On self regulation and laughter: the university scholar as both a physical and a virtual body in communication practices

 

Abstract:

The paper addresses the new premises for being a professional in the increasing virtual reality of universities. The new premises are being exemplified with the expansion of the professional duties of the university scholar to extend beyond merely acting as a disseminator of knowledge and facilitating learning processes for the student or conducting research projects.

Information technology exposes the teacher's and the researcher's performative dimensions: how teachers and researchers choose their acts in certain situations, and how that demands an intensified reflexivity. 

It is argued that the university scholar must meet increasing expectations to perform on the premises of mass media and that these premises displace the conditions for communicational practices. The paper further discusses the implications of the teacher and the researcher being both a 'physical' and a 'virtual body' and suggests that video streaming increases self regulation and laughter. The discussions are based on empirical material in relation to both video streamed teaching sessions and online discussions.