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Other Current Research Intercultural Rhetoric and Written Discourse Conferences From July 26-30, 2004 ICIC held its first annual Contrastive and Intercultural Rhetoric Institute on the IUPUI campus to those interested in research on second language writing. The institute culminated in an international conference, Written Discourse and Contrastive Rhetoric Conference, on July 31, 2004, where institute participants presented their work through presentations and poster sessions. On July 22-23, 2005 ICIC held the second conference and the third conference took place at The Ohio State University on June 15-16, 2007. The fourth conference was held June 3-5, 2008 at IUPUI. Next year's conference will be hosted by the University of Michigan. 2005 Think Tank on Health Discourse Health Literacy/Medical Labeling Project In 2006, ICIC received grants from the International Development Fund and the IU European Center of Excellence to conduct interdisciplinary and intercultural research on patient health literacy and medical labels (PIs, PPIs, and PILs) from the U.S., United Kingdom, and Spain. In 2007, ICIC received a large three-year grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation to continue research on health literacy and medication adherence in diabetic patients. Goals of this project are 1. to develop and test a model that detects similarities and differences in the use of health literacy in relation to patient medication adherence across cultural boundaries and differing education levels; and 2. to develop guidelines to prepare better information about medication for patients among differing cultural groups and educational levels. See Publications for ICIC's publications and presentations related to health literacy. International Postdoctoral Training In 2002, Dr. Ulla Connor and Dr. Aymerou Mbaye of ICIC, in collaboration with Dr. Gene Halleck, Oklahoma State University, conducted research on the previously overlooked issues of the socialization and language needs of international postdoctoral researchers. The center's ability to articulate the needs of these learners combined with the its previous experience in tutoring international postdocs and international faculty, allowed ICIC to develop an outstanding pilot training program in 2005. Due to the success of the pilot program, the center offered this training again in 2006-2007 to postdocs, focusing on Oral Communication, Research Writing, Grant Proposal Writing, and Career Development. Center on Philanthropy Grant ICIC was awarded the IU Center on Philanthropy Grant in August, 2003. By drawing on its fundraising corpus and working with fundraising professionals, ICIC will develop ways to make the corpus data and the theory of fundraising discourse accessible and useful to fundraisers. On April 24-25, 2006, Drs. Ulla Connor and Beth Goering conducted a two-day workshop with the IU Center on Philanthropy to address the writing of successful direct-mail solicitation letters for fundraisers in non-profit organizations: building relationships with donors; planning letters in terms of readability and persuasive appeal; using visual elements strategically; and analyzing and revising letter drafts. Based on ICIC’s comprehensive research, they demonstrated strategies that work, using actual samples of fund raising letters. The interactive sessions—built on what common wisdom tells us, what writers actually do, and how potential readers actually respond—will guide writers through the initial thinking, planning, drafting, and revising of direct-mail letter for different audiences and for different types of non-profit organizations. Joan and Larry Cimino Award for Excellence in Intercultural Communication Each year ICIC awards up to $500 to the best paper and/or thesis on intercultural communication submitted by a student enrolled in a graduate course in a degree program in the IU School of Liberal Arts. The award is based on a belief that a disciplined approach to the study of intercultural communication can provide valuable insights toward achieving understanding among cultures. 2009 award submissions are due February 1. Applications at SLA Scholarship Opportunities site.
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