http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Presentations/TC A listing of the most recently indexed works about Presentations and TC 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/Presentations/TC http://tc.eserver.org/35767.html http://tc.eserver.org/35767.html What is Flash? It's a vector-based format for moving images. Adobe technology via Macromedia Proprietary FLA for Flash development files. SWF for compressed files. http://tc.eserver.org/35450.html http://tc.eserver.org/35450.html How can user-centered design principles be applied to technical communication? http://tc.eserver.org/35432.html http://tc.eserver.org/35432.html Before DITA, we told readers how things worked. After DITA, we tell users how to use things. Before, we wrote information linearly. After, we write individual units as needed. http://tc.eserver.org/35108.html http://tc.eserver.org/35108.html The notes for a presentation (titled Thinking Outside the Book: Wikis for Writing and Delivering Documentation, that discusses the whys, the tools, and the techniques of using wikis for documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/32536.html http://tc.eserver.org/32536.html Structural differences among different resource formats impede efforts to develop a learning community. With OSS, education issues/critique include media, medium, and message. OSS complicates framework issues. http://tc.eserver.org/32040.html http://tc.eserver.org/32040.html The STC web-based knowledge portal will make accessible both broad and deep information about the practice of technical communication. It is intended to be the first step in defining a body of knowledge (BOK) for technical communication. The draft site map displayed at the 2008 Summit as “the wall” is a way of organizing the domains of knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary for the practice. The final version of the map will be the initial framework for the knowledge portal. http://tc.eserver.org/30577.html http://tc.eserver.org/30577.html A PowerPoint presentation about the difficulties of categorizing technical communication. It's not an easy thing to do, if the journals and textbooks in our own field don't consistently agree as to the major and minor categories. This PDF version of a PowerPoint presentation outlines the issues confronted by the EServer TC Library as it attempts to create a system of categories for its index of thousands of works in the fields of technical, scientific and professional communication. http://tc.eserver.org/30433.html http://tc.eserver.org/30433.html Both old hands and newcomers can create a plan to do a presentation at the next STC Annual Conference. Simply follow this 5-step process: (1) Understand the call for papers. (2) Discover possible topics to develop. (3) Identify gifts—something of value—to give your audience in your presentation and in your paper (if you do one). (4) Think of interesting gift wraps to attract your hearers and readers. (5) Prepare a complete proposal for the Program Committee. This process works best in a workshop where the participants can form a critical muss for creative excitement, help one another generate ideas—and have fun! http://tc.eserver.org/30274.html http://tc.eserver.org/30274.html Both old hands and newcomers can create a plan to do a presentation at the next STC Annual Conference. Simply follow this 5-step process: (1) Understand the call for proposals. (2) Discover possible topics to develop. (3) Identify gifts--something of value--to give your audience in your presentation and in your paper (if you do one). (4) Think of appealing gift wraps to attract your hearers and readers. (5) Prepare a thorough proposal for the Program Committee. This process works best in a workshop where the participants can form a critical mass for creative excitement, help one another generate ideas--and have fun! http://tc.eserver.org/30282.html http://tc.eserver.org/30282.html In this panel discussion, the program manager and stem managers for the 42nd STC Annual Conference (scheduled for April 23 through 26,1995, in Washington, D. C.) will be available to share their ideas for the upcoming conference program and to hear your suggestions and ideas for meeting the challenge of change. Only issues related to the program will be discussed. http://tc.eserver.org/29525.html http://tc.eserver.org/29525.html The Semantic Web is coming and it's bringing major changes to the ways that people create, manage, deliver, consume, and share technical information. This session introduces Web 2.0 and its tools and technologies, and examines how they are changing the landscape of technical communication. Discover how Web 2.0 methods make it possible to deliver "content as a service" and to empower customers to personalize technical content in useful and exciting new ways. http://tc.eserver.org/28825.html http://tc.eserver.org/28825.html Employers' expectations of their technical communicators have changed, sometimes to our advantage, sometimes not. To advance individually or collectively, technical communicators therefore need an accurate understanding of employers' expectations -- what they were, what they are, and where they're headed. This session looks at where technical communicators have been and past expectations for the job, describes the evolution of technical communicators, and contrasts the former expectations of technical communicators with those in place now and anticipated in the future. This session draws on recent STC research as well as personal experiences. http://tc.eserver.org/25160.html http://tc.eserver.org/25160.html How do we add value? How can we measure that value? How can we add more value? http://tc.eserver.org/25119.html http://tc.eserver.org/25119.html What are human factors? Why do technical communicators care? http://tc.eserver.org/24365.html http://tc.eserver.org/24365.html Information session, suitable for general audience. (40 slides) http://tc.eserver.org/24209.html http://tc.eserver.org/24209.html Ten to twenty Fellows of the Society share their stories of ethical dilemmas from their collective storehouse of experience. Their experiences come from virtually every major industry, many minor industries, the military and academia. In just two minutes, each speaker will tell of his or her most poignant ethical challenge. Subjects vary from business ethics to communication ethics—see Code for Communicators. http://tc.eserver.org/24054.html http://tc.eserver.org/24054.html Describes the course of study that new students in the field of technical communication should consider. Describes what high-tech companies in the Northwest are looking for in prospective employees, and provides information about how to employ particular TC skills to cope with an unsettled job market. http://tc.eserver.org/24010.html http://tc.eserver.org/24010.html Creativity is a form of energy starting from nothing and generating original and unique values. http://tc.eserver.org/23286.html http://tc.eserver.org/23286.html Characterizes the evolving trends, and helps you consider the impact of trends on your thinking and doing. http://tc.eserver.org/23224.html http://tc.eserver.org/23224.html A description of the profession of scientific and technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/23223.html http://tc.eserver.org/23223.html Why use technical communicators? Why join the ISTC? How to become a technical communicator? This presentation should take approximately 40 minutes to complete and is designed for an audience who are not aware of the existence of the profession. http://tc.eserver.org/22177.html http://tc.eserver.org/22177.html Rapidly changing processes in internationalization, in emerging technologies, and in instructional delivery systems require program directors and faculty to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate the extent to which they consider these changes in curricula development. This evaluation should not necessarily result in curricula molded in the image of industry, for many changes in technological processes are ephemeral. http://tc.eserver.org/21703.html http://tc.eserver.org/21703.html What is XML? Cross-platform, software and hardware independent tool for storing information. A subset of SGML. Its goal is to enable generic SGML to be served and processed on the Web in a way that is now possible with HTML. XML has been designed for ease of implementation and for interoperability with both SGML and HTML. http://tc.eserver.org/18361.html http://tc.eserver.org/18361.html A document about employment options for technical communication students. http://tc.eserver.org/18261.html http://tc.eserver.org/18261.html A panel of experts will discuss how to work in an authority vacuum. Whether working within or consulting to an organization, multi-talented, multi-tasked professionals are finding themselves working in an authority vacuum. Often, these jobs are nestled in the management ranks. Often, too, the position and the job are so new that the rules have not yet been written. Not everyone can function in such ambiguity. Yet major economic changes are forcing many of us to face more uncertainty than ever imagined. Not only can the panelists help define anew type of evolving management structure but they can also help in giving us concrete ways of dealing with daily uncertainties. http://tc.eserver.org/18252.html http://tc.eserver.org/18252.html The field of technical communication is transforming at a rapid rate, responding to scientific and technological advancements, economic pressures, and social changes. This makes our field exciting and challenging. The excitement and challenge is intensified for educators and trainers, because we must stay high on the learning curve in order to help prepare others to meet the challenges and prosper by the changes. At the same time, we must be sure to integrate new knowledge, technologies, and skills with what is valuable in the old rather than simply letting the new displace the old. http://tc.eserver.org/18222.html http://tc.eserver.org/18222.html Technology transfer was a critical component of a research effort designed to develop, test, and evaluate new electronics assembly methods and cleaning techniques to eliminate the use of ozone depleting substances in military hardware manufacturing. Providing technical direction to small and mediumsized companies was critical to not only ensure that the electronic hardware produced conforms to military standards, but to also assure continued reliability of “mission critical” military and space electronic hardware manufactured with these new materials. Four technology transfer methods were initially targeted to transfer information, including (1) newsletters (2) courses, seminars, and conferences (3) bulletin boards, networks (4) satellite broadcasts. http://tc.eserver.org/18199.html http://tc.eserver.org/18199.html Keeping motivation high and steady has never been easy; the changes of the 1990’s have made self-motivation even more difficult. We are expected to do more, faster, and better--with less structure and supervision. Simultaneously, other demands upon our time and energy have built, not lessened. Although the seriousness of these challenges cannot be denied, they can be met by the development of a motivational strategy requiring self-knowledge, self-discipline, and the willingness to change, as well as offering concrete ways of coping with the 90’s and making them productive, even happy. This Workshop will be a team presentation, alternating motivational theory/practice with supporting theories of brain functioning. http://tc.eserver.org/18198.html http://tc.eserver.org/18198.html Keeping motivation high and steady has never been easy; the changes of the 1990’s have made self-motivation even more difficult. We are expected to do more, faster, and better--with less structure and supervision. Simultaneously, other demands upon our time and energy have built, not lessened. Although the seriousness of these challenges cannot be denied, they can be met by the development of a motivational strategy requiring self-knowledge, self-discipline, and the willingness to change, as well as offering concrete ways of coping with the 90’s and making them productive, even happy. This Workshop will be a team presentation, alternating motivational theory/practice with supporting theories of brain functioning. http://tc.eserver.org/18211.html http://tc.eserver.org/18211.html Goal hierarchies are models that represent a set of problems or goals. Goal hierarchies can also represent the goals of a product, and the information that should be provided to explain the product. A single goal hierarchy can direct the design of both the product and all rhetoric about the product. Goal hierarchies can direct the design and ordering of the tasks required to build the product. They can also define the structure and order of its accompanying text, online help, hypertext, training, and customer support heuristic. Goal hierarchies were used to enhance development of a specific Department of Veterans Affairs information product and its accompanying rhetoric. http://tc.eserver.org/18207.html http://tc.eserver.org/18207.html The University of Colorado at Denver’s Internet Task Force designed a home page on the World Wide Web (WWW) for the School of Education, while simultaneously studying the group dynamics of the collaborative learning/design process. We developed a 4-point model which is appropriate for technically sophisticated adult learners, instructional designers, software developers, and information technologists. Critical features are reflection-in-action, building a common knowledge base, taking ownership of an authentic task, and generating research questions. http://tc.eserver.org/18197.html http://tc.eserver.org/18197.html The unusual mix of participants and formats in the FORUM 95 conference supported international cooperation and demonstrated new approaches for professional conferences. The FORUM 95 conference, held November 13-15, 1995, in Dortmund, Germany, supported international cooperation through its themes and organization. Using English as the operating language, FORUM 95 attracted widespread international participation. With the theme of “Disappearing Borders,” the conference demonstrated how limitations in political boundaries, media, and employment locations have shifted during the last five years. For example, registrants from the former East Germany, South Africa, and Estonia brought new perspectives on technical communication. Among more than 320 attendees, 41% were German, 13% Dutch, 12% Swedish, 10% US, 6% British, 4% Danish, 3% Norwegian, 8% all other European, 3% all other. http://tc.eserver.org/18201.html http://tc.eserver.org/18201.html Increasingly, technical communicators are confronting ethical issues in the workplace. Conflicts arise that appear to defy black-and-white solutions. To render every verdict as “gray,” however, begs the question. This workshop exposes participants to the use of value analysis to clarify ethical conflicts in technical communication. The presenters use a framework of 10 common values, based on the initial work of the STC Ethics Committee, to support objective analysis and resolution of such ethical conflicts. The workshop gives participants the opportunity to explore ethical dilemmas “hands-on” through small-group discussions and a series of role-playing vignettes on selected conflict scenarios. http://tc.eserver.org/18215.html http://tc.eserver.org/18215.html This panel will present case studies on the value added by technical communicators and their information products to the products and services they support. Many of us practitioners would like to do more value-adding assessments, but don’t know how to adapt the measures to our real-world situations of limited budget and often limited interest among our customers. The panel will focus on practical approaches for applying some of the metrics used to calculate the value of our products and services (1,2). We will also discuss the benefits of this exercise for ourselves and our customers. With the current economic clime, waiting for others to determine the value of their work often means waiting in unemployment lines. http://tc.eserver.org/18196.html http://tc.eserver.org/18196.html Forum 95 offered an ideal opportunity for technical communicators from 21 countries to exchange ideas. The concept worked admirably. Much of the conference’s success can be attributed to the willingness of the four organizing societies, although from different countries, to work companionable together to create a truly international affair. A secondary concept--to organize videoconferences with technical communicators in Beijing and Moscow--added an event greater international component to the event. http://tc.eserver.org/18206.html http://tc.eserver.org/18206.html Technical communicators may optimize their instructional material for delivery through media rather than face-toface, for users’ understanding of conceptual material over their taking action, and for adequate performance after a minimal period of learning. The arts approach instruction quite differently and technical communicators may gain a more comprehensive view of their own work by looking at arts instruction. This article compares technical communication and arts approaches based on interviews with 35 professionals. http://tc.eserver.org/15022.html http://tc.eserver.org/15022.html Technology has paradoxically expanded and contracted technical communication. With the expansion of jobs, particularly in computer documentation and Web development, the demand for academic programs to graduate these workers has also increased. In turn the demand for graduate programs to prepare the teachers for those programs has expanded. Even the growth of international communication as an area of study has followed largely from the export of technology. http://tc.eserver.org/14529.html http://tc.eserver.org/14529.html This session offers participants an opportunity to learn and contribute ideas about forming a policies and procedures professional interest committee (PIC) within STC. The presenter defines 'policies and procedures' and its growing importance in industry. Represents STC’s requirements for forming a PIC. He proposes a mission statement, goals, objectives, and activities for having this PIC. Participants comment on and volunteer for making this PIC a success. http://tc.eserver.org/14526.html http://tc.eserver.org/14526.html Corporate 'downsizing' is effecting a large worker population: and not just those workers being laid off. The pervasiveness and breadth of layoffs at this time is changing workers’ trust in the future and ability to plan for tomorrow. The loyalty to firm is changing also. As one woman said 'the company used to be my family. This was my community, my network, like my parents’ hometown was to them. Its been bombed.' Trust in the future as it was known is shattered. Belief in the 'do a good job and you’ll be rewarded' is low. The effect of the economy on the workplace is grieving and distrust, and shattered selves. http://tc.eserver.org/14546.html http://tc.eserver.org/14546.html Measuring value added is a topic of great concern to technical communicators. At the 1994 conference, represented results from a year-long project that included a questionnaire and several case studies. STC then funded a second, smaller project in which we are following up with some of the people who responded to the questionnaire and in which we are collecting new case studies. http://tc.eserver.org/14510.html http://tc.eserver.org/14510.html The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a cognitive theory offering insights into persuasion and attitude change that technical communicators can apply to persuasive documents. The two routes to persuasion that ELM postulates (central and peripheral) closely parallel and expand a concept with which many technical communicators are familiar: attention and attraction in document design. By applying ELM to writing and designing marketing brochures, writers can identify and address the many variables that influence the central and peripheral route persuasion processes and, thereby, create more persuasive, effective documents. http://tc.eserver.org/14532.html http://tc.eserver.org/14532.html Good user interface design requires a marriage of technical communication, human factors, graphic design, and cognitive psychology. A good user interface designer (or visual designer) is a combination of writer and artist, therapist and engineer. But, one of the central skills in this fields is communication. The user interface is communication—it is the primary link between the person using the product and the actual code making the screens move and respond. http://tc.eserver.org/14528.html http://tc.eserver.org/14528.html If we look at many publications organizations today, we find many examples of process gone awry. Deadlines are routinely missed, original schedules are considered impossible, little or no planning occurs, plans that are written are ignored, project management is virtually unknown, and writers madly write and rewrite until someone blows the whistle and insists that the whole mess be shipped to the unwitting customers. This scenario is so common that many technical communicators hardly believe any other is possible. http://tc.eserver.org/14386.html http://tc.eserver.org/14386.html Working in another country can be a rewarding, exciting experience. Preparing for an overseas job, however, involves more than sorting out visas, work permits, inoculations, and currency exchanges. You must also learn as much as possible about the host culture in order to avoid some of the more unpleasant “cultural pitfalls” discussed in this session. Once you are aware of these issues, you can reasonably assess whether an overseas project is right for you. http://tc.eserver.org/14391.html http://tc.eserver.org/14391.html Solve complex and real cases in international technical communication with your peers. Have fun, learn a lot, and meet interesting people while you’re at it! http://tc.eserver.org/14349.html http://tc.eserver.org/14349.html Usability experts will lead a progression for technical communicators or managers who may have some usability responsibility. In this progression, session participants with some knowledge of usability principles and practices will expand their knowledge of usability. http://tc.eserver.org/14057.html http://tc.eserver.org/14057.html A presentation about the history and present of technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/14010.html http://tc.eserver.org/14010.html The purpose of presenting is to actuate. You want to persuade people. You want to persuade them to think, or get excited about something, or act in response to what you present. Otherwise there is no point in making the effort of preparing and delivering your presentation. Presentations do not necessarily need to be meaningful for you. You already know the meaning of your message. Deliver the message from the audiences' point of view. (Another way to say this: What you want to present is not as important as what the audience needs to hear in order for your message to come across clearly, simply.) Remember that an audience will judge a presentation on the basis of how meaningful is was for them. http://tc.eserver.org/13907.html http://tc.eserver.org/13907.html Programs in technical communication have, at least in their recent history, emphasized the preparation of students for corporate positions. We claim the ubiquity and relevance of our work to all areas of life, and indeed it is easy enough to find examples of 'technical communication' everywhere. But this observation is not the same as observing that there is a role for technical communicators everywhere. http://tc.eserver.org/13908.html http://tc.eserver.org/13908.html My task here is to ponder the next twenty years of technical communication as a way of stimulating discussion about our current values. Since I'm an historical scholar and not a futurologist, I'm going to prevail upon you to join me in a thought experiment. Instead of looking forward in the usual manner of labor department reports and trend-searching popular prophets, let's follow the practice of science fiction writers-I apologize in advance to William Gibson and other masters-and place ourselves ahead in the year 2014, then look back, beginning with our own time in 1994, writing, as it were, the history of the present. http://tc.eserver.org/13736.html http://tc.eserver.org/13736.html Identifies four different factors shaping the future of technical communication: user-centered design, corporate universities, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and knowledge management. The authors each address how factors once considered external to the field of technical communication are now becoming thoroughly integrated with it. These four studies, in conjunction, suggest how the field of technical communication is becoming increasingly complex and how participants (practitioners, researchers, and educators) will need to adapt to this new terrain. http://tc.eserver.org/13479.html http://tc.eserver.org/13479.html How do technical writers develop professionally after they graduate from college? To find the answer we developed a technical communication career survey between March and July, 1992, and polled members of STC. This panel discusses career development theory, the results of our survey and the reactions of actual technical writers who completed the survey. http://tc.eserver.org/13470.html http://tc.eserver.org/13470.html Most of us view government regulations negatively. Yet they provide a multitude of opportunities for technical writers. What are these opportunities? Where are they? How can you take advantage of them? A chance opportunity knocked on the author's door. Her experience can guide you to find and knock on opportunity's door. http://tc.eserver.org/13278.html http://tc.eserver.org/13278.html A member of STC’s Special Needs Committee describes the history and goals of the Committee. http://tc.eserver.org/13274.html http://tc.eserver.org/13274.html With the information revolution, technical communicators need to problematize the definition of information, re-evaluate our role in the information food chain as both information producers and consumers, and re-examine how and why we produce information. http://tc.eserver.org/13244.html http://tc.eserver.org/13244.html Understanding how you work (process) and understanding what you do (roles) are two important aspects of a successful documentation group that works within a regulated environment. These items will help writers produce better documentation and provide a way to better define (or redefine) their roles in the development process. http://tc.eserver.org/13232.html http://tc.eserver.org/13232.html The historical roots of technical communication are just beginning to be identified and researched. Although many of the theoretical foundations of the field may be understood by focusing on the history of technical communication, several current interests and needs of practicing professionals may also be addressed through the study of the field’s history. With knowledge of the different kinds of corporate archival materials, of their typical locations, and of the techniques for using them, practitioners can begin to study and apply information from the past to their current work. Historical research also provides knowledge of corporate cultures and enhances the identity and professional status of technical communicators. http://tc.eserver.org/13217.html http://tc.eserver.org/13217.html If the modular approach to developing documentation is poorly coordinated, it can be a waste of time and resources. In this paper, learn how a team of technical writers overcame the problem to develop and standardize their documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/13212.html http://tc.eserver.org/13212.html Technical communication in Germany faces some unique problems arising from the nature of German culture and language. Typically, the German orientation to writing is writer-based, not reader-based. The development of the profession shows many characteristics similar to the development in the U.S. yet with many different focuses in education, in industrial practice, and in professional organizations. It is a profession 'on the way to recognition.' http://tc.eserver.org/13206.html http://tc.eserver.org/13206.html As software documentation becomes increasingly integrated with the software interface, technical communication organizations must apply new skills to create new kinds of deliverables. In addition to the traditional technical communication skills such as task analysis, audience analysis, and written communication, today’s technical communication organizations may also need programming skills, visual design skills, and user interface design skills. Managers must find ways to hire, train, and retain these new skills. They must also actively work to change the perception of technical communication to align with the new roles that technical communication organizations will play in the future of software development. http://tc.eserver.org/13205.html http://tc.eserver.org/13205.html Some of the latest issues and trends that are expanding the roles of technical communicators include: working with User Interface and Usability; documenting web-based intranet applications; creating CBTs that complement online help; writing a standard that people actually use; evaluating our expanding tool base; redesign and Re-testing - Always consult with end users to ensure that the interface performance is maximized. If not, go back to the drawing board. http://tc.eserver.org/13163.html http://tc.eserver.org/13163.html STC Employment Information Committees provide information to job seekers and employers in a variety of ways. In 1995, committees provided employment information through networking, printed job listings, resume databases, job phone lines, a few electronic bulletin boards, and a couple of e-mail listings. But the times they are a-changing. Now, committees present employment information mostly through Web sites and e-mail listings. Job seekers are provided information on job postings, employers, job hunting skills, and resume writing. Employers can list job positions and check resumes. Job seekers and employers benefit from these services because dedicated Employment Information Committee members volunteer so much of their time and effort. http://tc.eserver.org/13136.html http://tc.eserver.org/13136.html The purpose of this presentation is to introduce general guidelines or rules that technical communicators can use to deal with their specific ethical situations. http://tc.eserver.org/13099.html http://tc.eserver.org/13099.html Technical communicators living and working in China need to be familiar with more than the principles of their craft. They should also understand the requirements of proper forms of address, what makes correspondence “official,” Chinese learning and communicating styles, and other cultural influences on communication, such as the importance of slogans, the rule of silence and the habit of non-specificity. Such understandings lead to cultural sensitivity and increased ability to respond to the challenges of working in the Chinese environment. names is a sign of friendliness. The best practice in China, however, is to address people in the generally accepted Chinese way. http://tc.eserver.org/13115.html http://tc.eserver.org/13115.html Quality can be an intimidating topic for many technical communicators. Quality is rarely covered in technical communication courses. Most technical communicators do not have access to a Quality guru to help them understand the concepts and available options. Because of this, many technical communicators avoid using Quality concepts that could help improve their documents. http://tc.eserver.org/13125.html http://tc.eserver.org/13125.html Information-rich interfaces are proliferating right under our noses—both on the Web and on our desktops. As professional user advocates and technical communicators expert in designing information, we are in a key position to perform product-design roles as these interfaces are developed. To be fully prepared for this challenge, we must develop some skills we might not have, and we must gather resources that are perhaps outside our typical bag of tricks. http://tc.eserver.org/13096.html http://tc.eserver.org/13096.html Technical communication is usually seen as a practical profession -- one that emphasizes products, process and results -- rather than one that emphasizes theory and broad, generalized application of research results.