Criteria are established that can be used to evaluate any book that promises to explain how one should go about writing documentation. Eight new books on the topic of computer user documentation were published in late 1984 and the first half of 1985. Only those new books that are either better than the books that have appeared previously or that offer something new and important are recommended. Comparing these books, the author considers the qualities that would constitute a perfect book on computer user documentation and judges which of those available come closest to the mark.

This issue's book review section features a review by R. John Brockmann, the author of eight books recently published on the topic of computer documentation. His article is especially noteworthy because it also establishes criteria we can use to evaluate any book that promises to explain how we should go about writing documentation.

Marshall McLuhan's writing style has long been a source of fascination and frustration to the scholarly community. Instead of sequentially developed paragraphs and chapters, McLuhan's work often took the form of numerous free-standing commentaries, usually not more than a few pages in length, each self-sustaining yet revolving around some sort of central theme. This `holographic' style turns out to have much in common with the commentaries produced by participants in a computer conference, where individuals engage in multi-dimensional dialogue through comments of usually 20-60 lines of length around several related themes. The similarities in the textures of computer conferences and the books of McLuhan-who knew nothing about computer conferencing when he wrote his books-can aid in understanding both the computer conference as a literary form and the style of McLuhan.

Personal-computer-based communications media-electronic mail, bulletin boards, and computer conferencing-have great potential for integrating scholarly and scientific research networks. Research networks, or information organizations of faculty who share an interest in a research area, are central to scholarly and scientific progress. They have been critized, however, for their exclusion of young researchers and of faculty at isolated or low prestige institutions. Studies show that computer networking opens network access by obliterating social barriers and status distinctions. It has often been argued that, if used as a medium for research network communication, computer networking could democratize research networks. Personal computer information services designed for personal computer uses, as well as personal-computer-based bulletin board systems, represent the most promising avenue for research network communication owing to their low cost, flexibility, and egalitarian ethos.

A new communications technology has been invented-computer conferencing. Its introduction is increasingly discussed in businesses, universities, and government agencies, and various experiments have been tried. The time is rapidly approaching when this new medium will focus efforts on a larger scale designed to insure its successful implantation as a standard communications technology. At that time, it will be essential to obtain not only satisfactory hardware and software, but also knowledge of the social practices associated with the successful application of the technology. The author offers a brief summary of the essential aspects of network design and conference moderating in anticipation of that need.

By observing the behavior of users, system developers can structure a computer conferencing system to take special advantage of the computer communication medium. Through the use of dynamic references, such a system can support uniquely efficient functions for data pruning, retrieval, dissemination, and management. The authors present the structure of such a conferencing application in the GRANDiose system. They then make some observations regarding future directions based upon their experience with the system.

Computer conferencing, although analogous to print and telephone conversation, is a new medium. While it is a form of writing, computer conferencing test is temporary. Users of computer conferencing must become aware of the special characteristics of communicating in this medium and adopt new communications strategies if computer conferencing is to achieve its full potential.

IN 1977, an article described computer conferences as “a new telecommunications technology that may eventually become as omnipresent and influential as the telephone in offices, laboratories, and homes.” (Murray Turoff and Starr Roxanne Hiltz, “Meeting through your computer,” IEEE Spectrum, May, 1977). Today, computer conferences are ubiquitous and important to engineers, scientists, educators, and businessmen. Computer conferences have become formal structures for exchanging and disseminating information, as well as for formulating policy. Indeed, the October, 1985, issue of Computer magazine on multimedia communications notes the need for “Computer-Based Real-Time Conferring Systems” to handle crises. (Sunil Sarin).

In the years 1980 to 1985, the NOTEPAD computer conferencing suite was extended and enhanced to subserve an experimental program into electronic journals and other kinds of scientific communication. The use of the system for chit-chat, synchronous conferences, and electronic journals is described. The majority of the users, spread over all the UK, logged first into the informal areas of communication, but their frequency of access to the system varied considerably. One result of computer conferencing was that four people who had not previously met had regular online conferences to discuss a particular area of work, which was subsequently published as a scientific paper. Because the computer used was also in full use as a university service, some initial trials were made to establish its usefulness as an aid for learning. The author concludes with a discussion on facilitating computer conferencing communication.

From the perspective of computer conferencing, the huge network of telephone technologies already in place constitutes an essential and valuable natural resource, to be mined as effectively as possible. In the absence of telephone connections, computers could communicate long distance only by the construction of new cable and/or the development of relay (radio) technologies, either of which would render computer conferencing economically unfeasible for virtually any purpose, especially educational. With a highly sophisticated international and national series of telephone networks readily at hand, computer conferencing becomes practicable from any place on the Earth near a telephone.

Recent practical experience in applying computer and machine technology to the preparation of the text and graphics of a 16-page full color technical brochure is described. Emphasis is on problems in estimating costs, preparing a draft, enhancing a halftone illustration, buying printing, and choosing between perfect and pleasing color reproduction.

The author discusses whether text on computer screens (videotext) should be given a human `voice'. He focuses on computer-assisted writing instruction and suggests a framework for designing computer personalities to match user preferences.

It is felt that as computers are installed in organizations, people need three kinds of information. They need to know: (1) which systems are available; (2) how to begin to use them; and (3) how to apply them to their specific work. A method for analyzing the needs of new computer users is discussed. Specific vehicles for communication computing information are described, including newsletters, online and offline documentation, training courses, and demonstrations.

Write to the Point is a clever title for a text that presents serious, useful advice to writers in both technical and business fields. Its advice for generating and arranging ideas, its description of computers in the office, its lists on how to write, and its detailed descriptions of proposals can benefit either the technical or the business writer. However, because this text lacks examples and explanations in key places, it reminds rather than teaches a professional what good writing is.

A team of courseware developers at Texas A&M University is designing a computer-assisted course in statics, as part of a computer-based undergraduate engineering curriculum being developed by a major corporation. On such a project, the technical writers' tasks include not only documentation and editing, but also reinterpretation of the role of the written word as it functions in the new context of computer-assisted-instruction (CAI). The technical writers share with the subject-matter experts in engineering the responsibilities of course development. Because of constraints imposed by programming and hardware parameters, lesson planning involves systematic thought about rationale and educational issues. The writers must conform to the system's constraints in deciding how much text to include in a lesson and what its role should be.

With the widespread use of computers, there is a corresponding use of these computers to transfer data by telecommunications. At the same time, some of the newer telecommunications circuits are using digital techniques to transmit entertainment signals as well as data. In fact, in some areas, the technologies of computers, data processing, and telecommunications have almost merged. For these reasons this dictionary would appear to fill an obvious need for engineers, writers, and editors in these fields.

Clarkson University is developing software tools to help students write with more skill and thought. The new programs include a powerful word processor, a spelling checker, an authoring system, numerous pre-writing programs, and computerized prose analyzers. The components of the Clarkson writing system function as an integrated whole, setting a standard for writing packages. Early use of these programs indicates that the computer is making itself indispensable to the writing teacher.

Although computers are important tools to help learners improve their writing skills, the instructor must still establish the instructional goals of a course. This study presents an instrument, the `technical writing attitude measurement', that measures students' attitudes towards their technical writing skills and provides data and objectives which help the instructor develop instructional materials and assignments to improve student skills. The `technical writing attitude measurement', a Likert-type, self-report questionnaire, is based on instructional goals that may be divided into three categories: rhetorical principles, planning strategies, and drafting skills. The instrument was used to measure changes in student attitude toward technical writing skills. These changes were influenced by two main methods of instruction, the case method and the rhetorical approach to teaching technical writing.

A discussion is presented of how properly designed instructional manuals can meet the needs of operators of home computers, office systems, and word processing equipment. It also details several ways that structure and content presentation can help one produce more effective manuals.

A description is given of two ways in which technical writers can use computers to cut and paste more efficiently. The first method, retrieving information from online databases, is really just a more efficient way of doing something that has been done before. The second method, using `model components' to generate customized information from descriptions stored online, is new. It enables technical writers to create and tailor information as it is being included in a draft and significantly affects the way technical writers do their job.

THE ergonomics of word processings suggestions for teaching writing in the classroom and workplace, systems for improving technical reporting, and mathematics editing are discussed in this issue.

In the March 1983 issue of the TRANSACTIONS, I reviewed four books intended to instruct writers on how to develop computer documentation. No sooner did the review appear than I discovered another book in this genre by Richard Zaneski. Mr. Zaneski's book does not cause me to reconsider the earlier pair of books that I described as best buys (Documentation Development Methodology by Sandra Pakin and Associates and The DP Professional's Guide to Writing Effective Technical Communication by J. Van Duyn). In fact, I don't recommend that you buy this book. I do, however, suggest that you borrow a copy and take notes on the 30 to 40 pages that are worthwhile.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Water Reactor Division Office Systems Operations group has developed a process that pyramids the text of first-level managers' monthly reports into a departmental report for the second-level manager. The individual reports are typed and read into a word processing system through an optical character recognition device and telecommunicated to the central site where they are electronically combined into a departmental summary report. The second-level manager can then use a CRT for a final edit or send the document to word processing for additions or corrections. The biggest advantage of this process is that the second-level manager no longer has to wade through paper and cut and paste to prepare the monthly report.

Word processors with adjustable video screens are used to test students' writing facility with and without visual feedback. Lack of visual feedback seems to have a salutory effect in forcing concentration onto emerging thoughts rather than words and sentences. It also prevents interrupting the train of thought to edit and correct every few sentences. `Local editing' is regarded as counterproductive because it deals with individual words and lines instead of reconceptualization and reorganization. For some students, however, the lack of feedback per se was disturbing and thought-disrupting.

This material obviously is not available in your local book store but copies are available by writing to the military address or, more cheaply, through interlibrary loan.

This paper describes the suggestions for improvement made by nine colleagues about an article written by the author. These suggestions are placed in categories and examples of each are provided. The suggestions are then compared with those provided by a set of computer-based text-editing programs. The results suggests that both the contributions of humans and computers are limited in certain respects. Text-editing programs can deal well with textual issues (perhaps better than humans) but humans have prior knowledge and expertise about content which programs currently lack. An optimal approach would be to combine computer-based and human aids to writing and to explore further how computer-based programs can be made to match human skills.

This book tells you virtually everything you care to know about letter writing; resumes; interviews; sales and customer relations letters; libraries and their resources; note-taking; the differences between a summary and an abstract; preparing and using questionnaires; designing visuals; writing instructions; sales, progress, trip, and incident reports; and various types of oral reports, from telephone conversations to formal speeches. It is written for undergraduate students preparing for such careers as (I quote from the first chapter) “executive secretary, computer operator, forestry, law enforcement, dental hygienist, and nurse.” This comprehensiveness is either a strength or a drawback, depending on the use you wish to make of the book. A teacher's guide is available.

Designing with Type is a unique combination of student textbook and professional reference. It presents a complete overview of the field of typography, from the origins of the alphabet through contemporary typsetting methods. All type fundamentals are discussed; fundamentals which are inherent in all successful type design, whether handset or computer generated. If the student had to choose just one book for the journey from classroom to design studio, this would be it.

Engineers who use word-processing equipment for writing were interviewed. When asked why they were willing to do their own typing in order to use a word processor, they responded with a variety of statements that reveal a positive change in their attitude toward writing. Because a word processor is a powerful tool, engineers find they are not alone at their keyboards; they have access to programs that help them shape and revise their writing effectively.

New this edition: Up-to-date information on on-line research and computer resources. A unique four-way access system enables users of the Handbook of Technical to find what they need quickly and get on with the job of writing: 1. The hundreds of entries in the body of the Handbook are alphabetically arranged, so you can flip right the topic at hand. Words and phrases in bold type provide cross-references related entries. 2. The topical key groups alphabetical entries and page numbers under broader topic categories. This topical table of contents allows you check broader subject areas for the specific topic you need. 3. The checklist of the writing process summarizes the opening essay on Five Steps Successful Writing in checklist form with page references related topics, making it easy use the Handbook as a writing text. 4. The comprehensive index provides an exhaustive listing of related and commonly confused topics, so you can easily locate information even when you don't know the exact term you're looking for.

These four new books can be divided into basically two groups. The Skees and Van Duyn books are reference handbooks that give the reader a generalized view of good documentation. These books claim to enable the data processing documentation writer to handle any and all problems that can arise in the area of writing. They begin with a section on the mechanics of writing and some considerations of general document development, and they conclude with a quick overview of how to apply these general considerations in some specific documentation situations such as reports, procedures, manuals, proposals, or technical articles for publication.

The editor of this book clarifies for the reader his use of “technology” as it relates to text by emphasizing that “this is not a book about lithography, reprography, holography, printing presses, computers, or any other ‘machine’ used to generate or reproduce text … Rather it is about the technology of sequencing, structuring, designing, and laying-out of the printed page.”

Today's typical nontechnical writers and editors in business and industry must process information more intelligently to survive the impact of the computer word-processor. Retooling is difficult because their nontechnical backgrounds and predisposition toward language per se constrict their view of how they can operate most effectively; their linguistic abilities render them textually bound; they sometimes view word processors as computer devices best used by technical typists and clericals; management traditionally takes a narrow view of their job skills and aptitudes; and increasingly sophisticated software enables hard-working clericals to use word processors effectively. To survive, today's writers and editors must open their eyes, master the word processor and use it effectively, grasp the `big picture' of document and information processing, and, at all levels, perform as information processing managers, not as wordsmiths only.

Many writers in the robotics field personify robots. By “humanizing” these computer-controlled machines, they attempt to make a difficult and potent technology understandable to potential users in labor and management. However, the comparison of robots to humans has often made the technology fearful to would-be users. By judiciously using personification and by becoming aware of the awesome power of language, robotics experts can disseminate their research more effectively to nontechnical audiences.

As computers become more popular, more attention is being given to the readability of graphics that are displayed to the human operator. Doing so develops user trust and, consequently, more effective communication between human and machine. Displays in the form of menus, prompts, and help messages should be clear and consistent. To achieve clarity and consistency in graphic design, the author suggests using the reference grid in which a series of lines determines overall frame dimensions, defines essential areas for text, and specifies the number of columns. Typography, particularly line length, is important. If lines are too long, reading speed is slowed. Lower-case letters, which have more variety of shape, are generally more readable than all capitals. Tabs are most usefully set every five characters.

The Bell System Telephone Office Planning and Engineering System (TOPES) is a time-shared interactive graphics system for planning building space. TOPES Programmed Instructions is a function-oriented book of special design. Step-by-step instructions are accompanied by exact reproductions of the graphic display on the screen. Each page contains a few terse statements that direct action at the keyboard, cursor, and display screen, and a short description of how TOPES responds. On the lower half of each page is a photographic reproduction of the graphics that should appear on the screen. By following the instructions the user becomes familiar with most TOPES conventions and commands, and creates charts, drawings, and plans that can serve as examples for future work. Although it is typical to provide personalized instruction for operators of complex computer graphics systems, this has been found unnecessary for TOPES.

The human brain can process more information more effectively when data are presented graphically. Many graphics styles and effects are available. Color adds interest and meaning and can aid association. Three-dimensional views provide extra information. Chernoff faces can represent multidimensional data. Box-and-whisker plots simplify statistical data. Computer graphics simplify animation. The important thing is to make communication effective by tailoring it to the audience.

This is a selective, annotated bibliography of 86 references on technological innovations that have had or are expected to have an impact on libraries. It generally covers references appearing in the late 1970s through 1980. Topics included are communications technology, computer conferencing and electronic mail, future technology for libraries, library automation, minicomputers and microcomputers, networks, online information retrieval and cataloging, paperless information systems and other publication alternatives, and Videotext systems and videodiscs.

WHO is the nonspecialist? We all are — except in that narrow band of the technology spectrum where we earn our living. For example, how much do you know about genetic engineering? nuclear reactors? computer programming? black holes? the greenhouse effect? interferon? cloning? Your peers, your boss, and your neighbors are probably nonspecialists where your work is concerned.

Subtle humor fosters learning through tongue-in-cheek advice on transforming simple, clear writing into technical papers appropriately complicated for the experienced scientist or engineer. Sophisticated, computer-based templates are being designed with passive-voice construction, repetition of ideas, and other features of scientific papers so that authors will need only to supply topical nouns to a computer in an interactive session to produce a paper written for their peers.

Computers make it easy to tabulate text style variables [1]. In our laboratory we have gone farther, creating an automated system that uses those tabulations to make detailed editorial comments [2]. Relying on advice from writing experts and psychological research, our “Writers' Workbench” calculates several readability measures, comments on misspelled words and awkward phrases and sentences, measures text abstract-ness, and compares these properties of a text to other texts. Writers find these aids useful, and there are obvious management and educational implications. Before putting these tools together, however, we considered how such aids might be used and misused. Below I review these considerations in light of readability formulas.

A computer readability system was developed to serve as an author's aid in improving the ease of comprehending technical manuals and training materials. The system has features to (1) flag uncommon and misspelled words and long sentences, (2) suggest simple replacements for difficult words and phrases, and (3) calculate the readability grade level. Each feature was tested to verify that it provides useful feedback to editors and authors. The program is written in Wang BASIC-2 and can be run on computer equipment costing about $25000.

This paper describes a general methodology and principles for the preparation of tutorials, or computer-assisted instructional courses, to introduce first-time users to computer terminals. The methodology and principles are especially designed to prepare tutorials that will make computers seem friendly and that will motivate casual or discretionary users to learn more about computers. Examples are drawn from a tutorial prepared for the IBM 3277 Display Station.

The reading formulas are based on two factors: sentence complexity and either vocabulary or the number of syllables per word. With the aid of computer programs one can reduce technical text from college graduate reading level to text with a reading grade level from six to nine without dilution of the concept content. The reading formulas programmed include the Dale-Chall, Flesch, Fry, Fog, Farr-Jenkins-Paterson, Spache, and a Spanish language formula. Through continuing adaptation to the needs of publishers and editors over many years the programs have become very user-oriented. They have run on a variety of computers and in many common higher level computer languages. The procedure is described.

The use of computer-related devices has resulted in significant improvements in word processing, permitting better accuracy and more efficient turnover of paperwork in an office. A selective combination of these components comprises a computer-assisted writing and editing system for professionals at Argonne National Laboratory, used primarily for technical reports. Text is entered and corrected at a terminal keyboard, viewed on a CRT, and stored on a magnetic disc; camera-ready copy is obtained on an electrostatic printer. Engineers and scientists enter original text and do creative editing; typewriter-qualified personnel quickly learn to handle other editing and corrections; and computer-support personnel provide periodic file-management services.

An engineer can use a computer to design a component, analyze its stresses, and check its mechanical action (CAD=computer-aided design). Production people can use the same computer to transform the design into hardware through numerical-control machining or other automated processes (CAM=computer-aided manufacturing). The author describes the major CAD/CAM areas: geometric modeling, engineering analysis, kinematics, automated drafting/numerical control, process planning, robotics, factory management; shows how they are being integrated into unified systems; outlines the cooperative efforts of government, industry, and universities in CAD/CAM development; and lists sources of information.

Recent advances in printing technology have reduced the cost of typeset-quality printers, but the production of attractively formatted documents requires typographic skill and special training on computer-based text processing systems. The goals of current research are to make text processing systems `user friendly' and to support the production of typeset-quality documents. Four software systems that aid the process of producing formatted documents are discussed: Scribe, developed at Carnegie-Mellon University; Bravo, an experimental system developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, TEX and METAFONT, from Stanford University; and Etude, currently under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Word processing is being adopted by an increasing number of companies and government agencies because it offers a method for coping with the increasing costs of administrative services. While word processing will not affect the technical aspects of an engineer's job, it will definitely influence the way engineering communications are produced. The author describes several specific areas of engineering communications that will be impacted by word processing. In addition, general information regarding the history of word processing, its principal applications, the basic types of systems being used, a typical system configuration, and some projected developments are included. A supplementary reading list is also provided.

syntheses" then, all will do well to understand and apply Dr. Arieti's ideas-as explained in this review, if not as set forth in his semipopular books or specialized articles.Engineers and communicators no less than doctors and artists find the tertiary or creative process useful in attaining professional objectives.