American document design process models reflect the assumption that comprehension and usability are the most important characteristics of effective documents, but it is increasingly evident that other cultures value other communicative features of documents and that purposes and intentions vary across cultures. This case study examines the responses of four sets of American readers (three sets familiar with American document design research and practice and one set of content specialists-engineers by training) to the visual aspects of an annual report. The original document was prepared for a mid-sized Japanese corporation and published and distributed in Japan; the American version is an almost literal translation of the original document from Japanese to English, with no changes in visuals, graphic design or format. Protocol analyses of readers' responses revealed distinct patterns of expectations and preferences based on (1) cultural biases, (2) degree of familiarity with the American document design model, and (3) ignorance of Japanese culture and corporate communicative practices. This study raises questions about the effectiveness in terms of cultural sensitivity of what we have called the "American" document design process model and usability testing procedures, and calls for extensive collaborative research designed to describe and analyze current practice in international settings.

Defines and critiques three cultural models for structuring and using information: accumulation, circulation and association. In these "economies", information is something to be hoarded (as accumulation), moved (circulation) or connected to other pieces of information (association). By examining the ways information acts like financial economies of the past, present and near-future, technical communicators gain crucial social and political perspectives normally not considered in the design and use of information spaces.

Technical writing tries to be "objective" and "audience-oriented", but it neglects an element of persuasion known in ancient rhetoric as "ethos". This concept translates from the Greek as "character", but that English word does not convey the concept's richness; nor does the Latin "persona", a term sometimes used to describe the narrative voice in technical prose. "Ethos" is the root of "ethics", which tends to objectify values and choices, alienating them from the people making them. In this paper, I suggest that an understanding of "ethos" in all its richness can help writers of technical prose to produce work that, in relation to traditionally "objective" prose, is both more readable and more ethical.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The subject of ethics in graphic design has been only lightly treated in the literature regarding issues in technical communication. Because there is great potential for deception, conscious or unconscious, through graphic design, readers and writers of technical communication should develop an ethical sense and apply it to technical design.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Those who have read "Roughing It" or "Life on the Mississippi" or "Pudd'nhead Wilson" will have seen Mark Twain's flair for technical descriptions and definitions. You know that he liked nothing better than turning a challenging process or device or term into a clear picture for the reader. His descriptions of a quartz mill, of assaying, and of pocket mining in "Roughing It" are models of fine technical style, as are his descriptions of sounding in "Life on the Mississippi" and fingerprinting in "Pudd'nhead Wilson". His definition of "lagniappe" is a classic. But Mark Twain was more than a practitioner of technical writing: he was also a theorist about the qualities of the writing craft. His novels, letters, essays, and miscellaneous prose are sprinkled with comments on writing, comments that can be made to read like a set of rules. And that is what the author does in this article: he turns these scattered comments into a list.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Enormous changes that have taken place in the last few years in Russia have revealed a need for Russian technical communicators to refocus their expertise and skills in order to enter the global marketplace successfully and competitively. Rather than dwell on the familiar differences between Americans and Russians, Cold War adversaries, a common ground exists and is growing. We share a mutual interest in the successful entry of Russian technical communicators in the global marketplace. We also share an understanding that technology is central to civilization as we know it, and that the masters of technology have a substantial influence on all activities that they touch; a belief that technology has had a major beneficial effect on the peoples of the world, but that with such power comes the potential for large, serious, and potentially devastating influences; the idea that the embrace of technology is a good cultural fit with cultures formed from revolutions, for technology in the later part of this century has come to be synonymous with rapid change, and cultures with revolutionary heritage welcome change; the notion that technological breakthroughs have profound influences on the nature of work, liberating the traditional intensive physical nature of labor to the emergence of a knowledge worker; and the belief that the global marketplace forces the need for clear and rapid communication across borders, as well as among cultures. If we can agree on these technical communications issues, then we have a firm foundation for building a gateway to communication in the global market.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. The studies had the following objectives: (1) to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions, (2) to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists, (3) to investigate their use of libraries and technical information centers, (4) to investigate their use of and the importance to them of computer and information technology, (5) to examine their use of electronic networks, and (6) to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. Self-administered (mail) questionnaires were distributed to Dutch aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) in the Netherlands, the NASA Ames Research Center in the USA, and the NASA Langley Research Center in the USA. Responses of the Dutch and US participants to selected questions are presented in this paper.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

When technical students begin their professional careers, they are not always adequately prepared for the complex communication demands that will be made of them/spl minus/especially during the process of developing a technical proposal. A real-world investigation of technical proposal development is an excellent way for the technical writing course, often constrained by time and standard writing assignments, to prepare students to meet these demands. The investigations include practice in collaborating, planning and scheduling, and oral reporting.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Investing time, energy, and money in a usability test pays off when the data you collect answer your questions. Who makes sure usability tests meet their information-gathering goals? The project manager, who has to be ready to solve the many problems that inevitably arise. The paper assumes the reader has taken a course on usability methods or has conducted a usability test with the assistance of a professional in the field.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

E-mail style has received little attention from corporations and other institutions. The absence of stylistic guidelines may create problems: communicating inappropriately with some audiences, losing sight of the message purpose, or wasting company resources in other ways. To solve such problems, technical communicators can use their unique abilities to promote e-mail formats that consider the strengths and limitations of the medium in addition to the traditional concerns with audience, purpose, and content of messages.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Organizations such as universities and corporations are increasingly using electronic text media such as electronic mail and conferencing systems to communicate with associates. However, technical communicators currently have no rhetorical strategies to deal with these new and unfamiliar media; they must generate new strategies to communicate and persuade through electronic text. This paper discusses the characteristics of electronic text that call for new rhetorical strategies, examines how users function rhetorically in the new media, and outlines several strategies that technical communicators can use when communicating through electronic text.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Because usability data can be expensive to collect and analyze, it is important that you collect the data you need to answer the usability test-questions. The article describes a two-part strategy to help with this aspect of a usability study. The first part of the strategy is to investigate the questions the product team has about its product and turn these questions into well-defined usability questions. The second part is to take those usability questions and develop a data crosswalk, a framework that gives you a systematic way to decide what specific evidence you need to answer the test questions, and what data you need to collect to get that evidence.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

In response to the above-titled paper by M. Markel (see ibid., vol.36, no.2, p.81-6, June 1993), which clarified the philosophical issues that accompany the ethical aspects of the engineering profession, the commenter attempts to take the basis for ethics another step.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Utilitarianism, the ethical system of free-market capitalism, is limited in that it sanctions contingencies. Immanuel Kant's second formulation of the categorical imperative-to treat ourselves and others not merely as means but also as ends-offers a clear and powerful ethic that enables technical communicators to subordinate contingencies to an understanding of people as rational entities possessed of full human dignity. John Rawls's (1971) model of an ideal society derives from and extends Kant's thinking on the primacy of human dignity in an ethical system.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Two studies were conducted in order to investigate the technical communication practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions; to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists; to seek their views about the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and online databases; and to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. Responses to a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to Russian aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their US counterparts at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center are presented.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Chaucer's 'A Treatise on the Astrolabe' despite its medieval roots, still serves as a model for incorporating coherent organization, appropriate content, accurate and precise descriptions, personable tone, effective metadiscourse, and varied sentence structure and length in modern technical writing. This article explores how Chaucer merged his logico-rational self (as exhibited in the work's deliberate organization and thorough content) with his humanistic self (as shown in his simple style and personable tone). This is shown to be an effective technique for humanizing and strengthening a technical document. By following the lessons learned from Treatise, modern technical writers can minimize the semantic and psychological noise of a document, while maximizing the accurate and comfortable transmission of its content.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Two versions of a manual for the Intel SatisFAXtion faxmodem-the original manual shipped with the product and a proposed shortened manual-are compared. It is found using either manual improves performance over using no manual; there is little difference in performance between the group using the original manual and the group using the proposed shortened manual; and documentation cannot completely compensate for inadequacies in the user interface.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Communication at the human-computer interaction level, is discussed. The presentation layer, or user interface, to computer programs acts as a shield to a far more complex array of processes. Using simple navigational and functional commands, the user can manipulate a computer program and achieve desired results quickly. This is not always the case, however, and deficiencies in both usability and information access continue to plague ordinary computer users. With increasing public reliance on computer-generated information, powerful computer applications must be amenable to nontechnical users. The most commercially viable and prominent of these efforts are explored, with particular emphasis on the evolving role of artificially intelligent technologies.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The technical communication literature contains many articles and books providing advice on how scientists and engineers can improve their skills at communicating research results. The journal articles and book chapters the authors felt offered sound advice on fifteen topics relevant to writing original research results for publication are briefly discussed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Professional educational philosophers C.A. Bowers and D.J. Flinders (1990) describe the classroom as an ecology comprising interrelated linguistic and cultural patterns that determine how information is communicated in the classroom. their classroom ecology model centers on the observation of three interconnected areas: the metaphors that the teacher and the textbook use to introduce students to the formal and informal curriculum, the manner in which the teacher frames student expertise and classroom relationships, and the nonverbal communication between teacher and students. Using Bowers and Flinders' model, a technical writing class taught by a teacher who emphasizes relationships, understanding and acceptance, and collaboration was studied. The teacher's metaphorical language, framing of instruction and student relationships, and nonverbal language are shown to reflect a rhetorical approach to technical writing, a caring approach to teaching, and a supportive, community environment for learning. This ethnographic study provides a snapshot of how one teacher defines technical writing and how he answers the question of how is should be taught.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Those involved in journalism and communication programs recognize the need to teach students interviewing theory and techniques. Technical communicators rely on interviews for a significant percentage of the information they need to do their jobs. Interviewing techniques are ranked in the top ten topics that technical communicators think should be taught in technical writing programs. The author describes a course with a general focus on interviewing skills and a particular emphasis on the challenges technical communicators face in the interview situation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Do university writing experiences prepare students for future job-related writing tasks? If not, how can we create a smoother transition from the academy to the workplace? The author analyzes the differing discourse communities of academic writing and technical communication which may limit the transfer of skills from one arena to the next. The discussion considers the ways process, collaborative learning, writing across the curriculum, and language theories can form the foundation for constructive communication among disciplines. As the focus of academic writing moves from an emphasis on the individual to social context and wider audiences, it bridges the gap between disciplines and can ease the movement from the classroom to real-world settings.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The inclusion of a course in gender issues in a technical communication curriculum affords students the opportunity to confront objectivist and rationalist paradigms still found in the discourse of technical communication. The theoretical and practical foundations of a course that examines feminist inquiry into the production and dissemination of knowledge, as well as the language practices associated with professional writing and communication, are discussed. Issues of gender roles within organizational collaborative work groups, as well as issues related to gendered assumptions in science and technology, are also integral parts of the course design. A description of objectives, assignments, and tests for the course, as well as a full syllabus, are included.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

To measure how technical communicators can improve an organization's return on investment, reductions in calls for support, increases in customer satisfaction, or increases in workers' productivity may be measured. The authors describe a project funded by the Society for Technical Communication in which they are studying how technical communicators add value by increasing an organization's return on its investment. A project questionnaire is included.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Starting with the premise that there are two different ways of viewing readers, as empirical subjects and as rhetorical participants, the author presents a taxonomy of roles that readers play within technical documents. Even though these roles are shaped by distinct, often contradictory, theoretical traditions, they take on an independent existence during the reading process. Actual readers can assume a variety of roles, depending on the nature of the document and the willingness of each particular reader. Further, the author argues that this taxonomy is not complete, but subject to changes and additions as new technologies are developed requiring new roles to be played. It is concluded that researchers and teachers should encourage this more fluid view of audience in usability testing labs and classroom settings.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The rationale behind teaching native English speakers to be sensitive to the cultural differences they will find when they communicate with nonnative speakers in the classroom and in the professional marketplace is considered. A teaching strategy that technical writing instructors can use in their classrooms to foster cultural awareness is described in detail. It is concluded that such an educational strategy is important for a future in which interaction with multicultural colleagues becomes inevitable and essential for business success.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

A method for developing an online information system that provides employees with access to company information is presented. The method integrates knowledge from many areas of expertise: systems analysis (software development), instructional design, human factors, information science, visual design, user interface design, and technical communication. A case example illustrating the operation of a developed information system is presented.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is argued that, because markets are becoming increasingly global, international readers who are familiar with English and comfortable with the standard ratio of equal parts of white space and text must be distinguished from domestic readers whose international exposure may be limited and whose requirements can be better addressed by creating a document which conforms to their cultural perceptions of space. Anthropologists have shown that perceptions about space and man's relationship to it vary from culture to culture and consequently it is dangerous to make assumptions about a local audience based on experience with international audiences. Edward Hall's work on proxemics (1969), the perceptions concerning spatial relationships, and examples of technical document designs in England, Japan, and the Middle East are discussed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The legal and ethical issues raised by the ability to use desktop scanners to convert images into digital data for manipulation, enhancement, and eventual incorporation into a publication are discussed. Potential legal problems involve copyright infringement and libel, both of which are familiar concerns to technical writers, although they tend to be associated with text rather than graphic images. Ethical issues raised by the available technology include concerns about enhanced advertisements. To maintain public confidence in digitally processed images, technical communicators in academia must provide guidelines for their students, both US and international, who will encounter many of these legal and ethical issues in the workplace.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

US government and industry attitudes toward mine safety and health, articulated in the instruction manuals and training guides published by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, are seen to reflect an engineering perspective based on the concept of a rational man, a perspective that undermines the ability of miners to take responsibility for their own education and ultimately obstructs effective risk management and assessment in the nation's mines. It is argued that to improve miner training and education, technical communicators must understand how underlying gendered assumptions about male rationality influence the construction of knowledge in a large government agency.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Drawing on recent studies of visual design and current feminist theory, and based on a research project in which males and females were asked to create visual representations of factual information, a feminist theory of design is posited. Three primary positions relevant for technical communicators are argued: (1) social constructionism is a feminist perspective; (2) technical communicators need to eliminate the hierarchy of visuals and text and represent information by balancing both; and (3) technical communicators need to emphasize the rhetorical, contextual situations in which visuals and texts co-mingle.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Strategies for improving stylistic efficiency of technical writing are presented. The strategies, in contrast to the myriad of advice on how to improve sentence style, create sentence flow and give the prose a character that propels readers along. Improvements in stylistic efficiency come from aligning word order with readers' expectations so as to restrict the reader's interpretive latitude. >

It is asserted that immediacy communicates approachability and availability, and that interpersonal relationships are crucial to job effectiveness and satisfaction for technical communication professionals. Increased concern about sexual harassment in the workplace, however, creates a paradox; while immediacy behaviors can establish a positive workplace environment, sexual harassment policies can serve to inhibit such behaviors. As a result, technical communication professionals in the arenas of training policies and procedures construct training programs that provide both male and female perspectives and prevent the slanting of materials inappropriately in one direction over another. Immediacy behaviors that are appropriate within the context of sexual harassment policies in the cross-gender workplace are addressed, with emphasis on the above paradox.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

A course design and the material for implementing a course in which students explore the status of women and minorities in the scientific and technical professions and the possible reasons for that status are presented. The course is offered as a model for the integration of intercultural and gender issues into the technical communication classroom. Since cultural and gender issues are neither scientific nor technological but humanities issues, core readings for the course are humanities texts. By working in teams of culturally and gender-diverse colleagues, students explore the intercultural concerns and gender issues in the field of technical communication. Students conduct personal interviews, study published reports, obtain policy statements and current statistics, analyze data, draw conclusions, and submit a comprehensive technical report to audiences who might act on those findings, such as the National Science foundation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is pointed out that veteran technical writers and editors sometimes suspect that the professors who teach technical writing and editing are too deeply immersed in their academic culture to translate effectively into the classroom the world of work culture in which technical writing and editing are practised. It is argued, however, that the two cultures are remarkably alike, sharing the same goal-to improve communication. Differences arise primarily in the approaches taken to achieve that common goal. Drawing on 25 years of experience as a visiting professor in a university writing program, the author discusses the different approaches that industry and academia take to such topics as grammar, rhetoric, audience, editing, artwork, decision-making, and collaborative writing.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The author examines 22 experimental usability studies that appeared between 1980 and 1989. The discussion takes two directions: analysis of fundamental aspects of research coherence and unity by assessing the extent to which researchers jointly pursue a logical sequence of questions and the extent to which they integrate findings from prior studies into their own designs; and assessment of how trends in sample selection, size, and composition limit the strength of research conclusions. Ten years' worth of choices about samples show that a cumulative laxity in these choices has greatly constrained what one confidently can say experimental studies have proven about effective hard copy documentation. The author concludes by offering 13 recommended design strategies for future usability research.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is pointed out that, after Gutenberg's introduction of movable type an the printing press in the fifteenth century, and due to the influence of the Renaissance, Western culture entered a period of visual efflorescence. Then, due mainly to the influence of the Scientific Revolution, there occurred a derogation of visual experience in favour of word and abstract number. It is argued that, in the late twentieth century, technology, supported by developments in scientific theory, has given new efficacy to visual thinking and experience. Increasingly, illustrations of various types are employed to give meaning to otherwise incomprehensible data. Today's technical communicator must learn to deal effectively with the new demands of a visual culture, becoming not only a master of the new technology but also a possessor of a deep understanding of the theories and structures of visual knowledge.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

A model for the design of information products is presented. The model serves as a resource to diagnose ineffective designs as well as a guide for the construction of effective displays. It accommodates many factors affecting the reader's processing of visual displays, including cognitive and perceptual processing, ergonomic factors, and the influence of cultural differences. Because the disciplines employed in this paper are incomplete and often depend upon speculation, the model should not be viewed as complete or comprehensive. However, the model can be modified as information design matures as a discipline.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Publications on the broader history of technical communication that have appeared over the past decade are reviewed. It is suggested that historical studies can easily be pursued in North America owing to the availability of source material. Recent microfilm or microprint publications of both primary sources and reference guides to them are identified. Three examples of engineering reports published in the early 19th century are discussed, and their historical implications are explored. The author holds that there is a role for history in the teaching and research of technical communication.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Technical communicators can overcome their reluctance to use color in technical communications and use it effectively if they understand how color works, respect the limitations of color, and apply it in ways compatible with communications objectives and human perception. Terms dealing with colors are defined, and reasons for using color in displays are outlined. Problems, misperceptions, and solutions associated with the use of color in technical communications are discussed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Several surveys that compared the effectiveness of color and black and white as they are used in a variety of communication situations are discussed. The effects of color in printed documents and on-line text and on electronic publishers during the printing process and writers during the writing process are described. Suggestions for the effective use of color in technical communications are presented.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Many engineering students are unprepared to address public policy issues because their education is fragmented: they tend to focus narrowly on technical solutions to closed-end problems in engineering and science courses, and they do not see how technical communication relates to either engineering or public policy. A multidisciplinary approach to professional communication which addresses this fragmentation is discussed. In the four-semester engineering practices introductory course sequence (EPICS) program, students learn professional communication skills by working in groups on 'real world' projects for which industry and government professionals serve as clients. These open-ended problems involve numerous nontechnical constraints, including a variety of public policy issues. Communication skills and the important connections among competent technical analysis, effective communication, and effective policy formation are reinforced and extended in the policy analysis course and senior design sequence, where students are required to consider and articulate the public policy implications of complex technological projects.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The varied treatments, introductions and conclusions receive in technical writing textbooks are explored from the dual perspective of the students who must incorporate the advice into their work and the professors who must present the material to students. The books attempt to focus on specific techniques for generating clear, concise writing, delineate methods of authorial analysis and offer student and professional examples of technical reports. It is concluded that these textbooks are successful when the structure of introductions and conclusions is tied closely to the context of the actual report.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

A bibliography and its introduction provide a convenient way to narrow the scope of selecting pedagogical material by discussing recent, easily accessible books in the field of technical communication. The bibliography consists of two parts: one is devoted to more traditional textbooks appropriate for classroom use, whether in academia or in industry and business; the other discusses such other resource materials for collateral use and supplementary reading as scholarly studies, anthologies, and handbooks. The bibliography is reasonably comprehensive for books published from the beginning of 1988 through June 30, 1990. 42 books are annotated, and an additional ten are listed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Research in technical communication in 1989 is assessed. The analysis indicates that systematic research in technical communication is still in a limited stage of development. One major problem is the lack of a clear distinction between an illustrative case and a case study in the empirical sense. In the few articles presenting systematic research, the most frequently used methodology is survey/questionnaire. Problems include sample selection and generalizability. In several studies, however, surveys were just one of several tools in a qualitative approach. While some projects were carefully designed, overall, the quality of the methodology is uneven. A comparison of the areas being researched with those designated by technical communicators as needing research revealed that more research is needed in management. Also needed is more systematic research into visual aspects of technical communication.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is pointed out that many organizations have decentralized their operations to respond more quickly to rapid changes in markets and technologies. Decentralization has legitimized crossfunctional communication and decision making at relatively low levels in these organizations as a means of improving the quantity and timeliness of information. However, decentralization can adversely affect an organization's communications unless a new communication system is designed as part of the altered communication process. It is suggested that working within a new approach to organizational change, called sociotechnical design, technical communicators can help define performance standards for new communication systems, including those integrated with computer-mediated information systems. The objectives of sociotechnical design are consistent with the language-action perspective of the modern office. That perspective asserts that language organizes work relationships and actions by means of conversations (or transactions) in which requests and promises are made among individuals and groups. These conversations are structured by procedures, policy guides, handbooks, training materials, and a host of other communications.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is pointed out that preparing people to work collaboratively allows them to experience some issues of professional ethics, cooperation, responsibility, and decisionmaking. A model for teaching people to work collaboratively is described. A teaching team, comprised of a technical communication professor and a clinical psychologist, explains group dynamics and the three phases of group development to students. The team then asks the members of a group to rehearse roles and discuss various issues that may arise in their groups. It is concluded that people experience and work through issues of collaboration and professional ethics before they begin to work as a group.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The journal article is a uniquely effective case assignment for teaching technical communication students a central, work-world, writing demand faced by all professional writers: accurately defining and effectively writing to multiple, hierarchical audiences. The author examines how two technical communication students successfully construct journal articles based on research from analytical reports completed earlier in the term. The students analyze their target audience(s) and revise their reports into technical articles by assessing their purposes in writing the article; by selecting the most appropriate journal and audience for the article; and by adjusting the article's topical slant, organization, content, and style to fit both the target journal's editorial needs and the interests of its audience(s).< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

It is observed that advances in information technology are drastically changing the profession of technical communication and the role of the technical communicator in developing and managing information. It is argued that educators must face the challenge posed by these advances to prepare students for the profession as it is now and as it will be in the future. It is suggested that one answer to this challenge is experiential learning theory, which places experience at the center of the learning process.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

An attempt is made to establish the view that any medium used to convey information is an interface. Knowing this, technical communicators should be able to make use of human-factors research and techniques that deal with user interfaces. The author discusses the human-factors principles of standardization, iteration and measurement, which all show promise when applied to technical communication.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>