Communication in Technology Transfer and Diffusion: Defining the Field    

Provides an introduction to our field’s connections with technology transfer and diffusion. Technology transfer, the complex social process that moves technology from bench to market, drives global economic growth; technology diffusion, the market-driven process by which innovations are adopted and implemented, follows similar patterns. Indeed, technology transfer and diffusion may be considered synonymous with the phenomenon of growth in a global economy.

Coppola, Nancy W. Technical Communication Quarterly (2006). Articles>Communication>Technology>Technical Writing

A Consideration of the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident as Apologia

The Rogers report seems to be more than just a report to explain the Challenger accident and give suggestions to avoid a similar tragedy occurring in the future. In a sense, it appears to be a type of apologia. On January 28, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger, mission 51-L, launched from Florida's Kennedy Air force Base at 11:38 a.m. Eastern Stand ard Time. As the country watched in disbelief, the shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds later in an explosion of hydrogen and oxygen. All seven crew members died. On February 3, President Reagan issued an executive order to set up a commission to investigate the challenger accident. The commission was sworn in on February 6, and presented its report to the president on June 6 of the same year. This report, commonly known as the Rogers Report, after its chairman William R. Roger, had a dual mandate from the president. First to look at the probable causes of the accident, and second, to develop recommendations for corrective action. This was done through a comprehensive investigation involving all of the following: interviews with more than 160 people, more than 35 formal panel investigations, examination of more than 6,300 documents (which included hundreds of photographs and more then 122,000 pages), the generation of almost 12,000 pages of transcript and another 2,800 pages of hearing transcripts.

Holombo, Chrystal. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>Technology>Risk Communication>Engineering

Making Meaning and Value for Edison’s Light and Power in the Human World: A Rhetorical Project  

Of all the early electrical inventors and manufacturers, Thomas Edison seemed particularly aware of the many meanings electrical light had to establish. It was attention to the successful representations of the light in many different communities and networks of communication, as much as his technical accomplishments, that led to Edison having a dominating role in the early electrical industry. He had to create valued stable meanings within each communication realm in each social network that would grant incandescent light and central power the necessary status to be accepted, supported, approved of, employed, or otherwise actively a part of each system brought together over communication.

Bazerman, Charles. Lore (2001). Articles>Communication>Technology

Managing Technology Transfer: Issues for Scientific Communicators  

Technology transfer is arguably one of the greatest communication opportunities of our day. In this panel presentation, we will define technology transfer terms and issues, identify technology transfer issues in private industry as well as in government R & D labs, and discus how today’s technical communicators can play a key role in technology transfer.

Cuba, Laurence L., Rich McGillick, Suzanne S. Roberts, Donna G. Roper and David Schuelke. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technology>Technology Transfer

Nanotechnology: Implications for Transforming Communication

The implications for transforming communication due to the development of nanotechnology is summarized.

Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2004). Articles>Communication>Technology

Science and Fiction

The purpose of this article is to clarify some common misperceptions as to what science is, what science does, how science relates to technology, and how the activities of science and technology differ from the areas of informed and uninformed speculation, and how the three areas complement each other.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1989). Articles>Technology>Scientific Communication

Technology Corner: Simple, Fun Tech Tools for Communicators

It seems almost daily, as we search the Net; we come across clever new tools, useful resources and information. As a part of the open information and collaboration network, known as the Internet, here are a few fun, simple technology tools/utilities, that you might want incorporate into your communication efforts.

Heineman, John. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Communication>Technology

Technology Transfer: Science and Industry Working Together  

Science and technology are intimately related. The technology sector that drives the modern economy would never have arisen without basic scientific research, and that research is now being funded by companies seeking to gain a technological edge over their competitors. Despite this mutual dependence, technical communication has taken different paths in science and industry. Technology transfer, the communication of research results to an audience that can implement the results, bridges these two solitudes and strongly resembles much of the work done by other technical communicators.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Technology>Scientific Communication

Understanding Users' Commitment to Specific Technologies  

Users often become committed to certain versions and features of technology, making them leery when upgrades roll around. You can make the transition easier with these communication techniques.

Kalvar, Shannon T. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Technology>Communication>User Centered Design

Voluntary Adopters Versus Forced Adopters: Integrating the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model to Study Intra-Organizational Adoption    

This study extends diffusion research to the intra-organizational level and integrates the classic diffusion of innovation theory (DIT) with the relatively new technology acceptance model (TAM) to empirically explore Chinese journalists' adoption of the internet. It makes a theoretical contribution by proposing four adoption categories — voluntary adopters, forced adopters, resistant non-adopters, and dormant non-adopters — according to the voluntariness of organizational members' innovation decision-making. Based on data from a nationwide survey of 813 journalists in China, this study demonstrates that the DIT and TAM are respectively related to voluntary and forced adoption of the internet.Young, male journalists who perceive the internet positively (i.e., relative advantage and ease of use) and think it to be popular in society are most likely to be voluntary adopters. High-ranking journalists who believe the internet can enhance their job performance and who work in large and technologically sophisticated organizations are most likely to be forced adopters.

Zhou, Yuqiong. New Media and Society (2008). Articles>Technology>Organizational Communication>Usability

Discrete, Sequential, and Follow-Up Use of Information and Communication Technology by Experienced ICT Users    

Most prior media use research has assumed that people use information and communication technologies (ICTs) independently of other ICTs, that is, as discrete media. This study uses cross-organizational, in-depth interview data to uncover the important role that ICT sequences play in persuasion, information exchange, and documentation. The primary occasions for sequential ICT use were (a) preparing for meetings, (b) performing daily tasks, and (c) following up to persuade. When people need to follow up initial communication episodes, the overall groupings of ICTs represent two underlying attributes: degree of connection with others and extent of synchroneity. These findings support an expanded perspective on media richness theory and information theory by illustrating that ICT sequences can expand cues and channels and provide error-reducing redundancy for equivocal and uncertain tasks.

Stephens, Keri K., Jan Oddvar Sørnes, Ronald E. Rice, Larry D. Browning and Alf Steiner Sætre. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Communication>Technology

Does Technology Enable or Determine Communication?

Communication technologies, especially those that are participatory, clearly do both, determine and enable communication. They determine communication by function of display possibilities, editing capabilities, information-chunk size allowances, access affordances, cost implications, communicative capabilities (one-to-one, one-to-many, etc.). Clearly, however, these communication technologies enable communication that otherwise would not be possible.

Brown, Konstanze Alex. Konjektures (2009). Articles>Technology>Communication>Theory

Risk Communication and Public Perception of Technological Hazards (Part One)

Research on risk communication relates basic risk perception studies to the formulation of policies, the currently evolving legislation dealing with hazards, the key issues of public involvement, the risk and environmental management. Risk communication is a relatively new field based on a sociological approach. The discipline comes from risk perception studies (psychological approach), which try to investigate how the public is influenced by certain variables in perceiving risk as "acceptable" or not. Risk communication involves some aspects of risk analysis methodology, since it results that also the technical analysis is influenced by the co-operation between the actors involved.

Recchia, Virginia. Social Science Research Network (1999). Articles>Risk Communication>Technology

The Social Influences on Electronic Multitasking in Organizational Meetings    

Meetings serve an important function in organizational communication. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have infiltrated meetings and allowed a new range of communicative behaviors to emerge. This cross-organizational study relies on key elements in the social influence model to predict variables that influence engagement in electronic meeting multitasking behaviors. The observation of organizational norms and the perceptions of others' thoughts concerning the use of ICTs for multitasking during a meeting explain a considerable amount of variance in how individuals use ICTs to multitask electronically in meetings. Implications for workplace ICT use in meetings and contributions to the social influence model are also discussed.

Stephens, Keri K. and Jennifer Davis. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Collaboration>Organizational Communication>Technology

A Manifesto for Slow Communication

We need context in order to live, and if the environment of electronic communication has stopped providing it, we shouldn't search online for a solution but turn back to the real world and slow down. To do this, we need to uncouple our idea of progress from speed, separate the idea of speed from effi­ciency, pause and step back enough to realize that efficiency may be good for business and governments but does not always lead to mindfulness and sustainable, rewarding relationships.

Freeman, John. Wall Street Journal, The (2009). Articles>Communication>Technology>Rhetoric