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Malik, Lata Suman. Technical Communications Group. Careers>Job Listings>Regional>India

Are Pune Technical Writers the Highest Paid?

Are Pune technical writers the highest paid of the breed in India? The word on the street doesn't say so. As a hiring manager, I don't believe so. But, the salary survey suggests so.

Menezes, Frederick. Indus (2005). Careers>Writing>Regional>India

A California Yankee in Raj Jahan's Country  

Andrea Ames shares anecdotes and impressions of the cultural and communication differences she observed while in Hyderabad, India, to speak at a conference for STC members. She outlines growing changes in India's IT and technical communication industries.

Ames, Andrea L. Intercom (2006). Articles>TC>Regional>India

Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility on the Internet: A Case Study of the Top 100 Information Technology Companies in India    

The need for and benefits of proactive and transparent communication about corporate social responsibility (CSR) are widely acknowledged. This study examines CSR communication undertaken by the top 100 information technology (IT) companies in India on their corporate Web sites, with an analytical focus on the dimensions of prominence of communication, extent of information, and style of presentation. The findings indicate that the number of companies with CSR information on their Web sites is strikingly low and that these leading companies do not leverage the Web sites to their advantage in terms of the quantity and style of CSR communication. Although the findings do not necessarily imply absence of CSR action on the part of IT companies in India, they attest to a general lack of proactive CSR communication. The article concludes with managerial implications for CSR communication on corporate Web sites.

Chaudhri, Vidhi and Jian Wang. Management Communication Quarterly (2007). Articles>Management>Business Communication>India

Contribution of the Indian Medical Service to the Documentation of Materia Medica, Medicinal Plants and Medical Topography of India, 1750-1925    

India's medical tradition and knowledge base can be traced back to the Vedas (c.5000 BC), especially the Atharvaveda. The works of Charaka and Sushruta (c.2000 years ago) are well known. Parts of this ancient knowledge have been passed down generations by word of mouth and through the gurukula system. However, documentation about the incidence of diseases, the state of health of the people, medical practices and health care delivery in India during the period prior to the 18th century is meager, the sources being mainly the notes, memoirs and travelogues of visiting travelers. During the colonial period (c.1615-1930) western medical practices took roots in the country. The colonial powers recognizing that 'knowledge is power', commissioned surveys and studies about the terrain, fauna, flora, climate, environment, customs, and indigenous health practices, etc. in different parts of India. Officers of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) wrote over 1400 books, reports, tracts and papers covering a wide range of medical and health topics. Such sources together with the tacit knowledge of the officers involved contributed to the 'colonial knowledge base'. This paper discusses briefly this knowledge base and lists the writings of the IMS officers in the fields of (1) materia medica, (2) botanical studies including Indian medicinal plants, and (3) medical topography of India.

Neelameghan, Arashanipalai. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Knowledge Management>Biomedical>India

Creating Usability Awareness in India

A weblog to help create usability awareness in India.

Cua, Vijay. Blogspot (2007). Design>Usability>Regional>India

Creating World-Class Documents

The world chooses India for software development. But this is not true for documentation. Having written User Manuals and Online Help mainly for software exports companies for the last 15 years, I can claim to have written for the world market.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>India

Dealing With the Salary Survey

Thanks to Makarand, Paresh, Mira, and other contributors, some of our questions are answered after a gap of two years and we have some takeaways from the salary survey.

Aiyyangar, Ramesh. Indus (2005). Careers>Salaries>Regional>India

Demand for Writers is High, 'Technically'

Today, the demand for technical writers in India is rapidly rising.

Times of India (2003). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>India

DocumentorG

Gurudutt Kamath's columns on technical writing. Groups for technical writers in India. Indexing, Translation, resources for technical writers.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. DocumentorG. Resources>TC>Mailing Lists>India

Education in Technical Communication: Past, Present, India's Future?  

A discussion of the past and present of TC, with particular focus on the TC industry in the Indian subcontinent.

Barnum, Carol M. STC India. Articles>Education>Regional>India

Emerging from the Sidelines: The Indian Technical Writing Community in a Global Marketplace

Comparing trends in India and the U.S. gives a sense that the Indian technical communication community is on a strong footing and can gain a competitive edge by focusing on some key areas.

Bhatia, Neeraj. Indus (2005). Careers>Salaries>Regional>India

FACE Considerations in Upward Influencing in an Indian Workplace  

This study is a first attempt at using Speech Act Theory (SAT), as a way to analyze and explain how upward influence (UI) strategies are performed. Based on SAT and considerations of face, as explained by Brown and Levinson (1987), this study tries to explain UI strategies used by members within an Indian workplace. We carefully selected six examples of UI to demonstrate how SAT can be useful in analyzing UI strategies. We found that even the slightest change in the anticipated degree of willingness or receptivity of the receiver necessitates a change in the strategy to be adopted. Violations of sincerity conditions and/ or inappropriate threats to face create infelicitous conditions and may lead to failed attempts at UI.

Kaul, Asha and Charlotte D. Brammer. Association for Business Communication (2005). Careers>Management>International>India

From Individualism to Holism: Paradigm Shift on the Indian Technical Writing Scene    

We are witnessing a paradigm shift towards establishing ourselves as a dynamic, progressive society, which knows its place and responsibilities within the international arena. While growing independently, we are not only paving the path for the creation of a new social order in which fresh and diverse values coexist, but are also constantly in the process of developing a harmonious relationship with each other through collaboration, rising above vested interests and conflicts.

Kudesia, Saurabh. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>TC>Editorials>India

The Future of Technical Writing in India  

Technical Writing in India has experienced explosive growth in business volumes as a result of outsourcing. 75 writers based in India are registered with the STC. Estimated 2,500- to 3,000-strong workforce.

Biswas, Nilanjana. STC India (2003). Presentations>Writing>Outsourcing>India

Good Opportunity for Technical Communication Service Providers

When I tried to look at the salary survey from the point of view of a Technical Communication Service Provider (TCSP), I noticed quite a few interesting points.

Pandit, Makarand M. Indus (2005). Careers>Consulting>Regional>India

Growth Prospects for a Technical Writer

Are there practical chances of growth and scope for learning/improving oneself while working as a technical writer?

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2004). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>India

The India Paradox  

Kamath describes the complex interplay among many competing cultural forces that makes technical communication in India such a challenge.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. Intercom (2000). Articles>Workplace>Ethics>India

The Indian Call Center Experience: A Case Study in Changing Discourses of Identity, Identification, and Career in a Global Context    

This study examines the processes by which workers in a particular Indian call center located in Kolkata expanded on, negotiated, and chose among an array of possible, especially new, identities and identifications and the ways that these choices affected changing social discourses. Our case study depicted a workplace that was simultaneously casual and urgent, temporal and spatially free and constrained, situated in both Indian and U.S. cultures, and oriented toward business and night-club ambiances. Within this particular workplace, call center employees (re)constructed and negotiated among an array of discourses that bracketed opportunities for particular identities and identifications. Through these negotiation processes, they (a) engaged in strategic identity(ies) invocations and (b) reframed work, career, and family discourses and practices.

Pal, Mahuya and Patrice Buzzanell. JBC (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Workplace>India

Review: INDLISH: A Book for Every English-Speaking Indian

At last, a book on what ails English in India! Why do we speak the way we do? Why do we switch to the passive voice in English, though we keep to the active in our mother tongues? Why are our letters long and wordy and yet can't get the point across? Why are our textbooks so wordy, and yet so vacuous?

Srikumari, K.V. Indus (2007). Articles>Reviews>Localization>India

International Communication

'Localisation' is the term given to changing the software and the related documentation to suit a particular geographical region. One of the major components of localisation is of course translation. Needless to add, I am talking about localisation from an international perspective. Localisation at the national level would mean having software in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, and so on. Surprisingly, this has not happened in a big way.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2000). Articles>Documentation>Localization>India

Listen, the Numbers are Singing

Among the constant chattering noise that these numbers are making, they also sing some common tunes.

Naik, Paresh. Indus (2005). Careers>Salaries>Regional>India

Metaphors and Website Design: A Cross-Cultural Case Study of the Tide.com Stain Detective

This study investigated the generalization of a home metaphor used in the Tide.com Stain Detective (Nelson & Hibner, 2003) to middle-class Indian females. The stain detective was developed with American women based on a card sorting activity. A similar card sorting activity was conducted with six Indian females. Results showed that the Indian participants grouped the stains by the amount of work that was required to remove it, rather than by the location where it occurred.

Shaikh, A. Dawn, Barbara S. Chaparro, W. Todd Nelson and Anirudha Joshi. Usability News (2005). Design>Web Design>Writing>India

Recruiting Spree for Technical Writers

I had a chance to interview three technical writers in Pune, the oasis of technical writers. All of them were techies doing technical writing. I am into EDA technical writing these days (one of the toughest areas of technical writing—this is rocket science, buddies!) and naturally technical acumen is a strength. All of them were new to technical writing (and perhaps even writing) as was evident from the fact that none of them brought in writing samples.

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>India