Material Processes in PBLs

The majority of keywords under consideration in both stages are related to material processes, but becoming more precise and specific in use in PBL2s.

These material process verbs are used to indicate causal relationships, for example with natural processes showing how elements of the genetic system interact and how patients are affected by diseases, for describing technical procedures, and with a small sub-group that are related to study.

In PBL1s we see examples of material process types used when speculating and asking questions about what or how something is inherited; who, or how

someone, is affected; or what causes a condition. Identifying specific causes is unsurprisingly less common at this exploratory stage. The actor is frequently implicit but may be animate, e.g., the generic patient who inherits, with an inanimate goal in the subject position (disease and mutation), as in Examples 1 and 2.

(1) S5: no but you mean that, they can how they those diseases are inherited (PBL11.1)

(2) S5: and why is going to talk about you can say about the you know the mutation and maybe is it inherited (PBL11.1)

In the examples of affected, the goal is almost always human (baby, foetus, people), with the actor implicit (e.g., affected by the disease in Example 3).

(3) S16: genetic counselling like genetic counselling so if the baby's affected then what would you do? (PBL9.1)

Although causes is much more common as a noun, when it is used as a verb in PBL1s, it is used in six out of seven cases in a question, as in Example 4.

(4) S27: just, explain what’s cancer what causes it what (PBL11.1)

In PBL1s, all examples of inherited and affected are passive and all examples of causes are active.

In PBL2s, having carried out their research and now ready to provide a more informed report, students are more specific about causes and who or what is affected. While both active and passive constructions are used, passives are more common for these verbs. In Example (5) below, the student is responding to a question about nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate.

(5) S20: it's not caused by a mutation it's caused by variation and both environmental and genetic factors. (PBL12.2)

Affect is also used to talk about links between inanimate agents, for example drugs and mutations, and processes (as opposed to people) in the genetic system:

(6) S19: then you have in class three the mutations affect the chloride channel regulations and gating (PBL10.2)

(7) S15: another hypothesis is that, these drugs affect folic metabolism (PBL 9.2)

In contrast and similar to PBL1s, affected is most commonly used to talk about people, rather than a part of the anatomy:

(8) S12: the diagnosis confirmed and J is affected with Van der Woude syndrome (PBL12.2)

These process verbs are used when students are making use of their independent research to make conclusions about conditions. The participants are more

precisely defined here and identify specific factors and people involved.

Material process types related to procedures are evident in both stages. Not surprisingly, the larger PBL2 corpus with a greater focus on informational

content also provides a wider variety of keywords. This focus on procedures also reflects the purpose of the report stage, which is not only to identify the genetic causes of conditions but also to establish the protocols medical geneticists

should employ, from testing procedures to diagnosing conditions through to counselling of patients who may be affected. This focus on “practical ends” and

“techniques” is common in applied fields (Becher, 1989, p. 15).

Along with the applied practical nature of this field, we find the role of the geneticist evident either explicitly in active constructions (9, 10, and the second instance in 11) or implicitly (12). By using a generic personal pronoun, this appears to allow the students to align their identity with their (future) professional work.

(9) S27: the mutation because we cannot test if we do not know the types of mutation (PBL11.1)

(10) S27: fertilisation, no implantation nothing. whereas when we terminate a pregnancy there is a foetus that has already begun (PBL12.2)

(11) S14: our test could detect ninety percent of affected cases. that's sensitivity of the test. and we could detect ninety nine per cent of (PBL10.2)

(12) S32: but still not sure because the same mutations have also been identified in VWS (PBL 12.2)

We can add to the material process group examples where a dummy (delexicalized) verb is used and the nominalised (keyword) form can be

described as the range of a process. Here there is a close relationship between process and participant “where the verb is emptied of its content, and the meaning expressed though the nominal Range constituent” (Eggins, 2004, p.

219). In Examples 13, 14, 15, test, sequence and risk are all nominal range constituents of do (13, 14) and have (15). Interestingly, in the example with sequence it is used both in a nominalised and main verb form (this pattern of mixing is not uncommon in the keywords studied).

(13) S13: like if you're doing a screening test and you found that they had, they were positive for Spina Bifida (PBL9.1)

(14)S26: you'd then do a sequence of that gene you wouldn't sequence these two (PBL11.2)

(15) S15: so you're saying the, babies going to have a high risk of a lump?

(PBL9.1)

In addition to being range constituents, a significant number of these nominalised verb forms in the role of participant co-occur with other nominalised nouns (16) or other material process verbs (17).

(16) S23: but is it’s a positive result the first you got to, report as a high risk and give genetic counselling (PBL10.2)

(17) S12: Protein karyotype will detect large deletions and translocations (PBL12.2)

The related verbs can be subdivided into those related to the actions/changes occurring in natural processes and those bringing in the geneticist, focussing on research and procedures. For example, mutations can cause or affect (a

change/condition), but they can also be found and identified (in Examples 19 and 20 the passive form is used with an implicit agent).

(18) S2: this is the kind of hot spot, for mutations that cause severe FAP (PBL7.2)

(19) S32: because the same mutations have also been identified in VWS (PBL12.2)

(20) S23: if one mutation is found it will also be followed by the second IRT test (PBL10.2)

As a participant in the clause structure and in subject position, this makes the entities the main focus and as actors in the clause structure highlights their agency.

In both stages, but most notably in PBL1s, we find a group of material process keywords related to study. In PBL1s, the focus is on essentially sharing or exploring informational content and on establishing what they will need to do.

Examples of keywords include check and separate (a learning objective). Here the actors are the students themselves and again commonly used with personal pronouns (I and you) (21).

(21) S1: and then if you want like if you want to check the database, then then check it and then you know if we're interested i'll probably check it too (PBL12.1)

In PBL2s, overt reference to study is illustrated with found. In addition to being used as part of a procedure (e.g., as in found in the results of a test), it is also used to introduce research findings from research experiments (i.e. active scientific discovery and so described as a material process):

(22) S12: er it's been found that there's an increase er in the level of AFP in pregnancies with er open NTD (PBL 9.2)

These study related processes are all about specific actions. The other processes related to study were found in the mental process group.