"November 2001". / Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Linguistics and Psychology, Dept. of Linguistics, 2002. / Bibliography: p. 285-291. / Introduction -- Language from a systemic functional perspective -- Social networks: a review of literature relevant to the Scotland Island study -- Methodology -- Analysing relational ties: a social network perspective -- A systemic functional approach to analysing social reality -- Discussion and conclusion. / This research is concerned with the study of language and the social order. Working within the systemic functional theory of language, and utilising the concept of a social network to model the social order, the primary aim is to put on display the relationship between the linguistic system and social order, between language and culture. Systemic functional grammar (Halliday, 1995; Halliday and Hasasn, 1985/9; Halliday and Matthiesen, 1997; Eggins and Slade 1997), with its emphasis on language as a social semiotic, is used to analyse the language used by a group of four women engaged in casual conversation in a small Australian island community. Here the analysis reveals how the women negotiate their social reality when speaking to each other. It shows how their social relations are shaped within a text (Hasan, 1996), and explores the notion that, despite the seemingly trivial, unconscious nature of casual interactions, power and solidarity are continually being negotiated by the participants (Halliday, 1994; Eggins and Slade, 1997). More specifically, this research examines the notion that through lexico-grammatical and semantic selections participants are able to negotiate dominant positions in interaction. Social Network analysis has been used to examine the relationship between the individual and the group. It offers a quantifiable analytical tool for describing the character of an individual's everyday social relationships (Milroy, 1987). A social network analysis is used in the present study to map the social relationships in the tight-knit network, or speech fellowship, of these women (creating a map of the context of situation in SFL terminology). Change in the social relationships and language choices is modeled by revisiting the participants 15 months later in a contextually similar environment and re-analysing the network and linguistic options. Systemic functional linguistics is then used to highlight the interdependency of language and social order. Through systematic accounts of language and the context in which it is embedded this reciprocal nature is displayed and language and social order can be seen, not as two distinct entities, but rather as one phenomena seen from two different perspectives (Halliday, 1978; Mathiessen, 1993). / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / v, 291 p. ill

The aim of this qualitative case study is to gain greater insight into the impact of online synchronous (chat) interaction on the learning process from a sociocultural constructivist perspective in the context of an online undergraduate unit. Given the sparse research on the effectiveness of chat interaction in supporting knowledge construction processes, few appropriate analytical methods available for examining educational chat discourse, together with the pedagogical imperative to determine the extent to which the real-time computer-mediated communication (CMC) mode satisfies student learning needs, this study fills the gaps in current research by examining the impact of chat interaction in facilitating participation, knowledge construction, and quality of online learning experience of two different online tutorial groups. Although the literature largely regards chat interaction as fragmented and characterized by interactional incoherence that disrupts the dialogic knowledge construction process, findings from this single-embedded case study of tutorial groups 1 and 4 (G1 and G4), involved in weekly critical discussions on set-readings over 11 weeks (one semester), show that chat interaction is more structured and complex than the literature suggests. This study utilizes a new methodological design that integrates discourse and social network analytical methods which are triangulated with self-reports of learning experiences from an online survey instrument. The application of a refined Exchange Structure Analysis coding instrument (Kneser, Pilkington, & Treasure-Jones, 2001) with social network analysis (Wasserman & Faust, 1994; Scott, 2000) to transcripts of chat interaction shows educational chat discourse to be coherent; reflecting the typical structure of pedagogical classroom exchanges. Findings from this study further establish that chat interaction enables participation opportunities in tutorial discussions which are valued as important, with variations in levels of participation within and between groups suggesting a pattern of active and peripheral participation which is not necessarily detrimental to learning. Chat interaction is also found to facilitate collaborative sharing of individual understandings and critical negotiation of meaning which are characteristic of the knowledge construction process, in the form of information-sharing and topic development phases in the exchanges of both groups. Although it is beyond the scope of this study to determine the exact form of knowledge constructed, individual and mutual appropriations of shared knowledge through chat interaction are reported by both groups. A between group comparison of available tutor scaffolding reveals consistently weak G1 tutor presence compared to strong G4 tutor support at the initial learning stages with gradual withdrawal of scaffolding over time. These results suggest differences in quality of online educational experiences which are confirmed by findings that compared to G1, G4 reported greater satisfaction with more chat tutorial factors; indicating an overall more positive, higher quality of experience with collaborative learning and group work processes afforded by the chat interaction. With its methodological design, instruments, and findings, this study contributes to existing knowledge on online interaction, advances on previous studies regarding impact of chat interaction on learning, and offers directions for future work in the fields of educational technology, linguistics, and group dynamics in educational social networks. When extrapolated to comparable cases, findings from this study could guide the pedagogical design of collaborative-constructivist learning activities that takes into account the role of chat interaction in the construction of learning conversations.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Cover title. "April 2006." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 1982. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, March, 1999. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-78). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-78). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Bader, David; Committee Member: Berry, Jonathan; Committee Member: Fujimoto, Richard; Committee Member: Saini, Subhash; Committee Member: Vuduc, Richard

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Barreto, Albert. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on 6 November 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Virtual Private Network, GHOSTNet, maritime interdiction operations, internet protocol security, encapsulating security protocol, data encryption standard. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-84). Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--Carleton University, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.