Fay Sudweeks

Aim/Purpose
The research investigates the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Iranian refugees’ settlement in Australia.

Background
The study identifies the issues of settlement, such as language, cultural and social differences.

Methodology
The Multi-Sited Ethnography (MSE), which is a qualitative methodology, has been used with a thematic analysis drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants (51 Iranian refugees and 55 people with a role in assisting refugees).

Contribution
The research findings may enable the creation of a model for use by the Aus-tralian Government with Iranian refugees.

Findings
The findings show the vital role ICT play in refugees’ ongoing day-to-day life towards settlement.

Recommendations for Practitioners
The results from this paper could be generalised to other groups of refugees in Australia and also could be used for Iranian refugees in other countries.

Recommendation for Researchers
Researchers may use a similar study for refugees of different backgrounds in Australia and around the world.

Impact on Society
ICT may assist refugees to become less isolated, less marginalized and part of mainstream society.

Future Research
Future research could look into the digital divide between refugees in Australia and main stream Australians.

Aim/Purpose To develop a framework for utilizing Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) to assist non-native English migrant women to acquire English vocabulary in a non-formal learning setting. Background The women in this study migrated to Australia with varied backgrounds including voluntary or forced migration, very low to high levels of their first language (L1), low proficiency in English, and isolated fulltime stay-at-home mothers. Methodology A case study method using semi-structured interviews and observations was used. Six migrant women learners attended a minimum of five non-MALL sessions and three participants continued on and attended a minimum of five MALL sessions. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-sessions. Data were analysed thematically. Contribution The MALL framework is capable of enriching migrant women’s learning experience and vocabulary acquisition. Findings Vocabulary acquisition occurred in women from both non-MALL and MALL environment; however, the MALL environment provided significantly enriched vocabulary learning experience. Future Research A standardised approach to measure the effectiveness of MALL for vocabulary acquisition among migrant women in non-formal setting

With the advent of new media and Web 2.0 technologies, language and discourse have taken on new meaning, and the implications of this evolution on the nature of interpersonal communication must be addressed. Innovative Methods and Technologies for Electronic Discourse Analysis highlights research, applications, frameworks, and theories of online communication to explore recent advances in the manipulation and shaping of meaning in electronic discourse. This essential research collection will appeal to academic, research, and professional audiences engaged in the design, development, and distribution of effective communications technologies in educational, social, and linguistic contexts.

This paper documents the outcomes of a study that focused on identifying what motivates stu-dents to use mobile devices for learning and to engage in m-learning. An outcome of this study was to provide a better understanding of what educators should consider when adapting their course for mobile learners. The research included seven classes from three Australian universi-ties. The students in this study used laptops or tablet PCs, and in three of the classes, these were provided by the university as part of a laptop/tablet program. The findings indicated that mobility was the key motivator for the use of laptops, and the learning tasks that students found to be most motivating involved accessing information, authoring (e.g., writing, blogging, note taking) and communication.

Virtual teams and their leaders are key players in global organizations. Using teams of workers dispersed temporally and geographically has changed the way people work in groups and redefined the nature of teamwork. Emergent leadership issues in computer-mediated communication are vital today because of the increasing prevalence of the virtual organization, the flattening of organizational structures, and the corresponding interest in managing virtual groups and teams. This chapter examines the communication behaviors of participants in two different case studies to determine if number, length, and content of messages are sufficient criteria to identify emergent leaders in asynchronous and synchronous environments. The methodology used can be embedded in collaborative virtual environments as a technology for identifying potential leaders in organizational and educational environments.

This book follows previous texts: Celia Romm and Fay Sudweeks (eds) (1998), Doing Business Electronically: A Global Perspective of Electronic Commerce, and Fay Sudweeks and Celia Romm (eds) (1999) Doing Business on the Internet: Opportunities and Pitfalls. Not only is this current book about doing something, but it also aims to present insights into how electronic commerce impacts upon the lives of everyday people; in other words, how electronic commerce is received, as well as how it is ‘done’. Accessing the Internet on a regular basis has become an established activity for many people. This activity gives academics and researchers the opportunity to observe and study the nature and effects of this engagement in society. The influence of the Internet in our social fabric also provides the incentive for organizations to implement a web presence.

As educators utilize an increasingly wide range of technologies for facilitating interaction between distant learning parties, there are concerns over the ad hoc use of technology in online course design and activities that are not grounded in sound pedagogical frameworks. This chapter presents a case of a hybrid undergraduate course that is shaped by sociocultural constructivist principles. Survey findings on student experiences of online collaborative learning and group work processes in two constructivist-based learning activities are reported. Results reflecting sociocultural constructivist concepts of scaffolding and appropriation of shared knowledge are presented based on student learning experiences during online synchronous tutorials and collaborative team projects.

As most research on educational computer-mediated communication (CMC) interaction has focused on the asynchronous mode, less is known about the impact of the synchronous CMC mode on online learning processes. This chapter presents a qualitative case study of a distant course exemplifying the innovative instructional application of online synchronous (chat) interaction in virtual tutorials. While chat interaction has primarily been researched for its effectiveness in supporting social-emotional aspects of learning, this chapter reports survey findings on its impact on facilitating participation in collaborative group learning processes and enhancing understanding of course content from a sociocultural constructivist perspective. The results reveal factors that affect both student perception and use of participation opportunities in chat tutorials, and understanding of course content. The findings present implications for the pedagogical design of online synchronous collaborative-constructivist learning activities that enhance understanding of course content through dialogic participation in the learning process.

Analytical frameworks for examining educational computer mediated discourse have been mainly designed for asynchronous discussions; hence the classification schemes are typically more sensitive when applied to longer postings than the shorter more condensed exchanges present in online synchronous discourse. This chapter introduces the exchange structure analysis framework for examining online synchronous interaction at levels of structural organisation and pragmatic intention. The further application of social network analysis as a method and visualisation tool for the coded exchanges are explained and illustrated. Examples are provided from transcript data of moderated collaborative group discussions during virtual tutorials in a case study. With the integration of discourse and social network analytical methods, a richer interpretation is gained on the processes of articulation and negotiation of meaning during online learning conversations.