Faculty Profile

Iftekhar Ahmed

Title
Associate Professor
Department
Communication Studies
College
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

    

Education

PhD, Texas A&M University, 2009.
Major: Communication
Degree Specialization: Group/Organization/Technology
Dissertation Title: A study of the relationship of communication technology configurations in virtual research environments and effectiveness of collaborative research
MA, West Texas A&M University, 2004.
Major: Coomunication

Current Scheduled Teaching*

COMM 4320.901, Virtual Gaming, Summer 2024
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2024 Syllabus
COMM 4320.801, Virtual Gaming, Spring 2024 Syllabus

* Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Previous Scheduled Teaching*

COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2023 SPOT
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Fall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5910.705, Special Problems, Fall 2023
COMM 4320.901, Virtual Gaming, Summer 5W2 2023 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5185.001, Quantitative Research Methods in Communication, Spring 2023 SPOT
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2023 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4320.801, Virtual Gaming, Spring 3W1 2023 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Fall 2022 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5930.705, Research Problems in Lieu of a Thesis, Fall 2022
COMM 4320.901, Virtual Gaming, Summer 5W1 2022 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.800, Organizational Communication, Spring 3W1 2022 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5930.705, Research Problems in Lieu of a Thesis, Spring 2022
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2022 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4320.001, Virtual Gaming, Spring 2022 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5120.001, Group Processes, Fall 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Fall 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4800.001, Communication Internship, Summer 2021
COMM 4800.001, Communication Internship, Summer 5W2 2021
COMM 4800.700, Communication Internship, Summer 2021
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Summer 5W1 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3320.001, Communication and Conflict Management, Spring 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3320.201, Communication and Conflict Management, Spring 2021 Syllabus
COMM 3320.202, Communication and Conflict Management, Spring 2021 Syllabus
COMM 3920.800, Organizational Communication, Spring 3W1 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2021 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3720.201, Small Group Communication, Spring 2021 Syllabus
COMM 3720.202, Small Group Communication, Spring 2021 Syllabus
COMM 4800.700, Communication Internship, Fall 2020
COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2020 SPOT
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Fall 8W1 2020 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4800.001, Communication Internship, Summer 5W2 2020
COMM 3920.901, Organizational Communication, Summer 3W1 2020 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.902, Organizational Communication, Summer 3W1 2020 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5920.705, Research Problems in Lieu of a Thesis, Summer 5W1 2020
COMM 4800.700, Communication Internship, Spring 2020
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2020 Syllabus
COMM 3720.201, Small Group Communication, Spring 2020 Syllabus
COMM 3720.202, Small Group Communication, Spring 2020 Syllabus
COMM 4320.001, Virtual Gaming, Spring 2020 Syllabus
COMM 5120.001, Group Processes, Fall 2019 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.201, Organizational Communication, Fall 2019 Syllabus
COMM 3920.202, Organizational Communication, Fall 2019 Syllabus
COMM 3920.801, Organizational Communication, Fall 2019 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4800.001, Communication Internship, Summer 5W2 2019
COMM 3920.801, Organizational Communication, Summer 5W1 2019 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Spring 2019 SPOT
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2019 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3720.201, Small Group Communication, Spring 2019 Syllabus
COMM 3720.202, Small Group Communication, Spring 2019 Syllabus
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Fall 2018 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4320.001, Virtual Gaming, Fall 2018 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Summer 3W1 2018 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5820.001, Seminar in Communication Processes, Spring 2018 SPOT
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2018 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3720.201, Small Group Communication, Spring 2018 Syllabus
COMM 3720.202, Small Group Communication, Spring 2018 Syllabus
COMM 4020.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2017 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Fall 2017 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.201, Organizational Communication, Fall 2017 Syllabus
COMM 3920.202, Organizational Communication, Fall 2017 Syllabus
COMM 3920.501, Organizational Communication, Summer 3W1 2017 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Spring 2017 SPOT
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2017 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3720.201, Small Group Communication, Spring 2017
COMM 3720.202, Small Group Communication, Spring 2017
COMM 4900.705, Special Problems, Spring 2017
COMM 4020.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2016 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Fall 2016 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 3920.201, Organizational Communication, Fall 2016
COMM 3920.202, Organizational Communication, Fall 2016
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Summer 3W1 2016 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5950.755, Master's Thesis, Spring 2016
COMM 5820.001, Seminar in Communication Processes, Spring 2016 SPOT
COMM 4320.001, Virtual Gaming, Spring 2016 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 4020.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2015 Syllabus SPOT
COMM 5950.755, Master's Thesis, Fall 2015
COMM 5820.001, Seminar in Communication Processes, Fall 2015 SPOT
COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Spring 2015
COMM 3820.001, Social Media Perspectives, Spring 2015 Syllabus
COMM 4020.001, Communication Theory, Fall 2014 Syllabus
COMM 3920.001, Organizational Communication, Fall 2014 Syllabus
COMM 3920.201, Organizational Communication, Fall 2014
COMM 3920.202, Organizational Communication, Fall 2014
COMM 5920.705, Research Problems in Lieu of a Thesis, Summer 5W1 2014
COMM 5225.001, Interpersonal Communication, Spring 2014
COMM 5950.755, Master's Thesis, Spring 2014
COMM 3720.001, Small Group Communication, Spring 2014 Syllabus
COMM 5950.755, Master's Thesis, Fall 2013
COMM 5820.001, Seminar in Communication Processes, Fall 2013
COMM 4829.001, Topics in Interpersonal/Organizational Studies, Fall 2013 Syllabus
COMM 5325.001, Communication Theory, Spring 2013
COMM 5820.001, Seminar in Communication Processes, Fall 2012
COMM 4829.002, Topics in Interpersonal/Organizational Studies, Fall 2012 Syllabus

* Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Published Publications

Published Intellectual Contributions

Abstracts and Proceedings
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S., Trudeau, A. B. (2018). A Typology of Virtual Research Environments. 51, . IEEE. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/49974
Ahmed, I., Cai, Y., Pilny, A., Brown, C., Atouba, Y., Poole, M. (2013). SocialMapExplorer: visualizing social networks of massively multiplayer online games in temporal-geographic space. Proceedings of the Conference on Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment: Gateway to Discovery. 18. ACM. http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/2490000/2484805/a18-cai.pdf?ip=129.120.246.12&id=2484805&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&key=F82E6B88364EF649.3BFCD970B3FB0BEC.4D4702B0C3E38B35.4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=752387798&CFTOKEN=73125238&__acm__=1492531571_365925b9fc78fa8bb5ed4b8e62dec0d2
Ahmed, I., Brown, C., Poole, M., Pilny, A., Cai, D., Atouba, Y. (2012). Comparing the performance of group detection algorithm in serial and parallel processing environments. Proceedings of the 1st Conference of the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment: Bridging from the eXtreme to the campus and beyond. 21. ACM. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2335817
Ahmed, I., Pilny, A., Brown, C., Cai, D., Ada, Y., Poole, M. (2011). Identification of groups in online environments: The twist and turns of grouping groups. Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE International Conference on Social Computing (SocialCom2011). IEEE. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6113184/
Ahmed, I., Ahmad, M., Srivastava, J., Poole, M. (2011). Trust me, I am an expert: Trust, homophily and expertise in MMOs. Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE International Conference on Social Computing (SocialCom2011). IEEE. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6113234/
Weber, I., Ahmed, I. (2009). Toward a theory of online learning behavior: An environmental model for participation, interaction, and collaboration. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of Teaching and Learning. INTI University College. http://ictl.intimal.edu.my/ictl2009/proceedings/index.html
Book Chapter
Ahmed, I., Pilny, A., Poole, M. S. (2018). Understanding aggressive and non-aggressive individual behaviors in MMOPG. Lakkaraju, K. & Sukthankar, G. (Eds.), Social Interaction in Virtual Worlds. 1(1), . New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-interactions-in-virtual-worlds/CC24773513E05F24CAC9AD1A6F009D9C
Ahmed, I., Proulx, J., Pilny, A. (2017). Causal Inference Using Bayesian Networks. Group Processes. 1(1), 29-49. USA: Springer International Publishing. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-48941-4_3
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S. (2017). A Process Approach to Study the Development of Virtual Research Environments: A Theoretical Framework. An International Compendium of Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_118-1
Ahmed, I., Mahapatra, A., Poole, M., Srivastava, J., Brown, C. (2014). Identifying a Typology of Players Based on Longitudinal Game Data. Predicting Real World Behaviors from Virtual World Data. 103-115. New York, NY: Springer International Publishing. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07142-8_7/fulltext.html
Encyclopedia Article
Poole, M. S., Ahmed, I. (2015). Decision Making Processes in Organizations. The Concise Encyclopedia of Communication. 138-139. Malden, MA: Wiley. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9781118789353
Poole, M. S., Ahmed, I., (2009). Group decision support systems. W. Eadie (Ed.): 21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook. 2, 550-557. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/communication/n61.xml
Poole, M. S., Ahmed, I. (2008). Organizational decision making. W. Donsbach (Ed.) Blackwell Encyclopedia of Communication. 3, 1181-1188. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Journal Article
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S., Pilny, A. N. (2019). Stability of Membership and Persistence in Teams: Impacts on Performance. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice. 23(3-4), 156-169. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000109
Ahmed, I., Cooper, K., McGrath, R., Griego, G., Poole, M., Hanisch, R. (2014). A process study of the development of virtual research environments. Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series. Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXIII. 485, 325-328. Chicago, IL: Astronomical Society of the Pacific. http://www.aspbooks.org/a/volumes/article_details/?paper_id=36243
White Paper
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S., Simpson, E. Comparative analysis of different models of IVRO to identify similarities and differences among structural components.. http://gecat.ncsa.illinois.edu/research/publications-and-presentations/
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S., Simpson, E. Identification of Factors that Facilitate IVRO Structuring to Promote Idea Generation, Collaboration, and Network Development.. http://gecat.ncsa.illinois.edu/research/publications-and-presentations/
Ahmed, I., Poole, M. S., Simpson, E. Identification of Tools and Technologies for IVROs.. . http://gecat.ncsa.illinois.edu/research/publications-and-presentations/

Awarded Grants

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Grant - Research
Ahmed, I. (Principal), "GECAT: Global Initiative to Enhance @ Scale and Distributed Computing and Analysis Technologies to Address Grand Challenge Problems Around the World," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $142751 Funded. (2014August 31, 2020).
Ahmed, I. (Principal), "VOSS: Research on the process of development of virtual research environments," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $248551 Funded. (2012August 2017).
,
Overall
Summative Rating
Challenge and
Engagement Index
Response Rate

out of 5

out of 7
%
of
students responded
  • Overall Summative Rating (median):
    This rating represents the combined responses of students to the four global summative items and is presented to provide an overall index of the class’s quality. Overall summative statements include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 5 = Excellent, 3 = Good, and 1= Very poor):
    • The course as a whole was
    • The course content was
    • The instructor’s contribution to the course was
    • The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
  • Challenge and Engagement Index:
    This rating combines student responses to several SPOT items relating to how academically challenging students found the course to be and how engaged they were. Challenge and Engagement Index items include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 7 = Much higher, 4 = Average, and 1 = Much lower):
    • Do you expect your grade in this course to be
    • The intellectual challenge presented was
    • The amount of effort you put into this course was
    • The amount of effort to succeed in this course was
    • Your involvement in course (doing assignments, attending classes, etc.) was
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