Making the Connection Between Social Media and Intercultural Technical Communication Laura Anne Ewing University of South Florida, [email protected]
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 11-16-2015 #networkedglobe: Making the Connection between Social Media and Intercultural Technical Communication Laura Anne Ewing University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Other Communication Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Scholar Commons Citation Ewing, Laura Anne, "#networkedglobe: Making the Connection between Social Media and Intercultural Technical Communication" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5945 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. #networkedglobe: Making the Connection between Social Media and Intercultural Technical Communication by Laura Anne Ewing A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Meredith Johnson, Ph.D. Marc Santos, Ph.D. Nathan Johnson, Ph.D. Julie Staggers, Ph.D. Date of Approval November 18, 2015 Keywords: Pedagogy, Engagement, Japan, Higher Education, Taxonomy Copyright (c) 2015, Laura Anne Ewing Dedication For Joe, because the greatest challenges cannot be accomplished without unwavering support, inspiration, and a beer. For Tom, you are my motivation for all things. May you never stop exploring the world. わたしは、あなたを愛しています。 Acknowledgments This project could not have come to fruition without a team of support that stretched 7,000 miles. Dr. Meredith Johnson, thank you for countless hours of advice. Your flexibility with 13+ hour time differences and Skype calls was invaluable, and your pep talks helped me keep things in perspective. Dr. Santos, your insight at the early stages helped mold this project into what it ultimately became. Dr. Staggers, I am thankful for the time and energy you brought to this process. Dr. Nate Johnson, your research advice frequently steered me back in the right direction. Megan McIntyre and Sarah Beth Hopton, I will forever value our conversations during this process. Your feedback and intuition is never short of perfection. Kate Pantelides and Johanna Phelps- Hillen, thank you for the resources and assistance you never hesitated to provide. I thank my family, and those who became my family at Yokota and Kadena Air Bases as we learned to navigate life abroad together. Yumi Shimodate, the insight into Japanese culture offered over tea at your kitchen table were priceless. Hajime-san, our work together showed me the importance of this project to both your students and mine. Finally, I’d like to take a moment and thank the people of Japan. You welcomed my family into your country and your homes. I am forever in awe of your culture, and I there are no words to speak my appreciation for you sharing it with us. Table of Contents List of Tables………………….. .................................................................................................. iv List of Figures……………....... ................................................................................................... vi Abstract ……………………....................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Social Media, ITC, and the Technical Communicator ..........................................1 Introduction……………. ..................................................................................................1 Key Concepts and Terms ...............................................................................................11 Rhetorical exigency .............................................................................................12 High-context vs low-context cultures ..................................................14 Intercultural vs cross-cultural communication...............................................17 Ethics…………………. ........................................................................................18 Defining and Solving the Problem ...............................................................................20 Research questions ..............................................................................................21 Researcher position .............................................................................................21 Methodological approach ..................................................................................23 Defining thematic analysis ................................................................................23 Defining content analysis ...................................................................................26 Compatibility of thematic and content analysis .............................................28 Selecting research sites .......................................................................................29 Data collection .....................................................................................................31 Chapter Overviews…. ....................................................................................................32 Facing the Shift in Technical Communication Practice .............................................36 Chapter 2: Making the Connection between Social Media Writing and International Technical Communication ...........................................................................37 High- and Low-Context Cultures in the Age of Social Media .................................40 Thematic Analysis of Technical Communication Syllabi .........................................42 Research site ........................................................................................................43 Thematic analysis ................................................................................................45 Categorizing technical communication topics and applying the engagement scale ............................................................................................49 i How the Syllabi Engage Students with Social Media ITC ........................................54 Social media engagement ..................................................................................54 ITC engagement ..................................................................................................58 Social media and ITC engagement in relation to one another .....................60 Connecting Social Media and ITC in the Classroom .................................................62 Connecting the classroom to the workplace ...................................................62 Building curriculum to reflect thematic findings ...........................................64 Limitations and Future Direction .................................................................................67 Chapter 3: Intercultural Social Media Use: A Study in Japanese Professional Social Media………………. ..................................................................................................70 Social Media at Work......................................................................................................72 Identity and “Saving Face” ............................................................................................75 Content Analysis of the Online Presence of Japanese Businesses ...........................82 Site selection ........................................................................................................82 Content analysis ..................................................................................................84 Categorizing and applying the engagement scale .........................................88 Japanese vs American Trends in Social Media ...........................................................93 Where does this lead? .........................................................................................96 Preparing Writing Students for Work in Global Work .............................................98 Creating student awareness ............................................................................101 Chapter 4: Blended Online Service-Learning and its Challenges in an Intercultural Environment ...............................................................................................104 Global Service-Learning ...............................................................................................106 A blended online approach .............................................................................109 Information behavior ........................................................................................112 Layering literacies .............................................................................................114 Challenges of Service-Learning ..................................................................................116 Challenge 1: Situating the program in the context of existing technical communication degree programs ............................................116 Engagement and objectives .................................................................118 Challenge 2: Finding partnerships .................................................................123 Challenge 3: