Reviews of: Very like a whale: The assessment of writing programs Edward M. White, Norbert Elliot, and Irvin Peckham (2015) ISBN-13: 978-0-87421-985-2. Pp. 202. Assessing and improving student writing in college Barbara E. Walvoord (2014) ISBN-13: 978-1-118-55736-5. Pp. xiii + 119.

Book review.

Research problem: Over the past decade, the popularity of fantasy sports games has grown dramatically. A fantasy sport is a simulation game in which game players act as owners to build, manage, and coach imaginary teams that compete against one another, based on statistics generated by actual players or teams of a professional sport. In line with this, we have seen the emergence of various forms of media content being produced directly for those who participate in fantasy sports games-the most prolific example of this is writing for fantasy sports. This study aims to establish an understanding of how fantasy sport articles are currently being constructed by assessing the contributions of professional journalists and amateur writers. Research questions: RQ1: If the standardization of written discourse genres stems from the reciprocity between generic conventions and the responses to situations, then what are the differences between the discourse strategy used by professional journalists and that by their amateur counterparts in fantasy sports writing? RQ2: What are the writers' rhetorical goals and the reader-writer relationships they wish to establish through the fantasy sports texts? Literature review: This study is rooted in the notion of genre, a communicative event through which the writer and reader interact to make meanings in a particular context. Communication of fantasy sports involves the production of content that provides readers with news, analysis, and opinions about-and knowledge of-matters that concern the games, thus creating pools of intelligence which other fantasy sports players can use, add to, argue against, or ignore. This amateur-produced content and resulting knowledge communities formed by fantasy sports players have led to a genre development that professional communicators should examine because it reflects so much technical documentation and instructions have migrated into user-generated spaces. “The move” in genre analysis is a meaningful rhetorical unit that is related to the communicative purpose of a social activity and that contributes to the text's overall strategy within its situational context. Moves operate in coherence rather than isolation in a text. Methodology: A discourse analysis was conducted on 60 fantasy sports texts (30 by professional journalists and 30 by amateur writers) randomly selected from a few specific sources in 2012. A custom move scheme was devised for analyzing fantasy sports texts in this study. The results were analyzed using a chi-square test. Results and discussion: Results reveal significant differences between the discourse strategy used by professional journalists and that by amateur writers. These differences include amateur writers differing to some extent in their rhetorical goals from professional journalists as they offer media consumers a more balanced spread of information, that professional journalists place a substantially lower value on making predictions, that amateur writers and professional journalists share similar regard in terms of the appropriate amount of casualness to include in their writing although amateur writers are more included to build casualness in their articles, and that the use of writing techniques to invite further connection or engagement from readers is being underutilized by both professional and amateur writers. The major implications for the professional communicators are the insights into user-generated content, an approach in which organizations increasingly rely on for their product and service documentation.

Research problem: The study attempts to study how an empowered Chinese public coped with and interpreted the environmental crisis of the ConocoPhillips oil spill and how ConocoPhillips reacted to the growing influence of social media. Research questions: In what ways did the Chinese public exercise its new power through social media in addressing the ConocoPhillips Oil Spill Incident? How did a multinational company like ConocoPhillips act during the crisis and react to the voices of the public through new media? Literature review: Social media has caused a power shift in China by allowing the ordinary Chinese public who used to be the silent majority to expose scandals and express their opinions about crises with greater freedom. At the same time, pressure is growing on corporations to exercise social responsibility, through responding to economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has. Stakeholder theory indicates that only by meeting the needs and expectations of the individuals and groups who can affect or are affected by the firm's objectives can a firm survive and succeed. In developing countries, corporate social responsibility is characterized by a lack of systematic and institutionalized approach, with stakeholders, such as the public and community, being neglected for a long time. Methodology: Researchers conducted a thematic analysis of 932 microblog and blog entries about the ConocoPhillips Oil Spill Incident in China that were published on leading Chinese social media websites between June 2011 to February 2013. Results and discussion: The study found that the oil spill sparked an uproar of anger and criticism in the Chinese online community. Most posts on microblogs and blogs engaged in finding the causes and laying the blame for the oil spill. The overwhelming majority of the Chinese public attributed the crisis to the faulty laws and inaction on the part of the Chinese government regulators, to ConocoPhillips, and the Chinese joint venture partner China National Offshore Oil Corporation's failure to undertake due responsibilities. In response to mounting online criticisms, ConocoPhillips exhibited little interest in engaging with the Chinese public and showed poor communication in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The study's theoretical contribution lies in combining CSR and Stakeholder theory with Discourse Power theory. Practical implications to multinational corporations seeking long-term business development in the developing country contexts, such as China, are that managers need to engage in responsive listening, actively participate in online conversations, and constantly scan the social media environment to manage its relations with the general public. Particularly, firms experiencing crises can gain the public's emotional support by communicating emotion-laden messages through social media.

Research problem: No study has explored how incorporating personas into heuristic evaluation of products, namely websites, affects the kinds of findings reported and the recommendations presented by usability evaluators. Research questions: (1) Do findings resulting from heuristic evaluations of a website without the use of personas differ from findings resulting from heuristic evaluations of the same website with the use of personas? (2) Do findings from persona-based heuristic evaluations in which evaluators develop their own personas differ from findings from persona-based heuristic evaluations in which evaluators are given personas? (3) If findings and recommendations are different, how do they differ? (4) How does the use of personas affect the evaluators' confidence in the findings of a heuristic evaluation? Literature review: First, previous research of heuristic evaluation has concluded that although heuristic evaluation is inexpensive and does not require advance planning, it has several shortcomings, including its too-intense focus on minor issues and its inability to capture all usability issues. Second, data-driven personas, which have long been a resource in user-centered design, have been suggested as a way to improve or enhance heuristic evaluation, and several studies suggest that usability professionals are indeed using personas in their evaluations. However, no empirical study has assessed heuristic evaluations that include personas. Methodology: In this exploratory study involving three sections of an advanced technical writing course, groups of evaluators conducted a heuristic evaluation of a website. Each section was randomly assigned a different condition with which they would conduct the heuristic evaluation: (a) a traditional heuristic evaluation, (b) a persona-led heuristic evaluation in which the personas were given to the evaluators, or (c) a persona-led heuristic evaluation in which the evaluators themselves created their own personas. Each group wrote a report identifying the major problems with the website and provided recommendations to solve the identified problems. The evaluators completed pretesting demographic surveys and posttesting confidence surveys. Results and discussion: This exploratory study found few detectable differences in the findings reported by groups that used personas in heuristic evaluation and groups that did not use personas. The groups that used personas were more likely to report findings related to navigation than the groups that did not use personas, while the groups that did not use personas were more likely to report findings related to design than the groups that used personas. The groups that created their own personas were more likely than the other groups to include complex issues in their reports and include language that directly references users and user needs. All groups were confident in their findings.

This book focuses particularly on the needs for preparing presentations for engineering and technical topics and audiences. It is written in a constructive manner, with criticisms of default-structured practices tempered with an understanding of complexities of technical and engineering contexts. Readers from different audiences can also appreciate how the book is organized and presented in terms of a small number of slide rules. Reviews of literature compiled in chapters throughout the book include many theoretical and practical works relevant to advice on the communication of presentations. The bibliographies thus encompass a powerful curriculum of scholarship that educators or managers can also use to inform the preparation of technical or engineering presentations. The persuasiveness of the recommendations in this book are supported by the research covered and by the examples shown. The book also provides a roadmap for preparing slides in the context of slide software applications used prevalently among technical and engineering organizations.

Research problem: Subversive environmental texts, those that strive against hegemonic discourse, such as the book Ecodefense, have a long history of use by radical environmentalists as a means for recruitment and distribution of best practices. This study aims to investigate the role of plain language in the subversive text Ecodefense, and consider some ethical implications of plain language by conducting a close textual analysis. Research questions: (1) Is the subversive text Ecodefense an artifact of plain language? (2) If Ecodefense is written in plain language, what does that suggest about the inherent ethicality of plain language? Literature review: Plain language refers to clear expression designed to help users achieve desired goals. In the sense that it is a communication practice, it is guided by standards put forth by various agencies and bureaucratic bodies. In the sense that it is a movement, plain language is characterized by the proliferation of organizations advocating for plain language practices in society. This study is rooted in the investigation of the ethical practices of social movements. It considers the ethics of plain language practices when they are put toward subversive ends and explores the ethical value of plain language itself. Methodology: Ecodefense is analyzed using the Center for Plain Language's (CPL) Plain Language checklist and Writemark's criteria for documents, which includes consideration of the audience, structure, language content, and design of a text, as well as usability testing. Results and conclusion: Analysis shows that Ecodefense is partially representative of plain language use and practice under the CPL's standards, and appears somewhat more fully representative under Writemark's standards, which are designed for use by a trained assessor. Analysis further suggests that adherence to checklist-driven language practices may unwittingly enable an ethic of exigence; thus, research is needed into the ethical implications for list-driven, or standards-based, rhetoric in order to ensure that plain language practices consider long-term implications for users and for organizations that employ these practices.

This collection of 11 narratives is a well-crafted assemblage of stories that illustrate diverse experiences in the technical communication academic program offices at colleges and universities across the country. This book is intended for those who are responsible for creating and administering technical communication programs and aims to provide its readers with lessons learned from the field. The readers of this book will come away with some thoughtful points to consider as they work within the framework of their own academic resources, whether it involves multidiscipline departmental influences, or resistance to change from long established traditions.

Novice writers and writing instructors in academic and professional settings often pine for guides that will deliver definitive rules which offer certitude. Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century does so – to a large extent. That The Sense of Style cannot find rules in reason for everything is perhaps its most important – though unintended – message. For as it demonstrates, style remains haunted by the residues of taste and authority. With considerable social and symbolic capital at his command, Pinker can draw on many sources that give him the standing to act as arbiter of style. As an Ivy League professor, he has been involved in writing instruction at MIT and Harvard for several decades. He also chairs the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD); is a recognised scholar in cognitive psychology with a focus on language; has edited considerable amounts of science writing; and is a prolific author whose books have a readership beyond the academy. For those who view style primarily as a matter of taste, such authority suffices. In an age, however, where blunt authority is challenged and calls for an evidence base are expanding across the disciplines, others require that style guides also disclose the principles that inform their advice. This Pinker does. In a companion piece on Edge.org he couches his fundamental commitments carefully though, in the interrogative: ‘The question I'm currently asking myself is how our scientific understanding of language can be put into practice to improve the way that we communicate anything, including science? In particular, can you use linguistics, cognitive science, and psycholinguistics to come up with a better style manual’ (Pinker 2014). The tentative form of the question is presumably overridden by the 359-page book, which is a yes of sorts. It is, however, a commitment to quite a different type of science of language than the descriptive quantitative corpus linguistics that has become increasingly influential in the training of academic writing over the last three decades. Alas, as writing instructors and novice writers either fear or hope, science has its limits, also when it comes to style. Which is why Pinker calls upon additional principles to reasoning rooted in theoretical and empirical cognitive linguistics. These include ‘the backing of data from the AHD Usage Panel’; ‘historical analyses from several dictionaries’; and those elusive characters that still haunt the pages of style guides – elegance and grace – and which operate behind the scenes of a suggestion that a specific formulation just ‘sounds better’ (224). With such an assortment of principles, clashes can be expected. At times a stylistic suggestion is justified with historical precedent from centuries ago, at other times the same fact makes it jaded, stuffy and outdated. When writers waver between the conflicting choices enshrined in style manuals, Pinker leads them out of the panic with ‘a pinch of my own judgment’ (263) or advice to respond to sticklers and mavens with quips such as, ‘tell them that Jane Austen and I think it’s fine’ (261).

In her recent article 'Re-integrating Academic Development and Academic Language and Learning: a Call to Reason' (2014), Alisa Percy describes the historically separate trajectories in universities (in Australia but also more widely) of professional expertise in academic (educational) development and academic language and learning. She argues that this separation (in which, broadly, the former is staff-facing whilst the latter is student-facing) is unhelpful and calls for a reintegration of language and literacy expertise with academic development work in order to 'promote the development of students' language and learning simultaneously' (2014:1203). Percy's analysis and her conclusions are convincing to me. If I'm asked at a party what my job is (groan), I'm never quite sure which professional title to adopteducational developer, writing developer, learning developer, academic developerand, similarly, as its chronic institutional grumblings attest, the university in which I work is also never quite definitively cured of its anxieties about where the work I do should belong (historically over here, logically perhaps over there?). Conveniently sheltering under the nonpindownable, un-institutional, and non-generic name, 'Thinking Writing', the team in which I work has always taken the view that language and learningand knowing and being and doingare intimately connected, and that attention to language (writing specifically) isat least in principleas much the responsibility of disciplinary academics as is the teaching and learning of disciplinary content; the two, that is, can't really be separated.

Book Review| June 01 2015 Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta’s God Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta’s God. By Ebony A. Utley. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012; pp. 190. $37.00 cloth. Rudo Mudiwa Rudo Mudiwa Indiana University, Bloomington Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (2): 395–398. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0395 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Rudo Mudiwa; Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta’s God. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 June 2015; 18 (2): 395–398. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0395 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| June 01 2015 Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law. By Isaac West. New York: New York University Press, 2014; pp. xii + 235. $24.00 paper. Anjali Vats Anjali Vats Indiana University, Bloomington Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (2): 389–392. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0389 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Anjali Vats; Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 June 2015; 18 (2): 389–392. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0389 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| June 01 2015 The Promise of Reason: Studies in The New Rhetoric The Promise of Reason: Studies in The New Rhetoric. Edited by John T. Gage. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2011; pp. 272. $60.00 cloth. Janice W. Fernheimer Janice W. Fernheimer University of Kentucky Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (2): 402–406. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0402 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Janice W. Fernheimer; The Promise of Reason: Studies in The New Rhetoric. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 June 2015; 18 (2): 402–406. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.2.0402 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Reviewed: Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 6th ed.

Book Review| May 01 2015 Review: The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Commentaries on Aphthonius's Progymnasmata, (Society of Biblical Literature, Writings from the Greco-Roman World 31), by Hock, Ronald F. Hock, Ronald F., trans., The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Commentaries on Aphthonius's Progymnasmata, (Society of Biblical Literature, Writings from the Greco-Roman World 31), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012. xii + 345 pp. ISBN 978-1-58983-644-0 Robert J. Penella Robert J. Penella Department of Classics, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, USA, rpenella@fordham.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (2015) 33 (2): 217–219. https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.217 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Robert J. Penella; Review: The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Commentaries on Aphthonius's Progymnasmata, (Society of Biblical Literature, Writings from the Greco-Roman World 31), by Hock, Ronald F.. Rhetorica 1 May 2015; 33 (2): 217–219. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.217 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2015 by The International Society for the History of Rhetoric. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| May 01 2015 Review: Gorgia epidittico. Commento filosofico all'Encomio di Elena, all'Apologia di Palamede, all'Epitaffio, by Giombini, Stefania Giombini, Stefania, Gorgia epidittico. Commento filosofico all'Encomio di Elena, all'Apologia di Palamede, all'Epitaffio, Perugia: Aguaplano, 2012, 286 pp. ISBN 978-88-97738-12-1 Piera De Piano Piera De Piano Università degli studi di Salerno, Contrada Petrara, 8H, 83025 Montoro (AV), Italy, piera_depiano@libero.it Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (2015) 33 (2): 209–212. https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.209 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Piera De Piano; Review: Gorgia epidittico. Commento filosofico all'Encomio di Elena, all'Apologia di Palamede, all'Epitaffio, by Giombini, Stefania. Rhetorica 1 May 2015; 33 (2): 209–212. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.209 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2015 by The International Society for the History of Rhetoric. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| May 01 2015 Review: Les œuvres perdues d'Ælius Aristide: fragments et témoignages., by Fabrice, Robert Fabrice, Robert, Les œuvres perdues d'Ælius Aristide: fragments et témoignages. Édition, traduction et commentaire, Paris, De Boccard (coll. De l'Archéologie à l'Histoire), 2012, 743 pp. ISBN 978-2-7018-0332-6 Pierre Chiron Pierre Chiron Université Paris-Est, Institut Universitaire de France, 12 allée Georges Brassens, F-92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France, pcchiron@wanadoo.fr Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (2015) 33 (2): 212–214. https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.212 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Pierre Chiron; Review: Les œuvres perdues d'Ælius Aristide: fragments et témoignages., by Fabrice, Robert. Rhetorica 1 May 2015; 33 (2): 212–214. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.212 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2015 by The International Society for the History of Rhetoric. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| May 01 2015 Review: The Politics of Eloquence: David Hume's Polite Rhetoric, by Hanvelt, Marc Hanvelt, Marc, The Politics of Eloquence: David Hume's Polite Rhetoric, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2012. 217pp. ISBN 978-1-4426-4379-6 Christopher Reid Christopher Reid School of English and Drama, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom, c.g.p.reid@qmul.ac.uk Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (2015) 33 (2): 215–217. https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.215 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Christopher Reid; Review: The Politics of Eloquence: David Hume's Polite Rhetoric, by Hanvelt, Marc. Rhetorica 1 May 2015; 33 (2): 215–217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2015.33.2.215 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2015 by The International Society for the History of Rhetoric. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Reviewed are: Chasing Literacy: Reading and Writing in an Age of Acceleration, by Daniel Keller, Reviewed by Kathleen Alves Retention and Resistance: Writing Instruction and Students Who Leave, by Pegeen Reichert Powell, Reviewed by Christine Rudisel

This review takes on the assumption that readers of College English believe in democratic practice and the possibility that education can play a role in supporting and cultivating those practices. The books reviewed here are a good reminder that education does not have to be focused on competition and achievement, about defining intelligence through academic aptitude, a reminder well served as the Common Core and its impending assessment shape the nature of public education and its goals.

“Roundtree argues that computer simulation requires a unique type of scientific discourse because simulations do not fit neatly into common models of science. “

The authors performed an interdisciplinary literature review of research on communication and climate change. The authors reviewed STEM, social science, and risk analysis journals to synthesize recent publications on climate change communication which could support research in technical communication. Several applications are proposed for technical communication research, including using this review to contextualize local qualitative work, to spur interdisciplinary projects and address gaps in multidisciplinary literature, and reconsider a role for advocacy in technical communication.

“The principals of aikido, meditative breathing, Japanese calligraphy, and soft argumentation constitute four slices of the same pie, whatever their respective origins and pedagogical risks. Kroll recognizes the need for closed-fist argumentation while seeking to moderate its use.”

“Despite some drawbacks, one likely unavoidable given the targeted audience, Applegarth succeeds in her rhetorical archeology, recovering lost or hidden texts and restoring their place within anthropological disciplinary formation.”

research-article Share on Review of "Implementing Responsive Design: Building Sites for an Anywhere, Everywhere Web by Tim Kadlec", New Riders, 2013. ISBN#: 978-0-321-82168-3 Author: Daniel L. Hocutt University of Richmond University of RichmondView Profile Authors Info & Claims Communication Design QuarterlyVolume 3Issue 2February 2015pp 93–96https://doi.org/10.1145/2752853.2752862Published:27 March 2015Publication History 0citation28DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations0Total Downloads28Last 12 Months2Last 6 weeks1 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

research-article Share on Review of "Mining the Social Web by Matthew A. Russell", Second edition. O'Reilly, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-4493-6761-9 Author: Donovan Warren Old Dominion University Old Dominion UniversityView Profile Authors Info & Claims Communication Design QuarterlyVolume 3Issue 2February 2015 pp 97–99https://doi.org/10.1145/2752853.2752863Published:27 March 2015Publication History 0citation14DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations0Total Downloads14Last 12 Months1Last 6 weeks1 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

research-article Share on Review of "Playful Design: Creating Game Experiences in Everyday Interfaces. John Ferrara", Brooklyn, NY: Rosenfeld Media. 2012. ISBN: 978-1933820149 Author: Matthew Beale Old Dominion University Old Dominion UniversityView Profile Authors Info & Claims Communication Design QuarterlyVolume 3Issue 2February 2015 pp 100–103https://doi.org/10.1145/2752853.2752864Published:27 March 2015Publication History 0citation41DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations0Total Downloads41Last 12 Months15Last 6 weeks4 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

Research problem: This study provides insight into practitioners' reasons for choosing a particular language (English versus the local language) in the genre of job ads in countries where English is a foreign language (EFL countries). Scholarly publications and public discourse have suggested reasons for language choice, but these were not based on the perspectives of practitioners. Research questions: (1) What reasons do Dutch job ad writers give for using all-English, all-Dutch, or partly English ads and what genre factors inform these reasons? (2) To what extent do the reasons given by Dutch job ad makers for using all-English,P all-Dutch, or partly English ads complement reasons mentioned in publications on job ads? Literature review: Genre theory identifies three factors as important determinants of genre: contextual factors (such as characteristics of the organization and the sector in which the genre is produced), reader-writer factors (characteristics of the genre's target audience and author), and textual factors (the genre's content, structure, and wording). The reasons mentioned for the use of all-English job ads are that English is the organization's corporate language and that the organization is looking for English-speaking candidates. The reasons given for the use of job ads in the local language are that English is less clear than the local language and that English words are strange and exaggerated compared to equivalents in the local language. Among the reasons mentioned for the use of partly English job ads are that English words attract more attention than equivalents in the local language and that English job titles sound more modern and have more status than equivalent job titles in the local language. Methodology: In this qualitative study, we conducted 25 interviews with practitioners who designed job ads in the Netherlands, selected because they had recently placed an all-English, an all-Dutch, or a partly English job ad in a Dutch newspaper. They were asked an open-ended question about their reasons behind the language used in the job ad they placed. Interview data were labelled and categorized; subsequently, patterns were identified across categories. Results and conclusions: The interviews showed that all three types of genre factors-contextual, reader-writer, and textual-underlie practitioners' language choices. Practitioners mentioned the same types of factors that were mentioned in publications on job ads, but gave a greater variety of reasons for language choice. Of the reasons mentioned by the practitioners, the large majority were not given in publications. These findings underline the importance of obtaining text producers' perspectives and can be used to sensitize both novice and experienced professional Human Resources writers to the relevance of genre factors in language choice. A limitation of the present study is that the desired effects of language choice mentioned by the respondents were not verified with the target group of the job ads. Therefore, future research on language choice in workplace writing should test whether particular language choices in job ads actually achieve the recruitment effects Human Resource Manager professionals expect.

Research problem: As a follow up to an earlier article, this study compares Fortune 500 website homepage design in 2013 with the results of a similar study in 2008, providing an updated overview of homepage design practice that reflects the many technological advances that have influenced web design during the intervening period. The findings are useful for those wanting to know the state of homepage design in 2013, whether as current practitioners or researchers. Research questions: (1) What are the current homepage design practices of Fortune 500 companies? (2) What are the current Web 2.0 technology practices of Fortune 500 companies? (3) What changes in homepage design have occurred for Fortune 500 companies? (4) What are the differences in homepage design and Web 2.0 technology practices between the 100 largest and 100 smallest Fortune 500 companies? and (5) Is homogeneity in design increasing amongst Fortune 500 homepages? Literature review: Three key areas guided my analysis of homepages. (1) Usability research, which suggests guidelines for design based on aggregated performance of users, such as locating the search box in the upper right and for directing mobile users to an alternate site designed for mobile access. (2) Design practice studies, which suggest guidelines for design based on aggregated analyses of websites, such as having links to employment information and investor information on the homepage. (3) Design patterns: libraries of patterns to provide designers with responses to design problems, such as using collapsible panels or module tabs to reveal and conceal content on a page. These libraries also provide guidelines for design, such as using fat menus or sitemap footers to structure navigation. Methodology: Using content analysis, every Fortune 500 homepage in 2013 was analyzed for 68 major design elements in these categories--navigation, content links, support for specific types of users, visual design, multimedia, and web 2.0-and the results were analyzed. Results and conclusions: The homepages displayed greater homogeneity in design than a similar study in 2008. Overall, 12 elements-(1) corporate logo in the top left of the page; (2) link to an “about us” section containing company information; (3) link to information for those seeking employment; (4) horizontally oriented main navigation; (5) link for contacting the company; (6) link for information for investors; (7) link for terms of use or legal disclaimers; (8) link to privacy information; (9) link for news or a press room; (10) multimedia use; (11) links that do not appear on the page initially, requiring interaction; (12) search box, located in the upper right of page-were present on 80% or more homepages, and 6 elements-(1) web 2.0 features; (2) an image that can be clicked on as a focal point; (3) link to a sitemap; (4) link to Twitter; (5) link to Facebook; and (6) dropdown or pulldown menu-were present on 50% to 79% of pages. Between 2008 and 2013, many practices have changed, such as increases in page length, the overall number of links, the number of links to social media sites, and the number of sites with search boxes. Certain design choices-such as mobile options for sites, links to social media sites, and links to site maps-were more prevalent in the largest 100 companies than the smallest 100 companies.

Research problem: Most of the previous research into corporate websites has focused on the users' point of view and their perception of usability and interactivity as the two predominant website characteristics, and has shown that interactivity plays an important role in consumers' perceptions of, and responses to, these sites. This study explores corporate websites from a different view-that of the company-and investigates the organizational motivation to adopt new interactive features on corporate websites. Research question: What are the critical factors influencing the firm's adoption of online innovations related to interactivity on their websites? Literature review: Many dominant theories in information technology (IT) that guide most research on IT adoption at the firm level include the diffusion of innovations theory (which seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures) and the technology, organization, and environment framework (which identifies three aspects of an enterprise's context that influence the process by which it adopts and implements a technological innovation). But other research streams can contribute to the Theory of Technology Adoption at the firm level, including Institutional Theory (which is a widely accepted theoretical posture that emphasizes rational myths, isomorphism, and legitimacy) and the model of Iacovou et al.(which analyzes interorganizational systems' characteristics that influence firms to adopt IT innovations). Methodology: A conceptual model with supporting propositions was tested using an online questionnaire. Data were collected from 138 firms in Switzerland and Germany and analyzed with multiple regression analysis. Results and conclusions: Complexity, perceived benefits, top management support, and information intensity are the drivers that play important roles in the diffusion of innovation related to interactivity on corporate websites, and support our conceptual model.

To prepare students for careers postgraduation, many academic programs have added components, such as service-learning projects (civic oriented, real-audience tasks) and client projects (real-audience corporate or nonprofit tasks), which aim to acclimate students to the expectations of “real world” clients while they are still in the relatively “safe” domain of the classroom. The two studies reported in this paper examine whether participating in client projects as part of regular technical communication classes aids students in internships and later on the job. Research questions: Overall question: How does legitimate peripheral participation in client projects give students opportunities for learning beyond the end of the client project? Literature review: Service-learning and client projects are intended to benefit students by offering real-world audiences and complex experiences with professional practitioners. Client projects help students face these challenges when moving from school to work, such as acculturating into the organization or completing tasks designed for purposes other than the learner's development. Methodology: To evaluate experiences on a particular client project, study one surveyed six students with open-ended questions about their experiences on it. To explore how the client project prepared them for internships, study two used semistructured interviews with interns and supervisors, observations of interns at work, and documents that interns created. Results and conclusions: Through recursive analysis, client projects emerged as being important in students' internship experiences. Students participate in client projects in ways that support their learning and development as members of a community of practice in internships and on the job. This learning is gradual and varied. One particular finding for teachers is that rather than shield students from client interactions, it may be helpful to promote frequent, structured interactions with clients to better prepare students for the workplace.

Research problem: Examines how Korean entrepreneurs in an entrepreneurship program revised their English-language slide decks for their competitive presentations (“pitches”) by reusing content from professional communication genres, including their own documents and feedback from potential stakeholders in their target markets. Research question: As entrepreneurs learn to pitch ideas to unfamiliar markets, how do they revise their slide decks by reusing content from other professional communication genres? Specifically, what strategies do they follow when reusing content? Literature review: The professional communication literature demonstrates that reuse tends to take place in documentation cycles where documents are set in interaction with each other and that reuse itself involves rhetorical choices. Yet such reuse strategies have not been examined in existing studies of entrepreneurial pitches in marketing and technology commercialization. Methodology: In an exploratory qualitative study, researchers textually analyzed 14 sets of five related document genres in the archives of an entrepreneurship program. These genres represented a full cycle of activity: application to the program, initial pitches, initial feedback from program personnel, detailed feedback from representative stakeholders in the target market, and revised pitches. Interviews and surveys of program personnel further contextualize the data. Results and conclusions: Entrepreneurs reused content from professional communication genres, including those that they had generated as well as those generated by market stakeholders. However, reuse went simply beyond accepting and copying feedback; as they learned to make their pitch arguments, these entrepreneurs had to weigh this feedback and engage with it critically. This reuse can be characterized as Accepting (repeating verbatim or in close paraphrase); Continuing (extending lines of argument); and Resisting (rebutting lines of argument). These findings suggest that entrepreneurs need all three strategies as they refine their pitches for their target markets.

Research problem: This study investigates the difference in perceptions within the family-owned businesses of messages received from family members and outsiders to assess the role that relational familiarity (the amount of prior experience two people share communicating with each other) plays in internal business communication in these settings. Previous research has shown that this relational familiarity-along with experience with the communicative medium, the message topic, and the business context-lead to channel expansion (the ability to reduce uncertainty from a message with limited communicative cues) for business communicators. But the impact of relational familiarity on communication competence and personal biases between family members-which could impact the ability of relational familiarity to achieve its intended goals-has yet to be fully explored. Research questions: (1) Does increased relational familiarity between communicators lead to increased perceptions of message effectiveness and appropriateness in lean media settings? (2) In family business settings where familial biases may be prevalent, is increased relational familiarity linked to perceptions of increased sender likeability and lowered message negativity? Literature review: Channel Expansion Theory, which proposes that communicators can overcome the limitations of a medium by using their personal experience, guides this study. Previous research found that with personal experience with the communicator sending the message, a message receiver can enhance the limited capacity of a medium to convey cues that aid in understanding the message. Four perceptual variables-message effectiveness, message appropriateness, message negativity, sender likeability-result in benefits accrued from channel expansion and relational familiarity, such as reduced uncertainty and equivocality about the message topic. Methodology: A quasiexperimental setting was designed to elicit messages from business co-workers using email. Message senders were instructed to describe the same business problem in order for the recipient to understand the problem and decide how to proceed. Eighty-three family business owners, managers, and employees received one message from a family member belonging to the same business and one message assigned at random from a nonfamily member working elsewhere (a stranger). The 83 message receivers were asked to complete instruments measuring their perceptions of the messages. Results and conclusions: Results suggested that the relational familiarity between communicators played a significant role in improving message effectiveness and message appropriateness. Sender likeability was also enhanced when family members correctly identified the source of the message. The findings suggest that family members can benefit from channel expansion, though not as many members as expected, and that complex problem and task descriptions were communicated using lean media (communication channels that inhibit sending messages infused with communicative cues) and are perceived as most effective when described by familiar others.

Real Writing Interactive: A Brief Guide to Writing Paragraphs and Essays, by Susan Anker, Reviewed by Mark Blaauw-HaraAfter the Public Turn: Composition, Counterpublics, and the Citizen Bricoleur, by Frank Farmer, Reviewed by Jill Darley-VanisRhetoric of Respect: Recognizing Change at a Community Writing Center, by Tiffany Rousculp, Reviewed by Glenn Hutchinson Jr. and Paula GillespieTeaching Creative Writing, edited by Heather Beck, Reviewed by John Reilly

Book Review| March 01 2015 Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals. By Samuel McCormick. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011; pp. 197. $64.95 cloth; $22.95 paper. James H. Collier James H. Collier Virginia Tech Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (1): 195–198. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0195 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation James H. Collier; Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 March 2015; 18 (1): 195–198. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0195 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| March 01 2015 Global Memoryscapes: Contesting Remembrance in a Transnational Age Global Memoryscapes: Contesting Remembrance in a Transnational Age. Edited by Kendall R. Phillips and G. Mitchell Reyes. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2011; pp. 231. $26.00 paper. Cynthia Duquette Smith Cynthia Duquette Smith Indiana University, Bloomington Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (1): 191–195. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0191 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Cynthia Duquette Smith; Global Memoryscapes: Contesting Remembrance in a Transnational Age. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 March 2015; 18 (1): 191–195. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0191 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| March 01 2015 Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture. By Kristina Horn Sheeler and Karrin Vasby Anderson. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2013; pp. xi + 242. $45.00 cloth. Allison M. Prasch Allison M. Prasch University of Minnesota Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (1): 177–181. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0177 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Allison M. Prasch; Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 March 2015; 18 (1): 177–181. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0177 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review| March 01 2015 The Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and the African American Prophetic Tradition The Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and the African American Prophetic Tradition. By Andre E. Johnson. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012; pp. viii + 127. $60.00 cloth. Theon E. Hill Theon E. Hill West Chester University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2015) 18 (1): 184–187. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0184 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Theon E. Hill; The Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and the African American Prophetic Tradition. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 1 March 2015; 18 (1): 184–187. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.18.1.0184 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressRhetoric and Public Affairs Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2015 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.2015 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.