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Emojis are pictographs added to messages on social media and websites. Researchers have observed that emojis representing kissing faces are often used to close instant messaging conversations. This has been interpreted as an imitation of cheek kissing, a common behavior in some cultural contexts. We analyze the use of seven types of kissing emojis in three corpora of WhatsApp chats, one from Spain (where cheek kisses in face-to-face interaction are commonplace in many situations), the other from Germany (where kisses are occasionally given), and the third from the German-speaking part of Switzerland (where cheek kisses are a common greeting between relatives and friends). To do so, we systematically categorize and compare the use of a sample of these emojis on WhatsApp. The analysis suggests that there are differences between the three corpora in the use of the kissing emojis. The emoji “face throwing a kiss” is often included in closing messages in the Spanish and Swiss-German data, while in the Federal German corpus kisses do not appear at the end of a conversation; using these emojis in openings is uncommon in all three corpora. This suggests that these emojis can exhibit cultural variation, but they do not clearly mirror face-to-face behavior.

There has been an increasing growth in the use of technology resources in traditional classroom styled higher education courses. This growth has received with both optimism and criticism. One of the issues critics have posed is that the use of technology resources does little, if anything, to improve student learning. As a result, this research examined if the use of technology contributes to student learning outcomes and student engagement activities, above and beyond student demographic variables. Specifically, this study investigated if the use of computer mediated conferencing (CMC) tools (i.e., email and electronic discussion boards) and computer aided instructional (CAI) resources (i.e., use of the computer and the Internet) contribute to student learning. Included in the sample were 2000 college students, which were randomly drawn from the 2003 College Student Experience Questionnaire database. The survey included 53 Likert scale items with reliability ranges from .78 to .88 on each of the composite scales. For the data analysis, eight multiple regressions were conducted on student learning outcomes and student learning engagement. Student learning outcomes included four composite scales, measuring students' personal and social development, general education gains, intellectual development, science and technology gains, and vocational preparation. The student engagement scale was comprised of three composite scales, which included faculty interactions, social, political and scientific discussions, and diversity and social interactions. The findings revealed that the use of technology resources does contribute to student learning, above and beyond student's background variables. The model inclusive of technology variables explained 4% to 7% of the gains in student learning, while student background variables contributed .03% to 2% of the gains. The findings suggest incorporating the use of technology can aid students in the learning process, though the effect size was fairly modest in most cases. The use of computer mediated conferencing and computer assisted learning tools should be used in combination with traditional classroom instructions to have the best effects. / Ph. D.

This dissertation work considers communication between people. I look at coordinating dyads (couples in relationships) and people in working relationships to develop an understanding of how people engage in high-stakes, or emotional communication via various communicative media. The approach for this research is to observe and measure people's behavior during interaction and subsequent reporting of that behavior and associated internal experiences. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. Quantitative data are analyzed using a range of statistical analyses, including correlations matrices, ANOVAs, and multivariate statistics. Two controlled laboratory experiments were conducted for this research. These experiments involved couples in relationships. Couples were brought into the lab and argued with each other across one of three technological media: face-to-face, telephone, and instant messaging (IM). In one set of couples' experiments, the couples argued for twenty minutes; in the subsequent couples' experiment, couples were encouraged to take as much time as they needed for their arguments. One of the main results from the first experiment is that couples did, indeed, argue when brought into a laboratory setting. One of the important findings for the second experiment is that time did not affect couples' tendency to reach closure during their arguments. This research is a contribution in that it examines how people engage in highly emotional communication using various technological media. In a society with ever-increasing communication needs that require technology, it becomes necessary to study its communicative affordances. Understanding the context of highly emotional interactions between members of couples gives insight into how technology meets (or fails to meet) these communication needs. / Ph. D.

This research investigated the uses of computer-mediated communication in providing an online field experience in an educational psychology course for pre-service teachers at a large research university in the southeastern United States. Twenty-seven pre-service teachers in one section of a Psychological Foundations of Educational Psychology course for pre-service teachers, eight practicing teachers, and eight university professors participated in this study. The participants viewed CD-ROM based video case studies as part of an online field experience component and communicated electronically through chat rooms and threaded discussion lists. Data sources included transcripts of all chat room and threaded communication, surveys, field notes, observations, and student tasks and reflections, as well as interviews with the pre-service teachers, practicing teachers, university professors, and one technical support person. The methodology involved a mixed method approach. A template organizing approach with the constant comparative method was used in order to develop patterns and themes. Content analysis was applied to the content of the chat transcriptions. Finally, a quantitative component was included in the analysis of the thread transcripts with a measurement of the development of the pre-service teachers' reflective comments over time using an analysis of variance test of within subjects effects. This document reports the findings concerning the nature of the conversations among the participants as they developed across time; the learning outcomes of the students, teachers, and professors; how a computer-mediated learning environment supports reflection; the benefits and challenges of using computer-mediated communication to study and learn about educational psychology and teaching; and the benefits and challenges of creating and maintaining such a learning environment. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to better understand the ways that adult learners studying Catholic theology become present to one another, strengthen bonds of community, and contemplate the face of Christ in computer-mediated, text-based distance education. Ten geographically dispersed learners seeking undergraduate or graduate degrees in Catholic theology participated in the study. There was no face-to-face interaction. Through a password protected site specifically designed for the research, participants engaged in eight weeks of text-based, online conversation. They reflected on emergent themes about technology and the ways that it alters time, place, presentation of self, and relationships. Text as sacred, relational, presentational, communal, and transformational was explored, as was the nature and meaning of community, especially the spiritual quest to contemplate the face of Christ in an online community. The study offers a deep understanding of the meaning of presence and the development of community in the context of faith. Serving as the philosophical methodological foundation were the writings of Martin Heidegger (1927/1993), Hans-Georg Gadamer (1960/1999), Gabriel Marcel (1937/1967), John Paul II as Cardinal Carol Wojtyla (1976), and Robert Sokolowski (1993). The phenomenological method of Max van Manen (2003) guided data collection and analysis through the dynamic interplay of six research activities: (a) turning to the phenomenon which seriously interests us and commits us to the world; (b) investigating experience as we live it rather than as we conceptualize it; (c) reflecting on the essential themes which characterize the phenomenon; (d) describing the phenomenon through the art of writing and rewriting; (e) maintaining a strong and oriented pedagogical relation to the phenomenon; (f) balancing the research context by considering parts and whole. Recommendations for practitioners of computer-mediated education are explored; suggestions for future research include longitudinal studies of theology students in fully online programs, ways of introducing transcendent presence in online learning communities, how language bears on learning and presence, and the role of non-text based media and virtual environments on presence and the spiritual quest. / Ph. D.

A number of significant challenges confront effective communication in partially distributed conceptual design teams (PDCDTs), mainly due to the ill-defined and open nature of conceptual design tasks and their associated solution spaces. In contrast to co-located team members who interact face-to-face, communication difficulties among PDCDTs can intensify as a result of the physical separation of team members and their heavy reliance on communication technologies to achieve desired outcomes. Despite advances in these technologies, the ability to convey contextual and paralinguistic cues is still more limited between distant partners in comparison to face-to-face interactions. Thus, team members often experience challenges in establishing and maintaining shared understanding. In addition, partially distributed teams are more vulnerable to in-group dynamics than fully distributed or fully co-located teams. There have been substantial theoretical advances in the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) that seek to address these challenges. Although CMC theories are hypothetically convincing and generally accepted, actual empirical findings are to some extent either unconvincing or contradictory. Moreover, questions remain about whether CMC theories can hold up in the context of non-equivalent communication technologies. The proliferation of various communication devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops)–not to mention the growing corporate use of fully immersive telepresence technologies–means that a variety of combinations of communication devices can be used. To date, however, the majority of CMC studies have focused on the use of equivalent communication technologies (e.g., laptop to laptop). Given these practical challenges and research gaps, the overall objective of this study was to investigate how to improve shared understanding in PDCDTs. The study encompassed four distinct research threads. Study 1 conceptualized shared understanding in PDCDTs. From Study 1, factors associated with shared understanding were identified, and an input-process-output (IPO) model of shared understanding was developed. Study 2 examined the intra- and inter-sub-group communication patterns among PDCDTs. From Study 2, three different analytical approaches for exploring communication patterns were used to elucidate valuable insights into how interactions within and across sub-groups change with design tasks, as well as how individual roles and interpersonal dynamics affect those interactions. Study 3 utilized the outcomes from Study 1 (IPO model of shared understanding) to develop and validate an instrument to measure shared understanding. Lastly, Study 4 examined how different combinations of non-equivalent communication technologies impacted shared understanding in PDCDTs by using the shared understanding instrument developed from Study 3. Specifically, four types of communication technology conditions were utilized: (1) telepresence to telepresence (two different sizes), (2) telepresence to laptops, (3) telepresence to mobile devices, and (4) laptops to mobile devices. The findings revealed significant impacts of communication technologies on co-located and distant shared understanding, as well as differences between co-located and distant shared understanding for each communication technology condition. In addition, the impacts of shared understanding on different communication technology user groups were identified. Based on these findings, a number of communication technology recommendations, as well as managerial intervention strategies to operate successful PDCDTs, were developed. / Ph. D.

Social Learning in the workplace can encompass many things. In social environments, adults are constantly communicating with their colleagues and actually participating in an exchange of shared knowledge. As virtual learning continues to become more prominent in the workplace in an effort to help adults work and collaborate, learners will need to continually generate a network of communities to engage in practice. This study utilized the theoretical framework of Wenger's social theory of learning as a lens for identifying experiences contributing to social learning in the workplace and to what extent technological tools contributes to those collaborative learning opportunities. Qualitative methods were utilized for this study which generated themes central to "learning through collaboration", and "learning through system processes". There were also findings that related to the use of technological tools and specifically related to how they contribute to opportunities for learning. Extension Professionals including Extension Agents and State Specialists were recruited for participation. / Ph. D. / Social Learning in the workplace can encompass many things. In social environments, adults are constantly communicating with their colleagues and actually participating in an exchange of shared knowledge. As virtual learning continues to become more prominent in the workplace in an effort to help adults work and collaborate, learners will need to continually generate a network of communities to engage in practice. This study utilized the theoretical framework of Wenger’s social theory of learning as a lens for identifying experiences contributing to social learning in the workplace and to what extent technological tools contributes to those collaborative learning opportunities. Qualitative methods were utilized for this study which generated themes central to “learning through collaboration”, and “learning through system processes”. There were also findings that related to the use of technological tools and specifically related to how they contribute to opportunities for learning. Extension Professionals including Extension Agents and State Specialists were recruited for participation.