#19085
The 21-Course Undergraduate Program: Strength Through Diversification 
How can diversification strengthen a professional communication program? By capitalizing on faculty backgrounds, a broad variety of courses, and student experience. Here’s how that combination of factors works in the 21-course undergraduate major in professional writing at the University of Houston-Downtown.
Jennings, Ann S. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Undergraduate
#21760
About Information Architecture
The word 'information architecture' is used quite a bit in the Web industry and is closely related to customer experience. Sometimes customer experience and information architecture will arrive at the same solution -- but they aren't quite the same thing.
Hurst, Mark. GoodExperience (2000). Design>Information Design>Web Design
#19268
Academe/Industry Relationships: Balancing Academic Principles and Marketplace Demands 
Recognizing that theory is of value only if it can be applied, academics must envision the world beyond the classroom and prepare students to compete in a market-driven world. Practicing professionals must be willing to share their expertise and their technology with academic programs and must work to strengthen connections with the academy. Advisory boards, mentoring programs, internships and fellowships for faculty and practitioners as well as for students, team teaching, guest lecturing, distance learning, and collaborative research projects– these are but a few of the ways to bridge the gap between and industry, thereby improving the education of future technical communicators and advancing the profession.
Sutliff, Kristene. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Industry and Academy
#10397
Academic Programs in Information Design: The Bentley College Approach 
The focus of Bentley College's information design programs is the user, addressing universal behaviors (human factors) and task-related behaviors (goal-driven needs). All too often in the past, professional communicators have rushed to design external information products (books, illustrations, online help systems, and the like) to support the information requirements of a system. Increasingly, however, solutions are found much deeper in the system design, a concept we call knowledge-infused design.
Gribbons, William M. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Education>Information Design
#19645
This site is a jumping-off point for information on the features and capabilities of Adobe products that enhance electronic document accessibility for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and motor impairments. There are also links to resources that help people with disabilities work more effectively with Adobe software and aid authors in optimizing content for accessibility.
Adobe (2000). Design>Accessibility
#19644
Internet technologies have provided many Canadians with an enhanced sense of intellectual and economic freedom. But for many people, gaining entry to Web content is more complicated than clicking mouse and operating a modem. Some Canadians rely on assistive technologies such as text readers, audio players and voice activated devices to overcome the barriers presented by standard technologies. Others may be limited by their own technology. But old browsers, non-standard operating systems, slow connections, small screens or text-only screens should not stand in the way of obtaining information that is available to others.
Treasury Board of Canada (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#14239
Accessibility and Usability of Information Technology by the Elderly
The population of elderly people and the use of computers and the Internet are both growing at extraordinary rates in the United States. The potential exists for elderly people to improve their own lives as well as the lives of others by making more use of this technology. However, the elderly are currently among the lowest users of computers and the Internet. The common belief that older people fear or are indifferent towards technology does not fully explain this low usage. Rather, the elderly are subject to the same income and education divisions that impede accessibility to the population as a whole, as well as certain physical, cognitive, and mental impairments that come with age and can impede usability. Thus, the keys to increasing the numbers of elderly people making effective use of technology are addressing both universal accessibility and universal usability. These solutions are applicable to many other people as well, making their implementation broadly useful and cost-effective.
Browne, Hilary. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Accessibility>Online>Elderly
#22974
Accessibility of the Internet in Postsecondary Education: Meeting the Challenge
This article explores the many-faceted nuances of the challenge of trying to make Web content accessible in higher education. It includes an analysis of the seriousness of the problems that students face as well as an optimistic vision for the future.
Rowland, Cyndi. WebAIM (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#22388
Acrobat - TrueType-Schriften in PDF Sauber Darstellen
TrueType-Schriften erscheinen in der Standardeinstellung der Adobe-Software Acrobat 3 am Bildschirm immer nur stark gepixelt, während PostScript-Schriften sauber lesbar sind (das Problem konnte in Acrobat 4 bislang nicht beobachtet werden). Das muss nicht sein!
Transcom (2000). (German) Design>Typography>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#22389
Acrobat und WinWord - Lesezeichen mit Abschnittsnummern
Gibt es beim PDFMaker (Adobe-Zusatz [Add-In] zur Generierung von PDF-Dateien aus WinWord) eine Möglichkeit, in den Lesezeichen (Bookmarks) die Abschnittsnummern einzubinden?
Transcom (2000). (German) Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#19837
Activity Theory: A Versatile Framework for Workplace Research
During the past decade activity theory has attracted a small but influential group of researchers in two fields that contribute to theory and research in technical communication: human-computer interaction and composition studies. In my STC-sponsored research into electronic editing in technical communication, I am applying activity theory to provide a coherent explanatory perspective on the findings of the qualitative portion of my study. This paper provides a brief introduction to activity theory and applies its analytical framework to help make sense of the qualitative data I gathered on electronic editing practices and attitudes in three different technical communication workplaces.
Dayton, David. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory>Activity Theory
#10405
Actual Readers Versus Implied Readers: Role Conflicts in Office 97
This article uses reader role theory to explain the dramatic failure of Paper-clip, the interface to Office 97's online help system. Called an Office Assistant, it is designed to shield users from the complexities of the software. Problems with Paper-clip surfaced as soon as Office 97 was launched. This article explains the Paper-clip controversy in terms of reader role conflicts by showing why actual readers rejected Paper-clip's role as implied writer and why they rebelled against the reader role Paper-clip implied for them.
Shroyer, Roberta. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Word Processing>User Interface>Microsoft Word
#11790
Add New Tricks to Your Performance
One of the things I noticed about circus performers was that they are always practicing and always learning. Why? Because audiences demand acts that delight them. Therefore, to keep their routines fresh and interesting to themselves as well as to the audience, performers are always learning something new, something more difficult, or something fresh. You, as a technical communicator, need to have the same passion for adding new tricks to your performance. A great place to start is with usability: design, testing, and analysis. Why? If you make sure that your documents are well written, doesn’t that automatically make them usable? Of course not. Well-written documents are simply that—well written. Your prose may be technically accurate, clear, and succinct, but if people can’t find it, or don’t know about it, or if it documents a hard-to-use product, then no one will use it. As Judy Glick-Smith says: 'It’s communication, not literature.'
Wise, Mary. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability
#14632
Add Zip to Your Site without Coding
Wilkinson offers tips on adding free JavaScript subroutines to Web sites. She lists several Web sites that give away free scripts.
Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2000). Design>Web Design>DHTML
#19346
As long as there's been a Web, there's been a need for search engines. Because of the volume of information that's available out there, people will always need help finding what they want. Nowadays, it's commonplace for individual sites, even personal homepages, to have their own search capabilities, and so a slew of new services have appeared to help you quickly and easily add search to your site.
Rappoport, Avi. Webmonkey (2000). Design>Web Design>Search
#21558
Adding Zip to Your Site Without Coding
I have been playing around with scripting for about six months now. I would by no means call myself a programmer yet, but I have successfully added many scripts to various Web sites. How did I do it without attending any programming classes or immersing myself with programming books? I used free scripts from Web sites. I have found many Web sites that offer scripts for just about anything you can imagine.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. W-edge Design (2000). Design>Web Design>DHTML
#19838
Addressing Quality in the Real World
Members of the STC Quality Special Interest Group (SIG) present a realistic look at Quality in today’s hectic business climate. Based on their experiences, you will gain insight into ways to improve documentation quality, establish processes to assist the improvement, and an understanding how outside forces can impact your documentation efforts. They will look at what is meant by quality, how it’s determined and measured; processes, techniques and basic tools that can be used to improve quality; and the impact of international standards on corporate policies and procedures. A case study will highlight some of the barriers, problems, and successes experienced by an organization in implementing a quality system for monitoring its documentation.
Jong, Steven F., Don Lenk, Amy Perry, Ralph E. Robinson and Roberta A. Rupel. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>TC>Quality
#23406
This article deals, despite the title above, with aspects on handling and checking of technical documentation. I consider these aspects as part of the functionality of documentation besides more conventional functionality such as factual correctness, layout, combination of figures and text.
Rullgård, Åke. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#22377
Against Non-Standard Link Colors
User tasks are carried out faster and better with sites that use standard link colors as opposed to non-standard.
Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability>Color
#19068
We should not pursue specialization in our programs. We should not become the multimedia development program, or the computer documentation program, or the medical writing program, or the environmental communication program, or even the critical literacy program. We should build programs around a broad, useful rhetorical education, coupled with a skill set that all students share in writing and document design. We should make sure all students develop productive relationships with communication technologies. And we should allow students to follow their interests and to find the kind of specialization that is rewarding to them individually.
Bernhardt, Stephen A. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>WPA
#13228
Just when you think online multimedia will never be truly accessible, someone proves you wrong. In BMW Films, Clark sees a tantalizing glimpse of a better web.
Clark, Joe. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Multimedia
#31409
Alternative Ways to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Intranet Sites
When you measure hits on inter/intranet sites, you are measuring overall volume of usage -- how many times parts of your site have been opened. However, hits don't distinguish between the opening of an entire page or a single illustration. There are many additional ways of measuring usage. However, measuring the "userability" of a site is just as important in order to improve usage numbers. But the first place any communicator should start when measuring the effectiveness of electronic communications is to identify the original objectives for putting something on-line. Conducting some baseline audience research upfront to make sure your electronic solutions will be as effective as possible and then measuring afterward to see if the intended objectives are being met.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2000). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Log Analysis
#14826
In this article, I illustrate the essential role that visual rhetoric plays in a specific example of persuasive documentation. I focus narrowly on one element of persuasive visual rhetoric by examining the credibility of an Apple political candidacy flyer.
Herrington, TyAnna K. Argumentation (2000). Articles>Rhetoric>Policies and Procedures
#14627
And They Said Computers Were Just a Fad
Maslowski documents the rapidly changing technologies used by the technical communication profession.
Maslowski, David S. Intercom (2000). Articles>Technology>History
#14628
Animation: Technical Documents on the Move
Coleman presents a four-step process to develop an animation project while insuring consistency and quality.
Coleman, Mary Ellen. Intercom (2000). Design>Multimedia>Interactive