Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Forums (Discussion and debate)'

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Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo
The aim of this research was to verify how argumentation occurs in an online educational forum as well as to map the interaction network in the analyzed forum, observing how the discussion was set up in it. The research was held with a group of Práticas de Leitura e Escrita na Contemporaneidade, offered by Secretariat for Education of São Paulo (SEE-SP) in association with Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in the Post-graduation Program of Applied Linguistics and Language Studies (LAEL). The course was exclusively online and attended by aproximately 10,000 teachers of all disciplines of Basic Education II, teacher-coordinators (PCs), teacher-coordinators and teaching supervisors of the state schools in São Paulo. The theoretical basis that guided the research was divided into three aspects: the first one related to interaction, according to Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson (1997) and Anderson and Kanuka (1998); the second one related to language analysis in a real context of use, guided by Systemic Functional Linguistics, more precisely by the concept of Contextual Configuration (CC) and generic structure potential (GSP) developed by Halliday e Hasan (1989); and the third one related to argumentation in discussion forums according to the studies of Coffin, Painter and Hewings (2005). Based on the qualitative analysis of the discussion forum, it was possible to verify how interaction and argumentation can relate in the environment. As the interaction develops better, the possibilities of deepening the discussion increase, and, consequently, the chances of developing more argumentative strategies increase too. It was also possible to realize how the articulation between the interaction development and discussion is like in relation to the type of mediation that occurred in the analyzed environment
O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar como a argumentação ocorreu em um fórum de discussão online com finalidade educacional, bem como mapear a rede das interações no fórum analisado, observando como a discussão se configurou. A pesquisa foi realizada com uma turma do Curso Práticas de Leitura e Escrita na Contemporaneidade, oferecido pela Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo (SEE-SP) em parceria com a Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, por meio do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística Aplicada e Estudos da Linguagem (LAEL). O curso foi oferecido totalmente a distância, via internet, para cerca de 10.000 professores de todas as disciplinas da Educação Básica II, professores-cordenadores (PCs), professores-cordenadores de Oficina Pedagógica (PCOPs) e supervisores de ensino da rede pública estadual paulista. A fundamentação teórica que orientou a pesquisa foi dividida em três eixos: o primeiro, em relação à interação, a partir dos pressupostos de Gunawardena, Lowe e Anderson (1997) e Anderson e Kanuka (1998); o segundo, em termos de análise da linguagem em um contexto real de uso, orientado pela Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional, a partir dos conceitos de configuração contextual (CC) e de estrutura potencial genérica (EPG), desenvolvidos por Halliday e Hasan (1989); e, finalmente, o terceiro, em relação à argumentação em fórum de discussão, de acordo com os estudos de Coffin, Painter e Hewings (2005). A partir da análise qualitativa do fórum de discussão, foi possível constatar como interação e argumentação podem se relacionar nesse ambiente: quanto mais desenvolvida a interação, maior será a possibilidade de se aprofundar a discussão e, dessa forma, desenvolverem-se estratégias argumentativas. Foi possível também perceber como se deu a articulação entre o desenvolvimento da interação e da discussão em relação ao tipo de mediação que ocorreu no fórum analisado

Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2000.
Some digitised pages may appear cut off due to the condition of the original hard copy.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Muden is a poor, rural hamlet in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The sub district of Muden forms part of the Presidential Lead Pilot Land Reform Redistribution Project within KwaZulu Natal. This study analyses the negative impact of the current land reform programme on this rural environment. The research indicates a situation of severe poverty, high dependency, a lack of social infrastructure and a need for strong participatory government at local level. It also shows how existing land reform policies and current development practises are inappropriate within their current context. Proposals are formulated about a possible strategy that can be used to move beyond these problems. This study follows a systematic approach in which the reader is first shown what the facts about land reform within Muden, KwaZulu Natal are, and secondly what challenges are induced by these facts. In each chapter the perspectives are altered to add depth and to illustrate the complexity of the situation. The focus also falls on moments or aspects of crisis and how the different stakeholders have actually responded to these. From a normative perspective, guidelines are identified in a reasoned manner from the discussion in each chapter that help identify what could be done in order to overcome the crisis of development and land reform in Muden. The first chapter introduces the reader to Muden, KwaZulu Natal, through a brief history of the district from a land reform perspective. The reader is given an understanding of the current situation prevailing in the Muden Valley through an explanation of the origins of the conflict over land and other natural resources. In the second chapter the social fabric of Muden is described, considering the perceived ethical dilemma between development and environmental management within the context of land reform. A need for an integrated management strategy emerges. In the third chapter the social lens is exchanged for an environmental perspective, discussing the concept of sustainability in terms of the natural environment. Through a discussion about the quality of life of the people of Muden, both pre and post land reform, Chapter 4 brings together the social and biophysical arguments and makes a case for sustainable development. Against the background of this overview of the current situation of Muden, Chapter 5 is used for a rigorous scrutiny of the current approach to land reform/rural development. In this chapter the critical points of intervention are identified. These are points where decisions have impacted negatively upon the land reform project in the respective stages of project planning and project implementation and how these have contributed to the current crisis within Muden. The final chapter formulates a (hopefully) persuasive proposal towards the establishment of District Development Forums as an alternative approach to the current/conventional approach to land reform /rural development in Muden, KwaZulu Natal. I propose that these forums may form a practical institutional framework which have the potential to move us beyond the present quandaries o f the current land reform/rural development experience.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Muden is ‘n arm landelike dorpie in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Die Muden distrik vorm deel van die Presideasiele Loodsprojek vir die Herverdeling van Grond in KwaZulu Natal. Hierdie studie ondersoek en analiseer die negatiewe impak van die bestaande grondhervormingsprogramme op die landelike omgewing waarin dit geskied. Die navorsing dui op omvangryke armoede, ‘n hoe vlak van afhanklikheid, ‘n gebrek aan sosiale infrastrukture en ‘n behoefte vir sterk deelnemende bestuur op plaaslike vlak. Verder toon dit aan dat bestaande grondhervormingsbeleid en ontwikkelingspraktyke onvoldoende is binne die bestaande landelike konteks. Voorstelle word binne hierdie studie gedoen vir ‘n moontlike strategic om die genoemde probleme te oorkom. Die studie volg ‘n sistematiese aanpak waarin die leser bewus gemaak word van die bestaande feite rondom grondhervorming in Muden. Voorts word die uitdagings wat uit hierdie situasie spruit aan die leser gestel. In elke hoofstuk word die perspektief gewysig om insig in die situasie te verdiep en die kompleksiteit daarvan aan te toon. Momente van krisissituasies word beklemtoon en die wyse waarop rolspelers daarop reageer word bespreek. Vanuit ‘n nomatiewe hoek word in elke hoofstuk riglyne op ‘n beredeneerde wyse geidentifiseer om oplossings te vind wat die bestaande krississe in grondhervorming in Muden kan oorkom. Hoofstuk een stel die leser voor aan Muden en die geskiedenis van grondhervorming in die distrik. Begrip vir die huidige situasie in Muden word geskep deur ‘n bespreking van die oorsake van konflik oor grond en ander natuurlike hulpbronne. Hoofstuk twee beskryf die sosiale samestelling binne die Muden distrik en bring dit in verband met die oenskynlike etiese konflik tussen ontwikkeling en bewaring binne die konteks van grondhervorming. Hieruit spruit ‘n behoefte voort vir ‘n geintegreerde en omvattende bestuurstrategie. In Hoofstuk drie word die sosiale invalshoek vervang met ‘n omgewingsfokus en word die konsep van selfonderhoubaarheid van die natuurlike omgewing ter sprake gebring. Terselfdertyd ondersoek dit lewenskwaliteit van die mense in Muden voor en na die grondhervorming. Hoofstuk vier kombineer sosiale en biofisiese standpunte en ontwikkel ‘n pleidooi vir selfonderhoubare ontwikkeling. Teen die hierdie agtergrond word grondhervorming en ontwikkeling krities beoordeel in Hoofstuk vyf. Kritieke sake vir intervensie word so geidentifiseer. Hierdie sake word beskou as die produk van besluite wat negatief ingewerk het op die verskillende fases van projekbeplanning en implementering. As sodanig het die gemelde besluite dus bygedra tot die huidige grondhervormingskrises in Muden. Die laaste hoofstuk formuleer en argumenteer ten gunste van die vestiging van Distrik Ontwikkelingsforums as ‘n alternatiewe benadering tot die konvensionele en bestaande aanpak van grondhervorming en landelike ontwikkeling in Muden. As sodaning kan hierdie forums dien as praktiese institusionele raamwerke met die inherente potensiaal om bestaande probleme in hierdie verband te oorkom.

This study used a skill theory framework (Fischer & Bidell, 2006) and a microdevelopmental lens to characterize how six grade 8 students' conceptual understanding of conservation of matter changed in the context of a short discussion-based instructional unit. On average, students' conceptual understanding increased significantly, suggesting that a discussion-based approach might be effective in supporting students' learning. The general characteristics of focus students' microdevelopmental pathways were in accordance with those found in other microdevelopmental studies (e.g., Yan & Fischer, 2002), but changes in complexity of misconceptions might be intricately linked to how students learned conservation of matter. The analysis of conversational dimensions suggested that doubting, among other factors, might play an important role in students' learning. This study argues for an integrated microdevelopmental approach that includes conversational dimensions and characterizes changes in the complexity of misconceptions.

The thesis is a study of the early stages of the writing cycle in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class at the University of Singapore. The study focuses on a group brainstorming activity prior to the stage of writing the first draft and on the impact of this activity on the students’ first individual drafts. In addition, the study compares two different modes of discussion: face-to-face and online synchronous chat. The comparison is concerned with the interactional patterns of the discussion in the two modes, and with the transfer of content from the discussion to the first written drafts. The use of group brainstorming at the pre-writing stage is a familiar activity in the writing class but researchers have not yet paid much attention to the way in which the ideas generated in the brainstorming activity are transferred to individual written drafts. It is this gap that this dissertation seeks to fill. A question of particular interest is the extent to which knowledge construction in the composition class is accomplished by the individual or by the group. Data were collected from four classes of first-year undergraduate students of Science taught by the researcher. The control group, with 31 members, carried out their brainstorming activity in face-to-face mode, while the experimental group, with 27 members, carried out their brainstorming using a synchronous chat facility. The primary data were the chat scripts, face-to-face transcripts and first writing drafts. Analysis of the discussion data was carried out using a genre-based content analysis model deriving from speech act theory (Sinclair and Coulthard, 1975), rhetorical structure theory (Mann & Thompson 1986, 1988), and more recent work on collaborative writing by Plowman (1993), think-aloud protocols (Smagorinsky, 1991) and collaborative computer-based communication by Garrison and Anderson (2003), among others. The model is used to count the frequency of different ideas according to their rhetorical characteristics in the two conditions (face-to-face and synchronous chat), and to determine whether the ideas were generated by individuals or through group discussion. The analysis then looks at the extent to which the ideas were subsequently reproduced in individual drafts. The frequency analyses are complemented by detailed qualitative analysis of the discussion transcripts and the essays of four students, two from each discussion mode. The results of the analysis suggest that collaborative brainstorming is productive in helping students with the generation and development of ideas for their writing. The findings also suggest that there is a strong link between ownership and use of ideas initiated in the discussion. This tendency is stronger in the chat group than in the face-to-face group. Analysis of the discussion transcripts suggests that this difference is a result of more ideas being initiated in the chat group. In addition to these group differences, the analysis shows that discussion in both modes is characterised by a tendency to seek consensus, with very little argument and negotiation of content. The implications of these findings for the use of group discussion in the writing class are discussed.

This thesis examines how national identities are discursively constructed in online discussions around immigration in Finland. The discursive construction of Finnish national identities is analyzed both in the light of the construction of ‘sameness’ and of ‘otherness’, drawing upon critical discourse analysis and the notion of a nation as an imagined community. The analyzed data is from a Finnish discussion forum, Suomi24. The discussions analyzed generally construct an exclusionary identity: Finnishness is often represented as something inherent and impossible to combine with, for example, Islam or Russianness. Elite discourses as well as discourses previously identified in Hommaforum, a Finnish ‘immigration critical’ forum, were reproduced in the discussions, implying that online discussions, in addition to reproducing elite discourses, can also foster them. The prevalence of exclusionary discourses and stereotypical representations in a moderated discussion forum speaks for the normalization of such ways of talking about immigration, ‘us’ and ‘others’.

Thesis (MBA)-- Stellenbosch University, 1998.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Labour Relations Act No 66 of 1995 reflects the efforts of government. business and labour at restoring an environment conducive to workplace harmony. productivity, and minimal work disruptions. This statute. and in particular its reference to workplace forums, provides the basis for this study project, which critically evaluates the establishment of workplace forums and whether these forums will be adopted by business and in particular, labour. Theories relating to worker participation are examined. This paper recalls worker participation and co-determination models as found in Germany. It identifies the establishment and reviews the functioning of these worker participation models. The Labour Relations Act relating to workplace forums IS discussed In detail. It IS compared with the German system of participation. The writer concludes that the German system differs materially from the South African system on key points. The distinct differences that emerge between Germany and South Africa in the structuring of worker participation highlight the impact of social, political and economic factors on the eventual introduction of worker participation at the workplace. Likewise, the background and factors leading to the introduction of workplace forums differ. The German industrial relations system is more developed. Workplace forums are characteristic of a developed country such as Germany. In a developing country such as South Africa, trade unions still play a dominant role in the workplace. Here the establishment of a workplace forum is subject to the power of the union. Accordingly it is unlikely that workplace forums will enjoy much support or success in terms of the present Labour Relations Act. The writer examines the attitudes of capital and labour towards the establishment of workplace forums. and suggests reasons why it is unlikely that trade unions would apply for the establishment of workplace forums. He continues to explain why, in its present format, the concept of 'workplace forums is unacceptable to organised labour and has no chance of being implemented.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie werkstuk handel oor die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge, wet 66 van 1995 en veral oor die instelling van werkplekforums. Teorie rondom die beginsel van werker deelname word bespreek. Daar word ondersoek ingestel oor hoe hierdie konsep in Duitsland onstaan het en hoe dit daar toegepas word. Die Suid Afrikaanse proses en onwikkeling van werker deelname in geheel asook deelname in besluitneming word besoek om te kyk of die bepalinge van die nuwe apartheidswet aanvaarbaar vir die plaaslike arbeidsmag is. Die bepalinge van die arbeidswet asook die grondwet aangaande werkpleksforums word in detail bespreek. Dit word gekontrasteer met die Duitse stelsel van deelname. So word daar ook gekyk na die rol van vakbonde in die verhand. Die skywer kom tot die slotsom dat die Duite stelsel op belangrike aspekte van die Suid-Afrikaanse model verskil. So ook verskil die agtergrond en omstandighede wat aanleiding gee tot die instelling van werkpleksforums. Die nywerheidsverhouding stelsel is meer gevordered in Duitsland. Werkpleksforums is 'n kenmerk van 'n onwikkelde land soos Duitsland. In 'n ontwikkelende land soos Suid Afrika speel die vakbonde nog 'n prominente rol in alle aspekte van die werkplek, dus is werkpleksforums onderworpe aan die mag van vakbonde en is dit onwaarskynlik dat werksplekforums ingevolge die nuwe aarbeidswet veeI steun of sukses sal geniet.
Centre for Science Development (HSRC)

Orientador: Jorge Muniz Junior
Resumo: O objetivo desta tese é propor um modelo para avaliar competências de estudantes de engenharia em fóruns de discussão on-line. O modelo inclui um instrumento de pontuação (rubrica) baseado na Taxonomia de Bloom para avaliação de Competências em disciplinas da engenharia. A revisão da literatura indicou oportunidades de pesquisa atendidas pelo modelo proposto, tais como, comparação de diferentes rubricas, aplicação da Taxonomia de Bloom em atividades colaborativas, bem como validade e confiabilidade de rubricas em diferentes contextos educacionais. O modelo de avaliação utiliza rubrica analítica, a qual fornece feedback específico para cada uma das competências avaliadas, de acordo com os níveis da Taxonomia de Bloom: lembrar, entender, aplicar, analisar, avaliar e criar. As competências avaliadas estão alinhadas com a Accreditation Board of Engineering and Techonology (ABET), World Economic Forum de 2015 e National Academy of Engineering, de forma a comtemplar complexidade e desafios do profissional do século XXI. A validação do modelo foi feita por meio de sua aplicação em instituições públicas de ensino superior (Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC), Instituto Federal de São Paulo (IFSP) e Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)), o que envolveu 118 docentes especialistas de ensino a distância e 106 estudantes. Evidenciaram a validade e confiabilidade do modelo por meio dos coeficientes: Indice de Validade de Conteúdo (90%), Alfa de Cronbach (0,73), Porcentagem Abs... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: The objective of this thesis is proposing a model to evaluate Engineering students’ competencies in on-line discussion forums. The model includes a grading tool (rubric), based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, for the evaluation of competencies in Engineering courses which stimulate logical thinking and decision making. The literature review revealed research possibilities about the proposed model use, such as the comparison of different rubrics, the application of Bloom’s Taxonomy in collaborative activities, and rubric validity and reliability in different educational contexts. The evaluation Model uses an analytic rubric, which provides a specific feedback for each of the evaluated competencies, according to the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. The evaluated competencies are relevant for the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, 2015 World Economic Forum, and National Academy of Engineering, keeping in view the complexity and challenges of the 21st century professional.Validation of the model was done through its application in public universities (Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC), Instituto Federal de São Paulo (IFSP) e Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)), with the collaboration of 118 distance education specialist teachers and 106 students. Validity and reliability of the Model was proved by the following coefficients: Content Validity Index (90%), Cronbach’s Alpha (0.73), Absolute Pe... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor

INUZUKA, Marcelo Akira. Uso educativo do wiki: um estudo de caso na Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de Brasília, 2008. 122f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação na Formação de EAD) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação na Formação de EAD, Brasília-DF, 2008.
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This work aims to examine the living experienced by students of a class of pedagogy, teaching in the use of a collaborative tool based on wiki. The research was conducted at the Faculty of Education at the University of Brasilia (UNB) in four weeks from a discipline called “Mediated Practices of Informatics in Education” given by the advisor of this dissertation. It is a case study using a method of participatory research-action. To collect the views of participants, were used: questionnaire, individual and group interviews, and a seminar with participation of groups formed by themes. As theoretical reference, the four criteria were used for analysis of Dillenbourg (situation, interaction, mechanism and effect) of the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) theory and the model of collaborative construction of knowledge of Stahl to design the Knowledge Building Environment (KBE ) used. Before applying this case study, several others were tested; therefore, the project took into account the experience of other researchers of the subject. Through analysis of the results, students perceived many technical difficulties in operation and cultural difficulties, especially related to collaborative work, but the students considered the pedagogical tool as useful and feasible, considering the advantage of sharing information between peers as the greatest advantage of wiki tool.
O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a vivência experimentada por alunos de uma turma de pedagogia, no uso pedagógico de uma ferramenta colaborativa baseada em wiki. A pesquisa foi realizada na Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de Brasília (UnB) em quatro semanas cedidas de uma disciplina denominada “Práticas Mediáticas de Informática na Educação” cedidas pelo orientador desta dissertação. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que utiliza uma metodologia de pesquisa-ação participativa. Para colher as opiniões dos participantes, foram aplicados: questionário; entrevistas individuais e em grupo; e um seminário com participação de grupos formados por temas. Como referencial teórico, foram utilizado os quatro critérios de análise de Dillenbourg (situação, interação, mecanismo e efeito) da Aprendizagem Colaborativa Suportada por Computador (CSCL) e o modelo de construção colaborativa de conhecimento de Stahl para projetar o Ambiente de Construção de Conhecimento (KBE) utilizado. Antes de aplicar este estudo de caso, vários outros foram analisados, assim, o projeto levou em conta a experiência de outras pesquisadores do tema. Através da análise dos resultados, foram percebidos pelos alunos várias dificuldades técnicas de operação e dificuldades culturais, especialmente relacionados a colaboração em equipe; porém os alunos consideraram a ferramenta como pedagogicamente útil e viável, considerando a vantagem de compartilhamento de informações entre pares como a maior vantagem da ferramenta wiki.

A adaptação dos sistemas tradicionais de ensino presencial para o ambiente de ensino a distância introduz diversas mudanças na práxis escolar. Com a ausência do contato direto entre educador e educandos, surge a necessidade de utilização de artefatos tecnológicos que substituam a interação direta. O fórum de discussão é um desses artefatos tecnológicos. Ele possui a característica de ser um elemento catalisador da comunicação entre os envolvidos e pode ser um importante instrumento no processo educacional. Contudo, a natureza não estruturada das mensagens textuais de um fórum dificulta o seu uso como instrumento na avaliação individual do aluno. A análise e qualificação do conteúdo das mensagens armazenadas em um fórum representa um grande desafio para o instrutor. A ausência de uma estrutura formal de representação dos conceitos, crenças e idéias dos alunos poderia ser apontado como um dos elementos que contribuem para esse desafio. A proposta desta pesquisa é o desenvolvimento de um modelo que permita a estruturação e representação das mensagens de um fórum. Essa estruturação considera três aspectos da mensagem: i) os conceitos apresentados, ii) quem os apresentou e finalmente iii) quando esses conceitos foram apresentados. Para validar esse modelo, um programa de computador foi desenvolvido e testado em um fórum do ambiente virtual Moodle. O conceitos desenvolvidos para o Modelo de Estruturação e Representação das Mensagens do Fórum foram utilizados no desenvolvimento desse programa de computador. Por meio desse modelo de estruturação e representação das mensagens, um mapa ou guia é gerado. Esse mapa ou guia pode ser acessado pelo professor ou instrutor. Esse novo recurso desenvolvido, pode ser utilizado como uma ferramenta de apoio à análise ou avaliação do fórum do ambiente Moodle como um todo ou de cada participação individual do aluno.
The traditional learning practices adaptation to the distance learning introduces several changes in school practice. Since in distance learning the direct contact between educators and students does not exist, new technological artifacts become necessary in order to replace direct interaction. One of these artifacts is the discussion forum, which works as a catalyzer element of the communication between involved ones and can be an important tool in the educational process. Nevertheless, non-structured nature of text messages on a forum hampers its use as a tool in individual student assessment. Analysis and qualification of message contents stored on a forum represents an important challenge for instructors. The absence of a formal representation of concepts, ideas and beliefs from students could be designated as one of the factors that make this challenge even harder. This research proposes the development of a model that allows the messages on a forum can be structured and represented. This structuration considers three message aspects: i) presented concepts, ii) who has presented it, and iii) when concepts have been presented. As a means to validate this model, a computer program was developed and tested in a Moodle virtual environment forum. The concepts developed to the Structuration and Representation of the Forum Messages Model were used on this computer program development. Through the use of this model a map or guide is generated. This map or guide can be accessed by the professor or instructor. This new feature can be used as a support tool to analysis or evaluation of a Moodle forum environment.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the field of learning management system (LMS) development in tertiary educational institutions, particularly to advance the adoption of learning management systems (LMSes) by exploring the incorporation of sociallymotivated discussion forum models. This study proposes a Web-based application, which includes four different discussion forum models for LMSes, in order to test usability and student preferences. The purpose of this study was to compare two non-social discussion forums and two social discussion forums, to determine their appropriateness in terms of attributes or features and general functionality for LMSes. The design processes led to the creation of a Web-based application called 4DFs, which includes four different discussion forum models. Two of these models are non-social discussion forums: the chat room unstructured model and the traditional general threaded discussion. The other two types are social discussion forums, where users can choose who they converse with: the Twitter-style short comment feed and the Facebook-style. The chat room and the traditional general threaded discussion forums' features are based on those of Sakai, since the research sample was comprised of students from the University of Cape Town (UCT). The Twitter-style and Facebook-style elements, such as retweets, hashtags, likes and reposts, are based on Twitter and Facebook. A pilot study was conducted to discover any errors or issues with the experimental procedure. A controlled experiment was then conducted with 31 students from the institution. Participants had to fill out a background information survey to gather some demographic information and to understand more about participants' previous experiences using chat rooms, discussion forums, and social media applications for university related purposes and for non-university related purposes. Following that, participants were given tasks to test all the features of the different discussion forum models. To avoid bias in the participants' choosing of discussion forum models, the research was conducted with a Counterbalanced Measures Design. Participants had to fill in the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire in conjunction with their use of the Web-based application. Then, after using all discussion forums, they had to fill out a preferences questionnaire that asked about their preferences of the discussion forums and the features. The Twitter-style short comment feed model was preferred in terms of the ease of use and since participants were familiar with this forum. This was followed by the chat room unstructured model and the traditional general threaded discussion in terms of these forums' ease of use and students' preference for the layout. The Facebook-style was less preferable. Also, participants indicated that the post button, reply button, edit, delete, and search button were more beneficial features. Participants mention that the layout of the chat room unstructured model was not optimal, since the massive amount of text made it confusing and unclear to decipher. Participants suggested that including the uploading of media, allowing private chat, adding extra features for important posts, and using a repost button in the discussion forums would be more useful. The study found that students preferred that the learning forum include certain characteristics; they prioritised ease of use, less complexity, less interaction and a user-friendly interface over their familiarity with the forum. For learning, there is a need to use the features for a specific purpose so users do not necessarily want extra fancy features (like emojis), instead they want systems that help them to learn efficiently.

Aquesta tesi explora la implicació (engagement) d’estudiants d’idiomes en fòrums de discussió asíncrons que formen part d’un curs d’aprenentatge de l’anglès en línia per a adults a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. La implicació dels estudiants a l’aula no és una àrea nova de recerca en educació, però fa ben poc que s’estudia. Hi ha antecedents teòrics en l’àmbit de la implicació dels aprenents (Fredricks, Blumenfeld i París, 2004; Kahu, 2013; Schindler, Burkholder, Morad i Marsh, 2017) que confirmen que consta de tres dimensions: el compromís actitudinal, el compromís cognitiu i el compromís emocional. El compromís actitudinal es refereix a les accions que duen a terme els aprenents per tal de participar en les tasques que se’ls proposen, el compromís cognitiu té a veure amb què és allò que s’aprèn i es fa i el compromís emocional considera la connexió emocional dels aprenents amb el seu aprenentatge. La recerca en aquest camp s’ha centrat principalment en la dimensió conductual. Els estudis que han abordat la dimensió emocional ho han fet emprant una gran varietat de mètodes, els quals, majoritàriament, han emprat qüestionaris adreçats als estudiants (Dixson, 2010; Nakazawa, 2009; Young i Bruce, 2011) com a font principal de dades, això implica que les conclusions que s’han obtingut es basen en les respostes d’aquells estudiants que estan molt compromesos i no en la resta. La recerca entorn el compromís cognitiu s’ha centrat en l’estudi de l’autoregulació i en l’ús d’estratègies d’aprenentatge (Fredricks et al., 2004), i han focalitzat la motivació dels aprenents per aprendre, la seva persistència per assolir els objectius d’aprenentatge i el processament crític de la informació (Schindler et al., 2017) o volgut assenyalar les millores en l’aprenentatge mesurats en termes de notes (Dixson, 2010). En aquest estudi, analitzem les tres dimensions de la implicació de dos grups d’estudiants d’anglès que duen a terme tres tasques d’escriptura en fòrums de discussió asíncrons. Ens plantegem l’objectiu d’explorar com els estudiants interaccionen amb les tasques i entre ells. Per aconseguir-ho, duem a terme tres estudis de casos; el primer estudi analitza dos grups d’aprenents que treballen amb el mateix professor per realitzar la tasca d’escalfament (warm-up) del curs; el segon estudi de cas analitza la participació d’un dels grups d’aprenents del primer estudi de cas en tres tasques; i el darrer estudi del cas redueix i analitza el compromís de tres aprenents del grup del segon estudi de cas, també a través de les tres tasques d’escriptura. Adoptem un mètode específic per a l’estudi de cada dimensió del compromís dels estudiants. Per analysitzar el compromís actitudinal, analitzem la participació i la interacció, per estudiar el compromís cognitiu, fem un seguiment de com canvien les notes de cadascun dels aprenents des del principi fins al final del curs i, en el darrer estudi de cas, també analitzem la complexitat, la precisió i la fluïdesa en les contribucions de les tres estudiants seleccionades. Per observar el compromís emocional dels aprenents, realitzem una anàlisi quantitativa dels continguts de les seves contribucions per tal de cercar indicadors de presència social. El nostre estudi demostra que les tres dimensions del compromís de l’alumne estan interrelacionades. Les nostres conclusions posen de relleu que els índexs més alts de participació i interacció solen correspondre als estudiants que han millorat les seves qualificacions o, com a mínim, els que les han mantingut estables al llarg del curs. Les contribucions d’aquests dos grups d’estudiants també mostren nivells més elevats d’indicadors de presència social, principalment en les primeres etapes del curs.
Esta tesis explora la implicación (engagement) de estudiantes de idiomas en foros de discusión asíncronos que forman parte de un curso de inglés en línea para adultos en la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. La implicación de los estudiantes en el aula no es un área nueva de investigación en educación, pero hace poco que se estudia. Hay antecedentes teóricos en el ámbito de la implicación de los aprendices (Fredrick, Blumenfeld y París, 2004; Kahu, 2013; Schindler, Burkholder, Morad y Marsh, 2017) que confirman que consta de tres dimensiones: el compromiso actitudinal, el cognitivo y el emocional. El compromiso actitudinal se refiere a las acciones que los aprendices llevan a cabo para participar en las tareas propuestas, el compromiso cognitivo tiene que ver con qué es lo que aprenden y hacen, y el compromiso emocional considera la conexión emocional de los aprendices con su aprendizaje. La investigación en este campo se ha centrado principalmente en la dimensión conductual. Los estudios que han abordado la dimensión emocional lo han hecho utilizando una gran variedad de métodos que, en su mayoría, han empleado cuestionarios dirigidos a los estudiantes (Dixson, 2010; Nakazawa, 2009; Young y Bruce, 2011) como fuente principal de datos. Esto implica que las conclusiones obtenidas se basan en las respuestas de los estudiantes que están muy comprometidos y no en el resto. La investigación en torno al compromiso cognitivo se ha centrado en el estudio de la autorregulación y en el uso de estrategias de aprendizaje (Fredrick et al., 2004), con el objetivo de investigar la motivación de los aprendices para aprender, su persistencia para alcanzar los objetivos de aprendizaje y el procesamiento crítico de la información (Schindler et al., 2017) o han querido señalar las mejoras en el aprendizaje medidos en términos de calificaciones (Dixson, 2010). En este estudio, analizamos las tres dimensiones de la implicación de dos grupos de estudiantes de inglés que llevan a cabo tres tareas de escritura en foros de discusión asíncronos. Nos planteamos el objetivo de explorar cómo los estudiantes interaccionan con las tareas y entre ellos. Para ello, llevamos a cabo tres estudios de casos; el primer estudio analiza dos grupos de aprendices que trabajan con el mismo profesor para realizar la tarea de introducción (warm-up) del curso; el segundo estudio de caso analiza la participación de uno de los grupos de aprendices del primer estudio de caso en tres tareas; y el último estudio del caso reduce y analiza el compromiso de tres aprendices del grupo del segundo estudio de caso, también a través de las tres tareas de escritura. Adoptamos un método específico para estudiar cada dimensión del compromiso de los estudiantes. Para el compromiso actitudinal, analizamos la participación y la interacción, para el compromiso cognitivo, hacemos un seguimiento de cómo cambian las notas de cada uno de los aprendices desde el principio hasta el final del curso y, en el último estudio de caso, también analizamos la complejidad, la precisión y la fluidez en las contribuciones de las tres estudiantes seleccionadas. Para observar el compromiso emocional de los aprendices, realizamos un análisis cuantitativo de los contenidos de sus contribuciones para buscar indicadores de presencia social. Nuestro estudio demuestra que las tres dimensiones del compromiso del alumno están interrelacionadas. Nuestras conclusiones ponen de relieve que los índices más altos de participación e interacción suelen corresponder a los estudiantes que han mejorado sus calificaciones o, como mínimo, los que las han mantenido estables a lo largo del curso. Las contribuciones de estos dos grupos de estudiantes también muestran niveles más elevados de indicadores de presencia social, principalmente en las primeras etapas del curso.
This thesis explores engagement of language learners in asynchronous discussion forums which are used as part of a fully online English language learning course for adults at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Learner engagement is not a new area of research in education but it is only quite recently that online language learner engagement has been the focus of study. There is a solid theoretical background in the area of learner engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld and Paris, 2004; Kahu, 2013; Schindler, Burkholder, Morad and Marsh, 2017) and it is generally agreed to consist of three dimensions: behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement. Behavioural engagement refers to learners’ participation and involvement as they carry out the pedagogical task at hand, cognitive engagement involves what and how learners learn, and emotional engagement considers learners’ emotional connection to their learning. Research has mainly focused on the behavioural dimension and where the emotional dimension is addressed, methods have varied considerably and the primary source of data has tended to be student questionnaires (Dixson, 2010; Nakazawa, 2009; Young and Bruce, 2011), which means that findings are focused on those learners who are highly engaged and do not take into consideration the rest. Where cognitive engagement is included in research, approaches have focused on self-regulation and the use of learning strategies (Fredricks et al., 2004), with the objective of understanding learners’ motivation to learn, persistence to achieve learning objectives and deep processing of information (Schindler et al., 2017). In such contexts learning gains are measured in terms of grades (Dixson, 2010). In this study, we observe these three dimensions of engagement in two groups of learners as they carry out three writing tasks in asynchronous discussion forums. Our objective is to provide some insight into how learners engage with the tasks and with one another. To achieve this, we carry out three case studies; the first analyses two separate groups of learners working with the same teacher while they carry out a course warm-up task; the second case study analyses the engagement of one of the two groups of learners from the first case study across three tasks; and the final case study narrows the focus further by analysing the engagement of three learners from the group in the second case study across the three tasks. We adopt a specific method for each dimension of learner engagement. For behavioural engagement, we analyse participation and interaction quantitatively by measuring post rates, word counts, post reading activity, forum threading characteristics and the number of interactions. For cognitive engagement, we track how individual learners’ marks change from the start to the end of the course and in the final case study, we analyse and compare three learners’ posts in terms of their complexity, accuracy and fluency. For emotional engagement, we carry out quantitative content analysis of posts in terms of social presence. The main findings of the study indicate that the three dimensions of learner engagement are inter-related and therefore should not be studied separately as has traditionally been done. We conclude that higher rates of participation and interaction tend to correspond to learners whose marks improve or at least stay the same over the course. The contributions of the learners in these two groups also show higher levels of indicators of social presence, particularly in the early stages of the course.

The desire to translate constructivist and sociocultural approaches to learning in specific learning activities is evident in most forms of training at current, not least in online education. Teachers worldwide are struggling with questions of how to create conditions in this fairly new realm of education for learners to contribute to the development of a good quality in their own and others' learning. Collaboration in forms of text talk in asynchronous, text based forums (ADF) is often used so students can participate at the location and time that suits them best given the other aspects of their life situation. But previous research show how collaboration in forms of text talk do not always evolve in expected quality, and how participation sometimes can be so low that no discussions at all take place. Perhaps it is time to move on and make use of the variety of user-friendly audio-visible technologies that offers conditions for collaboration similar to those in the physical environment? Is there any point to use ADF for collaboration, beyond the flexible opportunity for participation it allows? If so, why, how and under what conditions are it worthwhile to use ADF for tasks meant to be worked collaboratively on? These questions were the starting point of the studies in this thesis that was researched through two case studies involving different techniques and data samples of various natures, with the aim to understand more about collaborative text talk. The research approach differs from the vast majority of studies in the research field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) where many studies currently are conducted by analysis of quantifiable data. The first case study was conducted in the context of non-formal learning in Swedish Liberal Adult Education online, and the second in the context of higher education online in Sweden. The studies in the thesis were made on basis of socio-cultural theory and empirical studies. Empirical data was collected from questionnaires, interviews and texts created by students participating in tasks that they jointly resolved through text talk. Some results were brought back to the students for further explanation of the results. Findings from data analysis were triangulated with other results and with sociocultural theory. The results indicate that students can create knowledge relevant to their studies through text talk, but can feel restrained or dismiss the activity as irrelevant if important conditions are lacking.  Collaboration through text talk makes individual resources accessible in a specific place where it can be observed and its validity for the purpose of the task evaluated by others. Students with good insight in what they are supposed to accomplish seem be able to consult relevant guidance for this evaluation, from teachers, textbooks, scientific articles and other valid experiences important to their studies, and thereby contribute to learning of the quality they studies are meant to produce. Text talk also increases teachers’ possibilities to identify what the guidance the study group needs when evaluating the gathered resources and through their own active participation provide support in the students “zone of proximal development”. Contributions offered to the CSCL research field is the identifications of important mechanisms related to learning collaboratively through text talk, and the use of case study methodology as inspiration for others to try also these kinds of strategies to capture online learning.

The aim of this study is to offer a new perspective on both interpersonal communication andcomputer-mediated communication (CMC), by means of conducting a pragma-linguisticanalysis and comparison of a semi-threaded discussion forum and a fully threaded discussionforum; analysing features such as linguistic markers, dialogic listening, politeness, cooperation,elaborate or laconic greetings, farewell expressions and other conversational rituals. Aqualitative study was conducted, employing two methods of gathering data: (a) participantobservation and (b) document and material analysis. The major question for discussion in thisstudy is whether there are any differences with respect to linguistic and non-linguistic featuresbetween the semi-threaded and fully threaded forums? The study concludes that there aredifferences in linguistic and non-linguistic features between semi-threaded and fully threadedforums, but these differences are minimal and can more likely be attributed to the forum subjectmatter and social context than to the forum structure itself.

[Abstract]: This study investigates the contribution of asynchronous, online discussion forums to student learning in an Australian, online postgraduate course. The study of online forums is an emerging field of research and therefore calls for a methodology suited to the context where knowledge and application is still at the exploration stage. Grounded theory – an open, qualitative methodology – was chosen as an appropriate method to explore the nature of the interaction in the online forums.The grounded theory analysis of the data revealed that participant interaction did generate instructional design knowledge across a range of conceptual levels. The study also showed that interaction was effectively facilitated through the use of asynchronous text-based forums, and that participants used the online interaction to build a learning community and to generate knowledge within the learning community. These findings, although from a small case study, help to justify the widespread use of discussion forums in higher education.The research findings revealed that participant interaction was a key component that enabled the teachers and learners to build and participate in an online learning community. The subcategories that emerged from participant interaction – teaching role, building a learning community and generating knowledge – were all contributing categories to the core category: interaction as a facilitator of learning. Research revealed that the teacher had an important role in managing and facilitating the interactive online learning environment, through both design and implementation of the course. The teaching role was complex and integral in the building of a learning community and facilitating knowledge generation.One outcome of particular interest for online researchers is that most of the categories that emerged from the data in this study strongly correlated to the categories in the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM); as well as categories identified by the Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research (CIDER), the research arm of the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University. The grounded theory approach in this study generated similar categories to CIDER and IAM, despite the research being conducted without any reference to categories existing in the literature. The correlation between the CIDER, IAM and my categories provides credibility to each set of research outcomes. Also, it can be argued that the correlation between findings of independently conducted research studies means that these categories can be more confidently generalised to other online contexts. While the CIDER categories are now being applied in a number of empirical studies, I suggest that further research in a range of contexts is required to confirm whether these are “the” important variables in online interaction.The grounded theory approach generated categories unique to this research and provided a framework for the design and implementation of interactive online learning. From these findings, the literature, and personal experience, recommendations are presented in regard to design principles, a design framework, and implementation strategies and tactics. The implications of online learning for institutional policy and practice are outlined, and a reflection on the online teaching role is presented – one that challenges some existing conceptions of a diminished role for online teachers. The debate surrounding the role of teaching in learning-centred pedagogy is an important discussion for higher education.

With the advancement of Internet technology and the changes in the mode of communications, it is found that much first-hand news have been discussed in Internet forums well before they are reported in traditional mass media. Also, this communication channel provides an effective channel for illegal activities such as dissemination of copyrighted movies, threatening messages and online gambling etc. The law enforcement agencies are looking for solutions to monitor these discussion forums for possible criminal activities and download suspected postings as evidence for investigation. The volume of postings is huge, for 10 popular forums in Hong Kong; we found that there are 300,000 new messages every day. In this thesis, we propose an automatic system that tackles this problem. Our proposed system downloads postings from selected discussion forums continuously and employs data mining techniques to identify hot topics and cluster authors into different groups using word based user profiles. Using these data, we try to locate some useful trends and detect crime from the data, the result is discussed afterward with include advantages and limitations of different approaches and at the end, there is a conclusion of the way to solve those problems and provide future direction of this research.
published_or_final_version
Computer Science
Master
Master of Philosophy

Twenty-first century high school students' learning experience in an online setting is no longer limited by a time-constrained schedule, lack of resources, teachers' formalities, and restrictions affecting learning progressions. The list of benefits to the virtual learning experience is vast, however, there are substantial pitfalls and ambiguities that must be resolved. One of the pitfalls for social studies educators is their ability to properly measure whether or not students are gaining prudent civic competences, skills, and dispositions. The mission of social studies education is the acquisition of civic knowledge, but more importantly, the overall development of a lifelong caring, active, and educated citizenry. Yet, online high school social studies instructors are faced with a quandary when attempting to find optimal and indirect techniques toward achieving this end. Through a review of literature, fostering effective discussions in online courses allows students to indirectly learn and practice democratic processes authentically. This current qualitative research study is a discourse analysis that attempts to understand how students' civic identities are constructed and presented through structured, weekly asynchronous discussion forums in five online high school social studies courses in Florida. The examination of students' language-in-use in relation to civic identity construction and/or exhibition is a crucial element for virtual social studies instructors to consider when attempting to understand how young people are civically (and politically) connected to their communities in a digital age; in present times and in the future. This study's four major findings were: (1) students revealed utilitarian and social justice elements within their civic identities; (2) students' showed an eagerness to question and analyze society and the government; (3) the data revealed concrete instances of civic identity exhibition along with civic engagement testimonies; and (4) the interactions that transpired within the discussion forums were a vehicle for civic identity development. The majority of these students did not display an achieved civic identity status due to their lack of an advanced historical and political knowledge base; however, knowledge and skills only comprise a portion of one's civic identity. In addition, results showed that students need to engage in more self-reflection or self-discovery activities, more opportunities to experience an authentic connection with their community through activities like service-learning projects, and more time spent on developing sound 21st century democratic skills. Attention to civic identity construction and enactment as a goal of virtual high school social studies instruction could be a promising target so educators can understand how students see themselves as important members of their communities. Thus, a high school virtual social studies curriculum and course must be empowering; focused on students' self-development while maintaining a rigorous, meaningful, open, and flexible design. Virtual social studies teachers should use numerous pedagogical strategies to empower students to discover and achieve their talents and purposes in life as a tool for accomplishing democratic goals and commitments necessary for our nation's advancement.

This is a study of language choice and language alternation patterns in a corpus of messages posted on two Brunei Darussalam on-line discussion forums. It aims to break new ground by investigating Malay-English language alternation in the context of computer-mediated communication (CMC), in contrast to previous research which has mostly studied alternation or code-switching in informal conversations. The corpus of texts consists of 21 1 messages posted on the 'Bruclass' and 'Brudirect' forums. These were analysed in terms of their grammatical and discoursal features to determine what role is played by each of the contributing languages. Chapter 1 outlines the major research questions: how much alternation is there between Malay and English, how is this alternation achieved, and why do the bilingual text producers make these language choices when posting their messages in the on-line forums? This chapter also includes outline description of the sociolinguistic context of Brunei Darussalam in terms of its population, history, system of education, and discussion of the varieties of Malay and of English used by Bruneians. In Chapter 2 relevant literature on language alternation is reviewed, with a gradual narrowing of the focus: from theories of code-switching and language alternation to studies dealing specifically with Malay-English code-switching in Malaysia and in Brunei Darussalam. Studies on language use and alternation in the CMC domain are also reviewed. Chapter 3 discusses the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and the rationale for these. Findings from the grammatical and discoursal analyses are reported and discussed in Chapter 4. Whilst monolingual English messages are the most frequent, almost half of the corpus texts are found to include a measure of Malay-English alternation.Many of these display an asymmetric alternation pattern, in which one language supplies the grammar and the other the lexis, but there are also examples of equal alternation, where Malay and English both contribute to the grammar and to the lexis. The reasons for these choices are investigated through a questionnaire survey, which includes a text ranking task, and through other published texts in which Bruneians discuss their use of language. Chapter 5 discusses these findings, and the concluding Chapter 6 considers connections between the analysis of the texts and the questionnaire survey, especially the preference for monolingual English. Chapter 6 also includes discussion of questions of identity as reflected in the language choices and of language use in the CMC domain.

This is a study of language choice and language alternation patterns in a corpus of messages posted on two Brunei Darussalam on-line discussion forums. It aims to break new ground by investigating Malay-English language alternation in the context of computer-mediated communication (CMC), in contrast to previous research which has mostly studied alternation or code-switching in informal conversations. The corpus of texts consists of 21 1 messages posted on the 'Bruclass' and 'Brudirect' forums. These were analysed in terms of their grammatical and discoursal features to determine what role is played by each of the contributing languages. Chapter 1 outlines the major research questions: how much alternation is there between Malay and English, how is this alternation achieved, and why do the bilingual text producers make these language choices when posting their messages in the on-line forums? This chapter also includes outline description of the sociolinguistic context of Brunei Darussalam in terms of its population, history, system of education, and discussion of the varieties of Malay and of English used by Bruneians. In Chapter 2 relevant literature on language alternation is reviewed, with a gradual narrowing of the focus: from theories of code-switching and language alternation to studies dealing specifically with Malay-English code-switching in Malaysia and in Brunei Darussalam. Studies on language use and alternation in the CMC domain are also reviewed. Chapter 3 discusses the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and the rationale for these. Findings from the grammatical and discoursal analyses are reported and discussed in Chapter 4. Whilst monolingual English messages are the most frequent, almost half of the corpus texts are found to include a measure of Malay-English alternation.
Many of these display an asymmetric alternation pattern, in which one language supplies the grammar and the other the lexis, but there are also examples of equal alternation, where Malay and English both contribute to the grammar and to the lexis. The reasons for these choices are investigated through a questionnaire survey, which includes a text ranking task, and through other published texts in which Bruneians discuss their use of language. Chapter 5 discusses these findings, and the concluding Chapter 6 considers connections between the analysis of the texts and the questionnaire survey, especially the preference for monolingual English. Chapter 6 also includes discussion of questions of identity as reflected in the language choices and of language use in the CMC domain.

Cette étude s’inscrit dans le champ des spécificités de la communication médiée par ordinateur et présente la diversité des pratiques écrivantes dans les forums de discussion grand public sur Internet. Les variations graphiques et visuelles s’appuient sur l’analyse d’un corpus de deux cents messages issus de quarante cinq forums proposant des thématiques variées, ainsi que sur l’étude particulière des variations individuelles dans les écrits de six scripteurs. Les différentes stratégies d’écriture sont d’abord présentées du point de vue de la structuration des messages: six profils graphiques reflètent les tendances compositionnelles des forumeurs. Puis les recherches s’étendent à l’ensemble des variations graphiques au sein des messages en soulignant les aspects expressifs et visuographiques de ces écrits de proximité originaux. Enfin, la thèse met l’accent sur l’usage et le rôle de l’image à côté d’un écrit plutôt normé qui s’ouvre à une communication visuelle plus attractive
This study explores the specific characteristics of computer mediated communication and investigates the wealth of writing tactics to be found on online discussion forums open to the general public. Graphical and visual variants are brought to light through the analysis of a corpus of two hundred messages originating from forty five forums dealing with various issues, as well as through a particular study of individual variation in the production of six participants.In a first stage, different writing strategies are presented from the point of view of the way messages are structured: six graphical profiles show how forum users tend to organize their content. Then the range of our research is extended to embrace the whole of graphical variants within messages, bringing out the expressive and visuographical features typical of such umediated original writings. Finally, our study emphasizes the use and function of visual tools next to rule-bound writing, allowing for a more attractive visual type of communication

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed March 25, 2010). Advisor: Jon Wergin, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 238-245).

L'anàlisi de l'activitat dels estudiants en els fòrums de discussió online implica un problema de modelització altament depenent del context, el qual pot ser plantejat des d'aproximacions tant teòriques com empíriques. Quan aquest problema és abordat des de l'àmbit de la mineria de dades, l'enfocament més comunament adoptat és el de la classificació no supervisada (o clustering), donant lloc, d'aquesta manera, a un escenari de clustering en el qual el nombre real de clústers és a priori desconegut. Per tant, aquesta aproximació revela una qüestió subjacent, la qual no és sinó un dels problemes més coneguts del paradigma del clustering: l'estimació del nombre de clústers, habitualment seleccionat per l'usuari concorde a algun tipus de criteri subjectiu que pot comportar fàcilment l'aparició de biaixos indesitjats en els models obtinguts. Amb l'objectiu d'evitar qualsevol intervenció de l'usuari en l'etapa de clustering, dos nous criteris d'unió entre clústers són proposats en la present tesi, els quals, al seu torn, permeten la implementació d'un nou algorisme de clustering jeràrquic aglomeratiu lliure de paràmetres. Un complet conjunt d'experiments indica que el nou algorisme de clustering és capaç de proporcionar solucions de clustering òptimes enfront d'una gran varietat d'escenaris de clustering, sent capaç de bregar amb diferents classes de dades, així com de millorar el rendiment ofert pels algorismes de clustering més àmpliament emprats en la pràctica. Finalment, una estratègia d'anàlisi de dues etapes basada en el paradigma del clustering subespaial és proposada a fi d'abordar adequadament el problema de la modelització de la participació dels estudiants en les discussions asíncrones. Combinada amb el nou algorisme clustering, l'estratègia proposada demostra ser capaç de limitar la intervenció subjectiva de l'usuari a les etapes d'interpretació del procés d'anàlisi i de donar lloc a una completa modelització de l'activitat duta a terme pels estudiants en els fòrums de discussió online.
El análisis de la actividad de los estudiantes en los foros de discusión online acarrea un problema de modelización altamente dependiente del contexto, el cual puede ser planteado desde aproximaciones tanto teóricas como empíricas. Cuando este problema es abordado desde el ámbito de la minería de datos, el enfoque más comúnmente adoptado es el de la clasificación no supervisada (o clustering), dando lugar, de este modo, a un escenario de clustering en el que el número real de clusters es a priori desconocido. Por tanto, esta aproximación revela una cuestión subyacente, la cual no es sino uno de los problemas más conocidos del paradigma del clustering: la estimación del número de clusters, habitualmente seleccionado por el usuario acorde a algún tipo de criterio subjetivo que puede conllevar fácilmente la aparición de sesgos indeseados en los modelos obtenidos. Con el objetivo de evitar cualquier intervención del usuario en la etapa de clustering, dos nuevos criterios de unión entre clusters son propuestos en la presente tesis, los cuales, a su vez, permiten la implementación de un nuevo algoritmo de clustering jerárquico aglomerativo libre de parámetros. Un completo conjunto de experimentos indica que el nuevo algoritmo de clustering es capaz de proporcionar soluciones de clustering óptimas frente a una gran variedad de escenarios de clustering, siendo capaz de lidiar con diferentes clases de datos, así como de mejorar el rendimiento ofrecido por los algoritmos de clustering más ampliamente utilizados en la práctica. Finalmente, una estrategia de análisis de dos etapas basada en el paradigma del clustering subespacial es propuesta a fin de abordar adecuadamente el problema de la modelización de la participación de los estudiantes en las discusiones asíncronas. Combinada con el nuevo algoritmo clustering, la estrategia propuesta demuestra ser capaz de limitar la intervención subjetiva del usuario a las etapas de interpretación del proceso de análisis y de dar lugar a una completa modelización de la actividad llevada a cabo por los estudiantes en los foros de discusión online.
The analysis of learners' activity in online discussion forums leads to a highly context-dependent modelling problem, which can be posed from both theoretical and empirical approaches. When this problem is tackled from the data mining field, a clustering-based perspective is usually adopted, thus giving rise to a clustering scenario where the real number of clusters is a priori unknown. Hence, this approach reveals an underlying problem, which is one of the best-known issues of the clustering paradigm: the estimation of the number of clusters, habitually selected by user according to some kind of subjective criterion that may easily lead to the appearance of undesired biases in the obtained models. With the aim of avoiding any user intervention in the cluster analysis stage, two new cluster merging criteria are proposed in the present thesis, which allow to implement a novel parameter-free agglomerative hierarchical algorithm. A complete set of experiments indicate that the new clustering algorithm is able to provide optimal clustering solutions in the face of a great variety of clustering scenarios, both having the ability to deal with different kinds of data and outperforming clustering algorithms most widely used in practice. Finally, a two-stage analysis strategy based on the subspace clustering paradigm is proposed to properly tackle the issue of modelling learners' participation in the asynchronous discussions. In combination with the new clustering algorithm, the proposed strategy proves to be able to limit user's subjective intervention to the interpretation stages of the analysis process and to lead to a complete modelling of the activity performed by learners in online discussion forums.

Ce travail de recherche s'inscrit en sciences de l'information et de la communication et s'intéresse à l'émotion dans la recherche d'information à travers l'exemple des forums de santé. Le succès de ces dispositifs résulte d'une motivation informationnelle et émotionnelle des participants qui peuvent accéder à des témoignages, des informations ponctuelles ou encore des informations médicales filtrées par le vécu du malade (ou du proche de malade) qui s'exprime. Les messages sont donc souvent empreints d'émotion. La problématique s'attache aux évolutions de l'activité d'information et notamment au rôle que peuvent jouer les marqueurs d'émotion dans la structuration des informations mais également lors de leur évaluation. Une première analyse vise à mettre en évidence l'organisation des messages et des indices d'émotion grâce à une analyse de corpus (de fils de discussion provenant de différents forums de santé). Une seconde enquête s'attache à l'analyse de données recueillies pendant une phase d'entretiens et d'expérimentations sur l'utilisation des forums de santé et sur la manière dont les participants évaluent les informations. Les résultats montrent que les informations médicales sont très présentes et majoritairement entremêlées d'indices d'émotion de peur. Toutefois, la joie est l'émotion la plus présente dans l'ensemble du corpus. Enfin, si les marqueurs d'émotion sont des critères d'évaluation, il apparaît que les informations médicales sont également des indices d'évaluation et non les informations évaluées
This thesis has been carried out in the field of information and communication sciences and focuses on emotion in information retrieval in health fora. The success of these systems results from an informational and emotional motivation from the participants who can access testimonials, punctual information or medical information filtered through the experience of the patients who are writing. The messages often have emotional content. This thesis focuses on developments in information activities and especially on the role that emotional has in the structuring and evaluation of information. The aim of the first analysis is to highlight the organization of messages and their emotional content through a corpus analysis (from different threads of different French-language health fora). A second study focuses on the analysis of data collected during some interviews regarding the use of health fora and the way in which participants evaluate information. The results show that medical information is very present and mostly interspersed with emotion of fear. However, the joy is the emotion mostly present in all the collected corpus. Finally, if the evaluation criteria markers are emotion, it appears that medical information are also evaluation criteria and not the information evaluated

The study introduces an alternative analytic framework for the investigation of online discussion forums. It focuses on the social dynamics occurring in online discussion threads situated within a tertiary e-learning context, and advocated by social learning theories. Online discussion forums are perceived as conducive environments for the evolvement and support of collaborative and socio- constructivist learning. However, the literature reviewed, revealed a growing need for finding empiric frameworks for ascertaining the materialisation of these perceptions. Attempting to address the identified need, the study adopts ethnomethodological notions, complemented by Structural Analysis approach, to produce an alternative analytic frame called the Event Centre (EC) approach for the study of online discussion forums. The theoretical framework chosen in this study enables the investigation of online discussion forums as systems of relations rather than aggregations of individuals. The EC approach enables the visual representation of networks of people interacting with each other and at the same time presenting the content discussed in each interaction. Applying the EC approach to a set of 131online discussion threads, enabled the discovery of social dynamics occurring within the discussion threads. Preliminary investigations of these visually represented dynamics revealed two overarching patterns. One depicting uni directional interactions in which all participants referred to a single message and a second one depicting sequences of interactions organised in chain like patterns. The study suggests that these overarching patterns may imply different perceptions of knowledge as enacted by the participants, and hence possibly reveal different perceptions of teaching and learning through which it may be possible to detect collaborative and social constructivist processes. The study suggests that the visual patterns introduced should be perceived as abstractions of particular events, implying their generalisability and hence possible application to different data sets.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Florianópolis, 2009.
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No Brasil o interesse sobre o tema Cadastro vem crescendo, isto deve-se a sua relevância na gestão das terras e infra-estruturas nelas disponibilizadas. Há a necessidade de melhor compreensão de fatores comuns e de interesse da sociedade brasileira, tais como reforma agrária, imposto territorial urbano ou rural, sustentabilidade dos recursos naturais, saneamento, gerenciamento de aqüíferos e recursos costeiros, aporte e melhorias na matriz energética, transportes de matéria-prima e bens de consumo e outras questões envolvendo a gestão e ordenamento territorial. Para tanto um espaço de fácil acesso via Web pode auxiliar nas dúvidas, bem como implementar discussões relevantes ao tema. Este espaço de troca de informações é o que foi implantado por este trabalho e tem o formato de um site, mais especificamente um Fórum voltado ao tema Cadastro, onde pessoas participam, independentemente de sua localização.
In Brazil the interest on the subject Cadastre comes growing, its must relevance in the management of lands and your infrastructures. It has the necessity of better understanding of common factors and interest of the Brazilian society, as agrarian reform of the natural resources coastal resource and, sustentabilidade, urban or agricultural territorial tax, sanitation, coastal resource and water-bearing management, improvements in the energy matrix, raw material and products of consumption transports and other questions involving the management and territorial order. For in such a way a space of easy access it saw Web can assist in the doubts, as well as implementing excellent quarrels to the subject. This space of exchange of information is what it was implanted by this work and it has the format of a site, more specifically a Forum (bulletin board) directed to the Cadastre subject, where people participate, independently of its localization.

Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Sociologie--Paris 3, 2006. Titre de soutenance : Les forums de discussion des sites web de la presse quotidienne nationale : entre repositionnement identitaire des journaux et constitution des publics de presse : étude des articulations entre les pratiques des modérateurs et des participants des forums du Monde.fr, Libération.fr et du Figaro.fr.
En annexe choix de documents. Bibliogr. p. 277-287.

This study is a research of the frequency of acronyms in an online forum and the meaning of the most frequent ones in their context. In the study, definitions are given for language forms used online so that one is able to compare a set of similarities and differences between these online varieties and the Standard English. The method consists of identifying and searching for a set of CMD-typical acronyms. These acronyms are taken from prior studies as well as from Crystal’s (2006:91f) list of known CMD-acronyms. The material is retrieved from an online forum of asynchronous communication, and the results show the frequency of the acronyms as well as discuss their meanings in context. The results indicate that acronyms are highly infrequent in asynchronous environments, and their use decreases from 2010 to 2013. The conclusion of this study is that the infrequency of acronyms in asynchronous environments may be due to the nature of asynchronous online communication, in which users have time to write their replies. When comparing this study’s corpora with studies on frequencies in synchronous environments, the acronym frequency in this study was lower than the frequency shown in the synchronous studies.

This thesis explored the potential of engaging gifted and talented learners in an online community of inquiry promoted by the use of asynchronous discussion forums. It employed a mixed-method, case-study approach where non-participant observation of online interactions and focus group meetings with the tutors contributed to the qualitative analysis of how the members realised participation in the forums. Quantitative analysis of membership data and online questionnaire responses revealed member characteristics of the sample members and patterns of active (vocal and silent) participation. Analysis was inductive and interpretive, informed by an original synthesis of the theoretical perspectives of two theories: the online learning theory suggested by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000); and the cognitive and affective domains for learning skills, proposed by Bloom et al. (1956) and Krathwohl et al. (1964). Content analysis of over 3000 messages posted or read by approximately 4500 members revealed community-based and ability-based characteristics that enabled the group to deal with social stigma, co-construct knowledge and promote meta- learning skills. The study concluded that participation in online discussion forums held the potential to address several of the needs identified by research for gifted learners: The need for the company of like-minded and similar ability peers; the need to develop higher order thinking skills; and the need to become independent learners. In this online network, the gifted learners could receive communal support from other members and tutors who acted as 'mentors' and role models for honing interpersonal and thinking skills such that they were motivated to pursue their interests to their full potential.

The aim of this study is to investigate how language is used, online, in a condescending way in order to make the recipient feel belittled. The research questions sought to find out what kind of linguistic strategies are used online in order to make language function in a derogatory way as well as the linguistic reactions these strategies evoke in the recipients. How this derogatory usage can be met by using specific linguistic strategies was also explored.

The study was conducted by performing qualitative discourse analysis based on the theoretical framework of Culpeper’s (1996) impoliteness theory. The data consisted of excerpts from four different threads in online discussion forums. The results indicate that there are several ways to insult someone, and that sarcasm, in particular, is heavily utilized in order to make language function in a derogatory manner.

The conclusion of the study is that phenomena such as the flouting of maxims, face-threatening acts, impoliteness strategies and flaming are all utilized when trying to belittle someone. All these linguistic strategies performed with the intention to insult people have proved to have a negative affect on people who are exposed to them. This affect can be detected through the linguistic reactions they rendered, for example: counter-attacks with insults of their own and refuting the insults.

The present study contributes to enlightening linguistic strategies which are being used in a derogatory way and as such might function to raise awareness of the power invested in language.

Cette thèse porte sur les discours relatifs à l’allaitement maternel dans les forums de discussion sur Internet. L’enjeu est d’aborder les pratiques discursives des participants au regard des discours d’experts en la matière, qu’ils soient d’ordre institutionnels, relèvent de l’édition ou de la presse grand public de vulgarisation de la puériculture, ou d’associations de promotion de l’allaitement maternel. Nous avons choisi comme approche pour cette démarche une construction conceptuelle empruntée à Antonio Negri et Michael Hardt, l’aliénation autonome. Pouvant être définie comme le processus supposant autant l’interaction de chacun des membres de la société au travers d’appareils disciplinaires, certes plus diffus et plus nombreux que dans la société de contrôle, mais bien existants et actifs, que la conformation individuelle de chacun au discours social dominant, cette construction conceptuelle, appliquée aux discours relatifs à l’allaitement maternel, permet de mettre en évidence les rapports entre le discours des experts et celui des internautes sur les forums de discussion. La première partie est consacrée à un examen des travaux à la fois sur l’allaitement maternel et sur Internet et à l’élaboration de ce cadre théorique centré sur le concept d’aliénation autonome. La seconde partie est une analyse des discours relatifs à l’allaitement maternel, tels qu’on peut les trouver dans l’édition, la presse spécialisée, les publications institutionnelles et celles des associations de promotion de l’allaitement maternel, afin de dégager les différentes thématiques de ce discours. Elles servent de référentiel pour l’analyse du discours des internautes dans la troisième partie. Cette analyse a été réalisée conjointement à partir des données fournies par le logiciel d’analyse lexicométrique « Pistes » et grâce à la méthode d’analyse de contenu. Reprenant les thèmes et arguments du discours dominant sur l’allaitement maternel, interprétant les réalités auxquelles ils sont confrontés en fonction des éléments discursifs qui leur sont ainsi fournis, les internautes incarnent ici le concept d’aliénation autonome. Mais à travers certaines résistances qui parviennent à s’exprimer contre la « doxa de l’allaitement maternel », ils illustrent aussi une autre conceptualisation d’Antonio Negri et de Michael Hardt : celle de « multitude »
This thesis concerns the discourses about breast feeding in the Internet chat rooms. The aim is to focus on the discursive practices of the participants from the expert discourses viewpoint. The concerned discourses can be institutional ones, publishing ones, from baby care popularization popular press or from associations promoting breast feeding. We chose to approach the point with a conceptual construction borrowed to Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt : the autonomous alienation. This conceptual construction that can be defined as a process with the interaction of each society member through disciplinary apparatus that are - it is true -more diffuse and numerous than in the control society but real and active, as well as the individual conformation of each one to the prevailing social discourse, applied to breast feeding discourse allows to put into relieve the links between the expert discourses and the one of net surfers in chat rooms. The first part is dedicated not only to an exam of the works on breast feeding on the Internet but also to the elaboration of the theorical frame focused on the autonomous alienation concept. The second part is an analysis of the breast feeding discourses that we can find in publishing business, specialized newspapers, institutional publications and the publications of associations promoting breast feeding. The goal is to put into relieve the different themes that will be used as references for the discourse analysis of net surfers in the third part. This analysis is based on data from the word count analysis software called “Pistes” and also owing to the content analysis method.If we look at the themes and arguments of the main discourse about breast feeding that interprets the realities they are confronted to, according to the discursive elements that are given to them, net surfers represent here the autonomous alienation concept. But through some resistances that can be expressed against the “breast feeding doxa”, they also represent another conceptualization of Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt : the “multitude” one

Esta dissertação investiga o processo evolutivo das trocas interindividuais a partir da perspectiva da descentração com fundamentação na concepção epistemológica piagetiana. Esta fundamentação destaca a possibilidade do sujeito desprender-se do seu ponto de vista e levar em consideração outros aspectos para finalmente coordená-los. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa – estudo de caso realizada no Curso de Graduação Licenciatura em Pedagogia, na modalidade a distância (PEAD) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. O curso destina-se à formação em pedagogia de professores leigos de Escolas Públicas do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, a coleta de dados foi realizada a partir da seleção de registros de participação dos alunos em formação no fórum virtual e lista de discussão e possibilitou a construção dos níveis que indicam o processo do egocentrismo à descentração em situações de trocas interindividuais. Os resultados apontam que as interações influenciam no processo de aprendizagem dos alunos em formação, sendo possível observar que as trocas também contribuem para estimular o processo de descentração, propiciando assim condições de coordenar pontos de vista diferentes. Os resultados também indicam que os alunos em formação demonstram dificuldades em trabalhar em comum, pois as participações apresentam alto índice de registros com características egocêntricas, não demonstrando assim que os participantes estabelecem relação com o ponto de vista dos colegas, condição necessária para que a descentração ocorra. A partir dos resultados, podemos concluir que a descentração é um processo evoluído e que cada nova oportunidade de troca permite que ocorra a evolução das trocas interindividuais. Isto nos mostra a fecundidade da teoria piagetiana como suporte para análise de processos interativos em contextos na modalidade a distância.
This thesis investigates how the exchanges occur between the individuals in the forum and discussion list and how you can view the process of egocentrism to taking off the Center from him through the levels provided for in the design analysisbased epistemological piagetiana. This is a qualitative research - a case study conducted in the course of graduate degree in pedagogy, in the programmer of distance learning (PEAD) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The course is addressed to the formation of teachers of public schools of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. For this, the data collection was carried out from the selection of records of participation of students in formation in virtual forum and discussion list and possible see the levels that indicate the process of egocentrism to taking off the Center from him in situations of trade between individuals. The results indicate the importance of interactions to the learning process of students in formation and it was possible to see that exchanges stimulate the process of taking off the Center from him thereby providing conditions to coordinate different points of view. The results also indicate that students in formation demonstrate difficulties to working together, this is evidenced by the high rate of participation egocentric, therefore in most of the shares don’t show establish relation with the point oh view of the classmates, condition that’s necessarie to the pocess of taking the center of him occur. From the results we can conclude that the process of taking the Center of him is an evolving process and that each new opportunity to exchange allows that the evolution of the exchanges between the individuals. This shows us the fecundity of the theory piagetiana as support for analysis of interactive processes in contexts in the distance mode.

Cette étude a pour objet les forums de discussion présents sur les sites web de trois journaux quotidiens nationaux : Le Monde, Libération et Le Figaro. Dans un contexte de baisse constante des ventes de la presse, nous interrogeons les mécanismes de construction identitaire des trois journaux à travers le prisme de leurs forumsdediscussion. Pour ce faire nous focalisons notre attention sur les articulations qui se jouent entre les pratiques des modérateurs et celles des internautes participants. Nous présentons, alors, ces dispositifs interactionnels comme des espaces de repositionnement ou de réaffirmation des identités discursives de leur quotidien référent et comme des lieux où peuvent se constituer des publics de presse. Aux vues de ces atouts, nous interrogeons la place des forums au sein des rédactions référentes et l'intérêt qu'y portent les journalistes
Discussion forums on the French national daily newspaper websites: between a newspaper identity repositioning and the construction of press audiences. Study of the connection between moderators and users practices on the Monde. Fr, Libération. Fr and Figaro. Fr forums. Summary: The subject of this study is the discussion forums proposed on three French national daily newspaper websites: Le Monde, Libération et Le Figaro. While newspaper sales are falling, we are going to examine the identity construction mechanisms of these three newspapers through a distorting lens: their discussion forums. For that purpose, we are going to focus on the connections which occur between moderators and internauts practices. So we are going to present these interactional mechanisms as repositioning or reassertion spaces of their daily newspapers’ discursive identities and as places where press audiences can be formed. Within these assets, we are going to examine what place can be afforded to forums in editingand how journalists are interested in

Si, à Madagascar, le français est la deuxième langue officielle et la principale langue d’ouverture sur le monde, seul un quart de la population est susceptible de pouvoir s’exprimer en français. L’objectif de la recherche est de démontrer que cette situation pourrait être améliorée grâce à l’utilisation des forums de discussion électroniques. Ces derniers permettent non seulement d’appréhender la langue et la culture en situation mais aussi dans une perspective plus large, celle de la francophonie. Selon l’approche interculturelle qui sert de cadre théorique, les cultures ne peuvent plus être appréhendées sur le seul registre de l’abstraction mais nécessitent une démarche contextualisée impliquant les locuteurs eux-mêmes. Dans cette perspective, les forums de discussion s’avèrent être une opportunité intéressante d’autant qu’ils permettent d’atteindre un double objectif : une meilleure connaissance des cultures et une amélioration des compétences de communication. La thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une recherche-action
French is the second official language and the main language of opening on the world in Madagascar however only a quarter of the population is likely able expressing in French. The objective of this research is to show that this situation could be improved thanks to using newsgroup which will allow apprehending the language and the culture in situation, including the “francophonie”. According to the cross-cultural approach used as theoretical reference, cultures cannot be apprehended any more on the only register of the abstraction but require a contextualized step implying the speakers themselves. From this point of view, newsgroup proves to be an interesting opportunity insofar as they make it possible to achieve a double goal: a better knowledge of cultures and an improvement of competences of communication. The thesis is registered within the framework of a research-action