Concepts Assignment

Concept 1 – Asynchronicity

Asynchronous electronic communication is not the opposite of real-time, synchronous communication: rather it describes forms of communication that appear differently 'located in time' depending on the perspective of the sender and receiver. (Allen, n.d.)

Asynchronous electronic communication is a variant on the concept of asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication has been with us since humankind learnt to write. In “History of Communications” (Ensmenger, 2006) the author states ‘A truly comprehensive and global history of communications would have to begin with the Phoenician alphabet, the early postal system in China, the use of homing pigeons in Ancient Greece, the legendary Roman roads, and the invention of the printing press, among many, many other inventions.’ But asynchronous electronic communication is a modern phenomenon, and it allows for a different analysis of time. The line dividing synchronous and asynchronous electronic communication is often blurred, and some forms of electronic communication can be both synchronous and asynchronous at the same time or at different times. For this reason, synchronous and asynchronous electronic communication cannot be classified in the same way as traditional synchronous and asynchronous communication.

The North Carolina State University (NCSU) (n.d.) states that “Synchronous communication consists of communication which takes place in real time without a delay in the exchange of information or resources. In contrast, asynchronous communication is intermittent, where a time delay between the sending and receiving of data occurs.” However, at times all forms of electronic communication have the potential to be synchronous, just as, at times, they can also be asynchronous. This blurring of the division between synchronous and asynchronous electronic communication means the the two can no longer be deemed opposites. Typically we see forms of asynchronous electronic communication to include lists and e-mail, however at times these forms of communication can behave as chat or instant messaging – where ‘conversations’ between discussion group members go back and forth in real time. Chat and Instant Messaging are considered synchronous, but there can be delays in messages being sent and/or received between those involved. My own experience with chat (using IRC with the NET11 study group) raised questions of synchronicity – sometimes there were delays in messages being posted and conversations had already moved on. The chat became confusing as a result. Similarly, we consider websites to be a form of asynchronous communication, since data is transferred to a server and, from then on, it is available to others to view. However, some information on a website can be synchronous. Increasingly, websites are tuned in to the viewer, drawing up-to-date data from a database which is constantly changing, and presenting it tailor made to serve that particular viewer’s interests. This electronic communication is synchronous. Electronic Communication is therefore different to other forms of communication. It cannot be easily defined as synchronous or asynchronous. In fact, constant advances in technology and changes in the way users act mean that existing forms of electronic communication are constantly evolving, and new forms of electronic communication are constantly being developed. It is increasingly difficult to classify where this communication fits into traditional terminology.

Site 1: Federal Communications Commission
http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/internet/

The Federal Communications Commission website notes the FCC as being an independent United States government agency which was established in 1934 to regulate interstate and international communications. The site provides interesting information on the history of various types of communication, including the early history of the internet, where three topics are covered – ‘Something to Share’, which introduces the earliest beginnings of the internet; ‘Common Standards’, which notes the development of the first standards which were established by ARPANET; and ‘Making the Connections’, which discusses the process of packet switching and early concerns about the process. There is also information on the history of Radio and Television.

Site 2: North Carolina State University
http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/

The ‘sciencejunction’ section of the North Carolina State University site had some interesting information about synchronous and asynchronous electronic communication, with definitions and classifications of types of asynchronous and synchronous electronic communication. It also offers detailed explanations of the different forms of electronic communication and numerous links to aid users towards deciding what is most appropriate for them. There is also guidance relating to safety and privacy. Probably the only criticism I have for this site is that some of the pages have not been updated since 2002, and since the internet is constantly evolving, some of the information may be out of date.

Concept 17 – The impact of text-based real-time chat

Communicating in real-time with text enables a form of 'authoring of the self' that is similar to the processes of face-to-face speech but which is much more amenable to authorial control, experimentation and reflection. Further, text-based communication carries with it the possibility for multiple, differing conversations occurring simultaneously, relying on the ability of the human brain to deal with text much better than speech. (Allen, n.d.)

There are a number of potential affects of text-based real-time chat, many of which relate in some way or another to privacy and security. But there is an increasing amount of research being done to try to understand the effects of internet based communication on behaviour. In terms of privacy, text-based real-time chat (or the more modern instant messaging) increases privacy in that conversations can be held without others being able to listen in. Telephone, for example, is only private when there is no one else around to hear the conversation. The ability to communicate instantly by text decreases or completely eliminates that lack of privacy, making text based communication more discrete and more easily hidden. Conversations involving suggestive or malicious behaviour might sometimes be impossible on telephone due to a lack of privacy, but can be conducted secretly when using text, and this also applies to illicit relationships or marital affairs. In terms of security, real-time text-based communication removes facial and body language from a discussion, and enables a user to remain anonymous. Chat thereby enables authors to pretend they feel a certain way or to act differently to how they would in a face to face situation. In fact, an author can create a whole new persona. This has, for example, given sexual predators an easy way to ‘groom’ potential victims. Chat room safety has become a serious concern for this reason, with government agencies throughout the world establishing task forces specifically to deal with the issue. Lying, cheating and criminal activity are a common and negative aspect of an otherwise potentially useful form of communication, but there is a deeper issue which is also worthy of discussion.

The Australian Government NetAlert website provides a range of information on cyber safety and particularly on the issue of children and the internet. The article “Why do children love to chat on the Internet?” states that, inter alia, chat removes the anxiety common with face to face (or voice to voice) interaction. This begs the question – if increasing numbers of children and teenagers (and adults) are using real-time text-based communication in place of face to face interaction, what will the longer term effects be? Does this type of communication affect social behaviour? Quentin Atkinson, in his paper titled “Disinhibition on the Internet: Implications and Intervention” (2002) notes that “Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), like e-mail and Internet Relay Chat, generates disinhibited verbal behaviour both in the form of flaming and excessive self-disclosure…” and that “Those who exhibit disinhibited behaviour online may become more disinhibited in real life”. Patricia R. Recupero, JD, MD, in “Forensic Evaluation of Problematic Internet Use” (2007) discusses what has been dubbed ‘Problematic Internet Use’ (PIU), and the effects of PIU on an individual’s life. A large number of social and behavioural issues are discussed in the article, and many of these problems can lead to serious life consequences. Text-based real-time chat is just one of the areas of PIU discussed, however the real-life consequences of PIU in general, from inappropriate internet use by employees to cyberstalking to, in one extreme example, murder – clearly raise some very interesting points for discussion.

Site 1: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
http://www.jaapl.org/

This is a really interesting site and this particular article was an eye opener to me. I suspected that the social and behavioural problems of inappropriate internet use (or, as the article describes it, ‘Problematic Internet Use’ or PIU) would have to be significant, but it is an area which is obviously of interest to researchers in a number of fields. The site obviously is not just about psychiatry, law and the internet, but there were a number of articles about this topic. In fact it listed 26 articles ranging from cyberstalking and PIU to internet gambling. PUI is clearly becoming a new-age health concern.

Site 2: American Psychological Association (APA)
http://www.apa.org/releases/youthwww0406.html

This site had an interesting article relating to behaviour and the use of internet based communication such as chat and instant messaging. Six different areas were researched, and some indicated benefits to users, whilst others raised concerns. There is an article on adolescent self-injury and internet discussion boards and another on online predators and their victims. The site is not as comprehensive as the JAAPL site noted above, but research in this area is still in its early stages and the APA has been active in trying to learn more about the behavioural implication of chat and similar forms electronic communication.

Concept 26 – Privacy and Security

The Internet is a profoundly ‘open’ system and advanced Internet users are cautious about either accepting or sending material from and to unknown sources and are careful in releasing information about themselves in any form. Conceptually, the Internet challenges us to take greater responsibility for the protection of privacy and security than perhaps we are used to when dealing with the media. (Allen, n.d.)

On the surface the internet is easy to use. Some of the more common uses of the internet are email, searching the WWW and, increasingly, social networking. Privacy and security are serious issues, yet many users seem oblivious to or willingly ignore the risks. As internet privacy is virtually impossible to regulate, there is little we can do to prevent the publication of our personal information by others. However, we can reduce the risk of breaches of privacy and security by being cautious as to what information we disclose on the internet. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is a comprehensive guide as to privacy and security issues and provides guidance as to how to minimise the risks of using the internet. The Age Newspaper reported on April, 14 this year that the European Commission is hoping to review legislation regarding internet privacy, especially considering the current legislation dates back to 1995. However, in reality, internet privacy and security is a serious and significant issue and one which is very difficult to police. Collected personal information is frequently sold from one organisation to another, and well known and popular sites (such as Facebook) have had many issues regarding privacy. This year Facebook has been criticised for its storage and use of collected data (guardian.co.uk, 2009). Even those who use caution are at risk of suffering from security and privacy issues, as they cannot prevent others from disclosing their personal information and/or photos. A recent case, “Elite school’s horrific cyber bullying case”, (Mark, 2009) highlights the dangerous and extremely serious problem of cyber bullying and our inability to prevent the problem. The internet has given people an easy avenue to act maliciously towards others. The information posted on sites such as facebook and myspace, whether accurate or completely false, may well be available to all and sundry for many many years to come. With increasing numbers of employers ‘googling’ potential staff as observed in “Should Employers “Google” Applicants” (Siegel, Shields & Lewis, 2009), and the ability for anyone to ‘google’ a friend, colleague or enemy, there is a significant likelihood that such personal information will repeatedly come to light. This loss of privacy can have a serious impact on the victims life, though they may have done nothing to warrant such loss of privacy. Internet Privacy and Security is becoming one of the internet’s most serious problems, with fake websites, ISP’s and special offers becoming an increasingly serious problem. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a website called “SCAMwatch” which gives a reasonably up-to-date account of current scams. There are many different types of scams and privacy intrusions – identity theft, credit card scams and key-logging to name just a few. Yes, we must do all we can to protect our own privacy and security, but we must be equally as vigilant about protecting the privacy and security of others.

Site 1: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/HOMEPAGE/pc=HOME

This is the Australian Government regulatory body for communications and media, so it covers information on digital TV, radio and telecommunications as well as the internet. The home page of ACMA provides some information relating to the internet – mainly general information and a number of internet guides, but the links to these pages lead to a section of the site which is devoted to the Internet. This part of the site includes numerous articles relating to ACMA reports on current Australian internet issues, plus various sections relating to issues such as spam or privacy and safety.

Site 2: SCAMwatch
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/scamwatch/

I found this site to be very informative as it gives an overview of some of the scams being seen at the moment. Many of the scams listed on the site involve the internet. Unfortunately, there are scams which are hard to avoid. The site notes that pop-ups which appear on your screen with a ‘close’ button on them can download spyware, and there is currently an email scam which involves completing a survey to win a $500 Myer gift voucher. Scams change frequently, so keeping up to date with current scams is a good idea.

Concept 28 – The paradox of the World Wide Web

Advanced Internet users recognise the character of the Web, seek to utilise its advantages, ameliorate its deficiencies and understand that not all users have the same abilities as themselves in reconciling the paradox of the WWW. (Allen, n.d.)

Humans have always strived for change. Indeed the need to improve our situation, to learn new things and to explore the unknown is very much a part of being human, and we have proven ourselves to be highly adaptable to change. The World Wide Web, however, is unlike any technological advance in the history of humankind. Never before has a new technology been so accessible to such a large number of people, across the world, at the same time. We have embraced this new technology, but our enthusiasm is taking its toll. The web is growing far more quickly than anyone could have predicted. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009) states that, in Australia, “Between 1998 to 2007-08, household access to the Internet at home has more than quadrupled from 16% to 67%...”. User growth across the world has grown a massive 342.2% in the years 2000 to 2008 (Internet World Stats, 2009). In July 2008 Google reported that it had counted 1 trillion URL’s, as compared to 26 million in 1998 (The Official Google Blog, 2009). There is so much information available, and so many users trying to find information, that volume and speed are becoming serious issues. New technologies must be employed to simplify the process and to ensure that the web is able to grow even further. A google search for ‘web statistics’, for example, produces 691,000,000 results. In order to sort through this ridiculously large number of results, other search methods can be applied. For example, by choosing to only search sites with the ‘.edu’ domain, the search is reduced to 3,570,000 results, or by searching via ‘google scholar’ we can reduce this to 1,890,000 results. There are a large number of other tools designed to make searching even more accurate, but users need to know how to find these tools, how to download them (keeping in mind the need to firstly ensure they are safe) and, once downloaded, how to use them. Security concerns have also made the web more complex, since all users should have a reasonable amount of knowledge of internet risks and ways to reduce them. Originally only anti-virus protection was enough. We now need numerous firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-phishing software. We must be vigilant about sites we visit and emails we open. In order to ensure our computers continue to cope with incredible amount of data being transferred, we should ideally use software which will keep our pc’s tidy – programs to file, sort and clean up our computers, software to keep our photos or other media tidy, or to play videos, animations or documents in particular formats (such as flash or pdf) and new ways to communicate and network. In “Web 2.0 leading to internet overload” (Thomson, 2008) it was noted by the author that, in relation to Web 2.0 technology “…experts said that the plethora of new information being created is a benefit, but also a serious danger as it is confusing users.” All users, whether inexperienced or advanced, must keep up with at least some of the changes to technology, though we may all be at risk of internet overload!

Site 1: Internet World Stats
http://www.internetworldstats.com/

For statistics on world internet use, this site is very informative. It provides information on internet usage and population throughout the world. The data can be broken down into world statistics or regional statistics. There is also interesting information on topics such as current developments in broadband and mobile communications throughout the world. The site claims that the information is based on census information and data collected from Nielsen Online.

Site 2: The Official Google Blog
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

This site is the official google blogspot, and it contains lots of interesting bits of information on a whole range of different topics, but particularly focuses on new developments in the world of google. The latest post relates to google’s newest search tool – google suggest, but there are posts on online security, search quality and personalisation, photos and politics. Since google is the most popular search engine, I felt the google blog would have to have some interesting and useful information – even if it might be biased at times! The article ‘We knew the web was big….” gives an insight into how google searches work given the huge amount of data available on the web.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Age Newspaper Online, (2009). EU urges tougher Internet privacy rules. Retrieved on May 16, 2009 from http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/eu-urges-tougher-internet-privacy-rules-20090414-a69j.html

Allen, M. (n.d.). Internet Communications Concepts Document, NET11 The Internet - Communications, Curtin University of Technology. http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_14736_1%26url%3d

American Psychological Association (APA), http://www.apa.org/releases/youthwww0406.html

Atkinson, Q. (2002). Disinhibition on the Internet: Implications and Intervention. Retrieved on May 19, 2009, http://www.netsafe.org.nz/archive/research/research_disinhibition.html

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). HOUSEHOLD ACCESS TO COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET (No. 8146.0). Retrieved on May 21, 2009 from http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/HOMEPAGE/pc=HOME

Australian Government NetAlert, (n.d.). Why do Children love to Chat on the Internet? Retrieved on May 21, 2009, from http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice/services/chat/Why_do_children_love_to_chat_on_the_Internet.html

Ensmenger, N., Ph.D., (2006), History of Communications. Retrieved May 16, 2009, from http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/communication.html

Federal Communications Commission, http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/internet/

Internet World Stats, (2009). Internet Usage Statistics. Retrieved on May 21, 2009 from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com/

Johnson, B. & Hirsch, A. (2009). Facebook backtracks after online privacy protest. Retrieved on May 16, 2009 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/19/facebook-personal-data

Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, http://www.jaapl.org/,

Kang, S. (2006). Disembodiment in Online Social Interaction: Impact of Online Chat on Social Support and Psychosocial Well-Being. Retrieved on May 19, 2009 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/9/0/0/6/p90067_index.html

Mark, D. (2009). Elite school’s horrific cyber bullying case. Retrieved on May 16, 2009 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/07/2563942.htm

Nielsen Online, http://www.nielsen-online.com/

North Carolina State University, (n.d.). Welcome to Electronic Communications. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/route/usetech/electcomm/index.html

Federal Communications Commission website, http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/internet/

North Carolina State University, http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/

Recupero, P.R., JD, MD, (2007). Forensic Evaluation of Problematic Internet Use. Retrieved on May 19, 2009, from http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/36/4/505

SCAMwatch, http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/scamwatch/

Siegel, P.J., Shields, A.C., & Lewis, J., LLP (2009). Should Employers "Google" Applicants?. Retrieved on May 16, 2009 from http://www.irmi.com/expert/articles/2009/siegel02-employment-practices-liability.aspx

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner, http://www.privacy.gov.au/internet/,

The Official Google Blog, (2008). We knew the web was big…. Retrieved on May 21, 2009 from http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/we-knew-web-was-big.html

The Official Google Blog, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

Thomson, I. (2008). Web 2.0 leading to internet overload. Retrieved on May 21, 2009 from http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2229878/web-leading-information