This article looks into accounts of the computer mediated discourse medium of instant messaging programs. Previous accounts have compared communication within this medium either to solely written or to solely spoken language, thus neglecting its relationship to both or to the constraints generated specifically by the medium. Such accounts have therefore, often come to erroneously alarming conclusions. This article lays out an argument for the treatment of computer mediated communication through instant messaging programs as the beginnings of a set of new registers. / text

In this thesis, I use a multi-perspectival analytical approach to investigate the paralanguage of naturally occurring work-based Instant Message conversations. My research into the field of computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) has shown that written non-verbal cues have been considered as important means of contextualising text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), yet their scholarly treatment has been scant. Previous findings about the importance paralanguage in CMD have been further strengthened by the findings of the field of business communication: in the virtual work environment the lack of audio-visual information has been found to contribute to miscommunication and consequently hinder cooperation. The linguistic devices and discursive strategies that are used in order to compensate for the limitations imposed by the text-based communicative channel have therefore been identified as in need of further exploration. In this thesis, I have outlined a CMC cue system based on the previous findings of CMDA to investigate the range of cues used as non-verbal signals in workplace text- based CMC. I have also used a multi-perspectival approach based on the theoretical frameworks of interactional sociolinguistics, communities of practice, relational work and politeness and conversation analysis (CA) in order to investigate the range of interactional roles of paralanguage during computer-mediated business conversations. The interpretive CA-informed analysis I have conducted has provided evidence of the important role of non-verbal signals during the contextualisation of complex transactional and relational communicative goals in the workplace. The analysis in this thesis has provided two significant results: firstly, by incorporating the findings of research into paralanguage of spoken as well as other written genres it resulted in a comprehensive description of the orthographic and typographic non-verbal cues used in text-based CMC and, secondly, by drawing on the multi-perspectival framework, it allowed for a description of the complex interactional functions of these cues during the contextualisation of content and relational intent and the creation of interactional coherence in IM.

Social media has created a two-pronged dilemma for the journalism world. On one side is an attack of the basic notions of identity and authority for an age-old profession while on the other side supporting journalists by making available an endless amount of new tools and resources for them to work with. This thesis establishes and examines the online community of practice that has formed in the crosshair of the two sides, where the future of newspapers is a hotly debated subject. Using innovative data collection, the conversations of 20 experts is studied qualitatively through computer mediated discourse analysis to examine and explore the debate while providing consideration of the key issues to allow for an in-depth study.

Social media has created a two-pronged dilemma for the journalism world. On one side is an attack of the basic notions of identity and authority for an age-old profession while on the other side supporting journalists by making available an endless amount of new tools and resources for them to work with. This thesis establishes and examines the online community of practice that has formed in the crosshair of the two sides, where the future of newspapers is a hotly debated subject. Using innovative data collection, the conversations of 20 experts is studied qualitatively through computer mediated discourse analysis to examine and explore the debate while providing consideration of the key issues to allow for an in-depth study.

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 study examined the electronic discourse in an online course to investigate if culture exhibited itself in the communication of students. The researcher also sought to find out if a third culture was built in this course and if so, what design features facilitated the emergence of this third culture. A graduate-level online course at a Southwestern university was examined in a case study. Computer-mediated discourse analysis was used as the method. The students were administered an online demographic survey to collect information about their background. The online communication of the students, the instructor, and the assistants were analyzed. A semantic analysis matrix was developed based on the pilot study that was used to investigate the content of the messages posted in the discussion conferences. The results showed that culture did not exhibit itself in the discourse. A third culture, however, was formed by the students. The discourse characteristics of this third culture are producing timely and intelligent comments and equal levels of participation; use of materials from both cultures; constant interaction among participants; creating a side conversation between two different cultures; a common discourse accent; words, expressions, acronyms created in the course; curiosity, sensitivity, openness towards otherness, critical engagement with others; and ability to understand and tolerate different perspectives and cultural phenomena. The design features of the particular online course were discussed. The design features that may have helped create a third culture among students are face-to-face meetings and introductions conference in the course; instructor’s teaching strategies such as creating expectations for participation and her scaffolding and mentoring throughout the course; and features of the course communication platform such as the ability to embellish the thoughts through the use of fonts, colors, and quoting.

This dissertation examines weblog community as a materially afforded and socially constructed space. In a set of three case studies, this dissertation examines three separate weblog communities between 2004 and 2008. CASE STUDY I looks at knowledge management bloggers in order to better understand how bloggers form communities. In this case study, it will be shown that blogs group thematically and in temporal bursts. These bursts of thematic activity allow for movement in and out of a community, as well as act as a bridge between different weblog communities. CASE STUDY II examines two pseudonymous bloggers in order to better understand how presentation and identity is understood in blogging. It will be shown in CASE STUDY II that social identity in weblog communities is negotiated through blogging practices such as transparency in writing and truthful presentation. CASE STUDY III delves further into social identity by examining a community of academic bloggers and how traditional, institutionalized expectations influence social identity over time, and if this influence differs in the core and periphery of the community. It will be shown in CASE STUDY III that there is indeed a difference in how social identity is negotiated and performed between core and periphery members of a weblog community. Finally, a model towards an integrated approach to researching blogs is put forth.

Social media has created a two-pronged dilemma for the journalism world. On one side is an attack of the basic notions of identity and authority for an age-old profession while on the other side supporting journalists by making available an endless amount of new tools and resources for them to work with. This thesis establishes and examines the online community of practice that has formed in the crosshair of the two sides, where the future of newspapers is a hotly debated subject. Using innovative data collection, the conversations of 20 experts is studied qualitatively through computer mediated discourse analysis to examine and explore the debate while providing consideration of the key issues to allow for an in-depth study.

Abstract This thesis studies online community as a discursive phenomenon and as an experience. The ethnographic approach employed in this study allows the open exploration of meanings and experiences associated with community by site members, designers and outside commentators in three online environments. Extensive participant observation is supplemented by interviews, surveys and analysis of the interaction surrounding the topic of community. Nexus analysis provides an understanding of social action as the intermingling of historical bodies, interaction orders and discourses embedded in the scene of action. The thesis argues that the concept of community functions as a boundary object, taking different meanings in each context it is employed in. Community can be used to describe strong community experiences or lighter varieties of togetherness online; it can be a pragmatic term simply referring to the user base of a site; or it can incorporate many understandings related to the shared identities and shared practices in the social scene being referred to. The work thus provides a theoretical contribution to ongoing academic discussions related to defining online community, as well as a great deal of empirical knowledge on how experiences of togetherness are created online. Such knowledge may be used to inform future technology development and administrative practices that are sensitive to the many elements affecting social interaction in online spaces. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja tarkastelee verkkoyhteisöllisyyttä diskursiivisena ilmiönä sekä kokemuksena. Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan, minkälaisia merkityksiä ja kokemuksia kolmen eri verkkoympäristön jäsenet, kehittäjät ja ulkopuoliset kommentoijat liittävät yhteisöllisyyteen. Tutkimuksen etnografinen lähestymistapa sekä neksusanalyyttinen ote mahdollistavat sen, että sosiaalista toimintaa voidaan analysoida tapahtumapaikkaan eli verkkoympäristöön ja -yhteisöön liittyvien historiataustojen, vuorovaikutusjärjestysten ja diskurssien sulautumana. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu pitkäkestoisesta osallistuvasta havainnoinnista, haastatteluista, kyselytutkimuksista sekä yhteisöllisyyttä käsittelevästä vuorovaikutuksesta tutkituissa verkkoympäristöissä. Väitöstutkimus esittää, että yhteisön käsite toimii rajaobjektina eli se saa eri merkityksiä kussakin kontekstissa, jossa se esiintyy. Ensinnäkin yhteisö-käsitteellä voidaan viitata vahvoihin yhteisöllisyyden kokemuksiin tai keveämpiin yhdessäolon muotoihin. Toiseksi yhteisö-käsite voi toimia käytännöllisenä synonyymina tietyn sivuston käyttäjäkunnalle. Kolmanneksi yhteisö-käsite voi sisältää yhtä aikaa monenlaisia merkityksiä, jotka liittyvät puheenaiheena olevan verkkoympäristön yhteisiin identiteetteihin ja käytänteisiin. Väitöstutkimus tuo uuden teoreettisen näkökulman yhteisö-käsitteen määritelmiä pohtiviin akateemisiin keskusteluihin sekä paljon empiiristä tietoa siitä, miten yhdessäolon kokemukset rakentuvat verkossa. Tätä tietoa erilaisista verkkovuorovaikutusta muokkaavista elementeistä voidaan hyödyntää muun muassa uusien teknologioiden ja ylläpitotoimintojen kehittämisessä.

The thesis examines the different conceptualizations of ‘freedom’ in mediated climate policy discourse during the 2021 German parliamentary election campaign using a method of Discourse-Conceptual Analysis. Analyzing three TV debates on climate policy between the leading candidates of the major German parties, the thesis investigates how journalists and politicians deploy references to ‘freedom’ in service of different agendas and how this affects the discursive construction of climate policy. The research shows that the concept of freedom is central to the German climate policy discourse. However, the majority of journalists and politicians does not construct freedom as the central goal of climate protection measures, as it was interpreted, for example, by the German Federal Constitutional Court in early 2021. Rather, the concept enters the discourse via the counter-concept of bans that potentially restrict freedom. Thus, climate policy does not become a means to achieve freedom, but an obstacle to its execution. Since freedom is conceptualized primarily as freedom of consumption and market freedom, the concept becomes a central vehicle for capitalist ideology in German mediated climate discourse.