Communicating about Environmental Risk with Stakeholders  

To explore the barriers to successful communication about environmental risks, a research project addressed the following questions: what do people understand about the terminology and the graphics used in risk messages? what sorts of communication modes and timing do people prefer? Surveys and focus groups were conducted in two towns to explore the level and types of risk (e.g leaking gas tanks) with which people are uncomfortable. The findings extend the discoveries of other environmental communication researchers: People are confused by regulatory language, they do not trust the government, and they want 'true stories,' credible witnesses, and face-to-face interaction with other stakeholders.

Hart, Hillary. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Risk Communication>Environmental>Civic

Defining a TC Body of Knowledge  

The Body of Knowledge effort is currently being led by a team of experienced industry and academic STC members. This spring, you will be invited to look at the initial outline of a hierarchy of domains, skills, and knowledge levels. This BoK is yours to develop; the start-up team is simply trying to put together a straw site to start the collaborative effort.

Hart, Hillary. STC Consulting SIG (2008). Articles>TC>Information Design

Defining a TC Body of Knowledge

First of all, a profession cannot be recognized as a profession until it is defined as such. Engineers, for instance, have a body of knowledge they must master before they can practice as engineers, whether structural, electrical, or mechanical. Although technical communicators may not yet want such a highly codified and subdivided set of skills and practices, we do need an authoritative place to find answers to that eternal question: "What do technical communicators do, anyway?"

Hart, Hillary. Between the Lines (2008). Articles>TC>Knowledge Management>Body of Knowledge

Engineering Communicator's Manual

This manual is intended to be used by any engineering student (undergraduate or graduate) who has to complete writing assignments or oral presentations for any course. You will find information on general principles of grammar and style, as well as specific examples of technical writing and presenting. If your communication assignment is for an engineering class, you will want to pay particular attention to the sample documents.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas. Reference>Style Guides>Engineering

Is Risk Communication Nothing but Green-Washing?  

Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA), a process for cleaning up contaminated sites, is not widely understood. To better communicate with the public about RBCA, a research team sought to measure people’s comfort with the role of risk in decision-making by administering a risk-response survey to inhabitants of two US towns. The survey’s most unusual finding was that people seem more comfortable with environmental risks than with other kinds. Because the survey’s wording probably affected the outcome, the finding raises issues about the responsibility of technical communicators in developing the tools and language of responsible environmental communication.

Hart, Hillary. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Risk Communication>Environmental

The Technical Communication Knowledge Portal

The STC web-based knowledge portal will make accessible both broad and deep information about the practice of technical communication. It is intended to be the first step in defining a body of knowledge (BOK) for technical communication. The draft site map displayed at the 2008 Summit as “the wall” is a way of organizing the domains of knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary for the practice. The final version of the map will be the initial framework for the knowledge portal.

Dayton, David, Hillary Hart, Michael A. Hughes and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (2008). Presentations>TC>Professionalism>Body of Knowledge

Technical Writing Guide  

This set of guidelines was developed to help you understand the expectations for technical communication in CE 314K (Properties and Behavior of Engineering Materials). Successful technical communication requires practice. Therefore, you should allot sufficient time to write several drafts of each assignment before submitting the final version.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas (2007). Reference>Style Guides>Writing>Technical Writing

Writing as a Materials Engineer  

How to get lab discoveries and results into a written document.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas (2008). Presentations>Writing>Technical Writing>Engineering

CE 333T: Engineering Communication

The principle objective of this course is to prepare you for all the communication activities you will engage in as a professional engineer, including various forms of writing, speaking, illustrating, collaborating, and presenting. Since an important part of engineering work is to disseminate the results of research and data collection, the course focuses on reports and presentations. But we also try to duplicate many of the conditions of the workplace, where you will often work with cross-functional teams on collaborative projects and where you will often be communicating to people who are NOT engineers.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas (2009). Academic>Courses>TC>Engineering

CE 389C: Advanced Engineering Communication

This course offers engineering graduate students the opportunity to accomplish the following: communicate effectively with a variety of audiences; communicate effectively in several media: written, oral, visual; manage the process of collecting, synthesizing, and presenting data and information; manage the process of writing and publishing scholarly work; produce a portion of their thesis or dissertation or a complete scholarly paper.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas (2007). Academic>Courses>TC>Engineering

A Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations in Science and Engineering  

This guide is intended to help you write the best thesis you can by anticipating and answering common questions about content, structure, format, figures, and language. We have also included some suggestions on how to manage the process of turning your research -- your testing and reading, your findings and conclusions -- into a clear, complete, well-written, and convincing thesis or dissertation.

Hart, Hillary. University of Texas (2005). Resources>Style Guides>Research>Engineering

Who Will Own Your Next Good Idea?  

According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, a trade group representing film studios, book publishers, and the like. Last year, the alliance says, copyrighted material contributed more than $400 billion to the national economy and was the country's singlemost important export. These figures may actually understate the value of copyright.

Hart, Hillary. Atlantic Monthly (1998). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Defining a Body of Knowledge

STC has meant a lot to my professional growth over the past 20+ years as a teacher and practitioner of technical communication, and I want to help STC expand its educational mission for all technical communicators. It is time our profession had a defined body of knowledge. Why?

Hart, Hillary. STC WDC Blog (2009). Articles>Certification>TC>Body of Knowledge