Brad Mehlenbacher, Ana Patricia Balbon, A. Mehlenbacher
{"title":"Synthetic Genres: Expert Genres, Non-Specialist Audiences, and Misinformation in the Artificial Intelligence Age","authors":"Brad Mehlenbacher, Ana Patricia Balbon, A. Mehlenbacher","doi":"10.1177/00472816231226249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231226249","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on rhetorical genre studies, we explore research article abstracts created by generative artificial intelligence (AI). These synthetic genres—genre-ing activities shaped by the recursive nature of language learning models in AI-driven text generation—are of interest as they could influence informational quality, leading to various forms of disordered information such as misinformation. We conduct a two-part study generating abstracts about (a) genre scholarship and (b) polarized topics subject to misinformation. We conclude with considerations about this speculative domain of AI text generation and dis/misinformation spread and how genre approaches may be instructive in its identification.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"494 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140474557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Responding to Negative Online Reviews on Chinese E-Commerce Platforms: Culture's Impact and A Comparison of Rhetorical Moves","authors":"Junhua Wang, Hua Wang","doi":"10.1177/00472816231225666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231225666","url":null,"abstract":"To examine the impact of cultural factors on business responses to negative online reviews, we first examined rhetorical moves in business responses to negative online reviews on Chinese B2C e-commerce platforms. Then, we conducted a comparative analysis of the rhetorical moves in this research and those identified in Wang’s research on rhetorical moves identified in business responses to negative online reviews on Amazon.com. Following the framework of social-cognitive system theory, we explained how cultural factors may shape businesses’ responses to negative online reviews and concluded the research by discussing the implications of the research in the context of cross-border e-commerce.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":" 972","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139617654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Comparative Rhetorical Analysis of Trump and Biden's Climate Change Speeches: Framing Strategies in Politics","authors":"Shyam Pandey","doi":"10.1177/00472816231225932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231225932","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyzes the speeches of two U.S. politicians—President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden—to present how they make their arguments about climate change using various frames. While frames are rhetorical acts, they are also a form of persuasion. In particular, the author demonstrates how Trump foregrounded negative frames with fear-inducing elements. He presented job losses and economic harm as consequences of joining the Paris Climate Accord, putting him on the defensive. In contrast, Biden utilized positive frames to strengthen his arguments and aligned more closely with the environmental justice framework. Inspired by the rhetoric of the framing strategies employed by these two speakers, the study suggests that technical communicators should focus on using language that constructs new frames to enhance the success of their argumentations.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":" 716","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139617446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Birthing Genre: Conventions of Rhetorical Situation and Accessibility of Information in Midwifery Manuals","authors":"Rebecca E. Burnett, Courtney A. Hoffman","doi":"10.1177/00472816231216913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231216913","url":null,"abstract":"We ask, “What genre conventions are shared in 18th- and 21st-century midwifery manuals?” The article responds to this question by situating manuals as cultural arbiters and defining genre in a cultural context. The article identifies parallels between 18th-century and 21st-century midwifery manuals that focus on the rhetorical situation (via front matter, including title pages and prefaces) and accessibility of information (via design, definitions, and step-by-step procedures). Midwifery practices have changed drastically in the modern era, but the underlying goals—safety and health for the birthing person and child—remain constant. Increased publication of manuals dedicated to midwifery in the 18th century suggests a heightened focus on practices leading to successful outcomes in childbirth that highlight the value of examining manuals as a genre reflecting humanistic elements in technical documents. We argue that midwifery manuals emphasize underlying ideologies in the production and reproduction of socio-cultural consciousness still present today.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"13 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139166218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Expanding Communication Expectations: Examining Audience Understanding of Scripts Through Fold and Swap Strategies","authors":"Kirk St.Amant, Walter Giordano","doi":"10.1177/00472816231216911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231216911","url":null,"abstract":"This entry presents cognitive-based strategies, called folds and swaps, communication professionals can use to introduce new concepts to different groups. A novel extension of prototype theory and script theory from cognitive psychology and linguistics, these strategies can help create messages that add, or fold, new ideas, activities, or items into existing processes. Communication professionals can also use these strategies to develop messaging that shifts, or swaps, the location individuals associate with performing different activities. Through an application of folds and swap strategies, communication professionals can help audiences contextualize new approaches to everyday activities.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139224609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trust the Process: A Scalable Model for UX Pedagogy","authors":"Emma J. Rose, Heather N. Turner","doi":"10.1177/00472816231210234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231210234","url":null,"abstract":"While user experience (UX) and technical and professional communication (TPC) are intertwined, how UX is taught in TPC is highly variable. In this article, we report data from a study with TPC instructors who teach UX to identify patterns in approaches to teaching UX. We provide background on UX pedagogy, share methods including collecting data from a questionnaire and interviews and conducting qualitative analysis. The findings map teaching activities onto the design process and show patterns and commonalities. We conclude by proposing a process-based approach for teaching UX in TPC classes and programs to fprovide scaffolding and connections for students.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"64 11","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lessons from a “Scholar on Fire” for a World on Fire: A Framework to Position Technical and Professional Communication Scholars for Policy Impact","authors":"Heidi Willers","doi":"10.1177/00472816231210224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231210224","url":null,"abstract":"Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) scholars and practitioners (TPCers) see a need to intervene in a range of complex problems. Yet scholars such as Leah Ceccarelli and Lauren Cagle have noted a gap between scholarly research findings and policy changes. To address this gap, I theorize a strategic grounding framework, consisting of multiple, linked tactics that over time enable TPCers to make a case to gain a seat at the table to shape policy. I theorize this framework through a case study of Stephen J. Pyne, founder of the subfield of Fire History, who influenced national and global fire management policy. I examine Pyne's professional papers, housed in the Stephen J. Pyne Papers Collection at the Arizona State University Archives. The framework offers TPCers a series of tactics that position TPCers as change makers as they place their expertise to shape policy that addresses complex problems.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"48 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135863640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward TPC-UX: UX Topics in TPC Journals 2013–2022","authors":"Paul Thompson Hunter","doi":"10.1177/00472816231191998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231191998","url":null,"abstract":"This article offers a content analysis of technical and professional communication articles related to user experience (TPC-UX) published between 2013 and 2022 in six TPC scholarly journals. This analysis reveals that TPC-UX primarily focuses on product and process topics and illustrates the terminological comingling of user experience and usability. Specific TPC-UX topics identified include theory, multimodality, health and medicine, localization, web design, mobile applications, accessibility, and content strategy. These topics suggest that TPC-UX's key affordances are its attunement to networked power dynamics, its theoretically rich treatment of multimodality, and its strategies for navigating contextual complexities.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"94 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85709064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"New Opportunities for Japanese Universities to Internationalize Communication Courses","authors":"M. Fujio","doi":"10.1177/00472816231188110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231188110","url":null,"abstract":"Due to the economic sluggishness seen in Japan over the past few decades and the shrinking inward investment market, the Japanese government has introduced educational reforms in order to foster “global human resources” able to compete with overseas talent. One key area of emphasis has been communication education with a special focus on English. In this article, after reviewing the government’s reform plans, the author will analyze (1) how Japanese universities have incorporated these policies into their organizations, with an emphasis on the country’s internationally top-rated universities, and (2) how individual instructors have modified them for their own classes, with reference to a specific case of a successful partnership with an overseas university. Based on the analyses, future opportunities for communication studies will be highlighted in “Discussion” section, including stronger and more flexible ties with overseas universities, in particular among the Asia-Pacific Region, and how a country of non-native speakers of English could show initiative in developing collaborations with overseas universities.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87651923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Collaborative Settings of Co-Creation: Knowledge Diplomacy and Pedagogical Thinking in Communication","authors":"N. Chaban","doi":"10.1177/00472816231188652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231188652","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the intersection of pedagogical research in communication and research on public diplomacy and engages with the notion of knowledge diplomacy. It revises the concept of the “collaborative” central to both public diplomacy and higher education pedagogy. With both fields emphasizing the importance of co-creation, the paper theorizes and operationalizes this concept, and argues that co-creation (as a process and a framework) is one solution to the challenge of dominance argued by the scholarship of knowledge diplomacy. Empirically, the article engages with two cases of grassroots knowledge diplomacy initiated by a tertiary communication program in collaboration with diplomats.","PeriodicalId":93788,"journal":{"name":"Journal of technical writing and communication","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81295839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}