University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2013 Playing in Trelis Weyr: Investigating Collaborative Practices in a Dragons of Pern Role-Play-Game Forum Kathleen Marie Alley University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Other Computer Sciences Commons Scholar Commons Citation Alley, Kathleen Marie, "Playing in Trelis Weyr: Investigating Collaborative Practices in a Dragons of Pern Role-Play-Game Forum" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4430 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Playing in Trelis Weyr: Investigating Collaborative Practices in a Dragons of Pern Role-Play-Game Forum by Kathleen M. Alley A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Childhood Education and Literacy Studies College of Education University of South Florida Major Professor: James King, Ed.D. Jenifer J. Schneider, Ph.D. Danielle Dennis, Ph.D. Sarah Kiefer, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 14, 2013 Keywords: Collaboration, Popular Culture, Composition, Fandom, Motivation Copyright © 2013, Kathleen M. Alley DEDICATION To my husband, Doyle Alley, who has supported my dreams since the first day we met. To my parents, Jim and Suzanne Carpenter, who have always believed in my ability to achieve anything I set my mind to accomplish. I know you are looking down from Heaven and smiling Mom. To my sister and her husband, Karen and Bob Stout, who share my dedication as educators and talk with me about my research into the wee hours of the morning. To my son, Robert Alley, who first introduced me to fandom and the world of fan fiction. And to my daughter, Cassandra Alley, who led me on this extraordinary journey and allowed me to be a part of her online life in a way few parents are privileged to experience. Thank you, Cassandra, for sharing Trelis Weyr with me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would be remiss to present this study of collaborative authorships without acknowledging the many people who contributed to and supported both the development of this study, and my own personal development as a teacher, researcher, colleague, and human being. I have been very fortunate to learn from and develop alongside some extremely caring and supportive individuals who generously offered me guidance, shared their lives, and patiently helped me find my way along this journey. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. James King and Dr. Sarah Kiefer, who taught me everything I needed to know to plan, execute, and write this dissertation. Both of these incredible people were invested in me, illustrating this investment by taking my work seriously and engaging me in conversations that pushed my thinking further and challenged my notion about what I thought I understood. As well, they were supportive of the everyday concerns I had as a doctoral student, struggling to achieve my goals. I also want to sincerely thank Dr. Jenifer Schneider and Dr. Danielle Dennis for their support and encouragement. I learned so much from each of them about theories and research methods, adolescent literacy, and about writing. I especially appreciate their feedback for this dissertation, which encouraged me to think further and provided me with ideas I can carry with me for future scholarship. It was an honor to have them on my committee. Additionally, there are several doctoral students who supported me as we made our way through our programs of study. Some I met at the beginning of my journey as they were completing their own and they inspired me to believe I would persevere and get through what I needed to accomplish to meet my goals. Others kept me company during my journey, studying with me and helping me to achieve the milestones along our path together. However, there is one person I will always treasure as my academic sister and a forever friend. Thank you, Barbara, for always providing support and understanding academically, personally, and spiritually. I am grateful and fortunate to have met three wonderful text-based role-play-game forum participants, Larkwing, Zi, and Kit, who shared their lives and their role-play experiences with me. In particular, I want to thank Larkwing for her guidance and patience as she led me on this incredible journey, allowing me to enter a portion of her world a mother is not usually privileged to experience. Her generosity made investigating this phenomenon so much easier for me. Thank you for serving as my “expert,” and for supporting me while I learned about Pern fandom and text-based role-play-games. Last, though by no means least, I have to acknowledge my entire family for their unconditional love and patience. My husband, Doyle Alley, is the person who stood by me along this journey and made it possible for me to accomplish this goal. He endured my stress-induced moodiness, juggling family responsibilities and work. I cannot aptly express my love and gratitude with words, but he knows what’s in my heart. I am also extremely grateful to have been blessed with two wonderful children who shared their online interactions with me. In particular, I want to thank Cassandra for sharing her love of text-based role-play-game forums, enabling me to better understand this important type of fandom. Cassandra shared a portion of her world a teen doesn’t often expose to a parent, supporting my growth as a role-play enthusiast, researcher, and a mother. i TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................... viii Chapter One: Introduction and Overview ...........................................................................1 Purpose and Research Questions ............................................................................3 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................4 Conceptual Framework ...........................................................................................5 New Literacy Studies ...................................................................................6 Affinity Space ..............................................................................................6 Communities of Practice ..............................................................................7 Communities of Play....................................................................................7 Self-Determination Theory ..........................................................................8 Summary of Methodology ......................................................................................9 Definition of Terms ...............................................................................................10 Outline of the Dissertation ....................................................................................15 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework and Review of Literature .....................................18 Methodological Review ........................................................................................19 Braiding of Theoretical Frameworks ....................................................................20 New Literacy Studies ................................................................................21 Literacy events ...............................................................................23 New literacy studies and previous research ...................................24 Theories of Community ............................................................................27 Affinity space .................................................................................27 Community of practice ..................................................................31 Community of play ........................................................................34 Self-Determination Theory .......................................................................35 Review of Related Research .................................................................................38 Adolescence and Literacy .........................................................................38 Motivation and Literacy ............................................................................42 Self-efficacy and engagement ........................................................43 Self-determination or autonomy ....................................................47 A Brief History of Role-Play-Games ........................................................50 Role-playing’s core qualities .........................................................51 Overview of research .....................................................................52 Pen-and-paper RPGs ......................................................................53 Systemless ......................................................................................53