Communication and Creativity are the Future

As our tools become better-developed, the mastery of the tool becomes less important, while the ability to communicate and to come up with creative solutions will become even more crucial. It may be years before we can see any significant development in how we manipulate our creative visions, but I’m confident that focusing on developing your communication and creativity are extremely useful activities, even now. After all, it’s not really about what you have, but what you can do with it.

Contract Worker (2008). Articles>Technology

Communication in Technology Transfer and Diffusion: Defining the Field    

Provides an introduction to our field’s connections with technology transfer and diffusion. Technology transfer, the complex social process that moves technology from bench to market, drives global economic growth; technology diffusion, the market-driven process by which innovations are adopted and implemented, follows similar patterns. Indeed, technology transfer and diffusion may be considered synonymous with the phenomenon of growth in a global economy.

Coppola, Nancy W. Technical Communication Quarterly (2006). Articles>Communication>Technology>Technical Writing

Complex Technology Calls for Intelligible Documentation  

By means of the tekom guidelines (check list) the technical author can particularly check the documentation of a product. However it is not the product which can be checked by means of this check list, but only the product’s documentation.

Noack, Claus. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Technology

Complicating Technology: Interdisciplinary Method, the Burden of Comprehension, and the Ethical Space of the Technical Communicator      

There is much for technical communicators to learn from the burgeoning field of technology studies. Technical communicators, however, have an obligation to exercise patience as they enter this arena of study. Using interdisciplinary theory, this article argues that technical communication must assume the 'burden of comprehension': the responsibility of understanding the ideologies, contexts, values, and histories of those disciplines from which we borrow before we begin using their methods and research findings. Three disciplines of technology study--history, sociology, and philosophy--are examined to investigate how these disciplines approach technology. The article concludes with speculation on how technical communicators, by virtue of their entrance into this interdisciplinary arena, might refashion both their practical roles and the scope of their ethical responsibilities.

Johnson, Robert R. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Articles>Technology>Ethics

Computer Human Values

As computers and digital devices increasingly insert themselves into our lives, they do so on an ever increasing social level. Designers need to understand the context of use and include the whole of a user's experience into the solution when creating a computer interface.

Shedroff, Nathan. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Technology>Ethics

Computers and Aging: Marking Raced, Classed and Gendered Inequalities    

This article begins with an overview of cognitive psychology research on the effects of aging on literacy and suggests the additional complications facing older adults who consume and produce text within the frame of technology, particularly on-line usage. From an overview, the text moves to patterns corporations are using to target older adults, namely as consumers and as producers. The text then explores the use of philanthropy in the corporate literacy initiatives and suggests that there are complicated issues at hand in attempting to integrate the knowledge of aging and corporate strategies into our technical writing classrooms because we enter this discussion concerned about non-traditional students, older adults who are challenged to participate in contemporary literacy initiatives, and ourselves as aging participants as well. The article ends with suggestions of possible ways of addressing concerns regarding aging. Half the people in the world, one half the people in the world don't have electricity. How are you going to get a computer in their hands, Bubba? They gotta have a little electricity first. You know, you can't go to the bathroom unless you got a toilet. You know, I mean, over a billion people don't have access to clean drinking water. Forget about the digital divide. They, they got to have food, water, clothing, shelter, and a chance for education. I mean, you know, digital divide, you know. Ted Turner cited in [1].

Crow, Angela. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Technology>Usability>Elderly

Concerned About RFID Tags? You Should Be

Gives a brief overview about how RFID tags work and examines the threat RFID tags pose to consumers and privacy in general.

Cook, J.R. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>Technology>Privacy

A Consideration of the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident as Apologia

The Rogers report seems to be more than just a report to explain the Challenger accident and give suggestions to avoid a similar tragedy occurring in the future. In a sense, it appears to be a type of apologia. On January 28, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger, mission 51-L, launched from Florida's Kennedy Air force Base at 11:38 a.m. Eastern Stand ard Time. As the country watched in disbelief, the shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds later in an explosion of hydrogen and oxygen. All seven crew members died. On February 3, President Reagan issued an executive order to set up a commission to investigate the challenger accident. The commission was sworn in on February 6, and presented its report to the president on June 6 of the same year. This report, commonly known as the Rogers Report, after its chairman William R. Roger, had a dual mandate from the president. First to look at the probable causes of the accident, and second, to develop recommendations for corrective action. This was done through a comprehensive investigation involving all of the following: interviews with more than 160 people, more than 35 formal panel investigations, examination of more than 6,300 documents (which included hundreds of photographs and more then 122,000 pages), the generation of almost 12,000 pages of transcript and another 2,800 pages of hearing transcripts.

Holombo, Chrystal. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>Technology>Risk Communication>Engineering

Consulting as a Process: Getting to Know Your Client and Using Technology

Much like the strategic planning process used by talented communicators around the globe, consulting too is a process. It is circular because it feeds into itself, and it is strategic because it is grounded in the business and relationships. Each step incorporates multiple sub-steps. For example, “collaborate on the solution” may incorporate brainstorming, best practice benchmarking and collaborative implementation.

Wilson, Stacy. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Consulting>Technology

(Deeply) Resisting Arrest: Beyond the Either/Or of Information Technology in Technical & Scientific Communication Programs  

If I choose to walk or ride a bicycle to work in the morning, will I be perceived as an anti-technology Luddite because I have resisted driving my car? Probably not. In fact, I might be seen as someone who is environmentally aware and health conscious. When it comes to information technology, however, such resistance is seen quite differently.

Johnson, Robert R. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Technology

Design, Technology and Their Roles in Social Changes

Christina Li interviewd Nico Macdonald on aspects of design, technology and society. Nico offered his insights from his own experience of working in political compaign and design consultancies.

Li, Christina. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Technology>Design

Designing for Lifeworlds: Genre and Activity in Information Systems Design and Evaluation  

Increasingly, professional communicators design and evaluate information systems. Yet the dominant theoretical frameworks and research methodologies are limited in important ways.

Spinuzzi, Clay. University of Texas (1999). Books>Rhetoric>Technology

Developing the Political Perspective on Technological Change Through Rhetorical Analysis    

Rhetorical analysis provides a means through which a political perspective on technological change can be developed at a micro-discursive level. Through the analysis of managers' arguments and counterarguments, this article identifies three rhetorical strategies that negotiate the relationship between the technical and the social: attributing the effects of technology; claiming convergent and divergent interests; and constructing identities for self, groups, and the technology. It argues that a rhetorical approach maintains space for agency on the behalf of employees (through the witcraft of argument) and analytical skepticism concerning the reality of technology properties and effects (through counterargument). In addition, it proposes the concept of the argumentative context as a means of bridging the gap between individual and organizational rhetoric.

Symon, Gillian. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Technology>Rhetoric

Digital Scientific and Technical Information Initiatives in an Interagency Context  

Federal STI agencies will have a cooperative enterprise where capabilities are shared and challenges are faced together so that the sum of accomplishments is greater than each individual agency can achieve on its own.

Carroll, Bonnie C. OSTI (1999). Presentations>Slideshows>Technology

Does "New and Improved" Always Mean Better?

A few years back a Canadian company asked me to review their corporate presentation. They seemed pretty pleased with what they had created but asked if I could take a look at things with a professional eye and provide them with some constructive feedback. I rarely turn down these types of requests because every one of us can benefit from some objective perspective from time to time. They went on to tell me that they had been working hard over the years to improve the quality of their presentations and they even went to the extent of purchasing Macromedia Action (no longer available). This high-end presentation design package featured timeline-based slide orchestration, a boatload of new effects, easier media integration capability and a host of other features to be able to create `professional results in minutes'.

Endicott, Jim. Presenters University (2003). Articles>Presentations>Technology>Microsoft PowerPoint

Does Being Technical Matter? XML, Single Source, and Technical Communication    

XML is a recent Web design language that will enable technical communicators to produce documentation that can reuse information and present it across multiple types of media for diverse audiences. However, little is understood about how XML will impact technical communication in terms of theory, academic research, and pedagogy. In this article, I argue that XML requires more interdisciplinary approaches toward the teaching and research of technical communication, particularly with respect to the integration of technical and rhetorical knowledge.

Sapienza, Filipp. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Technology>Single Sourcing>XML

Does Communication Everywhere Improve Communication?

As much we think we are multitaskers, there's a limit to what we can process. How has technology's enabling of communication anywhere and everywhere affected us in the context of traditional activities? How do they interplay with each other?

Cheng, Kevin. OK-Cancel (2005). Articles>Technology>Wireless Web>Collaboration

Does Usability Have a Role in Telecommunication?

The theme of this year’s annual conference is 'Global Communication Odyssey.' Wireless phones, the Internet, and e-commerce rely on telecommunication to deliver service to the customer. Our own Alice Preston and David Dick describe the role of usability in telecommunication.

Preston, Alice and David J. Dick. Usability Interface (2001). Articles>Usability>Technology

The Domino Effect: Changes Have Unforeseen Consequences

It's obvious that almost all the changes you make will affect your user community, but considerably less obvious how helpful that community can be about providing feedback before you make the changes.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Technology>Collaboration

Don't Get Angry

An article in the Washington Post, June 7, 1999, called Terminal Tantrums; 'Computer Rage' Is Widespread, a Study of Users Concludes describes research out of Britain, that we were among the victims of Technology Related Anxiety (TRA), specifically, 'computer rage.' The study reported high levels of PC-related abuse by colleagues 'as a result of frustration' with information technology. The abuses included 'swearing at their PC,' kicking it, and 'bullying the IT department'.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (1999). Articles>Technology>Usability

Don't Get Too Excited About Windows Source Code

Microsoft's offer to open the code to key protocols is probably not as revolutionary as it sounds.

McAllister, Neil. InfoWorld (2006). Articles>Technology>Programming>Microsoft Windows

Double Your Fun  

Argues that using dual monitors can simplify technical writers' jobs and save time. The article includes directions for attaching a second monitor to a computer.

Blank, William. Intercom (2000). Articles>Technology

E-mail and Tattoos: A Primer on Netiquette  

Rogers and Perri discuss the hazards of e-mail and present five tips for using it properly in a professional environment.

Rogers, David J. and Monica C. Perri. Intercom (2000). Articles>Technology>Software>Email

Earthlink Scores Big: TV, Web, Core Values

A recent Earthlink TV commercial demonstrates how a company can use humor, sci fi, innovation, and benefit oriented brand marketing to please and inform customers. Plus, a great web site and high quality ethical core beliefs and values. Very user-centered.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Technology>Marketing>E Commerce