The convenience of social interaction theme relates to how convenient the social interaction is between an individual and another person in their social group. The concept of convenience and the factors that influencing the convenience of a social interaction was a strong theme obtained from the interview analysis. This thematic code of ‘Convenience of Social Interaction’ is supported to some extent by all six of the interviewees. All of the sub-codes that form this broad theme play a role in whether or not an interaction is convenient along with how important convenience is as a factor.
Thematic Coding Sub Codes
Interaction convenience
Geographic Factors Technical Ability Strength of Social Ties Tiers of Relationship Cost Factors
Desired Type of Interaction Time Factors
Accessibility
Language and Understanding Table 4.3 Interaction Convenience - Sub Codes
Geographic Factors: refers to the geographical and physical elements that both allow and inhibit interactions between people. It covers elements such as the opportunities that undertaking the FSP course and living together offered as well as the inhibitors such as the use of technological systems to overcome geographic distance. This sub-theme was strongly demonstrated by all six of the interviewees who readily identified that geographic factors played a strong role in the interactions with fellow classmates, friends and family. Interviewees C and F being key examples.
From Interviewee C. Um, last year I was staying in the hostel with a few others (from FSP 2010), so. And they were studying foundation too, so… it made things easier.
From Interviewee F. Yeah, its (Skype) actually really really useful to communicate, especially because international calls cost a lot of money, so when we use Skype
Page | 118 and things, it is connected to many countries so you are not restricted to just one area. So another positive in the Skype is the location, no matter how far the people is.
Interviewee C’s quote indicates that living in close geographic proximity made interaction easier to undertake. Interviewee F demonstrates that Skype is a convenient method by which to communicate over geographic distance. The physical location had a strong influence on interactions as being closely co-located, both through study and living arrangements, made interactions convenient.
Technical Ability: refers to the technological based ability that is required to undertake interaction via the use of technological based means. Certain modes of interaction require a level of technical ability as a basis of use. Technology based modes such as Facebook and Skype are referred to here. This sub-theme was strongly demonstrated by five of the six interviewees with Interviewee C not identifying technical ability. Interviewees A and B were key examples.
From Interviewee A. My Mum uses Skype, I mean my Mum & Dad’s….. but when I went on vacation back to my country, I bought her a laptop and taught her how to use Skype. She just knows how to use Skype.
From Interviewee B. If with my sister I talk to her every day, text her on and off, Skype on and off, Facebook and twitter sometimes.
The theme ‘technical ability’ referred to above is used to describe a base-level of technical ability that allows the participants to use the available technical means by which to interact with others. While technical methods of interaction are designed to be easily usable they do not guarantee that everyone can use them, especially in cases where technical ability or confidence is low. This code is not designed to evaluate a level of technical ability, only to show that a base level ability was present that allowed systems such as Skype and Facebook as viable technical methods of interaction. Interviewee A identifies that their parents needed to be taught how to use Skype before it could be used as a convenient method of interaction while Interviewee B demonstrates that a range of technical methods are able to be used between them and their sister
The technical ability of each person is a consideration in the convenience of the interaction. All technology based modes require some level of skill but once the ability is developed they become a convenient mode of interaction.
Cost Factors: refers to monetary factors which play a role in how interactions occur. Cost factors are often considered by international students studying overseas as money is a limited resource. Different technological modes of interaction are able to offer convenience and relatively low cost compared to other more traditional modes of interaction. This subtheme was demonstrated by Interviewees A, C, E and F. Of those,
Page | 119 cost with either a strong motivator in influencing a method of interaction, as seen in Interviewee F; or a consideration, as seen in Interviewee A.
From Interviewee A. I still sometimes use Skype to communicate with my teachers, I do not add them, I just call them with Skype…. Sometimes it is cheaper than using the cell phone.
From Interviewee F. In Tasmania here generally, all the people they do not use the phone, it costs money I think; people are trying to save money so they tried to find an alternative way that is very cheap to communicate and better actually then here, this one.
The cost associated with particular modes of interaction are factors considered when choosing how interaction will occur. Interviewee A and F are examples that specifically mentioned cost as a consideration. Modes such as mobile phones can offer higher levels of convenience in interactions however they have a higher cost associated with them. Desired Type of Interaction: refers to how an individual wants to interact with another individual or group and the level of convenience associated with that form of interaction. All six of the interviewees demonstrated that they had social connections with others both inside and outside of their course of study and that the method of interaction chosen to be used was influenced by how they wished to interact.
From Interviewee E. You get to chat to people, I mean your friends online and you can read a lot of other peoples comments and statuses, catch up on what they have been doing.
From Interviewee D. I think I found that email is much easier to express myself because when I go and went to see them, even if I am prepared, I have to just memorise all my talk when I go to see them otherwise I wouldn’t know what to say, I wouldn’t be confident because I do not really know them very well. So if I do not really know the person very well then I will just be not confident, I wouldn’t know what to talk, I wouldn’t know what to say.
From Interviewee B. Probably wider because like, if I haven’t heard from someone in a long time it’s just easier to reach out to them, send them a Facebook message instead of sending, you know, a postcard which could get lost half way. So, yep I think it is useful in terms of people I do not know, I’m not really close to. It helps to kind of keep them in check I guess.
The mode chosen to use in interacting with others is based on how the initiator of the interaction wants to interact. The examples from Interviewees E, D and B clearly show that there is a strong consideration between the type of method used and level of convenience offered. Interviewee D and B specifically mention that particular methods
Page | 120 are ‘easier’ to use for some types of interactions. The chosen mode fits with what each person wants from the interaction process.
Time Factors: refers to the temporal factors that influence the convenience of the interaction, whether this is the desire for non-synchronous communication or direct one- on-one interaction. These time factors were demonstrated by five of the interviewees, with Interviewee A not mentioning time as an interaction factor. While mentioned by five interviewees, time factors were not strong themes and were more covered as an aspect in relation to being a convenient aspect of some methods over others.
From Interviewee E. I do not like ringing people. It costs too much and they are probably asleep so they can reply whenever.
From Interviewee C. Let’s say for example, on Facebook. If my Mum wants to send me a message and I’m not online on Skype, she can send it to me through Facebook.. and I can……? (did not understand) come online…
The convenience of certain interaction modes help to overcome barriers based on time. Interviewee E identified that ‘ringing’ people is costly and a possible disturbance to them while Interviewee C mentioned that Facebook messages allow them to be seen when convenient. Interactions often do not have to occur at the same point in time when both parties are available so asynchronous interactions have a level of convenience associated with them.
Accessibility: refers to the access that someone has to a particular mode of interacting whether it be due to the method’s level of usage, or its availability to all participants in the interaction. This subtheme was generally demonstrated by five of the interviewees with Interviewee D’s not covering this factor. Accessibility was not a strong theme among the interviewees.
From Interviewee A. I: Yes. Like, when I was in China I had no Skype, so I had to wait until weekend so my Mum could call me, but now she can call me anytime she wants.
From Interviewee F. Actually, unfortunately my family, they are not really good with Internet because they are quite old and they do not care about technology I think… but my brother, he brings the laptop and I can see them.
Accessibility is about having the technological system or mode available for use. Interviewee A identified that not having Skype accessible made interaction with their family more difficult to undertake and thus less convenient while they were in China. Interviewee F also identified accessibility issues when interacting with their family due to their lack of knowledge and how assistance is required. This is dependent on the modes being used by those interacting and being available in the geographic environment.
Page | 121 Language and Understanding: refers to the effect of language and understanding in an interaction. Language ability and self-confidence are important in forming an effective and convenient interaction. Different modes of interacting require different levels of ability to use with asynchronous interactions using text being different from real-time interactions using voice. The mode chosen for interaction can influence the level of understanding and can overcome issues relating to lack of confidence or ability. This was a strongly demonstrated theme among all six of the interviewees who represent a range of different language and cultural backgrounds.
From Interviewee D. I think I found that email is much easier to express myself because when I go and went to see them, even if I am prepared, I have to just memorise all my talk when I go to see them otherwise I wouldn’t know what to say, I wouldn’t be confident because I do not really know them very well. So if I do not really know the person very well then I will just be not confident, I wouldn’t know what to talk, I wouldn’t know what to say. So I would just send an email to them. From Interviewee C. (in reference to a fellow students accent) Um, in the very beginning, yeah. I found it a bit hard to catch what you are saying, but after that I got quite used to it.
From Interviewee F. I have struggled when I was with them, with Asian people, it is the accent because I do not know what they are saying and they do not pronounce the words very well and I found it difficult to understand but when I get to the people, the Australian people, I found they speak quite fast…..
Interviewee D demonstrates that email was a much more convenient method of interaction with their teachers as it overcomes language ability allows the message to be delivered clearly. Interviewee C and Interviewee F demonstrate the time barrier that an accent can have in understanding what others are saying, a common aspect in multi- cultural environments. Understanding is important in interaction and the easier that interaction can occur the more convenient the interaction is.