Monday, October 10, 2005

Project Proposal

I tried to post this last night, but blogger decided to eat the post once I had fully composed it. I was so exhausted and frustrated by the end that I just went to bed. Sometimes I think that the true wonder of technology is that we manage to get anything done with it. At any rate, here are my project notes.

Title
Ethics of Online Communication: The Impact of Anonymity

Purpose
I intend to explore the impact of anonymity (or at least presumed anonymity) on internet rhetors. People communicate in many different ways, and familiarity between individuals greatly influences how we communicate. In cyberspace, we see an arena of tremendous anonymity, an arena in which the ethics of communication may need to be considered in new ways.

Principle Question
How does anonymity affect the ways in which people communicate with each other online?

Why?
As a studying philosopher and rhetorician, I take great interest in this topic. The dynamics of communication fascinate me.

Connection to Discussion Leader Topic
One of the many ways people communicate with each other online is through satire, whether as coordinated fake news sites or brief snide remarks. Would internet satire be as ascerbic if accountability was easier to come by?

Main Components
The primary topic of my research will be the dynamics of how individuals communicate via message board services and immediate chatting. Secondarily, I will consider the composition of emails as rhetorical constructs. This project will probably take shape as a large presentation.

Preliminary Timeline
Proposal 10-24-05
First Draft 11-14-05
Final Project 12-05-05

Questions and Concerns
My primary concern at this point is having enough time to produce quality work as I juggle my other classes and outside obligations. In the project itself, I have no idea how much or how deeply research has been conducted in this field. I'd rather not end up doing a "Miss Manners" kind of presentation on conduct, but I'm a little scared that that is what I'll end up with.

Sources
"Anonymity." Virtual Justice Institute of British Columbia. 2004 <http://www.jibc.bc.ca/virtualJIBC/online/online/ano.htm>.

"Anonymous Communications on the Internet." American Association for teh Advancemnt of Science. 2003 <http://www.aaas.org/spp/anon/>.

Hayen, Elizabeth. "SEX Online." University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Counseling Services 19 Oct. 2005 ≶http://www.uwec.edu/counsel/pubs/pornographyOnline.htm>.

Identification, please. Communication and Control in an Online Learning Environment. Ed. Daniel Anderson. KAIROS. <http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/~wiley/kairos/identities.html>.

Kabay, M. E. Anonymity and Pseudonymity in Cyberspace: Deindividuation, Incivility and Lawlessness Versus Freedom and Privacy. 8 Mar. 1998 <http://www2.norwich.edu/mkabay/overviews/anonpseudo.htm>.

Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. 12 Mar. 2000 <http://www.aa-intergroup.org/index.html>.

Suler, J. "The Online Disinhibition Effect." The Psychology of Cyberspace. Jun. 2001. Aug. 2004 <http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html>.

Thibodeau, Patrick. "Scientists Back Anonymous Web Messaging." CNN.com 5 Jul. 1999 ≶http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9907/05/anon.idg/>

Tor: An Anonymous Intenet Communication System. 21 Oct. 2005 <http://tor.eff.org/>.

Winter, Metta. "Online Communication Hides Human Nature--or Exposes It?" ALS News May 2004 <http://www.cals.cornell.edu/Online_Communication.cfm>.

Recommended Criteria for Evauation
This project will probably be best judged on presentation and quality of research.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home