The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization

Consumer response to service and product quality: A study of motor vehicle owners

The contrast of face‐to‐face (FTF) communication with computer‐mediated communication (CMC), either experimentally or experientially, may be a valuable way for teaching group dynamics and group decision making in educational settings. Our review of the literature and a controlled study illustrate the potential strengths of FTF and CMC formats for group discussion. While students produced significantly more ideas using CMC in our study, they reported that FIT groups were significantly more effective, easier to use, and more satisfying than CMC groups. Given the gap between students' perceptions of CMC effectiveness and an objective measure of effectiveness, suggestions are offered that facilitate the use of CMC in single‐session experimental and experiential exercises, as well as multi‐session group projects.

Experimental and experiential approaches to teaching face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated group discussion

Because technostress research is multidisciplinary in nature and, therefore, benefits from insights gained from various research disciplines, we expected a high degree of measurement pluralism in technostress studies published in the information systems (IS) literature. However, because IS research mostly relies on self-report measures in general, reasons exist to also assume that technostress research has largely neglected multi-method research designs. To assess the status quo of technostress research with respect to the application of multi-method approaches, we analyzed 103 empirical studies. Specifically, we analyzed the types of data-collection methods used and the investigated components of the technostress process (person, environment, stressors, strains, and coping). The results indicate that multi-method research is more prevalent in the IS technostress literature (approximately 37% of reviewed studies) than in the general IS literature (approximately 20% as reported in previous reviews). However, our findings also show that IS technostress studies significantly rely on self-report measures. We argue that technostress research constitutes a nurturing ground for the application of multi-method approaches and multidisciplinary collaboration.

https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3996&context=cais

Technostress Research: A Nurturing Ground for Measurement Pluralism?

A study explored the efficacy of the general semantic technique of E-Prime (a technique for increasing awareness of abstraction through the deliberate deletion of all forms of the verb "to be") through a study of copula deletion (omission of auxiliary verbs) and flaming (the fervent exchange of emotionally charged messages) in electronic mail. A computer program was developed that administered an interactive questionnaire to 227 users of an electronic mail system at a major university. Results indicated that: (1) fewer than half of those surveyed were aware of either copula deletion or flaming in electronic mail; (2) the most frequently cited motivation for copula deletion was the desire to write messages quickly; and (3) no statistically significant relationship was found between copula deletion and flaming in electronic mail. Findings suggest that the omission of the verb "to be" does not by itself convey the advantages of E-Prime. Findings also suggest that copula deletion and flaming are not as widespread in electronic mail in a university setting as they may be in other settings, perhaps because of a greater stigma attached to nonstandard English usage. (Four charts and three tables of data are included; 27 references and the questionnaire are attached.) (Author/RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** To Be or Not To Be: An Exploration of E-Prime, Copula Deletion and Flaming in Electronic Mail by Philip A. Thompsen and Dong-Kenn Ahn Department of Communication, The University of Utah, Salt Lake

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To Be or Not to Be: An Exploration of E-Prime, Copula Deletion and Flaming in Electronic Mail.

This study examined the impact of a computer-mediated communication system (CMCS) on two "high tech" organizations. One hundred and twenty persons par ticipated in semi-structured interviews or completed two critical incident forms. Grounded theory was used to analyze the interviews and the critical incident data, and naturalistic observations were used to provide depth and context to the discussion. The analysis of the data indicates that organizational members tend to give CMCS favorable reviews. However, the data also illustrated considerable variance in how or ganizational members view the impact of CMCS on interpersonal relationships, mes sage structures, task efficiency, the work environment, and information processing characteristics of organizations. Secondary or unanticipated effects of CMCS are iden tified and discussed as potentially having a significant impact on organizations.

D. Chad Compton

Papers

Techno-Sense: Making Sense of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems