Review: Starring the Text: The Place of Rhetoric in Science Studies    

Given Alan G. Gross's substantial contributions to the rhetoric of science, most recently with Joseph E. Harmon and Michael Reidy (2002) in Communicating Science, I looked forward to reading Gross's latest work, Starring the Text: The Place of Rhetoric in Science Studies--until I read the preface. In the preface, Gross notes that Starring the Text is not a new con- tribution but a 'major refiguring' (p. ix) of his earlier work The Rhetoric of Science (1990). Like most readers, I am decidedly less enthusiastic about reading a revision of an older contribution than I am about reading a new contribution.

Paul, Danette. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Reviews>Rhetoric>Scientific Communication

Review: Starting a Business  

Have you ever worked for a mismanaged company? Are you flexible, yet persistent? Save some startup capital and you, too, can be a successful entrepreneur, say some local business owners who shared their tips and war stories with Four Lakes members at the Oct. 16 meeting.

Janczy, Amy. STC Four Lakes (2002). Resources>Reviews>Presentations>Wisconsin

Review: The STC 54th Annual Conference

What I saw was a society of professionals emerging from a process of reflection and redefinition with a vitality and momentum that said, "There's a new sheriff in town, and she's brought the posse with her." The sheriff is Susan Burton, the new STC Director.

Hughes, Michael A. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Reviews>Knowledge Management

Review: STC Technical Communication Summit, Usability Track

The best part of my experience at the STC Summit was meeting people who, like me, are craving information on the trends of which we are such a large part--such as Web 2.0, user-centered design, and new software tools. For the most part, I got the information I craved. As a technical writer who is professionally heading deep into usability and user interface (UI) design, I actually went to the conference for the usability certificate program.

Marlett, Stacia. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Reviews>TC>Usability

Review: Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Web Sites  

The group that would probably benefit most from reading Submit now is marketers, particularly entry-level marketing managers or marketing students. The book does a fine job of connecting basic concepts of persuasion to designing Web sites that will motivate the four different types of Internet shoppers discussed earlier. I could, however, foresee how experienced marketers could find the information contained in this book too basic for their needs.

Coleman, Colleen. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Marketing

Review: The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness

Whether you have been paying attention or not we are living in an age of aesthetics. So says Virginia Postrel in her latest book, The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness. Postrel examines how the role of aesthetics and style are transforming our culture and economy in a variety of ways.

MacLaughlin, Steve. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Reviews>Aesthetics

Review: Successful Writing At Work: Concise Edition    

Philip Kolin's purpose in writing Successful Writing at Work: Concise Edition is to introduce professional and business writing to undergraduate students who probably will not be taking other business writing courses. Kolin forgoes theory and provides ample exercises and examples. The concise edition, at 344 pages (10 chapters) and US$55, is 412 pages shorter and US$23 less than the full version, Successful Writing at Work (Kolin, 2006). While the book includes many of the important topics of the full version (such as discrete chapters devoted to letter writing, job applications, and writing procedures), the savings may not justify the loss of content and depth.

Dangler, Doug. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Reviews>Textbooks>Business Communication

Review: The Teacher-Researcher: How to Study Writing in the Classroom

The latest NCTE book list indicates that The Teacher-Researcher should interest English instructors at all levels. In fact, Myers’s “global purpose is to promote the development of teacher research among K-12 teachers by providing examples of different ways teachers can study writing in their classrooms,” mainly for assessment purposes (1). Although JAC readers may profit by applying some of Myers’s work in their research, The Teacher-Researcher as a whole is too eclectic and superficial. Because Myers sometimes treats details in his exposition rather cavalierly, he may confuse his primary audience as well.

Hagge, John. JAC (1987). Articles>Reviews>Education

Review: Teaching Yourself Adobe GoLive 4.0  

Reviews Adobe GoLive 4.0 Classroom in a Book, and Adobe GoLive 4.0 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide.

Wallia, C.J.S. Intercom (2000). Articles>Reviews>Software>Adobe GoLive

Review: A Tech Writer Crosses Over to Marketing and Becomes a "Webinarian"  

Have you ever considered taking on marketing duties at your present job, or even transitioning to a new career as a 'marketeer'? Wistfully, you dream of sipping martinis with your attractive new coworkers under the department’s neon sign, 'Marketing—Two Drink Minimum,' before heading home empty-handed at 5 p.m. Oh, wait a minute—that was a Dilbert cartoon.

Janczy, Amy. STC Four Lakes (2002). Resources>Reviews>Presentations>Technical Writing

Review: Technical Communication  

Rebecca E. Burnett covers all the topics you'd expect in an introductory textbook for technical communicators. And she covers them thoroughly.

Campbell, Alexa. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Textbooks>Technical Writing

Review: Technical Style: Technical Writing in a Digital Age  

Haile argues that 'books on technical writing often ignore the problems writers face in presenting equations and the problems readers face in decoding them.' That's often true. And, just as Edward Tufte's books show a passion for truth in statistical charts, Haile's analyses and prescriptions demonstrate how much he cares about clearing away the clutter that stands between readers and the underlying science.

Price, Jonathan R. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing

Review: Technical Writing for Dummies  

If you're a professional technical communicator who is interested in gleaning a few tidbits of knowledge for yourself, while simultaneously preparing witty answers to the questions asked of you by those who don't know anything about the things you do, you might want to add a yellow or orange book to your bookshelf. You wouldn't be completely dumb or idiotic if you did.

Ecker, Pamela S. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Technical Writing

Review: Textbooks for Business and Technical Writing Courses

Those of us involved in teaching the survey course in business and technical writing--one which encompasses a wide range of documents--frequently wonder if we are using the best textbook for our purposes.

Goleman, Patricia. ATTW Bulletin (2005). Articles>Reviews>Textbooks

Review: The Study Technology

A book covering the barriers to study and their handling.

Bruno, Elisabetta. Elisabetta Bruno. Articles>Reviews>Education

Review: There Must be Many I's in Today's Small UX teams: Jared Spool at NYC UPA

Jared Spool led the NYC UPA membership in an energetic discussion of user experience successes and failures. Comments ranged widely but centered on three main questions.

Herring, Richard D. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Reviews>Presentations>Usability

Review: To Create a Website

"2 Create a Website" has many different facets. One of the best things this site provides is a detailed step-by-step resource that leads the user through the process of setting up, creating, and maintaining a Web site.

Krudner, Leanne. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Toward a "New Deal" for Copyright for an Information Age  

A century of Congressional deference to industry-negotiated compromises has produced, Litman argues, a copyright law that is both incomprehensible and unfair. This incomprehensibility might be tolerable if copyright law governed only commercial relations among industry participants, all of whom can have copyright counsel. To the extent that copyright law applies to the conduct of ordinary persons, its incomprehensibility presents serious difficulties. Moreover, to the extent that copyright law makes illegal many ordinary activities of individuals--for example, making private copies of music for oneself or to share with a friend or forwarding articles to friends via the Internet--it has become unfair as well. In Digital Copyright, she outlines a framework for a copyright law that would be a new and better deal for the public and would be short, comprehensible, and normative in character.

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (2002). Articles>Reviews>Copyright

Review: Translating the World: Science and Language  

Technical communication is often compared with translation. In both cases, practitioners modify messages created by one culture so the meaning of such messages can be understood by the members of another culture. For translators, the cultures involve different languages, while technical communicators focus on bridging the differences between professional cultures (for example, engineers versus more general audiences).

St. Amant, Kirk R. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Localization

Review: Typographic Design: Form and Communication  

This book is a great resource for designers who want a better understanding of typography. Writers can also benefit from this book, especially from the chapter on legibility, but may be overwhelmed by the level of detail. Although I am not a graphic artist, I feel inspired to consider the use of typography more carefully in the projects I design, and having read this book, I have a better understanding of the design process that creates the typefaces I use.

Hall, Rebecca C. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Typography

Review: Unspun: Key Concepts for Understanding the World Wide Web  

This book, like many others published these days, is about the World Wide Web. However its approach to the Web is unlike much of what I've read. Unspun: Key concepts for understanding the World Wide Web is not a how-to book; it does not offer instruction on using the Web to communicate. Instead, editor Thomas Swiss asks in his introduction, 'What are we talking about when we talk about the Web?'

Davis, Linda M. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design

Review: Usability Testing and Research  

If you want a usability reference that includes research, theory, tools, and practical applications within one cover, Usability Testing and Research is the book for you.

Williams, Jocelyn Crump. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Usability>Testing