The cultural dimensions of online communication : a study of breast cancer patients’ internet spaces

Orgad, Shani (2006) The cultural dimensions of online communication : a study of breast cancer patients’ internet spaces. New Media & Society, 8 (6). pp. 877-899. ISSN 1461-4448

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Abstract

Many have studied the interrelations between online spaces and offline contexts, highlighting that internet spaces are fundamentally embedded within specific social, cultural and material contexts. Drawing upon a study of breast cancer patients’ computer-mediated communication (CMC), this article aims to contribute to our understanding of the role of cultural elements in shaping the participation in and design of, CMC environments. It uses an analysis of patients’ interviews and breast cancer websites as an exploratory site for identifying cultural dimensions that should be considered in studying online spaces. It shows how both the breast cancer sites and their participants emphasize a sense of global similarity and commonality, while at the same time this CMC context is shaped by specific linguistic, national, temporal, spatial, religious, ideological and discursive North-American dimensions. It concludes with a broader discussion of the importance of examining the cultural aspects of online contexts and by extension, how cultural elements shape the methodologies that researchers employ.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://nms.sagepub.com/
Additional Information:	© 2006 SAGE Publications.
Divisions:	Media and Communications
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting
Date Deposited:	12 Jul 2007
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2024 17:51
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/2517

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