Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites
Purpose - This paper is a corpus-driven study of written electronic texts, particularly the “About Us” sections in the university websites of 41 members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). This inquiry is important because it will provide an insight as to how AAOU members describe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Emerald Publishing
2018-03-01
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| Series: | AAOU Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2018-0002/full/pdf?title=genre-analysis-of-the-about-us-sections-of-asian-association-of-open-universities-websites |
| _version_ | 1797711191873683456 |
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| author | Louise S. Villanueva Mary Aizel C. Dolom Jennifer S. Belen |
| author_facet | Louise S. Villanueva Mary Aizel C. Dolom Jennifer S. Belen |
| author_sort | Louise S. Villanueva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose - This paper is a corpus-driven study of written electronic texts, particularly the “About Us” sections in the university websites of 41 members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). This inquiry is important because it will provide an insight as to how AAOU members describe and portray themselves in the World Wide Web, a platform which is highly utilized in the field of distance education. This will also lead to the understanding of conventional knowledge among AAOU members during the period of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - Guided by Swales’ (1990) seminal work on genre analysis, the researchers conducted a three-part genre analysis which involved identification and analysis of moves, keywords, and concordance lines. Findings - Results of the keyword analysis were conducted using the AntConc application. Anthony (2017) found that the top 100 keywords with positive keyness exemplified inherent characteristics of open and distance learning institutions as well as characteristics common to higher education institutions and their thrusts. The analysis also found that the use of adjectives and verbs with positive denotations is common in the “About Us” sections. Concordance for several keywords related to the overarching theme of the AAOU 2017 Conference then revealed that the AAOU members are active in the discourse about accessibility, assessment, and quality, while there is not much discourse on openness, inclusivity, and justice. Meanwhile, subscribing to equality and equity could still be a point of discussion among the AAOU members as the concordance analysis revealed more discourse on equality than equity as a goal and principle. Overall, results of the genre analysis resonated with previous studies of the academic genre as the “About Us” sections are promotional in both authoritarian and inclusive ways. Originality/value - The inquiry will provide the members of the AAOU with an overview of their common communicative purposes, overused or underused keywords, and their usage of these words which they may opt to work on in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:03:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abc82d193a644158ac3a41d90f83e83a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1858-3431 2414-6994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:03:24Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AAOU Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-abc82d193a644158ac3a41d90f83e83a2023-09-02T23:36:31ZengEmerald PublishingAAOU Journal1858-34312414-69942018-03-01131375910.1108/AAOUJ-01-2018-0002607935Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websitesLouise S. Villanueva0Mary Aizel C. Dolom1Jennifer S. Belen2Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines Open University, Laguna, PhilippinesOffice of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines Open University, Laguna, PhilippinesOffice of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines Open University, Laguna, PhilippinesPurpose - This paper is a corpus-driven study of written electronic texts, particularly the “About Us” sections in the university websites of 41 members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). This inquiry is important because it will provide an insight as to how AAOU members describe and portray themselves in the World Wide Web, a platform which is highly utilized in the field of distance education. This will also lead to the understanding of conventional knowledge among AAOU members during the period of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - Guided by Swales’ (1990) seminal work on genre analysis, the researchers conducted a three-part genre analysis which involved identification and analysis of moves, keywords, and concordance lines. Findings - Results of the keyword analysis were conducted using the AntConc application. Anthony (2017) found that the top 100 keywords with positive keyness exemplified inherent characteristics of open and distance learning institutions as well as characteristics common to higher education institutions and their thrusts. The analysis also found that the use of adjectives and verbs with positive denotations is common in the “About Us” sections. Concordance for several keywords related to the overarching theme of the AAOU 2017 Conference then revealed that the AAOU members are active in the discourse about accessibility, assessment, and quality, while there is not much discourse on openness, inclusivity, and justice. Meanwhile, subscribing to equality and equity could still be a point of discussion among the AAOU members as the concordance analysis revealed more discourse on equality than equity as a goal and principle. Overall, results of the genre analysis resonated with previous studies of the academic genre as the “About Us” sections are promotional in both authoritarian and inclusive ways. Originality/value - The inquiry will provide the members of the AAOU with an overview of their common communicative purposes, overused or underused keywords, and their usage of these words which they may opt to work on in the future.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2018-0002/full/pdf?title=genre-analysis-of-the-about-us-sections-of-asian-association-of-open-universities-websitesacademic web genrecorpus-based studygenre analysiskeyword analysisopen and distance learning genre |
| spellingShingle | Louise S. Villanueva Mary Aizel C. Dolom Jennifer S. Belen Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites AAOU Journal academic web genre corpus-based study genre analysis keyword analysis open and distance learning genre |
| title | Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites |
| title_full | Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites |
| title_fullStr | Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites |
| title_short | Genre analysis of the “About Us” sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites |
| title_sort | genre analysis of the about us sections of asian association of open universities websites |
| topic | academic web genre corpus-based study genre analysis keyword analysis open and distance learning genre |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2018-0002/full/pdf?title=genre-analysis-of-the-about-us-sections-of-asian-association-of-open-universities-websites |
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