contemplating digital orality

Nowak, K. L., Watt, J., Walther, J. B., Pascal, C., Hill, S., & Lynch, M. (2004/01/01/). Contrasting time mode and sensory modality in the performance of computer mediated groups using asynchronous videoconferencing. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Place of Publication: Los Alamitos, CA, USA; Big Island, HI, USA. Country of Publication: USA.

A foundational issue to my dissertation research is the question of what real differences there are between Face to Face (FtF) communication and various media, specifically video communication. This issue can be viewed from various perspectives, such as comprehension and retention, enjoyment, social bonding, ease of use, willingness to participate, etc. I frequently struggle with trying to avoid falling into the trap of perceiving one communication medium as inherently superior or inferior and instead attempt to look toward identifying what the real differences are and how they affect our communication choices and perceptions. However, identifying a given method’s superiority, or even a hierarchical inferiority-to-superiority structure of communication media is a common approach (e.g. theories of media richness, media synchronicity, and media naturalness). Generally, it is seen that Read the rest of this entry »

In my last posts, I’ve discussed media richness theory and media synchronicity theory, the former being foundational for the latter. Another theory on communication, which stems as a response to (actually, an alternative to) media richness theory, is the media naturalness theory proposed by Ned Kock (2001). He details two problems with the media richness theory that make it insufficient. Read the rest of this entry »

My last post discussed media richness theory. While it is not without worth for my research purposes, the theory is somewhat limited in ways that have been discussed by various authors, including Dennis and Valacich in their 1998 article, “Beyond Media Richness: An Empirical Test of Media Synchronicity Theory.” The authors define certain limitations and a lack of empirical support for media richness theory. They conclude that Read the rest of this entry »

During my TTU Presentation in May, Dr. Eaton noted that I ought to check out media richness theory, since I might find some hints at these terms I’m trying to define, such as what I know I was incorrectly calling “humanness” (watch for upcoming posts on new terms). I’ve looked into this theory and see how it fits in with what I am doing.
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