The genre element in the systems analyst’s interview

1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Tebble
Keyword(s):  
Systems Analysis ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Linguistic Description ◽  
Computing Industry ◽  
Systems Analysts ◽  
Speech Events ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Communicative Abilities ◽  
National Systems

It has been estimated by those who work in the computing industry that sixty per cent of their time is taken up in communication and only forty per cent is spent on technical work. There is then a clear need to develop the communicative abilities of those in the computer industry. Well designed communication courses for people in computing would benefit from linguistic descriptions of the discourses of this industry. A linguistic description of the structure and genre of the systems analyst’s interview should provide the basis for some of these courses. This paper discusses the genre of the two major types of interviews used by systems analysts and identifies the genre element as the unit of discourse structure that links the lower level and higher level units of discourse structure within systemic linguistics. It draws upon data collected from the depth phase of a national systems analysis project. It is argued that for a full linguistic description of the structure of lengthy speech events within a systemic linguistics framework it is necessary to take both a top down (generic) and bottom up (discourse units) approach.

scholarly journals Investigating genre distinctions through discourse distance and discourse network

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Sun ◽  
Rong Wang ◽  
Wenxin Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Syntactic Dependency

Abstract The notion of genre has been widely explored using quantitative methods from both lexical and syntactical perspectives. However, discourse structure has rarely been used to examine genre. Mostly concerned with the interrelation of discourse units, discourse structure can play a crucial role in genre analysis. Nevertheless, few quantitative studies have explored genre distinctions from a discourse structure perspective. Here, we use two English discourse corpora (RST-DT and GUM) to investigate discourse structure from a novel viewpoint. The RST-DT is divided into four small subcorpora distinguished according to genre, and another corpus (GUM) containing seven genres are used for cross-verification. An RST (rhetorical structure theory) tree is converted into dependency representations by taking information from RST annotations to calculate the discourse distance through a process similar to that used to calculate syntactic dependency distance. Moreover, the data on dependency representations deriving from the two corpora are readily convertible into network data. Afterwards, we examine different genres in the two corpora by combining discourse distance and discourse network. The two methods are mutually complementary in comprehensively revealing the distinctiveness of various genres. Accordingly, we propose an effective quantitative method for assessing genre differences using discourse distance and discourse network. This quantitative study can help us better understand the nature of genre.

scholarly journals TIARA 2.0: an interactive tool for annotating discourse structure and text improvement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Wira Gotama Putra ◽  
Kana Matsumura ◽  
Simone Teufel ◽  
Takenobu Tokunaga
Keyword(s):  
Visual Complexity ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Annotation Tool ◽  
Web Technologies ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Structure Annotation ◽  
Argumentative Structure ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Interactive Visualisation ◽  
Tree View

AbstractDiscourse structure annotation aims at analysing how discourse units (e.g. sentences or clauses) relate to each other and what roles they play in the overall discourse. Several annotation tools for discourse structure have been developed. However, they often only support specific annotation schemes, making their usage limited to new schemes. This article presents TIARA 2.0, an annotation tool for discourse structure and text improvement. Departing from our specific needs, we extend an existing tool to accommodate four levels of annotation: discourse structure, argumentative structure, sentence rearrangement and content alteration. The latter two are particularly unique compared to existing tools. TIARA is implemented on standard web technologies and can be easily customised. It deals with the visual complexity during the annotation process by systematically simplifying the layout and by offering interactive visualisation, including clutter-reducing features and dual-view display. TIARA’s text-view allows annotators to focus on the analysis of logical sequencing between sentences. The tree-view allows them to review their analysis in terms of the overall discourse structure. Apart from being an annotation tool, it is also designed to be useful for educational purposes in the teaching of argumentation; this gives it an edge over other existing tools.

The discourse structure of free indirect discourse reports

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 21-39
Author(s):  
Sofia Bimpikou ◽  
Emar Maier ◽  
Petra Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Pronoun Resolution ◽  
Free Indirect Discourse ◽  
Indirect Discourse ◽  
Attribution Analysis ◽  
Natural Conversation ◽  
Discourse Units

Abstract We investigate the discourse structure of Free Indirect Discourse passages in narratives. We argue that Free Indirect Discourse reports consist of two separate propositional discourse units: an (explicit or implicit) frame segment and a reported content. These segments are connected at the level of discourse structure by a non-veridical, subordinating discourse relation of Attribution, familiar from recent SDRT analyses of indirect discourse constructions in natural conversation (Hunter, 2016). We conducted an experiment to detect the covert presence of a subordinating frame segment based on its effects on pronoun resolution. We compared (unframed) Free Indirect Discourse with overtly framed Indirect Discourse and a non-reportative segment. We found that the first two indeed pattern alike in terms of pronoun resolution, which we take as evidence against the pragmatic context split approach of Schlenker (2004) and Eckardt (2014), and in favor of our discourse structural Attribution analysis.

The Collaborative Use of Information Technology

2002 ◽  
pp. 82-105
Author(s):  
William J. Doll ◽  
Xiaodong Deng
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Systems Analysis ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
User Participation ◽  
End Users ◽  
Joint Activities ◽  
Collaborative Applications ◽  
Systems Analysts

User participation seems especially important in the development of collaborative work systems where the technology is used by a work group to coordinate their joint activities. Users rather than systems analysts are often the best source of information on how they will use information technology to collaborate. It is almost an axiom of systems development that end users should participate in a broad range of activities/decisions, and that they should be permitted to participate in these decisions as much as they want. Despite these widely held beliefs, research has not focused on the differential efficacy of user participation in collaborative versus non-collaborative applications. Building upon the work of behavioral scientists who study participative decision making, Doll and Torkzadeh (1991) present a congruence construct of participation that measures whether end users participate as much as they want in key systems analysis decisions. Using a sample of 163 collaborative and 239 non-collaborative applications, this research focuses on three research questions: (1) Is user participation more effective in collaborative applications? (2) What specific decision issues enhance user satisfaction and productivity? and (3) Can permitting end-users to participate as much as they want on some issues be ineffective or even dysfunctional? The results indicate that user participation is more effective in collaborative applications. Of the four decision issues tested, only participation in information needs analysis predicts end-user satisfaction and task productivity. Encouraging end users to participate as much as they want on a broad range of systems analysis issues such as project initiation, information flow analysis, and format design appears to be, at best, a waste of time and, perhaps, even harmful. These findings should help managers and analysts make better decisions about how to focus participatory efforts and whether end users should participate as much as they want in the design of collaborative systems.

A computational model for measuring discourse complexity

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 690-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Sun ◽  
Wenxin Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Computational Model ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Dependency Tree ◽  
Discourse Relations ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Syntactic Dependency ◽  
Regular Patterns ◽  
Quantitative Approaches

In past studies, the few quantitative approaches to discourse structure were mostly confined to the presentation of the frequency of discourse relations. However, quantitative approaches should take into account both hierarchical and relational layers in the discourse structure. This study considers these factors and addresses the issue of how discourse relations and discourse units are related. It draws upon the available corpora of discourse structure (rhetorical structure theory-discourse treebank (RST-DT)) from a new perspective. Since an RST tree can be converted into a syntactic dependency tree, the data extracted from the RST-DT can be useful for calculating the discourse distance in much the same way as syntactic dependency distance is calculated. Discourse distance is also applicable to measuring the depth of the human processing of discourse. Furthermore, the data derived from the RST-DT are also easily converted into network data. This study finds that discourse structure has its discourse distance minimum and each type of RST relations has its range of discourse distance. The frequency distribution of discourse data basically follows the power law on several levels, while a network approach reveals how discourse units are arranged spatially in regular patterns. The two methods are mutually complementary in revealing the interaction between discourse relations and discourse units in a comprehensive manner, as well as in revealing how people process and comprehend discourse dynamically. Accordingly, we propose merging the two methods so as to yield a computational model for assessing discourse complexity and comprehension.

Integration Framework for Complex Systems

2005 ◽  
pp. 1567-1572
Author(s):  
Edward Szczerbicki
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Real World ◽  
Systems Analysis ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Integration Framework ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Information Input ◽  
Systems Analysts ◽  
Flow Of Information

Information is seen as one of the main resources that systems analysts try to use in an optimal way. In this chapter we show how this resource can be used in integration issues. We introduce the problem of information-based integration, propose a solution, and briefly discuss future trends in this area. Systems become increasingly complex. Their decomposition into smaller units is the usual way to overcome the problem of complexity. This has historically led to the development of atomized structures consisting of a limited number of autonomous subsystems that decide about their own information input and output requirements, that is, can be characterized by what is called an information closure. In a real-world context, autonomous subsystems consist of groups of people and/or machines tied by the flow of information both within a given subsystem and between this subsystem and its external environment (Esteve, 2002; Szczerbicki, 2003; Tharumarajah, 1998). Autonomous subsystems can still be interrelated and embedded in larger systems, as autonomy and independence are not equivalent concepts. These ideas are recently gaining very strong interest in both academia and industry, and the atomized approach to complex systems analysis is an idea whose time has certainly come (Liu & Ling, 2003; Orlowski, 2002).

scholarly journals Discourse structure, topicality and questioning

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Van Kuppevelt
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Discourse Units

In this paper we present an alternative approach to discourse structure according to which topicality is the general organizing principle in discourse. This approach accounts for the fact that the segmentation structure of discourse is in correspondence with the hierarchy of topics defined for the discourse units. Fundamental to the proposed analysis is the relation it assumes between the notion of topic and that of explicit and implicit questioning in discourse. This relation implies that (1) the topic associated with a discourse unit is provided by the explicit or implicit question it answers and (2) the relation between discourse units is determined by the relation between these topic-providing questions.

The scope of discourse connectives: implications for discourse organization

1996 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Unger
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Optimal Relevance ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Discourse Organization ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Discourse Connectives

The main aim of this paper is to discuss the claim that discourse connectives are best treated as indicators of coherence relations between hierarchically organized discourse units. It will be argued that coherence relations cannot be seen as cognitively real entities. Furthermore, there is no evidence for hierarchical organization in discourse. The intuitions underlying the notion of hierarchical discourse structure are instead explained in terms of consequences of processing a text in the search for optimal relevance. This account draws attention to a hitherto not widely discussed set of data.

scholarly journals From Saussure to sociology and back to linguistics: Niklas Luhmann’s reception of signifiant/signifié and langue/parole as the basis for a model of language change

Semiotica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (207) ◽  
pp. 327-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Erik Zeige
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Ontology ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Original Writings ◽  
Relevant Aspect ◽  
Linguistic Structure ◽  
Linguistic Description ◽  
Linguistic Abstraction ◽  
Speech Events

AbstractThe article highlights a semiotically relevant aspect of Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of Social Systems: its reception of the Saussurean dichotomies signifiant/signifié and langue/parole. Luhmann’s position is weighted against the Cours as well as Saussure’s original writings, sampling their approaches to form, meaning, the sign’s two-sidedness, and the relation of linguistic structure and speech events. Ultimately, the article proposes a social ontology of linguistic abstraction in line with general semiology that explains the motility of language through communication, thereby accounting for variability and optionality. It also indicates as to how the theoretical framework can feed into a model of linguistic description.

(æ)fter the storm: An Examination of the short-a system in Greater New Orleans

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-131
Author(s):  
Katie Carmichael
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Systems Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Demographic Changes ◽  
Linguistic Description ◽  
Split Systems ◽  
The Us ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis study examines the short-a system in Greater New Orleans (GNO) following the demographic changes and large-scale displacement that occurred after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I provide a linguistic description of the short-a systems of 57 residents of the GNO suburb of Chalmette, half of whom relocated after the storm, and half of whom returned to their pre-Katrina homes. While many speakers demonstrate robust split systems, analysis demonstrates a shift over time toward the nasal system common throughout much of the US. Whether participants returned or relocated was not a significant predictor of short-a system; however, speakers most oriented to places outside of Chalmette may have led the change in progress, pointing to the importance of considering place orientation in contexts of speaker mobility. This study establishes that adoption of the nasal system is well underway in GNO, generating further questions about what New Orleans English will sound like as post-Katrina changes continue to develop.

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