Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2008

Information Technologies as Discursive Agents: Methodological Implications for the Empirical Study of Knowledge Work

Jason Swarts North Carolina State University

Abstract

Work activities that are mediated by information rely on the production of discourse-based objects of work. Designs, evaluations, and conditions are all objects that originate and materialize in discourse. They are created and maintained through the coordinated efforts of human and non-human agents. Genres help foster such coordination from the top down, by providing guidance to create and recreate discourse objects of recurring social value. From where, however, does coordination emerge in more ad hoc discursive activities, where the work objects are novel, unknown, or unstable? In these situations, coordination emerges from simple discursive operations, reliably mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) that appear to act as discursive agents. This article theorizes the discursive agency of ICTs, explores the discursive operations they mediate, and the coordination that emerges. The article also offers and models a study methodology for the empirical observation of such interactions.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2008-10-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.38.4.b
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory discourse analysis empirical research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Pflugfelder (2018)
    Failure Matters: Conflicting Practices in a High-Tech Case
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  2. Read (2016)
    The Net Work Genre Function
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Read et al. (2015)
    Visualizing and Tracing: Research Methodologies for the Study of Networked, Soc…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Swarts (2014)
    The Trouble with Networks: Implications for the Practice of Help Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Weber (2013)
    Constrained Agency in Corporate Social Media Policy
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 9 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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