Elitism in the Stories of U.S. Art Museums    

Institutions familiar to the public are defined by master narratives that describe their activities and imply who is invited to take part. For art museums in this country, a master narrative of elitism was established in the last century, when museums organized and began building their collections. Because art museums were designed by the rich and subsequently forced to depend on the rich for financial support, the stories of elitism and exclusion have been perpetuated over the years. Whereas little narratives, or local stories, defining the daily operations of museums do not receive attention, stories of exclusive social events and obscure art exhibitions take prominence and discourage the participation of the general public. With diminished funding for museums and fewer courses devoted to art appreciation in public schools, museums will likely be unable to attract wider audiences to support them, and the master narrative will continue to define museums' image.

David, Carol. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Information Design>Instructional Design

Multimedia Doesn't Mean Multimillionaire: Keeping Costs Down  

This workshop delves into the unconventional idea that multimedia doesn't have to cost a fortune to create or implement. Using a process-oriented focus, workshop leaders will address authoring tools and equipment choices, information organization and presentation, and screen design to illustrate the power of making cost-effective decisions throughout the multimedia development process. Our goal is to teach you how to make choices, ask the right questions, and be aware of the options that affect the bottom line cost of producing multimedia applications.

Bass, David, Caroline N. McLester and Carol Nix. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Multimedia

Mythmaking in Annual Reports    

Annual reports produced today increasingly include elaborate photographs and graphics in the narrative section. Financial analysts and many scholars have judged these reports on their clarity, accuracy, and honesty. Because the narrative invites interpretations, such criteria are not sufficient, and additional standards need to be constructed. A semiological analysis of the textual and visual elements allows for the discovery of the techniques used by document designers to promote their companies' values. Artistic images may encourage positive readings of annual reports, which, combined with similar messages in other media and repeated over time, invoke cultural myths. By definition, myths are broadly accepted commonplaces that conceal details of their subject, and communicators must expose the missing details and judge the myth within a specific context. This kind of analysis, acknowledging the constraints of the rhetorical situation of a single report, can identify effective criteria for judging the narrative's ethics.

David, Carol. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Business Communication>Reports

Towards an Emancipatory Pedagogy in Service Courses and User Departments      

Critical thinking has led teachers of service courses and their user departments into common pedagogies. Motivated by calls from industry for students with problem-solving abilities, both service courses and their user departments have incorporated higher-level thinking modes into their assignments. Applying the interpretive mode of rationality posited by Habermas, innovative teachers are changing their pedagogical methods from the simple transference of information from teacher to student to assignments requiring team projects where students grapple with parametric problem solving that demands interpreting complex data. Applying the emancipatory mode of rationality, some assignments involve outside clients and working with community-based social and political issues.

David, Carol and Donna Kienzler. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design