Report on my Interviews

I can easily say that I had a great time interviewing the two people that I did this past week. It brought insight to numerous things in the Veterinary Field of study that I didn't know even existed. This post is dedicated to what I found through the interview process, specifically their genres.

Main Genres

The three main genres that my interviewers talked about was the all too familiar scientific articles in a scientific journal, a book on a specific area of study, and a piece that was similar to a QRG which was called an "interactive text".

Scientific Article

This is the most formal of all the genres, usually the ones that have no emotion or opinion, just the cold, hard facts. This is also more for other veterinarians and other scientific people in the same field, people who have experience within the field and not those who own pets.

The hard part about this genre that the interviews spoke about was trying to convey passion of the subject without drowning out the facts. A scientific article is not supposed to be frilly with descriptive language, so create an interesting article is very hard. What is rewarding about a scientific article is that there is a lot of long term research being done, so completing that and finding connections in the research is something very personally rewarding. This genre can  be found in online scientific journals which are becoming more and more popular

Scientific Book

This is another formal piece of publication, but this allows for more creativity and length to talk

"Books" Dec. 8, 2015 via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

about specific things in great detail. This also requires more information than a scientific article. However, it is very similar to an article because it talks a lot about the same types of things.

The hard part about a book is that it is a much larger piece of text, so it takes a while to actually write out what you need to write out. It is also more detail oriented, so there needs to be a lot of research that goes into the book. The rewarding part of a scientific book is that there is a large audience that can read the book and be informed much easier because it is easily seen. This genre can be found in libraries as well as online pdfs.

Scientific QRGs

These are the most interactive out of the genres mentioned previously. They have numerous amounts of pictures and graphs as well as aesthetically pleasing parts that allow for the reader to have a more interested experience.

The hard part about this genre is that it is a newer piece in the scientific world so it is not generally used by most people, so some might not accept it as much in the scientific world. The rewarding part about this would be that many people would read this and be more interested in the specific topic. This genre can be found more online than anywhere else.

From Academia to Social Media

In all honesty, I searched for a good amount of time and there was not one person in the journal that was on social media, I even searched for the Editor-in-chef because I assumed he's probably a big deal, but again, nothing.

I did find a lot of articles and even a letter from H. Gelberg who wrote a Letter to the Editor in the
Journal where he talked about his dislike of people who don't capitalize certain words in the veterinary science field. He spoke from experience, stating that he didn't understand why people in the veterinary field had such trouble capitalizing words that needed to be capitalized.

"Charles Babbage" 1871 via Wikimedia Commons

He believes in the fact that people in the veterinary field should be more elevated in thinking and should produce work that shows their background and multiple years of schooling. Since he wasn't really on social media, it is hard to write about but I can say that he seems like a person who is very detailed oriented and proud of his work

Academic Discourse and Genre

Looking further into the Veterinary Pathology Journal that I found in the seemingly endless University of Arizona library I found some interesting things.

1st Genre

There are two pieces in the front of the journal that are titled "Editorials" which I think is an

"Pathology" 17 September 2011 via
Wikimedia Commons

interesting genre in a scientific journal because scientific journals tend to be all fact. These editorials seem to be shorter than all the other pieces, have no pictures in any of the text, and are all opinion based with some references to things that other people said about a specific topic.
   
     Definition: An editorial in a scientific journal consists of a short work dedicated to those who want          the opinion of other scientist on a piece of debatable information

2nd Genre

Most of the scientific journal consists of something I would call a "Study" or "Case File" because it is a compilation of facts that have been done by either one or a group of people with hard evidence and analysis. Each of these studies have key subheadings that are all similar. It consists of an Abstract, Keywords, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.

     Definition: A Study or Case File in a scientific journal is a very specified format that provides the information and evidence of a specific experiment that is done, specifically for the scientific world

3rd Genre

Lastly, there is a section at the end of the scientific journal that is titled "Letters to the Editor". These are exactly as you must be thinking. They are in a letter like format whith a signature line and everything, speaking to the editors about past journals that they greatly appreciated, had questions about or wanted to comment about something in the journal

     Definition: A Letter to the Editor in a scientific journal is in letter format that has a more casual-like feel than the other pieces, showing they comments and expression of their thoughts to all who care to listen

Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Journal

Yes, I went to the library. The U of A library where if you walk only two steps in one direction you are probably already lost. But alas, my friends, I have survived and found a Veterinary Journal that I can analyze.

Authors/Speakers

Since this is an Scientific Journal there are multiple authors with too many names to count and if I listed them it would just bore you. Some of them however include R. S. Sellers who wrote a one paged piece on "Research Reporting: Doing the Right Thing" , J. Arzt who wrote a piece on "Infectious Disease" , and G. J. Krinke who wrote an article on "Mycoplasma Pulmonis and Lymphoma in Bioassay", to name a few. Each of these people seem to have their own area of study and do not delve into different sections of the article, sticking to their own path.

Audience

I would assume the intended audience for this journal is other people in the scientific field because as a college student just starting out as a Vet Sci major, I had a difficult time reading the articles because of the elevated vocbulary and specific pieces that I had no prior knowledge about. It is probably leaned towards other veterinarians in the same types of field, but there is some information that pet owners might want to know about, again if they have that elevated vocabulary.

Context

Each of the articles revolved around pathology in animals, so they would usually analyze a specific disease in a specific place of an animals body and if there was a cure and how to cure that disease. There were written by many people, however, I was unable to find an issue that was close in time to this specific date and time that wasn't online. I got an article from November of 2010 and it was edited and reviewed by numerous of people, even dedicating a page to the people who reviewed the texts in the back.

Meaning 

The overall message of the journal was an urgency for people to understand the importance of knowing these diseases in every day life because your own pets could have them. It also showcased the importance of medicine in general because of all the interesting articles and cures that went along with each article.

The purpose of the piece was to inform other veterinarians of these diseases with evidence and results to potentially cite and see for their future. When you have a documented piece of evidence other people can look back and see the results to pertain them to the future.

My Field of Study

My Field

Students in the Veterinary Science field can learn how to do a multitude of things involving chemistry, parasitology, entomology, and many other things. The students learn dissections, the inner workings of various animals, and how to cure and treat animals who are sick and need help.  

The main thing that most people think of is to become a veterinarian, which is what I am most interested in. There are other jobs including a traveling vet in third world countries, a vet at a zoo, or

"Veterinary Physician" 31 July 2006 via
Wikimedia Commons

other types of fields as well. 

I have always been a lover of animals since I was a child and since coming to the U of A, my interest in science has sparked as well. And what better way then to put those two loves together into a veterinary science field?

The Leaders in Vet Sci.

Chris Adolph is one of the coolest people in the veterinary field right now due to his leads in parasites in animals, helping countless animals with unheard of parasites. 

Robin Downing seems to be a very important woman in today's veterinary world as she brings about new ways to make animals feel less pain than needed to when they are sick or dying.

Finally, Jessica Rychel is an important woman in this field because she helps animals who have lost control of their moving parts.

Acedemic Journals

There are multiple academic journals in the veterinary science field that are very important. The best one for animal behavior science is called Applied animal behaviour science. For public health for animals, the best journal is called Preventative Veterinary Medicine. Finally, for genetics, the best academic journal for genetics is called Animal Genetics.

My Interviewees as Professional Writers

After having interviewed some of the most interesting people I've ever met, it is now important to delve into their research articles and other publications to truly understand their unique style.

Benjamin Renquist

Benjamin Renquist writes mostly published research articles focusing on single dose injectable sterilant, the effect of stress on an animal's diet, and over nutrition in various online journals as well as more specific pieces that, to be honest, are quite difficult to understand for a reader in my position. 

Here and Here are two different articles that showcase these qualities that he tends to stick to. Both publications are research articles published online through a specific online publication source. The conventions are very similar to each other, because in general research papers have a very specific format. This includes highly evolved vocabulary, more 3rd person work, and very detailed sentences as well as the references used.

The first article speaks about the effects of age on cows who have had multiple calves. This was written in July of 2006 and focuses on British cows, "collected for 5 consecutive years on 454 fall-calving multiparous British crossbred cattle". The overall message was to show the results from their experiments over the years in one article, to inform. The purpose was to explain the "effects of age on calving interval, birth weight, and weaning weight that are independent of BCS". This was the last sentence of the introductory paragraph, showing what the paper overall was talking about.

The second article speaks about the importance of zebrafish for determining a single dose injectable sterilant and how they can help determine the results needed for the purpose. This was written in January of 2016, showing how he still does many research publications. He wrote this with Savannah

Murakami, Tohru. "Zebrafish" April 18, 2014 via Flickr

Y Williams and has an affiliation with the University of Arizona. The overall message was to show the results from the experiment done with the Zebrafish. The overall purpose was to "create the potential to rapidly screen pharmacological or genetic manipulations that directly alter energy expenditure or alter the response to an applied drug", showing this though the experiment.

S. Patricia Stock

S. Patricia Stock has a more diverse grouping of published pieces because she's writing a book and journal herself as well as doing other published articles. She focuses mostly on her specific field of entomology which is the study of insects because that is what she is most interested in. 

The first publication is from a book that she wrote called the Techniques in Insect Pathology. The information in the book is very highly elevated and was difficult to understand in my current knowledge. It was written in 1997 by Patricia and a man named Harry Kaya nd cited over 800 times by different people. The overall message was to inform people on the different ways to analyze insects for forensic purposes. The purpose of the book was to inform and show people her techniques.

The second publication  is a published article that can be seen at the University of Arizona library. Using some of the keywords in the article, it is about biodiversity, systematics, and evolution. It was written by Patricia and others as well. The purpose is to inform people about the Nematodes she was working with and the overall message was to create a pice of work for other scientists hoping to use the information for their own work

My Interviewees on Social Media

Now that we've learned a little more about these two people, lets see what their social footprint has to say about them. They both spoke about the importance of social media in their fields, so this post is exploring how much of an impact do they have on social media.

Benjamin Renquist:

I can proudly say that I hardcore 'stalked' Benjamin on Facebook and found out that a couple of years ago he was selling his house in Nashville, has an adorable wife, and wears really short shorts when he goes running. He is also on Linked In as a more professional way of presenting himself, listing his experiences and past jobs and such. On Facebook he is more open about his personal life verses his more serious side on Linked In which can be expected from the premise of these two places for social media.

In the academic journals, he has a much much more elevated vocabulary and has a different tone than in his social media accounts. He often speaks more about himself on social media rather than the articles, where he speaks about the actual research.

For example, On Facebook he says this:

"OK, going to use a status update to pimp my house" 

And on one of his journal articles he is more formal:

"Pregnancy rate, calving interval, birth weight, weaning weight, and quarterly BCS were collected for 5 consecutive years"

S. Patricia Stock:

Patricia was also an easy person to 'stalk' on Facebook as well as Linked in, however, there was limited access to most of the social media accounts and she didn't delve into twitter or tumblr. In her Facebook posts she posts heavily in Spanish as she is from Argentina. On Facebook she is more calm and laid back verses her more formal research articles. 

I would describe her social media presence as limited, but after talking to her more about social media, she is very open and hopes to delve into it more and more as she continues her research.

Again, she is very different on social media than in her Journal articles, focusing more on the topic than on herself.

For example, her more serious tone in her articles:

"Nematodes are non-segmented animals with excre-tory, nervous, digestive, reproductive 

and muscular systems but lacking circulatory and respiratory systems"

"Facebook Logo". 23 July 2015 via Wikimedia Commons.
Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic.

My Interview Subjects

Now that I've finished Project 1 we are moving straight forward to Project 2 - a tale of genres galore and the people who write them in my specific field, analyzing their rhetorical situation. 

The first person I interviewed on February 22 was Benjamin Renquist.

"Benjamin Renquist" 2016 via acbs website.

He is seen as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences who is a published researcher and professor, focusing on Animal Nutrition among other things in his research.

Benjamin got his B.S. in Animal Science from Colorado State University, his M.S. in animal science from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. 

Professionally, he has worked in the field since 2007 after he got his Ph.D., publishing, researching, and teaching.

Location Time and Place: In front of CC's Coffeehouse at 4:15 on February 22, 2016.

List of Questions for Benjamin:

1. How has your writing style changed from your time at University of California, Davis to the present day time?

2. Do you present your information differently with your scientific audience verses your students that you teach in ANS 334? How?

3. What do you enjoy most about writing about your specific interests of undernutrition and stress in an animal's diet?

4. After you completed an interacted QRG, is there other types of media that you want to try out in the future?
5. Why did you decide to pinpoint and narrow your research to the psychological control of feed intake during stress?
6. What did being a Postdoctoral fellow at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center entail and what did you learn in that?
7. How did you go about writing your research paper on the "Effects of age on body condition and production parameters of multiparous beef cows"?
8. What is your favorite thing about teaching for college students?

The second person I interviewed was S. Patricia Stock on February 23.

"S. Patricia Stock" 2016 via Dept
of Entomology website.

She is in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona and is also a heavy researcher and professor with numerous publications, speaking about insect pathogens as model systems.

Professor Stock got her B.S. in Zoology at the University of La Planta, Argentina and her Ph.D. in Natural Sciences with a focus on Parasitology at the National University of La Planta, Argentina.

Professionally, she has worked in her specific field with countless publications since 1992.

Location Time and Place: In her office at the Marley building at 12:30 on February 23, 2016.

List of Questions for S. Patricia:

1. After looking at some of your research, it looks like you do a lot of published articles such as your Bacterial strain diversity. Do you use other types of media to explain your research?
2. Do you present your information differently with your scientific audience verses your students in your Honors Freshman Colloquium? How?
3. How has your writing process changed from your time at the University of La Planta, Argentina to now?
4. How was your work in Argentina differ from your work in the United States?
5. Did your research bring you to the United States?
6. What made you want to go into entomology and working with insects rather than animals?
7. In the past five years, you have published around 30 research publications, do you plan to publish more and would they be on the same topic?
8. What made you become interested in Parasitology?