#30998
404 File Not Found: Citing Unstable Web Sources 
Researchers, including students, must accommodate to the mutating character of hyperlinks on the World Wide Web. A small study of citations in three volumes of BCQ demonstrates the phenomenon of 'URL rot,' the disappearance of sites cited in the sample articles. Digital technology itself is now being used to create pockets of permanence, but with the understanding that preservation of content is only one ingredient in the mix of media and format migration. Databases like JSTOR offer digitally preserved copies of many scholarly journals. Online journals and search engines may offer their own archives. In general, researchers should cite digital articles in databases where possible and consider avoiding references to online journals with print editions.
Griffin, Frank. Business Communication Quarterly (2003). Articles>Research>Style Guides>Online
#22107
Review: ABCs of E-Learning: Reaping the Benefits and Avoiding the Pitfalls
I'm always skeptical when I first read the praise for a book, especially when a full page of testimonials is published just inside the front cover, as well as on the back. However, by the time I finished reading Brooke Broadbent's ABCs of E-Learning, I could've added my blurb of congratulations on a job well done.
Porter, Lynnette R. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Education>Online
#21111
Jess McMullin, a Usability Analyst at Cognissa, and a long time reader of WebWord, wrote me a lettera couple of days ago. His basic complaint was that I don't give my readers enough credit. I'm pretty sure that he feels offended that I have called my readers a bunch of 'freeloaders'. What does that mean and what is freeloading?
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Articles>Publishing>Online
#14239
Accessibility and Usability of Information Technology by the Elderly
The population of elderly people and the use of computers and the Internet are both growing at extraordinary rates in the United States. The potential exists for elderly people to improve their own lives as well as the lives of others by making more use of this technology. However, the elderly are currently among the lowest users of computers and the Internet. The common belief that older people fear or are indifferent towards technology does not fully explain this low usage. Rather, the elderly are subject to the same income and education divisions that impede accessibility to the population as a whole, as well as certain physical, cognitive, and mental impairments that come with age and can impede usability. Thus, the keys to increasing the numbers of elderly people making effective use of technology are addressing both universal accessibility and universal usability. These solutions are applicable to many other people as well, making their implementation broadly useful and cost-effective.
Browne, Hilary. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Accessibility>Online>Elderly
#22971
Accessibility of Online Chat Programs
This article will evaluate the accessibility of three types of popular synchronous communication tools: IRC, Web-based chats and instant messengers.
WebAIM (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Accessibility>Online
#22947
Accessible Web Pages: Advice for Educators 
While educators have embraced the responsibility of providing equal access to educational resources to all students, Internet technology presents new challenges in this area. Students who have vision or hearing problems, who have difficulties with motor control, or who face other challenges, such as learning disabilities or language barriers, may find the Web difficult or impossible to explore.
Thombs, Margaret M. Syllabus (2002). Articles>Education>Accessibility>Online
#24673
Accountable Assessment in the Age of Digital Labor
Entrepreneurship is THE economic mode of the digital age and entrepreneurship is defined by risk. Students who will become workers must be comfortable, even engaged by, risk-taking.
Glaros, Michelle. Kairos (2001). Articles>Education>Assessment>Online
#10109
As a service to the computing community, the Digital Library will offer its search and bibliographic database resources to all visitors, for free. All you need to do is register with us. Access to full-text is by pay-per-view or subscription only: ACM members who are Digital Library subscribers have access to all full-text articles, as well as the advanced search and notification functions of the 'My Bookshelf' feature. Members and nonmembers who subscribe to electronic publications (but not to the entire Library) have full-text access to their subscriptions
#20272
Adapting Traditional Editing Practices for Online Documentation 
Technical editors are possibly best known for their abilities to transform information with format, content, grammatical, and mechanical problems into coherent, concise, understandable, and usable documents. Editors must not only provide such services for the information authors, but they must also understand and support users' needs and expectations. This presentation gives editors an approach to editing online documentation that is rooted in traditional editing practices.
Fink, Bonnie L., Carol Gasser, Jennifer Giordano and Beth A. Williams. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Editing>Documentation>Online
#29152
The Added Value Features of Online Scholarly Journals
Online scholarly journals have become an important tool for the generation of knowledge and the distribution and access to research. The purpose of this article is to analyze the features of online scholarly journals and to determine whether they incorporate new Internet-enabled features and functions which help to meet the needs of the members of the scholarly community more effectively. Drawing on Taylor's concept of added value [1], the features of online scholarly journals were classified into the following types: features which enhance ease of use and facilitate access to data, features that provide selected information and thus reduce noise, features which improve quality, features which address specific user needs, and features which contribute to time or cost savings. The analysis revealed that, although some online journals operate in the same way as print journals, there are others which incorporate innovative features which are transforming the journal to make it a more effective tool for scholarly activity.
Luzón, María José. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Research>Publishing>Online
#24852
Administration of an Electronic Classroom
The electronic classroom in the Oklahoma State University English Department is now a little over a year old. In the three semesters we've been using it, a number of administrative challenges have surfaced. Some of those challenges were easily overcome, but others have been consistent dilemmas with no clear solution in sight. The day-to-day administrative issues in operating the facility center on issues of access and maintenance and repair. This article will focus on some of the major challenges with the intention of pointing out potential problems that may occur as other writing programs establish similar electronic teaching facilities.
Turner, John R. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>Online
#20273
Adobe Acrobat: Publishing Online Documentation
Documentation departments are often faced with the challenge of quickly distributing high-quality versions of printed documentation via the company Intranet, the World Wide Web, or CD-ROM. Adobe Acrobat is a simple, cost-effective way to publish documentation for a variety of media and requires little time or technical expertise to produce professional-looking results. Technical writers and web developers can easily use Adobe Acrobat to create portable document format (PDF) files from printed documentation. They can then add links and bookmarks, create an index, produce simple interactive forms, and add multimedia components to their documents.
Ogata, Kerry L. and Thomas A. Witherspoon. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online>Adobe Acrobat
#18539
Aggregated Article Databases: Research Beyond the Internet
Introduces aggregated article databases—searchable collections of magazines, newspapers, and journals—and explains their relevance to the research work of technical communicators.
Sheffield Hulick, Jennifer L. Intercom (2003). Articles>Research>Online
#21755
Many of the principles that the print typographer has learned and holds sacred, are no longer true when the medium is a neon sign, a television title sequence or a Web page. Text that is not printed on paper takes them into alien territory.
Gillespie, Joe. Digital Web Magazine (2001). Design>Typography>Online
#29795
An Almost Final Farewell to Desktop Word Processing
The era of desktop publishing is over, and I must bid Microsoft Word and several other desktop applications good-bye. In case you think I'm singling out Microsoft, it's not just MS Word, but also OpenOffice, GoogleOffice, or any application that makes what we used to call 'documents'. Nowadays, I'm simply using a wiki for collaborative information sharing and a blog for online reporting.
Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Word Processing>Online>Wikis
#30143
Analysis of Virtual Classroom Environments: Survey of Classroom Dynamics in RSVP Courses
Students can earn Master's degrees or continuing education certificates by at tending courses offered live satellite or compressed video or on videotape for delayed viewing. This panel discussion evaluates the effects of the various forms of technology and modes of interaction on the classroom dynamics in a live satellite class offered by Rensselaer Polytechnic institute (RPI).
Brunner, Kirsten, Roger A. Grice, David F: Hans, Teresa L. Hood and Leo J. Smith. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Online
#10145
Anthropology and International Education via the Internet
Tomoko Hamada and Kathleen Scott describe a collaborative classroom experience between students at the College of William and Mary and at Keio University, looking at the pros and cons of this international experiment. Their research helps to assess that collaboration, and draw conclusions that can be useful in understanding how people use technology to communicate, and how cultural differences affect that communication.
Hamada, Tomoko and Kathleen Scott. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2000). Articles>Education>Online>International
#21912
A variety of technologies are evolving to help make type readable on the computer screen. Here's a report on anti-aliasing.
Tinkel, Kathleen. Adobe Magazine (1997). Design>Typography>Online
#21497
Applicability of CGM Versus SVG for Technical Graphics
As certain traditional technical and engineering applications become established on the Web, they bring with them information resources that mix text and data with significant technical graphics components. Technical graphics for such applications as aircraft maintenance manuals are characterized by high volume and complexity, stringent fidelity and interoperability constraints, and long life cycle. W3C has two standards for Web based graphics, WebCGM and SVG. WebCGM was specifically standardized for technical applications. SVG has much broader applicability. In a nutshell, the usual formula is 'WebCGM for Web-based technical graphics, SVG for graphic arts and creative graphics.' Still, the questions continue to arise. why there are two formats, and isn't it possible to use the one for the other application? When one takes a careful and detailed look at the two formats, in the context of the particular requirements of technical illustration, then specific differences emerge. This session will present such a comparison, from both the theoretical, functional perspective, as well a practical real-world (implemenations and interoperability) perspective. The comparison is based on an ongoing study that has been conducted within the CGM Open consortium and the Graphics Working Group of the Air Transport Association.
CGMopen (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Online
#10757
A brief overview of evolutionary theory and its application to knowledge and learning in the theory of memetics is presented. The knowledge and learning structures that exist within a modern company are examined and significant failures within them are identified. It is concluded that harnessing and exploiting evolutionary learning can resolve many of these failures. Evolutionary learning is a natural precursor for the transition from training to performance support. For this transition to happen successfully it is necessary that the right corporate culture and knowledge infrastructure are present.
O'Gorman, Adam. EPSS (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online
#30385
Applying Expectancy-Violations Theory to Online Documentation
A person usually expects another person to behave according to accepted norms, but how does a person respond to a message that violates his/her expectations? One theory dealing with violations of expectations is Burgeon and Hale's (1) nonverbal expectancy-violations theory. This theory posits that, under certain circumstances, violations of social norms and expectations may be an effective strategy for communicators to achieve the intended communication purpose. Although the expectancy-violations theory focuses on expectations for nonverbal behavior, such as gaze and conversational distance (2), I believe that this theory can also apply to expectations for humancomputer interaction.
Chiu, Yu-Kwong. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Rhetoric>Online
#30463
Are you Hurting Your Career By Not Blogging or Podcasting?
Talks about myths, rewards, trends, tips, and issues surrounding blogging and podcasting, especially in terms of how it affects your career.
Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Publishing>Online>Podcasts
#13674
The Art of Electronic Publishing
This book is a complete birdseye view of the World Wide Web, Internet, and the technologies involved in creating electronic publications from them. This book provides you with background information and practical guidance on how to surf, view, and publish material for the Web, as well as on paper. The explosion of activity surrounding the Internet and the World Wide Web requires a sane, non-hyped guide to help you navigate the sometimes treacherous waters.
Ressler, Sandy. Prentice-Hall (2000). Books>Web Design>Publishing>Online
#14673
Walinskas provides several tips for creating readable and informative e-zines.
Walinskas, Karl. Intercom (2000). Design>Publishing>Online
#23885
As It Was in the Beginning: Distance Education and Technology Past, Present, and Future
As DE courses are being developed and carried out by an unprecedented number of university-level educators, it is time to reexamine the long history of DE in hopes of better understanding the ways in which seemingly revolutionary developments such as virtual classroom and e-mail collaborations have more in common conceptually with early iterations of DE than might be supposed.
Fishman, T. Kairos (2002). Articles>Education>Online
