On 17 October there will be an ERMeCC Lunch Seminar in VB-56 from 12:00 to 13:00. Please feel free to bring your lunch and comments! In turn, we will provide intellectual stimulation by presenting the research detailed below.
Online Communication Apprehension Project
Diyako Rahmani, Massey University (NZ)
Online Communication apprehension (OCA) investigates the anxiety people endure in real or anticipated online communication. While it is known that this kind of anxiety has behavioural, cognitive and emotional effects, the studies of its dynamics of influence and scope of impact have traditionally been confined to either educational contexts or student samples. At Massey University, we have defined the Online Communication Apprehension Project (OCAP) to respond to such gaps, and study OCA in relation to face-to-face communication apprehension, organizational dissent, and information systems management. OCAP uses different statistical methods to study the relationships of the constructs and the effect of demographic variables such as gender, age, education, and socioeconomic status of individuals on the relationships.
So far, OCAP studies showed those with a higher fear of working with computers are more apprehensive in the online sphere. This group of people are typically characterised by their lower access to technology, for example, people with lower SES, immigrants, and refugees. We hope that knowing more about OCA can improve the digital health of our communities especially when it comes to making online decisions in a world characterised by the rapid development of virtual human interactions.