Based on two popular theoretical frameworks regarding media choices of rational choice and social influence (Markus 1987; Trevino et al. 2000) the main theme of this paper is to investigate applicability of these frameworks on a case where the pattern in usage and collective meaning of a medium is shaped in the cultural context. Focusing on the phenomenon of many Asians preferring not to send e...

Ever since the beginnings of the internet researchers have questioned its utility in developing and maintaining psychological healthy romantic and sexual relations. Advocates of the social presence theory and media richness theory purport that in leaner media individuals can be quite aggressive towards one another (e.g., in the form of flaming). In contrast, others believe that the lack of trad...

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ academic self-concept and social presence in face-toface (FTF) and online version of the same course, and to examine the effects of these two variables on student learning achievement and satisfaction. A total of 257 undergraduate students enrolled in a digital design course were randomly assigned to either of two treatments: one offered FTF in...

This paper analyzes the scalability of Instant Messaging & Presence (IM&P) architectures. We take a queueing-based modelling and analysis approach to find the bottlenecks of the current IM&P architecture at the Dutch social network Hyves, as well as of alternative architectures. We use the Hierarchical Evaluation Tool (HIT) to create and analyse models analytically. Based on these results, we r...

We define social reciprocity as the act of demonstrating one’s disapproval, at some personal cost, for the violation of widely-held norms (e.g., don’t free ride). Social reciprocity differs from standard notions of reciprocity because social reciprocators intervene whenever a norm is violated and do not condition intervention on potential future payoffs, revenge, or altruism. Instead, we posit ...

Numerous studies address the ability of the computer-mediated communication (CMC) medium to carry social cues, e.g., social presence. This paper proposes to expand the study of social cues to include interpersonality measures directed toward messages within the CMC medium. Interpersonality is conceptualized as the joint measure of anticipated feedback and message coherence, factors that disting...

The purpose of this research-in-progress paper is to explore factors affecting users’ participation in microblogging. Based on literature review and the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, a conceptual model is proposed to depict the relationships between the features of micro-blogging services and users’ behavior. Specifically, the features of micro-blogs such as subscription, broadc...

We study videoconferencing for meetings with some co-located participants and one remote participant. A standard Skype-like interface for the remote participant is compared to a more immersive 3D interface that conveys gaze directions in a natural way. Experimental results show the 3D interface is promising: all significant differences are in favor of 3D and according to the participants the 3D...

The behavior of others and the price of giving are two important determinants of contributions to public goods. This paper tests in two field experiments, whether men and women differ in their reaction to either a change in the behavior of the average group behavior or the price of giving, i.e. a matching mechanism. The results of the field experiment show that men and women do not differ in th...

The present research aimed to employ dynamic and static emotions as social cues in e-learning environments for computers to be able to convey social presence and increase children’s motivation with learning. To understand how children of different gender react to the two types of emoticon in e-learning environment, a math problem-solving practice program was designed to test their reactions. Th...