Biography

Ashley R. Dainas is a Computer-Mediated Communication and Social Informatics researcher utilizing the tools of Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis, interviews, surveys, and experimental methods to explore the frontiers of digital communication. Her dissertation research, “The GIF
that Keeps on Giving: Sender and Receiver Interpretations and Misconstruals of GIFs”, focused on how GIFs are interpreted by lay users in naturalistic private communication and the degree to which there is agreement on these interpretations. Together with Professor Susan C. Herring, Ashley coined the term “graphicons” - a term for graphical icons such as emoticons, emoji, stickers, and GIFs. She has co-authored articles analyzing different kinds of graphicons in conversational contexts as well as attitudes toward and uses toward Apple iPhone’s Animoji. Alongside her current research on GIFs, Ashley is also conducting research on the creation of constructed conversations in TikTok Duets and the effects of beauty video filters on the success of video donation requests.

Degrees

Ph.D. Indiana University Bloomington, Information Science, Expected Graduation: December 2023
M.A. Case Western Reserve University, Cognitive Linguistics, May 2015
B.A. Case Western Reserve University, Cognitive Science; Psychology, May 2013