcome of this study was to provide a better understanding of what educators should consider when adapting their course for mobile learners. The research included seven classes from three Australian universi-ties. The students in this study used laptops or tablet PCs, and in three of the classes, these were provided by the university as part of a laptop/tablet program. The findings indicated that mobility was the key motivator for the use of laptops, and the learning tasks that students found to be most motivating involved accessing information, authoring (e.g., writing, blogging, note taking) and communication.

Promoting Cooperation and Collaboration in a Web-based Learning Environment

Web-based learning environments provide an attractive method for information dissemination, but in many instances they can be just electronic equivalents of printed course materials. Appropriate learning objectives and pedgagogical strategies are minimal or non-existent. Too often web-based learning environments lack cooperative and collaborative activities with the unintended consequence of feelings of social isolation. This paper describes a case study in which critical elements of online learning settings (Oliver, 2001) were implemented along with essential attributes for effective teamwork. Analyses of student que stionnaires indicate that students gained significant benefits from the instructional design of both the learning environment and the collaborative activity – without meeting face-to-face.

Informing students using virtual microscopes and their impact on students' approach to learning

This research is an exploratory study of students ’ approaches to studying histology and pathology. With the introduction of virtual microscopes in Health Science at Murdoch University, Australia, in 2006, it was crucial to investigate how this new technology impacted on students ’ approaches to learning. The ASSIST survey was implemented at the beginning and end of the semester to identify any changes. Results indicate that, when the technology was integrated into the curriculum with appropriate learning activities, students using virtual microscopes moved more towards a strategic approach to learning but expressed a preference for a deep approach to teaching.

Innovative Methods and Technologies for Electronic Discourse Analysis

With the advent of new media and Web 2.0 technologies, language and discourse have taken on new meaning, and the implications of this evolution on the nature of interpersonal communication must be addressed. Innovative Methods and Technologies for Electronic Discourse Analysis highlights research, applications, frameworks, and theories of online communication to explore recent advances in the manipulation and shaping of meaning in electronic discourse. This essential research collection will appeal to academic, research, and professional audiences engaged in the design, development, and distribution of effective communications technologies in educational, social, and linguistic contexts.