The practices of multiple other-initiated repair in online second language interaction

IPhD ThesisIn adopting the Conversation Analysis approach as the theoretical framework for this study, this thesis seeks to investigate the multiple other-repair initiation practices that target the same trouble source in second language interactions between L1-L2 and L2-L2 speakers of English. The concept of multiple other-repair initiation in this study is defined as a series of other-repair initiations (ORIs) that are repeatedly generated to address the same trouble source. A review of the existing literature has revealed that the phenomenon of ‗multiples‘ has received little attention. In light of this, this research aims to provide insight into this particular area of research where the dataset for the study comprises either one-to-one or three-party interaction between unacquainted individuals. In order to achieve this, the interactions were conducted using a ‗video chat‘ application of the social networking site Google Plus Hangouts, and the data were video/audio recorded using screen recorder software, Camtasia. All of the Google Hangouts (i.e. video chat rooms) for this study were created1 and online invitations sent to a random four2 participants from selected communities3 by the researcher one week prior to the original day of recording the Hangout session. During the actual event, the researcher was not present or involved in the interaction, all the sessions were recorded by three participants and ―none of [them] had any prior knowledge of, and connection with present study‖ (Jenks, 2014:158). At the start of each chat session, most of the participants were unacquainted with each other and they had joined chat rooms for the purpose of practising their spoken English. Participants in this study were L1 speakers of English from the UK and US and L2 speakers were from different backgrounds.Through analysis of multiple other-initiated repair sequences in English L1-L2 and L2-L2 interactions which took place in an online video chat and out of classroom context, attempts have been focused to explicate the following: 1) factors that trigger multiples, 2) repeated attempts of repair operations that have been employed to restore the same trouble source and achieve mutual understanding and, lastly, 3) to explore the types of action that this practice accomplishes. Close examination of interactions between unacquainted participants in this online setting reveals that multiples have been triggered, not only as a result of linguistic competence (in the case of L2 speakers) or understanding (in the case of L1 speakers), but also as a result of sequential problems and social actions. Analysis also shows that there are recognisable differences between L1 and L2 speakers in terms of the practices in multiple other-initiated repair. In other words, L1 and L2 speakers display different preferences to indicate the types of trouble in their interlocutors‘ prior turn. The L1 speakers seem to have a preference to indicate the problem as hearing rather than a problem in understanding or speaking. This preference has been demonstrated by using some distinctive features, such as ‗apology-based format‘ in the repair initiation. In contrast, the L2 speakers tend to show a preference of displaying all the types of trouble they encountered in their co-participants‘ utterances. Their preference has been associated with exposing the trouble source, not only through employing repeated attempts of other-repair initiations, but also through offering multiple solutions that treat the trouble as understanding. This suggests that there are different interactional goals; that is, while the L2 speakers‘ goals are to exploit the multiple repair sequences as interactional resources in order to accomplish some linguistic functions, as well as interactional goals, the L1 speakers‘ goal is to focus on subject matter. Finally, when talk failed to solve problems, participants employed the interactional resources (affordance) available in this online setting to address the trouble source through written means, even though shifting the current interactional mode was not always the preferred method to repair by the speaker of the trouble source turn. Thus, the findings of this thesis have implications for English teaching materials and also add to L2 interactions in the out of classroom context

Delay in L2 interaction in video-mediated environments in the context of virtual tandem language learning

The purpose of this article is to describe tandem dyads’ interactional resources and social practices for upholding intersubjectivity in video-mediated environments (VMEs) within the context of tandem language learning in a virtual learning environment (eClassroom tandem) arranged within formal language education in upper secondary schools. Data consists of video and screen recordings of several tandem dyads’ video-mediated interaction. Using conversation analysis, the study analyses how “lag” (a delay in the connection) affects participants’ meaning-making and ways to maintain intersubjectivity in VMEs. The results show that participants use different interactional resources and practices regarding turn-taking, turn design, and turn construction to maintain intersubjectivity. Clearly defined conversational roles in the assignments appear to help participants to cope with delays. Additionally, in the context of eClassroom tandem, the roles of the L1 speaker and the L2 speaker appear to be of situated importance for upholding a mutual understanding in VMEs.publishedVersionUnit Licence Agreemen

Meeting effectiveness and inclusiveness: large-scale measurement, identification of key features, and prediction in real-world remote meetings

Workplace meetings are vital to organizational collaboration, yet relatively little progress has been made toward measuring meeting effectiveness and inclusiveness at scale. The recent rise in remote and hybrid meetings represents an opportunity to do so via computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems. Here, we share the results of an effective and inclusive meetings survey embedded within a CMC system in a diverse set of companies and organizations. We correlate the survey results with objective metrics available from the CMC system to identify the generalizable attributes that characterize perceived effectiveness and inclusiveness in meetings. Additionally, we explore a predictive model of meeting effectiveness and inclusiveness based solely on objective meeting attributes. Lastly, we show challenges and discuss solutions around the subjective measurement of meeting experiences. To our knowledge, this is the largest data-driven study conducted after the pandemic peak to measure, understand, and predict effectiveness and inclusiveness in real-world meetings at an organizational scale

Distant but Present : Rebuilding intersubjectivity in video-mediated interaction

Viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana videovälitteisestä vuorovaikutuksesta ja tullut Skypen ja Teams-kokousten myötä erottamaton osa jälkiteollisen maailman arkea. Yleisyydestään huolimatta videovälitteinen vuorovaikutus koetaan usein vaillinaisena, ja sosiaalisten vihjeiden, kuten eleiden ja äänensävyn, merkitystä painottavat lähestymistavat korostavat, kuinka videovälitteinen vuorovaikutus on kasvokkaiseen verrattuna kylmää tai epäluonnollista. Vähemmän kuitenkin tiedetään videovälitteisen toiminnan vuorovaikutusdynamiikasta ja siitä, miten ilmeisistä rajoitteistaan huolimatta, tämä teknologinen alusta tarjoaa mahdollisuuksia jaetun ymmärryksen ylläpitoon ja korjaamiseen. Tässä neljästä tutkimusartikkelista ja yhteenvetoluvusta koostuvassa väitöskirjatutkimuksessa tarkastelen, miten tätä jaettua ymmärrystä meneillään olevasta toiminnasta, intersubjektiivisuutta, rakennetaan ja korjataan videovälitteisessä vuorovaikutuksessa ja miten kyseinen viestintäteknologia tulee toiminnan kannalta olennaiseksi näissä prosesseissa. Hyödynnän työssäni etnometodologista keskustelunanalyysia selvittääkseni, miten teknologian aiheuttamia yhteisymmärryksen ongelmia tunnistetaan ja korjataan sekä miten videovälitteisyys muokkaa näitä prosesseja. Käytän väitöskirjani tutkimusaineistona videotaltiointeja kolmenlaisista vuorovaikutustilanteista sosiaali- ja terveysalan todellisissa asiakastapaamisissa: 1) videovälitteisistä elintapaohjausryhmistä, jotka taltioitiin sekä ryhmän että ohjaajan näkökulmasta, 2) kotihoidon etäkäynneiltä, jotka taltioitiin joko hoitajien tai kotihoidon palveluja käyttävien ikäihmisten näkökulmasta sekä 3) etäkonsultaatioilta, joissa potilas ja yleislääkäri ovat yhteydessä erikoislääkäriin videoyhteyden kautta. Tämä monipuolinen aineisto mahdollistaa kahden aiemmassa tutkimuksessa tunnistetun videovälitteisen vuorovaikutuksen perusilmiön tutkimisen. Ensinnäkin, teknologiavälitteisyyteen liittyvä viive tuottaa jakamattomia vuorovaikutustodellisuuksia, joissa toimintojen ajoitukset suhteessa toisiinsa vääristyvät. Toiseksi, videovälitteisissä kohtaamisissa kehollisia toimintoja tuotetaan ja tulkitaan toisistaan irrallisissa pirstoutuneissa toimintaympäristöissä, mikä vaikuttaa näiden toimintojen tulkitsemiseen ja ymmärtämiseen. Analyysini osoittavat, että kuten kasvokkaisessa myös videovälitteisessä vuorovaikutuksessa yhteisymmärryksen ongelmia tunnistetaan edellisten vuorovaikutustekojen ja toimintojen luomia toiminnallisia odotuksia vasten: mikäli toinen osapuoli jättää tekemättä odotuksenmukaisen teon tai tekee jotain, mikä ei näyttäydy odotuksenmukaisena, voi toinen kohdella tätä yhteisymmärryksen hajoamisen merkkinä. Ratkoessaan näitä ongelmia, osallistujien pitää tuoda oma näkökulmansa toiselle tiettäväksi ja vastaavasti saada toisen näkökulma omaan tietoonsa. Tämän näkökulmien vastaavuuden aikaansaamiseksi osallistujat hyödyntävät kahdentyyppisiä yhteisymmärrystä korjaavia toimintoja, sanallisia eksplikointeja ja fyysisiä demonstraatioita. Koska videovälitteisyys irrottaa toiminnan tuottamisen ja tulkinnan ajallisesti ja tilallisesti toisistaan, sekä toimintojen odotuksenmukaisuuden tulkitsemisen että näkökulmien jakamisen edellytykset muuttuvat. Niinpä osallistujat sovittavat vuorovaikutustaan niihin toiminnallisiin mahdollisuuksiin, joita videoneuvotteluteknologia tarjoaa, saadakseen intersubjektiivisuuden palautettua. Väitöskirjatutkimukseni täydentää videovälitteistä vuorovaikutusta käsittelevää keskustelunanalyyttista tutkimuskirjallisuutta käsittelemällä sanallisten ekpslikointien ja fyysisten demosntraatioiden roolia intersubjektiivisuuden korjaamisen keinoina kolmessa erilaisessa palvelukontekstissa. Analyysini ja yleisen etnometdologisen teoretisoinnin pohjalta ehdotan, että laajempi teknologiavälitteisen vuorovaikutuksen tutkimuskenttä hyötyisi näiden lähestymistapojen tarjoamasta toimintojen kontekstisidonnaista merkitystä korostavasta lähestymistavasta kahdella tapaa: ensinnäkin, tutkimuksen huomio siirtyisi teknologioiden rajoittuneisuuden tarkastelusta ihmisten moninaisten ja luovien toimintatapojen tarkasteluun teknologiavälitteisissä ympäristöissä, ja toiseksi, tämä siirtymä tarjoaisi mahdollisuuden kestävämpien teoretisointien muotoilulle, ja siten ihmisen ja teknologian välisen suhteen tarkemmalle ymmärtämiselle.During the last few decades, video mediation has become ubiquitous in our social lives. This is due to accessible equipment and internet connections and societal changes that support the adoption of technologically mediated interaction. Research and theorising on video mediation have concentrated on measuring task performance and explaining it with the features of video mediation, often described as cold or poor compared to face-to-face interaction. Less is known about how interaction unfolds in video-mediated settings and how, despite the different possibilities for action compared to face-to-face settings, people are able to maintain and rebuild shared understandings in video mediation. In this doctoral dissertation, which is comprised of four empirical articles and an integrative chapter, I examine how the processes of intersubjectivity – that is, forming, maintaining and repairing a shared understanding of the ongoing action – are managed in interaction and how video mediation becomes consequential in these processes. I use ethnomethodological conversation analysis to examine how interactants recognise technology-generated ruptures of intersubjectivity, how they repair these ruptures, and how technical mediation becomes consequential for these practices in video-mediated interaction. I use data from three different settings: 1) video-mediated health counselling groups simultaneously video-recorded from both the group and the leader perspectives, 2) video-mediated tele-homecare visits between single home-dwelling older adults and professionals recorded in either the home environment or the professional’s office, and 3) hybrid tele-consultations recorded in a general practitioner’s office. The varied nature of the data in terms of institutional context, number of participants, technological settings and perspectives recorded enable analysing two recurring phenomena that have been recognised in ethnomethodological research on video-mediated interaction: a) how transmission delays produce non-mutual interactional realities where the timing of actions differ from different perspectives of action, and b) how limited video frames produce fractured ecologies which hinder the co-ordination of body movements and the use of artefacts. Based on the analyses of the data, I argue that as in face-to-face interactions, participants recognise the ruptures of intersubjectivity against the sequential relevance of actions. Whether or not the interactants recognise something as potential trouble for intersubjectivity is contingent on the distant participant’s ability to participate in an appropriate way in a given situation; that is, to produce sequentially relevant next actions. When resolving the ruptures of intersubjectivity, interactants need to make their perspectives available to others and have those others’ perspectives available to themselves. The interactants achieve this by two intertwined practices: verbal explications and physical demonstrations. When employing these practices, individuals orient themselves to the technological mediation as relevant by fitting their conduct to the media available to the other participants. Video mediation shapes the conditions of both evaluating sequential relevance and making perspectives salient, as it distorts both the timing of turns and the space in which bodily interactions are produced and received. Thus, when repairing intersubjectivity, interactants fit their repair practices to the affordances of the technological medium and the nature of a given misunderstanding. The study contributes to conversation analytic research on video-mediated interaction by examining the relationship of verbal explications and physical demonstrations with the more general topic of repairing intersubjectivity in video-mediated interaction. Based on these analyses, I suggest that the broader field of computer-mediated communication would benefit from the action-centred and context-sensitive mode of analysis offered by ethnomethodological conversation analysis, as this would highlight creative and diverse ways of using communication technologies and offer a more robust theoretical understanding of the relationship between human conduct and communication media

Convergence of platforms and strategies of two software vendors

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-157).Unified Communications: Convergence of Platforms and Strategies of Two Software Vendors by Muhammad Zia Hydari ABSTRACT Unified communication (UC) is the convergence of various modes of communication - voice telephony, email, instant messaging (IM), video conferencing and so on - used by enterprise workers. Academic literature exists that discusses digital convergence in various domains. Although UC has received considerable attention in the business press, we are not aware of any academic study within the domain of UC that explains the convergence of platforms and its links to the technology strategy of UC firms. This thesis presents an academic analysis of some platforms underlying UC and the emerging strategies of two software firms within the UC market. The theory of network effects originally developed by Rohlfs is central to the analysis in this thesis. The analysis of platform strategies of the UC firms is informed by the theoretical work on platform leadership (Gawer & Cusumano), convergence (Greenstein et al.), platform envelopment (Eisenmann et al.), and two-sided platforms (Tirole et al.). The thesis first describes four platform applications underlying UC viz. voice telephony, email, IM, and video communication. The analysis of email, IM and video communication in this thesis is unique as it takes a long term view to explain the current market situation within these domains. In particular, the thesis describes technological factors, network effects, standard battles, and competition that have led to the current market state. The thesis also links insights from these platforms to repercussions for UC supplier firms. The thesis then describes the strategies of two software vendors - Microsoft and IBM - using elements from Gawer & Cusumano's work on platform leadership.(cont.) Microsoft has defined a broad scope of innovation for its converged UC platform requiring it to enter the voice telephony market. The thesis posits that Microsoft's strategy for success is platform envelopment i.e. Microsoft is using shared components and installed user base from its email and IM platforms to create a multi-platform bundle and compete with entrenched platforms in the voice market. The thesis argues that IBM's choice for a narrower platform scope stems from its inferior market position in the email and IM markets as well as scope differences (vis-a-vis Microsoft). Convergence has created system integration opportunities that IBM's services unit has targeted. The thesis describes the implications of IBM's decisions on its ecosystem.by Muhammad Zia Hydari.S.M

A nexus analysis of domestic video chat: Actions, practices, affordances, and mediational means

This thesis explores the use of domestic video chat (VC) applications such as Skype or FaceTime. The present research contributes to a growing body of work on the medium of VC by building on the concept of affordances (Hutchby, 2001b) in order to explore how the capabilities of the technology are used in practice outside of the professional sphere. This study is unique in the field of VC because it combines findings from micro analyses of recorded VC sessions and interview data under the framework of nexus analysis (Norris & Jones, 2005b). The video recordings were analysed using an approach informed by conversation analysis (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 1998) and the interviews were analysed using inductive qualitative coding (Gibbs, 2007; Mason, 2002). The findings indicate that in VC interactions the roles of caller and called have little significance in the openings and closings. Noticings, which were especially common in the openings, play a vital role in relationship maintenance through VC. In some cases these noticings led to virtual tours, which were resources for expressing alignment and constructing a joint attentional frame. Practices of paying attention appeared to be a central concern for participants; therefore a second maxim of VC was formulated: focus your attention on the VC interaction (for the first maxim see Licoppe & Morel, 2012). The maxim of attention is suspended in lapsed VC encounters, which were framed as exceptional use and were only practised by a minority of participants. Finally, it is argued that the affordances of a technology cannot simply be classed as a ‘limitation’ or ‘possibility’, because they are context dependent. Therefore, a thorough analysis must take into account the mediational means (bodies, objects, and the environment), the mediated actions, and the relational histories of the participants

Compulsory education and resilience in northern Alaska: the role of social learning and youth in healthy sustainable communities

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017How can education in the Arctic foster individual and community resilience in a time of rapid social-environmental change? Education and learning, have powerful potential to affect future social-environmental system resilience. This research unpacks and examines the connections and feedbacks among studies of social-environmental systems (SESs), resilience, compulsory education and Indigenous knowledge. The last few decades have witnessed global recognition of rapid climate change in the Arctic; primarily the diminishing cryosphere. This has led to discussion and debate over the role of schools in addressing local knowledge, environmental changes, and community priorities. In the U.S. state of Alaska and in other Arctic regions, the role of compulsory schooling, in particular public schools, in improving the fit between environmental changes, learning practices, and future policies for local to regional Arctic SESs has been largely overlooked. I hypothesize that, as extensions of governments, public schools in the U.S. Arctic and in similar locations offer an opportunity to better link societies and environments through governance. At the individual level, education is a vital component of resilience, but such education must embrace multiple perspectives in its curriculum to honor and access the diverse input offered by local, Indigenous, and Western methods of knowledge production. At the societal scale, schools are an untapped resource with which to meet the challenge of bolstering capacity for proactive adaptation in a time of rapid transformation. Youth in the Arctic will actively shape the future yet currently remain an untapped resource in the pursuit of community resilience. Critical thinking exercises like scenarios development are crucial to build adaptive capacity, in large part through entraining leadership skills based on multiple forms of knowledge brought to bear on the complexity of SES change. This research demonstrates, through three periods of fieldwork between 2012-2016 engaging resident youth and older experts from the Northwest Arctic and North Slope Boroughs, the significance of compulsory, higher, and Indigenous educations to residents. The cumulative results of this interdisciplinary study offer two overarching and generalizable lessons. First, empowering young people through rigorous involvement in multiple knowledge systems, thinking, deliberating, and planning for futures develops a foundation for effective individual and community resilience throughout their adult years. Second, alternative school practices can provide the flexibility, support, and innovation necessary to enable young people to gain Western education but with ample time and space to provide Indigenous knowledge learning and to engage in livelihoods based on their unique environments and the traditions of their ancestors