Currently for travel planning, guests will research via hotel websites while still preferring to book through third-party sites, which leads to a disconnect between hotels and their guests. A chat widget artifact that is added onto the hotel’s website and linked through messaging applications was created by a start-up company, Bookboost, to bridge this gap. The current intuitiveness of the artifact and future improvements that may increase intuitiveness was investigated through a case study of user and expert analysis. 10 participants – 5 hotel staff users and 5 guest users – were sampled at hotel lobbies via systematic sampling and non-random sampling. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years old, with 30% being millennials. Task analysis, an interview, and a questionnaire were used for user analysis. The researcher acted as an evaluator and examined the artifact for flaws and possible improvements using activity theory’s human-artifact model (HAM). Analyses suggest that current intuitiveness is fairly high, but there is room for improvement. There seems to be a difference between millennials and non-millennials, especially regarding the amount of time taken and preference for the artifact (versus more familiar methods for communicating with others). Interest and comfort in technology usage was a factor in intuitiveness. Generally, those more comfortable with technology had higher zone of proximal development (ZPD) scores. Improvements have been suggested that may increase artifact intuitiveness, although this was not tested due to the scope of the study. Future research can continue to examine if the suggested improvements have indeed increased intuitiveness in the artifact for users of all ages. / Vid reseplanering brukar gäster ofta undersöka hotellwebbplatser men sedan ändå föredra att boka via tredjepartssidor, vilket leder till en klyfta mellan hotellen och deras gäster. För att överbrygga detta gap har startupföretaget Bookboost skapat en chattwidget (artefakt) som läggs till på hotellets webbplats och länkas till användarnas chattappar. Denna artefakts nuvarande intuitivitet och möjlighet till framtida intuitivitetsförbättringar undersöks genom en fallstudie av upplevelsen hos både experter och vanliga användare. 10 deltagare – 5 hotellmedarbetare och 5 gäster – rekryterades via förfrågan i hotellfoajéer utifrån ett systematiskt urval och icke-slumpmässigt urval. Deltagarna varierade i ålder från 18 till 65 år, med 30% inom milleniegenerationen. Uppgiftsanalys, intervju, och frågeformulär tillämpades i användaranalysen. Forskaren fungerade som utvärderare och undersökte artefaktens brister och möjliga förbättringar med hjälp av aktivitetsteorins human-artifact model (HAM). Analyserna tyder på att dagens intuitivitet är ganska hög, men att det finns utrymme för förbättringar. Det verkar finnas en generationsskillnad mellan äldre och yngre användare, särskilt när det gäller tidsåtgången och preferensen för artefakten (jämfört med mer välbekanta kommunikationsmetoder). Intresset för och komforten med teknologianvändning var en faktor i intuiviteten. I allmänhet uppnådde de som var mer bekväma med teknik en högre poäng i zonen för proximal utveckling (ZPD). Förbättringar som kan öka intuitiviteten för artefakten föreslås, även om prövandet av dessa inte ryms inom ramen för denna studie. Framtida forskning kan undersöka om de föreslagna förbättringarna verkligen ökar artefaktens intuitivitet för användare i alla åldrar.

This thesis explores Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' 1986-87 comic book series Watchmen according to its network structure, paying particular attention to page layout and the establishment of or deviation from the nine-panel "waffle iron" grid. This reading aims to better understand the comic book form, connecting the work of comics theorist Theirry Groensteen to certain elements of actor-network theory and Ian Bogost's notion of the ontograph--a map of being that emphasizes the interobjectivity of networked nodes. This thesis explores the ontographic nature of the comic book form more generally before tracing the meta-textual ontograph in Watchmen. The thesis then examines the network within the single panel, the multi-panel page layout, and the collaborative network of artist and author. Finally, this thesis explores how Watchmen as an ontograph exploits the affordances of the comic book form in order to construct creative temporalities.

Cette recherche a pour objet les interactions en ligne sur un réseau social numérique dédié à l’enseignement / apprentissage du français langue étrangère (FLE) et s’interroge sur la façon dont l’espace en ligne s’intègre au dispositif de formation pour fournir des contextes nouveaux pour les interactions sociales et l’apprentissage de la langue. La recherche repose sur une analyse écologique d’usages dans un contexte universitaire homoglotte d’apprentissage de la langue et une analyse des discours des différents acteurs pour mettre au jour leurs perceptions du dispositif et de ses affordances ainsi que leur appropriation de l’espace en ligne. Ce travail se veut contribuer à élaborer des outils pertinents pour l’analyse de la participation et à une meilleure compréhension de ce qui se construit dans les interactions sociales, pour les participants, dans le cadre d’une communication médiatisée en contexte pédagogique. L’analyse s’intéresse (1) aux activités participatives et à leurs formats conversationnels et énonciatifs, (2) à la pluralité des modes de participation et des modes relationnels d’engagement social qui s’installent sur le réseau socio-pédagogique, et (3) aux régimes spatiaux et attentionnels propres aux espaces numériques. L’étude montre que le réseau socio-pédagogique est peu utilisé et les usages observables profitent peu des propriétés d’ouverture, conversationnelles et sociales du réseau. Si un certain nombre d’affordances sont perçues par les participants, elles restent peu actualisées dans le cadre de notre étude. Face à ces usages limités, l’analyse tente de repérer dans les discours et les activités proposées, les freins et obstacles à des changements de pratiques. A partir de ce constat, la recherche propose des pistes didactiques tenant compte des enjeux sociaux et relationnels afin que le réseau socio-pédagogique puisse plus distinctement être perçu comme un espace médiateur d’activités sociales de littératie numérique. / This research aims at studying online interactions in a social network that is specific to teaching and learning French as a Foreign Language (FFL). It questions the way the virtual environment incorporates with the training device so to provide new contexts of interactions and language learning.The data used for this research belong to an academic and language learning context which enabled an ecological analysis of the uses.Furthermore a discourse analysis from various participants was undertaken to highlight their impressions of the device, the noticed affordances and their appropriation with the online environment. This study contributes at elaborating useful tools for the analysis of participation and a better understanding of social interactions in the case of a mediated communication in a pedagogical context.The analyses are based on (1) participative activities, their conversational and enunciative format, (2) the various participation modes and relationnal social commitment that flourishes in a socio-pedagogical network and (3) the spatial and attentionnal features that are specific to a virtual learning environment.The study shows that there are few uses of the socio-pedagogical network, and the various ones that have been noticed did not benefit from the network’s wide access, conversational and social design.As a certain number of affordances have been noted by the participants, few of them were used in the case of our study. Considering those limited uses, the analysis tries to spot the restraints and obstacles to these changing practices by taking into account the participant’s discourse and suggested activities. From this observation, the research suggests didactical guidelines that include this social and relational challenge - and to consider this socio-pedagogical network as an environment which mediates social activities and digital litteracy.

Sociala plattformar är på många sätt integrerat i människors liv. Sedan uppkomsten av de mest vanligt förekommande sociala plattformarna har sättet på vilket människor framställer sig själv genom dessa förändrats. Från att ha delat filterlösa vardagsbilder, har en stark kultur präglad av yta och perfektion kommit att karaktärisera innehållet på dessa plattformar. Denna kultur har dock visat sig påverka människor negativt, i form av ökad psykisk ohälsa och utseendefixering. Som en reaktion på detta efterfrågas därför mer transparens kring innehållet som publiceras. Utifrån denna bakgrund har denna uppsats haft som avsikt att undersöka hur människor framställer sig själva på plattformar där syftet är att skildra en autentisk verklighet. En fallstudie på den sociala plattformen BeReal har därför genomförts. Frågeställningen som studien ämnat att besvara är: Hur konstruerar människor sin identitet med hjälp av teknik vars uttalade syfte är att möjliggöra en autentisk framställning av jaget? För att besvara frågan har nio deltagare fått i uppgift att föra dagbok kring sitt användande av BeReal. Därefter har en uppföljande intervju gjorts med varje enskild deltagare. Empirin har analyserats utifrån Jean Baudrillards (1981) teoretiska ramverk Logic of Signification och även Social Network Affordances formulerade av Jeffrey Treem & Paul M. Leonardi (2013). Resultaten visar att användare lyfter fram önskvärda aktiviteter med syfte att framställa sig på ett visst sätt. Dessa aktiviteter står ofta högt i rang utifrån en kulturell och samhällelig kontext, vilket synliggörs genom Logic of Signification. Social Network Affordances synliggör på vilket sätt tekniken begränsar och möjliggör för användare att nyttja plattformen. Genom detta framkommer därför hur användare ibland kringgår de tekniska aspekterna med syfte att konstruera sig på ett önskvärt sätt. Därför mynnar resultatet ut i en diskussion kring att det tycks svårt att undkomma den polerade bild som präglar många sociala plattformar. En förklaring till detta kan vara att igenkänning i andra, snarare än autenticitet, är vad som ger bäst positivt utfall för identitetskonstruktionen. Ytterligare ett fynd, som går under namnet autenticitetsparadoxen, synliggör hur en autentisk framställning i vissa fall kan bidra till att människor mår ännu sämre. Detta grundar sig i att den ständiga jämförelsen med andra påverkar synen av jaget. / Social platforms are in many ways integrated into people's everyday lives. Since the emergence of the most common social platforms, the way in which people present themselves online has changed. From sharing unfiltered everyday images, a strong culture characterized by surface and perfection has come to influence the content of these platforms. However, this culture has shown to affect people negatively in the form of mental illness and an increased appearance fixation. As a response to this, more transparency is requested regarding the content of these platforms. Based on this background, this essay has investigated how people present themselves on platforms with the purpose to portray an authentic reality. A case study on the platform BeReal has therefore been carried out. The question that the study has intended to answer is: How do people construct their identity through technology whose stated purpose is to enable an authentic representation of the self? To answer the question, nine participants have been given the task of keeping a diary about their use of BeReal. A follow-up interview was then conducted with each participant. The empirical work has been analyzed based on Jean Baudrillard's (1981) theoretical framework Logic of Signification and also Social Network Affordances formulated by Jeffrey Treem & Paul M. Leonardi (2013). The results show that users highlight desirable activities with the aim of portraying themselves in a certain way. These activities are often highly ranked based on a cultural and societal context, which is made visible through the Logic of Signification. Social Network Affordances sheds light on the way in which technology limits and enables users to use the platform. This shows how users sometimes bypass the technical aspects with the aim of constructing themselves in a desirable way. Therefore, a discussion has been held about how it seems difficult to escape the polished image that characterizes many social platforms. An explanation for this could be that recognition in others, rather than authenticity, is what gives the best positive outcome for identity construction. Another finding, the authenticity paradox, highlights how an authentic presentation in some cases contributes to even more negative feelings. This is based on the fact that the constant comparison with others affects the view of the self.

La pléthymographie pénienne est considérée comme la méthode la plus objective pour évaluer les intérêts sexuels d'hommes adultes. Par contre, un nombre grandissant de chercheurs déplorent le manque de correspondance qui existe entre les stimuli présentés dans ce type d'évaluation et la réalité. Il est proposé de tenter de remédier à cette lacune en utilisant des personnages virtuels générés par ordinateur et présentant une variété de dispositions affectives lors d'évaluations pléthysmographiques. Ces stimuli n'ont jamais été utilisés dans l'évaluation des intérêts sexuels auprès d’agresseurs sexuels d'enfants. Cette thèse est composée de deux articles qui visent à soutenir le recours à ce type de stimuli lors d'évaluations pléthysmographiques. Afin d'atteindre cet objectif, des hommes ayant eu ou non des contacts sexuels avec des enfants ont été recrutés dans le but de les comparer. Une première étude empirique est bipartite. Elle vise en premier lieu à déterminer auprès d'une population étudiante si les dispositions affectives simulées par les personnages virtuels sont identifiables. Elle cherche ensuite à déterminer la capacité des personnages virtuels à générer un profil d'excitation sexuelle propre à un groupe d'individus n'ayant pas de problématique sexuelle. La seconde étude expérimentale porte sur la comparaison des profils de réponses érectiles issus de la présentation des personnages virtuels et évalue leur capacité à discriminer les individus selon qu'ils possèdent ou non des antécédents en matière de délinquance sexuelle envers les enfants. Dans l'ensemble, les résultats soutiennent l'utilisation de ces stimuli lors d'évaluations pléthysmographiques. Ils démontrent que les personnages virtuels simulent les dispositions affectives prévues et qu'ils génèrent des profils d'excitation sexuelle et des indices de déviance permettant de discriminer entre les groupes à l'étude. Ce projet de recherche présente les avantages associés à la présentation des personnages virtuels simulant différentes dispositions affectives lors de l'évaluation des intérêts sexuels chez les agresseurs d'enfants et propose des avenues intéressantes en termes d'évaluation et de traitement auprès de cette population. / Penile plethysmography is considered the most objective method to assess adult men's sexual interests. However, a growing number of researchers underline the poor correspondence between the stimuli used during this type of assessment and reality. It is proposed to try to overcome this issue by using computer generated virtual characters that present a variety of affective dispositions during plethysmographic assessments. These stimuli have never been used in the assessment of child molesters' sexual interests. This thesis is composed of two articles that aim at supporting the use of this type of stimuli during plethysmographic assessments. In order to reach this goal, men who have or not engaged in sexual contact with children were recruited so that they could be compared. A first empirical study is bipartite. On one hand, it aims to determine in a student sample whether the affective dispositions simulated by the virtual characters represent what was intended. Its second goal is to determine the ability of the charcarters to generate a sexual arousal profile representative of non-deviant men. The second experimental study focuses on comparing profiles of erectile responses recorded to the virtual characters and determining their ability to discriminate individuals according to their group membership. Overall, results support the use of these stimuli during plethysmographic assessments. They demonstrate that the virtual characters simulate intended affective dispositions as well as their ability to generate profiles of sexual arousal and deviance differentials representative of group membership. This research project presents the advantages of using virtual characters that simulate varying affective dispositions in the assessment of child molesters' sexual interests and proposes interesting avenues in terms of assessment and treatment with this population.

The use of instructional technology has opened up new avenues in education with broad implications in the foreign or additional language (L2) learning context. One of the research priorities is to explore student perceptions of the use of such modern means in their education which otherwise might not be anticipated. The present study aimed to determine (a) the perceived affordances as well as limitations of the information and communication technology (ICT) pedagogical application in coded corrective feedback (e-feedback) provision on L2 writing, (b) English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ perspectives on using e-feedback to reduce their local and global mistakes, and (c) the type of self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviours, according to EFL students’ self-reports, electronic feedback and learning logs called forth in cognitive, affective, and metacognitive domains. The participants (n=48) were high-intermediate to advanced EFL learners from four cohorts enrolled on an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) preparation course in a branch of the Institute of Science and Technology in Tehran. Each cohort went through 84 face-to-face tutorial sessions in four months. During this period, they also wrote essays and received e-feedback on 12 IELTS Writing Task 2 prompts with a minimum of drafting work three times for each on an e-learning platform (www.ekbatani.ir) specially designed for this study. The data from all four cohorts were collected over the course of 11 months, using semi-structured interviews, online structured and unstructured learning logs, and an open-ended questionnaire to provide an in-depth picture of student perceptions of this technology mediation. Through a purely qualitative research design, the log, interview, and open-ended questionnaire data were analysed, categorised and coded. The findings represented students’ perceptions of the benefits of the e-feedback and learning logs as (i) offering a motivating and empowering means of providing EFL writing support, (ii) enhancing the thinking and problem-solving processes, (iii) a flexible and fast scaffolding approach for L2 writing improvement, and (iv) encouraging student writers’ active knowledge construction by helping them notice mistakes, focus on writing specifics, overcome the fear of writing, and grow confidence in L2 learning. The self-reported data indicated perceived limitations including (i) the time-consuming nature of the e-feedback processes, (ii) the occasional need for face-to-face discussions, peer feedback addition, providing supplements to e-feedback such as on-demand e-tutorials, and (iii) increased workload for the teacher in proportion to the number of students. Specific writing improvement was perceived to be locally in the use of punctuation signs and grammar, in spelling skills and the scope of vocabulary; and globally in organising ideas, finding ideas in the form of blueprints, and developing ideas into full-length essays. The student perceptions demonstrated that the learner-centred e-feedback environment created different affordances for students’ cognitive, affective, and metacognitive behaviours: (i) cognitively, it assisted the use and development of various learning strategies, enhanced student EFL writing experience, and increased awareness of error patterns in their essays; (ii) affectively, it supported students’ motivational processes, ability to appraise their progress, restore, and sustain positivity, and greater perceived self-efficacy beliefs in their own L2 writing skills; finally, (iii) metacognitive affordances included the ability to rethink and amend their plans as well as seek out support, ability to reflect on the writing processes holistically, ability to self-monitor to remain on course, and ability to devise and implement a plan of action mostly by finding a strategy to deal with mistakes and by taking greater caution in writing their future drafts. Despite arising from a particular contextual framework with the experience of particular cohorts of students, the findings can hopefully be of value to researchers and practitioners in the fields of online language pedagogy, second language acquisition (SLA), EFL writing, and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) with communication uses. The findings can assist language courseware designers, e-feedback platform developers, and L2 writing course administrators to support and enhance their practices and decisions, especially in providing and implementing ICT and SRL initiatives in EFL writing.

<p>The present work is concerned with projective prepositions, which express the relation between two objects by referring to a direction in three-dimensional space. The projective prepositions have been regarded as expressing simple schematic relations of a geometric nature. A theory of the apprehension of projective relations can account for their meanings when they express strictly geometric relations. However, many studies have shown that the appropriateness of the prepositions also depends on the functional relation between the objects and that a number of functional factors influence the comprehension of English prepositions. This experimental study investigates if the acceptability of the Swedish prepositions över, under, ovanför and nedanför are influenced by functional factors as well, and whether acceptability judgments about över and under are more sensitive to functional influences than judgments about ovanför and nedanför, as has been shown for the corresponding English prepositions over and under, and above and below, respectively. It also investigates how the shapes and the parts of the related objects influence their functional interaction, and how the acceptability of the prepositions is in consequence influenced by the shapes of the objects. It was found that the theory of apprehension can indeed account for the acceptability of the prepositions when the relation between the objects is strictly geometric. It was further found that acceptability judgments about them are influenced by functional factors in a similar manner to the corresponding English prepositions when the objects are functionally related, although judgments about under and nedanför are not differentially influenced by these factors. Furthermore, the shapes and the parts of both of the related objects influence acceptability judgments about the prepositions in predictable manners. An extension of the theory of apprehension is suggested which can account for the functional influences indicated in the present study.</p>

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The present work is concerned with projective prepositions, which express the relation between two objects by referring to a direction in three-dimensional space. The projective prepositions have been regarded as expressing simple schematic relations of a geometric nature. A theory of the apprehension of projective relations can account for their meanings when they express strictly geometric relations. However, many studies have shown that the appropriateness of the prepositions also depends on the functional relation between the objects and that a number of functional factors influence the comprehension of English prepositions. This experimental study investigates if the acceptability of the Swedish prepositions över, under, ovanför and nedanför are influenced by functional factors as well, and whether acceptability judgments about över and under are more sensitive to functional influences than judgments about ovanför and nedanför, as has been shown for the corresponding English prepositions over and under, and above and below, respectively. It also investigates how the shapes and the parts of the related objects influence their functional interaction, and how the acceptability of the prepositions is in consequence influenced by the shapes of the objects. It was found that the theory of apprehension can indeed account for the acceptability of the prepositions when the relation between the objects is strictly geometric. It was further found that acceptability judgments about them are influenced by functional factors in a similar manner to the corresponding English prepositions when the objects are functionally related, although judgments about under and nedanför are not differentially influenced by these factors. Furthermore, the shapes and the parts of both of the related objects influence acceptability judgments about the prepositions in predictable manners. An extension of the theory of apprehension is suggested which can account for the functional influences indicated in the present study.

The current research aims to integrate previous research on the host of negative consequences associated with women’s experience of stereotype threat in a science context. Using an expectancy-value framework, the current research explores potential indirect effects of a communal goal affordance intervention on science motivation, via stereotype threat, state anxiety, communal goal affordances, and belonging in science. Building upon the previous literature, the current research attempts to link stereotype threat to science motivation via communal goal affordances and state anxiety’s effect on belonging in science. Additionally, the current research attempts to illustrate the efficacy of a communal goal affordance intervention by increasing perceptions of communal goal affordances and reducing anxiety in a science context. The current study found no evidence of a successful implementation of the communal goal affordance intervention, as evident by non-significant results on parametric and non-parametric tests of central tendencies between interaction type. Additionally, no indirect effects on science motivation were discovered within either tested pathway. However, a significant positive relationship between stereotype threat and state anxiety, communal goal affordances and belonging in science, and belonging in science and science motivation were found. Limitations to the current study and the communal goal affordance intervention, as well as the implications for these findings and future directions for research are discussed.