E-Mail Tutoring, A New Way To Do New Work  

Although writing centers have used computers for over a decade now, they have used them primarily in autotutorials (computer-assisted instruction) and word processing. These applications reflect the influence of the process movement in composition studies and the writing center's commitment to the individual writer. Yet as the field moves towards the social in its scholarship and its writing technologies, writing centers might look towards e-mail to seek out new forms of tutor-student collaboration. The essay describes an experiment with e-mail tutoring and explores implications of new working conditions for online tutors.

Coogan, David. Computers and Composition (1995). Articles>Collaboration>Writing

Public Rhetoric and Public Safety at the Chicago Transit Authority: Three Approaches to Accident Analysis    

This article compares three rhetorical approaches to accident analysis: materialist, classical,and constructivist. The focal points for comparison are the two accident reportsissued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—reports that attempted(and failed) to persuade the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to change a problematicpolicy about rail communication alongside its technology for rail communication. Thecentral question the article asks is, How can rhetorical theory help explain the CTA'sinaction, which ultimately led to property damage, injury, and death? Classical andconstructivist approaches, emphasizing rational deliberation between equals, on onehand, and the social construction of technical knowledge between professionals, on theother, offer plausible explanations for what went wrong. But only the materialistapproach appears capable of discerning the ideological nature of the CTA's resistance tothe NTSB's recommendations.

Coogan, David. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Risk Communication>Policies and Procedures>Government