Professional Communication

Preference and Performance With Cartoon-Like Images In Instructional Documentation

by Amanda Bemer

Rhetoric of a Global Epidemic: Intercultural and Intracultural Professional Communication About SARS

by Huiling Ding

Dissertation.Won College Composition and Communication Conference Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication, Honorable Mention, 2008

Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams

by Erika Darics

This is the draft version of my book chapter. The details of the final version are below:

Darics, E. (2010). Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams.
In: Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction, Rotimi Taiwo (Ed.), 830-851.

Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional... more Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional sociolinguistic approach to computer-mediated language use could provide explanations for phenomena that previously could not be accounted for in computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). Drawing on the theoretical framework of relational work (Locher, 2006), the analysis focuses on non-task oriented talk and its function in forming and establishing communication norms in the team, as well as micro-level phenomena, such as hesitation, backchannel signals and emoticons. The conclusions of this preliminary research suggest that the linguistic strategies used for substituting audio-visual signals are strategically used in discursive functions and have an important role in relational work.

Hyvää hoitoa ja huonoa suomea: Verkkokeskustelijoiden käsitykset filippiiniläishoitajien ammatillisesta kielitaidosta.

by Minna Suni

Virtanen, Aija & Suni, Minna 2011. Hyvää hoitoa ja huonoa suomea: Verkkokeskustelijoiden käsitykset filippiiniläishoitajien ammatillisesta kielitaidosta. Teoksessa Niina Nissilä & Nestori Siponkoski (toim.) Kieli ja etiikka. Käännöstiede, ammattikielet ja monikielisyys N:o 38. Vaasa: Vaasan yliopisto.

Work-related immigration has been under an intensive public debate in Finland since international recruitment of... more Work-related immigration has been under an intensive public debate in Finland since international recruitment of health-care personnel started to increase a few years ago. Nurses from the Philippines have given a face to this development. This paper shows that on open discussion forums, controversial beliefs about the language skills and other abilities of these nurses can be observed, and ethics are commonly commented upon when language issues of work-related immigration are discussed. Four long message threads on a discussion forum were analysed, and some samples of the data are discussed in more detail to illustrate the polarization of views and beliefs that occurs. The theoretical and methodological approach applied is rooted in dialogism (Bakhtin 1986; Aro 2009) which highlights the situational and dynamic nature of both language and beliefs. The results show that those who argue against international recruitment tend to echo authoritative voices that see language learning as an individual struggle and language skills as an either/or type of phenomenon, whereas those who welcome such recruitment use their own voice by sharing experiences and by describing learning as a gradual or socially driven process, where different compensational means are employed and other people have a role to play too.

Keywords: work-related language skills, dialogism, language skills, immigration, Finnish as a second language
Avainsanat: ammatillinen kielitaito, dialogisuus, kielitaito, maahanmuuttajat, suomi toisena kielenä

Puhe ja kieli 4/2011: Suomi toisena kielenä työelämässä -teemanumero

by Minna Suni

Sisällys:

ESIPUHE: SUOMI TOISENA KIELENÄ TYÖELÄMÄSSÄ
Minna Suni 137–138

Artikkelit

MAAHANMUUTTAJIEN SUOMEN KIELEN TAIDON RIITTÄVYYS JA TYÖLLISTYMISEN MAHDOLLISUUDET
Mirja Tarnanen, Sari Pöyhönen 139–152

KÄSITYKSIÄ KANSAINVÄLISESTI REKRYTOITUJEN HOITAJIEN AMMATILLISESTA KIELITAIDOSTA JA SEN KEHITTYMISESTÄ. MEDIAKESKUSTELUIDEN JA ASIANTUNTIJAN HAASTATTELUN ANALYYSIA
Aija Virtanen 153–172

SAIRAANHOITAJAN TYÖKIELI – YLEISKIELTÄ VAI AMMATTIKIELTÄ? Funktionaalinen näkökulma ammattikielen oppimiseen toisella kielellä
Maria Kela, Johanna Komppa 173–192

SUOMEN KIELEN TAIDON RIITTÄVYYS YRITYSTEN AIKAPAINEISISSA PUHETILANTEISSA ESIMIESTEN JA TYÖHARJOITTELIJOIDEN KUVAAMANA
Tuula Jäppinen

Esipuhe: Suomi toisena kielenä työelämässä (Puhe ja kieli -lehden teemanumero, 4/2011))

by Minna Suni

The Relationship of IT Professionals and Facilitators Joining Together to Emphasize Pedagogy with Technology

by Debra Peterson

This paper focuses on the lack of technological skills that educators do not have to intertwine pedagogy with... more This paper focuses on the lack of technological skills that educators do not have to intertwine pedagogy with technology. Teachers are finding themselves lacking the skills necessary to keep up with their tech savvy students, therefore the electronic rift is growing bigger. Educators must be able to master software that allows them to become more productive online and in the classroom while teaching. Districts and higher education administrators must allow funding to implement professional training on a higher level so that instructors are better equipped when using technology with course work. Two appendixes present: (1) WBT [Web-Based Training) Project Development: Tasks & Roles for the Web-based Instructional Design; and (2) Instructional Designer Profile/Educational Technology Librarian Profile/Web-based Curriculum Developer Profile/Head of Media Services Profile/Tutor Profile.

" Scissors, Please": The Practical Accomplishment of Surgical Work in the Operating Theater

by Jeff Bezemer

Jeff Bezemer, Ged Murtagh, Alexandra Cope, Gunther Kress and Roger Kneebone

The focus of this article is on professional activity in the operating theater. We explore how surgeons and nurses... more The focus of this article is on professional activity in the operating theater. We explore how surgeons and nurses organize their activities, how social interaction is used to help structure and define situations, and how differentials in knowledge are constructed and oriented to. We utilize some ideas and concepts from symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, and conversation analysis to analyze small clips of audio- and video-recorded interaction. Focusing on how surgeons and nurses request, provide, and apply surgical instruments, the analysis shows how surgical work is accomplished through talk and bodily conduct. We conclude that, examined in detail, the social interaction between surgeons and nurses is analytically inseparable from the “technical” demands of their work.

"Do you have another Johan?" Negotiating meaning in the operating theatre

by Jeff Bezemer

Jeff Bezemer, Alexandra Cope, Gunther Kress and Roger Kneebone

This paper discusses language use at a workplace in a context of instability and diversity. Its focus is on the... more This paper discusses language use at a workplace in a context of instability and diversity. Its focus is on the operating theatre, where communication is an integral part of complex, collaborative tasks, impacting on patient-safety, staff well-being and overall quality of health care. In the operating theatre health care professionals gather to work on the recurring task of surgical operations, in teams that exist only for the duration or parts of the task. Not only do the members of these unstable teams have different professional backgrounds, such as surgery and nursing, they also draw on different, social, cultural and linguistic resources. The paper shows how this instability and diversity which is so characteristic of contemporary society plays out in the moment-by-moment use of language at the operating table. On the basis of prolonged fieldwork in a London hospital and a unique set of audio- and video-recordings we show how surgeons formulate requests and how nurses and surgical trainees disambiguate these requests on the basis of their prior experiences with surgical instruments and equipment, the surgical procedure, and, crucially, the surgeon’s ‘idiolect’. We analyze instances where this process of disambiguation is highly successful, as well as examples where it is not. We tease out the strategies that nurses and surgeons deploy to deal with this ambiguity and explore ways to deal with instability and diversity in professional communication.

Learning to teach writing to engineers

by Natasha Artemeva

A Time to Speak, a Time to Act A Rhetorical Genre Analysis of a Novice Engineer's Calculated Risk Taking

by Natasha Artemeva

Future Convergences: Technical Communication Research as Cognitive Science

by Nathaniel Rivers

Accepted for publication in Technical Communication Quarterly 20th Anniversary Issue 2011.

Cognitive scientist Andy Clark argues, “the study of mind might […] need to embrace a variety of different explanatory... more Cognitive scientist Andy Clark argues, “the study of mind might […] need to embrace a variety of different explanatory paradigms whose point of convergence lies in the production of intelligent behavior” (p. 95). This article offers up technical communication as just such a paradigm. It describes technical communication research past and present to argue that our disciplinary knowledge of tools, work environments, and assessment are necessary complements to a more robust science of mind.

Missä ja miten maahanmuuttajat kehittävät ammatillista kielitaitoaan? [Where and how do immigrants develop their work-related language skills?]

by Minna Suni

Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja 2/2011, 8-22. (Teemanumero ammatillisen koulutuksen monikulttuuristumisesta)

This paper discusses where and how immigrants develop their work-related Finnish language skills. To form a basis for... more This paper discusses where and how immigrants develop their work-related Finnish language skills. To form a basis for a data-driven review, some observations are made on the language education policies defined in other countries as a response to the globalizing labour market. A functional view on language skills is introduced by presenting some principles and uses of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The autobiographic interview data to be analysed has been collected within the research project Finnish as a work language: A socio-cognitive perspective to work-related language skills of immigrants. The factors directing the development of work-related language skills appear to be time and goals, language studies, and, above all, the support received from the work community. According to the interviewees, the role of language studies has actually been rather limited, because the focus had been in general language skills and grammar, and not in the work-related needs and communication practices. The conclusion is that tailored language education matching the needs of workplace is needed. It should also prepare the students to find effective strategies for language learning at work.

immigrants, work-related language skills, language education, Finnish as a second language


Artikkelissa tarkastellaan sitä, missä ja miten maahanmuuttajat kehittävät ammatillista suomen kielen taitoaan. Aineistolähtöisen tarkastelun pohjaksi esitellään niitä havaintoja ja kielikoulutusta koskevia linjauksia, joita muissa maissa on tehty työmarkkinoiden globalisoituessa. Funktionaalisen kielitaidon näkökulmaa esitellään käymällä läpi Eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen (EVK) periaatteita ja käyttöyhteyksiä. Analyysin kohteena oleva autobiografinen haastatteluaineisto on koottu Suomi työkielenä: sosiokognitiivinen näkökulma maahanmuuttajien ammatilliseen kielitaitoon -tutkimus¬hankkeessa. Ammatillisen kielitaidon kehitystä ohjaaviksi tekijöiksi nousevat aika ja tavoite, kieliopinnot sekä ennen kaikkea työyhteisön tuki. Haastateltavien mukaan kieliopintojen merkitys oli oikeastaan jäänyt melko vähäiseksi, koska niiden painopiste oli ollut yleiskielitaidossa ja kielen rakenteessa, ei ammatillisissa tarpeissa ja viestintäkäytänteissä. Päätelmänä on, että työelämän tarpeisiin vastaavaa räätälöityä kielikoulutusta tarvitaan. Sen tulisi valmentaa opiskelijoita myös löytämään tehokkaita strategioita työssä tapahtuvaan kielenoppimiseen.

maahanmuuttajat, ammatillinen kielitaito, kielikoulutus, suomi toisena kielenä

Constructing genre: A threefold typology

by Donna Kain

Health, Illness, Health Care, and the Humanities: Remapping Disciplines and Discourses

by Thomas Lawrence Long

Presented at University of Connecticut Humanities Institute 10th Anniversary Conference, April 7, 2011

I reflect on the integration of the humanities in health science and health professions education like nursing. The... more I reflect on the integration of the humanities in health science and health professions education like nursing. The Humanities and Medicine Faculty Study Group hosted by the UConn Humanities Institute, some of whose members constitute today’s panel, has provided a sounding board and a catalyst for this reflection. Humanities disciplines and their discourses occupy discrete locations in the knowledge ecosystem, and, like any bodies in an ecosystem, the humanities adapt to other bodies of knowledge in the knowledge ecology. I want to suggest that three humanities methodologies and their discourses are vigorously symbiotic with the study of health, illness and health care. These three methodologies, often located in English, language or other humanities departments, are culture studies, semiotic theory, and technical communication.

Innovation and Knowledge Sharing Across Professional Boundaries: Political Interplay Between Boundary Objects and Brokers

by Chris Kimble

C. Kimble, C. Grenier and K. Goglio-Primard. Innovation and Knowledge Sharing Across Professional Boundaries: Political Interplay between Boundary Objects and Brokers. International Journal of Information Management, 30(5), 2010, pp. 437 - 444.

The article examines the process of innovation and knowledge sharing from a perspective that focuses on the influence... more The article examines the process of innovation and knowledge sharing from a perspective that focuses on the influence that local circumstances can have.  In particular, it looks at the problems of knowledge sharing between groups of professionals.  It presents a comparative analysis of two studies, one involving two groups of IT professionals; the other a network of healthcare professionals.  The data was collected in two sets.  The first set consisted of the results from two earlier, independent studies; the second was collected specifically for this article.  We investigate the role played by boundary objects and brokers.  Through an analysis of the interplay between boundary object and broker, we uncover the dynamics of the innovation process and show that the role played by the broker can be political.  We identify two strategies that are used by brokers in the selection of a boundary object.  The first is directed towards achieving a balance between the actors involved and the second is directed towards controlling their activities.  We conclude by suggesting that other researchers should also consider the interplay between broker and boundary object when examining cross boundary knowledge sharing.

Designing Collaborative Learning Spaces: Where Material Culture Meets Mobile Writing Processes

by Amanda Bemer

Designing collaborative learning spaces: Where material culture meets mobile writing process. Programmatic Perspectives 1.2 (2009): 139-166. With R.M. Moeller and C.E. Ball.