Macfadyen - constructing ehnicity & identity online

Constructing ethnicity and identity in the online classroom:  Linguistic practices and ritual texts.

Macfadyen, L.P. 

Proccedings of the 6th International Conference on Networked Learning

useful phrase to describe  a particular view about online community

 ' authenticity ( and therefore trust) can only be  guaranteed by physical presence and the evidence of the senses'

• The article calls  on an analysis of dialogue from successive courses offered to International students in Pesrpectives in Global Citizenship. 
  
• Argues that ' text-based virtual learning environments begin the process of co-constructing a virtual learning culture by performing and sharing their unique virtual identities, and that one  of the key strategies that individuals and newly forming virtual communities make use of is ritual' p561.  
  
• Transforming practices that previously took place through embodied action and sensory perception now take place through explicit articulations in text.
  

Definition of ritual for Sociology

Lukes, 1975  ' rule-governed activity of a symbolic character which draws attention to of its participants to objects of thought and feeling that they hold to be of special significance'

'rituals are expressive and are expressive by their conspicuous regularity'

'rituals are both performative and creative.  They acknowledge and commemorate existing elements of shared identity and they contribute to the construction of new forms and interpretations of community and collective identity'

Theorists have historically understood ritual practice to be embodied however now some examination of ritual practice in online environments http://www.rituals-online.de/

Performing the self in text

use of linguistic markers eg canadian 'eh', 

'Very quickly, however, student communication on the course fulfil the claim that essentialized models of 'national' culture are insufficient markers of individual identity' p564 .  In general analysis of this dialogue supports Hewling's contention that culture is 'an ongoing iterative process' rather than a static set of assumed structures envisioned in esentialist perspectives' and that ' individual identity is an active act of meaning making and contest over definition'

Rituals 

of initiation

'two dominant sets that seem to counterbalance

1. performance of credentialling
   
2. performance of humility ( e.g. begging leniency from the group and from instructors'
   

of resistance

this can happen with occasional students 

of community

increasingly write about we

International membership in learning requires

 shared understanding of the methods of argument.

also

author argues ' learners must first be able to enact their authentic and differing identities in the learning space', p560

                        

Culture Online

New Directions in Research into Learning Cultures in Online Education.

Robin Goodfellow

Book Goodfellow & Lamy, M-N. Learning Cultures in Online Education.  Continuum Book.

'Much of the existing research is framed by a conceptualisation of culture that associates it primarily with nationality, and a conceptualisation of the 'problem' for online learning as being about communication between people of different nationalities'

tend to emphasise the need to tailor design to individual cultural preferences ' cultures do not talk to each other , individuals do ( p.138 Scollon & Scollon (2001)0

drivers for considering online in terms of culture

1. widening participation
   
2. mode 2 knowledge (respond to employability agendas)
   
3. interdependence between academia and professions
   
4. breadth of informal channels that are increasingly available.  For young people 'popular culture media and personal networks ( including online communities' have become key sources of identity models and cultural resources for affiliation and identification'
   

Current Research orientations

concern with the influence on international learners' individual and group identity of prevalent 'western' approach eg social constructivism, techno-rationalism, use of English language

A desire to understand the ways that online learning is played out through language, where the presentation and disclosure of identities is inflected by their own cultural backgrounds and/or the reduced cues of the electronic medium.

an interest in the emergence of 'new' cultural and social identities in virtual communities that draw on contemporary cybercultures of the internet as well as systems of cultural relations inherited from conventional settings.

Working definition of culture ( Gunawardena, p125 of the book)

' a system of knowledge , beliefs, behaviours and customs shared by members of an interacting group, to which members can refer, and that serve as the basis for further intercation ...... members recognise that they share experiences and these experiences can be referred to with the expectation that they will be understood by other members ...... thus being used to construct a reality for the participants. (p.125)'

1. there is no requirement for the interacting group to have a recognised existence independently of their interaction
   
2. an emphasis on members' recognition of the role of experience -sharing in the construction of their online world'
   

Reeder, K.L. Macfadyen et al (2004)

Negotiating cultures in Cyberspace: Participation Patterns and Problematics, Language Learning & Technology 8(2): 88-105.

http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num2/reeder/default.html

Thorne, S. (2003)

Artefacts and Cultures-Of-Use in Intercultural Communication, Language Learning & Technology, 7(2): 38-67

http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/thorne/default.html

Doherty argues that truly postnational learning cultures should position all students as international ( whether or not national to the host site)

Minocha - wiki & blog paper

Social,usability, and pedagogical factors influencing students' learning experiences with wikis and blogs.

Minocha, S., and Roberts, D.

Pragmatics & Cognition 16:2 (2008) 272-306

doi 10.1075/p&c.16.2.05min

Nardi et al, 2004 blog as a cathartic outlet including for emotions and feelings

authors define wiki as 'an asynchronous collaborative authoring environment, a readable and writeable website in which potentially all the visitors to the site can create new pages or modify existing ones'

Merrienboer and Pass, 2003 '3 main characteristics built into social constructivist scenarios......

complex, realistic, problems

group collaboration

interaction and cooperation'  

'wikis and blogs enable the generation of social constructivist scenarios wherein a group of learners collaboratively construct shared artefacts, create a culture of dialogue and negotiate meanings and take decisions'

'hesitation and even resistance of students to participate in collaborative activities'

students on MCT course not expected to be aware of wikis therefore an introductory paper by Farrell (2006) plus other resources on wikis was included as part of the first TMA.  These resources included as a demonstration of an emerging tool for their professional therefore practice related ( KRO motivating tactic).  Also guidelines provided, guidelines for collaboration and wiki-etiquette.

icebreaker using the wiki - add biography to the wiki - little collaboration or negotiation needed for this activity.

'group knowledge becomes aggregated in one place'

'waiting for others to contribute was one of the obstacles to a positive experience'

'simple to use and access available 24/7'

technical obstacles 'navigation can be  poor' 'context is poor' ' no alerts when a new contribution is made'

students reported a need for synchronous communication and  that 'there needed to be someone to pull the strings together' 'for big projects ..... lack some fundamental functions e.g. version control 

interpersonal evaluation cf social interaction

Two faces of anonymity: Paradoxical effects of cues to identity in CMC

Tanis, M., and Postmes, T. (2007)

Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 955-970

Electronic interactions 'prompt us to rethink the assumptions of original theories' p956

This article 'separates social effects on an interpersonal level ( in terms of evaluations of the person one is communicating with) from higher order effects that revolve around the interaction itself.' p956

research findings in this paper suggest that 'disembodiment obstructs certain social outcomes whilst enhancing others'

Social effects of communication technology:  classic theories

KRO - collecting what is meant  by social effects - communication patterns, social networks, relational ( collaboration), interpersonal

'different CMC vary in their level of interactivity' , p956  ( KRO differ on potential for individuation as well as interactivity)

'various approaches (Social Presence theory, Cuelessness Models, reduced Social Cues Approach) implicitly or explicitly assume that personalized identifiably or visibility will lead to increased awareness and more personalized or intimate perceptions of others and this is assumed to have generalized positive consequences for social effects in general', p956 i.e 'the literature on CMC has a tendency to amalgamate what social effects are' p957 

 'implicit in all these theories is that bodily communication is the key method to reduce uncertainty about key factors in interaction.  According to Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) ( Berger & Calabrese, 1975) uncertainty reduction is one of the main goals in initial interaction between strangers' p957

Walther, Slovacek & Tidwell ( 2001)  'especially in new , unacquainted teams, the possibility to picture one another promotes affection and social attraction', p958  but  authors of current paper suggest ' this does not mean one has positive evaluations about the outcome of that interaction ( its productivity ) or even about the interaction itself', p958. " Likewise, one's satisfaction with the medium of interaction might be determined by factors beside the interpersonal relationship' p958 '

As well as social effects there are task related things to consider.

More recently ideas of  you and me have shifted to ideas of us (KRO-  does that apply to task related issues?) SIDE The social identity model of deindividuation effects.  SIDE ' proposes  that anonymity may be associated with a relative amplification of the social and contextual aspects of group life'

leads to RQ

If lack of cues (KRO - to identity - not emotion) is associated with a greater awareness of the social dimension of interaction (us) there is a possibility that satisfaction with the collaboration and its aspects would increase , and uncertainty decrease'

Study 1 

 2 x  2 factorial design; experiences CMC/non experienced and cues to identity (photo+first name)/no cue.

DV= various dimensions of certainty, person impressions and medium satisfaction measured by 7 point Likert scale.

interpersonal evaluation ( 4 questions) - 2 questions about positivity ( impression, niceness) and 2 ambiguity  of impressions.  - 

certainty ( comfort, ease, uncertainty)  3 questions - 

medium satisfaction 2 questions ( confidence, pleasantness)

Dyad interaction where participants were made to believe that they were interacting with another person, the interaction was in fact computer generated and involved 5 topics for the exchange.  125 undergraduate students.

Cues to identity - 

• some indication ( but not significant!) that slightly more positive impressions 
  
• experienced users were more certain  when cues were absent a finding that  sits uncomfortably with URT ' people will try to reduce uncertainty in order to predict outcomes of interactions' ie cues to identity have a negative effect on satisfaction with the medium
  
• experienced users were more satisfied with the medium when cues to identity were absent.

? whether the experimental paradigm , particularly the choice of topic, gave an authentic sense of interaction.

Study 2

1 factor only clue to identity/no clues  nb photo had neutral expression.

participants all familiar with online communication.

part of course assessment therefore relevant and 'staked' ( ? high stakes).  Because of imbalance some dyads were same sex and some mixed sex.  15 minutes  in dyad , encouraged to discuss.

DV 

satisfaction with the medium , 3 statements ( feel confident, pleasant medium, preferred to face to face)

subjective measure of performance, 3 statements, confident about outcome, learned much about topic, told a lot  about the topic

certainty , 2 statements , uncertain, comfortable

Cues to identity

• have a negative effect on medium satisfaction
  
• have a negative effect on subjective estimation of performance
  
• no effect on certainty ( unlike study 1 however statements were more retrospectively inclined
  

Discussion

raises the distinction between identifiably of the other and identifiably to the other.  Links to the ideas of Walther et al (2001) that in presence of photos 'participants are less able to mold the impressions that others formed of them' p967

Joinsen (2001) anonymity associated with a greater tendency to self disclose - but study 1 did not offer the opportunity to self disclose and given the time restraints the same could probably be said about study 2.

Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher & Wetherell (1987)  'people see themselves as closely intertwined with, and functionally distinguishable from their groups, even in complete isolation' p968  ie an isolated person can display group behaviour.   KRO- does task setting induce social categorical effects?

KRO

1. does interpersonal impressions mediate other social interactions?  
   
2. information about oneself also individuates a person the process does not depend just on visual, name
   

note 'multiplication of weak ties that are spawned by electronic interactions'  Haythornthwaite, 2002)

Case studies

Introductory notes for the week.

• Case study as a bounded system.  Brown and Dowling argue that 'this is unrealistic .....researchers act selectively and productively' ... the term case can only be usefully applied to the description of one's sampling procedure.'  (KRO this would fit with how it is sometimes used in education eg family use of TV slid back to issues of gendered viewing)
  
• Widespread use of the case study approach fairly recent in education , compared to other disciplines.  Often regarded with suspicion at best poorly understood.
  
• Some contention amongst researchers about the definition of the case study as a consistent and coherent form of research.  
  
• Case study as an approach or strategy rather than a method.
  
• Some researchers talk of using quant or qual methods within  case studies
  

What is a case study?

Bassey M

Case Study Research in Educational Settings

Resources

The case study approach - as educationalists have conceptualised it.

Apparently a seminal book Cohen, L., and Manion, L. (1989) Research Methods in Education. 3rd edition ( London, Routledge) ( first published in 1980 it  has now been republished many times)

Yin, R.K. (1994)  Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd edition   ( London, Sage Publications)  also Applications of Case Study Research.

The case study method

Adelman et al. (1980)

1. strong in reality but difficult to organise
   
2. peculiar strength lies in their attention to the subtlety and complexity of the case in its own right
   
3. case studies recognise the complexity and 'embeddedness' of social truths.
   
4. case studies may form an archive of descriptive material sufficiently rich to admit subsequent reinterpretation.

Sturman, 1994, p61

'a distinguishing feature of case study is the belief that human systems develop a characteristic wholeness or integrity and are simply not a loose collection of traits........... and therefore requires in depth investigation of the parts and patterns that emerge.

Yin, 1994, p13

The case study

1. 'copes with the technically distinctive situation in which there will be more variables of interest than data points'
   
2. 'relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating fashion'
   
3. 'benefits from the prior development of theoretical proposaitions to guide data collection and analysis
   

Stake, 19888 'a case study is a bounded system.'

Adelman et al (1980: 59-60)

difficult to organise

attention given to the subtlety and complexity of the case in its own right ( KRO so why should methods be embedded in it)

can be considered as products and archived for subsequent interpretation

Punch (2005) unique or important enough to deserve study in its own right

Types of case study

Stenhouse 1985 identified 'four broad styles of case study'

ethnographic, evaluative, educational ( systematic documentation of evidence) and action research

Yin , 1993,5

Yin thought in terms of 3 categories, 

exploratory ' aimed at defining the questions and hypotheses of subsequent ( not necessarily case) study'

descriptive  'presents a complete description of a phenomenon within its context'

explanatory ' presents data bearing on cause-effect relationships - explaining which causes produce what effects'

Stake, 1995, p3

intrinsic cs ' research into a particular situation for its own sake and irrespective of outside concerns'

instrumental cs ' research into one or more particular situations in order to try and understand outside concern'

Things to remember as a researcher

Kemmis 1980, 119-120

' research process is still active and interventive' ' in naturalistic research processes are especially visible decisions about how they are realised in a study will often affect life in the situation being studied'  

'social science has the unique problem of treating others as objects of study; the unique problem in case study is to justify to others why the researcher can be a knowledgeable observer-participant who tels what s/he sees'

'How can you generalise when n=1?' ( Cohen and Manion, 1980) 

Yin, 1994, p31 ' a peviously developed theory is used as a template with which to compare the empirical results of the case study.  If two or more cases are shown to support the same theory , replication may be claimed'  ( KRO  replication and generalisation seems to tie people up in knots , at times  see Simon comments later)

Stenhouse, 1980, p4 distinguished between predictive and retrospective generalisation

'predictive generalisation is that which arises from the study of samples and is the form in which data are accumulated in the sciences...... retrospective generalisation is that which can arise from the analysis of case studies and is the form in which data is accumulated in history'

'while predictive generalisations claim to supersede the need for individual judgement, retrospective generalisations seek to strengthen individual judgement where it cannot be superseded' 

Simons, 1996, 225, 237-238  The paradox of case study, Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(2)  225-240.

'one of the advantages cited for the cs is its uniqueness, its capacity for understanding complexity in particular contexts.  A corresponding disadvantage often cited is the difficulty of generalising from a single case.  Such an observation assumes a polarity and stems from a particular view of research.  Looked at differently, from within a holistic perspective and direct perception, there is no disjunction.  What we have is a paradox, which if acknowledge, and explored in depth, yields both unique and universal understanding'

'The tension between the study of the unique and the need to generalise is necessary to reveal both the unique and the universal and the unity of that understanding.  To live with ambiguity, to challenge certainty, to creatively encounter, is to eventually  see anew'

Ethics at home - Malone

Ethics at home: informed consent in your own backyard.

Malone, S. (2003) Qualitative studies in education, 16 (6), 797-815

(week 4 CDR)

The study that is reported  involved  collecting evidence about  the development of academic literacy (enculturation into the discourse of the discipline)  based on interviews, observation and writing samples.  It involved 4 students and 'their' professor as well as the researcher who was located within 'the same backyard'.  Despite following formal ethical guidance a  retroscope revealed a number of problems.  'are we lulled into false complacency', p813 when we adhere to guidelines. Maybe we need to ask 'some of the uncomfortable and difficult questions we need to be asking ourselves' p813.  Can a researcher detach, disengage, sufficiently to get a real insight into the ongoing participant perceptions ?.

'we cannot know what we will find, what tangents might become the focus of primary inquiry, or into what political minefields we will stumble'  p801

Gatekeeper

gatekeeper - 'our focus as we began was on the possible benefits; he saw the study as an opportunity to learn about his own teaching' - p802   ( KRO - the assumption seems to be that he has an excellent reputation as a teacher and that the research will largely confirm that this is the case) - even the gatekeeper, who was an experienced qualitative researcher ,was naive as to some of the possible problems including some aspects personal to his professional identity.

how easy is it for participants ( who in some way rely on a gatekeeper) to go against a gatekeeper request for participation?  instead they tended to exercise autonomy in other ways eg 'forgetting drafts of papers'

as the doctoral research progressed

the gatekeeper became ' trapped to some degree, by his own research pardigm and teaching philosphy', p803  

the gatekeeper 'often makes slightly caustic joked about everything being data'

participants 

 had  some  methodological sophistication - ie guidelines usually alert us to a lack of understanding in participants this is not always the case.

developing researcher  - student interactions , some examples

1. eventually started to think 'who am I in this group' p 806 ie altered relationship with the participant group as she began to participate which seemed to at the same time alter her relationship with the gatekeeper.  When researcher showed student type risky behaviour ie asking questions in class the participants seemed to adopt a different view ( KRO - she became one of them).  ' I didn't see clearly at the time that I shifted my perspective by bonding with the students..... I ended up seeing P (gatekeeper) through their eyes', p807.  
   
2. 'as the students became more comfortable with me, they began to trust me more and our relationship inevitable transformed at times into that of therapist and client', p807
   
3. also they shared thoughts etc about gatekeeper and fellow students which could be harmful to future relationships had these been shared by the researcher.
   

obligation and harm

p809 ' the researcher's ethical dilemmas are often discussed in terms of obligation '  there are 3 places where obligation is likely to come into play: 

1. during the process of doing the research
   
2. 'when writing and representing the lives of others'
   
3. 'in thinking about what purpose our research ought to serve in its dissemination' .
   

'these are also the points when the possibility of harm occurs' p809

qual cf quant research

' validity and reliability have been replaced by credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability'  ( KRO -ehhhh) ' 'distance ourselves from the procedures that serve our quantitative colleagues well, but fall far short in addressing the complexities and complications of qualitative research'

communication thoughts