Tax Preparer Certification and Organization Form among Uncertified Preparers Influence Client Satisfaction and Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace L. Witherspoon ◽  
Dan N. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Small Firm ◽  
Client Satisfaction ◽  
Organizational Form ◽  
Client Perceptions ◽  
State Certification ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Big Box ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Impersonal Pronouns

ABSTRACT How does state certification (e.g., CPA, enrolled agent [EA], or attorney) and organizational form among uncertified preparers (big box “franchise” firms versus not) influence client satisfaction and interactions? Results from a sample (n = 3,984) of Yelp ratings of U.S. tax preparers indicates that certified preparers receive higher ratings than do uncertified small-firm preparers, who earn higher ratings than do franchise preparers. Linguistic analysis suggests that clients of certified preparers experience tax preparation service as a “relational” interaction, with reviews evidencing more positive affect and inclusive pronouns (e.g., we). In contrast, the clients of franchise firms experience tax preparation as “transactional,” with reviews evidencing more swear words and impersonal pronouns. Linguistic results for uncertified small preparers fall between those of certified and franchise preparers. The paper is among the first to adapt emerging corpus linguistic methods to examine client perceptions of professional accounting services.

What Russian University Stands for: Analyzing Socially Embedded Vision and Values

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-506
Author(s):  
Valeria Chernyavskaya ◽  
Olga Kamshilova
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Analytical Methodology ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Core Mission ◽  
New Research ◽  
Linguistic Methods

Summary The present investigation is a response to the discourse analytical methodology expanded by corpus linguistic techniques. Within a discursive approach the university’s identity is seen as existing in and being constructed through discourse. The research interest is in how ideology and the obligation models set by the state construct the university’s self-image and university-based research as its core mission. The study is generally consistent with current trends in social constructivism where identity is considered as the process of identity construction rather than a rigid category. It is presumed that key factors are developed within a definite socio-cultural practice, which then shape the concept of collective identity. Detecting and analyzing such factors on the basis of Russian realities and modern Russian university is becoming a new research objective. The focus of the given article is on how certain values can be foregrounded in texts representing university strategies to the public. The research employs corpus linguistic methods in discourse analysis. The organization of the paper is as follows. First, it outlines the socio-political context in which the transformation of academic values and organizational principles of Russian national universities are embedded. Second, it discusses corpus findings obtained from an original research corpus which includes mission statements posted on the websites of Russian national research and federal universities. Conclusions concerning the university mission statements reflect ongoing transformations of the universities’ role in the society. The rhetoric of the statements is declarative and foregrounding new values. The linguistic data analysis shows their socially constructive nature as they build a framework for currently relevant uniformed ideas and concepts.

Corpora and intuition: a study of Mandarin Chinese adverbial clauses and subjecthood

Corpora ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
May L-Y Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Semantic Classes ◽  
New Information ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Linguistic Methods

This paper presents a corpus-based approach to investigating the distribution of adverbial clauses and their subjects (overt vs. non-overt) in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. It argues that the choice of subject type is determined by three variables, namely, given-new information, semantic function of adverbial clause and text type. In written Chinese, the distribution of subject types varies across semantic classes of adverbial clauses, but not across text categories. The influence of semantic classes on the distribution of subject types, however, depends on text type. For the same semantic function, the decision as to whether to include a subject is governed by given and new information. In contrasting the distribution of subject types of adverbial clauses across speech and writing, it was found that both spoken and written Chinese use more overt subjects in clauses of reason. Methodologically, this study demonstrates how quantitative corpus-linguistic methods can be used to supplement introspective theoretical assumptions with authentic, observable evidence in order to gain better insights into the behaviour of adverbial clauses in speech and writing.

Lexical priming in humorous satirical newspaper headlines

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Skalicky
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
American English ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Patterns ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Do So

Abstract Satire is a type of discourse commonly employed to mock or criticize a satirical target, typically resulting in humor. Current understandings of satire place strong emphasis on the role that background and pragmatic knowledge play during satire recognition. However, there may also be specific linguistic cues that signal a satirical intent. Researchers using corpus linguistic methods, specifically Lexical Priming, have demonstrated that other types of creative language use, such as irony, puns, and verbal jokes, purposefully deviate from expected language patterns (e.g. collocations). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether humorous satirical headlines also subvert typical linguistic patterns using the theory of Lexical Priming. In order to do so, a corpus of newspaper headlines taken from the satirical American newspaper The Onion are analyzed and compared to a generalized corpus of American English. Results of this analysis suggest satirical headlines exploit linguistic expectations through the use of low-frequency collocations and semantic preferences, but also contain higher discourse and genre level deviations that cannot be captured in the surface level linguistic features of the headlines.

Terminological Entrepreneurs and Discursive Shifts in International Relations: How a Discipline Invented the “International Regime”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Steffek ◽  
Marcus Müller ◽  
Hartmut Behr
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Regime Theory ◽  
International Regime ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Digital Discourse ◽  
Disciplinary History ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Linguistic Methods

Abstract The disciplinary history of international relations (IR) is usually told as a succession of theories or “isms” that are connected to academic schools. Echoing the increasing criticism of this narrative, we present in this article a new perspective on the discipline. We introduce concepts from linguistics and its method of digital discourse analysis (DDA) to explore discursive shifts and terminological entrepreneurship in IR. DDA directs attention away from schools of thought and “heroic figures” who allegedly invented new theories. As we show exemplarily with the rise of “regime theory,” there were entire generations of IR scholars who (more or less consciously) developed new vocabularies to frame and address their common concerns. The terminological history of “international regime” starts in nineteenth century international law, in which French authors already used “régime” to describe transnational forms of governance that were more than a treaty but less than an international organization. Only in the 1980s, however, was an explicit definition of “international regime” forged in American IR, which combined textual elements already in use. We submit that such observations can change the way in which we understand, narrate, and teach the discipline of IR. DDA decenters IR theory from its traditional focus on schools and individuals and suggests unlearning established taxonomies of “isms.” The introduction of corpus linguistic methods to the study of academic IR can thus provide new epistemological directions for the field.

scholarly journals Public discourses on multilingualism in the UK: Triangulating a corpus study with a sociolinguistic attitude survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Jaworska ◽  
Christiana Themistocleous
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Attitude Survey ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Media Discourses ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Large Press

AbstractThis article investigates public discourses of multilingualism in Britain. In contrast to previous research focusing on specific languages or varieties of language, we examine multilingualism as a metalinguistic construct and are interested in what is frequently said about multilingualism, and how it is said. More specifically, we explore the extent to which media discourses are consonant or diverge from the attitudes of lay people. Media discourses are investigated using a corpus-assisted discourse-study approach to the analysis of large-press corpora. Results from the corpus study are then incorporated in an attitude survey distributed to 200 participants living in a large superdiverse town in Britain. Our study shows that while positive media discourses are mostly shared by the general public, some of the negative themes, especially those relating to immigration, are either reinforced or challenged. The article demonstrates the usefulness of triangulating corpus-linguistic methods with a survey to provide a more comprehensive understanding of public discourses about language matters, and offers some implications for promoting multilingualism in society. (Multilingualism, metalanguage, corpus-assisted discourse study (CADS), attitude survey, triangulation)

Identity as space

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dionysis Goutsos ◽  
George Polymeneas
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Methods

The paper studies the textual, discursive and social practices of the Greek “aganaktismeni” (indignados) movements, which mainly took place in the public gathering of tens of thousands of Greeks in Syntagma Square, outside the Greek parliament from May to August 2011. Data come from multiple sources, including the General Assembly proceedings and resolutions, while a linguistically-informed approach is followed, which combines Critical Discourse Analysis concepts with corpus linguistic methods. It is argued that the Syntagma protests generated a new context in Greek politics, by introducing new genres and the innovative articulation of already existing discourses. It was also found that social/political identities and social/public space were co-articulated, since the identity of the movement was crucially constructed in terms of space.

“Learn to blend in!”

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 698-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathrine Norberg ◽  
Ylva Fältholm
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Industry Needs ◽  
Masculine Culture ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute with increased knowledge about gender in mining by exploring how women are discursively represented in texts produced by actors in the international mining arena. Design/methodology/approach The study combines corpus linguistic methods and discourse analysis. It implies a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses, where the former is used as the point of departure for the latter, and where the material analysed is chosen on the basis of certain selected search phrases. The source for the study is the web, and the search engine used for the retrieval of data is WebCorp Live, a tool tailored for linguistic analysis of web material. Findings The analysis reveals that although the overarching theme in the women-in mining discourse is that women are needed in the industry, the underlying message is that women-in-mining are perceived as problematic. Practical implications The study shows that if mining is to change into a modern industry, the inherent hyper-masculine culture and its effects on the whole industry needs to be problematised and made evident. To increase the mere number of women, with women still heavily underrepresented, is not enough to break gender-biased discrimination. Originality/value The research contributes with new knowledge about gender in mining by using a method, which so far has had limited usage in (critical) discourse analysis.

scholarly journals MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF SMALL-FIRM NETWORKS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF MEMBER FIRMS

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (0) ◽  
pp. 197-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Wegner ◽  
Felipe de Mattos Zarpelon ◽  
Jorge Renato Verschoore ◽  
Alsones Balestrin
Keyword(s):  
Network Management ◽  
Small Firm ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organizational Form ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Business Development ◽  
Firm Networks ◽  
Organizational Literature

Even considering a small-firm network as a new organizational form, few studies analyze how network management practices may influence the performance of member firms. To help overcome this gap, we conducted a survey with 242 firms associated with 49 small-firm networks in Brazil. The results show that collective planning, evaluation, communication, innovation, services offered by the network, leadership, and also the entrepreneurs’ orientation to business development have a positive influence on firms’ performance. The study contributes to the organizational literature and practice as it identifies a set of management practices that influence the performance of firms in small-firm networks.

scholarly journals Small-Firm Networks: hybrid arrangement or organizational form?

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (69) ◽  
pp. 275-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Renato Verschoore ◽  
Alsones Balestrin ◽  
Alexandre Perucia
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Small Firm ◽  
Organizational Form ◽  
The Other ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Organizational Forms ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Relevant Question ◽  
Firm Networks ◽  
The One

In the field of organizations, one relevant question is whether or not to consider networks as organizational forms. On the one hand, Williamson (1985) says that networks are hybrid arrangements. On the other, authors like Powell (1990) argue that networks constitute themselves as organizational forms. Given this dilemma, the present article proposes the analysis of organizational characteristics of small-firm networks (SFN). To reach such objective, twelve SFNs in distinct stages of development were analyzed. The results show that SFNs constitute themselves as singular organization forms which boundaries and identities are delineated by strategy, structure, coordination, processes and relationships.

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