In 1969, Gordon Pask published a paper that explicitly proposed a vital connection between cybernetics and architecture. “The Architectural Relevance of Cybernetics” (Pask, 1969) was one outcome of an extraordinary series of debates and presentations centred around the theme of limits to science presented at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London. The proceedings we...

In this paper, we present a set of measures to quantify certain properties of threaded discussions, which are ubiquitous in online learning platforms. In particular, we address how to measure the redundancy of posts, the compactness of topics, and the degree of hierarchy in sub-threads. This preliminary work would very much benefit from discussion and serves as a starting point for ultimately c...

The rapid growth of the Internet, coupled with improved multimedia capabilities in computing, has expanded the options for using technology to support collaborative learning. Asynchronous electronic conferencing is commonly used to support distributed discourse-based learning. Mind Bridges is a Web-based threaded discussion forum with support for embedded multimedia content. This paper describe...

adopting the critical discourse analysis framework, in general, andfairclough’s (1989) critical text analysis, in particular, the current study aims atexamining 3 aspects of meaning, namely social relations, subject positions, andcontents in the conversation as well as vocabulary and grammar parts of passages 1(an american textbook) and first certificate (a british textbook) to find out whether...

The purpose of the present study was to identify any significant relationship between critical thinking ability, L2 vocabulary knowledge, and L2 vocabulary learning strategies of Iranian EFL learners. To this aim, the productive vocabulary levels test was administered to measure the learner’s L2 vocabulary knowledge and observe homogeneity in terms of vocabulary knowledge. At the second stage, ...

This article reviews conversation analytic research on explanations in pedagogical interaction, particularly language learning classrooms. In reviewing this literature, paper aims to provide a comprehensive account of what is interactionally involved when giving so that future investigating the effectiveness these kinds can be appropriately measured. The first discusses characteristics explanat...

This study addresses 3 research questions in the context of online political discussions: What is the distribution of successful topic starting practices, what characterizes the content of large thread-starting messages, and what is the source of that content? A 6-month analysis of almost 40,000 authors in 20 political Usenet newsgroups identified authors who received a disproportionate number ...