Bamblog

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Die neue Ausgabe des “Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication” enthält einige interessant klingende Aufsätze. Zwei Texte sind für meinen Arbeitsbereich besonders interessant (s.u.), und ein näherer Blick lohnt sich bei dieser Online-Zeitschrift allemal. Neben einer Reihe von thematisch unverbundenen Texten wurde auch ein Themenschwerpunkt zu “War coverage in cyberspace” veröffentlicht.

Pfeil/Zaphiris/Ang: Cultural differences in collaborative authoring of Wikipedia

This article explores the relationship between national culture and computer-mediated communication (CMC) in Wikipedia. The articles on the topic game from the French, German, Japanese, and Dutch Wikipedia websites were studied using content analysis methods. Correlations were investigated between patterns of contributions and the four dimensions of cultural influences proposed by Hofstede (Power Distance, Collectivism versus Individualism, Femininity versus Masculinity, and Uncertainty Avoidance). The analysis revealed cultural differences in the style of contributions across the cultures investigated, some of which are correlated with the dimensions identified by Hofstede. These findings suggest that cultural differences that are observed in the physical world also exist in the virtual world.

Tremayne et al.: Issue publics on the web: Applying network theory to the war blogosphere

This study had two primary objectives. The first was to examine the predictors of preferential attachment in the war blog network. A multiple regression analysis revealed use of links to blogs and original reporting content as significant predictors of incoming links. Second, the war blogosphere was mapped to reveal two distinct halves, the liberal and the conservative. Measures of network centrality identified key blogs, some of which served as conduits between the two spheres. Other differences between the sides were examined.