Enter World: exploring mediated cultures

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Citizen Research

Taking a good idea and transferring it to another domain, Ed Boyden suggested in his Technology Review Blog that the increasing interaction available to the public with media could carry across to science. Participatory science. I love the concept of engaging communities in research that is relevant to their lives and letting them frame the questions, assist in research, and interpret the answers in a hands on manner. It is such a simple concept with enormous potential. 

Monday, July 14, 2008

dissertation progress

I finally have my pre-proposal written. Over the past year I have changed my emphasis from DIY media and attitude changes regarding mass media, to community and efficacy in media production groups, to social cohesion in online relational communities. They all have something in common, despite the different terminology. Namely they all deal with groups of people making things who are connected not by place, but by interest. In addition, they do not meet in person but choose to connect through mediated networks (at least initially ... some research has shown that relationships that form online and become strong lead to in person relationships--see McKenna et al, 2002, below).

My interest in all of these topics, including the one I’ll finally move forward with, ties into the “Risk of Loss: A Series of Folly” tag in this journal. Increasingly individuals are interacting with people and activities through media-enabled access rather than within their local communities, bringing up questions about whether the differing forms of community engagement are comparable. There is a lot of fear surrounding the transition from face-to-face communities to networked individualism.

Will neighborhoods decline if people interact online instead of locally? I’d guess no, since the level of neighborhood interaction has steadily declined with urbanization and is not the result solely of increasing participatory communities connected through media. In addition, some studies showed that interacting with people in your neighborhood through the Internet increased local activity as well--see Wellman, 2001, below for more details.

Will people lose touch with family and friends because they are addicted to the Internet? In answer to the first part: The Internet is used more to connect people with existing relationships than to create new ones. Family and friends that are already moving about the world are able to keep in touch, so it’s quite the opposite. In response to Internet addiction, I’ll have to refer you to Stuart Fischoff‘s blog. He recently covered Internet addiction rather thoroughly and well.

Is democracy at risk ... or is it in a position to flourish? There are opinions on both sides of this question. Internet as liberator and equalizer versus internet as a diversion and division that keeps people from interacting with civic events. If I had to guess, I’d stick to the middle ground. The internet is after all a tool, and how people use it depends upon their goals, personalities, existing influences ... I can’t believe that the internet alone would either make or break a government system. But then there are those Twittering politicians, who knows what waves they will cause!

But in my research, I’m not suggesting that online communities are a replacement for geographic communities. Instead I see them as an important available option for locating and interacting with like-minded groups. Group members incorporate the elements of identity formed in online groups with their offline self-concept, and this can be especially important when comparable interest groups are not available in the local community. Teams that form around massive multiplayer online role-playing games, interest groups connecting through email lists and forums, or participants in online independent media centers are examples of communities created by mediated connections rather than geography. The social nature of these groups, similar interests and values among members, and drive to meet project goals suggest that members will experience similar connections within these groups as those formed in physical spaces.

Psychological benefits of community have been shown to play a positive role in the lives of individuals, if social cohesion is present in online communities it could be theorized that similar feelings of collective efficacy, individual efficacy, and being a part of the community experience also would be present. This could specifically benefit individuals who live in neighborhoods that lack the elements of social cohesion. If online communities can provide an equivalent link to a community based on values and goals, people in communities with low social capital may be able to overcome some of the challenges presented by their neighborhoods with social support from an online community.

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McKenna, Katelyn Y. A., Green, Amie S., & Gleason, Marci E. J. (2002). Relationship formation on the Internet: What’s the big attraction? Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 9-31. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from Wiley Interscience.

Wellman, Barry. (2001). Physical place and cyberplace: The rise of personalized networking. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25(2), 227-252.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Journal of e-Media Studies

Found the Journal of e-Media Studies today and have been perusing the contents. Looks like an interesting new journal out of Dartmouth.

Also have been reading a research paper on how much people trust libraries and museums. Turns out they are more trusted than news sources. This begs for a post of its own that is still brewing. 

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Bloggers’ moods can tell their own tales

Move over mood rings, MoodViews is using data instead of heat to reveal moods.

As I write this the collective mood is calm, mischievous, envious, creative, and cheerful.

MoodGrapher turns the data visual by charting moods, and when combined with other features MoodView also predicts moods, looks for peaks and compares the moods to news, offers a search by date and keyword to find linked moods, and predicts mood prevalence. Although it currently only evaluates LiveJournal users, and those who post moods, it provides the opportunity to have an overview of collective moods in relation to any number of things. Seasonal moods, length of time the moods last, mood fluctuation by holidays and events.

This last category has already been charted for some global events in 2005 and 2006. Worried moods increased during Hurricane Katrina and persisted at a higher level after the natural disaster. Around New Year’s Eve people are more nostalgic, excited, drunk, lonely, and groggy but less frustrated.

I ran a MoodSpotter of my own: Let’s see how people felt when talking about media over the past few months.

February, 2008

Spiked red lines indicate “tired” and the flat yellow is for “bitchy.” Others that showed up on the pie graph were bored, amused, and sleepy.

March, 2008

March was much more active. I left the color key in the screenshot since there were so many, but for easier reading the categories making up the bars are (L to R) accomplished, amused, awake, bitchy, blah, bored, busy, calm, contemplative, lazy, thoughtful, and tired.

April, 2008

Back to simplicity, green is awake, yellow happy, and the flat red line bitchy.

What does this tell us? Nothing really at this level, but it’s fun.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Birthday Wanderings

Yesterday I turned off my cell phone for almost half the day as a birthday gift to myself. I headed out to the big, downtown library to get some reading done. The research I’m presenting this week was done a year ago, so even though I have it all prepared, I wanted to read up on anything related from the past year.

Somehow I passed the library and figured I’d just go over that next hill to see what was there, it turned out to be a part of Schenley Park I hadn’t been to yet. When I pulled up to a pond with a fountain surrounded by trees dripping with magnolia blossoms, I knew I needed to be sitting at a picnic table in the 70-degree sunshine being scoped out by a squirrel instead of inside an air conditioned library.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Google News

I’ve had “media psychology” in my google news since 2004. Typically 4 or 5 headlines show up that are slightly related. Today was the first day when there were more headlines in this category than any other. 

Friday, November 09, 2007

These Days

Still procrastinating with fervor on addressing my dissertation. However, in an as yet inexpressible way I do know that I have come across a way to combine the topic I already wrote a concept paper for with all of the new information I have gathered. So in a way I am calm about it, just waiting for the concept to become clear so I can put it into words.

In the meantime, I submitted an article to the APS newsletter’s Student Notebook column. Now that my Div 46 associate editorship has wrapped up I want to keep getting things out there. It was accepted, and should be printed in January.

I also applied as a grant reviewer for a student competition and received the applications for review today.

And, I’m headed back to Juneau for a month. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A new journal

Some people I know through Fielding have started a new organization and are working on an online media psychology journal. It’s exciting to have two now, and it’s nice to see the older one publishing again. I hadn’t checked the site for years because the information didn’t change, now there’s all sorts of new tidbits, like the online gaming piece.

Media Psychology Review
Journal of Media Psychology

Saturday, October 13, 2007

comprehensive exams

After a lot of juggling dates and resources, I finally submitted the first attempt at my comps. I’m excited to move back to the concept paper, finalize that, and feel like I’m moving ahead again. I had intended to submit the comps before Summer Session, but the house sold after three days and we were busy for months. We’re still in limbo, looking for a new home to settle into where I can unpack my ton of books. For now, having them all in storage has been a good excuse to start exploring some new areas, and I’ve started accumulating a new mini-library here.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Rethinking My Question

Working on whittling down my dissertation topic, I’ve begun wondering on what topic I want to be an expert. The question I have been focusing on is close, but I’ve realized it still focuses on dis-ease despite coming to the topic from a positive angle. Although the approach is not problem-centered, the background literature and general premise hover over typical negativity toward media. I do not want to spend my time rebutting other research, I want to research strengths and continue exploring applications. By strengths, I mean those applicable to individuals or groups from a positive psychology standpoint rather than strengths of media outlets, programs, or campaigns.

My topic now is something along the lines of whether the skill of media creation alters attitudes. I am still very interested in media creation as the foundation of my research, but rather than centering on attitudes toward media I may turn to media as a creative outlet. Self expression, self efficacy, creativity. Positive psychology studies those who are well to determine what makes them well. Do I study those who already use media in a positive way and benefit from it, or do I study whether learning to use media positively influences self efficacy or creativity. Playing with too many undefinable terms could make things messy ... media, creativity, healthy.

In any case, I am going to move into reading about creativity and art now, and away from media literacy and attitudes.