In the increasingly competitive global economy, corporations throughout the world must take advantage of all the marketing and communication tools available to them, including blogging. Blogs allow corporations to connect with their stakeholders in a more personal way and, thus, strengthen their image, brand, and customer loyalty. Instant feedback is available through comments posted on the corporate blog, saving organizations large sums of money otherwise spent on market research. However, entering the blogosphere poses a number of risks for a corporation, such as potential damage to the corporate reputation and customer loyalty as well as legal liability. Conflicts still exist between the rights of bloggers and a corporation's interests. Blogs may be restricted by legal and ethical boundaries, which may differ across countries. This paper presents the benefits and risks associated with corporate blogging around the world and provides some interesting success stories as well as lessons learned. It also offers a compilation of guidelines for effective blogging and suggests topics for future research.

This book is an excellent tool for people who want to make their websites more appealing and user-friendly. A supplemental website parallels the lessons discussed in each chapter.

When the primary aim of global, professional communication expands to include rapport building in addition to information sharing, basic parts of the communication process must be reevaluated. Such an assessment was conducted through a case study of a team that adapted a US training seminar for a Japanese audience. The team's strong emphasis on the communicative aim of relationship building illustrated how traditional conceptions of rhetorical invention, packaging, delivery, and feedback collection might be revised. For practitioners and educators, the findings of this case study prompt a reevaluation of the rhetorical abilities that are required in global professional communication contexts.

This study analyzed the effects of publisher contact information on the credibility of online health information. Participants (n = 144) rated the credibility of Web pages with a ldquoContact Usrdquo link more highly than pages that had no contact information. Other types of contact information (street addresses and email links) did not significantly affect the credibility ratings. Qualitative results indicate that the ldquoContact Usrdquo link served as a peripheral cue to credibility, rather than triggering conscious analysis. This paper also discusses how the effectiveness of credibility cues can vary according to reader characteristics.

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> Information security and privacy on the internet are critical issues in our society. In this research, we examine factors that influence internet users' private-information-sharing behavior. Based on a survey of 285 preteens and early teens, who are among the most vulnerable groups on the web, this study provides a research framework that explains an internet user's information privacy protection behavior. According to our study results, internet users' information privacy behaviors are affected by two significant factors: (1) users' perceived importance of information privacy and (2) information privacy self-efficacy. The study also found that users believe in the value of online information privacy and that information privacy protection behavior varies by gender. Our findings indicate that educational opportunities regarding internet privacy and computer security as well as concerns from other reference groups (e.g., peer, teacher, and parents) play an important role in positively affecting the internet users' protective behavior regarding online privacy. </para>

This collection takes a broad look at the issue of outsourcing technical writing jobs and would help anyone who is interested in current themes and concerns to catch up on the conversation. The collection is organized into three parts: "Outsourcing Practices by Region"; "Management and Cross-Cultural Communication Issues"; and "Legal, Ethical, and Political Issues." The only drawback to the book is that some of the conclusions and references were already out of date when the book went to press. Overall, the book gives readers a well-rounded look at the history, perspectives, and issues that are important to the ongoing phenomenon of outsourcing in the technical communication field.

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> With the advent of handy internet building tools, online surveys are becoming a promising alternative to traditional paper- and mail-based surveys to collect data for survey research. While conducting online surveys has its advantages, it comes with a unique set of challenges. Leveraging our experience in developing multiple online surveys, we highlight some of the critical issues of the process. This tutorial provides insights to develop and conduct online surveys effectively. In a step-by-step process, we offer recommendations to researchers at various decision stages of developing an online survey, from initial planning through the final data-collection phase. </para>

The rapid growth in the number of conferences and papers appearing in conference proceedings publications has increased the need to examine the issue of conference paper quality. Since conference content is included in permanent repositories, such as IEEE's Xplore, the existence of low-quality papers in a conference will degrade the value and reputation of the conference and the repository. The aim of this contribution is to consider these issues from the point of view of the Conference Publications Operations Committee of the IEEE Computer Society, and offer ideas that could lead to improved conference publishing quality for all IEEE societies and even non-IEEE entities.

The author builds on the position that "knowledge is power," with particular reference to knowledge providing the basis for competitive action. This book is written to be useful in teaching and research. It is divided into two sections: the first presents the theory and the second presents a set of illustrative case studies that show how the theory is manifested. The 30 knowledge-flow principles are enumerated at the start, explained in the overview, developed in detail and, finally, repeated in the summary. The book is well written, providing both brief summaries of the principles and well-formulated development of the meaning and application of these principles. The book's audience includes academic researchers and teachers in knowledge engineering and communications, as well as those developing systems that support or require knowledge management.

While there is no advice on spelling in this book, Wolman tells the history of how English spelling has changed since the Anglo-Saxon period and American spelling since the American Revolution and explains how and why the changes occurred. His history is highlighted with astute comments, personal anecdotes, and even philosophical musings. The book should be entertaining and informative for anyone who might want to learn more about how our present-day spelling got to be in the shape it is in.

Results in past studies comparing teaching time and effort in online and face-to-face (FTF) teaching environments have been inconsistent. This research study compares the instructional time and effort it took the authors to teach the same course online and FTF in their respective universities. The authors hypothesize that it takes more time to teach online courses. The results of the two-semester study show that both authors spent more time per student, approximately 20% more, in the online courses. In the total time spent per student online compared to the total time spent per student FTF, the paired-samples t-test showed a statistically significant difference (t(3)=6.163 , p=0.009). The authors speculate a number of factors contributed to this difference and the perception that teaching in an online environment takes more time and effort than teaching in a FTF environment.

The editors present a series of articles to familiarize the reader with current trends and issues in international human resources management (IHRM). The book itself is a reprinting of a May 2007 special issue of the scholarly journal, The International Journal of Human Resource Management. The book begins with an introduction by the editors. It is followed by three articles that each deal with a perspective from a different part of the world. The remaining eight chapters in the book are nationally based cases. This book would be most appropriate for academicians conducting research in IHRM or as an assigned text in a doctoral-level seminar on IHRM.

We examine PowerPoint from the point of view of Jean-luc Doumont's design guidelines: those for individual slides and those for whole presentations. By analyzing two presentations on the same topic, designed for two very different audiences, we show that it follows from these guidelines that in all cases, full comprehension requires clearly articulated overall organization that integrates the verbal and the visual into a single message. This means that the crucial unit of analysis is not the individual slide, but the extent to which the individual slide is integrated into the presentation as a whole. The principle by which this integration is achieved changes as the audience does: general audience presentations are best organized by means of narrative, while professional audience presentations are best organized by means of argument. In all cases, audience adaptation is the master variable, determining what counts as the optimal integration of the verbal and the visual into a single message.

This reference book brings together papers that address the whole range of topics in the area of open source software (OSS). The book is divided into seven sections, and each section contains five to ten chapters. Some of the topics covered include: a historical and contextual overview of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) and OSS; development models and methods for open source software production; laws and licensing practices; public policy, the public sector and government perspectives; business approaches and applications; and educational perspectives. The book does contain copyediting errors and an incomplete index, but despite the flaws, it is a rich source of research topics that can be used in any computer-related curriculum. It is recommended for every technical library.

This book addresses the place of intuition in business. Some of the topics covered include: the nature of intuition; formal approaches to decision making; the difference between insight and intuition; and the relationship between feelings and intuition. While the book conveys the message that intuition is a valuable process in business, the author does not manage to construct an argument that most serious readers will find convincing.

Work is described on a National Science Foundation grant that supports the development, assessment, and dissemination of ldquomicro-insertionrdquo problems designed to integrate ethics into the graduate engineering curriculum. In contrast to traditional modular approaches to ethics pedagogy, micro-insertions introduce ethical issues by means of a ldquolow-doserdquo approach. Following a description of the micro-insertion approach, we outline the workshop structure being used to teach engineering faculty and graduate students how to write micro-insertions for graduate engineering courses, with particular attention to how the grant develops engineering students' (and faculty members') ability to communicate across disciplinary boundaries. We also describe previous and planned methods for assessing the effectiveness of micro-insertions. Finally, we explain the role that technical communication faculty and graduate students are playing as part of the grant team, specifically in developing an Ethics In-Basket that will disseminate micro-insertions developed during the grant.

As virtual teams become more and more important in organizations, understanding how to improve virtual team relational development and meeting outcomes is vital to project success. The objective of this study was to investigate how the dialogue technique that facilitated building of shared understanding in virtual teams can be used to enhance virtual team relational development and decision outcomes in a Chinese cultural context. The results from an experiment demonstrate that the adopted dialogue technique can indeed help team members develop their team relations and enhance their perceived team meeting outcomes. Video-conferencing virtual teams with shared mental models may be engaged as effectively as traditional face-to-face teams. Moreover, this study reveals that the dialogue technique can enhance face-to-face team outcomes. Therefore, the findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications for helping teams develop shared understanding of effective communication and enhance decision-making outcomes in the Chinese cultural context.

Web logs, or ldquoblogs,rdquo are fast developing in diverse social and business contexts as influential sources of discourse, knowledge, and community development. In this paper, we investigate an aspect of blogging highly relevant to professional communication: the fast-developing world of ldquotech blogging.rdquo Tech blogs are blogs that focus on information technology innovation and the high-tech industry. We examine nine months of blog entries gathered by an internet aggregator site dedicated to technology news and commentary. Our analysis provides insights on the discourse of tech bloggers and an elite subgroup (ldquoA-list bloggersrdquo), on the discursive practices of this virtual community, and on issues of identity and legitimacy. Our findings hold implications for tech bloggers as well as for managers who need to navigate the expanding blogosphere and for technical communicators who can benefit from using the information that tech bloggers produce.

Virtual teams enable knowledge workers from around the globe to participate in a variety of projects through computer-mediated interactions. Given that many of these virtual teams, including those involved in open source software development and other systems development, may not have preassigned leaders, it is important to understand the factors that explain why an individual may be considered a leader by team members in other locations. Specifically, the factors information systems development (ISD) ability, contribution, knowledge transfer, and team cohesion are hypothesized to influence remote leader emergence in distributed ISD teams. The proposed model is tested in a study using ISD teams composed of student members from both the US and Scandinavia. ISD ability, contribution, and knowledge transfer in cohesive teams were found to be significant predictors of remote leadership emergence. The study also suggests that US and Scandinavian members do not use the same criteria for identifying remote team members as leaders and offers a theoretical explanation of the results.

This paper applies Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory in different countries where the significance of media is uniquely shaped by the culture. In particular, we focus on whether Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory hold for communication between subordinates and supervisors in different cultures. To test this hypothesis, a comparative cross-cultural field study with knowledge workers (n=120) in the telecommunication industry in the United States and South Korea was conducted. This study demonstrates that country, task equivocality, and communication direction are the factors that affect individuals' media choice. Communication direction was found to be the strongest factor influencing media choice for Korean employees, whereas task equivocality was the dominant factor influencing media choice for US employees. This study also demonstrates the influence of national culture on media choice among US and Korean employees. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.

Traceability - the ability of developers to describe and follow the life of an artifact throughout the software development life cycle - is an important process that facilitates acquisition and use of process knowledge. While there has been extensive research focusing on the development of traceability solutions, there is a paucity of research that characterizes the tasks that need to be performed in implementing and using traceability. This research addresses this gap by conceptualizing traceability practice in software development as comprising information processing and communication among developers involved in the process. Accordingly, we present the results of two complementary studies focusing on these two aspects of traceability. Based on Study 1, we develop a process model for information processing in traceability. Through Study 2, we identify important contingency factors that impact the mode of communication among developers and customers. We argue that choice of communication media should be dictated by matching particular media characteristics such as synchronicity, reprocessability, and channel capacity to the situation at hand rather than by using aggregated measures such as media richness or social presence. We integrate the findings from our two studies into a process model that prescribes guidelines for traceability practice in software development. Our prescriptions also help traceability tool developers in delivering traceability support that facilitates appropriate information processing and communication capabilities, taking various project characteristics into consideration.

This book provides the job seeker with a comprehensive manual to prepare for the interview process. The text is divided into three sections: "Today's Hiring Authority and You"; "The Four Types of Qualifying Questions"; and "Asking Your Own Questions of Yourself, Your Recruiter, and Your Potential Employer." The book also includes an appendix that lists mistakes candidates can make at different points in the interview and job search processes. These mistakes capture some of the main points listed in earlier sections. While none of the material is particularly unique, the author does assemble a good deal of relevant material in one place.

This study empirically examines the general propositions of media capacity theories using a newer and increasingly popular communication medium: instant messaging (IM). We develop hypotheses based on the proposition that synchronous communication media are perceived to be more effective for convergence communication while asynchronous communication media are perceived to be more suitable for conveyance communication. These hypotheses were tested using data collected from 81 IM users in four organizations by means of survey instruments developed for this study. The results suggest that although IM was perceived to be a highly synchronous communication medium, it was not perceived to be as effective for convergence communication as it was for conveyance communication. These results seem to challenge the general propositions of media capacity theories. Theoretical implications are discussed.

This book introduces important works on readability by researchers such as Thorndike, Dale and Tyler, and Lorge, as well as Flesch. It provides a useful general introduction to the field of readability studies.

Instant messaging (IM) has the potential to be a powerful collaborative workplace communication tool. As this information and communication technology (ICT) becomes more diffused at work, it is important to consider how the workers will cope with yet another communication option. Using a cost-minimization perspective, this proposition-building piece links three types of costs associated with IM use, delay, access, and error, with two salient workplace concerns, productivity and communication overload. The delay costs associated with IM use are considerably lower than with other ICTs. While increased use of IM can enhance productivity, it might also lead to perceptions of overload. IM access costs include organizational access, interruptions, user experiences, user differences, and generational differences-variables that influence one another and can lead to either outcome. Error costs come in two forms: single-channel factors and message quality issues. These likely lead to increased communication overload and decreased productivity. Combining IM with other ICTs is a likely moderator in this relationship and might help overcome the single-channel factors. The resulting eight propositions and theoretical model provide a predictive framework to focus future workplace IM use studies.

This index covers all technical items - papers, correspondence, reviews, etc. - that appeared in this periodical during the year, and items from previous years that were commented upon or corrected in this year. Departments and other items may also be covered if they have been judged to have archival value. The Author Index contains the primary entry for each item, listed under the first author's name. The primary entry includes the co-authors' names, the title of the paper or other item, and its location, specified by the publication abbreviation, year, month, and inclusive pagination. The Subject Index contains entries describing the item under all appropriate subject headings, plus the first author's name, the publication abbreviation, month, and year, and inclusive pages. Note that the item title is found only under the primary entry in the Author Index.

Acknowledgements Preface The Writing Process Research and Information Management Style and Effect Business and Technology Journalism Writing for the Digital Media Reports and Proposals Critical Thinking Business Document Formats Working in Teams Job Applications Writer's Reference A Final Note... References Bibliography Index

The current trend of increasing instant messaging (IM) use and its potential growth motivate this study. It offers a novel exploration of users' preferences for IM in the context of the use of other traditional and new communication media: face-to-face, telephone, email, and short messaging service (SMS) in two distinct cultures: Australia and China. It examines the impact of demographics, media experience, media richness perception, and national culture on media preferences. Our results, based on a student survey conducted in the two countries, show that women prefer IM for communication activities that require more attention and personal presence and prefer email for communication activities that require less personal presence. Communication technology experience may predict the adoption of new technology, such as IM and SMS, but has no effect on media that are already widely adopted, such as email. Email was clustered with face-to-face and telephone as the most preferred media for any communication activity, while IM and SMS clustered together and were the least preferred media for communication. After controlling for demographics and media experience, we found significant cultural differences in IM, telephone, and email preferences. Chinese preferred to use IM and telephone, while Australians preferred to use email. The cultural impact on technology use is persistent.

Legislative requirements like those in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have sharply increased the incidence of monitoring of electronic communications, but the consequences of this trend are little understood. This study examines the impact of organizational monitoring of sensitive instant message (IM) discussions with a designed experiment. When their IMs are known to be monitored, individuals are found to sharply curtail their discussion of personally incriminating information and to increase their spontaneous denials of knowledge of sensitive topics. Surprisingly, perhaps, they also increase their discussion of relayed information that may incriminate others or the organization. Qualitative analysis suggests that people are not aware they make these adjustments to their IM communication content when monitored. Given the legislative compliance motivations for some of the monitoring activity in companies, it is ironic that study findings suggest organizations may communicate less firsthand information about potentially curtailable legal liabilities and other sensitive incidents requiring corrective action when communication is monitored. Organizations enacting monitoring of IM should pay heed to the requirements as well as the discretion available to them within those requirements to enact monitoring in a way that suits their organizational goals.