Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Journal

This was also another tiresome assignment. Nonetheless it will be useful for the content of my project I believe that will help in the main body section of the paper.

1. The authors for this academic journal are Martijn G. De Jong, Jean-Paul Fox, and Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp. Martijn G. De Jong is a Professor of Marketing Research (teaching global marketing and marketing research), and is a director of the master program in marketing at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Jean-Paul Fox is a professor at the University of Twente. Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp is a Knox Massey Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Area Chair of Marketing. He specializes in global marketing, branding, emerging markets, and strategy. In the journal issue, there is not specific instance where the authors are portrayed.

2. The intended audience for this journal issue are market researchers. This is shown with the intro as the journal writes about how market researchers have been interested in the issue of under and over reporting. This is seen in the abstract with "In recent years, marketing researchers have become increasingly interested in under- and overreporting."

3. The context surrounding this particular journal issue is on how recently market researchers have developed a curiosity about under and overreporting. Because of this issue, the article aims to offer a understanding on how under and overreporting occurs. This journal issue was published on 12/1/2015, meaning the issue discussed can still be present.

4. The overall message of the journal is to show how the results taken from respondents can identify as to how under and overreporting occurs. This is seen with "The results show that respondents are averse to decreases in privacy and that randomized response is less effective if respondents provide biased responses to earlier direct questions."

5. The prupose of the journal issue is to provide readers is to provide "a response theory model to quantify the under and overreporting in surveys."This is given in the abstract which clearly states the aim of the article.

Report on My Interviews

I have finally completed both of my interviews and am ready to finally finish my project and report on my interviewees.

What genres did I learn about?
The genres I learnt about were journal articles and reports. I learnt the certain conventions required of each genre and the types of topics marketing professionals write about such as theories, analysis' and informative research reports on companies, consumer behaviour and other topics.

How do these genres differ from each other?
These genres differ from each other as the topics specifically discussed are different between a article and report. In addition, the tone of a journal article is different to a report. Furthermore the conventions of each genre differ from each other as a report uses more facts and figures such as graphs, tables, diagrams and formulas. In addition, the audience can differ from each genre as reports are more directed towards researchers, analysts, investors, and companies, while journal articles are read more from more groups globally.

What are the challenges?
Challenges are that writers want to be understood and write with as much clarity as possible. Sidney J Levy for example does not want his writing to be too sophisticated that his readers have trouble reading and understanding what he is trying to inform about. Thus, Sidney J Levy strives to be a writer who does not write with complexity but simplicity.

What was rewarding?
What is rewarding to Sidney J Levy was that he created the term "brand image" and now many marketing professionals refer to Sidney J Levy's idea of brand image in their writings still to this day. In addition, Sidney J Levy enjoys when people like his writing and learn and are inspired to continue research from his informative articles.

Where can these genres be found?
These genres can be found in libraries and online.

From Academia to Social Media

Similar to my interviewees, it was apparent that the authors for the journal article were not very active social media users. They did of course use LinkedIn which I had the chance to browse through and takes notes from.

1. Martijn G. De Jong could be found only on LinkedIn.

2. When looking at Martijn G. De Jong's social media presence, it can be described as very impressive. With the list of experience, awards, recommendations and more, this shows De Jong to be respectable, and bright. What he wrote for his bio is very succinct and sounds professional as he mentions his current occupation, interests and what he studies.

3. When comparing the persona on social media to the academic journal, there is clear difference on how I view Martijn G. De Jong. On his LinkedIn account, it made Martijn G. De Jong seem like a real-life and approachable person, with his personal information such explaining his occupation with "I am a chaired professor of marketing research at the Erasmus School of Economics" as well as his other experiences and details shared. This gave me a better understanding about who the author truly is. While reading the academic journal, it is not as easy to understand the identity of the author, but only what he believes and thinks.

Academic Discourse & Genre

This was a tedious task to do. Nonetheless I believe that this will be a very important post to refer back to when creating my final project.

1. In the journal issue, there are three identifiable genres (report, article and a Q&A section).

2. These genres include: report, article and Q&A section. The article is seen by giving the context, arguments, discussions, formulas, conclusion and other details of the story. The report is also another informative genre which provides results to readers with data chart, tables and graphs. The Q&A section highlights common key questions which arise from the discussed issue. By italicizing the question from the answers, this allows readers to easily identify the question and the answer.

Above: Q&A, Below: Table

3. Although articles and reports already have their own definitions, a Q&A section does not. I believe that a Q&A to a extent is very similar to a QRG. A Q&A shows similar features and a similar purpose to a QRG but would be more of a sub-version of a QRG. Thus, a Q&A is a text in which the audience is informed through the responses of certain commonly asked questions which readers can read and understand from. The purpose of each genre found in this journal issue is to inform readers.

My Discipline

This post really made me realise what my major requires and made me think about my future in more depth. This task not only also helped me understand a bit more about marketing but also helped me reflect on myself and my future.

1. Students who go into marketing will learn how businesses and societal environments work, development of products and services, managing pricing, sales, advertising and more.

2. People who do this major later work as an Market Research Analyst, Green Marketer, Business Agent, Consumer Researcher and more.

3. What drew me into this field was the many potential benefits for me in the my future after university. Firstly, the University of Arizona has one of the most respected business programs in the nation. Additionally, my father advised for me to study marketing as it will be advantageous for me to learn and use in the business world. The large opportunity for jobs is also a big benefit which marketing offers. Thus, it is mostly the fact that I have a greater advantage of finding work which makes this major most appealing to me.

4. Kalle Lasn, Malcolm Gladwell, and Michael Porter. These notable scholars in marketing are very influential Kalle Lasn's creation of  Adbusters magazine, Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" and Michael Porter's idea of the 'five forces'. These works are all beneficial to understanding business.

5.
-Journal of Marketing: United States
-Journal of Supply Chain Management: United Kingdom
-Journal of Marketing Research: United States

My Interviewees on Social Media

After finishing this task, I realised how my interviewees are not exactly the most active users for social media. They do use LinkedIn however which I expected to see.

1. For both Edward Ackerley and Sidney J Levy, I was only able to find LinkedIn profiles for my interviewees.

2. I would describe each of my interviewees' social media presence as being informative, and professional. As for what both of my interviewees talk about or share was very limited as I could only find a LinkedIn account for both subjects. However, as I currently do not use a LinkedIn account I am not able to see or not provide enough information to discuss about what they talk about or share on their profiles.

3. Although I was not able to see a lot of information about each author, the works, education and other bio information was provided.Apart from this, there is not enough sufficient information for me to see how the social media persona vs the academic journal persona differs.

My Interviewees as Professional Writers

My interviewees as professional writers have published a lot of work in the past. It was inspiring to see how successful  my interviewee Sidney J Levy's works have been which have contributed to the marketing field.

1. 

Sidney J Levy, has written many reports and articles about marketing with "The Technology of Branding", "Olio and Integraphy as Method and the Consumption of Death" and more. He has also written books such as "One Man in His Time" and is working on "The Theory of the Brand". 

2.

Symbols, Selves, and Others

Olio and Integraphy as Method and the Consumption of Death

3.

The first article was published in 1982, focusing on symbolic aspects in products. 

The second article was written in 2014 about analyzing the Olio and Integraphy strategies as a studying situations. 

4. 

The overall message for the first piece is to demonstrate are different views on the symbolic character of products. This is seen through "Further study can work toward clarification of concepts, exploring interaction of symbols, richness and layering of symbolic meaning, and the complex process whereby people interpret symbols to themselves, to others, and about others."

As for the second piece, the message is to discuss on how Olio and Integraphy strategies can be used to find information. This is seen with "The purpose is to integrate information, data findings, and examples from a variety of sources." 

5.

As for the purpose, the purpose is the exact same as the overall message for each piece

1.

Edward Ackerley has contributed to many publications with "Services and Marketing" "Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion" "Creative Strategy in Marketing" and more. 

2. 

Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion -could not find second publication-

3. The first publication was published in 2012 which discusses about the structure of advertising industry, advertising history and the social and ethical aspects of advertising.

4. The message of this book is to educate and inform readers about advertising and the fundamental concepts of advertising and promotion. Through the use of real life examples, models, and diagrams help inform readers. 

5. The purpose of this work is to inform readers on advertising and brand promotion. By listing the history, case studies, structure of marketing industries etc. All this helps readers grasp a solid understanding of what advertising entails.

My Interview Subjects

After researching about my interviewees, I feel more confident about interviewing them. By having a basic understanding about what my interviewees have done in the past gives me time to ask further and more specific questions about their work.

Sidney J Levy

He has worked for University of Arizona, Northwestern University, Kellogg faculty and doctoral seminars. He was a lecturer at University of Chicago, chair of the marketing department at Eller College of Management in the University of Arizona.

He has worked as a professor at the Northwestern University (1961-1997) and chair of marketing at Eller College at the University of Arizona since 1997. He achieved getting a PhD from University of Chicago by the committee of Human Development.

LinkedIn
UA Profile

Interview: 2/24/2016, McClelland Hall, at 11:00am





Edward Ackerley

Edward Ackerley worked as a professor in North Arizona University since 2000, professor at the University of Arizona since 1994 and is an account executive for Ackerley advertising.

He has a doctorate (Educational Leadership) from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Radio and Television) from the University of Arizona.

LinkedIn
UA Profile

Interview: TBA


Questions about background information for interviews:
1. Where did you previously work
2. What genres you write typically
3. Who do you usually write for
4. What you current job entitles
5. What influenced you to pursue your career in marketing
6. Where and when do you typically like to work
7. How technology changing over time has impacted your writing
8. How do you prepare or outline your work before writing

Brutally Honest Self-Assesment

I am finally glad to have finished my project 1. It was a struggle but it has ended and I feel a large weight that has been on me for a while has finally been pulled off.

1. Overall for my project I am feeling both worried and relieved. I think my project overall is pretty good. I have tried my best to include every important detail do everything the rubric will asses me on.

2. The major weaknesses for my project is that the flow of the project. I fear that the QRG might be confusing to the reader at times with certain transition of new ideas as well as tenses. Additionally, I am worried about how I structured the QRG as I feel that maybe I should have given the main story more early on.

3. The major strengths in my project is keeping with the genre and giving background information. I believe that I have presented a QRG that has met most of the conventions necessary for the genre. I have included clear headings, a effective introducing title, graphics and more. I also believe that I have provided readers a sufficient amount of background information for them to understand the story, the stakeholders and other factors to the controversy. I have contextualized the story well, giving vivid descriptions on stakeholders, locations, time setting, and other factors.

4.For project 1 I think I managed my time better than I had expected. I feel as though I started well in advance with researching, getting sources, and writing the project. Although there was a long period where I had left the project and did not go back to it for a while. I do believe however that it would have been more ideal for me to start working on the final draft after receiving feedback for the first draft. Nonetheless, I feel as though I got my work done with enough time as I did not feel the need to rush at all.

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Local Revision: Wordiness

This was personally my favourite task of the week. It definitely helped me realise how I can improve my writing in general and allowed me improve a part of my essay.

Excerpt from Draft 1:
"His claim that the members who started the fraud should understand their wrongdoings and resign is a bold but credible statement. Woodford’s statements also relate back to how the scandal has caused chaos for all parties (members who started fraud, himself and people working for Olympus). This is also developed with how Woodford believes the guilty members as well as the current board of Olympus care more about themselves than the company. He believes that by not resigning this will only continue to hurt the company’s name and the 45,000 people currently working for Olympus. This is a strong point made which plays on emotions of the public by pointing out how a large, innocent group of employees are being affected by this scandal."


Re-written paragraph:
In regards to the first claim about the fate of the responsible members, this is a bold but credible claim. Woodford’s statements also relate to how the scandal caused chaos for all parties (members at fault, himself and Olympus employees). This is developed with Woodford believing the guilty members and the current board of Olympus care more about themselves than the company. He believes that by not resigning this will only continue to hurt the company’s name more and it's 45,000 employees. This is a strong point made which plays on emotions of the public by mentioning the large innocent group of employees being affected.


Response:
From the perspective of the audience, it is clear how the rewritten section is different from the original. The original is much more lengthy with unnecessary fluff. It is almost as if I tried fitting in all the ideas I possibly could. Furthermore, certain unnecessary words in the original could easily be taken out while not removing the main idea of the sentence. The re-written paragraph is much more succinct with less words to read from. It is more clear and short which would allow the reader to understand my writing more easily and quicker. This as a result gives the audience more time and improves the reader's interest. Thus the re-written paragraph is better than the original for all these reasons.

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Local Revision: Pronoun Usage

Here are my answers after carefully looking at the pronouns I used:

1. Looking back at the list of pronouns I used, my pronoun usage seems to be effective as I have used different possible pronouns for each subject. In other words, each subject was not solemnly referred to with only one type of pronoun. This shows the writing to be less repetitive and more creative and diverse. Additionally, actively examining my pronoun usage tells me how much of a pronoun I use as well as how many different pronouns I use for each different subject. This can tell me whether or not I am using too much of the same pronoun or where I can improve my writing style.

2. Instances of speaking or referring directly to my audience cannot be seen in my project.

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My Pronouns

After while of listing and counting every pronoun, I have finally finished this task. This pronouns are shown below:

It (Scandal)x4

He (Woodford)x7

It (Olympus)x2

Who (Woodford)

Him(Woodford)

His(Woodford)

Their (Board members who started scandal)

He (Kikukawa)x3

His (Kikukawa)x4

Him (Kikukawa)x2

He (Takayama)x8

His (Takayama)x2

They (Kikuawa and Takayama)x2

Their (Japanese Companies)

Science, Unbox, "Lee Berger Desk Laptop Home Naledi Rising Star", 10/22/2015 via pixabay

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Local Revision: Passive and Active Voice

Voice Type:	Active (Specific)	Active (General)	Passive
Verb:	Exposing Firing	Having Hiding Being Leading Finding Doing Causing Arguing Trying Losing Mentioning Would Happening Working Admitting Damaging Purchasing Making Covering Apologizing Impacting Goes Discovering According Taking Occurring Begin Investigate Tells Involved Continuing/Continue Plays Says	Leading Resigning Showing Stating Affecting Believing Facing Serving Seen Selling Told

This took a while to finish and was a little tricky. Here are my responses:

1. The actions in my quick reference guide are mostly general. The actions in the piece are mostly general and not specific. This gives a little vivid description, but needs to be more detailed. There are a few instances of the passive voice, which I noticed in my work. These are all things I need to improve on, as the voice of my project does not use more effective verbs to give a better description. Instead of using general actions, I need to replace a lot of the verbs with more specific verbs to give a better description to readers.

2. I could definitely less vague verbs in my project to overall help improve my project. In addition to using more descriptive verbs, I should try to avoid using the same general verbs. This would in effect make writing of my project less general and more detailed.

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Local Revision: Tense Usage

Tense:	Present	Past	Future
Tally:	Are:7 Is: 23 Having:2 Have:2 Hide:1 Hiding:2 Be:3 Become:2 Being:2 Lead:1 Leading:3 Expose: 1 Finding:1 Find:2 Does:1 Doing:1 Resign:3 Resigning:1 Argues:2 Arguing:1 Showing:2 Shows:1 Tries:3 Losing:1 Stating:2 States:1 Mentions:1 Believes:3 Happening:2 Working:2 Firing:1 Fire:1 Facing:1 Faces:1 Admits:1 Admitting:1 Damaging:2 Purchasing:1 Purchase:1 Cover:3 Apologize:1 Apologizing:1 Serving:1 Goes:1 According:2 Take:1 Begin:1 Sells:1 Selling:1 Investigate:2 Tells:1 Continue:1 Continuing:1 Plays:2 Says:1 TOTAL=110	Was:28 Were:7 Has: 21 Had:13 Hidden:8 Became: 1 Been:2 Led:4 Exposed:6 Found:3 Done:4 Resigned:2 Caused:5 Started:5 Argued:1 Shown:1 Tried:1 Lost:3 Stated:1 Mentioned:3 Affected:4 Happened:1 Worked:1 Fired:1 Faced:1 Admitted:1 Damaged:1 Purchased:1 Made:3 Served:1 Seen:2 Impacted:2 Gone:1 Discovered:2 Took:1 Occurred:2 Began:1 Told:1 Involved:2 Said:1 TOTAL=149	Would:4 TOTAL=4

Similar to the previous blog posts, this task also took a while. As you can see I have listed the words in the above table. Below are my responses:

1. The most prevalent tense in my draft is the past tense. This makes sense as my quick reference guide discuss as controversy which happened five years ago.

2.The effect of the past tense on readers allows readers to know that this issue had occurred in before and has ended. The effect this tense in a way presents the audience an informative article teaching readers what happened during the events of the controversy by summarizing/recapping the major event.

3. Even though I have used other tenses during the essay, this has not affected the project negatively. Although the quick reference guide informs readers of a story which occurred in the past, there are parts where present tense is used to explain the outcomes and present conditions of stakeholders in the story. Additionally, towards my conclusion, I discuss about how the past controversy can impact the future. The shifts from the tenses flow nicely since I have effectively separated transitional parts in my writing to avoid any confusion for the reader.

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