20 results
Search Results
2. The Study on the Interpersonal Meanings of Modality in Micro-Blogging English News Discourse by the Case of 'Donald Trump's Muslim Entry Ban'
- Author
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Rui, Zhai and Jingxia, Liu
- Abstract
News is a kind of writing style, which is so valuable that many linguists choose it to study. This thesis aims to conduct a systemic analysis of modality type, value and orientation under the framework of Halliday's Systemic-functional Grammar in order to explore the interpersonal meanings of modality in English news discourse. The research data is drawn from microblogging official platforms, among which 20 pieces of news discourse in all are selected to establish a small type of corpus. All the 20 pieces of news discourse are taken from the microblogging in 1.20 to 2.20 of 2017. All the news is about "Donald Trump's Muslim Entry Ban" (A ban made by Donald Trump, which claimed that Muslim can't enter America). Meanwhile, both qualitative and quantitative research methods are adopted to discover the distribution of modality in micro-blogging news discourse and its interpersonal meanings, and hence to deepen people's cognition and understanding on micro-blogging news discourse. Through a detailed analysis, the study has a lot of findings. We found that modality language is widely used in micro-blogging news. From the perspective of modality type, reporters prefer to use finite modal adjunct such as "will" in the type of modulation to show their emotional attitude of the target thing. From the perspective of modality value, we can see that median value is the most popular among three values for reporters, and "will" and "would" are the most popular expressions that express the speaker's expectations, willingness and determination or the reporter's views, attitudes on the possibility of a certain event. Meanwhile, from the perspective of modality orientation, the speaker or writer tends to use implicit objective orientation in order to show objectiveness of the news discourse and get rid of writers' responsibilities. This paper attempts to analyze modality in micro-blogging English news discourse from the perspective of interpersonal functions which aims to provide a new method for discourse analysis and acts as a beneficial complementary to modality language analysis.
- Published
- 2018
3. Public Response to 'The MOOC Movement' in China: Examining the Time Series of Microblogging
- Author
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Zhang, Jingjing, Perris, Kirk, Zheng, Qinhua, and Chen, Li
- Abstract
In China, microblogging is an extremely popular activity and is proving to be an effective mechanism to gauge perceptions about social phenomena. Between 2010 and 2015 Sina Weibo, China's largest microblogging website, generated 95,015 postings from 62,074 users referencing the term massive open online courses (MOOCs), a method of online course delivery popularized in North America that has spread globally. Time series analyses revealed distinct patterns in the volume of postings during a four-year period, and subsequently by month, by week, and by the time of day. The volume of postings during the week, for example, peaked on Monday and declined daily to a low point on Saturday. Relative to maximizing learner engagement, the findings may provide insight to parties who deliver MOOCs to employ or test strategies on timing (i.e., time of year to offer/not offer a MOOC, time of week to release/not release new material, time of day to schedule/not schedule chat sessions). The paper also serves to demonstrate a mechanism to retrieve big data from social media sources, otherwise underutilized in educational research.
- Published
- 2015
4. Using Blogs to Share Learner-Generated Content
- Author
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Dowling, Sean
- Abstract
Learner-generated content (LGC) has always been produced as part of the learning process; however, it often generally goes no further than the teacher. Research has shown that by exposing LGC to a wider audience, students are motivated to produce work of a higher quality. The process of publishing and sharing LGC also helps students develop key 21st century skills. Furthermore, LGC becomes a valuable learning resource for peers as using the resources ensures that the peers are learning within their zone of proximal development (ZPD). This paper describes how blogs have been used to allow students to publish and share LGC. It also outlines how quality-control mechanisms have been used to ensure that any shared LGC is of appropriate, high-quality content.
- Published
- 2013
5. Using Social Networking Environments to Support Collaborative Learning in a Chinese University Class: Interaction Pattern and Influencing Factors
- Author
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Lu, Jie and Churchill, Daniel
- Abstract
This paper reports a study that investigated the social interaction pattern of collaborative learning and the factors affecting the effectiveness of collaborative learning in a social networking environment (SNE). A class of 55 undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course at a Chinese university was recruited for the study. The participants used an SNE to support their learning activities over a semester. Data was collected through interviews, classroom observations, and from digital artifacts created in the SNE. Social network analysis and content analysis were adopted to analyze data. The results showed that social interaction in the SNE tended to be teacher-centered, social-oriented, fragmented, and short-lived. Pre-existing social relations, perceptions of the teacher and peer feedback, preferred learning approaches and collaboration strategies, nature of the task, and the individualistic nature of social networking technology were factors that influenced how students interacted with each other in collaborative learning mediated by the SNE. The findings have both practical and theoretical implications.
- Published
- 2014
6. The Effects of Blog-Mediated Peer Feedback on Learners' Motivation, Collaboration, and Course Satisfaction in a Second Language Writing Course
- Author
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Zhang, Haisen, Song, Wei, Shen, Suping, and Huang, Ronghuai
- Abstract
This paper reported on a study of using blogs as out-of-class assignments for the development of learners' writing competence. There were 36 students of English majors from an intact second language (L2) writing class participating in this study. A mixed method design was employed to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. The results showed that blog-based peer feedback had a statistically significant positive correlation with learners' motivation, collaboration, and course satisfaction. The findings also revealed that the feedback was conducive to learners' self-reflection and self-confidence in L2 writing and could give rise to an enhanced L2 writing experience. The study concludes that group collaborative writing via blogging can not only encourage collaboration and self-reflection but also engage learners in noticing and co-construction of knowledge. Pedagogical implications and challenges are addressed and suggestions for future research are advanced.
- Published
- 2014
7. Pay Big to Publish Fast: Academic Journal Rackets
- Author
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Truth, Frank
- Abstract
In the context of open-access (OA) academic publishing, the mounting pressure cross global academe to publish or perish has spawned an exponentially growing number of dodgy academic e-journals charging high fees to authors, often US$300-650, and even triple that amount, promising super-fast processing and publication open-access (OA) online. Jeffrey Beall (Scholarly Open Access, http://scholarlyoa.com) has characterized this phenomenon as "predatory OA publishing," since it is oriented largely to extorting a high fee from authors. This exponential growth in start-up cyber-journals galore of questionable quality and dubious upstart origin is driven largely by the globalization of Euro-Atlantic research cultures into the Global South and lower-income economies everywhere, part of the now rapid internationalization of scientific research (Jha 2011) and "researching under the audit" (Illner 2011: 70), and is potentially a form of "academic racketeering." It tends to attract and exploit lesser-privileged academics, often on "knowledge production peripheries." They are a segment of a hugely expanding global constellation of researchers, in some ways a "research proletariat" (Harvie 2000), many of whom can can least afford the "cyber-services" of these start-up, fee-gouging OA journals. Yet researchers anywhere, including doctoral students and others in an "academic precariat," may be lured to publish there, given a turnaround time of three weeks from submission to acceptance and publication often offered and implemented (Stratford 2012). A certain kind of "market cynicism" (Power 2010) may take hold, where young academics are forced to think of themselves largely in economic terms and the "price" of quick dubious publication. In essential ways, the phenomenon of predatory academic journals is also part of the largely ex-colonial and subalternized "academic periphery striking back" against that Eurodominance of research cultures, involving basic contestations about asymmetrical power and representation and the geopolitics of hegemonic and subaltern knowledge production and dissemination on a global scale, the "coloniality of power/knowledge" (Quijano 2000; Grosvoguel 2008; Jaramillo 2012) within the changing face of biopolitical production and the emergence of a new "common" (Hardt 2010; Hardt & Negri 2009) inside globalized immaterial capitalist production. Racist subtexts about "academic scams based in Africa and South Asia" need to be confronted and avoided. In resisting trends toward corporate, high-cost Western-dominated academic publication, cost-free OA knowledge publication paradigms need to be expanded in the (re)appropriation of a "knowledge commons" under late capitalism. These include arXiv.org, journals like JCEPS, the Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Qualitative Social Research (bit.ly/xjc0mD), and more than 7,000 others associated with the Directory of Open Access Journals (www.doaj.org) -- in the spirit of the Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics (bit.ly/zPYYFJ) and the work of the Public Knowledge Project (http://pkp.sfu.ca), Open Journal Systems (tinyurl.com/2ydklr), SciELO (http://socialsciences.scielo.org/) in Latin America--and other initiatives for "Green OA" in open-access repositories elsewhere. These OA needs to be reconceived in the struggle for a "communism of the common" (Hardt 2010: 140). That re appropriation and its self-organization should become a main goal in confronting and dismantling the regime of monopolistic knowledge control today by giant "knowledge enclosure" corporations like Thomson-Reuters, Springer and Wiley. A key aim of the present paper is to spotlight these "predatory" journals and urge further empirical research. Despite the huge amount of largely bourgeois analysis of OA, there is very scant critical inquiry into such academic journals and their burgeoning conglomerates.
- Published
- 2012
8. Learning Effects of an Experimental EFL Program in Second Life
- Author
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Wang, Charles Xiaoxue, Calandra, Brendan, Hibbard, Susan T., and McDowell Lefaiver, Mary L.
- Abstract
This paper reports on the effects an experimental English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program in Second Life (SL) had on Chinese student EFL learning. The study took an evaluative approach using quasi-experimental design with participants from one Chinese university and one American university in the southeastern United States. Results indicated significant main effects between a control group and the SL group on EFL measures, as well as significant gains in total score and several subcomponents between pre-test and post test. Further analysis using a post study survey, students' blog posting, and interview transcripts revealed that the SL_EFL Program had a positive impact on students' EFL learning.
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Design, Sharing and Co-Construction of Learning Resources: A Case of Lifelong Learning Communities in Shanghai
- Author
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Gu, Xiaoqing, Zha, Chongping, Li, Shusu, and Laffey, James M.
- Abstract
A key problem in developing a virtual community for co-constructing learning resources is the need to have people volunteer to share their expertise. In this paper, we introduce the first phase of our research in which we examine strategies for encouraging participants to share in the system. We began by designing an intervention model based on creating and sustaining social capital among the participants for the entire resource development process. Data collected in this pilot for the first phase showed that this design was effective in attracting and maintaining users' interest in contributing to this virtual community, while leaving some designed functions and tools still in need of improvement. These findings will be used to make modifications for a future version of the system, and their implications to the social computing field are addressed also. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)
- Published
- 2011
10. New Technology Research and Practices in Digital Publishing in China.
- Author
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Niu, Yi, Li, Hui, and Qing, Qing
- Subjects
DIGITAL technology ,PUBLISHING ,TECHNOLOGICAL innovations ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,OPEN access publishing - Abstract
Enjoying widespread government support and encouragement for the digital projects of publishers and media industry. The Chinese publishing business continues to show steady development in the past year. At the same time, significant changes are taking place in the structure of the publishing industry. The content production, marketing, operating, and consumption are not linear upstream-downstream related any more. Instead, they have fused together, and thus formed a new industrial ecosphere. In this paper, we investigate the new technology research and practice in the digital publishing industry. There is obvious indication that new technology plays an important role in the structural change of the publishing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Electronic journal provision and use in China: an initial study.
- Author
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JOHNSON, IAN M., HONG WANG, and FEI NIE
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC journals ,ACADEMIC libraries ,PUBLIC libraries ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,GOVERNMENT policy - Abstract
The growth of electronic journals (e-journals) in Western Europe and North America has been widely reported. The rapid development of e-journal publishing in China is less well known. This paper provides a brief introduction to the development of e-journals in China before examining their impact on libraries,particularly academic libraries. Several factors that may have affected the growth of e-journals are noted, including the nature of government initiatives and pedagogical methods. As well as pointing to and reviewing some of the limited literature on the development of the publishing industry, the researchers also conducted some interviews in China. To provide an initial understanding of the impact on libraries, a small survey of academic libraries was undertaken. In addition, a study of the perspectives of the academic and library staff of Shandong University, one of China's largest universities, identified specific effects on user behaviour, the library staff and the budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. Mobile and Digitally-Mediated Publishing Strategies in China: An Overview of Evolving Business Models.
- Author
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Peng, Ying
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC publishing ,DIGITAL technology ,PUBLISHING ,BUSINESS models ,DIGITIZATION - Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the e-book publishing industry in China and its changing business models. As the conventional publishing industry has continued to contract, digitization is becoming increasingly popular. Although China is an influential developing country undergoing rapid change, a dearth of research on its digital publishing industry exists at the present time. This article therefore explores two main research questions: (1) What are the recent trends and business models of digital publishing in China? (2) How might we evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of such business models? To this end, multiple case studies are employed, as is the paradigm of structure-conduct-performance (SCP). It is proposed that Content plus App and Content plus Device are the basic business models for Chinese digital content producers and distributors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. Reading the Signs: What is Really Happening with Digital Publishing in China?
- Author
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Tian, Xuemei and Martin, Bill
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC publishing ,ELECTRONIC books ,PRINTING industry ,BUSINESS models ,TELECOMMUNICATION ,COPYRIGHT of electronic publishing ,INTERNET publishing - Abstract
Based upon a recent review of the relevant literature in both English and Chinese, this paper assess the current state of and future prospects for digital publishing in China. It addresses developments both in the context of ongoing technological and organizational change and with regard to the wider social and cultural dimensions. Embodying a simulated SWOT exercise it considers the current and likely future state of digital publishing in China through the eyes of western publishers seeking to do business in that country. Digital publishing in China is still in its infancy, while perhaps remaining more opaque to western observers than was expected. Issues around ownership, industry structure, operating platforms, stakeholders, piracy and intellectual property remain critical. Perhaps more than anything, and certainly much more than in the West, the issue of culture, not only in terms of national values and perspectives but also in terms of how things are done, remains a potent influence on business relationships with foreigners. In the West this continues to feed perceptions of legal and commercial uncertainties, risks to intellectual capital and obstacles to the production and distribution of knowledge and ideas. Whatever the perceived downside to such phenomena however, China is still regarded as a major growth market for western publishers. It concludes that whereas there are many opportunities for both parties, and that both can learn from each other, the learning curve is likely to be much steeper on the western side, owing to the significance of the social and cultural dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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14. To Become Immortal: Chinese Fantasy Literature Online.
- Author
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Xinkai Huang
- Subjects
SELF-realization ,INTERNET ,VIRTUAL reality ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,CHINESE fantasy literature - Abstract
The Internet provides individuals alternative approaches of self-realization. Virtual communities bind people who prefer the fantasy literature that bypasses the gate-keeping of mainstream culture. Through there, amateur writers upload their stories and people pick their readings and pay for that. The paper presents thick description of selected fantasy stories from QIDIAN (the most popular Chinese fantasy literature website and fan community) and studies the interactions between the writers and readers. From the analysis, the study expects to learn more about people's reading experience of the fantasy fiction and understand the underlying mechanism of publishing stories on the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
15. Annual Report on the Digital Publishing Industry in China: 2007–2008.
- Author
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Zhang Li
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC publishing ,ELECTRONIC journals ,ELECTRONIC books ,BLOGS ,VIDEO games ,DIGITAL media ,COPYRIGHT of electronic data ,ONLINE information services industry ,ECONOMICS - Abstract
The annual report captures the rapid growth over the past 5 years with a focus on the past 2 year of the digital publishing industry in China. The growth is evaluated in relation to new revenues generated, the size of the market segments represented by e-journals, eBooks, digital newspapers, blogs, online music and games. The leading companies in each of these sectors are identified as there is still a reluctance of traditional publishes to move more aggressively into the new media publishing. Finally, a review of the challenges that the lack of copyright present to the industry as legal systems have not caught up with the rapid developments of the media or online information industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
16. Evolution of open access publishing in Chinese scientific journals.
- Author
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Weihong Cheng and Shengli Ren
- Subjects
OPEN access publishing ,SCIENCE periodicals ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,PUBLISHING ,ELECTRONIC publications ,PERIODICALS - Abstract
Based on the 1,608 journals covered by the Chinese Science & Technology Journal Citation Reports (2005 edition), we analyzed the open access (OA) publishing situation of Chinese scientific journals. From this database we identified 91 journals offering full OA; a further 139 journals offered delayed OA. Data collected at three different time points (January 2006, July 2006, and January 2007) showed that the OA status of these journals is not stable; some OA journals subsequently became non-OA. Most of the Chinese OA journals are not part of a larger aggregation, but are published independently. Relatively more OA journals are published in the fields of medicine and biology. Citation indicators of OA journals were found to be higher than those of non-OA journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
17. SOME STUDENTS STILL READ BOOKS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A STUDY OF USER PREFERENCES FOR PRINT AND ELECTRONIC LIBRARIES.
- Author
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Bodomo, Adams, Lam, Mei-ling, and Lee, Carmen
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC books ,DIGITAL libraries ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,LIBRARY users - Abstract
With a rise in the technology for the production of electronic or digital materials, funders and administrators of libraries are increasingly leaning towards providing digital reading materials to users. In crowded cities like Hong Kong where space is a scarce commodity, the save-space feature of digital libraries is an even more attractive reason why users of library facilities in academic and public libraries are being encouraged to read electronic versions of publications. In this article we show that, however laudable the advantages of electronic books may be over physical print books, user preferences in every situation must be carefully analyzed before a paradigm shift from print to digital library resources can be successfully effected. The data for this paper come mainly from a survey of user preferences among students of the University of Hong Kong, which shows that an overwhelming majority (77%) of the respondents prefers print to digital materials. We conclude that the success or otherwise of the paradigm shift from print to digital libraries would depend on measures taken to encourage a positive attitude of users for digital library resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2003
18. Open Access-Philosophy, Policy, and Practice: A Comparative Study.
- Author
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Wang, Xuemao and Su, Chang
- Subjects
OPEN access publishing ,SCHOLARLY electronic publishing ,ELECTRONIC publishing ,DEVELOPED countries ,DEVELOPING countries - Abstract
Open Access (OA), a movement aiming at providing free access to scholarly literature over the Internet, has recently gained enormous momentum. Although OA started with developed countries, it is appealing to developing countries and is spreading throughout the world quickly. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this paper outlines the concept of OA, various OA operational models, and key stakeholders. Built upon deep Web searches, this paper summarizes and describes major OA projects in the developing countries with focused discussions on major issues in OA development in China. Aiming at gaining first-hand data, the authors interviewed six prominent Chinese scholars and analyzed their perspectives of OA development in China. In addition, this paper evaluates the similarities and differences of OA development by using the developed counties as best practice benchmark. This paper concludes with suggestions and recommendation of improved research methods and questions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
19. Use of Digitization to Modernize China’s Publishing Industry.
- Author
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Liu, Binjie
- Subjects
ELECTRONIC publishing ,PUBLISHING ,INTERNET publishing ,DIGITAL technology ,MODERNIZATION (Social science) ,STRATEGIC planning ,COMPUTER network resources - Abstract
To develop digital publishing, is an important part for China’s progress into an informed country, and the new designated direction for the development of publishing industry in China. This article introduces the macro-planning for developing digital publishing in China, the present status and problems of this industry, as well as personal viewpoints on how to develop a digital publishing industry in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
20. Publish or perish.
- Subjects
SCIENCE periodical publishing ,SCIENCE publishing ,PUBLISHING ,OPEN access publishing ,ELECTRONIC publishing - Abstract
The article discusses the need to elaborate plans to modernize the slackening scientific journals in China. It emphasizes that the country's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) must provide a sensible reform and must be more aggressive in evaluating journals, improving the strong, and killing off the weak. It adds that an open-access platform is the best opportunity to revive Chinese publishing and making content freely available would help to popularize journals.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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