The ideologically biased use of language in scientific and technical writing

Coletta, W. John

doi:10.1080/10572259209359491

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…But my acknowledging of this waning interest is not meant to discredit the important work of those relatively few scholars who have continued to publish at the intersection of feminisms and technical communication in more solitary, self-sponsored fashion. These scholars (Bellwoar, 2012; Brady Aschauer, 1999; Brasseur, 1993, 2005; Boyer & Webb, 1992; Coletta, 1992; De Armas Ladd & Tangum, 1992; Dragga, 1993; Gregory, 2012; Haas, Tulley, & Blair, 2002; Hallenbeck, 2012; Koerber, 2002; Lay, 1993; Lay, Monk, & Rosenfelt, 2001; Lippincott, 2003; Sauer, 1993; Skinner, 2012; Tebeaux, 1993; Teston & Graham, 2012) have kept alive many threads of feminist technical communication inquiry.…”

Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Flynn, 1997; J. Flynn, 1997; Hallenbeck, 2012; Lippincott, 2003; Skinner, 2012; Tebeaux, 1993) provided critical perspectives on technologies, sciences, terminologies, and social conventions that hide value systems in which misogyny is supported, valued, and reproduced (Bernhardt, 1992; Bosley, 1992; Brady Aschauer, 1999; Colletta, 1992; Dell, 1992; Haas et al, 2002; Lay, 1993; Neeley, 1992; Rifkind & Harper, 1992; Sauer, 1992; Tebeaux & Lay, 1992) engaged in interdisciplinary scholarship and activism (Bellwoar, 2012; Gregory, 2012; Koerber, 2002; Teston & Graham, 2012) paid attention to the importance of social factors and intersectionality in terms of oppressions, theories, methodologies, practices, and more (Allen, 1994; Bosley, 1994; Dragga, 1993; Gurak & Bayer, 1994; LaDuc & Goldrick-Jones, 1994; Ross, 1994; Sauer, 1994) intervened in problematic actions (including rhetorics) that exist in and between public spheres, private lives, disciplinary venues, and pedagogical spaces (Lay et al, 2001; Sauer, 1993) …”

Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…provided critical perspectives on technologies, sciences, terminologies, and social conventions that hide value systems in which misogyny is supported, valued, and reproduced (Bernhardt, 1992; Bosley, 1992; Brady Aschauer, 1999; Colletta, 1992; Dell, 1992; Haas et al, 2002; Lay, 1993; Neeley, 1992; Rifkind & Harper, 1992; Sauer, 1992; Tebeaux & Lay, 1992)…”

Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Frost

2015

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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This article introduces apparent feminism, which is a new approach urgently required by modern technical rhetorics. Apparent feminism provides a new kind of response that addresses current political trends that render misogyny unapparent, the ubiquity of uncritically negative responses to the term feminism, and a decline in centralized feminist work in technical communication. More specifically, it suggests that the manifestation of these trends in technical spheres requires intervention into notions of objectivity and the regimes of truth they support. Apparent feminism is a methodology that seeks to recognize and make apparent the urgent and sometimes hidden exigencies for feminist critique of contemporary politics and technical rhetorics. It encourages a response to social justice exigencies, invites participation from allies who do not explicitly identify as feminist but do work that complements feminist goals, and makes apparent the ways in which efficient work actually depends on the existence and input of diverse audiences.

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Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A History Of Feminist Technical Communication Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Frost

2015

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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“…Although the cognitive psychology framework tends to naturalize this paradigm, we should recognize that it is of course ideologically based, as are all disciplinary paradigms. John W. Coletta (1992) shows that the patterns we use to explain complex processes are always socially and politically situated on some level: "different 'natural' patterns of organization emerge as different values and purposes emerge. There is no natural pattern that is not also a pattern of preference" (p.60).…”

Section: Implications Of the Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning and information foraging theories

Jack

2002

ACM J. Comput. Doc.

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Information foraging theory and strategic planning theory can help technical communicators think about effective research methods. A broader understanding of social theory can complement Gattis's approach by adding considerations related to underlying ideological assumptions and to how research practices are situated in the larger contexts of organizations, communities, and cultures. Document Preparation--information foraging Keywords--information, foraging, behavioral ecology, documentationIn "Planning and Information Foraging Theories and Their Value to the Novice Technical Communicator," Lyn Gattis seeks to explain how novice technical communicators learn to search for information. Recognizing that no single model can fully represent this complex process, Gattis combines two different cognitive models: information foraging theory and strategic planning theory. As I understand it, information foraging theory attempts to explain how people evaluate the choices they encounter while conducting research, weighing quality and quantity of information against expenditures of time and effort. Strategic planning theory explains how people formulate research plans in relation to social goals, balancing efficiency or productivity against such concerns as credibility and social appropriateness. By combining these two models, novice technical communicators can get a sense of the research strategies people use, and of the types of decisions they make as they conduct research in particular situations. As Gattis notes, "The foraging model accounts for how individuals choose data sources, while the planning model focuses on the strategies they use to obtain the data from those sources, once identified" (p.9). I certainly agree that these models complement each other in productive ways, helping novice technical communicators to understand and develop sound research strategies.Although Gattis claims that her approach is situated "contextually or environmentally" (p. 15), it is somewhat unclear to me exactly how context and environment influence the research approach she advances. In the conclusion to her article, for instance, Gattis explains that strategic planning theory supplies the social element that information foraging theory lacks. As she puts it, her approach "accounts for both facets of cognitive processing--activities associated with solitary information gathering and those that depend on interaction as well" (p. 15-16). So social interaction seems to be the only "contextual" or "environmental" factor

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“…Dobrin believes that the "objectivity expressed in [professional] writing is the objectivity of the group of people who make technological judgments" (81). John W. Coletta (1992) Devitt argues for a type of rhetorical awareness that others have posited as well. For instance, Charles Bazerman has summarized how rhetorical awareness "is precisely critical:…”

Section: Vernacular Genresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The "Genreology" of U.S. Army World War I Records: A Relationship between Organizational Communication and War

Orwig¹

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The ideologically biased use of language in scientific and technical writing

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Planning and information foraging theories

The "Genreology" of U.S. Army World War I Records: A Relationship between Organizational Communication and War

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