Module 5 / Concepts
May 11, 2008
12. Communication and Information are related
Advanced Internet users actively create new contexts for the information they receive as part of asynchronous communication (and other forms), and then give those contexts form and utility through mechanisms such as email folder filing systems; automated processes; etc.
To effectively manage and use email communication, it is essential to create a context for the information received
Email is simple to store and retrieve. This storage forms an archive or record of material which is considered important enough to be saved, and possibly recalled at a later date.
Because of this, it is essential to use mechanisms to store this information in a logical manner.
This will:
- Enable the reader to search and find the information quickly and easily.
- Enable the reader to understand the context in which it was first written, and therefore not interpret the email incorrectly at a later date.
There are several challenges with storing email ‘in context’, which can be bought about by the very nature of this form of asynchronous communication.
Email is usually a written ‘discussion’ incorporating sending and replying to an initial email, which is focused around a central point, the context of the email. This can create many documents (sometimes from many different people) which are all interrelated. This group of documents could be stored in one area enabling all of the documents to be kept within context. However, these emails could also be separated and stored separately, thus taking them out of context of the original ‘discussion’.
There are some simple solutions to this issue:
- Quote the previous email, to group all replies together, thus allowing for the storage of the final email which will contain the entire ‘discussion’.
- Keep the original subject line. This will enable a search of this group of emails by the text contained in the subject line.
- Use a meaningful subject line. A well written subject line will help put the content of the email into context.
The most common way of keeping emails within context is by using a filing system.
Folders and sub folders can be used to sort emails into context. The main folder should be named in such a way as to describe the context of the files contained within.
Sub folders can be used to further break this main topic into smaller sub categories, thus making for easier navigation.
There are endless ways of categorizing and sub categorizing the context of emails, so the key is to use a consistent standard throughout the filing process.
Some techniques are:
- Group emails into subcategories or folders by:
- Some email applications allow for tags / labels or categories. This introduces a virtual filing system, as emails can be searched on or grouped together by key words.
- Use automated filtering of emails as they arrive in an inbox. These communications will be sorted into a pre determined folder, thus automatically placing the email into a pre defined context.
Reference material.
Questions asked or answered.
Tasks requested or performed.
It is essential for email to be stored within context. These documents can be accessed at a later date; therefore it is important that the original intention of the email is apparent.
Of course it can be argued that ‘out of context’ text can also be used to begin a new and valid communication.
References.
Digital Inspiration, (2008). Add tags to your outlook email messages, just like gmail labels.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/07/add-tags- to-your-outlook-email-messages.html
Microsoft Office Outlook (2003). Create an effective reference system.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/ HA011450561033 .aspx? mode=print
Ross, S. (2008). When words collide: Organizing your email inbox.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://research.microsoft.com/displayarticle.aspx?id=603
Site 1
Ross, S. (2008). When words collide: Organizing your email inbox.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://research.microsoft.com/displayarticle.aspx?id=603
Suzanne Ross discusses the issue of communicating via email, and offers a unique solution in the form of ‘Conversation Clues’ designed by Gina Venolia.
The article shows that people have difficulty putting email ‘conversations’ into context or perspective, because the conversation is viewed one message at a time.
Email ‘conversations’ can be especially complex when there are many participants, and where the initial discussion can go ‘off topic’.
This method could be the answer to viewing the entire context of a conversation, because it links together all of the correspondence in a visual timeline, and represents who participated and how.
Site 2
Microsoft Office Outlook (2003). Create an effective reference system.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/ HA011450561033 .aspx? mode=print
This article by Microsoft relates directly to Outlook, but has general points which could be related to most email applications.
The article offers practical suggestions for logically organising emails into a filing or reference system. This effectively means grouping together email by the context of that correspondence.
The article also questions the reader about the necessity of keeping all email correspondence. With the volumes of email any one person can receive, keeping only relevant emails would also help when searching for past correspondence.
13. Communication is not complete upon receipt
The key to effective email management is to consistently and conscientiously respond to and act upon the email you receive, while recognising that others may not be as efficient as yourself.
Being aware of the limitations of email, and recognizing that a recipient of email may have a lesser understanding of these limitations, will help in ensuring that effective communication is achieved.
For example, Car and Sheikh (2004) discuss the merits and failings of email communication between patients and practitioners in the British health care system.
They argue that “Successful communication by email depends on a clear and shared understanding by patient and healthcare professionals of its role, advantages, and limitations.” (para. 28 )
This can be said of any email communication. It is therefore important to assume the reader of your email does not have the same effective communication skills, and ensure that consistent email response techniques are adhered to.
These techniques should be used to impress upon the sender that their email was acted upon in the manner that was originally intended. This will also ensure that you fully understand what was being communicated in the first place.
Responding to an email is the key to effective communication. A response should be made if a question has been asked, a specific task requested, or the communication is vague in its intention.
Responding to a question.
- Paraphrase or quote the original question and respond directly to that.
Example
o ‘In response to your question asking if the product is available in red, I regret to inform you that it is only available in blue.’
Responding to a task.
- Paraphrase or quote the original task and respond directly to that.
Example
o Original: Can you pick up the dog?
o Response: I will pick up the dog at 2pm today.
Respond to a confusing question / task request, or ask for more clear and concise instruction.
- Prompt the sender for a response, by paraphrasing or quoting the original question / task.
Example
o In your last email you wrote ‘pick up the dog’. Could you please reply and let me know if you meant pick up the dog to see how much it weighs, or pick up the dog by collecting it from the vet?
Effective email communication requires both parties to fully understand the context of an email. By prompting the sender with a clear and concise response, each party can be certain that an email will be acted upon as intended, even if the sender of the original email has poor communication skills.
Even though emails are a form of asynchronous communication, the other key factor in email management is the response time.
Be aware that each individual’s expectation of an acceptable response time, in which they should receive a reply will vary enormously. It is good practice to be consistent with response times and not leave communications unattended to for an extended period.
If a question cannot be immediately answered, or a task immediately performed, it is good practice to respond as such to the sender. This response should also communicate an expected timeline for the question to be answered or task to be performed. Even though a solution may not have been reached, the sender will be happy that their email has indeed been read, and will be acted upon in the near future.
References.
Car, J., & Sheikh, A. (2004) Email consultations in health care: 1—scope and effectiveness. (Electronic version). British Medical Journal, 329 (7463), 435-438.
Tough, M. (2005, 21 November) Business communication: less is more.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p184245705_Business-commun ication-less-is-more.html
Wozniak, P. (2004) Email, incremental reading, creativity, and time management.
Retrieved May10, 2008, from
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm
Site 1.
Wozniak, P. (2004) Email, incremental reading, creativity, and time management.
Retrieved May10, 2008, from
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm
The author Piotr Wozniak provides an overview and interpretation of the pros and cons of asynchronous email communication, as it relates to business dealings.
Piotr Wozniak argues out that asynchronous communication provides the recipient of an email, time to contemplate a response. This of course can give the respondent time to author a measured response. At times it is necessary to use carefully chosen words, as email communication can be archived, and referred to at a later date.
Site 2.
Tough, M. (2005, 21 November) Business communication: less is more.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p184245705_Business-commun ication-less-is-more.html
The author Megan Tough discusses the implications of asynchronous communication, which gives the respondent the luxury of being able to respond when they so desire. Megan further expounds that caution is required when email response time is too quick, this may set high expectations. The best solution is to communicate your response time to the sender in advance.
19. Public and Private
Critical users of the Internet are capable of understanding when the tone or content of list discussions is such that they are better off being carried on further in private.
It is important to give a definition of what a critical user of the internet is; this will help explain the understanding a critical user should be capable of.
The College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Colorado (2004) define critical thinking as:
“A cognitive process based on reflective thought and a tolerance for ambiguity which has the following attributes:
a. Disciplined and self directed.
b. Oriented toward inquiry, analysis and critique.
c. Multidimensional and multilogical problem-solving rather than unidimensional, monological, or linear requisite knowledge and ability to generate options and make discriminating judgments.” (“The nurse and the client”, 2004, para 15)
A critical user should therefore be capable of understanding and following the collective guidelines of internet etiquette within the public forum.
Mailing lists are subscription based emails, which are automatically distributed to discussion group members. Users join a list to discuss specific interests or topics.
There are many mailing lists which have specific rules which users are urged to follow. Some mailing lists have a moderator. A moderator is an individual or small group of people who determine which email messages can be seen by the whole group.
There are many sites which provide ‘netiquette’ (web etiquette) guidelines for users to contemplate. These ‘netiquette’ guidelines are readily available for anyone to use and distribute or incorporate into their own websites. An example of which is the RFC 1855 Netiquette memo from 1995 (Hambridge 1995a).
A well run mailing list operates on the proviso that participants adhere to the specific topic of that mailing list, and follow unsaid netiquette guidelines. A critical user would have an excellent understanding of the general netiquette guidelines, and follow these guidelines when contributing to any mailing list.
Users of a mailing list would also understand that this is a ‘one to many’ type of communication. Off topic, or personal ‘one to one’ discussions will quickly estrange other users. A critical user would also understand that a mailing list lies in the public domain and that for the discussion group to work well, the netiquette guidelines must be adhered to. These guidelines (whether written or un-written) will determine how well a mailing list will function.
Some common guidelines for when conversations should be held in private, and not through the mailing list:
- When welcoming or congratulating an individual.
- The conversation with an individual is ‘off topic’ of the mailing list.
- The information you wish to share is of a private nature.
- Sharing a phone number or postal address.
- There is a persistent disagreement with an individual.
- Sharing attachments with an individual.
In conclusion, there are usually no definitive rules to determine what is acceptable behaviour. A critical user would analyse the overall tone of a mailing list first to determine what level of personal interaction is acceptable within the public domain, and what conversations should be held in private.
References.
Hambridge, S. (1995a, October 24). RFC 1855.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://www.dtcc. edu/cs/rfc1855.html
Hambridge, S. (1995, October). Netiquette guidelines.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855
No author. (2008, March 10). Mailing list.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://www.reference.com /search?q=mailing%20list
No author and no date. Mailing list rules.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://help.dal.net/dnh/mail-rules.php
No author (2004, May 5). The nurse and client within the human health experience.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://web.uccs.edu/bethelstudenthandbook/definition_of_curriculum_terms.htm
Paris, P.G., (2002). Critical thinking and the use of the internet as a resource.
(Electronic version). International Education Journal. 4. 30-41.
Site 1.
Hambridge, S. (1995, October). Netiquette guidelines.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855
This site is a comprehensive guide to web etiquette which was published in 1995. The document is still mostly relevant today. The document is readily available to be fully or partly used by organizations or individuals to base their own etiquette guidelines on. As new technology evolves, this sort of document will still remain relevant to most forms of communication.
23. Human-computer interfaces
The Internet lessens the recognition of difference between humans and computers because, at a distance, it is often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a machine.
The Internet lessens the recognition of difference between humans and computers because, at a distance, it often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a machine.
The popularity of the internet increased dramatically in the mid nineties with millions of new home users taking to this technology. The net crosses borders and vastly different demographics, and currently has over 1.4 billion user’s world wide today. (Internet usage statistics, 2008).
Now, with so many users in the world, (over 20% of the world’s population) the web has changed from its first inception of being the domain of the scientist, computer engineer or university academic, and is now firmly in reach of the average person. (Online service rush to the web).
There are two main reasons for the internet to now present with a feeling similar, to that, of human interaction.
With a huge potential market in developing nations, there has been a shift in the way web sites are now being presented. Millions of new users bring a huge range of computer skills, or lack thereof, to the net. New user interfaces seek to address the problem of users with a low skill base.
One of the easiest ways to encourage new users to stay with a site is to make the browsing experience more of an intuitive human experience, modeled along the lines of how people interact with each other. Web designers and programmers know that to encourage this deskilled potential audience, the user interface must be friendly and intuitive to use, not full of jargon, or requiring the user to have specialist knowledge.
The net is evolving, developing and changing at an alarming rate. This evolution brings with it problems for the end user who may not have the skills, or time to keep up with new developments. In order to keep this potential audience engaged, programmers are spending time, making the interaction of new concepts easily accessible. This is achieved through modeling and imitating these interactions on human behaviour. An average user will generally not spend half a day learning how to use a new on line application no matter how impressive it may be. The new goal is to target a wider audience and make web access readily available. Web 2.0 is about the people more so than the machines.
Effective web design can trick users into forgetting they are interacting with a machine. The logic behind a programmed response can give the impression of intelligent interaction. It is important to mention, that true artificial intelligence is still beyond the realms of man (and some argue beyond the scope of man). The Turing Test (1950) is still applicable today and proves that machines cannot think. (Oppy & Dowe, 2005).
Good internet web design incorporates a user friendly approach, and encourages the interaction between humans and computers. The internet will increasingly be programmed to seem as though the human has control of the computer, and not the other way around.
References.
No author (2008, May 1) Internet usage statistics.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
No author and no date. Online service rush to the web.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_online.htm
Oppy, G., & Dowe, D. (2005, July 28 ) The turing test.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/
Site 1.
Oppy, G., & Dowe, D. (2005, July 28 ) The turing test.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/
This site looks at the artificial intelligence of machines in regards to the Turing Test of 1950. This lengthy document presents a critical analysis of Turing’s test and debates the pros and cons of his arguments.
The authors argue that certain philosophies and debates about the intelligence of machines have been around for decades, and debated even before the advent of what we now call ‘modern’ technology.
The Turin test predicts that machines will become more and more powerful and the ability to imitate humans will become more plausible.
Site 2.
No author and no date. Online service rush to the web.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_online.htm
This site is an excellent resource and provides a comprehensive background on almost all aspects of the net. It has covers 700 pages and 2000 plus links. The document is a work in progress and has been gathering information about the net since 1996. This site is written in a very basic text format which is uncommon in the highly visual style of today, but this allows for it to be viewed on almost any browser.
