#28123
"Read the Manual!" What Manual?
How can I read the documentation when there is no documentation?
Manes, Stephen. InfoWorld (2001). Articles>Documentation>Technology
#22263
"Read the Manual!" What Manual?
Customer service shouldn't begin when you have a problem. It should start when a product is built, so that you don't have to futz around on the Web or wait on hold to get answers. One form of that service is good product design. Another is a great manual.
Manes, Stephen. PC World (2001). Articles>Documentation>Technology
#14574
Waarden spelen een belangrijke rol bij de werking van reclame. Mensen gebruiken waarden om de kwaliteit van een product te bepalen, bijvoorbeeld door zich af te vragen of aanschaf van het product hun gezondheid bevordert, hun status verhoogt of de veiligheid van hun familie garandeert. Daarnaast worden waarden in reclame gebruikt om producten die zich nauwelijks op materiële en functionele gronden van elkaar onderscheiden, van elkaar te differentiëren op basis van psychologische kenmerken. Zo kan de gemiddelde bierdrinker niet met zekerheid zeggen of het hem voorgezette pilsje door Heineken, Amstel of Grolsch is gebrouwen. Deze merken proberen zich van elkaar te onderscheiden door een andere waarde aan hun merk te verbinden: Heineken met plezier en trots, Amstel met kameraadschap, en Grolsch met individualiteit.
van den Brandt, Corine, Nuria Dominguez and Hans Hoeken. Universiteit Stellenbosch Taalsentrum (2002). (Afrikaans) Articles>Technology>Marketing>International
#30563
Research and Technology Stem Overview 
It's always interesting looking back at the evolution of a profession. By reviewing the past, you can gain new and important insight for the future. how to plan for multinational considerations, from document translation to user interfaces.
See, Edward J.P. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Technology>Research
#24569
Research Opportunities in the US Patent Record 
Although scarcely explored to date, US patent records provide numerous opportunities for research in technical and scientific communication. This article reviews disciplinary research that taps this rich archive of information, describes ways in which patents act as moral and social barometers to technological change, and provides readers with a brief guide to basic information needed to initiate research using patent records.
Durack, Katherine T. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Research>Technology
#19734
Retronyms: Looking Back on Progress
Technology changes the way we live. It also affects the way we speak. As the gadgets we make and use grow more complex, we’re sneaking in complexities into the words we use too. Like ‘printed book’. What was always called just a ‘book’ (hard cover or paperback) is now called a printed book, simply because now we have e-books. What was once simply a guitar is now an acoustic guitar, because of the growing popularity of electric guitars.
Dalvi, Meghashri. Indus (2003). Articles>Language>Technology
#24880
Considers the current state of webcam technology.
Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2004). Articles>Technology>Telecommuting>Video
#21509
Current focus on creating a National Information Infrastructure by increasing the capacity of the Internet computer network will have direct implications for companies who produce technical products and services. More and more organizations are already using the Internet to talk with customers, assess user needs, and provide product information. Yet corporations may not be familiar with the communication style of computer networks. A protest in 1990 over a Lotus Development Corporation product illustrates how the traditional fact-driven corporate communication style might clash with the more emotional and informal style often assumed on computer networks.
Gurak, Laura J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Technology>TC>Online
#29412
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
#21932
In the world of storage, options are multiplying, prices are falling, and confusion is rampant. Here's a guide to the options.
Roberts, Paul. Adobe Magazine (1996). Articles>Computing>Technology
#31757
Seven Tips for Living with Technology
After living through more than a few technology acquisitions, variously as perpetrator, victim, and bystander, I’ve come across a few tips that can make the process a little easier.
Hamilton, Richard. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Articles>Technology>Assessment
#26288
Silent Partners: Selecting The Best Web Host
Web hosting companies are the ‘silent partner’ of every online business. A good partner makes going online a natural extension of your business. A bad one costs you time, money, and customers.
Janisch, Troy. Icon Interactive (2005). Articles>Technology>Hosting>E Commerce
#25596
Slashdot and the Public Sphere
Jurgen Habermas's theory of the public sphere provides a model of idealised democratic debate. Three major features of this model can be identified - universal access, rational debate, and a disregard for rank. This essay analyses the Slashdot model, and use it to examine Slashdot, a popular Web site, as an actualisation of public space.
Baoill, Andrew Ó. First Monday (2000). Articles>Technology>Community Building>Blogging
#25110
So Much, So Far, So What? Progress and Prediction in Technorhetoric
In any popular cultural innovation one cares to name, there is an explicit or implicit claim about the way that the innovation will 'change' or 'transform' life, its quality, or its effect.
Whipple, Bob, Jr. and Robert S. Dornsife, Jr. Kairos (2004). Articles>Rhetoric>Technology
#24304
Staying on top of new technology is a challenge for many information design and development groups. We in the InfoDesign group in DuPont met that challenge by holding monthly 'Technology Topics' sessions to try to address that need. Each Tech Topics session is a meeting dedicated to exploring one or two currently relevant, technology-related topics.
Hansen, Lauren Y. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Technology
#30709
A Study of Beliefs and Behaviors Regarding Digital Technology
This study analyzed individual perceptions of various situations involving actions likely to be considered unethical by most people. It explored perceptions of the acceptability of parallel technology-based and non-technology-based vignettes, self-rated behavior regarding the survey scenarios and consistency between self-rated behavior and the level of acceptance of the vignettes. The responses from 453 participants were analyzed by age, gender, ethnicity and amount of weekly access to computers at home.The participants were more accepting of the technology-based survey items and were also more likely to engage in those behaviors than the non-technology items; however, the participant responses indicated a low level of acceptance for the scenarios and only a minimal likelihood that they would participate in them. Additional findings across the comparison groups are reported and discussed.
Poole, Dawn. New Media and Society (2007). Articles>Technology>Ethics>Surveys
#26689
The Sustainability of New Technologies: Are We Considering Our Future?
Argues that technical communicators need to evaluate our dependence on electricity so that we are prepared for the possibility of a future without traditional sources of electricity. In order to evaluate our energy dependence, we need to consider the sustainability of new technologies before introducing them to our society.
Henson, Jacque. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>Technology>Planning
#30093
Team Conflict in ICT-Rich Environments: Roles of Technologies in Conflict Management 
This study looks at how an information and communication technologies (ICT) rich environment impacts team conflict and conflict management strategies. A case study research method was used. Three teams, part of a graduate class in instructional design, participated in the study. Data were collected through observations of team meetings, interviews with individual members, plus analysis of electronic documents exchanged among team members. Findings indicate that all teams experienced conflict at some level and that conflict management strategies evolved over time. ICT played a dual role in the conflict management of teams. These technologies seemed to facilitate conflict management by offering a formal means of communication, making communication more effective, with minimal wasted or unnecessary efforts; and creating opportunities for more thoughtful reactions, with chances for reflection on the content. However, ICT also aggravated conflict, specifically when strategies for use were imposed, when team members became blunt and forthright, and when misinterpretations occurred because of differing sense of urgency in replying to emails.
Correia, Ana-Paula. Iowa State University (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Technology>Case Studies
#29110
Technical Versus Non-Technical Students: Does Emotional Intelligence Matter?
Intellectual Quotient (IQ) has long been considered in education as the deciding factor in a person's success but have we overlooked emotional intelligence (EI) in determining one's success in life? In my attempt to reexamine the acceptance of EI, I studied the difference in EI between different groups of undergraduates in Singapore in terms of their field of study, gender and university. The sample comprised undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS), with a fair mix of gender and field of study. From their responses to an EI questionnaire, it was found that there was no significant difference in EI between undergraduates who study technical and nontechnical courses, as well as between undergraduates of NTU and NUS, although male undergraduates achieved higher EI scores than female undergraduates.
Poon Teng Fatt, James. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Technology>Emotions
#24667
Techno-Experiential Design Assessment
Techno-Experiential Design Assessment (TEDA) is a method for systematically studying the effects of a specific technology or service on user experience and identify the opportunities and constraints for design.
Hsieh, Angie, Ryan Semeniuk, Dan Schick and Roman Onufrijchuk. University of Alberta (2003). Articles>Technology>Assessment
#29924
Technologizing Change: Rhetoric of Software Implementation at a University Campus
This paper reports on a study of new software implementation at a university. Seven emails distributed by a central Office of Information Technology were examined for semantic (content) meaning and syntactic (grammatical) function. Semantic findings show a high degree of topical shift. Syntactic findings show a high number of clauses and complements. The analysis also shows how determiners were used to construct 'new' information as 'given' (presupposition). The paper argues that discursive stability was created by technologizing the rhetoric of implementation. The study concludes by suggesting that a heavy reliance on dependent clauses, along with other features, may be indicative of technologized discourse.
Faber, Brenton D. ACM SIGDOC (2003). Articles>Technology>Software>Rhetoric
#21694
Assistive technology (AT) can open up the world for an individual who has a disability. Assistive technology can ensure that individuals with a wide range of abilities can have meaningful access, be productive citizens, and participate in education, activities of daily living, and recreation and leisure.
ALLTech (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Technology
#23373
Technology and the Learning/Teaching Divide
When we put to one side technological responsibilities, we miss an important opportunity to build communities of workers and scholars.
Selfe, Cynthia L. and Richard Selfe. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Technology
#18406
Technology and the Rise of the For-profit University
The traditional university is all things to all people, but it is primarily a place for professors to learn, to study, and yes, to teach. The teaching follows the traditional model of pouring knowledge into the heads of obedient students. This is a teacher-centered model of education, one that has repeatedly been shown to be inferior. Aristotle showed how learning can be an exploration. Pundits ever since have continually rediscovered active ways of engaging the mind. The university has resisted, for these other ways were not conducive to the comfortable life of a teacher. And anyway, it didn't feel like teaching. But today, education remains one of the last remaining labor-intensive activities, and it is pricing itself out of the marketplace. Worse, it does so using a methodology known to be deficient. Enter technology.
Norman, Donald A. JND.org (2002). Articles>Education>Technology
#31541
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
