Typography is the study and process of typefaces; how to select, size, arrange, and use them in general. Traditionally, typography was the use of metal types with raised letterforms that were inked and then pressed onto paper. In modern terms, typography today also includes computer display and output.
#30717
Beyond Google: How Do Students Conduct Academic Research?
This paper reports findings from an exploratory study about how students majoring in humanities and social sciences use the Internet and library resources for research. Using student discussion groups, content analysis, and a student survey, our results suggest students may not be as reliant on public Internet sites as previous research has reported. Instead, students in our study used a hybrid approach for conducting course-related research. A majority of students leveraged both online and offline sources to overcome challenges with finding, selecting, and evaluating resources and gauging professors' expectations for quality research.
Head, Alison J. First Monday (2007). Articles>Education>Research>Online
#26272
Today's graphic designer has moved beyond graphic. The term 'graphic' fails to accurately describe our profession to the business community and the public. We should consider replacing it with a more relevant, accurate description of what we do today. Why?
Saldanha, Errol. Creative Latitude (2004). Articles>Graphic Design
#24015
Editing must change for the Web, but perhaps not so much as you think. In paper publishing, different documents require different rules and procedures: An annual report requires more editing and more attention to detail than an office memo. Similarly, not all Web documents are equal.
Ivey, Keith C. Editorial Eye, The (1996). Articles>Web Design>Editing>Writing
#21479
Beyond Help: Making Help a Core Component of a Performance Support System 
With the advent of HTML Help and the ability to embed Help directly inside an application, there's been an increased interest in creating Help systems that are seamlessly integrated with their host applications. By blurring the line between the application and the Help that supports it, and by developing Help that automatically responds to user actions, application developers and Help authors now have the ability to develop true electronic performance support systems.
Wexler, Steven S. ComponentOne (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#30083
Beyond Help: Making Help a Core Component of an Electronic Performance Support System
With the advent of HTML Help and the ability to embed Help directly inside an application, there’s been an increased interest in creating Help systems that are seamlessly integrated with their host applications. By blurring the line between the application and the Help that supports it, and by developing Help that automatically responds to user actions, application developers and Help authors now have the ability to develop true electronic performance support systems (EPSS). With this new ability will come a paradigm shift in the ways applications are developed and documented.
Wexler, Steven S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Document Design>Help>EPSS
#24534
Beyond Internationalization: Multicultural Education in the Professional Writing Contact Zone 
To bridge the gap between composition and professional communication studies, we should add multiculturalism to the widely accepted international perspective in professional communication instruction, thus transforming the classroom into a contact zone (Pratt). The practical necessity of intercultural communication in a global marketplace necessitates internationalization. The international perspective, accounting for the heterogeneity of the technical communication audience, focuses on audience analysis and leads us to encourage students to learn about the multiple, cultural layers of audience. A multicultural perspective, however, can teach students of professional communication about the complex relationship between language and ideology and the underlying forces that shape and reflect the ways we use language. Multiculturalism's critical component provides insights into the structures and ideologies of domination/subordination and provides students with the linguistic, intellectual, and moral tools for resisting fear and prejudices. Likewise, the international perspective in professional communication can inform issues of audience analysis in composition.
Grobman, Laurie. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#25854
Beyond Markets and Firms: The Emergence of Open Source Networks
Although hierarchies and markets (i.e., autonomy) have been subject to extensive study, heterarchies represent different modalities of organizing that have been little researched. Drawing on complexity theory and the main features of complex evolving systems (CES), this paper sets out to remedy this imbalance by showing that heterarchies feature highly decentralized and relatively stable interactions which are coordinated through an emergent process of parametric adaptation. Implications in terms of learning are discussed casting a new light on the delicate issue of motivation in Open Source software development.
Iannacci, Federico and Eve Mitleton-Kelly. First Monday (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Community Building>Open Source
#26476
Beyond Office Document Formats
One possible outcome: Microsoft Office gains support for the OASIS OpenDocument format, either from Microsoft or from the open source community. Another outcome: Microsoft tweaks its Office XML licensing to conform to the definition of openness that governments are rightly insisting on.
Udell, Jon. InfoWorld (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Standards
#23554
Beyond Plagiarism: Ethical Issues in the Technical Communication Classroom
Recent discussions of ethical issues that relate to technical communicators reflect the rise of interest in this topic. Although some journal articles do look at teaching ethics in the technical communication classroom, most concentrate on ethics in the workplace. Yet, for students to understand current and future ethical issues, we must heighten their awareness of potential problems before they encounter such problems in industry and business situations.
Horowitz, Renee B. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Ethics>Plagiarism
#31682
Beyond Power and Resistance: New Approaches to Organizational Politics
In this introduction to the special issue, the editors question the still-prevalent dichotomy of power and resistance when studying organizational politics. They begin by tracing the evolution of power and resistance in critical scholarship. Then, they propose that because of changing workplace dynamics, power and resistance are increasingly intertwined. More nuanced concepts are required to describe this. Finally, they argue that power and resistance should be considered as a singular dynamic called struggle.
Fleming, Peter and André Spicer. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Organizational Communication>Business Communication
#29987
Beyond Software Manuals and On-line Help: Interactive Help
Software user guides have traditionally provided assistance when the user requested help. Context-sensitivity enabled help systems to predict the most appropriate topic to present. For Windows applications, the move from Microsoft WinHelp to the new Microsoft HTML Help format allows user instructions to be presented in the same window as the application. This offers technical authors some extraordinary opportunities to provide intelligent, predictive, interactive help without the user having to request it. In this paper, we will explore one of the first such interactive help systems (for the Archivist e-mail archiving software), and see where the technology is moving.
Self, Tony. HyperWrite (2003). Articles>Documentation>Interaction Design>Help
#27603
Beyond Story Cards: Agile Requirements Collaboration
Discusses the life cycle of Story Cards, what they should be, how to use them and what to watch out for.
Shore, James. JamesShore.com (2006). Articles>Documentation>Agile>Card Sorting
#14787
Beyond the Bleeding Edge Technical Sessions
Perlin summarizes several presentations on new technologies given at STC's 49th Annual Conference in Nashville.
Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology>TC
#25056
Beyond the Blog: Wikis and Blikis
Blogs are about to give way to a new development. Wikis are web sites within which any user can quickly and easily edit much of the content, without HTML. This idea regarding user-generated online content goes beyond the comment posting of a standard blog. Blikis are blogs that have wiki support, so that users can edit the comments posted.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2005). Articles>Web Design>Wikis>Blogging
#20493
The field of technical communication is in many ways inscribed by technology. As a result, technical communication programs not only must provide students with a foundation in the theory and practice of the field, but also must give students some level of proficiency in the technology tools they will need to put that knowledge into service in the workplace.
Brumberger, Eva R. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Software
#27411
Beyond the Five-User Assumption: Benefits of Increased Sample Sizes in Usability Testing
It is widely assumed that 5 participants suffice for usability testing. In this study, 60 users were tested and random sets of 5 or more were sampled from the whole, to demonstrate the risks of using only 5 participants and the benefits of using more. Some of the randomly selected sets of 5 participants found 99% of the problems; other sets found only 55%. With 10 users, the lowest percentage of problems revealed by any one set was increased to 80%, and with 20 users, to 95%.
Faulkner, Laura. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing
#26091
Focus groups are popular amongst marketing professionals for good reason. They are relatively quick to organise and the feedback is instantaneous. A wide range of views can be assembled from people from a wide range of backgrounds. When focus groups go well, the data can be extremely useful in identifying profitable design routes. Plus any technique that gets companies closer to their customers can't be all bad.
System Concepts (2005). Articles>Usability>Methods>Focus Groups
#14026
Beyond the Mechanical: Technical Writing Revisited
Optimism about the future of technical writing can be sustained only if we persist in setting for technical writing the same standards we apply to other sophisticated modes of writing and require refinement in style as well as accuracy in content. The importance of content in technical writing, of the information presented, may seduce us into seeing technical writing as purely a form of language engineering and into teaching our students to perform mechanical writing tasks, churning out dull reports to fit mindlessly into the institutional norms of industry and government.
Iyasere, Marla Mudar. JAC (1988). Articles>Writing>TC>Technical Writing
#23603
Beyond the Universal User: How to Design for the Universe of Users
Current 'user-centered' design methods place great value on design for the user. In this, I examine how investigation methods for user-centered design like usability testing and field methods are often only used to design for the universal user and not the universe of users. I critically explore the universalizing of the user that occurs during these investigation methods. I then address the problems with designing for a universal user and finally present ways to design for the universe of users.
Bowie, Jennifer L. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing
#19290
Usability testing is a powerful tool in identifying problems and issues that users may have with a website or software application. But for all its benefits, traditional testing does not necessarily give a complete picture at how effective a site or application is in terms of meeting business goals.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#26823
Beyond Usability Testing: User-Centred Design and Organisational Maturity
What lies beyond usability testing? User-centred design, based on ISO standards. We discuss this approach and the organisational maturity needed to put it into action.
Philip, Ross and Rourke, Chris. Mercurytide (2006). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design
#30009
Beyond User-Centered Design and User Experience: Designing for User Performance
The shortcomings and limitations of user-centered and user experience design are considered and contrasted with usage-centered design. The iterative, trial-and-error approach of traditional user-centered approaches is argued to lead to excessive dependence on user testing and user approval, leading to overly conservative designs. By contrast, model-driven approaches based on fine-grained task models have a proven record of leading to dramatic improvements in user performance through innovative designs.
Constantine, Larry L. Constantine and Lockwood (2006). Articles>User Centered Design>User Experience>EPSS
#19135
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy: An Analysis
Around 1 a.m. on Monday, the 3rd of December, 1984, in a densely populated region in the city of Bhopal, Central India, a poisonous vapor burst from the tall stacks of the Union Carbide pesticide plant. This vapor was a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate. Of the 800,000 people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 died immediately, and as many as 300,000 were injured. In addition, about 7,000 animals were injured, of which about one thousand were killed. After the incident, over the next few years, numerous studies were conducted, many theories were explored, and the involved parties accused each other. In this paper, I will try to explore the various causes offered for the tragedy. In the course of my research for this case study, I came across many articles that put blame on various people and groups involved in the tragedy. I found one document particularly interesting from a rhetorical standpoint. This document, titled Union Carbide: Disaster at Bhopal , was authored by the retired Vice President of Health, Safety and Environmental Programs in Union Carbide Corporation. So for this paper, I would also like to rhetorically analyze this document and also, try to explore the various image restoration strategies that Union Carbide Corporation used through the course of the crisis.
Ungarala, Pratima. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>TC>Risk Communication>Crisis Communication
#28761
What does 'bias' mean in usability testing? Is it bad? good? in between? What are sources of bias in usability testing? Which one(s) should we worry about most? How do we know our methods are any good? Especially when we all do things differently?
Snyder, Carolyn. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing
#21727
Big Architect, Little Architect
First came the primordial soup. Thousands of relatively simple single-celled web sites appeared on the scene, and each one was quickly claimed by a multi-functional organism called a "webmaster." A symbiotic relationship quickly became apparent. Webmaster fed web site. Web site got bigger and more important. So did the role of the webmaster. Life was good. Then, bad things started to happen. The size and complexity and importance of the web sites began to spiral out of control. Mutations started cropping up. Strange new organisms with names like interaction designer, usability engineer, customer experience analyst, and information architect began competing with the webmaster and each other for responsibilities and rewards. Equilibrium had been punctuated and we entered the current era of rapid speciation and specialization.
Morville, Peter. Argus Center (2000). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Project Management
