http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/TC/Professionalism A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and TC and Professionalism in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/TC/Professionalism http://tc.eserver.org/35838.html http://tc.eserver.org/35838.html Parents spend years trying to teach their children to be polite, and some of us had to learn at school how to properly address an archbishop. Yet, it seems that advice on courteousness and politeness in technical communication is in short supply; most of us learn these skills through what is euphemistically called “on the job training.” With enough bruises on my back to demonstrate the amount and variety of my experience in this area (though not my skill), here are some of the things I’ve learned. http://tc.eserver.org/35316.html http://tc.eserver.org/35316.html The mission of STC is to “advance the arts and sciences of technical communication.” How does this help you, the member? I have been a freelancer/business owner for the vast majority of my career (so far). Let me say a few things about STC’s value proposition for mercenaries like me. http://tc.eserver.org/35194.html http://tc.eserver.org/35194.html Introverted people aren’t normally considered passionate. Even if you’re an extrovert, would you consider yourself passionate about technical communication? http://tc.eserver.org/33579.html http://tc.eserver.org/33579.html Rhetorical categories can and should be developed by scholars of professional writing to identify how values held within professions constrain the ways discourse is interpreted in organizational settings. Empirical research (conducted by the author and others), discourse theory, and pedagogical practice in professional writing strongly suggest that at least three categories of professional writing exist: engineering, administrative, and technical/professional writing. The author demonstrates this claim and distinguishes the characteristics of these three categories. Engineering writing is shown to respond to professional values of scientific objectivity and professional judgment as well as to corporate interests. Administrative writing reflects the locus of decision-making authority and promotes institutional identity. Technical/professional writing aims to accommodate audience needs through complying with professional readability standards. Future research should focus on defining the characteristics of these varieties more precisely. Articulated definitions of these three varieties of professional writing can help scholars and practitioners better understand how discourse is framed and interpreted in organizational settings. http://tc.eserver.org/33564.html http://tc.eserver.org/33564.html Despite claims for at least the past quarter century of mature professional status for the field of technical communication, studies in the history and sociology of the professions provide criteria that suggest we are not yet truly a profession. This article reviews economic, sociopolitical, and ideological factors that characterize the modern professions and argues that the technical communication field, at best, only partially meets the criteria. The prospects for professional status of technical communication might be improved by developing a critical consciousness of the processes of professionalization and concertedly acting in ways that facilitate those processes. http://tc.eserver.org/32687.html http://tc.eserver.org/32687.html The virtues of certification cannot be ignored, but they are outweighed by the drawbacks: There’s no evidence that employers will value certification; it can be highly subjective; and it requires ongoing renewal, even for experienced practitioners, to avoid diluting its value. The more important task must be to demonstrate our value to employers. Only once they understand our value will certification provide a means to assure employers that they can expect to receive that value. http://tc.eserver.org/32688.html http://tc.eserver.org/32688.html I believe certification of technical communicators is unavoidable, given the current status of related professions and our technological environment. Either the STC develops a certification program, or someone else will do it. http://tc.eserver.org/32159.html http://tc.eserver.org/32159.html As a former Board member, I was often buttonholed by members to discuss what the Board was doing and our plans for STC's future. One of the most common topics of discussion was, "What am I getting for my membership and why should I renew?" Why should you renew? Beats the heck outta me. But I can tell you why I renew, year after year after year. http://tc.eserver.org/32127.html http://tc.eserver.org/32127.html Members often ask what advantages they receive for their membership dollars. The answer is so obvious we sometimes fail to see it. With apologies to the kind souls at MasterCard, a few thoughts on the value of your STC membership. http://tc.eserver.org/31643.html http://tc.eserver.org/31643.html Professionalism is a recurrent topic of discussion—formally and informally—among technical communication scholars and practitioners. In the diversity among our programs and approaches to technical communication, the difficult issues surrounding certification in technical communication is a professional goal that major stakeholders have typically considered too complex to be addressed. Increasingly, however, many of these stakeholders agree that we can no longer continue to ignore these complex issues. In an earlier article, I have described twelve issues that must be addressed and tasks that must be undertaken to move the profession towards meaningful certification. In that discussion, I also suggest approaches to begin the work on each of these steps. In this present discussion, I address the first of these steps—codification of the bodies of knowledge through the development of an encyclopedia of technical and professional communication. In order to accomplish this, I describe the categories of knowledge in the field and the editorial and organizational structure of the project. http://tc.eserver.org/30783.html http://tc.eserver.org/30783.html Looks at what it means to be professional as a technical writer, as a teacher, and as a student and explains how to teach professionalism in the classroom. http://tc.eserver.org/30534.html http://tc.eserver.org/30534.html We consider the effects of personal values systems on codes of ethics and how community and professional standards of behavior may reinforce professional codes. We suggest that a professional code of ethics is strengthened and reinforced as it more closely follows this rich history. http://tc.eserver.org/30427.html http://tc.eserver.org/30427.html The more integrated a discipline is, the greater the likelihood that the researchers are sharing ideas and the greater the chances are for developing theories and models to support the knowledge base. A fragmented discipline offers few connections between discussions and research. This study of technical communication literature reports and reflects upon the dialogue established among practitioners, researchers, and scholars as theories are built. A continuum--fragmented to integrated--places areas of study in technical communication and offers an interpretation of the field. http://tc.eserver.org/29923.html http://tc.eserver.org/29923.html The movement toward a global standard definition for our profession will be a long process, but it is already underway. STC is playing an important role in ensuring that the process benefits its members and contributes to the competitiveness of the firms that employ them. http://tc.eserver.org/27793.html http://tc.eserver.org/27793.html As technical communication becomes more firmly established as a field, those in the discipline of technical communication and those in the profession are finding, sometimes to their surprise, that their interests differ. This difference is reflected in the varying claims to legitimacy made by those in professional practice and those in academia. These claims to legitimacy not only differ, but at times seem to be at odds with one another. http://tc.eserver.org/26695.html http://tc.eserver.org/26695.html There is a certain need to define the field of technical communication: a definition that we as practicioners and scholars can adapt for different audiences in order to create a clear image. The reasons to create a definition are stronger than the reasoning behind letting our field remain perpetually undefined. http://tc.eserver.org/26672.html http://tc.eserver.org/26672.html As a technical communicator, I am the bridge between those who create ideas and those who use them. Because I recognize that the quality of my services directly affects how well ideas are understood, I am committed to excellence in performance and the highest standards of ethical behavior. http://tc.eserver.org/25301.html http://tc.eserver.org/25301.html Once you discover or identify work that you can be passionate about, use that as both a driving force and as a method of developing your place within the profession. http://tc.eserver.org/24583.html http://tc.eserver.org/24583.html Professional communication is a growing component of English departments and other communication programs. Yet, in most cases, the term professional communication is used as a catchall term for various types of workplace and occupational writing. As such,professional communication, as it is currently framed, seems to have little to do with professionalsor the process of professionalization. This article calls for a more thoroughexamination of the concept of professional communication by reviewing (1) the ways inwhich researchers have used this term to describe the rhetoric of professionals who communicate,(2) the democratic and knowledge-based contradictions between rhetoricalscholarship and professional powers, and (3) the current challenges facing professionalworkers, including deprofessionalization and proletarianization. The author argues thatif professional communication research and teaching are to remain prominent parts ofacademic programs, researchers, theorists, teachers, and students must become moreaware of conceptual issues that inform and define professional work. http://tc.eserver.org/24347.html http://tc.eserver.org/24347.html Under the direction of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) developed a list of key competencies. These competencies assure that students productively use resources, information, interpersonal skills, systems, and technology. The Commission also identified foundation skills focusing on basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities. Trends in labor, trends for technical communicators, and a description of skills set the stage for the development of the new Technical Communications curriculum at De Anza College, which now incorporates the skills industry demands. http://tc.eserver.org/23880.html http://tc.eserver.org/23880.html Companies are reducing their training budgets. During these austere times, the technical writer must get more creative than ever to participate in the annual conference. An informal survey of attendees at the 50th Annual Conference in Dallas showed that many people paid their own way to the conference. There are numerous ways to reduce the cost to attend the conference. http://tc.eserver.org/23450.html http://tc.eserver.org/23450.html There are core competencies and enabling competencies. The competency areas are Core Competencies, which distinguish a particular field from other fields. Enabling Competencies do not distinguish the field but are still required for its success. http://tc.eserver.org/23417.html http://tc.eserver.org/23417.html All over the world professional organizations advertise the technical communication profession. My personal impression is this: Many of these activities address students of higher schools (which is basically fine), while others address professionals already working in the field (which only makes sense if the objective is to sell memberships or training). What I have not seen up to now are activities to address young people in the early process of planning their higher education and professional careers. The following thoughts contain some ideas for those trying to make our profession known to young people and to encourage them to consider a career in technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/23451.html http://tc.eserver.org/23451.html We all know that products are designed and developed by a variety of experts, such as engineers, programmers, scientists, and designers. And each of these experts belongs to a particular category. For example, engineers are divided into such categories as Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, or Aeronautical Engineer. Without that categorisation, there is no way that we can possibly know in what field a particular expert specialises. But who creates product documentation? http://tc.eserver.org/22887.html http://tc.eserver.org/22887.html This progression is sponsored by the STC Quality Professional Interest Committee. Each subgroup within the Quality PIC is sponsoring a discussion table, with additional topics of special interest to technical communicators. These topics have been selected based on their timeliness and practical value to practicing technical communicators. http://tc.eserver.org/21589.html http://tc.eserver.org/21589.html To improve the standards of technical communication throughout the world, INTECOM has approved this code of good practice as a guideline for the professional technical communicator in his or her daily, highly important task. http://tc.eserver.org/21512.html http://tc.eserver.org/21512.html Technical communicators serve as bridges between researchers and a variety of audiences that include other researchers, the news media, and the public. The latter group includes potential funders, such as agency administrators and legislators, as well as scientists/engineers in other fields. Most professional discussions seem to center on how well we meet the needs of our various publics, but this discussion will look into the steps that we need to take to meet the needs of the researchers we work with and to win and maintain their trust. This discussion should emphasize the different “cultures” that are sometimes in conflict: for example, the standards and aims of the scientific and journalistic professions are quite different and sometimes contradictory. http://tc.eserver.org/20637.html http://tc.eserver.org/20637.html The future of Technical Communication is something that we are all, as either practitioners, academics or students, keenly interested in. What is the future of our chosen discipline? What exactly is it that a practitioner in the field does today? This paper will explain that through examining one sub-discipline of Technical Communication, Usability, we may see an example of the beginnings of a pattern of professional development. http://tc.eserver.org/19143.html http://tc.eserver.org/19143.html The ACM community is in a position to take a leadership role in responding to the challenges brought by last fall’s terror attacks. Some of us have already been contacted to contribute to designs for improving security at airports, verifying identity at check-in, or redesigning cockpits to give more options to pilots and ground controllers. Others will be asked to redesign systems that trace financial transactions across international borders or examine email patterns among loosely affiliated groups. These efforts win the broadest support when our decisions about how to pursue safety and security are coupled with a strong defense of civil liberties and privacy. http://tc.eserver.org/14911.html http://tc.eserver.org/14911.html To the ongoing question over whether the status or role of the technical communicator is to be considered as that of a 'professional' versus a 'practitioner'. If the answer to this question is an unequivocal 'yes' then how do we as aspiring technical communicators position ourselves in the field to overcome this kind of prejudice and narrow-mindedness? Are there skills and theories that are important to learn or at least be aware of that will not only help foster respect for the field of technical communication as a recognized profession but also aid in distancing ourselves from being labeled mere practitioners? http://tc.eserver.org/14910.html http://tc.eserver.org/14910.html To meet the challenge of addressing the needs of subject matter experts (SME) and non-experts, alleviating fears, and keeping the public informed requires knowledge of communication theory, subject-matter expertise, and adherence to a code of ethics. A model illustrating the professional technical communicator's knowledge base and relationship with the SME and non-expert is presented. http://tc.eserver.org/10425.html http://tc.eserver.org/10425.html This article examines the implications of greater professionalism for the future directions of technical communication and the role of academic programs and professional societies in shaping the future of the profession.