linguistics beyond academia

“What do you do with Linguistics?”

“What can you do with a degree in Linguistics?”

Linguistics Beyond Academia

“What I do with my degree in Linguistics?”

Dr. Anna Marie Trester@careerlinguist

Friday, March 4, 16

“What can you do with a degree in

linguistics?”

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Linguist Salon (for professionals)

Friday, March 4, 16

Career Mixer (for students)

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

The “ask”

Career center ProfessionalsProfessors

Alum

BRIGHTEN

Business, Research, “Industry,” Government, Healthcare Communications,

Teaching, Education, and Non-Profits

Friday, March 4, 16

“What do I do with my degree in

linguistics?”

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

The FrameWorks InstituteADVOCACY DIGITAL MEDIA/PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATION

POLITICAL SCIENCE LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS SOCIOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY

Friday, March 4, 16

Examples of Our Work

• Harvard University Center on the Developing Child – how to translate science of early childhood brain and biological development

• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation – how to change the public conversation about immigration reform

• National Academy of Sciences– how to reframe social science to encourage public understanding and support

• National Science Foundation – how to help people understand climate change, ocean acidification; training zoo and aquarium interpreters to engage ordinary citizens

• The Noyce Foundation – how to change the public conversation in the US around STEM learning

Friday, March 4, 16

Our research process

Early Childhood Development (ECD) PovertySocial Determinants of Child Abuse and Neglect Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice and Gender (Women’s Involvement in the Criminal Justice System)

Projects in the UK

Friday, March 4, 16

EXPERTS PUBLIC

What this is aboutWhy it mattersHow it works

What can be doneWho is responsible

What this is aboutWhy it mattersHow it works

What can be doneWho is responsible

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

There is a problem

Friday, March 4, 16

Scien&st)) General))Public)PublicExpert

You Say...They Think

Friday, March 4, 16

Persistant stress can lead to mental health problems in children and have long term e f f e c t s o n d e v e l o p m e n t a l outcomes.


You Say...They Think

Friday, March 4, 16


You Say...They ThinkStrategic Framing:

1. Why does this happen? 2. How can we reduce this lost-in-translation effect?

Friday, March 4, 16

Reframing stress

Friday, March 4, 16

Reframing stress

Before exposure to the idea of a taxonomy of

stress

Friday, March 4, 16

Reframing stress

Before exposure to the idea of a taxonomy of

stress

After exposure to the idea that stress can be positive,

tolerable, or toxic

Friday, March 4, 16

changes in discourse

changes in thinking

changes in policies and outcomes

Reframing stress

Friday, March 4, 16

CALIFORNIA SENATE PASSES RESOLUTION ASKING GOV TO LOOK AT INTERVENTION POLICIES TO ALLEVIATE “TOXIC STRESS” IN CHILDREN

Friday, March 4, 16

case study:Reframing

Immigration reform in the US

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Media ContentAnalysis

Friday, March 4, 16

Field Frame Analysis

Media ContentAnalysis

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

The Communications Task

Friday, March 4, 16

A field that “doesn’t use metaphors”

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Expert Interviews

Friday, March 4, 16

Expert Interviews

Cultural Models Interviews

Friday, March 4, 16

Untranslated Expert Story of Immigration and Immigration Reform

Why is immigration important? • Immigration, whether through legal or illegal avenues, is

inevitable. • Immigration drives long-term economic growth. • Immigration makes societies more diverse, which benefits social,

cultural and civic life.

• The basic function of the immigration system is to decide how many people from which groups to let into the country.

• The immigration system controls the legal avenues by which people can enter. These include family-based visas, employment-based visas, asylum/refugee protection and diversity visas.

• While illegal immigration can happen through unauthorized entry, it is frequently the result of people overstaying their visas.

How should the system be reformed?

What does the United States’ immigration system do and how does immigration happen?

What are the challenges facing the immigration system?

• Many immigrants currently in the U.S. lack legal authorization. • The employment-based visa system is overly rigid, and poorly

aligned with our economic needs. • The family reunification system is backlogged and does not fully

reflect changing definitions of family. • Enforcement policies are costly and ineffective. • Immigrant rights are inadequately protected. • Immigrants are more diverse and more dispersed than in the past.

• Provide a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. • Reform the visa system to better meet economic demands and

changing definitions of family. • Dial back border enforcement, and refocus resources on employer-

based immigration laws. • Reform the detention system to better protect immigrant rights.

Friday, March 4, 16

What’s in the swamp of...

Immigration

Friday, March 4, 16


ImmigrationSecurity and ControlImmigration Nostalgia

Illegal Mexican/Highly-Skilled Asian

Law Breakers“Them”

Takers

Friday, March 4, 16


Immigration

Job CompetitionDrain on the System

Zero SumSecure the BorderPunitive

Set an Example--Rational Actor

Security and ControlImmigration Nostalgia



Takers

Friday, March 4, 16


Immigration


Zero Sum

Nation of Immigrants

“Us”

Celebrate Diversity

Humanist--People are People

Secure the BorderPunitive





Takers

Friday, March 4, 16


Immigration


Zero Sum

Economic FitPragmatism

Make it Work


“Us”

Celebrate Diversity







Takers

Friday, March 4, 16


ImmigrationBlack Box


Zero Sum

Economic FitPragmatism

Make it Work


“Us”

Celebrate Diversity







Takers

Friday, March 4, 16


ImmigrationBlack Box


Zero Sum

Money TalksPolitics as Usual

FatalismImmigration Surge

System Too Big and Screwed Up Economic FitPragmatism

Make it Work


“Us”

Celebrate Diversity







Takers

Friday, March 4, 16

Expert Story Public StoryMapping the Gaps

Friday, March 4, 16

The Economy

Population

Roles of Immigrants

“Types” of Immigrants

Southern Border

How the System Works

Who are Immigrants

Low Density

Assets/Contributors

Many

A (Small) Part of the Issue

Entry Criteria/Enforcement

Us

Two

Overcrowded

Threats/Takers

THE Issue

????

Fundamentally Them

Sources of Illegal ImmigrationOverstaying Visas Border Jumping

Purpose of the SystemImprove Functioning of Society and Qual. of Life

Security and Pop. Control

Dynamic/Expandable Finite/Static

SolutionReform System—>More Flexible and Functional Keep ‘em Out/Nothing

Friday, March 4, 16

On-the-streets Interviews

Usability Trials Persistence

Trials

-4-202468

Quantitative Experiments

Friday, March 4, 16

Effective Explanatory

Metaphor

Candidate Metaphors

On the StreetInterviewsN~30-40

Experimental Survey

N~2000-8000

Persistence Trials

N~30-40

Usability Match Trials

N~25

Friday, March 4, 16

Why Testing Metaphors Is So Important

Friday, March 4, 16

On the Street Interviews

Friday, March 4, 16

On the Street Interviews

Redirects:

Our Broken Immigration System

Coming Out of the Shadows

Immigrants as Them

Black Box Thinking

Fatalism

Recommended instead of...

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Persistence Trials

Friday, March 4, 16

•Sticky•Activates “US” Models•Goal=Collective Benefits; Progress of Country•Positions Immigrants as Contributors•Problem and Solution = Systemic •Economy/Resources as Finite--> Expandable

Persistence Trials

Friday, March 4, 16

Usability Tests

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Telling a Complete Story: Shared Prosperity Narrative

Friday, March 4, 16

What is this about?We value shared prosperity. To maintain and expand prosperity, it requires improvements to the way people become part of our country.

Friday, March 4, 16


“We need to treat everyone with the compassion they deserve as human beings. No matter where we were born, we are all people and are all entitled to the same basic respect.” “We need a common-sense, practical approach. Solutions should come from carefully considering all possible ideas, and then moving forward with the ones that have the best chance of improving our country.”

Why does this matter?

Friday, March 4, 16

How does this issue work? What keeps it from working?Immigration is like the wind in the sails of our country. It adds power to our economy through labor, skills, and ideas. Right now our sails are positioned poorly - we need to adjust them to gather more wind in our sails.




Friday, March 4, 16



How, exactly, would immigration reform enhance our prosperity? There are several ways that improving our immigration system would move our economy forward. For example...[expanded tax base/new talent in key industries/greater stability leading to greater consumer confidence.]



Friday, March 4, 16



How, exactly, would immigration reform enhance our prosperity? There are several ways that improving our immigration system would move our economy forward. For example...[expanded tax base/new talent in key industries/greater stability leading to greater consumer confidence.]

What can we do about it?We need better policies to ensure that the US economy has full sails. One thing we could do is...[provide a practical way for people living here without documentation to become citizens/rethink our policies for admitting new immigrants to add the skills and energy we need to thrive.]



Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

PUSH BACKDESCRIPTION

We need to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. There are currently 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. People move to make life better for themselves and their families. We need an immigration system that recognizes the hardships and contributions of people moving here, keeps families together here in this country, and creates a rational process of citizenship for new Americans. That will do more for the United States than expensive and impractical approaches like trying to deport millions of people or trying to wall off a 2,000-mile border.

WHAT’S MISSING?

Friday, March 4, 16



WHAT’S MISSING?

• Jumps into argument without an explanation of why this matters.

Friday, March 4, 16



WHAT’S MISSING?


• Declarative statements are not explicitly connected to each other.

Friday, March 4, 16



WHAT’S MISSING?



• The benefit of the proposed solution is buried.

Friday, March 4, 16



WHAT’S MISSING?



• The benefit of the proposed solution is buried.

• Too much real estate is used to describe undesirable solutions.

Friday, March 4, 16



Friday, March 4, 16

PUSH BACK REFRAMED WITH EXPLANATION

Immigration has always been vital to our nation’s economic strength and social diversity. Many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States have been here for years, contributing to our workforce and communities. Removing them now would be impractical, costly, and harmful to the communities they call home. Instead, we need to reform our outdated immigration system to include a pathway to citizenship--one that recognizes the contributions of people moving here, keeps families together, and creates a rational process of citizenship. By modernizing our system, we can honor America’s pledge to treat all people with dignity and respect while at the same time ensuring our country’s continuing economic progress.

DESCRIPTION


Friday, March 4, 16

PUSH BACK REFRAMED WITH EXPLANATION

Immigration has always been vital to our nation’s economic strength and social diversity. Many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States have been here for years, contributing to our workforce and communities. Removing them now would be impractical, costly, and harmful to the communities they call home. Instead, we need to reform our outdated immigration system to include a pathway to citizenship--one that recognizes the contributions of people moving here, keeps families together, and creates a rational process of citizenship. By modernizing our system, we can honor America’s pledge to treat all people with dignity and respect while at the same time ensuring our country’s continuing economic progress.

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Three of my current projects at FW

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

“The coal burned to make electricity and the fuel burned by cars, buses and planes releases a huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. This CO2 creates a blanket around the earth. What do you think happens when the world is surrounded by a thick blanket? It becomes warmer!” Nice Weather We’re Having (2015)

From NASA to naptime, strategic framing is building public understanding of climate change

Friday, March 4, 16



Friday, March 4, 16

Across issue areas, organizations adopt the

reframed story

A multistep dissemination campaign moves the story into the public sphere

Friday, March 4, 16

As the field coheres around shared frames, this master narrative enters public discourse

Through:

Friday, March 4, 16


National Academy of Sciences, 2014.

• Research reports

Through:

Friday, March 4, 16



• Advocacy communications

Through:ACLU of California’s

outreach messaging

The Pretrial Justice Institute’s campaign to end cash bail

Friday, March 4, 16




Through:

• Coalition-based messagingSACRAMENTO, CA — The Senate today, May 28, 2014, advanced the California Fair Sentencing Act (SB 1010), authored by Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), demonstrating that the state is ready for a smarter approach. After decades of being stuck in the prison gear, California is ready to move toward approaches that are effective, cost-effective and fairer.

Friday, March 4, 16




Through:

• Coalition-based messaging

• Legislative testimony

Our legal system . . . effectively channels people of color, notably African Americans, into a maze of incarceration and punishment that diminishes the life chances of individuals and devastates communities. We at the Institute have been focused on these issues since our inception ten years ago . . .

Charles Hamilton Houston Institute on Race and Justice at Harvard University, Testimony for the Joint Committee on the Judiciary

On Solitary Confinement Reform, October 2015

Friday, March 4, 16




Through:



• Social media channels

National Research Council, 2015,

incarceration rates

One Small Thing, 2015, women in

the system

Friday, March 4, 16




Through:



• Social media channels

• News and opinion

“Mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses . . . and harsher sentences for juveniles created dead ends and false exits. . . . Even those who did manage to find a way out faced restrictions in housing, health care, employment and financial aid, limiting their chances to succeed on the outside, and pushing them back into the maze.”

This system is not only wasteful and deeply harmful, it is also woefully outdated. It is as if we have been riding on an old bike with balloon tires and one speed even though we have far more sophisticated vehicles at our disposal.

Friday, March 4, 16

“What does Linguistics do?”

Friday, March 4, 16

you in 15 seconds

What is linguistics? WHY does it matter?

WHO do you help to do what? and HOW?

A recent project you’ve worked on (and the implications of the work!)

A problem / issue that you see in the world that linguistics could help solve

Friday, March 4, 16

First whack: too long!!!

At the FrameWorks Institute, I help social change advocates understand why communication is not just pretty window dressing, but in fact fundamental to how they do what they do – that seemingly little linguistic choices can build understanding and instill a sense of efficacy with the public. One of my favorite recent projects is an ethnography with educators at the Baltimore Aquarium, who are finding innovative ways to use metaphors in teachable moments to engage systems-level thinking about feasible solutions to climate change.

(82 words)

Friday, March 4, 16

Ahh, that’s better!

I am an “interaction catalyst” I look for conversations which could be happening but aren’t (or aren’t proceeding as smoothly as they might). I then bring linguistic tools to identify the barriers and work to foster contexts that support and improve mutual understanding.

(42 words)

Friday, March 4, 16

you in 15 seconds

Now you try!!

What is linguistics? WHY does it matter?

WHO do you help to do what? and HOW?

A recent project you’ve worked on (and the implications of the work!)

A problem / issue that you see in the world that linguistics could help solve

Friday, March 4, 16

Thank you!!

[email protected]@careerlinguist

www.careerlinguist.com

Friday, March 4, 16

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.careerlinguist.com

http://www.careerlinguist.com

But Which Values Work? An Empirical Question

Friday, March 4, 16


8,004 on-lineparticipants

Sample

Friday, March 4, 16


Random assignment to

treatment group


Sample

Friday, March 4, 16



treatment group

Independent Variable:Values

1.Prosperity2.Pragmatism3.Opportunity for All4.Moral Argument5.Control


Sample

Friday, March 4, 16



treatment group




Sample Pragmatism Immigration has become an important topic in the U.S. To address this issue, we need a commonsense, practical approach. Solutions should come from carefully considering all possible ideas and then

moving forward with the ones that have the best chance of improving our country. Right now, it wouldn’t make sense to send all

the people that are in the country without documentation back to their country of origin — this would be impractical, and wouldn’t reform the situation. We need to focus on taking reasonable steps

toward solutions rather than adopting extreme and impractical measures that can never actually work.

Friday, March 4, 16



treatment group




Sample

Support for Immigration Reform Policies

DependentVariable:

Friday, March 4, 16



treatment group




Sample


DependentVariable:

Dependent Variable: Amnesty/Legalization/Pathways to Citizenship

•We need to provide a way for those who are already in the United States without documentation to legalize their status.

•Immigrants should not have to wait for the border to be secured before becoming United States citizens.

• We should increase funding to the immigration service so people who entered the country legally do not have to wait too long before becoming citizens.

•We should allow the children of parents who entered our country illegally to become citizens.

•Before becoming citizens, immigrants who have entered the country illegally should be forced to pay fines of at least $2,000 as well as the back taxes that they owe. (Reverse coded to account for question direction).

Friday, March 4, 16



treatment group




Sample


DependentVariable:

Diffs btwn treatment and control groups (controlling for demographic

variability)

Analysis

Friday, March 4, 16

0

1.75

3.5

5.25

7

Visa System Integration Path to Citizenship Economy Security

*** *

** *

** *

** *

***

***

**

Moral ArgumentProsperityPragmatism

Lead-Off Values on Immigration Policy Support

Outcome Scales

Perc

ent C

hang

e vs

Con

trol

Friday, March 4, 16

Explanatory Metaphors

Friday, March 4, 16


Brain DevelopmentFriday, March 4, 16


≈Brain Development Building/Architecture

Brain Architecture

Friday, March 4, 16

Changes in Communication

Friday, March 4, 16

Changes in Discourse

Friday, March 4, 16

2002 2011

Only 42% understood that infants can communicate before they learn to speak

Public unsure whether babies’ cries were ‘conscious manipulation’ or expressions

of genuine need

85% understood that for infants, cries and signals

indicate a genuine need for adult attention

96% understood that infants can communicate before

they learn to speak

Changes in Thinking

Friday, March 4, 16

Fairness Across Places in action

Friday, March 4, 16

Dr. Phillip Fisher at NBC’s Education Nation

Friday, March 4, 16

Friday, March 4, 16

Google Trends: Serve and Return

0"

25"

50"

75"

100"

2010'01" 2011'01" 2012'01" 2013'01"

Interest'over'*

me'

Date'

Friday, March 4, 16

Google Trends: Toxic Stress

Friday, March 4, 16

#ToxicStress

Friday, March 4, 16