#18898
Science, Intellectual Property, and the Web 
Many scientific journals have already moved to Web publication, but multiple concerns attend this conversion. In the past, publication in the sciences has assured that innovations and discoveries can be seen taking place along a continuum, each researcher building on the work of previous researchers. What effect does publishing on the Web and in other electronic forms have on this continuum? Three panelists – a technical-communications researcher, a scientific editor, and an engineering professor – address this question by considering the technological and other protections available to researchers. Scientific journals must also plan carefully for Web publication by allocating funds for protection and proper archiving.
Armbruster, David L., Hillary Hart and John A. Pearce. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Scientific Communication>Intellectual Property
#22411
Scientific Collaboratories: Evaluating their Potential
The evaluation of scientific collaboratories has lagged behind their development. So few evaluations of scientific collaboratories exist that fundamental questions regarding their potential have yet to be answered: Can distributed scientific research produce high quality results? Do the capabilities afforded by collaboratories outweigh their disadvantages from scientists' perspectives? How does the scientific process change in the context of a collaboratory?
Sonnenwald, Diane H., Mary C. Whitton and Kelly L. Maglaughlin. ASIST (2002). Articles>Collaboration>Scientific Communication
#24418
Scientific Communication PIC Business Meeting
If you are interested in scientific communication in any way, come meet others who write about science and help develop a strategic plan for the Scientific Communication Professional Interest Committee.
Zoll, Mary. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Scientific Communication
#30568
Scientific Communications: Do We Have A Critical Mass?
If you are interested in scientific communications in any way, come meet others who write about science, discuss forming a Professional Interest Committee in Scientific Communications, contribute to a wish list, brainstorm options, accept part of the challenge, lend your support, or watch the process.
Zoll, Mary. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Scientific Communication
#24637
Scientific Documentation: Learning from Journal Articles
Suggests that writers of technical manuals could learn a thing or two about usability from the consistent form of scientific journal articles.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Document Design>Scientific Communication
#24317
Illustrations for scientific material must convey information quickly, clearly, and succinctly. They must be technically accurate as well as aesthetically pleasing. We discuss the differences between illustrations for scientific and nonscientific material and show examples of good and poor scientific illustrations.
Burgan, Murrie W. and A. Peck. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technical Illustration
#29100
Scientific Jargon, Good and Bad 
Scientific and technical jargon--specialized vocabulary, usually Latinate--plays a vital role in scientific and technical communication. But its proper use continues to be a point of discussion because of our concern with audience adaptation, rhetorical exigence, rhetorical purpose, and ethics. We've focused on teaching students--and on convincing scientists, engineers, and other writers/speakers--to gear their specialized language to the recipients of their communication, to the occasion calling for their communication, to what they wish to accomplish through their communication, and to the ethical goals of safety, helpfulness, empowerment, and truth. These are exactly the sorts of things we should be doing. My contribution to this conversation is a reinforce ment and, I hope, an extension of the argument that we should also be teaching and convincing students and professionals: 1) to fully appreciate what makes jargon either good or bad; 2) to carefully distinguish jargon usage from other aspects of scientific and technical style; and 3) to recognize that in every context, even in communication among experts, jargon should be used judiciously--that is, in the most helpful, least taxing way. Jargon, i.e. scientific terminology, is essential for designating new entities for which the language has no name. It makes for economy and for the accuracy and precision required in scientific research [1, p. 319]. Does the excessive use of technical terms impede the advance of science? I think it does. It kills the grace and purity of the literature by means of which the discoveries of science are made known [2, p. 116]. What if it should turn out that we are all jargon makers and jargon users, and that jargon is necessarily involved in the growth and change of language? That we are consumers of jargon as we are eaters of sliced bread? [3, p. 3]. To attempt a definition of jargon threatens unusual dangers [4, p. 69]. The above epigraphs are glimpses into discussions about both the uses of jargon and its definitions. My article enters in on such discussions, offering a point of view about the definitions and about the proper uses of jargon.
Hirst, Russel. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Language>Scientific Communication
#24444
Explains how rhetoric is related to modes of inquiry and to the social community in classical rhetoric and in scientific rhetoric in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Zappen, James P. WAC Clearinghouse (1991). Articles>History>Scientific Communication
#10272
The Scientific Style Manual: A Reliable Guide to Practice?
Is the scientific style manual a reliable guide with regard to the organization and content of the typical scientific article? The answer is, yes and no. Style manuals do provide much sound advice based on their authors' personal experience. However, they also pass on some advice at odds with recently published literature regarding how scientists actually conduct research and write up their findings. This article presents a revised model for the scientific article, a model base don information in recently published research on communication in science.
Harmon, Joseph E. and Alan G. Gross. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Style Guides>Scientific Communication
#18897
Scientific Writing and Editing: Problems, Pitfalls, and Pratfalls
Clear and concise scientific communication is a goal to strive for at all times. To achieve this clear and concise prose, however, is not the responsibility of just the scientist-author or just the editor, but an integrated team of both. What happens, however, when this 'team' or 'partnership' does not work? This paper will explore different problems editors might face in a scientific workplace and how the problems can be either fixed altogether or at least alleviated.
Firestone, Elaine R. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Scientific Communication
#25994
Scientists Need Plain Language
Expresses concisely why scientists need to use plain language when they write for the public.
Lily. Plain Language Network (2000). Articles>Scientific Communication>Rhetoric>Minimalism
#31245
Secrets of Communicating with Four Generations
When you see a gray-haired, three-piece-suited executive talking to a twentysomething with multiple body piercings, it may seem that the generation gap in the workplace is bigger than ever. But people of all ages essentially want the same things—even if they look or behave differently. A recent study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership discovered that many of the assumptions made about each generation were exaggerated or untrue. Instead, the so-called generation gap is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Deal, Jennifer J. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication
#29529
Seeing Cells: Teaching the Visual/Verbal Rhetoric of Biology
This pilot study obtained baseline information on verbal and visual rhetorics to teach microscopy techniques to college biology majors. We presented cell images to students in cell biology and biology writing classes and then asked them to identify textual, verbal, and visual cues that support microscopy learning. Survey responses suggest that these students recognized some of the rhetorical strategies used and conflated others, revealing intriguing questions for further research in undergraduate microscopy education.
Dinolfo, John, Barbara Heifferon and Lesly A. Temesvari. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical>Visual Rhetoric
#26462
On the morning of 29 August, Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with winds clocked at 140 miles (225 km) per hour and more than a foot (30 cm) of rain. Although the hurricane spared New Orleans, the major population center of the area, a direct blow, the storm surge caused several of the cityï¿s levees to fail, flooding 80% of the city with up to 20 feet (6 m) of water fouled by sewage, oil, and other pollutants. It will be many years before the coastal areas of southeast Asia and the U.S. Gulf Coast have rebuilt and recovered from this year's disasters. Likewise, it will take time for us to create better disaster plans and disseminate them to the public, and for the value of those plans to be perceived. Neither of these facts makes the rebuilding, recovery, and planning any less necessary. We must do all we can to ensure that they happen as quickly as possible. We should see clearly that we can't afford to do any less.
Hayhoe, George F. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>TC>Risk Communication>Southern US
#24666
From birth we learn what these sensory experiences mean and how society expects us to respond to them. This sensory language is highly contextual and inherently dynamic.
Satterfield, Debra. University of Alberta (2003). Articles>Communication
#25768
Seven Debilitating Diseases of Business Websites (and Their Cures)
If you're a site doctor like me, you see a lot of sick websites on the Net. Yes, they work, but even when sites are treated with massive doses of cold medicine, visitors quickly see symptoms that make them want to back away. Most of these problems are design flaws: not mediocre graphics, but basic flaws in the planning and execution of the site itself.
Wilson, Ralph F. Web Marketing Today (1998). Articles>Web Design>Business Communication
#31513
Seven Steps to Employee Portal Nirvana (Or at Least a Portal That Really Works)
Confusing. Frustrating. Underutilized. Time-consuming. If you are like most communicators, these are just some of the words that come to mind when thinking about your organization’s employee portal. Intranets and employee portals have long been plagued by numerous challenges, including limited funding, poor navigation, content overload and changing technology. Add in growing user expectations, disengaged executives and differing opinions about what portals are and how they deliver tangible value, and it’s no wonder they are such sore spots for communicators.
Rudnick, Michael. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Business Communication
#31219
We are living in a new media world where public conversations bring together people from all over the globe. Thanks to the Internet, individuals from every continent are able to create a buzz that can introduce new heroes or ruin an organization’s reputation in minutes.
Gallardo, Luis. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Online
#31327
The Shoestring Inferiority Complex: How Trying to Keep Up Can Get PR Pros Down
One Saturday afternoon not long ago, I found myself gawking out my front window as my neighbors carried in their new plasma TV. I felt that wistful pang of envy. Why can't I get a plasma TV? PR departments working on a shoestring budget are largely represented by the public and not-for-profit sector. For these organizations, the feeling of having to make do and having to do without is a fact of life.
Austin, Lisa. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Public Relations
#31328
Shoestring Public Relations 101: Ideas to Get Your Creativity Flowing
Whether you work for a nonprofit, a corporation or an agency, you've likely at some time been assigned to a PR project that has next to no budget. When this happens, you may feel you are up against the impossible, but don't despair. You can deliver a highly successful campaign on a shoestring—but it requires some creativity.
O'Brien, Cathy-Anne. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations
#30170
Short and Sweet: Better Cookie Cutter Proposal
Multiple proposal production has the goals of credibility, accuracy, consistency, and speed. Producing a large number of proposals is enabled by standard formats, a team approach led by technical communicators, standard processes, top management commitment, and process management.
Reilly, Annette D. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Business Communication
#31399
Should Businesses Embrace the Blogging Phenomenon?
When news reports announced that Apple Computer was suing unnamed individuals (presumed to be employees) who had allegedly leaked information about a prototype Apple product to several blog news sites, it raised a number of questions. What does the lawsuit mean for freedom of expression and the role of journalists who serve an information-hungry audience? How will the courts balance the fundamental right of freedom of expression against a company's claims that trade secrets have been violated on a blog?
Blackshaw, Pete. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Web Design>Business Communication>Blogging
#28842
Should Writers Be Held Accountable for Web Page Performance?
Ask print direct response copywriters if they are held accountable, and they'll say yes. That was my own life for 15 years. I wrote direct mail packages and was judged not on my past reputation, but on the performance of each piece I wrote, one mailing at a time.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Writing
#30705
Signaling Corporate Strategy in IPO Communication: A Study of Biotechnology IPOs on the NASDAQ
A clear corporate strategy communication can be a signal to financial analysts and public investors at the time of an initial public offering (IPO). This study examines IPO prospectuses of 57 biotechnology firms listed on the NASDAQ between 1997 and 2002. Using regression analysis, this article shows that the clarity, intensity, and consistency of the corporate strategy signal are not strong enough to affect the 1st-day initial returns. However, consistent communication of a prospector strategy negatively impacts 30-day initial returns, whereas consistent communication of a defender strategy positively impacts 30-day initial returns.
Gao, Hongzhi, Jenny Darroch, Damien Mather and Alan MacGregor. JBC (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#25996
Looks at a number of institutions that are finding ways to insert plain English into communication between scientists and the public, as well as among scientists of different disciplines.
Whiteman, Lily. Science (2000). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication>Minimalism
