First-line management: the critical link between goal perception and performance. A multicultural study of Canadian and Japanese first-line managers.

The need to be and stay competitive has corporations reassessing their organisation and management processes. Productivity, performance management and motivation include goals as one of their basic building blocks. These concepts, when operationalised, highlight the role and effectiveness of fîrst-line managers, who directly control the majority of human resources. Changes in organisational design such as leaner and flatter management structure, combined with employee empowerment, further underscore the pivotal role of first-line managers. They represent a key link in the management chain. Yet, it is evident that the focus or nature of goals, specifically at the first-line management level, is left largely untouched in the literature. Many disciplines explore the topic of goals. The number of variables that affect the outcome explodes as each field conveys its own perspective. Existing research either investigates goals in a controlled environment, anecdotal by relating corporate practices or case studies of a general nature, or posits a paradigm from the perspective of the author's discipline. Some research addresses the features of goals whilst others concentrate on the factors affecting outcome. This situation has raised the question as to the nature and focus of goals: the 'end' or the 'means'? It is acknowledged that there is a lack of research dealing with the 'actual' focus of goals. The objective of this thesis is to fill this gap in the literature with respect to the first-line manager's perception of goals. This study aims to ascertain the nature of goals as perceived by first-line managers. A survey conducted in Canada and Japan contrasts first-line managers' responses as well as provides a valuable insight on the effect that different management practices have on the nature of goals. It is evident that much has been written about Japanese practices at the corporate level as a whole, but little information is available on individual performance orientation, particularly at the first-line management level. The data collected in this research furnishes a deeper insight on goals and some factors that affect performance, as perceived by first-line managers. Goals can take a variety of forms and focus. As such, it was deemed imperative not to bias responses by producing pre-selected categories but to employ open-ended questions. The use of phenomenological mapping is not intended to test a particular hypothesis but aims to understand the situation by allowing the data to speak for itself. The results supply a first-hand understanding as to the actual focus of first-line managers, unadulterated by theories and speculations. A number of fmdings have evolved. The choice between 'end' or 'means' goals is related to basic management philosophies which are characteristic of the two populations. The general conclusion is that the values of the organisation are reflected in the type of goals being pursued. The same values are also reflected in the training received - or absence of it - and, eventually, are evident in the nature of goals being set. This duality of perspective is also found in the literature. On one hand, goal or outcome oriented employees willing to make tough decisions are key managerial characteristics to be displayed by individuals who want to progress within the organisation. On the other hand, many preach the basic philosophy that employees are a key resource which should be developed to achieve better results. These two concepts are expounded independently of each other in the literature. The general fïeld of research does not provide any criteria to measure the superiority of one System over the other; their mutual exclusivity is usually implied. It suffices to say that output goals are necessary under both Systems but not suffïcient to assure adequate attention to the human side of the equation. The research does widen the existing literature in a number of areas. Firstly, it illustrates how corporate managerial practices and values influence the outlook of first-line managers; while such a phenomenon has been postulated in the past. The results of the survey demonstrate it categorically. Secondly, it demonstrates how two viable perspectives of goals, the 'end' or the 'means', are as present in the academic thinking as, they are in the work environment. Thirdly, the goal perspective of first-line managers, indicates that a different focus may be necessary to be commensurate with their respective roles and responsibilities as compared to the rest of the organisation. The apparent dichotomy in the literature, between 'end' goals and 'means' goals, is also found between the responses of the two populations. The results clearly show that there is a need to rethink corporate practices in the area of human development, especially at the first-line management level. In addition to providing insights on goals, adequacy and recognition, this research implicitly raises the issue of the role which corporations should play in moulding human behaviour, and more specifically that of first-line managers. Conversely, there is the question of the degree to which individuality and personal responsibility for skill development should be left to the individual to decide. Better understanding of the nature of goals in the mind of first-line managers should enable organisations to effectively address the practice of goal setting and the management process entailed. There are some limitations within the research. The qualitative nature of the research, due to the use of open-ended questions, requires interpretative analysis of responses. The choice of categories, while free-flowing from the data, could also be considered as subjective. However, external audit of the tabulation, through the independent evaluation performed by an interrater, proved the process to be consistent. Through triangulation between existing published practices, plant visits and interviews as well as the internal consistency between the responses to different questions, the results of the tabulation exhibit congruity. The thesis comprises fifteen chapters, organised into four major sections. Part I contains the theoretical content of the research. It provides the backdrop for the importance of goals and the relationship with productivity, the different paradigms being put forth, a detailed discussion on the nature of goals and the key role of first-line managers. Part II describes the design of the survey and the analytical procedures employed. Part III presents the actual tabulation of the data with observations related to the results. Part IV analyses and discusses the major findings in context with the theories expounded and as well, provides conclusions and recommendations for future research

La implicatura en los blogs educativos. Una aproximación pragmática.

La tecnología está multiplicando las formas en que podemos comunicarnos. Desde la aparición de Internet, la construcción del discurso, los géneros discursivos y el lenguaje mismo se han visto afectados por las características de este nuevo modo de comunicarse. Aparecen discursos mixtos que hacen necesarios nuevos enfoques. Así, el estudio de la red desde una perspectiva pragmática ha abarcado diferentes aproximaciones (el género, la caracterización del lenguaje de los textos, etc.); los blogs han sido considerados como una forma de conversación. El presente trabajo estudia los blogs educativos desde el punto de vista de las máximas conversacionales de Grice, y, en particular, las implicaturas, para intentar caracterizar estos intercambios y determinar si, y hasta qué punto se trata de conversaciones y cómo se comportan desde un punto de vista pragmático. Los resultados muestran que los blogs educativos se asemejan más a una clase magistral que a una conversación. La tecnologia està multiplicant les formes en què podem comunicar-nos. Des de l’aparició d’Internet, la construcció del discurs, els gèneres discursius i el mateix llenguatge s’han vist afectats per les característiques d’aquesta nova forma de comunicar-se. Apareixen discursos mixtes que fan necessaris nous enfocaments. Així, l’estudi de la xarxa des d’una perspectiva pragmàtica ha integrat diferents visions (el gènere, la caracterització del llenguatge dels diferents tipus de texts, etc.). Els blogs han estat considerats com una forma de conversa. El present treball estudia els blogs educatius des del punt de vista de les màximes conversacionals de Grice, i, en particular, les implicatures, per intentar caracteritzar aquests intercanvis i determinar si, i fins a quin punt es tracta de converses i com es comporten des d’un punt de vista pragmàtic. Els resultats mostren que els blogs educatius són més semblants a una classe magistral que a una conversa.Technology is multiplying our communication means. From the appearance of the Internet, the construction of discourse, discourse genres and language itself have been influenced by the features of this new form of communication. Mixt discourses have appeared which make necessary new approaches. Thus, the study of the web from a pragmatics perspective has included different approaches (for instance the genre or characterisation of the language of the different text types). Blogs have been considered as a form of conversation. The present work studies educational blogs from the point of view of Grice’s conversational maxims, and, in particular, the implicatures that can be found in them in order to determine whether they are similar to conversations, and how they deploy from a pragmatic perspective. The results show that they are more similar to lectures than to conversations

Recurrent and not-so-recurrent pragmatic errors in academic writing in English as a Foreign Language

In our globalised world, the need of a common language is encouraging the massive learning of English. Much effort has been dedicated to help improve proficiency at different levels of language learning, but, as students face greater levels of complexity, proficiency in pragmatic aspects of language continues being deficient (Romero-Trillo, 2002; Author and Carrió Pastor, 2013). This must be addressed in the Foreign Language (FL) classroom (Sperber and Wilson, 1995; Wang, 2007). In this regard, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), grounded on the communicative approach, has provided guidelines to teach and established Foreign Language proficiency levels. The CEFR Companion Volume proposed more detailed descriptors to identify and outline language proficiency. The present paper displays a 10-year pseudo-longitudinal study of a learner corpus of 125 written texts produced by University students in which pragmatic (coherence and cohesion) errors are analysed. The aim of the study has been to examine improvement in student production in the years subsequent to the publication of the reference book. Results point to errors that have been minimised after training and instruction, but they also identify some recurrent errors in English as an FL writing.En un mundo globalizado, la necesidad de una lengua común está fomentando el aprendizaje masivo del inglés. Se ha dedicado mucho esfuerzo a ayudar a mejorar la competencia en diferentes niveles de aprendizaje de la lengua, pero, a medida que los estudiantes enfrentan mayores niveles de complejidad, la competencia en los aspectos pragmáticos de la lengua extranjera (LE) sigue siendo deficiente (Romero-Trillo, 2002; Author y Carrió Pastor, 2013). Esta cuestión debe abordarse en el aula de lengua extranjera (Sperber y Wilson, 1995; Wang, 2007). En este sentido, el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas (MCER), basado en el enfoque comunicativo, ha proporcionado pautas para enseñar y ha establecido niveles de competencia en lenguas extranjeras. El volumen complementario del MCER propuso descriptores más detallados para identificar y representar el dominio de la lengua. El presente artículo presenta un estudio pseudo-longitudinal de un corpus de aprendices de 125 textos escritos producidos por estudiantes universitarios en los que se analizan errores pragmáticos (de coherencia y cohesión). El objetivo del estudio ha sido examinar la mejora en la producción de los estudiantes en los años posteriores a la publicación del libro de referencia. Los resultados apuntan a errores que se han minimizado después de la preparación y la instrucción, pero también identifican algunos errores recurrentes en la escritura del inglés como LE

Analyse des stratégies interactives et interactionnelles dans les sections discussion et conclusion des mémoires de master

Significant amount of literature has been dedicated to study academic and scientific writing. Prolific work has studied specific sections of Research Articles (RA) (Dudley-Evans, 1994; Parkinson, 2011). Complemen-tary to this, some studies look into variation between Native (NE) and Non-Native (NNE) English speaking writers. Of interest are also studies exploring academic writing other than RA, as postgraduate writings (Hyland 2004), or comparing RAs to students’ writings. The present work analyses the strategies used in the Conclusions and Discussion sections of Masters Theses (MTs) written by students based on the Metadiscourse Markers (MDM) (Hyland, 2005) they use in them. For the study, a corpus of 30 dissertations written in English (15 by NNE and 15 by NE) is compared. Noticeable NE/NNE differences have been found in the use of MDM. Some conclusions are these differences must be addressed when teaching academic writing.El estudio de la escritura académica y científica ha suscitado un gran interés en los últimos años, como demuestra el prolífico trabajo dedicado a estudiar algunas secciones de los Artículos Científicos (AC) (Dudley-Evans, 1994; Parkin-son, 2011). También se ha observado las diferencias entre autores nativos ingleses (NE) y aquellos no nativos (NNE). El interés se ha extendido a otros tipos de escritura académica, como los trabajos de postgrado (Hyland 2004). Este trabajo analiza las estrategias utilizadas en las secciones de Conclusión y Discusión de las Tesis de Máster (TM) escritas por estudiantes a partir de los marcadores meta-discursivos (MMD) (Hyland, 2005) que aparecen en ellas. Se comparan trabajos escritos por estudiantes en un corpus de 30 TM escritas en inglés (15 NNE y 15 NE). Se observan diferencias significativas en el uso de los MMD. Entre las conclusiones se menciona su interés para la en-señanza de la escritura académica.Ces derniers temps, l’étude de l’écriture académique et scientifique a suscité un grand intérêt comme le montrent les multiples travaux consacrés à l’analyse de certaines sections d’articles scientifiques (Dudley-Evans, 1994; Parkinson, 2011). Des différences entre les auteurs natifs anglais (NA) et les non-natifs (NNA) y ont été également observées. L’intérêt dans ce domaine s’est étendu à d’autres types d’écriture académique comme les travaux de recherche des 2e et 3e cycles universitaires (Hyland, 2004). Ce travail analyse les stratégies utilisées par les étudiants dans les sections Discussion et Conclusion de leur mémoire de master (MM) à partir des marqueurs métadiscursifs (MMD) qu’ils emploient (Hyland, 2005). Il rassemble un corpus de 30 MM écrits en anglais (15 par des NA et 15 par des NNA) et les compare. Cette étude met en lumière des différences significatives dans l’utilisation des MMD et souligne, en conclusion, leur importance pour la didactique de l’écriture académique

Emotion and Sentiment Polarity in Parliamentary Debate: A Pragmatic Comparative Study

[EN] An ever-increasing interest on the expression of emotions can be seen in the proliferation of studies from different perspectives; medical-psychological, sociological, linguistic, or computer based, to name but a few. From a pragmalinguistic standpoint, ethnopragmatics is interested in the cross-cultural study of emotion. The present confrontation in political discussion, aggravated by the pandemic sanitary crisis, invites an exploration of political debate. Traditionally, political discussion has been studied from a discourse analysis viewpoint. New investigations, able to compile abundant amount of data in order to provide different contexts of political language, can complement these views. The present paper shows a comparative study of a set of session diaries of the Valencian and the Scottish Parliaments during 2020. Its aim was to identify the basic emotion words used in the debate sessions, to investigate them from a cross-cultural perspective and to establish whether these emotion words are culturally transferable, in terms of meaning, use and polarity. The methodology used, corpus linguistics, permits quantitative and qualitative analyses of the corpus assembled. Results show that there exist significant differences in the use of terms in the two subcorpora, and that even when the same words are used in the two contexts, they don't necessarily infer the same emotions and sentiments-nor the same polarity. The comparison also elucidates the usefulness of existing emotion lexicons for this kind of research.Mestre-Mestre, EM. (2021). Emotion and Sentiment Polarity in Parliamentary Debate: A Pragmatic Comparative Study. Corpus pragmatics (Online). 5(3):359-377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41701-021-00103-63593775

Emotion in Politics in Times of War: A Corpus Pragmatics Study

[EN] Emotions remain a fertile field of research. Thanks to newly available technology, investigating people's preferences, emotions and feelings is relevant for different purposes and perspectives. Consequently, the exploration of emotion has stimulated specialised software development. This paper presents a snapshot of currently available computational tools for analysing emotions. We also explore and compare their contributions and use them complementarily to characterise a corpus. The study presented here combines several emotion analysis tools to examine and characterise a corpus of political debates. Specifically, 34 British House of Commons debates on the war in Ukraine have been examined to identify the lexicon associated with the emotions articulated by parliamentarians in a situation of maximum political conflict, such as war, and to provide a global overview of the most common terms used, to express emotion and feeling. Using corpus pragmatics, a comprehensive overview of the corpus is obtained, as it allows the analysis of considerable amounts of data, studied from a pragmatics perspective, for the characterisation of emotion in terms of meaning and use.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia agreement with Springer Nature. No research grants were obtained from funding agencies or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.Mestre-Mestre, EM. (2023). Emotion in Politics in Times of War: A Corpus Pragmatics Study. Corpus pragmatics (Online). 7(4):323-344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41701-023-00147-w3233447

Trans Justice Fights Trans Moral Panic

Between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2021, a violent discussion about trans rights took place in Spain. This paper argues that the discussion can be understood as an instance of ‘social problems work’, more specifically as part of a moral crusade or a moral panic episode. Implicit in this is the idea that there has been an over-reaction to trans recognition and trans equality laws, publicly presented as a major social problem. This paper also provides legal arguments against the fears voiced in the discussion, by summarizing relevant ECHR case-law that agrees with an alternative feminist account of trans rights that de-pathologizes gender-identity self-determination. The paper thus suggests that a ‘cultural war’ over gender identity has been ignited and has yet to be fully fought and won