Professor William H. Dutton
Senior Fellow, Advisory Board Member
Bill Dutton was the OII’s Founding Director, a Fellow of Balliol College and the first Professor of Internet Studies at Oxford University.
Date & Time:
10:00:00 - 16:00:00,
Friday 4 December, 2009
10:00:00 - 16:00:00,
Friday 4 December, 2009
About
Research on the role of the Internet in meeting new people is an increasingly vital area of inquiry, and is illustrated by a burgeoning literature on such topics as online dating. However, the Internet may shape many other aspects of relationships beyond introducing individuals, such as in undermining or maintaining ongoing relationships, from courtship to marriage.
This forum will look at the state of the art of academic research on relationships and the Internet and how this research informs research on the social aspects of the Internet in general, such as issues of trust and identity. Cross-national and cross-cultural aspects will be addressed in ways that can illuminate general cross-cultural trends and responses shaping use of the Internet in building and maintaining relationships. The forum will draw out the connections between this research and such emerging issues of policy and practice as involved in efforts to foster a digital economy in Europe.
The forum will bring together researchers in the fields of online dating, social networking, and the role of information and communication technologies in interpersonal relationships with practitioners from a growing and international relationship industry and policy-makers concerned with consumer protection and media literacy in a digital age.
This event is supported by a grant from eHarmony, through its support of the OII project: Me, My Spouse and the Internet.
Speakers
Dr Ellen J. Helsper
Former Survey Research Fellow
Ellen Helsper is a Lecturer in Media and Communications at the LSE. At the OII she was responsible for the design, analysis and coordination of the Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS) and World Internet Project (WIP) Surveys.
Professor Bernie Hogan
Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor, Senior Research Fellow
Bernie Hogan examines how to capture, represent and think about social networks, especially personal social networks. His work focuses on the role of design in social media, network capture techniques and theories of relationships.
Dr Nai Li
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Dr Monica Whitty
Nottingham Trent University
Professor Joseph B. Walther
Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, Michigan State University
Professor Barry Wellman
S.D. Clark Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto
Dr Nicole Ellison
School of Information, University of Michigan