13 research outputs found
Meaning Making Through Minimal Linguistic Forms in Computer-Mediated Communication
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate the linguistic forms, which commonly constitute meanings in the digital environment. The data were sampled from 200 Bachelor of Science (BS) students (who had Urdu as their primary language of communication and English as one of the academic languages or the most prestigious second language) of five universities situated in Lahore, Pakistan. The procedure for analysis was conceived within much related theoretical work on text analysis. The study reveals that cyber-language is organized through patterns of use, which can be broadly classified into minimal linguistic forms constituting a meaning-making resource. In addition, the expression of syntactic mood, and discourse roles the participants technically assume tend to contribute to the theory of meaning in the digital environment. It is hoped that the study would make some contribution to the growing literature on multilingual computer-mediated communication (CMC)
Superimposition of Metanarrative through Counter Narrative in Political Tweets of Maryam Nawaz
Get PDFThis study aims at investigating superimposition of metanarrative by counter narratives in the political tweets of Maryam Nawaz. The data was confined to the tweets of Maryam Nawaz over the period of two months (February and March 2018). The thematic framework of Riessman et.al (2008) was used as a theoretical lens to interpret the data. The study reveals that Maryam Nawaz is inclined to develop counter narratives in her communication through Tweets. These narratives eclipse the often claimed, propagated and manipulated metanarrative (declared in the party Manifesto) in the pursuit of her personal interests. The study shows that the counter narratives are perpetuated against rival parties, institutions and sometimes against the party Manifesto to generate conflict and to instigate the followers for protests. The study also reveals that metanarrative of the party was not communicated by Maryam Nawaz even during significant political events. Not speaking of the party manifesto/metanarrative, she has been using the virtual space interaction to counter attack her rival political parties. This study provides a direction to future studies to investigate the role of social media in helping Pakistani politicians for getting their voice out to a larger community mostly a direct appeal to their voters for information, persuasion and mobilization
Linguistic Simplicity and Complexity in Computer-mediated Communication of Urdu/English Bilinguals
No full textThe role of generative AI in writing doctoral dissertation: perceived opportunities, challenges, and facilitating strategies to promote human agency
No full textAbstract The arrival of Generative Artificial Intelligence (henceforth GenAI) has prompted the academic world to debate its benefits and risks for academic writing in ESL and EFL contexts. This study aims to explore the perceived usefulness and use of GenAI-assisted dissertation writing to engage in nuanced reasoning. Using non-probability sampling technique, we gathered qualitative data through a survey and test from 86 doctoral scholars and seven thesis supervisors in the social and human sciences disciplines. We conceptualized Technology Acceptance Model to promote human agency throughout the different stages of dissertation writing. The participants perceived that GenAI is helpful for improving writing mechanics, providing efficient feedback, augmenting thinking process, establishing argument structure, and facilitating data analysis. They acknowledged that the emergence of these opportunities also presented new challenges that clouded their reasoning abilities. Considerable data suggested that the participants of this study were influenced by technological singularity syndrome, believing GenAI could outperform them in academic writing. The study emphasizes the need for significant institutional investments in AI-integrated writing platforms to open, widen, and deepen discussion on dissertation writing – a strategy to strike a balance between GenAI and human interactions
Translanguaging and Multilingual Teaching and Writing Practices at a Pakistani University. : Pedagogical Implications for Students and Faculty*
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