analysing email lm350 computer mediated communication
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CMC Research Wish List
Need to develop good empirical research methods, benchmarks for graphics, sound as well as text - data gathering, privacy
Need for research in languages other than English (or English + another language, or English as lingua franca)
Research on one-to-one and non-public CMC (inc. texting, mobile phone use, email at work, family emails)
Wider picture of CMC with other communication technologies, esp. over time (e.g. Backpacker project)
CMC research
Politeness - last week Structural features Agreements and disagreements Gender differences (+ many other user characteristics, e.g. age,
experience, language, nationality, status or locally determined features, e.g. fan or not)
Abbreviations and emoticons Code switching Turn taking Group/community issues - mutual support, in-crowd vs
“newbies”, policing And many more
Variables of media
Synchronicity Unit of transmission (character, message, programme) Persistence/retrievability Channel, e.g. graphical, textual, audio Support - paper, voice, computer screen, mobile phone screen Input device - voice, keyboard,pencil Anonymity Allows “policing” Allows one to one or one to many
TRY THIS WITH TEXT, PHONE, POSTER & EMAIL
Variables of situation
Participation structure (e.g. X is claiming expertise/power) Participant characteristics (e.g. X is younger than Y) Context (work/leisure, part of longer conversation) Purpose (is this directly/indirectly flagged?) Tone (friendly, businesslike, flaming…) Topic Conventions (greeting? quoting? politeness) Code - linguistic or other (which language? With graphics?
Abbreviations? Misspellings?)
We should be able to say something about all these perspectives from discourse analysis of messages
Susan Herring’s Example
Date: Thu 1 Jun 2000 10:03To: HERRING SUSAN <herring@uta.edu>From: Nancy Baym <nbaym@ukans.edu>Subject: Re:keynote scheduling
HI Susan, the last day is Sunday and we’re having no keynotes at all, so not to worry about that. Appreciate your flexibility, and expect we’ll all be able to work within such lax parameters! Plenary topic and title sound great, as does the workshop idea (you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit). Look forward to meeting you f2f and will stay in touch as things progress,
Nancy
What do we know about email?
Synchronicity Unit of transmission (character,
message, programme) Persistence/retrievability Channel, e.g. graphical, textual,
audio Support - paper, voice, computer
screen, mobile phone screen Input device - voice,
keyboard,pencil Anonymity Allows “policing” Allows one to one or one to
many
Asynchronous Message by message
Persistent unless deleted Channel, e.g. textual
Support - computer screen Input device - keyboard
Not anonymous Haphazard “policing” One to one (bcc? Copy to self?)
What do we know about the situation?
Participation structure Participant characteristics
Context Purpose Tone Topic Conventions Code
One to one, real names White middle class academic
women S is senior to N different institutions experienced with email
conference planning, previous emails, not f2f
Clarify planning details Friendly, professional Conference details Polite, semi-formal English, Bridget Jones
telegraphic
How could it be different?
Text message - persistence Phone call - synchronicity, support, channel Message on bulletin board/listserv - private/public Message to conference participants list - 1-1, 1-many Private email about personal topic - topic, purpose Email rejecting S’s paper - purpose, conventions Bad tempered complain about constant changes of
arrangements - tone, language
What can discourse analysis tell us? Levels of analysis
Linguistic structureTypography, spelling, word choice, sentence structure, message organisation
MeaningOf words, symbols, utterances, exchanges
Interactional coherenceTurn taking, back channels, repairs, topic decay
Social functionSignalling identity, group membership, humour, face/politeness, conflict, negotiating power
Susan Herring’s Example
Date: Thu 1 Jun 2000 10:03To: HERRING SUSAN <herring@uta.edu>From: Nancy Baym <nbaym@ukans.edu>Subject: Re:keynote scheduling
HI Susan, the last day is Sunday and we’re having no keynotes at all, so not to worry about that. Appreciate your flexibility, and expect we’ll all be able to work within such lax parameters! Plenary topic and title sound great, as does the workshop idea (you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit). Look forward to meeting you f2f and will stay in touch as things progress,
Nancy
Linguistic Structure
Date: Thu 1 Jun 2000 10:03To: HERRING SUSAN <herring@uta.edu>From: Nancy Baym <nbaym@ukans.edu>Subject: Re:keynote scheduling[OPENING, GREETING]HI Susan, the last day is Sunday and we’re having no keynotes at all, so not to worry about that. Appreciate your flexibility, and expect we’ll all be able to work within such lax parameters! Plenary topic and title sound great, as does the workshop idea (you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit). [ = MESSAGE BODY]Look forward to meeting you f2f and will stay in touch as things progress, [ = CLOSE]Nancy
What do we learn?
Educational level of sender - native speaker, US, accurate spelling, well-formed sentences, sophisticated vocabulary, skilful use of language
Style of message - slightly informal Organisation of message - conventional Sender’s state of mind? - in a hurry?
Meaning - speech acts 1
1. Hi Susan2a. The last day2b. So not to worry3a. Appreciate your flexibility3b. And expect we’ll be able to4a. Plenary topic and title4b. You might want to call
that…5a. Look forward5b. And will stay in touch6. Nancy
Greeting
Explanation
Reassurance
Thanks
Promise (mitigated)
Evaluation
Suggestion
Assertion (formulaic)
Promise (formulaic)
Signature
Meaning - speech acts 2
Greeting
Exp[lanation
Reassurance
Thanks
Promise (mitigated)
Evaluation
Suggestion
Assertion (formulaic)
Promise (formulaic)
Signature
OPENING
ACCEPTANCE OF S’s PROPOSALS
REQUEST FOR FUTURE ACTION
CLOSING
What do we learn?
Overall content - task or interpersonal? Task focus - negotiation
Meaning of each utterance in context, e.g. 3b = promise
Levels of directness - you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit
Interactional Coherence
Cohesion Links back - such lax parameters, your flexibility, the workshopImplicit link forward - you might want…
Exchange StructureN (30 May 20.35) Initiation [request time preference]S (1 June 02.19) Response [suggest preferred times]N (1 June 10.03) Acknowledgement/ [approve times; ask
Initiation for change to title]N (17 July 15.07) Re-initiation [request title & abstract]
What do we learn?
Function of this message in longer sequence
Breakdown of expected exchange structure
Extent of explicit and implicit references to other messages in sequence
Social Functions
Identity - N presents as conference organiser, experienced Internet user
Group membership - academic, female (?)
Face management/politeness - both positive face (appreciate, sounds great, will stay in touch) and negative face (not to worry, you might want, a bit)
Power - equals out, result is more or less equality
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