Merja Koskela

Communication studies, Professor of Applied Linguistics

Teaching experience

I have been teaching communication studies courses at bacherlors', masters' and post-graduate level for about 20 years, (2000-2021), and supervising masters' theses  starting from the year 2000; about 10 theses each year. I also have experience of online-teaching since 1998.

Before that I was teaching Swedish as a second language and supervised masters' theses in Swedish.

My teaching topics  in communication studies include organizational and strategic communication, professional discourse, academic reading and writing, and research methods.

Research interests and expertise

Professional communication, expert communication, financial discourse, language for specific purposes, language use in organizations, bureaucratic language, text and discourse studies.

Projects

• DeCarbon Home, funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC) established within the Academy of Finland. 1.10.2020-30.9.2023
• RegeRa: Regeringar Rapporterar om statligt ägda bolag(2019–2020), Vaasa Aktia Foundation
• Årsberättelser för statligt ägda företag i Finland och Sveriges om unik genre (2018–2019), Vaasa Aktia Foundation
• Understanding blockchain: How business texts and economic journalism conceptualize cryptocurrencies and the technology behind them (2018–2020), OP Group Research Foundation project member and co-leader with Jukka Sihvonen, Aalto University and Tanja Sihvonen, University of Vaasa
• Practicing transparency – Communication and disclosure policy as a strategic tool in European public companies. Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion (2017)
• Through video to interaction – Webcasts in investor relations communication, Vaasa Aktia Foundation (2016-2017)
• Fluent Practices in Investor Communication, Vaasa Aktia Foundation (2015–2016)
• Complexity of Time in Work Communities, Foundation for Economic Education (2014)

Some key publications

Koskela, Merja & Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli (2020). Different paths from transparency to trust? A comparative analysis of Finnish and Italian listed companies' investor relations communication practices. Studies in Communication Sciences 20(1), 59–76.

Soronen, Anne, Liisa Kääntä & Merja Koskela (2020). Hyvä, paha deadline: Mediatyön intensiivisyys pelinkehittäjien ja toimittajien deadline-puheessa. Media & Viestintä 43(1), 47–78.

Sihvonen, Tanja, Merja Koskela & Harri Huusko (2020). Hyvä teknologia, pahat sovellukset? Lohkoketjun ja kryptovaluuttojen merkityksellistäminen journalismissa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 85(1), 17–30.

Enell-Nilsson, Mona & Merja Koskela (2019). Action for Transparency-Creation. Process Types and Participant Roles in IR Policies of Danish, Finnish and Italian Companies. VAKKI Publications 10. Vaasa, (81-94)

Koskela, Merja & Tanja Sihvonen (2018). #Hashtagin funktiot Twitterissä. In: Isotalus, P., J. Jussila & J. Matikainen (Eds.). Twitter viestintänä. Ilmiöt ja verkostot. Tampere: Vastapaino, 31–50.70

Jokipii, Annukka & Merja Koskela (2017). Accounting Terms as an Indication of Expertisein Financial PresentationsComparing Monologue with Dialogue. VAKKI Publications 8. Vaasa, 64–75.69

Koskela, Merja (2017). Disclosing principles of disclosure – Rhetorical moves for constructing transparency. International Journal of Business Communication. Special issue. The Pragmatics of Financial Communication. Part 1: From sources to the public sphere. Eds. R. Palmieri, D. Perrin & M. Whitehouse, 1–30.

Koskela, Merja, Kaisa Koskinen & Nina Pilke (2017). Bilingual formal meeting as a context of translatoriality. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies. Available: http://doi.org/10.1075/target.16017.kos- Online-First.

Koskela, Merja & Onerva Heino (2016). Raha puhuu englantia? Kielipolitiikka suomalaisten pörssiyhtiöiden sijoittajasivuilla. Teoksessa: Hirvonen, P., D. Rellstab & N. Siponkoski (toim.) 2016. VAKKI Publications 7. Vaasa, 251–262.

Koskela, Merja (2015).Tiedonantopolitiikkatekstien vaihtelevat tehtävät. Informointia, suostuttelua vai vakuuttamista? Vakki Publications 4, 137–146.Vaasa.

Koskela, Merja & Nina Pilke (2014/2016). From Slow Repetition to Awkward Omission: Economic, Efficient, and Precise Language Use in Bilingual Formal Meetings. Multilingua 35(3), 251–275. DOI: 10.1515/multi-2014-0075, October 2014.

Publications and expert tasks