According to a study from Memphis, United States, "Faculty and staff are participating in blogs and online discussions in greater numbers, but this involvement is poorly understood."
"This study used content analysis to evaluate 40 online discussions hosted on The Chronicle of Higher Education website. The majority (n = 22) of discussions had as their main topics the personal and professional lives of faculty, 80% (n = 32) of the discussions did not last for more than one month, and 15% (n = 6) of the discussions experienced hijacking," wrote K.A. Meyer and colleagues, University of Memphis.
The researchers concluded: "Fifteen of the discussions (37.5%) had evidence of the "online disinhibition effect," with negative comments about authors, mild comments about other posters, and personal and rude comments about others in the discussion."
Meyer and colleagues published the results of their research in Internet and Higher Education (Academics online: Their interests and foibles. Internet and Higher Education, 2011;14(2 Sp. Iss.):113-120).
For additional information, contact K.A. Meyer, University of Memphis, Higher & Adult Education Program, Dept. of Leadership, 310 Browning, Memphis, TN 38152, United States.
The publisher of the journal Internet and Higher Education can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA.
Keywords: City:Memphis, State:Tennessee, Country:United States, Region:North and Central America, Higher Education, Public Education
This article was prepared by Education Letter editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Education Letter via VerticalNews.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment