Kelly Norris Martin

Critiquing Critiques A Genre Analysis of Feedback Across Novice to Expert Design Studios

In the discipline of design, the most common presentation genre is the critique, and the most central aspect of this genre is the feedback. Using a qualitative framework, this article identifies a typology of feedback, compares the frequencies of feedback types between different levels of design studios ranging from novice to expert, and explores what the feedback reflects about the social and educational context of these design studios. Results suggest that the feedback socialized students into egalitarian relationships and autonomous decision-making identities that were perhaps more reflective of academic developmental stages or idealized workplace contexts than of actual professional settings—therefore potentially complicating the preprofessional goals of the critique.

Students' Talk about the Climate of Feedback Interventions in the Critique

Similar to many courses in communication, oral communication is central to the learning goals in the discipline of design. Design critiques, the primary communication activity in design classrooms, occur in every studio course multiple times. One key feature of the critique, as an oral genre, is the amount of time and emphasis placed on feedback. The feedback intervention process within the critique plays a large role in determining the overall communicative climate of the teaching and learning event. The purpose of this study was to explore how students talk about the communication climate of the critique and the feedback within it. Drawing on feedback intervention theory and using an ethnographic interviewing framework, we conducted in-depth interviews of students in design studios. Results of this study identified four ways students characterized the critique climate and six kinds of feedback students suggested contribute to a climate for learning. Discussion suggests that feedback intervention spaces (specifically those focused on oral genres) are dialectical and relational spaces—necessitating attention not only to the cognitive processes of feedback (as feedback intervention theory suggests), but also to the emergent relational tensions that demand communicative energy within the feedback intervention process.

Visual Wellbeing: Intersections of Rhetorical Theory and Design

In her recent book Classical Rhetoric and the Visual Arts in Early Modern Europe, Caroline van Eck argues that classical rhetoric influenced both the producers and consumers of visual art and architecture in early modern Europe through concepts related to vivid representation. Indeed, according to van Eck, both oral communication and image making share the goal of establishing vivid representation (or enargeia). In addition, she argues that both rhetoric and the visual arts work “to bring to life that which is absent.” Building upon her work and also following the work of Buchanan (2001) and Kaufer & Butler (1996), we suggest that an even stronger argument can be made for the interrelatedness of rhetoric and the visual arts, particularly in the field of design. In this paper, we speak from within two intellectual traditions—rhetoric and visual design—that have developed separately. Despite this separation, we argue that what emerged as two distinct fields of study are intricately related, as reflected in their assumptions, goals, and functions. For instance, scholars in design and rhetoric define their practices and objects of study similarly. In addition, they have similar values and goals particularly related to the possibility of changing an imperfect situation and instigating a level of social consciousness. Furthermore, both fields work toward human advancement in both functional and moral senses (Figure 1). Indeed, Twyman1 and Bonsiepe,2 both of whom write from a design perspective, argue that ancient rhetoric resembles modern design because both arts deal with functional, contextual, and social aspects of language and symbol systems and thus are well suited to design issues. In their book, Rhetoric and the Art of Design, Kaufer and Butler suggest that rhetoric belongs to the family of design arts, like architecture and graphics, because all of these arts are arts of production.3 They conclude that theories of rhetoric are theories of design. Meanwhile, Ehses, a design educator, argues that rhetorical theory is relevant for information design because of the applicability of the three operational functions of rhetoric—to instruct, to move, to please—to the nature of design.4 Twyman and Bonsiepe also argue that ancient rhetoric did in fact consider, and therefore address, the visual. Gronbeck,

Digital Credibility & Digital Dynamism in Public Relations Blogs

The authors performed a content analysis of 50 blogs related to public relations. The study extended the literature on credibility to investigate visual credibility and technical credibility. Of particular interest was the dimension of dynamism. The results showed that visual credibility and technical credibility were strongly related. In addition, visual dynamism contributed 30% of the variance in visual credibility and technical dynamism explained 46% of the variance in technical credibility. Seven interactive features such as number of links, five customization features like RSS feeds, and six visual features like moving images were also investigated for their associations with visual and technical dynamism and credibility. A proposed model for scholars and practitioners is presented.

When Navigation Trumps Visual Dynamism: Hospital Website Usability and Credibility

In-depth interviews about hospital websites were conducted with 15 participants ranging in age, gender, occupation, and computer proficiency. Interviewees completed detailed usability tasks along with questionnaires that gauged perceptions of organizational and website credibility, including visual and technical dynamism. Participants ranked the most dynamic site lower than the less dynamic one because of navigation difficulties. Researchers advocate including usability tasks in website studies, rather than assessing perceptions based on short-term browsing protocols. They present a schema of website concepts organized into language credibility, visual credibility, and technical credibility that can be used in future research or by health communication practitioners. A list of best practices in navigation features is also included.

Faces of Political Sex Scandal: Investigating Pathways to Penance, Remedy and Resolution through Iconic Scandal

Public fascination with scandal is often seen as a distraction. Yet when the public pays attention, it embarks on a moral discourse about societys values and norms. In order to examine the unique rhetorical functions of scandals iconic images, we consider the image of Silda Spitzer standing with her then-husband Eliot at the 2008 press conference where he stepped down as New York governor, as well as the remix, “How to tell if your dog is involved in a sex scandal.” Not all images of scandal reach iconic status, but when they do it is because of the rhetorical functions they serve—negotiating incongruities, bringing to light societal issues not readily evident, and providing pathways to penance, remedy, and resolution.

The Rhetoric of the Hanging Chair Presence, Absence, and Visual Argument in the 2012 Presidential Campaign

The empty chair used by actor-director Clint Eastwood during his headline-grabbing speech at the Republican National Convention is a particularly compelling example of a widely circulated image that resonated for the balance of the 2012 presidential campaign. Eastwood had criticized and mocked the empty chair as if the Democratic president were sitting in it. Following the convention, at least two incidents were reported where an empty chair was hung from a tree by a rope, interpreted by many as racially offensive displays meant to symbolize the lynching of President Barack Obama. Analyzing publicly recognizable images is an important endeavor for rhetorical scholars because images have the capability of embodying public identity and contributing to the formation of public culture. This study investigates how the circulation of particular images, such as the empty chair, during a political campaign may develop verbally unspoken arguments and provide additional insight about American identity as it relates to issues of race.

INSIGHT Telling and Showing: The Intersection of Visual Communication Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Strategies in STEM

Decades of research in (oral) communication across the curriculum can provide a firm foundation for many forms of communication, but the related research focused on discipline-specific visual modalities is sparse. For this pilot investigation, we interviewed 12 faculty members across STEM fields about how students are asked to use visual communication within a course and what kind of visual communication instruction or guidance they are given. The results provide an empirically supported investigation into the perception of the value of visuals in STEM, how students in STEM disciplines learn how to create and use visuals, and how this instruction is accomplished through communities of practice. Based on these results, we argue that it is not enough to teach students discipline-specific writing and oral skills with a quick nod to visuals, but instead there should be special attention devoted to unique pedagogical strategies in teaching visual communication construction.

You Make it Amazing: The Rhetoric of Art and Urban Regeneration in the Case of The Public

Abstract Arts councils and departments of culture tell policy makers that the arts are not only valuable in themselves, but for their contribution to the economy, urban regeneration and social inclusion. However, there is significant debate as to whether public art produced under social arts policy can deliver on expectations. This essay examines a recent, controversial urban regeneration project, West Bromwich’s The Public designed by Will Alsop, in order to assess its visual, symbolic, and material resources. The analysis reveals that, while the gallery functions, at least partially, to construct a shared public experience of West Midland and its culture, it is an experience encapsulated within and aesthetically made over by The Public such that The Public becomes a replacement scene, thereby undermining the community and at least some of its goals.

Spewing nonsense [or not]: communication competence and socialization in optics and photonics workplaces

ABSTRACT This study investigated how managers, entry-level employees, and hiring professionals in the optics and photonics industry socialize each other to enact the communication norms and expectations in their workplaces. A qualitative analysis of transcripts from interviews conducted with 33 employees at 15 companies produced five prevalent themes related to what optics and photonics employees consider competent communication (proactive questioning, efficient decision-making, familial-like humor, tactful translation, and fluent modality switching) and three socialization processes (presumed competence, informal mentoring, and structured training). These competencies and processes necessitate what we term cross-occupational communication: an interactive, iterative process involving communicative needs assessment, information exchange, and rhetorical/situational flexibility with groups distinct in background, training, and occupational role. It is difficult to create workplace-like experiences that truly capture the field-specific communication practices involved in organizational socialization within traditional classrooms; therefore, we argue for systematic and intentional communication in the disciplines instruction that considers cross-occupational communication needs in the workforce.