October 19-22, 2016
Join us in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Photo Credit: Ron Behrmann
Albuquerque is the heart of the New Mexico Technology Corridor.Microsoft was, in fact, founded in Albuquerque in 1976 before moving to Bellevue, WA, a couple of years later. Today, the New Mexico Technology Corridor features high-tech companies and government institutions including Sandia National Labs, Kirtland Air Force Base, and Northrop Grumman. Intel operates one of its largest semiconductor factories in nearby Rio Rancho.
In addition to Kirtland Air Force Base, the aerospace industry in the Albuquerque area is anchored by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directory, Honeywell Aerospace, and Lockheed Martin.New Mexico is ranked #2 in the country for its solar energy potential with companies involved in the research and development of alternative energy including Los Alamos National Laboratory, UniRac, and SolAero Technologies. In 2014, Forbes rated Albuquerque 7th among American’s engineering capitals. Further, the New Economy Index has ranked New Mexico 2nd in the country for the percentage of high tech jobs and 3rd for percentage of scientists and engineers.
Join us in Albuquerque! Experience the authentic Southwest! Proposal submissions are now being accepted. Information on session types and submission instructions can be found on the ABC website
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Credit: www.kipmalone.com
Highlight from the 12th Regional Conference in Cape Town
Geert Jacobs, Bertha Du Babcock and Terri Grant at The Cape Town ABC conference
‘Figuratively speaking’: the facts and fictions of business and corporate communications, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 6-8 January 2016
One of the highlights of the conference was a panel discussion chaired by Judge Dennis Davis comprising media practitioners as well as academics.
How many of you have ever jumped a red traffic light? This was the challenge that veteran journalist Bruce Cameron posed to more than 120 delegates from 24 countries during the discussion.
Many of the delegates to the conference sheepishly raised their hands. Cameron was making a point that “most people are unethical” in direct retort to an argument by panellist Pierre Heistein that “humans are naturally ethical”. This topical issue of “Ethically Speaking” formed a pivot at the conference, which Dr Terri Grant, head of the Professional Communication Unit at UCT brought to the African continent for the first time.
The dynamic conference won a lot of accolades, not least from Regional Director, Professor Geert Jacobs of the University of Ghent, Belgium who said: “This was definitely a landmark event in ABC history: after 80 years, our first conference in Africa. This is the true spirit of internationalization.”
He added: “This was one of the best conferences I have ever attended: it was perfectly organized (smooth timing, great logistics, abundant delicious food), it was a huge success in terms of content (excellent and innovative work on research, teaching and the interface with practitioners, outstanding keynotes and an exhilarating panel discussion) and the social program was just wonderful (exquisite wine tasting opening reception, an all-around Africa conference dinner with stylish entertainment, super half-day Cape peninsula tour..”
“As I said in my wrap-up, it was also a uniquely context-sensitive conference: anyone who’s been to South Africa knows that it’s a strange, splendid country and Dr Terri Grant has done a terrific job in making sure that all delegates have come to love and understand and give back to some of the people living there.”
The conference also had a humanitarian aspect. The conference organisers donated 120 schoolbags from delegates of 24 countries to children at Khumbulani Health, Education and Resource Centre in Khayelitsha– a place that takes care of about 300 children.
Dr Grant, who is passionate about both sustainability and education and where these two issues meet said: “The conference themes encompassed corporate governance and social responsiveness, ethical communication and outreach, involving educationalists, scholars and practitioners so that theory and practice could work together to contribute to real-word solutions to real-world challenges. “Giving the bags a second life in the hands of a child instead of gathering dust in countless offices, seems like common sense – a type of recycling,” she said.
Marketing specialist Bev van Nijkerk of Sanlam (who were the original sponsor of the bags) was enthusiastic: “I love the idea of donating the bag afterwards to those who will really benefit from them.”
UCT Organizational Psychology lecturer Dr Ines Meyer has been providing organizational development support for Khumbulani over the past 12 years. She said: “Khumbulani is incredibly resourceful in sourcing support. One of their strengths lies in the passion, dedication and care with which they do their work. They make every child feel important – and they treat their visitors the same”.
Khumbulani School Director, Mrs Gloria Bebeza was delighted with the windfall. She said: “We are so grateful. We will give the bags to children whose mothers are unemployed. They have to use plastic supermarket bags. It’s really going to help.
A very successful conference all round! Congratulations to all involved in organizing it.
Panel at the ABC conference in Cape Town
Student Writing Contest
Special Issue of Business and Professional Communication
Enabling Workplaces, Classrooms, and Pedagogies: Bringing Disability Theory and Accessibility to Business and Professional Communication
Deadline for Abstract submission: April 1, 2016
Overview
Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, most communication-related fields have produced scholarship and practice which address disability and accessibility. However, hardly any research on disability and accessibility has been published in the fields of Business and Professional Communication. This special issue aims at breaking the ground in this erstwhile neglected area because disability and accessibility are of legal, human, and economic concern to business, industry, government, and professional organizations the world over.
This special issue will include theoretical as well as applied practice articles in the context of disability and accessibility. Since BPCQ presents research on Business and Professional Communication as it relates to teaching, the theoretical and field research articles included in the special issue will include a section on the implications of the research for Business and Professional Communication pedagogy. Pedagogically centered manuscripts are also welcome as long as they are grounded in disability, accessibility, and other BPC theory pertinent to the focus of this special issue. Suggested topics for the special issue include but are not limited to the following:
Disability Theory and Workplace Practice:
Disability at the Intersections of Social Media and Business/Professional Communication
Accessibility, business and professional communication, and the equitable workplace
Business and professional communication, policy, law, and disability
Studies of corporate websites and disabled access
Studies of projects aimed at enhancing the accessibility of Business/Professional Communication
Studies of the representations of disability and/or accessibility in mass media by business and industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations
Focused studies of document features—language, page layout, visual design, etc.—that promote accessibility or exclude certain audiences
Affordances and excesses of Universal Design Theory
Business/Professional Communication Pedagogy, Disability, and Accessibility:
Ableism in business and professional communication courses
Designing an accessible business and/or professional communication course: How can instructors help our students be aware of and prepared for writing for accessibility?
Issues in teaching the anatomy of communicative access in a business and/or professional course
Critical appraisals of disability-centered business and/or professional communication course assignments designed under the social justice rubric
Designing accessible business communication classrooms and learning spaces
Rhetoric of accessibility in business and industry: implications for instructors and curricula
Accessibility of workplace communications and disabled employees: What can business and professional communication instructors do?
Nuanced Papers that Explore the Nature of Business and Professional Communication Practice from the Perspective of Disability and Accessibility:
How accessible are our business PowerPoint presentations?
How professional are inaccessible workplace communications?
How do organizations publically and privately articulate their responsibility in matters of disability and accessibility
What do organizational disability narratives look like and what purposes do they serve in the post-ADA organization?
How do the various models of disability—medical, social, critical social, etc.—play out in business, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations?
What do workplace communications tell us about how people with disabilities perceive themselves in relation to business and professional organizations and how do these perceptions translate into their access to information in these workplaces?
How do people with disabilities perceive, communicate about, and employ digital and other technologies in the workplace in relation to self and perceived barriers or enablers?
In what ways do government policies, online information providers, and information technology corporations affect the workplace disability divide?
What role should policies aimed at disability-justice play in legitimatizing the 21st-century business organization and what role should business and professional communication have in this policy dialog?
What effect does the absence, or presence, of disability in the workplace have on ableistic business and professional communication practices?
Guest Editor and Submission Information.
The special issue is being edited by Associate Professor Sushil Oswal, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington. The editor is glad to discuss initial topic ideas for papers and can be contacted directly: Oswal@u.washington.edu.
Manuscripts will be double-blind reviewed, following BPCQ’s regular review process. Submission is open to everyone whether or not a member of the Association for Business Communication. Abstracts of 750 to 1,000 words (notes and references excluded) that include research questions, methods, data and/or theoretical frameworks, and conclusions should be emailed to Sushil Oswal no later than April 1, 2016: Oswal@u.washington.edu Contributors will be informed of decisions by May 1, 2016. Deadline for submission of full manuscripts is August 1, 2016.
Join us in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Photo Credit: Ron Behrmann
- Experience the authentic Southwest and revel in the sunshine! Albuquerque has sunshine for 310 days of the year. The average autumn temperature is 70 degrees.
- Experience the culture. Albuquerque is home to more than 70 ethnicities; and the Southwestern culture is interwoven into every facet of the city, from the Pueblo- and Spanish-inspired architecture and world-famous cuisine, to the music and art.
- Taste the flavor of Albuquerque. Chile. Chile. Do you prefer red or green? You may want to order “Christmas” when dining in Albuquerque. With “Christmas,” you get to sample both red and green chile. And did you know that New Mexico has a state cookie—the biscochito, an anise-flavored state cookie. How can you go wrong with that food choice? Join us in Albuquerque to savor the biscochito- you may not have that opportunity again!
- Explore Historic Old Town and purchase a souvenir or two. Turquoise jewelry, pueblo pottery, Native American dreamcatcher . . . whatever you fancy, you can find among the shops and vendors in Historic Old Town Albuquerque.
- Learn about groundbreaking scientific research and the major players in Albuquerque’s technology landscape. Visit the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History and learn the role Albuquerque played in the development of nuclear technology and weapons.
Albuquerque is the heart of the New Mexico Technology Corridor.Microsoft was, in fact, founded in Albuquerque in 1976 before moving to Bellevue, WA, a couple of years later. Today, the New Mexico Technology Corridor features high-tech companies and government institutions including Sandia National Labs, Kirtland Air Force Base, and Northrop Grumman. Intel operates one of its largest semiconductor factories in nearby Rio Rancho.
In addition to Kirtland Air Force Base, the aerospace industry in the Albuquerque area is anchored by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directory, Honeywell Aerospace, and Lockheed Martin.New Mexico is ranked #2 in the country for its solar energy potential with companies involved in the research and development of alternative energy including Los Alamos National Laboratory, UniRac, and SolAero Technologies. In 2014, Forbes rated Albuquerque 7th among American’s engineering capitals. Further, the New Economy Index has ranked New Mexico 2nd in the country for the percentage of high tech jobs and 3rd for percentage of scientists and engineers.
Join us in Albuquerque! Experience the authentic Southwest! Proposal submissions are now being accepted. Information on session types and submission instructions can be found on the ABC website
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Credit: www.kipmalone.com
Geert Jacobs, Bertha Du Babcock and Terri Grant at The Cape Town ABC conference
‘Figuratively speaking’: the facts and fictions of business and corporate communications, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 6-8 January 2016
One of the highlights of the conference was a panel discussion chaired by Judge Dennis Davis comprising media practitioners as well as academics.
How many of you have ever jumped a red traffic light? This was the challenge that veteran journalist Bruce Cameron posed to more than 120 delegates from 24 countries during the discussion.
Many of the delegates to the conference sheepishly raised their hands. Cameron was making a point that “most people are unethical” in direct retort to an argument by panellist Pierre Heistein that “humans are naturally ethical”. This topical issue of “Ethically Speaking” formed a pivot at the conference, which Dr Terri Grant, head of the Professional Communication Unit at UCT brought to the African continent for the first time.
The dynamic conference won a lot of accolades, not least from Regional Director, Professor Geert Jacobs of the University of Ghent, Belgium who said: “This was definitely a landmark event in ABC history: after 80 years, our first conference in Africa. This is the true spirit of internationalization.”
He added: “This was one of the best conferences I have ever attended: it was perfectly organized (smooth timing, great logistics, abundant delicious food), it was a huge success in terms of content (excellent and innovative work on research, teaching and the interface with practitioners, outstanding keynotes and an exhilarating panel discussion) and the social program was just wonderful (exquisite wine tasting opening reception, an all-around Africa conference dinner with stylish entertainment, super half-day Cape peninsula tour..”
“As I said in my wrap-up, it was also a uniquely context-sensitive conference: anyone who’s been to South Africa knows that it’s a strange, splendid country and Dr Terri Grant has done a terrific job in making sure that all delegates have come to love and understand and give back to some of the people living there.”
The conference also had a humanitarian aspect. The conference organisers donated 120 schoolbags from delegates of 24 countries to children at Khumbulani Health, Education and Resource Centre in Khayelitsha– a place that takes care of about 300 children.
Dr Grant, who is passionate about both sustainability and education and where these two issues meet said: “The conference themes encompassed corporate governance and social responsiveness, ethical communication and outreach, involving educationalists, scholars and practitioners so that theory and practice could work together to contribute to real-word solutions to real-world challenges. “Giving the bags a second life in the hands of a child instead of gathering dust in countless offices, seems like common sense – a type of recycling,” she said.
Marketing specialist Bev van Nijkerk of Sanlam (who were the original sponsor of the bags) was enthusiastic: “I love the idea of donating the bag afterwards to those who will really benefit from them.”
UCT Organizational Psychology lecturer Dr Ines Meyer has been providing organizational development support for Khumbulani over the past 12 years. She said: “Khumbulani is incredibly resourceful in sourcing support. One of their strengths lies in the passion, dedication and care with which they do their work. They make every child feel important – and they treat their visitors the same”.
Khumbulani School Director, Mrs Gloria Bebeza was delighted with the windfall. She said: “We are so grateful. We will give the bags to children whose mothers are unemployed. They have to use plastic supermarket bags. It’s really going to help.
A very successful conference all round! Congratulations to all involved in organizing it.
Panel at the ABC conference in Cape Town
Student Writing Contest
Get Your Students Engaged in the 2016 Writing Contest!
The ABC student writing contest is open for entries! This year’s case, “What Did IT Say?” challenges students to develop a clear communication strategy and to write effective emails for two very different audiences.
If you have identified a few strong student writer(s) in your class, you can offer them the opportunity to showcase their work by competing against their peers from across the country. Contest winners earn both recognition at the upcoming ABC conference in Albuquerque as well as a cash prize. The deadline for entries is Sunday, April 30 – still plenty of time to participate!
If you have a short case that you think would be great for an upcoming contest, please send it to Kelly Grant at kgrant@tulane.edu. If the committee chooses your case, you will receive recognition at the upcoming conference with a cash award.
Special Issue of Business and Professional Communication
Enabling Workplaces, Classrooms, and Pedagogies: Bringing Disability Theory and Accessibility to Business and Professional Communication
Deadline for Abstract submission: April 1, 2016
Overview
Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, most communication-related fields have produced scholarship and practice which address disability and accessibility. However, hardly any research on disability and accessibility has been published in the fields of Business and Professional Communication. This special issue aims at breaking the ground in this erstwhile neglected area because disability and accessibility are of legal, human, and economic concern to business, industry, government, and professional organizations the world over.
This special issue will include theoretical as well as applied practice articles in the context of disability and accessibility. Since BPCQ presents research on Business and Professional Communication as it relates to teaching, the theoretical and field research articles included in the special issue will include a section on the implications of the research for Business and Professional Communication pedagogy. Pedagogically centered manuscripts are also welcome as long as they are grounded in disability, accessibility, and other BPC theory pertinent to the focus of this special issue. Suggested topics for the special issue include but are not limited to the following:
Disability Theory and Workplace Practice:
Disability at the Intersections of Social Media and Business/Professional Communication
Accessibility, business and professional communication, and the equitable workplace
Business and professional communication, policy, law, and disability
Studies of corporate websites and disabled access
Studies of projects aimed at enhancing the accessibility of Business/Professional Communication
Studies of the representations of disability and/or accessibility in mass media by business and industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations
Focused studies of document features—language, page layout, visual design, etc.—that promote accessibility or exclude certain audiences
Affordances and excesses of Universal Design Theory
Business/Professional Communication Pedagogy, Disability, and Accessibility:
Ableism in business and professional communication courses
Designing an accessible business and/or professional communication course: How can instructors help our students be aware of and prepared for writing for accessibility?
Issues in teaching the anatomy of communicative access in a business and/or professional course
Critical appraisals of disability-centered business and/or professional communication course assignments designed under the social justice rubric
Designing accessible business communication classrooms and learning spaces
Rhetoric of accessibility in business and industry: implications for instructors and curricula
Accessibility of workplace communications and disabled employees: What can business and professional communication instructors do?
Nuanced Papers that Explore the Nature of Business and Professional Communication Practice from the Perspective of Disability and Accessibility:
How accessible are our business PowerPoint presentations?
How professional are inaccessible workplace communications?
How do organizations publically and privately articulate their responsibility in matters of disability and accessibility
What do organizational disability narratives look like and what purposes do they serve in the post-ADA organization?
How do the various models of disability—medical, social, critical social, etc.—play out in business, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations?
What do workplace communications tell us about how people with disabilities perceive themselves in relation to business and professional organizations and how do these perceptions translate into their access to information in these workplaces?
How do people with disabilities perceive, communicate about, and employ digital and other technologies in the workplace in relation to self and perceived barriers or enablers?
In what ways do government policies, online information providers, and information technology corporations affect the workplace disability divide?
What role should policies aimed at disability-justice play in legitimatizing the 21st-century business organization and what role should business and professional communication have in this policy dialog?
What effect does the absence, or presence, of disability in the workplace have on ableistic business and professional communication practices?
Guest Editor and Submission Information.
The special issue is being edited by Associate Professor Sushil Oswal, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, University of Washington. The editor is glad to discuss initial topic ideas for papers and can be contacted directly: Oswal@u.washington.edu.
Manuscripts will be double-blind reviewed, following BPCQ’s regular review process. Submission is open to everyone whether or not a member of the Association for Business Communication. Abstracts of 750 to 1,000 words (notes and references excluded) that include research questions, methods, data and/or theoretical frameworks, and conclusions should be emailed to Sushil Oswal no later than April 1, 2016: Oswal@u.washington.edu Contributors will be informed of decisions by May 1, 2016. Deadline for submission of full manuscripts is August 1, 2016.
