Item Details

Corpus-based empirical approach to professionalism: Identifying interactional roles and dispositions in professional codes of ethics

Issue: Vol 14 No. 1 (2017)

Journal: Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice

Subject Areas: Writing and Composition Linguistics

DOI: 10.1558/jalpp.39771

Abstract:

Although research on professional competence has has adopted a number of approaches

that have highlighted the importance of practice and values in enacting a professional

identity, there is currently no established framework for empirical investigations. Based

on a discourse analytic framework, this paper demonstrates how ethical codes in a

number of consulting professions (law, accountancy and engineering/surveying) can

be analyzed empirically by focusing on the collocation patterns found in the genre.

The analysis will focus on how professionals are expected to behave in relation to two

identity components in their ideal conducts of behavior: identity roles (or identity

shifts) and identity virtues (positive attributes associated with a particular role). The

engineering profession is found to have a fairly even representation of most of the identity

roles identified: provider to client, unspecified/general, professional peer, employer

and professional association. The legal profession places greater emphasis on the roles of

provider to client and professional peer, whereas accountancy professionals tend to represent

their identity roles more generally, although the role of provider to client remains

an important category. With regard to identity virtues, i.e., the ideal dispositions or

values displayed, all three professions highlight the primacy of professional standards or

competence, with integrity and responsibility also emphasized by some.

Author: Kenneth Kong, Phoenix Lam, Winnie Cheng

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