Addressing and Communication
Proper forms of address
| I invite you to call me by first name (Unmil). Other appropriate forms of address include Prof(essor) Karadkar, Dr. Karadkar, Mr. Karadkar. Most other forms of address are incorrect: Several sources are available to help you figure out the appropriate forms of address. The Emily Post institute has information about addressing everyone including the President of the USA: http://emilypost.com/advice/official-forms-of-address/ (near the bottom of the page, university professors are mentioned) The Camridge dictionary has its own page: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/people-and-places/names-and-titles-addressing-people and, finally, a news article reporting on a research paper (see related assignment): http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/5351/what-do-you-call-your-boss Likewise, please let me know if you would like to be addressed differently than your official name included in Canvas. |
Personal Name and Pronoun Preference
Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.
Professional Communication
The purpose of professional communication is to convey information to the right people at the right time in the most efficient manner possible. With these concerns in mind, I require the following:
Email communication
| Subject line: Include unambiguous, relevant, descriptive, critical information in subject line. Course number, phrases such as "response requested", "response needed", "urgent" (if the matter is truly urgent) |
| Copy all relevant individuals: For team project progress, scheduling, or questions, copy all your teammates. For academic issues that involve the iSchool's graduate office, copy Ms. Carreon. In general, if you are referencing someone, quoting someone, it is likely that including them in them in the communication will help you. There are always exceptions: If you are bringing an issue about your project teammates to my attention, you probably don't want to include them. But unless you want to deliberately exclude relevant people, include them in the conversation. |
| ALL CAPS IS BAD: In email culture, caps indicates emphasis, admonishment, or yelling. No one likes to be yelled at. Save it for special times when you want to have special impact. If you have any doubts, check out this: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=all+caps+yelling&t=opera&iar=images&iax=1&ia=images Caps also makes text more difficult to read. |
