Pragmatics “focuses on how people perform, interpret, and respond to language functions in a social context” (Taguchi, 2012, p.1), and therefore its development is key to the development of language competence. Pragmatics entails both linguistic knowledge to perform language functions (pragmalinguistics) and knowledge about the appropriateness of linguistic forms in a given social context (sociopragmatics) (Thomas, 1983). The acquisition of this skill has been shown to be one of the most difficult and latest acquired aspects of L2 learning (Bardovi-Harlig & Vellenga, 2012), and in this context, corrective feedback (information about the accuracy of learners’output), has been considered to be essential to the mastery of this knowledge. This study attempted to answer whether corrective feedback on L2 request and refusal forms provided through Face-to-Face (FF) or through Technology-Mediated (TM) modes can lead to an improvement in the learners’ performance in comprehension and production. Forty-four ELL students in three parallel intact classes were chosen to participate in the study. A Role-play test was used to collect production data and a multiple-choice discourse completion test was used to gather comprehension data. A mixed-model Analysis of Variance was conducted to examine the main and interaction effects of the treatment (corrective feedback), delivery mode (FF and TM), speech act type (request and refusal), and time (pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test). The results demonstrated that CF led to improved performance in L2 pragmatics. Significant effects for corrective feedback were clear for both pragmatic comprehension and production, and there was no difference between comprehension and production improvement. Furthermore, the results showed that both FF and TM corrective feedback were effective modalities for improving pragmatic production while only TM delivery was effective in comprehending the target speech acts. The findings of the present study also suggest that CF effects were durable both in production and comprehension. The possibility of the effects of type of speech acts in influencing CF effects was generally rejected as CF improved comprehending and producing both speech acts significantly. In summary, the findings of the study generally support the application of CF and technology to the acquisition of second language pragmatic ability. / Graduate

Prior research has studied extensively technology mediation in services. Yet, much of this work focuses on the consumer (or customer) viewpoint and there is a scarcity of research that focuses on the service provider perspective. By extension, there is little empirical work on how service providers experience and interpret technology use that is discretionary in nature (i.e., not imposed at an organisational/firm level). This study focuses on the context of healthcare and aims to unpack healthcare service providers discretionary use of mobile applications (apps). The aim of this thesis is to gain new insights on the discretionary use of technology in professional services by investigating its multifaceted nature. In doing so, I bring together the theoretical constructs of legitimacy, institutional work, and institutional logics of neo-institutional theory, role theory, as well as theories of professional identity construction to study healthcare service providers experiences. The emergent findings are structured upon three chapters (articles) and develop specific research questions that address the overarching aims and objectives of the thesis. In essence, this research highlights three core aspects of discretionary technology use; (a) how it is experienced by service providers in regards to the logics and rules of a given institutional context (macro level), (b) how it is approached by service providers based on changes in their roles in the organisation (meso level), and (c) how it is interpreted by service providers in relation to their professional identity (micro level).

This is a multiple-article format dissertation that explores methods for measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning experiences. Student engagement is the committed, focused, and energetic involvement of students in learning. Student engagement is correlated with academic performance, student satisfaction, and persistence in learning, making it a valuable predictor of important learning outcomes. In order to identify which students need help or to evaluate how well an instructional interaction promotes student engagement, we need effective measures of student engagement. These measures should be scalable, cost effective, and minimally disruptive to learning. This dissertation examines different approaches to measure student engagement in technology-mediated learning environments that meet the identified measurement criteria. The first article is an extended literature review that examines how engagement has been measured in technology-mediated learning experiences. The second article is an instrument evaluation of an activity-level self-report measure of student engagement. The third article explores the relationships between learning management system user-activity data (log data) and results of the activity-level self-report measure of student engagement.

With the dynamic development of internet, various protocols and applications had been gradually matured on the network. The network has objective merits such as getting beyond the limits of time and space and change the tradition teaching model. Otherwise, the learning portfolios documented by on-line learning websites help teachers keep track of students¡¦ learning process. With the educational information, teachers would be more able to observe students¡¦ learning in real time and provide students with different decision rules under various time frames for teachers to understand both students¡¦ learning behaviors and process instantaneously. Nevertheless, technology mediated learning (TML) refers to an environment in which the learner interacts with learning materials, peers, and/or instructors that are mediated through advanced information technology. Recently, there have been increasing interests in investigating if TML can yield positive learning outcome. However, the rapid growth of information technology concerning analyzing the learning track is of various analytic approaches and thus is really complicated. The lack of one integrative analysis of all the possible use of the diverse analyzing frameworks prevents teachers from picking one most appropriate analyzing framework for their own teaching. Accordingly, this research compares and contrasts the most prevailing data analyzing technique¡Ðdata mining and the traditional statistical analysis approaches with the hope to allocate matching analyzing tools for various kinds of courses as well as to provide teachers with immediate decision rules as bases for predicting students¡¦ possible learning behaviors.

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While extensive research has been done on technology-mediated learning (TML) in North America, such research is not easily transferable to the Caribbean, as there are notable socio-cultural and economic factors that affect such methods of course delivery. Limited research has been recorded about TML within a Caribbean context. This study employed a qualitative research methodology to gain an understanding of the individual and collective experiences of Jamaican educators who are using technology-mediated learning within the classroom. The methodology employed solicited the participation of one group of educators for this research. The two approaches that were used to collect data were group interviews and one-on-one interviews. The findings revealed that while faculty were keen on leveraging the available technology, there were still faculty, student and institutional challenges that were being encountered, ultimately affecting the effectiveness of the technology used to complement the teaching and learning process. / Adult Education

The easy accessibility, ubiquity, and plurilingualism of popular SNSs such as Facebook have inspired many scholars and practitioners of second language teaching and learning to integrate networked forms of communication into educational contexts such as language classrooms and study abroad programs (e.g., Blattner & Fiori, 2011; Lamy & Zourou, 2013; Mills, 2011; Reinhardt & Ryu, 2013; Reinhardt & Zander, 2011). At the same time, the complex and dynamic patterns of interaction that emerge in these spaces quickly push back upon standard ways of describing conversational genres and communicative competence (Kern, 2014; Lotherington & Ronda, 2014). Drawing from an ecological interactional analysis (Goffman, 1964, 1981a, 1981b, 1986; Kramsch & Whiteside, 2008) of the Facebook communications of three German-speaking academics whose social and professional lives are largely led in English, the authors consider the kinds of symbolic maneuvers required to participate in the translingual conversational flows of SNS-mediated communication. Based on this analysis, this article argues that texts generated through SNS-mediated communication can provide classroom opportunities for critical, stylistically sensitive reflection on the nature of talk in line with multiliteracies approaches.

Higher education has experienced notable changes driven by accelerated advances in computer technology, the same force that has reshaped our society and many aspects of life. Many believe that promising results can be seen and that students are better served in a computer-mediated instruction/learning environment due to the computer’s seemingly infinite abilities to multiply and expand. However, not everyone shares the same optimism due to a number of complicated issues facing the introduction of computers into the academic area. Despite school managers', teachers’, and administrators’ views of computer-mediated instruction/learning, learners’ perceptions are just as important when studying the instructional use of the computer technology. This study provides insight into how participants’ demographic profiles contribute to their perceptions of computer-mediated learning, how students perceived the impact of computer-mediated learning on their achievement, and how having had to use computers impacted their attitude toward (future) learning using computer technology. The findings of the study include: (a) a Pearson Product-Moment Correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant, low positive association between students’ perceived effectiveness in the area of computer-mediated learning and their major grade point average (MGPA). It also revealed a statistically significant, moderate positive association between having to use computers for class(es) in students’ major program areas and their attitude toward learning using computer technology, (b) a T-test revealed a statistically significant difference between male and female students, for the statement: “I think effective Computer-Mediated Learning ensures that students are engaged and motivated in learning (the given subject).” Female students’ mean score was higher than that of male students and (c) an ANOVA test found statistical significant differences among groups of students based on their cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and their perceived effectiveness of computer-mediated learning. A Tukey HSD test indicated the CGPA group 3.50 – 4.00 obtained a higher mean score than the other two groups, 2.00 – 2.49 and 2.50 – 2.99.

Family group chats are a popular form of technology-mediated communication. Family group chats represent an understudied area of family communication. In this qualitative multi-method study, I aimed to investigate how and why families use family group chats and how family processes are enacted within them. This grounded theory study was informed by family systems theory and uses and gratifications theory. Families participated in multi family member group interviews and were invited to submit the last one-month's history of their family group chat. Forty-nine participants from thirteen families across the United States participated in this study. I identified four themes from the data: (1) entering the chat, (2) growing and aging with the group chat, (3) accepting terms and conditions, and (4) holding the invisible string. I present a theoretical explanation of how these themes interact. Family group chats held a significant place in family life that extended family members' availability to one another and kept them in near constant contact, even when they were separated by geographic distance. I propose the possibility of family group chats as a protective factor to increase family functioning. This research generates future directions for the field and has implications for families, professionals who work with families, and group chat application developers. It provides one of the earliest investigations into family group chats from a family science perspective. / Doctor of Philosophy / Family group chats have grown in popularity over the last decade as a way for multiple family members to communicate at once. Yet, in the family science field, little is known about how families use these chats. In this study, I examined how and why families use family group chats to perform family processes, which are the interactions that make up family life. I used qualitative methods to study this topic and was guided by two theories, family systems theory and uses and gratifications theory. I invited family members to participate in a group interview and submit their family group chat text messages from the last month. Forty-nine participants from thirteen families across the United States participated in this study. I identified four themes across the family interviews and group chats: (1) entering the chat, (2) growing and aging with the group chat, (3) accepting terms and conditions, and (4) holding the invisible string. I present a visual model to explain how these themes work together. I found that family group chats held a significant place in family life that extended family members' availability to one another and kept them in near constant contact, even when they were separated by geographic distance. I suggest the possibility of family group chats as a protective factor that may improve family life. This research can guide future research on this topic and makes an impact for families, professionals who work with families, and for companies that develop group chat platforms.

Learner engagement, or the involvement of the student's cognitive and emotional energy to accomplish a learning task, has been called "the holy grail of learning" (Sinatra, Heddy, & Lombardi, 2015, p. 1) because of its correlations to academic achievement, persistence, and satisfaction. In the 21st century, learning will be increasingly "blended," combining face-to-face with computer-mediated instruction. Research is already exploring learner engagement in blended contexts, but no theoretical framework guides inquiry or practice. Developing models and measures of the factors that facilitate learner engagement is important to the advancement of the domain. This multiple-article format dissertation addresses the theoretical gap in research on learner engagement in blended settings. The first article reviews the existing literature on learner engagement, delineates a set of constructs most relevant to the contexts of blended learning, and proposes a theoretical framework for learner engagement in blended settings. The second article operationalizes and tests the proposed model of blended learning engagement using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. It creates and evaluates an end-of-course self-report measure of cognitive and emotional engagement. The unique factor structure of online and face-to-face indicators of learner engagement is clearly demonstrated in the results of this study.