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Using a case-study design, this qualitative investigation examines individual linguistic identity formation and the development of multiliteracies of two second language (L2) English speakers within the context of the massively multiplayer online role-play gaming (MMORPG) community. The theories and methodologies of this study draw from perspectives of sociolinguistics, digital ethnography, and discourse studies. From October 2021- March 2022, data was collected and consisted of the participants’ personal interviews and their asynchronous computer mediated communications (ACMC) within their respective gaming discussion communities. Data analyses consisted of both qualitative coding procedures of the ACMC data into literacy features and cross examination with participants’ personal interviews. Through these two case studies, this thesis shows how two English L2 gamers- one being Russian L1 and one being both Russian and Ukrainian L1- use linguistically sophisticated employment of digital multiliteracies to express their translocal and individual identities. The findings of these case studies contribute to conceptual understandings of how modern virtual communities of practice mediated by communication technologies act in conjunction with translocal L2 identity formation.

Research shows that when a gender stereotype is made salient and the target of the stereotype is asked to perform in the stereotyped domain, targets of the stereotype often perform at a lower level compared to situations when the stereotype was not made salient (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Current models of stereotype threat show that increased physiological arousal and reduced working memory capacity partially explain this decrement in performance (Ben-Zeev, Fein, & Inzlicht, 2005; Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). Furthermore, the noticeable absence of female faculty and students in math and science departments at coed universities throughout the United States may increase the belief in gender stereotypes and discourage women from pursuing careers in these fields (Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004). Contact with counter-stereotypical exemplars, such as female science experts, decreases belief in gender stereotypes and increases women's motivation to pursue careers in science (Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, & McManus, 2011). Thus, the present study examined whether imagining an interpersonal interaction with a counter-stereotypic exemplar removes the physiological and performance effects of stereotype threat. However, the stereotype threat manipulation failed to elicit a strong stereotype threat effect on performance or physiology. Only reaction time and high frequency heart rate variability were sensitive to the stereotype threat induction. The imagination manipulation significantly attenuated the physiological effects of stereotype threat, whereas the reaction time effects were only marginally significant. Limitations and future directions for stereotype threat and imagined contact are discussed. / Ph. D.

This thesis examines and compares the effectiveness of direct and indirect types of contact in leading to short- or longer-term prejudice-reducing outcomes in Cyprus. Chapter 1 provides a background to the relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and Chapter 2 provides a theoretical introduction to the intergroup contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) and to extended friendships (Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997), vicarious contact (Mazziotta, Mummendey, & Wright, 2011), and imagined contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) which have been suggested to be alternatives and a stepping stone to direct contact when the latter is absent. Chapter 3 consists of three experiments assessing the relative effects of direct and vicarious contact (Experiments 1 and 2) and imagined contact (Experiment 3). The results show that direct, and to a weaker extent, vicarious contact lead to more positive outgroup attitudes, but that a week after contact this effect is lost. All types of contact yield less anxiety, an effect that endures in time, and direct and imagined contact yield more positive action tendencies, an effect that remains significant in time only for direct contact. Chapter 4 consists of two experiments further exploring the capacity of imagined contact to yield positive intergroup outcomes. Experiment 4 tests whether the induction of interpersonal and intergroup similarities and/or differences into a positive imagined contact scenario affects participants evaluation of the outgroup. The results show, in line with the Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (Brewer, 1971), that ‘balanced similarity’ which incorporates both similarities and differences yields more positive outgroup attitudes than the conditions focusing only on similarities or only on differences. Experiment 5 compares ‘balanced similarity’ with positive imagined contact and finds that only the former affects variables related to preparing individuals for future contact. Chapter 5 consists of a three-wave longitudinal study examining the temporal effects of direct and extended friendships on outgroup attitudes and their mediation. Both types of friendships yield a significant indirect effect on attitudes which is stronger for direct friendships and is mediated by intergroup anxiety for both types of friendships and also by ingroup norms for direct friendships. Chapter 6 presents and discusses the key findings, outlines the limitations of these studies, and suggests avenues for future research.

Critics of anti-social behaviour policy (ASB) introduced by New Labour Government since 1997 argue that it is overly punitive, and criminalises what is often sub-criminal or nuisance behaviour. Further criticism is that policy implementation through formal channels has led to the public increasingly relying on formal agencies in the governance of ASB, and becoming less willing to play an active role. The catalyst for my research was two Community Safety Teams aim to reverse this trend. I have developed an innovative approach in the form of a booklet (Let s Talk) based on the under-researched Imagined Intergroup Contact model associated with the Intergroup Contact Theory which underpins Intergenerational Practice. My thesis centres on the piloting of the booklet in two regions in England, and the proposition that Intergenerational approaches can be a useful way of understanding and addressing tensions associated with perceived anti-social behaviour by young people . Drawing broadly on a social constructionist paradigm (Burr, 1995), and using an inductive case study approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected via various research tools. The sample included local residents, representatives of community organisations and the Community Safety Teams (CST). Data were coded and analysed using NVivo and SPSS. Theoretical data analysis was underpinned by the Integrated Threat Theory and the Social Cognitive Theory. Compared with other theories associated with Intergenerational Practice, the Integrated Threat Theory gave a more comprehensive explanation for intergenerational tensions. SCT gave new insights into the concept of agency in relation to the governance of ASB. My research identified anti-social behaviour that the CSTs felt did not warrant formal intervention, and the booklet received enthusiastic support from all parties consulted as an alternative, community-based approach. Reasons for a few individuals not wanting to adopt the booklet approach were identified; these included personal factors and social dynamics. My findings provided important knowledge for the future development and use of the booklet. This thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge. Firstly, it extends the theoretical explanation of intergenerational tensions, and adds insights into the concept of governance and the theoretical underpinnings of Intergenerational Practice. Secondly, it advances implications for practice in relation to fully exploring social dynamics other than intergenerational issues, taking account of potential multigenerational factors, and being aware that preparatory activities to strengthen selfefficacy may be required.

In this diploma thesis I explore the topic of publics on online social networking sites. I also focused on how the concept of publics affects how users behave and present themselves on online social networking sites, taking Facebook as an example. Identity management is an extensively researched area. However, less attention is paid to understanding the ways how users define their audience and how precise such a concept can actually be. In this thesis I set to understand how teenagers think and conceptualize different types of audiences they may encounter and how such imagined audience influences the way they use Facebook. Since this is a topic considerably difficult to think of let alone speak about, especially for young people, I chose projective techniques used in a focus group to overcome these obstacles. Using this method I tried to get answers on the research questions and obtain an insight as to how people imagine their audiences on online social networking sites, what are the most prominent types of users, and how it affects, in turn, their usage of Facebook. A similar type of research can be conducted also for other groups of online social networking sites users as well as for other online social networking sites. The next possible step can be a quantitative study assessing the stated...

Esta tese investiga o estilo no futebol como fenômeno de significação, argumentando que o comentário ao jogo funciona como tradução do que se vê em campo. Entendemos que os estilos, em geral associados a nações, só existem pelo olhar subjetivo coletivo dos observadores (comentaristas e aficionados, mas também, por reverberação, da parcela não torcedora de uma comunidade), os quais traduzem o estilo a cada partida, a cada acontecimento futebolístico na história. Essas práticas discursivas, por sua vez, se concretizam no que chamamos narrativas do estilo produto da tradução do que Dominique Maingueneau classifica como o discurso primeiro do futebol no discurso segundo dos observadores, acumulado sistematicamente na língua literária que, segundo Benedict Anderson, reúne comunidades imaginadas nacionais em torno de jornais (mas este trabalho considera a hipótese de que outras mídias também sirvam como esse ponto de encontro) e romances, ou seja, no chão comum das narrativas impressas. Dois estudos de caso ilustram nossa argumentação teórica, ambos baseados na análise de textos de jornais: a partir de relatos sobre turnês de clubes britânicos a Buenos Aires nos anos 1920, investigamos a construção do que Richard Giulianotti conceitua como uma oposição sintática entre as comunidades nacionais de Inglaterra e Argentina; num segundo momento, buscamos as variações semânticas, ainda nos termos de Giulianotti, envolvendo comunidades locais/regionais em sua relação com a nação em foco, o Arsenal de Londres e, novamente, a comunidade imaginada inglesa. O futebol, concluímos, só ganha sentido pleno numa sequência narrativa midiática e enraizada historicamente. As narrativas do estilo constroem um enredo comum espécie de folhetim permanente e amálgama das identidades comunitárias. Por essa tendência à folhetinização, tanto na forma (simbiose com o veículo, a mídia) quanto no conteúdo (o acontecimento como matéria-prima fundamental), o futebol, sugerimos por fim, está para a cultura dos modernos esportes de competição como o romance também derivado do folhetim para a cultura literária, ambos como linguagens traduzíveis em narrativas e estilos / This thesis investigates the style in football as a signifying phenomenon, arguing that the language of the game translates into the commentary on what is seen on the pitch. We consider that the styles, generally associated with nations, only exist by the observers collective and subjective interpretations. These observers (commentators and fans, but also the non-fan part of a community) translate the style by the event match by match in football history. These discursive practices, in turn, take the form of what we call narratives of style, in a process that Dominique Maingueneau ranks as a translation of the primary discourse of football into the secondary discourse of the observers, systematically accumulated in the literary language which, according to Benedict Anderson, brings together national imagined communities around newspapers (but this thesis considers the hypothesis that other media might also play the same role) and novels, i.e., the common ground of printed narratives. Two case studies illustrate our theoretical arguments, both based on the analysis of press reports: firstly, from the tours British clubs took in Buenos Aires in the 1920s, investigating the construction of what Richard Giulianotti sees as a syntactic opposition between the national communities of England and Argentina; subsequently, we seek the semantic variations, still in Giulianottis terms, involving local/regional communities in their relationship with the nation and focusing on the Arsenal, from North London, and again the English imagined community. Football, we conclude, only reaches its full meaning as historically rooted media narratives. The narratives of style form this serialized and permanently renewed story that amalgamates community identities. Footballs form (in symbiosis with the media) and content (the event as a basic source of storytelling), we would like to argue at last, suggests that the game works for the culture of modern competitive sports as the novel also originally derived from serialized stories published in newspapers does for the literary culture at large, both of them languages translatable into narratives and styles

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2017-03-02T16:28:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Carolina Moreira Paulino_.pdf: 727630 bytes, checksum: 7ceb3c9ed1b8ec21eeb62041958eafd2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-02T16:28:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Carolina Moreira Paulino_.pdf: 727630 bytes, checksum: 7ceb3c9ed1b8ec21eeb62041958eafd2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-20 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho objetiva investigar, à luz de um escopo teórico advindo das áreas da Linguística Aplicada e das Ciências Sociais, as relações entre as representações da língua inglesa, as identidades, as comunidades imaginadas e o investimento dado por aprendizes participantes de uma turma do curso de inglês básico do Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego (PRONATEC) à aquisição da língua inglesa. Para chegar às respostas das perguntas norteadoras da pesquisa, foi utilizada como metodologia a pesquisa narrativa, que garante, por sua perspectiva êmica, que os participantes do estudo tenham voz para expressar, através de seus relatos, suas próprias experiências e opiniões. Os instrumentos utilizados para a geração dos dados foram entrevistas episódicas com três participantes, além da observação de aulas em diferentes etapas do curso, acompanhada de anotações de campo. As representações da língua inglesa como a língua do mercado de trabalho e do turismo, que trazem consigo o viés utilitarista da língua, vendo-a como uma chave de acesso a uma gama de informações, cultura, e oportunidades profissionais, foram as mais encontradas nas narrativas dos participantes. Percebeu-se também que as identidades dos aprendizes são múltiplas e estão em constante conflito, e que determinam quando e como cada um pode se expressar. As comunidades imaginadas dos aprendizes dizem respeito a grupos de profissionais do turismo que têm oportunidades de trabalho através do conhecimento da língua inglesa, viajantes internacionais e até mães dedicadas ao sucesso escolar de seus filhos. Concluiu-se que as representações, identidades e comunidades imaginadas dos aprendizes são construídas através de discursos presentes nos diversos contextos de que participam, e que são sempre permeadas por relações de poder, que incentivam ou inibem o seu investimento na tarefa de aprender a nova língua. / The present work aims to investigate, in the light of a theoretical spectrum coming from the areas of Applied Linguistics and Social Sciences, the relations between the representations of the English language, the identities, the imagined communities and the investment given by learners from a group of the basic English course of PRONATEC to the acquisition of the English language. The methodology used to answer the research questions was the narrative research, which guarantees, given its emic perspective, that the participants have a voice to express in their narratives their own experiences and opinions. Episodic interviews with three participants, as well as class observation in different stages of the course, accompanied by field notes, were used as instruments to generate data. The main representations of the English language observed in the participants’ narratives were the ones that see it as the language of the job market and the tourism, and that bring along with them the utilitarian bias of the language, representing it as a key to open doors that lead to a range of information and culture, and professional opportunities. It was also noticed that the learners’ identities are multiple and in continuous conflict, and that they determine when and how each one of them can express themselves. The learners’ imagined communities are mainly groups of tourism professionals who have job opportunities due to their English skills, international travelers, and even mothers who dedicate their time to their children’s educational progress. We concluded that the learners’ representations, identities and imagined communities are built through the dialog of the discourses present in the different contexts in which they take part, and that they are always permeated by relations of power, which may encourage or inhibit their investment in learning a new language.

Learning English as a second language is a key factor to promote globalization, because the language has spread widely. Furthermore, learning English vocabulary for the fast-paced global business environment is highly dependent on the imagined future of a business major; he or she must imagine in what context the business career will take place: what sphere of activity will be involved, in which scenarios of language usage, and what lexical items will be needed. Vocabulary learning has long been characterized by the use of decontextualized vocabulary academic word lists. As an alternative, this project researches the use of an integrated language thematic mode--the theme being business communication-with a focus on incorporating various linguistics aspects of learning English. This research will emphasize the integrated linguistics approach to the acquisition of academic vocabulary. Additionally, the project explores the use of an individual’s imagined community in setting vocabulary goals and second-language-acquisition strategies. The study took place at the English Language Program and College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA) at California State University, San Bernardino in the spring of 2016. International students were asked to participate in a survey; an interview questionnaire was designed to discover the students’ preferences strategies and in learning English with respect to their future career. The results varied based on students’ backgrounds, their specific majors, and their personalities and preferred ways of learning.

This thesis explores the idea of a liminal space, as being dreamlike, suspended in time and physically unlocatable. It questions and exploits the boundary between abstraction and figuration in painting. This investigation has been considered from a subjective viewpoint allowing a distancing of space to illuminate new perceptions and experiences through the language of painting. The project has sought to explore the relationship between the natural world and seeing, to deepen and emphasize the other worldliness of an in-between space. This third space has been evoked by a process of abstracting pictorial content, juxtaposition of elements, colour and composition. The thesis is constituted of practice-based 80%, accompanied by an exegesis 20%.