Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Computer bulletin boards'

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2004.
Title from title page screen, viewed Dec. 9, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Beverly S. Rich (chair), Sharon M. Soucy McCrone, Sherrie L. Meier, Lawrence E. Spence. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-123) and abstract. Also available in print.

This study was designed 1) to reveal the structural characteristics of an electronic discourse text, namely InterChange, and 2) to associate the characteristics with underlying functional factors in comparison with spoken and written discourse. The characteristics of Interchange were examined in terms of frequency and discourse functions.This comparative analysis has revealed that the structure of Interchange is characteristically different from spoken and written discourse. Comparatively speaking, in Interchange electronic discourse, interpersonal involvement is far higher than in written discourse, but slightly lower than in spoken discourse. The fragmentary quality is generally higher than spoken discourse as well as than written. Syntactic and semantic variation falls between spoken and written discourse.Three distinctive feature distribution patterns emerged in the analysis of Interchange features, with which the underlying discourse mechanism of Interchange was interpreted. The linguistic features in Pattern I occur with higher frequency than in written discourse, but lower than in spoken. It was posited that this occurrence pattern of Interchange features reflects the mutual interaction of elements of speaking and writing. The linguistic features in Pattern II occur with higher frequency than in both spoken discourse and written discourse, and the linguistic features in Pattern III occur less often than in both spoken discourse and written discourse. It was suggested that this may be due to functional needs.
Department of English

Electronic networks services have become essential tools for the academic community. One of the services provided has been academic electronic bulletin boards (EBBs), and the use of EBBs has increased dramatically during the last decade. One question concerns the possible application of EBBs as a means both for communication and for remote training. A series of experiments were conducted during 1991, 1992, and 1993 with the aim of examining the use of EBBs for these purposes. The first experiment was carried out to investigate whether users experience problems in using EBBs. The next extended this to see how students evaluated EBBs for communication and training purposes. The main focus of the work was BUBL. After this second experiment, modifications were made to the BUBL data and a further experiment was carried out. A different group of students looked at the modified material, and also compared it with US data using different software. The fourth experiment compared the usability of a menu-based interface (dBase III +) and a hypertext interface (HyperCard) from a student's viewpoint. It was followed by an investigation of icons to find out how well different icons could be recognised and the possibility of using them for language-independent instructions. Finally, the characteristics and problems of GULFNET users were examined. The evaluation has demonstrated the general acceptability of EBBs and their likely value for training purposes. This leads to a discussion of how an EBB might best be developed for use in communication and training on GULFNET.

Today, information and communication technology is not only for professional use, but also for private tasks. In this thesis, the use of such technology for managing family information flow is investigated. Busy family life today, with school, work and leisure activites, makes coordination and synchronisation a burden. In what way cell-phones and Internet provides a support for those tasks is investigated, together with proposals for future technology.

The problem with coordination and synchronisation were found to be managed by a bulletin board placed at a central point at home. Besides the bulletin board, we found that calendars, shopping lists, and to-do lists are important. The families we investigated in field studies were all intensive users of both Internet and cell-phones.

Since the bulletin board played such an important role in the family life, we equipped families with cameras to be able to track what happened at those places with help of photo diaries. The field studies revealed that each family had their own unconscious procedure to manage the flow of notes on the bulletin board.

With technology, new problem will emerge. We investigated how notes on typical family bulletin boards may be visualised on a computer screen, and compared click-expand, zoom-pan and bifocal interfaces. The click-expand interface was substantially faster for browsing, and also easier to use.

An advantage of information and communication technology is that it may provide possibilities for multiple interfaces to information, and not only different terminals but also from different places. At home, a digital refrigerator door or a mobile web tablet; at work or at school, a conventional computer; when on the move, a cell-phone or a PDA. System architecture for these possibilities is presented.

Report code: LiU-TEK-LIC-2004:39.

Thesis (DAppLing)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Dept. of Linguistics, 2009.
Bibliography: p. 208-233.
Introduction -- Conceptual frameworks: language competence and the acquisition of modality -- Generic frameworks: speech, writing and electronic communication -- Linguistic frameworks: modality and related concepts -- Research design and methodologies -- FTDs in the ACAD and BB corpora -- Learner's use of FTDs in discoursal context and their individual repertoires -- Conclusions and implications.
While natural interaction is one of the important components that lead to successful language learning (Vygotsky 1978, 1986), communication in classroom practice in Thailand is mostly teacher-centered and not genuinely interactive. Online group communication is different because it allows learners to exercise interpersonal communicative skills through interaction and meaning negotiation, as in reciprocal speech situations. At the same time it gives learners time to think and produce language without having to face the kind of pressure they feel in face-to-face classroom discussion. The language learner's competence is thus likely to be enhanced by opportunities to communicate online, and to be more visible there than in academic contexts, although there is a dearth of experimental research to show this. One way of investigating the pedagogical potential of bulletin board discussions is to focus on the interpersonal linguistic devices used in textual interactions (Biber 1988). -- The purpose of this research is to find out whether students communicating online in bulletin board writing will exercise their repertoires of linguistic fine-tuning devices (hedges, modals, and intensifiers) more extensively than when writing academic essays. This was expected because hedges, modals and intensifiers are likely to be found in interactive discussions (Holmes 1983), while academic tasks do not create such an environment. Though hedges and modal devices are also found in academic genres (Salager-Meyer 1994, Hyland 1998), those used tend to be academic in function rather than communicative. -- In order to compare the frequency and variety of the fine-tuning devices used by learners in the two mediums, data was gathered from 39 Thai students of English at Kasetsart University, from (1) their discussions in online bulletin boards and (2) their academic essays. Tasks were assigned on parallel topics in three text types (narrative, explanatory, argumentative) for both mediums. The amount of writing was normalized to create comparable text lengths. Measures used in the quantitative analysis included tallying of the types and tokens of the experimental linguistic items, with the help of the AntConc 2007 computer concordancer. Samples of written texts from the two mediums were also analyzed qualitatively and compared in terms of their discourse structure (stages, moves and speech acts), to see which functional segments support or prompt particular types of pragmatic devices. -- The findings confirm that in electronic bulletin boards the students exercise their repertoires of fine-tuning devices more frequently, and use a greater variety of pragmatic functions than in academic essays. This is probably because online discussion fosters interactions that are more typical of speech (Crystal 2006), and its structure allows for a series of interpersonal moves which have no place in academic tasks. Text-type also emerged as a significant factor: writing argumentative texts prompted greater use of modals and intensifiers than the narrative and explanatory ones. Thus students' communicative competence showed itself most fully in the argumentative online assignments, and was not so evident in academic and expository essays. Frequent use of modal and intensifying elements was also found to correlate with the students' English proficiency grades, and how regularly they wrote online. This incidentally shows the importance of exposure to L2 in language acquisition, and that lower-proficiency learners need more opportunities to exercise their L2 resources in interactive discourse, in order to develop competence in using them. -- These research findings support Long's (1996) 'Interaction Hypothesis', that learners learn best in situations that cater for interaction; and Swain's (1985) 'Output Hypothesis', that learners need the chance to exercise their language naturally in a variety of contexts -through academic tasks as well as social interactions, which are equally important for language education. Extended performance opportunities undoubtedly feed back into the learner's communicative competence.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
xi, 389 p. ill

One approach to studying media is uses and gratifications, a model that suggests media audiences can explain why and for what purpose they use the media. This study took a Uses and Gratifications approach to the Internet social interaction site LambdaMOO. On LambdaMOO, users log on and create an alternate persona to interact with other users. Using a set of questions, 222 selected LambdaMOO users were asked about why they use LambdaMOO, their actions as an alternate persona and their opinions on LambdaMOO. Answers from the subjects were content analyzed to find commonality against several preselected categories and sub-categories. Upon analysis, the subjects were found to use LambdaMOO for talking to other users, "building" up the site through programming and surveying the current events and political movements on the site. Also, the subjects were determined not to act different from their real life actions and preceived attitudes, although the opportunity for freedom through anonymity was everpresent.
Department of Journalism

This project seeks to identify characteristics of successful online communities and apply them to designing and prototyping an online discussion forum where novice computer users can share computer questions and answers. Usability and sociability are identified as essential goals in the development of online communities. Appropriate and effective Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) software is evaluated and selected to run the discussion forum.

This study investigated participation levels of developmental writing students inoral discussions and electronic discussions using the synchronous conferencing software InterChange. The study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in a naturalistic/quasi-experimental design under a social constructivist epistemology. The methods included: word counts onto which biological sex and socially-constructed gender (as measured by the Bern Sex-Role Inventory) were overlaid as variables; a modified taxonomy based on Bales' Conversational Analysis measure; a taxonomy which measured the direction of discourse; and "thick description" in the form of subjective reactions to videotaped oral discussions and transcribed electronic discussions.The multi-modal, descriptive findings indicate that students participate more frequently in electronic discussions; that subsequent oral classes take on participatory characteristics of an InterChange session; and that while the more frequent participation in InterChange discussions does appear to carry over into subsequent oral discussions, socially constructed variables such as gender may, in fact, encourage students to participate less frequently in oral discussons after using InterChange. The findings also show that InterChange discussions are primarily student-centered: most of the responses generated are aimed at other students. In the oral classroom, very little student-to-student interaction occurs. The findings of this study indicate that while the computer environment may not promote egalitarian discourse, it does tend to produce more democratic discourse.
Department of English

The purpose of this project was to develop a website to relieve Korean returnees' reverse culture shock and help their re-adaptation process. A website can be an outstanding resource for returnees in terms of accessibility because the target audiences are scattered all over the world.

Small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in formal face-to-face training and learning activities. Research to encourage SBOMs' participation has focused on two main themes: first, trying to ascertain why they do not attend training and, second, determining their learning preferences. They are reluctant to attend formal training because they prioritise business operations (no time to attend training), perceive training as a poor return on investment, have negative perceptions of training and education, and believe the training provision often does not meet their needs. In terms of their learning preferences, it is clear that SBOMs prefer informal, network-based, experiential and problem-oriented learning. As such, efforts to increase SBOMs‘ engagement in training and learning should focus on trying to incorporate these learning preferences while endeavouring to overcome their rationale for not attending formal training. In this thesis, the focus is on the provision a free, informal, voluntary, online discussion forum (ODF) for SBOMs as an alternative to face-to-face training. The ODF provided an alternative to formal face-to-face training and enabled informal, voluntary, networkbased learning for SBOMs that met their learning preferences for experiential and problem-oriented learning. The ODF also overcame their reasons for not attending faceto- face training and enabled SBOMs to learn in an informal way, with and from each other‘s experiences, without having to leave their business operations. This approach was expected to promote the greater engagement of SBOMs in learning. This cross-disciplinary study brings together elements of educational psychology in terms of learning theory and the emerging theories of online learning. It also takes a business and management perspective in applying these theories in small firm context. The study involved the development of an asynchronous ODF, which was guided by the literature regarding SBOMs‘ training and learning, learning theory, online learning and, in particular, the importance of discussion for promoting relevant, authentic learning that enables interaction and reflection. The ODF provided a learner-centred approach to learning that encouraged active learning based on social interaction through discussion. Discussion was based on problems, issues and questions posted by SBOMs in the online network and answered by the knowledge and experience of other SBOM members of the network. As such, the ODF provided learning that was relevant, authentic and interactive and that encouraged reflection. The ODF set up for this research used Yahoo Groups, third party, groupware technology that enabled free access to SBOMs from a networked computer (other networked devices were not available in 2007). The Yahoo Groups ODF developed for this research was an online collaborative learning (OCL) forum that provided the basis of the case study reported in this thesis. The research was undertaken to explore the following research questions: Does an ODF empower SBOMs as active learners? What factors (internal and external) lead to different levels of participation (inactive, peripheral participants, active) in an ODF? What learning (single- or double-loop, surface or deep) results from different levels of participation in an ODF? The research was conducted using constructivist ontology, an interpretive epistemology and a qualitative methodology. The case study approach was used to evaluate SBOMs' participation and learning using the OCL forum, using reliable data from SBOMs. Data from four sources—the OCL forum transcript, in-depth interviews, focus groups and field notes—were used to provide insight into participation and learning by SBOMs in the context of owning and operating a small business. Pozzi, Manca, Persico and Sarti‘s (2007) framework for tracking and analysing the learning process in an ODF was used to provide a structured approach to the analysis of participation and learning from the OCL forum transcript data. This was followed by a detailed thematic analysis of all data to determine what factors affected participation and learning by SBOMs in the OCL forum. Findings from this research provided proof of concept that an ODF for SBOMs supported double-loop learning; however, participation could not be assumed. Although the ODF provided a learning approach that met the SBOMs‘ learning preferences and mitigated their reasons for not attending formal training, the majority of invited SBOMs chose not to participate. Internal factors pointed to SBOMs‘ learning commitment, in particular, their occupational identity, whether they linked learning with business success, and their prior experience with ODFs. When SBOMs had committed to learning, they made time to learn in an ODF. External factors showed that the ODF technical and learning design also affected SBOMs‘ decision to participate, as did the quality of learning design; however, it appears external factors are less influential than the internal factor of SBOMs‘ learning commitment. This thesis makes four contributions: The importance of SBOMs‘ learning commitment in their decision to participate (or not) in a voluntary ODF Proof of concept that an informal ODF can promote deep learning for SBOMs Challenge to the idea purported by the more recent learning theory of heutagogy (Kenyon & Hase, 2001) that all learners in an online networked environment are self-determined Research design, exploratory, multiple data collection methods from the SBOMs—both those who participated in the ODF and those who chose not to take part.

Teachers of secondary school physics are often physically isolated from their peers; that is, they do not have as much contact with their physics colleagues as they desire. One reason for this physical isolation is the relatively small population of students enrolled in high school physics courses resulting in small numbers of physics teachers per school. Another is that many physics teachers are teaching physics only part time. One method of communication among teachers has the potential to improve professional communication among physics teachers. This is the computer operated electronic bulletin board system (BBS). Bulletin board systems and variants have been studied for more than ten years. At least one is being operated primarily for physics teachers. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a BBS as a means of professional communication among physics teachers. Effectiveness was determined by surveying physics teachers in three categories: (1) those who are using a BBS to communicate, (2) those who are members of a physics teachers association, and (3) those who have neither of these formal means of communication available to them. School data (population, graduation requirements, number of physics classes and teachers, etc.) and personal data (years teaching physics, teaching assignment, certification, professional affiliations, etc.) were gathered from all three groups. The experimental group using the BBS was asked to supply additional information about the use of the BBS itself. Data were gathered using a questionnaire. The BBS users were compared to the other groups to determine whether they are representative of the physics teacher population and whether their desires for additional professional communication are similar to that of the physics teacher population. Survey responses by BBS users about the BBS itself were then used to determine the effectiveness of the BBS as a means of professional communication. Statistically significant differences among the three groups were found and are discussed. Comparisons were also made between the three groups and the population of physics teachers in the United States as presented in an American Institute of Physics report. Of greatest importance, differences exist among the three groups when tested for professional contact with physics colleagues. No differences were found among the three groups when desire for additional professional contact was tested. Survey results for the group of BBS users showed that they were experienced computer users who expressed no unusual difficulties with the mechanics of connecting to the BBS. Many did express difficulties with the BBS as a means of professional communication. Two important problems discussed are difficulty in using all system options and the small number of active participants using the BBS. BBS users expressed confidence in the system's potential as a professional communications system, but were less enthusiastic about it had served their needs. Overall, the problems experienced by BBS users were not offset sufficiently by the benefits to make the system as effective a means of professional communication as it could be. The potential of the electronic bulletin board system as a means of communication among physics teachers did not live up to its perceived potential for the group of users studied.

Il lavoro è stato suddiviso in tre macro-aree. Una prima riguardante un'analisi teorica di come funzionano le intrusioni, di quali software vengono utilizzati per compierle, e di come proteggersi (usando i dispositivi che in termine generico si possono riconoscere come i firewall). Una seconda macro-area che analizza un'intrusione avvenuta dall'esterno verso dei server sensibili di una rete LAN. Questa analisi viene condotta sui file catturati dalle due interfacce di rete configurate in modalità promiscua su una sonda presente nella LAN. Le interfacce sono due per potersi interfacciare a due segmenti di LAN aventi due maschere di sotto-rete differenti. L'attacco viene analizzato mediante vari software. Si può infatti definire una terza parte del lavoro, la parte dove vengono analizzati i file catturati dalle due interfacce con i software che prima si occupano di analizzare i dati di contenuto completo, come Wireshark, poi dei software che si occupano di analizzare i dati di sessione che sono stati trattati con Argus, e infine i dati di tipo statistico che sono stati trattati con Ntop. Il penultimo capitolo, quello prima delle conclusioni, invece tratta l'installazione di Nagios, e la sua configurazione per il monitoraggio attraverso plugin dello spazio di disco rimanente su una macchina agent remota, e sui servizi MySql e DNS. Ovviamente Nagios può essere configurato per monitorare ogni tipo di servizio offerto sulla rete.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003.
Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 18, 2003). Thesis advisor: Janis Appier. Document formatted into pages (iii, 119 p.). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-113).

Zhang Weiyu.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-177).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Introduction --- p.1
Chapter I --- Subaltern Public Spheres on the Internet --- p.5
Democracy and the Internet --- p.5
Public sphere as a democratic ideal --- p.7
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere --- p.8
Chapter ´Ø --- Multiple public spheres --- p.11
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere vs. multiple public spheres --- p.17
Public sphere and the Internet --- p.21
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere on the Internet --- p.23
Chapter ´Ø --- Multiple public spheres on the Internet --- p.27
Chapter II --- Subaltern Public Spheres in China --- p.30
The history of Chinese civil society --- p.30
Civil society in contemporary China --- p.32
Chapter ´Ø --- Definitions of civil society --- p.32
Chapter ´Ø --- Trade union and the caged social organizations --- p.34
Chapter ´Ø --- Entrepreneurial class and the incorporated social organizations --- p.36
Chapter ´Ø --- Discussions --- p.38
Multiple public spheres in contemporary China --- p.39
Chapter ´Ø --- Mass media and the dominant public sphere --- p.41
Chapter ´Ø --- The premises of subaltern public sphere in China --- p.42
Chapter ´Ø --- Subaltern public spheres in contemporary China --- p.44
Chapter III --- Research Questions and Research Design --- p.48
Research questions --- p.48
Research site: an online discussion board of movies --- p.48
Chapter ´Ø --- Why BBS? --- p.49
Chapter ´Ø --- Why movies? --- p.51
Research methods --- p.54
Chapter IV --- Bulletin Boards as Subaltern Public Spheres --- p.57
Introduction of Rear Window --- p.58
Chapter ´Ø --- The development of Rear Window --- p.59
Chapter ´Ø --- The contents on Rear Window --- p.61
Chapter ´Ø --- The users of Rear Window --- p.63
Accessibility of Rear Window --- p.65
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of the Internet in China --- p.65
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of xici.net --- p.66
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of Rear Window --- p.68
Discourse on RearWindow --- p.73
Chapter ´Ø --- "Introduction of the discussions about ""Movies are a kind of politics""" --- p.75
Chapter ´Ø --- The goal of the discussion --- p.77
Chapter ´Ø --- The equality of the discussion --- p.80
Chapter ´Ø --- The rationality of the discussion --- p.85
Chapter ´Ø --- The communicative rationality of the participants --- p.89
Chapter ´Ø --- Other kinds of discourse --- p.93
Discussions and conclusions --- p.95
Chapter V --- Relationships among the Subaltern Public Sphere and the State --- p.98
The autonomy from the state --- p.100
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of state --- p.102
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of websites --- p.107
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of boardmasters --- p.111
Chapter ´Ø --- Control through self-censorship --- p.112
The discursive resistance toward the state --- p.114
Discussions and conclusions --- p.125
Chapter VI --- Relationships between the Subaltern Public sphere and the Market Economy --- p.129
The Internet economy in China and the subaltern public sphere --- p.132
The pirate movie industry and the subaltern public sphere --- p.138
Private movie watching and the market economy --- p.142
Discussions and conclusions --- p.147
Chapter VII --- Relationships between the Subaltern Public Sphere and the Mass Media --- p.149
The competition between RearWindow and mass media --- p.151
The collaboration between RearWindow and mass media --- p.154
Discussions and conclusions --- p.159
Discussions and Conclusions --- p.161
Subaltern public spheres --- p.161
Democratic potential of the Internet --- p.165
Chinese civil society and Chinese public sphere --- p.166
Limitations of the study --- p.168
Bibliography --- p.170
Appendix: Survey Questionnaire --- p.178

Dong Dong.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-136).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.5
Chapter II. --- Youth Culture Practiced in Virtual Community --- p.10
Chapter III. --- "Background, Research Questions and Research Design" --- p.36
Chapter IV. --- Style of Chinese University BBS Youth Culture --- p.45
Chapter V. --- Youth Cultural Community as Identified by Style --- p.68
Chapter VI. --- Resistance within Contexts --- p.84
Chapter VII. --- Conclusion --- p.108
Appendix 1 Captions of Postings & Discussion Threads --- p.111
Appendix 2 Style of BBS Discussion Threads --- p.114
Appendix 3 BBS Member's Composition --- p.118
Appendix 4 Personal Reflections on the Film --- p.120
Appendix 5 --- p.123
Collective Discussions in Chinese University BBSs --- p.123
Bibliography --- p.127

A qualitative investigation into language education students' use of computer-mediated communication, this study reveals how the diversity, support and resources constructed through students on-line dialogue served to scaffold students' language and content learning. The study focuses on student interaction on an asynchronous bulletin board used as an adjunct to a graduate seminar. The radicals of persistent conversation (Bregman & Haythornthwaite, 2001) interacted with elements of the seminar design to facilitate non-native speakers' entry into the dialogue, while simultaneously affording all students with opportunities for exercising agency in their own learning. Relationships between native and nonnative speakers of English were altered by nonnative speakers' ability to communicate their competence, and participants developed a strong identity as a community. Diversity and community evolved as valuable contributors to individual learning.

This thesis examines the discourse strategies used to construct initiation schools in online media and message boards. The focus is on understanding the tensions that come with enacting traditional practices in the face of modernity and its associated cultural expectations. The thesis describes the manner in which these tensions are constructed in text by the media in news reports and participants in discussion forums. While there is still debate around whether the internet will revolutionise public participation and create a digital utopia; the internet is acknowledged as one of the widest reaching sources of information and entertainment. Specifically, the internet provides a platform to challenge the traditionally top-down communication between the elite, who have privileged access to the media, and the general public, who were previously constructed as passive recipients of information. Using the male circumcision initiation rite, this thesis examines how the South African public discursively constructs the epistemic location of African traditions in South Africa. The study drew on a sample of news articles from the News24 site, the largest news site in South Africa, ranging from January 2008 to December 2013. A corpus of 62 articles were analysed using the Critical Discourse Analysis technique described by Teun van Dijk. The findings of the thesis were that the initiation rite is used as a rhetorical tool to argue for the abandonment of African cultural practices in favour of modern, Western influenced beliefs and values. The findings also indicate that the initiation rite is reduced to the act of circumcision in the media by focusing on the injury and deaths of the initiates and excluding the meaning of the rite as a meaningful cultural practice. The conclusion of the thesis challenges the epistemicide committed against the male circumcision initiation rite from within the Decolonial school of thought, which critically examines everyday interaction for universalising, normative language that aims to commit cultural epistemicide to reinforce the white, male, European, Christian traditions of masculinity.
Psychology
D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)