Activity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or framework, with its roots in the Soviet psychologist Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. It seeks to understand human activities as complex, socially-situated phenomena and go beyond paradigms of psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
#14426
A Derridean Approach to Critical Reading: A MONSTER!
Hearing the term 'critical reading' provokes my composition students to lemon-pucker grimace and nervously shift in their seats as if a monster had suddenly appeared. They often gasp at the prospects of the composition course's planned future critical reading unit. They identify with theorist Jacques Derrida's poststructural (deconstruction) notion that 'the future is necessarily monstrous: the figure of the future, that is, that which can only be surprising, that for which [they] are not prepared, you see, is heralded by a species of monsters'. I do not try convincing students that texts are un-intimidating and that critical reading is an unthreatening process of merely examining specific dominant codes within texts that allow for predisposed meanings to occur. I rather tell students that texts are indeed monstrous and the process of critical reading is undeniably what Derrida terms 'a monster.' Considering then that a monster rears its head in the composition classroom, it is necessary to learn one possible way students may approach the wide-ranging process of critical reading. In this brief article, I attempt to discuss Jacques Derrida's definition of the 'monster' and how this definition may be applied to a practice of critically reading texts, appropriately expressed by the memorable acronym, 'A MONSTER.'
May, Talitha. Lore (2002). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory
#29765
Design of Digital Media: A Multidisciplinary Approach 
This article discusses the use of activity theory, visual literacy, and sound theory in the design of digital media. It defines each of these in the context of literacy and how literacy is viewed and changing in today's culture. It then goes on to describe two phases of a case study underway that shows the lifecycle of content development for literacy purposes. It begins with phase one which is development and testing of the content information model and continues with an overview of phase two, currently underway, which is a description of the testing and evaluation of the mediating artifacts that were created in phase one. It ends with a brief explanation of how this research can help technical communications in expanding multidisciplinary efforts and instructional support within the field of education.
D'Ammasso Tarbox, Judy. STC Proceedings (2004). Design>Multimedia>Cultural Theory
#31692
Discursive Leadership: A Communication Alternative to Leadership Psychology 
Without question, the study of leadership has a long and rich history within the organizational sciences despite varying attitudes toward the topic. For example, leadership psychologists portray leadership as an inner motor of leader and increasingly follower traits, states, emotions, and cognitive processing styles that as independent variables cause messages and behavior to be produced.
Fairhurst, Gail T. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Theory
#19130
Diverging Interests: Claims to Legitimacy in Technical Communication
As technical communication becomes more firmly established as a field, those in the discipline of technical communication and those in the profession are finding, sometimes to their surprise, that their interests differ. This difference is reflected in the varying claims to legitimacy made by those in professional practice and those in academia. These claims to legitimacy not only differ, but at times seem to be at odds with one another. My interest in these diverging legitimacy claims rests in my dual existence as a professional technical writer and as a graduate student in rhetoric and technical communication. I come to technical communication theory both as a technical communicator who wants to teach technical communication and as a technical communication consultant who wonders how theory can inform her own practice. Having read Technical Communication for years as a practitioner, I was initially surprised to see the difference between technical communication practice and scholarship, as reflected in the types of research that constitute the current conversation in academic technical communication.
Anderson, Ginger. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>TC>Theory
#13386
Does Web Delivery Impact the Reader-Response Approach to Technical Communication?
This paper is an attempt to explore how reader-response criticism and the overall approach to using rhetoric in technical communication may be impacted by the large amount of technical documentation moving to the Web. The discussion focuses on three main areas: moving from the “reader” to the “user” in online documentation; the value of plain language style in this medium; and how Web delivery seems to be bridging the gap between user interface (UI) text and help documentation. I shall explore these areas in an attempt to clarify whether the publication of technical documentation on the Internet negates the rhetorical approach to technical communication and how or if Web delivery impacts the reader-response view that users play a significant role in creating the meaning of a text.
Fisher, Jeanette. Orange Journal, The (2001). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory
#28012
Dogmas Are Meant to be Broken: An Interview with Eric Reiss
With training in everything from stage design to Egyptology to hypertext games to web projects, Reiss has had extensive practice in finding out what makes an experience work. Could these be the principles I've been waiting for? I tracked down Reiss in Vancouver to find out.
Danzico, Liz. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Information Design>Theory>Minimalism
#13379
By discussing the modern technical communicator's audience with the presumption that they are individuals reading text, many technical communication theorists vastly limit and underestimate the role of the technical communicator. Indeed, Billie J. Wahlstrom writes that as new technologies have been developed over the years, '[technical communicators] have adopted an ahistorical approach . . . largely ignoring . . . luminal eras when changes in communications technologies caused profound cultural transformations' (Walstrom 131).[1] Moreover, arguments in technical communication theory frequently miss the fact that even though they can become wildly divergent, they may all seem appropriate to certain audiences and in certain situations. For example, Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver's The Mathematical Theory of Communication outlines a theory of communication in seeming contradiction to Carolyn R. Miller's in 'A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing.' But despite this conflict, we still find value in both of these theories. How is this possible? Are there any unifying theories that allow for such divergent theories to coexist? Indeed there are, but they require us to look at technical communication in a different way than what is presently assumed in technical communication discourse.
Larson, Jerrod. Orange Journal, The (2001). Articles>Education>Theory
#14575
Experimenteel onderzoek naar de relevantie van cultuurverschillen voor tekstontwerp brengt specifieke problemen met zich mee. In dit artikel worden drie van dergelijke problemen besproken. Het eerste probleem ontstaat doordat cultuurverschil vaak wordt geoperationaliseerd door middel van de nationaliteit van de proefpersoon. Nationaliteit is een parapluvariabele voor een groot aantal verschillen tussen proefpersonen. Elk van die verschillen zou een eventueel effect kunnen verklaren. Een tweede probleem betreft de equivalentie van document en meetinstrument. Hoe kan men controleren dat de documenten in de verschillende talen hetzelfde betekenen en de meetinstrumenten hetzelfde bevragen? Een derde probleem ontstaat doordat leden uit bepaalde culturen eerder geneigd zijn de extremen van een schaal te mijden terwijl dat voor leden uit andere culturen veel minder geldt. Naast een beschrijving van de problemen worden ook suggesties voor oplossingen gedaan.
Hoeken, Hans and Hubert Korzilius. Universiteit Stellenbosch Taalsentrum (2002). (Afrikaans) Articles>Writing>Cultural Theory
#26736
Enterprise Agility - Culture, Language and Requirements Analysis
A culture of change proficiency is an enabling element of response ability, one of the three cornerstones of enterprise agility. Change proficiency is a competency that is facilitated or impeded by an organization's culture; and is fostered, nurtured, and developed in organizations by people who recognize it as a worthwhile pursuit. It is practiced, refined, talked about, debated, valued, and taught; and seeps into the culture through this frequent exercise of language.
Dove, Rick. Paradigm Shift International (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>Cultural Theory
#20320
Postmodernism is the recommended posture for technical writers working in international contexts. But should professional writers, adapting to local cultures, automatically adjust their most firmly held communication principles? O, are there technical or ethical criteria higher than the obligation to adapt.
Weiss, Edmond H. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Cultural Theory
#10235
Exactly What Is Content, Anyway?
Not too long ago, one of the key people behind a substantial e-commerce operation confidently assured me, 'Content is not a consideration for our site. We just sell stuff – we don't publish content.' CRINGE!!! This statement reflects a sadly limited understanding (a profound misunderstanding, actually) of the nature and role of content in online media. Content is a broad term, with broad implications. It includes far more than article-style material.
Gahran, Amy. Contentious (2001). Articles>Content Management>Theory
#31695
This article draws on channel expansion theory to explore the selection and use of communication media by organizational members. Channel expansion theory scholars posit that media richness perceptions are dependent on experiences with communication partners, the message topic, and the communication media utilized. This study tests channel expansion theory in the context of new and traditional communication media. Respondents (N = 269) completed questionnaires regarding their use and perceptions of face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, or instant-messaging interactions. Results indicate that experience with channel, topic, partner, and social influence are all significant predictors of richness perceptions, when controlling for age and media characteristics. Findings also suggest that the richness of a medium is not fixed and may be shaped by interpersonal factors, including one's relevant experiences.
D'Urso, Scott C. and Stephen A. Rains. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Communication>Theory>Surveys
#21614
Tendemos a considerar al color como un hecho objetivo: rojo es rojo y no puede ser visto de otra forma. Pero eso no es así. El color que percibimos depende de cosas como las palabras de que disponemos en nuestro lenguaje (nuestra cultura) para describirlos, los otros colores que lo rodean y lo que el cerebro espera ver.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Graphic Design>Cultural Theory>Color
#20255
It’s time for web designers to peek over the cubicle and start sharing ideas with their peers in related design disciplines. Jacobson suggests one way to do that in this overview of the emerging Experience Design paradigm.
Jacobson, Bob. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Web Design>Theory>User Experience
#32014
Expressive Practices: the Local Enactment of Culture in the Communication Classroom
As students participate in corporate communication classes, they may, on occasion, use the term culture to make sense of their experiences. The authors use Mino's idea of a learning paradigm to shift the emphasis away from teaching traditional theories of culture and use student-centered experiences to teach culture as an expressive practice. Using instances drawn from their own classrooms, the authors show how students can recognize the value of understanding their role in creating culture each time they choose how to act, how to evaluate others' behavior, and whether to label what is going on as cultural.
Wolf, Karen, Trudy Milburn and Richard Wilkins. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Cultural Theory
#24586
Feminist Theory in Technical Communication: Making Knowledge Claims Visible
This study extends the corpus of an earlier qualitative content analysis about women and feminism and identifies the knowledge claims and themes in the 20 articles that discuss gender differences. Knowledge claims are reflected in expressions such as androgyny; natural collaborators; hierarchical, dialogic, and asymmetrical modes; web; connected knowers; different voice; ethic of care; ethic of objectivity; continuous with others; connected to the world; the cultural divide; visual metaphor; and gender-free science. Built from knowledge claims, the themes in the 20 articles include gender differences in language use, learning, and knowledge construction; gender differences in collaboration; and reviews of research about gender differences and political calls for action. Although the 20 articles provide little support for the existence of gender differences, by introducing, discussing, testing, and revising new ideas about women and feminism, they serve as an example of the process of knowledge accumulation and remodeling in technical communication.
Smith, Elizabeth Overman 'Betsy' and Isabelle Thompson. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>TC>Theory>Gender
#24103
Games: A Transactional Context
Communication was not a theorized space until after World War II, it was just something we did. Both Claude Shannon’s seminal model of communication and Norbert Wiener’s model of feedback dealt with the technical transmission space for communication. From the beginning of communication theory, attention focused on technical aspects and broadcast models in which the recipient of the communication was presumed to be passive. All that was necessary was to use understandable codes (language, symbols, images) with which the recipient was familiar. Since those early days, a wealth of communication models have been developed that deal with various perspectives on communication including discourse models that seek to establish rapport; gratification models that attempt to sustain interest; innovation models that promote behavior change; and context models that seek to recognize and plan for the specific conditions in which a communication occurs. With these models the varieties of ways in which communication was received and interpreted came to the foreground, but the variables that influence any particular person’s interpretation remain daunting and undiscoverable in their totality.
Poggenpohl, Sharon. University of Alberta (2003). Articles>Communication>Theory>Games
#14052
Genre and Identity: Citizenship in the Age of the Internet and the Age of Global Capitalism 
One of the more popular academic slogans of this half century is Wittgenstein's characterization of language-in-use as a form of life. Genre theory takes this slogan seriously. In perceiving an utterance as being of a certain kind or genre, we become caught up in a form of life, joining speakers and hearers, writers and readers, in particular relations of a familiar and intelligible sort. As participants orient towards this communicative social space they take on the mood, attitude, and actional possibilities of that placeóthey go that place to do the kinds of things you do there, think the kinds of thoughts you think there, feel the kind of way you feel there, satisfy what you can satisfy there, be the kind of person you can become there (Bazerman 1997, 1998). It is like going to a dining room, or a dance hall, or a seminar, or church. You know what you are getting yourself into and what range of relations and objects will likely be realized there. You adopt a frame of mind, set your hopes, plan accordingly, and begin acting with that orientation.
Bazerman, Charles. UCSB (1999). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory
#21976
Although rhetorical criticism has recently provided a profusion of claims that certain discourses constitute a distinctive class, or genre, rhetorical theory has not provided firm guidance on what constitutes a genre.
Miller, Carolyn R. North Carolina State University (1984). Articles>Rhetoric>Genre>Theory
#31339
Global Teams: Communicating Across Time, Space and, Most Important, Cultures
With the birth of the Internet and the advancement of other information technologies, companies and organizations are now able to operate across borders, cultures and time zones at lower costs than ever before. One way this occurs is through virtual teams, which allow companies to maximize their global expertise and resources, while team members can remain in their home countries.
Apud, Salvador and Talis Apud-Martinez. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Collaboration>International>Cultural Theory
#26930
Good, Evil and Technology: A Fun Philosophical Inquiry
Are there good websites and evil websites? Rarely. Most things we know and use fall in between: tools are amoral. They don’t prevent someone from using them for bad or work better when used for good. Great software performs just as well when you’re drafting praise for homeless shelter volunteers as when you’re writing recipes for orphan stew. If we want to claim that the things we make are good or bad, we have to go beyond their function. Goodness, in the moral sense, means something very different from good in the engineering sense.
Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2001). Articles>Technology>Theory
#29114
Herbert Spencer's Philosophy of Style: Conserving Mental Energy
My article traces the development, chronicles the impact, and explains the essence of Herbert Spencer's "The Philosophy of Style" (1852). Spencer's essay has had a significant influence on stylistics, especially in scientific and technical communication. Although in our generation Spencer's contribution to stylistics is not widely remembered, it ought to be. His single essay on this subject was seminal to modern theories about effective communication, not because it introduced new knowledge but because it was such a rhetorically astute synthesis of stylistic lore, designed to connect traditional rhetorical theory with 19th-century ideas about science, technology, and evolution. It was also influential because it was part of Spencer's grand "synthetic philosophy," a prodigious body of books and essays that made him one of the most prominent thinkers of his time. Spencer's "Philosophy of Style" carried the day, and many following decades, with its description of the human mind as a symbol-processing machine, with its description of cognitive and affective dimensions of communication, and with its scientifically considered distillation of the fundamental components of effective style. We should read Spencer's essay and understand its impact not so much because we expect it to teach us new things about good style, but precisely because: 1) it's at the root of some very important concepts now familiar to us; 2) it synthesizes these concepts so impressively; 3) we can use it heuristically as we continue thinking about style; and 4) it provides a compact, accessible touchstone for exploring--with students, clients, and colleagues--the techniques of effective style for scientific and technical communication. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler [1, p. 314]. . . . the fewer the words are, provided neither propriety nor perspicuity be violated, the expression is always the more vivid [2, p. 333]. However influential the precepts thus dogmatically expressed, they would be much more influential if reduced to something like scientific ordination. In this as in other cases, conviction is strengthened when we understand the why [3, pp. 2-3]. The psychology of language reception is still very imperfectly understood [4, p. 77].
Hirst, Russel. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>TC>Theory>History
#19065
Here Comes That Song Again: The Theory and Practice Blues
An issue that continues to affect our strategies for developing undergraduate programs is the old contest between theory and practice, or, as it frequently occurs in technical communication programs, between theory and tools. Should we focus our undergraduate programs on understanding principles of communication in the technical world or should we focus on teaching the tools that are called for in the job ads for technical communicators?
Allen, Nancy J. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Undergraduate>Theory
#26862
Hiding in Plain Sight: An Interview with Adam Greenfield
Is everyware overwriting what we know as everyday? On the heels of finishing his first book, Adam Greenfield talks with Boxes and Arrows about Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing and how the concepts are reshaping our lives.
Danzico, Liz. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Technology>Cultural Theory
#25684
The Historical Meaning of the Crisis in Psychology: A Methodological Investigation
To try and explain everything means to explain nothing.
Vygotsky, Lev. Marxists.org (1927). Books>Rhetoric>Theory
