http://tc.eserver.org/publisher/University_of_Wisconsin A listing of works published by University of Wisconsin 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/University_of_Wisconsin http://tc.eserver.org/26667.html http://tc.eserver.org/26667.html The Internet has become an immensely pervasive and powerful form of communication, one that despite its quick rise has yet to reach most of the world's population. This class is a survey that will trace the Internet's history, reception, audience, industries, rhetorics, fictional and filmic narratives, and potential as a purveyor and transmitter of culture and values. We will focus on the intersections between Internet and old media culture, popular culture, and critical theories of identity. http://tc.eserver.org/26503.html http://tc.eserver.org/26503.html Communication for engineering, science, and technology; theory and practice in planning, preparing, and critiquing reports, proposals, instructions, and business correspondence; research strategies, collaborative work; oral presentations. http://tc.eserver.org/26201.html http://tc.eserver.org/26201.html XML has become the de facto standard format for web publishing and data transportation. Since online information changes frequently, being able to quickly detect changes in XML documents is important to Internet query systems, search engines, and continuous query systems. Previous work in change detection on XML, or other hierarchically structured documents, used an ordered tree model, in which left-to-right order among siblings is important and it can affect the change result. This paper argues that an unordered model (only ancestor relationships are significant) is more suitable for most database applications. Using an unordered model, change detection is substantially harder than using the ordered model, but the change result that it generates is more accurate. This paper proposes X-Diff, an effective algorithm that integrates key XML structure characteristics with standard tree-to-tree correction techniques. The algorithm is analyzed and compared with XyDiff [CAM02], a published XML diff algorithm. An experimental evaluation on both algorithms is provided. http://tc.eserver.org/23806.html http://tc.eserver.org/23806.html The following list of resources has been compiled to provide a quick and easy access to WWW sites which deal with technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/23530.html http://tc.eserver.org/23530.html This course provides an introduction to business writing, which includes business reports, memos, and letters; this course is particularly appropriate for students in business and related areas, although it is open to students from any major. The course requires critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, ingenuity, and a significant commitment of time to complete the writing assignments. http://tc.eserver.org/23532.html http://tc.eserver.org/23532.html This course provides technical communicators with a practical and theoretical overview of document design. We will begin with examinations of document design theories and conventions coming from graphic artists, usability experts, cognitive psychologists, and technical communication scholars, and then critique those theories and conventions as we apply them to the analysis and creation of technical documents. In the process, we will problematize modernist expediency and question long-held assumptions. http://tc.eserver.org/23531.html http://tc.eserver.org/23531.html In this course we'll be talking about and working on the architecture of 'information spaces.' An 'information space' could be a virtual space like a Web site or a database, or it could be a library, a town hall, a workplace, etc. Basically, it's any place that is designed to help people interact with information, and our goal will be learning about better, more sophisticated ways of helping people interact effectively. http://tc.eserver.org/23529.html http://tc.eserver.org/23529.html This course provides an introduction to technical writing, which includes technical reports, instructions, proposals, letters of application, resumes, procedures, and manuals; this course is particularly appropriate for students in English, information resources, science, engineering, architecture, education, and other applied sciences, although it is open to students from any major. http://tc.eserver.org/20435.html http://tc.eserver.org/20435.html The Technical Communication Certificate requires you to keep portfolios of your work in TCC communication courses. When completing the TCC, you will then draw from these course portfolios to create a portfolio that represents your work throughout the curriculum. http://tc.eserver.org/18868.html http://tc.eserver.org/18868.html This course explores knowledge management--the management theory based on the notion that knowledge is mission critical--from the perspective of technical communicators. We will read theory and technical communication scholarship, and we will critique management texts, IT approaches, and software interfaces. We will get hands-on practice with the common techcomm-based technologies, investigating single-sourcing strategies and building content and knowledge management systems. And we will discuss the role of technical communication in organizational knowledge management projects. http://tc.eserver.org/18870.html http://tc.eserver.org/18870.html Knowledge management is difficult to define because it covers a broad range of different areas and disciplines. Many authors don’t give a comprehensive definition because they emphasize “only one aspect of the complexity of the concept” (Wick 515). The following short annotated bibliography tries to put knowledge management in the context of technical communication, information architecture, and the workplace. This bibliography offers those who are novices in the field of knowledge management a starting point (hopefully) to learn more about it. The first part of this annotated bibliography discusses the topic knowledge management and the key findings I draw from my readings. I focus on the implications for organizations and the role of technical communicators and discuss knowledge management in relation to information architecture. The first part concludes with a short discussion about the items of my bibliography. In the second part, you read the short annotations of my selected texts that I find helpful to learn more about knowledge management. http://tc.eserver.org/18814.html http://tc.eserver.org/18814.html Guides and handouts in bibliographic database management. http://tc.eserver.org/18615.html http://tc.eserver.org/18615.html The format of a review of literature may vary from discipline to discipline and from assignment to assignment. A review may be a self-contained unit -- an end in itself -- or a preface to and rationale for engaging in primary research. A review is a required part of grant and research proposals and often a chapter in theses and dissertations. Generally, the purpose of a review is to analyze critically a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles. http://tc.eserver.org/18616.html http://tc.eserver.org/18616.html This handout describes an organizational structure commonly used to report experimental research in many scientific disciplines, the IMRAD format: Introduction, Methods, Results, And Discussion. (This format is usually not used in reports describing other kinds of research, such as field or case studies, in which headings are more likely to differ according to discipline.) Although the main headings are standard for many scientific fields, details may vary; check with your instructor, or, if submitting an article to a journal, refer to the instructions to authors. http://tc.eserver.org/18597.html http://tc.eserver.org/18597.html The purpose of this document is to provide information and resources for those interested in learning more about accessibility issues and current and next-generation information systems. The current focus of this document is on the National Information Infrastructure (NII), sometimes known as the 'information superhighway.' This document contains both information presented at a very introductory level and information which is more technical in nature. Wherever possible, all of the technical discussions are broken out and presented separately, so that readers may course through the material at a level which is comfortable to them, and which meets their information needs. This is a living document which will be continually revised and added to as more information is collected and as the efforts in the area of research, development, and public policy continue to evolve. The most recent form of this document can be found on the Internet via our ftp, gopher, or WWW servers. All of these are located at: trace.wisc.edu The document can be viewed on-line or downloaded in one of several forms to facilitate accessibility. http://tc.eserver.org/18606.html http://tc.eserver.org/18606.html In trying to build accessible products, it is sometimes difficult to find key components. This is particularly true when building prototypes or coordinating small volume productions. This resource listing is provided to assist people in finding sources for key accessibility components such as accessible telephone handsets (for use on kiosks, etc.), voice technology products and other accessible components. It is maintained on an 'as we find it basis.' In other words, when we locate particular components or they are brought to our attention, we wll include them here. http://tc.eserver.org/18603.html http://tc.eserver.org/18603.html This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward creating more usable documents for all. A number of interrelated efforts and projects are listed below. http://tc.eserver.org/18604.html http://tc.eserver.org/18604.html This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all. At the present time, there are a number of interlocking and interrelated efforts. http://tc.eserver.org/18598.html http://tc.eserver.org/18598.html People who could benefit from more universal designs include many both with and without disabilities. In some cases, people may experience difficulty in using products purely as a result of the environment or an unusual circumstance. Beneficiaries of universal design include: * People in a noisy shopping mall who cannot hear a kiosk * People who are driving their car who must operate their radio or phone without looking at it * People who left their glasses in their room * People who are getting older * People with disabilities * Almost anyone In order to design for the general population, it is important to understand the diversity, problems, tools, and abilities of its members. http://tc.eserver.org/18612.html http://tc.eserver.org/18612.html The W3C WAI Page Authoring Guidelines (Vanderheiden, et al, 1998a) contains nineteen general concepts that Web page authors should follow to make their pages more accessible and usable, not only to people with disabilities, but for newer page viewing technologies (mobile and voice), for electronic agents such as indexing robots, and etc. In this paper/presentation, we will talk about and demonstrate how scripts and style sheets can be implemented today, and still work on systems that do not support scripts and style sheets ('Transform gracefully'). We also talk about and demonstrate how the data in a table can be presented and navigated both via scripting and by an accompanying application ('Context and navigation'). http://tc.eserver.org/18602.html http://tc.eserver.org/18602.html A directory of laws and regulations to support accessibility in new media. http://tc.eserver.org/18605.html http://tc.eserver.org/18605.html A major project of the Trace Center is the development of an on-line design and evaluation tool to assist product developers in creating better and more usable products. The design tool will lead designers through a process that encourages them to ask questions about their design and provides them with information about aspects or features of their product that might pose access barriers. A listing of possible strategies and ideas they might use to address the accessibility issues or to make their product more generally usable is provided. Specific examples, audio and video clips, copies of reference documents and studies, and resources they can contact or refer to will all be included over time. http://tc.eserver.org/18607.html http://tc.eserver.org/18607.html The Product Design Ideas Browser is a reference tool that focuses on design strategies used to address the Telecom Act Accessibility Guidelines. Select an item from the list of Accessibility Guidelines in the navigation pane to find ideas and strategies that will be helpful in the design of more accessible and usable products. http://tc.eserver.org/18599.html http://tc.eserver.org/18599.html There are over thirty million people in the U.S. with disabilities or functional limitations (of which a major cause is aging), and this number is increasing. An examination of the role of human factors in addressing this population is presented which would include both special designs for disability/aging and the incorporation of disability/aging into mainstream human factors research and education. Statistics regarding the size and characteristics of this population are presented, including the costs of disability. Examples demonstrating the economic and commercial feasibility of incorporating disability/aging considerations in mass market designs are provided along with a discussion of the benefits to non-disabled users. http://tc.eserver.org/18608.html http://tc.eserver.org/18608.html A bibliography of writings about universal design. http://tc.eserver.org/18609.html http://tc.eserver.org/18609.html The following are lists of Web sites that Trace Center staff have found particularly useful. The resources listed in turn contain links to many other excellent sites. http://tc.eserver.org/18600.html http://tc.eserver.org/18600.html Essential to the ability of people to come up to universally designed products and know how to operate them is the existence of interface standards. Work is currently under way in a number of areas to ensure that people: 1. Know what to do to operate products they encounter; 2. Are able to connect any assistive technologies they may have with them to the products they encounter. http://tc.eserver.org/18601.html http://tc.eserver.org/18601.html The Universal Design Research Project is a three year study funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. This project was designed to gain an understanding of why and how companies adopt universal design, and what factors are the most important in making this decision. In addition, factors which discourage or impede the adoption and successful practice of universal design are also being identified. A second objective is to determine what those outside of companies can do to support universal design within the companies. http://tc.eserver.org/18611.html http://tc.eserver.org/18611.html Many individuals, especially those with visual, physical, and/or cognitive disabilities, have trouble navigating the content of data tables on the World Wide Web. These problems exist because most browsers do not allow keyboard navigation of the data tables, which is an essential technique used by many people with disabilities whether or not they use assistive technology (AT). http://tc.eserver.org/14124.html http://tc.eserver.org/14124.html Principles and practices of editing technical and scientific documents. Overview of the editing process; defining the editor's rules and responsibilities, revising at structural and sentence levels, and addressing stylistic conventions of technical fields. Application to technical and scientific documents such as reports, proposals, and user manuals. Students will learn to recognize and articulate specific problem areas in technical documents. Students will practice identifying and discussing differences between strong and weak technical documents. Students will revise technical documents at macro- and micro- levels of editing. Students will gain strategies for communicating effective and constructive criticism. http://tc.eserver.org/13965.html http://tc.eserver.org/13965.html We're pleased to offer some of the many instructional materials we've developed for our Writing Center teaching. As useful as we think these materials may be to you, though, we need to offer a few words of caution. There are limitations to these materials. Assignments vary. Different instructors want different things from student writers. What's appropriate and effective in one context, isn't necessarily so in others. So as you peruse what's here please understand that our suggestions may or may not apply to your writing situation. Please remember that handouts can give only a fraction of the customized guidance that an individual conference with a Writing Center instructor can provide. http://tc.eserver.org/13052.html http://tc.eserver.org/13052.html A prototype is, generally speaking, a preliminary model of a larger, more detailed object. In technical writing, a prototype might be a full table of contents (with summaries for each major section) and one or two complete chapters. If conducting a survey is an important part of your project, your prototype might be a complete survey of a small number of subjects, designed to iron out the kinks in the questions you want to ask. A good prototype will help you identify flaws (such as incomplete research or mistaken assumptions) before you have multiplied their harmful effects by investing additional effort in them. A sculptor makes a scale model in clay -- a prototype -- before chiseling away at a full-sized chunk of marble. It it much easier to fix major mistakes in clay than it is to throw away a ruined chunk of marble and start over again. http://tc.eserver.org/13049.html http://tc.eserver.org/13049.html This document offers 10 tips to help you write effective professional e-mails. The informal e-mails you exchange with your friends don't have to meet any particular standards, of course, but if you want to be taken seriously by people who use e-mail frequently, you should know e-mail etiquette. http://tc.eserver.org/13051.html http://tc.eserver.org/13051.html Be careful when you go online searching for advice about writing for the Internet. The literature and composition teachers of the world -- the traditional arbiters of 'good' writing -- have been slow to adapt to the special requirements of electronic text. Turning the pages of a book is still (and will probably always be) the best way to read a novel; after all, the novel was designed for the book -- which was then a 'novel' device. But the Internet has spawned new writing genres (email, instant messages, FAQ pages, annotated lists of links, weblogs, personal home pages) which demand a different writing mode.