Written Communication Apr 2006

Coherent Fragments

Jason Swarts

Abstract

Genres embody typified discursive activity that is situated in an ecology of texts, people, and tools. Within these settings, genres help writers compose recognizable information artifacts. Increasingly, however, many professions are becoming mobile, and mobile technologies (e.g., personal digital assistants [PDAs]) are creating problems of translation as writers attempt to make genres work across contexts. Mobile devices uproot genres from their native contexts, undercutting their ability to mediate discursive activity. The semantically reduced design of PDA-accessible information magnifies these problems by obscuring, but not erasing, genre characteristics that tie information to its native context. Readers must assume the burden of composing meaningful information artifacts, work otherwise offloaded to genres. The author explores the nature of this composition burden in a case study of veterinary students. He finds that context and the degree of mobility both influence student perception of this composition burden.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2006-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088306286393
Topics
qualitative research multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Schneier (2023)
    Modeling Mobile Writing: Applying Sociocognitive Models of Writing to Mobile Contexts
    Written Communication
  2. Kirkscey (2021)
    mHealth Apps for Older Adults: A Method for Development and User Experience Des…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Teston (2016)
    Rhetoric, Precarity, and mHealth Technologies
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Spinuzzi (2014)
    How Nonemployer Firms Stage-Manage Ad Hoc Collaboration: An Activity Theory Analysis
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Fraiberg (2013)
    Reassembling Technical Communication: A Framework for Studying Multilingual and…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 8 →
  1. Berg (2010)
    Writing Degree Binary: An Argument for Interscription
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Spafford et al. (2010)
    Accessibility and Order: Crossing Borders in Child Abuse Forensic Reports
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Swarts (2008)
    Information Technologies as Discursive Agents: Methodological Implications for …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (5)

  1. Popham (2005)
    Forms as Boundary Genres in Medicine, Science, and Business
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Schryer et al. (2005)
    Genre Theory, Health-Care Discourse, and Professional Identity Formation
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Bazerman et al. (2003)
    The Production of Information for Genred Activity Spaces
    Written Communication
  4. DETWEILER et al. (1999)
    Defining Occupations
    Written Communication
  5. SCHRYER (1993)
    Records as Genre
    Written Communication
Also cites 18 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 11 View in citation network →

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