#21214
Adaptive Technologies for the Visually Impaired: The Role of Technical Communicators 
This column examines emerging technologies of interest to technical communicators to help them identify those that are worthy of further investigation. It is intended neither as an endorsement of any technology or product, nor as a recommendation to purchase.
Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. Technical Communication Online (1998). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
#12966
Adaptive Technologies for the Visually Impaired: The Role of Technical Communicators
Try your ordinary web browsing and e-mail with an translucent piece of plastic draped over your monitor, with your monitor partially obstructed, or with your monitor turned off. With each of these changes, you’ll have a significantly different experience. For example, if you have plastic draped over your monitor, you’ll likely have a hard time reading words, interpreting graphics, or distinguishing colors. If your monitor is partially obstructed, you’ll likely have a difficult time navigating pages, reading columnar formats, or associating graphics with text. And, of course, if your monitor is off, you’ll have an entirely different set of challenges in accessing and using information. Each scenario offers a different view of the information onscreen, poses different challenges, and, most important, each is significantly different from unimpaired viewing.
Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. TECHWR-L (1998). Design>Accessibility
#24803
Choices, Challenges, and Constraints: Documentation and Newsletters Over the World Wide Web 
Providing timely information to diverse users on different platforms can challenge any document delivery system; however, the World Wide Web provides an effective solution for some applications. While the Web presents some extra problems and challenges that other media do not, the results justify the resources required. This paper describes and evaluates an implementation of Computing and Information Services documentation on the World Wide Web.
Ray, Eric J. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Online
#14146
Establishing and Building Mutual Respect with Technical Team Members 
As a technical writer, are you finding yourself wishing for just a bit of respect from the engineers, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), or other technical people you work with? Are you finding that these folks seem to stonewall you on every question you have or every goal you're trying to achieve? Are they obstreperous? Difficult? Or just plain unhelpful? When I hear technical writers complaining about--er, describing--such troubles when working in a team environment, my first reaction is to want to sit and observe how they actually interact with those seemingly impossible team members. In my experience, I've found that the problem isn't always with a surly SME or with an engineer who lacks communication skills. Certainly, there are cases where other team members just don't value any contribution other than their own; however, most often, I have found the problem is with the technical writer's approach to the team environment--and have found that the problem began from the very start of that writer's involvement with the team.
Ray, Eric J. TECHWR-L (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Workplace>SMEs
#12964
Good, Fast, Cheap: Translation Memory Systems Offer the Potential for All Three
For technical communicators exploring translation services, a relatively new technology can help provide consistency among translated documents, make the translation process more efficient, and make translation projects cost effective. Translation memory systems assist human translators by following along as a document is translated, creating a database of translated material and terminology, and allowing translators to access previously translated material easily. Using this technology, translators can translate, save, and reuse material, making the resulting translations highly consistent and the overall process more efficient and cost effective than working without this technology. In this exploratory article, we explain the evolution toward translation memory systems, discuss why and when they're particularly useful for helping translate technical documentation, and offer guidelines for determining whether translation memory systems are appropriate for your translation needs.
Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. TECHWR-L (1999). Articles>Language>Localization
#12954
Knowing When to Upgrade Software
Software upgrades generally do two things: Offer you new or improved features, and fix bugs present in existing versions. Whether you upgrade will depend on your need for the new or improved features, depend on whether you experience problems because of software bugs, and, of course, depend on your budget.
Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. TECHWR-L (2001). Articles>Software
#23544
Persuasion in Technical Communication: Analyzing Proposals Using Textual Hermeneutics
Textual hermeneutics -- more specifically, Ricoeurian textual interpretation -- can help us to develop more effective proposals. Its basic principles of explanation, understanding, and appropriation allow us to examine the underlying structure of the document, synthesize a holistic meaning, and find a personal meaning as a reader. By applying Ricoeurian textual interpretation to a historical technical proposal and then to a contemporary one, we can see how the structural patterns, the holistic meanings, and the personal meanings contribute to the persuasive success of proposals. This systematic analysis of a document can help us develop strategies for writing effective proposals.
Kim, H. Young, Eric J. Ray, Cathy A. Shuffield and Jing Xu. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Proposals
#14508
Persuasion In Technical Communication: Applying Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism provides technical communicators with a persuasive tool that facilitates effective communication. By treating meaning as a socially negotiated and negotiable product rather than apart of language, technical communicators can more easily persuade readers to follow instructions, to grant proposals, or to accept reports. By taking the sources of meaning away from objects and away from symbols per se, symbolic interaction empowers the technical communicator with the means to effectively communicate and persuade.
Ray, Eric J. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Rhetoric>Theory
#30284
Persuasion In Technical Communication: Not Necessarily Just Another Academic Exercise
Four graduate students' papers on communication theory can contribute to the field of technical communication, specifically in two ways: increase our understanding of message production and reception; provide a context in which to develop a theory of technical communication. Several human communication theories have practical and theoretical applications to technical communication. Applying these human communication theories can increase our understanding of how a message is produced and received. Understanding the message, its sender, and its receiver in technical communication can help us to become more effective technical communicators as well as researchers and teachers of technical communication.
Kim, H. Young, Eric J. Ray, Cathy A. Shuffield and Jing Xu. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Rhetoric
#24804
World Wide Web can often help both technical communicators and their audiences; however, this new vehicle for delivering information is not a panacea for all situations. This panel presents several different perspectives on providing documentation through the World Wide Web.
Ray, Eric J. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Online
#10304
TECHWR-L: A History and Case Study of a Profession-Specific Listserv List
Until Spring 1993, technical communicators had few Internet resources of their own. They could find common ground in forums oriented toward specific word processing programs and other tools of the trade, but they had no place to discuss profession-specific, rather than tool-specific, issues. TECHWR-L was founded that spring, and the growth, development, and response to the list has been remarkable. Most significant, however, is the effect that TECHWR-L has had on individual technical communicators worldwide. It demonstrates that the Internet can and should be used to provide more focused and comprehensive resources to technical communicators in the future. This case study outlines the growth and development of TECHWR-L, discusses some of the more controversial aspects of the list, and outlines how TECHWR-L or some other focused forum could prove an even more valuable resource for the profession.
Ray, Eric J. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Collaboration>Mailing Lists>Technical Writing
#12952
Understanding Graphic File Formats
Identifying and fixing problems with graphics often comes down to a brief reminder of what the various kinds of graphic formats are and how to use each of them when they're the most appropriate--not merely most convenient--for the situation.
Ray, Eric J. TECHWR-L (2000). Design>Graphic Design
#30289
Usable Online Documentation: A Look At Recent Research
Online documentation often seems to be a panacea for our difficulties in providing usable documentation. Scholars and practitioners alike provide a steady stream of new ways to apply, structure, categorize, choose, and develop online documentation. However, empirical evidence, either for or against many of these ideas, is still lacking, leaving us guessing about which concepts will truly help our users and which will be technical communication's Edsels. Recent studies show conflicting information about the key usability factors in online documentation, but do offer some hints of where to begin. This article will help technical communica- tors apply theory by summarizing recent empirical studies about online documentation usability.
Ray, Eric J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online>Usability
