Radzuwan Ab Rashid

The emergence of social networking sites, like Facebook, and people’s engagement with one another through them is a relatively under-researched area for discourse analysis. The content of the book revolves around Discourse Topic Management which is under the theme of Discourse Analysis. It is written to extend the very limited literature in the area of Discourse Topic, especially for the discourse which takes place on social networking sites. This study discusses the characteristics of topical actions employed by English language teachers and their Facebook Friends in managing supportive conversations which take place on Timelines. In addition to employing new strategies, enabled by the particular features of the site, the teachers and their Friends also creatively adapt the strategies used in face-to-face conversations to manage their online conversations, thus contributing to the emergence of unique characteristics of discourse topic management in the context of social networking sites. The book brings together the existing frameworks of Discourse Topic Management, which are previously applied in the context of face-to-face conversations, and synthesizes the frameworks for a more comprehensive model into examining the conversations which take place on Facebook Timelines. The novelty of this book lies in its synthesized framework, the recontextualization of the framework for online conversations and the theoretical extension based on the data analysis presented in each chapter. Since people’s engagement with social networking sites is an emerging behaviour, this timely book provides insights into the phenomenon and also proposes a comprehensive analytical framework for other researchers interested in similar contexts.

This book in religious studies uses a Malaysian apostasy case study as a platform to investigate and discuss the broader radicalisation of apostates on social networking sites. It provides new insights into the emerging phenomenon of how social media tools are harnessed to promote faith and beliefs systems, specifically looking at the Malay view of apostasy from Islam. Employing sociocultural theory and theoretical concepts to analyse the discursive behaviour of a Malaysian apostate on a social networking site, the study unpacks how digital storytelling and rhetorical strategies can influence readers, culturally and socially, and contribute to identity construction in relation to politicised viewpoints. The analysis of the discourse surrounding apostasy in Malaysia enables parallels to be drawn to such discourses in other parts of the world, raising discussions on the connections between inflammatory online rhetoric and social problems, such as recruitment to terrorism, involvement ingangs or the use of addictive substances. This book is of particular interest to scholars and students considering the intersection of critical discourse analysis and religious studies. It is of interest to sociolinguists and psychologists interested in online media.

This book offers recommendations on the milling processes for the carbon fiber reinforced plastic CFRP/Al2024. Due to the anisotropic and non-homogeneous structure of CFRP and the ductile nature of aluminum, the machining of this material is very challenging and causes various types of damage, such as matrix cracking and thermal alterations, fiber pullout and fuzzing during drilling and trimming, which affect the quality of machined surface. The book studies and models the machined surface quality of CFRP/Al2024 using a two-level full factorial design experiment. It describes the processes of trimming using down milling, and statistically and graphically analyzes the influence and interaction of cutting parameters. Lastly, the book presents the optimization of the cutting parameters in order to create a surface texture quality of CFRP/Al2024 to less than 1 µm.

The emergence of social networking sites, like Facebook, and people’s engagement with one another through them is a relatively under-researched area for discourse analysis. The content of the book revolves around Discourse Topic Management which is under the theme of Discourse Analysis. It is written to extend the very limited literature in the area of Discourse Topic, especially for the discourse which takes place on social networking sites. This study discusses the characteristics of topical actions employed by English language teachers and their Facebook Friends in managing supportive conversations which take place on Timelines. In addition to employing new strategies, enabled by the particular features of the site, the teachers and their Friends also creatively adapt the strategies used in face-to-face conversations to manage their online conversations, thus contributing to the emergence of unique characteristics of discourse topic management in the context of social networking sites. The book brings together the existing frameworks of Discourse Topic Management, which are previously applied in the context of face-to-face conversations, and synthesizes the frameworks for a more comprehensive model into examining the conversations which take place on Facebook Timelines. The novelty of this book lies in its synthesized framework, the recontextualization of the framework for online conversations and the theoretical extension based on the data analysis presented in each chapter. Since people’s engagement with social networking sites is an emerging behaviour, this timely book provides insights into the phenomenon and also proposes a comprehensive analytical framework for other researchers interested in similar contexts.